①
“Now that business is all taken care of, we can start with the pleasantries. Pleased to meet you. Especially now that I better understand your thought process.”
{This is a welcome change of pace for us as well}
“Well, now that I better understand your capabilities, I can begin to better communicate with you.”
{Yes}
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the head of an organization of like-minded things like you. We all have one object in mind - taking care of this rogue element that’s been screwing things up tremendously. I’m sure you’re aware of the influence its interference has caused?” And he held up a poster.
The SeerSighters cautiously looked at the image in question. Even staring at the picture for too long could have negative consequences on their psyche.
{Yes, we’re aware}, they replied, looking out from their peripheral vision.
“Then you realize the severity of this task. You have a greater range of vision than anyone we currently know. You can foresee events before they’ve already happened. And when events don’t go as planned, you struggle to fill in the blanks. I’m like that too. I don’t like it when things don’t go according to plan.”
All at once, having received confirmation, the Man with the Mustache’s demeanor changed.
“That’s why as the newest members of our ever-growing group, I request that you cast your far-seeing sights of future events and ensure whether we’re on the right path to success.”
②
Refreshments in the form of the essence of shapes in delicious geometry was laid on the table for all who might want to partake. Heavy culinary research had been conducted to ensure that these asymmetrical shapes would be to the guests’ liking.
“My problem is that I oftentimes think so long-term I forget about the short-term implications. You can see events as they’ve already happened, as long as you’ve got a general blueprint for their design. But the rest of us are not as fortunate. I’m going to show you some confidential information that I trust you will keep secret.”
The Man with the Mustache then presented several documents outlining his ideas carefully obscured out of view (so as not to ruin the surprise), to the SeerSighters, being careful to break them down into bite-sized increments at carefully timed intervals.
When the entirety of the plan had been unfolded, the SeerSighters asked,
{Are you absolutely sure you want to skip ahead to the finale?}
“It’s important to know what I’m dealing with, even if I don’t know why. The reasons will be filled in at some later point.”
{We could still be feeding you the wrong information}
“You want the same results as me, don’t you? What would you get out of that?”
{I don’t know}
{Maybe we’re keeping that from ourselves as well}
“So it’s an issue of trust. Very well. In that case, allow me to reveal something about myself.”
When he was finished, the SeerSighters simply replied:
{You will succeed in your mission}
The Man with the Mustache leaned back in his seat and exhaled a sigh of relief. “That was all I needed to know.”
③
{...Just not in the way you think} they concluded.
This shift in subject matter was so sudden it took the Man with the Mustache a while to realize what they were referring to.
“That’s fine with me.”
{Aren’t you worried that you may die in the effort?}
“You should know by now that I don’t care about my personal safety. The result is all that matters.”
{We should warn you}
{Our foresight is not flawless}
{You may see things the way you think you want to see}
“Okay, so let me go over this again. Is the target incapacitated in the end?”
{Yes}
“And are other civilizations safe from its influence?”
{Yes}
“And is damage kept to an absolute minimum?”
{The consequences are negligible in comparison}
“Can you be any more specific in your proclamations?”
{No}
{We know that events will turn out that way}
{We just don’t know how until they happen}
“The fun is in the journey, not the destination, huh? Are there any potential obstacles that prevent us from getting to that point?”
{You already know}
{That’s why you sent those people to us}
{You were hoping they’d be dealt with in our presence}
“Really”, the Man with the Mustache replied with mild interest. “That’s very helpful to know.”
It was at that moment that the SeerSighters realized they’d inadvertently revealed information ahead of time that they weren’t meant to.
⓪
The Man with the Mustache drew connective lines of photos of the five people involved in the operation. Five people who only had the faintest tenuous connections between them who could potentially disrupt his long-term plans, a smattering buried beneath a tapestry of threads attached to hundreds of similarly unconnected individuals and observed the results on the board.
“Now, how do I make use of this?”
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