|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OFFICE COMPLEX--CUP 2--"IL ZILLIONTHI" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Office Complex  ||  -------> (Cup SRoc002, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Right now, there are only three groups which hold Earths in this way, the two mentioned previously, and also The Unreal 64, headed by Polk Thewsike. But I reckon that the split that occurred in TAG is bound to happen again in one, two, or all of the Bridge Companies now in operation. Well, as it happened, today was a hectic one for Zillionthi, because the candidate the OA algorithm system had chosen for this Earth was just back from a trip across several Earths in order to prove the legitimate nature of bridging. This was to be his first detailed briefing leading up to his final decision as to whether or not to join. Personally, I feel that these candidates must by this point in their induction be pretty intimidated, and I wonder if they believe the idea that they can refuse and go about their business without repercussions. True, the offer is pretty much too good to turn down, but any reasonable person would see that OA is a rather secretive and militaristic association, and they must wonder how it feels about outsiders knowing about its inner workings. So when I went over to Zillionthi's office, he was just coming out with the candidate, Ledrant Hate, and he proposed that I should brief Hate on Aconck since I was much better traveled than he. I agreed, and he went out for an important lunch date, saying he'd be back in a few hours for the main meeting, and it "couldn't be helped". Great. I went into his office and sat down with Hate. He was a short fellow, about five and a half feet tall, naive looking, thin, and with short blond hair. Plagued by monsters as a child, some of the monsters' aspects seemed to have rubbed off on him. The extent and nature of his abilities were not fully understood yet, but he seemed to be very jaded and tenuous on the inside, though his mild exterior wouldn't show it. He didn't seem as amazed with Aconck as some of the other new recruits I had met with in the past. "Well, I guess, well why don't I sit over here next to his desk and you can sit on that couch over there." I said. "Sure." We sat, and I took a notepad out of my briefcase and held it in my lap, pen in hand. "I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Daptin Gone, um, and I'm an OA Quality Scout. Right now, I'm here in Derolbam assessing Zillionthi's operation." "I'm Ledrant Hate, and I guess you know that I'm about to be joining this, uh, group." "Yes indeed. Now I may take some notes, but they're more about your experience with the folks here rather than about you. It's my duty to really get into the working of these outposts, y'see. So don't feel nervous. I have nothing to do with your recruitment." I said. "You travel to all the different bases on the different worlds?" Hate asked. "Well, I've not been to them all, and there're more being established every few weeks. I'm one of perhaps half a dozen OA quality scouts currently operating. Our function is to keep Greatwall up to date on what's happening throughout the association." "Hmmm." "So you were just on an excursion?" I asked. "Yeah. They took me to this weird alternate world. Man, the people were pretty weird over there. I was shocked when we first arrived. I sort of thought the whole thing was a rip-off. Y'know, a mind fuck." I nodded. "I think that's how a lot of people react at first. But it's all too real, I'm afraid." "Hmm. So what world are you from?" "Well, I'm from The Alley, Red Alley Earth, which is where this whole mess started. Most of the higher-ups in OA are from The Alley. Zillionthi was a professor at the college my sister went to before he entered Aconck." "And the others here, they're from all different worlds?" -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----