“What about my friends?” Theo tried to reorient himself to the here and now, desperately trying to avoid thinking about the fucking wonderland of crap that had just been dropped on him. Patrick's face, normally so controlled, slipped momentarily.

  “Ahh, yes. I have been given some information, but it may be better to wait until after you have had a chance to rest?”

  “Well, that is a fucking giveaway for bad news, isn’t it?” Theo retorted, fighting against a rising tide of grief and panic. Patrick sighed.

  “I’m truly sorry, Theo.” Patrick leant forward as he spoke. “It has already been a deeply traumatic evening. From the reports I have read, it seems your friend, Darren Peterson was one of the victims that has already been identified.” Theo gasped softly to himself, tears welling in his eyes. “Your other friend, James Vasiliou, remains unaccounted for.” They were both silent for a moment.

  “That’s a good thing right, he got out of there somehow?” Theo took a deep breath attempting to stifle the grief.

  “I cannot say for certain. We will be actively searching for any of the listed attendees that have not been part of the debriefing or been identified otherwise. The reports are only preliminary for now.”

  “So? He is dead as well, or he could have been recruited? What does that even mean? Who is this Tagma anyway?” Theo wiped at his eyes, a sense of urgency behind his questions.

  “For now, and I know this is not going to be overly helpful, I suggest we get back to discussing you. Believe me when I tell you, the minute we have any further information about James, I will let you know.”

  “You seriously expect me to be able to process all this right now?” Theo’s voice rose in volume.

  “I have no expectations of you right now, Theo. I only want you to be aware of your options.”

  “And so, you wipe my memory, and I have to relive this news about my friends again? How are you going to spin this for the media anyway? There is no way Aussies would tolerate a fucking massacre like what happened tonight!”

  “You would be surprised how often we must doctor the news for events like this, Theo. But you are right, a memory wipe would mean that in a few days, you will receive some very unfortunate news about your friends dying in some fictionalised event. Alternatively, we head to the blue room for the next round of tests, and we start your initiation into the company.”

  “You know, I still have no idea what the name of this organisation is?” Theo asked.

  “We are collectively known as the Cooperative, though we have different names in different countries. This facility is part of the ARFO Group, which stands for Aetheric Response Forces of Oceania, which operates throughout the Australasian region. As the name implies, we monitor and intervene in situations of aetheric disturbance, or like tonight, we collaborate in rapid response teams against several different groups that operate to monopolise aetheric talent.” Theo just shook his head at the business card description. What a fucking joke, he thought.

  “How long has this been happening? I mean, this is completely mind blowing. There is this whole hidden world that nobody has any idea about.” Theo stood, following Patrick’s lead, his resistance lost to the immensity of the news. They made their way from the room following the blue LED lights.

  “I am going to assume that as an educated man, you are aware that there are certain parts of social governance that are not widely publicised? This is just a little more … abstract than you were likely imagining. And as for how long; ARFO has been around since federation from a colonial Australian perspective, though obviously under a different name. Our indigenous colleagues will give a much lengthier history here in Australia. Aether is not a new phenomenon Theo. There have been individuals, and collectives, who have manipulated its potential since the dawn of humanity.”

  “So, what do we do? I mean, what can I do? I know you are testing me for my aetheric capacity … fuck that sounds weird! How do I fit into this?”

  “There are many roles within the organisation. I believe I briefly mentioned our R&D department earlier? Most though, as is the focus of this particular facility, study and train their individual aetheric capacity to become part of the rapid response teams. Think of it like the military, but with different power parameters and departmental structures. With aether control, guns and technology become largely obsolete.”

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  “And what about my life? How do we manage that?”

  “That is something that we will take care of for you.” Patrick paused, turning towards Theo, as they found themselves at another unmarked metallic doorway.

  “Behind this door is where we test your intrinsic aetheric resonance. This is different from the more generic test you previously completed. This will help us to ensure you are placed in the right Division for your ongoing training.”

  Theo consciously took a deep breath to still all the questions that kept trying to form. This was decision time. Cross that door and he knew there was no turning back. Thinking about Jimmy, he realised the only chance he had to get any real answers and to make any sort of difference was to take the plunge.

  “Fine, let’s do this.” He turned towards the door, not watching as Patrick palmed the security access to the next room.

  * * *

  Theo again found himself de-clothed and lying in the middle of the room. There was no egg-shaped machine this time, instead he lay back against a black leather tri-fold chair looking up towards a white sphere with seven descending tentacles and a central black node. He was wearing a pair of protective goggles that had been provided by Patrick before he had left the testing room to make his way into the adjoining monitor room. He heard Patrick’s voice call to him, slightly muffled by the glass panels.

  “Should only take about ten minutes, Theo. Just hold yourself still. The goggles have a neural interactive function that should allow you to select something to watch while the test completes.”

  Neural interactive programming, of course.

  The top half of the white sphere started spinning slowly, with all bar one of the appendages that were attached to the lower half of the sphere lifting into an alien face sucker parody. The original Alien movie started playing on his goggle screens and he yelped in surprise before laughing softly to himself. He more consciously thought about a nature documentary and the scene shifted to one of the more recent Earth series. He wondered briefly if he could keep track of the test as it was being conducted, and an overlay appeared in the bottom right of the screen.

  Testing gate one and meridians LOW...

  Testing gate two and meridians NEG…

  Testing gate three and meridians NEG …

  Testing primary core LOW…

  Assessing auric potential... result NEG

  Calculating mechanical potential through aetheric resonance induction...low

  Confused, he watched as the tentacle moved its way along his body, from the base of his feet all the way to the top of his head. It felt … creepy. A second tentacle descended to replace the first, before it too followed the same path.

  Calculating thermal potential through aetheric resonance induction … low

  Calculating chemical potential through aetheric resonance induction … good

  Calculating nuclear potential through aetheric resonance induction … exceptional

  Calculating electrical potential through aetheric resonance induction … poor

  Calculating radiant potential through aetheric resonance induction … exceptional

  Calculating sound potential through aetheric resonance induction … good

  The machine made absolutely no sound, and he lost track of the time as the results slowly scrolled across his vision. With his increasing focus on the test itself, the documentary had faded from his vision, and he had watched as each of the white tentacles made a slow circuit of his body. As the last tentacle rose to its resting state, the central black node elongated into a flexible ribbed tube, thinning as it lengthened. A hibiscus like apparatus emerged from the end of the tube, the central pistil glowing and hovering just above the centre of his chest.

  Initiating nanotech identifier.

  A light spray hit the centre of his chest from the petal like wings, a brief cooling sensation radiating out from his sternum before sensation disappeared completely. Trying not to move, he returned to watching the screen, not noticing as the central light dropped further and swayed back and forth across his chest. Before long, the central node retracted, and the screen itself dimmed completely.

  Test complete.

  Theo watched as the primary sphere elevated, resetting above his head. The bench dropped as it automatically raised from lying to sitting, and he took off the goggles before looking towards Patrick in the viewing room. He touched at his chest which remained unexpectedly numb, before looking down to see a stylised tattoo.

  “You fucking branded me?” he demanded, looking to Patrick. He had avoided tattoos quite consciously for all his life. “What is this bullshit?”

  “Ahh, my apologies, Theo, I probably should have given you a heads up. The tattoos are a nanotech identifier, they represent your core resonance, or energy types, which we use to categorise our divisions for training purposes. They also allow us to track your vitals and keep an accurate measure of your aetheric density.

  “The tattoos themselves will slowly evolve as you grow into your aetheric potential. They are unique to each person.” Patrick unbuttoned the middle of his shirt to show a tattoo of a Siren. His was much larger and had progressed out from the centre of his chest and up onto his left shoulder. Chains wrapped around its outstretched arms, shooting up towards a luminescent moon that hung over his right shoulder.

  “A little fucking warning would have been nice. Drunken tattoos were not part of the evening plan.” Theo stopped himself when he realised none of this had been part of the evening plan.

  “Fair, and you have my apologies again for the lack of warning. How about you get yourself dressed and I show you to the sleeping areas. While I am sure you have several questions still, the testing for the evening is done, and some of those answers will no doubt sit better after you have managed to get some sleep.”