Episode 15 - Meeting of the Minds

The Interview Room had a window that didn’t look outside.

It showed footage—sometimes old episodes, sometimes security feeds, sometimes things that hadn’t aired yet. Today, it showed a blank green screen that shimmered faintly when no one spoke.

Olivia arrived right on time. 3:15 PM.

She was the last to enter.

Charles was already seated in one of the high-backed chairs, legs crossed, cane resting against the table. He tipped his hat to her and gave a small smile.

Miss LaDonna stood near the far corner, sipping something from a ceramic mug shaped like a cat skull. She nodded in greeting, then gestured toward the empty chair they’d clearly saved for Olivia.

Bernard floated above the table, casting gently undulating shadows. His glow was muted, but his eyes blinked in slow, contented sync.

Olivia sat. The chair adjusted to her tail without comment.

The table in the center was covered in various documents, most of them hand-written or typed on ancient typewriters. One was scrawled in crayon.

None of them were labeled.

Charles opened the meeting with a small tap of his cane.

“Right, then. Let’s begin. Olivia, you’re here now because you’re no longer just the receptionist.”

She blinked. “I—okay. Did something happen?”

“Not yet,” Miss LaDonna said. “But something will. Soon.”

Bernard made a thoughtful little trill.

“The Vault’s been murmuring in its sleep,” he said. “And the Background Noise feed glitched this morning and showed a countdown in base-13.”

“That again?” Charles sighed.

Olivia raised a hand hesitantly. “What does… base-13 mean, in this context?”

Miss LaDonna glanced at her. “It means it’s not for humans.”

Bernard nodded. “It means something’s coming that doesn’t belong to anyone who lives in linear time.”

Olivia nodded slowly. “Okay. Great.”

Charles reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small photo.

He slid it across the table toward her.

The photo was blurry—like it had been taken from a distance—but clearly showed her desk. The front lobby. And someone standing at it.

Someone who looked exactly like her. Except their ears were longer. And they didn’t cast a shadow.

“I took this yesterday,” Charles said, voice even.

Olivia stared. “That’s not me.”

“No,” Miss LaDonna agreed. “But it’s a version of you. From somewhere else. And she’s already inside the station.”

Bernard floated lower. “We think she’s trying to warn you.”

“Or replace you,” Charles added cheerfully. “It’s hard to tell with variants.”

Olivia sat back in her chair, tail bristling.

“Okay, that’s a lot.”

“You’re handling it well,” Miss LaDonna said gently.

“I’m screaming inside.”

“That’s also valid.”

They let the silence sit for a moment. Then Bernard said softly:

“The building chose you. That means it’s yours to protect, too.”

Olivia looked around the room. At Charles’s steady gaze. Miss LaDonna’s quiet confidence. Bernard’s floating calm.

And then back at the photo of not-her.

She took a deep breath.

“What do we do?”

Charles smiled.

“That’s the spirit!”