4 Vlog

"Hello friends, and welcome to my Vlog, this is Sage and I'll be talking today about the codex I'm currently working on. I know it doesn't sound too exciting and I've spent a month already with my head stuck in those old books, but last night I found something really interesting." Uriel talked to the camera pretending to be talking to his suscribers, even though he knew there was no one listening to him. Since he didn't have a smartphone and his digital camera was so old, the only way for him to make his vlog was to record himself and then upload the video using the college's computers. He was dirt poor, but that didn't mean he couldn't do things he enjoyed.

The sad truth, though, was that even if he had the possibility to upload the content directly to the internet, he would probably still be talking to himself. He only had a hundred suscribers and he was certain that most of them were bots and the rest were most likely people that just followed him back.

"This old scribbles I found in the library made my head spin. Every ancient language is different and their origin can be traced up to six thousand b.c. or that's what they'll have you believe, actually, they all have a common origin and I'm really close to proving it. If you see here and here..." Uriel pointed out to a section of a print out picture. "You'll notice the resemblance between those two characters, and if you look there and there, it's exactly the same! Of course something like that would be impossible, not only because those two civilizations were in different countries, but also because... and here's the most interesting part..."

Uriel kept going for a while, his eyes glimmered with emotion as he kept rambling about his many theories about the true origin of human language and human civilization. Taking advantage of the fact that he lived on campus, he immediately ran towards the tech room to upload his vlog.

Even though the computer he was using was high tech, it still took a long time to upload because the old digital camera only allowed the exchange of data using an old cable that was almost obsolete.

Unfortunately for him, going back to his dorm made all of his problems crawl back to his head. He was still penniless, there was less than a week left for the incursion and his girlfriend had broken up with him and he knew Mark was probably hitting on her right now.

"If only I had the money to... what am I saying, even if i had the money there's no certainty of getting a trait and with my luck, even if I got one it would be total crap." He said with a wry smile as he stepped into the dorms.

*beep beep beep beep*

The clock, the night stand, the cold shower, Uriel replayed the worst day of his life as if he was following a script, but it wasn't a coincidence at all. He stayed up late again studying, with his head stuck in some old book without a care for the world.

Time flies when someone does what they love and Uriel really enjoyed ancient history. From the first civilizations, like the Sumerians to the classical era, he knew almost everything there was to know about them. He wasn't just an archaeology enthusiast that would read only what he found to be amusing or interesting on a whim, he studied everything, even those books he thought were full of crap.

Now hurrying out of the dorms he was pleased to notice there was no one blocking his way. Although Mark used to do it all the time, now it was obvious for him that the only reason he did so was to meet with Tina, his now ex girlfriend.

Of course Mark would be interested in her, she wasn't just rich, she was the sole heir of one of the most influential people in the whole city and, even though the Jacobs corporation was a big deal in the country, money would only go that far. They lacked the influence to enter the city in full, which was the reason why Matthew Jacobs, the current CEO in the Jacobs company and his father, sent Mark to college so far from their home.

Uriel's insight on ancient history also gave him an edge to understand current matters such as these, but he wasn't interested in current affairs.

He took a glance at the clear sky that reminded him of the many days where Tina would come pick him up whenever he woke up late, which was most of the time, and sighed knowing that she wouldn't come today.

The buzzing sound of his 'vintage' flip phone, which was the only crappy phone he was able to afford, snapped him out of his reverie. There were so many missed calls now that he was forced to put it in silence. He wasn't interested in buying anything or spending money on useless stuff and that's precisely the only type of call he would receive now that he didn't even have a girlfriend.

'Why didn't I get a job as soon as college started? maybe if I did I wouldn't be in this situation right now.' Of course he knew the answer, it was because once he got admitted to college he was allowed to enter the library which was precisely where he was heading now to the library to return the books he had previously borrowed.

He was greeted by Mister Scofield, the librarian, a man on his forties with a look that would suit a butler much more than a librarian. His neat appearance and elegant movements made him quite popular with the female students and most of his colleagues were jealous of him. His handsome appearance and classy outfit gave him the chance to be with any girl he wanted, but he wasn't interested in that kind of thing. He only had eyes for his books and couldn't care much about anything else. Scofield read anything that fell in his hands and he would have been a great partner for Uriel to talk with, but their interests couldn't be more different.

Scofield was only interested in literature and, even though he read literally anything, he wasn't really interested in archaeology in the slightest. Still, he would sometimes chat with Uriel about this and that, especially when Uriel brought up an interesting topic like mythology.

"What's the matter fellow bookworm, you seem to be down." Scofield said in his usual tone of voice, but showed his genuine concern with his eyes.

"It's nothing mister Scofield, I just... Nevermind..."

"Don't be shy, if you couldn't finish those books I could let you borrow them for a couple more days." The librarian pushed the books back towards Uriel who had previously placed them on top of the counter.

"No, I finished them yesterday. They weren't that interesting, but I did find a couple pictures that helped. That's not it, the first incursion is coming and I don't even have enough to pay for the ticket."

"Uhm, did you try getting a job?"

"I did, but no luck."

"What about cutting a deal with a company? I hear they love supporting young students."

"I tried that too, but as soon as I mention my interest in archaeology they back out. Even small corporations have no interest in my skillset I suppose."

Mister Scofield lingered for a few seconds, then he started cleaning his glasses with his handkerchief. "What's so important about the incursion? Most people don't even get a trait. Besides, if you happen to get a really strong trait you could end up being drafted, I've seen that happen to many promising students who drop their dreams the minute they get their hands on the first paycheck after going hunting or scavenging."

Uriel trusted mister Scofield, much more than he trusted anyone on campus, he was the closest thing he had to a friend. They sometimes chatted about their personal matters, even if it was mostly small talk, but he still hesitated before dropping all his personal problems on his acquaintance. "You see... I think you might have noticed I love books, I really do, but there's things I can only do in person. I would love to stop reading and start writing my own books, going to the archaeological sites and making discoveries that everyone missed."

"I see, books are great but they have their limitations. You can only learn as much as the author knew and all your discoveries would depend on the quality of those books." The problem wasn't related to books at all, but it was the only common ground in between them. It made it easier for them to understand each other. "And if you wanted to investigate on site, a trait would certainly make things easier and safer depending on what you get." The librarian continued with a friendly face.

When Uriel saw the smile forming on mister Scofield's face he felt a bit upset thinking that he didn't really understand his situation and that he was mocking him. But all changed when he heard his next words. "Say young bookworm, how would you like to work in the library?"