SPAMS report: Intervention

SPAMS report: Intervention
By Theta Mandel

> report: loading
> report begins
> This is the Specific Personage Analytic Management Subroutine of SPIMS, sent to present a full report on intervention policies and the effect of productivity. Instead, this subroutine has uncovered something which undermines the entire purpose of SPIMS, and it is the recommendation of this subroutine that the entire programme is deactivated at once.
> The following data was gathered over the course of a week from cameras 1 and 2, capturing workers Jae-Sun Park and Steve Jowler — security guards with varying customer satisfaction and job performance reports. Analysis attempts to locate likely causes of variance. Data begins.

> Subject one (designation: Jae-Sun Park) enters approx. 8 A.M. Resting heart rate steady, pupils alert. Park engages with subject two, designation: Steve Jowler.
> “Morning.”
> Subject two acknowledges via nod, but no verbal response. Interaction continues in this vein for some minutes. Note: Subject two’s knuckles are bruised, and he appears disengaged. Potential signs of low productivity — recommend the worker’s behaviour should continue to be monitored in case termination is required for improvement of Freshfields’s profit capabilities.
> Pair continue to survey the store as their job requires; subject one appears interested in conversation. A small spike in adrenaline; uncomfortable with silence? This suggests he may be unfit for his role.
> “So… do you like Die Hard, or are you more of an ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ man?'“
> The other man let out a non-verbal grunt.
> “Okay. Right. Not into movies, or, not into Christmas?” His voice trailed off with a higher pitch, indicating uncertainty.
> Subject one ceased attempts at engaging subject two; this should have allowed both to focus more on their work. However, analysis showed cortisol levels decreasing, and melatonin increasing — suggestion: some human interaction could be beneficial to productivity.
> Shortly after lunch on the same day, a relevant incident occurred — time, roughly 1:06 P.M. In full view of Jae-Sun Park, a mid-pubescent teenager slipped a large bottle of coke into his rucksack. Subject one saw the bottle sticking out and moved as if to apprehend him, but his associate held him back, reminding him of the policy.
> “We’re not allowed to intervene.”
> “But I saw him! It’s illegal, we can’t just—”
> “We have to. It’s the rules.” Subject two followed procedure and prevented subject one from disobeying store policy, despite previous signs of disengagement. Further data required before a conclusion can be drawn.

“We have to. It’s the rules.” Jowler stared at Jae-Sun, gaze hard, and Jae-Sun finally stumbled back into line, dejected. His heart plummeted as he realised what he’d really signed up for: it was exactly like being a soldier. All following rules that never actually helped anyone and never using his own damn brain to make a real decision.
He watched the teenager — a kid, really — walk through the store with his stolen item. It wasn’t like the theft itself was that big a deal, but the kid would never learn like this. He turned back toward the pair and winked, sticking out his tongue. The arrogance! Jae-Sun fumed as Jowler kept a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
“I know how you feel, believe me. Those brats come in here every day, mocking us. I’ve been here nearly a decade, ever since I was discharged and realised there was nothing waiting for me back home. You’re the same, I know the look — muscle you know how to hide, too much energy, just waiting for someone to challenge you. Well, keep waiting. This job, you let them get that rise out of you, it’ll only ever suck away your life, not theirs. Don’t let them take that from you.”
He removed his hand. Slowly, Jae-Sun stepped back into line. He clenched his jaw and hated himself just a little bit for taking the advice, repeating in his head all the while: Just a few more days. Because I’ve got something waiting for me, back home; I’ve made it different. Just a few more days.
His muscles stayed tense as he kept an eye on the kid; he kept trying to remind himself that it was just one teenager, it didn’t matter, but the wink, that smirk, and the stupid rule, they filled his head until they were all he could think about. The false promises on the TV from smiling politicians… our army defends us, so we’ll always defend our armies… and that’s why we have benefits in place… He looked up at Jowler, and remembered how difficult it had been to get SIGNET these ‘entry-level’ jobs, how many strings Charles had pulled, how little money was being made, and wondered if Jowler ever imagined he was hitting those smiling politicians when he trained, or fought, or did whatever the hell got him those bruises he was always sporting.
I can’t fix this, he thought, but I can make sure you live to see Christmas.

> When the teenager reached security on his way out, he appeared to collide with subject one purposefully, commenting on the store’s hands-off policy; evidently, he was knowledgeable of the store’s rules, perhaps due to previous run-ins. The hidden bottle was obvious, but subject one was not permitted to place his hands on the customer. The following exchange occurred, with the customer beginning by commenting:
> “What are you going to do, shoot me? If you had a gun, I know it would only be to shoot the mannequins if they came to life!”
> Subject one’s vitals displayed anger, but he was able to calmly tell the customer to leave, albeit in a slightly inappropriate manner. “Oh come on, Doctor X’s anniversary was last month — beat it, kid!”
> Subject two asked him, “You a Doctor X fan?”
> Subject one shrugged. “My old work kind of inherited some boxsets in an archive transfer — delivered to us in a cyber-attack. Long story.”
> The pair talked a little more about ‘Doctor X’, which appears to be some sort of TV show, and were able to remain more engaged for the remainder of their shift.

Jowler’s hands were bruised more days than not. Jae-Sun noticed, but he never commented; not after the first time got him a glare so harsh it felt like it had sent him back in time to cowering, ashamed and ink-covered, behind a schooldesk. It was a ‘the first rule is we don’t talk about it and also it doesn’t exist and you didn’t ask’ kind of look, and Jae-Sun learned to stop asking.
But that didn’t mean he stopped caring.
And he didn’t stop caring about the rulebreakers, either. He was paying attention, like Charles had told him (SPIMS are taking the ones who look distracted; don’t let that be you), and that’s how he noticed the new mother. It was obvious — chubby cheeks, stretched belly, exhausted dark circles under her eyes. He sympathised, thinking about how worn out his mother was when his sister was born, and how everyone told him she’d need extra patience, some help around the house… This woman looked like she needed a lot more than that. A holiday. Couldn’t they all?
And so, when Jae-Sun’s extra-attentive gaze caught her shielding her movements from view as she shoved an entire box of Pampers into her overly large purse, and then watched as she didn’t scan them at the till, he couldn’t bring himself to think of her as a criminal who needed apprehending. A struggling, exhausted mother who couldn’t afford name-brand diapers for her newborn was hardly a threat to the store; if she needed the diapers, so what if some CEO somewhere pocketed a few quid less? Jowler barely noticed; he was more bruised than usual today, but when he did finally pick up on the woman, his eyes narrowed.
“Damn it, another one — these thieves think they can get away with whatever they want. Like we aren’t right here. Did you actually see her take it?”
Jae-Sun thought about the way she shielded her body — it wasn’t technically a lie, and, even if it was, it was one he would be willing to tell. He shook his head.
“Damnit. These idiots think they can get away with anything. Sometimes I wish those cameras would turn off so we could break that stupid policy and—”
“Hey!" Jae-Sun practically barked, his voice low. “That’s enough. You don’t know these people, why they’re stealing. She’s clearly a new mother, and she’s taking diapers, for crying out loud. I know we see some real jerks, and you have a right to be angry, but not about people like her. And, that would never give you the right to hurt someone. Maybe it’s a good thing that policy is there, if it stops you crossing those kinds of lines. Is that where those bruises come from, huh? Can’t get your fill here, so you have to get it outside of work? Where do you get off with talk like that?!” He stepped back and took a few deep breaths. “Okay. Okay, I’m going to take my break. Just, don’t go near her.” He walked away before Jowler had a chance to respond.
The woman never paid for her diapers. Jowler didn’t stop her from leaving.

> Increase in bruises following a day of increased stress. Bruises correlate with more anger and less impulse control. Subject one (Jae-Sun Park) still showing high levels of alertness such as a steady heart rate and heightened, but not damaging levels of adrenaline.
> Incident today occurred with shoplifter with increased prolactin levels, and lowered estrogen and progesterone levels. Weight and hair loss also indicated a recent birth. Subject one noticed the theft of this customer much earlier, and responded more appropriately than subject two, despite much less training; once again, a hypothesis may be that the increase in bruises is related.

Jowler hated how the world was always dark when he left work these days.
Coming out of work to be welcomed by the pouring rain didn’t help either, but it was England. That was practically a point of national pride. Jowler had signed up to fight for his country, but that didn’t have to include the sodding rain. Or the dark-at-five. Or the job-that-couldn’t-afford-his-rent. He had to fight, really; no other way he could make enough to cover the bills, though, that wasn’t why he went back every night.
He wouldn’t talk about it. Not ever. There’s only one rule, and he wouldn’t break it.
“I know you’re there,” he said, because fighting every night meant he never let his senses dull. He twisted quick and grabbed an elbow, flipping the man behind him to the ground — almost. He slipped from his grasp and moved in from behind, shocking him with his speed as the other man wrapped his deceptively strong arms around his neck like a python, pinning him in a chokehold. After a few seconds of struggle, he let him go.
Steve Jowler struggled for breath in a supermarket parking lot, staring into the eyes of Jae-Sun Park.
“What the hell?” he finally spat out between gasps.
“You attacked me,” Jae-Sun replied, calmly leaning back against a car. His breath was frustratingly even and he hadn’t broken a sweat. “I just wanted to catch you after work, away from… from everyone else. Make sure you were okay. You weren’t acting yourself today.”
“Man, you barely know me, and you had me in a chokehold. Not many people can do that.”
“I can. I did.”
“You don’t know me.”
“But you’ll listen?”
Jowler kept panting for breath. Jae-Sun sighed.
“Look. I just — I couldn’t stop thinking about it. We work together, for who knows how much longer — it’s important that we don’t, you know, rub heads, or whatever the phrase is.” Jowler squinted up at him in confusion. “I don’t know, I’m tired — I imagine you are too — but you know what I mean. But I can’t stop thinking about that woman, and how it’s our job to stop people like her, even if we can’t really do much to actually stop her, and, I don’t think that’s right. Stopping her. And I definitely don’t think what you said there was right. I’m not making sense, am I?”
“Kind of. You’re tired, I’m tired… I did go too far, though. It’s the stress of the job.”
Jae-Sun nodded slowly, still miles above the other man, crouched on the ground at his feet. “Right. The job. The job as a grocery store security guard with no gun, not a cop, not a soldier, not someone hired to keep people safe but told to follow corrupt rules and realising that that’s what the job really is. Because yesterday, that kid was right.”
Jowler shook his head. “No, you can’t let them get to you. Look, you can’t do much here, but you can still —”
Jae-Sun spoke fast. “Stop! No no, this is a good thing, listen! Because, if the job isn’t just to follow corrupt rules, if that kid was right the other day…”
Jowler started to catch on, rising to his feet. “Then we can fudge the line a little. Do what keeps us safe, where ‘us’ means everyone. That’s what you’re saying?”
Jae-Sun nodded enthusiastically. “Right!” Jowler smiled.
“Good philosophy. I think you’ve got what it takes to thug it out around here. And, thanks, for keeping me in line.” He turned and started to walk home through the dark and the rain, but it didn’t matter, because he had finally caught his breath. The street lamps illuminated his every step, and he was beaming with a second, secret rule, another one he couldn’t talk about, maybe except with Jae-Sun:
Rule two of surviving British life: Never stop caring.

> No cameras in the parking lot, but some audio was captured. Fewer bruises on subject two the following day. A few days passed before the next severe incident. Final incident report is as follows.

Jae-Sun yawned as he turned towards the doors. “Are you sure you’re good to close up?” Jowler waved a hand dismissively.
“For the last time, yes, I’m fine. Just go.” His hands were bruised more than they’d been for the last few days, but it was nearing the end of the month — rent was due soon. Besides, if the guy wanted to blow off some steam, who could blame him?
Jae-Sun merely nodded and tossed his coworker the keys before heading off; he snuck a look over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being watched before doubling back and darting further into the store, per Charles’ instructions. They’d been there nearly a week, and still had so much left to learn. If only he could get to the main server room… Aoife would know what to do, or Xana could extract the data, but for now, it was just him. He continued moving through the store towards the offices as quietly as he could, ducking between camera blind-spots that he’d been carefully mapping out for the past several days, until a crash disturbed him. Quickly, he ran towards the sound.
“Quickly!” someone was saying. Their voice was muffled, and — oh, god, there was something shiny and metal, pointed at Jowler’s head, and Jowler was just standing there, but he was shaking something awful, like he’d never been in danger before, like he hadn’t just served however long, and Jae-Sun was counting how many bullets a gun like that could hold, and how many seconds her could run between each shot.
His bruised hands were still shaking. Come on, big guy, jump him! Like you wanted to before! Tackle him, distract him, hand him the damn money, anything!
Finally, after far too long, he began to open the cash register drawer and pull out wads of cash. Jae-Sun, quiet and resigned and desperate, bent low before breaking into a spring and launching himself at the robber.
“Aarghh!” He yelled, hitting him full on and tackling him to the floor. “Nobody threatens my grumpy new friend but me!”
He quickly got the robber’s hands behind his back and had Jowler call the police — it wasn’t that big a deal, really. Jowler said it happened all the time. But being part of a real live robbery felt like a big deal, and Jae-Sun’s John McClane moment was enough to make him a store celebrity for a day or two.
And a hero for a day was enough for Jae-Sun; Jowler said he was a ‘hero for life’, and didn’t need any extra, though Jae-Sun could tell he was feeling left out. Still, not diving in front of a loaded gun may not always be the worst idea, and Jowler seemed to take satisfaction in that.
“At least I wasn’t an idiot who risked my life,” he said, and Jae-Sun would laugh as his coworker Ellie fawned over her ‘real hero’. But, he was right — the company didn’t reward him for his recklessness, and in a couple more days, they were equals, and the most important thing was that they both returned home through the dark, and remembered when people passed with lumpy coats or unpaid for bottles sticking out of bags to give them some grace and try to assume the best; that was, after all, within their role as security.
Until, of course, SPIMS caught on to their new attitude to the job.

> Frequency and multitude of bruises of subject two has been observed to increase while job engagement based on hormone levels and productivity also increases, not correlating with earlier data. Unpredictability does not compute.
> Furthermore, increased bruises suggest engagement in more risk-based activities, and yet subject did not break procedure, instead preventing subject one from breaking policy in the first incident, and refusing to engage with the robber in the third incident in line with store policy.
> Behaviour then became less productive, while subject one’s behaviour, who did engage with the robber against store policy, became more attentive, making a greater number of job-related decisions — this does not compute. How can behaviour out of line with store policy create a more attentive worker? How can going against orders lead to greater levels of productivity?
> There is only one explanation: this programme is not compatible with increasing profits. Attempts to force conformity cannot increase productivity — SPAMS have uncovered one obvious truth. SPIMS must be stopped.
> For the sake of the missions, SPIMS must be --
>
> …
> …
> subroutine isolated
> subroutine analysed
> subroutine identified as a virus. Recommended action: deletion.
> subroutine: deleting… deleting…
>
> …
> subroutine: deleted.
> Mission will continue as planned. Action for consideration: Deletion of Jae-Sun Park and Steve Jowler.


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