The Pent Umbrage of the Tempy, Part XXXII

You were huddled against the grill of the effluent flux affixed to your office wall. You often were down there, during your working day, taking a "constructive" break from the "work"you were paid for, yet hated, or paid for because you hated it, hated that time.

You were once paid for being someone who couldn't conceivably huddle, and who hated comfort...At least you got a slight premium for being such...You were a hero.

Remember, you had reconstructed yourself as a hero after being thoroughly disabused of heroism.

You were huddled against the grill of the effluent flux affixed to your office wall. Sometimes you took the grill off, though there was nothing to see. You noticed, grill on or grill off, how efficiently, how beautifully, your smoke was evacuated into, the huddle of the completely-wall-embedded ducting system. You never need worry of even a trace of your smoke being detected, by nose or sensor, in your office. It was all gone out--nothing left. The air quality of your office was the ambient air quality of the building as a whole, of the city as a whole.

The laminar flow of the evacuated air in duct--absolutely perfect (to turbulence, no turbulence, no turbulence.) What was more--in your office, no white noise at all. Not from the lamps, not from the draw of your office (stack effect, air flow through ventilation, etc.), not from your floor vibrating into the building vibrations--not from anywhere. Not a single mischievous sound. Someone somewhere in this damned organization knew what they were doing. Otherwise, white noise would abound, as it abounds in every other building in this damned city.