The next day, Jasper wakes up and immediately checks out of the infirmary. He wastes no time and goes straight to Sebastian's office to discuss his new role as a collector.
As he approaches Sebastian's office, he looks through the glass wall that separates the office from the hallway. He sees Sebastian pacing back and forth on the phone, seemingly stressed out over the conversation he's having. After a few moments, Sebastian notices Jasper outside and smiles before mouthing the words "one sec" and holding his hand up to signal Jasper to wait. Sebastian's smile quickly fades as he continues his phone call.
After a few minutes, Sebastian wraps up his call and puts on another smile as he approaches the door to let Jasper inside his office.
"Mornin', how you doing?" Sebastian greets Jasper as he opens the office door.
"Good morning. I'm alright, I guess," Jasper replies.
Sebastian continues to smile, "Great. Are you ready to get started as a collector?" he asks.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Jasper answers.
Sebastian motions down the hall, "Then let's go get you some new gear."
Sebastian leads Jasper through the waypoint. It doesn't take long for them to reach the workshop, and as they approach, a security camera scans Sebastian before the large metal door slides open, revealing a massive room full of hundreds of high-tech weapons and tools.
Sebastian steps inside, "Since collectors don't typically work in teams, they are allowed to carry multiple weapons or tools to increase their versatility," he explains.
Jasper looks around at the various gadgets in awe, "I can pick anything I want?" he asks.
"Sure, and you can always come back for more, just make sure you check in with me first," Sebastian replies.
Jasper closely examines the gadgets as he walks through the workshop. A few items catch his eye, but nothing really speaks to him. Eventually, he reaches the back of the workshop and notices a pile of scrap metal and other spare parts in the corner of the room.
"What's all that?" Jasper asks Sebastian.
Sebastian walks over to the pile, "Just a bunch of forgotten projects, I doubt anything in there works," he answers.
Jasper looks curiously at the pile of scrap and crouches down next to it. He starts to pick through the pile, but as Sebastian said, most of the objects are merely dusty pieces of metal with no real form. After a minute or two, Jasper reaches the bottom of the pile and notices a large gadget that is much more refined than the other projects. He reaches down and pulls the gadget out from the pile before examining it.
The main body of the gadget consists of an elongated hexagonal piece of metal somewhat resembling a snowboard. It has a pair of straps on one side and a set of hover engines on the other. One end of the board has a small jet engine attached to it with a series of loose wires haphazardly connecting everything together.
"Is this a hoverboard?!" Jasper asks excitedly.
Sebastian laughs, "You could call it that, but it's unfinished. Originally, Cronus planned on including these in the standard agent loadouts, but they quickly realized that hover boots were not only cheaper to mass produce, but they also allowed agents to fly without having to carry something around, so the project was abandoned. This was one of the prototypes, but I doubt it still works, if it ever did to begin with."
Jasper's eyes light up as he stares at the board, "I'll take this," he says.
Sebastian looks curiously at Jasper, "Are you sure? You should at least look for something else in case it doesn't work."
"It's fine, I want this," Jasper states as he continues to examine the hoverboard.
"Alright, well, let's head back to my office and finish getting you situated," Sebastian says before heading back toward the door.
Jasper hoists the hoverboard under his arm before catching up with Sebastian. The two walk through the waypoint back to Sebastian's office. As they walk, Jasper struggles to keep the clunky hoverboard in a comfortable position under his arm.
Sebastian laughs as he notices Jasper struggling, "What made you want to take that of all things?" he questions.
"It seemed like it would be fun to ride," Jasper answers bluntly.
Sebastian glances back at Jasper with a hopeful smile, "Fair enough."
The two of them make it back to Sebastian's office and head inside. Sebastian sits down at his desk and motions for Jasper to take a seat as well. Jasper leans his hoverboard against the desk before taking a seat across from Sebastian.
Sebastian starts searching his computer for something as he explains the role of a collector, "So, as I mentioned before, a collector's main objective is to explore Latent Space and find potentially valuable objects or entities. You will be paid a percentage based on the value of whatever you bring back after each expedition. If you happen to find something that you are unable to bring back by yourself, you can mark its location and submit an extraction request, and if it gets approved, you will be given backup and access to whatever equipment you might need to extract the object. Unlike standard agents, you are not required to work at any particular time. Instead, you will have a weekly quota that you must reach or else you risk losing your position as a collector. If you're lucky, sometimes you might be able to reach your quota after just one or two expeditions, which means you technically get the rest of the week off, although I wouldn't recommend taking time off with the amount of debt you're in."
Jasper gives Sebastian a fake smile, "Thanks for the reminder," he says sarcastically.
Sebastian laughs as he pulls out a microchip from his computer and places it on the desk, "Here is your new ID chip," he says before reaching down and pulling out another microchip, "And here are the old schematics for that hoverboard."
Jasper looks down at the chips, and his face lights up as he looks back up at Sebastian, "Thank you!" he says excitedly.
"No problem, I hope it helps," Sebastian replies.
The two of them are interrupted by a knock on the glass door. They both look toward the door and see Ainsley standing outside.
Ainsley notices that she got their attention and peeks her head inside, "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you when you get the chance Sebastian," she apologizes.
"Don't worry about it, we were just about finished. Any questions, Jasper?" Sebastian asks.
Jasper quickly averts his gaze in embarrassment as he remembers how rude he was to Ainsley, "No, I'm good, thanks for the help," he mutters as he snatches his hoverboard and microchips from the desk.
Jasper keeps his head down as he tries to sneak past Ainsley, who is standing in the doorway.
"Good to see you again Jasper, welcome to the collectors," she giggles as Jasper slides past her.
"Thanks," he mutters nervously as he closes the door behind him.
Jasper makes his way back to his room and sets his hoverboard on his desk. He sits down and pushes on one of the ports behind his ear, causing the microchip slotted inside to eject halfway. He pulls it out and sets it down on the table before grabbing the ID chip that Sebastian gave him and inserting it inside the empty port. His eyes glow as a series of digital text and documents stream directly through his mind. After a few moments, the information is successfully uploaded, and his eyes stop glowing.
Jasper takes a moment to process the information before picking up the hoverboard schematic chip and inserting it into another empty slot behind his ear. His eyes glow again as the schematics upload into his mind. Once they are fully uploaded, he closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again, and the schematics display directly through his eyes. He examines them for a moment and inspects the hoverboard before realizing that he doesn't have any tools to work with. He closes his eyes again, causing the schematics display to disappear, and groans as he stands up and leaves his room.
Jasper makes his way back toward Sebastian's office to ask where he can get the tools he needs. As he approaches the office, he faintly hears Sebastian and Ainsley talking inside. He stops outside just before the office windows and tries to listen in. Unfortunately, he is unable to make out what they are saying, but it sounds like some sort of argument.
After trying to listen to the argument for a minute, he decides to let it go and walks toward the door before knocking on the glass. Sebastian quickly stops arguing with Ainsley and replaces his stressed look with his classic smile and motions for Jasper to come inside.
Jasper cracks the door open and peeks his head inside as Ainsley turns around and smiles at him as well. "Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering if I could get some tools to work on the hoverboard," Jasper says.
"Perfect, Ainsley was just about to leave, she can take you to the workshop to get some," Sebastian replies.
Ainsley darts her head toward Sebastian and glares at him for a moment before turning back toward Jasper and smiling again, "That's a great idea," she says.
"Oh, um, I can go by myself. I wouldn't want to bother you guys anymore." Jasper says nervously.
Ainsley giggles, "It's fine, I'm heading down there anyway."
Ainsley looks back at Sebastian and glares at him one last time before heading toward the door, "Let's go," she says to Jasper.
"Thanks again, see ya later Sebastian," Jasper says.
Ainsley and Jasper walk through the waypoint in awkward silence for a minute until Jasper eventually breaks the silence.
"Sorry about the other day," Jasper apologizes.
Ainsley smiles at him, "Don't worry about it, we've all had our share of bad days," she reassures him.
Jasper doesn't say anything as he follows behind her.
"Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to downplay what happened. I know you've been through..." Ainsley says nervously before being interrupted by Jasper as he laughs.
"It's alright, I didn't take it that way, I just didn't know what else to say," Jasper says.
Ainsley sighs with relief, "Phew, I thought I pissed you off again," she giggles.
The two laugh together for a moment before finally reaching the workshop.
"Well, here we are. There should be all the tools you might need in there, just make sure to bring them back when you're done. I finished my quota earlier, so I'm heading home for the day. See ya," Ainsley says before turning to walk away.
"Later. Thanks for the help," Jasper says.
Ainsley waves behind her, "Don't mention it," she says as she walks away.
Jasper stares at the thick metal door and waits for it to open. A laser shoots out of the camera and scans him from head to toe. His eyes begin to glow as a line of text appears in his vision.
"Clearance level 'Collector'. Access granted," the text reads.
Jasper's eyes stop glowing as the text fades away and the door to the workshop slides open. He steps inside and walks over to a large bench with an array of tools mounted on the wall above it. He takes some time to pick out the right tools before walking back toward the door and leaving the workshop.
Jasper eventually makes it back to his room and sets the tools down next to the hoverboard. He sits down at his desk and reopens the hoverboard schematics. His eyes glow as he opens them and examines the display.
He spends the rest of the day tinkering with the hoverboard, but every time he tries to power it on, it only sputters to life for a moment before quickly shutting down again. Determined to fix it, he works tirelessly into the night before eventually passing out at his desk.