Ashton Etrigan
Age: 28
Current Mass: 185 lbs/84 kg
Mental Status: Anxious
Physical Status: N/A
The crowds were thick everywhere we looked. People filled every inch of space at the main entrance gate of Luxin City Expo and made it impossible to move freely around. Luckily, Deimos and I weren’t in any of the groups trying to get inside through the main gate or any of the side gates that populated the borders of the Expo grounds. Thanks to Deimos’ job we had been invited in with the other business representatives, which was still a significant number of people. I didn’t like being in crowds, as you can probably tell, and this group of suit-wearing men and women were no exception, but it was bearable in comparison to how I would feel if I had bought a general admission ticket.
I felt extremely out of place amongst these people. They looked bored or were otherwise occupied with flickering text conversations that ran across digital lenses worn directly on the eyeball, like corrective lenses with an added Augmented Reality feature. Nothing I could ever afford. Some of the other people were speaking quietly amongst themselves, and I heard fragments that indicated they had spent a lot of money to get an invite, and that it better be worth it. Those with matching suits and badges were gathered in groups, but some looked like they were here alone, keeping to themselves in a corner or unoccupied couch. In contrast to these people I felt jittery with excitement at all the exhibits and presentations we were going to be witnessing. The opportunities here were massive. I didn’t know how yet, but it felt to me like just being here was the first step towards a brighter future for myself.
We were all located in a side building, inside a large conference room, waiting for this host of some kind that was supposed to greet us and take us out to the show floor. The space was furnished with black and gray furniture. Leather couches, armchairs and tables were scattered around the room, creating sections for people to gather without having to intrude upon anyone else’s personal space. This was pretty impressive considering the fact that there were forty eight people currently in the room with me. Other than that it was a generally normal office conference room, which meant a cabinet full of smart-pads, a coffee machine, a couple computers, and a large holoscreen projected on the back wall. There was also a giant food station and bar, where they served real meat and naturally grown fruit, which I thought was almost a little excessive. It must have cost a fortune, but it was there for us, free of charge. Needless to say, a large line had formed at the table, and Deimos had just gone to fetch us some of the complimentary food and drinks when a sharply dressed man with glasses came over to me.
He was tall and thin, black hair and a clean shaven face, and he wore a tall red tophat with a black satin band around its base. Regardless of all of this, the most striking thing about this man was his wide, white grin. It seemed to shine, even though the room was perfectly sunlit through the large windows that overlooked the Expo. It was as though this man was holding a dimly lit lightbulb in his mouth, and the only expression it allowed him to hold was one of a madly excited glee. He approached me and stuck out his hand.
“Hello! What a pleasure it is to see fresh faces at one of these events! I’m glad to make your acquaintance, Mr… ah, Ashton Etrigan! What a powerful name you have, Mr Etrigan!”
I hesitantly grabbed his outstretched hand and he shook it so vigorously my badge jumped up and down as it hung from my neck. He must have read it, because I never got a chance to actually say anything. The strange man spoke quickly too, so much so that I couldn’t get a word in even if I wanted.
“Man, what a grip you got there, do you work out?” he asked. I nodded hesitantly, becoming more uncomfortable with the situation each second. The man kept talking.
“Impressive! Finally someone who isn’t scared to get out of the lab and work on something other than theoretical numbers, am I right? Not only that, but you seem to have a good head on those shoulders as well! I saw it when you arrived, you see, I try to make it my business to get to know every interesting newcomer, and you look positively captivating! They way you scanned the room and the other suits when you entered? Then you proceeded to casually count each one of us! Is that a compelled action or just a personal quirk? Nevertheless, it’s a good habit! Gives you a sense of control! Every bit of information can be helpful, that’s the way I see it!”
The man spoke with such force, it was like being punched in the face with words. My head was swimming and it was hard to pay attention, all the while his demeanor was overwhelmingly positive and relaxed. He even smiled at the end of each sentence. It looked effortless.
“So, who do you work for here?” He asked. “You’re not with the guys from The Steady Faith, they wouldn’t bring such a young man, and you’re certainly not dressed well enough to be working at Exhelion. You could be with Zenith, or perhaps even Lodestar, but you don’t seem like the type to work in Theoretical Physics or Design. Too much mass to you. That only leaves the smaller businesses.” He paused to look around for a second, then turned his bright orange eyes back to me. He blinked once, and I swore I could see a flash of light in them, but it must have been the sun shining through the window and reflecting off his AR lenses. “So?” He said, and I realized he was actually waiting for an answer.
“Oh, erm… I’m not- I don’t uh.. know any of these people.” I said, which couldn’t have sounded very impressive. I was sweating nervously and it was hard for me to look the still unknown man in the eye. Where the hell was Deimos? I decided it was best to keep talking until he showed up, my nerves be damned. Maybe I could still save this first impression somehow.
I cleared my throat and did my best to sound confident. “What I mean to say is, you’re right, I don’t really work with any of these people. I’m here with my friend, on an invitation from his company, Eleqwik, to uh… watch the main stage presentation and report back what I think about the convention and its contents.”
That sounded better, although I ended up being a little more honest than I intended. At least I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of… whoever this man was. I hadn’t spotted any badge on him yet, and at this point I was too nervous about it to actually ask who he was. There was a chance this guy was some serious high ranking businessman that anyone else would recognize on sight, but I had never seen or heard anything about a tall, thin man with the billion watt smile.
He took in my answer and seemed to mull it over for a second, then barked out a loud laugh, just one, and clapped me on the shoulder. I almost jumped out of my polished shoes as the tension broke at the sound of his hand against my shoulder, but I managed to stay calm. He was surprisingly strong. He looked me straight in the eye and said “You know what, Ashton? I like you! There’s a spark in your eye, and I can tell you can go far, given the right chances! It’s too bad we won’t ever meet again, I would have liked to see how it turns out for you!”
His words and the genuine emotion he layered them with made me uneasy. It felt like he knew some kind of secret, that both amused him immensely and saddened him greatly. It made me empathize with the strange man in a way that felt alien to me.
Before I had any more time to think about it he once again grabbed my hand and shook it, hard. “It has been a pleasure to meet you today, Ashton, but it is almost time for me to leave! I hope you enjoy the Convention, I know I will!” And before I knew it he had left me, my hand still hanging in the air in front of me. I looked after him and saw him stop next to a woman with sharp features and black hair. She gave him an old fashioned pair of actual eyeglasses, which he then put on before the two of them exited the room.
“Who the hell was that?” This time I did jump, as Deimos’s voice came from right behind me. He’d finally returned from the food and drinks table, with two trays loaded to the brink of overflow with a variety of real meat, fruit, potatoes and gravy. “Deimos! Don’t scare me like that, man!” I grabbed a plate of food and sat down at a nearby table. As I sat, a small paper square fell out of my breast pocket. I didn’t recognize it, but a small image of a red tophat was imprinted on the little card. I was curious, but the smell of the food in front of me was overpowering, and I put the card down. Deimos sat down next to me with his own plate. From a pocket he pulled two forks wrapped in napkins, and handed one to me. A water pitcher and paper cups were already at the table. We ate for a couple minutes, just watching the people around us doing the same. Eventually Deimos looked up from his plate at me. “So, are you gonna tell me who you were talking to back there, Ash? That tall guy with the fancy hat? He looked weird. You know, out of place. Did he tell you his name or anything?” I picked the little card up. “No, he didn’t introduce himself, he seemed to just be interested in me. I have no idea who he is.” Deimos looked skeptical at my answer. While I spoke I turned the little card around in my hand, and on the back of the card was another little inscription. I read it, then looked at Deimos. “Do you know who The Director is?”
⬨⬨⬨
We ended up waiting for another ten minutes until we were eventually greeted by the host from the Luxin City Expo Committee. There were two of them, in fact, a man and a woman. They looked extremely alike, and I thought they could perhaps be twins. Same brown hair color, same round face with the upturned nose, and same pale skin from being inside too much. Not that I was any better. The hosts made us all form up in one large group, then gave us all brochures of the events that would take place throughout the weekend. I tried to look for the strange man I had spoken to earlier, but both he and his friend were gone.
“... and if you look on the back of your badges you’ll all find a numerical code that matches the card inside your brochures. This card is the access card you will use to enter the private presentations to your companies, as well as your private apartments and conference rooms.”
I looked at the back of my badge and sure enough, a three digit numerical code was printed on it, right under my name and title, that matched the code on the black plastic card I had pulled out of my brochure. Then the host's words hit me like a truck. “Wait, we get individual apartments?!” I whispered to Deimos. “Shh! Yes, but forget about that, and pay attention”
I had clearly misinterpreted just how much money was spent on all the guests for the whole weekend. It baffled me how easy it was for these people to just throw such life changing amounts of money around. The waste of space and the inevitable waste of food disgusted me, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see the private rooms. I realized I’d lost focus again and turned my attention back to the hosts. The woman was speaking now. “We hope you will enjoy your stay at the Lodestar Labs Convention, and if there is anything you need you can call on us any time, just call the phone number on your brochure.”
Again, excess luxury that seemed to rub me the wrong way. It was just another comfort for rich people who were unable to do normal things on their own, like cook, or dress themselves. I looked around at the other guests, and found nothing but pleased faces and nods of approval. Even Deimos looked excited by the luxury, which I found a little weird. He and I usually shared opinions on stuff like this. I ignored it for now. It was time to go to the convention.
⬨⬨⬨
We didn’t get to enjoy the convention. Or rather, I didn’t get to enjoy the convention. Deimos and I had apparently a whole list of things that we needed to complete. These tasks were given to Deimos by his boss at Eleqwik, and largely consisted of administrative work. In other words, we had to fill out documents and make notes if something was out of the ordinary. It felt like walking through a desert with no water, no food, and nothing to do other than be bored! Easy to say Deimos did most of the actual filling out of the documents, while I just scribbled some stuff down on a pad whenever he said to. Deimos actually enjoyed the work. He had a mind for planning and executing that I simply lacked, and besides, he actually knew what all these documents were for. I tried to read through a couple, but all I saw were words like “acquisition”, “security” and “contractual obligation”. That was enough for me to check out completely. I had real issues with performing small, repetitive tasks like these, and would alway push them on to someone else if I were made to do them at my own job. I got through it purely on the promise that we would be able to fully enjoy the convention when it was all done. We still had people to talk to as part of the deal, but that was at least doable out on the show floor, which meant Deimos could handle the talking and I could do the gawking!
“What was that?” Deimos suddenly asked, looking up from his thousandth document. “What was what?” I asked right back. He looked at me. “You,” he said. “You mumbled something and then hissed at yourself? Was that you trying to laugh quietly?” I blinked. I had apparently been talking to myself out of pure boredom, and not noticed when I made myself laugh. I sighed. “Maybe? I don’t know man, I’m too bored for this. Have you any idea what we’re missing right now? The things we could be seeing if we came here as regular guys?” I looked at him pleadingly, but Deimos just waited for me to continue. He knew me well enough not to interrupt me in the middle of a dramatic speech. I took a deep breath.
“Look, D, I’m not saying I’m ungrateful, this place is pretty cool, and I’m very glad you chose me to come with you on this little adventure. HOWEVER, I would have liked to actually go walk the floor downstairs, and see all the projects that might change the world! I mean, what if someone is showcasing an actual flying car this year? It’s just a question of mass manipulation and gravity, right?” I was grinning at this point, and Deimos was sitting with his head in his hand, patiently waiting for me to finish. “Remember when the Panine government funded that engineers hover tech project?” Deimos nodded and smiled at me. “Within ten years their whole navy was equipped with jetpacks, and that hero, Pulsefire I think, is using some variant of it over in Vochs.” He said, still resting his head in his hand. “Exactly!” I said excitedly. “Imagine getting to try out the prototype for it when it was first presented, oh wait, WE COULD BE DOING THAT!”
I was panting, my pulse was thumping beneath my skin, and I was grinning from ear to ear. Then I slammed my hands on the table as hard as I could. The action made Deimos jump, which was exactly what I wanted, but it also made my palms sting like crazy. “This is the fucking Lodestar Labs Science convention! The world’s greatest scientist team, funded by the world’s biggest technological company! The same people who made space travel a commercial experience, the same team that eliminated all use of fossil fuels! They made the Andromeda Star Chart, dammit! Their head scientist used to be Melanie Astra, a magnetar amongst her peers, and that was long before she designed the Chart, and we’re stuck up here? Doing paperwork?!” Deimos sat up straight as I took another deep breath.
He raised an eyebrow “Are you done?” I rubbed my hands together. They still stung a little. “Almost.” I realized then that I had apparently gotten out of my chair around the time I slammed the table. I noticed because I was on my feet and somehow out of breath. I sat back down and tried to calm down. “All I’m saying is that we should be down there, seeing all the ideas and possibilities that might take our shitty lives and change them into something better. You know, as a couple of friends doing fun things together. Alright, now I’m done.”
Deimos sat still in his chair, back still straight as a steel rod. “Did that make you feel better?” He asked calmly. I was still breathing harder than usual, but my pulse was already half of what it peaked at during my tirade.
I met his eyes, and he stared straight at mine. His were a bright, golden orange color, and very very pretty, while mine contrasted them well with my deep purple darkness. I’d been told by several other friends that, from the way we looked and acted around each other, we would make a great romantic couple. I’d thought about it, but quickly decided that I was more comfortable with the friendship we had. Besides, Deimos was only attracted to women, specifically my sister.
“I’ll feel better after some food. If we’re gonna stay in here all night I might as well take advantage of some luxuries.”
I ended up going to bed early, while Deimos stayed up to finish doing the rest of the paperwork. I was exhausted from trying to understand all the legal-speak, so I barely even noticed when Deimos went out later that night. I don’t know how long he was away, but I was a heavy sleeper, and fast asleep by then. I had no idea what he had done.
⬨⬨⬨
I was woken up by a monotone voice yelling at me from the ceiling.
“Good morning. This is your preset alarm. The time is 07:15 in the morning. Coffee or tea will be ready in ten minutes.”
I forced my eyes open and instantly regretted sleeping close to the window. The included robot assistant built into the room had apparently been programmed by some masochist because right at the end of the robotic alarm the curtains were raised, and the bright light of another morning shoved itself straight onto my retinas. I grumbled loudly, but did eventually get out of bed. A ding! came from the little kitchenette, as a pot of fresh coffee finished boiling on the countertop. There were plenty of choices in cream and sugar, which I usually couldn’t afford, so I went a little crazy trying out different things. The sacred black liquid tasted amazing as it woke me up properly. Then I remembered what day it was, and got my ass moving with an efficiency that no one who knew me would believe I was capable of this early in the morning.
“Deimos? You up?” I yelled out in the room.
“Bathroom! Be out in a tic!” I heard him yell back from behind a door at the other side of the room. I filled another mug with coffee for him, then went to grab some casual clothes from my bag. No way I was gonna wear the fancy, stiff suit if I didn’t have to.
Deimos came out of the bathroom a minute later and grabbed the mug I’d set out for him. His hair was dripping with water, which reminded me of how I probably didn’t smell great after the previous day's stresses.
“I’m gonna grab a shower, then we can make some breakfast before we hit the floor. Please |tell me it’s okay to wear jeans and a shirt, because I’m gonna wear jeans and a shirt.”
Deimos swallowed a big gulp of coffee. “You can wear jeans and a shirt. Don’t worry about breakfast though, there’s a buffet in the private lounge that’s open until nine. I was planning on picking up bacon, a couple eggs, some toast and a carton of milk, then we’d eat in here before we head downstairs.” He said, and winked at me.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
My mouth was all the way open, and my eyes were about to pop out of my skull. To me it was as if Deimos had spontaneously grown a second head, but he said it all with a nonchalance that almost seemed natural until the wink. This is it, I have died and gone to paradise, I thought to myself. I was even almost right.
The main floor was packed! People were milling about inside the huge open space, going back and forth between the different exhibits that were there. The exhibits themselves were given vast designated areas, with representatives from all kinds of different tech companies showing off their newest projects. I took in everything as I walked around the halls with Deimos trailing behind me. We spent hours looking at the bleeding edge of technology. I learned about the newest in Augmented Reality Lenses, where soon all users would be able to wear corrective eyeglasses over the AR lens, without having them interfere with the signal to and from the lens. Then there was the booth from NeuroLink, a group of medical engineers that were creating Neural Network implants that would assist the body of a person with mental illnesses like depression or chronic anxiety, by better balancing the chemical composition of the brain and its functions. With these implants they could potentially erase such illnesses entirely, the only current issue was getting people to acknowledge and support the relatively complex procedure necessary for the implant. I signed my and Emily’s name on their petition, knowing she would have killed me if I robbed her of an opportunity to help others.
Deimos, while I was checking out new gadgets and gizmos, was busy talking to the actual representatives of each exhibit, the spokespeople who were there to actually sell products to companies. He did a fairly great job, too. I was impressed at how easily he got them talking about production issues, or personal stories from whatever lab had developed each invention. I never understood how he got close to a stranger so well, and so fast.
We spent the majority of the day like this, walking around, checking out as many exhibits as possible. Some were better than others, which was to be expected, but there were a few standouts as well, such as the neural implants. The biggest event was still ahead of us.
The Lodestar Main Event staged was enormous. A grand hall was entirely set aside for the groundbreaking project that Lodestar Labs would finally unveil. Rumors about what it was spread like wildfire, but none came close to the truth.
The conference hall was split into three sections, layered on top of each other. VIP’s and other people with an invitation, meaning me and Deimos, were seated in section 1, og the floor of the conference hall itself, with a table to share with a few other guests. Above and behind us was the second layer, generally for press and photographers, and the third layer was for any other convention goer who wanted to come see the panel.
In the front of the room was a large half-moon shaped stage, with a huge, black backdrop and two projected screens on either side. On the stage were a couple chairs, a couch and a table to one side, and a raised podium in the middle for whoever was going to speak.
Deimos and I were part of the seventh group that was guided to our seats, where we ordered a couple drinks to wait until the hall was filled. I had changed into the suit again, at Deimos’s request, and was feeling uncomfortable about sitting at the same table as a bunch of strangers in similar suits. Despite our clothes being the same, I was nothing like these pompous, self-absorbed, rich and insincere assholes.
The large conference hall filled up pretty quickly, and while we sat with our drinks we could see other groups of VIP guests enter and sit down at tables just like ours, spread across the floor. If I looked up I could also see the layered balconies filling up with a mass of people holding snacks while trying to find a good seat.
If I could handle being in the middle of that chaos, I think I would prefer it to sitting here, trying to casually blend in with these formal f-
My rambling thoughts were cut off as the auditorium suddenly got dark, and a fanfare started playing across the PA system. The show was about to begin!
⬨⬨⬨
The main event at the Lodestar Labs Science Convention opened with an incredible display of sights and sound. A soundtrack played grand, epic music accompanied by a lightshow that mimicked the image of space, using negative space filled with colors and lights to make the walls and ceiling look like starclouds and nebulae. It was a fantastic show, and the audience loudly cheered with each change in scenery and music.
At the end of the show, a large holoscreen appeared suspended in the air above the stage, and a video began playing. It showed the first space station Lodestar ever launched, along with a voiceover by some woman with a soft velvety voice. Once the video was finished, a man in a strange suit and lab coat combo entered the stage and started talking about the history of Lodestar. Their biggest achievements, their most notable scientists and engineers, and finally, the Star Chart. I was entirely enthralled by the experience.
One after the other, teams of scientists or their designated spokesperson came out on stage and spoke about their current projects. None of them were even close to finish yet, but it seemed like Lodestar was building up towards something big. Something that would change everything.
And finally it came. A man dressed in a dark suit, with shiny shoes and styled hair walked out onto the stage, and everyone in the hall instantly recognized Orion Solomon, the owner and CEO of Solomon Industries. He was the biggest sponsor for this convention, as well as most everything that dealt with innovation and the future, in addition to plenty of other businesses. He owned the Andromeda Hospital, where Emily worked, among others. I didn’t like him much.
“Good evening everyone!” The sound from the PA system blasted across the audience, drowning out any and all cheering.
“I would love to personally welcome you all tonight, to the Lodestar Labs main stage, where you will witness the future!” He flashed a bright smile and the audience cheered again.
“We know you have speculated, and we have heard the rumors. Yes, the dawn of a new era is here. Yes, it will change our society for the better! My dear audience, it is with great pleasure I introduce to you, The Well.” Mr. Solomon ended his speech low, and in the silence of confused people the stage once more lit up in a cascade of pyrotechnics, creating a glittering shower of sparks that fell from the ceiling, almost like stars falling to earth. It was beautiful and blinding.
While the sparks fell, a new presence took the stage. A tall, thin man, with a red tuxedo and tophat. His dark black hair was slicked back, and he walked out through the sparks in a jaunty dance, then spread his arms towards the crowd, and with a flash of white teeth he bowed deeply at the hip. Doing so perfectly revealed the machine that had been strategically placed behind him to the crowd, who in turn applauded wildly. A woman in a long white lab coat and black turtleneck stood beside the machine, looking like a mother caring for a child. She was shorter than the tophat wearing man, but not by much. Her demeanor, however, was quite the opposite of his. She wore a stern look on her face, coldly flicking her gaze across the audience, not seeming too thrilled about being there. Not many noticed her face though, people were too busy cheering for the man in front. The strangely familiar, tall and thin man, with the wide grin plastered across his face at all times. My heart nearly stopped.
That’s him! The man I spoke with yesterday, at the intro meeting before the convention began! Shit, I knew he must have been important, but this… this sucks! I made such a mess of myself, and he’s on the main stage?! I need to talk to Deimos, I-
I looked to the other side of the table, where Deimos would be sitting, but he was gone. I had no idea when he’d left, but his seat was now empty, and I couldn’t find him anywhere near our table. “DEIMOS!” I shouted for him, but the crowd and the music made it impossible to hear anything. I was alone.
So I sat in my seat and anxiously looked back at the stage. Mr. Solomon was walking up to the smiling man now, holding two pairs of black glasses in his hands.
“What a show everybody, huh? We’ve really gone all out for this one! Now, I believe introductions are in order. The man you see before you today might be a charming fellow, with the dance move to match, but don’t let that fool you. He’s actually a shy individual, so instead we will just use his title. Everyone, please meet The Director!”
The audience laughed and cheered. This was normal for some businesses. Someone might not wish to become a public figure just because they worked with a public company. There was even a system in place to make sure the people who used only titles, be it Heroes, government officials or business owners, didn’t use the same titles as anyone else. It was neatly controlled by a government agency, paid for by tax dollars, and mostly used by people who wished to stay anonymous even when making a public appearance, like this one.
“And with him on this fine evening he has brought a most special scientist,” continued Mr. Solomon.
“She has her mothers eyes and looks, but most importantly, her mind for the impossible, the new owner of the esteemed title of The Doctor, Doctor Lucienne Astra!”
I froze.
Astra. The creator of the Star Chart. Her daughter? She had a daughter? Wait, new owner of the title… She’s dead?! The news said nothing… She’s been off grid for so long… I guess old age caught up with her.
The new Doctor Astra lifted a hand from her machine and waved stiffly at the crowd. Her frown was very slowly growing with each second the spotlight was on her. She looked almost angry when it left her to point back at Mr. Solomon and the Director, who stood on either side of a podium, looking like they were having a friendly chat. Mr. Solomon looked at the crowd, then gestured with his hands to the podium, inviting the Director to address the audience directly. He laughed and lifted his hands, palms out, in a placating manner, then took the podium. He smiled and laughed into the microphone, then took off his tophat and put it down in front of him.
“Hello! It’s so good to see so many people here.”
His voice was smooth and gentle, and as soon as he spoke the crowd went silent. The baritone in the words soothed the ringing ears of everyone in the giant hall.
Everyone went silent.
“I can’t put into words how amazing it feels to stand before you here today. The sparkle of your eyes and the flash of cameras taking pictures, it’s all so bright. Just like the future.“
He spoke calmly, every word purposefully enunciated and clear.
“The Well is the future.” People began murmuring when he mentioned the strange name for the device behind him.
It had a cloth covering it, but it was easy to see it was large. Tall and round, with a protrusion sticking out from its zenith. The Director continued.
“The covered machine behind me is indeed the salvation to many of the problems humanity is facing in today's society. Its purpose is to generate power that will be used for everything, from heating homes and fueling cars, to power machines that make our everyday lives grow just a bit easier, until no one has to live with less than what is right.”
The audience kept whispering during the rather impressive statement, but without the awe inspired tones it had before this. It seemed too good to be true, which in most cases meant it was.
“It’s okay, I get it,” The Director took off from the podium with the microphone in his hand.
“The implications of what I’m saying seems…” he paused for a second, “astronomically large, and therefore not entirely possible, am I right?”
There was a general murmur of agreement.
“The gravity of the situation is understandably difficult to grasp without…” his smile widened as he approached a point he seemed awfully eager to reach.
“A demonstration!” He shouted the words, and raised his arms towards the machine. In that exact moment the large sheet covering the machine was pulled away, and the audience got a good look at The Well for the first time.
It was large. A perfect sphere, easily fifteen feet in diameter, made of some transparent material, placed on a square platform shaped to hold the sphere steady using an indentation in the platform, and a thousand small omni-directional wheels that spun whenever the sphere moved. As impressive as that was, the most interesting part was the sphere's interior. Inside it, seemingly floating in midair, was a golden rod with ball bearings at each end. On the middle of the golden rod was a large plate, forming around the rod itself, separating the two halves. On the plate were several small indentations, like it was supposed to hold a whole bunch of balls on its own. They were empty.
Around the rod and the plate were another two separate circles of metal, one inside the other. They were disconnected from the rod itself, but floated inside the large sphere, perfectly aligned with the plate on the middle of the rod.
It was smaller than I had expected. I felt that a world changing invention should be more grand. Something that took one’s breath away the second you saw it. I looked at the Doctor, Astra, as her name was. She was fiddling with a panel of some sort while speaking at someone I couldn’t see. She looked agitated.
Overhead, on the first balcony, the press snapped a thousand pictures per second as The Director walked over to The Well. He stopped on the opposite side from Doctor Astra, and struck a pose like a game show hostess.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering exactly what you’re looking at. In my experience even the most scientifically gifted among our teams have struggled with understanding The Doctor's marvel of engineering, and as a result of that, no one really knows her creation but herself. So, it will be my pleasure to hand over this microphone and let her do the honors! Everyone, put your hands together for Doctor Lucienne Astra!”
The Doctor stared at The Director for a second, then quickly turned to face the crowd. She was not smiling.
“The Well is a gravitationally activated generator, reacting to the pull created by a hyper dense object placed within the sphere.”
Her words were barked out in short, quick bursts.
“The hyperdense object is placed on the plate in the center of the gyroscope inside the sphere. From there the process self-initiates as soon as we vacuum seal the sphere, and the spincycle starts up. The gyroscope will begin turning as soon as the hyperdense object is placed on it, however during the initial spincycle, it stabilizes as the gravitational force is bent around itself in a perpetual cycle that increases the sphere’s CPS until it reaches a peak of around sixteen thousand cycles per second.”
The whole room was silent. Someone coughed.
The Doctor actually sneered at the crowd. She gripped the microphone so hard I could see her knuckles turning white, all the way from my seat.
I thought she looked angry, but I couldn’t understand why.
Until I looked around. On the first floor most of the VIP guests weren’t paying attention at the end of her extremely detailed and complicated explanation. They were more interested in their own devices than the amazingly intricate process that was laid before them.
Idiots. Do they not notice the one thing she isn’t explaining?! An object so dense it has an orbit, at a human sized scale! Is no one hearing how that breaks every law of physics we know of?!
I looked from the other guests around me and back to Doctor Astra on the stage. She had been quiet for about ten seconds now, simply glaring out into the sea of eyes looking back at her. She lifted the microphone to her mouth again.
“This machine is going to generate so much electricity it could power all of Luxin City for a thousand years, and none of you would ever see an electric bill!”
The crowd of convention attendees on the balconies absolutely exploded into applause and cheers so loud they shook the room.
Down at my table the other guests were also now prying close attention to the stage, however their faces were anything but cheerful. I saw rage and disappointment on several faces, and even fear on others.
It’s about money, I realized.
These people either work for or own some variant of an electric company, and now a huge part of their business is dead.
I smiled to myself. To me it seemed very appropriate. Power was beginning to shift, and those who were losing it didn’t like that.
Welcome to my life, assholes.
The Director chose that moment to get back into the spotlight, and take the microphone back from Doctor Astra.
“What do you think about THAT, huh?” Again, the crowd exploded with sound.
“I am right there with you, my dear audience! Now, let’s all thank The Doctor for her explanation,” and he graciously clapped his hands, “and then get on with an actual demonstration! My dear Doctor, would you please go and bring the star of the show?”
I thought I caught a glimpse of intense shock on The Doctor's face at that, but it happened so fast I couldn’t be sure. I was still distracted about Deimos’s absence, so much so that I missed the details of what happened next.
“Doctor Astra, everybody. Give her a round of applause! She will be right back with that mysterious ‘hyperdense object’ she spoke of, and we will show you just exactly how The Well works.” He made a silly face as he said “hyperdense object”, and people laughed at his little good natured joke.
“While we wait for her return, I have a small confession to make,” The Director said flatly.
“I haven’t been entirely honest with you all. No, I haven’t lied about anything, we just played an innocent little trick. See, this Well here,” he gestured to the device behind him. “This isn’t really the finished product we hoped to show today. We were told the finished version of The Well would be impossible to bring with us, so we made a travel sized version just for today. The actual size of our magnificent machine is in fact quite a bit bigger. Around one thousand feet in diameter bigger! A whole building dedicated to just this one marvel of engineering! That is the truth, dear audience! Imagine the scale, the majesty, THE POWER!”
Huh?
I snapped back from wondering where Deimos had gone. What had The Director just said? His smile seemed… wider than before. Too wide.
“Just imagine it, no more cold winters, no more failing fuses, no more-” He was cut off as Doctor Astra came back on stage from the dark folds of the heavy curtains.
“Ah, well enough of that, time for the demonstration.” His voice was back to normal, and the mad grin was gone, replaced by a soft expression on his face.
That was… unusual. No one else seemed especially affected by his momentary change in demeanor. I sipped my drink and tried to calm down.
“Now that The Doctor is back I assume we can begin momentarily. First, a safety precaution however. For those of you in the balconies, you were all given a pair of black tinted glasses when you came in. Please put them on now. My dear guests on the main floor, our assistants will be handing out your glasses as I speak now, and you too should put them on as soon as you receive a pair.”
A woman in a shirt and black vest came to our table and started handing out glasses with completely black lenses. It was almost like they were painted. I put them on as soon as they were handed to me. The Director kept speaking.
“The effects of The Well as it starts working its magic is quite the sight to behold, for about four seconds, after which your corneas would be so burned by light you’d be blinded for the rest of your life.”
I gulped and re-balanced the glasses on my face to better cover my eyes entirely.
Wait, if Deimos comes back now, he’ll not have a pair of glasses! Shit, where IS he?!
The Director quickly continued after everyone had put on their shades.
“Excellent! Now we only need our-” a man ran on to the stage from somewhere on the side. He ran straight up to The Director and whispered something into his ear. The new man had a black suit on, with a thin black tie over a white shirt. He was not wearing any glasses. He did however have an empty gun holster on his hip.
After six seconds of whispering The Director leaned back from the man and looked over at Doctor Astra, who stared back at him. She lifted her arm, palm out, hand splayed out. She bent her thumb. A second later, her pinky. Then her ring finger. She was counting down. Middle finger went down. A boom came from deep in the building, then a rumble that shook the floor. The Director stepped forward.
“I’m sorry for that everyone, there seems to be a slight delay righ-”
KA-BOOOM!!
The explosion was much closer this time. Tables fell over, glass shattered everywhere, and people immediately started screaming. All hell broke loose.
Then the balconies fell down on top of us. On top of me.
Deimos, where are you?