A Glitch in the Collective Consciousness: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

True to her words, Moirine hired every last one of the candidates and turned Tau Technology from just merely being an idea to reality. While some decided to opt out, she managed to snag most of the talents and filled my office with them. My once empty office buzzed with activity as they handled much of the grunt work in setting up my burgeoning Tech Company.

Even with the well insulated walls of my office's board room, I could hear them typing away and working away at my exhaustive list of contacts. Things were slowly coming together. Now while the rest of the employees were hard at work, I met with my directors… or simply the employees that were most crucial to the operation of the company moving forward.

The boardroom felt awfully empty with just four people occupying the seats. My company was practically starting from scratch, so I couldn't complain on that end. Looking around the room, I observed the employees that would one day serve as my most trusted advisors.

Moirine, my recently hired secretary, sat beside me in the round table, as she fiddled with the virtual assistant I provided for her. "This is absurd…" She whispered as her little assistant trawled through the web, collating data for her.

Meanwhile, the other two seats were occupied by Dorothy who now served as my PR manager and Anika who handled the company's finance. The former was happily playing with the drones, attaching ribbons and applying paint over them with a delicate brush while the latter was currently enjoying the beast of a laptop I cobbled up for her.

"I couldn't agree more," Anika said as a ghost smile graced her lips as her fingers glided across the keyboard. "I've never seen this model or operating system before. It's so much faster and smoother than my own," She told me.

"Where did you buy them, your highness?" Dorothy asked as she hugged scrappy little A1, "They're just so cute and expressive that I must have them. They remind me so much of my parrots if they were mechanical," She said as she gently flipped the drone over, cradling on her thighs.

"And their motors. I've never heard something so quiet. It's almost like they're humming," the girl added, completely enamored with them. Given they do have rudimentary AI, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to compare them to parrots.

"Oh I made them," I replied, yawning as I told them, "Took me all night to get those cobbled together. I even had to run down the radioshack to get more components." Turning to Dorothy, I smiled, "And if you want A1, you can have him. Just don't get him wet because I haven't waterproofed his chassis. Rust would mess up his Anti Grav system."

Dorothy brightened up while the other two just stared at me in disbelief. "Thank you my lord, I'll take care of him" She said happily as she hugged the drone close to her chest.

"Ignoring the insanity of what you just said," Miorine muttered before she took a deep breath and sighed out as she reminded me, "Perhaps it's best we start today's meeting, Prince Oddyseus. You did call us here for a reason, yes?"

Snapping my fingers, I nodded. "Right, thank you for reminding me, Miorine," I replied as I got up and cleared my throat. "Before we start however, perhaps it's best to do some introductions. I'll start," I said before introducing myself, "My name is Odysseus eu Britannia. First Prince to the Empire."

"I am the owner as well as the company's one man R&D department," I jested, earning a smile or two before I bowed, "I hope we all have a wonderful time working together." As I sat down, I gestured over to Miorine.

Nodding, my assistant got up as well, starting our rounds of introduction. "Hello everyone. My name is Miorine Rembran," She introduced herself, her tone formal yet not stiff to appear overly so. With her sharp black vest and pencil skirt, her silver hair and eyes popped out while commanding attention and respect.

"I am the Prince Secretary as well as the company CFO and HR. As you can see, I am already being overworked by my boss," She added with a teasing smile.

"I pay you triple, don't I?" I poked back as a small chuckle escaped my lips. It was expensive, but seeing how she had handled things, I say it's well worth it.

Sitting back down, it was now the pinkette's turn. "H-hi, my name is Dorothy Grey and I will handle the company's PR," The girl curtseyed as she smiled back nervously. With her soft, pastel yellow dress and her pink shoulder shawl, she was easy on the eyes.

"This is my first job so please take care of me!" She squeeked out as our eyes settled on her. Tugging on her pink locks, she sat down, averting our gaze.

"Don't worry Dorothy, you're doing great," Miorine whispered to her encouragingly, making the girl smile softly. Turning to the last of our group, she nodded.

Standing up, the dark skinned woman introduced herself, "Greetings. My name is Anika Singh and I currently serve as the company treasurer." Much like Miorine, she dressed sharply, her black suit making the blue accents of her hair as well as her deep blue eyes pop out. Unlike the smaller girl, she was a bit more controlled, her posture stiff and guarded.

"It is my pleasure and honor to work with you all. I hope that I live up to your expectations," She replied confidently and with poise as she gave a small bow before taking her seat.

"I can say the same to you as well as everyone in this room," I replied as I stood up once more, commanding the attention of the room. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I clapped my hands before I smiled. "Now with that out of the way, let's start our first board meeting, but before we kick things off I'd like to give a speech."

Pausing to gather my thoughts, I stared, "I welcome you all not just to the beginning of Tau Technology, but the start of something wonderful. For today, not only do we begin our mission to push the boundaries of technology, but change the world through innovation." Gifted with this knowledge, it was my only path.

"Though we may be humble in size right now, barely filling the room we gather in, what we will be decided inside this room would shake the very foundation of the world," I told them, my voice trembling ever so slightly as I felt eyes on me. This world needed to change, but hopefully it would be not through means of arms, but what I know, what we could achieve.

"It is here where we will make wonders that would not only inspire and amaze, but change the empire to its very core," I promised them, gesturing at the symbol projected behind me. Co Opting the symbol of the collectivist empire, it will serve as a symbol of hope for unity.

"Tau Technology would not serve as a bastion of human progress, but as a shining example of what we humans could together, be they Britiannian, Foreigner or Number," I told them, letting them know my disgust for the current system. It was a brutal and ignorant regime, but it can change. People just needed to work together. It worked through a scapegoat once, why can't it work when people are given hope and future to strive for?

Gazing down, I clenched my fist, feeling the burns and cuts I had from my tinkering, I whispered, "Maybe one day, in the not so distant future, we can bring forth change in this world that would make it worth living in." Though that day would still be a long way off, when I still had to deal with the likes of Charles and VV, those who claimed virtue in their twisted ways. "For now, we take small steps, so that we leap forward and grasp it with our two hands."

"I might have little to offer now," I told them, extending my hands to them, "But I hope you stick with me and see it through. All we do, all we work for; For the greater good of mankind." Taking a deep breath, I sat down, whispering my thanks as I felt my cheeks burn.

I was never that good with speeches, but I wanted to inspire something in them, something for not only them, but for my own as well. How else are we going to strive for the future if not for having a dream worth fighting for?

My train of thought was interrupted by the soft clapping of Dorothy, but surprisingly, Anika and Miorine as well. "That's quite the optimistic look on things. Some would say that it's silly or fantastical even…" My secretary commented before a soft smile stretched across her lips as he told me, "But it's a dream worth aspiring for." Shaking her head in amusement, she added, "Can I really say no to something so earnest, Ozzy?"

I smiled back as I replied, "The world's already far too grim as is." With war looming over the horizon, it felt like the world was at a razor's edge. "But a bit of wonder and whimsy can do us a lot of good, wouldn't you agree?" I asked.

"We'll do our best, my prince!" Dorothy shouted eagerly as Anika smiled and nodded as well. I hit the mark with them, now I just had to live up to the expectations I gave them.

"Now while I see that you already have a mission on hand, it seems that we lack direction," Miorine said, shifting the topic at hand. "What exactly does our company do?" She asked.

"I'm glad you asked," I replied as the projected symbol behind me shifted to a small infographic of our current status. "As of right now, Tau Technology is a research and development funded by the office of the Britannian Government to bring my designs to life," I told them.

In short, this company was more of an extension of my research and nothing more. However, I wanted it more than just. I needed it to become more than that, I wanted it to be an entity that could become self-sufficient, a nation unto itself if needed.

"But I hope in the future that we would manufacture and produce our own products in house as well as achieve financial independence to pursue our own agenda," I shared with them. It was more of a selfish goal, one borne for self preservation as I do not want to be tied to anyone in the family for too long, especially to Schneizel of all things. I respected the man, but I do not want to be one of his tools.

"To that end, we would require a manufacturing base to get things up and running," I told them, showing the various sights we could choose. The Iron Belt was an obvious location, the rust belt of another time was the beating heart of Britannia's industrial might. The colonies, while a more dangerous prospect was one as well.

Steppling my fingers, I sighed, "The problem is I need far more capital than what I have right now." I had the design of the factory in hand, and even how I was going to automate, but it would cost me a pretty penny. I wanted to get off the ground as quickly as possible, not be stuck doing workshop level manufacturing.

"Indeed," Anika nodded as she gazed down on her laptop, "While we might be sitting on a million sterling pound, it wouldn't be enough." She told us as my Drone floated over, before the sheet in her laptop was projected over to the screen. Taking it in stride, she continued "To get a plant up and running, one that could handle whatever the Prince can throw at it, we will need far more."

A projected cost of such a plant was projected in a pie chart. After a quick input, barely a blip appeared in the total cost, "Currently, we have amassed another million pounds of investment from Prince Odysseus's contacts, but we are still woefully underfunded." It was painful to look at, but this was reality.

"That would only get us the land?" Dorothy commented. "But that's at the rate in Kansas… I'm sure it'll be more expensive the closer we are to a population center," She added. Good thing though was we didn't need labor that much.

"I see, but I'd like us to back up a bit," Miorine nodded, calling our attention to her. "Getting the base to make the product is good and all, but what use would it be if we don't have customers to buy them," She pointed out, taking the winds out of our sail.

That… would actually be embarrassing, making a product that no one buys just yet. Microsoft, both here and back in my old world attempted to sell their touch screen products. We actually need a market to sell to. I really shouldn't put the cart before the horse.

"I assume you plan to sell or license these products, yes?" She asked, glancing over to the drones as well as the projection.

"That's right," I answered as I leaned back against my seat. "I currently only have my drones, my anti grav tech, and my VI's but I might have a few more designs that just need more polishing," I told them, downplaying what I can do. In truth, I just needed to adapt my current knowledge to the slightly altered physics, but the technology is good to go. I probably won't have Warp Skipping, but I can have my Railgun.

"That's good. Having a wide selection of products is great but we need focus," She replied. "It's best we narrow things down so we don't get overwhelmed. Specialize first before we branch out." She explained before she asked, "Is there a discipline you prefer, a specialization if you will? Industrial Machinery, Electronics, Software, or something else?"

"Yes," I replied, unable to hold myself back. Hearing her groan out and feeling her glare on me, I raised my hand in appeasement as I told her, "Kidding aside, I have a lot of designs right now both in Software and Hardware. I just need to bring them to life."

Resting my chin against my fist, I said, "Currently, though I'm leaning more on hardware." Glancing at my hovering drones, I pointed out, "I already have my Anti Gravity and all I need are customers for it."

"And the drones?" Dorothy piped up, holding up A1 who now looked a little bit more pink. "I could see them as great pets and it wouldn't be a hard sell to have them marketed as a luxury," She added. "The fact that they can serve tea would make them sell out in my friend group!"

"Their use is clearly more to assist at work," Anika commented. "They can easily fill in the roles of an assistant, leaving the more complicated task for the humans where they are used." Withering under Dorothy's pout, she sighed, "But… they're cute. It certainly adds to the appeal."

"They're more of extra hands like Anika," I replied, smiling at the two, before noting, "But I can see a market for these as pets as well. Perhaps I should make them smaller since they wouldn't need modularity." They would kinda be like dogs. You have lap dogs and you would have working dogs. Both have their use, but can serve almost the same function, even at a lesser degree.

"That is also another matter I wish to discuss," Miorine said as she steepled her fingers and exhaled, "Who are we going to cater to?" Wasn't that a million pound question.

"The Britannian Market is huge, accounting for a third of the entire world's population," She pointed out before she grimaced, "But much of it is tied to the war effort." Even compared to the likes of the Chinese Federation, much of the economic output of Britannia was focused on war. One could say that it is more an army with a state than the other way around.

"I think the answer is obvious," Anika answered. "We already have a product that the military would want, so why not try and cater to them?" She asked as she gestured at my drones, "It doesn't take a military genius to see the potential in our hover technology."

"If we can sell this to the military, we could have ourselves a lucrative deal to start off the company," She explained. "Most of our concerns now could be solved through such a deal," She added.

"It would be, but I have concerns," Miorine sighed as she bit lips before she pointed out, "Being tied to the Britannian Military could potentially spoil our image enough that we might get sanctions, thus excluding us from the other two-third of the world market…"

That gave me pause. When I considered making this company, I was originally focused on just Britannia, but how about the other nations? Was I going to just limit myself to the Empire, or was I going to expand out and gain influence in other nations.

"I-I'd like to raise some concern as well," Dorothy raised her hands, taking Miorine by surprise as the girl whipped around and looked at the girl. " Wouldn't that go against our mission?" She asked as she twiddled with her fingers, "I know we need the money, but aren't we supposed to make things better?"

I sighed, frowning as I admitted, "Catering to the military would be the easy way." It was where the most money was, but I also valued my employees. While I wasn't against making weapons, I did make them a promise to change the world for the better. Helping the military also means I was helping my father, thus strengthening him in a sense….

Shaking my head, I sighed, "But since you guys have concerns perhap-!" Whatever I going to say however would be lost as Miorine cut me off.

"I'd like you to stop there," She butted in, making me pause. "Ozzy, I'll admit I have my personal bias," She told me as she glanced outside the window overlooking Pendragon, before she continued "I see wars as pointless and nothing more than waste of resources." Turning back to me, she said, "But that shouldn't stop you from making the best decisions for the company."

"And Dorothy, just because we will produce for the Military, doesn't mean we can't cater to the public as well," She told the girl softly, making Dorothy look up to her in confusion. "The Military isn't solely buying weapons. They would require water purifiers, better engines, compact batteries, all of which could be repurposed for civilian use," She explained. "Any product we make could help others. That's just how human inventions are," She added with a sad note to her tone.

"We would be supporting the war effort against Europia," I reminded her, making her pause for a moment, before adding, "And that means we would potentially go against your own countrymen."

There was a tense moment as she glanced down on her lap, before she answered, "I know." Her voice was barely a whisper, but as she gazed up, I saw purpose in her eyes. "But my loyalty lies to you before my family," She replied before she reminded me, "I am your secretary after all. It's my job to help you in your everyday tasks and carry out your will."

Smiling, she added, "And besides, I don't really take you as a horrible person, not unlike…." She paused, trailing off as she caught herself, but I might have an inkling on who she might be talking about.

"My father?" I replied, making her sputter as the other two gave me varying looks of shook. "Yeah, I'm kinda thankful I didn't get much of his assholery," I shrugged. The man was the biggest asshole in the world. It was disgusting how I was now related to the man.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Miorine shouted shrilly.

"P-prince Odysseus!" Dorthy gasped as she gave me a scandalized look. Anikea meanwhile nervously glanced around as she shifted on her seat.

"Off course, I can't say that in public, but we're in private," I told them. My drones would have notified me if we were being tapped otherwise. "And it's not like I'm wrong, am I?" I asked as the girls glanced away as I told them, "The man would kill entire families in a heartbeat."

"W-well, you're not wrong…" Anika whispered as Dorothy nodded.

"He's a warmonger who still holds to an old and outdated form of ideology that keeps much of the population from achieving their potential," I told them, making my hate for the man clear. The faster he could be kicked out of power, the better.

"He's partly one of the reasons why I wanted to make this company in the first place," I muttered as I collapsed my hands together. "Still, we do need money and the government has a lot it could throw out," I grumbled, hating how I still had strings on me.

"M-moving away from dangerous talks," Dorothy said, calling to our attention before suggesting "Perhaps we could vote on the matter?" That… could work. It'll certainly be a faster way to see everyones opinion. As my gaze locked on Miorine, we both nodded.

"All in favor of catering to the military, raise your hands," I asked, raising my own hands as only Anika followed my lead. "Those who are against it?" I asked, to which Dorothy and Miorine raised their hands. "Tied, huh?" I whispered as I reached up and scratched my head, "This is going to be hard."

As I thought long and hard about the issue, the silence would be disturbed as a phone started ringing. "Hmm? Oh!" Feeling for my pocket, I quickly realized it was a phone. Seeing the number on the phone, I sighed. "Let me just answer this," I told them, giving them an apologetic look as I answered the call, "Yo, Schneizel, how's it going?" My current backer wanted something, I could feel it.

"I see you're in a good mood Odysseus," He replied, making small talk. "I take it that you found yourself a secretary?" He asked, sounding amused.

"And a whole office as well," I answered back. "She's a god send, I swear," I told me, earning me a roll of the eye as well some rosy cheeks from Miorine.

"Pleasantry aside, how is your research on your Anti Gravity Platform?" He asked. I should have probably expected that. He did give me a million pounds for this.

"My car hasn't broken down so it should be a good enough sign that it works," I answered. I didn't really need more money to develop it and that money was currently being used for other things like my employees. "I actually just need a factory to make them, but I don't have any customers just yet,"I told them, seeing if I could land myself a contract as I added, "A military expo or something like that would be great for exposure."

"Then you'd probably like the news I bring," The man replied and I could just hear the self satisfied smile the man was sporting.

"Oh?" Raising a brow, I asked as I turned the phone to speaker mode. Gesturing for them to get closer, I listened intently to what Schneizel had to say.

"The Britannian Military is hosting an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration this month," He said before offering, "My office along with that of Earl Lyod of ASEEC could give a word of recommendation to Cornelia and the Upper brass." Hearing his words, I couldn't believe my luck. Everything that we needed, placed on our proverbial lap. "That is, if you could create a demonstration platform in time," He asked.

"Schneizel, are you really doubting me now of all things after you took my car out for a ride?" I asked as a grin stretched across my lips. "I could make something that'll wow Cornelia, mark my words," I boasted, feeling excitement at the chance offered to me.

"Then I hope you're ready for next week in Nevada," He chuckled before he bid his goodbye. "Now while I'd love to chat, I had a meeting with Kanon to discuss some personal matters. I'll talk to you later." With that, our call ended.

"The Advance Concept Technology Demonstration," Dorothy whispered. "I-Isn't that where most of Britannia's latest Knightmare frames and other technology is shown for the military to evaluate?" She asked as I and the rest of the room looked at her in surprise.

"I-I have relatives who can't stop talking about it whenever it comes around," She replied. I had to remember that she operates in the same social circle as I do.

"And my brother just gave me a ticket," I replied and what a ticket it was. A chance to demonstrate to the top brass was something most companies would kill for.

"I say we take it," Anika suggested. "This is huge. We'll bypass a lot of marketing if we can show it off directly to the heads of the War Ministry," She reasoned.

It wasn't just going to be a show for the military, but for the nobles who served the nations as its general. It is a chance to show that we have much to offer to not just the military, but for their pockets as well if they invest.

"W-we can't pass this up," Dorothy added, "We could use the money for good afterwards, right?" She asked and I nodded back.

Turning to Miorine, I could see conflict in her eyes, but they quickly faded away. "Anika's right," Miorine admitted, "This is a chance of a lifetime... But we only have one week to prepare." It was a reasonable fear, that is if we had a normal R&D department.

"Trust me, I'd only need three days to get things ready." I told her. It was going to be a rough three days, but it was entirely possible. "I'll even have enough time to whip something up to add to our demonstration."

"So it's decided then," Miorine nodded along with the rest of the girls.

"Well girls, it seems like my brother decided things for us," I chuckled, "We're going to Nevada!" I always wanted to go visit the City of Sin. Perhaps we can drop by afterwards for some drinks and recreation.