Minutes of the Hiring Committee; Meeting Room A. Attendees: Eric Slingby, Personnel; Samuel Terry, Personnel; Alan Humphries and Diederik Ten Hagen, Operations.

*click* Eric: Is this thing working? The light's on… *click. Squeee wibble wibble is this thing working? click*

*click* "Okay. The purpose of this meeting is to plot our responses when the Angels break the Thorns curse. We want to start recruiting from the Hostel at once, getting our hires lined up as soon as the doctors pronounce them fit. This will not happen all at once. The sickest will probably need care for a while. Sam Terry's my Number Two. Dutch, you are here because you are most familiar with the patients. Alan, you're our boss and too damn clever to leave out. Liz, please have one of yer interns type this up and give us all copies."

Dutch: "There are quite a few possible hires in the hospice right now. You can write off the Maritime Reapers. They are longing to return to the sea. They'll all be off to Margate for reassignment the minute they're released. But drylanders who were expelled from their branches for being cursed are definitely going to be looking for new jobs. London's famous as a good place to work."

Alan: "We have to determine if applicants bring unacceptable philosophies with them. I won't have anyone who's unable to adjust to the diversity of London. If they don't want to work with anybody who didn't come from the same ignorant and insular Branch that they did, then by the Highest they go back home."

Eric: "No bullies, no bigots, no swashbucklers, no slackers. Damn, we're spoiled, aren't we? After years of skimming the cream from the British Academy and training them up from their internships? Well. We'll take the ones who look like decent matches and transfer anybody who can't behave. Plenty of other Branches will be eager to hire them. Sam, are you done in Bristol? I want you to take charge of this."

Sam: "I've suggested some people to replace me there. Senior Garraway is interviewing now and will probably hire three of them to cover all shifts. I've been going with Dutch on his candy runs, taking requests for different flavors, talking with everyone who's well enough to talk with me."

Dutch: "Really, there are very few truly nasty Reapers at the hospice. Most are just folks who were doing their jobs. There's a lot of anger, but it's not focused on London. We're the ones who took them in when nobody else would."

Sam: "Yes, and the understaffed Branches who banished them might sit on their records to force them to return. Our Admins can talk to their Admins. We can request their student records. As for their work records, we may have to appeal to Auditing or Judicial to get the originals."

Eric: "Copies are good enough. As soon as we add our data to them, the originals go out-of-date and are worthless. We'll get the copies. I'll see to it, or Liz will."

Alan: "Sam, could you make up a 'Work for London' packet, listing our salary schedules, housing options, medical care, shift requirements and rules of behavior? With an interview request form? Name, rank, number, Branch and Academy? I'll get Supplies to print them for you. You can hand those out the day the cure is announced."

Eric: "We'll look pretty damn good compared to the other headhunters who arrive the next week with jolly promises but no materials. Sam, offer info on the support services too. They'll be happy to have trained fighters in case of invasion. Then we interview those who still want to be Reapers."

Sam: "A lot of the ambulatory are still working support jobs. Should we ask the other Divisions if they want to make up their own packets, and hand them out at the same time? That way we don't have to filter out the Reapers from those who want to continue in Supplies or Admin."

Dutch: "Can't do it. That spreads the rumor that there's a cure already. Also ruins our chances of being first through the door. Mister Humphries—Alan, can you keep the print shop quiet, or should we wait for the Silence to be lifted?"

Alan: "Good point. We wait."

Sam: "But the minute we have permission, I'll talk to the other London personnel departments and they'll only be a day or two behind us. Then we can tell the patients that the Personnel representatives for the support services will soon arrive. We'll collect the Reaping applications and go over them to weed out the odds and sods. I'll want you to tell me about any unpleasantness you've had at the hospice."

Alan: "There wasn't any that I saw. Patients never objected to me filling candy bowls. I was considered a friend of Werther's. For the rest, I was just another paint-splattered volunteer until Supplies and Maintenance arrived. One or two of them recognized me. It was their superiors who complained that I was meddling."

Dutch: "Besides the inflexible or unpleasant individuals, a lot of them may prefer smaller Branches if it's what they're used to. London may be overwhelming. Maybe the application should ask for preferences? And ask if they've trained Juniors in the past. They can help teaching our Juniors while we're getting them ready to return to war."

Sam: "The best of the lot get a guided tour through the Branch. We drop anyone who turns purple at the idea of an office not restricted to a single gender or race. Then we do final individual interviews, and hire based on that. Jobs provisional for six months, because that's when the glamor wears off. We want them able to change their minds and leave without too much paperwork. Also, we need to be able to terminate people who only start being poisonous after they're settled in and feel secure in the job. Remember Anders." Anders had been Terry's first Senior. Terry would never forget training under a mentor who was sinking into madness.

Dutch: "Introduce them to Alan, too. There are some odd rumors in the Realm about him. Don't want anybody to try preaching them here."

Alan: "May I suggest you take some help with you on your recruiting run? Jacobs and Knox? Each has his own magic. Avram looks comfortable and understanding. Ronnie looks like fun, which is something these Reapers have forgotten about. Gupta and Onayemi might encourage their countrymen to apply. Note anybody who reacts poorly to them. Sorry, don't mean to interfere, I know you'll do a fine job."

Eric: "We're going to have to set up combat and conditioning training for recruits severely out of practice."

Alan: "We can do that at the Academy. I'll sell it to the Bursar as auditable classes for students and instructors interested in foreign techniques, and as research into adding those techniques to our own classes. You might consider housing our convalescents there as well. There will be a gap between release from the Hospice or Hostel and their first paychecks. We don't want them starting out in debt to Housing. If you like, I'll ask for unused beds in the new dormitories. Medical care would be easily available for the inevitable training injuries. I'll mention that these Reapers will be a pool of free advisors with battlefield experience. That should be worth their food and rent."

Eric: "Aye. Then we'll run them through the same classes we give our Academy hires, to give them time to get comfortable with our rules and procedures. Also, they'll need a review of Operations. We should schedule a few entire-branch emergency drills, we're overdue anyway. They have to learn what to expect if we're invaded and Admin forts up. Don't want any of ours getting squashed when those big filing cabinets pivot and lock to form a shieldwall. I'll ask Liz to talk to Dorrie and Fred. They'll arrange everything."

Dutch: "All we need is the cure."

Sam: "I'll start on the hiring packet today. Alan, can we bribe or bully the Print Shop to be on standby for a medium-size job for us, to take priority over other runs upon delivery?"

Alan: "Suppose we go visit them now. You'll like Senior Vollmer."

Eric: "I'll ask Liz to have one of her interns type this up. Dutch, can ye make up a list of yer top picks so I can start folders on them?"

*click*

"I suggest you go to Will and tell him your plans now. I'll go to Brock and ask him to set up the processes to add multiple names to the payroll." Alan closed his desk drawer and locked it. Eric waited at the door.

"D'ye think Spears might object to filling our roster to the limit? He's always concerned about exceeding his budget."

"All these empty slots are within the budget. He knows that, he knows I know that. Let him call me in to make a token protest if he feels the need. Brock and I will spike his guns. But cost is not his worry here – the real drawback will be the screams of outrage from all the Branches who didn't think ahead to a possible cure, who didn't realize that convalescents could become an untapped pool of unemployed Senior Reapers. Some will want their expelled Reapers back, whether those Reapers want to return or not. He'll need to warn Madame Administrator that there will be protests, so they can agree on their responses."

"On a sliding scale between 'finders keepers' and 'sod off,' Spears will probably hover at 'you had your chance and blew it.' He'll enjoy that."

"Oh, won't he just. But they'll all know who to blame. We've put off the day when Madame will have to separate us or allow me to assume battlefield duties."

"Alan—"

"We'll recommend our rejects to the Branches where they will fit right in. That should settle everyone down. I mean, of course, that you and Sam will. Sam's stepping right up, isn't he? So's Dutch. And I begin to see in Ronald the beginnings of a Director. Madame approves of them."

"How do you know that?"

"Still here, aren't they?"