"From what I know, not necessarily. I'm not particularly clear on the details. We're not the final assessment - we're triage, I guess. I'll put you down for terraforming and tentative facilities." (He starts typing.)

"Do you have any questions for us? I know this is a lot to take in." The woman on the left asks.

"Was the guy who bumped into me in the cafeteria a plant?"

"I don't think we can tell you that." But their shared glances and a slight chuckle may reveal the truth.

"Figures."

"Nothing else? Or is just the thought of not seeing another person for years at a time enough?"

"I mean, I could ask about hazard levels but I assume that'll be covered when I get to the point of looking at specific opportunities. If I make it that far." She's not really bothered about the prospect of not making it that far. This is a daydream, not a life's ambition. She's taking the process seriously but more because it would be annoying not to than because she feels desperate about it.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen how well-remunerated these positions are. Let's not hold anyone else up then. Thanks for your time."

"Sure. Bye!"

And is that all, and do they in fact pay her?

Would she like cash or check? Just remember that she has to include it on her taxes.

She will take cash and be mildly annoyed about the taxes comment.

She's now $400 richer. Hotel's comped for another night, flight back is in the morning...

...The next afternoon, she gets another email. She's been accepted into the next round! This one is a month-long camp, and is the final round before she's officially accepted. She's being considered for the isolated terraforming position; They don't think she's suitable for the facility maintenance one. The pay is better and she gets it whether or not she ends up accepted. She just needs to clear a whole month in her schedule with limited affordances for leaving and contacting the outside, boot camp style. The program information mentions testing her performance under stress and isolation. If she passes, she'll get to do contract negotiations, then possibly more training, and then arrange all the details of departure.

As long as she can put off the camp until the summer so it doesn't interfere with classes, she thinks she might actually do it.

This summer is fine, but not any longer than that. Does June 7 work for a start date?

Suits her!

Time passes. June arrives, as do her business class plane tickets to Phoenix, Arizona. (Where Phoenix Co does not actually have their headquarters, to some joking in the media.)

Well. Off to find out what a terrible idea this was.

They drive her to a briefing in a small office. She's going to an isolated camp. Instructions will be sent through a special computer terminal that only receives those instructions and sends reports, no outside electronic devices allowed. Bring nothing except one outfit (worn) (more will be provided), and the contents of a small purse.

She must do the work that gets sent via the computer to an acceptable standard, send daily reports, and maintain the camp if necessary.

There will be an emergency kit and emergency phone, so she's not actually in any danger if, for example, the water supply fails, but using these is disqualifying unless there's a real emergency. There is some risk in that if she suddenly keels over from a stroke, nobody will know until it's too late.

She's getting $600 per day during the test, pass or fail.

Does that all sound acceptable?

Presumably they have someplace really safe for her to store her phone which she did not leave at home when she flew here, but, on that assumption, yeah, sure, she'll go for it. She kind of guessed there wouldn't be much outside stuff allowed, so the contents of her small purse are mostly spiral-bound notebooks and pens, plus a travel sewing kit on general principle.

She can put it in the office's secure lockers or take it with her in a locked case.

She'll go for the locked case.

Sure. They seal the case with some sort of tamper-proof tape.

The drive is 3 hours in an SUV, half on dirt roads, to abso-fucking-lutely nowhere, desert. There's one big white building and two small ones connected by a covered walkway, an ATV, a big but not that big water tank, lots of rocky parched ground, and a fence surrounding the area. There's also a few piles of different colors of gravel around.

And then the car turns around and leaves, kicking up dust.

Well, time to explore her new home. Looks fun. Actually looks like she's going to very badly miss regular showers, but apart from that, looks fun.

Some preliminary observations:

It's really quite oppressively hot outside. Enough that you'd have to worry about heatstroke.

Luckily, the main building is much more comfortable. There's some AC. There are two floors- Some sort of workshop and storage area downstairs, with benches, tables, bins, and the computer terminal. And a closet and washing area. Upstairs, a living area with a bed, armchair, small dining table and kitchen (with a propane stove and a working, if weak, sink), and cupboards full of food, mostly preserved stuff.

There are two outbuildings. The first one is a sort of shed with an ATV, some gas, and various basic tools. Shovels, wrenches, stuff. The second looks like some sort of hydroponics setup, currently half-assembled and inactive.

The emergency kit and emergency phone are obvious and clearly labelled. It seems like a satellite phone with a lot of punch. Could fit in her pocket.

She does a quick tour to get familiar with where everything is, then drops her bag on the bed and turns on the computer to see what it has to say.

Short Term Tasks:

-Initial Inventory

-Daily Report

 

Long Term Tasks:

-Hydroponics Setup

-Esoteric Sculpting Simulacrum

 

Click each task for more information. Check back daily.