"Um, yes, I suppose so? If you have to make it official."

Gently, gently.  "It's for your protection.  I want to be very sure that you don't say anything intended to be off-the record, and the best way to do that is to make sure that we have a clear policy about not recording anything you haven't explicitly consented to being on the record."

It would be way too awkward to cancel now, now that he's right in front of her and everything.

"Right."

He's definitely spooked.  Her voice becomes even gentler.  "Are you okay with the interview?  It's okay if not."  She really wants to make this poor boy a cup of hot cocoa.

"-When I get like this, simmering in indecision is the worst part. I'm going to use a coin flip app on my phone. Heads, I'd like to go through with the interview. Tails, I'd like to cancel it. Sorry to make it - like this."

Heads.

"I'd like to go through with the interview! I'll cut it short if there's a dungeon that needs me or I start to feel overwhelmed again."

He does seem markedly more present, now.

"It's okay, Netlink.  Alright, ready, Aubrey?"

Thumbs-up!

"Alright.  First question.  Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Netlink.  How did you pick that codename?  It certainly is an evocative one."

"Before I became an esper, I worked in tech support. I know computer systems and have been - a bit of a nerd for a while. And the - metaphor, I suppose, I use for my power, is just a little bit like making API requests over the internet. I mean- Not really, but close enough to be evocative."

"That makes sense.  And on the subject, do you mind giving us a brief overview of your power does?  I understand it's a sensor power?"  Rhonda glances over at Aubrey, who's either caught up on the conversation already or isn't actually taking notes and is actually a scam.  Well, too late to worry about it now.

He has a tiny face-journey, considering this question.

"Essentially I can extend a - field of sorts, that can detect human minds and communicate with them once I've detected them. I have mostly been practicing backlash efficient sweeps with the detection aspect. I can't detect animals or dungeon monsters, but I can get very accurate distances and angles. Mostly, I confirm the absence of victims, or their locations if the dungeon is not cleared yet."

Rhonda thinks about that for a moment, then her eyes widen.  "That's an incredibly useful power for dungeon rescue!"  That's not a question, Rhonda.  "I presume this is where your double-digit daily dungeon stats comes into play?"

"Yes. I, um, decided that I don't want or need to be in any particular dungeon for long. If I'm sort of a - specialized instrument, brought in for, uh, a single check, and then shuffled on - so, really I'm not putting in more work. It's just that I do it in more places. Rideshare esper, h-heh."

"That makes a lot of sense.  Specialization can be a major asset to an esper, and it sounds like you can make a rescue team's job much easier after thirty seconds of work.  Or, I should ask - how long does a typical check take you?"

"Yes, exactly, I don't want to - sit around or get in the way. I want to do what I can and get out of the way. It depends on the size of the dungeon of course, but um... Anywhere from two minutes to fifteen, so far? I'm getting faster with practice."

"Makes sense.  Those times are a little faster than average for a sensor.  Of course, there is no 'average sensor', because powers are so bespoke.  What makes a dungeon easier or harder for you?"

"I haven't done any that were really awful yet? They were talking about having me poke my head in non-euclidian and 4D dungeons when, uh. I'm a bit less new and it's not a confluence."

"I see.  Was there a dungeon you'd call your favorite, or that interested you most?  Maybe something you feel like was undercovered?"  There we go, gentle lob to the baby esper.  Maybe help him find his confidence.

"I think my favorite was ones where nobody was hurt and everything was very straightforward. Or- Oh. I figured out the gimmick of this other one, actually, that was a fun moment. It was just unbearably foggy, and the fog muffled sound so people couldn't hear each other, and the dungeon floor was, like, a moving walkway? It was sliding itself under people, keeping them away from the portal and each other. The monsters were barely even a threat, they looked really scary but even when try tried cutting the ropes the DRT squad was laying down, they couldn't. Uh... Eight nine nine zero yesterday, I think it was. If you want to find pictures."

"Eight nine nine zero, I'll have to take a look, though with the fog, I'm not sure how the photos turned out!  What's your favorite part of sensoring in general?"

"...Is it bad if I say 'the money'? I mean. Obviously it's nice to help people, but, um. There's a lot of things I just don't have to worry about now."

"Well, I don't think any of us would turn down being independently arbitrarily wealthy on top of an esper glowup."  Maybe don't publish that one, though.  I won't judge him, but the public can be fickle.  "Anything in particular you're thinking about doing once the Confluence comes to a close?  Or even before?"

"I'm commissioning- Or, well, Maple Agency is arranging- Custom software tools to help me map and plot people better. That's cool. In terms of more personal things, er, I do like museums a lot, I'm looking forward to spending all day stress free at the Royal Ontario Museum at some point. Famous museums of other countries too, the Louvre, Tokyo National Museum, the British Museum, there are some good ones in Washington DC... I could probably pick one museum a weekend and not run out for a long time."