Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Microstory 1352: Recruited

Supposed Agent: Ah, we are almost done here, and you’ll be ready to start working for us. This is to make sure you’re worthy of security clearance.
Agency Recruit: Where are we?
Supposed Agent: This is where you’ll be working most of the time. There may be occasions where you’ll be needed in the field, but that requires a lot of further training, so we’re going to keep you behind a desk for now.
Agency Recruit: That’s fine with me, I’m just a math professor. This...feels off, though.
Supposed Agent: How so?
Agency Recruit: This has felt off the whole time. The point of the CIA and NSA is that there is some way to verify that you’re working for a legitimate organization. You can go to a giant building in Langley, and be processed through security. This is just a mostly empty office building. How do I know this isn’t some version of SD-6?
Supposed Agent: I don’t know what that is.
Agency Recruit: It’s a fictional agency from a TV show. Most of the agents thought they were working for the government, but it was all a lie. They were criminals. How am I meant to know if this is even real?
Supposed Agent: I assure you that this is a legitimate organization.
Agency Recruit: But how would I know?
Supposed Agent: Ha, who’s asking the questions here?
Agency Recruit: I am. Is the CIA aware of your existence?
Supposed Agent: They are. We work with them in certain situations.
Agency Recruit: So, there’s a way to verify you through them?
Supposed Agent: I’m not sure how that would work.
Agency Recruit: So you just expect me to trust you?
Supposed Agent: You will be getting a badge. You will be given government credentials, and a government-issued service weapon. Just look at this place. We have a secret entrance through the mail boxes, and everything. Well, I know you haven’t seen everything, but would anyone have the resources to fake this?
Agency Recruit: Fake it like for a scam? Well, yeah, maybe, but that’s not the concern. You could be a mercenary company, or a terrorist cell, or a competing agency operating on foreign soil.
Supposed Agent: This is why we need you, Agency Recruit. You don’t accept everything you see. You question everything. You will be a huge asset to us, and your country.
Agency Recruit: Someone should know about you. Someone at the CIA or FBI can find out whether this is real or not. Before I even think about trying to pass your clearance test, you’re gonna have to pass mine. The knowledge I have cannot be given away to just anyone.
Supposed Agent: I can’t let you do that. You already know where our base of operations is. We cannot let that information out of here. You can either keep walking up to the second floor, or go down to the basement.

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