The Mechanical Era

24th of Procidens, 5018.

It was an unusually dim morning in the city of Hoverdam. The sun had not just risen up to the fullest just yet. The birds, which held on to the branches of the trees with orange leaves, chirped along to sing a song.

In his office, Kant sat straight on his comfortable swivel chair, ready to start the interview. He had prepared everything; his outfit, the list of questions he was going to ask, and his cup of coffee, which was extra caffeinated for his occasion. All he had to do, was to wait for his arrival.

Today, was not only a day to see if Carl was the perfect candidate for the job of the director of the CIA, but also the day whether nominative determinism is a bunch of bogus or not, considering the man's initials spell 'C.I.A'. Though Kant didn't believe in such superstitions, he hoped that he got the job.

Knock. Knock.

Kant can hear the sounds of someone knocking on his door. After making a few adjustments, he allowed the man on the other side to enter. To his surprise, out from the door, came Alan's face.

"Your majesty, he is here. Should I send him in?" Alan asked. He wasn't fully inside the room. Only his head was peaking in. Kant, without waiting for a second, agreed.

"Yes, Alan. Please do send him in," Kant instructs. Alan leans out of the room and closes the door. A few minutes go by before there is another knock on his door.

"Come in."

This time, a man, about 5ft 10 inches in height walks in. He is seen wearing a pitch-black suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie. On his head, there was a black fedora hat, covering up his short golden blonde hair. On his left hand, Kant sees him carrying a black briefcase.

"Good morning, your majesty. I am sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I have heard that you have been excited to see me," the man spoke, as he takes off his fedora hat.

"No worries. Please, take a seat." The man walks over and sits down. He keeps his briefcase to the side, opened it up, and handed him a resume.

"Here you go, sir. I think you might need this," he claims. Kant gladly accepts the resume and starts to read it silently.

According to the resume, his full name was Carl "Inteligencia" Anastasia and was 64 years old, which utterly surprised Kant as he swore the man looked to be in his late 30s to early 40s. It also stated that he had worked with many cities, kingdoms, and governments throughout the continent, under his position as 'grand spymaster' which is the name for the director's position, under his kingdom.

He also had a variety of experiences, such as; leadership and management, a proven ability to develop and implement strategic plans that align with the employer's mission and objectives, demonstrated success in managing complex operations, including risk management and crisis response, and has expertise in intelligence analysis, including a deep understanding of intelligence collection methods and techniques.

Throughout his work history, he had occupied many roles within his kingdom's intelligence agency. He is reported to have stayed for around 3 to 5 years in each position, starting as a spy, and making connections, before managing to quickly climb up the ladder to become the grand spymaster for his kingdom.

Kant was visibly impressed by his resume, seeing it as proof that he is a man of high skill. He places the resume down on the table, before locking on to Carl's deep brown eyes, with his own jet-black eyes.

"Well, Mr. Anastasia. I got to say, you have a pretty impressive resume. However, I think there are a few more documents I am missing?" Kant asks.

"Do you mean the recommendation letters, sir?" he asked. His question caught him off guard, though not because of the content within the question itself, but the inclusion of 'sir' at the end.

"I am sorry, but what did you refer to me as?" Kant questions him in a friendly, polite tone. He does not want to scare the man.

"I learned from Minister Alan 'Walker' Fleck that you preferred to be addressed as sir after I had already addressed you as 'majesty'. Is that not what you want, sir? Should I stop?" he asks.

Though Kant was a little suspicious, he accepted that Carl's reasoning for addressing him as sir. Kant quickly reassured him that it was fine and that he was glad that he had asked Alan.

"Oh no, it is fine. Yes, that is what I wanted Minister Alan to do. Anyways, can I have your letters of recommendation please?" Kant asks.

Carl dives into his briefcase once again, before handing Kant a file. Inside, it was filled with letters, containing a rather good rating by people he had worked with. While one of them does include Armstrong himself, there were others, most of whose names are famous across the continent, as well.

Kant had made sure to read all of them, to gain a sense of Carl's character, as well as his abilities, before he moves on. The further that Kant read about Carl, the more he started to suspect that Carl might have done something shenanigan before coming to this interview.

Regardless, considering he had no proof of the matter, with the exception of an intuition hunch, he decides to let it slide. After he places down the file containing the letters of recommendation, Kant decides he wants to move on to the questions.

"Alright. Everything seems to be in order. It appears that you have worked with a lot of people in the past..." Kant commented.

"Well, yes sir. I have. It is what comes with working for so many people. I would like to say that it had given me a new perspective on some things, and on the ways in which they work and operate," Carl replies.

"Hmm... I see. Anyways, let's start the questioning, shall we?"

"Yes. Yes, we shall."

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