Sime~Gen Roleplaying on IRC: Snake River Dam Scenario
Episode #48: Why Me? (10/2/00)
Nick makes his way slowly through the camp, stretching his legs after a particularly exhausting session working with Arat on a nasty injury or three, caused by a bit of scaffolding that wasn't as sturdy as it should have been.
Nick at least found it exhausting; Arat in contrast seemed to find it very invigorating.
Nick has long since made his peace with the Farris work-fetish, however.
Nick pauses to watch a bit of sunset coloring the sky between two unpainted buildings.
Nick thinks that it would look much better viewed from an isolated, craggy promontory with a large tree growing out of the cliff, rather than from the middle of a teeming and ill-constructed camp, but he's too tired to go climbing today.
Vavushka pops up out of nowhere, neatly blocking the view.
Vavushka: There you are! Hope you don't mind me buttonholing you like this.
Vavushka: It's impossible to get an appointment you know.
Vavushka: I followed you all the way from the wards.
Vavushka: Hello!!!!!
Vavushka: [as Nick appears to be ignoring him]
Vavushka waves a hand before Nick's eyes.
Nick blinks.
Nick: Er....
Vavushka is one of the horde of office clerks Arat hired out of the massive free labor pool.
Vavushka is wearing a somewhat mud spattered Tecton uniform, showing his rank as a mid-ranked paper pusher.
Nick tries a warm and friendly smile, a reflex of his some 75% of the time.
Nick: I am sorry, I don't think we've been introduced.
Nick tries to make up for the non-recognition by giving Vavushka his full attention.
Nick's full attention is only 75% as seductive as Riyyh's, but that's still much more than average.
Vavushka: I'm Vavushka, Clerk Second Order.
Vavushka: I work in the records compilation department.
Nick: Of course. What can I do for you, Vavushka?
Nick hasn't heard of any injury-causing accidents in records compilation, but he has learned to take nothing for granted on a construction site.
Nick: Is there a problem in Records?
Vavushka: Not in Records exactly.
Vavushka: You see, it's a problem with the Administrative branch. I was elected to be the one to bring it up.
Vavushka gives the impression that this was not an election a person really wants to win, but more of a necessary evil.
Nick: Elected?
Vavushka: Nobody wanted to have to be the one to do it. [explains]
Nick: I see.
Vavushka: You see, the complaint is about... Hajene Jeniard.
Nick's eyes widen in surprise, although of course it doesn't reach his nager to any extent that a renSime could zlin. Fortunately, Arat isn't around to complain.
Nick: Jeniard?
Nick had thought that Jeniard was about as mild and unassuming a channel as it was possible to get.
Nick in fact has a very hard time thinking that Jeniard could possibly do anything that would upset his colleagues to the point where they would elect a spokesman to deal with it.
Nick: What is the matter with Jeniard?
Vavushka: Well, it's just... it's really hard to get an appointment through him.
Vavushka: And complaints too.
Vavushka: He censors everything!
Nick suddenly understands.
Nick: Ah, I see.
Nick: Yes, he does try to protect Arat, above all other considerations.
Vavushka: Protect him from knowing what's going on in our department??
Nick sighs.
Nick: Yes, if he thought it necessary.
Nick: But he's been wrong on occasion, just like anybody else.
Nick: Just what is the trouble in Records?
Vavushka: Well, that's our main problem right at the moment.
Vavushka: We managed to get the other taken care of by a very roundabout route.
Vavushka: We had a fellow who was not getting along with everybody else, and we wanted him out, but nobody would listen.
Vavushka: However, he's gone now.
Vavushka: But this trouble with Hajene Jeniard remains.
Nick: Then what you want is to figure out how to avoid having to use such roundabout methods the next time a problem arises?
Nick is starting to wonder how many other problems have not gotten through Jeniard's censorship.
Vavushka: Yes.
Vavushka: Exactly.
Nick is not totally convinced that in this case the matter required Arat's personal attention, but can understand Vavushka's concern.
Nick: When you tried to make the appointment with Arat, and Jeniard refused to allow it, had you told him what the problem was?
Vavushka: Numerous times.
Nick: And he would neither allow you access to Arat, or take care of the problem himself?
Vavushka: He said it wasn't really a problem.
Vavushka: But then, he didn't really have time to look into it thoroughly.
Vavushka: At least we never saw him looking into it!
Vavushka: But that wasn't the only occurrence.
Vavushka: We've been having this problem with Hajene Jeniard ever since day one.
Vavushka: He is just not a very responsive boss.
Nick: The channels have been very busy--too busy, perhaps, to handle such problems effectively.
Vavushka looks dubious, but he isn't going to argue with Nick.
Nick: Still, if you are having trouble getting an answer from Jeniard, I could put a word in now and then.
Nick: Although I can't do it for every problem, you understand.
Vavushka had been hoping Nick would put in a word against Jeniard to Arat.
Vavushka looks correspondingly disappointed.
Vavushka: Well, that is better than nothing. [admits]
Nick: If you and the other managers decide together that there's a problem that you can't solve, and that it's serious enough to threaten your ability to do your jobs, let me know.
Nick: It's possible that Jeniard will listen to me, even if he doesn't think the problem worth taking to Arat.
Nick: I can't overrule Jeniard's decisions, though. I don't have the authority.
Vavushka looks puzzled. Doesn't Nick outrank Jeniard?
Vavushka: Oh.
Vavushka wonders if this is just Nick's own particular brand of being uncooperative.
Vavushka as an office worker has encountered many types of uncooperative people and each one tends to be uncooperative in his own signature fashion.
Nick sees Vavushka's confusion, and tries to figure out what is causing it.
Vavushka: I thought you outranked him.
Vavushka thought by rather a lot!
Nick hadn't thought of it that way, as much of the time he has spent with Jeniard, he had no official Tecton rank at all, outside of possibly "prison bait".
Nick: Well, technically I do, I suppose. At least for some things.
Nick: But Jeniard's been working with Arat since they were in First Year.
Nick: If it comes to a question of whose judgment Arat would trust, there would be no contest.
Nick is perhaps thinking in Narosian terms of personal influence, more than in Tecton terms of rank.
Nick has never tried to assert his newly acquired Tecton rank, after all, apart from his (frequently unsuccessful) attempts to get Arat to take better care of himself.
Vavushka: So you're not in the clique.
Vavushka had thought Nick was.
Vavushka: Or you're just not inner-circle?
Nick tries to find a way to explain his situation, without going into details about his career as a rogue Donor.
Nick knows that while not exactly a secret, his past has not been explicitly revealed to those who didn't know already.
Nick knows just how thorough Arat is in his briefings, and assumes that the omission is for a reason.
Vavushka obviously doesn't approve of the idea of Jeniard's having Arat's ear.
Nick: Arat and Jeniard will take my advice on some things.
Nick: But for others--well, they know I don't have much of a knack for paperwork.
Nick remembers seeing his initial attempts at official reports returned to him, covered with red ink.
Vavushka is beginning to think that approaching Nick was a stupid idea.
Nick sees Vavushka's disappointment.
Nick: If you were hoping that I could have Jeniard replaced, I'm sorry. I can't do that.
Nick: I will call his attention to serious problems, if he is ignoring them.
Vavushka: Well, nothing like that, it's just that we were hoping he'd change his ways a little.
Nick considers, then nods thoughtfully.
Nick: Well, when I find a good moment, I'll mention your concerns. It might not change anything, but I'll try.
Nick lets his nager project ~~ encouragement ~~, in hopes that this will satisfy Vavushka.
Vavushka: Thanks.
Vavushka thinks this is the best he is going to get. At least he can go back to the others and say he tried!
Vavushka: Well, I've taken enough of your time.
Nick's sire/grandsire would have satisfied Vavushka several times over, by now, of course.
Nick: Good luck, Vavushka, and do let me know if the problem continues.
Vavushka hurries off.
Nick has not been a ranking Tecton official as long as Jeniard, so he is unable to shrug off non-critical griping from subordinates.
Nick therefore seeks out Jeniard during the channel's break, when he is giving their quarters a quick straightening.
Nick takes the precaution of carefully wiping his boots off on the porch, and shedding them as soon as he gets inside.
Nick also removes his coat, hanging it carefully in the closet to prevent any particulates from spreading.
Nick cocks his head at the sweeping noises coming from the bedroom.
Nick: Jeniard?
Jeniard is on his hands and knees trying to get the last bits of dust from under the head of the bed when Nick calls his name.
Jeniard: Argh.
Jeniard leaves the broom lying on the floor and gets up.
Jeniard comes out of the bedroom to see what Nick wants.
Jeniard looks somewhat less tired than Nick and somewhat less invigorated than Arat.
Jeniard: Hi Nick, what's up?
Jeniard can zlin that it isn't an emergency. He hopes it doesn't take too long, as he has only a short time to clean up the house before he has to be somewhere else.
Nick slips into a non-technical grade ~~ support ~~
Nick: I just had an interesting chat with one of your senior clerks over in Records.
Jeniard: Oh?
Jeniard doubts it could have been that interesting. He knows how Nick feels about paperwork.
Jeniard: Who was that?
Nick: It doesn't matter. He was acting as a spokesman.
Nick: He and his colleagues seem to feel that you have not been responsive to problems that have come up, in that department.
Nick: He mentioned one specific involving a problem employee, but I gather that the problem isn't limited to that incident.
Nick: That situation apparently resolved itself, but the perception remains that you aren't taking their problems seriously.
Jeniard: Well, I have been encouraging them to take more responsibility for the department.
Jeniard: The whole point of having senior and junior clerks was to cut down on the amount of supervision required.
Jeniard means, his personal supervision.
Nick: That much seems to be working well enough: he didn't have any actual current problems to complain about.
Nick: It appears to be a matter of perception.
Nick: They don't feel that you take them seriously, when they do have to come to you with a problem.
Jeniard: I'm sure they'll get over it. [dryly]
Nick raises an eyebrow.
Nick: I gather, then, that most of their concerns have been pretty minor?
Nick is, of course, well aware of how many major problems are on Arat's plate, and thus by extension on Jeniard's--and his own.
Jeniard: Well, they may not have seemed minor to them before they figured out how to take care of them. [concedes]
Nick nods, his suspicions confirmed.
Nick has worked so long for Farris channels that he couldn't imagine Jeniard as a Boss From Hell.
Nick: Have they solved their problems well enough, once they figured out it was up to them?
Jeniard: Yes, for the most part.
Jeniard: I think the problem employee took care of himself. [adds]
Nick wonders how much assistance the problem employee had, then decides that he's probably better off not knowing.
Nick: Well, it sounds like the situation is closer to being under control than most we've been faced with, so I won't worry too much.
Jeniard: Yeah, don't spend too much time on it. Shen knows we have little enough of that as it is.
Nick chuckles.
Nick: That's true enough.
Nick: If they come to me again, I'll see what I can do to encourage them to find a solution themselves.
Jeniard: Great.
Jeniard: Well, speaking of finding our own solutions, I have to get the floor scrubbed in there in the next four minutes.
Jeniard indicates the bedroom, and then hurries off in the direction of the cleaning supplies.
Nick looks after Jeniard, then returns to his own original errand: refilling his shirt pockets with clean handkerchiefs.
Nick has learned that he can never have enough of them on hand.
Go on to Episode #49: Power, Power, Power
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