Rodney Sanches
The Accumulation of Errors in the Determination of Value
It was a simple transaction. I had a purpose for the liquid they made. It was not the most pure sample I found in my investigations, but this company seemed attentive to their craft. They lacked the modern form of rhetoric that had saturated their competitors. This endeared me to them. They seemed like builders, I prepared to transact with their payment system.
At their web site I scrolled to the section where you can enter your financial details and complete shipping co-ordinates. I entered the information and noticed, that there was no shipping charge. I felt a small crack of joy, a dot of dopamine on the mater. I clicked submit. Data spilled from my computer to their database. The database joyfully accepted this mist of electricity. It leaned forward and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, lights flickered, other databases smiled and nodded as data accumulated.
Days later the buzzer on my door began. I called from behind it,
“Who’s there?”
“Delivery”
There was a man standing before me, dressed like the web site I had made my purchase from. A blue and white golf shirt, the logo embroidered over on his chest, a light blue drop with a white “x” reflected in it, he smiled a customer service smile. Under his arm, a paper wrapped box, quite large, with precisely placed stickers on it. focusing on the box, reaching for it. He stood there for a moment, not releasing the box. “its not in the box”
÷
The instructions for placing the body parts in the box were very clear.
Due to the nature of your request and our ability to participate in delivering you top quality, we have created a unique process and passed the savings on to you.
His body, after collapsing inside my apartment, had come apart in 6 pieces. I was still by the door, thinking about the box, which now leaned on my shoes. My next thought was, how tidy this all was. I was having a difficult time adjusting.
I directed my attention back to the instructions embroidered to the back of his golf shirt in shiny blue thread.
Our delivery personnel has made a special agreement to host your order and have been paid in a fashion that while extravagant, is far less than establishing a chemical plant for the production of your order. You will find your order just under this message.
Please remove your order and repackage the delivery method and take it to your local post office for return.
Thank you for your Order!