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Clarkesworld Magazine

The Job Interview by Carrie Vaughn (audio)

·44 min·4 clips
A labor strike erupts as a mysterious gunship targets Roth Station, forcing Lyle into emergency mode.
The episode is a narrated science fiction story from Clarkesworld Magazine, written by Carrie Vaughn and read by host Kate Baker. It follows Lyle Rinzelli, the NAVCOM Supervisor on Roth Station, a mining hub. Lyle encounters persistent issues, including a glitching topside comms array and bureaucratic memos she hasn't received. She discovers her job title has been secretly changed to 'sub-supervisor' without her knowledge. Assistant Chief Supervisor Dirk and Station Supervisor Ellen Morgenstern implement new rules that hinder workflow, such as routing all work orders through their office. Lyle's attempts to fix the comms array are stalled by red tape. Simultaneously, a labor strike erupts on the planet Alice-3, and a gunship named Visigoth approaches the station. Lyle receives double urgent code red alerts about both crises. She contacts the Trade Guild and learns the gunship is conducting a surprise labor audit, with inside help sabotaging the station's comms. Lyle resigns in frustration but continues to assist the station crew. When the audit team docks, soldier Graff approaches Lyle and offers her a quartermaster job on the Visigoth, impressed by her competence. The story explores themes of bureaucracy, competence, and career change in a corporate space setting. It blends workplace drama with sci-fi action, culminating in Lyle's potential escape from a toxic work environment. The narrative is told from Lyle's perspective, emphasizing her internal struggles and practical problem-solving. The episode concludes with Lyle considering the new opportunity, leaving her future open-ended.

As heard by us

A Roth Station story turns workplace strain into crisp, restrained sci-fi.

This episode follows a Roth Station sub-supervisor through a day of keeping shipments moving while the topside comms array acts up, memos stack higher, and a resignation memo sits buried in a data cache instead of going anywhere useful.

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Why you'd press play

You want a job interview on Roth Station with a comms failure humming underneath the paperwork and memos.

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