The First Age

Sage took the man's hand and shook. He knew the name. Read papers he written when doing research for his cybernetics project. "I've read some of your work." Sage continued by quoting a white paper theory that he used to help create the tech for Nox's arm. He quoted it word for word as it was just a blip to search for the passage not that he had Internet access and could hit his own servers.

Sage wasn't nearly as excited to meet this man as he had been Dr. Derver. Though both were instrumental in his works.

Ephraim watched with mild interest while they conversed. It seemed Sage had done his research, else he really was keen. Though given the chip in his head, information was only a blink away at any given time. Victor didn’t linger, as Eph had anticipated. The exchange wasn’t without some seed planted though. He waved the doctor off with assurances the intrusion had not been a problem, then turned his attention back to the earnest man on the couch.

“Cybernetics is where you see yourself?” he asked. “Or elsewhere?”

Sage shrugged. "Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence, IT." Sage laughed at the latter. "I have an interest in the strange and weird too."

Sage sat forward and smiled. "I honestly don't have a goal here. I have a lot of interest. I am looking for something to do and I didn't expect an answer. I have lots of ideas. I need direction. My parents kept me with a path. And my other businesses have a direction, but I don't need to monitor most of them. I need something to do with my time. And you have lots of things I'm interested in." He was being honest

Ephraim sat back and steepled his fingers to listen. It wasn’t a devious posture, just an attentive one. Diverse interests suggested a certain amount of malleability, but also the potential for too much distraction. That wasn’t exactly untenable; Paragon cultivated genius, and it rewarded creativity which sought to shuck the chains of convention. Many of its most successful scientists were… unusual characters, to say the least. Risks aside, Sage would probably do well. Nothing would be decided properly until his lawyers had combed through the NDA and negotiated anything unacceptable into more favourable terms – that went without saying of course. But the gears in Ephraim’s head were turning, and he was intrigued.

They spoke a while longer. Eph didn’t lay thick the charm – Sage gave every impression of straight-forwarded honesty and a lacking awareness for social norms. He doubted the man cared whether Ephraim was a likeable figure. He just wanted to know whether this was a door which would unlock for him or not.

He asked Sage to provide a dossier of potential projects, and informed him that he would be in touch once the legalities and minutiae of a contract were finalised. Then he stood, shook the man’s hand with an angel’s grin, and welcomed him to Paragon.