business meeting

[universal_translator]

Emma's father gets the phone call just after lunch on a Saturday. The Indian company he's been trying to attract has a VP in town, and would he like to set up a meeting? (Yes. Yes, he would, yes please and thank you.) So he and Emma rush into his office, and Emma waits outside the lobby while her father scrambles to collect paperwork, contracts, whatever it is he needs for this deal.

Usually, it only takes him five minutes to do this kind of thing. But this deal is last minute, and after twenty minutes, Emma's restless. Jerhattan's gotten a lot of rain recently, and the bench by the door is too wet to sit on, so she's just leaning awkwardly against the wall while she waits. There isn't even anyone to talk to; the office is totally dead on weekends. So Emma dips a toe in a nearby puddle and starts drawing patterns on the ground. It's something to do, at least.

Comments

[all_too_familiar]

When she has completed a circle, a man appears in the middle of it.

He blinks.

"Oh, look at you, all of these languages are nice - and no binding? I mean I know I'm a fairy but that's a bit dangerous..."

[universal_translator]

Well, this is not what Emma was expecting from her day. She shrieks and flails backwards, but gathers herself together enough to respond, "Whaaaat?! Did you 'port here? What's going on? Fairy?"

[all_too_familiar]

"... Oh dear, uh. Okay. It's all right," says the man who just appeared out of nowhere, soothingly. "I'm a daeva, you summoned me, apparently by accident, but really, it's okay. I'm not one of the dangerous ones, you're fine."

[universal_translator]

She blinks at him. "Uh. I don't know what a daeva is. ...Are you not a Talent? Isn't that how you 'ported here?" Then, after a second to process, "-also, um, do you happen to know a lot of languages?"

[all_too_familiar]

He tilts his head. Okay. So. The lingo is weird enough that either she has been very firmly under a rock for a very long time, with a bunch of other people, or... Something very weird is going on.

"... I do happen to know a lot of languages, I get the ones from every person that summons me. I have been summoned a lot. No, I'm not a Talent. A daeva's a summonable immortal person with magic powers of various flavors, mine's telekinesis. Usually what happens is a summoner summons a daeva and pays them in various ways for doing various magical tasks."

[universal_translator]

Emma wonders if the number for the Center is online somewhere. They deal with delusional Talents, right? This guy seems to be- confused. Let's go with confused. At least he doesn't seem to be aggressive, her parents have heard some stories.

"Uh... Telekinesis isn't magic," she says carefully. "Henry Darrow proved it, um, about twenty years ago I think? Have you been to the Center? It's not far outside Jerhattan, they've got other kinetics you could talk to."

[all_too_familiar]

The possibly-confused man frowns at her.

"What are all of the Talents available? That you know of?"

[universal_translator]

"Telepaths, kinetics, finders and precogs," Emma lists, with the voice of one repeating something heard often. The Center runs educational ads periodically, to try to get budding Talents to come in for testing; it has a list and descriptions.

[all_too_familiar]

"So, healing isn't one of them? Not even self healing?"

[universal_translator]

"No?"

[all_too_familiar]

He considers whether he should freak her out right now by finding some creative way to hurt himself and then heal so he can prove he is magic and immortal. ... Nnnno, let's. Let's not.

"All right," he says, instead. "What's the Center?"

[universal_translator]

Well, he's being very cooperative for a possibly insane Talent, but she's still not going to just hand over her phone. (Even if he could probably just lift it away from her. That's a thing kinetics can do, right? Man, those vidcasts did not have enough information.) She pulls up a map of Jerhattan and shows it to him. "We're here, and the Center is outside the city here," she explains. In Urdu. Without noticing.

[all_too_familiar]

"I see," he says, also in Urdu, because if she would like to speak that language he can speak it too, he doesn't mind. "And what's in it, besides having other kinetics?"

[universal_translator]

"It's- uh, full name, full name, Center for Parapsychic Talents-" When she gets to the Center's proper name, she notices the language change; confused once she thinks back and realizes what she did, she switches back to English. "-it's just. What Talents do? If the Center tests you and says you're a Talent, you register with them and then you're one of theirs. Training, housing at their compound (which looks really nice), you can draw on their accounts, they're the ones who manage all the job contracts and emergency teams and legal protection and stuff like that." She looks envious. "And the contracts pay really well, too, I've seen some of Dad's contracts with them."

[all_too_familiar]

"What happens if I don't want to be 'one of theirs'?"

[universal_translator]

"Uh. I guess it depends. Generally nothing? It's not illegal or anything? You'd have a hard time finding a teacher, outside the center, if you wanted one. If you want to work as a Talent, it'd be, uh, pretty weird. I mean, I'm not an expert or anything, but I think most companies would rather hire from the Center. If you do something normal-illegal, you deal with the LEO same as anyone, but if you do anything with your powers the LEO will call in the Center to find you, so. Um. Don't steal things, or anything." She tilts her head at him. "There's vidcasts explaining all this stuff...?"

[all_too_familiar]

"Sorry for the trouble of explaining all of this to me," he says, kindly. "I think I lack a lot of the background information to get a lot from vidcasts. And - I don't think I need training, unless they're very very good at it - what's the upper limit on what kinetics can do?"

[universal_translator]

Emma peers through the glass doors- still no sign of her dad, okay, she can explain for a bit. "I haven't met any, before you, so, uh, grain of salt. But I know they can float things around? Dad's company uses them for precision work, but the vidcasts have some example video of a kinetic racing a forklift and a body builder." She grins slightly. "The kinetic wins by a lot."

[all_too_familiar]

"Taking it all with a grain of salt, not to worry. It's good to know, though. Do you know if there's a size or speed limit?"

[universal_translator]

She frowns, trying to remember the contract details. She hasn't had to translate a contract involving Talents in a couple years, but it's happened. "I don't think there's some limit everyone has. The contract I saw had something about calories...? I think it's kinda like working out?"

[all_too_familiar]

"Hm," says the possibly-confused but still very cooperative Talent. "I see. Any limits that you do know of?" That he can disprove.

[universal_translator]

Emma grimaces slightly. She hates not knowing things. It happens regularly! But she doesn't like the feeling. At least he's not making the mildly exasperated, disappointed face her parents would. "I don't know precisely. I know there's nothing too crazy. No one's teleporting to Asia or flying or lifting buildings or anything? Uh, I think almost all of them need line of sight? At least a lot of the detail work does."

[all_too_familiar]

"Ah." He considers technically blowing his cover with her. ... Later, maybe. He knows how. Just fly and she'll probably believe him. Or he can injure himself and heal pretty obviously.

He smiles encouragingly at her. "What about the others, do you know? Precogs and finders and telepaths?"

[universal_translator]

She thinks back to the vidcasts. There was a whole section on 'signs you should get tested', if she can just remember it. "The vidcasts say, uh." She tries to recall the phrasing. "Telepaths can project or receive or both, usually at touch or short distances. Empaths about the same but just with projection. Finders and precogs usually have specialties, some finder woman does kids and is on the news sometimes. Finders use objects, precogs use dreams." She makes a face. "Being a precog sounds awful, lots of the legal stuff the Center has is to protect them."

[all_too_familiar]

"From people that take issue with them?"