Interview: Venus Votticelli-Smith

Containment

Containment

Leviathan
Staff member
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[div][attr="style","position:relative;left:-181px;top:11px;width:150px;text-align:center;background-color:white;border:3px crimson inset;padding:5px;font-family:courier new;color:#568156;"]AGENT I. COTTA

[img style="width:150px;" src="[URL]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/426247770299432962/1112979000063688704/shirley_gillespie_and_ralph_roget_by_sunnyclockwork_d8m6ie4-pre.jpg[/URL]"]

[font color="#568156"]Code by Illirica[/font][/div][/div][div style="background-color:crimson;border-top:crimson 4px outset;border-left:crimson 4px inset;border-right:crimson 4px outset;border-bottom:crimson 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:crimson 4px inset;border-left:crimson 4px outset;border-right:crimson 4px inset;border-bottom:crimson 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"][font color="crimson"]DATE: 6.07.23, 0945 hours
LOCATION: Office of I. Cotta, L-14
ASSETS: Isaac Cotta, A-Class-D [L-14 Site Management; Security Callsign BEHEMOTH]; Dr. Sam Winick, R-Class-D [STLH-1-A-08 "Whys Guy"]
EQUIPMENT: Coffee, black, creamer and sugar provided; file for Ms. Venus Votticelli-Smith; file for Dr. Corinna Votticelli; Security-staff office supplies.
PURPOSE: Interview, Ms. Venus Votticelli-Smith, potential legacy recruit[/font]


This hadn't been Isaac's intention when he agreed to send the Puzzle Box home with Dr. Votticelli.

Legacy recruits were... difficult. There was always a fine line between "we recognize your family's traits and know you'll be a good fit," and "how do we know your mother won't favor you?" Corinna Votticelli had been insisting for the last 36 hours - longer, actually - that Venus was not going to be the subject of nepotism, and that her adopted daughter was everything a researcher needed to be. She wasn't trying to convince the research manager, however. Cody had predictably been on board from the first mention of a promising intern. But the Head of Agency and Security had to be convinced this was going to turn out alright.

So, an interview was in order. The interview at 10AM on June 7, 24 hours after Venus Votticelli had been introduced to the existence of Level-2 Location L-14. And for such an interview he'd gotten in touch with a member of the Welcoming Committee, who was probably much better at interviews than Isaac. He wasn't the good with people member of the management team, although he had a reputation for being friendly enough. His priority had to be this location, its safety, and its personnel. Whether Venus would become one of those personnel remained to be seen.

The office was a fairly big one, though nothing compared to Leviathan's. The desk was built into the wall in an L-shape to let the computer sit on one side, while on the other two chairs were set up opposite Isaac's. There was a second computer chair rolled in for if Dr. Winick wanted to sit behind the desk, rather than next to the interviewee like an outsider. There were a few figurines on the desk of various Nintendo characters - Link and Zelda, Ganon, some Pokemon, figures from the Mario Bros franchise. Two band posters from The Score, the covers of their "Carry On" and "Atlas" albums - both gifts from Cody.

Despite being a member of the Agency branch, Isaac looked his age, and often acted it when not under pressure from security. His eyes were a soft green and downturned, although no one doubted the sharpness that could exist behind them when a difficult choice had to be made. His blond hair was crew-cut, his face clean-shaven. Well within parameters. He did choose to wear his standard issue armor, the helmet on the desk nearby and his larger riot shield mounted on the wall by the door in the case of an emergency breach. While these came in grey and white as well, Isaac had chosen full black, and had added red edging to the heavier pieces for visibility. The visor on his helmet, which was green or yellow in standard-issue, was also red.

Now, as the clock moved ever forward, it was a matter of reviewing files while he waited.
[/div][/div][/div]
 
[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"][font color="000080"]"Hey-hey!"[/font] The phrase was bright, cheerful, and completely unassuming. Dr. Winick flashed a smile, the sort that somehow managed to convey that he was absolutely interested in anything that a person wanted to tell him about. His eyes were a warm brown, and were occasionally somewhat obscured by a mop of brown curls that liked to get into his face. He didn't actually wear glasses, though people frequently would say that he did, since apparently he seemed like the sort of person who should wear glasses. He didn't mind, and kept a tally of it on his office whiteboard back at his home location.

He was easygoing, pleasant, and incredibly good with people. If he hadn't been in the ACF, he'd have probably been a professor at a university somewhere, charming scores of incoming freshmen into thinking that physics was actually great, after all. As it was, he often played that part when interacting with the outside world, and people almost never guessed that the gregarious researcher was researching them while he was chatting with them about acceleration equations and spherical cows. He also had a knack for guessing [n.b: estimating, please and thank you] how conventional physics was going to interact with an anomaly before proper experimentation had been done, which had come in handy on more than one occasion.

It turned out that he did, in fact, want to sit at the desk next to the interviewee like an outsider. He occupied the desk in a lanky sort of way, with a posture that conveyed been a long time since I've been a student in a pleased manner, without actually saying anything of the sort. [font color="000080"]"Nice place here, Agent Cotta, haven't been out this way in... oh, probably five-six years. I'd love to see them all some time, but you know, always busy. Read up on this one - Corinna's girl, eh? We'll see, we'll see! Could always use more scientists!"[/font][/div][/div][/div]
 
“You are going to do fine,” Mrs. Corina reminds her, for the third time in the last ten minutes. Venus nods along obediently, her thoughts mainly focused on keeping her steps quiet on the tiled floor. She breathes a little shallowly, a habit she’s mostly kicked in the past three years of staying with her current guardians but which still resurfaces in times of stress.

She takes a deep breath in, and lets it out in a sigh. Mrs. Corina doesn’t comment, only gives her shoulder a brief squeeze, and Venus summons a smile that she even mostly feels! Progress. “I know, and I’ll let you know how it goes afterwards.”

“If they try to pull anything tricky-” her adoptive mother warns, cutting off with a meaningful look.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for walking me.” Venus takes a polite step away, and Mrs. Corina takes a breath of her own before giving her daughter a smile.

“Good luck.” And with that she’s off, striding down the hallway in the direction they’d come from. Venus watches her go, rapping her knuckles against the door and waiting for a response from behind the door before pushing it lightly open.

“Hello? I’m here for the interview. I’m a little early, I can wait outside if you need more time.” She did show up ten minutes early, after all.

As she speaks her eyes scan the room, a brief flash of recognition lighting them as she looks at the figurines on the desk. She never played the games herself, but some of the younger kids at the orphanage liked to talk to her about Pokemon and Legend of Zelda, so she’s learned enough to be able to do more than mhm and nod.

She tries to meet the eyes of both of the men in the room steadily, taking absent note of the color. It’s been years since she’s been quizzed on the eye color of the people she meets, but the habit is harmless enough that she hasn’t bothered trying to shake it.

For the interview, she’s dressed smartly in a white button-up shirt, a black vest over it that matches the shade of her knee-length pleated skirt. Her hair is kept out of her face with a black headband, the ends painted in pink, blue, and yellow where it’s hidden behind her ears.
 
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div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"][font color="000080"]"Oh, come on in and sit down - well, suppose it should be Agent Cotta's decision since it's his place and all, but I guess that's too late. Here, have a seat."[/font] Dr. Winick pushed out the chair for the new arrival, fully aware that whoever's location it might be, Agent Cotta was probably perfectly happy to have someone else take the conversational reins so that he could sit back and observe.

[font color="000080"]"I love the headband. Very springy! Not, you know, f equals kx, but, ah, seasonally! Cheerful, you know. Think I should do mine like that? Of course, then it'd be both."[/font] Dr. Winick pulled out one of his uncolored curls and let it bounce back. [font color="000080"]"Oh, don't mind me, I know I shouldn't hit the new recruits with physics humor on their first day. Terrible habit, eh?"[/font] His eyes sparkled, mostly since half of the Foundation appreciated a good physics joke, and the other half were Agents and didn't count.

[font color="000080"]"So, Venus Votticelli-Smith. Sounds like a Renaissance painter - one of those fellows up by the ceiling painting Adam and God doing the Spiderman meme at each other."[/font] He pointed a finger at her and Agent Cotta, exemplary. [font color="000080"]"Or however it went. Don't mind me, my degree's in physics, not art history. So! What interests you?"[/font]
 
Venus steps inside upon hearing the invitation from the curly-haired man, needlessly smoothing her skirt and carefully shutting the door behind her. Manners, good first impressions, all very important.

She hesitates only a moment before taking her seat, tucking her skirt under her and sitting very straight in her chair so that it doesn’t seem like she’s leaning towards or away from either of them. Her hair must have shifted as she sat, and for a moment she can only freeze, startled at her little touch of personalization having been so easily spotted.

Her eyes dart between Mr. Cotta and the stranger once, and then she forces herself to relax a little, laughing off the moment. No one is going to reprimand you for having a personality, Venus. “Oh, um, thank you! I don’t mind, though physics isn’t my force-te.”

Her smile freezes again for a moment. The pun just happened, and she can’t take it back, so she powers through, extending a hand to the man she hasn’t met. “I’m Venus. Nice to meet you, Mr. …?”

She lets him fill in his name, and then turns and stands a little to shake hands with Mr. Cotta. “And it is nice to see you again, Mr. Cotta.”

Green eyes. Right. Hasn’t changed. She settles back in her seat, her smile a little easier now that the formalities have been met.

She laughs lightly in response to Dr. Winick’s reference, briefly pointing back towards him to complete it. Her smile turns more polite when he asks the question, the reminder that this is a Job Interview hitting her once more.

“I would say I’m really into chemistry. I’m the Vice-President of the chemistry club at my school, and that’s probably what I’ll do for college as well.” Her answer is well-prepared, though a little stiff. She tacks on, after a moment, “I also like to paint sometimes. It’s kind of like mixing chemicals, haha.”
 
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[div style="background-color:crimson;border-top:crimson 4px outset;border-left:crimson 4px inset;border-right:crimson 4px outset;border-bottom:crimson 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:crimson 4px inset;border-left:crimson 4px outset;border-right:crimson 4px inset;border-bottom:crimson 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Dr. Winick was very likable. That was good. Isaac couldn’t speak for his own likability, but he did know given the opportunity people always preferred to engage with Cody than himself. And Whys Guy seemed quite a bit like Cody might be in ten years and with a physics degree. And as such, Isaac was quite comfortable sitting and listening to the man talk enthusiastically while they waited for the interviewee.

She was early. Isaac glanced up at the knock on the door and recognized her right away. Dr. Votticelli had insisted on introducing them the moment he expressed any doubt in her daughter. He took her in at a glance, but kept a steady gaze on her – naturally steady, not meant to be intimidating. She was dressed for an interview, with not a science-pun T-shirt in sight, so she was already doing better than some other interviewees.

Dr. Winick invited her in with the same joyous energy, and Isaac rose from his seat enough to shake her hand. His smile faded in with their re-introduction and faded out as he sat back down; even his face made no abrupt movements. He even distinctly did not roll his eyes at the physics puns. He’d been exposed to worse as Dr. Cody Redd’s partner, although he was quietly taking in potential T-shirt ideas for an upcoming birthday.

Venus was already showing signs that she’d fit right in with other research interns here on-site. She was nervous, however. Easing that was why he’d brought Dr. Winick in, but he decided just sitting back and looking official was going to make the situation more awkward. I

[font color="#568156"]“Did you have a school in mind for college, Ms. Votticelli-Smith?”[/font]
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Hey, the kid knew some science jokes! Dr. Winick gave her an approving smile, because no one lasted long in the Foundation if they couldn't appreciate a good science joke. Unless they were Agents, but he suspected that the Agents actually also appreciated good science jokes, they just weren't allowed to admit it.

He took the offered hand, giving her a friendly shake. [font color="000080"]"Sam. Sam Winick, I suppose that's probably 'Dr. Winick' if we want to be formal, but I've never worried too much about that. Whatever you're comfortable with, right?"[/font] He didn't tend to get too upset with what people called him, unless it was way worse than 'Sam,' and usually if people were getting that into it they had a pretty good reason, like something was on fire and they were new. One or the other didn't usually result in swearing, since after people had been around a while Hey, Sam, the lab's on fire again was just a standard Tuesday.

Dr. Winick didn't generally set things on fire accidentally, but sometimes science required a little thermal infusion - a lot of the fun science, anyway. Besides, fire was an excellent test of anomalous interactions with standard physics. Nothing like seeing what happened when you set something on fire to help figure out how it worked!

[font color="000080"]"Chemistry. Chemistry."[/font] This was a matter of great disappointment, and he shook his head. [font color="000080"]"Bah, chemistry's just physics with a bit of high school drama tacked on. Oh, no, these elements broke up again, will they get back together? How many other elements is this breakup going to effect? Oh, no, hydrogen's being a drama queen again! Ah, you're young, we'll see. Maybe someone will make a physicist out of you yet."[/font] Agent Cotta had decided to follow up this lament with an inquiry about colleges, which had been one that was on Sam's mind as well. How much attachment a candidate had to the outside world was extremely important in figuring out if they'd fit in the ACF. That was one of the main reasons he'd thrown in the commentary on high school drama, in order to see what she thought of it and how she'd react.

It wasn't always about the questions that were being asked, after all. Science was about observing what happened, whether or not it was in relation to the intended course of action.
 
“Oh, yeah, I guess so.” Venus blusters a little, followed by a short, awkward laugh that carries the distinct air of one who has never participated in ‘high school drama’ outside of movies and musicals. The dating scene never held much appeal when academics were so much more important.

She’s a little put out by Dr. Winick’s casual dismissal of her favorite subject, but she tries not to hold it against him. Maybe a little more explanation is in order. “I think it can be interesting to see how the ‘breakups’ shake out, though in my opinion chemistry really shines in its combinations. I guess the metaphor ends there, but there are so many blends - oh, couples! Or triples, quadruples… nevermind - lots of mixtures that haven’t been dug into yet. A little bit of this or that can change things dramatically.”

Oh no, was that too much chemistry talk? She can bring it back. Good first impressions. Yes. “If I had to pick a second favorite science I’d probably say biology, just because of DNA and medicine trials. No offense intended to physics, of course. Maybe there’s something to be explored with electricity?”

Mr. Cotta’s question makes her sit a little straighter in her chair, a little bit of nervousness straightening her spine. “I have a few in mind, but I’m still trying to narrow down the list. I don’t want to jinx anything or get my hopes up too high yet.”

She does know she wants to go to a coastal city, but that seems a little too personal to mention. She loves her adoptive mothers, she really does, but maybe she can get a fresh start if she gets some distance from them and this place and everything.

Those are thoughts for the future, though. Right now, a summer internship would be a great opportunity to sharpen her skills. And to learn more about the wacky science-breaking things they keep in here. And it would be nice to put on her resume, if they let her.
 
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Dr. Winick smiled, more to himself than at the young woman, but there was a bit of both. She was passionate enough about chemistry that she was willing to defend her opinion in the presence of two older and no doubt terrifying individuals. Terrifying was one of those phrases that went around a bit. Neither himself nor Agent Cotta would seem that terrifying to another adult: Dr. Winick in particular, because that was exactly what the Welcoming Committee kept him around for - but to a teenager, adults were often terrifying, especially experienced ones. And once you got past the surface of that, of course, there was the underlying fact that both of them worked for the ACF and were, in actuality, probably pretty terrifying individuals under the right circumstances.

There was a lot to be said about how a person carried themselves, though, and Dr. Winick's relaxed mode hid a great deal of the things he'd encountered over the years. Miss Votticelli-Smith was young enough not to have her mind set on any particular college just yet, which was... quite potentially beneficial. He propped an elbow on the desk in front of him, leaning forward a little even as he looked over at her.

[font color="000080"]"Have you considered whether you would be open to, say, non-collegiate experiences?"[/font] Working temporarily with the ACF before having a quick mind-wipe and moving on was one thing, but the Foundation was always in need of more permanent people - permanent people who were passionate about things, and willing to defend the things they loved, no matter the situation they were in.

Even if those things were chemistry.
 
[div style="background-color:crimson;border-top:crimson 4px outset;border-left:crimson 4px inset;border-right:crimson 4px outset;border-bottom:crimson 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:crimson 4px inset;border-left:crimson 4px outset;border-right:crimson 4px inset;border-bottom:crimson 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Isaac easily resumed the role of listener. Venus seemed passionate about chemistry - which would not narrow down an avenue of research, in his mind, given the number of substances that all different kinds of anomalies were tested as part of every step of study. At least, he felt like Cody always mentioned some form of chemical testing when he made the mistake of asking after certain experiments. While Cody's own specialization was in anomalous disease, he was location head of research, and kept up with the news in other departments. And happily shared when Isaac asked him for updates, either officially or by accident.

He'd probably need to arrange for a meeting between Venus and Cody as soon as possible, following her orientation. If she wasn't amnesticized and sent home first.

He noted the shift in personality between passionate and professional topics. While he usually looked for that kind of behavior in potential agents, especially security agents, in a researcher it tended to make them feel more like an outlier. Outright passion was preferred in the lab. That might be something else that could be filed through Cody, especially given that he wasn't going to be interviewing her. And the mention of non-collegiate research experience.

Dr. Winick's response to her seemed generally positive. Someone redacted had once told him that the Welcoming Committee usually knew within a few minutes of conversation whether the person in question would be a good fit. They'd told him they'd known right off the bat when Cody introduced them, but questions were necessary to determine where he'd fit, and how well. Sometimes you wouldn't know until you saw them at work, or until you saw their responses to unsecure anomalous interactions. That would be his department, if she stayed. For now he decided to leave the questions and answers part to Dr. Winick again, and continued to listen.
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Venus very carefully does not shift in her seat as Dr. Winick readjusts in his. Her hands are neatly folded in her lap, legs crossed at the ankles. The picture of a proper young lady.

“You mean like trade school?” She asks, honestly confused. College is what’s expected after one graduates high school. Most jobs require a college degree. She’d never seriously considered other options.

Well, her adoptive parents have been stressing that she can make her own choices. She takes a moment to consider the suggestion, trying not to feel intimidated by Mr. Cotta’s stony silence. Isn’t he supposed to be the one conducting the interview? She doesn’t really know how these things work, so she doesn’t comment.

“I suppose it depends on the experience. It could be good to get lab experience or things like that, but I’ll probably still need a college degree to get a good job in the future.” That seems like a good answer. After all, the Foundation seems like a place where she can do just that. She’s totally nailing this interview thing.

Maybe it’s time for a question of her own. “If I may ask, what sorts of things do you investigate here? It all seems very hush-hush.”

Understatement of the century. She tried to look up “The ACF” and barely found anything. Mainly a lot of Reddit threads with half the comments deleted, nothing reputable. What kind of organization isn’t on Google?
 
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Miss Votticelli-Smith asked her question very innocently. Naively, even. Dr. Winick hid a smile, though not very successfully. She was...

Well, as the interns would have said: Oh no, she's baby.

Well, first questions first. [font color="000080"]"I was thinking something more along the lines of independent study,"[/font] Dr. Winick told her, which would not be a satisfactory answer at all, because he remembered having gotten a very similar one... nearly fifteen years ago.

[font color="000080"]"We'll circle back to that. As to the other question, you were brought here because of Dr. Corinna's puzzle box, as I understand. Now, you understood the puzzles - but did you understand the box? How did it work? Why didn't it get smaller? Where did the other puzzles come from? How was it built, and out of what materials? Could you still solve the puzzles underwater? What would happen if you tried to take off a puzzle panel without solving the puzzle? How would you do that? Questions, Miss Votticelli-Smith. What we do here is we ask questions. We find things that we can't explain, and we ask questions until we can explain them. Some of our people study things that can't be explained. Some of our people bring us things that can't be explained. And some of our people - like Mr. Cotta over there - help make sure that the things that can't be explained are as safe as they can be."[/font]

Dr. Winick made a vague gesture with his hands, bringing the topic back around to her own experiences. [font color="000080"]"Your puzzle box was not so dangerous - but some things that don't have explanations are dangerous, and so one of our jobs is to keep those where they can do as little harm as is feasible, and try to find out better solutions. We ask questions."[/font]

He scooted the chair back a little, watching her rather intently. [font color="000080"]"And sometimes, the question we ask is whether a curious person might be interested in asking some of those questions herself."[/font]
 
Venus opens her mouth to ask about ‘independent study’, an index finger rising partially from her folded hands, and then closes it again as Dr. Winick carries on to other topics.

As he goes on with the questions, her hands itch for a pencil and notepad. Those are great questions, and she didn’t get to experiment with the box all that much between finding it and Mrs. Corina finding her. And, after all, the only difference between doing a scientific experiment and mucking about is writing it down.

She does her best to remember the questions for later and still listen to the rest of what Dr. Winick says, leaning forward just a little in her own seat as the promise of experiments draws her in.

Venus nods quickly before she can stop herself. “I love asking-”

She remembers herself and visibly stiffens, her posture correcting itself as she strives to reach polite interest rather than unseemly excitement. “Um, yes, those all sound like great questions to ask.”

Her thoughts run around in circles, mental alarms blaring so loudly it’s actually a little difficult to keep looking him in the eye. She shifts her gaze to the desk briefly, then sweeps around what she can see without turning her head. Casual. So casual.

“I’d definitely be interested in helping ask and answer questions like that,” she finally settles for, her smile carefully balanced. What’s the right amount of eye contact, again? She wishes she had something to toy with, but it would be impolite to do so. Her thumb sweeps over her laced fingers, once and then again, nail dragging a little against her skin.
 
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[div style="background-color:crimson;border-top:crimson 4px outset;border-left:crimson 4px inset;border-right:crimson 4px outset;border-bottom:crimson 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:crimson 4px inset;border-left:crimson 4px outset;border-right:crimson 4px inset;border-bottom:crimson 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Dr. Winick went into Researcher Mode.

And so did Venus.

Isaac hadn't spent half his career at the Foundation partnered with Codes to miss the twitches as the questions gripped her attention. Now, to be fair, these days it was usually Cody ranting about the questions the way Dr. Winick definitely hadn't been for the sake of the interview, but it was the same idea. The same twitches, even if she didn't have an anomalous medallion to fiddle with. In fact, she didn't have anything to fiddle with, and was showing remarkable self-restraint. It was those twitches, more than her words, that reinforced his opinion of her.

Silently, while she was busy not looking at Dr. Winick's face, Isaac reached over onto a shelf nearby and took a clean legal pad off. He also grabbed two pens. And as she made her last statement, the bundle would be slid across the desk to stop neatly beside her. If she looked to him for permission, she'd see maybe the slight smile on his face, and the smallest security-nod he could manage.

They asked questions here, after all. Might as well remember them for a more relevant time.
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Well, she was a researcher for sure. Dr. Winick didn't miss the twitch of Miss Votticelli-Smith's hands as she craved pen and paper to write down all the ideas that she was having. He knew that feeling all too well - and so did anyone who'd ever scribbled down a theory on a napkin or the outside of a pizza box or across their forearm. He'd caught what she'd started to say, too, before she'd schooled herself into Being Professional, which was a darn shame. Dr. Winick could do professionalism as well as anyone - he had to, after all, it was his job - but the spark was what made it all worthwhile.

Agent Cotta had helpfully provided a notebook and pens, which was a lot more help than most of the Agent types provided. Probably that Redd kid's influence, those two were thick as thieves from the official paperwork, and bound to have at least some understanding of each other's worlds. Dr. Winick claimed one of the pens, not because he didn't already have one - he had two, and they were inside his jacket pocket - but because he had a feeling that Venus wasn't going to take one unless she saw someone else do it first so she could convince herself it was okay.

[font color="000080"]"I joined the Foundation when I was a little older than you,"[/font] he offered, quite conversationally. It was time to circle back like he'd promised, to that whole independent study idea. [font color="000080"]"Ended up doing all of my higher education with them. It's not a school you'll ever hear of, but the education's up there with some of the best universities out there. I should know - I attend a lot of conventions. You never know what someone will be researching out there. Did my degree in physics, with a specialty in anomalous interactions with conventional physics."[/font] Big words, but he didn't explain them, because he wanted to see if she'd follow or if she'd ask. Either was perfectly fine - it was not following and not asking that was problematic.

[font color="000080"]"Plus you end up learning a lot that you might not at a university, just because it's useful. You ever do any drafting? Drawing, that is, not writing rough drafts. Here, now, in art school they'll teach you perspective drawings-"[/font] Under the pen, a series of lines took shape, focusing the eye, and then within the constraints a shape appeared as a sketch, recognizable as the Puzzle Cube. Fortunately for Dr. Winick, a cube was not the most difficult of shapes to draw. [font color="000080"]"But I think a good isometric drawing is much more valuable. The lines are all straight, which means it doesn't 'look' right, but you can lift measurements off of the image much more easily, like so."[/font]

Another sketch, this one with measurements. She'd probably think he was great at this, which just meant that he was lucky that she'd gotten sent here for solving a cube and not summoning an Elder god. Those were much harder to draw, especially if you wanted to retain your sanity at the end.

[font color="000080"]"The point is, there's a lot to learn, including some things you might not have thought you wanted to know. And maybe for you that means finding the right university, but I think if you were interested, there might be an option of working here with us while you figure out what it is you most want to learn about."[/font]
 
Venus blinks at the notepad, and then at Mr. Cotta, and then back at the notepad. Is there a writing portion to the interview? Dr. Winick takes one of the pens, so she follows his lead and takes the other. It’s a serviceable black ballpoint. She clicks the cap off and then on again with her thumb.

With paper right in front of her, it’s harder to ignore the urge to take notes. Venus pulls a piece from the pad and scribbles in the corner to ensure the pen is working, then jots down some shorthand for the questions from earlier. She keeps the writing neat, all tiny in the corner at the top of the page, just in case she’s not actually supposed to use the paper for this.

“Is that an official field? Outside of the Foundation, I mean.” She asks when he mentions his specialty. The words themselves make sense individually, and she can use what she noticed from the puzzle box to guess that there are probably more objects that break the laws of physics and might need to be studied, but she can’t imagine walking up to someone on the street and casually mentioning ‘anomalous interactions’ without being looked at weirdly.

Dr. Winick’s drawings don’t seem like interview question short responses, so she takes a little more liberty in starting a sketch of the puzzle box as well. It’s less difficult to split her attention between listening and sketching, but she still makes sure to pick up her pen sometimes and make an effort to look like she’s listening, too. It’s more polite that way.

“I haven’t taken any classes like that, only art,” she hedges, hesitating before showing him the beginnings of her own drawing. Her sketch is a little more true-to-life, but she can see what he means about clarity. The whorls of the wood and the engraved puzzles aren’t really strictly necessary for understanding that the box is a box, and has this side of this length or so on.

But drawing a box isn’t really unique to the object, either. She doesn’t think she’s supposed to notice that, so she tactfully doesn’t comment on it.

“That would be… hm,” she takes a moment to consider the path set before her. Independent study, huh? Does it count as independent if you’re always surrounded by researchers? She isn’t sure the decision is entirely hers to make, so she asks a question of her own. “I think I would be interested. How did you decide to do what you did? Is there a list of things to study?”
 
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"][font color="000080"]"Oh, officially my degree is listed as 'theoretical physics,'"[/font] Dr. Winick clarified, [font color="000080"]"Because, theoretically, it's physics. To be honest, most of the time I don't even need to worry about it. These are the people who use 'assume a spherical cow' in all the introductory texts. Just don't mention that you actually have a spherical cow and it's all good!"[/font]

She was sketching - cautiously, as if she weren't sure that she were supposed to be doing it, but sketching nonetheless. [font color="000080"]"Oh, that's very good. As you can see, each type of sketch offers different information, so it can be good to have several at your disposal. And as far as how you decide... well, here at the Foundation, it's sort of a find something you're really really interested in, and go ham situation. Are people still saying go ham or is that passe now? I can never remember what's in or not - your generation seems to change it more quickly than any other. Of course, your generation also gave us yeet, which is the singularly most useful term invented in the last thirty years. Can't wait until it starts showing up in textbooks: Assume a baseball player is standing in a chamber where air friction doesn't exist. The player yeets a small spherical cow at an angle of thirty-five degrees... Er, anyway. You'd get a lot of experience with different things, as an intern, and when you find something that you want to focus on, you'd let people know."[/font]
 
‘Spherical cow,’ Venus mouths to herself. Alright. She tries to imagine it - it’s kind of cute, actually, if you put the face up there and it still has its ears and maybe a little bell. The thought comes to life under her pen, scribbled in the margin of the page. She adds a little ‘MOO’ speech bubble before she can think better of it, but covers the drawing with her non-dominant hand just in case it offends Dr. Winick.

He seems to like her other sketch, and she finds herself smiling as he answers the question she decided not to ask. If she were an investigative agency she would also be a fan of having as much information on a thing as possible. “That makes sense.”

The phrase at the end of his next sentence trips her up. Venus only stares blankly as he asks her if it’s still in use. Maybe she’s fallen further behind on trends since leaving the orphanage - she hasn’t had as many reasons to keep up with those things.

It’s still polite to smile, right? She falls back on that. The gears turn in her brain as she thinks things over. She assumed she’d have to choose an area to specialize in, like how colleges always ask for a declared major right up front.

“Oh.” She blinks a few times. “Is that… assuming everything goes well here, what do interns typically do?”

She suddenly realizes that she has no idea what being an intern would mean even at a normal company. It isn’t like any of this came with a job description. She just picked up a box and suddenly things started Happening.

Her brain runs a search for ‘intern’ and comes up with… coffee runs? But that doesn’t sound at all like what Dr. Winick is describing. Dangit, she should’ve thought to research that instead of wasting her time with obscure Reddit threads.
 
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[div style="background-color:crimson;border-top:crimson 4px outset;border-left:crimson 4px inset;border-right:crimson 4px outset;border-bottom:crimson 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:crimson 4px inset;border-left:crimson 4px outset;border-right:crimson 4px inset;border-bottom:crimson 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"]Isaac wondered if the reason why Sam kept mentioning a spherical cow was because it was easy to draw, as art was listed in Ms. Votticelli-Smith’s profile, or if it was a coincidence that he’d chosen an example that was easy to draw. It at least eased Venus into asking questions, which Sam gladly answered, and Isaac gladly let him. The researcher aspect was not his department.

What everyone did, however, was. Each location had different expectations of each class-level, and Isaac knew he would need to intervene when the subject of what do you want me, specifically, to do here, specifically? came up.

[font color="#568156"]“Internship is a training and assistance period,”[/font] he intervened, at the appropriate moment. [font color="#568156"]“As a researcher, you’ll be assisting with experiments, attempting to replicate experimental results, and getting to know the location and anomalies. You’ll learn how to file the correct paperwork, what the standard methodology is for laboratory research, and how to navigate the filing system for contained anomalies. You may be asked to perform other tasks by higher-level researchers, mostly mundane. ‘Carry this for me, please bring me a coffee.’ Agents might ask you questions about anomalies you’re assisting with, for additional perspectives. If you decide to go into field research you’ll likely get more specific training for safety and security, but for the time being you’ll likely be in the lab.”[/font]
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[div style="border-top:#000080 4px outset;border-left:#000080 4px inset;border-right:#000080 4px outset;border-bottom:#000080 4px inset;"][div style="border-top:#000080 4px inset;border-left:#000080 4px outset;border-right:#000080 4px inset;border-bottom:#000080 4px outset;"][div style="background-color:white;color:black;padding:15px;font-family:courier new;"][font color="000080"]"Remind your lead researcher to eat real food and that they can't exist on coffee alone,"[/font] Dr. Winick added, since Isaac was going over the carry this and bring me coffee part of the speech. [font color="000080"]"Half of them forget. And it's okay to remind them that you also require real food, because some of them forget that too, and you're young yet. I was about your age when I got here and still had that teenage appetite, but was too nervous to say anything about it. Don't do that!"[/font]

She probably wouldn't take that advice, but at least he could be sure that someone had given it to her, especially since Venus seemed like the too shy to remind anyone that yes, she would quite like a sandwich sort of person. Well, at least she would be thinking about it and know to stick a box of granola bars in her backpack as a stopgap, or whatever solution she ended up finding. She was a researcher, she'd figure something out.

[font color="000080"]Most locations will have you float around a bit,"[/font] Dr. Winick added, [font color="000080"]"Work with different researchers in different labs, get a feel for things until you find out what you want to focus on. Of course, if you're here at L-14, that would be up to... oh, probably Cody Redd on the research side of things, though I bet Isaac here has a hand in it as well. And if you find you're really not fitting in here or there's something you really want to focus on that you can't find here, there are other locations with different specialties. Plenty of people float around a bit before they figure it all out. I think you'll do fine, though. You have a good head on your shoulders and a good sense of humor. Some days, that's all you need."[/font]
 
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