CYS

In a classic London pub, a woman walked in small steps, letting her long blond wavy hair flutter between the warm air coming out of the room and the chilly wind that was blowing that day, announcing the upcoming rain.

Alicia Tuckson adjusted her dress against her body, just like she liked to wear it: tight and without any folds. She approached the bar, and without saying a word, pointed to one of the beer caps and asked for a Stout pint; the purest and driest. She liked beers that didn’t stick to her tongue.

Taking off the thick gloves she was wearing, she sat down at a table, picked up her phone, whilst biting her red lipstick lips, and checked if there was any message. Her assistant should have been there already, but since he wasn’t, she would have to wait for him.

And Alicia dreaded waiting.

Her beer came in a few seconds, honoring what she had heard about that place. She took a sip and felt the light drink coming into her mouth. At no time did she take her eyes off her phone, which seemed inert; no messages at all.

The cold hit her skin hard, but Alicia could not risk scratching her face and ruining her makeup. All she didn’t want at that time was to compromise her image. And speaking of her image, she crossed her legs, white as snow, turned against the table and took a selfie. Alicia also disliked showing off, but it was not every day that she set foot in England, and despite her French ancestry, she did not cultivate the eternal hatred the French did for the English because of historical conflicts between the two nations.

After posting her photo on an outdated social network, she noticed a man with well-combed tuft blond hair wearing social attire. He walked gracefully looking at the phone screen on his right hand, completely cybernetic, holding the phone without worrying about the cold. Without hesitation, the man approached and sat next to Alicia at the table.

“Delmont Lavalette,” she said, ironically.

“Sorry, I’m late, ma’am,” he said before she could open her mouth again and insult him, as usual. “It took me a while longer this time.”

“I know,” she replied laughing, to hide the irritation. “One of these days, you will become one of those fashionable toys around here.”

“Are you saying this because of my hand?”

“Your hand is just the beginning. It will soon be the arm, the face and then the whole body.”

“And you don’t like implants. I know.”

“Nothing against implants, as long as they are used to replace a lost body part. Now, out of pure charm…”

“A mechanical hand has its uses. You should try it.”

Alicia cringed and looked away in disapproval.

“So,” continued Alicia, taking a sip in her beer, leaving the rim of the glass marked by lipstick. “What have you found?”

“So, It’s a little complicated for us. The president of Big Ben Rise, Edward Salvage, is coordinating the European Conglomerate right now. His audacity at the last meeting came at a cost.”

“Cost?”

“Yes. They will vote to remove Mirage from the Conglomerate today. That is, by the end of the day, Belgium will be completely out of the new formation. Being that we are the only high-tech Corp in our country, this is gonna be bad.”

“Yes, if we are left alone, we will be an ant compared to the power of that union.”

“And the worst,” continued Alicia, uncrossing her legs and taking another sip of beer. “The Conglomerate will be managed by an incompentent.”

“Yeah”, continued Lavalette “We have to agree that his reasoning skills are good though. To convince everyone without giving anything as a stake in the conglomerate. The technology we’re offering is far superior to anything these bananas have ever seen in front of them. Maybe it’s time we give them a taste of what we’re capable of.”

“It’s that time alright, but…,” Alicia took a look around to make sure no one was watching them. “We need something else. I’m sure Salvage has something up his sleeve. I highly doubt that he’s convinced everyone else just with his small talk.”

“Well, Alicia. I don’t know what to say. I’ve been in London for a month, and I can’t find anything Big Ben Rise has done that is interesting. I really believe he’s taking this one in stride. Maybe, at the end of the day, with our technology, we won’t need their help.”

“Quit the nonsense, Delmont. We have the technology, but Mirage Developments isn’t going anywhere without money. This union is very important. Here’s what we’re gonna do: See if there’s another English corporation trying to get into the world market, an airplane producer or something. Even if I execute the Invisible Light plan, removing England from this union will be of no benefit to anyone. I will never accept this, and not even that Belgium is left out because I lost control in a useless meeting. You focus on that from now on, and I’m gonna go in there face to face. I’m going to have a personal conversation with Edward Salvage and see if I can smooth things over.”

In a Big Ben Rise bathroom, Alicia was waiting for her private meeting with Edward Salvage. She touched up her lipstick, which had gone away while drinking beer and reinforced her eye makeup. She could feel the lightness that beer had caused in her body and didn’t know if it would be good or bad for her next step.

“Miss Tuckson, ” said the secretary, who seemed to be waiting for her by the bathroom door.

“Mr Salvage is ready for you.”

Without saying a word, Alicia followed the secretary to a large wooden door of the Big Ben Rise President’s office. The doors opened by themselves as they approached.

“Mr Salvage,”the secretary announced. “Miss Tuckson, President of Mirage Developments.”

The president’s office was extravagant and Alicia could not help but notice every detail, which made her certain that Edward Salvage was still an old-fashioned man. Though the world had evolved, he still decorated his living room with leather benches, PVC-printed paintings and a table that seemed to have been built in the Middle Ages. At the back, where the president sat, there was a large window almost the size of the room, which overlooked the historic center of London, specifically the Big Ben tower, after which the corporation was named.

In the president’s chair, old-fashioned red fabric, sat an old man, white hair and long gray beard preserved. When Alicia approached, he removed his glasses and gave her a dull smile, signaling her to sit in one of the empty chairs in front of his desk.

When she sat down, the door closed, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

“Miss Tuckson, what brings you here?”

“Mr Salvage, I’d like to talk to you about our disagreement, and that… despite our personal problems, we can solve any issues related to the interests of our corporations here today.”

“Miss Tuckson, our problems have already been solved. I’m not a spiteful person. My opinion about your removal from the formation of the new Conglomerate is related to the fact that your corporation does not bring any additions to the group. And don’t take this the wrong way. We have also voted for the removal of Luxembourg and other smaller countries along with your Belgium. There is no point in helping a country that is soon to be absorbed by a larger one. Soon, Europe will be united again, but with another geopolitical map.”

Alicia felt the twinge of sarcasm strike her chest. Knowing that Edward would do it on purpose, she calmed down, as she knew he could annoy her easily. Then, she settled further into the soft armchair, crossed her legs, and threw a lock of wavy hair behind her shoulder.

“As far as I remember, Lord Salvage,” she continued, with her soft, soft voice. “The union was much more about helping others and the group’s technological growth. What is the point of removing small countries from this undertaking?”

“Tuckson,” continued Salvage, with a crooked smile on his face. “I intend to guide this group on the path of pragmatism. I’m not just gonna do what I think is right. I’ll do what IS right! Look at the world. Borders don’t make sense to us anymore. As for the rest of the world, borders are changing. When the Conglomerate is signed, Europe will once again be united under a single flag. The small countries will still be part of that union, but without representation. What could Belgium do for us, being the size it is, against a group of Corporations the size we are forming?”

The scorpion sting struck Alicia once more, but now a spark of irritation had begun to take hold of her, like poison; spreading and causing the pressure in her mind to heat up. She knew what she was producing. She knew her own technologies. And finally, she knew they didn’t know. Shouldn’t she have revealed it sooner?

“Aren’t you interested in the technologies that these small groups might be developing?” Alicia asked, trying to keep the nervousness taking over her heart under control. “We can be useful.”

“You should have said that earlier, Miss Tuckson. Now, after having made that unnecessary fiasco at the last meeting you attended, I am absolutely certain that this secret technology you claim to have is just a bluff to ensure your presence in the group.”

And the pressure cooker valves started to kick in. Alicia could already feel her teeth squeezing into her mouth. Skinning against each other to contain the disgust she felt for that man.

“And there is something about you that does not convince me,”  continued Edward. “I feel the lie in your words. I feel the dissimulation behind that sweet, manipulative voice…”

The pressure cooker now began to whistle, pushing the internal pressure out.

“Such behaviour is very common in women in positions of power…”

“What?” said Alicia, releasing a brief scream that sounded more like a moan. “You’re saying that…”

“Relax, miss!” Edward now smiled as he spoke. “Don’t take my comment to be, as we say, a sexist comment. I’m an experienced businessman, and much of what I’ve learned is inherited from my father, former president here at Big Ben Rise. Whenever we had women in management positions, we had problems. If Big Ben Rise is where it is today, one of the reasons is that we’ve prevented women from taking those positions. And I can assure you, don’t take this the wrong way, it’s not a prejudice. That’s the voice of experience talking.”

Now Alicia trembled inside. The pressure cooker rang warning that it could burst at any time. She could feel her body out of control, and was one step closer to repeating the feat at the last Conglomerate meeting. Her right arm trembled under the armchair arm, and she could feel her forehead wrinkle, cracking all the makeup that she had on her face.

“Incredible, Miss Tuckson,” said Edward, hiding the smile and putting a rock-hard expression in place. While settling back in his presidential armchair, he pressed a button on his desk “how noticeable your lack of control is. To think if I could allow a person like you to be part of a conglomerate that will surely be one of the most powerful in the world.”

The silence took over the room and Alicia felt speechless. Lint from his hair fell on his face and it seemed to make the task of calming down even more difficult.

The door opened and Edward Salvage’s secretary came in carrying a tray. When she deposited the tray on Edward’s table, she could sense the smell of tea spreading through the room.

“Have a cup, miss,” said Edward, disdainful. “Maybe this will calm you down.”

But what Alicia wanted was a beer. This time not a mild Stout, but an extremely alcoholic Dubbel.

“Right, if that’s how it will be,” said Alicia, biting a corner of her mouth and tearing off the lipstick. “I suppose that this will be the headquarters of the Conglomerate. I mean, here in London.”

“Perhaps,” continued Edward, drinking his cup of tea. “But this will go to vote at the next meeting in Berlin. Maybe I’ll have my headquarters there, even though I preside here.”

Berlin, not Paris. Thought Alicia. Edward’s rage against the French was wide open. How can a union group start like this?

“And then what?” asked Alicia, breaking the silence of her own thoughts. “I mean, we were so far ahead in our plan to keep Paris as our headquarters.”

“Don’t think, Tuckson, that there will be time to change that decision. We vote on the corporations that will be part of the Conglomerate today. The next meeting will be the final closing. I’m sorry.”

Calmer, but still feeling her bile return stomach up, Alicia stood up.

“Well, if that is your future, now I must go and take care of mine.”

“I’m sure Mirage Developments will have a good future,” Edward bent his mouth with a smile. “If this secret technology of yours is any good, we’d be happy to buy it.”

Alicia replied with an ironic smile and an angry look.

“I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Seated in a pub, in a hidden corner, Alicia anchored her head under the armchair upholstery, hitting it against the wooden wall. The waiter passed by for the fifth time, and for the fifth time she asked for a Dubbel, the one she drank fast and reminded her of home. Her head boiled like a cauldron. Her thoughts crossed her mind and she had no idea what to do next.

Today would be an insomnia day and maybe the alcohol would help her sleep.

Alicia woke up from the lethargy with her phone vibrating.

“Delmont,” she answered, holding her voice so as not to shout at her most faithful employee. “What now?”

“Nothing now, ma’am.” Alicia heard a boy laughing on the other side of the line. “But I’ve just talked to a boy here at Oxford who might be interested.”

“Stop joking, I’m out of patience today. Just say it already!”

“Alicia, what happened? Did Edward get you out of control again?”

“Worse, Delmont. He stepped on me.”

“I told you not to waste your time with that creep.”

“I need to know the power of the poison before I know who I’m up against. So, tell me you have good news so I can find peace once more.”

Once again Alicia got lost in her thoughts, ignoring what her assistant was saying on the other side. She came to her senses only when she heard the words Mach Aeronautics.

“Mach Aeronautics?” she asked, jumping from the armchair. Only then did she realize the waiter had brought her beer. She took a big sip and waited for Delmont to talk.

“Yes, Alicia, yes. There’s a bunch of money moving around aeronautical technology here in England. The name of the corporation isn’t just a front. They’re actually developing ultrasonic planes. And you won’t believe it, the specimens they have so far are able to break the sound barrier four to six times. Although they don’t fly at this speed all the time, these Sonic Jumps can be used for special situations. And…”

“I’ve heard enough.” She said, taking another sip of beer. “Are they in contact with the Conglomerate? Or are they willing to side with us?”

“They bought the idea, Alicia. I had to come clean about our Invisible Light tech. I know I should be more careful with it, but I think it reinforces our ties. If Salvage finds out and contacts us, the Conglomerate will have nothing on offer.”

Alicia now stood up and walked anxiously around the bar table, swiftly sipping her beer.

“I no longer care about hiding the technology. That’s behind us now. You did very well. Now tell me, that Chronicler proposal, is it still standing?”

“It has always been. But remember, he will want to share technologies after that.”

“Here, here. Sooner or later, these Great Technologies will be everywhere. I’ve found a light. This is the time to put our plan into action. Find out the day of the meeting. I’m going to Berlin.”

Without hearing the answer, Alicia hung up the phone and admired the horizon.

She had found an escape valve.

And maybe even slept well that night.

In Berlin, the presidents of the most important corporations of the European countries met to finally agree on the terms of the European Conglomerate formation. At the end of the big table, in the temporary presidential chair of the Conglomerate, Edward Salvage was waiting for the right moment to call for silence and begin the meeting. In the remaining chairs, only male presidents were exchanging ideas and talking.

In the room there was a large hall with a varnished wooden table, so glossy that it reflected the lights from the ceiling. There were numerous chairs around the table, but today, not all were being used. In front of each chair there was a sign with the name of a European country.

On each side of the room, there was a large glass pane, where it was possible to see the ruins of the Brandenburg Gate, still preserved and surrounded by a hundred tall buildings, where neon and colored lights shone, advertising products and other services available in the region.

“Gentlemen,” interrupted Edward, and there was silence in the room. Everyone put their ear translators on and paid attention. “I believe this will be our last meeting before we officiliaze the Conglomerate and begin a new era for our corporations.”

“Yes,” said the French corporation president. “And I’d like to know if you’ve given up the idea of taking the conglomerate headquarters to London.”

“Yes. That is surely an item we must get right today.”

“Absolutely,” continued the German corporation president. “England has already left us once, I would not like that to happen again with an Englishman in the lead.”

“But look, gentlemen,” said Edward, relieving the tension from his neck. “Today we are living another time. A time of union.”

“But it was a time of union then,” the Spanish corporation president interfered. “It was called the European Union, and England left us in the lurch. And yet, I’m still not comfortable leaving Brussels and Luxembourg out.”

“Gentlemen!,” insisted Edward Salvage. “We have already voted on this and we have agreed that both countries will not add anything to our Conglomerate. Plus, Alicia Tuckson, who owns the only evident corporation in Belgium, runs an incompetent corporation. We don’t need something like that.”

A sound of throat being cleansed interrupted the conversation.

“Who did this?” asked Salvage. “If anyone here disagrees with me, please bring your arguments forward.”

“Mr Salvage,” continued the Spanish. “I  believe we have to re-evaluate the removal of these two countries. Since our last face-to-face meeting, the Scandinavian countries have also abandoned us and allied themselves with this Steelforce Association of Finland. Everyone’s losing faith in us.”

The sound of throat clearing echoed again throughout the room. Everyone was silent, staring at each other’s faces. It seemed the man responsible for those interruptions didn’t want to come forward.

“All right – continued the German corporation Prsident . “Let’s talk about plans. After we get together, we’ll reconvene Paxton Skylines planes, right?”

“Yes,” replied Edward with his mouth full. “This is how we will enter the world stage.”

“And I keep thinking,” continued the German. “Why would Paxton sell its planes for us to compete against itself in this global trade scheme?”

“Carl Paxton is a moneylender,” said Salvage. “He will do anything for money.”

“To do anything for money, for me, is to leave the competitor out of my way,” continued the German, with his pragmatism. “which makes me think that he will sell scrap to us for an outrageous price.”

A buzz lights up the hall.

“I doubt he will. Carl Paxton is…”

“He will do yes,” said a female voice, and everyone got scared. “I assure you.”

At that moment the room went into chaos. Some stood up and looked for the woman who had said that. In a corner of the room, in a metaphysical presentation, a body materialized, emitting blue and golden lights. When it formed itself, Alicia Tuckson appeared in her new look.

Alicia wore a tight suit that covered her entire body, leaving just her head in plain sight. The robe was black and was so tight that it made all the shapes of her body visible. The robe was also covered by silver and gold circuits, where waves of energy circulated shining and fading, seeming to accompany her breathing. Alicia had also shaved her hair, and now was completely bald, her blue eyes shone with the reflection of light… her beauty was divine.

When it materialized, some pins still glowed and sparkled, so she relaxed, the pins retracted, the energy went off and the silence reigned again in the room.

“Gentlemen – said Alicia. “Unfortunately, I have to disagree with the part that you said that my corporation, Mirage Developments is incompetent.”

“You are no longer part of this group,” yelled Edward, trying to stand up.

“I did not come as a member,” continued Alicia. “I came with another purpose.”

“Bodyguards!” shouted Edward once more, “Come and arrest…”

“Your security guards are incompetent. Look, they let me in here, and on top of that, armed.”

Alicia pulled a pistol from her belt and aimed at Edward Salvage.

“Calm down!” Edward shouted, as the other presidents stood up and ran to the opposite side of the room. “Don’t go making a mess here now.”

“Yeah” replied Alicia, with cynicism in her voice. “Imagine if I lose control here now, just as before. It wouldn’t be nice, would it?”

As Alicia spoke, Edward’s phone rang. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and reached over and hung up.

“You should answer that,” said Alicia. “I have been made aware of some cyber attacks in London. That could put your corporation at risk.”

Frightened, Edward picked up his phone and uttered a few words for him to call his office. He walked away so he could talk in secret with his assistants.

“No, no, no,” said Alicia. “Why don’t we put this conversation on speaker?”

Using a device she was carrying on her wrist, she pressed some buttons and sparks came out of Edward Salvage’s phone. After that, the voice of his assistant began to come out through the room speaker.

“Mr Salvage,” the assistant shouted “We have a serious problem here. I went to make that transfer you ordered me, and when I went into the bank account, it was empty. At the time, I was not so scared, because it could be anything else, but when I tried to access our systems to find out what was happening, I discovered that all the passwords of our systems had been changed. No one can log into our internal system. There’s nothing we can do from here and the Big Ben Rise stock is dropping fast. We need you right away.”

Edward threw the phone against the floor and it shattered.

“You stole from me!”  he shouted at Alicia. “Give me back my money!”

“Look at that, look at that,” continued Alicia, smiling. “Who is losing control now?”

Edward took a step to advance against Alicia, but she raised her gun, to remind him who was in charge there.

“Gentlemen,” continued Alicia Tuckson, walking towards the table, where she put on the pistol, to reduce tension with others. “I have to confess that I didn’t want to present my technology this way, but I wanted to make an iconic presentation though. This is the Invisible Light. It’s not really an invisibility, it’s lights emitted in all directions that create the sense of invisibility. Good eyes can still see the smudges and it does not hide the sound or thermal traces, but as you can see, it is very efficient if used together with other abilities.”

The presidents relaxed, except Edward, who walked slowly toward the table, especially where the pistol was.

“At this moment,” the invader continued. “My engineers are working with Mach Aeronautics, Oxford, to build planes equipped with this technology. Mach’s aircraft, in particular, are supersonic planes that break the barriers of sound four to six times, and will soon become almost invisible also. Not to mention the icing on the cake, which allows them to perform vertical landings. With resources like that, we won’t have to buy scrap metal from Paxton Skylines and have our own planes.”

“Quiet!,” shouted Edward, who had come close enough to pick up the gun, but before he could speak again, Alicia disappeared. “Get back here, you little bitch. Get out of here. This is not your place.”

A dry sound echoed across the hall and Edward fell to the floor. Alicia emerged behind the fainted Big Ben Rise body. She took the gun and put it back on the table.

“Now, the final question, continued Alicia. “Do you want to ally with technological me or with this corporation dinosaur?

“I agree,” said the German. “I never liked this man and, after all, what is the point of getting together just so we fall together?”

The other presidents nodded. Some were disgusted, but accepted.

“I only have a few demands,” said Alicia, smiling. “The chair of Mr Salvage, the chair of England, will be given to the president of Mach Aeronautics and will be transformed into a normal chair of the board, like yours. I don’t want that man who disrespected me, in our business. The headquarters of the conglomerate will be in Brussels, in a new office that will be built. And finally, the name of our group will be Mach Conglomerate, named after the creations of Mach Aeronautics.”

All presidents signed the new conglomerate, which was formed under the goal of being the group with the most advanced technology in the world.

Alicia walked to the head of the table and sat at the president’s table.

“And, of course, I will be the president of the conglomerate. Mach Conglomerate’s president.”

“