Hidden Strings

It was a nice day in Indiana – as nice as it can get here, thought Nevine.

She was an Egyptian immigrant who just arrived a month ago. When Nevine won the immigration lottery to come the US, everyone in her family thought she was the luckiest. Nevine came to Bedford, a quaint little village with 14,000 residents, in the warm heart of southern Indiana, where folks still referred to themselves as “Hoosiers”, whatever that meant. A big city girl used to the constant honking of cars and bustling crowds had suddenly found herself in a quiet, polite small town. She wondered if her family would still think she was lucky if they saw Bedford.

Nevine knew her savings would not last her for long, so she bought a small car and got herself a one-bedroom apartment. She started looking for a job right away. Last week, she answered an ad on Craigslist and quickly learned that she should not have answered such ad. With her limited cultural perspective, had she assumed a personal assistant ‘willing to do anything’ meant long hours of hard work. She quickly dispelled that notion decided to look into more legitimate sources for employment.

Today she received a call from a town Human Resources representative who claimed she was “uniquely qualified” for a position. She drove to Bedford City Hall, feeling confident in her pinstriped business suit, and entered the beautiful, white colonial-style building. An HR employee gave Nevine her employment package and address, telling her to report to her orientation right away.

Nevine got in her white Fiat. She was not sure that the internet service on the road would be reliable. She looked up the address on a map and could not find it. She reluctantly set her GPS to Stonecrest Boulevard. She loved all the farm lands but she was a little worried that she would get lost.

“You have arrived” announced the GPS lady. Incredulous, Nevine responded, “Arrived where?” The only structure she could see was a dilapidated old barn. The paint was peeling. It looked like the barn was missing shingles and much of the wood siding was rotted. The area is overgrown with bushes and weeds. That could not be the place. Was this a practical joke? She thought. At the moment she decided to leave a pack of wild dogs appeared. That was her clue to drive away, and fast.

Suddenly, a well-dressed older woman appeared, and the dogs seemed to calm down. She asked Nevine to park the car around the backside of the barn. Nevine overcame her fear and complied.

“My name is Heidi,” said the woman. “Welcome to the Lawrence County field office. We are happy to have you join the team. Can I get you something to drink?”

Heidi had a Boston accent, but a new immigrant could not recognize the difference. “I am...good,” responded Nevine hesitantly.

As they entered the barn, Heidi led Nevine down a stairway below the dirt floor to an elevator and punched the P4 button. Nevine tried to process how this old barn had an underground structure. She nervously quipped, “Oh, just like in the mall, P4. I once forgot where I parked and had to walk through all the four floors. I was a bit nervous because in the movies there is always something bad happening in the parking structure.” Heidi forced a smile on her face. That’s when Nevine realized she was blabbering.

They stepped off the elevator and Heidi asked Nevine to put all her belongings in a cubby. Once again Nevine felt awkward. She was not used to leaving her cell phone. It was attached to her hand, her father used to say. Heidi noticed her hesitation and said, “The orientation will start soon, and I need you to pay attention.” She handed Nevine a folder.

“Open your employment package at page 4,” said Heidi. “You will see your position and the salary listed below.”

Nevine gasped as she read the amount. The HR employee had told her that it was a competitive salary, and she was too shy to ask what a competitive salary meant. She looked at the job title: “Scribe”. There must be a mistake, she thought. “I am sorry Ms. Heidi, there must be a mistake. I see that my position is a scribe, but I only write in Arabic.”

“No, there is no mistake. It does not matter what language you use. As you type, the computer will translate it into a new code. Did you read all the clauses? And do you have any other questions before we start?” asked Heidi.

Nevine was not used to reading contract clauses before she signed. She quickly scanned the document. They all seemed normal, except for one. “Excuse me, Ms. Heidi, is there a blood donation required every six weeks? Did I understand this correctly?”

“Yes, there is. When you took that drug screening test, we identified that you belong to an ancient haplogroup and you have the Old Blood. We encourage all our employees to donate blood especially those with Old Blood,” she answered. Noting Nevine’s puzzled look, she quickly added, “It is all part of our Doing Good program. Do you find this clause acceptable?”

“Of course, thank you for explaining. I am all about doing good for others. How about the clause of stating religious affiliation? I thought in the US, no one asks such questions.”

“We honor all religion; we have believers and non-believers here. We only ask this question to provide you with social services appropriate to your belief,” said Heidi in an exceptionally soft and reassuring tone.

A short, older man with silver hair entered the room. Heidi called him over. “Mr. O, would you like to meet your new scribe?” He approached them with a smile. “Nice to meet you Nevine, I am getting ready for the staff meeting. I will see you after your orientation. Welcome aboard.” He turned around and left before Nevine could respond.

“Am I starting work today?” Asked Nevine.

“Yes, as soon as we finish the orientation, I will escort you to headquarters.”

“Do we have to drive to it? I am only wondering because I have just enough gas to go home.”

“Did you see that grain silo next to the barn?” asked Heidi.

“That rusty old thing?”

Heidi laughed out loud. “Yes Nevine. The silo looks like it is rusty, but it is covered in a special alloy to facilitate communication with our leadership.”

“Okay, I am sorry for interrupting,” said a baffled Nevine. “Please start the orientation.”

The first slide read: “The Lawrence County field office is one of sixteen offices throughout the country and an affiliate with six international locations. It has three departments: The laborers who oversee creating wax figures and amulets. The Divine Power Department (DPD), which specializes in information gathering. The Weather and Economy department (WE) controls the weather and economy.”

Before Heidi could explain, a deafening alarm blared. “Is this a fire alarm?” asked Nevine who was still in shock after reading the first slide.

“Oh, nothing like that. Don’t worry, the barn can withstand a nuclear attack,” replied Heidi in a very calm voice. They went down a hallway to where people were gathering in the large reception room.

Everyone watched as a video appeared on a big screen. Mr. O came to the room. As the video ended, everyone looked for Mr. O for guidance. “That video should not trigger an alarm,” he said. “Please discredit this as a conspiracy theory enthusiast. Back to work everyone!” he ordered. Everyone quietly filed out of the room.

He looked at Heidi and asked, “Were you done with the orientation? I need my new scribe in twenty minutes.”

Heidi replied, “Yes, Mr. O. Nevine will be ready.” Nevine felt like she had an out of body experience. She kept repeating to herself “No, this can’t be happening to me.”

Heidi took Nevine to an adjacent room and asked her if she had questions. “Of course. Laborers and wax figures and DPD...what does all this mean?” Nevine responded in frustration. “I left a country where only the uneducated believed in magic. Please explain.”

Heidi handed her a book and said it contained all the formulas and secrets. Nevine looked at the book. “What do you mean? What does ‘advanced statistics’ have to do with any of this?”

Heidi laughed and asked her to open the book. “We believe in hiding in plain sight. This is not a ‘statistics’ book.”

Nevine sat down and listened as Heidi explained. “This is the Egyptian Magic Squad, and Mr. O is the overseer. We believe in the Hidden God and we receive direct communication from HG. I am sure once you sit on your first staff meeting, you will learn what we do.”

Mr. O knocked at the door. He looked at Nevine and asked if she was ready. Nevine, who was trembling, did not know how she managed to stand up, but she followed Mr. O to the grain silo. Once again, there was a stairway leading down to an elevator.

She sat next to Mr. O at the head of an oval table. A charming man to her right introduced himself as David. The meeting began. Mr. O introduced Nevine as his new scribe and added “She has the Old Blood.”

Everyone cheered and clapped. Sean, the head of the department of laborers, shared that they were low on Old Blood, which made their job of making amulets difficult. He gratefully acknowledged the new scribe’s contribution.

Stella, the head of the DPD, shared her update. “One celebrity, whom we all know, is unfortunately meddling in politics. Also, that one politician is stepping out of his lane again.”

Mr. O replied, “Action A-003 and B-013.”

Nevine did not understand what to write. “Excuse me Mr. O,” she interrupted, “what is action A-003 and B-013?”

Mr. O smiled and did not seem to mind. “Heidi will give you the code book. Action A-003 is a pedophile scandal and B-013 is sex scandal.”

David was the last department head to share his update. “The purchases of supplies have decreased in the last quarter in Alabama and Texas.”

“C’mon, David,” Mr. O said a bit testily. “You know the drill. Issue some storm and tornados warnings. Then coordinate with the DPD to plan where they should hit.” He then concluded the meeting.

David asked Nevine if she would like to join them for a drink to celebrate her first day with EMS. She had so many questions. She accepted the invitation and went to the break room. She sat down with David, Sean and Stella for lunch and a cup of coffee. “So, is everyone here a believer of the Hidden God?” They laughed.

“I guess some of us are and others are here for the ‘competitive salary’ package,” David joked.

“But Who is the Hidden God?”

“How could HG be revealed?” said Sean. “Every now and then the people need a story of hope and they receive it.”

“But really, Egyptian magic? I am Egyptian, and even I don’t believe that!”

Stella answered. “Magic, science, divine power, alien technology – call it whatever you like. When you read that ‘advanced statistics’ book, you will understand.”

Heidi interrupted. “I am sorry Nevine, but you didn’t sign the non-disclosure agreement. Would you please?”

Everyone looked at Nevine.

“Of course, I will sign. I do not want to be victim of action Z-000.”

“What’s that?” asked David.

“Some sort of reset button, I assume,” joked Nevine.

Everyone laughed. “You’ll fit right in,” remarked Stella.