Connected

This is the high end. This is where everyone wants to be - “up there.” The Connected are either educated, bright, capable and driven, or famous and driven. In some cases, they are both. Most people get Connected through a combination of expertise, track record and prestige. Expertise allows them to make things happen. Track record shows that they can produce value. Prestige gives them the juice they need to get things done.Virtually everything that the Connected do with their lives is centered around career. From a very young age - around the age of 10 - kids are streamed into preferred schools. From approximately high school they are then streamed into a career path. The choice of post secondary education is based on two criteria - the chosen career path and the level of prestige that the institution has.

The ultimate goal is to get recruited by a Corp and hired on when you leave College or University. For the top recruits, this is much that same process as we currently see with top college athletes, which is spreading to other in demand professions as well. The recruits are wooed by the various Corps, who try to convince them to sign with them. Those who are not in such high demand will apply at various Corps and, if they are from a preferred school, they will probably find a job at one of them. From that point on, it's really a matter of trying to gain the prestige required to become Connected. This is also known as getting hooked up.

Once Connected, the Corp pays for everything and decides where and how an employee is going to be used. A career is built on a series of contracts much like sports contracts are today. And like athletes, a person will probably not stay with the same Corp for their entire life. The Connected, and the expertise and prestige that they command, are assets of the Corp, which are traded around just like any other assets of the Corp. As well, a person's contract value may change depending on the person's track record and prestige.

The basic contract covers all living requirements, more than just medical benefits and other such basics, the Corp basically pays for everything - - accommodation, travel, clothes, pocket money, etc.. Higher powered employees will be provided with, or could negotiate for, better contracts which specify a level of housing and/or lifestyle. So basically, everyone has an agent or manager who handles their career and negotiations.

Very little actual money changes hands. Instead, the employee is paid in what basically amounts to an RRSP. In most cases, employees are remunerated with assets, rather than money itself, and these are held in escrow until retirement. On the employee side, this defers taxes, or perhaps even eliminates them altogether, as the taxes may be taken off of their remuneration while they are working.

This plan also works nicely for the Corps, as most of what they are paying people in are goods and services that they own anyway. As well, they can do large deals with other Corps for things that all of their employees need or want. And of course, everything is a write-off, as it is the cost of running the business.

What this creates however, is a situation in which employees are very much tied to their contracts. If you become disConnected, you lose not only your nice lifestyle, but you will quickly lose all the assets you have in escrow, as you will need to borrow against them to stay alive. As well, most of the Connected have no life skills for the world outside the one that they were raised in, which makes anyone who falls out highly vulnerable. It is fairly unusual for anyone to fall out though, as the level of conditioning is quite high.

The Connected themselves are always trying to amass either more expertise or prestige. This increases both their personal worth and value to the Corp.

Connected usually have homes in very nice suburban areas or gated communities. These are owned by the Corp, or are being held in escrow until retirement. Generally, the Connected either live there and commute to offices, or they will stay in Corp-owned housing in the cities. Living in town is more common with single people, as married people or those with children prefer the space and security of being out of town.

Keep in mind that this is just a blueprint for how a career comes to be and how it progresses for someone who is Connected. There are, in almost every case, some exceptions or deviations to this path. That's what makes things interesting.