What is the secret to life?  What if the people who lived next door to you or worked in the office next to you had the secret to life, tried to share it with you and you were laughing so hard you missed it?

Bruce Colline climbed the ladder of success, despite not knowing the secret to life. He didn’t need a set of secret codes or membership in a secret society. He never memorized special rites.  Yet he traveled the world and met interesting people.  He and his family enjoyed financial security. With his same lack of secrets and sense of humor, so can you.  

Follow Bruce as he's led behind the scenes to top secret hideaways in the United States and Ireland, hideaways where the movers and shakers of society hold special meetings to determine the fate of humankind. The people he meets mesmerize Bruce with their speeches. In the end, will he find falsehood or truth behind their masks and myths?  

Editorial Reviews

manuscript review by Publishers Weekly, an independent organization

“Exciting…middle manager’s life in the world of software engineering. Bruce Colline, the narrator, works for the software company Cumulo Seven. Its program, Qwerty-Queue, may or may not have something to do with influencing financial markets… [when] the plot develops a modicum of forward momentum, the author quickly dispatches Bruce to a conference call, a meeting or his email. By the end, [he] stumbles upon some … truths about corporate America.

Amazon Top Reviewer

Graceful and competent…  The idea seems to be a corporate satire involving an overlooked research and development organization specializing in … Software? Architecture? Are they competing against other organizations? Facing layoff or merger?

Amazon Member Reviews

 

Unsettling combination of James Joyce and Dilbert, February 1, 2008

By E.A. Lovitt, “TOP 100 REVIEWER” (Gladwin, MI USA)

This author may well be hailed as the James Joyce of the 21st Century. “Are You with the Program?” is a rather unsettling combination of “Ulysses” as narrated by Dilbert. The only difference between real life in a Silicon-world start-up and this excerpt is the giant spider that cocoons the narrator on his way to a meeting in a tree house.

All of this energy. All these words. Where do they lead? Well…I mightily enjoyed the doughnut fight, the flashback to the Argiope aurantia, and the description of the engineers as `zoo animals’ living in “metal cages covered in sheetrock.”

If this novel were animated, it would have drop-downs and pop-ups and Jedi knights with light swords dueling across the page.

Scott Adams and Robert Aspirin’s love child!, February 2, 2008

By R. Kyle, Winner – best reviews for excerpts by Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalists

 

So, this is the future of cubeville?

“The zoo animals – the engineers who Paul managed – lived in metal cages covered in sheetrock on a back hallway and took advantage of the wide berth given them to perform Rube Goldberg experiments.”

Silicone Valley Sweatshops are common. You live the job if you work for some Fortune 500 computer companies. That’s today’s reality–and the author’s awful posit is probably possible.

An alliterative opening offers an interesting interlude…the alliterative author provided plentiful pundits which generated gusty guffaws.
 

Funny? Ridiculous? A Fine Line, February 6, 2008

By A. Luciano, Winner – best reviews for excerpts by Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalists

I really enjoyed the tone of this story, with its dry humor established right from the start. The description of the items the Qwerty-Queue engineers have in their possessions, the places they obtained them, and the things they invented, was strange and hilarious.

The comparison of office workers who simply sit and do their jobs to sheep is amusing and a nice metaphor.

The story of Mike was incredibly creepy and well written. Despite the fact that it seemed to have nothing to do with the story’s progress so far, I was riveted.

Dubitable Testimonials 

“Not one single mention of Greece.  That’s okay.  We read it anyway.” – The Classical Greek Speaker

“A book like this we’ve never seen.  Should quickly fill up truck stop shelves.” – Motion Trucking Industries 

“Every sports fan has a favorite book.  Make someone happy and give this book to a friend.” - Orange and White Press 

“To discover an intelligent discourse on the vagaries of cloaked societies, one must dig through stacks of books, blogs and other banality. Rare, indeed, does a single volume grab your attention with just a whisper. The need for weeks of media exposure to gloss over the tasteless trash that passes for most popular books today puts this reviewer on alert for that overlooked buried trove.  This book, with its rich, dark satire, will make you want to look back at all your friendships and wonder what you missed.” – The Sentient San Franciscan 

“I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend. After reading Are You With the Program?, I’m not sure who my friends are anymore.” – J. Schlebotnitz, address withheld by request 

“While teaching psychic reading to my children, I’ve learned that some truths speak for themselves and some have to be experienced to be believed. The author of Are You With The Program? has chosen a path where truths can neither be seen nor experienced. I wonder if I should have chosen such a path many years before I started reading palms.” – Madame Reducio, Psychic to the Mob 

“We promised to review this book.  We just didn’t say when.” – Blue Highway Reader 

“Beware the person who takes shamanism lightly for he shall wander the earth aimlessly! If you want to know about shamanism, read my book first. You and your tax attorney can thank me later.” – Alger Trist, author of Shamanism and You, How to Turn Your Business Around using Spiritual Guides  

Are You With The Program? 

Richard Lee Hill, II  

                                 SEMIFINALIST,

  Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Publications by Richard Lee Hill, II:

Sticks to Lying, 2006

Helen of Kosciusko, 2006

Milk Chocolate, 2005

 

A Work In Progress: The Unabridged Works of Rick Hill, 2004

Including works from the previously published books,

Of Friends, Neighbors, Lovers and Miscellaneous Passers-by, 1992

and

A Quiet Repose, 1998

Works also published elsewhere (as Rick Hill):

And So It Came To Pass

Romance Writers Try Comedy

Arete – Literary Magazine, Univ. of Alab. In Huntsville (2001)

 

The Official Social Protest Songs

Striving for Efficiency

Gallery-Walters State Community College literary magazine (1985)

Published by

Tree Trunk Productions
261 Mohawk Road
Big Cove, Alabama USA 35763-9249

Cover design by Richard Lee Hill, II
Second Print Edition, April 2008 (e-Edition will be available at http://www.treetrunkproductions.org)

Copyright © 2007 Richard Lee Hill, II
All Rights Reserved.  Creative Commons License – Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (see appendix)

= = = = =

 

All trademarks, registered trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

For all work not originated by the author in this publication, contact the copyright owners about permission, fair use, etc.

Printed in the United States of America.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

For Wikipedia and Wiktionary reference material only: permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the Wikipedia references under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License”.

Creative Commons license

 

For all work originated by the author in this book, the following Creative Commons license applies:

Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (see appendix)

You are free:

• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
• to Remix — to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:

• Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
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• For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/, accessed 31 July 2007).
• Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
• Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights.

 

 

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All trademarks, registered trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.  For all work not originated by the author in this publication, contact the copyright owners about permission, fair use, etc.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

I dedicate this to my parents,
who have shown me by example
that the Optimist Creed
is not just a nice set of words to read
but also a wonderful way to lead your life:

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.

To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

 
+ + +
 
With love to my wife for her patience
while I gave up the benefits and security of a 9-to-5 job to work on this book.
 
+ + +
 
Thanks to my previous employers whose workplaces inspired this story!

Table of Contents

The Clubhouse.

The Test Lab.

The Program Management Office.

The Committee.

EPILOGUE.

APPENDIX – Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported.