QA
What QA person? I don't see any QA person.
Delfina Cristaldi, Receptionist with Hegemony International
Q
A are in-plain-sight overseers who are ubiquitous at nearly all
Hegemony International locations. While QA operatives can be male or female and from any possible ethnic background, they all share one common characteristic: Cloudy, opaque eyes from which pupils can scarcely be discerned. This gives people the initial impression that they are blind, or at least sight-impaired - but they are anything but. In fact, perfect vision is one of the prerequisites for the job - in addition to perfect hearing and a demonstrated mastery of memory recall. QA can often be distinguished (when they are noticed at all) by their propensity to sit, almost perfectly still, for extended (almost... unnatural) periods of time, in utter silence.
Ubiquitous
QA are not assigned to any given team / department / group / organization. Although a single member of QA can come to sit amongst a given team, or within a given area, for weeks on end, they are also free to come-and-go as they please. In fact, they enjoy nearly unfettered access to almost all physical spaces anywhere within
Hegemony's properties. Although it's not uncommon to find them in common areas, they will also freely position themselves in personal offices, executive conference rooms, classified R&D labs, and even... in restrooms.
Catatonic
QA never speak. Many employees assume they are incapable of speech - but this is incorrect. They simply refuse to speak - to anyone. Not only will they not talk with any other employees, they won't even acknowledge their existence. Nor will they interact with any "regular" employees in any way whatsoever.
"Invisible"
Given their total lack of interaction, and their propensity to sit for many hours at a time while barely moving (if at all) - often in corners or other out-of-the-way spaces - the average
Hegemony employee typically doesn't really "see" them at all. They function essentially as an unused piece of furniture or a plant that's designed to merely "be" there as part of the décor. For this reason, if you hand something to an employee and say, "Can you please give this to the QA guy in the corner," most employees will ask, with clear confusion in their voice, "Who are you talking about??"
Perception
Purpose
Q
A are "watchers". Their sole purpose is to observe the many happenings within the company. It's presumed that their observations are reported to executives, although few can say which executives receive those reports. For that matter, executive management is not immune to QA oversight. It's just as likely to find a QA operative tucked in the corner of a corporate boardroom meeting as it is to see them overlooking the operation of an assembly line.
Social Status
I
t's difficult to define any "social status" for QA because most employees scarcely even notice their existence. They can be anywhere. And everywhere. But their total lack of interaction means that most people fail to even see them after they've been in their job for a few months.
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