The Federal Bureau of Control, setting of 2019’s hit paranatural thriller Control, wasn’t always ravaged by hostile resonance and filled with twisted enemies. It was once a vibrant workplace filled with government employees, who not only worked together, but also took breaks, socialized, and engaged in leisurely pursuits during their downtime at the USA’s most secret federal office. Of all the mysteries that Control presents for players to solve, perhaps the most mundane (but most entertaining) are those uncovered by sifting through the correspondence between regular bureau employees, begging the question: what was it really like to work at the FBC?
With so many employees, Control‘s Bureau is bound to have an active social scene and plenty of work-groups or activities to join in on. In fact, because so much is classified, employees are actually encouraged to talk about anything but work when they do get together. From book clubs and tales of unrequited love to workplace drama and leadership shakeups, a treasure trove of everyday events are well documented in the classified files left behind for players to find. This wealth of information makes it easy to get a look at what it’s like to mingle with the bureau’s finest.
In four documents found throughout Control, the details of the Bureau Book Bunch’s weekly meetings in the staff cafeteria are revealed. Founded and run by Penny Bartwell, the head archivist of the Dead Letters Archive, the Bureau Book Bunch included at least three other members and would regularly get together to discuss thrilling tales and review page-turning novels. This is just the sort of fun, lighthearted activity that shows the Bureau isn’t all clinical confidentiality and dark secrets—workers have plenty of time to make friends and relax together.
Of course, one can never be too careful with what they read. It appears the last novel the Bureau Book Bunch reviewed before the Hiss invasion was a little off: each member read “Unless You” by J.D. Brooks, but they all seem to have found a totally different story within its pages. Not only that, but the fate of the main character in each of the member’s versions of the book matched up to the same reviewer’s own demise during the Hiss invasion. All that aside, though, the point stands that fun activities and casual get-togethers are encouraged in the Bureau’s offices.
Beyond just making friends and finding shared interests, workers in the FBC are also free to search for a romantic partner. Tales of torrid office romance abound in plenty of workplaces, but at the Bureau, it seems things were a little less intense. Hubert Tan and Carla Vaughn were two members of the Research Department who apparently had a budding romance, albeit one-sided and extremely short lived. The two often appear in Dr. Darling’s video presentations, where one found feelings for the other. Perhaps Dr. Darling was playing matchmaker. Hubert Tan wrote:
Hi Carla,
Does it strike you as odd that Darling insists on having us appear in those bizarre videos of his? I mean, we just stand there, he doesn’t even let us have lines or anything. Don’t get me wrong – beats a day in the lab. Plus it’s always great to work with you.
Oh yeah, I finished the comparative analysis of the two Black Rock samples you sent. The prism or whatever you called it. I filed them in the usual place, under C for Carla. A handy mnemonic device, right? Ha ha.
Anyway, let me know if there’s anything you want to discuss about the data. I’ll gladly explain! Maybe we could chat about it over some drinks, or dinner even. I can’t remember the last time I had a good steak! Maybe we could go together after work sometime? I’m free tomorrow.
All the very best!
Hubert
Unfortunately for Hubert, Carla was apparently more interested in her research than finding anyone to go on a date with after work. She wrote back thanking him for the samples, but either didn’t notice or chose not to acknowledge his advances. She soon after stopped taking part in the videos in order to spend more time analyzing Black Rock Prisms, which ended up being vital to the protection of the Bureau and Director Jesse Faden’s efforts, so perhaps it’s for the best that Carla chose to put her work first.
While there are scheduled activities like the Bureau Book Bunch meetings or card games organized by ranger divisions, an important part of any workplace culture is the type of conversation to be had on break, standing around the water cooler. Luckily for Bureau employees, there is no better conversationalist than the FBC’s own janitor, Ahti. Simon Arish, security chief of the maintenance sector, even mentions what a joy it is to shoot the breeze with him. There is a surprisingly large amount of correspondence about the Bureau’s office custodian, but players who have had the chance to interact with him in-game can easily see why.
Ahti can apparently traverse through even the most heavily-guarded and classified areas of the Oldest House at will, including the Ashtray Maze, as noted by the same Hubert Tan whose flirtations are discussed above. Of course, that just means every Bureau worker has a better chance of catching a quick chat with Ahti, no matter what sector they work in. In the document “Correspondence: Plant Complaint,” he is revealed to have a great singing voice, and the sonorous tones of his favorite tango can often be heard as he waters the plants in the research sector. Sometimes he can get up to some odd activities, but he, like most things in the Bureau, is highly classified, so it’s best to just not question it.
Of course, all of these documents and stories come from before the Hiss invasion and the beginning of Jesse Faden’s tenure as Director, but, if anything, Director Faden’s managerial approach is even more relaxed than that of her predecessors. Faden prefers to be called by her first name rather than any honorifics, and she generally seems more laid back than previous director Zachariah Trench.
If she was presented with an issue like the spread of the Tennyson report—an anonymous document that lambasted the scientific approach and encouraged more esoteric engagement with the supernatural—she almost certainly wouldn’t have the apoplectic response of someone like Trench, who was described as “on the war path” about it in the document “Correspondence: Tennyson Report Warning.” Luckily, Director Faden doesn’t seem like the type to encourage the “hostile work environment” that document describes, so it may be a better time than ever to sign up to join the Bureau. They certainly need the staff after losses sustained during the Hiss invasion.
Control is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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