“So you died on a hospital bed?” Brian couldn’t help but ask.

“Yep,” the guy replied as he shuffled a deck of cards. “That virus was a real bitch. And this is your card,” he said flipping a card upright, it was the ace of hearts.

“Okay, seriously, how do you do that?” Brian asked earnestly with a small amazed smile.

“Magic,” the man replied with a grin as he put the card back in the deck. “Give me time and I’ll figure out how to do this shit,” he pointed to the entire room.

The room...was magic. Brian didn’t know any other way to put it. The screen appeared in front of everyone else that was with him, but there weren’t any projectors or anything. Not only that, if you call up the screen, then it gives you the option to play music or ambient sounds like bugs in a forest or rain, Brian picked some generic mellow guitar solo. Aside from the new twist on the sound bubbles, there was also the magical furniture, the chairs and couches were magical to sit on, no matter how you did it or where, it would always feel comfortable. Also, there was some sort of regulator for meals and drinks.

After a while, everyone followed Drix’s example and went their separate ways. Zed somehow found a guitar somewhere and started playing around with it along with a few other musically inclined folk. Alex started drawing with other people using some electronic tablet and stylus. Andy started mingling with a few individuals, chatting and drinking....Drix was fucking with two guys on a nearby couch with a small crowd watching. Brian himself joined a poker game he found.

They didn’t have much to bet but their drinks. Turns out, everyone gets one plate of food and one bottled beverage(not beer, sadly), water and crackers are free and bathrooms were available.

Neil Jenkins was the name of the guy shuffling the deck.... Long story short, Brian lost his drink.

While Brian wasn’t a professional poker player, he could tell that Neil was taking a piss on everyone who played with him. So after the last person quit, calling Neil a cheat as she left, Neil was left sitting in his own little corner with a stash of bottles(including the one Brian gambled). Brian, after silently dreading about his life, decided to politely ask Neil for an explanation of what happened...Neil fully admitted to cheating with a grin on his face. The two spoke and somehow they hit it off.

“Either way,” Neil said, “never play with a card mechanic who can shuffle with one hand,” he warned Brian. He started doing just that and getting fancy with it, splitting the desk in half and moving it to other digits and ruffling the two halfs back together. “You see that, you run to a different table.” Brian laughed a little.

“But man, I thought you had to retrain that,” Brian commented. “Zed, the guy I made it here with, he lost the calluses from playing the guitar.”

“Same case here, all that muscle memory is gone, but I’ve taught new dealers how to shuffle at casinos,” Neil explained, “not ta mention, I do this for living, have done it for years, so it’s not like I really forgot it. It’s similar to re-learning a language you stopped using. Put in the work, it comes back to you.”

“Fair enough,” Brian said with a shrug.

“How about you? What did you do?”

“Oh I,” Brian hesitated a little, “I worked at a plastic injection molding company for a few years. I drove around the forklift, did odds and ends here and there for the company. I was thinking of going to college, you know, to apply for a management position.”

“Oh, I see, any hobbies?”

“Nah, nothing solid, it was either work or TV and anime with beer. When it wasn’t that, I was entertaining my little sister and getting her to do school stuff. I did watch football games a few times with my buddies.”

“Fair,” Neil said as he began shuffling the deck of cards again, “if you don’t mind me asking-”

“Drowned in my own vomit,” Brian said, guessing what Neil wanted. He rubbed his eyes, exhaustion slowly setting, “last thing I remember is going to a house party, I think I scored. Then I woke up here, and some dick named Lester told me I drowned in my own vomit.”

“Had him too, huh?” Neil laughed. “Yeah the guy’s a piece of work, couldn’t even get him to tell me anything else about this job.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, “pff, colonizing, operator, what even is this job?”

“That’s what concerns me,” Neil said with a slow nod.

“Yeah, at least they could let us know more about the job.”

“Well, yeah, that too, but it’s that word that has me worried.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“What? Operator? Colonizing?”

“Yes, ah, colonizing,” Neil clarified, “I don’t know how it is in your reality, but in mine, Germany colonized India, the Spanish and British colonized the Americas, and the Russians colonized the Philippines.”

“Yeah, and?” Brian asked.

“...Those lands already had people living in them before all these countries colonized them,” Neil explained and he let that hang in the air for Brian to process.

“...Oh...shit.” Brian said seeing where the conversation was going.

“Shit,” Neil echoed. “And if that isn’t bad enough, look at the name of the company, Apex Solicitation Sentinel incorporated. Aside from just what all those words mean, what do the initials spell?”

“Ass incorporated...I hate this place more and more the longer I stay here,” Brian said.

“You and me both,” Neil said, picking up a bottle and extending out to Brian, “dunno what this is, but from what I’ve seen, it makes you more alert. Should perk you up.”

“Is that why we each only get one bottle?”

“Doubt it, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to gamble.”

“Pff, I think you miss pronounced ‘steal’ there, bud,” Brian laughed at that as he twisted the cap off the bottle. It was a clear bottle with clear liquid inside. As soon as the cap came off, he could hear the liquid inside fizz.

“In my defense, they were dumb enough to gamble,” Neil laughed.

“Alright,” Brian said as he took a sip. It was fizzy and had a good fruity flavor, not sugary but more than enjoyable than water. “Mind if I ask something?”

“Ask away,” Neil said.

“Why did you admit it to me...and give me back what I’m pretty sure is my bottle?” Brian asked as he took another sip.

“Cause you asked,” Neil answered, “everyone else who suspected or figured it out, either left in a huff or demanded in on the action. You just wanted an explanation and you were not rude about it.”

“Wait, that’s it?”

“That’s it. I gambled that we could share and drink and relax, the gamble paid off,” Neil shrugged.

“Huh? We’ll I’m not complaining,” Brian said.

“Mhmm.”

For a while the two drank as they watched the room...the view of Drix was obscured. A few more people came into the room, each group was never less than 2. Eventually Brain spotted two girls, he assumed, who had marking on their shirt. One had writing, the other patterns. If he had to guess, it was probably the girls Andy talked about.

“Um, know anything about those two,” Brian gestured at the girls.

“Oh, those two? Newp,” Neil shook his head. “My best guess is that they’re twins. Same facial structure, same eyes and nose,” he pointed out.

“Same bald head,” Brian added with a small laugh.

“Yeah, but we all have that,” Neil said with a chortle as he rubbed his own bald scalp.

Suddenly, blue screens popped in front of their visions.

Dear prospective hires,

we thank each and everyone you for interviewing for this wonderful opportunity! We at Apex Solicitation Sentinel inc. are happy to announce that the presentation will be held in five minutes!

The panels covering the windows will open, allowing for unobstructed view of the presentation. Each Heads Up Display (HUD) can be used to watch the presentation from the comfort of your desired arrangement. The HUD can also be used in conjunction with the window to zoom in and out as pleased. In addition, you can lower and raise the volume of the presentation to fit your needs. You can also use the HUD to ask questions, either verbally or typed, though please be advised that not every question will be answered and acknowledged due to the cheer amount of people. We thankyou for your understanding and wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely,

Apex Solicitation Sentinel inc.

“...Wait, what windows?” Brian asked out loud.

Suddenly, loud mechanical whines filled the room as the walls began to move, revealing the glass windows behind them.

Neil and Brian shared a look. Brian quickly downed his drink and stood up.

“Hold these for me, and yeah, you can have another one,” Neil said while handing Brian three bottles.

Brian accepted them, “yeah, no problem.”

The duo walked to the window, each holding three bottles.

Predictably, they weren’t the only one who approached the windows, but the two managed to secure a spot and stared out.

“Brian,” Brian turned around to see who called him.

“Hey Andy, check it out,” Brian waved him as he mad room for Andy to lookout. “Oh, Neil, Andy. Andy, Neil.”

The two man greeted each other before looking out the window.

They were basically peering into another white room, Only this one was really wide and had a large glass wall bisecting the entire room. At the far end of the room was an elevated platform with a handful of people standing on it in business casual attire. Lester was one of them.

“He must be in charge,” Neil pointed at the one man in a full business suit standing in front of the podium.

“Oh yeah,” Andy agreed, “pressed suit with a dark strong color and a bright red tie, no doubt, and he’s the only person who doesn’t look entirely miserable.”

Brian nodded to that. Everyone else looked either annoyed or like they just wanted a power nap.

“Hey,” Brian said when he spotted a crowd of bald people started filling into the room.

By the time they were done filling the room, it wasn’t exactly packed, but he doubted people liked being crowded as such.

TAP TAP

The man in the suit tapped the microphone attached to the podium.

“Hello everyone,” he began. “My name is Eric Grace and its a pleasure to meet all of you,” he introduced himself with smile that displayed his pearly whites.