Project B

The Colourless

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:3-4 (NIV)

***

The meeting will commence now that His Supremacy arrives. A very neat man in his early 50s, he is accompanied by two lean bodyguards who are looking uneasy upon seeing the rest of the attendees in the meeting room. He is carrying a leather briefcase and a laptop which he puts gently on the round table upon his arrival. He removes his trench coat which he then gives to one of his bodyguards. He looses his tie. He doesn’t smile at all. 

The meeting is on a classified building somewhere in Russia, the same meeting room since The Legacy of Shinar moved from the Middle East to Europe in the 1800s.

The agendum of the meeting: Project B.

Along with His Supremacy who is the Chairman of The Legacy, five other main attendees are in the meeting room. They are sitting in a round table with stacks of folders, highlighters, laptops, and bottled waters in front of them. They have their own bodyguards as well, one for each, who is standing behind them. Where they come from is definitely classified. And just like His Supremacy, their real names are also classified.

The first who arrived in the meeting an hour ago was The Androgynous. Despite her title, she’s not really androgynous per se because her overall package is more on the feminine side. Nevertheless, she’s called The Androgynous because she is the head of the Gender Equality Division.

Sitting beside The Androgynous is a dark-skinned man wearing a turtle neck. And whether he is hiding something in his neck or whatever reason why he is wearing such…patches of white skin are visible on the dorsum of his hands – a skin condition called ‘vitiligo’. The Colourless he is known in The Legacy and he is the head of Unified Races Division.

On the middle of the curve is a woman in her late 40s. She is the only one in the room who has spectacles and whose laptop is open when His Supremacy arrives. She immediately closes her laptop when the Chairman of The Legacy sits down in his chair. They call her The Linguist. She’s fluent with about thirty major languages in the world but in the meeting, she will be speaking in English just like everybody else. She is the head of the One Language Division.

The one with the highest stack of folders in front of him is called The Builder. He’s the head of the Greatest Infrastructure Division. A burly man with a long moustache, he is the only attendee with a female bodyguard. 

The last attendee sitting beside The Builder is called by everybody as The King. He’s the oldest among them, older even than His Supremacy. His skin is wrinkled by time but his eyes are sharp as a warrior. He is also the wisest among them all and will never hesitate to be diplomatic whenever a meeting is in pandemonium. The King is the head of the World Domination Division.

There’s an empty seat in the round table – the one after The King. The chair belongs to The Philosopher, the head of the Ultimate Belief Division. However, nobody is expecting her. The Colourless has informed everyone earlier that she’s not coming.

Everyone seemed to be chatting with one another a few minutes before His Supremacy arrived. They now settle themselves in their seats when the Chairman of The Legacy signals with his hand that the meeting will start.

“My brothers and sisters,” His Supremacy begins to speak. “We have now gathered once again for updates regarding our One True Mission: The Project B. But before anything else, I apologise for being late. I had a meeting with NASA earlier this morning and surprisingly it took a while.” He opens his laptop and browses some files; the usual thing he does. “Okay…let us hear first from the Unified Races Division…who, I believe, will represent for The Philosopher as well today. I've just read her message when I was in the chopper; she’s now in Syria for a very important matter. And one more thing…I am terribly heartbroken with the passing of our dear friend and supporter Nelson Mandela last December.”