THE MOMENT
"Master, please take me as your apprentice!" Terry pleaded with the half-formed torso. The genie's lower half consisted of dense red smoke pouring from the small golden lamp. The magical man himself stared down at the young man with his arms crossed and a flat, neutral expression. The city park around them was mostly empty. It was still early with the sun not completely broken free of the horizon. Terry had a habit of taking a walk through nature every morning that he could. It wasn't always the park; but, he was always on the lookout for a lamp.
Genies were known to be found in his world, and as he grew up he grew more and more enamored with the stories he heard. As a youngster, he was something of a troublemaker and the idea of becoming a genie and twisting everyone's words was appealing. Then, as he grew out of that phase, he came to appreciate the stories he'd heard about wishes happening perfectly. They didn't seem to occur as often, but he realized the world could use more of that kindness and his goal of becoming a genie was still his sole purpose. Until that morning, when he finally found what he'd been looking for. A golden glint caught his eye from under a bush. It was notable that at that point there wasn't much light yet and he felt like it was meant just for him.
"Is that a wish?" the genie asked. Terry had spent a lot of time thinking about his dream over the years. He shook his head instantly as a response.
"No, Master. I don't want to wish for it to happen magically, I want to do it the right way and become like you. Please train me!"
"Hah," the genie's poker face broke into a genuine grin. "Kid, you're not so bad. Why do you want the job so much?"
"I want power!" Terry gave his own toothy smile.
"Nice an' honest," the genie chuckled, but he shook his head as well. "This isn't the gig for you. You're tapped into the powers of the universe, but you don't get to control anything. You're basically dealing with entitled children who don't realize what they're asking for most of the time.
"That's perfect!" Terry nodded. "I don't want it for me exactly, I just want to see it in action. See how it works, you know? The illusion of power is itself a form of power. I want to be the one people come to for help because they think I can help them."
"I think you're in for some disappointment when it comes to the tedium, but it looks like you're ready to make that mistake anyway...," the genie said thoughtfully as Terry nodded along with every word.
"Alright, you've convinced me," he said. Terry began jumping for joy even as the genie finished his thought. "I'll get someone from corporate to get you to an interview."
"Huh?" Terry's celebration ended abruptly. "Corporate?"
"Yeah, I'm a Sharp Development genie...," the genie nodded with a grin. "This is a job for me. And, I get a pretty solid bonus if I recruit another genie, so here's hoping you stick to it," he said.
"What do you mean it's a job? You're not trapped in there?" Terry suddenly felt like he'd been misinformed his whole life.
"Ehhh, 'trapped' comes with some negative connotations. Sure, I can't leave until my shift is over. It's a couple of centuries, but I signed up for it," he shrugged.
"Are you ... human?" Terry asked. He'd initially been mildly disappointed by the genie's rather plain appearance. Other than the intangible lower half and a besparkled vest, the genie did look like any other normal stranger.
"I mean, so are you, and you're going for the same job," the genie nodded. "Not all Sharp Development employed genies are human; but, there are quite a few of us."
"What's it like?" Terry asked. He'd been confident he had an idea what an average genie's life was. But, he was already wrong about so much that his other assumptions were likely incorrect too.
"Not bad," the genie nodded. "I get to hang out in a pocket dimension while I wait for clients. I've got my own house and Sharp Development supplies everything I need. When it's about fifteen wishes a year on the busy side, I get a lot of time to just sit at home and work on my hobbies."
"Oh," Terry had been thoroughly disillusioned. There was no magic in it anymore, being a genie was just a corporate position. And, as nice as it sounded, he did not want to sit around wasting time and doing nothing while waiting for something to happen to him. "Sharp Development sounds like a good company at least...," he added. His mind was still processing things, but it occurred to him that maybe he could work with the company without becoming a genie.
"Well, if you're wanting to see how 'power' works, there's no better place than Sharp Development," the genie grinned. "They're the largest corporation in the multiverse."
"Multiverse?" Terry was surprised, but not much.
"Oh yeah, they're on billions of alternate Earths, you can work anywhere you want," the genie replied.
"Yes!" Terry didn't have to think about it anymore, the decision was easy. "Please, get me an interview!"