The world had a funny habit.
The moment one problem was solved, people immediately started demanding three more things.
Empire Corporation was learning that lesson every day.
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Empire Corporation Headquarters
Sarah Clinton stared at the wall-sized screen in her office.
Then she stared at it again.
Then a third time.
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"No."
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Her assistant looked up.
"Ma'am?"
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Sarah pointed at the screen.
"There are sixty-three requests."
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The assistant nodded.
"Correct."
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"There were forty yesterday."
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"Also correct."
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Sarah leaned back in her chair.
At this rate the entire planet is going to send me invoices.
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The requests covered everything.
New Omega farms.
New energy stations.
Ascendant training facilities.
Transportation infrastructure.
Research partnerships.
Special regional agreements.
Emergency resource allocations.
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Everyone wanted something.
Nobody wanted to wait.
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Sarah sighed.
"Schedule a meeting."
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Her assistant winced.
"Which one?"
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"All of them."
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"...All?"
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Sarah closed her eyes.
"Let's get the suffering over with."
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Imperial Island
Meanwhile...
Joshua was enjoying life.
Which usually meant someone else wasn't.
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He walked into a training arena carrying a sandwich.
Nobody knew where he'd gotten it.
Nobody asked.
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Kay was already there.
Sparring with Leon.
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Or rather...
Leon was being chased around the arena while desperately trying to remain analytical.
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"You're overcommitting."
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Kay swung.
Leon dodged.
Barely.
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"That's easy for you to say!"
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Another swing.
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"I'm literally trying not to get punched."
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Joshua took a bite of his sandwich.
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"He's got a point."
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Kay stopped.
Looked at Joshua.
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Then at the sandwich.
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"Where did you get that?"
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Joshua immediately became defensive.
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"That's not relevant."
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"It is to me."
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The two stared at each other.
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Leon used the opportunity to escape.
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I survived.
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For now.
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The Western Federation
Thousands of kilometers away...
President Gabriel Okoye rubbed his temples.
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Politics had never been easy.
Ascendants had somehow made it worse.
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His advisor entered.
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"Sir."
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Gabriel didn't look up.
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"If this is another request for Omega infrastructure, I'm resigning."
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"...It's another request for Omega infrastructure."
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Gabriel stared at the ceiling.
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There has to be a less stressful way to run a country.
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Unfortunately, there wasn't.
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The advisor placed a report on the desk.
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"Public demand continues increasing."
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Gabriel opened it.
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Then immediately regretted it.
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"Why are there six hundred pages?"
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"Citizen feedback."
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"Why would anyone read six hundred pages?"
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"...You."
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Gabriel hated how reasonable that answer was.
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UNPKI Headquarters
Director Amara Kline was having her own problems.
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Specifically:
Everyone was blaming everyone else.
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Which was technically normal.
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The problem was that nobody was entirely wrong anymore.
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A delegate from the Northern Alliance stood.
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"We need increased access to Empire Corporation technologies."
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An Eastern Coalition representative immediately objected.
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"We requested those technologies first."
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A Southern Bloc delegate laughed.
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"You've both requested them seven times."
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"Eight."
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The room paused.
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Everyone looked at him.
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The delegate shrugged.
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"We counted."
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Amara pinched the bridge of her nose.
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This is my life now.
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Imperial Island — Evening
Later that night...
Several members of the Imperial House gathered on a balcony overlooking the ocean.
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No meetings.
No crises.
No reports.
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Just conversation.
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Which was somehow rarer.
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Joshua stretched.
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"The world is weird."
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Sarah glanced at him.
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"That's your observation?"
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"It's an accurate observation."
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Virginia looked up from her tablet.
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"Statistically speaking, that's difficult to argue against."
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Joshua pointed.
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"See?"
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Kay laughed.
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Leon shook his head.
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"I still don't understand how you became one of the people running this organization."
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Joshua looked genuinely offended.
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"Talent."
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Silence.
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More silence.
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Even more silence.
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Finally Sarah spoke.
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"Nobody believes that."
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Everyone laughed.
Even Virginia smiled slightly.
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A rare event.
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A New Face
The next morning...
Sarah received a request.
Not unusual.
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The sender, however, was.
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President Gabriel Okoye Western Federation
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Sarah raised an eyebrow.
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"A head of state personally requested a meeting?"
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Her assistant nodded.
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"He specifically asked for you."
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Interesting.
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Very interesting.
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Because presidents rarely called personally.
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And when they did...
Something important was usually happening.
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Elsewhere
Gabriel ended the communication request and leaned back in his chair.
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His advisor looked curious.
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"You think she'll accept?"
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Gabriel nodded.
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"She will."
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"Why?"
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The president smiled faintly.
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"Because everyone wants something from Empire Corporation."
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A pause.
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"But Empire Corporation wants something too."
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The advisor frowned.
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"What?"
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Gabriel looked toward the city skyline.
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"A stable world."
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His expression became thoughtful.
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"And right now..."
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He glanced at the latest reports.
Resource disputes.
Ascendant incidents.
Regional competition.
Political tension.
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"...nobody seems very interested in providing one."
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