Megan fidgeted with her hair, then stopped herself. She looked at the portfolio with paper(?!) copies of her resume for some reason, and then closed it. She reached for her phone before realizing that the secretary could see her and she knew they didn't want you watching your phone. After a brief moment of panic of what to do with her hands, she put them on her knees which also let her stop her knee from nervously twitching. Dammit. Ok, she took a deep breath and looked out at the foyer she was in. Somehow. The foyer of the newest, hottest, most profitable company ever:
Gthyagos, inc.
What the hell was she doing in this foyer?! It was big and echoey and everything was brand new--literally, the building had been up for less than a year, and it was obvious no expense was too much. The marble floors, the elegant lighting, the shockingly detailed and large replica of Antarctica and the Green City Ruins seemingly floating above the secretary's desk (oh shit she sees me looking look away!). This was too much. Sure, Megan had applied to the...listing. But it was a joke! She was four years out of college (and six months out of her last job) with an art degree. An * art * degree! And sure she was desperate for a job but she didn't even understand the application?! It was so vague--Humanities Consultant?? And the description had been basically useless--something about helping the Company connect to users. Somehow though and against all odds, Meghan had gotten a phone screening that she was sure she had failed but now, somehow, she was in the regional headquarters of one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world? For a job that paid three times what she had been making previous?? And she didn't know what it was?!
"Ok, not going to vomit, breathe..." she told herself. "Look, it was a good reason to put on some pantyhose and the nice jacket and get makeup on. We'll have some dumb questions they'll realize a mistake was made and go home and eat some ice cream or som-"
"Excuse me, Miss Reed?" Megan looked up and her jaw dropped. A woman who could only be described as statuesque stood in front of her--blue-black hair, warm skin hinting at some Asian heritage. She was remarkably tall--she had to be over six feet, but her body was shapely and radiated physical power. She was dressed in a bespoke white suit and skirt combo that looked like an Italian masterpiece, accented with jewelry that looked simple and definitely cost more than Megan's rent. Megan finally got her eyes up to the woman's stately and frankly gorgeous face, where a warm smile and a gaze that could cut metal congratulated her for making it this far. Megan blinked, realized her jaw was open, closed it and stammered. "Uh, oh yes, that's me!"
The woman was trained enough to ignore the obvious discomfort. Megan couldn't help but notice her eyes were vividly, almost artificially, green--were those contacts? "Excellent. My name is Li Ventner, I'm the head of Human Acquisition. If you could follow me please?" Somehow Megan didn't scream, trip and die, or scatter her portfolio, but instead only stood up and followed to the elevators, her shoes clacking in the large hall. They walked past the elevators to a door that...well, it wasn't hidden exactly, but the building did a good job of making you not realize it was there. Miss Ventner smiled. "All the real work is done on the upper floors, but that's employees only..." she turned and gave Megan and up and down look that seemed almost hungry...
Megan stopped and glanced down. She knew she looked professional enough, even good--black pumps, hose, simple black skirt and white blouse and jacket, all framing an athletic young woman in her mid-twenties with long blond hair and blue eyes and pouty lips. She was cute and she knew it. She was used to people staring at her--mostly men, but hey it's the 21st century. But Vetner...the woman was easily a half-foot taller than she was, and her movement was almost feline. She looked like she did nothing but work out, dress nicely, and intimidate young women who had no idea what she was doing here. But then she smiled a warm and well-trained smile, like she was welcoming Megan home "...let's see if you'll be getting the opportunity to see what goes on here." She swiped a card over the door handle, and with a beep and a click ushered Megan into a hallway.
Megan followed her, having to double-time it to match Vetner's powerful long strides. She was being led through hallways of tasteful green wallpaper and dark wood doors, but there were no signs or guides, and Vetner soon had her confused and lost--how did she know where she was going? They all looked alike? How big was this building? Before she could start to piece it together, Vetner cleared her throat. "So Megan, what do you know about Gthyagos?"
"Uh, well, you're relatively new but really successful, hit a trillion dollars in profit last year, and are involved in...well, everything it seems like?" Vetner laughed. "Well, not quite everything, but we have a diverse portfolio. Energy, media, aeronautics, non-linear computing...but what I meant was do you know our history?"
Megan felt a pang of guilt for not answering the question right. "Oh, yes. That Hans Smith led the New Antarctic Expedition and found the Green City ruins and the Gythagos entity, and used that to create multiple breakthroughs in technology. Is that right?"
"Yes, very good". Megan was flush with pride before wondering why she was getting that reaction, but Vetner continued. "Gythagos was a biological artificial intelligence of the Forerunner culture found in the Antarctic region. It existed over 30,000 years ago, but Gthyagos was able to survive the glacial growth and eventual thawing. Gthyagos is very knowledgeable about how reality--both seen and unseen by humanity--operates. We're still decades away from truly understanding everything It knows. However, It does have its limitations...here we are." She picked a door seemingly at random, and let Megan into a small, boring office with a table, two chairs, and pitcher of water with glasses. Other than the thick green drapes on one wall, it was unadorned. Vetner closed the door. "Sit."