the 10 Hour Shift
Drudgery, hopelessness and monotony are three words that can best describe the lot of the workers in the underground city.
When the foundations of the city were being designed, it was realized that a new class of persons needed to be created, one who's sole purpose was to keep the machines fed.
The class was to be made up of cheap, expendable labor; the dregs of society, indentured servants paying of their debts, and petty criminals working off their fines. It was a perfect system... in theory.
A worker's whole life revolves around the machines and a man-made 10 hour clock. The worker's shifts are divided into 10 hour increments... each worker is assigned the mundane task of monitoring and maintaining their workstation in the machine complex. They work 10 hours on, 10 hours off, until their sentence is completed. Most workers never escape this life, either they can never repay the steep fines, or they are unhirable because of their stint underground. For some it was the only life they knew, being born and raised deep below the city above.
The workers are provided housing in the worker city that resides below the machine rooms. Clothing is provided in the form of a worker uniform; a dark blue linen jumpsuit, hard shoes, and a black cap emblazoned with the worker's ID number.
And thus was the life of the worker class until that day in 2026.