TF Chapter 45 Epilogue

The raised voices, the quarrelling, the hot breaths and the sound of paper rustling...it all fell into my ears as I sat there with closed eyes, wondering where it had all begun.

FORGERS!

That hateful profession! Why had it shown up in our world? We had been at peace in the business world, only affected by technological advancements and inflation.

That had been the ideal arena for us to compete, to outwit each other with rushing to acquire the newest trends...yet, all came crushing down with their advent. I had grown up within this new era, watched as share prices continuously dropped when a process of manufacturing was replaced with a forger. They were hailed as better than even equipment controlled by A.Is ran by quantum computers. No, the computers weren't at fault...it was technology that had failed to keep up with the rise of forgers. 

Their spiritual powers surpassed any microscope in existence, giving them the capabilities to arrange not just atoms, but DNA itself in a myriad of interesting ways. What was the point of throwing billions in research, when you could just pay a forger a few hundred million to accomplish the task with precision and speed?

This reminds of something I had read about a few years ago of how the advent of A.I had impacted many of the professions that relied on their creativity, causing many to go out of business. It had been a great read as it had allowed me to see what was coming, yet! I couldn't allow it! How could we let mere humans, just because they have been given gifts superior to us, to encroach into our livelihoods? How great it would have been if the forgers had remained separate from influencing us, just like two separate species of beings. We would have simply continued on developing as mere mortals, and they as God's chosen few pursued the limits of their gifts.

Right now, if you perused the lists of the richest people, we mortals were dwindling, with many of the positions being taken up by forgers. Some had even gotten aggressive and entered business, buying up many companies, the same companies they had led into a downward spiral.

That trend was spawning some of the biggest questions plaguing us now...

Was it okay to have every manufacturable process being replaced by forgers? 

Were we prepared for the consequences of stagnating technology?

What if one day, the forgers took over government?

We as normal humans, could we even come up with rules capable of influencing them?...

These and many more were being asked by the public. What they didn't know was the fact that currently, us normal humans were only relying on borrowed time. So far, none had shown interest in governance, but that moment wasn't too far away...that's what my instincts as a business man used to dealing with those greedy politicians were telling me.

I shifted within my seat, trying to get rid of the bleak sensation almost enveloping my mind. Power was supposed to be held by those who had clawed their way up, or inherited it from those who had done so, yet...our world had changed, where just developing a single gift was enough to propel someone to great heights without any of the hard work. What was this world coming to?

How was I going to address these people? Shareholders were needed by the company, yet sometimes I felt that it would have been great if I had had monopoly over my group.

Though they appeared to scrabbling, I knew that they were simply playing around, waiting for me to take a stance. Some were of the opinion that we should hire a forger to keep up with the other conglomerates, while others, the ones I leaned towards more, wanted us to stick to the old ways.

They were losing money each second of every minute of every day, yet my intimidating demeanor was scaring them off from shouting at me or bringing up impeachment.

What a mess! 

At first, the old ways had been okay, but now, our competition had adopted the forger hiring method. Now, they were outstripping us in product quality and the speed at which new things were being churned out.

I tapped the long desk, where I was seated at its head, with the myriad women and men on both sides, the shareholders.

I finally managed to gain their silence, yet their stares were on the verge of making me uncomfortable. Wolves...the lot of them! If I showed weakness here they wouldn't hesitate to take a bite out of me.

I let a smile grace my lips at the impossibility of such an endeavor. They might be wolves...but I was at the top of the food chain, the strongest predator, the lion!

"So...do you want us to really start hiring forgers, replacing the machines, and scrapping the many factories we have invested so much into? Do know that we are talking about billions of credits here..." I scanned the crowd with a narrowed gaze, where some flinched, while the bold ones refused to back an inch.

"...you have to know that we will be making a loss if we decide to sell off the state of the art technology we have...the prices for such have fallen and demand has waned." Subconsciously, I tapped the desk, a sign of my growing rage.

Among these men and women were some of my progeny and collateral family members. I had tried to have as many as possible replace the general shareholders, yet my plot had been seen through, so, only about 20% had succeeded. They, and the few they had convinced from the the others were the only ones on my side, though, some were probably only siding with me to fish for benefits. 

Never mix family with business...now, that's one creed I was glad they were following. I hadn't sired them for nothing. It was better to have wolves in the family than mild mannered sheep.

The neutrals were the ones that truly had the power to break the equilibrium as they were very many, about 50%. But convincing that lot to choose a side was a massive headache all on its own. These were the types of people who already had their own conglomerates, only deciding to invest in me as a potential target for devouring to increase their strength.

Damn wolves in sheep's clothing!

The door to the conference room vanished with a hum, something I had ordered to be added so that no one could sneak in silently. 

Though, with the silence in the room, it was as if a bell had gone off, attracting everyone's attention, including mine.

It was my secretary. With that sullen demeanor of his, I could gauge that whatever had occurred had to be of grave importance to me, warranting the interruption. He was the only person I had a modicum of trust for.

His feet didn't make a single sound while making his way towards me. It seemed that the lessons ingrained within him had stuck...

"We have just received a message from your daughter, Kim Bora." He whispered within my ear, even using a jammer to prevent those with technological and enhanced biological senses from picking up something.

Kim Bora Kim Bora...Kim Bora.

Sometimes having too many children makes it a pain to remember their names.

"The one whose mother passed away..." 

Ah! The brat who never speaks at the family gatherings... If my memory isn't failing me, its about time for one, after all, the year is ending.

"Okay, what makes her message important enough for you to interrupt us?" She had been a quiet brat, that one!

"She has decided to become a forger...and...joined at the beginning of the year!"

"WHAT?! SCRAPE HER OFF FROM THE FAMILY REGISTRY IMMEDIATELY! AND FIND ME HER ITINERARY!"

My hand slapped at the table, but the pain wasn't as intense as the rage in was feeling! This was basically taboo! I had explitly added it into the family laws that no progeny or relative of mine were to join the forgers! I am going to kill her! Most definitely!

             ***Notes***

This is the end of book 1...anticlimactic, I know. The second arc will be a bit better, for that I do promise, after all, all of us writers become happy when our readers find that one moment where they manage to fall into our imagined worlds. Thank you for...well...everything!

For book two, there will be no interludes, instead, I might split into a different POV in a chapter though, I will be putting the characters name at the split.

I plan to focus more on Kim Bora, and a little more on the MC since he's going to be a bit more...radical.

And also...look forward to great action sequences. Its a pain to conjure them, but as you will see, arc two will be centered around them. So far I haven't decided on the name of this upcoming second arc, but I believe in due time, it will reveal itself to me. 

I know that I am still lacking by much, but a review or rating will go a long way to helping me improve.