Playing Tetris

“Get up!”

We jolt ourselves awake. It’s 5am. Adrenaline is pumping. 

The chains on our neck and feet are clanging together. The combined sound of millions of us moving is deafening.

Yet above all we hear, “C’mon you slaves, get to work!”

The clock strikes 6am. It’s time to change tasks. We labour away until 7am. It’s time to change again. For the next 16 hours, we’re on 60 minute rotations. 

As soon as the clock strikes 12, the dreaded voice echoes across the land: “get to your next station, time is ticking!”

Digging, shovelling, building.

Everyday is Groundhog day.

Every few minutes we look up to see what the next rotation is.

Every few minutes we see the watchful tower, never missing a beat.

Decorated on the tower is a version of Tetris. Each task we finish completes a line of Tetris. Each task we finish means the dreaded voice rings again, “now move on to the next task, no rest for the wicked”.

What's the name of this Tetris version? Who’s speaking?

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