We all sit together at an overly long desk, in a room rented out for the purpose of holding our interviews. The air conditioning hums quietly in the background, providing a slight crisp to the morning air. I’ve ensured that Vii and I dress in proper business attire for the occasion, to not scare off our prospective subjects.

Berty, true to his promise has done more than wonderfully in sending out word for this, and it seems that we even have a few foreign applicants. We have a translator service at the ready to assist through speaker phone, but it’s only really for the one way, since we will understand them quite clearly.

“So how is your brain-chip holding up?” I ask my brother, “No headaches or anything? I can feed it more mana if there’s some trouble with it.”

“No, nothing like that.” He says, scratching his head. “It’s both incredibly useful and informative, but the user interface is very clunky.”

“Ha, that’s the advanced version you’ve got there, mister. I started out with the crappier version, and even that was an improvement over what some people have.” I say.

“That aside, I’m still having trouble digesting everything you’ve told me, and everything stored on this. Magic is not only real, but you can do all these things?”

“Well, I can’t. I can do a handful of tricks really well, but that’s about it. It’s one of the things I’m trying to work on, actually. Wars and empire building has been a little distracting to my classwork.”

“That too is difficult to accept.” He grunts, that dark expression returning to his soft face. “You shouldn’t have had to go through everything you did.”

“Nature doesn’t care, there are no gods up there which seem to care.” I say with a shrug, reading through one of the resumes “There’s nothing divine that decides what should and shouldn’t happen to us. Just our own strength versus that of the universe. No one bats an eye when a kid kills an ant, and really, no one should.”

He grunts a vague disagreement, but doesn’t press the issue, moving through his own pile of resumes alongside the rest of us. Vii is the slowest, not fully understanding everything written on here, what with nuclear physicists not being a common fixture in the magical universe she comes from.

“Why do they have race?” Vii asks, pointing it out. “Aren’t you all humans?”

“It’s to identify them correctly, I think?” I say. “A brief description so we can match the person to the resume. I don’t really see much of a reason for it beyond that.”

“Yeah, let’s leave it at that.” Berty says. “Just try to avoid the topic of gender and race if it comes up. It’s not something that should affect this, with where you’re taking them, they’ll all be aliens.”

“Right, well in that case, I think I’m done.” I say. “We need people who are flexible, but with a good foundational understanding of their fields. I’m honestly happy to take students fresh from university if they’re quick on the uptake and have the basics drilled into them. Just so long as we have some experts beside them to offer a different perspective.”

“What do we want them for, exactly?” Vii asks.

“To study magic with proper scientific framework, for one. The Unified States as a whole might understand how everything works, as I’ve heard claimed, but we don’t. That means we need to piece together the facts that we can’t pull out of a textbook in the library. The scientific method is useful for that.

“We need engineers to work in R&D with Wally and the others. I’m hoping their education here covers a few topics that others don’t specialise in. I mean, computers aren’t a thing when they damn well should be. I think the support devices are the only exceptions that matter.

“Then there’s mental health, and so much else.” I say. “I’m hoping that a few of them might have something to add that I can’t anticipate, too, but that’s just hoping blindly.”

Vii scrawls down a few notes on a piece of paper, as she listens. “I’ll try to pay attention and keep that in mind.” She says, looking properly serious.

“Onto the interview stage then?” Berty asks, picking up the phone. I nod and the secretary, Berty’s friend, sends the first applicant in.

The young man is a little nervous as he takes a seat opposite us, but he sits straight backed and steadies his expression as soon as his butt touches the chair. He does splutter at the sight of Vii, all dressed up in a proper suit, though there are no shoes to cover her long, sharp talons.

He’s rather open through all the questions we ask.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The young woman leaves the room in a daze, while she has the necessary talent, she’s not quite as satisfied when we made clear the kinds of the risks that are involved. I suppose she underestimated just how serious we were in writing the job offer.

That being said she didn’t rescind her application, her nervous tics were almost enough to make me start copying her, but she held her tongue and gripped onto the chance with all she had

“What’s with that?” I ask. “She clearly didn’t like the risks involved. Why didn’t she tell us?”

“There’s not much professional work available at the moment, especially not for people fresh from university. She probably feels that she can’t walk away from this opportunity.”

“Well, that’s damn depressive.” I say, “Hey, maybe when I get some spare land, I can put out a request for immigrants and take some more of these people in.”

“I’m not sure that solves the issue, but all that aside. Onto the next.”

The man who walks into the room after is sure in his step, and keeps his eyes focused on us. Like about half the applicants, he completely misses Vii’s inhuman characteristics as he introduces himself and takes a seat.

This one is a Karl, though I’m not sure I’ll need to remember it. We’ve been going from one name to the next, and while I can record them all with Chip, I’m not sure it’s even worth it.

“Before we begin, are there any questions you’d like to ask?” I say, getting us started. I’ve been keeping answers vague when they stray to difficult topics, but this way we can do something to calm them down and get them ready for the interview.

“Yes, actually.” He says, nodding his head. “There are a number of oddities to your job offer that I couldn’t help but ignore. From the fact that we’ll lose all contact with family and friends upon taking up the contract, to the point that payment is provided before we leave.

“Clearly this job is for some sort of top-secret project, but I couldn’t glisten what organisation it’s for. What’s more there’s no mention of a secrecy clause to the contract. Can you perhaps explain these discrepancies?”

The man clearly has a good head on his shoulders, and he’s suspicious from the get-go. I’d suspect him of being some sort of undercover agent if he didn’t stand out so much with his blunt force approach.

“Okay, let’s do this nice and quickly.” I say, he’s not the first to ask these questions. “There is no secrecy clause, because I don’t really give a shit about secrecy, at least not here on Earth.

“I am the organisation. I run a small operation somewhere very far away, which is why you’ll lose contact with your family. No space phones that connect to the Earth frequency so to speak.”

“Are you being serious?” He asks.

“Yeah, I am.” I say, summoning a small flame to hand. I’ve done it often enough now that I can get the power of it right without blowing up half the town. Without natural mana in the air, spells work very efficiently.

“Is that a magic trick?” He asks.

“No, it’s magic.” I say, swirling it around a bit. “I need some experts who can adapt human engineering to a world of magic, there are a few new rules involved in the physics of things.”

He watches the flames closely, looking for the trick. He won’t find it, but then there’s no assurance that he’ll actually believe it either. At this point, I’m just not too worried about it, I’ll just do a better job of convincing the next one.

Berty leans forwards to try and help me, but the applicant speaks first.

“You’ll teach us magic?” He asks.

“I kind of have to. Transport is painful as hell if you don’t have the basics down.” I reply.

“Alright then. I think I’m ready to continue with the interview.” He says, sitting up straight, his eyes taking on a new clarity.

He answers quickly and properly to everything asked, and while he’s still young, he has some experience in the field of engineering and design. More importantly, he seems to have a spread-out specialisation dipping into all sorts of topics within engineering design work, so he’d get along well with Wally I’m sure.

“Before we finish up.” I say, as we get to the end of the interview. “We have a shopping list from one of my other employees back home, but I’m not sure I fully understand it.”

I hand him a list of programs and equipment, that Wally provided us, to the man. Rather than rushing to give us a reply, he analyses it carefully, nodding at a few things then shaking his head at others.

“Whoever wrote this is either a smart amateur or a failed student.” He says, “There’s better out there, and you’ll also need to consider the lack of connection to the internet, some of these programs have restrictions that limit their use when they’re not properly verified every few minutes.”

“Okay, does anyone have any complaints?” I ask, looking at Vii and my brother. They shake their heads.

“He seems smart.” Vii says, “I don’t even get half this stuff that we’re asking him about. Like what’s with all these computer program thingamajigs? He has some experience with them, but like, I don’t get it.”

“I see no issue with him.” Berty says. “But he’s fresh from his education and doesn’t have the length of experience of some other applicants. We’ll want to group him up with others more experienced.”

“Then I’ll be glad to have you working with us, if you’ll accept.” I say, turning to him, but his attention has suddenly gotten stuck on Vii. She waves a wing at him and he waves a hand back.

“What language was that?” He asks.

“Oh, that.” I scratch my head. “You’ll get a universal translator before we leave, so for now just put up with it.”

He laughs, blinking a little as he looks between us. He supresses his emotions again, sitting up straight.

“If you aren’t able to stay true to your word of teaching us magic, then I’ll consider the contract void.” He says.

“If you fail to learn it, then it’s void anyway.” I say with a shrug. “You do not want to ride that ship if you’re not prepared for it. Anyway, when we’ve decided the others that will be grouped with you, your first job will be to collect everything on that list, or whatever alternative your group thinks would work better.”

This is the conclusion we came to rather early on after Wally tried to explain what it was he was after. Unfortunately, an amateur himself, he couldn’t really name everything he needed so there are a few items on the list that are vague enough that I couldn’t possibly find them without help.

After Karl leaves the room, we sort through the remaining engineers and designers, putting together the group of potential employees and sending them off with the shopping list. I expect a few will fail at developing a mana form, but there are enough of them that it should be fine to lose a few.

Next comes the scientists, which is all much simpler. The few standouts with an interest in taking on a new branch of study didn’t hesitate to throw themselves at the chance, even in a state of surprise and shock. Others were more dedicated to their specific field of study and weren’t particularly fond of the idea of messing with the fringes of science. Then, as with the groups before, there are those who panic, those who run away, and those who just go catatonic when we reveal our true purpose.

After that is lunch, light and easy on the stomach. I spend most of it looking through the resumes for the next lot of potential employees. The psychologists and psychiatrists. The head doctors.

“What makes a good quack?” I ask. “Are they still called that? Quacks, I mean?”

“It’s not the preferred terminology, and you aren’t a duck, so I think it’s best you don’t go saying that when the interviews begin.” Berty says, sighing. “I’m not entirely sure myself what would separate a good candidate from a bad one in this area.

“I think we should focus on innovators who aren’t stuck in their current assumptions.” He says. “If your descriptions have been accurate then there will be all sorts of people with different cultural backgrounds and biological challenges in your city. That could mean that all human psychiatry could fail, as it mightn’t apply to some of the more alien species.”

“Huh. Okay, that sounds reasonable.” I say, thinking over his words as we push through the first few applicants.

Unlike the others, apart from the young university graduates, they’re all quick to leave when the requirements are made clear. Most are comfortable here at home and don’t want to migrate to another galaxy, even with the vague offer of magic.

I guess they know crazy when they see it.

“Are you certain it’s alright if we’re interviewed together?” An older lady asks, as she settles into the chair beside her husband, who offers her a hand to help her sit. They’re far from the youthful graduates that we’ve been seeing lately, and I’d guess that they’re on the edges of their careers from the look of them.

“It’s fine.” I say, relaxing in my chair. It’s been a long day, and we’ve had five walk outs in a row before these two came in. “It might just be easier to deal with this in groups anyway. It’d be quicker, at least.”

“It would be much less personal, though wouldn’t it?” The old man says. “I’m Patrick and this is my wife Gemma. We were caught by surprise when a personal friend of ours gave us this job offer, it’s not something we’d have responded to if we’d seen it in the paper, or on those fancy computers.”

“Yes, our situation is rather… unusual.” I say, forcing myself to sit up straight and return their politeness. “I’m Kyra, this is my girlfriend and associate Vii, and my brother Berty.”

“A pleasure to meet you all.” Gemma says, her eyes hovering around Vii for a moment. She doesn’t lock on to her wings and talons as most do when they notice that she’s not human. “I have to agree that the situation is far from ordinary.”

“Your offer is one that would leave us cut off from society,” Patrick says, “More than that, the vague details of the offer… if you’ll forgive me for saying this, it’s the sort of thing that’s usually tied to rather shady business. Unethical, and cruel business.”

“I’m sure it would be.” I say, acknowledging just how shady our job offer looks. “I can’t guarantee that you’ll like everything about how I run things, but I can say that your part in this is simply to help people, and to study them to find better means of helping them in the future.”

“What sort of trauma has taken place?” Patrick asks, his voice gentle but firm.

“Extreme violence. Seeing people torn apart right before your very eyes, and even being forced to participate in the violence yourself. Captivity, stripped of control over your own body, and forced to act and talk in a properly subservient fashion.

“Paranoia, living in a community where you must always show how good and proper of a person you are, else you’ll be detained. Plenty more than that, too. That one was just a personal list.”

I can’t fully keep the anger from my voice, thinking back to all the horrors that led me on this path of violence and power.

Berty places a hand on my shoulder and Vii grabs my hand under the table, looking more worried than usual. The tilt to her head showing her confusion, as she looks at me.

“I… I need help.” I say, leaning in over the table. “I have a hodgepodge group of people from all sorts of cultures, with all sorts of traumas, all trying their best to get on with life. I know I’m not the only person suffering, and I want to do what I can to help them but I just don’t have the right skills to do anything about it. I’m hoping that you might help.”

“I think we should do it.” Gemma says, facing her husband.

“Well, what else can we do with our golden years. That damn plague shut down our river cruise before we could even score a ticket.” He grumbles, shaking his head. “I’m sure the young lady will show us an interesting time.”

“A grand adventure.” I say, with a chuckle that I know comes out a little dark. Choking down the feelings that floated to the surface, I refocus on the task at hand.

“Well, I guess that’s that, then. You will need to come in for acclimatisation training, but I think you should be able to handle it fine. We’ll be leaving in three days.”

For some reason my voice cracks in the middle of speaking, so I just smile as they leave, and the next applicant comes in.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So this is Ice-cream?” Vii says, as I feed her another spoonful of the thick chocolaty goodness, cuddling up with her on the couch while the show continues to play in the background.

“Yep. Great for moments like this.” I say, finishing off the first container. There’s still another two to go and the night ahead is long.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 32,710 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 16,258 / 30,266 shards

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,266 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (20,000 mana shards)

-Bone Magic Storage (40,000 mana shards)

-Nail Shifters (50,000 mana shards)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (8,000 mana shards)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (35,000 mana shards)

-Layered space Muscles (80,000 mana shards)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (140,000 mana shards)

-Repulsive Skin (80,000 mana shards)

-Prehensile hair (10,000 mana shards)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (100,000 mana shards)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (5,000 mana shards)

-Wide ears (5,000 mana shards)

-Sharp nose (5,000 mana shards)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

-Tag and Film

-Trapping

-Stealth

-Mana surge movement

-Annihilation defence

-Annihilation flame burst

-Annihilation net

-Eyes of an Empire