Code Lyoko: Revolutions and Evolutions

Chapter 84

AN: This is a chapter that came as a surprise even for me. But after prayer, this is what came of it, and I'm so delighted to bring it to you all. Oh, just an FYI, for the coming week, there won't be a chapter. I have to focus on a class project, so I won't be able to post next week.

Pagliacci-11.

Ulrich had his drink, a lovely concoction of honey, peach, and mango puree with a hint of mint. After he'd drank a quarter of the sweet nectar, rightly called Leo's Nectar, he looked at Sylvia, whose expression hadn't changed. It was one of patience, anticipation, and a silent, passive judgment, assessing him as if he were either a challenge or threat; he couldn't tell which.

He remembered his father's training from years of dogmatic business vision, 'Never let your competition see you bleed, Ulrich, never! They think from there; they have the upper hand. Keep them waiting if someone appreciates punctuality for, the pitchman answer to you if they are the pitchman, never the other way around. The only thing you need respect is a time and place for meeting. After that, etiquette is to be played by ear, rooted in your skill at diplomacy.'

Ulrich continued in this imprint seeing how Sylvia would react but what troubled him; she was perfectly at ease. It was as if she knew, point for point, his playbook. So, he figured it was time to let discussions and the negotiations begin.

"What do you want with us? What is your vision for the future?" He asked very bluntly.

Sylvia looked at him a moment, and she replied, "War to start us off. That through the rosewater that nurtures the fields of France and in time the world, you may nurture the seeds of progress and equalization. That you reach true justice and comprehend fairness as it should be in the original design of civilization. As for what I want from you, simply put, your support. It matters not to me if you support me, but I offer you a place beside me so you may benefit from it fully and not to a lesser extent as many would in their degrees of societal placement."

"How did your vision come to be cemented?"

"Through witnessing and hearing the testimony of the evils of humanity time and time again and concluding that the whole need not be eradicated, just the festering moldering filth within that sickens the body of society."

Ulrich understood, she was a true warrior; she was a purger as his father termed her, merciless and when it struck her, without pity. So he asked the following question, "Who fell first in your vision of the festering mold?"

"The thieves of the people. The greedy pigs living high in life, well beyond their need. Meanwhile, the poor were given less regard than feces that comes out of a dog's ass, pardon my vulgarity."

"How were the people cared for? The people who you supposedly champion?"

"They were given the long-overdue fats of their labors taken from the pigs' innards and hordes of food and treasure to nurture themselves and let themselves grow stronger. Once strong enough and able to perform the work to lay a future foundation, they were given positions following their passions which they prospered after some adjustments as needed."

"What adjustments?"

"Adjustments to their vision of what they envisioned embracing a life of their passions was compared to a productive reality. An aspiring cook is trained to anticipate the palates of the people, attentive to their requests for change, in addition to innovating on his own. In marketing, as your parents are familiar with, and you, it's called being aware of the trends."

Ulrich nodded, "Alright, if you want to talk of this in a business sense—"

"Careful boy." Sylvia replied, "Too many people get caught up in that, and they forget the people in their zeal. Ask me the questions that matter to you, no more, no less. I'm a busy woman."