The FutureVision shop was holding a recruitment meeting in a quiet corner of the factory; Steve was there with his wife Wendy to interview a prospective new member.

 'Good Morning Miss Strothers,' Steve said, 'I would prefer this to be as casual as possible, please call me Steve.'

 'Good morning Steve, and call me Anne,' Anne said, 'I understand that the position is for a casual or part-time assembly. It is not exactly what I was looking for, but my agent insisted that I should apply.'

 'To explain the situation my firm is about to undergo a total rebuild and within a year will be reborn as a major factory,' Steve said, 'When I am convinced that you are interested, I will provide further information.'

 'Why am I being approached in this manner?' Anne asked.

 'I have information that you would be the key member of the new company,' Steve said, 'I propose to initially offer a twenty-hour per week placement for the next six months while you complete your honours program at the University. My company can grant a bursary to assist you during this time.'

  'Some of your information is on the weird side of stalking,' Anne said, 'I didn't include some of that on my resume.'

  'Don't be worried; he is harmless. I am here to make sure that he behaves and doesn't freak you out,' Wendy said, 'For now I suggest that you suspend your disbelief and hear Steve out.'

 'I was looking for full-time employment, and have advised my supervisor that I needed to defer completion,' Anne said, 'Family commitments have required me to seek full-time work.' 

 'Humm, I may guess that these commitments are perhaps your partner being between jobs,' Steve said, 'This is a little offbeat, but perhaps this partner won't be committed in six months.'

  'I had better see some real facts, or I am out of here and trotting over to the cops to lay a complaint,' Anne said.

 'One of the facts is your love of science fiction; if I show you the data to read,' Steve said, 'Here is the dossier on my laptop, please feel free to examine the data and the machine.' 

 Steve passed over the computer and Anne started running the program. As the readout was in code, she spun the face around and asked, 'What is this supposed to mean?' 

'Steve tells me that R<6 refers to the expected length of your current relationship. S6 is the balance of your current studies, and M is the area of study being management. The five stars indicate the need to secure your employment for the company,' Wendy explained, 'Relationship and book choice is the total personal data accessed.'

 'The SF component is the status of the laptop, please access the operating system and view the dates recorded for the copyright and year of manufacture,' Steve said.

 Raising her eyebrow, Anne accessed the systems setting and read the text. This data showed a time and Windows status several years beyond the current date.

 'Handy trick, how did you do that?' Anne asked.

 'I have friends who are living with those dates,' Steve said, 'I can provide further information if the offer is accepted and you have committed to the company. As I envisage that you will be an essential member, I will need to brief you on the technology of our factory.' 

'Fascinating so far, I will give a tentative yes until I learn more,' Anne said, 'On a practical side, what is the proposed salary? I need at least 500 dollars a week to meet my living expenses.'

 'That is below the starting offer, which comes with a bursary covering all expenses for the Uni,' Steve said, 'The actual job description is optional, one is cadet manager if there is such a thing. The rate is thirty-five dollars an hour to start; with a salary negotiated on completion of studies and becoming full time. The actual title is up to you. The task will be coordinating general manager and assistant to the Chairman,' Thumbing himself with this comment.  'For now, I can run this place but will be out  of my depth running a medium-sized company.'

 'What will be my duties up till then?' Anne asked.

 'Cycling through the departments of procurement, assembly and sales, while looking over my shoulder as I handle the managing,' Steve said, 'As the business expands I will need to free myself from day to day tasks to be able to see the big picture.'

 'Sounds a challenge, hypothetically when I assume the Manager position, it is my oyster?' Anne asked.

 'That is the aim, with authority to delegate anyone to help,' Wendy said.

 'While you are considering the offer, would you like a tour of our team?' Steve asked, 'Under the usual process of employment negotiations, I have surrendered all my advantages.'

  'Indeed you have,' Anne said, 'I should see just what I am getting into.' 

 'Follow me this won't take long to tour the factory,' Steve said, 'I intend to make this the best company in this country to work for, having spent my career under a variety of supervisors. Some of those thought managing meant insisting everyone work at maximum  pace and no slacking even if there is nothing to do.'

 'Ah theory X,' Anne said, 'Not a favourite for employees.'

 'I have had a few theory Y who understood that mentoring me gained better results,' Steve said, 'Though I admit that being owner/operator landed me with a harsh taskmaster. With my workers, I try to operate as fairly and closer to the Y.' 

 'Sounds good, so "cherry-picking" would describe the recruitment process?' Anne asked.

 'As are all my employees, I hope that they all meet the predictions and become team leaders,' Steve said, 'Morning  Jenny, please meet Anne who I hope will be joining us.' Steve had stopped and addressed a young woman in a wheelchair. 

 'Hi Anne, I should warn you that "Simon Legree" demands his pound of flesh,' Jenny said with a grin belying the label.

 'Building the Pyramid requires a little persuasion,' Steve said, 'If you weren't my best worker, I might be offended.' 

 Jenny just laughed and returned to concentrating on the assembly of a tiny gadget.

 'That is half of the product we make,' Steve said, 'It is a defence shield which replaces body armour for Police and Military. When we get to the testing bench, I will show you just how effective.' 

 'Intriguing, and the other half?' Anne asked, 'From your brochures, it is a stun gun.'

'A harmless put the target to sleep,' Steve said, 'Though "drop-em-in their-tracks" sells better. Avoid having your target standing on a cliff edge.'

 'Here is that assembly bench,' Steve said, 'The pistol is made out of  Orange plastic weighted to simulate a revolver to assist aim. A palm-size works just as effectively.'

 'Looks innocuous,' Anne said.

 The tour moved through the material in and the dispatch lines where workers packed the pairs of gadgets in suitcase batches.

 'The deliveries are high security and suitably protected people hand deliver to the buyers,' Steve said, 'We will provide training at the same time. Currently, it is only police and security customers.' 

'Here is the demonstration area, we don't have a licence to use firearms, we will use a bow,' Steve said, 'If that doesn't impress my customers, I can visit a pistol range and invite them to use up their ammo. We have lab rats to demonstrate the sleep gun.'

 Entering a shed where a couple of targets were available, Steve said, 'The left one has a shield, and the right doesn't.' 

 Selecting an arrow, Steve hit the right target, then aimed at the left and let fly, with the arrow coming to a soft landing short of the target.

 Turning to Anne with a smile, 'Want to have a go?' Steve asked.

  'Been a while, but I should be able to shoot one,' Anne said, picking up the bow and selecting an arrow; then she duplicated Steve's efforts with the same results. They walked forward to the targets, where Anne picked up and examining the dropped shafts which were identical to the embedded ones.

 'And the same for firearms? You have sold me,' Anne said, 'Where do I sign up?'

 'Nothing too formal, fill in all the relevant data and welcome to the madhouse,' Steve said as he directed her back to his office. 'Here is your joining kit which includes a certificate for a thousand shares, uniform and safety shoes for when you are in the shop. Hours are between six am to six pm, and you can select the twenty weekly hours to suit yourself. Burn your week off in two days or spread it out over five.'

 'I am surprised that there wasn't a lineup a mile long on the way,' Anne said.

 'I once advertised for a counter assistant for my TV repair shop and had thousands apply from as far as Townsville,' Steve said, 'Another reason that I cherry-pick my people.'

 'How would you like to meet another Anne?' Steve asked after a pause.

 'What?' Anne asked puzzled.

 'Wendy, would you like to come?' Steve asked.

 'Always a treat,' Wendy said.

 'Follow me,' Steve said, 'Do you like amusement rides?'

 'As long as they aren’t too long,' Anne said.

 'The sensation is short, you will experience disorientation as you step through this door,' Steve said, 'I will go first.'

 Anne followed Steve into what looked like a lift where Steve operated a keyboard; then another door opened, he stepped through into a more open area. As Anne followed, she first saw a reception desk with a woman busy behind it. This woman looked up, and it was like looking in a mirror for Anne.

 'Hi Steve, blooding the next victim are you?' The new Anne asked, 'How much warning did you give "me"?' 

 'None, part of the throw them in the deep end policy,' Steve said, 'Is Senior in?'

  'I will give him a bell,' Anne 2 said, 'Anne, are you enjoying the madhouse?' 

 'The first day, ink still wet on the paper,' Anne 1 said, 'Many more surprises?' 

 'Enough to keep you busy though, it will part of your job to have the fun sorting them out,' Anne 2 said, 'Some stuff you need to learn at the normal pace but the oldest "me" is still having heaps of fun.' 

'How much can I ask?' Anne 1 asked.

'Everything that doesn't include personal data or it distorts the continuum if you are tempted to change the inevitable,' Anne 2 said, 'I will give thumbs down if it is a best not knowing.' 

 'Bert is on the skids?' Anne 1 asked and received her first thumbs-down, 'Steve was right.'

 'When you come to the point it will be clear, enjoy him while you can,' Anne 2 said, 'Most questions to do with the factory are safe, please don't wander outside or ask too many questions from the workers. While the two Steves have a chat, I can take you for the grand tour and show you the sights.'

'Sounds like fun,' Anne 1 said, and together they made their way through the extensive facilities. By the wear to the floor paint, this was not a new building.

 'If you see someone you recognise someone, please don't say anything past greeting,' Anne 2 said, 'You remember Jenny?'

 'Like it was only half an hour ago,' Anne 1 said, this Jenny was walking around unaided though seemed to have gained some weight.

 'Hi Jenny,' Anne 1 said.

 'Hi Anne,' Jenny said, 'A newbie?'

 'Yes, the first day,' Anne 2 said, receiving a nod and mouth zip motion from Jenny.

 As they walked out of hearing, Anne1 said, 'In a wheelchair last I saw.'

 'New gadget, it will be in your brief before the week is out,' Anne 2 said, showing thumbs horizontal to deter further questions. 

The tour proceeded, while the company had laid out the factory similarly; it was clear that the workforce was larger and extra lines had exotic components.

 After completing the tour and returning to the reception desk. Anne 1 asked, 'If as I am offered, you are the general manager why the secretary desk?'

 'Takes the heat off; everyone who works here knows what I am. So since I dislike being cooped up, my office is open,' Anne 2 said, 'I have a secretary nearby who answers the phone and does the routine typing. She fills my seat when I am out.'

 'I understand the closed-in feeling,' Anne 1 said, 'Visitors would ignore you?'

 'Their loss,' Anne 2 said, 'Steve does the glad-handing, so it doesn't interrupt my day.'

 The small talk ended when the two Steves came out and asked, 'Enjoy your tour? We should return to the grindstone and put our noses back to work.'

With handshakes all around, the visitors returned via the doors to the FutureVision shop.

 'Morning tea time, would you like a cuppa?' Steve asked. 

 They adjourned to the meal room where most of the workers were already busy enjoying their "smoko". 

 'How do you have it, my shout?' Steve asked.

 'Coffee white two sugars please,' Anne said, surprised at a boss offering to make a brew.

 Noting her look, 'If I am busy, feel free to make a tea, a small dash of milk with no sugar,' Steve said, 'Only if you are not busy of course.' 

 Having assembled the three cups, Steve joined the two ladies at a table, 'Any questions?'

 'How constrained am I to follow a path or is it set in stone?' Anne asked, 'If I have to follow a script, it won't be fun.'

 'Or interesting, you have seen the border, and I will hand you critical pieces. Then it will be up to you to assemble the puzzle filling in the details to get the big picture.' Steve said, 'As you may guess we are part of a multi-verse, while the math is daunting, it works damn fine. Each is slightly different; what works for one doesn't quite fit another.' 

 'Just understanding today will take a while to assimilate,' Anne said, 'It is more like Uni than High School, dish out some facts and it is up to the student to research, assimilate then come up with a new slant to advance knowledge.'

 'Exactly, too much spoon-feeding affects the result,' Steve said, 'I can give you a story written by one of me to frame the background and allow you to resolve your part. It is called Apprentice Lost in Parallel and is close to the process I went through to end up here. I was lost, turned up at a place similar to the factory we just visited, was schooled in the game then returned to my normal life and eventually started this shop.' 

 'Clear as mud,' Anne said sceptically.

 'He can get worse,' Wendy said, receiving a grin for her comment.

 'Start when you are ready, I will be recruiting five new people a month for the next year. To provide training and employment for the newbies, I will expand the shop, first with an evening shift with some of the existing teams reforming to bring the new members up to speed,' Steve said, 'Some have indicated that weekend shifts would meet their lifestyles and pay packets. I enjoyed having weekdays off to do my shopping, not crowded or hurried. The extra loading of weekend and evening shifts helps the budget.'

Moving the laptop around so that Anne could view, Steve said, 'Here is an unsolicited CV with identifying data removed, I asked him in for an interview after verifying the references and finding that it seemed contrary to a caveat from Senior. The letter was excellent, and when I met him, and he made a good impression. In the end, I forwarded this to another firm who were delighted to employ him.'

 Anne looked a little closer and turned a bit red, 'This is familiar, it wouldn't be Bert Hart?' Anne asked, 'I typed one up for him and this looks pretty close.'

 It was Steve's turn to be pink as he retrieved the laptop and selected a file, 'Oops, sorry, glad I didn't say anything derogative. I hadn't connected the two, and he has left that job?'

 'Didn't say much past "bored with it",' Anne said.

 'This is the data from Senior, E<12m means he is a wanderer,' Steve said, 'Learns the job then moves to another job. He will go far; academics would classify him as a successful manager. Managers who become irritated with his ethics, praise him in their references as part of the process to lose him.' 

 'That is a bit harsh he is a nice man,' Anne said, 'Has itchy feet though.'

 Wendy and Steve looked a bit puzzled, Anne said, 'Networks with bosses and shoves own work onto subordinates, then he claims credit for the work.' 

 'Here is the batch coming in next week, I will have you sit in on a couple of the interviews and with the data in view perhaps you can match the code with reality,' Steve said, 'Yes they are "cherry-picked" and you can see how it works.' 

 'Sounds like it takes the skill out of selection,' Anne said.

 'It is more of a case of forming the list of who we need, then convincing them that this is the best job for them,' Steve said, 'I hand them a do and don't list which is have fun but don't upset anyone. This process is easier because being "cherry-picked" for compatibility is one point ticked, and there should be little friction. Of course, some tension is necessary to avoid stagnation and boredom. Therefore we introduce competition to keep them on their toes.'

 'The share deal, what is the go?' Anne asked, 'Seems to be a reward for nothing.'

 'Part of the incentive program, cruising hurts because you are a part-owner. When we build the new factory, it will contain a gymnasium and child creche to make it as family-friendly as possible,' Steve said, 'Working hours are flexible to allow home duties to be worked out to make life easier. Of course, I field a lot of criticism for wasting money on frivolity. In the long run, it works damn fine. Some very successful companies go much further. While some managers act as if it comes out of their pocket.' 

 'The shares allotted for employees are they tied to value or do they float,' Anne asked, 'I heard that a "dot com" firm had an investor whose share was ten per cent. Then on advice from the directors, he swapped for a hundred thousand shares then the next week the company restructured the shares and issued a billion shares and went public. Thus rendering his parcel peanuts, he sued successfully.'

'The awarded share parcel is nominated in the company statutes as point zero zero zero five per cent. If the face value is reissued by a nine for one, the shares you hold is reset to ten thousand shares per parcel to retain the same value,' Steven said, 'Yes I had heard of that story, and I have no intention of making lawyers rich by shorting shareholders.'

 'I will read the worker's agreement and give a review if you wish,' Anne said, 'I will see you tomorrow so goodbye for now.' 

 'Goodbye Anne, you should have no trouble sleeping after reading the data I loaded you with,' Steve said.

  'I tried it a couple of times but haven't got past the first pages,' Wendy said, 'But as the rules don't apply to me, I have no incentive.'

 'I have several incentives, and over the years, I have learnt to stay awake reading the most boring tracts,' Anne said, 'I will take my kit home and see you early tomorrow. Goodbye for now.'

 Steve and Wendy wished her well as they saw her to her car. 'See you at seven.'

 Arriving the next morning, Anne joined the small crowd waiting at the door to enter. The group shared greetings as they walked in and most spread out to their duties. Anne made her way to the brew room where she found Steve making his cuppa, 'Grab a brew, and we will get you started,' Steve said, 'Any questions while we wake up?'

 'Heaps, all the rules seem to boil down to have a good time, and the company will look after you,' Anne said.

'Basically yes, as the crew is "cherry-picked" there should be no conflicts. When they walk through the door they are warned no abuse of any sort is acceptable,' Steve said, 'Once I added a cricket protector to one kit of a potential stirrer to underline the point with the comment that it would be needed if he tries something silly with one of the girls. He got the point, and there have been no dramas.'  

 Anne looked at Steve, not sure that he was joking. 'For real?' She asked.

 'Yep, he took it as a great joke,' Steve said with a grin, 'Seriously, I want to maintain a friendly environment. Forgive me if I sound obliquely sexist, I find that women in control of their destiny a delight to be around. And some of the best workers I have ever supervised.' 

'Necessary if he doesn't like moving to the doghouse, Roscoe would be annoyed,' Wendy said.

'I noticed that the opening hours are rather long,' Anne said.

'Variable to allow maximum flexibility, employees can set their hours as long as they can talk at least two others to join them. The Company can tack extra leave onto annual or taken as long weekends, again by negotiating,' Steve said, 'the only caveat is that as the owner, I can't take advantage as yet, but as soon as you come up to scratch in the new factory I am catching up on holidays.'

'What is happening with the new site? I spotted the blurb,' Anne asked.

'We have turned the first sod, the next step is to start building up the workforce to operate it,' Steve said, 'From next month I am adding an afternoon shift with promotions and training to fill the gaps. As the Chinese say, "interesting times" the target is to reach fifty ready to move into the new premises and ramp-up to a hundred soon after.'

'Certainly jumping into the deep end, should be interesting,' Anne said, 'How flexible is this going to get, we may need a heavy managing effort?'

 'As I have read Parkinson's laws I am aware of some things to avoid and would like to keep it simple as possible,' Steve said, 'Excess office staff only ends up paper-pushing as an end in itself. He records that one man will put effort into justifying a helper to gain promotion. The new assistant does the same, ad nauseam; this ends with a bloated staff achieving the same output. Under my rules, a manager can be paid more if he does the work without assistance.'