"Is there anyone else we can ask for help?..."
"...Are we really out of options?...."
"This is bad...really bad. We're here at the top place for these kinds of threats but we can't even move a finger? If you can't, Who else can do it?"
"We need somebody to find a way!"
Hearts beating in despair; worlds are slowly turning apart but...
"Don't worry, I'll bring him right away. I'm sure he'll be the best man for it."
He was brought into a facility without any word from the people who fetch him from East Aurum Middle School.
A few minutes ago, he thought it was just a normal after-school day.
He was wearing his white school uniform with an unbuttoned polo top viewing his undershirt with a Sponge Bob print. His backpack hangs on his left shoulder and headphones lie on top of his head. Sweat ran down on his forehead after running from the canteen to get a piece of sandwich he wanted. His dark blue eyes shine in the light of the mid-afternoon dark blue sky.
"I wonder if the tournament would go wild like last year." He giggled as he walks past the lobby and reached the gate of the school. "I can't wait to log in~~~"
He opened his snack and bit his pimiento sandwich while stepping down the stairs when he saw the two men in Black, standing with crossed arms in front of the exit and scaring whoever passes by, came to greet him.
He hesitantly placed his foot on the last step of the stairs.
This looks like a mafia scene, though I'm not a mafia boss or something. He thought while staring at them.
"Yo!" he raised his sandwich and smiled weakly. His brows danced like grasses kissing the wind. "What's the matter?"
"Please get in the car." One of the two commanded while he opened the door of their automobile using a button from his breast pocket. The door on the side of the car open upwards revealing the classic car seats with black tinted windows.
"O... Kay..." he said.
He was chilled and broke a cold sweat but he followed them and came inside the mobile.
He sat silently on the left side of the backseat and observed. He tried to analyze his situation and looked around the car. He saw lights that dance on the tinted window showing graphics like ads and movie clips depending on how you set it with the controller hanging on the driver's seat.
Not a clue, huh. He muttered in his head.
He hasn't had any word from them. He tried to ask again what was happening but he was refused to get the answers.
This is getting shady. He thought.
He looked outside the car and saw the scenes changed from the sub-urban city view to the megacity area.
I kinda feel I'm in big trouble. He stared at the sky and saw clouds starting to form.
A few minutes later, they arrived at that big facility in the middle of the city. He hasn't been there since his Grade school field trip so now he suddenly felt nostalgic breathing the same air back then. Well, he remembered going there to explore the public facilities of the big building where guests/visitors were able to venture and manipulate some hands-on computing stuff but apparently he hasn't experienced them head-on. It is the place where anyone would like to place themselves to work in and secure their future--- The ORION.
And I'm back. He bit his lip and click his tongue. ORION, huh. He muttered as he stares at the huge name on top of the building he is looking for up to see.
"I was just at Zone 6 and now I leaped to Zone 1. Isn't that frightening?" I looked at my guards with confusion but they ignored me.
It is the centerpiece of the city of Aurum, the stronghold of all the networks in the internet world. After the Great Fall, the owners slowly built the era of new technologies and created a newfound network that can be used as the world's database by the use of the newfound element from the meteor, the Haentium. And that meteor lies underground of this huge facility.
Now, Orion is the source that connects all the internet accesses, processes, and the likes of both the west and the east part of the world. More likely, it is the gate and a wide strong bridge of all information. Every little info that was searched, stored, and accessed on the internet passes through ORION's gateway and leaves a trace no matter how small it is before it can get to other servers around the world. The place has internet speed faster than Neo-NASA and has its own satellites that revolve around the earth. They also had the biggest RAM capacity and because of this, the ORION is the most prominent information broker in the world and the most reliable one on fixing even the minutest problems involving computers, programs, and the world wide Web. It was clearly the Origin of the New Earth.
"ORION," he said in awe or more likely, fright, as he's looking at the gate of the big facility, opening sideways as they arrive at the entrance. The guard saluted at them when they passed thru.
"So, what am I supposed to do here?" he looked outside the car window, rolling it down slowly, and looked around; his wavy brown hair kissed the blowing wind. He scanned the place and said, "It seems like I'm in big trouble if not super lucky to be here in this time of the day. I wonder if Mom got mad at me and ask you to bring me here for punishment or something. I hope not." he sounded sarcastic, rolling his eyes.
But not a single word was given to answer his question. The men with him remained silent.
He faced his companions and said, "Aren't you really gonna give me a word? Even a simple "Hi" perhaps?" he just felt a glare from the two. The other faced him, biting his lip, and the other looked at him from the mirror.
"Okay, okay..." he placed his hands in front erasing what he had said. "...you don't need to get serious all of the sudden just because I'm asking questions, not that I don't want to. But you know, this is getting fishy..." he started to wear a frown face. "...and it's starting to get on my nerves.."
The field trip was way different from what situation he has now. They were there to explore the auditorium, the lounge, and the library during that time before. Those were the only places accessible for outside visitors for sight-seeing and educational ventures. You need a more upgraded access key, a small access card like the size of an ATM card with complex encryption, to enter the other parts of the facility as what they give to their employees of different ranks. But now, he's in a way different situation.
They entered the building and went to the basement thru an elevator.
There was it, the special key! He screamed on his head after seeing the black card being swiped on the elevator controller. I should ask for that one, too. I hope they'll give it to me without a price. He smirked.
"This elevator felt like your space traveling," Markus whispered under his breath and looked around the 6 by 6 feet moving room with observation in mind. He touched the wall with his elbow and it made a dull sound. "That was carbonized aluminum," he muttered to his brain. "This ride felt like floating in space due to the system operating this square room. There were no strings or cables attached here. This is purely moving with gravitational control." he slides his hand on the handle attached to the wall. "Everything falls back to the ground, that's the principle of gravity by Newton centuries ago. Now, the Orion was manipulating it thru the use of the Meteor's electromagnetic property and make things float in controlled height by opposing the New Earth's gravity." the kid looked up and saw the camera installed in the corner of the room. "This is one of the company's prides since they pioneered the use of cable-less elevators only introduced here in the city of Aurum."
"You're a pretty well-known kid." the men on his left said without looking at him.
Markus was surprised. He didn't think he was thinking out loud all this time.
The ride stopped and the door opened.
They walked on a dimmed hallway beyond the big doors one after another. He scanned the place as they walked on. He saw rooms with glass walls with huge computers inside where the screens run programs and codes on big monitors. Some of the glass windows were tinted and some are not. Little did he know he's inside the lower field of Orion, 5 floors underground, where programs were made and tested. Everything he saw was full of formality and with the expression of being "high class" in the work environment. No wonder this is the dream workplace of most people.
I haven't been here for years. He sighed.
The two men who escorted him wear very formal attire, too. Maybe that what's brought him the idea of "formality". A black tuxedo, as if they were going to a Ball or something is what they wear. They even have guns under their coats, and communicators on their ears seemed like bad-ass bodyguards he usually sees on Animes and action movies. Too, suspicious indeed.
They reached an intersection where the light is well-lit leading to a way to the right and to the left. He was caught by what the wall depicts on that intersection and he stared in awe. He stood unmoving and talked to himself while facing the wall.
"We're already on our way, Sir... hai,...hai... Understood." One of the escorts talked to someone on the next line, holding his communicator. He has a scary face or maybe that was cause for being serious all the time that his brows were almost kissing each other. His hair lies so flat on his head as if a cow had licked his head. He has a thick pair of eyeglasses and a pin on his left chest saying, "Asst. Programmer" and a pin saying "Hi, I'm Hiro!" on his right. Hiro is the one who drove the car from his school.
"We need to hurry, they've all been waiting for quite some time," Hiro said to him and to his other companion.
The one who sat next to him is a lot younger than the other. His eye bags were clearly seen under his thick pair of eyeglasses. He doesn't have a single strand of hair. Yet he was just around 22-26 years old. Do programmers lose their hair just to make a better program? He thought. Also, a pin hangs on his left chest saying, "Asst. Programmer" and "Hi, I'm Bon!".
Do programmers usually carry a gun? While having "Hi, I'm ____" on their chests? He additionally thought, giving him a silly smile on his face.
"Hai, understood" Bon replied and looked straight to his partner.
They stared at each other for seconds before they glared at him. After a few seconds of staring [convincing], they made their way to another hallway to their right and they walked faster. A few moments later, he can clearly see where they are heading.
I'm really screwed.
The big door at the end of the hallway is like a university auditorium entrance. Nothing can be seen from the outside and it seems soundproof. Unlike the other rooms they have passed covered with glass walls, this one is way secretive than the others. It was well protected by men on guard wearing the same things as his escorts. The air is getting colder on his neck. Something big is coming and he was dragged to face it not knowing what it is. The room's name shines bright on top of the big doors, Serius.
And here we are. I bet every person inside can't even smile because they are serious. He kept his smile.
They have arrived at the entrance door and Hiro called from his earpiece and gave a signal saying, "He is here". The door opened on queue and a more formal man wearing a tuxedo welcomed them with open arms. He also wore a pair of eyeglasses. His hair has a normal crew cut and Markus felt so nostalgic about him like he hadn't seen the guy for about a month. He has a pin on his collar with the logo of the facility and an ID pinned on his left breast saying, "HEAD ENGINEER".
"It's been a while, Markus. How have you been?"
"I'm fine as always until your men fetch me from school." he glared at the man who greeted him and saw the bags under his eyes, which clearly means they are in a dire situation. He met his brown eyes full of stress and turned his gaze to the rest of the men who gathered near the entrance. "So, what do we have here? I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything wrong so I wonder. Did mom call you up or something?" he said to lighten the atmosphere, lifting his shoulders in claiming his innocence.
"Of course, you haven't done anything...yet." The young head engineer said. His sweat falls from his forehead though the room was fully air-conditioned. "But you will do something for..." he brought the kid inside by his shoulders and showed the people inside the big room "...Us."
He saw big bosses of major corporations and companies and even bank owners inside the room. Some of the major programmers, they were called MASON in ORION, were also present in the circle of important men of the industry. There are 7 important businessmen standing in front of him. How did he know that they were big people is such a big mystery, or not. He knew them from the start.
"I guess I don't have to introduce them to you, right?" the young man said.
"I guess so, but, what do I have to do here?" Markus answered. "What's that thing you want me to do for them?"
The room is no small thing. It was surrounded by 7 supercomputers hanging around their high ceiling walls that work a hundred times faster than your average personal computer. Upgraded sets of CPUs and wide keyboards for easier access to the Internet piled in a curve circling the floor area. Monitors show systems of graphs, and random programs, even a Tetris battle on a minimized tab. A team of 5 was operating and monitoring the activities of the program that is running on the screen. They don't have to turn on the lights because the light of the screen is enough to brighten the big darkened room. The atmosphere became cozier as one of the big bosses spoke,
"Is this the one you said who will solve our problem, Mr. Louige?"
"You are bluffing, right? He's just a kid?"
"Cut the crap, Mr. Louige! What can a kid like him do to solve our problem? This is not a child's game!" one big guy said. "We are seriously in big trouble that is why we came here at the stronghold so why did you bring this kid?!."
"He is a kid, I know." Louige brought Markus in front as if he is selling them the product. "But, he is the best kid we ever have, Sir. A chance I can guarantee."
"I can't entrust the security of my bank to this kid! I'm paying you a fair amount, so you can give me a fair service!" the bank owner shouted.
"I know what you are thinking, Sir. But, you can trust me when I say that this kid is something. Besides, he can do things that I can't." Louige defended.
Hearing their conversation, he butted in and screamed "WAIT!" and waved his hand with a gesture of stopping a fight while placing himself in between the adults.
"you don't have to argue... yes I'm a kid, you don't have to fight over it. It's pretty obvious." And that lame speech halted the commotion. He grinned in achievement.
It's not that I'm screwed. It was the Stronghold.
"So, what is your problem here?"