Dolloran Light drove endlessly in the vast desert of Colorado, her transgressions pursuing. She dare not to lighten the gas pedal, lest her troubles arrive, latch onto her, and stain her clothes a sickly dark. She passed Nexus Site-02, but halted not, in the knowledge that she would be too slow in the face of the past. She drove on past the Site, not allowing herself even an attosecond of thought about the consequences of failure. Her mind was wholly focused on the objective. If she failed to get ahead, then the parasite 'neath her would surely dismantle her persona whole and kill her, inside out, laying waste to the Director.
She passed Nexus Site-02, but halted her mind for that one attosecond. "Did I not just come through here?" she thought for a moment, though a moment too long. The wicked ratcher caught up alongside her Mustang, tearing off the door and allowing itself a seat at her passenger. When she turned, she felt a shooting pain from her stomach, but could not scream, nor even breathe. She could not think. She could not see. She could not drive.
Dolloran Light woke up in her bed a dream loser, rubbing her blackened, bagged eyes as the alarm clock pierced her ears like a missile would a fort's defenses. She tried to hit it, but was so disoriented she missed seven times before scraping it. O, for the love of…
She grabbed it, ensuring her grip, before throwing the whole damn thing across the room. She was probably due for a new one anyway. Rising and stretching, she realized that she hadn't worn her pajamas to bed the previous night; she had worn her sweatpants. Too bad. She slipped on some bunny sneakers and droned away like a zombie to the kitchen — barely able to control her own limbs — to put on some coffee. Then, it was to the computer.
She stroked over the power button, and the screen flashbanged her. She scrambled away to her SCiPnet, skimming over a message she had put in just four days ago. It read:
TO: Agent Fahrenheit, Reliquary Area-27
FROM: Director Light, Nexus Site-02
SUBJECT: visiting!
hihi burniieee I miss youu!! I know you're busy at like eta-77 and all and I know it must be so stressful,,, I just wanna say I'm still thinking about you :>. listen I've got big news oka? remember how you told me when you were first leaving the coalition that if tactheo ever got boring you'd consider noospheric imaging?? well guess WWHATTTTT??? upper management told me an odd day ago that essophysics is gonna be moving into 02's free port!!! isn't that exciting? aaaaaaa
so they're gonna be starting in like 5 days and I want you to come visit so we can talk again or something okay well i've got to get to work now get back to me whenever you're done killing god or whatever it is you do. BYEE I love you!
— Director Light, Nexus Site-02
She was scared. She had begun to lose hope that he would be visiting at all. She lumped down in her chair and started picking at her nails worried, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get him over if he didn't even see the email. Oh well…
She walked back over to the kettle and lowered the heat, not wanting to burn her drink. Not too much, anyways. It would be all she had for the day, probably.
She sat in her chair for the five more minutes she had before work, taking moderate sips of coffee and scrolling through her gallery. She went over old pictures of them together, family photos — what little she had — and cat videos. Suddenly, she sprung from her seat, snorting hot coffee over her laptop — like a Christmas miracle, an email from Fahrenheit was sitting in her inbox.
TO: Director Light, Nexus Site-02
FROM: Agent Fahrenheit, Reliquary Area-27
SUBJECT: Re:visiting!
I was busy on a diplomatic thing in Israel. Hey, did you know they invented USBs? Anyways, yes! I saw your email while I was over there and arranged to be sent back to Cortez rather than Canada when the whole thing was finished, I couldn't respond because I didn't have the time to think of anything good to say x_x
See you soon. Love you <3
— Agent Fahrenheit, Reliquary Area-27
She was going to die of excitement before she ever had the chance to see him. Either that or be killed by her superiors for being late. Slipping on a way-too-big tee, she grabbed her coat, badge, and #1 Site Director! mug, and ran out the door at lightspeed.
"Sorry I'm late Sir Mr. O5-1 Sir!"
She sat in her office across from Aaron Siegel, the skeletal figure attending for the purpose of oversight, one of many for the following weeks.
"Is there an excuse for your tardiness, Director Light?"
"…I burnt myself badly on my tea," she muttered out. A bold-faced lie, and one which he could see right through, given her less-than-clinical attire and the fact that — although she had tea now — he could smell coffee on her. He also took note of her incredibly dark eye bags, but figured it's what the coffee was for. Her facade would at least convince somebody else, so,
"You're excused. Try to be on time, next time? We have our schedules filled and we cannot afford to plaster the Director on every milk carton in Cortez while trying to establish essophysics in her Site. Good morning."
He left the room. She let out a heavy sigh, like she had been holding her breath the entire encounter. Actually, she probably was. Suddenly, her phone rang out. She reached for her pocket, groping around and dodging two pennies and a fuzzball.
"Hello?" she said, out of breath. I was right!
"Hey Doll, it's me. Uhh, how do you get into the Nexus again? I'm at the cactus."
Damn. "Okay, ditch the car, but don't worry, it won't be taken. First, walk around it four times counterclockwise while whistling the intro to Star Wars."
"…"
"You're jerking me around, right?"
"Yeah." They burst into hysterics. "Here's what you actually have to do…"
"So this is Site-02 in Y2K? I expected it to be a lot more… expansive." He let out a chuckle.
"Yup. It's surprisingly small for how it sounds. A few small rooms adds up to a medium place. I think the hardest part of installing essophysics here is going to be breaking the 'size spell' in order to expand the place a bit." They shared a look. "Walk with me."
They strolled past the mahogany corridors of the Administrative Quarters, through the marbled cafeteria and into the construction zone. Fahrenheit was briefed on the procedure and Light was given a firm handshake.
"So, you said that you got me here to explain a bit more about the noöspheric imaging offer, but this is essophysics. What's the difference?" he asked, stumped.
"Well, noöspheric imaging is essentially mapping out constructs in the realm of thought, in layman's terms. Essophysics is a broad spectrum," she explains. "Basically, there's the umbrella term — which includes imaging — that has everything related to the noösphere. And then you have the singular term, which is ideas manifesting in the real world. For examples, O5-4 is representative of Death, and this bill I'm about to hand you is representative of five dollars I owe you."
She slips a five dollar bill out of her pocket.
"But, you don't owe me—"
"I feel generous." He took it happily and they laughed.
"O-hokaayy then, I guess." He looked informed, but he wasn't any more knowledgeable than one minute ago. "Thanks for the briefing, Director Light."
She stared at him.
"Let's go catch up over breakfast. I think they're serving biscuits."
"So then Abel comes up and slashes me, straight across the abdomen. I would've died if it weren't for a Nine-Tailed Fox squad bumrushing his ass and running me to the medbay. They held me there for three whole hours. I've never met a group so willing to save a janitor." She took a bite and didn't savor it a moment before swallowing it. "That's one of the two times I ever met Abel. He was only temporarily in 02 because of a nasty breach a month before.
Fahrenheit was in awe of her story.
"You said that you started out believing you were working for the CIA right?" Fahrenheit asked. "How did you figure that if you had to access a Free Port every time?" he inquired, before drilling into his sausage, egg and cheese Heaven.
"Well, you used to not have to. It's a long story with the original Insurgency, basically—"
Light's pager rang out, demanding her presence at construction.
"What's it say?"
"There's been an accident."
They arrived in the room, where something had clearly gone wrong. Tape had already been deployed to sector off an area, and something had fallen. She connected the dots.
A Goldbaker-Reinz employee, accompanied by O5-4, approached Light, giving her a clipboard and pen to sign.
"Director Light, please sign here. This shows that you acknowledge a fatality has occured in the workplace and hold legal accountability for the time being until it is known who is responsible for the accident."
"Mhm."
"And this one states that you will respect the victim and family's wishes should they have any esoteric requests."
"But I don't know them."
The employee cocked his head. "What are the orders from here?"
"Call the Clean-Up GoI or something. Consult O5-1 for other orders."
She signed the lines all the while training her eyes on the box, and the blood that had slowly leaked out since the idiot started talking. The GB-R man left, and O5-4 placed his brittle hand on her shoulder, before vanishing. Nobody seemed to have noticed him at all.
The world seemed to spin, and yet simultaneously crawl to a snail's pace.
"Why did that happen? Today was going so good and I was so happy and then a dude just dies in my Site and now I'm probably gonna be fired and—"
Fahrenheit hugged her. "It's okay Doll. You're not gonna be fired over this because you're not the one who secures that. And, if it's any comfort, he's in a better place now."
"You don't know that," she remarked.
"I'm in Tactical Theology. He's an honest construction worker. I do know that."
Light stood against the guardrail, looking at the drop-off. She took her eyes off of the box and saw Siegel, across the room, looking at her. He walked away.
Light sat in her office biting her nails and poking her lunch. She was scared for her job and for her life. What was going to happen to her?
She saw something moving — watching her — through the curtains. She could've sworn she did, anyways. But when she looked up to see, nobody was there.
After a few moments, Siegel knocked on the door, then let himself in. He sat across from her.
"O5-10 went back and found out who failed to secure the box. He's been amnesticized and let go. You are legally absolved."
She didn't respond.
"Why no response?"
"Is Four in today?" she meekly asked.
"O5-4 is not overseeing essophysics' installation. He is occupied with Marshall, Carter, & Dark in Hong Kong. Why do you ask?"
She took a bite out of her burger. "I was just wondering. What's his name, by the way?"
"…"
"I meant the one who died."
"Ray Hancock."
"Okay. Thank you."
He rose. "Good afternoon." He walked on over towards the door before being stopped.
"Hey, tell Four thanks."
Siegel looked back at her, and then understood. He gave a short nod and then exited. She meekly sipped tea from her #1 Site Director! mug, running it dry. Its message seemed a whole lot more solemn now.
It just wasn't supposed to happen. Why did it happen so out of nowhere?
Fahrenheit came in.
"Hi, you feeling any better?" he asked sweetly.
"A little… I just don't understand. Why does this have to happen?"
Fahrenheit sat on her desk. "Death happens, a lot. Whether or not you're in the Foundation, it follows everyone. It's an inevitable constant that we have to face. Every single thing will die one day." He took a sip of his coke. "It's the most important thing in the world."
"Hey Burnie? I want to talk about myself," she shyly told him.
"Well, talk away."
"When I was barely sentient, my mom died in a car crash. I had to be caretaken by my senile grandma up until '64, though admittedly I was more of her's. That's when I became a janitor here. Whenever that breach happened and that E-11 squad held me in the medbay before getting me out of there, they gave me the choice between amnesticizing myself and being 'normal' again, or committing to this life." She swallowed. "I chose the red pill."
She teared up, just barely, before wiping it on her sleeve. "I still think it's the worst thing I've ever done. My grandma deserved family to be with her in her final months, not some trained Jailor schmucks. And I haven't ever had a break in my life. I raised myself and now I even have to raise my own Site, one that raised me." She took a few moments to catch her breath, chuckling.
"And the things I've seen here. I don't know why that poor man affected me so badly. I've seen people fall into patterns, I've seen gods come back to Earth and make the Foundation their bitch, I've seen people stretched and torn apart into pieces forty-two."
She looked up at Fahrenheit.
"I think there's just something about a normal, random, workplace accident, killing one good man with a family. In my Site. That wrecks me. Something entirely in our control." She looked perplexed. "It wasn't a puzzle we couldn't solve — some pataphysical riddle or an Insurgent plan or even some freak outbreak. It was just human error." She took another bite. "His name was Ray Hancock, and I hope he's in a better place now."
Fahrenheit seemed lost in thought for a moment, before reaching out his hand. She took it. They hugged for a minute.
"I can't say I can relate to how you feel. I mean, I'm in Spheres Within Spheres. We only deal with theology. Being Director must be so difficult for you, because you have a little piece of it all on your plate. You're gonna be okay, though. You're a tough cookie. You should've known that the second you survived Abel of all things, up close." Fahrenheit detached himself from her desk and grabbed the Foundation crest she had earned as a reward.
"There's a reason you have this, y'know? And that scar on your belly is kickass."
She smiled warmly.
"Thanks. Let's go to the roof."
The permanent desert sunset stretched across the horizon, the enlarged sun peering up above the technicolor skyline and greyish cliffs as if to tease "I see you!" Fahrenheit and Light sat, legs dangling off the roof and fingers intertwined, and chatted about everything. The cold wind blew, breezing against their ears and hair, and making it almost hurt to inhale too hard.
"I'm so stressed out over this damn job, y'know? I just get so focused on trying to complete the task at hand that if I take even one second to stop and think about something else, I slip up and everything falls apart." Light stole Fahrenheit's coke and finished it off for him. He laughed.
"Yeah, I get that. Every other job that isn't a diplomatic affair with an afterlife or the Middle East, I know the op is a coin flip between recovering some Akiva-heavy artifact or having the universe depend on me appeasing or killing some god. That doesn't feel good. It gets to a guy's head… I can relate, sweetie."
"Thanks. It means a lot." They embraced for a moment, enjoying each other's patient company.
"Hey, you notice how cold it is out here?" Fahrenheit asked. "What's that about?"
"Huh. Never did. I dunno."
Light remembered a conversation they had earlier.
"I should probably entertain your breakfast question. I'm probably not gonna be paged again."
Fahrenheit cocked his eyebrow.
"Don't tell anyone I'm telling you all of this, it's above your clearance." They shared a good laugh.
"Back in the '40s, the Insurgency and the Sarkics made a little blood deal and decided to start a curse to enchant these three square miles of land with a loop that could be escaped with specific actions only the Foundation would know. It was intended to be used as a backup O5 thing. It got cancelled after the Insurgency split up from the Red Right Hand and the Sarkics lost trust in us. 02 finally got built in the '50s as a small base used as an HQ for joint ops between Foundation MTFs and GOC Strike Teams. They repurposed it in 1961 to be used as a full Site after some O5 supposedly remembered it was supposed to be a cursed land, so now it's a Nexus Site, and soon to be the essophysics HQ."
She thought to herself for a second, as if trying to remember something.
"If my memory serves me, with good binoculars, you can see this building and us again in the distance. Or if you keep walking. You'll never reach the mountains that you see off in the distance," she pointed out at the world. "They're always at the same distance from you."
Fahrenheit found keen interest in the topic.
"That's really neat! I like that. You sure know a lot about the Site, huh?" he quipped.
"Well, I'm the Director. It's my job." They laughed. "You oughta tell me some fun stuff about Area-27 sometime. Bet it has cooler lore than that administration hell is."
"Well, I would right now, but it's about time I actually head back there. Commander is about to be here with a chopper. Sorry…"
"It's okay! I'll see you around. I love you Burnie."
"Love you too," he assured. "Goodnight."
As he left the rooftop — though not before Light told him how to get out — she sat still for another few minutes. When she finally decided to turn around and go, she saw him again. O5-4. His golden skeleton, alight with violet flame.
Now, it could just be because he has a skeleton jaw, but it almost seemed like he was smiling.
Light sat in her bed with her laptop and emailed Siegel, needing a rest for her weary mind.
TO: O5-1, Overseer Council
FROM: Director Light, Nexus Site-02
SUBJECT: Workplace Incident
Hello, Siegel. I just had a question about the loss today. It seems weird and obvious, but has the Foundation issued Ray's family an adequate notice? I want to ensure that the Veil Protocol is maintained while also avoiding the downplay of what happened today, and quite frankly, I find it unbelievable you could die from an accident at a coffee shop. Thank you.
— Director Light, Nexus Site-02
She clicked send and waited in anxiety— for all of ten seconds before she was issued a response. He's gotta be using an .aic, what?
TO: Director Light, Nexus Site-02
FROM: O5-1, Overseer Council
SUBJECT: Re:Workplace Incident
All needs have been appropriately met; the wishes of cremation have been fulfilled and the remains have been sent to the family, who have been informed that Mr. Hancock died in a tragic workplace accident.
Off the record, I do not hold you accountable for what happened to Ray today. Although you are the Director and should have caught the mistake, I have noticed your stress and weariness in recent weeks, and I know better than anyone how much that can wear a person down. You should take a vacation, Light.
Back on the record, I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not using an AI Construct to respond. I've always been an exceptionally swift reader and typer. Goodnight.
— O5-1, Overseer Council
She was fulfilled. With an easy mind, she fell to her pillow, passing out on contact.
Dolloran Light drove endlessly in the vast desert of Colorado. She had a moderate cruise selected and chose not to take her transportation so quick, for fear of an accident. She gazed in her rear-view and noticed black mass, in the far far distance, barely managing to keep pace. This satisfied the dream loser, who had made a detour at a gas station to grab a burger and a coke.
When she reentered the solemn path, she once more passed Nexus Site-02, deciding to take another pit-stop. She exited the vehicle and jubilantly greeted the helipad security, thanking him for his tireless service. "I appreciate your help at this Site. You have been of wondrous assistance."
She entered her automotive and pressed on the gas, becoming one with that good night, painted like a canvas with ethereal mountains. Not once more did she pass Site-02.