| Generated by Google Flow text-to-video AI software, powered by Omni Flash |
Chief Asset Manager Pribadium Delgado is sitting across the table from the
seemingly self-appointed leader of the so-called Doma Tertians. His name is
Sora Shimizu, and he has already proven difficult for her. He doesn’t like
what she’s wearing, claiming that the shine offends his eyes. She does tend
to favor the sleek and glossy aesthetic, and this is the sort of thing she
normally wears, but she can be flexible. She taps on her wrist interface to
shift her outfit to a matte purple.
Sora looks down at the purple scarf around his ankle. “That won’t win you
points with me. I wear this in honor of a loved one. It was
her favorite color, not mine.”
Pribadium has her limits. Without saying a word, she taps on her interface
again, reverting back to her usual shiny suit as she folders her arms. Now
she’s in his head.
Sora grits his teeth. “Whatever you’ve come to say, you should know that I
know my rights. I know that we are legally allowed to settle on any
celestial body massive enough to coalesce into a meaningfully spherical
shape. No party may stake singular claim to an entire legally categorized
terrestrial planet at the expense of other settlers—”
“I know the law,” Pribadium argues. “I helped write the most recent
amendments.”
“Did you know that these laws apply to all neighborhood planets, and
that the potential for sole ownership only begins outside of the bounds of a
fifty light year radius from Earth?” Sora presses.
“Of course I know that,” Pribadium reiterates. “I wrote them! You obviously
didn’t read or comprehend them. Those laws only apply to colony worlds. The
Gatewood Collective was not categorized as a colony world. It was a military
outpost for centuries before being released to a special asset distributor,
which I run. The planet that we are on right now was deemed
excessively inhospitable, and unfit for colonization. Squatter’s rights do
not apply, because no one is allowed to settle on it. We are not
settling on it either. It has been scheduled for obliteration. The process
has already begun, and cannot be undone. If you stay, you will die when the
pulse arrives.”
“We do not accept that decision,” Sora contends. “We might have landed after
you fired your big gun, but we are here now. We know that there are ways for
you to deflect the beam. You either do that, or count yourself responsible
for the permanent deaths of hundreds of colonists who are also
refugees. You will lose your job.”
“First of all, it’s a job, not a calling. If I lose it, then fine. In a few
thousand years, no one will remember this. Secondly, we won’t come out
looking bad. You were informed of the facts. You chose to stay. Everyone
will know that. I’ll be fine. Gatewood will be fine. Thirdly, we can’t
deflect it. It’s moving at the speed of light.”
Sora folds his arms now. “I know you have your ways. You can’t fool me.”
Oh, he’s just crazy. She knows that she shouldn’t use that word, which is
why she doesn’t say it out loud. He’s clearly not mentally well, though. He
might have been born that way, or the horror he faced on Proxima Doma
changed him. This is gonna be tough either way. Then again, she
does have the ability to manipulate time. There’s no way he knows
that, right? I mean, if he were a time traveler, he would just speak with
her honestly about it. He has to be bluffing, and her status is a complete
coincidence. Right?
Sora chuckles softly. “Take all the time you need. We survived the
destruction of our planet. It turned to soup underneath my feet. We are not
afraid anymore. Are you?”
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