The lights from the city outside basked Esper Everest's face in a warm glow. The news was displayed to the side on her window, the articles chosen by the chip in her brain. The headlines talked about an explosion at Bumaro Plaza in New Portland, with the Foundation serving clean-up duty. She sighed, tapped the side of her head, and whispered something.
The article was replaced by a Foundation Remote Terminal, welcoming one "Dr. Amaro Hayk." Esper entered the doctor's access codes and searched for an incident report about the explosion. Something about SCP-5735, PoI-000, SCP-5353, and "The Name Machine." The incident report was heavily redacted, poor Hayk only had Level 3 clearance for most things.
While she skimmed through the report, trying to make sense of what little she had access to, a notification popped up. Someone had sent an email to Hayk. It was titled "Henosis Project." Curious, she opened up the message.
It was addressed to her.
Esper groaned, rubbing the side of her head. When the floodlights turned on, she moved to cover her eyes and cursed whoever had turned them on.
Once her eyes adjusted to the miniature suns blinding her, she got a look at the room around her. It was a nondescript concrete one, with no windows or doors. A simple metal table was in front of her, screwed into the floor. She was sat in a cold, bulky metal chair, her wrists and knees locked in simple metal rings that kept her sat. 'Foundation…'
She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered last. She remembered being in her apartment in New Dallas, reading through the incident report for Bumaro Plaza. She remembered hearing a knock at her door, and before she could answer, a metal fist punching through and flying straight into her face.
'Tau Five.'
She was surprised the Foundation had decided to send their death robots after her, but she was flattered nonetheless. She didn't remember anything else after that - the force from getting punched by a big immortal robot was probably enough to knock her unconscious - until just a few moments ago. They must have taken her in for interrogation. 'That lying conman… he said they wouldn't be able to trace her access codes.'
Judging from the cracks in the concrete walls, this was one of their older facilities, from before the VeilBreak. Did Old Dallas have one before the 2050s? She couldn't be asked to recall right now as she struggled to get out of her confinement. She knew she wasn't strong enough to break the metal rings, but it was still worth a shot.
"Don't bother. If the Black Lodge sarkics couldn't get out of 'em, I doubt you could either."
Esper tried to turn her head to see who was talking, but her bonds didn't let her turn her head all the way.
A fair-skinned man entered her vision from behind her. He set up the foldable plastic chair he carried with him, and sat down on the other side of the table from her. She felt like she knew his face from somewhere, but she couldn't tell from where…
"Hi, Esper. I'm Dr. Amaro Hayk. I believe you know me already?"
She groaned. Of course.
"If this is about stealing your identity to access the database, I wasn't the one wh-"
"We already found who sold you my credentials, Esper, you don't have to worry about ratting them out. We actually knew about that for a while. I got alerted to it the first time you used them."
"So why send your robot death squad after me now instead of, I dunno, back then?'
"Well, that's cause… um," he hesitated, looking up at the camera in the corner of the room before looking back at Esper. "We didn't need you until now. I'm sure you read that email? 'Henosis Project'. We're in need of some people to fill out the ranks for it and, well.. I'm sure you're aware of your father's involvement with our organisation?"
Esper groaned at the mention of her late father, Ezra. He had been the head of some Foundation department that had to do with weaponry. His legacy had turned into one long shadow over her entire life, even when she had decided to pursue a life outside of the Foundation.
"Look, okay. I'm not my dad, alright? I'm not some nut head who can turn anything anomalous into some type of weapon or another. I can't do whatever it is you want me to do, so can you just wipe my memory and send me home?"
"I wish that was true, but I know for a fact that's a lie, Esper. After your father's death, we looked back at his files. We have documents and logs indicating that you helped him with some of his projects for the Anomalous Weapons Development Department, even fixing some of his mistakes that would've otherwise proven fatal. We know you're more than capable of doing what we need you to do."
He muttered something under his breath, but Esper wasn't able to hear what it was.
"You guys have a whole department full of people whose whole job is to make weapons, why not just get them instead of me?"
"We're hoping that you inherited some of your father's talent - well, not me, personally, but the higher-ups. They asked for you specifically."
"And, and, what if I say no? What if I don't want to do this shit for you? I didn't even get to finish reading that email before you guys came for me, so I don't have a single clue what Henosis even is!"
Amaro laughed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He pulled out a folder from his labcoat, placing it on the table in front of him. Printed boldly on the front was:
HENOSIS
PROJECT
"No one can just say no to the Foundation, Esper, especially someone from either of our families. They'll find a way to get you to work. Threaten your family, your friends. Keep you in debt. Alienate you from the outside world. They'll put you under a Geas if they have to."
He frowned for a bit after he said that, as if the words hit him a bit too hard. He shook his head and got up, poking the folder on the table with one long finger.
"I'll leave this for you to read. Someone'll pass by with food for you at some point. I'll be back in the morning, probably. Talk to you then, Esper."
As she heard the door behind her close, the metal rings keeping Esper seated popped open. She turned back to look at the door,