Story: Re-Orientation

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The door is locked. You won't be able to get out that way.

The window too.

Please, take a seat. We have important things to talk about- oh, the gun? We welded the safety in and removed the bullets. Take a seat, Major.

You may be feeling panicked- quite natural, I assure you. This is a traumatic thing to have to go through. More traumatic than your time in war? It will be. You're going to die, Major, and everyone you know will mourn your death. There will be a funeral, and your relatives will receive more from your inheritance than they expected. Our way of softening the blow, weak as it is. We'll take good care of them, so try not to worry. But consider that when you left home this morning, it was the last time you ever saw your wife and children.

But this won't be the end, Major. We'll bring you back, as we always do. And you will protect them.

Let me give you a short briefing first. Here are a few guidelines for you to follow- try to calm down. It will help you remember them.

First, we are the Emenata Preparation Foundation. We prepare Emenata for what is to come. Ever since we discovered the universe's name, we took it upon ourselves to make sure it is ready. We defend every living being in this vast and ancient space, shielding them from things they cannot know of and that would destroy them, from outside or in. We exist only for the Greater Good, and it permeates all we do.

Second, we are invisible. Only our members can know of us- one who finds out about us will become curious and discover things that can only bring harm. If, like you, they discover us then they are tested. You passed, and so you can join, but you will lose everything. If you had failed, you would have been discarded like so many others.

Third, we are in control. We've taken care of everything. If a thought slips into your head, we have already predicted, planned for, and catalogued it. For everything you do, all consequences and possibilities have been carefully taken into account and the best possible way forward has been chosen. You can never fear if you are with us. Perhaps later you will be given a little independence, but only once the universe has broken you and thrown the pieces down for us to recover. We will rebuild you, but we will keep you the same.

Fourth, you will die for Emenata. You may die several times for Emenata. You may be ripped to pieces, tortured to death, reduced to being a gibbering madman, but we will bring you back if you can. You will keep on serving and we will keep on saving.

Fifth, there may come a point when you forget these guidelines. When it comes, kill yourself without leaving anything that was ever you intact. Let nothing remain.

With that done, it's time for the prologue to end, and your life to begin. This will hurt a bit, Major, but it won't last.