“We at TODO: Identify Brilliant Company Name are a new type of job placement agency. Our program will put the most talented applicants into the best company for them.”
The name of the company was TODO: Identify Brilliant Company Name? Was the author out of ideas already? This was not a good sign. We hadn’t even started. Previously, I saw him writing the scene. Was I now living through the shitty first draft? No one else seemed bothered by the name.
Julie carried on. “Whatever your reasons, you have applied to this experimental, high-risk program. If successful, it will grant you full citizenship on Catallaxy, along with a job. We judged you to be high potential and worth the investment. This isn’t an interview training program. We believe that adversity brings out the best in people. The process requires you to explore new frontiers and risk your lives.”
A man in the back row raised his hand. I focused on him, and his name came up as “Aleto.” Julie nodded at him, and he said, “I don’t think this is for me. I’d like to leave the program.”
“Are you sure? We explained that termination revokes your temporary visa to Catallaxy.”
“I’m sure.”
“What is your name?”
“Aleto.”
Julie brought up a tablet, typed in a few things, and then looked at Aleto as she keyed in the last stroke.
Aleto’s head exploded. Blood, gore, brain matter, and skull fragments rained on everyone sitting next to him. There was silence for a moment, and then screams started from all over the room. My heart pounded. I was out of my chair, my back to the wall, looking around, trying to figure out how to defend myself. My palms clenched, but I didn’t know what to do. I was hyperventilating, trying to get myself under control. I grabbed one of the chairs in case I needed a weapon.
No one else’s head seemed to be exploding. I dropped the chair, trying to calm down. People were crying. A large space opened up around Aleto’s body, blood smears on the wall behind him and on the floor around marked out the blast. Julie’s voice came through, loud but collected. “Quiet! Sit down, everyone! QUIET! SIT DOWN!”
She repeated this a few times until just muted sobbing could be heard. People sat down again, though a lot of them were now covered in gore.
“You’ll clean up later. For now, here’s what I want you all to understand. None of you are citizens of this world. You’re here because we put a lot of effort into bringing you into this program. If you leave the program without getting hired, this world will immediately eject you.”
I didn’t sign up for any of this, but I doubted I had much choice in the matter. None of the others had a choice either. She had just killed someone in front of us. I was getting hired no matter what. I’d sweep the streets and wash dishes if needed.
“Now let me explain how this program works. We are on Catallaxy. We pride ourselves on trade and on lucrative companies that drive innovation. We find high-potential individuals, that’s you, and use you to find great companies and manifest them to Catallaxy. You go out, find parts of the company that speak to you, and bring them together. As you do, the company takes shape, guiding you in what parts are still needed. Once you’ve completed bringing a company fully into phase with Catallaxy, you also find your own role within that company.”
There was still silence in the room. I needed more information here. Not getting hired meant instant death. I raised my hand.
Julie looked at me, considered for a moment, and then nodded.
“Does this mean we’re creating a new company?”
“No. Most companies already exist somewhere. You discover what company fits you best by putting together disparate parts. You’ll see that the parts you put together already have working staff and processes. As you do this, you’ll also bring them into phase with Catallaxy, which will allow the companies to manifest here fully. This grants you a position with the company and citizenship on Catallaxy.”
Well, this was utter bullshit, but I just saw a head explode out of nowhere. I was going to cobble together a company out of ether and bubble gum if that’s what it took.
I asked a question and didn’t die spectacularly, which emboldened others. A few more hands came up. Julie picked another. His label identified him as Petteri. “How do we find these company parts?”
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“TODO: Identify Brilliant Company Name has invested in providing you each with a pathfinder. It’s a device that can help guide you to what you’re looking for. Its ability is directly tied to your desires. I’m going to be handing these out in a bit. Catallaxy sits on the edge of the Great Potential, a phenomenon where all businesses touch. Some of you know about it already. Some of your worlds have hypothesized its existence. It is simpler to experience it than to explain it. You will venture there and use your pathfinders to seek out your companies. In fact, we will be starting immediately.”
Ervin, who was sitting next to Aleto when he exploded, raised his hand. Julie, clearly losing her patience, motioned for him to speak.
“Can we get cleaned up first?”
“You’re all resourceful. Once in the Great Potential, find a place to clean up, or don’t. That’s not my concern.”
- Oh. She’s got the sympathy of a lioness gently petting her prey. Can she please, please squeeze me?
I snickered. How did it even know about lionesses? Julie looked over at me. All hands had gone down by now. Seeing that I, too, had nothing to ask, she said, “Very well. Let’s get started.”
*****
“Line up to get your pathfinders. Once you do, you’ll be able to see the way into the Great Potential. Your first mission is to come back with the entryway to your company. There’s only one rule: Do not come back here without that entryway. Coming back without one means failing out of the program. Once you come back with an entryway, the door to your company will materialize on the wall. This will be the beginning of phasing your company in.”
With that, she stepped away from the podium and picked up a box she had stowed underneath, placing it on a nearby table. People, still reeling from the shock of Aleto’s violent death, were slowly getting to their feet. Some of the ones who were closest to him went to the snack table to grab some napkins and try to clean up. The rest gingerly lined up behind the desk to get the pathfinder from Julie.
Since I was seated in the front row, I had not been hit by any flying pieces of Aleto. This program looked like it might get competitive and a head start was a good idea, though maybe not as the first person out. I stood fifth in line. Looking around, I had an epiphany about why the author picked that dark red color for the carpet. The blood stains would just blend in. Why did he go with the white walls, though?
The first person in line, Kamilla, approached Julie. Julie took out a small pill pouch with a single green pill in it. She opened the pouch and emptied it onto Kamilla’s hand. Kamilla looked at Julie, who was making swallowing motions. Kamilla thought for a second, then swallowed the pill. Julie asked for her name and made notations on her tablet. A few seconds later, Kamilla looked at the wall behind Julie, walked over to it, and disappeared.
So Julie couldn’t see people’s names. She had to ask for Aleto’s name as well. I wondered why she didn’t have the Examine ability. Was it an author special?
We all looked at the wall. There was nothing there. “Well?” said Julie. “What are you waiting for? Kamilla is already in the Great Potential. Are you planning on staying here?”
The next three people did the same, getting their pills from Julie. As they did, I watched the pill packs she was using. There was writing on them, and as I got closer, I could see that it said “Pathfinder 2.0.” Each swallowed their pill while Julie noted down their name, and then each disappeared into the blank wall. When it was my turn, I approached Julie. She started rummaging in her box without looking at me, and then her gaze met mine. Her hand went back into the box, and she came up with a pill pouch with a purple pill in it. She upended it onto my hand.
“Why is this pill different from the others?” I asked.
“It’s not.”
“All the other pills were green.” In fact, I saw “Experimental” stenciled on the pill pouch.
“It’s not. They come in all colors. Are you taking it or quitting the program?”
Fabulous. I had already made a friend. Refusing the pill wasn’t an option. I Examined the pill, and a description popped into my view. “Pathfinder 2.0a experimental.” Die now, or maybe die later? I’d have to deal with any bugs. I took the pill and swallowed it.
My mind expanded. I could sense the room and those in it, then the building, then the city around us. I noticed two realities overlapping. One was fixed, with high rises, industrial buildings, and parks. The other was chaotic and changing from moment to moment. Buildings appeared and disappeared, and facilities half materialized and then blended into each other. There was a general sense of unsettled potential. My mind kept expanding, taking on more and more of the area. I noticed areas of interest in the fixed city and the sea of potential. My head started to throb, and I could feel a pounding headache approaching. I could not contain the amount of information that was available to me.
- Squeeze! Squeeze! SQUEEZE!
I don’t know how I managed it, but suddenly Squeezimodo was in my hand, and I was squeezing in a regular pattern, using it to control my breathing and my mind. I pushed out the information coming in, refusing to accept the deluge. I don’t know where it went, but this shielded my mind and helped me recover. My mind retreated back into my head, and I found myself on the floor, clutching Squeezimodo. Some blood pooled under my face, and when I touched my face, it came back red. What I retained from the experience was a general idea that I could identify certain places as right for me if I knew what I was looking for.
I stood up. Julie was looking at me, as were the other people in line.
“Well, are you quitting the program?”
I silently vowed murder, but for now, I needed to escape this room. I looked at the wall where the others before me had disappeared. There was a portal there. This was knowledge I hadn’t had before. Now I could see that approaching it would trigger the portal to open and let me in. My new innate sense also told me that was where I needed to go.
I took a careful step, making sure I was stable. I didn’t fall. Yay me. I walked towards the wall. Using the new skill I now possessed, I caused the portal to trigger. A section of the wall was replaced with a shimmering doorway. I stepped through.