Chapter 79: The Interview

Two senior officials, Godfrey and Claude, are conducting an interview with the aim of recruiting spies for the UK’s security services. A knock at the door preceded their encounter with an applicant named Snowden. It went as follows:

Godfrey: Come in. (The door opens and closes but nobody appears.)

Godfrey: That’s odd. Come in!

Snowden: I am in.

Claude: What nonsense is this? We are expecting Mr Snowden, not a ghost. Kindly explain yourself.

Snowden: It’s simple enough. I’m not a ghost. You can’t see me because I’m invisible.

Godfrey: Hah, a likely story. Since we can hear you close by, I take it that you are a ventriloquist, playing a joke on us. If so, it isn’t very funny.

Snowden: I’m not a ventriloquist and this isn’t a joke. Just put out your hand and I’ll shake it. (The handshake takes place.)

Godfrey: This is amazing. You certainly seem to be present, so I suppose we shall have to believe you.

Snowden: Good. We’re making progress. May I take a seat?

Claude: Please do. (A chair facing the interviewers creaks.)

Snowden: Thank you. Now, what do you want me to tell you?

Godfrey: We know where you come from. Perhaps you would fill us in a little with regard to your background. Where were you educated?

Snowden: At my local comprehensive school.

Godfrey: I see. How about tertiary?

Snowden: What do you mean?

Claude: Your higher education. University.

Snowden: I didn’t go to one. I left school at sixteen and started work with a chemical firm near my home. I was employed there for eight years and left a few days ago.

Claude: No university! That’s very unusual for anyone seeking work with us. I believe you’re the first non-graduate we’ve had here for some time. Why did you leave your company?

Snowden: Well, it struck me that this invisibility thing should be useful to anyone in your line of business, so I just walked out of my laboratory and applied to you. Nobody at the firm knows about my transformation and I thought it might be a good idea to leave it that way.

Godfrey: When and how did you become invisible?

Snowden: Shortly before I left the firm, after messing about with some compounds when carrying out an experiment, I drank something from a glass by the side of my workbench.

Godfrey: Wasn’t that rather careless?

Snowden: It was an accident. I reached out for some fruit juice and picked up the wrong liquid.

Claude: Very odd. Is your condition reversible?

Snowden: I don’t know. I was working with a few different substances in various proportions. There’s no way I could repeat what I was doing, but even if I could, I don’t think I’d want to.