Janus and Itzel sat next to each other on the booth side of the end table while the Granis were seated across in a set of chairs. Gurk sat down on the floor, his eyes just barely jutting above the height of the table. Janus leaned forward on the tabletop, looking directly at the young woman that sat across from him. Grani looked at Janus as well, partaking in the conversation between him and Sheila. Itzel leaned back against the cushion of her seat with her arms crossed in front of her. Meanwhile, Gurk tilted his head just enough to the side to keep tabs on what was going on with the Broadcast presented by the projector. 

"Back to what we were talking about before, what made you decided to get invested into such a specific topic?" Janus asked of Sheila. 

"It's something that my family has been fascinated with for generations," she replied. She then looked towards her father. "Ever since I was young girl I had been fascinated with fierce animals. How they look. How they live. How they hunt."

"She picked it up from me," Mag added. "The family has always been interested in some of the more dangerous species of this fine world."

"Like Essencima?" Janus asked. 

"No, no, no," Mag said while shaking his head back and forth. "Don't get me wrong, Essencima can put up a good fight. But they're all force without the smarts that make some of this planet's species so dangerous."

"Not to mention they're gross," Sheila added as her face puckered up. "Just the thought of them makes my skin crawl. Especially how they just melt into that nasty puddle of goop once they've been dead for long enough."

"Too good to be Exterminators, huh?" Itzel asked with a single eyebrow of hers raised. 

"It's not like the Grani family has ever been known to have to resort to Exterminating," Mag said. "It's a fine profession. I appreciate those that do it. But it's not the kind of thing that has ever caught our attention. Exterminators are more in it for the money. We don't need more of that. What the Grani family is far more concerned with the beauty of nature rather than the ugliness of those... monsters."

"Sure. Right," Itzel replied almost robotically.

"Fascinating," Janus leaned forward, looking between both members of the Grani family. "So you're telling me you two study various organisms?"

"Correct," Sheila said. 

"I'm a budding scientist myself. I'd love to hear more about how research in your field works. Could you describe to me how a usual day of yours would go?"

Sheila looked up towards the roof of the transporter while she contemplated. "Well, I begin class over at the university's main lecture hall. There, a professor will elaborate on the topic for the day. Once the lesson is over, we'll be split up into groups for some "in-the-field" experience."

"And what does that entail?"

"First we start off by going into one of the Eco-Reserves in Scholburn. They're artificial environments created by man for various lifeforms to live in. From there, we'll observe specific organisms from remote viewing stations and record our observations."

"And do you form any kind of hypotheses from the data recorded?"

Sheila nodded. "Occasionally. If the assignment requires it."

"Fascinating. Is it difficult to get into a university in Scholburn?"

A wide smile grew across Mag's face as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It definitely is. Roughly ten percent of applicants are able to get into the school that my daughter is attending."

"Color me impressed," Janus replied. "In order for you to have done that, you must have excelled in your primary education."

"That's right," Mag continued. "Also didn't hurt that she went to one of the best private schools that money can buy. My girl has been more than fortunate enough to get world class education. She could have been anything she wanted! And she decided to become a biologist, just like her old man!"

"All thanks to you, father!" Sheila said, returning her father's smile with one of her own.

Janus began to follow up with another statement, only to have his words linger on his lips when he heard a bell ring throughout their section of the Transporter. Following the ring, a cacophony of motors, gears and other machinations droned on. The vehicle began to rumble and Janus could feel the his weight begin to shift to the side. 

"Looks like we're finally departing Labrisson," Mag said as he turned his head to the hatch. Through the narrow window, the terminal began to rush past. "Still a bit of a way to go before we'll be in Sano Mosado though."

"Tell me about it," Itzel said. "I couldn't believe the estimated arrival time when I bought the tickets. It's like Sano Mosado is out in the middle of nowhere."

"That's because it is. To a certain extent, at least," Mag replied. "Not too many people live there anymore. Used to be a thriving town of trade and tourism, but that was years ago. People started leaving around the time I was just a kid."

"Why did everyone leave?" Janus asked. 

"Lots of reasons. Besides the shift in economic opportunities becoming more abundant in other places, Sano Mosado has also seen a sudden surge in Essencima within the past decade."

Janus looked towards Itzel, giving her an exasperated look.  She shook her head as her eyes went to the back of her head. 

"And I thought we'd be getting a nice little reprieve from Exterminating," Itzel moaned.

"That's just an unfortunate fact of life nowadays. More Essencima have been popping up across the world. There's no escaping that where you go. But unfortunately for Sano Mosado, not too many Exterminators are working there. The town has been stagnant because nobody has gotten around to clearing out the Essencima that have taken over the area just beyond its perimeter," Mag said. 

"Not to mention all of the crime that has started to run rampant," Sheila added. "It's a very dangerous place if you're not careful."

"Seems like a poor choice of location to host a Rumble Circuit exhibition," Janus said. 

"It's not all bad. They do have an Event Hall that is well maintained. It used to be the main attraction of the town. At least that has been properly taken care of. I'm sure DuRoix will invest the funds needed to make the area safe and secure while the Exhibition takes place," Mag replied.

"Then it's going back to the way it used to be I assume," Itzel said.

"It's unfortunate. But that's just how the world works. Trying to restore Sano Mosado to its former glory would be a monumental task. And one I'm not sure would truly be worth the resources invested."

"But you live in Sano Mosado, correct?" Janus asked of the Grani family. "Surely you would like to see it revitalized."

"Oh, we don't live in Sano Mosado," Sheila said. "We have our own private estate not too far from it. Like my father said before, we're just taking this Transporter to the station there and we'll be taking a personal carrier back home to cover the remaining distance."

"A private estate, eh? On top of a prestigious school and a personal carrier?" Itzel said as she leaned forward to involve herself more in the conversation. "Sounds like the Grani family has made quite the name for themselves."

Mag tugged on the collar of his jacket. "Thank you. And yes, that is true. For generations, The Granis have been known to dabble in all manner of business ventures to varying degrees of success. My grandfather was the one who originally built the estate using his earnings from the housing empire he established. Then my mother expanded it after her successful restaurant start-up. And now it is in the possession of my wife and I."

"What do you do?" Janus asked.

"When I wasn’t doing field work, I invested in an assortment of entertainment and amusement operations. People are willing to spend good money to escape reality, even if it's fleeting. You heard of Cyber Rivals?"

Gurk turned his head upon hearing the word. His eyes opened wide. "Yeah!" he said excitedly while looking at Mag. 

"I was one of the key investors! Without me, it wouldn't have taken off in the way that it did."

"Thanks!"

Mag laughed. "I don't think I've had someone thank me for investing in Cyber Rivals before. But you are most certainly welcome!" Both of the Granis looked at Gurk, eyeing him with bewilderment. "I don't want to come off as rude, but would it be alright if we shifted the conversation from us to yourselves? We'd love to hear your story and what brings you to Sano Mosado."

Itzel leaned back in her chair and crossed he arms. "It's going to be a long story."

"We do have plenty of time," Mag said. "It's going to be at least twelve hours before we get to Sano Mosado."

Art Spotlight: Sheila Grani