Chapter 1012 (1/2)
Tatiana’s eyebrows rose. “That demonstration… your images were strong before, but now…”
“Heh, impressive right?” Randidly laced his fingers behind his head and grinned at her. It was only at these moments that Tatiana could forget all of the things that he had accomplished and recall that he was, at most, in his late twenties. “I wasn’t slacking off while I was away, that’s for sure. In terms of images… I feel pretty good about where I’ve gotten. I’m a little short of being a Master still, but that’s just a matter of time…”
Nodding slowly, Tatiana regarded Randidly. It had now been a week since he returned. During that time, the government had been relatively quiet, seemingly content to watch as Randidly made almost a dozen sweeping changes to the structure of Erickson Steel. They were confident that their inspection teams that would head over soon would be able to give them the run down that they wanted.
Everyone was preparing for something.
It’s just unfortunate that it seems like the government's preparations are going to come to naught, Tatiana’s lip curled up. Then she focused on the issue at hand.
“Are you sure… a party right now is the best idea?” She asked slowly. “After seeing your demonstration, I think most of our workers will want to try their hand at using images again. This might be the most valuable time for practice.”
But Randidly just shrugged and walked over to a sink to wash some of the soot and ash the remained on his hands after the demonstration. “You are probably right, but people need breaks too. To be mentally healthy, even if we are physically fine. Besides, this party is partially a thank you to a certain individual. So I want Erickson Steel to put its best foot forward. The more technological wonders that will be present, the better.”
“Alright, it’s your company.” I just make sure it all works. “Also, all of the applicants for the internships are here. Whenever you are ready, you can interview them.”
“Perfect. Might as well do it now while I’m in a good mood.” Randidly cracked his neck. “Oh, and let the government know about this party. Call it a festival. I’m sure they will take the chance to come into the compound unofficially and inspect what we’ve been doing… and I want the chance to examine them as well. Figure out how discrete I should be during the stay of the true inspection team they send.”
“Randidly, how many goals are you aiming to accomplish at once with this party?” Tatiana asked with a shake of the head. Randidly chuckled and produced a leather glove that he slipped over his metallic left hand. It didn’t completely fool a viewer into believing that the arm was still one of flesh and blood, but it did seem to restrain the ominous feeling that seeped outward from his left fist.
“Well… certainly several…” Randidly seemed to ponder the question. “But isn’t complexity the spice of life? And progress won’t happen unless all of the disparate images have an excuse to mix and compete.”
“Complexity, in this case, is a result of haste,” Tatiana replied dryly. “Why are you in such a rush?”
“Because I have nineteen days before I need to face a very dark truth about this world,” Randidly responded, his voice filled with false cheer. “Besides… You are right that this isn’t the neatest way of doing things, but I still believe it will be the best. No matter what we do… we can’t escape our own images of ourselves, Tatiana.”
Randidly’s gaze turned abruptly heavy. For a split second, Tatiana’s chest was frozen as though she was physically pressed down by his presence. “And unless we draw out those dangerous images with the proper sort of bait… how will we know what sort of people truly believe in Erickson Steel?”
An emerald fire. A Crown of pale metal. A tree that was a book penned with bark and golden script. A shadow that stared blindly down at its own hands and mourned what it had lost.
Then the moment passed. The man next to her was just a man, and the turbulent waves of images calmed in the surrounding area.
Tatiana kept her breath even. “You’ve…. Become something of a gambler. With throwing so many elements into this party, I mean.”
“A sad truth, but these are admittedly small stakes in the grand scheme of things.” Randidly looked up at the sky. Then he rubbed his short hair. “There are two ways to lose in our universe. The more obvious one is to gamble and bust. But the harder truth is that if the time comes and we don’t have enough capital to our names… we lose that way too. And what a bitter loss it will be.”
“So we have a party,” Tatiana said lightly. Her hands were clasped behind her back to hide the trembling. How dangerous were the foes that Randidly sensed if he was worried enough for her to sense it…?
“Exactly.” His smile was easy and light.
So for the next twelve hours, Tatiana made arrangements for a party. A party large enough to be a festival for the entire complex. Although Randidly hadn’t been specific enough for her to guess who the guest of honor was, she took his word about a technological demonstration to heart. So Tatiana announced abruptly a sudden competition with a short six-hour time limit.
Everyone who wanted to compete should make an original material, drone, machine, or Engraving to submit to the different categories. The winner would receive personal pointers from Randidly Ghosthound regarding their area of focus. Although Randidly hadn’t explicitly given her permission to make that promise, Tatiana believed that he wouldn’t be against the prospect. At the moment, Randidly was extremely concerned with the growth of Erickson Steel.
So much so that he was actually willing to listen to progress reports including the recorded minute statistical improvements.
Plus, with the announcement of a contest so soon after Randidly’s second demonstration, everyone threw themselves into the preparation for the resulting festival. Honestly, the vehemence of the people’s reaction to having a festival surprised Tatiana. The idea of taking an entire day to celebrate what Erickson Steel had accomplished caught on quickly.