“As soon as the security team inside verifies that everything is safe you and the rest of the team will have full access. You will work under Professor Hyeon’s supervision and guidance, and she will later report to me, I won’t involve myself overmuch on your territory, this is your show, just want to be here for the opening credits.” Tomas said with a smile, he saw Professor Hyeon’s eyes widen again as he said that she would have the run of the place.
“Very well sir, I will inform my staff immediately” Marcus said and then left back through the hallway they came through.
Tomas glanced at Professor Hyeon and noticed her suspicious glare
“So, would you like a job?”
She stared at him for a moment before answering
“I’m guessing that you wanted me to lead this project from the start, and the consulting part was just to get me hooked.”
“I have wanted you as a part of Olympus for a long time.” Tomas said. She thought about his words for a few moments before finally responding
“You know that I can’t refuse this offer, not just because I want to work on this project. But because there isn’t anyone else on the planet that I could trust it with.”
“Just like there isn’t anyone else on the planet I would trust it with, other than you.” Tomas said seriously.
She looked hard into his eyes trying to see whether he was truthful or if he was just flattering her. Realizing that he was truthful her hard stare softened a bit before she responded.
“I love my job, I love teaching, I used to believe that there was nothing that would make me abandon the responsibility I fell toward those kids, and I see now that I was wrong.”
Her dedication to her students was one of the reasons why Tomas wanted her in the first place; he had planned to play on that dedication in his new offer to her prior to the discovery.
“You don’t need to abandon teaching forever, Olympus has plans to open new schools, you could teach there when you are free from the project, and if you accept my offer you will be given a very high position in Olympus, one that will give you access to many things that haven’t yet been released to the public, that I believe will convince you that you’ve made the right decision.”
“What position would I be given?” She asked in a business like tone.
“Are you familiar with Olympus operational structure?”
“You use a five tier based system I believe.”
“Yes, our personnel are divided into tiers, these tiers are universal across all divisions, basically meaning that all personnel of the same tier are the same rank, no matter what area they are employed in. There are separate rankings within a single tier so that in emergencies it would be known who is in charge. Our organizations is divided into five pyramid structures, at the bottom of each are staff members, then there are many department chiefs, above them are division chiefs, next are sector chiefs with each previous level being a part of the next, then come section heads. There are five sections, Research and development, Engineering, Application, Economics and Security. New employees are not given a tier 1 until they have been working with us for at least a four year period, sometimes more, there are of course exceptions to the rule when we hire someone more qualified, though that happens rarely and not without extensive background checks, tests and evaluations, heads of the departments are usually at least tier 2 employees, heads of divisions tier 4, and sectors chiefs tier 6 there are usually five sector chiefs per sector, each sharing in the leadership and responsibilities. Security is currently the only section that has a section head, with Elias being tier 7 and in charge. Other sections are being run by sector chiefs until such a time when a suitable person is appointed as a head, and that is my decision.”
“Tier 7? I thought that there were only five, and how is Elias the same tier when you are his superior?”
“I mentioned that each tier has several levels within itself, I am tier 7 level 10, Elias is tier 7 level 9, which means that he has access to the same things I have. Tiers besides being a way to structure our employees are also a way to discern an employee’s clearance level. There are many staff members with the tier 5 or 6, such as Elias’s and my assistants, tier levels also indicate the level of trust a person is given. No one on this project is of a lower tier than 5. Tier 7 is reserved for those on top and there are currently only two persons with a tier 7 ranking.”
“So what tier would I be given if I accept the job?” She asked.
“Elias is the head of security, he has many sector chiefs, beneath him that take care of day to day stuff, but he is in charge of it all, there are four other sectors that have no heads, I was hoping that you would accept the job of being the head of Research and development. So you would be given the same, tier 7 level 9.”
Hyeon looked at him with mouth agape for a few moments, visibly shocked before she responded
“You would have put me in the leadership position of Olympus? I haven’t even worked for Olympus before?”
“I told you that sometimes people we hire are given a tier from the start, and that extensive background checks are done before any such decision is made, I have been looking for the potential heads for Olympus for decades, I was lucky when I found Elias, and then I found you, though you kept turning my offers down, but I was convinced that I would change your mind eventually, this project came at just the right moment for me to use it for this purpose, I knew that I only had to show you the kind of work we do here to change your mind.” Tomas stopped for a moment, looked the startled Professor in the eye and said softly.
“Seo-yun, I know that you are the right person for the job, I have known for the past twenty years, you are brilliant, and have a mind that needs to push its boundaries, reach for new unimaginable things. You are very much like Elias and me, and that are the kind of people that I want working, no, not working, living for Olympus, because we are a family, and we always seek to better ourselves. Together we can accomplish anything we want, and if you accept you will learn about things you can’t even conceive of yet.” He finished, and waited for her response.
He knew by the look in her eyes that he had her with that speech, because deep down she was the same as him, she had the same need he had, to advance those around them, Tomas accomplished that by using Olympus as his proxy, she guided young minds in hope of widening their horizons.
“You know, you are not at all the person I believed you were.” She said after a moment of thought. “You are driven, more than I am, and I can see why you accomplished all that you did. I’ll accept the offer.”
“Great, welcome aboard Professor.” He said with a grin.
“You may call me Seo-yun, if we are going to work closely together we might as well drop the honorifics.”
“Welcome then Seo-yun.” Tomas offered his hand and she shook it.
“Though, I still believe that you have megalomaniac tendencies, but I would need to observe you for an extended period in order to be sure.” She added with a smirk.
At her words his grin quickly turned to full blown laughter that echoed throughout the chamber, which prompted people around them to look in their direction. When Elias returned with the rest of security team in full light assault armor Tomas was still laughing. Elias approached with his helmet beneath his left arm his N20 assault rifle slung over his right shoulder, he glanced at Tomas and then turned to Seo-yun.