Lisa admired the scenery as she walked through the campus. This was her first time at the Dawnhill Academy. She knew that one of the reasons for the bold choice in architecture was to make it hard to get a good grasp of the place by plane or satellite. The architects had done a good job working within the limitations to create a charming aesthetic. There must have been some serious compromises between the desire to make the buildings seem authentic while also fulfilling all modern needs of the buildings.
A lot of eyes were following her as she walked through the campus. Most of her fellow agents had left already. There was nothing to clean up at all, which was nice for a change. No need to wipe the memory of fifty plus veiled individuals. Quite the opposite, the head of media, Crowley, had made it clear they were to make a strong impression on the students. It would help both recruitment and general belief in the power of the Consortium.
Agent Siri met them outside one of the fake longhouses. It was shaped like four longhouses stuck together in a cross. They traded greetings before Lisa followed Siri into the house.
“Any notable speed bumps I should be aware of?” Lisa asked her colleague.
“Well, the headmistress is less than pleased for us to be here.” Siri sighed. “Even after explaining our purpose. This is really a conflict between her and the board of directors. She has lodged a complaint at the Consortium. Just refer her to the head of the board of directors, Mrs. Kowalski, if she tries to boss you around.”
Great. Internal politics. Always fun.
“How about the target herself? Any issues?” Lisa asked.
“Surprisingly, no. After we assured her that we were here to recruit and not detain her, she has been entirely cooperative. If I didn’t know better, I’d call her gullible. She doesn’t give that impression at all, though. I told her to aim all her questions towards you, so I hope you are mentally prepared.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ve been given explicit orders to not touch her memory, but I don’t see how that should be an issue here. By the way, I read your report about the other potential recruit. The daughter of Mrs. Kowalski, right? Unofficially, what do you think of her?”
Siri glanced around. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s using her clairvoyance to spy on us at this very moment. She has potential, but also some issues. I’m on the fence with this one. Maybe give it a few years and do an evaluation then.”
Lisa nodded. “That was the plan, in any case.”
They arrived at a group room, repurposed for this interview. Siri opened the door, revealing a sparsely furnished room. Two sets of school desks with chairs, a blackboard and a closed cupboard. Mina was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a book. Sigil recognized her, but the difference made by the much shorter hair since their last meeting was stunning.
Mina closed the book and put it away. She rose and greeted them with a smile: “Good day.”
“Yes, good day,” Lisa answered. This was quite different from how most interviews started. Last time, she got the impression that Mina was a shy girl. This was pretty much the opposite of what she had expected.
“I’ll be outside,” Siri declared, “Call me if you need me.”
With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving Lisa alone with Mina. Siri was as usual uninterested in anything beyond her own responsibility. Fair enough. She did what she was supposed to. Lisa sat down on the chair opposite her interviewee.
“I am Agent Sigil, if you don't remember. We meet under quite different circumstances this time. How are you feeling, Mina?” Lisa threaded the waters.
“Quite fine, thank you. It’s almost miraculous how different life can feel when you no longer need to watch over your shoulder all the time. Well, at least not because I fear death anymore. There’s your average bullying to worry about, but that’s just peanuts in comparison.”
Not exactly a response she’d expect from an eleven year old. Both laid-back and mature. In fact, too mature. Maybe this was her way of dealing with a stressful situation? No, she had been extremely shy earlier, and that should have been a stressful situation, too.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Lisa said, “Well, not about the bullying, of course, but that you are feeling fine.”
“Thank you,” Mina nodded, “Now, I have a lot of questions, and I was told you were the one that would provide me with answers. Let me know if you feel I’m nagging you.”
Okay? This was definitely not how she planned the interview. In fact, it felt like Mina was trying to interview her and not the other way around.
“Can you save your questions until I’ve explained the situation? Maybe a lot of them will get answered.”
“Certainly. Do you mind if I take notes while we discuss?”
“Be my guest.”
Time to take back the driver seat. Not that Mina was unpleasant or anything, she was actually quite refreshing to talk to. Lisa had talked to dozens who plain refused to cooperate. That was an entirely different beast.
“First, congratulations are in order. The Consortium has decided to extend you an invitation to their agent training program. We will also cover all expenses on your education up to that point, including housing and other necessities. This is a unique chance not many receive.”
Most of the recipients of this speech were moved, often ecstatic. Mina looked unimpressed.
“Thank you,” she calmly answered, “Unfortunately, my first impression of the Consortium was less than stellar. I got confirmation that you were responsible for ending the lives of more than a hundred people through meticulously planned murder. I’m afraid that has made me somewhat skeptical towards you.”
Yes, right. Lisa had read the preliminary report, about how she had somehow inherited both Martin Schneider Kinsley’s awakened power and memories. Agent Solitaire had been ecstatic that such a potentially powerful talent had not been lost to them. Well, ecstatic on his scale, which most others would classify as very pleased. Now it was up to Lisa to deal with the fallout from Martin’s unpleasant experience.
“I can understand your apprehensions. Mr. Kinsley didn’t exactly get a neutral impression of us. But believe me, everything the Consortium does is for a good reason. Our goals are always aligned with humanity’s best interests.”
It was obviously not enough to convince her.
“That is an interesting way to phrase it. What are humanity’s best interests? Who gets to decide that?”
"I promise you'll get a chance to ask questions later. Allow me to give you a quick presentation first."
She pulled out her pad and opened the non-confidential presentation slideshow. It was usually aimed at larger adult audiences. Considering Mina's mature demeanor, it would probably not be a problem.
"The Consortium is an organization that sprung up from the cooperation of several local groups. It started with seven groups and an area roughly equivalent to Ireland, and swiftly grew from there. To this date, the Consortium spans over more than half of the developed world, making it by far the largest unveiled organization in terms of area control.”
She could see that Mina was burning with questions. Lisa skipped multiple slides outlining the history, stuff that could wait until Mina was old enough for the Consortium Academy.
“The Consortium’s main purpose is to protect humanity against awakened threats. The Veil is both our strongest shield and weapon against any such threats, which is why ensuring its existence is our highest priority. The rules that help safeguard the Veil are codified in the Law of the Veil, often just referred to as the Law. While there are some disagreements, almost all unveiled organizations have adopted similar laws.”
‘Some disagreements’ were a vast understatement… Mina would learn about that in time.
“To better achieve our goals, the Consortium cooperates with various veiled governments and organizations. Most of the time, we work with governments through shadow agencies; agencies that are just mundane fronts for Consortium departments. We do not interfere in veiled policies or matters such as elections, apart from ensuring the continued existence of said agencies. This non-interference policy allows us to maintain agencies within multiple countries that often have competing interests.”
At least they had learned from their mistakes.
“All personnel working directly for the Consortium are referred to as agents. The organization has several divisions. A little over half of the agents have permanent positions in one specific subdivision. The rest are flexible, and may be assigned between subdivisions. Most field agents fall under that classification.”
She skipped several slides charting out the different divisions. Not important right now.
“Contrary to what many believe, the Consortium does not have a vast number of field agents at their disposal. Each of our agents is handpicked for their talents and skills. We treat every single one of our agents well, giving them the respect and the recompense they deserve. While we occasionally handle dangerous assignments, we go to great lengths to protect our agents. As such, we endorse the use of modern high-tech equipment to help achieve our goals with as little risk as possible. The drones used in the operation to find you are a good example.”
Without high-tech equipment and methods, they would never have found Mina. If she had lived a hundred years ago, she would have slipped under their radar and never been found again.
“There are several ways to become an agent, but these days practically everyone in this country is educated at the Consortium Academy. It is a prestigious high school among the veiled community. You will be given a scholarship there once you are ready to enter high school. After completing it, you will join the Consortium as a junior agent.”
Lisa dropped the rest of the slides. Possibly the shortest presentation she had done, but it should cover the most important parts.
“Now, you may ask your questions.”
Lisa peeked at Mina’s notes. From the looks of it, she had filled two pages with them. This could take a while.
“Right, questions. I have so many, I barely know where to start. Let’s start with this one: What exactly happened at the slaughter Martin was unwittingly part of?”
“I’m not surprised you wanted to ask that first. I have to warn you; all information regarding the incident is confidential. Having said that, I have been given special permission to share some information with you, to alleviate your concerns.”
“Most generous of you,” Mina said. Was that sarcasm?
“I would normally ask you to sign a non-disclosure contract, but you are too young for your signature to be binding in any way. I will not forbid you from sharing this information with other unveiled individuals, but I will advise you to employ caution. Sharing this information too frivolously will probably harm yourself more than anyone else. You are obviously not allowed to share this with veiled individuals, but then again you are not allowed to share any information regarding the unveiled world with veiled people, so it doesn’t really make a big difference.”
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“I am keen on living, so no worries. I promise to be discreet about who I share things with.”
She seemed sincere.
“Good,” Lisa nodded. “The incident was the result of a lot of safeguards failing, as well as a blatant disrespect towards the Law of the Veil. The party was one in a series of social gatherings where the arrangers sought to introduce a large number of people to the unveiled world. They started mostly mundanely, but gradually the unveiled individuals worked to convince the veiled participants of the existence of magic.”
Mina looked a bit skeptical.
“Martin saw nothing other than social mingling among the elites?”
“There were probably smaller discussions Martin and other veiled individuals were not part of. The main demonstration was scheduled later that evening. It is possible and even likely you would have been dismissed before that.”
“So you mean, Martin might still have been alive if the Consortium had delayed the operation until later that evening?”
Surprisingly, she didn’t sound very upset.
“Possibly. Let me come back to that. Now, by the time the Consortium learned of these gatherings, there had already been five similar parties. Through various demonstrations and other means, the unveiled arrangers had mostly erased the participants' skepticism regarding magic.”
“At this point, the Consortium had a hard decision to make. What had happened was a huge breach of the Law of the Veil, the largest in at least thirty years. Not only was it deliberate, the intent behind it was to make it too big to fail. As in, the arrangers believed that by including so many of the society’s elites, it was not possible for the Consortium to simply silence them.“
“The Consortium saw only two alternatives. If it sat idle and did nothing, a moderately large number of people would join the unveiled world. The numbers themselves would not threaten the Veil, but it would set a precedent that would implicitly open the doors for other individuals to attempt similar stunts. This had the potential to grow exponentially, which would all but certainly ruin the Veil.”
Mina was an attentive listener, a lot calmer than many adults she had shared this with.
“The other alternative, as you can surmise, was to deal with the problem directly. It was not a decision taken lightly. The consequences would be large, but the alternative was even worse. Thus, the Consortium planned and executed an operation known as the Alarm Clock Purge. The goal was simply to silence every single individual involved. This was not limited to only the people present at the party, but also other unveiled individuals who enabled this incident, as well as those that withheld information that would have allowed the Consortium to learn of this earlier. This included even two of our own agents.”
It was a shame, but as Agent Solitaire put it; it was important that the agents knew they were not above the Law.
“The intent was not only done to punish the breach of the Veil, but as a punitive measure; to demonstrate to others what would happen if they crossed the line. Having said that, it was decided that this could lead to bad publicity, so it would not be shared freely among everyone. Only agents or individuals in positions of power were or are informed about it directly. Of course, with no gag order imposed on anyone, it is inevitable that others will learn of it, but that is deemed acceptable.”
She was thirsty after all the talking.
“Give me a moment,” she asked. She knocked on the door and requested for Siri to get her an iced coffee, or a regular one if that was all they had.
Mina sat silent for a moment, seemingly in deep thought.
“I would not have expected this, but I have to concede that your logic makes sense. Given the premise of the importance of the Veil, I can’t really fault your decision.”
Quite generous, considering her unique perspective.
“I will question your timing. If you had waited a few hours, you could have done this after the orchestra and other uninvolved people left, right?”
“I was not directly involved in the operation, and as such I don’t know all the details regarding the planning. However, I am under the impression that the plan involved infiltrating the mansion as part of the hired staff. They needed to spring the trap before they were dismissed themselves, or the plan would have been a lot harder to execute.”
“How so? With enough agents, you could simply have surrounded the place and blown it up or something?”
“Possibly, but that would entail a risk to the agents involved. Awakened or not, we are still susceptible to bullets. The infiltrating agents needed to neutralize the armory before the plan could be executed. And make no mistake, they had an actual armory there. I can’t go into more details than that.”
“I see.”
Mina scratched one of the questions on her notebook and wrote a few more. There was a knock on the door, and the coffee was delivered. Siri would make a terrific courier with her talent, if she ever got tired of the agent work.
“I assume the reason the party was held in a remote mansion was that the Veil was weaker there?”
“Probably. I'm only guessing, as I have not read the full report.”
“Okay, my second most important question. Why go through all the effort to catch Martin, and later me? At first, I thought you wanted to silence me, but it gets even more unbelievable when you consider that you were only trying to recruit me. How many man-hours did you spend on it?”
“It is not in my best interest to question my own boss’ decision. He deemed it worth it. But to answer your question from the beginning; the initial reason to find Martin was two-fold. First, we wanted to silence all witnesses, particularly veiled ones. Second, we needed to know how someone had slipped through our net. The plan was very thorough, and still someone made it out. We had to find out how. It would be crucial to future operations, and could even reveal mistakes in our past that we might have to return to.”
“I see.”
“When Agent Solitaire learned you were awakened, the third reason was added; he wanted to recruit you. An agent capable of slipping completely undetected past other awakened beings is a rare resource. It’s not completely unique, but uncommon enough that any such individuals are greatly coveted as agents.”
“How rare are we talking here?”
“Well, that’s part of the problem. If they are invisible to our sensors and other ordinary means, we can’t even count them properly. For all we know, the ability might be fairly common. But among people we’re aware of? In the neighborhood of one in a thousand to one in ten thousand awakened creatures.”
“Huh. Neat.”
“Unfortunately, your talent is not as powerful as we first thought. It is easily defeated by modern means, such as drones. You are undetectable only to people who directly try to perceive you. If someone looks at camera footage of you or other indirect means, they can see you just as easily as any other person. In addition, it seems you can’t directly control it, only unconsciously. The latter part may be redeemable with training.”
“I see. I must admit, I did not expect anyone to ever tell me that I have potential as a ninja.”
“Hopefully that answers your question. I assume you have more. I probably won’t have time to answer every single one, so prioritize the more important ones before I have to leave.”
“Right. Let’s see.”
She looked down her list. Honestly, Lisa could make room for all her questions if she wanted to, but she didn’t. It was too tiresome.
“Okay, you said earlier that the Consortium’s goal was to protect humanity against awakened threats. Can you go into more detail?”
“Unfortunately, no. You will learn more at the Consortium Academy.”
“Somewhat disappointing, but okay. Can we talk about the offer itself? How voluntary is the invitation I received?”
Lisa sighed internally. Mina was polite enough about it, but Lisa could tell she wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the invitation.
“It is a question I don’t have the authority to give a final answer to. If I were to make a guess, you are expected to accept the scholarship and a position as junior agent. Once your training is complete, you can probably resign, like any other agent. I can check with my boss to make sure I’m not mistaken.”
“Please do.”
Lisa checked her watch while Mina checked her list of questions. The helicopter was scheduled to return in a little over two hours. If this didn’t take forever, she would have time for a meal and some sightseeing before she was picked up.
“Can we talk about the Consortium’s leadership?”
“You may ask, but it’s unlikely you’ll be satisfied with the answers. There’s not a lot I can tell you."
"Because you're not allowed to tell me, or because you don't know much yourself?"
"No comment."
"Right. That’s a clue right there. So, I’m guessing the leaders are not public figures?"
"Some of them are.”
“... which means some are not. And I presume that their decisions are not always publicly disclosed within the unveiled society?”
“That’s right. How is that any different than any other government?”
“Well, I was hoping you could answer that question. Or more precisely; who are the Consortium leadership beholden to? Are there any control mechanisms if the leadership should make ill informed decisions?”
Lisa could practically feel a headache starting up. This was not something she was interested in discussing. She felt she had been very accommodating, and Mina just kept pushing into more and more difficult territory.
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Can you give me an example of a similar government mechanic?”
“Sure. In most democratic countries, if a law is passed that violates some constitutional rights, the courts can step in and block that law. If the public doesn’t like a particular government they can vote them out, given that the elections are mostly free and fair. And in either case, the public can investigate, publicly discuss and even arrange protests if they disagree with the government’s decision.”
“Well, there are some mechanisms. The Consortium needs the support of the underlying groups, so they can’t just do whatever they like. So the leadership of those groups have a lot of influence over the Consortium’s affairs.”
“Interesting. Can I ask about them for a moment? How does the Consortium decide which groups to cooperate with? Or do they accept cooperation from any group or organization, as long as they control territory?”
“The Consortium subscribes to the non-interference policy when it comes to the groups, too.”
“Is that a fancy way of saying that you’ll accept basically anyone, no matter their methods? So if a group of thugs violently took over a peaceful group’s area, the Consortium would just smile and extend their hand?”
“That is a strawman argument. All the groups that control territory are powerful, otherwise someone else would have already taken their positions.”
“The picture you’re drawing is that there is a lot of strife or at least hostilities going on between the groups, and the Consortium just cooperates with whoever comes out on top. Is that correct?”
“More or less. Open hostilities aren’t very common. The Consortium may step in if something threatens the Veil in areas adjacent to other protected areas, but only after giving severe warnings.”
“Right. So if I understand this correctly, the system is somewhat rigged in favor of violent groups taking control forcibly? This may not have been intentional on anyone’s part, but it seems to be the logical outcome of the current policies.”
Lisa mentally winced. It was scary how quickly she had seen right through one of the biggest problems the Consortium was struggling with, given only minimal hints. Or maybe she had let something major slip? No, she couldn't think of anything.
One look at Mina told her that it would be pretty pointless to deny it, unless she wanted to completely antagonize her.
“You’re right,” she sighed, “The Consortium much prefers to work with groups without questionable agendas.”
“But they also have to work with what are essentially unveiled bandit lords?”
“I wouldn’t describe it as such, but yes. The most important part is that the Consortium does not lose jurisdiction over vast areas, or things could spiral out of control quickly.”
“Because of the threat to the Veil?”
… at least she hadn’t guessed the other reason.
“Yes,” she confirmed. Mina looked questioningly at her. She might be suspecting something else, but Lisa was not about to give her any more hints.
Mina shrugged.
“So, following the line of thought earlier; several groups of questionable moral integrity have a say in Consortium affairs. That sounds like something that could easily turn into a slippery slope. The more amoral groups influence the Consortium, the easier it is for more amoral groups to gain influence.”
… and divisions to pop up within the Consortium. Factionalism. Sharper and sharper divides. Hopefully that would lessen by the time Mina became an agent.
“It is a problem we are aware of and are working to solve.”
“Good to hear. Who are ‘we’ in that sentence?”
No, no, no, she was not going to yield any more information. It was bad enough what she had done already. She was already dreading writing the report.
“You know, I think this is a good time to end the interview. I have probably provided more answers than I should have. If you have any questions directly related to your own situation, I’m willing to listen, otherwise I think we are done.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for putting you in a bad spot.”
Lisa almost felt her jaw drop. She was apologizing…?
“What, exactly, are you apologizing for?”
“I am pretty sure I’m causing you trouble by asking all these difficult questions. I assure you, that was not my intention.”
Oh my. Her empathy was a lot more developed than the report led her to believe. Forget her ability to avoid detection; this part of the talent was probably the more useful one.
It might somewhat overlap with Agent Solitaire’s own talent, but that wasn’t exactly a problem. He went out for field work only because no one could replace his talent. Well, no one they could trust. If they got someone else who could? That would free up so much of his time for other duties. He would probably be overjoyed upon hearing this. Well, as overjoyed as he could ever be. Maybe even smile a bit.
“You don’t need to apologize. If anything, you have impressed me. I look forward to seeing your future developments.”
Mina smiled back assuringly. Lisa couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated. Like when she was speaking with Agent Solitaire, she felt she had to be very careful with what she said. Despite the advantages of working with someone with her talent, the thought also stressed her somewhat.
The most important part now was to recruit her before the Reformists snapped her up.