Cyber Witch

Chapter 4 - The Only True Virtue

[Darius]

Sipping expensive coffee from an ornate porcelain cup, I gazed out the wide picture window from my office atop the Omni tower. Far below, people scurried about the plaza like ants, living out their insignificant, hum-drum lives. Such was the destiny of most, to toil and achieve some artificially virtuous standard.

Power was the only true virtue.

I worked hard and shrewdly to obtain my executive position — Vice President and Research Director of Omni-Corp — but I had even higher aspirations. You only got what you took.

Beyond the paved plaza, spiked metal fences protected the ornate formal gardens that adorned the rolling hills leading to the churning sea shore. Open space was rare on this crowded world, mostly reserved for the Elite. Like me.

Otherwise, a pleasant, sunny day, dark, ominous clouds lined the western horizon. The storms on this world, born on warm seas, were infamously fierce. Perhaps that was why the people rushed around below. I grinned, since one advantage of wealth was that it insulated me from the storms, whether meteorological or societal. 

"They are ready for you, sir," said a female voice over the com.

"Let's get this over with," I mumbled to myself while strolling to a central open area. The vast office size and lavish appointments, including an antique wooden desk, were perks of my prominent position. After straightening my black suit coat, made of the finest textiles, and standing tall, I said, "Activate."

A ring of nine shimmering holographic people appeared, seated in a circle of high-backed chairs around me. Each one was a member of the Omni-Corp Board of Directors and represented the most powerful families in the Sol Federation. It was cut-throat competition at the top — occasionally, literally.

But they all scowled at me with ungrateful eyes.

"Esteemed members of the board," I said with a bow, "how may I be of service?" Actually, I did not esteem them at all, but I didn't become the Chief Research Officer without some discretion.

An elderly woman with crossed arms and narrowed eyes didn't buy my gracious greeting for an instant. "Darius, shall we dispense with the niceties and get down to the matter at hand?"

"That would be more efficient, Anna."

A sneer formed on her lips, reacting to my presumption of familiarity. And she hated being called Anna, demanding the more aristocratic-sounding actual first name, Anastasia. So much for discretion... A holographic gray-haired man to her left chuckled, drawing her ire for a moment.

"Dr. Darius Sigmund Welde," she began, hissed out my full name, "progress on Project Asclepius has been disappointing. What have you to say?"

"I believe you have my report, Director Anastasia Juliet Whitehall?"

A cold smile rose on her stony face. "Creative writing at its finest, Dr. Welde. But you did not provide a schedule forward. Certain public promises were made, and to fail them puts Omni-Corp in unfavorable light."

"It is called research and development for a reason, Ms. Whitehall. Science does not bend to the arbitrary schedules of marketers. I would have thought an honored member of the Omni-Corp Board would understand such a basic concept."

Snarling, she jumped up from her chair and pointed a bony finger at me. "Enough of this insolence! If you cannot deliver, then--"

"Sit down, Anastasia," said a balding man with a narrow chin and prominent forehead, speaking in an even voice. Augustus Windsor, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, was perhaps the only one here that could get that insufferable witch to shut up.