Thursday, September 12, 2013

A Koenigsegg Flyga had recently departed the Fury Gym and was on its way towards the Future Tech Headquarters.

It was a daily routine for Vince Dalton, but today was a bit different because of the headlines on Fox News outlets labeling him a dirty communist playing on the AV entertainment system.

The news segment mainly was an opinion piece regarding the mysteriousness of Future Tech and its growing business ties with China, with no credible evidence of Vince Dalton actually involved in the Communist Party.

Though it was illegal to do so, it wasn’t the first time a news corporation labeled its enemies and rivals as commies, nazis, terrorists, or other horrible associations.

The young CEO didn’t feel special in that regard because he understood criticism came with the territory of being an influential figure in western society.

Still, Vince didn’t appreciate the attacks on his character and already had a hunch about the person responsible for instigating a member of the Infinity Channel agreement, Fox News, to risk everything in slandering him outright.

Vince sat comfortably in the AV while he thought, [Hmph. You’re just digging a deeper hole for yourself, Mr. Dimon. I’ll make your bank crumble when you least expect it.]_.

His suspicion was confirmed by the following Fox News interview that played featuring the sly banker.

The show’s host dutifully presented the words on the teleprompter, “My name is Shepard Smith, and I’m honored to welcome our special guest, Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan Chase, to discuss the current state of the US economy. But before we begin, I’d like to ask your opinion of Future Tech and Vince Dalton’s ties with foreign countries.”

Jamie followed along the propaganda charade and amicably replied, “Thank you for having me, Shepard. My thoughts regarding Vince Dalton are fairly straightforward. I admire the young man’s achievements and can’t comment on his alleged communist beliefs, but I question Future Tech’s continued economic hegemony over the United Afghan Tribes.”

Shepard acted intrigued with his guest’s answer, then inquired, “Could you please explain your thoughts further?”

Jamie continued saying, “Future Tech had spent nine months consolidating its authority over the vulnerable Afghans and inevitably monopolized most of their nation’s crucial industries like mineral extraction and forced the adoption of Bitcash to replace fiat currency in their markets. So I’m skeptical if the UAT truly is a democracy.”

Shepard could have retorted Jamie’s statements by mentioning the numerous positive changes Future Tech provided to Afghanistan, but that was obviously not in the script.

Vince couldn’t care less about his critics labeling him negatively, but the deceitful narrative Jamie was selling in the news about the UAT had made Vince furious.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took deep breaths to calm down before thinking, [You’re a skilled propagandist but also getting on my nerves.]

Unlike Jamie Dimon, Vince respected the sacrifice of the uncountable men and women that served in Afghanistan for its democracy. It was an interesting and creative narrative angle of attack from Jamie, but Vince knew President Karzai nor the UAT would accept his statements lying down.

Vince cleared his mind while the Flyga slowly touched down on the penthouse AV pad as he still had CEO responsibilities to perform and couldn’t dwell on the news for too long.

He took a quick shower to rid himself of the gym stink before attending a scheduled meeting at Future Studios.

——–

A built and muscular Caucasian man in his early 30s wearing FS infantry armor without a helmet was waiting for Vince.

The young CEO recognized his dutiful head of security and amicably said, “Felix, it’s good to have you back stateside. Your Hammer team did very well in securing the sensitive cargo in Syria.”

Felix respectfully replied, “Getting the chance to field-test the Hammer Power Armor was more than enough for me. It makes me feel like a human tank. First, though, have you seen the news recently?”

Vince chuckled briefly before saying, “As the armor should, Felix. I watched it on the way here, but we can discuss it later. But, first, let’s head inside and begin the meeting. I have a busy schedule today, including an appointment with Lockheed Martin’s CEO.”

Felix nodded in agreement before opening the door and allowing Vince to enter.

Nearly fifty people were in the massive conference room, including familiar faces like Kyle, Rick, Sarah, Oliver, and other Future Studios staff managers.

The rest of the group consisted of video production employees from Disney and its subsidiaries sent by Kevin Feige to learn about the Infinity Unreal Engine while supporting Future Studios in filming its first high-budget TV series.

The busy chatter came to a stop as the audience members noticed Vince Dalton walking up the stage while connecting his Infinity Watch to the room’s media system.

The lights dimmed then Vince confidently stated, “Good morning, everyone. I’ve scheduled this meeting to discuss the Infinity Channel’s upcoming exclusive TV show called Astartes (Space Marines), which aims to be the benchmark for modern CGI video production powered by the Infinity Unreal Engine. I’m happy to welcome our guests from Walt Disney Studios, led by Jon Favreau.”

Vince had initially preferred the action-movie experts, the Russo brothers, to direct the Warhammer 40,000 adaptation, but their busy Marvel Cinematic Universe projects didn’t allow it.

Kevin Feige instead offered the talents of the progenitor of the MCU himself, Jon Favreau, to represent Disney’s partnership with Future Tech, which Vince accepted without issue.

Vince was confident in his flexible skillset because Jon Favreau utilized the Unreal Engine panoramic visual sets masterfully while directing The Mandalorian for Disney in 2019.

Vince continued saying, “I’m sure many of you know my expertise isn’t in producing or directing our entertainment properties like Everlife or War Online, but I sincerely hope my ideas can assist in some way. Plenty of our potential viewers will be fans of the Warhammer 40K series and expect a grim and dark setting that showcases the horrors of war and its social implications. Fortunately, our new film studio at the Tech Campus should be up and running by the time pre-production for Astartes is finalized. I’m also appointing my reliable FS operator, Felix, as a stunt coordinator. Any questions before I move forward with the presentation?”

A portion of the staff was diehard 40K miniature enthusiasts and readily agreed with the young man’s initial vision for the adaptation. However, Jon Favreau curiously asked, “That was a wonderful intro, Vince. I’ve studied the 40K fanfare and agree it won’t be nearly as wishy-washy as Star Wars, but should I be concerned about your inexperienced stunt coordinator?”

Vince honestly answered, “I understand your qualms as a successful action-movie director, but there are a few elements in our film production that may seem too dangerous. Warhammer 40K is all about war and destruction, and I don’t know anyone better in the business than Felix. Aside from that, our TV show’s main characters are Space Marines, and my friend here is one of the very few FS operators qualified to pilot Commando Power Armor.”

Vince touched his Infinity Watch to continue to the next slide that contained images and trial video clips of the recently developed medium armor variant.

While the audience members, especially Kyle, gawked at the futuristic-looking suit of composite carbon, Vince explained, “Future Tech’s armor program isn’t so secret anymore after I shared some information to China regarding the Lunar Mission. The Commando armor was specifically designed for practical combat and looks completely different from the stylized Space Marine suits. Still, Future Robotics is already producing a few units based exactly on the miniatures.”

The Future Studios staff felt a wave of excitement and pride after learning about the technological advancements their engineering colleagues had developed while working just a few floors below them.

The Disney consultants like Jon and the music producer, Ludwig Göransson, were utterly stunned by the young CEO’s sudden revelation and began reconsidering whether it was a good idea to move forward with a potentially fatal production.

Felix noticed the concerned look in their eyes and interjected by casually saying, “Don’t worry, everyone. Vince entrusted me to ensure the safety of the film crew as the main priority. On the other hand, Future Tech is a military defense contractor with the highest-class manufacturing agreement with the US, so we’re authorized to use regulated types of explosives which could be handy for practical effects or just blowing stuff up.”

Jon Favreau was a bit fearful about what Felix meant as “regulated types of explosives” but professionally accepted the challenge of producing an action series with actual battlefield specialists.

Vince continued, “Future Tech is accustomed to working with consultants since the corporation’s inception, but I hope our guests enjoy their time here in Austin. I trust the $500 million production budget and your perseverance will amount to a compelling TV show. Good luck, and have fun.”

Stats changed during the current chapter:

$9.5 Billion cash in Future Tech