Previous Excerpt: Kill Order
It took a moment for Daniel's eyes to adjust. A massive fire roared
in the large hearth, so distended with propellant and chemical and
mineral incense that it burned in a rainbow of many colors and gave off a
bewildering mixture of scents. He could make out a massive desk strewn
with packets and powders and still-smoking fumedants, but there was no
sign of President King. A high-backed leather chair faced the back wall.
Daniel waited a moment, but the pressure in his lungs grew too much,
and he reluctantly drew a breath. A cloud of smoke billowed from the
chair, and it slowly turned to face him.
President
Chadwick Octavian Reginald King squinted from behind drooping eyelids.
His puffy lips lay slack around a burning “fumer,” which glowed brightly
as the substance inside slowly burned away. The light from the fire
reflected off the shiny trail of mucous left under his nose. His hair
hung in limp, greasy locks from his head. His hands shook from the
number of drugs coursing through his bloodstream.
The cigarette dropped from his mouth, and he stared at the figure before him. In a low, rasping voice, he spoke.
“I
haven’t slept for three nights, did you know that?” He stopped with a
chuckle that ended up more like a choking, rheumy cough. “Three nights,
and the same cursed dream. I'm even starting to have visions of it when I
am awake.” He flopped back in his chair with all the muscular control
of a rag doll, and drew a long breath. “So unless you can say what no
one else has--”
“Mr. King,” Daniel cut in, fighting to keep
his presence of mind in the heady cloud of scents. “No technician, or
dream specialist, or mystic, or psychiatrist can both tell you what you
dreamed, and tell you its meaning.” The eerie eyes watched him quietly
as Daniel continued, his voice getting stronger with each phrase. “But I
am here to say that there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries so
profound the human mind cannot even begin to conceive of them, much less
a machine invented by human minds. It is this same God who has revealed
to you, by your dream, a glimpse into the future of this company and
the companies to come after it.” The mere mention of God in that dark,
foul-smelling place seemed to invite a gust of fresh wind from some
unseen quarter. Daniel felt much better as he drew another breath to
launch into his presentation.
“Mr. King, I will now tell you the dream that has robbed you of your sleep for these last three nights.
As
you lay in your bed, you were thinking about the future of Byblos
Corporation, and--since we are at the height of our efficiency and the
balance of profit--what the company might pursue in the coming years.
Not even the most comprehensive prediction machine or any of those who
claim to consort with the spirit world could ever tell you what would
happen should Byblos ever fail--but I stand before you, able to do just
that, not because of any superpower or any other kind of power I have
beyond the limits of average human logic, but in order that you may know
what it means, and to ease the confusion of your mind so that you can
have the rest that has been denied you since the first time you
dreamed.” Daniel took another breath and forged ahead.
"As
you stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a huge valley, a terrible
statue appeared, stretching from the valley floor, high over your head
into the sky. At first, it seemed to be a statue in the shape of a giant
man, but the longer you looked, the more it seemed to shift and change.
The head, made of gold, was at first a man, and then a lion, roaring
with all its strength. The arms and chest, made of silver, transformed
from human form to the arms and claws of a bear."
It may have
been his eyes adjusting to the darkness even more, but as Daniel
watched, he could distinguish more of President King's eyes; they had
lost their glassy haze, and he was watching this new recruit sharply. He
continued.
"Further down, the statue had the flanks and haunches of a leopard, and the iron hooves of a goat."
The leather chair squeaked as Chad King flopped back. "Yes!" He gasped. "Yes, that's it exactly! How did you do that?"
Daniel raised a finger. "But that's not all you dreamed."
Chad nodded vigorously, pushing back the lank hair from his face. "Yes, go on."
"As
you were admiring the statue and marveling at the detail, you became
aware of a large stone rolling from out of nowhere, and not removed by
any machine or man-generated efforts; it was something—Someone—else that
cut the stone. That stone collided with the enormous statue, and
instantly, the whole structure disintegrated into fine powder."
Chad was still nodding as if his head would fall right off his neck. "Yes, it just—" he gestured the explosion with his hands.
"And
once the powder scattered to the four winds, all that was left was the
huge stone, and as you watched, it grew and expanded till it became one
mountain that took over the whole surface of the Earth."
Chad
sniffed noisily and wiped the sleeve of his plush robe across his face.
His eyes were so wide, Daniel almost wondered if he was physically
capable of blinking anymore. He stared, mouth gaping, until his eyes
rolled in his head and he slumped back in his chair. Daniel waited a
moment, a bit puzzled by the response. Had he passed out? A grin
unfolded over the emaciated president's face, and he opened his eyes.
"It's
gone!" He wheezed. "Holy Dagon, it's gone! Once you said exactly what
the dream was, it disappeared out of my head!" He clapped his hands over
his scalp with a huge sigh of relief. "Well?" He gestured impatiently
at Daniel. "Go on, Benedict Shafer! Tell me what it means!"
Daniel
took a deep breath. The words came easier now. "You are the lion,
President King, and God has seen fit to cause your administration of
Byblos to make it the most successful company in the world—but there
will come a time when the reign of Byblos will end. Your headquarters
will be absorbed by a smaller company from Nevada, and this one will be
taken over by a company represented by the bronze leopard, from Arizona.
Last of all, the iron goat hooves represents a company based in Utah
that will completely overtake the three that came before it."
Chad's
face had wilted over the course of this interpretation; the frown that
had begun at the mention of the fall of Byblos only deepened when he
listened to all the companies that would continue to absorb one another.
"And what does the giant magic stone represent?" He demanded in a
dangerous tone. He stubbed out the cigarette, but his elbow jogged a
mound of powder dispensers, sending a reeking cloud into the air.
Daniel coughed and prayed that the substances wouldn't affect his system, but he finished his interpretation anyway.
"The
stone is the ultimate community that will overtake all corporations
around the world, will encompass all workforces of every nation, and it
will change the face of employment forever, and there will be no more
corporations. This, Mr. King, is the vision of the future that God has
allowed you to see, and you can be absolutely certain that it will come
to pass, in one way or another.”
As he finished speaking,
Daniel noticed that the air, while still stiflingly hot, was not as
heavy with the dizzying fumes; the flames had receded to gentle embers,
and these were not the blazing, unnatural colors, but a gentle
orange-golden glow. A digital tone signaled in the darkness, and the
holoplast covers over the windows faded into transparency, allowing
natural light to pour into the room.
Chad King sat with his
eyes glued on the simple young man standing before him. Three days of
every kind of dream recollection procedure known to man--and this young
intern’s God had imparted every detail of the dream so vividly, that it
felt like perhaps Daniel had experienced the same dream. Then, too, was
the affirmation that the dream he saw did represent the future--how many
fortune tellers could truly claim that? He knew their penchant for
broad, general statements and vague predictions that pretended to
foretell whatever eventually came to pass--but he, Chad King, had
actually seen what was going to happen. True, it did say that Byblos
would eventually fall… but that wouldn’t be in his lifetime, would it?
Chad laid all this aside as he felt an incredible weight lifted off his
shoulders. As he watched the sunlight drive away the shadows, it seemed
as if he could really breathe again, after holding his breath for three
days.
He stood up from his chair, feeling the soreness in his
knees…. how long had he been sitting there? He blinked in disgust at the
amount of drugs littering his desk, making him look like a junkie and
not the president of the “most successful company in the world.” He came
around the desk and took Daniel’s hand. He seemed to recall viewing
that face several times in a personnel report somewhere… but he pushed
that out of his mind for now. Daniel led him out of the office, and with
every step, Chad felt a new strength enter his limbs. He saw the
sunlight streaming, saw the fresh flowers, heard the soft twittering of
the birds in his private aviary--
And in that moment, there were tears in his eyes.
Daniel
wasn’t quite sure how to respond as President King suddenly threw his
arms around him and sobbed on his shoulder like an addict coming very
quickly off an especially powerful high--which, judging by the number of
fumedants he had in his possession, was probably very true. Chad’s
knees buckled, and he slid to a crumpled, kneeling position, still
clinging to Daniel’s hands like a drowning victim.
“Thank you,” he sobbed brokenly, “thank you… Thank you, my savior!”
This was not at all the outcome Daniel had been expecting. “I’m not--”
“Yes,
you are!” Chad jumped to his feet as some of the old, dynamic,
charismatic leader returned to him. “You have saved me, and you have
saved all of Byblos--this God of yours must be something amazing, if He
can give you someone else’s dream and tell you the meaning like that!
You have no idea how much I have wanted someone to be there for me, and
do that. You have got to tell me all about Him!”
Daniel
nodded, but Chad didn’t stop. “Here, come with me!” He brought Daniel
over to a kiosk at the end of the hall. Placing his hand on the
biometric scanner, he spoke into the microphone, “Chad King!”
The
kiosk blinked and showed the symbol of an open lock. “ADMINISTRATIVE
PRIVILEGES ACTIVATED,” said the kiosk. Chad grinned widely as he
beckoned to Daniel, “Here, now you put your hand there,” he pointed to
the glass surface.”
Reluctantly, Daniel complied. A bright
laser scanned his hand, and the kiosk instructed, “PLEASE STATE
ADMINISTRATOR’S NAME.” Daniel opened his mouth to announce the
President’s name, but Chad whispered, “Now say your Byblos name!”
Thoroughly befuddled, Daniel announced, “Benedict Shafer.”
The
kiosk blinked again, and showed two open locks. “VOICE KEY ACCEPTED;
ADMINISTRATIVE PRIVILEGES ACTIVATED FOR BENEDICT SHAFER.” Daniel drew
back his hand as if the scanner had delivered an electric shock. He
looked at President King. “Sir--”
Chad shook his head. “Oh no,
Benny-boy! We’re both administrators now; I’ve just made you Executive
Director of Human Resources, and given you a chair on the Board of
Directors. You must call me Chad, and you now have administrative
authority in every department in the company having anything to do with
personnel and employees. No more seeking out superiors and asking
permission or finding your protocols changed and privileges revoked. Now
you can make your own rules! You are the superior! We’re practically
equals, you and I.” Chad clapped him on the back.
Daniel felt
his skin grow cold, and his head became suddenly devoid of all rational
thought. “I… I don’t know what to say!” He spluttered.
“It’s
the least I can do, after what you’ve done for me!” Chad said to him as
they arrived at the front door. “Go ahead and enjoy your new privileges,
Ben. I’m sure you’ll have plenty to do!” Chad began to walk away, but
Daniel didn’t leave immediately.
“Sir--I mean… Chad?” he called after him.
Chad turned immediately. “Yes?”
Daniel
tried in vain to swallow the awkwardness as he formed his request, “I
would like… I mean, if I wanted to… promote some of my friends, can I do
that?”
Chad smiled magnanimously and winked. “As long as I am president of this corporation, you can do anything you want, Benedict.”
Aaron
was the first to awaken at nearly four in the afternoon. His glass
tablet blinked with a new message. He opened it, and saw that the same
message had been sent to Harry and Mike as well.
“PLEASE
REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT OF THIS
MESSAGE,” it said. “YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO DINNER AT THE
ADMINISTRATIVE LOUNGE.”
Harry and Mike awoke to the frantic
sounds of Aaron fumbling around the room trying to find his best
clothes. “Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!”
Harry rubbed his eyes. “Whuzzat?” he slurred drowsily. A heavy sleep like the one he’d just had was difficult to emerge from.
“Check your tab!” Aaron called from the bathroom.
Both friends did so.
“Executive offices?” Harry blurted.
“Dinner at the Administrative lounge?” Mike repeated incredulously.
By then, Aaron was already dressed. “Get moving!” he told his friends.
By
four-thirty, three very nervous, but neatly-dressed young men stood
awkwardly in the foyer of the spacious lounge. The hostess emerged from
the main dining area and beamed at them. “Shafer, party of four?” she
asked.
The three friends looked at each other. The only Shafer
they knew was Daniel’s Byblos name. Aaron glanced back at the hostess.
“Yeah, we know Bene--”
“Follow me, please,” she
said, leading them back down an exclusive hallway. She opened the door.
“Your party is here, sir,” she announced to the person inside.
“Excellent!” Daniel’s voice gave them all a sense of relief. Harry, Mike, and Aaron wandered into the room.
In
this private dining space, there was only one table, and only four
chairs. One was occupied by their friend Daniel Princeton. He was neatly
dressed in the fanciest charcoal-grey suit the boys had ever seen.
“What is going on?” Mike demanded suspiciously.
“Where did you sneak off to while we were sleeping?” Aaron wanted to know.
“And exactly how long were we asleep?” Harry looked around the opulent room in confusion.
Daniel
grinned and gestured to the chairs. “Have a seat and let’s eat, boys.
Order anything you like. We have a lot to discuss now that I’m the Human
Resources Director for all of Byblos.”
All three dropped as one man.
“You’re what?” Aaron squeaked. “How?”
Daniel
demonstrated for his friends how to activate the digital menu embedded
in the table. “Order up and I’ll tell you. There'll be promotions for
everybody today.”
>>>>>>>
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