Mind and Flesh Read online

  After looking at his colleague, the short one addresses me “But… we are still working on-“

  “Old projects are cancelled, this new project is top priority.” This was my turn to cut them and assert my authority.

  “Alright man. Sounds quite important. Did you secure the funding?”

  “Yes, a government agency is paying for everything. We have almost unlimited budget as long as it is used for building the new prototype.”

  “A… government agency? Unlimited budget?” says the tall guy. It piqued his interest enough for him to stop sulking.

  “Yes. However this is not going to be easy. There is not just miniaturization that I need to ask of you guys, but also something very special. That is why very few teams could pull this off and we were chosen.”

  “What is it?”

  “This machine that we need to fine-tune can read and modify electro-magnetic waves. Read and influence tiny electric currents. However right now it needs to stay put and very close to the target. I want you to increase the distance to a few meters.”

  “Well, there is a recent tech that allows transmitting power from a distance of about two meters. It’s near-field resonant inductive coupling, and it works through magnetic fields,” remarks the tall one. “I worked on that during my previous job.”

  “Yes exactly. Your previous experience on this, added to mine on what the machine needs to do,” then I look at the small one, “and your skill to make the electronics parts, are the reasons why we are the perfect team to pull this off.”

  “Wait, but you said modify electro-magnetic waves. With the current technology, the target has been tuned to resonate according to the power emitter. It does not modify the electro-magnetic properties of the target. What is your target exactly?”

  “I suppose that I have to say it for us to work on it. Neurons.”

  “Holy shit. That’s crazy, man!” exclaims the small one.

  “Yeah, fuck. There is no way we can do that,” says the other one.

  I remember the handsome guy talking about his colleagues, and saying that they are rebellious but competitive. I know how to force their hand. “I didn't think you two would chicken out like that.”

  “Well… Dude, no, we are not chickening out,” continues the small one. “It just both sounds insane to do that in the first place, and also it sounds like a load of fucking work. Not the easiest one.”

  “That's what I said, you don't have the capabilities to do it after all.”

  “Shut up, we are doing it!” the tall one seems to be blushing out of anger. “We are the fucking best. Wait and see.” Yes! Now they can stop bothering me and get to work.

  “I am glad to hear that. Surprise me, then. I will start writing down the plans of the current model and gradually send it to you. Check with me whenever you have a question. Alright, let's start.”

  “Wait, boss, wait,” says the small one.

  “Yes?”

  “Can I help you select the new intern tomorrow?”

  “Is it even wise to have an intern on such a project?” enquires the tall one.

  “Well, yeah! Wouldn't you work better with a pretty girl jiggling her ass in front of you? Pick a pretty babe, boss!”

  Animal. Choosing someone solely for their looks is both superficial and counter-productive. Humans are so imperfect. Nevermind, I have better things to do. I will quickly go home pick up the machine and bring it back here so it helps me draw the plan for these two guys to fine-tune my design.

  ***

  “So, what is your motivation to apply to my group?” I ask the candidate. I am so bored. She is the fourth one that I am interviewing. I can see that she is trying hard since she is wearing a suit, but I am not really looking for an intern.

  “My biomedical engineering courses are very theoretical, and I thought that the best way to complete my learning was to do real work in a research lab. I feel that this would allow me a very hands-on approach. I would be able to assist in the process on experimenting on new technologies. If I had applied to a company, I would probably have to work on a very specific part of equipment and probably never see the rest of the process. I believe that in a lab, I will learn a lot more and not just what I am tasked with. I also think that working on something new, a progress that has never been done before, is far more exciting than being a cog in the machine.”

  That girl does not seem to realize than companies do work on cutting-edge technology. They have their own Research & Development departments. However she is right that she might not have a job with a lot of responsibilities, while in public research the students are more traditionally pushed to take their project into their own hands and learn about the rest of the field. Anyway, the answer she gave me is probably one she learned by heart.

  “You are not answering the question. You are telling me why you want to do your internship in academy, not why you applied to my group specifically.”

  “Oh I am sorry,” she says while looking miserable, deeply disappointed that she got the answer wrong. “I looked up papers from different labs, and I was very interested in the projects that you develop. I think that I would learn a lot, especially in electronics, if I worked here.”

  Most likely, she applied to multiple places and each time that she goes somewhere, she makes it seem that it is the best place to be in. That is part of the game, but somehow I feel like messing with her more and more.

  “And what makes you think that we want to work with you?”

  Her face turns red. She seems completely unsettled by this question.

  “I… I am the top student in my class!”

  “Well, you could be a smart-ass, but that does not mean that working with you is enjoyable in the very least. On the contrary, most smart-ass first of the class are competitive snobby assholes that work alone and don't take kindly to teamwork.”

  “No… I help my classmates a lot. I am also involved in associative work.”

  “I bet that's only because it would look good on your resume.”

  “I… no… I like to help others…”

  She seems very nervous. Her hands are clutching her skirt. Her voice lost the countenance it had earlier.

  “So what is your position in the association?”

  “I am secretary of my student association. I help the chair a lot.”

  “Why are you not chair yourself?”

  “The most popular… gets elected.”

  “I see, I see. Well there is something else that you should know. Earlier, you talked about how you wanted to apply to an academic lab instead of a company. The thing is, a suit would have been perfect for a company, but academic people mostly dislike suits. They want to be more laid-back, and focused on science instead of money. So the suit was good effort, but a wrong choice.”

  “I didn't know… I am so sorry…” She really looks miserable, on the verge of tears. She probably prepared for this interview a lot, and I crushed her.

  “Tell me your strong points and your bad points.” She takes a deep breath and her features seem more under control. This is a question that she prepared herself for.

  “I am very diligent and work hard on any task that I am given. I do not hesitate to look up papers and textbooks to know my topic as much as I can. On the downside, I am a perfectionist and it can lead me to spend a lot of time to make sure that everything is as good as it should be.”

  Classic textbook advice, to use something close to a quality as a bad point in order not to reveal real downsides. Oh well, I traumatized her enough and I want to move on to the next, so I will now be nicer. “Good answer, thank you.” She looks relieved.

  “What do you like to do on your free time?”

  “I usually enjoy reading. I read a lot of books, and keep discovering new ones. It helps broaden my mind and discover a lot of knowledge.” Why does she always need to sound so formal and artificial? It gives such a boring and uptight impression of her…

  “What is your project once y
ou graduate?”

  “I intend to make career in academia. I am aiming for a PhD, and then hopefully my dream would be to become Professor.”

  She seems motivated enough, and she certainly has the hard-working capacities. I guess she is also smart enough. However, I have no use for her in my lab. These interviews are a joke now that I am here. I want to get them over with. “Alright, I think you have what it takes to follow that path. And that concludes our interview, we will get back to you in the following week and let you know.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Goodbye!”

  “Goodbye, have a nice day!” She tentatively smiles, leaves the new chair I had placed in my office, and walks away as fast as she can.

  Right after she leaves, my two new colleagues enter my office.

  “Hey boss,” says the small one, “this one was not too bad looking, I give you my seal of approval.”

  “Very funny. What do you want?”

  “Just to warn you that we are going home,” replies the tall one. “Except if you need help with the interviews.”

  “I will be fine. Did you start looking up how you could apply the new technology to the machine?”

  “Yeah we started thinking about it. If that is alright with you, we will need to dismantle the machine to conduct some tests before we have a new one.”

  “Alright. I will help you do that tomorrow. Bye!”

  “Bye bye boss,” they both answer in unison.

  After a minute of giving the previous intern candidate a head-start, I also leave my office in order to fetch the next candidate.

  Once I reach the reception, I look on the waiting couch. There is only one person, a young male in his early twenties. He is busy on his phone. Unlike the previous candidate, he did not dress in a suit. He is wearing a striped shirt. A shirt is a good choice, but his has ugly fancy colors and it really does not seem like a good pick for a formal interview. I get closer to him and introduce my presence “Are you here for the interview?”

  He looks up his phone, answers “Yeah,” then slowly stands up and walks towards me, looking at me.

  “Alright, follow me.”

  He did not even say hello. This does not start well. Even worse, while following me to the elevator he keeps looking back on his phone and typing something.

  I press the third floor button and glance over my shoulder. I can see a chat window, where the portrait of a girl appears. I see. He seems to have chosen his priorities.

  He keeps following me to my new office. “Please sit down.”

  He sits and finally puts his phone away. I will definitively not go easy on this moron.

  “So,” I say, “what are your studies?”

  “Engineering with a specialty in Biomedical Equipment.” His voice is slow and apathetic.

  “Why did you apply to this lab?”

  “I live in this city, so this lab is quite near and in my field.” At least he is rather honest.

  “You are lazy, so you didn't apply to anything too far?”

  “Well it is expensive to move around just for an internship. If I am here I can stay at my parents'.” He is looking fixedly at me. He does not even seem fazed that I called him lazy. Actually… even if he looks fixedly at me, his mind does not seem to be completely there.

  “Why would we pick you?”

  “Uh… I don't know…” He definitively did not come here prepared. He did not lose his composure and does not seem nervous even if he is hesitant in his words.

  “Do you have any idea? We have other candidates.”

  “Well… I'm a pretty chill guy…”

  “Yes exactly, you are the kind that does not take things seriously and I would not trust with any task given to you. You would do the minimal effort, if you would do anything at all. Your kind of person usually relies on others doing the work for them.”

  “I am not stupid… I am getting this degree after all.”

  “Probably with minimal grades, right?”

  “Yeah... right…”

  “Which do you prefer, studying or partying?”

  “Partying with friends…”

  “Indeed. That sounds about your highest skill in life.” How can he be so honest? Doesn't he want that position? There are some things that you cannot tell in an interview, even if you have to straight up lie!

  “Socializing is useful! And I am not stupid. If I put more efforts, I would have great grades.”

  “You are right, socializing is useful. However it needs to be done with important people, not a pack of losers.”

  “Perhaps they will become important people after their studies…”

  Interesting. He is not an empty head without a clue, after all. “True. Actually, you don't seem as stupid as you seemed at first. I misjudged you.”

  “Errr thanks I guess.”

  “Still, networking and doing minimal effort is enough for a mediocre life without worries, but if you want to be someone you will have to put hard work in it.”

  “If it motivates me…”

  “I don't think so. People like you take a habit not to produce any effort at all.”

  “If it motivates me… it won't feel like effort at all…”

  That guy is not wrong, yet even if he sounds better than I thought I would never consider him for the position. He would be a bother more than anything. The more serious candidates, even if they don't answer as genuinely well as he does, would at least be good at what they are asked to do.

  I think that is enough, I will end the interview here. At least it was not as boring as I thought it would be.

  “Alright, thank you for your time, I will communicate to you the results within the week.” I get up my chair.

  He gets up as well and looks at me more intently than before. “I won't have the position…”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I know you won't take me. But it's fine, earlier I had another interview and the guy was quite chill too. He liked me.”

  “Well, I am happy that you found your match. That’s my loss, then. Good luck for your other position, young man. You can go, goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  He gets up, turns on his feet and leaves. The next and last one is only supposed to meet me at the reception in fifteen minutes.

  I move the computer’s mouse to wake it from its sleep state. I have a few new unread e-mails. I scan through them and… the government guy. I read through the mail. He wants to see me tomorrow. Fuck, so close to the last time? I don't want to see his smug face… It hurts… My head…

  Fuck! Those headaches are driving me crazy.

  Shit, where are my pills.

  Can't the pain cease and leave me once and for all?

  Pills.

  My water bottle now. I was prepared.

  I swallow the pill with some water.

  I need to calm down. Relax.

  My brain is squished!

  I sit down. I breathe.

  I focus on breathing.

  A little bit more.

  Gradually, my mind feels clearer. The pain is decreasing, slowly going away. I breathe.

  Fuck. I hate that.

  I look at my watch. Fifteen minutes have passed since I sent the lazy guy off. I need to go pick up the last candidate. I head back down to the reception lobby.

  No one is waiting there. Fuck. I will give five minutes to the candidate, then I go back up and she will be out of the selection. They are all out anyway, I am not taking any intern.

  I look at the entrance, past the turnstile. A girl is talking to the security guard. He gestures towards the turnstile, she walks there and appears in the reception lobby. Ah, I guess that finally here comes my candidate. A very attractive candidate. She chose a top that molds her breasts, and a slight cleavage that restrains from going into vulgar territory. I wave at her “Are you here for the interview?”

  “Hello, yes!” she answers with a soft voice.

  “Hello! Alright, follow me.”


  I lead her to the elevator, press the third floor button. She is so close to me in the cramped space. She smells really good. I think that my heart is beating faster. She is younger than me, but that body I am in is actually younger too, probably less than a decade older than her.

  As the elevator opens, I guide her to my office.

  “Please sit here.”

  I sit at my desk, in front of her. She looks around, her gaze lingers on the park, then her eyes fix on me.

  “So,” I start, “what are your current studies?”

  “I am doing postgraduate studies in Neuroscience.”

  To hell with the aim of the interview, I will ask her more personal questions directly. “What do you like to do on your free time?”

  “I like to hang out with friends. I like to watch theater or musicals too. And just like anyone, I watch TV shows.”

  Well, I am not just like anyone then. Her activities are so far off my interests.

  Wait, why am I caring about her so much suddenly? I am really attracted to her. And I don't even know her at all! Stupid bullshit animal. I am no better than the rest of this awful species.

  “What kind of TV shows do you watch?”

  While she tells me about the popular shows of the moment that are probably influencing her mind, I wonder what I should do about my crush on her. After all, it has been a long time since last I had sex, and now that I have a handsome male body I should make use of it. After all, I have still not started to correct the human behavior, so I could indulge myself. They all let go of their inhibitions when their base animal instincts are calling, why shouldn't I do the same?

  “Would you like to go for coffee after work?” I hope that the magic of my body will do the rest.

  “Sorry, what?” She has a look of bewilderment. Oh, did I cut her while she was still talking about her TV shows? I did not pay attention.

  “Would you like to go grab a coffee or have dinner, after the interview?”

  “May I ask why? Is it because I have been selected already?”

  “What? Oh no, it's unrelated to the internship.”

  “Then I am afraid I will have to decline.” She has a severe look on her face. I guess I crossed a line.