In the main office of the Aribio Industries, a man at the top floor with crystal windows that could show what was happening below sat at his mahogany table as several explosions sounded across New Avalon city.
The office occupied the entire sixtieth floor of the gleaming corporate tower, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the capital city sprawling beneath.
Each boom rattled the reinforced glass and made the expensive paintings on the walls tremble in their gilded frames, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.
Dr. Matthias Aribio had been reviewing quarterly profit projections when the first explosion lit up the western district.
Now he sat frozen, watching plumes of smoke rise from what he knew were his facilities.
His secretary ran inside without knocking, her heels clicking frantically on the imported marble floor, her normally perfect composure completely shattered.
