[ EU ] This is the story of a man named Michael . Michael worked for a company in a big building where he was employee number 432 . Employee Number 432 's job was simple : he sat at his desk and sharpened pencils ... .

“ I am sorry to tell you this but your job has been eliminated, ” the drone from Human Resources was blabbing in Michael ’ s ear but the sound of the electric pencil sharpener was drowning it out. 
 
 “ What did you say? ” Michael asked as he blew the left over wood filings off the newly sharpened pencil, placing it neatly in the stack to his left. 
 
 “ Your job is no longer needed, we are eliminated your position, ” stated the Human Resources rep, Michael vaguely remembered that her name might be Pam or something similar sounding to that…Jan he thought that is it. He knew that it was on the birthday cake in the employee lounge only a couple weeks ago. 
 
 “ I ’ m fired? ” questioned Michael, “ But I sharpen the pencils, if I don ’ t do that how will the writers write? ” 
 
 “ We are going mechanical, ” stated Pam/Jan. 
 
 Michael stared in disbelief as another worker, Larry shuffled in from the hallway, he could see the stacks of boxes on Larry ’ s dolly; all marked # 2 mechanical pencils. One of the boxes had a bright yellow sticker on it that stated “ No more sharpening needed! ” in happy red font. 
 
 “ Can I take my sharpener with me? ” asked Michael his hands instinctively moving to sharpen another of the pencils on his right. He was unsure of what to do with his hands as normally they were a flurry of constant movement one sharpening while the other held the next pencil in line ready for the machine to do its work. 
 
 Larry began to unload the boxes of mechanical pencils in the small cramped office that Michael used; you did not need much room for pencil sharpening. Only a desk, a chair, and some storage space for all the pencils. The drab grey walls seemed to be closing in around Michael as his grip on the unsharpened pencil in his hand tightened. 
 
 SNAP 
 
 The pencil broke in half, wood particles falling to the table ’ s surface, Pam/Jan let out a gasp thinking that Michael would use one of the now jagged edges of the broken pencil as a weapon she slowly backed away towards the door, she bumped into Larry which caused the boxes of mechanical pencils that he was stacking to fall to the floor. Pam/Jan shrieked at the shock of bumping into Larry and almost tripped comically on the large amount of mechanical pencils that were now strewn across the floor. 
 
 She hastily made her exit from the small room, proclaiming to Michael that he can keep his sharpener but that he needed to be out of the building in the next half hour. Papers for his severance would be dispatched to his home and he could contact her superiors if he had any further questions. 
 
 Pam/Jan was gone, leaving Michael to stare on the ground at the mechanical pencils. These were the things that had replaced him, “ no longer a need to sharpen, ” he huffed under his breath. 
 
 Larry was also staring at the pencils on the ground, he knew he needed to contact employee 335, Steven to come pick them up. Larry ’ s sole purpose with the company was to make deliveries, pick up material at the loading dock and deliver it to its final destination. He was not authorized to pick things up off the floor; those tasks were in Steven ’ s job description. 
 
 Larry like Pam/Jan made his way to the exit of the room. “ Sorry about your job, ” he stated as he went to leave, “ I prefer the old pencils, ” he added as he stood at the doorway. Larry grabbed his radio and made the call to Steven that he had a pickup job in Office 432. 
 
 Michael stooped over from his chair and grabbed one of the mechanical pencils on the ground. Larry knew that this was a violation of company policy, but he figured since Michael no longer worked for the company that it would not need to be reported. 
 
 Michael ran his fingers over the smooth plastic of the mechanical pencil, playing with it in his hands, feeling the weight of it. He thought to himself that it felt foreign, that plastic had no right to be used as a writing utensil. His thumb circled over the little metal nub on the top and then he depressed it, watching the small 0.5 mm tip of lead come out the other end. 
 
 The lead was so tiny he thought to himself, the company will go mad when this change was made. They will revolt and he will be begged to come back to work, hailed as a savior, the sharpener of their old pencils, the one true pencil that they wanted. 
 
 He pressed the fine tip of lead on the paper in front of him on his desk, at once he felt the smooth motion of the pencil, the dark bold lines streaming from this new device made his heart flutter. His heart sank as he realized that these new pencils would be accepted, that he would not be asked to take his old job back. He pushed down hard and the small tip of lead snapped, splintering off. 
 
 A jolt of happiness shot through him, normally when a pencil broke from one of the writers upstairs it would be sent back to him for sharpening. Without thinking Michael clicked the top of the pencil just as if it was the same job he had done for years, at once the empty tip of the pencil was filled again with another small piece of lead. 
 
 Michael dropped the pencil and began to sob lightly in his hands. Larry had moved on minutes ago. Michael was all alone in the office that was no longer his, crying more and more heavily with each passing moment. 
 
 By the time Steven got there to pick up the mechanical pencils Michael had composed himself. He had his coat on and was collected the few personal items from his workspace. Steven made an idle attempt at consoling Michael, telling him how sorry he was about the loss of his job. 
 
 Michael forced a smile and said, “ Its ok, my wife still has a job, we will be ok. I do not see someone replacing her with a mechanical version any time soon. ” 
 “ What does your wife do? ” asked Steven. 
 
 “ She is a telephone switchboard operator, ” replied Michael, “ people will always need to make calls. ” 
 
 With that Michael gathered the last of his things, his trusty pencil sharpener and left for the last time Office 432.
