"Why?! Why??"
A middle-aged man sat on a way too large desk. His eyes were bloodshot, yet his suit showed not a single speck of dust. The moon gently shone through the large window behind his back but its effort to calm the man down were fruitless.
The man held a slim tablet between his perfectly manicured nails, browsing a long document. A lawyer received a lot of money to fill the document with thousands of words, but it all boiled down to a single statement:
Aquoria Inc. was to be inherited by William Bender.
The man behind the desk, Benjamin Bender, hatefully stared at the name of his brother. He couldn't understand why his father would come to such a decision.
Wasn't it him, Benjamin, who had always given it his all for the company? While William was travelling, he was sitting in the office! While William was partying, he was sitting in the office! While William was sleeping with women, he was sitting in the office!
And for what?! Should he continue sitting in the office while William profits from his hard work?!
"Dad! Why?!"
Benjamin glanced towards the left where a picture of his father was watching him from within a sleek, modern frame. His father's stern eyes had always been famous for being able to see through a person's heart. How could it be that he was so wrong when it came to his own sons?
"F*ck!"
With a sudden swipe of his arm Benjamin pushed everything off his desk. The frame crashed against the floor, cracking. But Benjamin didn't see it. He buried his face in his hands, his fingernails cutting into his skin.
After staying like this for a minute Benjamin slowly calmed down. He pulled his hands away and suddenly frowned. Right below his eyes was a strange card, the only thing left on the desk.
Suddenly Benjamin straightened his body and looked around the study.
"Is there anyone here?! Come out!"
Benjamin remained calm and stoic. Not spotting any movement, he pressed a button on his watch and called his assistant sitting in the room leading up to his study. Only as she reassured him that no one came in, did Benjamin lower his head and study the card.
Perhaps it had been here before, buried under his work. But where would he get something like this from? It appeared to be an advertisement, perhaps an invitation, for a place called Café of Dreams. White with red text, a few flowers, and a black cat. Far from fitting in with the modern style. But one thing was extremely strange. Why was his name written at the bottom of the card?!
Benjamin grabbed the card, studied it for a moment and threw it away. The address written on the card was somewhere in the exhaust district. There was no way he would set foot in that filthy place.
Having calmed down Benjamin glanced at his watch. It was 22pm. Although it was still rather early for him, Benjamin knew that he wouldn't get any more work done today. It was more useful to end the day and start tomorrow with a refreshed mind.
Benjamin left the study and sent his assistant home. He was pleased to see that the young woman didn't show any joy. She was just as focused on her work as him. Perhaps this was the reason they got along so well.
Now alone in his spacious manor, Benjamin had nothing else to do and directly headed for bed. Eight hours passed and the sun had not yet risen. As the day was separated into 26 hours it was 4am when Benjamin woke up. He went through a brief morning routine. At 5am he left the manor, walking down the sleek modern stairs.
Benjamin took a deep breath. His sprawling garden was planted with exotic plants providing fresh air, an absolute luxury in the highly technical city of Umbran. Benjamin's manor was at the edge of the city.
Observing from his doorstep he overlooked the city's skyline made from thousands of high-rise buildings. Cars flew swiftly between the buildings making life difficult for the few birds which still stuck around to pick on the breadcrumbs some businessman lost from his dry bread.
The birds were just like the people Benjamin had to meet today. Those employees of their company, living off his father's hard work, fighting over the tiniest benefits the company threw at them.
Benjamin shook his head as he stepped into the car waiting in front of his home. Sleek, black, modern, and of the highest security standard. When the car ascended its insides were barely disturbed. Benjamin relaxed, preparing himself mentally for the day ahead.
Meanwhile the car rose higher and higher. When it reached a height equaling the top of the smallest skyscrapers it finally rushed away at a high speed.
The height at which a car travelled was a sign of status. Benjamin spared no thought on the countless cars travelling below him, caught in the crowded traffic, only able to travel at a fraction of his speed. But whenever he spotted someone flying higher than himself Benjamin reaffirmed his determination to keep climbing the ladder.
Benjamin unconsciously balled his fist. Thinking about rising in status he couldn't forget the inheritance. His father's decision to give the company to William surely sabotaged his plans. But it was just another hurdle to overcome. He, Benjamin Bender, wasn't someone to give up!
Soon a certain high-rise building came into view. Just like most others this one was also covered in screens playing advertisements around the clock. Some of these advertisements were for the companies having their offices in the building.
At the very top a bottle of water was depicted. Surrounded by sprawling mountains and green fields showing the beauty of nature in a way which was barely extinct on the entire planet.
"Aquoria – the source of life"
A comfortable female voice whispered into Benjamin's ears. It came from the car's speakers, playing automatically as he came close to the advertisement. Most people had already become numb to such 'features' which came with their cars. If one didn't want to hear the advertisement one had to pay extra but who could afford that?
Well, Benjamin certainly could. Usually, he preferred to listen to soothing music. Real instruments, none of those electronical beats. Classical and artistic. Only when he came close to his office did his driver allow the advertisement to be played. It was like a warm welcome for Benjamin, giving him the strength to fight for the company.
Just then the car reached the highest floor of the high-rise. It came to a stop on top of a large balcony. The door opened and Benjamin stepped out, glancing at the city beneath his feet before passing through the glass door in front of him.
The middle-aged man arrived inside a spacious office. In line with Benjamin's taste there were some shelves with books and documents, but most of it was fake. All that mattered was the large desk in the center of the room. With a light curve and made from copper-colored metal it had a modern and authoritative appearance.
Benjamin sat down on his office chair, which rivaled the price of a low-end car. Instantly five screens rose from the desk. His facial profile was scanned, and a dignified male voice could be heard:
"Good morning, Benjamin Bender. CEO."
This voice was Aqua, the AI overseeing their company. It was responsible for everything, from compiling statistics to handing out tasks to the employees. And only a few people had the authority to control it.
"I wish we could just let you run everything…"
Benjamin grumbled to himself. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible. On the one hand the government passed a law about one hundred years ago requiring companies to hire a certain amount of real people. On the other hand, there were still a few things the AI couldn't handle. Like taste testing or gauging the reliability of contractors.
In the current time where technology was enormously powerful, all companies kept tight security. No one wanted a competitor's AI to hack into their network and steal their trade secrets.
Every morning when Benjamin arrived at the company, Aqua would display the most important news on his screens. A part of those showed how often they had been attacked throughout the night. It was 17 times.
Benjamin scoffed. He knew what these people hoped to find. It was naturally the source of their water. This was the company's biggest secret, the core of their success. Benjamin would never allow it to leak!
After swiping away the warnings, Benjamin browsed through the news. Meanwhile his eyes kept swerving to another screen. Here, it showed the images captured by the cameras placed all over the office. Benjamin took note of who came late or early, who talked too much, and who showed real passion.
The CEO made some mental notes and turned his head towards the next screen, where Aqua presented the schedule for the day. But as he did so a frown formed on his face. A meeting had been scheduled at short notice. Initiator: William Bender!