“The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular. In my dreams, I often make plans for the service of humanity…yet I am incapable of living in the same room with anyone for two days together…I become hostile to people the moment they come close to me.” -Dostoyevsky
“How do you like your class?“
Well, the bus rides on campus are a little awkward. We are a small enough troupe to become close to each other, but large enough for there to be cliques. We are people, and not all people get along especially when they spend 24 hours per day, 7 days per week together for half of a year and counting. Put enough Nobel laureates in a locked room and the arising neuroticism, tomfoolery, and befuddlement will eventually devolve them into the Barnum & Bailey Clown College Alumni Association. Granted, my coworkers and I are somewhere in between, but sometimes…
Contrary to what is written in Hollywood, our classrooms are not full of bearded, tattooed, herculean ex-Special Forces operators. As the doors close on the Tom Clancy era of geopolitics, we find a good chunk of our motley crew being made up of extraordinary people with rather ordinary backgrounds. Educators, computer programmers, bankers, lawyers, you name it. Every one of us has at least one college degree. Most have already spent time overseas and some came with foreign language proficiency. The inherent problem with this diversity is that such a wide range of personalities don’t necessarily mesh well together.
There are quite a few groups on campus (unrelated to ours) who are in various stages of training, both as newcomers and those getting continuing education. We are not the only agency here either and multiple cadres occasionally get haphazardly combined for a training block. This effectively breaks up the monotony and tension of always being with the same couple of classmates. Humorously enough, the various agencies have their own preestablished reputations that each new class feels the need to live up to. We make fun of each other and partake in friendly competition if not all out rivalries. It is not lost on any of us that we will likely need to call in favors to each other at some point in our careers.
As for my own workgroup, it’s no different from any other place of employment. There are some people who absolutely hate each other and will spend the next 20 years doing everything they can do avoid one another. Others have formed bonds that are already the foundation for lifelong friendships. Most are content to be in the middle; we get along just fine at work but go our separate ways as soon as we clock out. At this point in training it is fair to say we are over it – and each other. The stress of being away from home, loved ones, pets, and personal effects is really wearing on our group dynamic. Thankfully, the finish line for training is finally in sight.
The Dark Passport 