“I still don’t know,” I said. “I have more questions.”
Victoria sat down at the table again. “We will answer them if we can,” she said.
“How many people are there in P.H.A.N.T.O.M.?” I asked.
“Full membership is five,” she answered. “Right now we are at four.”
“So what happened to the person I’m supposed to replace?” I asked.
“That person decided to leave,” replied Allan.
I raised an eyebrow. “Decided to leave?” I asked not really believing him. “Not forced out or…or…” I swallowed hard. “…Or killed?”
“No, neither of those,” said Allan. “But I must warn you. This is a dangerous job. Members have been killed in the past. Not for some time, luckily, but it has happened.”
I sat back and thought for a moment. I sighed and said, “So you’ve told me this job is dangerous, it means sharing my mind and body with an alter-ego that reflects the worst parts of me, and that I have to be available at any given time. I’ve just gotta ask: What’s in it for me?”
Victoria looked annoyed. Allan, however, appeared understanding. “You get the ring,” he said simply.
“But it sounds like that only works as part of this,” I protested.
“No, that’s actually not true,” Allan said. “You can use the ring outside of P.H.A.N.T.O.M., with some limitations.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“You cannot use it to permanently hurt anyone,” said Victoria. “You can have fun with someone the way I did to you, but you must make it right in the end. You cannot make wishes that would affect the entire world by yourself. Only the combined powers of all P.H.A.N.T.O.M. member rings are capable of doing that. You also cannot use your ring on P.H.A.N.T.O.M. members in any way.”
I took in what she said. Then I asked, “So I could wish to be a billionaire? That would be OK?”
“It would,” she said. “However, you would have to remember your obligations to P.H.A.N.T.O.M. Such a wish might bring your more notoriety that you could handle along with your obligations to the group. The same thing would be true if you wanted to be a celebrity, an athlete, or an elected official.”
“Yea, I guess so,” I said with disappointment.
“The ring can’t live your life for you,” warned Allan. “You could still find a way to live comfortably and not have it interfere with your work here. It’s worked for me for many years.”
That raised another interesting subject. “You mentioned people deciding to leave P.H.A.N.T.O.M. But, Victoria, you said you’ve been here five years and, Allan, you said you’ve been here longer than that. Is there a requirement to how long you must stay?” I asked.
“If you agree to join, you obligate yourself for at least one year,” said Victoria. “That allows sufficient time for a suitable new candidate to be identified. You can stay as long as you like. One year is the absolute minimum.”
“Any other questions?” asked Allan.
“No,” I said. “I can’t think of any right now.”
“Then it is the moment of truth,” said Victoria. “What is your decision?”