A software professional in the cyber district reached his desk at precisely nine o’clock on Monday morning, an event so without precedent that his employer has launched a formal internal review to establish how it occurred.
“We are not accusing him of anything,” a manager clarified. “But a punctual arrival, in this city, is an anomaly that demands explanation. Did he leave at an unreasonable hour? Did he take a route unknown to the rest of us? We owe it to the team to understand.”
Punctuality as suspicion
The institution notes that timely arrival, far from being celebrated, is regarded in the city’s working culture as faintly improbable — a feat so rarely achieved that those who manage it are met less with congratulation than with cautious inquiry.
“In this city, to be on time is to have a story we all need to hear.”— Survival Academy, Module 7
The employee, for his part, declined to reveal his method, citing a wish to “preserve some mystery.” He has since reverted to arriving at a more customary hour, to the visible relief of his colleagues.
Filed under Mobility · Office of Civic Memory
