Location: ADAMS Headquarters (First Haven, Watcher’s Island). Central Command - Personal Office of Director Percival Yao<br/>Date: 5 January 2099. Monday<br/>Time: Afternoon<br/>Who: Julie Tanaka<br/><br/><hr/><br/>“To save lives,” Julie said without preamble. “When you grow up like I did, struggling to survive, always under a looming threat with no means to protect yourself... I guess you either have to give in to despair or obsessively fight against it.<br/><br/>“When I was sixteen I had my heart set on college and then post-graduate work. I was going to get my doctorate in Speculative Physics and apply to ADAMS R&D. False modesty aside, I think I would have had the brains and drive to do it. I wanted to discover something that would help protect people from what I went through when the demon spawn attacked. I didn’t actually ask for my initial synch test—you must already know, but the Department of Experimental Technologies gets paid sort of a ‘bounty’ by the NAU to find potential pilots among the children they care for. The more pilots come from North America, the more prestige and clout the local government feels it has.<br/><br/>“I had mixed feelings when I was drafted—I wouldn’t say I have a naturally aggressive temperament. And certainly no desire for fame, or glory, or anything frivolous like that. Deep down, there’s a part of me that would like revenge against the demons for taking my only family from me. But that’s not something I would ever act out of—the obsession with causing pain to those who wrong us, it’s caused so much bloodshed throughout human history. It can cloud a soldier’s judgment, cause her to make terrible mistakes. And I just don’t think it’s right or healthy to take pleasure in inflicting death, regardless of context.<br/><br/>“But what I’ve come to understand in the last two years is that although I never wished for it, I have an extremely unusual aptitude—one vital to humanity’s survival. Talented scientists are rare, but promising pilots are rarer still. I’ve been committed a long time now to the idea of doing my absolute best to succeed here. I could live with being turned away if I were somehow unsuitable to the Program’s needs—but what I couldn’t live with is failing because I held back or gave up for even an instant. It’s unfair that I’ve had such a responsibility placed on me, but if life were fair our world would look absolutely nothing like it does.”<br/><br/>Julie finally fell silent, satisfied that she had been entirely direct and thorough. The director had every right to know exactly who she was and why she was here—what decision he made with that information was his own business.