#CHAPTER 7 THE OFFER
That morning, for the first time since it all began, Raka did not open SENTRA.
His laptop remained closed.
His phone lay facedown on the desk.
He simply sat and stared out the window.
Outside, the office grounds were beginning to fill with employees' vehicles.
People arrived one by one.
Carrying bags.
Carrying files.
Carrying the same faces they had worn every day before.
No one knew that the night before, a system had selected Raka as a replacement candidate for someone he had never even met in person.
USER-01.
And even stranger— the system had also selected Nadira.
Raka still didn't understand what it meant.
Why him?
Why Nadira?
And who had actually been “deactivated” that the system needed a replacement?
At 8:12 a.m., someone knocked on his door.
A staff member stood outside.
“Mr. Raka.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Dimas wants you to come in.”
Raka raised his head.
“Now?”
“Now, sir.”
The staff member left.
Raka stared at the closed door.
He had expected this to happen.
He just hadn't known how quickly.
The Head of the Civil Service Agency's office was on the fourth floor.
Unlike Raka's workspace, which was always filled with the sounds of printers and phones, the fourth floor felt quieter.
Too quiet.
Thick carpeting muffled footsteps.
The doors were closed.
No employees spoke too loudly.
Raka stopped in front of a door bearing the words:
DIMAS WICAKSANA
HEAD OF THE CIVIL SERVICE AGENCY
He knocked.
“Come in.”
Dimas sat behind his desk.
There were no documents.
No laptop.
Only a cup of coffee and a black folder.
“Sit down, Raka.”
Raka sat.
Dimas gave him a faint smile.
“You look sleep-deprived.”
“A lot of work.”
“Work?”
Dimas raised an eyebrow.
“Or research?”
Raka didn't answer.
Dimas picked up his coffee.
“Sometimes I wonder.”
Raka waited.
“Why do people like you always have the same habit?”
“People like me?”
“Smart. Diligent. Too trusting of patterns.”
Raka stared at him.
“The patterns are real, sir.”
“Everything has a pattern.”
“Not every pattern is a coincidence.”
Dimas smiled.
“There.”
He set down his cup.
“That’s your problem.”
Raka said nothing.
Dimas opened the black folder.
Then he took out a document.
He placed it on the desk.
In front of Raka.
“Read it.”
Raka picked it up.
His eyes stopped immediately at the heading.
APPOINTMENT DECREE
He read further.
Name: RAKA ADINATA.
Position: HEAD OF SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT.
Raka looked at Dimas.
“What is this?”
“An offer.”
“This position…”
“The one you wanted.”
Raka fell silent.
It was true.
Two years earlier, Raka had gone through the internal selection process for that position.
He had failed.
Officially, his evaluation stated that another candidate had scored higher.
But Raka had never been given the chance to see the details of his evaluation.
Now the position was right in front of him. Dimas leaned back.
“You deserve it.”
“Why now?”
“Because the organization needs someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“Someone who understands data.”
Raka looked at the document again.
Everything appeared official.
The decree number.
The date.
The signature.
The electronic seal.
Too complete.
Too fast.
“When did this position become vacant?”
“Today.”
“Who held it before?”
“He was transferred.”
“Where to?”
Dimas smiled.
“Why do you always want to know everything?”
Raka set down the document.
“Because that’s my job.”
“No.”
Dimas looked at him.
“That’s your habit.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Raka looked at the framed awards on the wall.
Certificates.
Plaques.
Photos of Dimas with several officials.
In one of the photos, Raka saw something that made him stop.
An old photograph.
Dimas stood with two other men.
A man in a suit.
And a man wearing glasses.
Raka recognized the face.
Adrian Sagara.
The photo was displayed where it could easily be seen.
As if it had never been considered a secret.
Dimas noticed where Raka was looking.
“You know him?”
Raka looked back at Dimas.
“Who?”
Dimas smiled.
“Don’t pretend.”
Raka said nothing.
Dimas stood.
He walked toward the photo.
“Adrian.”
Raka didn't answer.
“A very smart man.”
“Are you still in contact with him?”
Dimas turned.
“Why?”
“I’m just asking.”
“And I’m just answering that he’s a smart man.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Dimas sat back down.
“Raka.”
His tone changed.
Calmer.
Lower.
“Take the position.”
Raka looked at him.
“Under what conditions?”
For the first time, Dimas smiled without looking friendly.
“You learn fast.”
“So there are conditions.”
“There always are.”
“What are they?”
Dimas opened a drawer.
He took out a flash drive.
Then placed it on the desk.
“Stop digging into the data.”
The room fell silent.
Raka looked at the flash drive.
Then at Dimas.
“What data?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“If the data isn’t a problem, why should I stop?”
Dimas sighed.
“You still see everything in two colors.”
“Right or wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that how it is?”
“No.”
Dimas leaned back.
“In government, what’s right can’t always be done.”
“And what’s wrong?”
“Sometimes it has to be done.”
Raka stared at him.
“For whose benefit?”
Dimas didn't answer.
Raka continued.
“I found decisions that were made before the data existed.”
“An administrative error.”
“One hundred seventy-three times?”
“A system error.”
“I found a resignation letter generated from the server.”
“It could have been a technical problem.”
“I found PROTOCOL A-17.”
For the first time, Dimas's expression changed.
Only for a moment.
But Raka saw it.
Dimas smiled again.
“You shouldn't have opened that.”
“You know about A-17?”
“There are many things you shouldn't know.”
Raka stood.
“ including the reason my father was made to resign?”
Dimas fell silent.
Raka felt his heart beating faster.
He continued.
“You know my father's name is in the system.”
Dimas looked at him.
“Sit down.”
“Answer me.”
“Sit down, Raka.”
Dimas's voice was firmer this time.
But Raka remained standing.
“My father never resigned.”
Dimas drew a long breath.
“You want to know something?”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes a person doesn't have to lose in order to lose everything.”
Raka furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes all a person has to do is stand too long in the wrong place.”
“Is that what happened to my father?”
Dimas looked at him.
“Take this position.”
Raka gave a small laugh.
“So that’s your answer?”
“It’s an opportunity.”
“To stay silent?”
“To move on with your life.”
Dimas pushed the appointment document toward Raka.
“This position will change your career.”
Raka looked at it.
“More money.”
“Not just that.”
“More influence.”
“Yes.”
“And access to the system?”
Dimas didn't answer.
Raka gave a faint smile.
“So that’s the real goal.”
“What is?”
“You don’t want me to stop because you’re afraid.”
Dimas watched him.
“You want me to go inside.”
The room fell silent.
Dimas folded his arms.
“You read too many stories.”
“Maybe.”
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“If I accept this position, I’ll have broader access.”
Dimas smiled.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“For me.”
“For the organization.”
“And for you?”
The smile vanished.
Dimas stood.
“You still don’t understand, Raka.”
“Understand what?”
“Power.”
Raka stared at him.
Dimas walked toward the window.
From the fourth floor, the entire office grounds were visible.
The employees looked like tiny moving dots.
Vehicles came and went.
People entered the building without knowing what was being discussed in that room.
“You think people get positions just because of their scores?”
Raka was silent.
“You think every decision is made by one person?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Dimas turned.
“Because that’s not how the system works.”
“Then how does it work?”
“People need one another.”
Raka said nothing.
“Some have power.”
Dimas continued.
“Some have information.”
“Some have money.”
“Some have people.”
“And some have access.”
He looked back at Raka.
“Not one of them can stand alone.”
Raka looked at Adrian's photo on the wall.
“Except the person who created the system.”
Dimas gave a faint smile.
“Even he needs other people.”
9:03 a.m.
Raka sat back down.
Dimas picked up the document.
“Let’s simplify this.”
He took a pen.
Wrote one sentence on a blank sheet of paper.
Then pushed it toward Raka.
ACCEPT THE POSITION. STOP THE INVESTIGATION.
Raka read it.
“It’s that simple?”
“Yes.”
“What if I refuse?”
Dimas took the paper back.
Tore it up.
“Nothing will happen.”
Raka stared at him.
Dimas smiled.
“At least not right away.”
Raka fell silent.
Inside his head, Hendra's face appeared.
Then Bima.
His father.
Surya.
Nadira.
Names that appeared in the system one by one.
Then disappeared.
He looked at the appointment document one more time.
The position he had wanted for so long.
A chance to fix his life.
To prove himself.
To make his family proud.
Everything was right in front of him.
All it took was one signature.
Raka picked up the pen.
Dimas watched him.
The tip of the pen touched the paper.
Several seconds passed.
Then Raka set the pen down.
“No.”
Dimas didn't move.
“No?”
“I refuse.”
Dimas gave a faint smile.
“You haven’t even read the full benefits package.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Raka.”
“I said no.”
Dimas took the document.
Folded it slowly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Dimas put the document back in the folder.
Then looked at Raka.
“What a shame.”
“Why?”
“Because I really wanted you on the right side.”
Raka stood.
“The right side according to you?”
Dimas smiled.
“According to the people who win.”
Raka walked toward the door.
His hand was almost touching the handle when Dimas spoke again.
“Raka.”
He stopped.
“Yes?”
“If one day you lose your position…”
Raka turned.
“…don’t blame the system.”
Raka looked at him.
“If one day that system is exposed…”
Dimas didn't move.
“…don’t blame me.”
Raka opened the door.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not the only person inside it.”
He walked out.
The fourth-floor hallway felt longer than before.
Raka walked slowly.
His hand slipped into his pocket.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Nadira.
There’s a problem.
Raka replied immediately.
What?
The answer came a few seconds later.
I found something about your father.
Raka stopped walking.
The next message came in.
And I think Dimas already knows you rejected his offer.
Then the final message.
Don’t go home.
Raka stared at the screen.
Behind him, the door to Dimas's office slowly closed.
From behind it came the sound of a computer notification.
A new message appeared on Dimas's screen.
SUBJECT REFUSES PLACEMENT.
A few seconds later: CAREER ADJUSTMENT PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
Dimas stared at the screen without expression.
Then the final question appeared.
SHOULD THE ADJUSTMENT BE CARRIED OUT NOW?
Dimas did not answer immediately.
He looked at the window.
Then pressed a button.
YES.