Tomorrowland: Frank and Athena

Chapter 13 - Trans Univex

Athena walked with her mother and gave her one of her sweet, innocent smiles. "Caroline, is there any news about Plus Ultra recently? I'm perhaps a little behind on staying current."

"I've already told you that I'm not to share what the meeting is about," Caroline said. She grinned. "And your methods of trying to wheedle information out of me are getting less subtle."

Athena frowned. "I'm displeased when information is withheld. It's not an efficient way to accomplish goals."

They were walking along the main city square and curiosity filled Athena's mind. She'd been called to meet with Nathan Sulzer, the Governor of Tomorrowland and the head of Plus Ultra. Traditionally the same person held both titles, though normally the holder was just referred to as Governor. Caroline was to accompany her, which was fairly usual when she met with officials, since they often had questions about Athena's capabilities. Of course, she could answer these sort of questions herself, but for some reason humans liked to have Caroline confirm her opinion.

She was excited about the novelty of an unexpected meeting, yet also very annoyed. Her mother knew what the meeting was about, but would not share any details with her.

"The Governor specifically asked me not to tell you and you'll find out soon enough," Caroline said. "He wants to lay out the discussion his own way, without you having preconceived ideas and speculation."

"He told you, however," Athena countered.

"Yes, to gauge the merit of his idea. And I answered his questions," Caroline said.

Athena disliked going into things blind, particularly when it wasn't necessary and her mother could easily fill her in. She'd had meetings with the full council when Sulzer was present, but she'd never met with him personally, with or without Caroline. And she was extremely curious what it was about.

They reached the main City Hall building and walked up the main steps. "It would be helpful if you could at least give me some general parameters of what the discussion is about. You don't have to give specifics," Athena said.

"Asking the question in yet another way will not change things," Caroline said, her expression somewhere between amused and annoyed, as though she couldn't make up her mind which way to be. "I will say this, however: I better not hear any of your complaints about human impatience for a while."

They took the lift up to the top floor of the tower complex. The Tomorrowland City Hall was a set of five curvy towers that intertwined around each other in a complex pattern, finally merging at the top into a single spire that shot into the sky. The top level was the Governor's offices. City Hall was considered the top architectural achievement of the city. Its ambition was challenging even by Tomorrowland standards, and had only been possible through automated construction. The elevator lifts were particularly challenging, needing to move through shafts that followed the curve of the building while staying level.

At last they reached the Governor's office door, though Athena was tempted to try one last-ditch attempt with her mother to get some kind of hint, but it seemed apparent Caroline wasn't going to give in this time.

The door slid up and they entered the outer office, where Mrs. Harris, Sulzer's secretary sat at her desk. She smiled at them and said, "Right on time. Go on in, he's ready for you."

Caroline thanked her and they continued walking to Sulzer's office, whose door slid up for them and closed behind them as they entered.

Nathan Sulzer was a small, gnome-like man in his 60s, with a shock of white hair that seemingly couldn't be tamed. He'd held the office for the last decade and was widely considered among the best Governors that Tomorrowland and Plus Ultra ever had. He was considered a "second generation" recruit, one of those who came after the initial large recruiting initiative by the four founders. He was old enough to have known everyone, but had the benefit of watching their triumphs and mistakes and learning from them.