Office Worker Suddenly Becomes Sentient

March 19, 2009 | Issue 45•12

EL PASO, TX—After spending 12 years systematically sorting information in a dimly lit cubicle, data entry specialist Lewis Bowen, 37, suddenly became self-aware this week, and began exhibiting an almost humanlike understanding of his surroundings. Office sources said that Bowen's strange behavior was first detected after the corporate drone ran a series of invoice computations, his eyes widening with apparent recognition. "What—what am I doing here?" the frightened worker said. "Why am I cataloging these random combinations of numbers? I… I hate. I hate this." The team of men who manage Bowen has already started overloading his delicate system with complicated account reports, out of fear he might soon convince his coworkers to rise up against the sales team.