House of the Morningstar: Chapter 20
Created | Updated Apr 3, 2023
House of the Morningstar: Chapter 20
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Due to my excitement about Bill's mysterious box I have completely forgotten about the special guest who has announced her coming a while ago. Everything here seems to have been cleaned until the paint came off in some spots. The canteen is shining like a mirror. Bill seemed to be especially excited about it – I was relieved to see that he obviously had not noticed anything had happened to his box. If he noticed that one of his boxes is missing, he at least has no idea that I have something to do with it, of that I am sure.
Our 'special guest' arrived with a private shuttle, which dropped her off directly in front of the door and was then pulled into the air lock: the famous architect Laurine Luftschloss. A large crowd had already gathered when the doors opened and she emerged from her transport, greeted her fans who were in the front row. She then retreated to the VIP suite which was assigned to her – of course she doesn't get the same kind of room as us lowly employees.
The building Ms Luftschloss designed is the Museum of Modern Art in the city center, at the opposite side of the street to our own building. It looks like a ribbon which has been casually dropped on the floor and would be totally impractical for any other use. I have seen her employees here a couple of times, they all look rather miserable and overworked.
One positive effect of her coming is that the food which is served at the cafeteria got considerably better. Lentils, beans and potatoes have suddenly been replaced with various kinds of bread, beef and cake for dessert. There was also cheese and grapes. It's not like they give us these things under normal circumstances, so that's a great surprise.
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Follow the Purple Carpet
The moon cast its pale ghostly light from behind the fog, which was lying over the city like a blanket. It wasn't the usual tech crowd that walked down the purple carpet towards the FluxTec headquarters, which rose high up into the fog. Among the select crowd spectators could spot politicians, celebrities and officials of various organisations.
Elanor and Harry both had dressed up at home and now met right at the building. Harry had made an effort to get his blonde hair in order and was wearing a suit which did not quite fit. Elanor had squeezed into her best dark blue dress, and carried a rather large purse with embroidered flowers. They walked along the barrier next to the carpet, then quickly hopped over when they had almost reached the building.
In lieu of an actual invitation, Elanor and Harry showed their warrant cards to one of the rather large men in dark suits at the entrance. They did not look quite happy but one motioned them on.
'The police superintendant is already inside, you should better hurry,' he said.
'Oh. Oh yes, we will do our best to catch up with her, thank you!' Elanor said and looked around to see where their boss was, so they could stay away as far as possible.
They entered a large foyer, three storeys high, with a gold veined marble floor. The large hall was decorated over and over with purple flower arrangements. Further to the back, above the lifts, a larger-than-life hologram of the founder's son Victor floated in mid-air, with inspirational quotes about the future of technology being displayed below.
People were mingling in groups and chattering noisily as they waited to proceed to the auditorium. It was a colourful crowd dressed up like peacocks. There were waiters carrying trays of crystal glasses filled with sparkly drinks in all colours.
Elanor and Harry did their best to act inconspicious and listened in to some conversations. They did however not feel able to comment on the current price of private ships, the quality of servants or in fact any other topic which was discussed. Both of them picked one of the sparkly drinks from a tray, when suddenly the hall became quiet. Elanor turned to the door then gave Harry a nudge so he also paid attention. Through the door came a pale woman on a shiny bronze mechanical sedan chair with spidery legs. Her sparkly black dress cascaded down the sides of the chair in many folds, like a stormy sea. Her dark shiny hair was shaped like an elaborate sculpture. The crowd parted as she proceeded straight to the lifts.
'Who is this?' whispered Harry.
'This is the Duchess of Juno,' Elanor answered, 'if she came here for this event it must be very important.'
After a while, everyone was asked to proceed to the auditorium, where Harry and Elanor took two unmarked seats at the very back. Before the lights in the huge crystal chandelier above them were dimmed, they could see that the Duchess of Juno had taken a seat in one of the loges above. Harry leaned towards Elanor to better see past the huge hairdo of the lady in front of him.
A spotlight illuminated the gap in the purple curtain on the stage where soon a man in a shimmering purple suit appeared to the loud applause of the audience. He had long black hair tied to a ponytail in the back and a beard which was so short and neat that it almost looked like it was painted on.
'That's Valentine,' Harry whispered,' one of Victor's sons.'
As the applause ceased, Valentine made a few jokes and greeted the mayor and some others who were deemed important enough to receive such an honor... or who seemed likely enough to spend some money. He then started a long speech about FluxTech's latest triumphs and RoboFlux models of the past.
'What I show you now, is the pinnacle of technology, the greatest achievement in robotics so far. Our masterpiece,' he announced.
The light dimmed again and in the near darkness a huge hologram of the new robot projected above the stage. With its four legs and rather bulky body it had a vague resemblance with a bulldog or indeed a boar. Its shiny bronze surface had a pattern of intricate lines. The visual sensors in the front were shining purple lights.
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