Optimistic Endstate
Rare Earth
If you're stumbling upon this post for the first time, you're entering the narrative midway through its unfolding saga. Alternatively, if you've eagerly awaited the next episode, consider revisiting Chapter Index to refresh your memory.
Behind the pilot and co-pilot seats of the hybrid airship N-798 LM was a flight deck with jump seats for additional crew or VIP passengers. Ranell sat in one of those seats now, chatting quietly with the navigator and watching the endless ranges of impossibly rugged mountains, pockmarked with innumerable lakes, pass beneath them as the Sky Tug made its way doggedly through the gray, overcast skies.
“Weather report is mostly cloudy with occasional rain showers forecasted, captain.” The navigator called out the report to Captain Douglas Pruitt, the pilot. “Winds westerly at nine to thirteen knots. Sixty percent chance of rain. Expected high today of sixty-nine degrees Fahrenheit.”
It was summertime in Nunavik, Canada. Those lakes are pretty, Ranell thought. But he knew from his previous trip that they were swarming with mosquitos now. He turned away from the window. What a miserable place.
He was journeying aboard the airship as part of his oversight operations. I may as well get used to this, he thought glumly. These airships are about all that’s left of GML now. They’d only recently completed the liquidation process, selling more than half of the transportation assets the corporation owned outright to maintain the payments on the outstanding debts they’d taken on, including the fleet of six airships. It had been a bloodbath. The financial vultures picked them clean, but at least they were out of danger for the time being.
He glanced down at his watch, then turned to address the navigator. "It's almost time for my staff meeting. Did you say you could help me set up the remote feed?"
“Sure thing, Doc.” The navigator was a young man in his early twenties. He seemed energetic and professional, dressed in his gray-blue Nomex flight suit. “I’ll set you up in the main cabin. There’s a headset in there,” he pointed to a cabinet on the wall.
“Have you ever used one of these before?” Ranell was seated at a small table inside the main cabin. The space was small but well-designed to take advantage of every square inch. Ranell felt like he was sitting in a high-end recreational vehicle.
He placed the headset on and pulled the transparent visor over his eyes. “Yes, I’ve used something like this before, but not this exact model. Can you help me with the interface?”
The navigator made some adjustments, “You’re gonna feel like they’re right in the cabin with you!”
He wasn’t wrong. When the meeting started, avatars representing each member of the GML staff began to appear in the Sky Tug cabin as if by magic, each of them wearing a headset and looking around awkwardly, trying to accustom themselves to the novel sensation of a virtual teleconference.
“Welcome aboard the Sky Tug, gentlemen!” Despite the grim economic news and the serious nature of today's meeting, Ranell couldn't help but grin at the astonished faces of his co-workers.
“This is really cool!” Mitch Anderson was looking around the room. He made strange gestures with his hands, swishing back and forth. “What do these controls do…”
Anderson’s avatar disappeared. Ranell had to call the ship’s navigator to re-install the feed.
Anderson reappeared, looking somewhat embarrassed. "It felt like I was falling!"
"That's ok, Mitch," Ranell said reassuringly. "This technology has a lot of advanced features, including the ability to move about inside the airship as well as hovering outside of it. But try not to touch anything for now. We have a lot to discuss."
Choose Option 1: Is our plan to liquidate assets working?
Choose Option 2: Do we need more time?