The Industrialist

Chapter 56: Suckers

Science Awards Committee Hall, Bloomforge Enclave

Presentation of invention – Robotic Floater Pollution Control Device or RoFlo

***

The SACers had their way of intimidating Scientists who would present their inventions for patent registrations.

Their racist stares and condescending approach to questioning define everything about the Awards Committee. It was if they were designed to be intimidating or just to discourage dreamy scientists. They supposedly were the front liners of new and untapped fields of Science - making the world a better place in every invention patented.

That is why, Lance called them SACers (Suckers).

Usually, there were four of them and he heard among the halls that a new member added more of the agony. Well, he knew the four were tenured committee members and the fifth could be a tenured Scientist too that he knew. Lance researched about them; their expertise, their field of work, and even their personalities.

What was common with them was that they were old enough and experienced enough to scrutinize new technologies. They were now the pillars of the Corporation, molding the technology to great heights.

All of them were Electronic Tiers and above to qualify to become a member of SAC.

His previous presentation had given him vital characteristics of each panelist. Undoubtedly, they had absolute knowledge in their respective fields.

[The Panelists]

Mister Tanaka, an Electronic Tier 2, mastered the fields of Mechanical engineering and furthered his study about perpetual rotating energy designs. He was in his late 40s, a foreigner from the Far East Continent, and had adjusted his culture to the Western cultures of Oroz. He was one of the Engineers who was awarded for the Wall’s design, the perpetual energy cycle of the wall’s power.

He was the one who questioned Lance if he knew a name called Erik Berkley during Lance’s Bioscanner Water dispenser presentation. Lance shrugged and said, "There are a lot of Berkleys in Bay City. It is where the Berkley clan originated. Probably he is a far relative of mine."

"Really?" Mister Tanaka insisted.

Lance nodded and responded, "Berkley is one of the originating families of Bay City and established a strong community with other originating families in the sector. If I would ask, who is Erik Berkley?"

Lance feigned a question.

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"It’s unimportant," Tanaka shrugged the thought and went back to his questioning about the project.

Well, his features strongly resembled his mother, so Mister Tanaka would just let his suspicion go by. He was one of the brilliant scientists in the field of Mechanical Engineering and his fame and level of ascension greatly contributed from Erik’s project.

Doctor Antoine Cultz of Cultz Industries, an Electronic Tier 4, a little bit older than Mr. Tanaka, Mastered the fields of Electrical Engineering. He was known for the Opticom, a mobile phone used by the Government and Authorities to communicate within the walls of Axe Central City. As the Electromagnetic Spectrum was unavailable due to atmospheric contamination, Dr.

Cultz designed Underground Communication Cables using optical energy wavelengths to transmit information within the walls of Axe Central.

The third panelist was Engineer Greggory Michaels, an Electronic Tier 4, who had finished a few specialized courses in Electronics Engineering, even aerodynamics engineering, and weapons design. He never had a Master’s degree but his specialized courses were of equal correspondence.

Tenacious in questioning, Engineer Greggory would even question electronic schematic diagrams on how the inventor achieved the most frugal way of using components.

His belief transcended deeply in design efficiency and frugality. The worst nightmare of all the inventions did Engineer Greggory have become. The inventor should know the design by heart.

Hundreds of inventors had failed to patent their designs because of Engineer Greggory. Therefore, Lance repeatedly replayed his presentation in terms of Electronic Schematic diagrams – the sensors, the programmable logic controllers, and even the coding itself.

Other Inventors would create a team to defend all facets of engineering just to pass beyond Engineer Greggory.

Doctor Zee Andradez, Menks’ protégé, and one who designed the Unitech shades where Menks assigned the production oversight. He mastered the arts of Marketing through Information Tech Engineering. He was in his early fifties, and the most energetic among the panelists.

His questions were mostly about how to mass produce it after the invention was patented or the foreseen better way of mass producing it and the possible enhancements with further applications. He was more concerned about making profits for the manufacturing industries that created the invention.

Hence, a scientist should not only defend his prototype within the confines of his study but years beyond, touching generations. If you can’t satisfy the questions given, then it will be a point deduction.

And the SACers were very stringent in giving points.

Doctor Zee was an Industrialist Tier 1, the highest level among them but he was the most lenient among all others. Luckily, Lance knew about them already at his first presentation, and the profiles given by his father, Erik, added to his advantage.

The fifth one was still a mystery.

The marbled floor shimmered against the lighting above, comprised of low-hanging, luxurious digital chandeliers. He had his presentation boots on, metallic soles clanking against marble, and the best among his clothes had only been worn twice in his lifetime.

He even had an aromatic scent on him which augmented him from trash smell to a fiery flare scent. He loved the scent – it stimulated his senses.

Two large metallic doors separated him from the intimidating panelists. The metal works of the door irked Lance once again like that of the Science Aspirants Registration Service (SARS) building.

Unnecessary use of fine metals.

The fine and smooth metal works, with light silver and dark silver thread streaks along the surface, and the thickness of the doors, seemed to be expensive to forge. Mixing uncommon to rare metallic components.

Lance pushed against the doors. They were heavy-looking but they moved so easily with only minimal effort.

The heavy doors separated him from the people he wanted to take down. The same people that had great influence in the Corporation, led by Levi Menks. These were the people who greatly contributed to his father’s fall.

And masked everything good about his father to the public and replaced it with immense shame. Such treachery was horrendous. However, it was not the time to unleash vengeful emotions.

He needs to lured them to his work, maintain the mystery, and catch them by surprise.

Impossible it may seem but Lance was willing to suffer great lengths.

As the doors opened, bright lights greeted him. They had large screens at the back of the panelists to emulate a bright sky and a rainforest that mantled an array of mountains.

A perfect picturesque. Such Irony was bold.

The room was large enough to fit a hundred people. High ceilings with large statues at the corners. Statues of famous scientists’ generations before – the founding fathers of the surviving cities.

The founding fathers started everything from the start, the first generation executing the Governing Laws Department (GLD) that created the system. Also, making the Scientists the true rulers of governance.

Lance hated the idea and history of the Founding Fathers. He was confused if the founders wanted to achieve harmony or control.

In Lance’s generation, it seemed that the GLDs were amended in so many ways to leverage many of the loopholes of the laws in favor of the Corporation.

After his iris adjusted against the welcoming bright light and as the intimidating aura subsided the moment he stepped into the room, the five panelists were on high tables, lined up soaring high above the presenter.

His large water tank was in the center of the room. The four panelists were present. As he trained his eyes to the fifth panelist, he was shocked.

Seeing her had made him immovable.

It was Jaqi, the founder of the Committee for Illegal Scrap Use (CISU). She remained mysterious and there were only a few things he knew about her. She founded an organization that he thought it was only made up. Then he knew that CISU was a real organization with real authority over the police.

She was a Mechanical Tier 3, the youngest among the panelists, and was the inventor of the ShowerSmart – A shower that would recycle water by filtration. Simply as it may sound but the application served a greater magnitude for conserving water.

Her being was shrouded further with mystery as she was now a new member of SACers.

’Who is this girl?’ Lance thought as he ambled at the center of the room.

He expected a gleeful greeting would welcome him inside the room from Jaqi, however, it was the opposite. Her pretty face became fierce and intimidating to look at.

He smiled at her and received nothing in return but a piercing stare. Her smoky eyes became sharp and with utter prejudice. Even so, her beauty radiates, brighter than the illumination of the room.

"Welcome, Lance Berkley. We will begin your presentation with an overview. You may now begin," It was Mr. Zee who started the conversation.