They'll get back to her on that.

Hey industry contacts and research tools. How much of a reputation does one Rhonda Vue have for playing nice and abiding by terms and conditions?

Netlink's agent isn't even going to mention it to him, per standing instructions, depending on the results.

Rhonda is a metaphorical gardener.  She's big about getting in-depth interview with espers, and she sets them up over time.  She typically will re-interview espers, perhaps once or twice a year.  She's been on the esper beat for about fourteen years, and the last time she was even slightly pushy during an interview was in the wake of the Middlesex Incident seven years ago.

Okay.

They include it in a packet of updates for Netlink. As a Task on his Taskboard, his preferred method of interacting with the agency. (A bit odd, but she's seen odder. She sort of understands where he's coming from- It's familiar, it's job-like, it's an impersonal internet portal of things which is not alarming, to a certain kind of person. One of the recurring tasks on the board is 'rest break' and another is 'backlash check-in'.)

Interview offer with a reporter, Rhonda Vue, who has a good reputation, at his convenience. Recommended only if he has a particular story he wants to tell or things he wants to highlight to the public, or to fill in a gap in his schedule when he would otherwise be waiting to deploy to a dungeon. Lowest priority.

...Okay, sure. He's a little annoyed at everyone freaking out over the big names and not the constant grind of little ones. So if there's a good time after going "on-shift" tomorrow, when Meghan is busy and he isn't backlashed yet, they may as well do that.

Hello Rhonda, we are reaching back to you regarding Netlink......

......Likely between 10AM-12PM tomorrow at the following address, depending on Confluence related scheduling needs......

......No cameras, if Netlink says 'no comment' to a question please strike the question entirely and don't print 'no comment', Netlink is under considerable stress due to the confluence and his relatively young career...

......Netlink would prefer to focus on the issue of smaller, non-named dungeons in the interview. We will keep you updated if anything changes.

Well, shit.  Do they not know how interviewing for TV works?  Ugh.  Well, this is an investment in the future.  If she does a good job, maybe she'll get something useful next year.  She can work with this, and maybe they can source video from the dungeons they discuss to use as visual backdrop for the interview. 

Rhonda would like to clarify whether or not audio is permissible and would also like to note for the record that she is willing to delete sections of tape deemed unacceptable to the esper in question at any point before airtime.  In one case, her IT guy had to take down their website for forty minutes, as the esper making the requesthad gotten cold feet twenty minutes before the go-live date.

Oh. There seems to have been an internal communication. Netlink apparently believed it was a print interview. He's not willing to go on video or have his voice recorded for public release without a voice obscurer at this time. Sorry for the misunderstanding, we completely understand if you want to cancel entirely, but we do hold our clients' wishes and best interests first.

Are they serious argh.  No, this is salvageable.  He's psychic 5, psychic sensor 4, she doesn't have anything scheduled that day anyway, it's better than the default action which is interview someone about how much they hate different flavors of sand.

No, that's entirely doable!  We're entirely willing to conduct a print-only interview if that's what Netlink prefers.

She'll figure out how to turn this into something usable later.

(His agent agrees that this is frustrating! But they are doing their damndest to avoid displaying any kind of social awkwardness or politics at Netlink, or to set burdensome expectations that he might just blithely go along with and never think to object to. These emails, texts, and task descriptions each have serious thought put into them, to strip them of most personality and render them into bland, neutral corporate speak. Which is apparently what he wants.)

Okay, see you tomorrow.

(He realizes, later, after looking up 'Rhonda Vue', that she's a video creator, and worries for at least an hour that he's wasting her time with his conditions. But, well, she could just cancel!! So. Yeah.)

(Meghan's already gone home, and he's supposed to be relaxing. He buys a new video game and tries to forget about the interview.)

At 10:07 AM the following morning, Netlink enters the conference room, wearing business casual and a big nametag that says 'ESPER - NETLINK'. There are snack trays and drinks laid out, even though it's just him, a Maple intern sent in with some generic excuse about procedure who will be a neutral background fact unless he needs to nudge Netlink out, and Rhonda and anyone she brings.

No, this is fine.  Rhonda will in fact be bringing a transcriptionist who works in shorthand.  She'd thought the profession had died out, but apparently there are a few diehards out there for sensitive meetings.  She smiles at Netlink.  "Good afternoon, Netlink.  I'm Rhonda, Rhonda Vue.  It's good to meet you!"  If he looks like he'll go for a shake, she'll shake right back.  But he's a baby new esper and she'd really rather not spook the poor boy young man.

He'll - hesitate, half suspecting that she's secretly an esper and bracing for it - and shake.

"Hello. Um, yes. I know it's strange but I want to stay... Er, I mean, I want to reserve the possibility of becoming invisible. Metaphorically. Anonymous in public. I could never handle being as recognizable as, um, Skybreaker."

"Most of us aren't!  Being a public figure isn't all that bad, but it's definitely a change.  And at this point in your career, it makes sense to be careful about disclosure.  It's hard to put the toothpaste back in the bottle, after all."

"Well, what people consider bad depends on the person, right? ...Can you not record the, uh, next thing I say? It's, um. Partial explanation?"

The transcriptionist sets down their pen and lays both hands flat on the table.

"You don't owe me any explanations, Netlink.  If you want to explain of your own recognizance, I'll happily accept it.  And we don't have any active recording devices today, aside from Aubrey."  She gives Aubrey a little grin.

Technically she has an old-fashioned tape recorder in her pocket, but the batteries are in a separate pocket.  Just in case Netlink would like to have the only copy for his records.  But it's not active, so.

Also phones don't count, since they're not actively recording.

"So. The main reason I am being so - fastidious - is that my,"

With a look of sudden panic, the 'intern' sent in with Netlink interrupts, "-Excuse me! Netlink, I would- Recommend you not discuss anything with a member of the media that you're not willing to potentially have made public, as a general policy, absent other considerations. What is said cannot be unsaid. Nothing against you, miss Vue. Sorry for interrupting."

"-Ah. Fu-udge. You're right. Um. Okay, disregard that whole thing? I guess?"

God, should he just run away now? This was a mistake. He's going to lose sleep over it and that's... Such a waste of potential sensing time.

"No, you're absolutely correct.  I'd like to think of myself as trustworthy, of course, but in general, telling someone in the media is telling the public, but with more steps."  She smiles reassuringly at him and maybe wants to pat his hand, poor kid.  "Nothing's ruined, you don't have to worry."  But I bet he will anyway.

"-I'm betting I'm going to have to deal with publicity sooner or later, so I do need to learn how. Even if I don't really like it right now. And- Um. I was kind of annoyed that everything is about Infested Wasteland and Volcanic Range right now."

"Between you and me, that's a lot of the reason I wanted to interview you.  My last three interviews had a 'complaining about sand' section, and that's really not news.  It's true!  It's just not news."

"Just like dungeon 10-23-2036-5543 isn't news? It had acid bombs."

"Well, that sounds terrible.  But before we get into the specifics, are you okay if we start the interview proper?  I'd hate to have a fascinating conversation with you and be unable to relay it to the public."