“Everyone’s ready, Ms. Sharp,” Melody said. She sat in her small office in front of 10 monitors. Each display showed a different contestant along with their vital signs. Dana Sharp stood in another room with 10 giant-sized monitors and a select group of world leaders.
“We’re ready to start,” Dana stood in the middle of the room and addressed her guests. “This is your last chance to change your bets, once we start all choices are locked in.” The gathered men grumbled between themselves, but none of them chose a different competitor. “Well then, if there are no changes,” Dana lifted her left hand to show a small device with a red button on it. “Let’s begin.” She pressed the button and a loud buzzer sounded from all 10 screens. A camera drone followed each contestant as they ran out of their starting area ready to fight.
“It’ll take them a bit to start finding each other,” Dana said. “In the meantime, I’ll be happy to address any questions.” An older, uniformed man with a grey buzz-cut stood up.
“How fast can you deliver a large order?” the man gestured at the screens. “I get that this is a demo, but 10 isn’t even close to what we’d need. What kind of wait are we looking at?” Dana smiled.
“I assure you, your wait will be virtually non-existent. Any other questions?” A bright red flash happened on one of the screens behind her. “Looks like we have a skirmish already.” Dana moved out of the way to let her guests watch the monitors.
“YES!” The military man cheered when he recognized his pick fighting on screen. A tall man hurled red fireballs at a boy that defended himself with yellow electricity. The boy was small and agile; he easily dodged the fireballs sent his way. The small crowd cheered at the TV, engrossed in the action.
The boy managed to leap onto the man’s back then a bright yellow light filled the screen.
“NO!” the man yelled. The light on the screen dissipated and revealed the man laying on the floor. The boy ran away, followed by a different camera on another screen.
“He’s down,” Melody said in Ms. Sharp’s ear.
“Well, Colonel, sorry to say your man is down,” Dana said with her most apologetic voice. The older man nodded.
“Damn shame,” he grumbled to himself and walked toward the door. Dana followed him to the door and opened it for him. He stopped on his way through and leaned in close to Dana.
“Thank you for letting me be a part of this,” he gave her a sad smile. “I know I won’t remember, but I can’t thank you enough for the wonders you’ve shown me today.” Dana smiled, but he spoke up again before she said anything. “Just between you and me, how many of those gadgets have you got ready to go?” He chuckled. “C’mon, you’re gonna wipe my memory anyway, right?”
“I appreciate healthy curiosity,” Dana said with a wink. “I’ve got a billion ready to ship.”
“Whoa…” the colonel’s eyes widened. “With a ‘B’? Are you sure?” Ms. Sharp nodded. “Wow. Why are you even selling them? I only got a peek at what they can do, but with that many it seems like you could take over the Earth.” Ms. Sharp nodded again and pushed on the door to get the Colonel moving.
“I’m doing that too,” she replied as the door closed.
