Chapter 20: The Eyes of God

[Malak Al-Dabaran]

"Yasmin...are you from Iraq?" Malak asks, since that is where he comes from. It is a terrible place, but not the worse place in the world to live...these days. He smiles at the little girl, then moves to the front of the table to give the political report. He has a horrible headache. He hopes it isn't the tumor again.
"I will give at least part of the political report. So then, I think the focus of the report should be on other rebel groups. Two of them showed up at our meeting. Red Infinity and Null. Red Infinity...well, I am not sure how we should work with them. In the past, they have not treated us well. In fact, the back stabbed us. Armin knows more about that than I do though. I am not sure they can be trusted. On the other hand, we don't want to lose an ally if they are willing to work with us. They did afterall save us from the Invisible Hand back in London. They are useful and strong, obviously. Still...we have to watch them very carefully." Malak suggests.

"Null...well, I don't think they are an ally either, but they are at least for social change. They are a terrorist group, so we should be watchful of them. They don't believe in socialism, or anything for that matter. They are no more likely to be our friend than friends with the Manalists. They might work with us if they see we are for change. They might also appreciate that most of us are atheists. Other than that, we should be very cautious around them as well."

[Armin Lehrer]

"Yeah, that Kith guy was the one who joined Socialist Revolution in Germany back when I lived there with Kasper. The guy joined us....then later turned us in to the Manalists. Kasper and I only narrowly escaped to Helsinki. Our other comrades weren't as lucky." Armin adds to what Malak said.
"That's why I didn't want him at our meeting. I just don't trust that guy."

He thinks about Germany, which of course, reminds him of Bonifaz and Null.
"Bonifaz is my half brother. He's younger than me. I've got a half sister there too. I don't know if I trust them, but, they aren't so bad. I think they want some of the same things as us."

[Jack Kruschev]

(I’m going to jump in, Momo and Jumala.)

Standing up, Anthony straightened his labcoat and began.

“While SOTA may be somewhat of a pain in the ass in the world government, Intelligent Design is even more of nuisance. I ask that no loans be given to Intelligent Design to help them pay for their damages and absolutely no help be given either. The company recklessly attacked SOTA, and lost miserably,” Anthony explained before sitting back down.

"Essentially, Intelligent Design sucks at everything and SOTA proved itself to be all-around better."

[Momo Kurokawa]

"The only reason why Sota won was because they have a god on their side. I would not even be here right now if not for the tsunami. You saw Keitoleinen transform. That wasn't a show of his company's power, but a show of his own power. He HAD to tranform into that form to defeat my machines because his Manala tanks were not sufficient. If that were not the case, he wouldn't have transformed." Momo says in her own defense. She makes a mental note that someday, she is going to take over Genetech. Someday...she will rebuild the company stronger. She will make a careful note of the mistakes that she made.

"Go ahead, persecute me because I had the balls to do something the rest of you don't. Sit her and have your little meeting. We'll get along and learn to be great friends. The truth of the matter is Keitoleinen is lazy. I've seen it with my own eyes. He is lazy, sexist, and doesn't take business seriously. Maybe he won...this time...BECAUSE he is a God and I am a mere human, but, I know that I am the ambitious, hard working, intelligent one."

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"There is no need to become hostile. The meeting can be conducted in a rational, calm way. You called off your forces. That is a good first step." Ariel states. He is actually somewhat surprised by the level of anger towards Momo Kurokawa. He was not aware that Keitoleinen had so many supporters or that people would care.

"I will stand by the position that the tsunami was uncalled for. We can't have a world where...the heads of company's cause natural disasters on a whim. Keitoleinen was attacked and had a right to defend himself, but, it should have been targetted at the forces in Helsinki or at Momo's company. Not the people of Japan."

[Annette Rosenthal]

"Global Bank is willing to provide loans for Helsinki and Japan, which of course must be paid off in a timely fashion, but, I am not opposed to lending for the purpose of reconstruction." Annette adds to the conversation.

Things are getting a little heated and a part of her likes that. She likes to see discord. However, she remains tight lipped and shows no expression and certainly no pleasure in the hostility.

[darian]

Darian continued standing by his fellow Manalists like a silent monolith, occasionally shifting his gaze to each person as they spoke as Anthony West more or less added insult to injury. Darian had to agree with Anthony however, if her company had been as strong as she thought, then it would have had no trouble with Kei... or with him. Darian chose not to mention how many of her mechas he managed to down, seeing it as unneeded as Momo had something close to a meltdown.

That small display of weakness on her part would most likely cost her dearly later. For some reason, Darian felt that he wasn't the only one taking mental notes of the display. Anger while a great motivator, could also be used as a weakness.

[Dinari Dollar]

"Yeah, instead of ...like a tsunami. ..Keitoleinen should have just nuked some Japanese cities. That always gets them to surrender." Dinari adds to the conversation. He yawns and suddenly, someone from Trendy pizza appears with a large stack of pizzas.

"Hey everyone, I ordered pizza for the meeting! Pizza on me. So don't be hating on Momo, cuz she didn't know know..." Dinari says with a laugh. He walks down to the entrance, which is near Ariel, to pay for the pizzas. He passes the pizza boxes around so people can take a slice or two.

"By the way...AMERICA is AWESOME!" Dinari shouts, with pizza in his mouth.

[gunther]

Gunther was for once giddy with excitement; this meeting was proving to be highly entertaining. He didn't even have to twist the dagger as his prayers were answered in the form of Anthony West. "What fun this is turning out to be..." Gunther thought with glee; his grin widening. This did not go unnoticed as the pair of executives next to him looked uneasy. Gunther was beginning to see possibility in pitting the companies against one another. If nothing else, Momo's temper could prove quite an asset later on. "And then there will be nothing but war..." Gunther silently thought with rapture.

[Momo Kurokawa]

Momo decides that maybe Allmart would be a better target for her next attack...whenever that would be. She glares at Dinari and can't believe how stupid he is. She frowns. "I made a mistake. I think I may have misunderstood the meaning of Manalism." She states to the council. "I will leave now. I have to help Max with the Eyes of God, and I must also visit Japan to see the damage. I will repay damages to Helsinki, and, you can call me if anything is decided about reparations for Japan. I will accept any loans from Global Bank. That is all." Momo says. She lowers her head and leaves...but not before taking two boxes of pizza with her. She may have lost, but at least she's going to eat as much of their pizza as she can. She scarfs down the pizza as she leaves the meeting. She walks to the nearest teleportation booth to begin assessing the damage.

[Ariel Tal Shachar]

"In the past, companies have taken over other companies in such a fashion, but it is unusual in recent decades. I think that this is something we want to avoid in the future. It is too destructive. This conflict could have been far worse. At least Helsinki is still standing. As for Japan, they suffered greatly, but, it could have been much worse for everyone had the conflict last more than it did." Ariel says to the council. It is true. In less than 48 hrs, thousands of people in Japan were killed. Buildings were leveled, communities destroyed, and Helsinki also sustained damage and cassualties.

"I would like to establish an economic advisory committee which can counsel companies that are looking to expand. This way, expansion can be accomplished more peacefully, and costly mistakes can be avoided. If such a counsel had existed prior to today, Momo could have visited with them and learned that Keitoleinen was not a human and that the attack was ill advised. I believe that could have prevented much of the destruction we saw today."

He turns to Keitoleinen.

"In the future, natural disasters of such magnitude should be avoided."

Ariel doesn't know how to back that up. How does one deal with a God?

[Surma Keitoleinen]

Upon returning to his apartment in Munich, Surma went straight to the living room and toppled over onto the couch. The couch was just big enough to fit his whole body without bending his legs. There was a silence that lasted for at least two minutes as Surma replayed the events of his day in his mind. He was unbelievably depressed about the events that transpired in Helsinki..

No, actually, it wasn't what happened in Helsinki, but rather what happened in Japan. So many people.. thousands of lives were lost in an instant and he knew exactly what, or rather, who caused it. Surma knew full well that it was his brother Jumala who caused those casualties in Japan. It wasn't fair. He felt frustrated and knew that he would have to confront Jumala very soon.. Not only about the massacre in Japan, but about his ways as a wreckless individual in general.

After taking several moments to think, Surma finally sat himself up on the couch and got up to change his clothes. He never stayed very long in his apartment, he only went there for relaxation or thinking.. but since Surma didn't need to sleep, he never found much use for it.

He put himself into a pair of black jeans, and a black jacket that went over a red shirt with black stripes. As usual, he was going to go outside to observe the world up close, rather than infront of the TV. The door to the apartment opened, then closed and locked behind him as he walked out.

Within the next few minutes, Surma was outside, walking to the nearest teleportation booth. He would first go to Japan to see the damages and see what he could do.. and then head to Helsinki to check the situation there.

[Yasmin Seyyedi]

"I was from Iraq, but I moved to Kuwait and Pakistan with my family. Then they were killed by the terrorists." Yasmin answer. "Anyway, don't wait up for me. There is a chance I will be out ALL night."

Yasmin quickly says her goodbeyes before exiting the house. She ran into the alleyways since there is some sunlight out. She decided to explored the damages of the city before looking for dinner.

[Jack Kruschev]

Propping one of his feet on the edge of the desk, Anthony said, "The main problem with all this is that companies are resorting to violent methods rather than rational, civilized ones to do business." He took a piece of pizza and took a bite.

"Also," he continued, "I personally like Momo, I have to problem with her. I also like Jumala, but both screwed up; Momo for attacking SOTA, and Jumala for going overboard in his defensive strategies. Natural disasters are a bit too much. Even though the Christian God sent a flood in the early years of civilized humanity, according to legend, Jumala should not have done the same, create a natural disaster. Everyone in this room has power, some more than others. How we handle that power is up to us. Jumala could potentially kill everyone on Earth. Why doesn't he? He knows where to draw lines. Momo could also do some serious damage. Why doesn't she? Well, she tried and failed. Danari could shut down half the economics in the world by bankrupting his chain. The point is, people hold power, just at varying levels. We all need to use this power with maturity," Anthony finished explaining.

[Calithin Crest]

Part of me feels bad for Japan. I'm not gunna lie. Plus I really hate water-related natural disasters. I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hate them.

"My company will donate money, energy, and personnel to go towards rebuilding Japan. I hope some of the other business leaders here will follow suit and lend similar assistance. That whole thing is a little ridiculous anyway. The retaliation really should have been directed toward Intelligent Design... Rather than... A whole country."

I take a slice of pizza and begin munching away happily. I haven't had pizza in forever.

"We should always have pizza at these meetings..."