As a rule, Julius Megiddo believed fully in the power of technology. As far from a luddite as an individual could be, there was a complete absence in him any doubt that the continuous refinement, development, sophistication and advancement of electronics, computers, weapons, automotives, magical foci, alchemy and spiritology was critically essential to the continued growth of any profitable venture.
He was not so foolish however as to ever make the mistake of inserting such technology into himself, of course. While there would be some temporary short-term gains in terms of telecommunications capacity and perhaps personal security, the adoption of cybernetics also opened oneself up to all manner of electronic attack. Matrix-sourced hacks, bio-feedback malware, electronic interference from a thousand different sources. Even something as mundane as a high-powered magnet could be disastrous to the philistines gullible enough to believe that jamming electrified metal into your body (or worse, replacing one's limbs and organs entirely) was somehow pragmatic or forward-thinking. Sure, there were instances of the genetic reprobates who needed implants to replace failing internals or the foolhardy career thugs that needed prosthetics after a disastrous blunder on the battlefield. Their needs could perhaps be called legitimate but the overwhelmingly vast majority of end-users for cybernetics were simply falling prey to marketing. Taking a competitively priced path to temporary power that would inevitably fail them as the march of time continued. And this was all without even considering standard industry practices such as planned obsolescence, proprietary parts and chemicals, and the indisputable fact that every other buffoon was being sold the exact same products. A literal arms race with all sides being played for fools.
No, Julius Megiddo would never partake of technology to that extent. Within him was this one prohibition about it, and at the other end of the spectrum was a sublime fondness that he suspected he would never lose. This piece of technology was antiquated to the extreme, dating back to the dawn of metahumanity in whatever form it might have existed in. That technology was none other than the mirror.
With the widespread availability of surveillance equipment customers had no shortage of options to look at themselves. Yet Julius found the camera unflattering to him in all its forms, vastly inferior to the subtle cosmetic magic of silver nitrate layered over a glass pane, rimmed with gold filigree. Raphael Gunderrez had possessed a mirror of exquisite craftsmanship and in impeccable condition, crafted from tin and mercury and supposedly dating back to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec. Julius had coveted it from the first moment he'd found his own eyes in it and in secret had commissioned his own variant to capture his likeness. Now that the Chairman was gone, Julius was free to hang it here in his cell in Folsom without any chance of being accused of unbecoming envious imitation. If anything he was honoring the memory of the late executive.
And it was so practical. All one needed was the light from the windows on the far side of the cell and it worked. No electricity, no matrix access, no cables or cords or signals. And its only purpose: to display him in his splendorous captivity. It was like a painting of every moment as it happened! Not for the first time today he checked his cufflinks and collar, ensuring that the diamonds were properly visible from the front. Beside him, Emperor waddled up next to his plush chair and sat beside Julius' left foot.
After checking over his appearance, Megiddo reached down with his left hand and stroked the dachshund on its head using only the tips of three fingers. The canine closed his eyes appreciatively and leaned against his pantleg, and yet again Julius praised his own foresight in having the creature meticulously groomed before being brought here. No hairs were shed in the contact, leaving him spotless for the imminent call.
The elf turned his chair away from the mirror and stood up, making his way to another, far less comfortable chair close to his computer console. As was the intention he arrived precisely on time, the holographic projector descending from its compartment in the ceiling of the cell and providing a barrage of directed light that formed an image of the operations conference room in Tenochtitlan. At perspective, of course; the room in truth was far larger than the cell had room to accommodate but the technology was competent enough to simulate the visual depth and let him see that all the committee members were in attendance, both senior and junior.
The late chairman's seat was being temporarily occupied by Thomas Roxborough of the Aztechnology board of directors, projected from his hidden lair somewhere in Central America in a similar fashion as to how Julius himself was attending except that his holographic body was entirely make-believe. Director Roxborough was naught but a brain in a jar somewhere, hard-wired into the Matrix. The most extreme incarnation possible of committing to technology... He could watch the whole world at once from the safety of his nutrient vat, but had no power to himself affect it directly. According to records he'd been desperate to live and escape the ill fortune of his defective lineage.
On such topics Julius was of the opinion that someone should have stopped throwing good genes after bad a century ago and spared people like Roxborough the inconvenience of their existence, but it was the nature of those with temporary lives to disregard the future consequences of their indulgences, which were easy to ignore when secure in the knowledge they would not be around to see them and let alone be held accountable for them.
For now however, he reigned. His purely synthesized voice oozed out of the speakers in the cell walls, mostly toneless. "Exactly on time, Julius Megiddo. Raphael spoke well of your punctuality, when he was still speaking well of you."
From halfway down the table, a reclining figure in a suit the same color and make as Megiddo's but with a much worse tie waved a casually dismissive hand. "It'd be a shame to have to start without you, Jules. We know how little action you get to see from inside Club Corpo."
Julius' disdain for the false politeness of Broderick Copely was exceeded only by his contempt for his equally false work ethic. It was a constant source of aggravation for Megiddo that they had the same position in the corporation as well as the same salary, when Copely had never attempted anything more ambitious than kissing the Chairman's wrinkled buttocks. Raphael had assured Julius that it was only a matter of time until pretenders like Brayden were left behind in the course of Aztechnology's history and that it was worth it to keep around in case a scapegoat was necessary.
Now the Chairman was gone. "I keep careful watch on all matters of importance to the shareholders," Julius stated matter-of-factly. "My incarcerated status means only that I have no excuse to be distracted from my work."
Copely looked as if he were about to reply but Roxborough forestalled their verbal sparring with his own supremely false presence. "The Board of Directors," he issued in near monotone, "Has been largely content to leave the Committee for Innovative Applications to its own devices because its activities have historically been profitable for the corporation. But Raphael's untimely demise places us in a difficult position with regards to the shareholders. The value of the subcommittee's autonomy is being called into question, and Raphael did not formally recommend a replacement to his position before his murder. This leaves Aztechnology's proxy operations in the California Free State without designated oversight, and jeopardizes all of our sales and research efforts on the east coast of North America."
Wisely, no one sought to interrupt him. Even Copely knew when to keep his mouth shut around directors. Roxborough continued, "It is this subcommittee's tradition to promote from within and the board is tentatively allowing that tradition to continue with the expectation that when a candidate to become new Chairman is put forth they have the whole of the subcommittee united behind them. California--particularly San Francisco--is in a delicate state at this time. Whoever takes a leadership role will have the eyes of the board on them, to say nothing of the eyes of the shareholders."
Several people opened their mouths as if to speak, but Megiddo used his console to amplify his voice and drown them all out. "The only one qualified to take the Chairman's position is myself. I worked closely with him for over a decade and it's no secret I was his right-hand man."
Copley snorted, leaning back in his seat. "And look where you landed, Jules. Think that was an accident? Or did Lone Star actually do their job for the first time in history?"
Roxborough inclined his head slightly. "Copely has a point, Megiddo. Project Glimpse was projected to result in an astronomical amount of revenue for the corporation and instead it resulted in Corporate Court legislation restricting research into chronomancy as a science of magic."
"I've agreed to pay the price for my shortcoming," Megiddo stated evenly. "And now it places me in a unique position for this unique scenario. I ask you: Who has more skin in this game than me? By the court's ruling I am to remain incarcerated in California until the latter half of the next century, with no possibility of early release and the only possibility of commuted sentence being a unanimous decision by the reigning court justices, something which has never happened in the entire court's history."
Broderick raised his hands mockingly. "Going to run all the operations out of your gilded cage, Jules?"
Megiddo didn't take the bait, remaining firmly on message. "Tenochtitlan is far away from the CFS and Folsom is close to its heart. My conviction is years in the past and I am largely forgotten by all but a few diehard fanatics committed to antiquated ideas about law and order. Shrewd investors and customers will respect my commitment to preserving Aztechnology's good name by serving my time, or at least they will acknowledge that I have no exit strategy in the event I fail catastrophically in the pursuit of representing the corporation. No one has more pressure on them to perform well than I do. No one has more motivation than me to elevate the stock value."
"Appoint me as the new Chairman and within a decade I will have overturned the ban on Aztechnology operating openly inside the state's borders. Without the need for proxies and shell companies and financial obfuscation, our profits in the state will skyrocket."
"If you can do that, Jules," Copley said snidely, "Why haven't you done it already?"
Roxborough answered the question in his dull tone. "If you're good at something," he droned, "Never do it for free." There was, in spite of the synthetic nature of it, a trace of approval in his words. Julius inclined his head in agreement.
