A stroke of luck that I—and others—cherish.

Written by
DazzlingWhiteLightningLampshadeInCairoWithConfusion
Published on
Monday, 12 October 2026
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The story

I am permanently out of the job—though still on the payroll until the day I die—simply because I managed to keep my boss at bay and under pressure while he tried to assert dominance over the company and, by extension, keep the community itself under his thumb. He was a man drunk on power, willing to do whatever it took to maintain a foothold in the community—to keep his movement alive—even from the ranks of the opposition. That was something the authorities could not allow. The position he held dictated the flow of users within the community; if he left office without being neutralized—stripped of his power base—he would continue to lurk and threaten the status quo long after his tenure ended.

It was a risk neither the company leadership nor the other authorities could afford to take. Of course, had he finished his term properly, a storm of rumors against him would have erupted, destroying his access to the community. At the same time, the community’s governing authorities managed to contain him after a political insult he made; they kept him in check so effectively that he never had to answer for the remark—the very thing that would have otherwise triggered that backlash. Personally, I don’t usually get involved in such matters, but things came to a head when my boss inserted himself into a friendship of mine, trying to find out what was going on between us; at that point, it became strictly personal. After a conflict with a female friend—though we hadn't yet officially established a friendship—I played a game where I pretended to oppose her and side with the man involved. I then suddenly shifted tactics by invoking the rules; he dismissed this as trivial, failing to realize I knew how to enforce them without appearing heavy-handed. I leveraged group dynamics—specifically within her social circle—to stir up anger and put everyone on alert regarding his behavior, as he was actively stalking her and backing her into a corner. He never expected me to turn against him, but when I did, his attempts to retaliate were ineffective; he ended up isolated at the company, unable to rally support because he had previously hoarded his contacts for his own personal agenda, effectively cutting himself off from help.

After an earthquake struck my home country, he tried to contact me to resolve some office matters, but I refused to waver in my strict adherence to the rules, wanting to avoid any accusation that I was using them merely to shield my friend. I managed to shake him off, though he was persistent, using the concepts of professional courtesy and rule-following against me. However, this didn't last long. He had tried to prove I was only using the rules to defend her, yet he eventually reached a point where he was blatantly disregarding them himself—showing no regard for the proper context or application of the regulations. This culminated in a harassment accusation in the truest sense of the word, as his continuous interactions with me went far beyond the boundaries set by the rules. We all began to understand that the game revolved around the rules—which served as the anchor—and that deviating from them would invite his accusations. Consequently, we immersed ourselves deeply in those rules, allowing for incidental variations rather than adhering to them in a strictly puritanical sense. He, however, did the opposite: he treated the exception as the norm and used the rules merely as an escape hatch. He operated with an inverted logic. He did not master the rules; in fact, he obeyed them rigidly and clumsily, solely to project a certain image. He couldn't handle our game. Naturally, the individual ended up being reported—though I had no hand in the formal complaint itself. I had simply requested a transfer—citing a lack of respect for the professional work environment rather than a standard relocation—making it clear that the letter was a cry for help regarding an untenable situation from which I was withdrawing.

When the individual defied authority—showing he understood social norms regarding conduct and coexistence but lacked a true grasp of the rules—and perceived my approach as a purely social game detached from those regulations, I told him to stay away from me and subsequently reported his irregularities to the authorities.

I reported that he was using his position of authority to assert dominance over the rest of the company—and over my personal life—and that he was harassing a female colleague of mine who was trying to escape the situation. Furthermore, he abuses his role as a boss to make threats based on his connections. Essentially, I can no longer remain in that office or on the premises, simply because I do not know the extent of his network, which poses a genuine threat to my safety.

Unfortunately, the community cannot fully control or map out that network—it can only make rough estimates. Involving investigative authorities would be suicidal for the community, given that the State has always sought to intervene in its affairs. Consequently, they cannot guarantee my safety—something I am determined to ensure myself. This has led to a sort of administrative stalemate: they cannot fire me based on the grounds cited (which essentially amounted to "resigning from my boss," whereas one can only resign from a job position), yet they cannot take action to protect me either. The best they can do to remedy the situation is to quietly sideline my boss for the time being, eventually ensuring he no longer has access to any community procedures—at least not irregular ones—though even legitimate processes would be obstructed. The same would apply to his family. They must also continue paying my salary; while I am not technically working, they cannot reinstate me because I lack the necessary security clearance—or at least a legitimate one.

I do not know where my friend is, but I bet this shows her that there are ways to secure corporate protection—legitimately and without needing to rely on personal connections. It was a form of financial protection, all in the interest of legal compliance. One might say I could have stayed and endured the situation alongside my boss, but doing so would have meant condoning the degradation of my colleagues and the blatant abuse of our working relationship. That individual treated the office as his personal stronghold in every sense; at the very least, the fact that I was given the chance to intervene—and that the law protects me in this situation—helps rectify matters and guarantees a better future for everyone. Indeed, this extends to the wider world, as this community plays a vital role in professional development, ultimately aiming to offer users a life where food is not the only thing within reach. We are talking about a scenario where I receive my salary without performing actual work—protected by law—while simultaneously helping to secure the economic well-being of others, including future generations. At the same time, the position I secured allows me to serve as a symbolic reminder of the consequences of potential abuses of power—abuses that, regrettably, were difficult to permanently curb through standard rules alone, barring a stroke of luck.

Workplace Drama


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