Tethered Twins

Chapter Twenty

Tobias Zen

Tobias motioned to a plush chair, even fancier than the one I had sat on in first class on the train. His office was a giant room, with a curved glass top and wall that let him see the city skyline. From outside you could see the towers of the three richest families.

The room itself seemed like an extension of the lab I had seen downstairs and aside from a large mahogany desk, two seats and a glass cabinet that held drinks it seemed nothing like a typical office. The floor was a pristine white colour and hundreds of mathematical equations were written over it in an orange pen. It looked like the floor of a mad man and not a prestigious CEO. 

In another corner there was a pile of hundreds of unboxed DualCam’s stacked in a pile with one of them projecting a still image of a beautiful lake and a forest covered in trees on to the wall.

“Please take a seat Ms Young,” said Tobias as he turned off the camera and I sat on a small wooden chair that seemed out of place with the rest of the room.

 “Would you like a drink?” he asked. I refused, highly suspicious that he would be drugging me in some way. I really hoped my disguise was still working.

He sat down in his chair. It was slightly raised and angled towards me, giving the impression that he was higher up and looking down on me. This was amplified by the poor quality of my chair and the plushness of his. It felt like being in school again with a fearsome headmaster standing over me.

“You are very lucky. Ms Young. I’ve never invited a journalist into my office before.”

“Then why me?” I asked. “You have thousands of journalists outside but why did you choose me?”

“Serendipity. I believe that you should grab any chance life throws at you. Don’t you?”

“I guess.”

“Exactly!” he said, not really caring what I said. “When I saw that a journalist had won our competition I knew it was meant to be. We’ve always wanted to show a journalist what we do here and yet can’t afford to have everyone looking around at our secrets. Today you helped me break that privacy. You are a sign of things to come Jessica Young.”

“Thank you?” I said, phrased more like a question than a statement. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of his words. “So exactly what is it you want to show me?”

“Actually I’d rather ask you. What did you think of our demonstration earlier?” he was clearly searching for compliments.

“Frankly, I was horrified. I thought you had killed that man.”

“Perfect, that’s exactly what I wanted people to think!” he exclaimed, clearly proud that I’d said exactly what he wanted me to say. “But, what about the technology? Can you see how it has the power to change the world?”

As much as I liked his technology, I’d already witnessed it do horrible things in the killing of Will. “It’s interesting… but doesn’t it promote the idea that our country should be at war? Isn’t peace more important?”

“Unfortunately, that’s not the way the world works,” said Tobias. “The world is broken and my technology will fix it. Our country is one of the richest in the world. It will be attacked and war is inevitable. I’m just trying to make the world better.”

“So you’re essentially waiting on a war before you can use the technology? Isn’t that pessimistic or downright sadistic?” I asked.

“It never hurts to be prepared. Showing off the technology now helps us get the investment we need to make the world better later.”