lideriann_foundry

 The captain sets itself apart from us to search for someone on the facility, meanwhile we get into Leonard’s specialty.

“Now, the real fun begins.” Leonard really knows how to set up the stage. He has put bright neon cartels on the doors of his personal laboratory.

“I expect great things from now on. Consider me a critic.”

“Your expectations will be met, wonder boy. I actually have experimental equipment for you. It will really make a big impact. It basically will do the job for you.”

“Yes, my mission. Reach the machine on top of the world, Imperator. But how would an extremely suspicious individual like me be able to get to It?”

“Well, Laurelya is the key to success.”

“Laurelya?” It's the first time I heard that word in my life.

“You haven't heard of it? Your superiors really didn't tell you?” Astonished by my words, he dulges deep into the now opened door into his personal lab. I follow along.

That is something that annoys me. I’m an agent for the CEC, a world renowned community of city-states that leads the world in many aspects and here I am, with almost no information of the place that I’m in. It really is atypical. But I must confess, since the beginning this has been the most odd mission that I’ve been sent to.

Normally, They give me a digital file with information about the territory, my objective, the agents that take part in the operation, and such. However, this time is different. Their explanation was that the country has been secluded to the rest of the world since its inception, about 10 years ago.

Nonetheless, the CEC should really be able to get more information than what they gave me. Not even the Captain knows that much, the reason for which my concern is lurking in the shadows. Murkiness surrounds the entirety of the mission.

There's nothing I can do about it. For now, move along. Priorities.

Finishing my pondering, I notice the lab. The interior, just as the entrance to the facilities, is bigger than its outside. It has a completely different architecture. Wooden floors and walls, with metal roofs and machinery combine to create a wooden cabin with a fair bit of modernity injected in its veins. I expected more prototypes to fill the place to the brim but, unfortunately, only a table is present in the middle of the room.

Ice has settled down on the windows of the cabin. As I approach the wall to see better, on the horizon I’m able to see a far away mountain covered with snow, reflecting the sunlight that it receives from the sun.

What is this place!? A pocket dimension, inside another pocket dimension? Isn't there a limit to this technology? And it even is a different time than the outside. Holy. Liderianns really know their stuff.

My marvelled self gets cut off by a sudden call for me. With a long face, I approach Leonard.

“Here it is!” With a smile, he proceeds to put a case on the table.

“What in the world is this kind of technology? I’ve never seen something like this.”

“Oh, it's nothing. Pocket dimensions aren't really possible, it's just a marketing name. It's just portal-based teleportation. Experimental, of course, but it's more stable than other tech.” Nonchalantly, he just braces it off like it's nothing.

“But, why isn't everyone in the world not using this?” Not even the Commonwealth has this kind of equipment. I would be mad if they had and didn't tell me. The boat trip to get here made me seasick.

“Because it is, as I said, experimental. They aren't concerned for human lives, moreso for its limitations. You can't choose where a portal goes, it's limited to the place that it's installed. The equipment to make it work is two times bigger than the apartment block that we use as a facade in New Athenas. Lastly, it raises a lot of heat. A lot. 1000 degrees celsius, to be exact.” What a rant this guy had. He even explained it to me with an irritated voice. It clearly strikes his ego just a tiny bit.

“So, back to the matters at hand, this is my equipment? Looks interesting” I’ll just move along, or else he's going to give me an entire explanation of how to make the teleportation better.

The container is divided in two sections. The “protection/appearance”, and “weaponry”, as written in paper tape on the corners of the case. Inside the first one, a dark blue shirt, a black leather vest, a tie as dark as night and, of course, black formal pants accompanied with brown military boots.

“What an outfit you have here, Doc. You actually want to be a designer in another life, perhaps?”

“Don't be so cocky, kid. It's made to stand out intentionally.”

In the other section, called weaponry, two items stand out from the silver case. A white glove, infused in electronics and a menacing looking white core in the middle. The next item is a rather particular one, not because of its eccentricity, quite the opposite actually. A handle, with engravings decorating its entire length. A white body with blue pearls in the middle, from top to bottom that stands out because of its rarity within the handle.

“A ground state energy glove, and a whip blade katana.” says Leonard, with a proud look on his face.

“It really was a challenge to come up with these ones. Not only the technology, but the certain requirements that I was given. No amplified body parts.” He says, looking down upon me.

Body amplification through various means really is commonplace in today's society. Metal prosthetic arms with enough force to break concrete, body mutations by modifying the DNA structure of an individual, enhanced reality via lenses, monocles and glasses, and many more ways of trespassing what's humanly possible.

Within me, that idea just doesn't fit. I don't feel repulsion from the simple concept of body augmentation, but it causes an itch that I could not scratch if I were to apply an upgrade to my anatomy. Technology’s main purpose is to help us better our reality, and I know it's really beneficial, but the meaning of humanity may be lost if I indulge into it so much -an obsession of sorts can be formed-. I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes, sadly.

“Yeah, about that… I’m sorry Doc.” No explanation could really help in this situation, It's just me being selfish.

“sigh…It’s okay. Insatisfaction leads to greater heights! I really dont get why but, someday or another, you will have to install an augmentation in that body of yours.” He takes a cigarette from a drawer nearby and lights it up with an electric continuous spark circulating through the tip of his index finger.

“And it might be closer than you think.” A warning of an inevitable future. Everybody around me has already told me that.

“Progress is really going to catch me, huh?” I wonder how life was in simpler days.

“Apart from that, take a look at these beauties here. A GSE Glove, and a whip katana, Lorentz.” Looking at them, it really shows the delicacy of this man's work.

“Carefully selected to stand out and make an impression on the public. The Laurels are gonna love it.” That word again. It's triggering curiosity to flow on my brain.

“So, what is this Laurel thing that you talked about?”

Astonished by the question, he rapidly responds, ensuing a back and forth of questions and answers.

Basically Laurelya is basically a system. Certain individuals gain access to it by having their names be talked about in the populace of Britannia. It gives a title to these people, and with these titles come certain attributions and obligations. A separate set of rules apply to them.

Within these rules, you have some leeway because Laurelya is not authoritarian, nor is it omnipresent. That's the eerie part. Nobody knows how it really works, there are only some hypotheses.

That’s why, the method of maintenance is the people itself, either common individuals living their daily lives as it is, or the Laurels themselves. The folk have a keen obsession with it, like a religion of sorts. It's them that keeps in check the Laurels, the humans that are an active part of Laurelya.

The Imperator, an AI, created a whole new religion based on a system, without a figure or a pantheon of gods. To be capable of such an act condemns some sort of respect, regardless of its true intentions. Such a cult following for a relatively new religion. A mastermind manipulator for some, our salvation for others.

Doesn’t matter to me, honestly. I couldn’t give a damn about what goes on here. It’s just another mission on the long list that awaits me when I’m done. It is my first time being the main man on an operation, though. I feel some kind of pride within me, knowing that I can influence situations. That I have that potential.

I’ve thought about it for a while. What kind of emotions circle through me when I’m on duty. Never really cared about it until I hit fifteen, when I met Juliette at the main quarters. A renowned rising star, just like me. She dazzles everyone that she encounters with almost flawless execution on anything she sets her mind to. One of a kind, to be honest. The key difference between us is why we do what we do. My relation with the CEC is different to hers. But I’ve never really told her about it. Nor would she care, I think.

“Nonetheless, let's keep going, shall we? I need you to test the equipment here.”

Says Leonard, as he grabs the case and goes through the portal. I follow along, of course.

“Come with me, there’s a certain place where you can try this out. There’s someone that you know in there, too”.

While closing the door, he points a finger to another door, besides his now-closed personal cabin.