The fears and hopes of Joop
Joop Uittenbroek couldn't believe it. His employer, Shell, was being taken over by Wu Energy. Sure Shell had a few lean years but Wu had not even existed 5 years ago. How could this have happened? Joop was very concerned. His world had been turned upside down when he first heard the news. Here he was, with a job in a company that often offered lifetime employment and even promoted dead people, and now he was going to be working for some young Chinese startup. What's worse Wu didn't even have offices. It operated as a virtual workplace. It was unbelievable. What was he to do?
Joop left right at 5, like always. He walked home. He needed time to think. His friends kept emailing him to see if he had heard the news. He read the emails on his 3G phone. Rumours were numerous. Some were bad. Some people suspected Wu just wanted Shell's oil reserves, and would fire everyone as soon as they took over. Other rumours though didn't sound so horrible. Some people had heard a rumour everyone would be able to work from home, and that Wu was even going to buy new WiMax cards for everyone so they could work more effectively.
Joop thought it over. He had always been a little suspicious of change. He kept buying CDs and DVDs even when everyone else was just downloading them. It was only when the stores stopped selling them that Joop started using the Internet for his entertainment. Now he kind of liked it.
As Joop walked past the Febo his mobile phone lit up. 2 for 1 on Kroketten! What a deal! Nothing could make Joop happier than a good Kroket deal. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.
Read more about the Virtual Society in 2011