The Man of Cloud 9

The Stage - Part 1

Ten Years Later

The lights dimmed in the opera hall and the crowd's roar eased to a rumble. All eyes were drawn to the in-air holographic projections throughout the theatre as they cycled between KnowMe's corporate logo, and images and videos from previous launch events.

The uplifting and powerful music fueled the sense of electric anticipation. Rumors of what NanoCloud Four would be capable of had been circling for months, and every fan had their secret feature hopes. The world was holding its breath as the reveal was only minutes away.

Hundreds of millions of people were watching from around the world. Only the most devout five thousand had managed to beg, borrow, steal or afford the scalped tickets in order to be physically present. They would be legends on TalkItNow for weeks. Some would go on to resell their gold trimmed tickets, giving others a false moment in the sun.

Then the music abruptly stopped and the holographic projections disappeared. Everyone whispered in the darkness, wondering if a power outage had happened, or if it was time for the event to start. Then came the distinctive sound of sneakers on tiled floor, three smacks as they climbed a few stairs, and then silence.

"Everything's nearly in place..." boomed a deep voice from overheard. The crowd vibrated with excitement, savoring the end of their wait. Whistles and isolated screams filled the cavernous room.

A burst of triumphant instrumental music took over the room and then gave way to the overhead voice, which boomed once again, "Welcome everyone, to KnowMe's second annual reveal. We've been waiting to tell you about NanoCloud Four for some time, and in a few minutes, that wait will finally be over."

Rocking music started and holographic images of Niko at university appeared. "Doctor Niko Rafaelo's first prototype, NanoCloud Zero, did little more than show that his impossible idea wasn't." The images reappeared, this time of Niko surrounded by four scruffy looking developers and a tablet saying KnowMe. "NanoCloud One got the attention of the gods of industry, as they sensed a change was coming. Then NanoCloud Two came out, and KnowMe eliminated the need for almost every other personal device except the content lens display. The old gods came at us, and the old gods fell. Their era was over." The crowd screamed and clapped.

"KnowMe shocked Wall Street just before going public, when we released NanoCloud Three, announced the single biggest military contract with the federal government ever, and created the world's biggest charity endowment fund. When KnowMe went public, we hit the trillion-dollar mark in six hours."

"Niko Rafaelo has already brought us a new way to communicate, a new way to work, and a new way to play. He has inspired a revolution in startups and innovative thinking. What else could there be? Is he done, as some wonder on TalkItNow?"

The crowd roared back, "No!"

An electric blue outline appeared on stage, and the sneakers man walked into it. He was barely visible, but there was enough to confirm to the crowd that it was indeed the man they'd come to see. He offered a short bow, and like a drip becoming a waterfall, one person in the crowd stood and clapped and then the rest rushed in. The sound was deafening to even the most prepared.

The voice spoke again, with even more energy, "Now, the man you have all been waiting for, the inventor of the NanoCloud, the founder of KnowMe, a man of history, the one and only, Doctor Niko Rafaelo!"

The silhouette disappeared and the stage lit up. Camera-drones were visible high up, capturing the spectacle for the worldwide audience.

Niko had short, dark hair and a neat beard. He had his trademark white shirt with red sleeves, which he wore with its curvilinear collar turned up. The archaic jeans were navy blue, a nod to one of his heroes from technology's history.

Before walking the stage, waving and smiling, Niko pointed and winked at a young woman in the audience. She smiled and waved back.

Niko motioned for the crowd to settle, and along with it the music quieted down. He stopped his pacing and stared at the crowd. He let several seconds tick by and then used his trademark opener, "Hi everybody. How's the day treating you?"

The crowd, and millions around the world, replied at once. Niko laughed and waved. "I'm glad. Funny meeting you all here."

Laughter broke out in pockets.

"At KnowMe, we have learned a lot in the past few years. I've learned a lot in the past few years. This reveal today, this is easily the biggest we've had. We have a whole new architecture that apps can now take advantage of, we have a whole new way of thinking about where the future is going, and you're going to be able to be a part of that."

"I wanted to say thank you," he pointed at parts of the audience at random. "Thank you for your amazing support. Thank you for the feedback. Thank you for helping show the world that one idea can change everything. We've shown that innovation matters, and we've all seen amazing technologies show up since then. At KnowMe, every day my team and I work our hardest to come up with the best that we can give you."

"You're welcome!" screamed a few in the first row.

Niko laughed. "One of those lessons we've learned is if you admire what another company does: don't copy it, team up with them. Better to bring your two heads together and see what brilliance you can make happen, instead of using all that energy fighting it out. Not everyone thinks that way, but the folks at ContactFirst did. That's why we made them our first acquisition. Evan, Sarah and the team over there were so far ahead of the competition, but they were having trouble getting in front of customers."

"I guess it's no secret that we solved that problem for them," he continued. "It's been amazing to watch glasses disappear, and the lens-display take over so ubiquitously. It doesn't hurt that there's just nothing like them. I'm sure that our team will one day give us personal holographic projection but... I'm getting ahead of myself."

Cheers and hoots erupted from the crowd.

Niko smiled and brought his hands in, palms together in front of his chest, hushing the crowd. He watched as the camera-drones swiftly and quietly changed positions, and one flew out of service. "The human body is a limited architecture. We can't help that or change it. For a while, humanity had lost the ability for everyone to have a bit of the digital world that was theirs. We'd lost our daring, our desire to dream. Our generation grew up hearing about some amazing things that had been possible in the past, but the closest we could get were our limited phones and watches. To me, they were little more than a sign of stunted times."

He paused, and a somber moment took over the room. "But then," he exploded with newfound energy. "Then the NanoCloud came along and reignited our imagination. We've recaptured so many features lost long ago, from video calling to being able to look up our favorite restaurant with a gesture. With each generation of NanoCloud, we get closer to true integration. I expect within the next couple of years, we'll have it able to pick up directly from our thoughts." The crowd hushed.

"And a lot of this, is because of you guys. People like each and every one of you are creating amazing new apps and add-ons to the NanoCloud every day. My job is to provide the platform and spark the imagination, but you guys are the roaring fires of the impossible." The crowd roared. "That's what I'm talking about."

Niko leaned forward, with a devilish grin. The crowd's excitement grew. They braced themselves for his other trademark phrase, and he made them wait for it. He paced about, letting the tension build. "I'm sure everyone loved the gestures we introduced in Three. Personally, I felt like I was conducting an orchestra, they were so big. It'd be nice if they were more... modest, wouldn't you agree?"

He tapped his chin, playing to the crowd. "What about needing only two spray cans of NanoCloud to upgrade, and only one every other week for regular maintenance? That'd be nice, and save everyone some money, too. Oh well." He threw up his hands and started to walk off stage. "Oh." He stopped and turned to the crowd. "Did I mention I have something to show you?"

"Four! Four! Four!" cheered the crowd.

[ This is the end of the free WattPad preview. If you'd like to continue reading, or want to learn more, check out AdamDreece.com/TheManOfCloud9 , or you can pick it up at Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, GooglePlay, Indigo and other fine retailers. ]