COVIDYSTOPIA- April 13, 2022 AD (Somewhere in India, before dawnbreak)
“Wake up, son. You've to go to work.” – father had come to wake him up. X was already up by then, practicing Mandarin in a language learning app on his phone. He was an ambitious person. One way to get closer to the supervisors was to learn Chinese.
The company that he used to work for, had gone bankrupt in the great depression after the 2019 pandemic. A foreign company now owned its factory. The expectations were high and the hours brutal. There weren't many choices left for employment. He considered himself lucky to have a job now.
Soon, he was on his way to work. At the break of dawn, the siren sang its bass note, signalling the start of another long day to X and his colleagues.
(Disclaimer – this is fiction, exploring the what-ifs, post pandemic.)