The interview room was designed to look harmless.
Soft grey walls.
Rounded corners.
A table that was almost the right height.
Mara sat in the single chair they'd given her and let the band sync to the puck on the table.
A tiny vibration ran through her wrist as the connection deepened.
On the wall opposite, a blank panel warmed to life: a circle pulsing in time with her heart.
"Thank you for coming in," the interviewer said.
He was older than she expected, hair gone mostly to silver, tie slightly crooked.
His band glowed a soothing blue.
His name badge said KELN – INTERNAL INTEGRITY.
"I was invited," she said.
He smiled, the practiced kind that never touched the eyes.
"Random selection is part of keeping us all safe," he said.
Behind him, in the corner of the ceiling, a dark eye watched.
A camera.
A cluster of them, really, nested behind that single iris, feeding everything to Arcus.
