The Interview - Eureka Moment

*Nathaniel**'s first* *Eureka Moment, **The Interview**, occurs during the jump from 7th Sea to The Witch is Dead. It appears (out of order) in part 2 of The Witch is Dead, 8th March 2017.*

**Ivan (DM):** In the darkness that is surrounding you, punctuated, briefly, as your eyes open into bright flares of direct light that burn into your retina. Halos of light move around you as you hear the muffled sounds of someone speaking, barely permeating your consciousness as you being to focus in front of you, on a small blinking red light.

"Is the connection hot? Are we ready to go live? Triple check the encoders — we don't want The Faceless finding us. We spent too much trying to secure this interview, and I don't want any of you halfwits screwing it up!"

As the blurring begins to subside, a woman, with jet black hair — straightened — with deep penetrating eyes, stares at you. She has a small hand-held device in her hand. "Thank you so much, Dr. Athoni, for joining us today. It's really an honor to be speaking to you. I'll get right into it. I want your honest opinion. The world is terrified and they really need hope right now. Is there any hope out there for us, Dr. Athoni?"

**Damion (Nathaniel):** "As long as there's breath in the human body, there's hope."

**Ivan:** "Well said. You are one of the most celebrated minds in the colonies right now. How did you get to where you are today?"

**Damion:** "Well, it wasn't easy. As everyone, there were challenges on my path. Certain factors about me both contributed and made things more difficult for me to attain the position I have attained today."

**Ivan:** We cut to Nathaniel telling the story of one of his earliest memories on this path. It begins with Nathaniel sitting beneath a tree, reading from both a digital hand-held tablet and a book. A school bell rings as kids start streaming out from the front door. The grass is green, the sun is bright, and the sky is blue. You see a man in a lab coat, about the same age as you — in his late 20s.

He runs up to you and goes, "Hey man. You been out here this whole time? What are you doing out here reading?"

**Damion:** "Just trying to keep ahead of things."

**Ivan:** "Well, I have to tell you: it's so sweet that you got this deal where you basically are progressing up. I don't know what I'd do if I had the opportunity to skip classes so I could study even more! You're crazy dude!"

**Damion:** "I've got something I want to do, so I have to push past what people expect me to be able to do."

**Ivan:** "That's good. That's why you're my best friend," and he pats you on the back. You remember him as your best friend and schoolmate Jimmy. [**Amy**: WHAAT?! WHAAT?! WHAAT?!] You walk along the park together and talk about school items. He's obtaining his master's degree, and at the same time you're approaching your triple doctorate. There's a lot that he can talk to you about that you're already absolutely aware of. At the same time, you love his energy and his openness. There has not been one man that has been a better friend to you than Jimmy, and that's apparent when you see two other smaller gentlemen — also in lab coats, because everyone on this campus is.

"Yo! Hey! Nathaniel!"

**Damion:** "Yes?"

**Ivan:** You recognise him as Ambrose. Ambrose is trouble. He is your academic nemesis. He walks up to you and shoulders you as he passes along the courtyard.

"Hey, Nathaniel. So, uh, are you ready for finals next week?"

**Damion:** "You know I am."

**Ivan:** "Good, 'cos there's one man here who's going to rule you and school you — and it's me!"

**Damion:** "Of course."

**Ivan:** "Great. Hey — you know what? For a guy as big and as tough as you, you really don't have much to say do you? Cat got your tongue?"

**Damion:** "It's just — let's not say things that don't need to be said."

**Ivan:** "As they say, actions speak louder than words," he turns to face you. "And I tell you if you edge in on my girl, I will kick the shit out of you — is what I'm gonna do."

**Damion:** "If your young lady decides she wants to speak with me that's of course her choice. I will not be moving in on your lady. But you might want to talk to your lady about who she moves in on."

**Ivan:** He gives you a shove in your chest. He's about two heads shorter than you, but he's got about as much build as you. "You watch your tongue. You may be all brains, but there's nothing that you can do that I can't match. And you think that you've got all this edge on here, making all the teachers look at you and saying, 'Oh look Nathaniel with his big brains and his big muscles.' You're just a piece of shit man. I see right through you!"

At this point, Jimmy comes up and says, "Hey! Just let him go dude!"

**Damion:** "Jimmy, I'm good."

**Ivan:** "Look, Ambrose isn't worth it, alright."

**Damion:** "Ambrose, you'll do what you need to do, as will I."

**Ivan (Ambrose):** "I swear to god, you'll slip up one of these days, Nathaniel. And when you do, I'm going to be right there next to you." He turns around and hits a fellow student's papers as he walks down into the campus.

**Damion:** "Have a nice day!"

**Ivan:** He flips you off from behind.

*Cut back to our interview.*

"Everyone knows the story of how you came into the position you are in now, even though your current position is shrouded in mystery. What was it like experiencing the cataclysm."

**Damion:** "It almost felt like a personal failure. So much of my life was dedicated to avoiding it, and to doing what we can to stop it from happening. The fact that it did take place affected me deeply."

**Ivan:** "Surely it wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything to bring this upon us — or is there more you're not telling."

**Damion:** "It's not about it being my fault. It's about me working so hard to put myself in a position where I would be listened to about things that could have happened and then did happen, and not being listened to. It's about that I take it as a personal failure that I was unable to set into motion things that could have forestalled it."

**Ivan:** *Smash cut* to: you presenting at a lecture hall amongst a large group of peers with a large diagram and a discussion. You're currently lecturing some of the most celebrated minds in science, and everybody's talking, with controversy flying up in the air. One man says, "If you do this, you will doom us all!"

**Damion:** "If we don't do this, we're all doomed. Can't you see what I've clearly illustrated here? I need you to look beyond your personal biases and look at the direct data and see what it is that I am saying."

**Ivan:** "The data is incomprehensible. There's no way that this should be, and if it does, it will completely warp reality!"

**Damion:** "Reality is in the process of being warped as it is. That's what I'm trying to explain to you. The situation is critical. We have to do something now!"

**Ivan (another voice):** "What proof do you have that reality is currently bending?" Other people start contributing to the conversation.

*Smash cut back to our interview.*

"You are the head of a project that is being dubbed the last hope for mankind. Some people would say that it is the final nail in the coffin for our race. What does that pressure do to a man like you?"

**Damion:** "I've been under an extreme amount of pressure my entire life. This is nothing new to me. It focuses me."

**Ivan:** "This pressure — it's on a galactic scale! This isn't just some final or test! This is — this is our race."

**Damion:** "An action and a reaction are an action and a reaction. You can put whatever consequence you want on it. If I throw a ball into a basket and it wins the game, it's no different than if I throw a ball in a basket early in the game. It's merely the fact that at this point the game is going to end and if I do not make this basket then perhaps we will not win. So, yes there is this enormous pressure. But, again, my job is to merely do what it is I'm supposed to do. If I allow all these outside factors to influence how I go about it, they could push me off target and off focus of what needs to be done."

**Ivan:** "Well, from me, and from everyone, we hope that you win this game. Would you have done anything differently?"

**Damion:** "I would have listened more. I would have heard my opponents and the things they were saying, and really try to understand what they were communicating, so that I could digest it and possibly utilize anything that was good, that they were offering me. Because at some points my pride did affect me being able to hear things that I knew were wrong. I'm 90% certain that these things were wrong, but it's always possible that I might have missed something."

**Ivan:** "Well, the whole world is listening now, and this reporter at least believes in you and what you're trying to accomplish. Thank you."

**Damion:** "Thank you."

**Ivan:** "Alright! Cut! Bring it out!" You watch as the light slowly starts to fade back in as you come back in to the cottage, with the bloody witch laying in front of you.