Chapter 2

“Hey!” Zedd was greeted as he entered through heavy double doors into the conference room. In the center was a large, ovular table surrounded by chairs. Some people were already seated. An extravagant buffet table had been laid out along the adjacent wall. Several people congregated around it, laughing with each other as they picked at the food. Zedd didn’t have an appetite. His mind was preoccupied with tomorrow’s race. At the far end of the room, the words MRL Welcome Forum were displayed on a large screen. Zedd grabbed an empty seat near the rear of the room and stat down. He looked around at the other team leaders.

“No Lena?” From behind Zedd, a man in his late twenties sat down next to him. It was Erich, the operator of the Cyan team. He had short, curly brown hair sat atop his head in a thick tuft.

Zedd turned. “Oh hey, Erich. No, I let her off the hook.”

“Shame, guess I’ll see her tomorrow. Pretty cool we get to see the man himself, though.”

“Huh?” Zedd was still not invested in this conversation.

“Rian’s holding the meeting today. Well, not him, obviously, but he’ll be hosting the forum.”

Rian was the technological entrepreneur of Fenix, Inc. who’d risen to prominence as a result of his ambitious project to make transfer cells affordable for the every-man. Now his company was a dominant force in the Zarminian tech economy.

The MRL gladly accepted his company as a major sponsor two years ago after he proposed backup cells for operators. Having backup cells available to operators ensured less dangerous conditions and less costly claims all while still retaining, even increasing, the ferocity of the sport. Since his sponsorship, the league had laxed up on safety regulations, but increased the insurance premium of teams who chose to use human operators. In the grand scheme of things, the change had

exponentially grown the popularity of the sport.

“Oh,” Zedd finally replied. “That is cool.”

“What’s up with you, mate? You ok?” Erich asked him.

Zedd looked at him briefly. “Yeah, just nervous about tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yeah mate, good luck! Last race. Go out with a bang!”

Zedd, still trying to be polite, didn’t say anything.

Erich paused, “Oh I get it. Listen, there’s no shame in hiring a synth operator for your team once you retire. Lena’s got to understand that. Imagine how it would make you look, letting a human race in the MRL. They’re ruthless man. It would be a death sentence.”

Zedd was quiet. Why did Lena have to be so selfish? She didn’t realize her livelihood, his, and his son’s were all determined by her choice. Ever since becoming a synth, he had more energy, hadn’t gotten sick, and hadn’t received any minor injuries. But he couldn’t convince her. She was stubborn. More so, she was hesitant of change.

The room grew crowded. Zedd looked up at the clock. It was 3:02. The lights suddenly dimmed. Everyone began finding seats. At the head of the room, directly in front of the display, a man appeared out of thin air.

Rian’s hologram could only be identified as such by the light his body gently emitted. He wore dark, casual clothes to match his stubbled beard and short, black hair. He seemed very tall (possibly a scaled hologram), and he was of a light athletic build.

“Hello, and welcome to the Magna Racing League Team Forum!” he said cheerfully. A few applauded at this, but Zedd’s mind was elsewhere. Any other person would have introduced themselves to a crowd, but Rian needed none. He was a celebrity in his own right.

“Before I begin, I’d like to invite you all to come up on stage.”

A few looked at each other, but they followed Rian’s invitation. The hologram ushered them onto the wide stage: a slightly raised platform big enough for all of them to stand closely together.

“Follow me.”

At that instant, the world around them changed. Tiles of light rotated in an enclosing sphere. The small plates transformed the forum room to a beautiful city. They were all now standing atop an invisible platform, rushing between brilliant skyscrapers at the speed of a monorail. Each member of the group on the platform gazed in every direction, trying to capture the immense buildings and lights before they wizzed by.

The tour zoomed closer to the base portal of an immense, pyramid structure with a refracting cap. The exterior of the structure was dark, matching the color scheme of the buildings surrounding it. But the interior was brilliantly lit as they entered. Inside was a network of other branching pathways.

“Welcome to Fenix, Inc.,” Rian stated.