The ambassador of Benedict's Friends and the hostess of this evening's fundraiser is the French model-turned-actress Virginie Lapoone. She stands in the center of the stage, looking absolutely spectactular, and politely waits for the applause in the room to die down. At last she says, "Thank you all for coming here tonight. Simply by being here, you have already contributed a great deal to Benedict's Friends, and to the homeless men, women, and children that this organization helps all over the country. And I mean you've helped them financially—tickets for these tables weren't cheap!" A polite ripple of laughter around the room follows.
Another pause, and then she says, "There's one man here tonight I'd like to extend a special thanks to. Just twenty minutes ago I heard a whisper in my earpiece that his generosity has far surpassed any expectations here tonight. He's the head of Psion Industries, Mr. Aaron Salt. Please, come up on stage, Aaron."
At that, Aaron leaps up from his chair, and climbs the steps to the stage, a big smile on his face. Then he speaks into Virginie Lapoone's microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, my good-hearted friends…this world is a mess. Look closely at any part of this green-and-blue planet we live on, and it won't be long before you come across illness, starvation, overpopulation, overstretched resources. We live in a grossly unequal world—and yes, I count myself among the 1 percent, a member of those who are in part responsible for such inequality. I am grateful for organizations such as Benedict's Friends, who do a little to redress that inequality by giving all of us here a means to transfer a little of the good fortune that has come to us in our lives. I'll confess I was expecting to be asked up on stage to address you all, and I've taken the liberty of preparing a giant novelty check on behalf of Psion Industries."
He gives a nod toward the stage wings, and an assistant comes out with the check. When you see the obscene figure written on it, you very nearly spit out your drink.
"You know, not so long ago I was talking with a good friend of mine, Anaru Katariki," Aaron goes on. "He's having a difficult time now, but back then you knew him as the head of MetaHuman Incorporated. Anaru agreed with me that he and I were both phenomenally privileged to be in such a lucrative position, and that we both wished to do more to help the less fortunate. We already knew about this fundraiser, and he said to me, 'Aaron, our two companies are neck and neck in the business world, the best at what we do. Whatever donation you make to Benedict's Friends, I'll match it, cent for cent.'"
He pauses, and the crowd gives a round of applause. Yet you have a strangled sensation in your throat; you think you know where this is leading.
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