Before The Assembly

Karl found himself waking up in agony. He calmed his mood and for the first time in a while, ordered something to drink. He was usually so sober and stony that it was rather strange for him to order one. Maybe because it was going to be a busy day tomorrow that Ms. Alicia visited with a briefcase of documents. She was a busy bee. Always so eager to work. So seeing Karl’s crumbled expression while holding on to his bottle made her frown.

Alicia Gardenia had been working with Karl Von Alden. The calm and polite Doctor was as busy as herself. It was rare to find even a crumple of emotions on his face. And here was Dr. Alden drowned himself with a bottle.

“Ms. Gardenia,” Karl said. “Sorry for the sight, it’s just that my emotions have reached their peak and I cannot tolerate it.”

“I understand,” she walked around the table and then occupied it. She took out her documents and started taking care of her work. Her work mostly consisted of checking, reading, and stamping the papers. Since President Viole had made her his representative. It was her duty to take care of the legal matters here.

Karl took a sip of his drink quietly. His face was confused and dazed. He kept staring into the wall that made Alicia uncomfortable. She wondered what happened to this Doctor who usually was in control of himself.

“Did something happen?”

“A few dreams, that’s all.”

“Oh.”

Alicia knew that she wouldn’t be able to help. How could she? She herself was rather ignorant of the matters of the heart. And although she had her share of trouble in the war. She wasn’t that knowledgeable enough to soothe the pain of the man in front of her. And from the looks of it. She somewhat guessed that it was a pain that she would be foolish to ask him.

Karl drank the remaining bottle of his liquor. After drinking, he brewed himself a cup of coffee and motioned to Alicia if she wanted some. Alicia kindly refused and returned to her work.

Karl sat across from her. She casts a glance at him.

“It’s rare to find you so tragic-looking.”

“You know how it is. Sometimes there are days where you think of awful memories that make you want to just drink up and hope that it’ll go away. Of course, I’m not that stupid to understand how unhealthy it is.”

Karl spoke slowly. The calmness had returned to him. He was back to having that soft-spoken yet rugged voice. If anything, Alicia looked at him as if she didn’t believe that he was affected by the liquor that he drank. Sadly, Karl’s unnaturally strong body made him quite resistant. He’d need more than one bottle to satisfy. Not to mention that he had always trained his body and helped his father test medicine. Karl was required to be strong. He was required to know his body so that he couldn’t easily harm it and others who he might come in contact with.

“It must be quite a dream.”

“You could say that. I guess the state of this city affected me.”

“State of the city?”

“People here are quite… troubled. Then again what region in the continent right now isn't troubled after such a great tragedy?”

“Life is bound to be hard. Especially in this kind of weather.”

She scribbled on the document.

“You must be quite busy.”

“I was. The legal matters and the expansion rate of our company is quite something. President Viole usually takes care of these matters, but since the deal with Witia. He has been speaking with leaders and politicians. He needs to make sure that the air mail business runs smoothly. There might be problems such as folks mistaking them for air raids so we must be sure.”

She shoved a proposal to Karl. Karl took the proposal. It read that in order to make sure that they are recognized. The air mails will pop the corresponding flares. Pilots must also communicate within the arrival of the plane to ensure that no international conflict may happen. The restrictions are quite less around alliance territories. Despite that there are still agreements and clauses in the proposal that needed to be amended.

“From the looks of it. They are quite eager to know the contents of each parcel.”

“It’s a violation of customer trust. Nonetheless, there is still a discussion among parties whether there is a need for government-issued censors to check on the documents, parcels, and packages. They fear more about leaks and plans. The air mail is convenient, but there is an issue here that needs to be addressed. If they cannot agree then I’m afraid that President Viole will have to somewhat minimize his plans.”

The business is profitable. Not to mention that other than the air mail. President Viole was developing an air bus that would allow him to ferry passengers across borders and carry them to the next nation. The fuel time needed to be tested, but if it can be done, then Karl was sure that it would be the next step to transporting goods and people across the seas. It would also make travel faster and allow everyone in the world to benefit from this. The proposal alone hinted that every nation that they have come in contact with would like to know about this plan. They needed details and possibly if they could somewhat benefit from this as well. It was an attractive offer. No wonder they were somewhat willing to compromise instead of being so stubborn. They were probably also confident that they could somewhat copy this.

Alicia had told him that they already had set up countermeasures. The problem  for the company was how to get the approval of the leaders of the countries that President Viole is planning to contact. Stuhach has many embassies here. And from the looks of it, President Viole wasn’t content about his business staying only in the Erob Continent.

She raised her head.

“So what are your plans?”

“Hmm?”

“You have a presentation to the doctors of this city. I had the pleasure of meeting doctors from other regions. And Karl, I think they know you well.”

“How?”

She adjusted herself on the seat.

“You underestimate how easy it is for these people to research you. And they were rather interested because you have experiences as a field doctor. From the gentleman that I had met up with. They were planning to invite your brother, but your brother refused because he still had things to do.”

“Oh. I didn’t know this. I don’t understand why they’d be so eager.”

She looked up.

“They are not interested in the Doctor. They are interested in the Magic Shooter. These people are well-connected and even though your dossier is quite classified. There are many ways to get information.”

“Now you make me feel like I’m some animal that they needed to see. God, I wish I could refuse this and they’d just hand me the permit.”

She cast a glance at him.

“But you wouldn’t. I don’t know, but I think you aren’t as hesitant as before. Is that why you were drinking today?”

“Partly,” Karl scratched the back of his neck. He placed both palms on the table. “I just visited friends. Saw things in the city that made me think back. Just thought that perhaps everything’s not as fine as I thought it was.”

“When did things ever become just fine?” Alicia said solemnly. She stayed her gaze on the documents she was working on. “The war ended, yes. But it doesn’t mean that everything else ended as well. The world turns around. Who knows what might happen?”

“You’re right. Still, I guess deep inside I still thought that it would be better. That after so many years of fighting, we would have some sort of enlightenment about all of this. Unfortunately, it looks like we’re still the same damn fools.”

Karl walked to the sink. He washed his hands. Alicia’s gaze was on him. He met hers. She was always so expressionless. But Karl could somewhat spy a hint of understanding in her face.

“It’ll be a long day for you, tomorrow, Doctor. Gather your mind. Calm yourself and then collect all your thoughts. I shouldn’t disturb you,” she gathered her documents. Karl opened the door for her and showed her out. 

Karl walked to the balcony. The high-rise building, the hotel he was staying in, had a landscape view of the city. Factories blew black smoke. The roads were covered in automobiles and wagons. The city from this view looked crowded and suffocating. The tiled roofs. The new and old buildings mingling together to form this sincere image made Karl wonder what the world will become.

From the distance he saw a train arriving. Karl thought to himself that he should take a rest. At the same time he decided on what he would speak in front of those people who are waiting for the soldier to speak.