AVAIL

The temperature in the room seemed to elevate as the program took hold of Hillea Marson's mind. Electric stimulation sent pulses through neural receptors and imagery filled his consciousness. Visions of sunlight grew dim as the entire world fell into chaos flashing before his dream-like counterpart's eyes. With his heart beating faster, his mouth dry, he clenched his hands into fists before conjuring up the fortitude to pull away from the experience. A momentary lapse into pain which felt like his skin was being ripped from his body overtook his nervous system before the preprogrammed world fell from existence. Silence filled the room briefly before he was calm enough to speak.

"I'm not as inclined to share that perspective of reality as you are," he said, masking the disdain he felt towards his companion. Most business transactions were boring by nature, but this one tipped the scales towards unnerving more than anything else. Hillea removed a chip from his mental interface and tossed it aside as the real world flooded back into focus. "We want customers to return and I don't see that happening with your proposed storyline." The chip fumbled slightly before coming to rest on the table, its casing reflecting the overhead lighting. Hillea could scarcely make out the name laser etched into the chip, "AVAIL". He wondered silently  in what way the creator thought this device would be...useful.

"I think you are failing to see the bigger picture here, sir. We sell the consumers nightmarish realities and capitalize on the treatment they will seek after their impending mental breakdown. Two of your ventures will benefit without any 'real' harm coming to anyone. It's a win/win situation." Carthus spoke with an elegance which betrayed the listener to the horrible deeds percolating between his android enhanced ears. "Capital will rise and we both know our lives are dictated by the bottom line; profit." He paused letting the last syllable resonate with a hiss as he wiped a bead of sweat from his furrowed brow. His designer suit whisked away the rest of it forming beneath his clothing, but no form of technology could mask the uneasy look of nervousness etched across his face.

Hillia could taste the vileness of those words as they were spoken by this emerging 'associate' and the bitter truth was that as nasty as his statement was, he actually had a point. "Say we license this device, what is to prevent it from being weaponized?" Hillea asked, changing the dynamic of the conversation into something darker in tone. This was the crux of the conversation in his opinion. He was hired both for his ability to close deals and for his discretion. He wondered how long the charade would last before his true intentions would be revealed.

Carthus cleared his throat, buying time to come up with an answer for which he had none. "I suppose there are not yet contingencies for such an outcome, sir," he replied, his voice trailing nervously. In all honesty he had never considered weaponizing this system, though the possibilities threatened a smile at the corners of his lips. He bit his tongue slightly to distract himself from the flood of thoughts. This was his chance for a money grab, plain and simple. Anything else was secondary if he couldn't fund the project.

Hillea fought back his own smile as he leaned back in his chair, touching the tips of his index fingers together under his chin. This was what he was really after; an opportunity to exploit not just the public through fear, but to bring down entire governments. His benefactor had said many years prior that opportunities such as this came knocking only once, but that was a time before nearly limitless lifespans were possible. He greedily eyed the younger man. "How much?" Hillea asked finally. He brought a finger up to his right eye and made an adjustment to his visual scanner. Readings appeared unseen to his guest as he monitored Carthus' heart rate and blood pressure. Hillea never left negotiations to chance and he intended to use any advantage he could find to manipulate the best price.

Carthus tugged at his collar before answering. "One million Rallons for the licensing, two million for exclusivity." Financial matters were the most difficult things for him to discuss; he much preferred the transfer of ideas to broaden creative endeavors. It was all the more difficult considering the industry that he knew Hillea represented. He controlled the funds of every major buyer in this sector and it had cost Carthus more than a few Rallons to obtain that secret information. It was a wonder that those kinds of things were able to be purchased without blood being spilled; though who was to say that was out of the question? Carthus sat still and stared at Hillea, waiting eagerly for a response, hopefully one with commas and decimals placed discreetly along a series of numerals if he had it his way.

Hillea smiled. "I don't think that price will fetch the kind of profits my people are looking for. Your idea is clever and I commend you on everything but the price. I'm just not capable of swallowing that kind of loss of capital for something I can't guarantee the security of. Thank you for your time, but I have another meeting." The conversation slammed to a halt like a driver trying to avoid an accident.

Hillea rose to leave as Carthus stared blankly, falsely assuming the deal had been a sure thing. "But..." He started to speak but was too late; Hillea was already out the door and on his way, his notes from the conversation left behind like some kind of consolation prize, or remnant of a relationship that never got its feet off the ground. Carthus heard footsteps fading along with the sense of hope of becoming a wealthy businessman. It was just another example of the failures thrown in his face by his father which was the inspiration for the Device in the first place. If only his father had lived long enough to experience the terror that Carthus' machination could provide, then he might have felt worthy enough to take his creation to the galactic level instead of attempting to trade it on markets such as this one. Alas, the market remained closed to Carthus and his AVAIL chip.

"Shit," Carthus mumbled as he sat back down, placing his hands back on the table next to where the chip had just been sitting. Cool air rushed through the vents above as he let out a sigh and then his eyes made a double take as realization struck. The chip, the sole source of his idea and everything he had spent years of his life working on, was gone. And for that matter so was Hillea.