The special feature is a big circular table with a completely black top. It's a giant hi-def touchscreen. When you put objects on it or trace or hit it with your hands, soothing colorful rainbows in different colors ripple over it like soap sheen and slowly blur together and fade back to black.

<These buttons down here change how it works. There's a lot, but this one is the prettiest I think.>

"Huh, you thought it might be a game?"

<Some of the other modes are more game-like.>

She taps one of the buttons and cell-like bubbles in different colors appear, flowing around slowly. She nudges some. Same colors merge, different colors annihilate. There's quiet music.

"Huh, I wonder if there's a win condition." Poke poke.

<Save as much green as possible. Red and blue eliminate each other.>

Poke poke poke.

<Don't make them fast, that makes it harder...>

Elisabel will try accumulating as much green as possible, sure.

Eventually they have a few big green blobs floating around a field of tiny ones of other colors.

She gets a text.

Hello Elisabel, this is Neha, your Intake guide. Sorry I didn't contact you right away! Some days get really hectic. I like to have a chat with every newcomer about their goals and how to pursue them. When is a good time for that?

Right now I'm just playing the alien art game, so whenever you're free works for me!

Right now would be great. Down in my office or should I come up to your room?

I don't know how to pause this thing so if you can come up that would be cool!

On my way!

Neha knocks before letting herself into the apartment common area a couple of minutes later. She looks fairly ordinary, and her nametag just says "Neha, Intake Counselor".

"Hello, Bella!" <Hello, Xue!> "Bella, do you mind if miss Jian is here for this? Usually I talk to people privately because we're talking about their futures and that can be a little sensitive, but it's up to you."

"I guess if privacy is customary we can do it that way. Jian, do you mind if I kick you out of the common area, I think I'm getting the hang of this -" Poke poke.

<I don't mind in this case. Try not to make a habit of it, please. Common areas are common. Have fun. I'll go back to my book. The one you recommended, miss Neha, it's good.>

She stands and waves, then heads off into her bedroom.

"So, Bella. Unique. That's a tough one sometimes. But let me introduce myself- I'm Neha, S-rank Rabbit, and it's my job to do whatever it takes to set you up for success. I'm good at it, I have capital-S Skills for it. What does success look like for you?"

"Well, I don't know yet. I was aiming at probably medical school before selection, but if I have the leverage to do something more specialized now I'm interested - I just don't know what my Skill is good for."

"That's the problem with Uniques, yes. I've found that the System is often a lot more willing to tell U-types just what your Skills do and don't do, compared to the average Avowed- It absolutely will still refuse to say things, but something about Uniques means it owes you a bit more than usual, is the impression I get. So one thing you could do to clarify your plans is ask it questions. I don't actually know what your Skills do except what you wrote in the intake profile. As for medical school- Why medical school? A passion for the field? Wanting to help people?"

"I wanted to do medical research, actually. Eradicate the flu or something. My skill makes mind-affecting stuff bounce off me."

"So still helping people, but more in the abstract? I'm racking my mind for mind-affecting magics... You might want to try and get a feel for where the border is, do illusions count? Stunning effects? Sleep spells? There's Object Shaper talents that make objects attention grabbing or hard to notice and other things that don't quite get classed as Sway. All that doesn't need to be answered today, of course. It sounded like the mental shield is your big one. If you want to get more magically powerful, get more and better talents, you'll want to use it creatively and often. And when you don't have a clear direction in mind, it's often best to just self-improve as much as you can, and something will turn up. Not that I'm forcing anything. Just a lot of thoughts."

Notes notes. "In the meantime while I'm working on that I need to be in some kind of school, though, and I assume the normal default thing for English speakers is going to be fine for most possible life plans?"

"Talent development programs are schools. The normal default thing is for normal default people. You sound at least slightly more ambitious than that. How far did you get in your planning to do something about the flu-or-something?"

"Supposedly Johns Hopkins is the best place for it, I was poking at student visas. That's sure not happening now that I am a member of an oppressed minority."

"I want to make a sarcastic comment, buuuut... Yeah, being kicked out to a place you don't know just sucks a lot of the time. We try our best to make it suck less. I'll have to research who's on the cutting edge of magical healing research for you if you're set on the medical field particularly. Are you? Or is it just a big lever?"

"It's not Anesidora's fault, Anesidora's doing its very best, but there's basically nothing else I could have grown up to be that would have gotten me exiled from Australia and forbidden to even apply to Johns Hopkins... It's just a big lever, I'm into big levers and not partial to epidemiology."

"Every time you say things, I'm more tempted to recommend some kind of talent development program... It's cliche, but skills, spells, foundation points, and talents are the biggest lever most Avowed ever get their hands on. Here's an icebreaker. How old do you think I am?"

She looks young. Twenty five or thirty at most.

"Well, you look twentysomething, but since you asked and Jian said you were particularly experienced I assume you are noticeably older than that actually?"

She nods.

"I became an Avowed in 1963, right after the first treaties. S rank Rabbit. So I'm over seventy. The really powerful wizards and healers can do so much on the health front. It's rare, not impossible. If you want extra years, it's definitely something you can aim for. Extend the length of time that you're a total badass who mastered her skills and has plenty of contacts and resources, accomplish whatever you want."