[What's the difference between a mechanic and an engineer?]
Kaylen remembered Jumar's first conversation with her.
There was a standard set by Geocorp on the Solar System that defined the thin line between Mechanics and Engineers.
Although thin, this line was immensely hard to breach and was continuously getting infinitely harder as time went on.
The line was simple.
Birth.
It was the term used to describe the creation or discovery of something new.
It sounded pretty easy but after the nearly 5,000 years that humanity's existence there were little to no things that could be discovered. Much has already been explored and the only types of research left to do was ones that required enormous kinds of resources.
Resources which the company controlled.
Becoming a mechanic was easy, but if anyone wanted a shot at being an engineer, they had to be scouted by the company.
With how many Mechanics there were in the overly populated Earth, it was utterly hard to become an engineer.
It was also why Engineers were extremely valuable. With the extremely limited amounts of research that could be done and how little there were that managed to birth something new, even discovering a failure was considered one, there were less than 5 that become engineers per 45, 000 mechanics.
Engineers live in a different dimension entirely.
They were considered as V.I.Ps wherever they go. Even the executives of Geocorp had to be careful around them.
Researchers were people who handled the conceptual and theoretical frameworks. On Earth, the company only let them meddle with the pre-existing concepts to analyze data and draw conclusions and results that benefit the company they work for. The standards were high but they were still a rank below engineers.
This showed the power and influence engineers have over the company
Since the company controlled everything, even specific information was hard to acquire.
Cat videos and Porn were the most common things to be circulated, but valuable information like theses papers and academic journals cost a fortune and could warrant for arrest just for possessing a copy or having read one.
As they said.
"Only company employees are allowed to access knowledge outside what the company gives in the education program."
And that was already a rough translation to the actual response of the company that was:
"You are not allowed to know this. Only the company may know what it wants."
Therefore increasing the gap between engineers and mechanics.
Kaylen grit her teeth and punched Jumar that day.
Jumar was practically spitting on her, asking what was the difference between heaven and Earth.
"I'm sorry. I came from the slums." Jumar apologized. "I just got hired by the company yesterday. I don't know if I said something rude but… I'm sorry."
Kaylen's heart stopped beating that moment.
"Have you any idea, what I did to even try to become an engineer…" Kaylen could only grumble, remembering how many times she had to strip in front of hundreds of old men. "How much I went through, and you just become one… without even knowing what it meant?!"
"I'm not a mind reader, I wouldn't know if you won't tell me." Jumar rolled his eyes. "Its not like I wanted to be one, I just accidentally did when I stole 500 million credits from Geocorp's insurance company without even knowing it was theirs."
"What…?"
"I just want to sit on my house. I don't care if it's in the slums." Jumar grunted. "I want to eat Sheetos and drink Dountain Mew while watching Japanese porn like every 16 year old of this time does! Do you think I like attending those stiff board meetings and directing a team of rough men twice my age to hack into online diaries of 13 year old girls having an existential crisis just because they started having periods?"
"Uhm…"
"I'm not even allowed to watch porn during work! I told them I'm used to hacking with one screen on the left and another on the right while stroking my joystick! Guess what? They don't even listen!"
Kaylen laughed for the first time in 17 years.
She had thought Jumar was some young upstart teenager who got lucky and became an engineer. She could only laugh as she heard him complain like a child his age. He was practically everything reverse of what Kaylen had anticipated.
"What's so funny?" The young Jumar Ordis seethed. "Must I tell you, Miss Aldos, that I am an adolescent undergoing hormonal imbalances. I need porn in order to naturally stabilize my libido levels or some incident may happen without anybody really wanting to."
"Sure, surrre Boss." Kaylen rolled her eyes. "Wait a second… I haven't introduced myself. How the fuck did you… ah shit. A hacker. Fucking creepy stalker…"
Jumar smirked.
"You have a name plate, fucking idiot." Jumar pointed at Kaylen's chest.
"Wha- Who are you calling an idiot, dumbass!" Kaylen frowned.
"Who else, idiot." Jumar rolled his eyes. "I'm supposed to be your boss. Introduce yourself already, I need another fix of my porn."
"Fucking stupid ass cuck…" Kaylen mumbled.
"You said something?" Jumar raised a brow.
"Nothing." Kaylen straightened her posture. "My name is Kaylen Aldos, 3rd class engineer-in-training. I'm supposed to have serve a additional internship program under your wing."
"I'm not even going to understand what that 3rd class means but why do you have an additional internship?" Jumar furrowed his brows. "How many years have you been a stupid fucking intern?"
Kaylen grit her teeth.
"Three fucking years…" Kaylen spoke through clenched teeth. "Three… goddamn… years…"
Jumar was dense, but he was not stupid. He knew something was wrong and he decided to not pry any further.
"Anyway, go do whatever it is you do." Jumar sighed as he waved Kaylen away. "You are dismissed."
"Thank you, sir." Kaylen bowed before heading out of the office and closing the door behind her.
She clenched her fist as she tried to fight back her anger.
'Three. Fucking. Years.' Kaylen thought with rage. 'When am I going to be able to get a fucking promotion to 2nd class?!'
Kaylen thought of her dying mother who needed special attention.
'I need to become an engineer before its too late.' Kaylen thought.
Kaylen decided to appeal once more to 'that' man. She was willing to do whatever it takes to be an engineer. The sooner she becomes one, the better.
'No matter how many times I have to strip my clothes and beg on my knees…' Kaylen grit her teeth. 'No matter how much shit they shove down my throat…'
"For my mother…" Kaylen opened the door to the Engineering Executive Office with her shaking hands.