The THAT Interview

After four months of applications and automated rejection emails, He finally received an interview invitation.

He didn't remember applying to the company.

Palantir Systems — Final Interview — 11:30 PM.

The timing was strange, and there was no recruiter's name, but the salary mentioned in the email was nearly 5 times what he earned. At 11:30, he joined the video call. A man in a greyish suit appeared against a completely white background.

The interview began normally.

“Difference between a process and a thread?”

He answered.

“Good. What happens when two services modify the same record simultaneously?”

He answered again.

Then the interviewer leaned closer.

“Why did you hide inside your parents' bedroom wardrobe when you were 9?”

Hw stopped smiling.

“ImSorry?”

The interviewer ignored him.

“What did your friend tell you at the restaurant on August 11th?”

His stomach tightened.

Nobody knew about that conversation.

“Who are you?”

The interviewer looked down at his notes.

“Last night, at 2:13 a.m., you stood in front of your bathroom mirror and said, ‘I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.’ Correct?”

He reached for the mouse.

The Leave Meeting button did nothing.

He closed the laptop.

The interviewer's voice continued from inside it.

“Please don't interrupt the assessment, Mr.F.”

Slowly, he opened it again.

The man was still there.

“One final question,” the interviewer said. “When you look into a mirror, have you ever felt that your reflection moves just a fraction of a second after you do?”

He stared at him.

The interviewer smiled.

Then he turned toward someone outside the camera.

“Memory integration is stable. Emotional responses are exact. Personality drift is under 3%.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The interviewer looked back at him.

For the first time, his smile seemed almost kind.

“Excellent.”

He clicked something on his desk.

“You behave almost exactly like the original.”