Jack stared at Brandt and, out of the corner of his eye, tried to peek at where Turrel was. He had written off having Monty come save him from this conversation. Turrel had his back to them at the moment and was reclined in a similar couch opposite the bookcase. He didn’t look like he would be moving anytime soon.

  Sucking in his bottom lip slightly while he thought about what to say, Jack tapped his finger on his knee. On one hand, he could probably come up with a few questions, maybe even some he wouldn't have asked Monty or Turrel.

  The question was whether it was worth it. Brandt likely knew exactly what he was going to ask already. Was Jack ready to answer any question? Monty had warned him not to lie, so chances were Brandt would know if he did. Was there anything he wanted to know that badly? He was a curious person after all; what harm could come from a few little questions?

  “Now, these don’t count as questions, just clarifying a few things. Is that okay?” Jack asked.

  “Of course. I appreciate the thoroughness,” Brandt replied.

  “So, I have a lack of knowledge here and want to make sure if I ask a question it's going to be the spirit of the question and not the wording? Like if I ask something and you mention a word I don’t understand and then I ask ‘what does that mean?’. It isn’t two questions.” Jack said, still tapping his fingers as he thought on what he might ask.

  “Hmmm, within reason, but that is fair. I will say that if you didn’t say this, then that would have been two questions. Think of it as a reward for paying attention; a quick mind is a valuable trait,” Brandt replied. His attention was fixed on Jack, and he felt as if every word he spoke was being evaluated and weighed.

  “Last one. I have made promises to other people not to share certain things. What if your question covers a topic I can’t talk about? I don’t want to cause any issues by committing and then being unable to answer,” Jack said. He was trying to find a way to leave himself an out, while technically not lying in case Brandt could tell.

  Brandt’s smile widened and he stared for a moment before answering. Jack tried his best not to flinch while waiting.

  “In that case, simply tell me. I will know if it is the truth, and I will ask another question. Bonds are important; breaking them is costly both metaphorically and in reality when the Origin is involved. I advise you not to lie to me, however,” Brandt said.

  “Now, do we have a deal? If this hasn't been explained to you, we can make a deal like this… binding in a way. Take a second to think, but my offer won't wait for long.” Brandt tapped his finger in a gesture that meant nothing to Jack; from context, he assumed it was like the watch motion people made for time, just moved past it.

  He remembered Rummi's discussion, and he had been feeling a slight rumbling as he had been confirming the details with Brandt. It was just a tickle at the back of his mind, but he knew if he agreed, the Origin would be involved somehow.

  Fine, what was the worst that could happen? Another powerful person he knew relatively nothing about would maybe find out about his ability? This was potentially a chance to make another powerful ally as much as it was a risk.

  He knew it was risky, but there was a small part of him that was interested in having questions answered. There was also the fact that as much as he did trust Monty and Turrel now, this would be the first time that he might be able to decide if he trusted someone with his ability on his own terms.

  At its heart, his ability was risky for its financial impact as much if not more so than the potential for individual power. Turrel mentioned materials and deposits when talking about worlds and their wealth, so metal obviously had a value. If Brandt’s frequency let him create metal, it had to also have a similar danger, right?

  People might snatch up metal frequency users and have them making gold or some other rare space metal all day. It could be similar to the way Turrel was talking about him earlier on, but that obviously wasn't the case with the Overseer; he was here after all. And very powerful. Jack wanted to know how and why. Maybe his hunch was wrong, but he thought it was worth taking a chance on asking.

  He made his decision. As risky as it could be, he couldn't pass up a chance like this.

  “Okay, I accept.”

  As he voiced his acceptance, a strange buzz in the back of his mind sounded, and he thought he heard a deep, resonating chuckle. As it faded, he was left with the feeling of an obligation falling over him, and he shivered slightly.

  Jack heard a chuckle from next to him echoing the one he heard in his mind. Looking at the source, he saw Brandt with a huge grin on his face. Jack had taken the bait, and he had a moment of regret as the steel jaws of the trap closed in on him.

  “Ha… that’s a strange feeling. So, can I have a second to think about my questions?” Jack asked as his mind raced.

  “Of course, we have an agreement. It’s binding now, so take your time,” Brandt replied as he lounged on the couch.

  Jack nodded. He knew he wanted to ask about Brandt's metal frequency, but he couldn't just ask straight away. He had played the games and watched the shows; he had to try to get him off balance with the first question. That way, he would be more inclined to give a more thorough answer for the second.

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  It had to still be a question that made sense or mattered; in the long run, it was still a chance for him to get information he wouldn't have had otherwise. It came to him quickly. Feeling inspired by the feelings he was currently suppressing, he asked his first question.

  “What or who are you most afraid of?” Jack said with a confidence he did not feel.

  Brandt's eyes widened for a split second, and if Jack hadn't been focusing so hard to maintain eye contact, he might have missed it. Win on the surprise front, he thought to himself, only to immediately have the same reaction as Brandt burst into laughter.

  “Jack, I do have to say that is not the first thing I thought you would ask. Hmm, I could very easily answer this… In the spirit of fairness and because I am a very generous man. I will suggest you ask me another question in place of this one. Ask Montarg the same question later; everyone that achieves a certain level of power fears the same thing,” Brandt replied.

  Jack looked over at Monty, who had glanced up momentarily when he heard the laugh. He was back to reading again.

  Jack was not sure who was more thrown off by that, but if the question wasn't wasted, then he would count it a win. As with most things, however, he had not thought that far ahead. Better to just wing it anyway.

  “Okay... umm, thank you. Could you tell me more about your metal frequency?” Jack asked, hoping the question was vague enough he could probe a little.

  “Jack, I said I would answer anything. I will need a little bit more than that though. Give me something a little more specific,” Brandt said.

  “Okay... Umm... Your ring. You did something and fixed it before, right? Did you create metal? How does that work? If you can make precious metal, isn't that like, bad for the economy?” Jack rambled, hoping his real question being stuck between others might mask his intention a little.

  Brandt leaned his head back and stared at Jack without moving his head. With a slightly amused huff, he spoke, and as he did, Jack felt a tickle in his mind. He knew this answer counted for his three.

  “That is a lot of questions. Good thing we clarified beforehand, yes? Hmm. Jack, I have done this a few times in the past; I find it interesting. You see, there is a lot you can learn from a person by what questions they ask when given the chance.”

  He turned his head towards Jack finally.

  “I guess part of this is your ignorance. You've been given access to over two thousand years of personal knowledge, bound to be truthfully answered by someone deemed fit to be an Overseer. And you ask about common knowledge topics?” Overseer Brandt struck the Thinker pose and paused for a moment.

  “Fine, here I will give you some basics and then something personal; that should make this feel more even.

  “The metal frequency is one of the regulated ones, yes. Being a sub-frequency, it is rarer than things like Death or Space but much safer than some of the more… dangerous bands. It is regulated for reasons similar to what you mentioned; even on a planetary level, it has potential to unbalance things and put people at risk. Regulation just means that users are under much stricter observation by the Centre and are required to undergo a ‘specialised’ training session in the Centre.

  “They end up employed in some capacity and live a comfortable life mostly, as far as I know. I was a little different being the son of an Emperor; I was not forced to attend that when I was younger. By the time I should have attended, I was Emperor, so that was not going to happen.”

  Brandt sat up and tapped his knee as Jack saw Turrel approaching with a concerned look on his face.

  “No, that doesn't seem like enough to be fair. Metal is… No. Okay. To recreate a new metal with my frequency, I must first understand it intimately. The fastest way I have found… is to consume a part of it. Ahh, Master Turrel, please join us. Jack and I have made an agreement to learn a little more about each other; I hope you don’t mind.”

  Turrel grimaced but paused as he was about to sit down on the couch opposite them.

  “Please don’t let me interrupt. I can leave if you are discussing anything personal.”

  “No, no, it is fine, sit. Jack has two more questions to ask. No time like the present, Jack.”

  Turrel sat back silently but his eyes were alert and focused.

  Jack was still processing the answer. He guessed he had gotten some useful information from the question. It left him with more questions than it answered, however. Trying to work out what questions were worth asking next was going to be the hard part.

  At least it seemed there was some precedence for people with a similar risk or issue to their existence. A quiet corporate employment wasn't exactly his dream job for his new life, not if there were alternatives. Still, it would be better than being treated like a mana cow.

  Asking a follow-up would probably not give him any information that he couldn't get from pestering Turrel, now that he had a line of questioning to go on. No, he should probably focus on the not-so-subtle hint Brandt had given him. The catch here was that the answers given had to be truthful; he needed to think about that.

  He could ask about techniques, how to get more powerful. He could ask Brandt to tell him how all of his skills work or what his deepest darkest secret was. Then, if he answered, the Origin would ensure that what he said was the truth.

  While the Overseer had to answer truthfully, there was nothing to protect Jack after the questions had been asked. He needed to make sure he was careful with what he asked. While knowledge was interesting and obviously powerful as he had seen, he was the sort of person who had to learn and fail for himself before things clicked. It would almost be a waste to go down that path; plus, he had Monty and Turrel to leech off in that regard.

  He probably shouldn't have accepted this deal at all, but what was done was done. One foot in front of the other; he needed to focus on the here and now. His biggest concerns were obviously having his ability be found out; the second was Brandt himself. The others were worried, that much was clear from the moment they knew he was coming.

  Jack didn’t know enough about him to make a decision. He seemed smart and determined but also had that media-trained fakeness about him. It was hard to trust what he was seeing with what he was to expect. He knew the man would ask him a question about himself soon. Maybe he could get around answering somehow, or maybe it wouldn't be what he thought, but who knew?

  Jack made his decision.

  “Thanks for answering. I really think I don’t know enough to make use of these questions properly. Sorry if they are a bit strange...” Jack said as he was trying to work the wording of his question out.

  “What is your motivation in helping us assist the Zerraians? Would it have been the same if I was not involved?” Jack asked.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a thin-lipped nod of acknowledgement from Turrel. Brandt, on the other hand, smiled and clapped his hands.

  Jack sat back in shock.