Dream Developments - Part One

My head hands low as I drive, passing by wide open fields as the horizon shifts from a bright red to orange and eventually a pale blue. I had been up at the crack of dawn, or really before it, gathering up what little belongings I could fit in the car before beginning the trip.

I had been looking for a job for so long that I had jumped when I got this offer, my meager bank balance being only a small part of the motivation. While the job description had been vague, the pay and benefits were more than enough to get me to make the move.

A new property development firm called Dream Developments had started to finalize their first-ever venture, a rather large and impressive first step for the new company. They had purchased an entire town, a small former fishing village called Graceport, and refurbished it in an effort to restore the town's character while updating and modernizing swaths of the land in order to attract home buyers.

The last part of the plan was to fill several of the homes with residents, offering homes and employment for those willing to make the move to the middle of nowhere. From working in the schools and town hall to the general store and restaurants, they desired people not only to work in these places but to take up the reigns as the developer moved into other projects.

Not only would people be paid for their work, not only would they be provided a home for free, but once all was said and done they would get to keep whatever business they had taken over for the years leading up to Dream Developments' departure.

It was an enticing plan, one that draw in people from all over including myself. I had put my best foot forward, or at least I thought I had, and after several weeks of waiting I finally got the response I had been looking for. By the end of the month I was handing in my keys to my apartment, my life filling the large boxes scattered around my car as I made the drive out to my new life.

While dozens of us eager recruits made our way towards Graceport expecting the experience of a lifetime we had far more in store for us. Those who arrived early had already discovered Dream Developments plan to make the most enticing town they could, by any means necessary.

At first it had been simple, hire the best people they could find for the right jobs to form the best foundation they could. However, as the applicants started to roll in it became apparent that there were two problems that needed to be solved.

Firstly, those who were applying sought out various positions they felt they would do well in. However, with extensive testing and analysis it was often found that the applicant would be better serving the town in some other capacity.

From math teachers making better waiters and waitresses thanks to their affability and head for numbers, or retail staff making better town planners after years of working under the thumb of bad management. One thing was certain, they couldn't pass up on the best applicants but they also couldn't give them their preferred jobs.

Secondly, there was an appearance problem with their applicants. While many who applied looked fine, better than average even, they either weren't perfect or failed to match their role in the dream town the developers had envisioned.

Balding mustached math teachers bumping into tables with their rounded beer bellies as they tried to serve customers would certainly drive away investors and clients. The same could be said for the young yet optimistic staff of the town hall or the weak and frail elderly folk delivering the mail as they relished the brisk walk in the sea air.

Dream Developments agonized over this for months as the applications rolled in. Were they going to have less than perfect people in roles around town but matching the aesthetic more closely, or were they going to have perfect people in the roles but with the aesthetic being harmed by their appearance?

It had only been a few weeks before the first residents showed up that they finally worked out their decision, they would choose neither and take drastic measures.

Knowing what they were doing was illegal and hoping that it would all work out in the end they decided that if the ideal people looked wrong then the ideal people would be changed to suit those roles.

Without anyone knowing the induction and tour of the town was altered, including one last stop by the former warehouse by the docks to undergo one last part of their induction to the town whether they wanted to or not.

Each and every new hire would receive their work description, a town map and visitors guide, the relevant timetable for their job, a set of house keys and...