Behind D Mask

ob's

here was a quiet grace to the way she moved, something unassuming yet magnetic. Selene Javis; the woman Skype had

hifting between the space around her and me. The moment she looked up, our

broke the silence, ten

e way she looked so out of place in a room like this, with its pristine mini

ally spoke, my voice smoot

of attention, I could tell. I liked it. It made her feel more real, more... approachable. She wasn't like the other

. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable. It was just that she didn't want to be lo

e would do. Would she fumble? Would she let her nerves show

he hem of her sleeve as she

st the desk, folding my arms across

en prepared for, no doubt. A simple question, an easy answer. But there was someth

thoughts. "I just graduated recently. I've worked on a few projects involving artifici

ed. There was something... raw about her words.

er. The work she'd done wasn't something a lot of people in her field wou

t, but she didn't flinch. She met my gaze, even

little lower, just enough to make the air betwe

ch to say, how much of herself to reveal. It wasn't something I was used to. Most people we

sely. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, her posture slig

er's footsteps," she said, her tone turning reflective, almost wistful. "He had a vision for making technology that could tru

r demeanor. There was pain there. A deep, lingering pain

. I wasn't sure why I'd asked. But the questi

There was an explosion. A reported accident. But I..." Her

oring the professional distance that normally ke

e - the same fire I felt burning in myself, the need to uncover the truth, to

ely above a whisper. There was a determination there, a

ut instead, I simply nodded. "And you t

"I don't know. But it's a start. Maybe the people

rd she said. She wasn't just here for the job. She wasn't just here to

us people in my time. But

wasn't just about the job. It was about something else, something un

r a moment. My mind was racing. I didn't know what was happen

my voice low. "This place ha

but there was no question in my

ired,Miss