Thanks, rob, I'll fix those points the next time I post an updated version.
For now, though, in light of HRogge making a new post for the 'gas station' story, here's the beginning of my story.
~~~
“I believe the power to make money is a gift
of God … to be developed and used to the best of our ability for the good of
mankind. Having been endowed with the gift I possess, I believe it is my
duty to make money and still more money and to use the money I make for the
good of my fellow man according to the dictates of my conscience.” – John D.
Rockefeller
~
It was an average hotel room, though just over a
mere decade ago calling any room with a window looking out upon the arguably
most beautiful of the Sol System’s gas giants ‘average’ would have raised more
than a few eyebrows. A lamp was on by the sole bed in the room as its lone
occupant watched the television.
WALT: “Hello, I am R. Walter Cronkite, and this is
the ZNN ‘Interview with a Fen’ hour. In this lead-in the convention, joining me
for tonight is CEO of Cyberdyne Systems and Chairman of Pavonis’ SEELE Council,
Mister Alex Xanatos. Thank you for coming, Alex.”
ALEX (smiling): “It’s my pleasure, Walter.”
WALT: “Cutting right to the chase, the NERV
Foundation has started a bit of a buzz with its sudden request for time at the
start of the convention to make an announcement – one that the foundation
refuses to expand upon. What’s all of this about?”
ALEX (grinning and wagging a figure): “Ah! Ah! Ah!
That’s got to wait for a couple more days. All I will say about it now is that,
what with the recent events in Saturnian space casting their shadow on things,
we on the council thought some good news is exactly what doctor ordered to
brighten up the convention. I’m afraid that really is all I can say.”
WALT: “I see…”
Back on the bed its occupant, the same man being
interviewed on the TV in fact, chuckled a bit. ‘We on the council?’ Try less than half of it…”
*FLASHBACK*
“You can’t be serious!” a female, Japanese-accented
void snapped.
“Uh-uh. No way. Forget it,” declared the man with
the Deep South accent.
“It’s nowhere near finished! You all know that!”
whined the man dressed like Cool Hand Luke at the same time as the others.
“I’m curious why you would bring this up,” said the
only one to wait a moment to speak, a business-suited, bun-haired brunette. “I
never really had an opinion on the matter, you know that. But wasn’t the whole
‘build the city in secret and make our big mark on history’ thing your plan to
begin with, Alex?
“Yes, it was,” agreed one of those across the table
from the other four. He could probably pass for David Xanatos from Disney’s Gargoyles if he weren’t blonde.
“But things change – we all know that, too,”
countered the other man, his mix of Asian and Caucasian features indicating his
mixed parentage.
“And in this case the change was that attack on
Pan,” continued the bluenette next to him. “That’s going to be the daneside
story de jure for the next couple of weeks. The danes’ correspondents already
being on Mimas is probably the only reason they haven’t called off their
coverage of CorusCon for security reasons. But that gives us on opportunity.”
“’Opportunity,’ Lana?” asked the good old boy.
“Yes, Jimmy, an opportunity,” affirmed Alex. “By
revealing New Port City at the start of the convention, we counter the negative
views about Pan with something positive.”
There was pause.
“That does make a certain amount of sense,” admitted
the Yamato Nadeshiko in the kendo-ka uniform.
“Biwa!” snapped Cool Hand. “The only parts the city
completed are Gakuen-cho and Wilson Heights! Admittedly, Academytown is a small
town unto itself – we did make sure to mimic the Mahora campus as much as
possible – but that and a residential district does not a city make!”
“O-“ started Alex.
“-The- O,” interrupted The O.
“Sorry. The O, are all the utilities for the city
hooked up and prepared – water, electrics, internet, sewage, all of it?”
“Yes, but-”
“Then what’s the problem?” asked the bun-haired
woman.
The O sighed. “I was kinda starting to look forward
to the big reveal, you know, Mary?”
The woman smiled. “I think we all were to some
extent or another.”
Lana frowned. “What’s your problem with an early
opening, Jimmy”
He sighed. “You know me, darlin’. I just hate to
open up when caldera still looks like a work in progress – which it is! The
greenery under the dome is only grass in SOME places! Most of it is just
lichens and moss.”
“It’s not like we’re reliant on the flora for
oxygen. It might eventually be capable of that, yes, but the plan is and has
always been to at least supplement the natural oxygen-carbon dioxide process
with the arcology’s life support systems,” pointed out Alex. He looked to his
friend of the multiple ethnicities. “Kazuo?”
“You’re right. And if you’re worried about what
it’ll look like to others, The O, don’t forget that Kandor and Marduk each
started the same way. Not exactly a bad set of example to follow.”
The O grumbled unintelligibly but nodded. “All
right, I’ll go along with it.”
Alex looked around the table. “Does anyone else have
any objections to an early big reveal?”
Several shook their heads.
“Okay, then. As Chairman of the SEELE Council I
declare the motion to reveal the existence of New Port City and its grand
opening at CorusCon to be on the table for a vote. All against?”
Silence.
“All for?”
“Aye,” came the unanimous if not exactly
enthusiastic response.
*END FLASHBACK*
For now, though, in light of HRogge making a new post for the 'gas station' story, here's the beginning of my story.
~~~
“I believe the power to make money is a gift
of God … to be developed and used to the best of our ability for the good of
mankind. Having been endowed with the gift I possess, I believe it is my
duty to make money and still more money and to use the money I make for the
good of my fellow man according to the dictates of my conscience.” – John D.
Rockefeller
~
It was an average hotel room, though just over a
mere decade ago calling any room with a window looking out upon the arguably
most beautiful of the Sol System’s gas giants ‘average’ would have raised more
than a few eyebrows. A lamp was on by the sole bed in the room as its lone
occupant watched the television.
WALT: “Hello, I am R. Walter Cronkite, and this is
the ZNN ‘Interview with a Fen’ hour. In this lead-in the convention, joining me
for tonight is CEO of Cyberdyne Systems and Chairman of Pavonis’ SEELE Council,
Mister Alex Xanatos. Thank you for coming, Alex.”
ALEX (smiling): “It’s my pleasure, Walter.”
WALT: “Cutting right to the chase, the NERV
Foundation has started a bit of a buzz with its sudden request for time at the
start of the convention to make an announcement – one that the foundation
refuses to expand upon. What’s all of this about?”
ALEX (grinning and wagging a figure): “Ah! Ah! Ah!
That’s got to wait for a couple more days. All I will say about it now is that,
what with the recent events in Saturnian space casting their shadow on things,
we on the council thought some good news is exactly what doctor ordered to
brighten up the convention. I’m afraid that really is all I can say.”
WALT: “I see…”
Back on the bed its occupant, the same man being
interviewed on the TV in fact, chuckled a bit. ‘We on the council?’ Try less than half of it…”
*FLASHBACK*
“You can’t be serious!” a female, Japanese-accented
void snapped.
“Uh-uh. No way. Forget it,” declared the man with
the Deep South accent.
“It’s nowhere near finished! You all know that!”
whined the man dressed like Cool Hand Luke at the same time as the others.
“I’m curious why you would bring this up,” said the
only one to wait a moment to speak, a business-suited, bun-haired brunette. “I
never really had an opinion on the matter, you know that. But wasn’t the whole
‘build the city in secret and make our big mark on history’ thing your plan to
begin with, Alex?
“Yes, it was,” agreed one of those across the table
from the other four. He could probably pass for David Xanatos from Disney’s Gargoyles if he weren’t blonde.
“But things change – we all know that, too,”
countered the other man, his mix of Asian and Caucasian features indicating his
mixed parentage.
“And in this case the change was that attack on
Pan,” continued the bluenette next to him. “That’s going to be the daneside
story de jure for the next couple of weeks. The danes’ correspondents already
being on Mimas is probably the only reason they haven’t called off their
coverage of CorusCon for security reasons. But that gives us on opportunity.”
“’Opportunity,’ Lana?” asked the good old boy.
“Yes, Jimmy, an opportunity,” affirmed Alex. “By
revealing New Port City at the start of the convention, we counter the negative
views about Pan with something positive.”
There was pause.
“That does make a certain amount of sense,” admitted
the Yamato Nadeshiko in the kendo-ka uniform.
“Biwa!” snapped Cool Hand. “The only parts the city
completed are Gakuen-cho and Wilson Heights! Admittedly, Academytown is a small
town unto itself – we did make sure to mimic the Mahora campus as much as
possible – but that and a residential district does not a city make!”
“O-“ started Alex.
“-The- O,” interrupted The O.
“Sorry. The O, are all the utilities for the city
hooked up and prepared – water, electrics, internet, sewage, all of it?”
“Yes, but-”
“Then what’s the problem?” asked the bun-haired
woman.
The O sighed. “I was kinda starting to look forward
to the big reveal, you know, Mary?”
The woman smiled. “I think we all were to some
extent or another.”
Lana frowned. “What’s your problem with an early
opening, Jimmy”
He sighed. “You know me, darlin’. I just hate to
open up when caldera still looks like a work in progress – which it is! The
greenery under the dome is only grass in SOME places! Most of it is just
lichens and moss.”
“It’s not like we’re reliant on the flora for
oxygen. It might eventually be capable of that, yes, but the plan is and has
always been to at least supplement the natural oxygen-carbon dioxide process
with the arcology’s life support systems,” pointed out Alex. He looked to his
friend of the multiple ethnicities. “Kazuo?”
“You’re right. And if you’re worried about what
it’ll look like to others, The O, don’t forget that Kandor and Marduk each
started the same way. Not exactly a bad set of example to follow.”
The O grumbled unintelligibly but nodded. “All
right, I’ll go along with it.”
Alex looked around the table. “Does anyone else have
any objections to an early big reveal?”
Several shook their heads.
“Okay, then. As Chairman of the SEELE Council I
declare the motion to reveal the existence of New Port City and its grand
opening at CorusCon to be on the table for a vote. All against?”
Silence.
“All for?”
“Aye,” came the unanimous if not exactly
enthusiastic response.
*END FLASHBACK*
“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“They opened up a can’a dumbass!” – Jon Stewart regarding Fox News, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein
“They opened up a can’a dumbass!” – Jon Stewart regarding Fox News, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein