Greetings pt.1

Lobert woke up in his room; the day yesterday was so eventful that he had gone to bed early.

Reiko, however, only sat down on a chair next to his bed; he had not seen her go to sleep.

When he woke up, she was still watching over him in her chair.

"Good morning Lobert."

A voice sounded in Lobert's skull.

"Reiko?"

"Yes, that's me."

But Reiko's lips did not move.

"Why do I hear your voice in my head?"

The only thing Lobert could think of was that he wasn't fully awake yet.

"That's the directocom. I took the liberty of installing one for you while you were sleeping."

"Directocom? What the hell did you do to me?"

Lobert felt violated.

He jumped out of bed towards the mirror in his room, but he couldn't see anything unusual on his head; no wound or other mark.

"You probably don't know it, but a Directocom is an implant that can interpret voice signals and relay them to other directocoms. A bit like telepathy."

"I thought i told you guys yesterday that I. Don't. Want. Any. Body. Modifications. Is. That. So. Hard. To. Understand?"

Lobert was now wide awake and quite angry.

"Sorry, instructions from the professor. Going forward, it's just too useful, and your mother will still be able to recognize you."

The professor expected him to become the arbiter, but then he does something like this behind his back, Lobert thought to himself. He wasn't so mad at Reiko now; instead he was mad at the professor.

"And nothing happened to your pretty little face, either." Reiko added sarcastically.

Lobert let out a sigh; he certainly didn't feel like the most powerful man in town.

"Can I also talk without using my mouth?"

Lobert found it rather uncanny at first, but his curiosity won over and now he wanted to try it for himself.

"That's what it's for. Just say something in your mind and tell yourself you're talking to me."

"Reiko smells like sewage. Do you copy?" Lobert said in his mind.

"Fuck you. Loud and clear." He received as an answer.

Lobert still had to get used to all this, but he still found it a bit exciting; directocoms were still unheard of in the outer districts.

"Get ready, we have to leave in three hours."

Lobert's morning routine didn't take long, so he had more than enough time to get ready.

Enough time to make himself a real breakfast for once.

He was good at cooking; it was just that he was usually too lazy to do it.

Today he felt like it, so he offered Reiko something as well.

"No thanks, I have my own food."

Reiko unwrapped some kind of cookie.

"And that's enough for you?" Lobert hadn't quite gotten used to the directocom yet, so he talked with his mouth the old-fashioned way.

"These are MREs, they have everything I need."

Reiko bit down on a corner of the cookie with her molars, and with much resistance it finally broke off.

"If that's what you like." Lobert said, while he ate some of his so very soft rice with some egg.

"Oh god, this is good. Mmmmm, mmmhhh so good. Mmmmm so good and tasty." Lobert said mockingly.

After breakfast, he went back to his room upstairs and browsed the computer for information regarding the Arbiter.

He didn't have his virtual reality stuff here and he was too unfamiliar with the holographic display, so a normal screen would have to suffice.

But he found nothing he didn't already know.

In the forums, however, he saw how people generally felt about the Arbiter; there was a great amount of hate.

Once people knew that he was the Arbiter, those messages would be directed at him.

Let's just kill the Arbiter, cuz I love me democracy.

He's probably just another bought puppet.

Do we know who the arbiter will be yet?

Who wants to bet that the city will soon descend into chaos?

But there were also some more optimistic opinions.

He was elected just like the last politicians.

If you look at the average voter, you can be glad that only experts were allowed to vote.

Even though Lobert felt more aligned with the critics, it was the course of fate that he was at the same time the target of that criticism.

Falling prey to her curiosity, Reiko was also staring at the screen.

"Don't take it to heart; they have no idea of what's going on. You'll prove yourself to the people one day."

Comfort from Reiko felt strange. "...Yeah, you're right."

"Come on, we have to go now."

Reiko held the door open for Lobert, ready to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Even though he lived in a different apartment now, he still continued to follow his old habits.

He opened the door to his mother's room and checked if she was still asleep, to his relief she was.

Finally she had a bed all to her own, surely she could sleep better now, Lobert thought. It was also a lot more comfortable.

Lobert made an effort to use the directocom: "Okay, we can go now."

He had to admit that the directocom could indeed be quite handy.

×

Since Lobert couldn't see anything through the darkened windows of the limousine, he was surprised anew every time he got out of the car and a still unknown spectacular sight awaited him.

Again he found himself on top of one of the huge skyscrapers that made the other skyscrapers look like earthscrapers.

It was a bit windy and pleasantly warm.

There were even several landing pads lined up here.

Other guests who looked like big shots arrived in their ultra-luxury cars intermittently.

Lobert ventured into the building where there was a bar and buffet.

Behind the bar was a larger outdoor area, a kind of rooftop garden.

There were lights attached to the climbing plants that grew from one end to the other, glowing in the most beautiful neon colors.

Along one edge of the open-air area there was even an overhanging pool in which some young women and old men hung out.

Waiters glided through the crowds offering snacks and drinks, the celebration was quite lively.

In one crowd, he spotted the professor.

"Hey Professor Rheintal, I'm here now. Anything you want me to do?"

"You look good. Just introduce yourself to people." The professor said.

Professor Rheintal raised his glass and clinked it with a small dessert fork.

Cling Cling Cling.

"Hear ye, hear ye. I am pleased to announce that the guest of the day has just arrived. Let's have a round of applause for the Arbiter, Lobert Natus!"

He pointed an arm at Lobert.

A wave of applause rang out.

As soon as the applause died down, a man who was standing next to him addressed Lobert.

He had a white suit and a black shirt underneath.

Excessive amounts of golden jewelry decorated him and a fur snaked around his neck.

Behind him stood two younger men in black suits, they looked like his retinue.

"This is Cheng Zhao, he is an energy giant." Reiko said over the directocom.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Natus." Mr. Zhao said.

"The honor is mine as well, Mr. Zhao."

"Oh, what a pleasant surprise, I had not imagined that you would know me. I see you have done your homework."

"But only the essentials." Lobert confessed.

"For you it must have been quite a surprise to have suddenly been picked up off the street and now to be standing here before me in these expensive clothes. But congratulations, fate seems to be supporting you with benevolent forces."

Fate, huh? Maybe there was some truth to it, Lobert thought to himself.

"Well then, I have some important business to attend to, but I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Said Mr. Zhao and disappeared along with his retinue.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with that man." Reiko said.

"You probably won't be comfortable with anyone here." Lobert retorted.

Next, a taller man in a white suit and blue shirt introduced himself. He was about the same age as the professor.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Paul Bollzig-Lithae and I run a food company. I'm sure you've already bought some of our products, does Antrieb ring a bell?"

The old man with the difficult name talked fast and without pauses, so Lobert was a bit caught off guard at first.

"...Y-yes, I know that one. It's on practically everything. I especially like the lasagna they make."

The man smiled kindly and replied, "I'm glad you like our products so much, we work hard to make sure our products are the only ones you reach for. But if I may, I'm going to be a little direct. I have big plans for us."

Lobert raised an eyebrow and wondered what the man had to say.

"To keep it simple for you: I'm good at making money, and with your help I can make even more money. You get some of what I make extra and then we are both happy, does that sound good?"

"Yes, it does sound good, but I already get a good salary as the arbiter." Lobert said indecisively.

"That little they can pay you are peanuts compared to what you can make with me. As my business partner, worlds of wealth are open to you that go beyond even your wildest fantasies."

"And what kind of help are we talking about exactly?"

Lobert was not yet a proper politician and so he could only roughly guess what was being asked of him.

"You're not seriously considering cooperating with that disgusting guy, are you?" said Reiko over the Directocom.

She was outraged, however, she didn't let it show on the outside.

With that said, Lobert paid no attention to her worries.

"I have developed a new secret ingredient that would make my products even more irresistible, but it is not yet allowed according to the current state of the law. And...well...you have the power to bring laws in or out of existence." The man rubbed his hands together in joyful anticipation.

"I'll think about it." Lobert said.

"Think about it carefully." Said the old man in return, adding:

"I must take my leave now, if you'll excuse me."

After the old man was out of sight, Reiko grabbed Lobert by the shoulder.

This time she didn't use the directocom.

"You can't be serious! Don't even think about it!"

"Relax, I'm not planning on taking that deal. You may not know it but I'm happy with an apartment in the clouds and somewhat decent food on the table." Lobert justified.

"Then why were you talking to them in the first place?"

"I'm going to get to know them sooner or later anyway, whether I want to or not. It's better if I get to know them sooner rather than later, though."

Reiko seemed to accept this reasoning for the time being.