Chapter 1 - AugIndustries

A Chapter by Ryanicus

William August presents the world's first AUG to the public, while I explain the scene and background of the book.

Chapter 1- Aug-Industries

July 2048

"We're live in thirty seconds, sir."

"Excellent." smiled William August, tossing back his shoulder length jet-black curls. He was wearing his most expensive suit, snow white cotton with a bright tie, criss-crossed with various patterns and swirls. His white shoes were puzzlingly hard to get a hold of, not many stores sold white leather pointed slip-ons with a built in GPS, MP3 input and blue neon undersoles, much to William's confusion. They were rather dashing, he thought, as he stood behind drawn black curtains the size of a cinema screen, practicing his gleaming grin that no woman could resist. On the other side sat thirty thousand eager business owners, news reporters and entrepreneurs from across the globe, eager to welcome Mr. August, Earth's richest man and eight time gold medalist of "The Handsome Famous People Awards". Although it didn't make much of a difference, since they were hosted by William.He also created it. He's also the only participant, and it's worth noting that it takes place in his own living room with a hairbrush posing as a microphone.

August Stadium was a monstrously large, open-topped, perfectly circular coliseum, built directly on top of what was previously known as Central Park. Trees are overrated, William thought, the space was better used for a venue occupied once every two years by Mr. August himself, who addressed the entire United States of America on live TV. Usually, he introduced a brand new solution to sharing videos and images online, or a state-of-the-art smartphone, the norm for a multi-national corporation, but...

This year, this year's going to be different.

William smirked at how much of an inspiration he was to people across the face of the planet, and felt in his right pocket for the velvet package.

"We're live." whispered a feint voice from behind.

The curtains instantly began to draw, spilling sparkling white light from the flood-lamps onto William's equally sparkly suit, as the crescent stage radiated with cheers and clapping. Thousands of eyes stared at him, full of hope and expectation. William was sure he could hear everyone watching him on television too, although it might have been his ego edging him forward. He wasn't nervous. Why would he be? William August; the man who changed the world as we know it at the age of thirty-two, the most admirable figure in all of history.

His grin spread from ear to ear, revealing perfect gleaming teeth which seemed to merge with everything he was wearing. William spread his arms as if to embrace everyone there, and turned from left to right, beckoning the endless crowd to cheer louder. They did. They loved him.

He cleared his throat, the sound echoing throughout the stadium from the clip-on mic at his chin. The night sky above would be teeming with stars, too, if it weren't for the thick black storm clouds... how disappointing.

As the wonderous cheers of the crowd died down, the thunder in the distance became more distinct, but it wasn't to dampen the evening- it was a cowardly roar, hanging back, just of of reach, it was as if-

Even the gods know how important tonight is, William thought as the camera flashes blinked like morse code.

"Well!" he chirped, and the clapping rose once again, "How lovely of you all to come here tonight."

William put a hand to his chest, and continued affectionately, "My name, of course, is William August. Founder of Aug-Industries, and I'd like to welcome each and every one of you to the stadium, and those of you at home, I thank you for tuning in. Tonight is going to change history, and I'm glad you're all here to witness it. For the past thirteen years of my life, I've been obssessed with science. I know you might not think so, because of my charming good looks..." The audience chuckled. "But looks can be deceiving. I'd always wanted to create something extraordinary. Determination is a powerful tool, and it should be used to your advantage."

William paced up and down the stage as he spoke, making hand gestures in the correct places and grinning that drop-dead grin of his, which always mustered a small cheer.

"We're all humans." he continued, "We're all the same, no matter how many times we're told that we're unique. Every single person on this planet has the same set of abilties. We can all run, swim, communicate, listen, jump and play video games. Are you happy about that?" He hesitated, freezing like a statue, eyes trained on the audience. Nobody responded.

"I'm not. And I'm sure that's the case for most of you, too." he raised his eyebrows, taking great pleasure in the baffled faces among the front few rows. "Today I'm going to change that."

William reached into his pocket and removed the velvet package, he raised it into the air with one hand as the cameras zoomed in and reporters mumbled to their peers, scribbling furiously with pens. It was a cube, sides no more than five centimetres long.

"In this box, is the cure to ordinary life. We'll finally achieve world peace. Death rates in developed countries will be quartered. I'll bet you're all looking at me right now, thinking, 'Wow, he's lost it.'" the audience laughed, but their expressions remained uncomprehensive.

"Well, let me show you." he smiled, removing the loose ribbon. He reached into the cube, and removed a small cylinder which seemed to be glowing blue. William had dreamed of this moment for months. His formula was finally ready, after seven years, four billion dollars and employing eighty of the best biologists from the top institutes around the globe.

"This," he roared, "Is an AUG." the crowd was silent, completely oblivious. Of course; William hadn't told them what it did yet.

"There are over three hundred variations of this substance. Each one altering the users DNA in different ways via an injection to the eye, brain or heart. Each with a different price, of course." gasps and yells of what sounded like disapproval echoed from the back of the stadium. "Oh shush," he laughed, "You don't even know the results of it yet. This particular Aug is called TempShift. It should cost around one-hundred thousand dollars upon release. The formula alters the construction of your body, invisibly, which then allows the separation of all the atoms in your being, while you're still in control. It adds a permanent trigger to your mind. Fascinating, really. I'll actually need a volunteer?"

The crowd erupted with disbelief. It was impossible. How could William August lie to them like that? Was this some kind of con? A magic trick? Yes, that's it. A magic trick. William August; the magician. A hand raised from three rows back, and turned into a man. He was standing, smiling wearily, shaking.

"I'll... I'll do it." he whimpered, but nobody seemed to notice. "I'll do it!" he shouted, volunteering as a test subject, or maybe a magician's assistant. William's gaze was locked on him, and beckoned with his hand for him to come up to the stage.

"Brilliant. Come on, then." he said.

The man shuffled up the steps, and strode across the wide stage gleaming with bright light, and stood before William.

"So, my friend. You're awfully brave."

The man said nothing.

"Would you like me to continue?"

"Y-yes. I suppose."

"Right then," smiled William, the audience staring intently. Two men in white coats emerged from backstage, one holding a medical kit and a fold-up chair. The other whispered instructions to the volunteer and sat him down, then secured his wrists and ankles to the seat. The man gasped, and tried to wriggle free.

"Sir, it's okay. This is just to prevent you from hurting yourself." said the first scientist, who now had the blue cylinder in his hand. A syringe. The second scientist gently pulled back the volunteer's head and instructed him to close his eyes, as the other rolled up his shirt and smeared his chest with anti-bacterial gel.

"This might hurt." he murmured, as he plunged the needle angled upwards through a soft spot in the man's ribcage, directly into the heart. The volunteer gasped and wriggled vigorously, his hands sweating and mouth drooling.

William addressed the audience, who were sitting in shock, "Don't worry, everything's fine. We've tested this exact formula numerous times to ensure utmost comfort and safety."

The volunteer sat still, head still secured by the second sceintist. The two white-coats exchanged worried glances, and began to check for a pulse. Nothing.

Suddenly, the volunteer gasped, jerked upright, and was gone. In a blink. Everyone witnessed it. The crowd was a mixture of yelling, clapping and outrage. It was impossible. The man had literally just disappeared before thirty thousand people's eyes, on live TV.

William wasn't worried. He stood smirking, admiring the reactions he'd created. The scientists had cleared up and wandered backstage once more, and just as a select few stood up and began to hurl accusations and abuse towards Mr. August, a familiar voice boomed from the crowd. From the volunteers seat, three rows back.

"HOLY CRAP!" bawled the man.

The crowd turned, and of course erupted in cheers and whistles. It was a magic trick after all. Impressive.

"That was no trick," said William, addressing the audience through the speakers again, "Why don't you come back up and tell us what happened, sir?" glaring at the volunteer, who was examining his hands and body parts as if he'd woken up from a nightmare in which he'd been mutilated. He rose, and absurdly, spread into a wonderous grin. His entire body was shivering as he absorbed all the cheers directed at him, William suspected he had never experienced anything like it. Nobody had. Once again, he stood before William, waving to the crowd.

"Th-that was awesome." welped the man cheerfully, "A-all I remember is getting stabbed by a needle. I felt like I was getting dragged underground."

"Is that so?" smiled William, clearly unsurprised.

"Y-yes, and then I remember waking up, unable to breath. In my head I wished I'd never volunteered, and imagined myself back in my seat in the audience." continued the man. Astonishment spread across his face as he realised.

"You understand now?" said William, patting the volunteer on the back.

"TimeShift-"

"TempShift." William pointed out.

"Yes, th-this TempShift... molecular deposition... I teleported."

The crowd went ballistic with noise. Louder than William had ever heard in his life, he flinched, and then grinned. They loved him. Something they had once thought impossible, was now within every single person's reach. William August had just changed the world, and maybe, he considered, for the worse.

The crowd settled down eventually after an interruption from William,

"So, my friends. I'd like to conclude this evening with a huge round of applause for Aug-Industries' new breakthrough, and our extremely brave volunteer here, who just got a free Aug, Mister... erm..." William turned to the man, "What's your name, buddy?"

"Sage." he said. "Sage Fayen."

next chapter

© 2013 Ryanicus

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Erin DeLis

Epic first chapter. It still leaves you wondering about the prologue and gives the reader a whole new set of questions I'm dying to find out. It sounds like a professional book I might find at a bookstore, perfectly polished and ready for the world to discover. I loved it!