Veronica introduced Karla to the other company employees and then led her to the department where they would be working together from that moment on. Obviously, those first few days would be just for her to get used to the company's routine, since she needed to sort out a series of paperwork to officially start working at the newspaper. However, she was already part of the family and would understand how things worked, as she had already shown that she knew the true reasons for being a journalist.
In the office, the day had started off minimally hectic. In addition to the numerous pieces of information stemming from the events of the early morning, there were still other topics to be considered that week. Some rumors of corruption and money laundering scandals involving ministries, parliamentarians, and construction companies. The rise in the use of graphene batteries on a large scale, with the installation of a new factory in the state of New Jersey. Relevant topics, obviously. As well as, of course, entertainment topics, such as movies, books, and anime.
Yes, there are anime in this world, as Veronica briefly mentioned while talking to Karla the day before. Although Japan, China (in part), and Korea were part of the province of Nippon, at the time of the Night Rise, many of those who made up these dominated countries had to emigrate to other countries. Most sought refuge in places like the United States, Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Madagascar, eastern Australia, eastern China, and Malaysia, the most developed countries in the southern hemisphere, which allowed the animation culture from these countries to consolidate itself, even in this world. In addition, obviously, there was also an entertainment industry on the northern side of the world, but with different focuses.
With this density of immigrants for many years, several nuances arose that needed to be considered in public administration in order to accommodate this number of people. For those who could not settle in comfortably in the new nation, there were numerous shelters for people who had migrated in a state of emergency, such as the Albany shelter, where those who had suffered from the Swanton incident the previous night were taken.
When they entered the room, the hustle and bustle and concentration seemed frantic. But they managed to pause to welcome the newcomer. There were about fifteen people working there, between employees and interns.
"Veronica, you don't have any friends anymore, do you? For God's sake, don't be absent again!", said Komatsu, one of the writers. She was largely responsible for the entertainment section.
"Calm down, Komatsu. You know that if they were your friends, the manager would be generous," defended Eliud. He was the intern responsible for the new technologies newsrooms, being a Computer Science student at Columbia University.
"I know, geez... But you're biased to talk about that, since you can keep up with Veronica's pace," replied Komatsu with a somewhat grumpy face. Everyone giggled.
"Oh, everyone, give us a break for a few seconds. This is my new subordinate, your new colleague. And I guarantee she can keep up with me better than you can. I swear, maybe she'll be the manager in my place. Welcome Karla."
The people in the department were quite surprised when she said that. About five seconds of silence.
"Karla… I'm afraid of you," said Komatsu. Everyone laughed for about ten seconds.
"Don't worry, dear. She's just exaggerating. But it will be a pleasure to work with you."
"By the way, Karla, are you into the technology field?" Eliud asked.
"Actually, I'm more into philosophy, physics, and chemistry. I leave the technology to Veronica," Karla replied humorously.
"Oh, what a shame. Veronica and I are fanatics about this technology and cybernetics stuff. You could be another one to join in our craziness."
"You wouldn't believe it, man. I'm just going to give my intern the final instructions. I'm excited to see the latest developments in graphene batteries."
So, after introducing all the members of the department, Veronica briefed her on some of the department's procedures. After that, Karla settled at her desk and began to analyze some information provided by the field department and how the published newsrooms handle this data. She was quite amazed by Veronica's ability to manage a newsroom (in some cases, she herself was the editor), and she also found the entire process that the field staff perform in the search for this information intriguing.
While the two of them and the others were from the newsroom department, responsible for receiving information, evaluating it, and writing and revising the articles to be published, the so-called field department was the one that chased after this information. William was the director closest to the newsroom stage, while Ricardo focused more on the search for information. Both sectors, however, had the same degree of autonomy to write editorial opinions. Those from the field, about ten people, were not present when Karla was introduced, as they left some information with the sector and later went to look for other relevant things.
After analyzing how the process of assimilating information was converted into newspaper articles, she moved on to the practical side, analyzing the information that those in the field had acquired regarding the border incident.
Among the information Karla was evaluating were some testimonies they had obtained from several of those rescued from the ghoul attack, both at the shelter in Albany and the one in Boston (this shelter received a portion of the victims who were in the Saint Albans region, the furthest the ghouls reached). In other words, it wasn't just the hundred people from Swanton, but another three hundred people became important witnesses to what happened. And Sleepless Truth managed to be one of the pioneering newspapers to have access to such information.
According to the testimonies, it was mentioned that the hooded figures arrived flying, although they did not have wings, at a thunderous speed, descending as if they were falcons. Some even witnessed the counterattacks of these two people. By closing their hands, as in a quick moment of meditation, they generated lines of heat and energy that penetrated the bodies of the crazed and monstrous vampires. In addition, they carried out direct attacks swiftly, from different directions, against the monsters.
According to the testimonies, it was commented that the hooded figures arrived flying, although they did not have wings, at a thunderous speed, descending as if they were falcons. Some even witnessed the attacks of these two people against the ghouls. By closing their hands, as in a quick moment of meditation, they generated lines of heat and energy that penetrated the bodies of the crazed and monstrous vampires. In addition, they carried out direct attacks swiftly, from different directions, against the monsters, and finished by piercing their hearts, as if there were a layer of silver on their hands, which corroded the bodies. Their silver hands looked like knives at very high speeds, while at the same time having frighteningly strong blows. The person in the black cloak even seemed to collapse the space-time around them, while the one in the blue cloak also managed to cause perceptible shock waves.[1]
The initial kick-off from the first hundred witnesses already caused a worldwide commotion. However, the narration of these miracles, we can say, would make things even more exciting. Both the popular reverence for these heroes, as saviors of humanity, and the unease surrounding them all fueled this concern. After all, if only vampires were known for these powers, could it be possible that vampires were the heroes? If so, were they acting on behalf of the weak vulgars? It was, on some level, improbable that such hostile beings could have such intentions. Perhaps these were internal political motivations of the northern world, unknown to the general public, but which managed to expand to the so-called monsters of the south. The exacerbated dualism prevented either side from seeing humans on the other side. After all, at this point in the world, what defines a human being?
However, all the testimonies highlighted words of encouragement, just like those heard by the hundred from Swanton. Not exactly with the same words, but it was the same unrecognizable and deep voice that planted a seed of patience. The idea that the reality that dominated the world would soon end.
Karla didn't seem surprised by the supernatural aspects described in the testimonies, but she did appear to have shed a tear or two during the process. Then, after a distant look for about five seconds, she began to organize the information with a certain naturalness. Not exactly like a veteran, since there were certain minute details that time would refine (although, in her case, that time would be considerably shorter). But it didn't seem like a beginner's article.
Even during an enthusiastic conversation with Eliud about the impending technological revolutions, Veronica couldn't help but notice Karla's reaction after reviewing the information, as if she felt the same way. As a manager, she paused the conversation and took a closer look at how Karla was writing the article.
"Karla…", and a tension filled the air.
"You got a pronoun wrong there on the fifth line."
And everyone laughed again.
"You're a perfectionist, aren't you, my dear?", William said as he entered the room after the conversation in the director's office. "You're not wrong! I will demand constant excellence from ye."
"Archaic pronouns again, director?" Karla asked, curiously.
"I won't allow the classical beauty of the language to be lost to cheap modernities!"
"Cheap is too much, director…" said Sharon, who was dealing with articles from the world of classical and modern art, often under the approval of William himself, a fanatic about these subjects.
"Even you judging me, darling?" she replied with exaggerated drama.
In the middle of the conversations, Karla subtly addressed Veronica.
"Oh my God… They don't even know that we're more from the field than anyone else here."
"That's right. Things look like they're going to get interesting tonight. But don't get the pronouns wrong again, okay?" she said with a somewhat sentimental look.
"Finally, gentlemen. Especially Veronica. It is not appropriate for us to resort to sensationalism, but we need to give due weight to this new information about the border incident. Our responsibility with this information, as never before, will define the future of our newspaper."
[1] Such a level of damage that Naoya, the ultimate aura farmer from Jujutsu Kaisen, wouldn't even dream of being able to do.