Deacon Wood had answered the ad on a whim. The Tokyo branch of the British Library was looking for a research librarian. That should have been mindlessly simple for a former researcher for the NSA. But, he couldn't tell them he was formerly in the NSA. He had to make up a story about being a researcher for the FOIA office in Boston. Sometimes, living a life of secrets just makes mundane tasks like getting a job difficult.
Deacon hadn't expected to hear back from the Library so soon. They hired him without even an interview. He thought it was odd, but still accepted the job. His reading habit was getting expensive and the NSA only paid so much in pension.
Two days later, he stood in the office of a man with a rather strange name. Mr. Joker sat at his desk leafing through some papers. His assistant Wendy brought two cups of tea into the office. She stumbled on her way out of the office in a way that made her seem cuter than she already was.
"It's good to have you join us, Mr. Wood. I suppose you want to know what you will be doing for us."
"Yes, sir."
"Well, if you will approach my desk, I will take you to your office."
This seemed quite odd to Deacon, but he did it anyway. He didn't wish to anger his new employer on his first day. As soon as Deacon stepped close to the desk, it began to sink below the floor.
"Where are we going?"
"Worry not, Mr. Wood. All will be explained when we arrive."
As the desk descended, Deacon saw the wonders that were all around him. Books in shelves stretched from floor to a cathedral-height ceiling. What seemed like hundreds or thousands of librarians busied themselves in the stacks. Deacon began to worry. "If these are the stacks I am to work on," he thought, "it will take me forever and a day to learn them."
"You have been selected, Mr. Wood, to join the Great British Library's Special Operations Agency based on your past work."
"Special Operations Agency?"
"Yes. We ensure that the most powerful of books do not fall into the hands of those who would use them for evil."
"I feel as though I am missing something. How can a book be used for evil?"
"I believe your question will be answered in the next couple of days, as we have received reports of an attack in Washington last night by a mysterious man, believed to be Gennai Hiraga. You see, the problem is that Gennai Hiraga died in 1779."
"Then, how is that possible?"
"Someone is cloning I-jin, the greatest thinkers in the world, and using them to steal books for him or her. That is why we hired you so quickly."
Deacon felt the blood leaving his head. This was nearly too much for him to handle. He was just a mortal man. How could he be expected to process all this information?
"In addition, just this morning, an agent of ours in Tokyo was attacked outside of a bookstore by a man who claimed to be Jean Henri Fabre. He attempted to steal a book that she had just bought, but was unsuccessful."
As Mr. Joker was talking, the desk reached the floor of the giant room. He smiled and pointed to a door at the far end of the room.
"Your office is down the hall. It is the third door on the left. I will contact you when our agent comes in with the book. We need to expose the root of this problem."
"I will do my best Mr. Joker." Deacon bowed and headed toward his office.
"It is good to have you on board, Agent Wood. We will need all the help we can get this time."
Mr. Joker set the desk to rise back to his office. He had a meeting with Agent Paper that he wouldn't do well to miss.