The Solution (2nd Edition)

Mikey

I couldn't hate on Sarah for bein' made exempt by Sam.

    That was just the way the Battlestar had broken...

    And so, everythin' which'd gone down with me 'n' Michelle I tried to put down to, fate.

    Gettin' back to Sarah...'Starbuck' had problems of her own... Even though she'd strived to be Top Dawg by attackin' the Nastar with the spirit of Kara Thrace, Centrifuge was still unrelentin' and took her down at every given opportunity.

    For most, G-Loc really was a son-of-a-bitch.

    So, when Sarah had asked for my help weeks back, I took pity and introduced her to my guy at iPlaza. When we entered lookin' to part with plenty of credits, he was kind enough to do Sarah a deal on the amount of fibre-mesh she was after.

    Also, to break it down, iPlaza was the outlet for Fuji-Apple - the globular entity to rise from the competitive ashes of Amazon; the corporate biomass which'd absorbed Google and Facebook; among others in years passed. In this day 'n' age, A.I.D.A's, Beambook and Ducker had replaced the old offerings and iPlaza's biggest consumable was the iSpec, casually known as the iDot - a bio-integrated operatin' system with expandable 3D printin' capability!

    Hell, I loved mine! The iDot allowed me to conjure my gnarly hoverboard and geek out every time I rode it!

    Anyways, enough with the banal backstory.

    With The Medical now done 'n' dusted, all that was left to do was witness the Base Teams create the Land and Aviation Technologies, and for us three to respond to any professional requests if called upon. For two special reasons...I hoped we would be... In fact, I had my fingers crossed, and was genuinely countin' on it...

    Days later we were back in CPC headquarters. Mine 'n' Sarah's AV Holo-Suite was positioned in the middle of the central chamber. And Chon was ready to deliver the first communication on Phase Two! "Greetings, Citizens of the Tripod Coalition. At this time, I am back in Zhōngnánhǎi, joined by five of our leaders - as the sixth, Olaf Fedor, is working hard for us in Baikonur - and stood beside the visionary of The Contingency..." To be specific, Chon was talkin' about Xen, who I was hopin' was about to come through for me... "Now while Xen Lai is present, this is by no means an interview. I'm told that what will follow will be an update on what we already know, as well as some, developments..."

    Xen looked left 'n' right at his cohorts, then allowed me to focus in on his infamous face. "Good morning, everyone. Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my general absence. Understandably, I've been in huge demand as I continue to work behind the scenes with the people you see either side of me. Pressing on, I'd like to introduce another of my associates, who I'd cited during The Solution..."

    I didn't have to wonder for too long on who it might be. With haste, Xen beamed out a holoscreen link and flung it my way. Once my Holo-Suite's lens had absorbed it, the associate manifested with a configured sizzle. And after three blinks, my iLenses locked on and focused... It identified the man and his geographical location... "At the summit, I introduced James Tayden Raythorpe, one of NASA's planetary scientists. Furthermore," Xen breathed, "I explained how James helped to inspire The Solution, via his preparatory theories on Mars. Now regarding progress on the Red World, James and his archaeological research team will soon be off to Mars again to continue their Landscape Project... But until then, James has been overseeing something for us...

    "James," Xen said at my screen, "could you please elaborate?"

    "Of course," the new-age Attenborough, teased. "Good day to you all; I'm James; and I'm currently talking to you from the Mongolian Plateau."