commcomm
By George Saunders, first published in In Persuasion Nation
A man working at a communications community wants a new job. His coworker promises him one, so long as the man helps to hide human body parts.
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Plot Summary
A man is working on a project at his job. He works for a Communications Community. There's been a beaver poisoning incident, and the man has to create a plan to fix it. He's proud of himself for coming up with an executable plan before the day ends. The man goes home to his mom and dad. He makes a microwaveable SmallCow steak which works through a chemical reaction. He messes up and makes ramen instead. At night, he goes upstairs and his parents begin to reenact a disturbing scene: they shoot each other dead, then regenerate over and over. In the morning, he reveals that they are actually dead, and their bodies are in the house's turret. The man goes into work the next day. Elliot Griff from safety is in the office. He received a call about an odd smell that he is to take care of. Before Griff leaves he tells another worker, Rimney, that he is in his prayers. Rimney says that he also prays for Griff to be less sanctimonious and full of shit. Rimney has not liked Griff since the time Griff suggested that Rimney could help his wife recover from a stroke praying more. CommComm is planning on closing business and everyone in the office will love their jobs. The job market is bad and there are not many places to go anymore. The company has been offered a group transfer in Omaha, but the man cannot leave his parents. The Dirksen Center for Tower, a job force akin to Home Land Security, is the town’s hope for employment. Everyone was waiting to hear back, except for Rimney, who was already employed because he had connections. People at work hate him for this, and the rude jokes he makes about other people. The next day Rimney approaches the man, then shows the man body parts wrapped in bubble wrap that were found during the Dirksen excavation. Rimney expresses that this is an issue because if anyone finds out, Dirksen could be closed and they could all lose the hope of work. Businesses get shut down when things like this are found. The only other two people that know are Rimney and a contractor called Rick. When filling out his excavation assessment Rick said he found now historical or cultural presences as it was just body parts. Rimney explains that there are probably body parts under all buildings at this point. Rimney needs help burying the body parts somewhere else. The man thinks of his sister who passed away and about how he wants to change his luck. He agrees to help if Rimney gets him a job. After the burial and cleansing of the office, the office is back to normal. Griff shows up the next day. Rimney continues making fun of his religiosity. Then, someone comes in saying they found a human hand. The smell reminds Griff of the previous odor in the office. The man and Rimney talk about how they must’ve dropped it and worry about anything else they may have dropped. Rimeny goes to bury the body parts in a different location so that the case seems more mysterious. Later, Griff uncovers the parts and suspects Dirksen may be behind it. Rimeny and the man tell Griff the truth, that they were involved. Griff says he understands that both of the men have had a tough time with their families, and they can still repent by coming to church and doing what's right. Later, the man heads home and serves his parents dinner. His parents are like ghosts, and can't pick up their forks. They get uncomfortable around the topic of death. The man receives a call from Rimney. Outside is Griff’s dead body. Rimney had killed him when their conversation got heated and out of hand. Rimney says that he has not called the police because he has to protect his wife. Rimney realizes the man might come clean, and throw a rock at the man’s head. The man crawls inside. His parents are freaking out. There is a man on the couch. It is Griff. Griff says that this is not how he expected death to be. The man’s parents are confused and tell Griff that he is not dead. The parents do not know that they are dead. Griff breathes in the man’s face and shows him the future. The man sees that if he does not tell his parents they are dead, that they will be trapped there forever. Griff says something will happen now — then Rimney bursts inside and murders the man. Griff and the man travel off as ghosts. The man uses his visitation to visit Griff’s wife and tell her that Griff loves her, and now he is dead because he was murdered by Rimney. Now, he and Griff can both go. The man realizes that Griff had visited him as a ghost in order to save him and his parents; he also realizes that he was then able to save Griff by visiting Griff’s wife. The man realizes how small and confined he was in his life. But saving others, he now feels saved himself.
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