『 RESISTANCE NETWORK STATUS 』Active Members: 47Compromised Locations: 3Corporate Infiltrators: UNKNOWNThreat Level: MODERATE
The Daily Grind smelled like actual coffee instead of the productivity-optimized synthetic blends that SoulCorp's break room dispensed. Dave inhaled deeply, feeling another few points drop from his stress levels as the familiar aroma triggered memories of a time before his life had been reduced to biometric data and energy extraction quotas.
The coffee shop was smaller than he'd expected, with mismatched furniture that looked like it had been rescued from garage sales rather than purchased from Corporate Furniture Solutions Inc. A handful of customers sat scattered throughout the space, each one carefully not looking at the others in a way that suggested they were all part of something they couldn't discuss openly.
Behind the counter, a man in his fifties with graying hair and tired eyes looked up as Jeremy approached. His name tag read "Marcus," but everything about his posture screamed "former corporate executive who'd seen too much."
"Jeremy," Marcus said, his voice carrying the careful neutrality of someone who'd learned to assume every conversation was being monitored. "Your usual?"
"Actually, we need to talk," Jeremy replied, glancing around the shop. "Privately. About that technical issue I mentioned."
Marcus's expression shifted almost imperceptibly. "Ah. The network problem." He gestured toward a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" behind the counter. "Why don't you come back to my office? I might have some solutions for you."
Dave followed Jeremy behind the counter, noticing that his stress levels had dropped to 127/100—lower than they'd been in months. The absence of that subtle electrical humming he'd grown accustomed to was almost disorienting in its relief.
Marcus's "office" turned out to be a small back room filled with coffee supplies and what looked like enough electronic equipment to run a small data center. Multiple monitors displayed news feeds, corporate stock prices, and what appeared to be employee biometric data from various companies.
"Marcus," Jeremy said, "this is Dave Chen. He works—worked—for SoulCorp. As of this morning, he's achieved Employee Zero status."
Marcus's tired eyes suddenly became very alert. "Employee Zero? You're certain?"
"Crashed seven floors worth of extraction equipment just by getting anxious in the basement," Jeremy confirmed. "His stress readings hit 227/100 before the system's failsafes kicked in."
Marcus studied Dave with the intensity of someone evaluating a rare specimen. "How long have you been working for SoulCorp?"
"Four years," Dave replied. "But I only found out about the stress harvesting this morning. Jeremy showed me the monitoring systems, the energy extraction data..."
"And how do you feel now? Away from the corporate network?"
Dave considered the question. "Like I can breathe for the first time in years. Like someone turned down the volume on my panic response."
Marcus nodded slowly. "Classic withdrawal symptoms from prolonged stress amplification. Your natural anxiety levels are probably a fraction of what the extraction equipment was forcing you to experience." He turned to one of his monitors and began typing. "Let me check something."
The screen displayed what looked like a corporate database, but one Dave had never seen before. Employee records, but with additional data fields that made his stomach turn: "Stress Production Efficiency," "Extraction Rate," "Psychological Manipulation Responsiveness."
"David Chen, SoulCorp Industries, Workstation 7-C," Marcus read from the screen. "Hired four years ago with moderate anxiety markers. Stress production increased 340% over employment period through targeted workplace manipulation." He paused. "Interesting. According to this, you were specifically selected for accelerated stress conditioning."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Marcus said grimly, "that your hiring wasn't random. SoulCorp identified you as someone with high anxiety potential and deliberately structured your work environment to maximize stress production."
Dave felt his stress levels tick upward as the implications sank in. "They've been torturing me on purpose?"
"Systematically optimizing your misery for energy extraction, yes." Marcus pulled up another screen showing a network diagram. "But here's the interesting part. According to their own data, your stress response patterns were becoming increasingly unstable over the past six months. Efficiency was dropping, extraction rates were fluctuating. They flagged you for 'intervention' three times."
"What kind of intervention?"
Jeremy and Marcus exchanged a look. "Enhanced workplace stressors," Jeremy said. "Increased deadline pressure, additional responsibilities, strategic social isolation. When an employee's stress production starts declining, they implement measures to get it back to optimal levels."
"And if that doesn't work?"
Marcus's expression darkened. "Transfer to a different stress kingdom with more intensive extraction methods. Or termination for 'performance issues.'"
Dave sank into one of the mismatched chairs, his mind reeling. "So this morning, when my computer started showing those system messages..."
"Your stress levels had been climbing for weeks due to their intervention protocols," Marcus explained. "When they spiked high enough to trigger emergency systems, you accidentally gained access to administrator functions. The network couldn't contain your biometric output."
"And that made me Employee Zero."
"In theory, yes. But Dave..." Marcus leaned forward, his expression serious. "We've been tracking rumors of Employee Zero status for two years. According to corporate documents Jeremy's accessed, you're not the first person this has happened to."
Dave's stress levels jumped. "There are others?"
"Were others," Jeremy corrected quietly. "Most of them disappeared within 48 hours of achieving anomalous stress readings. Corporate records list them as voluntary resignations or stress-related medical leave."
"But you think...?"
"I think," Marcus said, "that Employee Zero status represents a significant threat to the stress harvesting system. And I think the corporate dynasties have been very careful to prevent anyone from figuring out what that threat actually entails."
One of Marcus's monitors chimed with an incoming message. He glanced at it, then quickly pulled up a news feed.
"Speaking of corporate dynasties," he muttered, "looks like your disappearance has gotten some attention."
The screen showed a local news broadcast with the headline: "SOULCORP EMPLOYEE MISSING - FAMILY CONCERNED." Below it, Dave's employee photo smiled back at him with the forced enthusiasm of corporate headshots everywhere.
"Family?" Dave said. "I don't have any family in the area."
Marcus fast-forwarded through the broadcast. "According to this, your 'concerned family members' contacted local media when you failed to return home from work. They're asking for public assistance in locating you."
"That's impossible. My family lives in California, and I haven't talked to them in months."
"It's not impossible," Jeremy said grimly. "It's corporate crisis management. They're establishing a narrative that explains your absence without mentioning system breaches or Employee Zero status. You're not a fugitive who discovered their stress harvesting operation—you're a missing employee with concerned relatives."
Dave watched his own face on the news, feeling surreal detachment from the person in the corporate headshot. That Dave had believed his anxiety was normal, his job was meaningful, his stress was just part of adult life. This Dave knew he'd been systematically exploited for energy production.
"How long before they find us here?"
Marcus checked several monitors showing security feeds from around the coffee shop. "The Daily Grind is off the main corporate surveillance grid, but it's not invisible. If they're serious about finding you, they'll check all businesses in the area eventually."
"So what do we do?"
"First, we need to understand exactly what your abilities are," Marcus said. "Employee Zero status is theoretical until we know what you can actually accomplish."
He led them to a corner of the back room where several pieces of equipment sat on a workbench. They looked like modified office furniture—a chair, a keyboard, a small monitor—but with additional electronics and monitoring devices attached.
"Extracted from various corporate offices," Marcus explained. "We use them to test resistance members' stress responses and document how the extraction technology works."
Dave eyed the equipment nervously. "You want me to plug myself back into the stress harvesting system?"
"These are isolated units, not connected to any corporate network. We can monitor your biometric responses without feeding data back to SoulCorp." Marcus gestured to the chair. "But only if you're willing. We've never had someone with Employee Zero potential available for testing."
Dave looked at Jeremy, who shrugged. "Your call. But if we're going to help you stay ahead of Executive Response Teams, we need to know what we're working with."
After a moment's hesitation, Dave sat in the modified chair. It immediately began humming with the familiar frequency he'd grown to hate, and his stress levels started climbing from their relaxed 127/100.
"Interesting," Marcus said, watching data scroll across his monitors. "Your biometric response to the extraction field is significantly different from baseline employees."
"Different how?"
"Normal stress harvesting follows predictable patterns. Gradual anxiety amplification, steady energy extraction, psychological conditioning that makes employees accept and normalize the process." Marcus pointed to Dave's rising stress readings. "But look at your patterns."
Dave's stress levels were climbing rapidly: 145... 160... 175... But instead of the smooth curve Marcus's charts showed for other employees, Dave's readings were erratic, spiking and dropping in ways that seemed almost chaotic.
"Your stress response is actively fighting the conditioning protocols," Jeremy observed. "The system is trying to regulate your anxiety levels, but your biometrics won't stabilize."
At 190/100, the modified equipment started making distressed sounds. Warning lights blinked on Marcus's monitoring system.
"That's enough," Marcus said, shutting down the test apparatus. "Any higher and you'll damage the equipment."
Dave stood up from the chair, immediately feeling relief as his stress levels began dropping. "What does it mean?"
"It means," Marcus said slowly, "that you're naturally resistant to the psychological conditioning that makes stress harvesting possible. Most employees gradually accept their anxiety as normal because the extraction equipment chemically reinforces compliance. But your brain apparently won't accept that conditioning."
"So I'm broken?"
"You're immune," Jeremy corrected. "And if one person can develop immunity to stress harvesting, others probably can too."
Marcus was already pulling up databases on his computer. "We need to identify other potential Employee Zeros before the corporations do. People whose stress patterns show similar resistance markers."
"How do we do that?"
"By accessing corporate biometric databases and looking for anomalous readings. Employees whose stress production has been declining despite intervention protocols, people who've been flagged for additional conditioning..." Marcus's fingers flew across his keyboard. "Jeremy's been helping me infiltrate various corporate networks for months."
"Is that legal?"
Marcus and Jeremy both stared at Dave for a moment before Marcus started laughing—a bitter sound that held no humor.
"Dave, they've been systematically harvesting human suffering for energy production. They've turned anxiety into a commodity and misery into a business model." Marcus gestured to his wall of monitors. "Legal stopped being relevant when the corporations convinced the government that employee wellness monitoring was good for productivity."
Jeremy's tablet chimed with an alert. "Speaking of monitoring, we've got a problem. SoulCorp security just expanded their search perimeter. They're checking businesses within a ten-block radius of the building."
"How long do we have?"
"Hour, maybe two before they get here." Jeremy was already packing his equipment. "We need to move."
Marcus began shutting down his monitoring systems. "There's a safe house about twenty minutes from here. Former Anxiety Analytics employee who figured out what they were doing to her department. She's got a place that's shielded from biometric scanning."
"Shielded how?"
"Faraday cage construction, signal jammers, the works. Corporate surveillance can't penetrate it." Marcus grabbed a laptop and several external drives. "But Dave, you need to understand something. Once we go to the safe house, you're committed to this. There's no going back to your cubicle and pretending this never happened."
Dave thought about his empty productivity report, still sitting unfinished on his corporate workstation. About Karen Blackthorne waiting for him in Conference Room 47-A. About four years of systematically amplified anxiety that had been converted into energy to power executive perks.
"What happens if I don't commit? If I try to go back?"
Marcus's expression was grim. "Best case scenario? They increase your stress conditioning protocols until you're compliant again. Worst case? You become another 'voluntary resignation' statistic."
"And if I do commit?"
"Then we figure out how to use your Employee Zero abilities to help other people escape the stress harvesting system," Jeremy said. "Starting with identifying more people who might have the same resistance you do."
Dave's phone buzzed with another message from the SoulCorp employee portal:
『 URGENT EMPLOYEE ALERT 』D.CHEN - UNAUTHORIZED ABSENCEFAMILY MEMBERS REQUESTING WELLNESS CHECKSECURITY PROTOCOLS ELEVATEDRETURN TO WORKSTATION IMMEDIATELY
FAILURE TO RESPOND WILL RESULT IN EMERGENCY INTERVENTION
"Emergency intervention," Dave read aloud. "That doesn't sound good."
"It's not," Marcus confirmed, gathering the last of his equipment. "Emergency intervention means Executive Response Teams with expanded authority. They'll have access to city-wide surveillance, police cooperation, even medical hold procedures."
"Medical hold?"
"Corporate wellness assessment. They can have you committed for psychological evaluation if they can demonstrate you're suffering from work-related stress disorders." Jeremy's expression was dark. "Convenient way to contain Employee Zeros while they figure out what to do with them."
Dave looked around the coffee shop one last time. Three hours ago, he'd been a normal corporate drone with normal corporate anxiety, worried about nothing more serious than quarterly productivity reports. Now he was apparently a threat to a continent-spanning energy harvesting operation run by corporate dynasties.
"Okay," he said. "Let's go to the safe house."
Marcus smiled—the first genuine expression Dave had seen from him. "Welcome to the resistance, Dave. Such as it is."
They gathered their equipment and headed for the back exit, leaving The Daily Grind through a door that opened onto an alley lined with dumpsters and service vehicles. The corporate towers of the Eastern Anxiety Empire were visible in the distance, their glass facades reflecting the afternoon sun like monuments to systematic human suffering.
"One question," Dave said as they walked toward Marcus's car. "If the stress kingdoms are so powerful, if they control so much of the infrastructure... how do we actually fight them?"
Marcus and Jeremy exchanged a look.
"Honestly?" Marcus said. "We're still figuring that out. But having an Employee Zero changes the equation. For the first time, we might have someone who can actually damage their extraction systems."
"And if we can find more Employee Zeros?"
"Then maybe," Jeremy said, "we can start a revolution."
As they drove away from The Daily Grind, Dave watched SoulCorp Tower shrink in the side mirror. Somewhere in that building, his productivity report was still waiting to be finished, Karen Blackthorne was still expecting him for their meeting, and his workstation was still humming with the frequency designed to extract energy from human misery.
But for the first time in four years, Dave Chen was no longer trapped in that system.
The question was whether he could help anyone else escape before the Executive Response Teams found them all.
『 EXECUTIVE ALERT - PRIORITY MAXIMUM 』EMPLOYEE ZERO CONFIRMED OFFSITERESISTANCE NETWORK INVOLVEMENT SUSPECTEDBLACKTHORNE DYNASTY AUTHORIZATION: LETHAL FORCE APPROVED
SHADOW BOARD DIRECTIVE: CONTAIN OR ELIMINATEALL KINGDOMS ADVISED: MONITOR FOR ADDITIONAL ANOMALIESBURNOUT PROTOCOL: STAGE 2 INITIATED
To be continued...
Author's Note:Dave's testing session revealed something crucial—he's not just experiencing high stress levels, he's actively resistant to the psychological conditioning that keeps most employees compliant! The resistance is small but organized, and now they're racing against corporate security to reach a safe house.
But the stakes just escalated dramatically. The Shadow Board has authorized lethal force, and the Burnout Protocol is moving to Stage 2. What exactly does that mean for Dave and everyone helping him?
Also—Marcus's revelation that Dave was specifically targeted for "accelerated stress conditioning" raises some disturbing questions about how SoulCorp identifies potential high-value stress producers...
Next Chapter: "Safe House"Coming Tomorrow!
Reader Discussion:Do you think Dave's immunity to stress conditioning is a natural evolution, or is there something in his background that made him resistant? And how many other potential Employee Zeros might be out there, waiting to be discovered?