Chapter 9: The Council of Forgotten Interns

Ne Job’s new title—Chaos Strategist (Intern Tier)—came with a scroll, a badge, and a cubicle upgrade: now with two clouds and a complimentary existential crisis.

The scroll pulsed with a new directive:

> “Initiate contact with the Council of Forgotten Interns. Location: Sublevel 13. Bring snacks.”

Ne Job blinked. “There’s a sublevel 13?”

The scroll coughed. “Technically, it’s off-grid. You’ll need a glitch.”

---

Enter the Glitch

Zyx reappeared, sipping divine espresso and wearing a hoodie that said “I void warranties.”

“You’re going underground,” he said. “The Council runs on chaos, caffeine, and spite. They were interns who never ascended. They built their own system.”

Ne Job nodded. “Sounds like my kind of rebellion.”

Zyx handed him a scroll labeled “How to Navigate Bureaucratic Limbo Without Dying.”

---

Sublevel 13

The elevator to Sublevel 13 didn’t exist. Ne Job had to misfile a prayer, reroute a miracle, and insult a minor deity’s fashion sense to trigger the glitch.

He fell through a crack in reality and landed in a dimly lit chamber filled with glowing scrolls, broken badges, and interns in hoodies.

One stepped forward. Her name tag read: “Intern #000: Glitchmaster General.”

“You’re the chaos strategist?” she asked.

Ne Job nodded. “I bring snacks.”

She took a donut and motioned for him to sit.

---

The Council Speaks

The Council gathered. Each intern had a story:

- One triggered a divine flood by sneezing during a ritual.

- Another accidentally turned a prayer into a meme that went viral in the mortal realm.

- One built a miracle generator that only produced glitter.

They’d been exiled, forgotten, or “reassigned to mortal observation.”

“We don’t trust the tribunal,” Glitchmaster said. “They reward perfection and punish creativity. We want balance.”

Ne Job leaned in. “What’s the plan?”

---

Operation: Divine Disruption

The Council had a blueprint: a decentralized miracle protocol that let interns bypass the tribunal and deliver miracles directly to mortals.

“It’s risky,” Glitchmaster said. “If the tribunal finds out, they’ll reset us.”

Ne Job grinned. “Let’s make it trend before they can.”

They launched Operation: Divine Disruption.

- A prayer for rain became a spontaneous rainbow rave.

- A miracle request for healing triggered a flash mob of emotional support goats.

- A divine memo was rewritten as a meme: “Interns do it chaotically.”

Engagement spiked. The scroll glitched. Seraphina’s metrics wobbled.

---

Tribunal Response

The tribunal summoned Ne Job again. This time, the amphitheater was tense.

“Intern #404,” a deity said. “You’ve triggered unauthorized miracles.”

Ne Job stepped forward. “I’ve triggered engagement. Mortals are laughing again. Isn’t that divine?”

Seraphina narrowed her eyes. “You’re destabilizing the system.”

Zyx appeared in the shadows. “Or rebooting it.”

The tribunal paused. The scroll pulsed. A new directive appeared:

> “Initiate review of decentralized miracle protocol. Council of Forgotten Interns to be reinstated.”

Seraphina gasped. “You’re legitimizing chaos?”

The tribunal nodded. “We’re evolving.”

---

Closing Hook

Back in Sublevel 13, the Council celebrated. Ne Job received a new scroll:

> “Promotion: Chaos Strategist (Provisional Tier). Next test in 48 hours. Expect sabotage.”

He smiled. “Let them come. I’ve got goats.”