Video Game Recruiting (Corporate Marines Book 1) (15 page)

I had been online looking around and talked to people. I had never heard of this.

I knew Tina had suddenly received an offer, but with so many people playing the game, lots of people should have passed the threshold and word would get out that this was an ‘in’ for some people who wanted to get into the Corporation.

But the overall returns were lower than for any other sort of recruiting.

There were no testing scores or any serious stats on how people did, but it looked like they were using the gaming centres to collect data, which was legal as everyone signed off on the waiver before playing. Well, it was useless and a waste of time. After years, only a few dozen had been asked to join the Corporation.

The numbers didn’t work out at all, though, with what I could see.

Theoretically, after playing a dozen games the AIs should have enough data to decide if someone could actually work for the Corporation successfully. I had no clue in what capacity, as that was not covered. There were notes that stated there should be enough data after three games.

There were hundreds of millions of people playing this game regularly. Given how numbers worked there should be at least hundreds and more likely, using other recruiting tools that I had access to, thousands of candidates.

When I crunched the numbers from any other recruiting system I estimated that there should be as few as nineteen hundred and up to a hundred and fifty thousand meeting the requirements. That was some big difference and I had been crazy conservative to get such a low number.

So the system didn’t work. But it was a basic algorithm.

I kept studying late into the night.

The next day, right before lunch, Mr. Smythe called me in to his office.

He stopped what he was working on and looked at me. “So you have had a chance to review the information and raw data that I sent you. What is your take on the gaming centres’ effectiveness? Do you see more effective recruiting methods and better uses for the funding?”

I had reviewed the data and files, but I was pretty sure that there was a lot missing.

I put my thoughts to words, but carefully. “Given the data, sir, I would have expected to see a lot more potential candidates for recruiting by the Corporation. I couldn’t figure out why so few people made the cut. So given what I could see, I would say that the gaming centres as a recruiting and evaluation tool are inefficient and ineffective. It would make more sense to send people out into the streets to knock on doors and use old-style questionnaires.”

I continued. “The centres do actually generate a solid income, though, even though it is not very high, so I would keep them as the recruiting itself is almost a zero cost to the Corporation instead of any of the other methods that are used. It also gives the public a better perception of the Corporation as an entity that provides the entertainment that so many people want, and that entertainment is inexpensive and fun for the public. Billy Banger, the entity that promotes the gaming, is a large positive with his promotion of the Corporation at the same time. Almost a billion watch him now.”

I stopped and wasn’t sure if I had answered the boss’s question. He nodded. “So you do not think the gaming is an effective tool to recruit, though? Yes, it is a big plus for the Corporation on the public relations side. But the hard numbers we are looking for just aren’t there, are they?”

“No, sir, they aren’t.”

“Excellent, Tommy, I appreciate your evaluation and honesty. This will be reflected in your assessment that I have been working on. I’ll let you get back to work, then.”

He went back to his keyboard and that was it. I was dismissed.

I was just walking out when he called me back. “Tommy, please make sure that you delete the files I gave you. Those are restricted and not to leave the floor. Really, I show a great deal of trust in you as those files shouldn’t leave my office or my side.”

I nodded and carried on.

I went back to my desk and sat down. I kept working until Ken went for a break and then I joined him, like I did occasionally.

We went to the rooftop patio for him to grab a quick smoke and me for some fresh air. I asked, “Ken, if the gaming centres get shut down, doesn’t the department lose a lot of its pull and wouldn’t that be bad?”

Ken took a pull on his cigarette. “Not at all, Tim. The Corporation would keep them running because they are almost a break-even proposition. If they get a single successful candidate out of it, bonus. You likely didn’t realize that they test new software and hardware using that system. What faster way to find bugs than to have five hundred people use the system at full capacity?”

I nodded. He finished his smoke and we headed back inside.

I had been working here for two months and had found the following out: Mr. Smythe had no friends; he was constantly socializing with his equals and his peers, working away at his next promotion. He used everyone underneath him to climb the ladder and didn’t really do much work. He just collated. I knew from conversations that he had had in past that he was an isolationist, which was weird. Most senior people in the Corporation were for exploration and pushing the boundaries.

Finally, he had run the files and data by me to see if the hard-working drone under him would catch anything being wrong.

I hadn’t said anything to him about that, yet I knew that the data was short of information. I had a skewed reading somehow. I also knew that he went through a lot of the raw data himself. He seemed to spend most of the day on that data, working with it and rewriting some parts of the code.

He was pulling something. But what could I do? He was a senior manager with a long track record in the Corporation. Should I call someone? Who?

I still had the data on my pad, but I couldn’t take that out of the building or that would be data theft, as I had been ordered to delete it after I was finished.

I had to call my dad. He would know what to do.

I left my pad in Ken’s desk, locked up, as I had told him there was sensitive material on it. I headed back to the dorm but stopped and used a public booth to get ahold of Dad.

I explained everything that had gone on and asked him what I should do.

He wasn’t helpful. “Tim, you work for the Corporation, not Smythe. If you think you have an irregularity, then you need to submit it higher. It happens regularly and he will be checked out. It’s a check system that was put in place a long time ago. If there is little or nothing to it, no harm to anyone. If there is something serious, then it has to be dealt with. It could be a mistake, but Smythe has a rep as a top programmer.”

“Dad, Smythe is a dick! He has everyone else doing the work and takes credit for it! I just don’t know if I dislike him so much or if I’m right.” I stopped as there wasn’t anything else to say.

I could hear Dad sighing. “I understand. I looked him up and Smythe has a bad rep, but he gets the job done and he gets efficiency. I say submit it, and I just happen to have his boss’s contact info, so here you go. Oh, and Tim? No matter what you decide, I think you have done a pretty good job out there. Also, good on you for leaving your pad with the data secured at work. Bringing it out would have been a major violation.”

We said our goodbyes and I carried on.

I got to work the next day, grabbed my pad and submitted everything to higher. I sent the original files I had been given and then the programs I had used to evaluate along with the logic behind my numbers. In my last block I included my suspicions that I thought Mr. Smythe had been working so much and was so close that he may have missed a step in the program, which could explain the low counts. I had even given them a way to overlook whatever he was doing.

I sent that off and then realized that he knew fully what he was doing.

I finished off my last few days, and on my last day at work, after Mr. Smythe had never shown up because he was on a golf course with some other managers and had tickets to a charity ball for the evening, well, I finished off my workday and closed down the computer, wiping it clean of my files.

Ken came over and handed me a bunch of paperwork. It was my assessment. I flipped through it. I had been less than standard but with another year or two of work experience I would be good enough for a starter management position. It was signed MH Smythe.

I just stared at the paperwork. Then I looked at Ken.

“Did he even write this up? Or just copy and paste from an old one?”

Ken grimaced. “I actually wrote your assessment up and handed it in last week. He rewrote it and dropped you as mine was much better than this thing. But his rationale was that you had received your position because of favouritism and Corporation members had to work to earn their recognition.” He shrugged. “Before you ask, I checked via the back door on how you got here. You know, if your dad had put the good word in. He did, but he was looking for a local intern position for you, like everyone else gets. You would have gotten it too. But someone much higher in the company put you forward for this position. Anyway, I need you to sign that you read this crap and then I have to go for a business meeting with an old friend of mine, a nice guy named Steve.”

I nodded, signed, collected my stuff and left in a daze. I handed my card in at the security desk, smiled at them and walked home. Or rather, to the dorm. It didn’t seem that bad now that I was used to it. I packed all my stuff and took a taxi to the station. I hopped on the train and went home to my parents.

Life was bad. I guess I could still get a job with the Corporation and work somewhere as a starter. Hopefully Smythe wouldn’t find out I sent those files up or he would make my life hell.

I got home really late. I had a shower and went to bed and gave up on everything for a bit.

“H
ow accurate is this information? We are looking at two completely different sets of data here. We also have two assessments that show us two different people. Either this intern was partying or was one of the better hard-working individuals that we have. Are there office politics involved in this?”

“Sir, we have this data collected from several different sources. Smythe has had several different complaints lodged against him. That happens because of jealousy and sometimes is real, but we do tend to overlook minor problems if people can get the work done. This data is real and the assistant that submitted this is top-notch.”

“I see a senior manager telling us that this program that we put him in charge of does not work. He has been saying this for years, but quietly. Now we have other data that does seem to indicate a problem. That problem looks like deliberate sabotage. He is also known to be a dedicated isolationist. There appears to be an agenda here. More importantly, the AIs agree with this. At this time, designate security AIs to keep an eye on him and track what he is doing at every level. We are going to find out what the agenda is. As for the intern, he was chosen by the recruiting department under the suggestion of the AI. Keep an eye on him; either way, he may have potential.”

“One other thing. Put surveillance on Smythe. He has done some questionable things recently that are directly in contradiction of corporate policy. Is he being coerced by an outside agency? Pull all data on his personal systems and pads. I want full analysis.”

T
he school year was long and hard. I had just spent almost three months working hard at boring stuff, so it made some of what I was doing easier. It must have made it a lot easier as suddenly the school year was over and I had done well. I mean, I wasn’t top of my class, but I did well and I had even been able to keep working out during the worst of it.

I hadn’t had the time or desire to date, so I went to the last celebration parties with friends. I had graduated. I had a resume sitting there I had worked up but didn’t know where to send it. I had never heard back from the Corporation and Dad had told me once that Smythe was still in the same job. He had just finished a big presentation to the top staff in the company and there were rumours going around everywhere that he was getting promoted or getting fired or something.

I left the resume on my pad and went out to a party with some friends that went on for two days. When I staggered home, I basically died on my bed for a day.

I
n a darkened room where only view screens sat showing fuzzy white moving symbols there was no movement. The screens were only there to provide a central point that the participants could look at. After all in their locations across the Solar system they could see the inside of the room. But no one could see anyone else.

The voice was deep and gave the impression of great age. The leader of the Glentol Corporation sounded like an elemental force. That was also how he acted when he had to. “So we have had Smythe present his findings to us and we have further evaluated what has been provided. Up front it looks good and would make an excellent argument to cut funding to the gaming centres as they are not really viable. But we know differently. Is there an answer?”

“Yes, sir, there is. We have had the AIs scanning everything of Mr. Smythe’s, including his ‘secure’ systems. He has rather large plans in place and is ready to hurt the Corporation to pursue his agenda of putting us onto the isolationist track. We have identified several others that are similar enough to Mr. Smythe to be a problem. The recommendation for dealing with him is in your folder, sir, along with suggestions on the rest of the group.”

The first voice reviewed the files quickly. “I see and I concur. The young intern that identified the problem, what is going on with him?”

“He has just graduated, sir, and is not sure what he wants to do. He has a resume on his pad but he has not submitted it yet. If he does, he will be accepted for an entry-level management position in any of the departments with seniority.”

The first voice considers. “Incorrect. The young man will be loaded directly to mid-level management and loaded to a position within the recruiting department. Surround him with competent staff and dump the gaming situation on him and tell him we expect an increase in effectiveness. Evaluate his effectiveness. Oh, I do remember the assessments. Log on to his system and remotely send us the resume. Smythe’s administrator will work with the young man.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. Well, back to work. We have problems and mistakes to fix.”