The Industrialist

The next day

Homestead Green Sector, Axe Central

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The nozzles hissed, ten of them from different locations inside the sanitation chamber, covered in translucent glass and a holographic readings of microbial content carried by the person inside.

"Commencing sanitation procedure," the AI loomed inside.

The aromatic mountain rain mist of milky white filled the six-square meter chamber. The white cloud danced all over Lance, feeling them inside his garments invading every bit of space between his clothes.

He held an EazyCage in his left hand. The EazyCage had a volume capacity of 25 liters, and Lance imagined even the small contents inside the EazyCage could be propagated to a much greater volume in time and would serve an unimaginable impact to the world. He knew he held the key to humanity's survival. But nobody had discovered it yet, except him and the Outsiders.

However, Lance was the only person who knew how to utilize the core nectar of the Aiveez plant and create them into poison bombs. In the depths of morality, something had urged him not to disclose this invention to the world yet, especially to the Corporation. Like his mobile AI invention, Jasper.

"Sanitation procedures complete," The AI said after a few minutes and the door in front of him opened, providing him access to the next chamber.

The next chamber would scan the individual for any carried physical, chemical, or radiological hazards. Instead of nozzles, lasers emerged from various corners and scanned his body.

"Scanning potential hazards," the AI said. "Identified metallic substance, EazyCage. Please submit the potential hazard to the table provided."

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"Override command. EazyCage and its contents will be used inside the lab." Lance said.

"Request approved," AI responded.

Then, the door in front of him slid open. He went inside the laboratory and embraced with cooled regulated air. On one side, the centrifuged vials were placed in a pressurized container, two meters long, to preserve the media. It was beside Jaqi's working table. Unfortunately, he had to work on his own today, as his partner had meetings to attend to.

Lance inputted his code to the touchpad and the pressurized container opened after a perceptible hiss. A web of thick cold air filled the container, and the vials enclasped with thick frost icicles. There were hundreds of them. Lance checked on them, as Jaqi told him to.

He took one cold vial out from the container and tried to shake the contents. The bacteria seemed stable - the medium did not spill out as he shook and even inverted it. However, it gradually moved, strongly clinging its sticky characteristic against the glass.

The foggy white medium inside the vial turned thicker and more darkened. 'It's a success,' He thought as indications of a successful media growth.

Jaqi said that these bacteria incorporated into a gel filled with nutrition would multiply their nutritive levels through time, supporting the growth of the genetically produced hybrid seedlings.

The thought of Jaqi and her point of view about the rebels and how the city functions gave Lance a little irritation, not because Jaqi chose sides between the Rebels' cause and the Corporation's cause. But because of how the higher echelons were being brainwashed by their parents, moreover, blinded by the same system that had provided them everything to thrive beyond the norms of society.

Lance shook his head upon the thought. It was not Jaqi's fault. She had not yet experienced the life of being a Commoner of how hard it is to live beyond the necessary means.

He returned the vial and closed the container. He placed the EazyCage on the table and opened it. A set of Aiveez seedlings planted on a seedbed wafted their glow through a pressurized air escaping from the inside of the cage.

"Detecting foreign organic matter, unregistered to this facility," a female voice AI loomed inside the lab as it detected the Aiveez seedlings.

"Dome lab, register Aiveez seedlings," Lance said. This was to program the AI not to prompt them every time it scanned an Aiveez plant.

"Copy, Mister Berkley. Added in the database – Aiveez plant seedlings."

Lance placed the seedbed on a metallic platform where a few robotic arms, as large as humans' arms, were installed on top of the platform ready for whatever objective they were programmed to.

The metallic arms were connected to small shovels that dug them up without compromising the integrity of the seedlings' roots. Everything was automated, even in farming.

Lance took the bacteria-filled vials from the five-leveled racks, held hundreds of vials, and placed them on the provided tables. He did this process manually though.

Carefully, the seedlings went inside the vial's opening and one by one, the vials placed in racks were filled with seedlings. It was fascinating though; it seemed the rack was made of bluish LED bulbs. The bright white light inside the lab was conquered by the bluish illumination from the Aiveez seedlings.

Not only that, the lab which smelled like sanitation chemicals, was now invaded with a unique aromatic scent from the Aiveez.

The robots did the work, all he did during the entire process was just to transfer the vials to the working table where the replanting transpired.

On the other side of the room, through the transparent glass window that separated the two rooms, was the planted King Orange in-vitro propagation, all five hundred vialed seedlings.

'A small forty square meter room could accommodate 500 seedlings in a few racks. How much more for one Dome?' He thought. The possibility was overwhelming, and such a project would grow to unimaginable heights. Citizens needed food, fruits, vegetables, and spices in that matter, however, the city had space constraints for agriculture.

'Jaqi would be surprised,' He thought.

"Dome Lab," Lance spoke to the AI, "progress report for Jaqi. Please record… I am finished with planting the Aiveez seedlings, all 100 units of them. I will be heading to Doctor Adamson. I will follow your advice about the courses. Wish me luck. See ya!"

'See yah in a week,' He said to himself. The thought of Jaqi gave him a jolt of mysterious happiness. Although he knew that Jaqi was a product of a misguided principle and a princess of the City, somehow, Lance pitied her.

***

High Science Academy, BloomForge Enclave, Axe Central City

***

The school was different. Or rather, the students were different. Not a single commoner could be seen inside the classroom of Doctor Adamson. He snuck inside an ongoing class that Adamson was teaching. He did not know what subject he was on but it discussed electrons and protons and energies, which Lance had little knowledge about.

The teacher did not recognize him inside the class as he hid himself at the farthest seat, at the back of the students were, luckily, there was one vacant chair.

As he went inside, the room was poorly lighted. Bright lights were focused on the lecturer while the seated students had pen lights at the corners of the depressed ceiling.

His entry was stealthy, thanks to the darkness.

The room held about a hundred students of various age gaps. It was wide enough to make room for sufficient distancing of students as to prevent them from talking or cheating during examinations.

Lance placed his hood over his head and slouched to a level that the front student would hide him from the teacher. Well, probably would not notice him entering due to the size of the room, the size of the crowd, and the poor lighting.

Doctor Adamson kept on discussing. There were large screens in front of the students, behind the teacher. As the teacher waved his hand, the pictures came to life, holographic constructs now becoming real emerging beside Adamson. Lance was awed by the spectacular presentation, as if he was watching a movie, full of animations, but it was about Adamson's lesson.

However, looking at the students they did not flinch even. They took notes instead using their digital tabs.

Adamson was good at capturing the audience. He was humorous. 'So this is school,' Lance thought.

He had little regard of the school grounds as he entered the premises. He even disregarded the beautiful and artificial parks at the external landscaped grounds of the school.

There were large statues lined up, towering over a five-story lengthy structure of the school. The student scientists past him like he was a ghost. Nobody knew him which was his intention.

He hoped that such fame would be used as leverage for his conversation with Doctor Adamson after his class. Adamson looked approachable, with his white tunic uniform of professors, clean-shaved face, and a positive aura that came with his smiles. He moved about a large platform, pointing to the holographic images being shown in front of the students. Everybody listened.

He had captivated the audience, his students, including Lance.

"Ah… What do we have here," Adamson stopped lecturing about the equations of energies of each energy-modified cell of a rare-level conductive material. "Let us welcome everyone, Mister Berkley, a Mechanic Tier 3 scientist!"