Jeremy and Jana stood before a large gate, set between two brick pillars.

He stood behind her nervously, sticking close. She glared forward at the soldiers standing behind it.

“Let me in,” Jana demanded.

The soldier on the left put a hand to their ear and whispered something. After a moment, they nodded to the soldier beside them, who had a tablet in his hand. He tapped something on it, and the gates opened inward, parting for Jana and Jeremy.

The left soldier said, as they quickly walked through, “Samuel will meet you,” with a harsh accent. He trailed them as they walked through the empty, dusty field nestled between the massive estate and the fence perimeter.

“Listen, Jeremy,” Jana said. “You can leave the negotiations to me. Just stay in my barrier, and this should work out.”

He nodded. “I’ll be quiet. Just don’t pick a fight, please?”

Jana shook her head, looking forward to the estate’s front doors. “We kinda picked one just by coming here on short notice, but I’m sure it’ll work out.”

“Hmm...”

As they approached the large double doors, they opened, and someone walked through.

Covering his head was a tied-up, black and gold piece of cloth. He had golden-rimmed glasses, and his age was clearly showing on his face, either in his fifties or sixties. His hands were tucked behind his back and he wore a long black and gold suit and dress pants.

“Hello, Jana,” he said with a small smirk.

Jana’s expression was tight, and Jeremy chewed his cheek, looking between the two.

Eventually, Jana sighed, then slightly bowed her head, “Asalamu Alaykum,” she said.

The older man snickered. “Are you being polite, Jana?”

Her eye twitched. “You could say that, Samuel,” she said. “Though, I think we both know that nobody but a foreigner like you would appreciate it, the way I’m dressed.”

“Yes, though I’m quite surprised that a hotheaded child like you would understand a lick of their etiquette.”

Jana glared.

“Alright, I’ll stop stalling. You may come in,” he turned and walked further into the building.

Jeremy reluctantly followed Jana as she walked in, then removed her shoes. Jeremy followed suit and took a supplied pair of slippers on before walking onto the slightly elevated floor, where another set of glass doors stood.

The room they walked into wasn’t what he was expected. Instead of a grandiose room with a chandelier and stairs, it was an enormous lobby. There were five large elevators and two even larger hallways.

Two weaponless soldiers flanked Samuel, who each had thick, red bracelets. They gave the two newcomers neutral glares.

“Now, how about I invite you two in for dinner?” Samuel asked, motioning and walking to the hall to the right.

“How about you don’t keep stalling, like you said.” Jana said passive-aggressively.

The old man sighed, but continued walking. “Would tea at least be acceptable?”

Jana met his gaze for a few seconds, then eventually closed her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “We need to discuss why I’m here, anyway.”

Jana and Jeremy sat on one side of a massive sofa while a reservedly-dressed woman gingerly filled their teacups, then quickly walked out of the room.

Sitting on a single, brown wooden chair, Samuel picked up his cup and sipped. “[Thank you for the tea,]” he said before she was gone. “Now, to address your arrival...”

Jeremy reached for his cup, but Jana caught his hand.

“It isn’t poisoned, I assure you,” Samuel said with a chuckle. “Though I can’t imagine why you would suspect me of planning to subdue you.”

“I’m just cautious,” Jana said. “I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“What I’m thinking?” Samuel asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“I know my father had a deal with your lab before all of this, but I don’t understand how any of that led to this.”

Samuel set down his tea with a thoughtful frown. “I see. You want to know how things came to me being a part of Iraq’s rebuilding?”

“If that’s what you want to call it.”

He sighed. “I’m quite misunderstood, it seems. This was all from the goodness of my heart. I’m rebuilding the middle-east, doing my part for the world.”

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Jana expressed her annoyance with a frown. “Riight,” she said doubtfully. “I feel like that’s what America said when they sent Jenesse.”

“Hmhm,” he chuckled, raising his glass. “Fiine. You are indeed right. I have ulterior motives. But I still feel as though you are overestimating the blackness in my heart.”

“And you’re covering it up with fancy words,” Jana said matter-of-factly.

“Perhaps. But, if you must know my general plan, it was always this,” he motioned to the room around them, his expression shifting inscrutably for a moment.

It was a very utilitarian lounge, though quite expensive. There was the table for tea to be served on, a TV behind Samuel, the sofa, and a ceiling light.

“A lounge?” Jana asked.

“N-no. This whole building.”

“What about it?”

“It’s a lab.”

“Oh.”

Samuel looked between the two newcomers. “You mean you weren’t aware?”

Jana shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen this place before now. The only reason I knew where to find you was that this place seemed to just emanate ‘dictator’ vibes.”

“Dictator, you say?” Samuel chuckled again. “No, I’m afraid I’m no dictator.”

“Really? Then are you a prime minister?” Jana said in an oblivious manner, “Or maybe a monarch? A tyrant? An autocrat? Sultan, maybe?”

“You’re quite the joker,” he responded unenthusiastically, raising his eyebrows briefly. “...but an uninformed one. I do not rule this state on my lonesome.”

Jana narrowed her eyes. “Not what I’ve heard.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know. Western countries like our own never know how to keep their facts straight.” Jana once more felt like she was being called an American, which annoyed her, again. “But the fact is: I am not a dictator, but a technocrat.”

“Fuck you,” Jana immediately responded.

He stared at her confusedly.

“You heard me, fuck you.”

“Oh, I heard you. I’m just confused; what brought this on?”

“You’re just making up words at this point. It’s damn pathetic.”

“Uhh, Jana...” Jeremy interjected.

“Huh?”

“Technocrat is a real word.”

...

She immediately turned her head to the side, rolling her eyes as she waved it off. “W-whatever. It’s still dumb.”

Holding in a storm of laughter, Samuel said, “T-technocrat means...that those in charge are experts in their fields.”

Jana folded her arms, looking back through the corner of her eye.

“A-anyway,” Samuel said, sighing out his laughter. “I have accomplices. After all, I don’t have the technical expertise to build or manage cities. I may be the face of the nation, but all I really am is a scientist good at image control. Perhaps I’m also an engineer, depending on your definitions.”

“Alright, whatever,” Jana said casually. “You’ve convinced me, or something.”

“Good. Now, regarding why you’re here, I suppose you’ve come to ask what happened to that girl?”

Jana tilted her head. “What girl?”

“Psychi. The Canadian girl.”

“So you’ve heard about that,” Jana said ruefully.

“I keep up to date on mysterious psychic phenomena.”

“I guess that makes sense, considering it’s your expertise.”.

“Yes. Well, more on-topic, I do feel quite regretful. I simply cannot explain what happened to her.”

Jana raised an eyebrow.

“I have procured plenty of footage of the event, of that green light, but it is quite inexplicable. In fact, the circle that summoned it seemed to have runes, if you’re familiar with the concept.”

“Like, wait, wait, slow down here,” Jana said, shaking her head. “A circle? Runes? Summoned the light? What are you going on about?” she asked. Jeremy looked equally as confused.

Samuel raised an eyebrow. “You mean you haven’t seen the footage of it?”

“I have!” she protested.

He smiled smugly. “But not the most recent footage?”

“Most recent?” Jana said, confused.

“Yeesh, I suppose I must begin on square one, then.” Samuel stood, then pulled out a phone as he dragged his chair to the side, then sat on another side of the sofa. After a moment, a video broadcasted on the TV.

The camera pointed at the ground, where the snow had piled on the street, and just beyond, a small forest stood. Just moments after the video began, the snow and trees were blown back in a massive explosion, dozens being uprooted and thrown asunder. Jana was similarly thrown back, straight into the dirt where a tree had been, but barely managed to withstand the force, mustering a psychic barrier. Then, she raised a makeshift wall of ice, which was quickly hit by another explosion of air, quickly cracking. Psychi fell into the picture but barely caught herself before she broke every bone in her body. Then, she briefly tumbled out of sight, under a newly made rim of dirt around the crater. Psychi emerged from behind the wall a while later, dragging Jana along with her with a terrified expression. Finally, she made a cast of ice over her right arm.

Jana hadn’t remembered any of this, and although it wasn’t some massive revelation, she hadn’t known that Psychi had saved her from the crumbling wall of ice she’d made.

Then came the fascinating part. Underneath her and Jana, a massive circle appeared. Both Jana and Jeremy recognized the way it was constructed. It appeared to be some sort of magic circle, with runes on the edges in an unfamiliar language. From there, everything played out as they already knew they had, with Psychi running from a green light that appeared.

The video ended, and Samuel turned the TV back off. “Well, there you have it. Fascinating, no?”

“Uhh, I gu-” Jana began before being cut off.

“Is this a joke!?” Jeremy said, standing up. “You’re kidding.”

“About what?” Samuel asked.

“You’re telling my sister got...” he trailed off before sitting down. Summoned into another world by a magic circle!? he thought but didn’t say.

“Your...sister? Am I correct in assuming that means that you would be...”

“Psychi’s brother,” Jana finished for him. “Yes.”

“Interesting...well, I can’t explain anything in this video, unfortunately. I have far too little to work with in regard to information. Explaining that event is beyond my ability. It is clearly a deliberate attack on Psychi, that much we can gather, but any more information is mere conjecture.”

“Hmm...” Jana pondered what he had said, uncertain. Was it really an attack? If it really did send her to another world, which only seemed more believable now, was it really used with ill intent? “Well, that can’t be helped, for now,” Jana said.

“Really? Is that all?” Samuel asked. “I was almost hoping you would stay with me for a while longer.”

Jana sent him a disgusted expression. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, quite a few things, really. Mostly, I just wanted to show off my new technologies in progress to my niece.”

“Oh, I s...” Jana said before rapidly blinking with an inscrutable expression. “Wait, what?”