Skyline Galea, Sopor
Galea Maejor Resort
Executive Conference Room
A row of suits set up behind a semi-circular desk up front. Torches spewing oddly-colored flames illuminated the room. The air felt clean, but not necessarily sterile. The movement of bodies and chatter amongst the assembly should have been a lot louder than it was, but the walls and carpet seemed to muffle much of it. Swivel chairs behind the wide-paneled stand sat dignified as executives found their seats. Some looked like they were clearly far from home, and a few appeared to be way past their due date: reptilians passing death-glares across the room, an exceptionally beautiful woman exposing a neck tattoo stating
51/50, a scrawny old man whose stride was graceful; how they all ended up in these jobs would have been questionable anywhere.
But, this wasn't just anywhere. This was Sopor. More importantly, this was Galea.
Those on the main floor were even more bizarre. There was a little less than one-hundred in attendance, with stragglers still making their way inside. Some planted themselves in luxury leather seats, and others, mostly those who did not fit, opted to stand along the walls. It would have looked like a mob trial if this motley crew was bound, but they were all here to get paid. Some dressed for a professional event, and others looked like they walked in off the street. None of the superficial seemed to effect anyone present. Everyone knew the only reason they even got to see this room was because they were qualified. This heterogeneous mixture of beauty and repulsiveness, decency and crudeness, were some of the best Sopor and its surrounding star systems could offer.
Front and center, staring down the middle of the aisle parting the main floor, sat a handsome man. There seemed to be some distortion around his eyes. It wasn't that one doubted they were there, but more like none could really draw focus onto them. It appeared that this man was well aware of his condition, and all in the room could feel his gaze pass over them.
"Welcome everyone! Thank you for your attendance today. Once again, I hope all our accommodations are to your satisfaction. If you have any issues, please bring them up to our management and we will gladly take care of them."
A handful of the other executives seemed to scribble something behind the low shelf atop their joint desk. Unlike the rest of them, this man had no microphone in front of him. At another glance around the room, there didn't even appear to be speakers.
"I am Janus Epiphanes, and joining me here is my administrative team. They're mostly here for me, so you definitely won't be seeing much of them after today."
Some ass-kissing chuckles erupted from the front of the room. He spoke in a friendly tone, but his facial expression looked like it was etched in stone.
"First off: I would like to congratulate everyone on their new contracts. I have faith that each and every single one of you are fully capable of giving this firm the show of a lifetime. As long as you perform to the best of your ability, I am sure you will succeed.
"If you succeed, I succeed. And, if we all succeed, you will undoubtedly earn your keep."
The man got up from his seat, exposing his tall stature. Slowly, he made his way around the desk and stood before his audience.
"Now, for those who do not already know, let me tell you a bit about myself:
"I am a business man, not necessarily in the business of money, but of power.
"There is nothing more valuable than power. All life strives for power... dominance... whether it be over their own life or those around them.
"This, I take for myself. And this, I give to those who align with me.
"That is not to say aligning with me is submission. None of you are the slave-sheep that inhabit a majority of this world. If you were, you wouldn't be here. You may work for me, but your contracts are merely pacts... partnerships of our venture. I would not put this much work into finding talent that would waste away under conditions of forced supervision. You are here to flourish, both for my benefit and yours, and the only way to truly flourish is through your freedom."
In almost an inverse fashion, his tone became more serious as a smile crept over his face. As he spoke further, he relaxed his demeanor and paced within the pocket of the desk.
"That being said, a contract is still a contract. We all have obligations to meet: we all have to work for each other's benefit, and trust that the benefits are worthy.
"Everyone already knows that this planet is a shithole. Under all the glitter and glamour is a sea of crime and poverty that literally all parts of this poorly-run social hierarchy has their hands in. Governments seem to change out every decade, and the messes of territories have their borders redrawn every year. There are too many heads of this world, and they're all blinded by their own selfishness. They idolize their own wallets, constantly feeding them like their money actually has substance. After a certain point, it doesn't. They're caught up in the delusion that money is their virtue.
"Anyone that has an Internet connection can see that Galea is the most guilty. The corporate fat cats and their cronies have immersed themselves far deep into their lifestyles that they truly believe their wealth has made them untouchable. What is worse is that the hordes of zombies under them have that impression, too. Like tying a baby elephant to a tree, am I right?"
He spoke passionately. There was a fire within him escaping. He was animated.
"Up until fairly recently, Chairman Torop and I had a partnership in these parts. I had plans to raise the undesirables of this city to the middle class and bring some depth to this city. A strong society is built on a capable populace, and what easier route to greater dominion over our neighbors than through grassroots loyalty?
"Anyways, you all probably don't care much for those details right now. Torop had promised to endorse me for Chairman in exchange for me supporting his bills for stronger regulation by the hands of the GE-Zone. I did my part, but when the time came for him to step down, he refused. Instead, he made the executive decision to prolong his term and installed his brother as his Vice Chair.
"In response, I've withdrawn my support from all his legislation. I've pulled my funding from his entity-trafficking operations, and my servers no longer host his unnecessarily massive databases. His time is coming, and I have no doubt that I will be in charge soon enough. The only issue I'm facing is his constituents, who will surely try to fight me on some key aspects of my growth plan. They will demand preservation of their power, but I will not give it to them.
"You are all fresh faces for me in this growing mess of a city. All of you have your personal inclinations, but at least for now, it would seem your political biases are non-existent. You've been able to train your abilities outside of the depressing Sopori system, making you dangerous and unpredictable to the content.
"Most of these rats have to go, whatever that may entail. At the same time, I'm going to need to expand my influence. Along with this are a corpus of steps and factors that will be addressed as this plan progresses. I am just happy that you are all as enthusiastic about your work as I am."
At last, he gave a deep sigh of relief. His shining face scanned the room, clearly pleased with a hint of eagerness.
"That's all I have to say. You all may go about your business. We will meet again tomorrow after dinner to discuss upcoming work.
"If anyone has any questions, or would just like to chit-chat, I will gladly stick around for the next couple hours."
