This is a Test

Ch. 22

Cashe entered the hidden room to find a metal spiral stairway in the center of the blackened space, LED lighting on each step. He ascended, preparing for his impending meeting, remembering articles he had read on exit interviews. His climb took him up a story to a heavy door with the word PRIVATE on it. Cashe waited to see if he would be summoned in before knocking.

"Come," a familiar voice called through.

Cashe smothered a smile as he opened the door. At a large oak desk, Dr. Mason, his initial interviewer, sat in a three-piece suit, sipping from a white mug while waving Cashe in. Having completed both actions, he placed his coffee down and stood to greet him. Cashe crossed the room, noting a comfortable chair in front of the desk. They exchanged handshakes as Mason waved to a table against a wall. "Would you like anything before we begin?" He mentioned some of the items present. "Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Cashe sat, sinking somewhat into his seat, relishing the fine red leather compared to the plastic office chairs from the previous months.

"Are you sure?" Mason inquired. "If you would rather have a break first."

"I'm good. I wouldn't wish to hold you up."

"Well, we wouldn't want you to do this if you didn't think you had enough rest. We know how much importance you place on your sleep."

"Again, I would rather proceed. I am sure you are a busy man."

"All right." Mason took one more sip from his steaming cup and picked up a tablet from his left that was next to a computer and monitor. He swiped the device a few times and tapped it a bit before leaning back in his seat. "So, this is a closing interview after the Mars simulation project." Some formalities for the lawyers were discussed before Mason said, "So, what did you think of the experiment?"

"Quite interesting. The tests were rather challenging, but in a good way."

'Challenging." Mason made some notes on his tablet. "Good word."

It was. Cashe had considered many before the moment. Say they were too hard, and it would sound like he struggled. Too easy, and it would imply superiority over his benefactors. He continued. "They were varied and came at unexpected times. It was difficult to predict what was coming next, but each test was unique and allowed for creative problem solving."

"Real out-of-the-box thinking." As Cashe nodded, Mason focused on his tablet, stating, "Much like Dante figuring out how to move the table."

Cashe watched his interviewer's face and detected a suppressed laugh from a slight cough and the smile expressed by his eyes. The man was pretending to be absorbed in his notetaking, so Cashe did not think it was a shot against himself, but against Dante. Cashe smiled in return.

Mason looked up. "What did you like the best about the simulation?"

"The fact that I never knew what was coming next. It was unlike any job I've had before. It was wonderful to be constantly thrown into a new situation every few hours. From what I heard, there were plenty more scenarios that we could have faced, and I would have liked to have seen how I dealt with them each in turn."

More tapping on Mason's tablet. "What did you like least about the simulation?"

A tricky question. He couldn't critique Anoptica, and talking shit about his fellow co-workers could be frowned on. "I had no real problems. It was rather enjoyable the whole way through, and it always felt like a privilege to be there."

"So, you saw no bad parts about the test?"

Cashe gave a pause as if he was thinking before saying, "No. None that I can think of."