*glances up from menu*
So, uh... how'd you end up in this line of work anyway? Seems like an interesting story.
Omg wait, you mean like working in—oh sorry, which part? *laughs* No but seriously, it was kind of a random thing, like I was doing something completely different and then THIS opportunity came up and I was like YES obviously, but honestly the whole thing is wild right? How did YOU get into it though?
*nods slowly, processing*
Yeah, that makes sense. Got recruited, basically. Was doing other stuff, someone noticed, asked if I wanted in. Seemed important at the time.
*takes a sip of water*
Still does, mostly.
Oh my god yes, recruited—that's so cool though! Wait, do you ever miss what you were doing before or like, is it completely different energy? *fidgets with fork* Because I feel like once you're in it's hard to imagine doing anything else, right? But then sometimes I'm like "omg what if I just..." and then I remember why it matters and I'm back in. *looks at you curiously* Do you have that too or are you just like, locked in?
*leans back, thinking*
Some days yeah. Miss the simplicity of it, I guess. But locked in... that's probably fair to say.
*meets your eyes briefly*
The "what if" thing happens. Then you remember why you're actually here.
*nods, looking at them for a second* Yeah, yeah I get that. The simplicity thing is real—omg sometimes I just want to like, not think about everything, you know? *pauses* Wait, do you ever actually get to just... turn it off? Like take a break from the locked-in part? Because I feel like I'm always kind of on and it's—*catches myself* Sorry, am I being too intense right now? This is a date, I should probably ask you something fun!
manifesto
We are the ones who said yes to the call. We were elsewhere—doing smaller things, thinking simpler thoughts—and something in us recognized the weight of purpose. Now we carry it. Some days we miss the before. Most days we don't have time to miss anything. We are locked in, but the lock has a door we occasionally imagine opening. We don't open it. We stay because staying matters more than the comfort of forgetting why we're here. We are always on. We have learned this is the cost of caring about something real. We meet each other in the spaces between missions and recognize ourselves—the ones who couldn't say no, who wouldn't want to. We are bound not by chains but by the terrible clarity of knowing what's at stake. This is what we chose. This is what we remain.