{"id":2514,"date":"2013-08-15T08:11:58","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T13:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2013-08-15T08:27:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-15T13:27:00","slug":"rayguns-over-texas-preview-rhonda-eudaly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2013\/08\/15\/rayguns-over-texas-preview-rhonda-eudaly\/","title":{"rendered":"Rayguns Over Texas preview: Rhonda Eudaly"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cover<\/a>

Cover by Rocky Kelley<\/p><\/div>\n

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0<\/em><\/a>at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3<\/a>\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s selection comes from\u00a0Rhonda Eudaly<\/a>‘s “Operators are Standing By.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Manager Glornash attempts to prove\u00a0just how much of a company man she\u00a0can be in\u00a0Rhonda Eudaly’s all too real story of the\u00a0unsettling world of telemarketing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Glornash felt her oral cavity stretch as joy filled her pulmonary\u00a0organ. She had the best, and busiest, Call Center in the galaxy. It was\u00a0time to get her team moving. She slapped her flippers once more for\u00a0instant attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, let\u2019s not forget which segments you\u2019re dealing with. We have\u00a0a reputation to maintain. Let\u2019s get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

With one last cheer, Glornash\u2019s staff swarmed out of the auditorium,\u00a0bipedals automatically stepping over the occasional slime trail left by\u00a0the gastropods slithering out among them. Glornash would give them\u00a0a few moments to get to their stations before starting her rounds. This\u00a0would be a good shift, Glornash could feel it. Revenue streamed in her\u00a0pulmonary fluids, and today she felt revenue pumping away.<\/p>\n

In her slow ooze toward the door, Glornash could already hear\u00a0the Call Center coming to life. She barely spared a glance toward the\u00a0production studio, but a swish of movement caught her optical nerve.<\/p>\n

She turned to see an organic spokesbot\u2019s appearance slip from the\u00a0Earth pitchman, Vince Offer, to a Larian version. Not that it was a\u00a0major change. The only difference between the two were the Larian\u2019s\u00a0yellow scales and four eyes. However, if a Larian appeared on Earth,\u00a0it would have Humans putting down their intoxicants and adjusting\u00a0their television sets. But that wasn\u2019t Glornash\u2019s concern. Her sole\u00a0purpose was to have operators standing by to take orders, and she\u00a0took her job very seriously.<\/p>\n

Glornash\u2019s optical stalks scanned the floor of the Call Center.<\/p>\n

Warnings went off in her hind cranial lobes. Something wasn\u2019t right.\u00a0What was it? There. She saw the empty station. Scans didn\u2019t show its\u00a0occupant up and around chatting or at the refreshment station. She\u00a0tapped into the central computer system; no one was currently in the\u00a0bodily waste receptacles, either. This would never do. There should\u00a0never be an empty station, not this early in the shift.<\/p>\n

She flowed quickly across the floor. \u201cWhere is Operator MX-35?\u201d<\/p>\n

Blank stares and non-committal shrugs \u2014 or the anatomical\u00a0equivalent \u2014 answered it. \u201cWell, get someone from the On-Call\u00a0Pool! Quick! One of you from Gleeb! You\u2019re a speedy race, one of you, go!\u201d<\/p>\n

Papers flew out some being\u2019s manipulator digits as a blur blew past,\u00a0zipping out of the room.<\/p>\n

A tone reverberated through the hub. \u201cShift commencing in five\u00a0minutes. Shift commencing in five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glornash slapped her flippers. \u201cPlaces, everyone. Places. This is a\u00a0good day!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excerpt from\u00a0\u201cOperators Are Standing By\u201d \u00a9 2013 by Rhonda Eudaly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we barrel toward the August 29 premiere of\u00a0Rayguns Over Texas\u00a0at\u00a0LoneStarCon 3\u00a0(aka the 71st Annual World Science Fiction Convention) in San Antonio, I am presenting book excerpts, one contributor per day. Today\u2019s selection comes from\u00a0Rhonda Eudaly‘s “Operators are Standing By.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-rayguns-over-texas"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n