“The factory was like a living thing. It breathed, it pulsed, it grew.”
Chapter 1: The Hiring Process
The novel opens with an unnamed protagonist, a recent graduate struggling to find stable work, who stumbles upon a job posting for a mysterious factory. The hiring process is bizarre—interviews are conducted in strange, windowless rooms, and the questions are oddly vague. Despite the unease, the protagonist accepts a position as a “shredder,” tasked with destroying documents without reading them. The factory itself is vast and labyrinthine, filled with employees who seem disconnected from one another. The protagonist meets Ushiyama, a taciturn coworker who offers little guidance but hints at the factory’s strangeness.
Chapter 2: The First Days
The protagonist begins work, quickly realizing how isolating the job is. The shredding room is dimly lit, and the repetitive task feels meaningless. Meanwhile, the factory’s layout is confusing—hallways shift, departments appear and disappear, and no one seems to know the full scope of the facility. The protagonist encounters Furufue, a researcher studying moss in a secluded part of the factory. His presence is unsettling, as he seems both absorbed in his work and entirely detached from reality. The protagonist starts to question whether the factory is merely a workplace or something more sinister.
Chapter 3: The Unseen Workforce
As days pass, the protagonist notices shadowy figures—workers who move silently through the factory, never speaking or making eye contact. Some appear to live inside the factory, sleeping in hidden corners. The protagonist tries to engage with them but is met with indifference or hostility. Meanwhile, Ushiyama reveals that he has been working at the factory for years but still doesn’t understand its purpose. The protagonist grows increasingly paranoid, wondering if the factory is a metaphor for modern labor or something more surreal.
Chapter 4: The Moss Experiment
Furufue’s research becomes a focal point as the protagonist learns that the factory is funding his bizarre experiments with moss growth. The moss spreads uncontrollably, creeping into workspaces and living quarters. Furufue insists it’s harmless, but the protagonist suspects it’s part of something larger. Meanwhile, the shredding work intensifies, with documents arriving in unmarked boxes. The protagonist sneaks a glance at one—only to find it filled with nonsensical symbols. The factory’s absurdity deepens, blurring the line between reality and delusion.
Chapter 5: The Disappearances
Workers begin vanishing without explanation. Some are replaced overnight by strangers who claim to have always been there. The protagonist confronts Ushiyama, who admits he’s seen it happen before but refuses to elaborate. The factory’s bureaucracy is impenetrable—requests for information are met with blank stares or redirection. The protagonist’s sense of identity starts to erode, as if the factory is absorbing them into its machinery. The moss continues to spread, now covering entire walls.
Chapter 6: The Escape Attempt
Desperate, the protagonist tries to leave but finds the exits either locked or leading back to the factory’s interior. The few coworkers who notice the attempt dismiss it as a joke. The protagonist begins to wonder if escape is even possible—or if the factory has become their entire world. In a final act of defiance, they stop shredding documents and instead start collecting them, hoping to uncover the truth. But the papers dissolve into dust when touched, leaving no answers.
Chapter 7: The Assimilation
The protagonist’s resistance fades as the factory’s rhythms become inescapable. They stop questioning their role and accept the absurdity of their existence. The moss now covers everything, and the air hums with an eerie quiet. The novel ends ambiguously—the protagonist is last seen walking deeper into the factory, disappearing into its endless corridors, just like those who came before.
Key Ideas
- The dehumanizing nature of modern labor and corporate structures.
- The blurred boundary between reality and surrealism in institutional spaces.
- Alienation and isolation in a hyper-specialized workforce.
- The futility of seeking meaning in meaningless systems.
- Metaphorical decay (moss) as a symbol of institutional rot.
Who should read this book?
- Fans of surreal and absurdist literature.
- Readers interested in critiques of corporate culture.
- Those who enjoy psychological ambiguity and open-ended narratives.
- Admirers of Japanese literary fiction with Kafkaesque themes.