The Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Skyscraper, September 6, 2013.

The conversation between Vince Dalton, Jack Ma, Hailee Steinfeld, and Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark continued as they ordered another round of champagne.

The Chinese CEO was a well-traveled businessman, so he sincerely said, “Your country, Greece is a beautiful place with as much history as China. I’m very sorry to hear about the economic crisis its citizens have been suffering since 2008.”

The young blonde princess amicably replied, “Greece hasn’t been my family’s country for decades, Mr. Ma. But I do sympathize with the nation’s current dire state as the Greeks deserve more than to live in poverty and violence. My father told me the economy was slowly recovering because many of the civilians have adopted Bitcash to purchase daily necessities.”

Due to the financial recession, Greece needed more cash for its expenditures, but as a member of the European Union, it couldn’t legally mint more Euros.

Bitcash became a stopgap solution for many Greeks that owned small businesses, making it possible to maintain local industries by selling products locally and internationally without Euros.

Vince wasn’t an economic expert but provided his honest opinions by saying, “Sadly, the populace utilizing Bitcash won’t fix the financial crisis, only prolong the inevitable sovereign default. The new government that overthrew your family had been cooking the books since the 1980s when it began increasing public spending. The problem would have surfaced during the creation of the EuroZone and its new currency, the Euro. However, it didn’t happen because Goldman Sachs currency swapped the Drachma, falsely representing Greece as ready to join the EuroZone. All that under-the-table agreements just to provide the bankers cheaper access to Euros.”

Wall Street banks loved meddling in other countries’ businesses and knowingly or unknowingly spread the Great Recession of 2008 to the Greeks due to Goldman Sachs’ significant involvement in its foreign exchange.

Out of all the nations affected by the financial crash, Greece experienced the worst economic decline, resulting in most of its educated citizens fleeing the country and all its creditors taking their business elsewhere.

Vince Dalton didn’t want the propagate the same irresponsible practices by accepting JP Morgan Chase’s proposal, as even a country as influential as Greece succumbed to Wall Street’s schemes.

To place things into perspective, during the 20th century, Greece enjoyed one of the world’s highest Gross Domestic Product growth rates. And now it’s a shell of its former glory with barely any efficient industries left.

Jack Ma noticed the young lady beginning to frown, so he reassuringly said, “I’m familiar with how difficult it can be for a nation to rise from hardships. Nevertheless, Greece can prevail, so long as its citizens work together and rebuild.”

Vince thought Jack was being too optimistic regarding the complex situation, considering how the Greeks pushed back against austerity measures and further exploitation of its natural resources.

The Chinese CEO backed up his claim by explaining, “Almost 80% of Greece’s economy revolves around international shipping between Europe and Asia. If we consider the growth of Afghanistan and its neighboring South Asian countries, Greece will surely benefit from booming commercial trade in the coming years.”

The young princess felt relieved to hear optimism from a highly influential international businessman such as Jack Ma and sincerely replied, “Thank you for the kind words. I’ll share your thoughts with my parents so they can prioritize the shipping industry after our family’s exile is lifted.”

Hailee changed the subject by asking, “Have you ever visited Austin, Mr. Ma?”

Jack honestly replied, “Not yet, unfortunately. There wasn’t a need to visit in the past as most of our business collaborations are hosted on the NetServ Workplace platform.”

Vince graciously said, “You, Zhang, and Joseph should stop by Austin while you’re in the States. I’m sure my mother will love to have y’all as guests. Of course, you’re also welcome to visit my home to accompany Hailee and experience the city, Princess Olympia.”

Hailee amicably added, “Let’s gather your companions so Vince can introduce you all to his mother and colleagues.”

Jack garnered the attention of his wife, Zhang, and business partner, Joseph, before following Vince towards the guarded private booth.

——-

While the adults like Leah Dalton and Paris Hilton conversed in a bit of small talk, the younger ones were discussing their favorite hobbies, artists, shows, livestreams, and social media influencers with enthusiasm.

They talked about the Twitch Roleplayers until Kendall Jenner excitedly asked, “Can you guys share some details about the Everlife Expansion? Unfortunately, the gameplay trailers are too much of a tease for an impatient girl like me.”

Plenty of young people loved watching the lives of roleplayers playing on whitelist Everlife Online servers as they entertained viewers with their antics, portraying a new type of improv theatre.

Twitch streamers like Sodapoppin and Wonder Alice garnered hundreds of thousands of concurrent viewers by comically acting out street races, bank heists, gang wars, and police shootouts, with comedy sprinkled throughout the seemingly serious gameplay.

Large companies like Disney weren’t the only ones improving their consumer base. Social media personalities on Twitch and Instagram capitalized on the Infinity Channel’s recent release by utilizing the Infi-AI translation and Voice-All features to reach more foreign viewers.

Kyle honestly replied, “We don’t publish announcements about release dates because we want to surprise video game fans. Future Studios is already pursuing other projects, but that’s the only info I can share.”

Rick chuckled and interjected, “Wow! You’re so mysterious, Kyle!”

Kyle nodded in disappointment and replied, “Shut up, dude. You signed the exact same NDA (non-disclosure agreement) I did unless you want me to get fired by oversharing.”

Jessica followed along with the teasing by saying, “You only overshare hugs and kisses with ZTA chicks, am I right?”

Before Kyle could struggle to defend himself, Vince arrived with the new guests and said, “Alright, quit embarrassing our friend in front of Kylie and her sister.”, before winking at the flustered Kyle.

Vince observed Kyle’s attitude towards the TV show personality since the Future Couture runway event and took the opportunity to call it out loud.

Sarah, Jessica, and Rick began to laugh as Kyle’s cheeks turned tomato red until Vince introduced Princess Olympia and the Alibaba executives to his entourage.

After a few minutes of greetings and shaking hands, Leah sincerely said, “You look beautiful in that dress, Zhang, and your husband is quite dashing in the Future Couture executive suit. I appreciate your family’s patronage of my designs and your generous donation of $25 million.”

Jack Ma jokingly replied, “Thank you for the compliments. It seemed appropriate to wear this suit to a Future Couture event. As for our donation, water is an integral aspect of any developed community, and I value Future Tech’s efforts in expanding utilities outside of the United States. Bottled water is unnecessary, anti-consumer, and contributes heavily to plastic pollution. Investing in water desalination and treatment infrastructure is much more sustainable than profiting billions off an important daily necessity.”

Vince and the Alibaba executives laughed at Jack’s subtle jab at Zhong Shanshan, the founder of Nongfu Spring, while the others who didn’t keep up with international business remained silent.

New York boasted one of the best quality tap water in the United States due to its robust water treatment systems. Still, most places on Earth didn’t share the luxury of easily accessible and perfectly safe drinking water.

President Karzai used a significant portion of Afghanistan’s Bitcash loans to expand utilities across the country, including treated water sorely needed by his citizens.

Vince observed the confusion before explaining, “Future Tech and Alibaba attempted to bid on a water utility project in China, but their Bottled Water lobby was too fucking powerful. Though they might change their tune once Jack delivers our newest offer on the table.”

The first Chinese astronauts to step foot on the Moon was too enticing of an opportunity for Xi Jinping’s government to ignore, and Jack was now well-equipped to play the politics game after speaking with Vince.

Kyle and the others eventually understood the joke, then he said, “Earning billions from bottled water does sound pretty messed up, especially if the government is stifling civil works for profits.”

Vince Dalton was undeniably a capitalist, yet he treated money as only a number, and his friends and executives shared the sentiment after working in Future Tech for so long.

The true value of a corporation wasn’t its profit margins or its net valuation but the tangible positive effects it produces in society.

—

An hour later, the afterparty ended with Diana Strong thanking the guests for attending before the patrons were courteously escorted out by FS operators on duty.

Paris Hilton graciously stated, “It was such a pleasure meeting all of you. I’d like to offer everyone a suite at the local Waldorf Astoria Hotel in case anyone needed a place for tonight.”

Vince respectfully declined and said, “We truly appreciate the offer, Paris, but we’ll probably fly back home soon.”

His friends gave him a disappointed look, as it was their first time visiting the Big Apple.

Vince couldn’t openly tell them about the potential dangers if they remained in New York for too long and instead offered, “How about we stay the night at the Waldorf Astoria and return to Austin with our new acquaintances tomorrow morning instead?”

—

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