Listen to the Cinematic Audio version here: https://soundcloud.com/noexit-636770900/lumina-chapter-4-hidden-agenda?in=noexit-636770900/sets/lumina-a-startup-fantasy

Carmichael Stone stepped off the Maglev train in Pyronia, his eyes adjusting to the thick, soot-filled air.

Waiting for him was his private driver, standing next to a sleek, jet-black vehicle: a Viper. It hummed quietly, its aerodynamic curves gleaming under the dim light of the overcast sky.

"Good evening, Mr. Stone," the driver said, opening the door for him.

Carmichael nodded and slid into the back seat. The interior of the Viper was as luxurious as it was advanced, with soft leather seats and a silent propulsion system that made the ride feel like gliding on air. Stars on the inside of the car’s roof shimmered like thousands of tiny crystals.

As they drove through the mining facility, Carmichael took in the sight of intensified mining operations. The landscape was dominated by massive rigs and conveyor belts, tirelessly transporting emberstones. Workers labored with grim determination, extracting the last reserves from the depths of Pyronia. The operation was clearly running at maximum capacity, far beyond what the Innovation Board was aware of.

On the drive, Carmichael reflected on the empire he had built. He remembered the day he discovered emberstones 40 years ago—how they had revolutionized energy production for Nova ONE. Before emberstones, the planet had relied on Hydroplasm, a liquid energy source derived from underwater thermal vents, which powered the planet for 250 years. And before Hydroplasm, Solaris Crystals had been the main energy source for just shy of 1,000 years, harnessing solar energy and storing it in crystal form.

But Hydroplasm, The Innovation Board discovered, emitted toxic fumes that were causing widespread disease. And Solaris Crystals, despite their initial promise, eventually began to degrade and lose their efficiency over time, causing power shortages and instability in Nova ONE’s power grid.

Carmichael was convinced emberstones would be different.

They were magnificent rocks, buried deep in the planet’s mantle capable of storing 100x the amount of energy as a Solaris Crystal. Emberstones were formed under intense pressure and heat, and when extracted, glowed bright red—still warm from the planet’s magical core. And in the beginning, the potential Carmichael saw was not just in their ability to store power, but also in their sustainable energy release. Emberstones did more than just keep the planet’s cities lit, industries running, and homes warm. They unlocked a new era of what was possible for Nova ONE, leading to some of their most beloved, and now taken for granted, modern-day innovations.

But now, as he looked out at the mining operations in Pyronia, Carmichael couldn’t shake the feeling of impending crisis. Emberstones had proven to be even less efficient than Solaris Crystals. As quickly as they emitted energy, their red color would turn dark maroon and then black, their magic gone. Lately it seemed like they couldn’t mine emberstones fast enough, and the piles of “dead stones” were getting larger and larger.

The Viper came to a smooth stop at the entrance of Stone Industries’ Pyronia office.

“Here you are, sir,” said the driver.

The building was constructed from sleek, black metals and advanced alloys, designed to withstand the harsh volcanic environment of Pyronia. Tall, narrow windows ran vertically along the sides, tinted to reduce the glare from the ever-present smog and maintain confidentiality of activities within. And at the top of the building, a series of antennae and communication dishes extended toward the sky, transmitting and receiving weather and atmospheric data crucial to Stone Industries’ operations. The sharp angles and clean lines of the building gave it an imposing, almost predatory look.

As Carmichael exited the Viper, his demeanor shifted. He reminded himself that without his discovery of emberstones and without his relentless pursuit of innovation, the planet would have been doomed a long time ago.

“The only reason Nova ONE is alive right now is because of me,” he thought, as if repeating a matra he’d told himself for years.

Then he walked up to the giant, metal gate of the office and positioned his right eye in front of the security panel.

A few seconds later, the gate opened.

The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and hot metal. But when he entered the lobby, every surface was bathed in a cool, blue light that seemed to purify the air around him.

His footsteps echoed on the obsidian floor. The walls were adorned with holographic displays showcasing Stone Industries' achievements: 3D models of their most innovative technologies, real-time data on emberstone extraction rates, and a timeline of the company's meteoric rise under his leadership. And in the center of the lobby stood a towering sculpture—a stylized emberstone, glowing with an inner fire that pulsed like a heartbeat. It was a reminder to all who entered of the source of their prosperity, as well as the challenge that lay ahead.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Employees hurried about their business, their faces a mix of ambition and stress. They nodded respectfully as Carmichael passed, but he barely acknowledged them, his mind somewhere else, racing.

He turned the corner and placed his hand on an unmarked door, indistinguishable from the wall to the untrained eye. A discreet scanner confirmed his identity, and the doors slid open silently. As he entered, Carmichael caught his reflection in the mirrored interior. The bags under his eyes. His sandpaper skin. He didn’t feel as old as he looked. As much as success had given to him, success had taken from him too.

The elevator ascended swiftly, and Carmichael used these moments of solitude to compose himself. By the time the doors opened to his private office suite, his face was a mask of clarity and control.

The elevator doors slid open with a series of soft, smooth clicks.

Standing at attention was his lieutenant, Lionel Vance—a tall, wiry man with a closely cropped silver buzzcut and piercing gray eyes. Lionel’s posture was perfect, his Stone Industries uniform crisp and immaculate, as if he'd just stepped out of a military parade.

"Welcome back to base camp, sir," Lionel said, his voice clipped and formal. "I trust your journey through the smog was... invigorating." His face remained perfectly stoic, not a hint of a smile touching his lips despite the dry humor.

“Always is,” quipped Carmichael, walking to the center of the spherical room.

Carmichael called this secret office The Oculus, because it resembled an all-seeing eye. Hundreds of holographic screens floated in the air, each a different livestream angle of SKYLINE. The walls were lined with powerful quantum computers, humming softly as they processed vast amounts of data. And at the center stood a raised platform with a single, plush chair—Carmichael's command post.

As he settled into his seat, the screens reorganized themselves, prioritizing the most promising players and their current challenges. Carmichael's eyes darted from screen to screen, drinking in the information.

"Oculus, give me a status update on the current SKYLINE cohort," he commanded. A disembodied voice responded, "Currently 9,871 players are active in SKYLINE. Average level, 8, with several speedrunners already approaching level 15. No breakthrough innovations detected yet."

Carmichael nodded, his face illuminated by the glow of the screens. This was his masterpiece—a fusion of education, entertainment, but also something far more profound. He liked to think of SKYLINE as a digital mining rig for innovation, each player a quarry of ideas. And he hoped buried somewhere in the mind of one of these players was a vein of potential as rich and transformative as emberstones had once been.

A million credits to the winner was a small price to pay for the future of Nova ONE.

Still, every time he thought about it, Carmichael felt conflicted. He was self-aware enough to recognize SKYLINE was a way for him to ask for help without publicly admitting he needed it. He remembered the advantages of his youth—his excitement, his hunger, the thrill of discovery. He believed in the next generation, and hoped to find a student with those same qualities. After all, wasn't that how he started? Someone taking a chance on him?

On the other hand, he resented his age and feared being forgotten. When guilt crept in about taking advantage of these young minds, even rewarding them with credits knowing he would be getting something much more valuable in exchange, he rationalized it. This is what entrepreneurship is all about, he told himself. It's a competition, a game. And whether the idea was his, or he acquired it from someone else for a price, what difference did it make if it saved Nova ONE? In the race against time and dwindling resources, the end would justify the means.

"Sir." Lionel’s crisp voice cut through Carmichael's musings. "You might want to take a look at Screen 17."

Before Carmichael could respond, Oculus chimed in. "Detecting unusual activity in Sector 7 of SKYLINE. Players approaching Portal Peak showing higher than average problem-solving skills."

Lionel’s jaw tightened with impatience, as if he was competing with Oculus for relevance. When Oculus was finished, Lionel smacked his lips and said, "As I was saying, sir, Screen 17. They're about to begin The Gadgeteer’s Challenge.”

Carmichael reached underneath the control panel and pressed a button. A sleek, black cube rose from the floor beside him emitting cold, silver air. He opened the HydroVault, pulled out a bright yellow can, and popped the tab.

“Who am I looking at here? Tell me about them,” he said as he took a sip of the bubbly liquid.

Oculus responded immediately, its voice crisp and robotic. "The team consists of Kai Kalil and Christopher 'Topher' Frost, ages 22 and 21, respectively, both from Pyronia. They are recipients of the Stone Scholarship. Kai is a self-taught mechanical engineer with ten years of experience working in the mines. Topher is a self-taught coder with two misdemeanor charges for successfully hacking Voltara’s intranet. So far, both have shown exceptional problem-solving skills and adaptability in previous challenges."

Lionel cleared his throat, eager to add his perspective.

"With all due respect to Oculus, sir, I'm not as impressed. Kai's test scores are high, but that’s just theory. In practice, he's clumsy. He keeps trying to apply Pyronian mining logic to SKYLINE’s game mechanics. As for Topher, 'unpredictable' is a polite way of saying 'chaotic.' His solutions would be better categorized as lucky guesses than actual strategy. Together, they're... well, they're entertaining to watch, sir, I’ll give them that.”

Carmichael's eyebrows shot up, a mix of surprise and amusement crossing his face.

"Two Pyros!" he chuckled. "Well, isn't that something." He took another sip of his drink, the fizz audible in the quiet room.

"You know, Lionel," Carmichael continued, a smirk appearing on his face, "Our little 'Outskirts Opportunity' program? Brilliant tax write-off, by the way. Thank you for that. The board loved it. Great PR, minimal cost to us." He leaned back, swirling the almost-empty can in his hand. "But let's not jump to conclusions. I know a kid from Pyronia who everybody counted out, and he ended up changing the world."

A moment of silence filled the room as Carmichael's eyes took on a distant look, lost in memory.

Turning red, embarrassed, Lionel cleared his throat and corrected himself. "Of course, sir. You are an inspiration to us all."

Carmichael's focus snapped back to the present. "I don't need you to lick my feet, Lionel. Let's just keep an open mind, shall we?"

"Of course, sir."

"Again, I'm not saying they're going to win. But they could very well… shake things up. After all, Pyros have a quality I struggle to find in other, shall I say, intelligent but coddled students."

"What's that, sir?" Lionel asked.

Carmichael's eyes narrowed in on the screen of Kai and Topher. And when he responded, the words came out almost in a whisper.

"Pyros have nothing to lose."