A poster reading "Sustainable Fun" hung on her wall next to her whiteboard.

It had been a long time since I'd been back, and I knew that was definitely new. "Is this what you're working on now?"

"Yes," she said. "It's the flavor of the month anyway. Things change fast around here these days."

"What does that mean exactly?" I asked.

"I guess the theory is that not everything we do is fun, and not all the fun we have is sustainable, so if something combines both, then that's the path we should take."

"Sounds reasonable to me," I said. "But it's only a temporary thing or something?"

"Right. Someone is always coming up with new theories around here, and we pick the projects we like and run with it until someone comes up with something we like more."

"Sounds like you guys have a lot more freedom now than when I was here."

"Yes, I think they finally decided that autonomy was good for productivity. Who knows how long it took to get that into their skulls," Livia added with an eye roll.

"So you're happy now, right?"

"Well, happier anyway. Everything is a work in progress, but things are nicer now. You should come by more often."

"Maybe I'll look around some more and see how some of the old team is doing," I said.

I wandered past Ven's office. Looked like the rest of the team was in conference. I couldn't hear what they were saying but they looked like they were enjoying themselves.