Anchoring

Part 9 • Manager

My phone rings. I pick up because I have to.
"Hello," I say,"This is the Manager of Society. How may I help you?"
"Luke, read your i-mail," Russell, one of my bodyguards says on the phone.
"Okay. Bye," I say hanging up the phone.
That was weird.
I never check my i-mail and no one sends me i-mails.
I click on the I-Mail icon on my glass screen table.
I see only one i-mail in my inbox. I read it and it says in light blue in Times New Roman letters:

Subject: Child Iceberg #1

Dear Manager of Society,

So far, Child Iceberg #1 is a complete train wreck. 25 of the children were killed because they crawled off the Iceberg and 10 of them died from the Sleep Shot. Only 15 children are still alive. Please help us. Come to a meeting at The Creators Office Building at 2 PM today. Meeting Room 5.

Creator Rusty Owens

The first child iceberg.
I made this decision 4 months ago. There's too many children in the Nursery. Well, how about an iceberg full of children.
I really wanted to have a no crossing force field around the iceberg but no, that would be too much work.
I check the time and it's 10:30 AM. I go to lunch at 11:45 and get back to work by 1:15 PM.
I'll only have 45 minutes to get to the Creators Office Building.
"Garrett," He looks up from his Screens as I talk to him, "let's go to the Projector Room."
"Yes, Luke," He says as he gets out of his Tube and escorts me to the Projector Room.
Back, a long time ago, people had electronics they held in their tiny little hands. Well, nowadays, everything is on a much bigger scale. Tubes are kind of related to a "tablet". Once you step into a Tube, you have a Screen that is front of your face. You can have multiple Screens, like Garrett, but I've never been allowed in those Tubes. A glass screen table is like a computer in a table. The Projector Room. The Manager of Society is the only person allowed in it.
I walk into the room as Garrett shuts the door behind me and goes back into his Tube. It's a dark room at first. Then, a female dressed in all black stands in front of me. She's not really their. She's a hologram so she lights up the room with the glow of her projector.
I call her Pat Port. Personal Assistant Through (see Pat) The Projector Room (scramble the letters and you see Port).
"Welcome back, Luke," Pat says while smiling, "How may I help the Manager of Society?"
"Could you show me a map of directions from The Building to The Creators Office Building. The map must include times for every type of transportation. Please describe the map you chose to me so I can understand what the map shows," I say.
"Okay," Pat puts her hands out in front of her face and their is a small Computer Circle,"While I'm trying to find the map, could you tell me why you need this?"
"After my lunch, I will be going to The Creators Office Building for an Anchor issue. I have only 45 minutes to get their," I say as she nods.
After a couple of minutes, the Computer Circle becomes the walls of the Projector Room. A map is on the wall to my right. The map shows a path from The Building to The Creators Office Building. I turn away from Pat to the map.
"This route is the quickest way to get to The Creators Office Building by HoverCar," Pat says,"It will take 45 minutes. Do you chose this route and type of transportation?"
It takes me 15 minutes to get to Meeting Room 5 of The Creators Office Building.
"No. Move on to the next type of transportation and route," I tell Pat as the route changes.
"This route is the quickest to get to The Creators Office Building by HoverCraft," Pat says, "It will take 25 minutes. Do you chose this route and type of transportation?"
An extra 5 minutes.
"Yes," I say as I turn to her.
She smiles and says, "Who would need to know this information?"
"Garrett Peters, Brandon Smith, Manager of Society Bodyguards, Rusty Owens, Christy Spark, The Council, & Rays Family."
"Thank you. Goodbye," Pat says and walks away. After she walks a couple steps, I walk back to the door to go back into my office.

Garrett escorted me to the HoverCraft. Brandon is standing in front of it.
Once we get closer to him, he says, "Luke, you need to go to The Creators Office Building," he says. I know he's just checking with me.
"Yes, Brandon," I say.
"Let's just go," says Garrett.
We all get into the HoverCraft.
The HoverCraft is a big glass sphere with four HoverMachines on the bottom that make it hover.

Garrett and I are standing in front of the meeting room at 1:55 PM. We are waiting for the door to authorize us.
"Complete," a male voice says out of a small speaker beside the door. The door clicks and Garrett pushes it open.
We walk into the meeting room.
It has a large glass screen table in the center of the room surrounded by chairs. Every chair is taken by a person except for the one on the end of the table. I get escorted by Garrett over to the chair and get seated down. Every eye in the room watches me as I ask the glass screen table to give me a glass on lemonade and a granola bar. It tells me to wait for 5 minutes and 30 seconds. I wait for 5 minutes and 30 seconds.
After I take a bite out of my granola bar and a sip out of my lemonade, everyone starts talking to me and asking me about the issue.
The issue.
Well, the big issue that these people have came here for is...
The first Child Iceberg is failing.
Basically, in other terms, my idea is failing.
How do I solve this problem?
"Everyone," I say over everyone's voices,"I have a plan to solve this problem. My problem."
And what seemed like chaos in the meeting room 6 minutes ago, was contained.
Why?
I was the Manager of Society.
I barely never make mistakes.
But, when I do make them, I must have no one talking over me.
I knew Garrett was surprised.
He knew I didn't like making mistakes and loudness, but I never told him this one thing about me.

I could capture and contain chaos and it would never escape once it's in my grasp until it needed to be let go of.