Page 8 of Decoding Emma
Break’s over, Emma.Time to jump into the deep end of the pool.
Deep breath in and brushing off an invisible crumb from my slacks, I left the ladies’ room and made my way down the hall to the office that was my new place of work.
Office?I chuckled.More like several offices combined.I walked into the room, and Asher glanced up from the computer screen.
“The docking station is for your laptop if you want to connect it.”
“Thank you.”I grabbed my backpack and slipped into the chair.
“Here are your login credentials.There are two.One is the secure guest login to use for your laptop.The username for your laptop has access to the internet, but no access to the intranet, our internal network.The second is for your workstation here.As I said before, you will have full access from your workstation.”He slid a sheet of paper over to me.
“Thanks.”After pulling out my laptop, coffee cup, lined pad, and two stress fidgets and arranging everything on the table, I logged on to the guest network.It didn’t take long to confirm what Asher had told me.Just for fun, I tried to access the company network from the internet access on the laptop.Nope.I risked a glance at Asher.
“Everybody tries it at least once, Emma.”A quick glance and a wink.
Busted, but I had to try.
I connected my laptop to one of my screens then woke my workstation.
Now up and running, I took some time to familiarize myself with how Fantasies, Inc.was set up.I also made a mental note to do some research on exactly what Fantasies, Inc.was about.
Asher had set me up on the message app and assigned me an email.No messages yet, and I decided to deal with my email later.
There was nothing complicated about the subnets.I located various departments, then the programs, folders and files for each one.Each subnet had a locked permissions folder.My creds opened it.There were two documents.The first listed individual and group permissions for read, write, and execute functions, the required conditions for access spelled out in exacting detail.The second document was a list of everyone in that department and which permissions they had.No guesswork here.
I had no idea how long I’d been exploring until I flexed my neck and checked the clock on the monitor.Neither of us had spoken since we sat down.Two hours felt like two minutes.If Asher wasn’t going to break the silence…
“I like having the extra monitors.High def?”
Asher grinned.“8k resolution, 32 inch.I aim to please.”He didn’t look away from his screen.
“I’ve been taking a walk around the network.Great setup.That’s going to make the streamlining a lot easier.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
Oooookaaaaay…
“Any chance you’ve diagramed the architecture, or have you kept it locked in your head?”I could play the game too.I turned, folded my hands in my lap, and stayed silent.I even managed to keep my feet still.
He looked up from some notes, tapped the trackpad, then rolled his chair closer and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“Until recently, the various departments of Fantasies Inc.have functioned with a convoluted web of different programs.But the company has grown exponentially, and the increasing incidence of compatibility issues is slowing everything down.We’ve spent the last year redesigning each department’s systems and giving them dedicated space on the mainframe, the subnets.Now we need to overlay the project with a really good bridge that connects them seamlessly but also allows them autonomy.Streamlining and integration.I discovered you’re an expert at designing specialized apps, and we’ve had some requests that could utilize that expertise.”
“In addition to the—now quoting from the tasking section in the contract—‘expansion and streamlining of the network to merge the domestic and international operations and facilitate the integration’, what else are you trying to accomplish?”Asher’s attitude aside, I was starting to feel like I was in my element.
“First and foremost, obviously, we need seamless communication.But can we do it with the current configuration?”
“I can better answer that question once I’ve familiarized myself with”—I raised my hand and twirled it in a circular motion—“all of this, everything.First I need to look at the maps of your architecture.”
“As you wish.”He turned back to his keyboard, opened a command line, and paused.“Watch your center monitor.”Then he typed a couple of commands and slid his finger across the trackpad.“In the upper right hand corner.”
“Thanks.I do have one more question that’s sort of off topic.”
He raised his eyebrows along with a quick tilt of his head.
“The company motto.Make your dreams a reality?”
“Oh, yeah.I forgot you don’t know anything about the company.Maybe I should explain what we do first.”
