Adventures in a Megacorporation
Or It’s All Fun Until a Government Agency Hobbles Your Operations and Snags Your Employees’ Journals
Last time I said I had everything in order—balancing projects, grad school, and life in general—my now former job sabotaged my perfect schedule with a tsunami of work. So now let me just say, gosh, I sure am struggling now. I’m absolutely overwhelmed by all the time I have to devote to everything nearly equally. Send coffee and help
What I’m really struggling with is trying not to get “locked” into a task to the detriment of another. There are days when I become so focused on one paper that I ignore personal projects, or I try to juggle little tasks from three smaller projects that I end up burning the midnight oil on an assignment. But as I’m coming to accept, if I do have some form of ADHD, then it’s the sense of panic that drives me to do my best work when the clock is winding down. I’m still maintaining a solid A, so I’m doing something right.
Anyway, when I’m not debating the ethics of controversial topics in children’s media or imagining the community wanting to axe my job (or come after me with an axe), I’m revisiting an ancient project.
Stincorp follows Johnny Maroon, a young man living a life of quiet desperation on his family’s potato farm, until he’s recruited by a mysterious megacorporation. With no other promises in his life, Johnny takes the job—unaware that his life is about to change in far more ways than just a better paycheck. Shadowing him from afar is a remote viewer, codenamed Farseer 9, who’s been tasked to study him for reasons she’d rather not understand.
This one has been with me since around 2009, when it began as a one-off webcomic about space travelers shipwrecked on an alien planet. Original, I know, and it’s a wonder I didn’t finish it. But it soon morphed into a comic about a modern-day megacorporation running science experiments… which went on indefinite hiatus. Eventually, it rebooted as another comic, same time period, but with better-ish art… that also went on indefinite hiatus.
And so on, until now, when I realized that maybe comics aren’t the right medium for this story. I still enjoy drawing, but it seems more like an occasional thing anymore. Maybe it’s just the way my life is shifting, and I’m not exactly sad about it. Who knows, maybe years down the road, I’ll dive into pastels part-time like I’ve been planning. Or maybe I’ll reboot this project as a series of pastel paintings.
I’d love to turn this into another audio play… and I might… but something’s telling me to try something different—like telling the story through government reports, interviews, diaries, and psychic conversations. In other words, this might shape into an epistolary novel… my least favorite type of novel. (Well, I can’t really say that and mean it; I am enjoying The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.)
Originally, I planned to start the story in media res, but the point in the story is very similar to how Eximirene, my fantasy audio play, begins. I try not to repeat gimmicks formulas. So I might borrow from the earlier versions of this project and start just as my remote viewer narrator is beginning her task… but in a different way.
Note to readers: This is a work in progress, and some details may change in the final version. Information in brackets will be updated as the story continues to develop and more elements are finalized.
National Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena
Confidential Document
Subject: Farseer 9 – Personal Audio Diary Transcription
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Notes: This transcription is part of a series of audio diaries recorded by Farseer 9 (F9) between 09/16/2010 and [end date]. The recordings were recovered during the investigation of Project Redthorn and are believed to contain crucial information regarding John Maroon and his connection to the reality benders. Supporting images, including illustrations, sketches, and marginalia, have been collected to corroborate F9’s story. Further analysis of these materials is ongoing.
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Transcription #001
Transcription date: 09/16/2014
Date: 08/20/2010
Time: 11:34:15
Recording device: Sensory Processing Unified Device – Series 1
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It figures Ilsa would give me homework as a parting gift. She of all people knew that I hate watching people, even as a job. I mean… I like my alien worlds. There’s so much more beyond this dinky blue ball. Why would I want to watch another boring Earthing?
[Image: Sticky note with colored pencil drawings of pink beaches]
Figure 1: A square sticky note featuring a colored pencil illustration of an extraterrestrial landscape, characterized by pink beaches, a pinky sky, and teal grasses.
[Image: Another sticky note with a llama-dog alien gathering berries]
Figure 2: An illustration of an extraterrestrial life form resembling a teal, long-eared dog with a round llama torso, depicted gathering fruit from a bush.
But it’s Ilsa. And she said it was more for me than a final wish. So I’ll do it.
At least I’ve got a new toy to work with. A gift from that tech guy who’s sweet on me. He calls it the Potato—and I get why. It’s a chunky block of a device with an awful monochrome grey screen, and its techy innards feel boiled and mashed, just from touching the casing. It’s gotta be a mess in there.
Still… it’s easier to navigate than a Mac.
I’ve made a few recordings already. I have to admit, it’s kind of neat. Maybe not “let’s have the farseers sit in these ultra high-tech salon chairs so they can transmit their thoughts to a shared dome in the middle of the room” neat, but… still neat. I can’t get over it. I can see life forms on other planets, and this little thing has blown my mind. Ha, ha. Guess some Earthling things still fascinate me after all.
How could I not like it? This thing doesn’t just pick up my voice—it records my thoughts. Like, right now. And even sounds from the viewings… everything I hear while I’m observing. It… it can record conversations and sounds I’m hearing! From far away! God, I would’ve ditched my Game Boy for this if it’d been around when I was a kid.
Oh, this is gonna be wonderful for my planet viewing!
But… Tech Guy said they’re working on a newer version, one that can actually display the imagery remote viewers pick up. So he tossed me a cold Potato. Whatever. I’ll give it a good home.
Speaking of homes… I want to take a trip through the salt mines, see where this John Maroon is gonna make his. How a farm boy is gonna fit in at Stincorp and not be in the agri divisions is beyond me. But if Ilsa says I gotta follow him, then that’s what I gotta do.