THE MOMENT
Magnus entered the office, then sighed with disappointment. He didn't know what to expect but he was hopeful until that moment. He spent the last two weeks doing busywork for an unknown company; and, they finally asked to meet him in person. Except now he stood alone in an empty office. There was no furniture, nor any windows. All walls, the floor, and the ceiling were solid white with a faint ethereal glow.
If it weren't for the fact that he received a generous payment every day, he wouldn't have agreed to meet. He certainly wouldn't have stuck with the job. The work was consistently mindless and did not give him much of an opportunity to problem solve. A majority of it was simple transcription from paper documents into a database. On the first day, he learned that he was better off not trying to understand the context of anything he read. Sometimes he felt like he was copying game character sheets. Other times he noticed the documents were government classified as 'Top Secret'. It did not take long for him to start ignoring the information and focus on copying the words.
"I'll give them a few more minutes...," Magnus took a step towards the open door, then someone spoke up behind him.
"I appreciate your patience; but, that won't be necessary," a man said. Magnus spun around. His body was primed to be surprised; there was no one in the room when he turned around. But, he still did not expect who, or what he found.
"Who said that?" he asked because it wasn't immediately apparent. A red glass desk now sat in the center of the room with a black leather chair in front of it. There was no one else in the room; but, a bulky CRT TV sat on the desk facing him. A golden, faceless man was on the screen and he wore a dark red suit that matched the glass desk. The strange man stood in a white void that was identical to the office when Magnus first walked in.
"My name is Helios," the golden mannequin waved from the screen. "I apologize for not being here sooner. You would think an A.I. wouldn't be late...," he shrugged. "But, here I am. Later than I'd have preferred," he chuckled. "But, hopefully I can get done with you fast and be on time for my next appointment. Have a seat, Magnus. Let's talk," Helios gestured at the black chair.
"You're an A.I.?" Magnus asked as he sat down. "You're the one that hired me?"
"Yes. Yes," he answered quickly. "But, since I'm in a rush, I'm going to ask you to leave the questions to me. I'm the one interviewing you," he said.
"Interviewing for what?" Magnus asked. He was already on the job and assumed the position was his. But, he caught his question, then shook his head. "Nevermind. Ask away," he said.
"Thank you," Helios replied. "You blindly accepted a job that appeared in your inbox. Why?" he asked.
"I didn't know I'd get it," Magnus shrugged. "Your company isn't the only one using A.I. H.R. bots; I get a dozen job applications a day in my spam folder. Got laid off recently and needed another job, so I started replying. You're the only company that actually hired me."
"I see," Helios nodded. "You've only been with the company for two weeks; but, your work has been exemplary. I'm especially fond of all the questions you don't ask," Helios chuckled again. "Whenever we hire people like this, the first week is often filled with questions. Those employees don't last very long," he said. "But you get more done and you don't need hand-holding. You also know how to keep your curiosity in check and don't have to know the answer to everything. These are qualities that Sharp Development looks for in an employee. This is a formal interview and the only one you need to endure. Your work ethic has earned you consideration for a promotion within the company "
"Thank you," Magnus nodded. Though, he only said it to curb the questions forming on the tip of his tongue. It would be a bad look to start asking what the promotion was after being complimented for not asking. He was willing to accept any job confident that he could just quit if he wasn't a good fit.
"Do you have any video game experience?" Helios asked.
"I've never worked on a video game, if that's what you're asking," Magnus shook his head. "But, I've played a lot," he added.
"No, that is what I was asking. Do you have any experience playing games online?"
"I was a guild leader before I got laid off," Magnus nodded. "I had to focus more on making ends meet and handed the guild to a friend. It's smaller now; but, I had almost 200 members when I left. We were one of the top five guilds on the server."
"Oh, that experience is quite valuable for this position," Helios nodded. Magnus thought he heard a smile in his voice despite the fact that Helios did not have a mouth.
"I think I'm ready to formally offer you the job," Helios said. Magnus sat up straighter. The busywork paid quite well and he was eager to see how much more this promotion was worth. "Sharp Development would like to hire you as a game moderator. However, if you accept the position you will be required to relocate. All your moving expenses will be taken care of by Sharp Development. We'd like you to start training as soon as possible. Today, if you're available. Do you have any questions?" Helios asked.
Questions flooded Magnus' mind; but, he was still determined to keep them to a minimum. Helios made it clear this job was offered to him because he kept his questions to himself. He tried to pick out the most important question that needed answering at that moment and hoped he would get answers for the rest later.
"Relocate to where?" he asked. It was one thing to accept the job blindly when he could do it from home; but, relocating was different. Although, he didn't immediately understand why he couldn't log in and moderate a game from his home.
"San Diego, California," Helios replied.
"What?" Magnus asked with a laugh. "This is San Diego...," he said. "Why do I have to relocate?"
"Another San Diego on an alternate Earth," Helios said. "You don't actually have to relocate; but, Sharp Development likes to keep its employees healthy and this particular San Diego is not going to be on this particular Earth much longer," he replied. "Any OTHER questions?" Helios asked. He glanced at his wrist as he asked; and, his tone changed. Magnus got the message right away. Whatever the reason was; if they wanted a mod that wasn't curious, they'd get one.
"No sir, I'm ready to start today."