Did you miss Part 1 of Alarm Clock Dawn? If, so read it here:
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Part 2
Johann reached into the breast pocket of his gray pinstriped suit, pulled out a thin black rectangular device, and held it up for all to see. The room hushed. He stepped a few feet to the left, gently set the device onto the hardwood floor, and returned to the podium. Johann had the entire audience’s full attention.
“I give you Holo, the future of entertainment and communication. ” He pressed a button on a small remote control and his mirror image appeared directly beside the podium. This image was so lifelike it could not be distinguished from the real Johann. The crowd was completely quiet, save for a few gasps, and even through the glaring lights he could make out looks of astonishment on the attendees’ faces.
Suddenly the lights flickered, and then the room went black. A single flashlight beam shined from behind the curtain, and Patrick's shaking voice was heard over the chatter of the crowd.
“We've had a power outage. Everyone, please remain calm.” After a few seconds, the spotlights came back on.
The bright lights revealed Johann behind his podium, smiling. “Well, shall we try this again?” The crowd cheered. “Meet the Holo, an extremely powerful holographic projection device with resolution so fine and crisp your eyes can't discern it from reality.”
Johann’s holographic twin began juggling and then threw burning torches out into the audience as people jumped up in the back of the auditorium and ran towards the stage for a closer look.
Johann chuckled sadistically. “Do not panic. This fire will not burn.” The fiery torches arched high in midair and slowly faded into nothingness as they fell back towards the crowd.
“Holo revolutionizes the world as we know it—communication, entertainment, and education. The world is not two-dimensional. Why should your screen be? Holo is an all-in-one holographic entertainment device, television, gaming system, video phone, and computer. The only limit to Holo is your imagination. This replaces all of those devices at a fraction of the cost and fits neatly into your pocket.”
The crowd gave Johann a standing ovation. It seemed XenTek had blindsided the competition again. No one in the tech world had anticipated that anything like the Holo would be possible for years.
Johann always preferred to let the technology do the talking. He graciously gave the stage to one of his top executives to discuss the details and exited stage left. Johann waited in the wings for his assistants to arrive. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring his last quiet moment before the intense flurry of media interviews that would take up the rest of the afternoon.
“Bravo. Great speech, Mr. Pfizer!” Johann’s entourage interrupted his peaceful moment just seconds later to help him navigate through the maze of interview sets in the convention center’s main ballroom. Work crews had labored hard through the night to build incredibly elaborate sets, one for each of the major media outlets.
Johann had scheduled what was sure to be his toughest interview first. Tristan Mack, a tough journalist with a quirky reputation, was the host of the wildly popular show “World Wise.” The show, with a global audience of five million, was very liberal and anti-corporation, focusing on the environment, human rights, and the deteriorating state of the world. Johann witnessed many times Tristan’s innate ability to throw even well prepared interviewees off balance. Tristan was fearless and his main targets were powerful CEOs. Johann knew that he was just intelligent and informed enough to present a challenge for him.
This was a defining moment and Johann knew it. He bit the corner of his lower lip as he stepped up onto the set into the white, hot lights. He sat down on the brown leather couch as a microphone was clipped to his lapel and make-up was hastily applied.
“Well, if it isn’t the famous Mr. Mack. Good day!” Johann extended his hand
Tristan stared at Johann’s well-manicured hand and smirked. “Are you ready to spar, Mr. Pfizer?”
Johann smiled and confidently crossed his legs as Tristan nodded to the camera man and the red light flashed, signaling that recording had begun.
“Mr. Pfizer, tell me, just how the hell do you pull this off year after year?”“
Johann cleared his throat. “It’s easy. XenTek is primarily about people. Our people are our greatest asset. The formula for our continued success in serving the consumer is simple. We hire ingenious individuals, keep them happy, and give them all the freedom they need to reach their highest potential, and we all prosper. It's as simple as that. Quality begets quality.”
Tristan tilted his head and gave one of his trademark bewildered expressions into the camera. “Now that's the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard. A more believable answer would be that you possess some kind of magic wand.” The cameraman zoomed in on Johann's smug smile. “Tell me more about the project you've been working on for the past year, Mr. Pfizer.”
“And the mysterious lights that are being reported in the sky above it. Tell us why you've dug a tunnel twenty miles in circumference that is buried five stories underground at an estimated cost of ten billion dollars. May I ask what justifies that kind of investment, Mr. Pfizer, when millions around the world are going hungry and don't even have clean water to drink?”
Johann was speechless, and he hoped the makeup was enough to hide the color he felt draining from his face. This project wasn't supposed to be public knowledge and XenTek did their best to hide their involvement in it from the public. One of the director's advisors waiting just a few feet away quickly stepped behind the sofa, put his mouth to Johann’s ear, and whispered, “We need to end this now.” Johann nodded and quickly squared his shoulders.
“I'm sorry, but it appears we’re out of time. Charming as usual, Mr. Mack” Johann said as the red light on the camera went out.
Now that he knew the camera was off, Johann no longer needed to hide his true feelings for Tristan as he arose from the sofa. “Magic wand? Mr. Mack, you grossly underestimate XenTek.”
Tristan stepped forward, preventing Johann from fully standing up. “Mr. Pfizer, believe me when I tell you I know more about XenTek than you realize.”
Tristan pointed a finger towards the back of the auditorium. “You'd better be damned careful because the public will soon know XenTek too. These protesters are the least of your worries. Even more dangerous is the Quiet Rebellion. I'm sure you've heard of them. Literally millions of people who've awakened to realize they no longer have the freedom to control their own destinies. They're making up their minds that they will no longer contribute to all of this bullshit. They're waking up, Mr. Pfizer, burning their C.ID cards and walking away. They no longer have a place in this society that greedy corporations like XenTek have helped create. You’ve made it nearly impossible for the average person to support themselves while you continue to rake in billions in profit every year and destroy the planet and exploit its people for nothing more than the sake of your own greed. Do you realize almost half of the world's population now lives in poverty, ten percent are homeless, and the planet is being raped just to produce more stuff we don’t need? What good is all your money going to be if you lose your precious consumer base? Never underestimate justice. You’ve taken all the power you can from the people but the Quiet Rebellion will cause this world you know and love to implode in your face, Mr. Pfizer. It’s only a matter of time.”
Johann pulled himself up tall, throwing his shoulder into Tristan and watching as the host stumbled backwards. As Tristan regained his balance, the two stood face-to-face just inches apart.
To be continued...(the next installment will appear right here on Steemit tomorrow!)
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Alarm Clock Dawn is the first novel of a trilogy. The sequel entitled, Truth Is Stranger, will be published on Amazon in the spring of 2017.
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