The Factory Drones - Friday 09/09/11

During a lull in this period of wind and rain, we sowed some wheat. As John Seymour says "Sow wheat in mud, Barley in dust".
Later in the day I received a telephone call from the manager of the local leisure centre. We have an ongoing discussion "photographic records". They wish to photograph Frances and hold it 'on the system'. Frances was registered with them on the condition that this would not be required and the deal was done. Now they wish to change the terms.
In the evening, I went to the Lammas sub committee meeting of Tir-Y-Gafel residents. I went as it was still a Lammas meeting and I am a shareholder. As a shareholder, I wish to witness and oversee the company's progress.
AGAIN, the agenda was infiltrated by Lammas business i.e loans.
Ayres, shortly after my arrival, sought clarification that my presence was authorised and accepted by the group. This upset me only when it came to light that this loan proposal included a condition that, upon default, the company would stand to lose a portion of the woodland. That would reduce my share... I, to my mind, therefore had every right to attend. As it transpired the loan was temporarily rejected in order to seek one based on more acceptable terms. A short grumble about volunteers voting at meetings followed. Melissa verbalised her indignation that a temporary resident could have a say and influence "her life". "Her life" is rather inaccurate of her to say. The knock on could very well be that, but it is more like your employer reducing your lunch break on a vote helped by that of an intern. Sure it may affect your 'life' at work but not your private life. The company cannot and should not hold that power.
What I imagine I see is a scenario as I shall describe;

There is a factory. The factory consists of drones. One day, the drones say "we don't want to work 24/7, we want one of those 'private life' things. So at company meetings the drones discuss (at length) how they will create and action the 'separate private life'. They resolve to, and are permitted to, meet in the staff room before walking out of the door to the big wide world. This way, they can prepare themselves. They believe. But some of the drones are confused. They think the staff room is the outside world and part of this 'private' life thing. When a director walks in to watch the drones and oversee their progress, they get upset. So programmed are the drones, that for the most part, they continue discussing 'work'. Their meeting is hijacked by the news of the company's fiscal flow report. The drones' circuit boards too easily flicking out of 'private' mode, seemingly without the drones' awareness it has happened.
The director is concerned. He supported the idea in order to gain a happy, rested, contented and productive workforce, but the drones appear incapable of handling more than one role, and nearly resolve to jeopardise the assests of his and their company (let's assume the factory is a co-operative kinda thing).
The director is, to a large degree, also a drone. Yet he possesses the cognitive power to walk out of the factory door and is able to identify what issues pertain to what and which of his roles.
He is an outside drone. A hybrid. Potentially the most qualified to assist, yet deemed incredible and often shunned for not being a full, real drone. His position and potential is seldom, if not ever, recognised and his role is often mistaken.
So the director waits quietly. He continues to attend the staff room meetings in the hope the drones show signs of learning, of evolving and to assist when he is called upon to do so.

Are you a drone dreaming of 'freedom'? Are you a 'Director'?
Or are you human?