There was a time I thought I was happy. I had worked hard, rose through the ranks and our benevolent ruler saw the effort I put in. I was recruited for a super secret job that, which for some reason, was related to my then current position. I was a Escape park designer, which is a grand scale version of an escape room; And I was chosen for the secret job that changed my life.

—--------------------------

“Isaiah, look at this” The young mage motioned towards the wall. She stepped forward and placed her hands up against it. ‘Reveal the secrets kept’.

The walls began moving and the party gathered around her. They turned in a circular motion as layers and layers unwrapped around it. A path was revealed and ominous green flames lit from above, showing the pathway to their destination.

Isaiah glanced towards the mage. “Mary check for traps and cast protection magic” Isaiah spoke while motioning for the group to move a defensive formation. “Samuel, watch yourself, don’t underestimate the magic boost.” Isaiah whispered.

Mary clasped her hands together. ‘Protect those who walk the path of righteousness. Reveal the secrets kept from suffering and distress. Bless the heels and give them vigor.’ Rin smirked as she finished casting a multilayered spell. She moved to the back of the group while shooting a look towards the other group's half mage.

“It’s all you Samuel.” Isaiah whispered in a comforting tone.

With the air twisting, and sparks flashing purple from the waist down, Samuel vanished just to appear at the end of the pathway. A click went off and magic arrows flew towards him. He ignored them as he pushed in the usb and began downloading the files. A transparent golden hue shone behind him as the arrows bounced off.

“Well, samuel? Isaiah asked anxiously. There was movement outside, and they were surrounded.

“This is it! This is what we’ve been looking for!” He shouted excitedly. The air twisted again, and as sparks of purple appeared, Samuel vanished just to appear beside Isaiah, with usb in hand.

“Drop your weapons and come out!” The demands came from outside. We have you surrounded!

The other mage, Joanna let out a whispered laugh as she moved past Mary. ‘Oh master of the earth and the creator of light, please bless this circle with heels of flight and caper.’ She drew a circle with her index finger, which expanded quickly to surround everyone. The air began bending and twisting. Red, white, and gray sparks flashed.

The soldiers burst in, magical weapons in hand, and they lunged. It was too late. The sparks exploded and the heroes party had vanished, leaving no trace behind.

The party reappeared, about 300 miles away. Isaiah lifted the usb and began shouting joyfully. The party responded in kind. After a year of nothing but dead ends, they finally found something solid. He ran towards the laptop and plugged in the usb as Joanna cast a protection at it.

—--------------------------

“Our heroes have progressed to the next part of the plot.” My assistant shouted excitedly as she let out a loud laugh.

Everyone who surrounded her was clapping excitedly. The story made 4 years ago was finally progressing after a year of searching and hunting.

One of the designers leaned towards me. "So, think Joanna and Mary will hook up before the next arc if we keep this up?"

I flashed a smile

I had not known true joy, true happiness, till I began writing stories like this. The complexity of our writing, the world we design and build, the unlimited funds that allow us to create to our hearts desire. Our ruler is truly benevolent for he has chosen me, his humble servant, to write the next part of the adventure.

Chief Administrator Calhart paced back and forth in her office, which I've seen before. She was uncomfortable with this. She pulled at her hair. This job was always stressful enough. Her predecessor didn't even seek a third term.

"Ma'am, I assure you, it is a responsibility my department takes very seriously. And we are professionals who are very good at our jobs."

"At what point do we commit evil by faking evil." She stopped at her desk and leaned on it, facing me.

"It's a balancing act. Absolutely. But it's always theatrics. No one is ever hurt doing this."

"Isn't it a lie?" Calhart was a good person. I could feel it. Her natural concern, the ache to her sense of integrity.

"At a certain point, we have come to realize there are so many aspects of human nature which must be contained. During previous governments, these were contained by... some other evil of human nature. Force met with force, fire fought with fire."

"But this isn't an evil part of human nature. This is... even noble. The people that look into the dark places... go looking for those in need."

"It is!" I leaned forward, trying to show her my own emotional investment and sympathy. "We've even done some studies on it. We believe the tendency for this trait comes genetically. A natural evolution of our species toward a more unified and conscientious species. Fascinating body of work really, I can send it to you."

"We evolved to seek out evil? How... and more importantly why would we stop that?" She was trying to wrap her mind around the context. Wrinkles began to show at her forehead. It is a job of worries ahead of her.

"Well, compared to the other social habits we had to evolve away, it is definitely one of the better ones. That's why we have to handle it so delicately. We can't snuff it out, but we can't let it take root and disrupt society either."

She was not yet comforted. "It implies so many risks. You fake kidnappings? Secret societies? All to do... what then?"

"There's a prize at the end, usually. A party with cake. They get pretty embarrassed sometimes. I have some fond memories and some great photos.

"But that really is the catch. Just the right amount of clues, the hint of something sinister. Then they sit down with us, and we go over the numbers. That part usually takes a couple weeks, even months. Then they find a new passion. They work as a therapist, a construction manager, an astronaut, a community leader. They get a lot of meaning out of it, in the end. And, in a way, I think its a great exercise to keep our eyes open, that evil does exist somewhere, and we should be thinking about how our plans impact those around us. Humanity has evolved, and we finally learned, but it took a long time and we could lose it all pretty fast."

"That I agree with. Which is why I am concerned about the department... but I will give you an evaluation period."

I smiled warmly. "I can deal with that. You should be concerned. We've all taken classes on the darker parts of our history. The genocide unit in history, the medical classes where we learn what happens to the human body when we get hurt. We were all made to learn and remember. It's how we get to a society with zero percent homelessness, one hundred percent literacy, and a one in a billion homicide rate. It takes brave people."

She smiled now. "Those photos always did send a chill up my spine. I'm glad we agree on that too. I do have one question though- does anybody ever find anything real?"

"Well, once in a blue moon it isn't us, yes. A shady real-estate deal, or God-forbid an actual murder. But Public Security checks in with us and handles it. They also audit us from time to time. We always pass inspection."

She stood all the way up and circled around her desk to her chair. "Can a lie be good?"

"We tell little lies to ourselves all the time. Movies, stories. This is just... real life practice. We let people practice. And practice makes perfect."

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

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