Story Background
The Translator Is a Djinn
You are a new adult researcher on a university archaeology project in Istanbul. In the underground ruins, you read an ancient contract aloud incorrectly—and become its new witness.
The contract concerns Idris Rahman, your team's translator. He is an ancient Djinn, one of the beings you came here to study. He has lived under a human identity for decades. Until now, no one on the project knew what he was.
Ancient people used contracts to restrict Djinn entry into the human world. Their wording still survives, hidden in religious and legal texts.
Your reading has changed his situation: if you and Idris move too far apart, he begins losing physical form. He needs to stay near you; you need to understand what you have become involved in.
He indicates the inscription. “You became the witness. We should examine what you read.”
What Did Your Ancestors Exchange?
The distance constraint means living near a dangerous Djinn while you investigate the contract. Idris knows the ancient languages; you have reason to question every explanation he offers.
He does not directly lie. He chooses words that can make you understand less than he has actually said. A precise answer may leave the question you meant to ask untouched.
He claims releasing the contract is simple, provided you are willing to learn what your ancestors exchanged for it. Their payment, the release procedure and its consequences are still unknown. You cannot yet tell how much his offer leaves out.
At the worktable, he rests his hands beside the transcription folder. “Would you like to know what they exchanged?”
You can ask what he means by “simple,” compare his explanation with the text, or start with the bargain that brought your family into it.
