The Industrialist

Weekend. As promised, he accepted Jaqi’s invitation to Skycorp, Bloomforge Enclave.

With only 1700 units left in his account, although painful against his principles, Lance bought clothes that were trending to the Inlanders.

He chose the color blue, silk-like shirt, tight on his upper chest and arms but its length extended to his knees. It was not bootlegged. He ordered it online for a staggering 80 units.

80 units was almost half a month grocery for an individual.

His pants were also tight but only covering up to his shins. Its color was light blue, not so flashy as the trending orange-colored pants.

The fashion in this age was weird whether the color combinations or the pairing of upper and lower body clothes, even the accessories had various weird shapes and sizes.

Some of the Inlanders wore metallic bracelets with a chain design that dangled almost reaching the floors like they were just gotten out of prison.

There were necklaces that not only covered their necks but their entire shoulder.

Then, there were these oversized earphones that Lance did not understand. It was heavy-looking and unnecessary.

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He wore his Unitech Shades though to meld with the mid-classers and high-classers.

Looking at himself in the mirror with his new get up, and his Unitech shades, he could not recognize himself. Then laughter ensued, only to himself.

’I can’t believe I become one of them!’ He cursed inwardly.

He must not waste further units for a very impractical get-up. He felt like naked, the fine sheets of his clothes were featherlike.

"You look good, master," Jasper praised as Lance frequented the digital mirror that hung on his apartment.

"You wait, Jasper, when I process the HyperVista condominium, I would look like those pricks in Blooms," Lance hissed upon the sight.

"A total of 145 units is a bad investment, Master," Jasper said. "It seems that your hard work has not paid off."

"Yeah, I know. I have invested so much. These operating expenses are unpredictable. However, I will be earning more for the second month Zelkian production and my Tyllrium trade. How much are my remaining units?"

"A little over 1600 units, Master."

Lance was surprised to hear his AI was not so accurate with numbers.

"Jasper, how come you are not accurate this time?"

"It’s just that Humans don’t like smart asses, like me. So, I made an approximation to your units. Do you like me to be accurate?"

"Ok. Ok. Smart ass. I am ok with it. I am just wondering if maybe you need calculation calibration. I can do it for you and reboot that portion."

"Oh no, Master. There is no need. I have done internal system checking on my own. You can even look at the system logs if you like, Master."

"If you check everything, then, no need. I programmed you to be truthful"

***

He had now entered the most sophisticated tower of all Axe Central City. Even on the external grounds, his metallic soles were almost slippery against the shiny marbled floors.

He felt awkward as he sauntered through Skycorp’s grounds. The external grounds held pathways manicured by ornamental bushes on both sides. Plastic-made ornamental plants that emulate that of a real plant.

If the SARS building was a total waste of raw materials, SkyCorp’s garden was exponentially wrong, screaming immorality.

How come BloomForge was able to finance such an external landscape that millions of lowlifers were fighting for scarce resources without any opportunity to taste a glimpse of luxury?

How much does this garden cost? Possibly about a million units? It was his estimate and he rarely missed far in his estimations.

A million units could provide months of food supply to thousands of families. The garden’s cost neglected the problems of lowlifers and prioritized beautification instead.

The external grounds had well-trimmed park, fountains, and statues, and a precariously stood effigy of Doctor Levi Menks.

The Skycorp in Bloomforge held the residences of the most influential Scientists, including Levi Menks.

Lance was unsure if Levi Menks was present or not, however, stepping inside the SkyCorp could provide him with useful information.

He craned his head as he stepped on the first flight of stairs and witnessed the tower up close for the very first time. The tower held no windows, no contours, and no curves, just pure strength of concrete and metal. Golden material streaks throughout horizontally across the structure in an artistic design and on the top floor, held a golden logo of the Corporation.

Embossed golden letters of the ’Corporation’ fixed below the golden logo. During nighttime, the building would emit different colors depending on the day of the week.

He had not witnessed it yet, but he had seen it on the News.

Along the parks, heaved high-classers. A miracle happened that no High-classer had despised him as he passed by or had thrown any verbal remarks about his classification or race.

He dressed like a high-classer, except for the absence of jewelry and the headphones.

Wearing the Unitech Shades, amplified the beauty of the SkyCorp tower. Holographic constructs embraced the body of the building presenting advertisements of the Corporation’s achievements, or the ongoing City projects by the Government.

Without the Unitech Shades, one could not ponder on the holographic advertisements on the building. Wearing the shades would access them and the user could choose whatever advertisement he could turn on the audio.

Lance chose the large holographic construct of Menks shown on the top portions of the tower and activated its audio.

"My dear citizens of Axe Central City," the holographic Menks spoke. "We all miss the presence of our beloved Vice Governor Valentyne. He is known to be passionate about his service to the public and undoubtedly brave to face the City’s problems head-on. However, his absence, or the absence of his office, created a gap in the expected public service, and his ongoing City projects were put on hold…."

"May he rest in peace," the announcement continued, "Even though we are still mourning, however, the need to fill in his office is a priority. The Corporation had suggested to Governor Lassiter that one of the trusted Scientists of our ranks would honorably accept the office of Vice Governor until the late Valentyne’s term ends."

"On behalf of the Corporation and the rest of the founders, I present Doctor Zee Andradez to fill in as interim Vice Governor of Axe Central City. We all know his achievements and he recently held the rank of Industrialist Tier 1. He will take office in the first week of next month and will commence formalities on his first day."

"May we all support this endeavor and rest assured that we will continue Valentyne’s legacy…."

The announcement was in a loop. Hearing the announcement, Lance was not sure if he would be happy or not. He would be a coTOR under Doctor Zee’s office and the latter to become a Vice Gov could entail problems on his end.

Even so, with the foreseen challenges, his determination would not falter.

Laser scanners appeared as he stepped on the last flight of stairs and into the clearing to where the entrance would be. The scan identified his profile. Even though he had not reached the level of being a high-classer, he was now undoubtedly a mid-classer.

Two large glass doors slid open as he entered. A holographic AI greeted him.

"Hi visitor," the AI spoke. It knew visitors or residents of SkyCorp during the scan. "How can I help you?"

"Jaqi, the Mechanical Tier 3," Lance responded.

"Oh. Lance Berkley of Steelpoint?" the AI asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"She scheduled you for a visit. I am calling her now…" the AI responded.

His heart thumped once again, hammering against his chest. The thought of Jaqi had given him a cold sweat. He convinced himself that he came prepared. ’You are here on a mission, you idiot!’