Preferred but not essential

Josh Smith had always been the picture of conventional success in high school. Perfect grades, perfect attendance, and perfect behavior—no detentions to speak of. He had two girlfriends, both of which lasted about six months. He lost his virginity the night of his graduation to the second one.

Coming from a middle-class family with average parental income, Josh knew he couldn’t aim too high. He attended a local university, taking on student loans to cover tuition, unsure of what degree to pursue. His guidance counselor had suggested business, claiming it opened doors to a variety of opportunities.

Three years and fifty thousand dollars of debt later, Josh graduated with that business degree, eager to dive into the job market. Instead, he found himself moving back in with his parents. The pressure was on, and his parents, growing impatient with his lack of success, demanded that he take any job in the meantime. So, Josh ended up working at a local department store in the menswear section—helping customers choose outfits, offering styling advice, and doing his best to meet the ever-increasing sales targets his manager set.

His manager, an aspiring fashionista, treated the store like a Parisian boutique. The standards were absurd, but Josh worked hard, hoping that it would lead to something better. A year of rejections from job applications—ones that would use his business degree—made him question his choices. Maybe he should have studied something more specific, something that would have led to a clearer career path.

Despite his relentless effort, he couldn’t land a single interview for a position that matched his qualifications. When he called recruiters for feedback, they all told him the same thing: No experience. No chance. Every position that required a business degree wanted someone with at least five years of corporate experience. When Josh tried to take a lower-level administrative job, the recruiters told him he was overqualified. It was a dead-end.

Then, one afternoon, it happened. A particularly fussy customer returned a few items Josh had helped pick out, complaining about everything from the fit to the style. Josh hadn’t argued; he’d merely apologized and processed the return, as was his job. But his manager, taking this as an opportunity to unleash his frustrations, fired Josh on the spot.

In a daze, Josh shook his manager’s hand, thanked him, and left.

A year later, he found himself on the streets, his parents kicking him out for not "trying hard enough" to find a job. His father had slammed the door behind him, telling him it was "tough love."

Josh camped out at a park, but it didn’t take long before a group of homeless men found him. There was no camaraderie, only violence. He never had a chance to defend himself. The first thing they did was soccer-kick his head from behind as he slept, and soon he was curled into a ball, trying to protect his face from the flurry of blows.

Eventually, he was knocked out, and the next thing he knew, he woke up in the back of an ambulance. A young paramedic watched over him, but Josh didn’t really know what to say. He wondered if his life would have been better had he chosen a different path—perhaps something like paramedicine—but the thought faded. It didn’t matter now.

The hospital wasn’t much better. They patched him up, but when he admitted he didn’t have insurance or money, they rushed him out without a second thought. The doctors and nurses barely looked up as he limped out the door.

At the Story Bridge, Josh sat by the railing, staring into the water. The thought of ending it all flickered through his mind, but it didn’t feel right. He wasn’t sad, nor angry. He was simply exhausted—beaten down. An ember of hope remained inside him, barely alight but still there like a flame from a candle far away on a misty night.

As he walked down Queen Street Mall, he passed the homeless people he once had ignored, now recognizing their faces, their lives blending with his own in a way he hadn’t imagined. He never thought he’d end up here.

In the center of the mall, a recruiter waved him down. It was the first time in months someone had spoken to him directly. The sudden attention made him feel raw—untouched. He was stunned.

"Hi there, I'm Richard. Do you have a moment to talk about employment?" the man asked, his smile kind.

Josh, still in disbelief, nodded. “Sure.”

Richard launched into a pitch that seemed absurd. “In the last six months, portals to other dimensions have started opening up across the world. Some people exposed to the mana from these gates are developing special abilities. We call them ‘hunters.’ We need all kinds of help—medics, cooks, animal attendants, cartographers. Why don’t you come down to our facility? We’ll provide food, a bed, and an evaluation for hunter potential.”

Josh blinked, still confused. “Wait. Is this like the military?”

“No, no. The Hunters are employed by Atlassian.” Richard explained enthusiastically. “They’ve been given the Australian government’s portal contracts.”

The mention of Atlassian caught Josh’s attention. “The software company?”

Richard grinned. “Yes! I’m so glad you know it!” he said enthusiastically.

Josh was pretty sure this was all a delusion, some kind of psychotic break. But at that point, he decided to roll with it. If this was a breakdown, it wasn’t the worst one he could have. Maybe it would make sense when he woke up in a psych ward.

Richard made a phone call, and before long, a car arrived to pick Josh up. As he climbed into the backseat, Josh wondered why everything was going so smoothly, if he really was in the middle of a delusion. Either way, he’d enjoy it while it lasted.

“Welcome to the company brother.” Richard had said to him with a small hug and it had brought Josh to tears.

“I’m so glad we can help.” he’d said as he closed the door to the car.

It was a short drive until Josh arrived at a huge skyscraper, the car drove into an underground carpark beneath the building and went down several levels before the driver instructed him to disembark and take the elevator down to the basement level.

As he waited for the elevator in the dark underground deserted car park a feeling of unease crept upon Josh for the first time. He took a deep breath and waited patiently, walking into the completely normal elevator and selecting the basement level.

He rode down for what seemed like an absurdly long amount of time, almost a full minute until the elevator finally stopped and opened to a well lit shiny white high tech looking facility with people in lab coats hurriedly walking around. In front of him was a happy looking receptionist with grandmotherly energy. She waved him forward.

“Hi Josh, Richard let us know you were coming. My name is Amanda and I’ll show you around the facility.” she rose from her desk and beckoned him to follow her. People smiled and moved out of Amanda’s way as she shuffled down the middle of the hall speaking to Josh over her shoulder.

“So we’ve got you a room down here, it’s got its own bathroom and a fully stocked wardrobe. Once you’re feeling refreshed you can keep going to the end of this hall and you’ll eventually reach the mess hall where you can find food any time of the day or night. Just relax for the rest of the day and come see me at reception when you’re ready in the morning. I’ll take you over to the doctors where we’ll give you a checkup and also run some tests. These tests do involve taking some blood, is that ok with you?” She stopped walking and turned to look him in the eye as she said it.

Josh smiled and nodded and she resumed walking, soon coming to a sliding door that looked like it belonged on the Enterprise. She held up a plastic access card and the door opened, she turned and gave Josh the card and then left him to it.

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He stumbled into his room, still limping and covered in dried and crusted blood. A bandage around his head and his eyes black and swollen. It was sleek and luxurious, a soft looking bed on one side of the room and a couch and small tv on the other. There was an adjacent bathroom which he immediately took advantage of, spending over an hour soaking in the hot water before emerging, to see himself in the mirror. A sight for sore eyes indeed. He was scrawny, his ribs showing badly and his stomach sunken in.

He was 6”3 which with his height made his small figure all the worse. Giving him a stretched out scarecrow look. His facial hair certainly didn’t help so he did something he hadn’t done in 12 months. He shaved, finding cream and a new razor under the sink. It looked strange with his unruly hair but he found some clippers underneath and quickly gave himself a buzz cut, leaving a small amount of closely shaved black hair on top of his white head.

He’d gone from homeless scarecrow to Christian Bale in The Machinist but it was still an improvement. He accepted it and moved on to the wardrobe, finding brand new running shoes, underwear, socks, pants and an array of plain coloured shirts that all fit him perfectly.

He selected an outfit and wandered out to the mess hall. It was a buffet style cafeteria with so much food his stomach twisted pitifully at the sight of it. As he drew closer his knees grew weak at the smell of bacon and he quickly grabbed a plate and moved towards the food.

The hour must have been late as there was nobody else in the room and he loaded his plate with food, which he ate in complete, comfortable silence. He returned to his room with his belly painfully full and resisted the urge to throw up as he crawled into the soft sheets and rested his head on the pillow. He could have cried at how soft it felt and he drifted off into blissful oblivion.

When Josh woke he felt the groggy, half headache feeling of having overslept. He checked the clock next to the bed and found it to be 3pm. He sprung out of bed, hoping the doctor's hadn’t gone home for the day. His leg felt better already and he barely limped as he made his way to the reception.

Amanda was there and greeted him warmly, assuring him he wasn’t too late at all. They headed down a different hallway and she introduced him to an older male doctor with a bald head and kind eyes.

“Hi Joshua, I am doctor Patel. Can I take some blood from you today?” he asked politely in a south asian accent.

Josh consented and offered his arm after taking a seat. The doctor's office was stark white like most of the rest of the facility and similar to any other doctor's room he’d been in before.

He took the blood and immediately loaded it into a machine which began whirring and making noises.

“Ok Joshua, in a few moments we will know whether you have the potential to develop abilities from mana exposure. This machine will be able to tell us a score which should indicate the potential of these abilities from a range of 0-100. Needless to say, should you fall into certain thresholds, certain job opportunities will be more suitable within the company.” he said smoothly and Josh nodded his understanding.

“What sort of abilities have you seen so far, doctor?” he asked.

“Ahh, I have seen all sorts of things. Everything you can imagine really. There are some abilities which we are yet to see in the southern hemisphere but nearly everything you can think of has been seen. Over a quarter of the population has the potential to develop abilities from mana exposure and the technological advancements we’re making due to some of the intelligence based abilities is seeing us leap decades ahead as a species.” Dr Patel said.

The machine beeped.

“Ok that’s it, the doctor leaned over and raised his eyebrows at the screen.” glancing up at Josh.

“Well the good news is that you have mana potential,” he said quietly.

Josh’s shoulders slouched at the tone of the man's voice. He had been hoping to have an amazing ability but it sounded like he would get something mundane based on his score.

“Hit me, what is it?” he asked the doctor but the man shook his head.

“Josh, I need you to understand that the highest score ever recorded on Earth so far is 92. They are one of three people in the 90’s. About 10 percent of those with mana potential fall into the 80’s. Most people fall between 50-70. Anything below that and your ability probably won’t be able to help enough in the portals to be certified as a hunter. If it's low enough you can’t go and we won’t even unlock your ability.” he said.

Josh’s heart stopped in his chest. Not like this, he thought to himself. No, not like this! To get so close to something extraordinary happening in his life only to have it ripped away would be another cruel twist of fate.

“Ahh ok. I see. How low is it?” he asked.

The doctor shook his head again.

“No, that's not it, the machine says 100. I’m sorry but I’ll have to run the test again.” Dr Patel said.

Josh consented and they ran the test again, this time sitting in silence as the doctor tapped his pen nervously on a pad of paper on his desk, seemingly in deep thought.

The machine beeped and the doctor rushed over to read out the same results.

“Ok Josh we are sending you to a portal to have mana exposure as soon as possible. Is this ok with you?” he asked excitedly.

Josh nodded and the doctor quickly made a phone call.

A few minutes later it was Richard who poked his head in the door and greeted Josh and the doctor happily.

“Josh, looking great mate!” he said before leading him down the hall to the main elevator.

“How’d you go?” Amanda called as they rushed past her but Richard shook his head and she backed off hands up.

“Ok, sorry for asking.” she grumbled.

Josh shrugged and mouthed sorry to her as the elevator doors closed.

“I’m sorry for the secrecy but I need you to appreciate this is a big deal.” Richard said.

A car was waiting for them and they were driven out of the building and into the city

Richard took at least 5 phone calls in the ten minutes that they were in the car, blocking Josh's attempts to glean any information about their situation.

They arrived at another tall building and he and Richard ascended in an elevator all the way to the roof. Richard turned to him with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Look, Josh. The effects of mana exposure can be dramatic.” he said.

Josh cocked his head to the side.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Physical transformation is a possibility, sometimes it's not like you just get to have psychic powers, you also get a huge skull as a result of the amplified brain tissue. With your kind of mana score it could be… a lot.” Richard said.

Josh raised an eyebrow.

“Do I seem concerned with my appearance as of late?” he asked lightheartedly and Richard laughed, breaking a bit of the tension of the moment.

“No, I guess not.” Richard said with a smile.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out onto a helicopter landing pad, a chopper was waiting for them and they quickly climbed aboard.

It was Josh’s first time ever flying, he hadn’t even been on an airplane. The view of the Brisbane river winding its way through the dense concrete jungle like an arterial vein pumping life through the city gave him goosebumps. The sun was low over the horizon as they flew towards Mt Coot-Tha and quickly landed at the Ch 7 studios, next to their broadcasting towers.

They were ushered inside where in a bathroom Josh laid eyes on his first portal. It wasn’t a solid glowing outline like he had imagined. Instead it was like a mirror showing a different world on the other side. The edges seemed incorporeal and hurt Josh’s eyes when he tried to stare at them to pinpoint a colour.

He walked forward instinctively and turned to Richard, as if asking permission.

“Touch it, but don’t go through.” Richard instructed.

He did so and the portal felt cool to the touch, energy shot down his arm and coursed through his body making him feel vitalised. His body began to glow as the energy began to build, every inch of his being now vibrating with its pulse. The world flashed a brilliant white and suddenly he was on the bathroom floor, the familiar energy of the portal beside him, but strangely he could now smell it.

Richard stood over him wide eyed and placed a hand on his chest.

“Ok dude, this is what I warned you about. When you get up and look into the mirror just remember who you are.” he said with a nervous gulp.

Josh batted his hand away and stood to look at himself in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.

He immediately burst out in joyous laughter. Howling as he hit the benchtop with a closed fist repeatedly and yelling. “YESSS” at the top of his lungs.

Then he smelled it.

Mana.

It hit him like a drug: metallic and sweet, like ozone mixed with sugar, thick and cloying. He could smell it in the air, taste it on his tongue, see it dancing in glowing trails. Every living thing nearby left behind a signature—a scent, but not quite. A fingerprint in color and motion.

“I can smell mana.” Josh said to Richard as he gave the man a sniff.

“You have abilities don’t you?” Josh asked him.

Richard smiled “Yeah. I’m called a gleamer, I can create bursts of energy with my mana and I can create reflective shields that can send magical energy back at an opponent.” he said.

“What’s your rating?” Josh asked.

“70, which is decent.” Richard said proudly.

Josh took another look at himself in the mirror. He’d never felt more at peace with himself. It felt so right.

In the reflection he stood with a man's body, his muscle tissue regenerated and no longer underweight, he was now a ripped Adonis. From feet to chest he looked like the terminator. The head however was a different story.

He had a dog’s head. A Blue Cattle Dog to be specific, Black patches covered both of his eyes and cheeks and were separated by a strip of grey-bluish hair that ran down the center of his face and down to the black button of his nose like tribal war make-up. Small brown patches of fur above his eyes gave him eyebrows that thankfully allowed a variety of expression and that same light brown fur mottled the sides of his jowls.

“Yeah. This’ll work.” he said to Richard as he flexed in the mirror, appreciating his new physique, which strangely also included a tail, though Josh could sense it actually helped his balance.

“Ok, wanna head back to the facility so we can try out the training room. Test your abilities out?” Richard asked him.

Josh grinned a toothy grin and Richard stepped back in alarm.

“Goddamn man that’s kind of intimidating, less teeth when you smile.” he said.

Josh tried again but this time just smiled with his lips and Richard laughed.

“Ok great, now you look like a Good Boy.” he said.