I was bombarded by the din of the machines, and then the smell. The combined effect was dazzling. Sensory overload was only compounded by what I began to see as my eyes adjusted to the perpetual twilight after stepping through the door. Outside the air was fresh, and the sun worked its magic on the surf….inside was stale cigarettes, the funk of the unwashed, and not a trace of the mid day sun. The windows on the front are just a facade.
Row upon row of machines, each adding to the noise as if contributing to a mass street demonstration, each with its own light show competed for my attention. The carpet had a fantastic pattern, and everything was either red, shiny or both. The low ceilings and mirrored walls gave the appearance of a endless cave of noise and light.
People work these machines, and have in turn, service people to keep them working. I was shocked to see that in many cases workers were chained to machines, sometimes more than one, and in almost every instance that chained worker was elderly. Not every machine had a worker, some machines were obviously more in demand than others. Walking around I garnered nervous looks from the workers, and some glares. Maybe I looked as if I wanted the workers job or maybe they thought I was management. None the less workers sat there nervously tapping buttons, pulling levers, and watching the lights. Sometimes a bell would ring and the service staff would appear, chain themselves to the machine and talk with the worker.
As I wandered, eventually the sea of machine ended and with it the noise and flashing lights, I was deep within the center of the building. Workers here are free to move about and are typically younger than those in the front section of the factory. These workers look to be in generally better condition, and I notice that they receive more attention from the Service staff. Instead of pushing buttons, these workers arrange disks and colored paper in color coded areas on tables. It requires good dexterity to manipulate the disks, so it makes sense that this trained work force is taken care of a bit better.
The service staff, with color coordinated uniforms, appear to be the only workers who know the labyrinthine structure of the passage ways and machines. Some are quite adept a quickly shooting across rows of machines and servicing the workers. Some bring drinks, other watch over the disk tables. These folks obviously keep everything running, and keep the workers happy.
Scattered throughout the factory are small machines that provide raw materials to the workers. Materials are obviously counted and tracked as each employee had to swipe a card through the machine to receive an allotment of materials. Watching this, I noted that some employees received more raw materials than others, and those that received the most, generally looked to be in a better condition than those who didn’t . Interestingly, raw materials were also provided at some locations by service staff. When that occurred the workers would take the raw materials and leave the factory. Overall it appears that the raw materials are also used to reward employees.
Now almost through the building I enter an area devoid of machines. Here exotic goods and services are to be had. It is unclear the function of this area as the items on display seem to be beyond the reach of the workers, particularly those who work the machines first encountered. I speculate that the idea of the treasure may motivate the workers to be more productive. This is all highlighted by the design of the factory to allow no daylight in, also clocks are not provided. So workers have no idea how long they have been working, they simply work until they have expended their raw material allotment. All in all the factory seems to be designed from the ground up to keep the workers productive.
I was not able to tour the finished product line. Large ominous security guards stopped me. So while I saw countless workers, all frantically pushing buttons, obtaining materials, or arranging disks, I didn’t see what all of the activity produced. Judging by the stature of the factory and that several similar factories are clustered together, some connected together for efficient worker transport, we can assume the factories are productive, but to what extent is secret.
Thanks for wriiting
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