Orientation

Chris made herself a salad and a bowl of soup. The day had definitely been strange but enlightening. She found she was unusually chipper at the prospects of this new opportunity. She sat at the table with her name and the group she'd been assigned to.

"Quite an interesting day isn't it?"

She offered as casual conversation for the group around her. Her fork stabbed several leaves of lettuce as she began to consume her food.

"Interesting? Yes. But what are we not being told?" Jamie asked into his plate.

Chris shrugs,

"Well, more than likely we aren't being told what we aren't asking about."

Chris smiled to the man her lighthearted intentions playing across her face.

Jamie shrugged, "so, you're buying into all this ghost-buster stuff?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so. I've had... I've had an encounter with a PLE. Well a former client, I'm a social worker. Before I met John Carruthers over there, I thought it was just a series of bad dreams. It turns out this client might actually be dead and he's been communicating with me to help his body be found. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be this confident about it. But I want to help him and this might be the only chance I could get to."

"I'm pretty sure I'm not... and I can't say I fully understand your intentions. Has nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to you?"

Jamie laughs, "of course, unexplainable things happen to everyone. But then some company comes along and says 'hey, it's ghosts, and we can talk to them, and they say everything's peachy keen, here's our bill'? Excuse me if I don't immediately jump on the bandwagon being built up here."

"Oi believe in ghosts. We 'av al' kinds ov unexplained things in Oirlan'. Some are 'oaxes, but others oi believe are real. Me own pub is 'aunted by me great grandfather. oi'm jist not
sure wot oi tink aboyt bein' put ter sleep ter 'av encounters wi' dem." Karamia said adding to the conversation going on around her.

Carruthers broke away from conversation at the neighboring table and made his way over. He put down his tray -- all vegetarian food -- and dropped lightly into his chair.

"So, what's everybody thinking so far?" he asked with a grin.

John grinned. "I said the same thing!" he enthused. "A lot of people are skeptical, and I can't blame them. We do make some pretty outlandish claims." He nodded and sat up straighter in his chair.

"You know what I did before this?" John took a bite of his stir fry -- and, suddenly, the fork in his right hand disappeared. He splayed his hands, flicked his wrists, and pointed to the fork, which had since appeared in his left hand... then swallowed his food. "Stage magician. Or a failed one, anyway. Loved it since my uncle bought me a kit for the cup and ball trick when I was four. By the time I wanted to make a career out of it, you had to be Criss Angel or able to tie yourself in a knot and juggle upside down for Cirque du Soleil. I knew sleight of hand and a personal audience, not techie special effects for a big show. And it's no use starting with outdated material, you know?

"So, I thought I'd open a store -- but nobody makes a living on just stage magic." He leaned in toward Jamie and lowered his voice. "I had to start selling all kinds of bullshit -- crystals and statues and New Age novelties -- not just my bullshit of choice. It only lasted a year before I was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer... I had to sell everything to pay the treatment bills." John caught himself looking down and suddenly straightened up again. "Then Orpheus came along and got my attention with the words 'free medical coverage,' and I was desperate enough to give them the time of day. I thought they were going to make a con man out of me, and I'm ashamed to say that I came in prepared to sell a lot of snake oil. But it's actually a very ethical company, and a great work environment."

Jamie smiles, "okay, look, I don't know you from Adam right? Maybe this place has great medical coverage, well, why wouldn't they? You clearly have all the money in the world behind you and you want to keep the new operatives sweet, right? I play ball with you and, what, I'm a made man, right? I'm no saint; life has screwed me over pretty good and I'm not above a little ethical apathy to get what I need. As far as I'm concerned people are generally sheep who follow the herd and bleat when things go wrong looking for someone else to fix everything. And along come Orpheus corp. inc. ltd. dot.com. How aren't you not just a big, wealthy, technologically advanced (or so you claim) cult? This is the message you're giving out to me, wrapped up all nice in christmas paper. 'Life not going your way, have you faced death, can't find all the answers? Well, binky, join us. Everything you know is bullshit but we have all the answers and, binky, we'll let you work out in our gym too. We'll teach you how to fleece the sheep and we'll be your bestest pals for life. Sound great? All you have to do is keep your trap shut until the next recruitment drive'. Do we ever get to meet the grand poobah or mystic dragon or whatever you call the fearless leader around here?" Jamie sighs and puts his fork down. "Look, you seem a nice guy. Let's say I buy into all this like Miss Gee-whiz gosh really I'm wetting myself with excitment? over here. I don't have any kewl powerz, I don't believe in telekinesis, psychic projection, little green men from mars or the loch ness monster. Yeah, I almost died on a mountain in Alberta. So what? The hospitals are full of people who've almost died from something or other, car accidents, cancer, whatever. Why me? If you did your research you would know I wouldn't believe you, so why me?"

Aidan was one of the last to get his food, and stopped for a private chat with his friend before he wandered over to the table... where the air was a little tense with Jamie's skepticism.

He gave the women a look of mock indignation. "I thinks I just got called a sheep." He set into his fried chicken, trying in vain to pretend he wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation.

John had a good-natured laugh along with some of Jamie's commentary.

"I think the only 'why you' answer is because you're a tough nut to crack. It's showing right now. We don't need people who just survive their accidents, we need the people who live and thrive afterward. Who've stared death straight in the face, said 'no thanks,' shrugged their shoulders, and gone on their way. Human resources works very closely with our psych staff to profile and select our evaluees.

"I'd love to take you down to Sub Three, show you the sleeper cradles, and convince you this is legit... but we have such a big government contract that it takes clearance issued from Washington to do that legally. Which, of course, just sounds like I'm baffling with more bullshit." He sipped his water. "Just hang in there. Disbelieve all you like -- you won't be alone -- and collect your pay, and don't look back, if that's what you want."

Karamia quietly listened to Jamie's rant. It did sound a bit like a cult, they even had underground rooms, & they had yet to mention what happened after the training.

"Oi 'av ter agree wi' jamie. While oi believe in de ghosts, PLEs, or whatever yer wanna call dem, oi'm not sure 'oy oi fale aboyt bein' put ter sleep ter converse wi' dem. oi guess oi don't see it endin' well. dare are so many different kinds ov spirits. Wot 'appens whaen we cheese off de wrong wan?"

Chris's mouth stopped chewing her lettuce as Jaime's tirade named her as some horny teenager. She collected her purse and excused herself to the bathroom. Once she returned she simply smiled and ate the rest of her food.

"Same thing that happens when you piss off the wrong person," John quipped. He looked to Chris. "Ms. Howard can tell you all about what happens in that situation. PLEs are really just people in a different 'state of life and awareness,' if you want the buzz word explanation... but, yeah, some people can be dangerous, and we don't sugar-coat that. That's why we offer extensive self-defense classes, safety and preparatory awareness training, and so on. There's a reason it takes a good three months before ICs are put into the field. And no one is ever sent anywhere alone; we follow every imaginable safety protocol.

"And then, like Kate said, all of this might not even be an issue. Nobody's been offered a job, and Captain Solo over here is planning to take his reward money and leave Imperial space as soon as the eval's over. And, after all that, it's a job, albeit a really weird one. If this isn't a good work environment for you, you tender a resignation. No big deal." He shrugged and kept at his meal.

"Gran'. Let's say oi pass de evaluashun & oim offered a job. Wot 'appens after trainin'? Do oi relocate ter de US, & 'ill oi git 'elp gettin' a green card?"

"I'd have to assume," John suggested. "If you're a Sleeper, you need to use a cradle, and they're all in this building. If you develop as a Skimmer, nobody wants you to have an international commute every time they send you on a three-day job, you know?"

"Either way Solo or Obi-wan oi believe yisser comment may 'av 'urt de lady's feelings." Karamia said looking over at Chris. "Seems ter me that's more Solo's style than Obi-wan's."

Karamia turned to Chris saying, "Well oi guess dat
makes yer Princess Leia, so den who wud oi
be?" She was kinda hoping her comment might defuse the tension at the table.

Turning to John she asked, "Oi'm gonna guess
dat if we al' pass our evaluashuns & accept de job,
dis 'ill be our team roi?"