Anti-antithesis

Block parties were a major event, back in the day. Whole neighborhoods would pool together their money and block off their street to rent bounce castles and catering, having pie eating contests and tie dye booths, all in the name of community. When the plants started raining from the sky, those were put on hold for, basically, forever.

With that said, with the introduction of the Fog Cloud and its temperate climate control, the street level, which is basically inhospitable in most megacities, now holds host to a never ending block party, something encouraged by the Corporate Council and the Family, in a rare unanimous agreement.

-Primer of New Phoenix: Places to See, Events to Experience, volume 8.

As I watched Jill rush out of the hall, I was very concerned. After all, Jill had never run from anything before. Was she also not doing well in a room full of people? I wanted to go after her, but both Cari and Roger prevented me from doing so.

“Hey, Vic,” Roger said with his hand on my arm. “she's fine. And by the looks of it… someone else will take care of her.” He flicked his chin towards a direction.

I saw Morrigan dragging out a woman from the Niltmore, Penny, I think was her name. She was beet red as she left the hall, yet it wasn't until Cari said something that I understood what was going on.

She squished my face in her hands and placed her forehead on mine. “For someone who can observe an entire room at once, you are surprisingly blind, my love.” She then squinted, “That said, you do seem very drunk, so that may be understandable.”

Oh, Yeah! I check my memory files and watch that entire interaction, causing Cari to giggle and Roger to laugh as my face contorted in cringe. “Sands, Jill. Like, good for you, shooting your shot, but…”

Daliah, the woman who was as attached to Roger as Cari was to me, also giggled. “Oh, don't worry about her. Or, maybe you should. Penny is not as soft as she looks once she gets in the mood.”

I could hear Opal laugh in a group with Baba Yaga, Tungsten, and Bubie, which snapped me out from my thoughts that were about to spiral. “Hey, so, I'm very drunk, and I would like to go to bed. But I'm the host…” I whined as I leaned into Cari.

Roger patted my back. “You want to put him to bed? His social battery was drained an hour ago, and the only reason he's still standing is because you haven't let him go.”

Cari sighed dramatically. “I suppose I must. My love, will you be fine if I stay out here and continue to mingle?”

I mumbled my acceptance as she led me to our room. She left me with a deep kiss before I stumbled to bed, very quickly falling asleep.

***********************************

Cari

Making my way back to the hall, I spotted Jill being carried by Penny, making their way towards the bedroom section. There was a strange refraction shimmering over them, and if I didn't have my eyes, I would not have seen them. I smiled silently as I walked over to the woman named Harmony.

She was sitting by herself, watching her secretary have fun with Jim, Gimbal and Wanda, while nursing a glass of something green. I took a seat next to her. “Having a good time, Harmony?”

She smiled softly at me. “I am. It's nice to know that we have a community of such good people behind us.”

I shook my head slightly. “Not behind you, with you. You are just as much a part of this family as Cody or Outsider. Not to mention your hotel serves a vital part of our ecosystem.”

Harmony raised her eyebrow in confusion. “And how does the hotel and brothel fit into this world of weapons and death?”

I placed a hand on her arm. “You are separate from that. And that's what makes you vital. Your hotel is a place of healing, an example of the good we can do, that we will do. While the Tower is full of people, they are all related to the PMC, and while there might be plans to expand into other buildings, as of now, the Niltmore is the only place where people can go to live a normal life. To heal from the traumas the corporations dealt to the populace. You guys are the example we will use going forward.” I chuckled. “The Lower Six included.”

She blushed at the mention of her brothel. “I do want to point out that that was not my idea…” she muttered. “In fact, the whole… open door situation wasn't my idea either…”

Oh, Goddess, she was cute when she blushed like that. Not in a sexy way, but just cute. Vulkan took a seat with us, smiling. “I must apologize,” he started. His voice was deep and gravely, yet soft enough to not hurt the ears, “but I couldn't help but overhear this conversation, and I must agree with Matriarch Cari.”

Matriarch? I recoiled at that address. “Nope. Change that right now, Vulkan. I am way too young to be labeled Matriarch or anything.”

Harmony had devolved into a mess of laughter and tears while I glared at Vulkan, trying to set him ablaze in defiance of both his fire immunity and basic physics.

He just smiled at me, in defiance of my wishes. “Unfortunately, the address fits. While Victor may be the youngest, he does hold the most power in this family, the most sway in any decisions that affect our future. Chairman Roger has also given him a controlling amount of shares for the Real Dream Corporation.”

“And yet you don't refer to Victor as Patriarch, now do you.” I hissed.

Harmony slapped my thigh as she tried to control her laughter. She looked at me as she took a few deep breaths. “Well, I suppose some people are just stubborn, right, Matriarch Cari?” She burst into laughter once more as I huffed. I contemplated shutting her up by sealing her mouth with a pastry, but held onto my restraint.

Thankfully, Desiree walked over and picked her up in a princess cradle, winking at me. “I'll take care of this insolent subject, Matriarch Cari.”

“Don't you start that!” I shouted as she walked away. Cody patted my back softly as I groaned in frustration. “Just accept it, Sis. Everyone is pretty sloshed, so they might forget it by morning.” He glanced at Vulkan, who was still sitting there, smiling, not on fire to spite me. “Well, almost everyone.”

I placed a hand on Cody's, patting it. “Thanks, Cody…” I sighed as I stood. “I had planned to talk shop her, to get some insight on running your own business or how to organize people, but now I guess I have to mingle with the PMC people.”

I moved towards them when Cody grabbed my arm. “Probably not a good idea, right now.” I turned to look at him, glaring in confusion. Goddess, I thought I could hold my liquor. “Bubie and Ulfric convinced Leman, Jim, Horatio and Opal to spar, and Tungsten's wife is feeling ill, so they are heading out. And Mindy was put to sleep because the crazy bitch refused to sleep on her own. So, unless you plan on hanging around the explosive gremlin named Wanda, you might want to hang out with Daliah and Roger. In fact, I would recommend it, as it seems everyone else is congregating around them, anyways.”

I looked around the hall and saw that a majority of people were, indeed, gone. Wendy was sitting with Buddy, Gimbal, and Baba Yaga, while Roger was with Daliah, Bahamut, Outsider, and Morrigan. Rogal has posted himself by the bedrooms, acting as a guide for the drunks, and Vulkan was with me and Cody. And I did not want to talk to Vulkan right now.

Rolling my eyes, an action I regretted immediately as my head rolled with them, I made my way to Roger. Cody, apparently, headed to bed. I did notice he went to bed alone, which was rather shocking. There were so many women, and men, here that he could have hit on. Was his game really that bad?

“...are you thinking of?” I caught the tail end of Daliah asking something.

“At least one per cardinal direction for now.” Roger answered. “Makes it easier to deploy in case of emergencies.”

I took a seat and leaned towards Outsider. “What's going on?” I tried to whisper, but failed.

Thankfully, Roger only chuckled softly as Outsider answered. “We were discussing expansion plans for Real Dream and the branches under it. For Monster Box, the eventual plan is to have garrisons in the cardinal directions of New Phoenix, while we also open up factories to take care of not only our own merchandising, but also higher quality electronics, augs, cybernetics, and vehicles, with workshops and repair shops sprinkled throughout.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Roger. “Are you planning to take over the world or something?”

That caused him to chuckle politely while Daliah took a sip of her drink. “No, not the world. The state? Maybe. The city? I don't see why not.”

“But didn't Victor say he had no intention of ruling anything?” I asked, confusion still heavy in my voice.

Daliah shook her head, smiling softly. “But this is his brother ruling, not him.” Her tone was similar to a professor correcting a student. “And, if I have understood our Samurai benefactor, then so long as it is something his family desires, he will support them.”

I went to retort, but I caught myself. He did say something to that effect, hadn't he? I leaned back into my chair as Roger continued. “No, so long as I tell him my plans, Vic won't mind. I will have a harder time convincing Cody and Jill, however. And the Family, at some point, but I'm sure Doma will be fun to negotiate with.”

I narrowed my eyes at him at that last statement. “Auntie Doma has been playing this game for longer than you have been alive, Roger. Unless you plan on tying in The Family in some large capacity, she will rake you over the coals.”

Roger nodded. “That's why I said fun to negotiate with, not a push over. I've seen how she teased Vic and I've done my research on past deals. We,” He waved his hand at the table, “have been working on our bottom line and extreme wishes. And Daliah here has been pointing out potential problems as well as other opportunities to branch into.”

Bahamut chuckled. “The cheaper repair stores were her idea, in point of fact. Which, if we can get a few Class I Catalogs to assist in everything, would count towards Victor uplifting humanity, earning him tokens to increase his, and by extension his family's, odds of survival.”

Oh, that's right. I had forgotten that Mother had received tokens for setting up the Fog Cloud. Bub for his work too, for that matter. He doesn't leave the city very much anymore, yet he still gets points and such from his projects.

“Not to mention the amount of brothels she plans on running.” Outsider added cheerily.

Daliah's smile deepened. “Sex work is an inevitably, after all. Might as well be the one to run it in a safer manner. I've read the stories of Myriad in New Savannah and seen how her policies have affected things for the better. It's stupid how no one else follows her example.”

Morrigan rolled her eyes. “It's because of stupid human pride, prejudice, and greed. The shareholders don't want a dip in their revenue, no matter how short it would be. The executives don't want to spend their money on things that don't affect them, and the middle managers think they are above everyone below them, thinking of them as less than human and, thus, deserve what little they get.” Bahamut placed a hand on her head, giving her a head pat to calm her.

Roger leaned back and pulled Daliah closer to himself. I saw his eyes go dull for a moment as I sensed… something radiating off him. “They will be dealt with in time, and their avarice removed from the world, replaced with prosperity and growth.”

I raised my eyebrow at him as Bahamut shook his head. “And we will be here to prevent you from becoming another Montero. After all, historically, that path led to the death of every member of that family and almost all of their employees.”

Roger nodded at that. “For the best, I would think. Keep my ambitions in check, call me out on bullshit, but don't be afraid to suggest ways to improve the world.” He smirked suddenly. “And if anyone tries to experiment with antithesis secretly, purge them at once. There are rules and regulations for experimenting on them for a reason, after all.”

“Does that include you, Roger?” Outsider asked.

“Especially me, Outsider.” He replied instantly, firmly.

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