『 SHADOW BOARD DIRECTIVE - PRIORITY ALPHA 』ULTIMATE FORCE AUTHORIZATION: CONFIRMEDDEPLOYMENT TIMELINE: IMMEDIATEACCEPTABLE CASUALTIES: UNLIMITEDCORPORATE SURVIVAL: ANY MEANS NECESSARY
The seven figures approaching through the darkness moved with the same kind of electromagnetic distortion that Dave was generating, their stress signatures creating visible ripples in the air around them. But unlike Dave's chaotic energy cascade, theirs was focused, controlled, and coordinated in ways that suggested extensive training.
"Employee Zeros," Karen breathed, her corporate composure finally cracking. "But that's impossible. Our monitoring systems would have detected that many anomalous stress patterns."
"Your monitoring systems," said a voice from the approaching group, "have been feeding you exactly what we wanted you to see."
The speaker emerged from the shadows—a woman in her thirties with the kind of calm confidence that suggested she'd spent considerable time planning for this exact moment. Dave recognized her as someone he'd seen in SoulCorp's elevators, but her stress signature now revealed her true nature: Employee Zero status at levels that made Dave's cascade look like a beginner's mistake.
"Dr. Sarah Mitchell," Karen said, recognition dawning in her voice. "Former Anxiety Analytics wellness coordinator. You're supposed to be running a coffee shop."
"I am running a coffee shop," Sarah replied, stopping just outside the substation's electromagnetic field. "I'm also running a network of Employee Zeros who've been systematically infiltrating corporate stress harvesting operations for the past two years."
Dave felt his connection to the tower fluctuate as he processed this revelation. The resistance wasn't just a support group for corporate refugees—it was an organized infiltration operation led by people whose stress levels could damage the extraction infrastructure.
"Two years?" Dave asked, his voice carrying the harmonic distortion of someone interfacing directly with electromagnetic systems.
"We've been identifying and training Employee Zero candidates since the Great Efficiency Revolution began," Sarah explained. "Corporate databases made it easy to find employees with anomalous stress patterns. We just had to reach them before the corporations eliminated them."
Through his enhanced perception, Dave could see the truth in her words. The other six figures surrounding the substation were all radiating Employee Zero signatures, but theirs were stable, controlled, and operating at frequencies that suggested they'd learned to weaponize their stress responses.
"The coffee shop network," Dave realized. "You've been building a resistance army."
"We've been building a liberation force," Sarah corrected. "And tonight, we end the stress kingdoms' exploitation of human anxiety."
Karen's smartphone buzzed with what sounded like an emergency alert. She glanced at it, and her already pale face went completely white.
"The Shadow Board just authorized Ultimate Force," she announced. "All Employee Zeros in the operational area are to be terminated immediately through any means necessary."
"What exactly is Ultimate Force?" Dave asked, though his enhanced perception was already detecting changes in the electromagnetic environment around them.
"Total stress amplification across the entire continental grid," Karen replied. "They're going to flood every electronic device, every networked appliance, every piece of infrastructure with artificial anxiety signals calibrated to cause permanent psychological damage."
Sarah's expression didn't change. "We know. We've been preparing for this contingency."
"Preparing how?"
Instead of answering, Sarah gestured to her team. The other six Employee Zeros spread out around the substation, each one taking position near different pieces of infrastructure. As they moved, Dave could see their stress signatures synchronizing, creating a coordination pattern that suggested they'd practiced this specific scenario.
"Dave," Sarah called out, "we need you to maintain your connection to the primary distribution tower. Can you hold that resonance for another ten minutes?"
"I think so," Dave replied, though he wasn't entirely sure. His stress levels had moved beyond conscious control, entering a state where his nervous system was operating more like a piece of electromagnetic equipment than a biological function.
"Good. Because we're about to reverse the flow."
"Reverse what flow?"
"Instead of harvesting stress energy from employees, we're going to push Employee Zero-level anxiety directly into every corporate facility connected to the grid."
Dave's enhanced perception allowed him to understand the implications immediately. The same network that extracted anxiety from workers could be used to deliver it. Eight Employee Zeros operating in coordination could flood the corporate stress harvesting system with levels of electromagnetic interference that would destroy the extraction equipment from the inside.
"That's brilliant," Dave said, feeling his stress levels spike with excitement.
"That's also completely insane," Karen added. "The feedback effects could destabilize the entire continental power grid. You're talking about an electromagnetic pulse that affects everything from smartphones to hospital equipment."
"We're talking about liberation," Sarah replied calmly. "The corporate stress kingdoms have turned human anxiety into a commodity. Time to give them a taste of their own medicine."
Dave's smartphone—the one still connected to SoulCorp's employee portal—began buzzing with increasingly frantic alerts:
『 ULTIMATE FORCE DEPLOYMENT - 3 MINUTES 』ALL EMPLOYEES REPORT TO DESIGNATED SAFE AREASMASS STRESS AMPLIFICATION IMMINENTTHOSE UNABLE TO COMPLY WILL BE SEDATED
WARNING: PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONING WILL BE PERMANENTWARNING: EMPLOYEE ZERO RESISTANCE WILL BE ELIMINATEDWARNING: SURVIVAL NOT GUARANTEED
"Three minutes," Dave announced. "How long do you need?"
"Two minutes to synchronize our frequencies with the grid," Sarah replied. "Then thirty seconds to push enough Employee Zero energy through the network to fry every extraction node from here to the Pacific."
Karen was typing rapidly on her own device. "I can delay the Ultimate Force deployment, give you more time to evacuate civilian areas before the electromagnetic pulse hits."
"Why would you help us?"
Karen's predatory smile returned. "Because if you're successful, the Blackthorne dynasty survives the collapse of the stress kingdoms. If you fail, Ultimate Force eliminates Employee Zero potential permanently, and we go back to systematic anxiety harvesting." She paused. "At least your approach gives us the option of voluntary cooperation."
Dave felt his stress levels fluctuate as he realized the complexity of corporate politics even in the middle of what was essentially a war for the future of human consciousness. Karen wasn't helping them out of altruism—she was hedging her family's bets.
"Deal," Sarah said. "But understand that if we succeed, the corporate dynasties don't get to continue business as usual. The stress harvesting era ends tonight."
Karen nodded grimly and began typing commands that would hopefully delay the Ultimate Force deployment long enough for the Employee Zero team to complete their reverse-flow operation.
Dave felt the other six Employee Zeros synchronizing their stress frequencies with his own. Through his connection to the primary distribution tower, he could sense their biometric signatures aligning with the continental grid's resonance patterns. It was like feeling seven other heartbeats matching his own rhythm, creating a collective pulse that grew stronger with each synchronized beat.
"Frequency lock achieved," announced one of the other Employee Zeros—a man Dave recognized from the SoulCorp accounting department. "We're reading grid access across all five stress kingdoms."
"Confirmed," Sarah replied. "Dave, we're about to channel our collective stress response through your connection to the distribution tower. Are you ready?"
Dave's enhanced perception showed him what was about to happen. Eight Employee Zero-level stress signatures pushing through the stress energy network simultaneously, creating a feedback cascade that would overload every piece of extraction equipment connected to the continental grid. It would be like taking four years of accumulated anxiety and forcing it back through the system that had harvested it.
"Ready," Dave said, though his nervous system was already approaching the limits of what human consciousness could handle.
"Ultimate Force deployment delayed by six minutes," Karen announced, still typing rapidly. "But the Shadow Board is getting suspicious. They're sending armed response teams to this location."
Through the electromagnetic chaos around the substation, Dave could hear the distant sound of military vehicles approaching. Not corporate security this time—actual military hardware, the kind deployed when corporate interests aligned with national security concerns.
"Military?" Dave asked.
"Stress kingdoms provide forty percent of the continental power grid," Sarah explained. "Governments have a vested interest in maintaining the extraction infrastructure, even if they don't officially acknowledge what it really does."
The first of the other Employee Zeros began pushing her stress signature through the network. Dave felt it like a surge of electricity flowing through his connection to the tower, amplifying his own biometric output and creating resonance patterns that immediately began affecting corporate facilities hundreds of miles away.
"PanicTech Solutions reporting system failures," Karen announced, reading from her device. "Deadline Dynamics has lost power to three major facilities. Anxiety Analytics is implementing emergency disconnection protocols."
"Keep pushing," Sarah ordered. "We need all five kingdoms offline before Ultimate Force deploys."
The second and third Employee Zeros added their signatures to the cascade. Dave's stress levels spiked beyond any measurement as he became a conduit for collective anxiety that had been systematically harvested, concentrated, and weaponized. Through his enhanced perception, he could see corporate facilities going dark across the continent as their extraction equipment overloaded and failed.
But he could also see something else. The electromagnetic pulse they were generating wasn't just affecting corporate infrastructure—it was reaching every electronic device connected to the stress energy grid. Smartphones, tablets, smart home devices, anything that had been designed to monitor biometric data for anxiety harvesting.
"Sarah," Dave said, his voice distorting with harmonic interference, "we're affecting civilian electronics too. People's phones, their cars, their medical devices..."
"Temporary disruption," Sarah replied. "Better than permanent psychological conditioning."
The fourth and fifth Employee Zeros joined the cascade. Dave felt his consciousness fragmenting under the strain of channeling so much collective stress energy. He was no longer just Dave Chen, anxious data analyst—he was becoming a living manifestation of every anxiety attack, every stress-induced breakdown, every moment of panic that the corporate system had harvested over the past three years.
"Burnout & Associates is completely offline," Karen reported. "SoulCorp Industries has switched to backup power, but their extraction systems are failing across all floors."
The military vehicles were getting closer. Dave could sense their approach through the electromagnetic distortions his enhanced perception created. Tank-like vehicles, attack helicopters, and what felt like enough firepower to level several city blocks.
"Two more minutes until Ultimate Force deployment," Karen announced, her voice tight with concern. "Military assets are thirty seconds out. You need to finish this now."
The sixth Employee Zero added her signature to the cascade, and Dave felt something fundamental shift in the continental power grid. The stress energy network wasn't just failing—it was inverting, pushing accumulated anxiety back into every corporate facility that had been designed to harvest it.
"Dave," Sarah called out, "one more push. Channel everything you've got through the tower. We're going to overload the entire Global Misery Exchange."
Dave pressed his hands harder against the tower base, feeling metal that had become hot enough to burn skin. His stress levels moved beyond any scale of measurement as he opened himself completely to the collective anxiety of eight Employee Zeros operating in perfect synchronization.
Through his fragmenting consciousness, he could see the cascading failure spreading beyond North America. The resonance was propagating through international stress energy networks, affecting the European Melancholy Markets, the Asian Despair Protocols, even the Australian Anxiety Archipelago.
For the first time since corporate emotional harvesting had begun, the global system was experiencing a coordinated failure.
"All stress kingdoms reporting total grid collapse," Karen announced, her voice filled with something that might have been admiration. "Dave, you just destroyed the entire industry."
But Dave was beyond hearing her words. At his current stress levels, he had become something between human and electromagnetic phenomenon, his consciousness distributed across the entire continental grid as it systematically dismantled itself.
The seventh Employee Zero joined the cascade, and reality around the substation began to distort visibly. The air shimmered like heat mirages, electronic equipment dissolved into sparks and smoke, and the tower beneath Dave's hands began resonating at frequencies that made the ground itself vibrate.
"Ultimate Force deployment in sixty seconds," Karen warned. "Military assets have visual on the facility. They're preparing to fire."
"Sarah," Dave called out, his voice now completely harmonized with the tower's resonance, "I can't hold this much longer. My nervous system is..."
"I know," Sarah replied. "One more push, Dave. Channel everything into the grid. End this."
Dave felt the final Employee Zero join the cascade, and his consciousness exploded across the electromagnetic spectrum. He was no longer contained within his own nervous system—he had become the stress energy network itself, a living manifestation of collective anxiety that was systematically destroying the infrastructure designed to harvest it.
Through his distributed perception, he could see corporate facilities going dark across multiple continents. Stress kingdoms collapsing as their extraction equipment failed beyond repair. Millions of employees suddenly experiencing relief as the artificial anxiety amplification that had controlled their lives for years simply stopped.
But he could also see the military response converging on their location. Attack helicopters with missiles designed to eliminate terrorist threats to critical infrastructure. Tank units with orders to neutralize Employee Zero targets through any means necessary.
And somewhere in the distance, the Ultimate Force deployment was preparing to activate. Mass psychological conditioning that would eliminate Employee Zero potential permanently by driving the entire population into artificial panic disorders.
"Dave," Sarah's voice seemed to come from very far away, "you need to disconnect from the tower. Now."
But Dave realized something that made his fragmenting consciousness coalesce around a terrible certainty. At his current stress levels, disconnecting from the grid would probably kill him. The electromagnetic feedback effects had become too intense for his nervous system to survive the transition back to normal human consciousness.
He had become Employee Zero in the most literal sense—the first and last of his kind, transformed into something that existed at the intersection of human anxiety and corporate infrastructure.
"I can't disconnect," Dave said, his voice carrying across multiple electromagnetic frequencies simultaneously. "But I can finish what we started."
Through his connection to the global stress energy network, Dave could sense the Ultimate Force deployment preparing to activate. Corporate psychological conditioning systems powering up to flood the population with artificial anxiety. Emergency protocols designed to eliminate Employee Zero resistance permanently.
But those same systems were connected to the grid he was currently overloading.
"Dave, no," Sarah warned, understanding what he was planning. "If you push your stress levels any higher, the feedback could kill you."
"Better than letting them succeed," Dave replied, already channeling every remaining fragment of his consciousness into one final surge of Employee Zero energy.
His stress levels moved beyond any theoretical maximum as he became pure anxiety, undiluted and weaponized. Through the global network, he could feel Ultimate Force systems overloading before they could deploy, corporate conditioning equipment burning out across multiple continents, and the entire infrastructure of emotional harvesting collapsing under the weight of its own accumulated exploitation.
The military vehicles opened fire just as Dave's consciousness fragmented completely, scattering across the electromagnetic spectrum like digital shrapnel.
And in that moment, the global stress harvesting system died.
But so, apparently, did Dave Chen.
『 GLOBAL NETWORK STATUS 』TOTAL SYSTEM FAILUREALL STRESS KINGDOMS: OFFLINEEMPLOYEE ZERO CASCADE: COMPLETEULTIMATE FORCE DEPLOYMENT: FAILED
CORPORATE ANXIETY HARVESTING: TERMINATEDEMOTIONAL ENERGY EXTRACTION: IMPOSSIBLEPSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONING: INOPERATIVE
HUMANITY STATUS: LIBERATED
To be continued...
Author's Note:Dave just sacrificed himself to destroy the entire global stress harvesting system! Eight Employee Zeros working in coordination managed to overload not just the North American stress kingdoms, but the entire worldwide network of emotional energy extraction.
But the cost was enormous. Dave's consciousness has apparently been scattered across the electromagnetic spectrum, and we still don't know what happened to the other Employee Zeros or whether the military response was successful in eliminating them.
With the corporate stress harvesting system completely destroyed, what happens to a world that's been dependent on anxiety-powered infrastructure for three years? And is Dave really gone, or has he become something else entirely?
Next Chapter: "Liberation Day"Coming Tomorrow!
Reader Discussion:Was Dave's sacrifice worth it? And what do you think happens to society when millions of people suddenly realize they've been systematically exploited for emotional energy? Also—is there any chance Dave survived as some kind of electromagnetic consciousness?