Nethereal Character Interview: Elena Braun

I was reading Michael Hyatt's suggested blog topics for novelists and came upon the fascinating notion of posting interviews with characters from my novels. Why the hell not? Let's try this.

The interviewer scans his notes one more time before setting the smoked crystal tablet back on the desk. Straightening the cuffs of his dark grey uniform jacket, he sits back to wait.

His subject enters: a willowy girl with rose-colored eyes set in a pale face framed by wavy, light brown hair. The single overhead light leaves the entrance bathed in shadow, but the interviewer could swear that the door never opened.

The girl stands halfway between the closed door and the desk: stock still and silent; possibly not breathing.

Interviewer: You can have a seat.

The girl, still in her middle teens by the look of her, promptly seats herself in the only other chair.

I: Thank you. Let's start with the basic facts. Please state your name.

Subject: Which one?

The interviewer pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, eager to put this formality behind him and return to more serious business.

I: The one the station staff call you by.

Subject: Elena Braun

I: Good morning, Elena.

Elena: Saying that won't make it true.

I: Are you feeling alright?

E: shrugs

I: Not sleeping well?

E: It's not the sleep. It's the dreams.

I: You're having nightmares?

E: Saying "nightmares" implies that they're not true.

I: Fidgeting with his notes. Moving on, please give your age.

E: Be more specific.

I: I don't...how old are you?

E: It depends on what you mean by "me". In a sense, I'm primordial. In another, I'm as old as all of the people who've had pieces of me inside them. The soul in the vas was reconstituted 150 years ago.

I: Sighs. What is your physical age?

E: Sixteen.

I: Now we're making progress. You've been briefed on the upcoming mission?

E: Yes.

I: How do you feel about it?

E: About what?

I: The Exodus Project.

E: What about it?

I: Well for one thing, are you confident of a successful outcome?

E: That's a relative concept.

I: Forgive me for saying that you seem generally pessimistic.

E: It's a bad time for long-term planning.

I: Switches off his tablet and folds his hands on the desk. I think we're done here.

E: Rises quietly and leaves.


He didn't get much out of her. Perhaps he asked the wrong questions. Anybody else care to ask?