Trident Trials: The Glimmer

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

It only took two days for Trident to get back to us, and they said yes. The yes that they gave was a conditional yes. They wanted me to come and tour the facility, meet with some professors there, and talk to some students. This didn't seem like too big of a deal to me, but I'm sure that there was a reason that they did this, and it was more than likely to root out the people that they knew weren't really right for the program. As far as a conditional agreement went though, I figured that this gave me a grand chance still. I was happy to go to the facility and meet whoever they wanted me to if it meant that I could join up.

An in person first impression made a big difference in both directions. I didn't have many, well, any, nice clothes that would help make a good first impression. I would rely completely on how I presented myself regarding my interest, work ethic, and general capability to get along with people. The first two things weren't a concern of mine, but talking to people, especially strangers, wasn't exactly a favorite thing of mine to do. After spending time homeless, it was even less interesting than before. I know I can do it. I would just have to try extra hard. This program was too important to not try just because I would have to talk to some strangers.

It was a sort of forced practice that I had to adapt to while I was living in shelters and bouncing around, but it wasn't something that I sought. I would rather find my own way, then rely on someone else to push me along. My advisor, without me saying anything on the subject, knew that this was the case, too. My teachers never had a problem with me in class, but knew that I didn't really connect with people well and mentioned that I shouldn't worry about it. She said that the facility and amount of information I was going to be given would largely outweigh any need to be very personal.

We hopped in her car and started toward the facility I got excited. This was something that I half expected, but not in the large amounts that it seemed to well up inside me with. I was jittery and nervous, and that wasn't something that I could ever remember being. The only time anything came close was two years ago when the doctor finally thought they found something about my condition. Unfortunately, it turned out to be nothing, or at least that is what the doctor told me, and the feeling quickly left. This time, the excitement didn't seem to go anywhere, just grow. Honestly, it was rather unnerving. I didn't really like allowing things to build up positively. It always seemed to let me down in the end.

As we pulled up to the gate, a security guard dressed in equipment that I thought was far excessive for the visitor's entrance of a facility that was looking to bring people in approached the car. He carried a rifle in his hands, full body armour, and a mask looking thing that appeared to be made from some sort of reflective plastic. It was some material that I hadn't heard of that should block a severe amount of damage in the right situation. Again, I didn't think that we were one of those situations, or that anyone else looking to gain entrance to the facility for a tour would either.

He reached out his hand and asked us for our passes. My advisor reached her hand out through the window to hand him the two passes they granted us for the day. There was a barcode on the back that he scanned and then looked at the pictures on the front of the badges to ensure that we were, in fact, the same people. Satisfied, he told us we needed to exit the vehicle, that one of would transport it safely to a garage by one of their employee's and then fetched for us when we left. He then gestured toward a door that appeared to feed into a tunnel that ran through the massive stone wall that surround the entrance and told us that security would be right through there.

We stepped out of the vehicle, and I gave the keys to the security guard. Looking up at the gate that we came through, it was massive. The size of the facility was much grander than I thought it would look at the pamphlet. I knew it would be big, but this place was huge, and this was only the entrance. I couldn't believe that something this big was here, and I never noticed it. The gate had a unique design that made it look impossible to scale or gain entrance anyway, except for being let in. There were guards below and posted on top of the gate as well. The security here was extremely intense. Walking our way through the gate, it looked like walking into a brand new world. The Trident building was bigger than any other building I've ever seen before. The absolute massive size was incredible.