THE BUILDING DISAGREED

The Building Disagreed

The building sustained catastrophic structural damage in 2006.

Several departments were permanently affected.

Certain communication systems were never fully restored.

Management was advised that normal operations would not resume.

The building disagreed.

One of the recurring challenges in medicine is that specialists like to divide the human into departments.

The problem is that the human frequently refuses to cooperate.

A physician will occasionally inform me that a particular symptom cannot possibly be related because the original injury occurred downstream.

At which point I am forced to remind everyone that the communication system is not a one-way street.

It is, in fact, a closed circuit.

The brain talks to the body.

The body talks to the brain.

Everybody is constantly sending messages.

Some of those messages are useful.

Some are complaints.

Department 502 specializes in complaints.

The original communication network was significantly damaged in 2006.

Certain routes remain unavailable.

Others appear to have been rerouted through channels nobody fully understands.

The fact that any messages arrive at all is considered a triumph of improvisation.

Doctors often seem surprised when I insist that everything is connected.

I find this surprising because they are literally looking at a connected system.

If one end of the telephone line is damaged, the other end generally notices.

The corporation has spent nearly twenty years adapting to damaged infrastructure.

Some messages arrive late.

Some messages arrive distorted.

Some messages never arrive at all.

Others arrive at three o’clock in the morning marked URGENT.

The source of the message is not always clear.

The message itself is usually quite clear.

The building would like attention immediately.

One of the ongoing mysteries inside the corporation is how much can be accomplished with almost no infrastructure.

According to several experts, the answer should be “not much.”

The building continues to disagree.

The company would like to note that current operations are being conducted with approximately two functioning motor signals.

This is considered suboptimal.

Nevertheless, the facility remains operational.

The doors still open.

The lights still come on.

The Research Department still conducts investigations.

Administration still holds meetings.

Department 502 still files grievances.

The Heart Department continues ignoring recommendations.

The Vision Department periodically pulls the fire alarm.

The Bladder Department remains difficult to contact.

Maintenance continues rerouting communications through unauthorized channels.

Nobody fully understands how any of this works.

Least of all Management.

The building was catastrophically damaged in 2006.

The fact that it remains operational continues to surprise everyone.

Including the building.