Erik showed up on his new job on Monday morning, a little early.

The job was in the tenth ring, and he had left with plenty of time to spare, but the trip was shorter than he had expected.

Staring at the façade of the anonymous building, not could not restrain a sigh. He couldn’t believe that, after all these years of service, Hoffman could move him to such a position.

He had said goodbye to his colleagues on Friday afternoon: they were all very nice, some ...