Recruitment Profile: Jacky Stein-Garde
TANKTHINK LEAKS_001.
Editor's Note:
The following set of documents comprises the first set from the TankThink data leak. It is the first of five detailing the candidates.
JACQUELINE STEIN-GARDE INTERVIEW LOG #1
DATE: December 13, 2024
INTERVIEWER: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: J
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
[RECORDING START]
[REDACTED enters the room, and removes the gag from STEIN-GARDE'S mouth. STEIN-GARDE is bound to a chair, blindfolded.]
INTERVIEWER: What's your name?
JACKY: [laugh] Are we really—
INTERVIEWER: Your name.
JACKY: You obviously know who I am. And who are you?
INTERVIEWER: Do you know where you are?
JACKY: Exactly? No, but based on timing, within twenty miles of Hyde Park.
INTERVIEWER: [sound of papers shuffling] For the recording, I'm reviewing the file of Candidate Jacqueline Stein-Garde. University of Chicago, second year, political science major. Currently on academic probation. [turning page] Fall 2023, all As. Winter 2024, all As. Spring 2024, no good. One A, two Ds, an F? Gets worse in the summer, up through right now. [pause] Quite a collapse, isn't it?
JACKY: Yep. Quite a collapse.
INTERVIEWER: I see you scored in the 99.8th percentile on our preliminary aptitude assessment. Your strategic reasoning skills are... exceptional. Yet you're failing three of your five courses this quarter. How do you reconcile these facts?
JACKY: Those courses aren't relevant to what matters.
INTERVIEWER: And what matters, Jacky?
JACKY: Understanding real power dynamics, not regurgitating theories for a grade.
INTERVIEWER: How is a candidate who can't complete basic academic assignments supposed to succeed in field operations?
JACKY: [silence]
INTERVIEWER: Your professor Bogard, notes your paper on Zomian power dynamics showed "exceptional promise" but was never completed. A pattern emerges.
JACKY: [tense] Is there a question?
INTERVIEWER: Is your roommate to blame for your academic decline?
JACKY: [surprised] Hilde? No. She's... meticulous. Organized. Everything I'm apparently not.
INTERVIEWER: She filed multiple complaints about your living habits. Would you characterize your relationship as hostile?
JACKY: We have different standards. Different priorities.
INTERVIEWER: Different priorities indeed. Let's discuss those priorities.
EMAIL FROM HILDE FISCHER TO RESIDENT HEADS
FROM: hilde.fischer@uchicago.edu
TO: mason.wong@uchicago.edu; sophia.wong@uchicago.edu
SUBJECT: Urgent - Roommate Situation Escalation (Room 312)
DATE: November 28, 2024
Dear Drs. Wong,
I'm writing as a follow-up to my meeting with RA Sarah last week regarding ongoing issues with my roommate, Jacky Stein-Garde. Unfortunately, the situation has worsened despite Sarah's intervention.
Specific concerns:
Jacky conducts research until 3-4 AM most nights, with her desk lamp on and keyboard clicking constantly
She holds lengthy phone calls with her mother (often 2-3 hours) during my designated quiet study hours (6-9 PM)
She has accumulated research materials across our entire shared space, including my desk when I'm in class
When asked to respect our room agreement, she becomes defensive or simply ignores the requests
Her work ethic is impressive—she's producing voluminous research on Kurdish militant networks and Central Asian politics—but this research isn't connected to any of her actual courses. Professor Bogard confirmed she hasn't submitted required assignments in weeks despite this parallel research.
I've tried multiple approaches to resolve this amicably, but the constant boundary violations have made my living situation untenable. I respectfully request a room reassignment before finals week.
Thank you for your consideration,
Hilde Fischer
JACQUELINE STEIN-GARDE INTERVIEW LOG #2
DATE: December 13, 2024
INTERVIEWER: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: J
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
INTERVIEWER: Your mother calls you multiple times daily. Three hours on average, according to your roommate's logs. What do you discuss?
JACKY: [defensive] She's... struggling. Since the Watson Institute incident.
INTERVIEWER: The incident where she claimed Kurdish separatist groups were being systematically eliminated by Turkish intelligence with American complicity?
JACKY: [sighing] Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Yes. Brown fired her. And now she calls you constantly to continue her research through you?
JACKY: It's not like that. She's brilliant. She sees connections others miss.
INTERVIEWER: And you feel obligated to validate her theories? To complete her unfinished work?
JACKY: [long pause] She's my mother.
INTERVIEWER: Even at the cost of your own academic career?
JACKY: [silence]
PROVIDENCE JOURNAL | LOCAL NEWS | MARCH 4, 2024
Former Brown University professor Roberta Stein-Garde was involuntarily committed to Butler Hospital yesterday following what authorities described as "a severe psychological episode" at her East Side apartment. Neighbors called police after Stein-Garde was observed shouting about "academic surveillance" and "systematic elimination of whistleblowers" from her balcony at 3 AM.
This marks the culmination of a public unraveling that began with her controversial statements on Kurdish identity last year, which led to her removal from the Watson Institute. Her attorney declined comment, while her daughter could not be reached.
JACQUELINE STEIN-GARDE INTERVIEW LOG #3
DATE: December 13, 2024
INTERVIEWER: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: J
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
INTERVIEWER: I'd like your assessment of your performance during the challenge.
JACKY: [cautious] Which aspect specifically?
INTERVIEWER: Three people died in a train derailment. And of course the people who died in the attack itself.
JACKY: Should I be upset? That's a particularly lucky train derailment.
INTERVIEWER: You managed to knock out power in a small corner of Germany for about an hour. The goal was to take the Bundesrepublik dark. That was your plan.
JACKY: Joel said it was a simulation, not "I'm going to take your first drafts and implement it with a bunch of dipshits!"
INTERVIEWER: [leaning closer] Did you really believe Joel?
JACKY: That's not fair. It was an interview!
INTERVIEWER: Yes.
JACKY: [pause] This... this isn't an interrogation. Not that kind of interrogation.
INTERVIEWER: Yes.
JACKY: This is still part of the interview, isn't it?
INTERVIEWER: [sitting back] Yes.
JACKY: The restraints, the blindfold—it's another test. Another layer of assessment.
INTERVIEWER: [sound of movement] That is one of the reasons. You're free to remove the blindfold, Jacky. Stretch those bones.
[Sound of fabric moving]
JACKY: This isn't... what is this place? This is… pleasant. I’d thought more Saw than Mad Men. Where are the others? Did they make it to this round too?
INTERVIEWER: Yes they did. But that is hardly important for you now. Close your eyes. You are not in this room. Let go of it. Achieve internal peace and clarity. Now tell me. What is the one question you should be asking right now?
JACKY: Did I win?
INTERVIEWER: [smiling slightly] No.
JACKY: Did I lose?
INTERVIEWER: Not yet.
[END RECORDING]