Robert -“ As per tradition, the First Brand, lead by-", Robert stopped, to tend to his visibly irritated face-'' Samuel, will provide a script we should act in our media presences. And I'm the presenter...again."
Priya -" I still can't tell if he likes you or not, Robert." Priya said in a teasing manner.
Robert -" He likes to chaff around. Make…fun jokes. JOSH AROUND…ME! We are just...ugh…the best of friends, " he relayed in the most frustrated and defeated tone possible. After glitching for a bit, he resumed his normal tone and moved on.-" Alright, back to business. The next thing to discuss is the novelty of this year. Elina, since this is your patient, please tell us more about this…volunteer C.E.”
Elina -“ Oh, sure. Thank you, Robert, sir. " Her avatar appeared as a tall, confident, cat-themed costumed woman, complete with her natural, mousy voice. After swallowing a nod in her throat, she continued: " The C.E Seven Four is a remarkably long-keeping C.E, to be honest. It has one year in the processing line + 25 years of recorded working time, so it’s one of the oldest ones. They worked in 6 departments, for three brands, the longest time being with us, for 13 years now."
Priya-" Correction", intervened Priya. "11 from when I led your Brand, and 2 with you. That is all."
Elina -" Right, my mistake.” Elina almost snapped the real pen she held while making the presentation. “Nothing else stands out, though. Most of their work was done by the book, exactly how they were instructed. Never went out of line, they simply did their job satisfactorily. And that’s it. Besides this sudden interest in the competition and their volunteer resignation, they don’t seem out of place.”
Joni -“Eh, maybe it is an age thing. We could use them to attract interest in the first few rounds of the competition since they will probably not make it past the second or third round. Which C.T.D did you set them up with?’, asked Joni.
Elina -“We, Uhm, well actually decided to go with a theme this year and used one of the older sets-”
Priya -“Oh, did you now? You know, you could just admit that you went for the cheap investment, deary. C'mon, I helped out here, you can't hide it from me.”
Elina -“The theme is one of experience”, interjected rapidly Elina - “ They both have years of living through the toughest of times and greatest of moments-”
Priya -“And one is taking part for free, while the other has a dirty cheap entry fee-”, remarked Priya.
Elina -“Yes, but you see they both would complement-”
Robert, tired of the cat-and-mouse routine, added his own two cents to the mix; -“ I must admit, it’s not exactly a poor decision on your part. They will be the novelty at the start, and if you're lucky, the publicity you will attract might bump your Brand up one, two places on the leaderboard”. His compliments had a second purpose as well, mostly so that the meeting wouldn’t devolve into a -“pointless, childish, match. I don’t enjoy babysitting and if we bully her too much, this will never end.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Priya -“ Afterward you can just use your favor in the third round to hinder the patient of the 7th Brand, and just like that you get to remain CEO while the games get a bit interesting for the public,” added Pryia, after she understood what Robert was trying to do.
Elina -“ Well, yeah, that is the plan, to be honest. I just, I, I wanted, it was all in the presentation...”
Joni -“ Ah, don’t let that put you down. Let me tell you something, Robert did some similar schemes when he was CEO of the current number 7. They were bumped to number three back then, and I wouldn’t call his then patients winners if you know what I mean”. Joni didn’t grasp his peers' intentions, he just was genuinely trying to cheer up Elina.
Robert -“ Right... I somehow got a full cyborg candidate to remove their augments during the race. She was feeling guilty or ashamed, or something. I really can’t remember, but I do recall that she was easy to trick. The girl died afterward, in like, four days, I think”, said Robert, for the first time, in a relaxed manner. He quickly raised it back to his normal, though, as he recalled another moment-” Oh, yeah, then there was that time another candidate got a prototype laser gun and tested it on my guy. They both died in an explosion since it malfunctioned during the first shot.”
Joni -“ Anyway, Elina, we played this song and dance before. All of us had to deal with embarrassments, but most of the time if they succeeded in boosting a Brand’s name, then nothing else matters. So use the gimmick, but be prepared for all of us to go after them after the second round.” Joni’s advice came more as threats this time.
The skittish CEO couldn’t say anything as a rebuttal, as every year the CEOs would choose a target for elimination from the last three patients. She joined in while 6 and 7 were hunted in the last two races, but now it was her time. All she could muster was a simple ” Why?”, in a meek voice to herself.
Priya -“ Always so mature, you two. If you ever get bored by your current work, just let me know, I could use someone like you”, said Priya, giving them a wink with her maroon eyes. -“ As for why, Elina, well two reasons. Because it’s simpler for us, and because C.Es are built a bit differently from humans. We are, after all, marketing the products to people with spending power, right?”. Robert and Joni quietly gazed at the two and silently agreed with Priya.
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The jawed man was getting a bit bored by the direction of the talks so he added a new topic, more interesting to him- “Oh, I understand that there are only two unemployed this year? They usually fill half of the rooster list.”
Robert -“Yeah, I know”, responded the virtual man. “ It’s just that they get harder to find in the megacity as time passes. I think it’s a trend not to try and flee the County as soon as the contracts are terminated. Some disappear before security can even talk to them.”
Joni -“ Wonderful, just great. The rumors are that they are daring the wastelands, right? I mean, besides the playgrounds and a few private lands, there isn’t anywhere else they could go. And I can definitely say that all the exits, entrances and any holes are heavily secured, so what gives?” asked a now irritated Joni. He exhumed a surprising amount of calmness for the entire meeting, but this was the first time he became volatile.
Multiple -" Did you talk with the Family about this?", the rest asked him.
Joni -" Yes, the Commisar is on it. And to find out more, he sent me one of his sons to act as this year's mediator for us and investigator for him. If something is going on in the Playground, he will be there to find out and stop it."
Robert -“ Alright. I understood from Alvara that Milla's Second Brand is working on a story to explain this. We will probably use the C.E novelty to distract the viewer's attention, focus it on the contest a bit, and also say that we are simply trying new formats this year. The rest of the theatrics are in the works, so we shouldn’t worry about it. Now, before we go, do any of you want to try some rehearsals?