Chapter 17

A FRESH PERSPECTIVE’S POWER

MystTech Creations, West Hollywood, California, United States

“I’m done,” Gen said at Chip’s back, peeking over the partial wall around his desk area.

He glanced over his shoulder, pulling his attention away from his work. A look of confusion covered his face, like he hadn’t heard her right. “You’re what?”

“I’m done with sorting the quantum-entangled silicon from the debris,” she explained, pointing over her shoulder to her workstation where everything sat in neat piles on the tabletop.

“Are you sure?” Chip asked, standing up, looking behind Gen at the table and bin where she’d put the silicon like she was told. “You were just supposed to find the silicon. That’s only the first part. The sorting of the debris fragments is what is most intensive.”

“I know,” Gen answered. “I also put those into their various categories based on their elemental composition according to the instructions.”

“Using the manual procedures?” Chip asked, his voice a rush of bewilderment.

Gen nodded. “Yes, I used the specifications from the manual. It’s all done.”

Chip rushed by Gen, striding quickly over to the workstation. He halted at the sight of the neat mounds of debris, glaring at it in amazement. Then his gaze shot to the bin of quantum-entangled silicon. Kneeling down, eye level with the work surface, he closely inspected the nearest pile. Then the second. Then the third.

Finally, he straightened, a look of pure awe on his face. “How? How did you do this?”

“Well—”

“Magic was obviously at play,” he said, cutting her off before she could explain.

She nodded, pulling out Bellumferrum. “This is my weapon and it conforms to whatever I need in a situation in order to survive. In this case, I needed a tool to perform my task. It became a multi-spectral sorting sieve. That means?—”

“Of course!” Chip exclaimed, shooting a triumphant finger into the air. Many of the technicians on the other side of the lab looked up.

“You know what that is?” Gen asked, not sure if it was a real thing or something that Bellumferrum had made up.

“Yes,” he answered at once. “But I never considered reprogramming its metrics in such a way as to recognize these types of elements. We’ve mostly used it for classifying different kinds of gases. Of course, it could be calibrated for this task. I just never considered it before.”

“Oh, well, there you go,” Gen said with a smile. “I hope I did it right, although I can’t take any credit for doing anything. That all goes to the sieve.”

“You employed the brilliance,” Chip said, still in shock, checking each pile. He looked up at her finally. “It’s all correct. I simply can’t believe you, a person who wasn’t supposed to know anything about technology, was able to employ a strategy so effectively.”

“Well, sometimes it’s having the fresh perspective and lack of knowledge that creates opportunities,” Gen offered.

He nodded. “Yes, too often, we get ingrained in our ways of thinking. It’s strange how our education actually starts to inhibit our ability to think in new ways.”

“Ironic for sure,” she said.

“You’re not what I expected,” he finally admitted, shaking his head at her.

“Because someone told you I was a spoiled brat coasting on my family’s reputation,” she blurted out, before she could stop herself.

He nodded to this. “Yes, I guess it’s fair to admit that I was given a less than desirable representation of you.”

“Well, I hope you’ll keep an open mind about me going forward,” Gen stated. “Like I went into the task you gave me with a fresh perspective.”

Chip smiled at her. “Yes, it’s definitely all about perspective. That’s why I went into virtual reality in the first place. I wanted a path to see the world in new and different ways.”

Gen caught the edge of remorse in his voice. “Why was that?”

He opened his mouth, like about to respond. Hesitated. Then seemed to resign as he sighed. “My mother was murdered.”

“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you,” Chip said, through another long sigh. “It was devastating. I thought that if I could create a new way of seeing the world, that I could erase the one in which she’d been killed.” He motioned around to the building. “I wanted to create a way to rewrite my own reality. It turned out to be successful and now I’m making new worlds for millions.”

“That’s really beautiful,” Gen offered thoughtfully. “And what a nice motivation behind MystTech Creations.”

“I’m glad you think so…” He trailed away, chewing on his lip.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Gen cleared her throat. “Anyway, what would you have me work on next? I can’t promise as quick results as before, but I’ll try my best.”

He drew in a heavy breath. “That’s the thing, I don’t have anything else for you today. Or for this week, for that matter. This project was supposed to keep you busy for days.”

“Oh, well, then what should I do?” Gen asked, wishing that she had some reason to stick around and investigate this place. That was especially true now that she got a glimpse into Chip’s personality and motivation. He didn’t seem like a bad guy. He was suffering, but he wasn’t evilly motivated. However, she thought he was hiding something and still there was the dangerous equipment that was hidden somewhere in the place.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to send you home for now,” he finally answered. “I’ll be in touch with you when I have another project, but there simply aren’t any other tasks I can assign to you.”

Gen nodded. Her clever thinking had earned her praise and time off, but also gone against her goals to find out more about MystTech Creations. “Okay, well, it was nice to get this opportunity. Thanks for the education and sharing. And I look forward to working with you again.” She truly meant that, having enjoyed getting outside her comfort zone and broadening her spectrum of the modern world.

“You’re welcome,” he said, sounding almost morose as he led her back the way they’d come. “And yes, I enjoyed the chance to meet you. It’s not every day we get interns like you.”

When they were to the exit, Gen waved to Chip, sensing a new sadness in him, akin to regret.

“Okay, well, let me know when I’m needed back,” she said, turning for the door.

“I will,” he replied. “And Gen…”

She turned, a look of uncertainty on her face. “Yes?”

“I’m sure that everything will turn out okay,” he stated. “A woman like you, who is strong and smart, will always come out on top. I believe that anyway…”

Gen’s brow furrowed in obvious confusion. She tilted her head, wondering if she had missed a part of the conversation.

Chip waved her forward, motioning her to the door. Getting the hint, she simply nodded, turning and making her way out the exit, baffled by his final words.