Ivan H.L. is a building code inspector. Ivan works in a tall building. The building is in a city. Ivan has a clipboard. Ivan has a pen. The pen has black ink. Ivan enters a room. The room has a fire damper. Ivan looks at the fire damper. The fire damper is metal. Ivan checks the seal. The seal is tight. Ivan writes a number on the clipboard.

Ivan walks to the next room. The next room has a fire damper. The fire damper is the same. Ivan checks the seal. The seal is tight. Ivan writes the same number on the clipboard. Ivan repeats this action forty times. Ivan does not ask why the form is empty. Ivan does not ask why the building has no memory.

Ivan is an inspector. Ivan follows the code. The code requires the pen. The code requires the clipboard. The code requires Ivan.

The Kitchen at 11:14 PM

Rashid is a real estate agent. Rashid lives in Dubai. It is 11:14 at night. Rashid sits at a table. The table is in his kitchen. Rashid has a laptop. The laptop is open. Rashid has a cup of tea. The tea is cold. Rashid looks at the screen. The screen has three tabs. The first tab is Bayut. The second tab is Dubizzle. The third tab is Property Finder.

Rashid has a villa to list. The villa is in Jumeirah Golf Estates. The villa has six bedrooms. The villa has a pool. The pool is blue.

Rashid types the title of the villa. Rashid types the title in the first tab. Rashid types the title in the second tab. Rashid types the title in the third tab. Rashid looks at the price. The price is 4,180,000 dirhams. Rashid types the price in the first tab. Rashid types the price in the second tab. Rashid types the price in the third tab.

Rashid is careful. Rashid does not want to make a mistake. If Rashid makes a mistake, the price will be wrong. A wrong price is a problem. Rashid checks the numbers. The numbers are correct.

I once thought the portals were broken. I thought the software was old. I thought the developers were lazy. I was wrong. I see that now. The portals are not broken. The portals are working. The portals want Rashid to stay on the screen. The portals want Rashid to type the words. The portals do not want Rashid to leave. I made a mistake when I judged the code. The code is a wall. The wall keeps the data inside.

1. The portal owns the screen.

The portal is a destination. The portal wants the agent to visit. If the agent visits, the portal is important. The portal shows the agent a box. The box is for the description. Rashid writes the description. The villa is spacious. The villa has a view of the golf course. The grass is green.

Rashid writes these words in the first tab. Rashid copies the words. Rashid pastes the words in the second tab. Rashid pastes the words in the third tab. The portal does not help Rashid. The portal waits for Rashid. The portal tracks the time. The time belongs to the portal now.

2. The portal owns the keyboard.

Rashid has ten fingers. Rashid uses the fingers to type. The fingers move across the keys. The keys make a sound. The sound is a click. Rashid clicks the mouse. Rashid selects the amenities. The villa has a maid’s room. The villa has a driver’s room. The villa has a study. The villa has a private garden.

Rashid finds the box for the maid’s room. Rashid clicks the box. Rashid does this three times. Each portal has a different list. The list on Bayut is not the list on Dubizzle. Rashid must look for the words. Rashid must find the boxes. The keyboard is a tool for the portal.

3. The portal owns the image.

Rashid has twenty-four photos. The photos are of the villa. The first photo is the front door. The door is wood. The second photo is the kitchen. The kitchen has marble. The third photo is the pool. Rashid clicks the upload button. The button is blue.

A bar appears. The bar fills with color. Rashid waits. Rashid waits for the first tab. Rashid waits for the second tab. Rashid waits for the third tab. The photos are the same. The files are the same. The internet is the same. But the portal wants its own copy. The portal stores the image on its own server. The portal does not share the image.

4. The portal owns the price.

The price is the most important part. The price is 4,180,000 dirhams. Rashid types the 4. Rashid types the 1. Rashid types the 8. Rashid types the 0. Rashid types three more zeros. Rashid does this again. Rashid does this a third time.

If the portals talked to each other, Rashid would type the price once. The portals do not talk. The portals are silent. The silence is a choice. The silence makes the agent work. The work makes the portal feel heavy. A heavy portal is hard to move. A heavy portal stays in place.

5. The portal owns the lead.

A person looks at the villa. The person is in London. The person clicks a button. The person wants to talk to Rashid. The portal sees the person. The portal sees the click. The portal sends a message to Rashid. Rashid gets the message.

The message is a lead. The portal says the lead is from the portal. The portal wants credit. If the data moved freely, the credit would be hard to find. The portal keeps the data so it can keep the credit. Rashid needs the credit to know where to spend his money. Rashid spends his money on the portal.

6. The portal owns the verification.

The portal asks for a document. The document is a Title Deed. The document is a Form A. Rashid has the documents. Rashid has the files on his laptop. Rashid uploads the Title Deed to the first portal. Rashid uploads the Title Deed to the second portal. Rashid uploads the Title Deed to the third portal.

A person at the portal looks at the document. The person is not Rashid. The person approves the document. Rashid waits for the approval. Rashid waits three times. The verification is a lock. The portal holds the key.

7. The portal owns the clock.

It is now 11:42. Rashid is still at the table. The tea is still cold. Rashid has finished the listing. Rashid clicks the final button. The villa is now live. The villa is on the internet. Rashid has spent twenty-eight minutes. Rashid has listed one villa.

Rashid has forty villas. Rashid does the math. The math is a large number. The number is the time Rashid loses every month. The portal does not care about the number. The portal likes the number. The number means Rashid is busy. A busy agent does not look for new ways to work. A busy agent just types.

The Alternative Code

The agency needs the best crm for real estate to manage this. A system can talk to the portals. A system can hold the data. A system can send the photos. Rashid can type the price one time. Rashid can click the button one time.

The system sends the villa to Bayut. The system sends the villa to Dubizzle. The system sends the villa to Property Finder. The system does not get tired. The system does not have cold tea. The system follows the instruction.

Ivan H.L. finishes his clipboard. Ivan walks to the exit. The building is safe. Ivan has done his job. Ivan has written the same number forty times. Ivan does not feel bad. Ivan is a part of the code. Rashid is not a part of the code. Rashid is a man. Rashid wants to sleep. Rashid closes the laptop. The screen goes black. The room is dark. Rashid stands up. His back is stiff. Rashid walks to his bed.

The portals are still there. The portals are awake. The portals are waiting for the next agent. The portals are waiting for the next villa. The portals are waiting for the next description. The description will say the villa is spacious. The description will say the villa has a pool. The agent will type the words. The agent will type the price. The agent will upload the wood door. The portals will take the time. The portals will charge the agent. The agent will pay.

Rashid wakes up at 07:02. Rashid has a phone. The phone has a screen. The screen shows a lead. The lead is from the portal. Rashid is happy. Rashid forgets the twenty-eight minutes. Rashid forgets the cold tea. Rashid forgets the three tabs. Rashid gets in his car. The car is white. Rashid drives to the villa. The villa is still in Jumeirah Golf Estates. The villa is still six bedrooms. The grass is still green.

The portal has won. The portal has the data. The portal has the lead. The portal has Rashid. This is the design. This is not a mistake. This is the business. When the chore is hard, the portal is safe. When the agent is tired, the portal is strong. Friction is a wall. The wall is high. The wall is thick. The wall is made of words typed three times. Rashid drives his car. Rashid thinks about the commission. Rashid does not think about the wall. Rashid is an agent. Rashid follows the market.

I look at the software on my own computer. I see an update. I click the button. The update takes ten minutes. I do not use the software. I do not know why I update the software. I do it because the screen told me to do it. I am like Rashid. I am like Ivan. We all follow the instructions. We all type the numbers. We all wait for the bar to fill with color. The color is blue. The blue is the color of the screen. The screen is the world.