Vox Mentis

Why am I here?

"Why am I here? Am I going to have to shave my head and kill myself to ascend to a higher plane at the appointed time or something?"

Jane suppresses a smile. "We're not a cult, I promise. We're a school. We bring the best and brightest here to help them reach their potential. That's why you're here. We've identified you as someone with potential."

That guy said you teach persuasion?

"Potential with persuasion, right? This doesn't really look like a school."

"Actually, it looks very much like a school. You may think otherwise because your experience has been limited to government-run child farms." She leans forward and whispers conspiratorially. "To me, those do not look very much like schools." She leans back. "So yes, we will be teaching you different things than those institutions. Persuasion is just one facet."

Are the rest of the tests going to be as messed up as that first one?

"Are all the tests here like that first one? Because if so, I'm going to have to decline."

Jane looks down. "Ah, yes, I do apologize for that. Some of our newer graduates tend to get a bit... creative with their methods. I am sorry about that, the error has been corrected, and no, none of our examinations are anything like that."

Can we use the bathroom first, actually?

What's the intake like for this test? How many other examinees are you up against?

"So what sort of competition do I have here? And... any chance there's a bathroom I could use?"

"We have six of you this week," says Jane. "Six applicants, that is. You each have your own room, of course, where you will find all the amenities you require, including a restroom. Your room overlooks the East Wood; I think you'll enjoy it. There's a central dining room here, where you'll be served meals, and you'll find a recreation room at the end of the hall, and a reading room beside that. Between examinations, please do feel free to explore the grounds. It's a wonderful space. It was once a convent."

"I heard."

"If you leave the New Wing, you may bump into some of our current students going about their lessons. They are under instruction not to speak to you, so please don't interpret this as rudeness." She smiles.

"Okay," you say.

"Before I take you to your room, I must ask that you observe two rules for the duration of the examinations. You are not to leave the grounds, nor use the phones. These rules are quite important. Do you find them acceptable?"

"Sure." Not like you have anywhere to go or anyone to call anyway.

"Good!" She pats her lap, like she wants a cat to sit there. "Well, then. For the rest of the day, you may simply settle in. Meet your fellow applicants, enjoy the facilities. The examinations will begin in the morning."

"So what's the catch?"

Jane purses her lips. "If there must be a catch, we do only admit those who pass the examinations. Which are difficult."

"I'll pass."

Jane smiles. "Well, then," she says. "There's no catch."

~

You follow Jane through wood-paneled corridors and halls with far-off ceilings. You've never seen so many arches. Jane taps a door with her fingernail. "My office." A copper nameplate is engraved J. AUSTEN. "Come to me with any questions or concerns, day or night." There are more corridors. Through tall, slitted windows, you glimpse kids in dark blue uniforms with hats and blazers. Maybe it does look like a school.

Jane stops outside a heavy wooden door. "Your room."

There's a small bed. A high, arched window. One old desk with a high-backed chair. The walls are stone, patches worn smooth by the palms of restless nuns.

"A few of the others are about," says Jane. "But I'll let you find them in your own time." She smiles, one hand draped on the door handle. "Dinner will be called at six." The door closes.

What do you do?