"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
Geneva Airport, Geneva, Switzerland
The plane cut through clouds as it emerged into clear skies above Switzerland.
Below, Lake Geneva stretched like polished glass, reflecting the pale light of the afternoon sun. The city lay quietly along its shores, its orderly streets and pale stone buildings giving it an air of calm dignity. In the distance, the Alps rose like silent sentinels, their snow covered peaks glowing faintly beneath the fading light.
He had seen many places in the world, but Geneva, due to the education level and stability, was in a league of its own. It seemed like paradise to anyone who had faced prosecution. A city where nations sent their representatives to negotiate peace, sign treaties and quietly maneuver against one another beneath carefully measured smiles. Institutions older than some nations operated quietly within its walls, drafting policies and agreements that would ripple across continents.
This was not the first time Leonard had come to the city. He had once toured the city with Raj. Now, the city hadn't changed, but Leonard was completely different. Leonard watched the landscape grow larger through the window as the aircraft began its descent.
Leonard took a deep breath, looking around the cabin, with his Inner Circle seated in various states, doing something or the other. Leonard smiled, 'To think that this plane holds people who would change the entire world. When we leave this city, we will have the key to the future.'
The aircraft touched down with a soft tremor.
Leonard closed his laptop, slipping it back into his bag before standing with the rest of the passengers. The familiar murmur of movement filled the cabin as people reached for their luggage.
Mike and Sofia carried their luggage like a newly wed couple, their faces breaking out in smiles as they took a deep breath of the fresh air. Harold, carrying his luggage with Emil, discussing the importance of Africa and its people, Elliot shivered slightly at the cold Swiss air, his hand reaching for a cigarette to calm himself. Arun looked at the environment, noting the cleanliness and freshness of the air. Stan looked at the city with curious eyes. As a former druglord, a city like Geneva was an oddity, with a lot of light and little darkness. It was sort of refreshing for him. Each member of the Inner Circle soon came out of the plane, their face alight with determination.
The air outside the airport carried the faint chill of the Swiss evening. The group made their way out with their luggage to find three black SUVs waiting for them. Leonard turned to the group and said, "I took the liberty to arrange your accommodation at the Ritz-Carlton here. These cars will take you there."
Leonard turned to Mike, "Once you reach the hotel, contact me. The staff will help everyone settle down. The meeting will be held tomorrow. After that, we will enjoy this week, before shifting our goal."
Mike asked, "Aren't you going to come with us?"
Leonard smiled wistfully, "I would, but I have to get someone. I'll meet you for dinner in the evening."
Leonard turned and walked away. A black car waited for him near the curb.
Leonard stepped inside and the driver pulled smoothly into traffic, the city unfolding slowly before them.
Geneva was quieter than most international cities. The streets were clean, the buildings elegant without being ostentatious. Cafés spilled soft conversations onto the sidewalks, and the lake shimmered gently beneath the setting sun.
Leonard watched it all in silence. This bright environment gave a sense of peace to the city. It differed a lot from loud cities like New York and Los Angeles. He had once believed that the true centers of power were loud cities like New York or Washington DC.
But life in those places was not stable. It held danger, poverty and a general lack of care. Geneva was different. It truly represented a stable haven in an ocean of turbulence.
Leonard looked outside at the city, while the car moved steadily towards its destination.
CERN, Geneva
Paige was reading through some reports on the latest hadron collider experiments. Soon, her eyebrows scrunched in thought. Finally she sighed, "Nothing new. The collider should have been bigger. There are no more results from collisions at current speeds."
When Paige first joined CERN, she was full of enthusiasm. The lab was developing cutting edge technology, churning out success almost constantly. Just last year, they discovered the God Particle with the LHC. But now, travelling further in the field of particle physics required giant technological leaps.
Paige whispered in thought, "Should I leave CERN?"
Suddenly, her phone rang with a special sound. She recognized Chaldea's unique notification sound, and quickly read the message.
'Come to the Front Gate, I am waiting.'
Unconsciously, a smile bloomed on her face as Paige left the reports on her desk, locked the office, and swiftly walked towards the entrance gate. She greeted some of her colleagues as she arrived. There, she saw Leonard, looking intently at the gate, smiling as he spotted her.
Paige grinned as she half ran towards Leonard and hugged him. Leonard wrapped his hands around her, just holding her as if afraid she would disappear. Finally the two parted as Leonard said, "Come, we have a lot to catch up to."
Big Bang Café, CERN Science Gateway
Paige sat across from Leonard, countless questions in her eyes as Leonard ordered some coffee. Leonard gave her a smile, as he ordered her preferred coffee and some snacks. As the coffee was served, a comfortable silence enveloped the two.
Leonard looked at Paige and asked, "How have you been?"
Paige answered, "The last few months have been quite fruitful. We discovered the Higgs Boson after all. The lab is constantly conducting new experiments now."
Leonard smirked, "But it doesn't feel satisfying, right?"
Paige groaned, "Oh, you have no idea. Ever since we discovered that particle, every week goes by in experiments. I haven't been able to go to conferences for the last three months."
Leonard asked, "Why don't you quit?"
Paige sighed, "I would have, but I cannot stand inactivity. If I am not working on something, I go stir crazy. But enough about CERN, what have you been up to? I followed your insider trading case, but couldn't find anything afterwards."
Leonard explained, "I was a plaintiff in another case. Now, I have devoted all my time to Chaldea."
Leonard started to tell Paige all about the latest experiments and theories Chaldea scientists had discovered. As the two talked, Paige found herself fascinated by the development of Chaldea.
Paige asked, "So, why are you here, in Geneva?"
Leonard answered, "Three main reasons, first, I wanted my inner circle to relax a little, as a period of rigorous development is ahead of us. Then, I wanted to hold a meeting to discuss the future development goals and decisions. I thought Geneva was a great place for that. Finally, I wanted to see you. The Inner Circle is not complete without my Athena."
Paige smiled sweetly. Leonard continued, "As you said, CERN has become too hectic fir you. So, why don't you quit. Come with me to Chaldea full time."
Paige thought for a while. CERN had been a part of her life for a long time. Yet, she knew, Chaldea was her future from the moment she accepted the title of Athena. She looked deep in Leonard's warm brown eyes before saying, "It will take a week for me to resign."
Leonard smiled, "Don't worry, I am here for you."
Paige sighed and asked, "So, when is the meeting with the Inner Circle?"
Leonard answered, "Tomorrow. I will come to get you in the morning."
Paige smiled, "I would like that."
The ride back to the hotel was pleasant for Leonard. His face constantly held a smile as the world seemed to shine brighter to him.
Conference Room, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Geneva
The hotel conference room was quiet when Leonard entered the room, with Paige in tow.
Mike sat near the window, reading through a set of documents on his tablet. Sofia sat near him, combing through texts on ancient flora. Emil sat in his seat, patiently waiting while Elliot sat at the far end, taking slow, occasional drags from his cigarette. Arun sat with Harold on the other side of the table, discussing something. Giselle stayed in the chair near the door, ready to react to anything, should something happen. Finally Stan kept looking at everyone, thinking of utilizing everyone.
As Leonard entered, he looked at everyone with scrutiny, while Paige calmly walked to the right side of the table and sat in a chair.
Finally, Leonard walked towards the head chair, his cane knocking on the marbled floor with a soft, rhythmic thud. Opening the buttons on his suit, he sat regally in the head chair, his cane leaning at his side of the table.
Leonard spoke, "Good morning everyone, on behalf of Chaldea, I welcome you all to this meeting.
Mike spoke first, "Why are you talking like this?"
Leonard smirked, "I wanted to sound official."
With that, the awkward silence melted away into a jovial mood. Every member smiled a little, with Sofia giggling slightly.
Leonard continued, "I wanted to hold this meeting to discuss the future of Chaldea and what I wanted. But I cannot hold this meeting like a corporate one. I wanted this meeting to be more intelligent than that."
As Leonard said that, three people came into the room, wheeling three large whiteboards inside. Leonard stood from his chair and removed his suit. Rolling his sleeves to their elbows, Leonard started, "What do you think is the objective of Chaldea?"
Emil answered, "To safeguard science and remove ignorance from this world"
Leonard nodded, "Exactly. But the goal doesn't have a visible path. So, let's discuss how we will achieve it. Now, what does everyone think is wrong with this world?"
Arun began, "Pollution and environmental degradation."
Emil followed, "War and conflict."
Sofia said, "Disease."
Mike chimed in, "Injustice."
Giselle thought for a moment before she answered, "Disharmony."
Stan looked at everyone before answering, "Poverty."
Elliot was thinking as everyone answered. He spoke up, "Money, corruption and greed."
Harold said, "Social differences and inequality."
Finally, Paige looked at everyone in the room, and said, "Stagnation."
Leonard nodded and wrote everyone's answer on one of the boards. Leonard quickly drew lines connecting various problems. As the lines formed a web, Leonard wrote humanity at the center of the web.
Leonard said, "As we can see, humanity is the source of all these problems. In many ways, we are a disease on this planet. I want Chaldea to be the cure."
Leonard approached another board and started dividing the space into various sections. In the first section, Leonard wrote 'Environment' and said, "This task is for Arun. In the next five years, I want you to solve the issue of pollution in three small countries, in the next five, solve the problem in fifty. By the next two decades, I want you to master the technology of terraforming."
Ignoring Arun's widened, disbelieving eyes, he turned and wrote the word 'Medicine' and turned, "This is for Sofia. In the next three years, I want you to conquer cancer and by the next twenty, I want disease to be eliminated."
Sofia shared a glance with Mike, confused and bewildered. She had always thought of Leonard as a logical man. Yet, today, he was talking about. Turning to Elliot, Leonard said, "I will give you contacts of every major hacking group and organisation. In the next five years, I want you to bring every major hacker under your control."
Leonard looked at Stan and said, "Stan, from now on, stop focusing on cash. I want assets and resources. Focus on mines, land, machinery, oil fields or resources that could be leveraged or utilized by Chaldea."
Leonard looked at the side, "Giselle, I want you to register an international security company. I want our people in every country around the world. Should tensions arise, you should be the first responders."
Giselle looked uncomfortable at that. Emil looked conflicted as well, as Leonard spoke to him, "Emil, what we need is both technological advancement and political power. I want you to gain political influence all over the globe. Find like minded politicians and make sure they come in power. You should be the kingmaker around the world."
Emil wanted to say something, but chose not to interrupt him.
Leonard's eyes turned to Harold and he said, "Harold, you will work with me. I have a project called Oracle. We will make a machine so advanced, it will be able to predict the course of humanity using mathematics and big data."
Leonard finally turned to Paige, "Paige, we will study higher sciences together. I want to shrink the entire LHC into the space of a single room. We will tear the fabric of the universe and stare God straight into his eyes."
The room was enveloped in silence, as the members processed the commands. They looked at each other, unsure if the commands were truly meant to be followed or not.
Mike interrupted, "Leonard, I admire your enthusiasm, but don't you think these goals are a bit unrealistic."
Leonard smiled, "Not at all. All these goals are totally achievable. There are challenges for sure, but I am sure we could do these things."
Harold looked grave as he said, "Leonard, when I joined Chaldea, you told me that your goal is to prevent events like 9/11 from happening. But these orders, most of these would disrupt the world order. If we follow through with it, poverty and conflict will increase."
Emil asked, "Exactly. I did not join Chaldea to wage a war on the world order. What exactly do you want to do, Leonard?"
Leonard answered unflinchingly, "I want to unite this world."
Emil looked pensive, "Leonard, do you think people would calmly step down from their positions, leave their profits and comforts. People won't unite just because you want them to."
Leonard sighed and explained, "I understand you. You must think that my ideas are radical. Well, why don't you tell me then, how will you solve the problems you mentioned? You were quite vocal about what is wrong, now tell me, how will you make it right."
This silenced everyone in the room. It is true, finding fault is easy, but removing the fault is tough.
Leonard continued, "The current order is an order of peace, but tell me, is that truly the case. Over the past century, our wars have gotten more severe. Poverty around the world is high as the wealth gap increases. Even in America, the freest country in the world, you cannot free yourself from poverty, illness, crime, corruption and inequality. And the biggest issue is not even based on resources."
Leonard turned to Emil, "Emil, over the years, have you faced racial profiling and judgement based on your skin color?"
Emil lowered his head as image after image of racial discrimination kept going in a loop.
Leonard continued, "As I said before, humanity is a disease, a blight that only knows how to destroy or consume. If tomorrow, humanity was wiped out, the world will recover. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday it will. I don't want humanity to disappear, but it should be guided."
Harold stood up and asked, "And how would you guarantee that people would become better after you are done?"
Leonard looked at Harold, carefully weighing his words, before saying, "By the same way I can guarantee that without my intervention, the world will head towards a much darker direction."
Leonard looked at everyone, searching for support. While they wanted to support, the goals have made them apprehensive.
Suddenly, Paige spoke, "If I may ask, what is so good with the current world, that everyone wants to preserve it?"
Harold and Emil grew silent at that. Mike was in deep thought though Elliot looked supportive.
Leonard said, "This is not a war against the people. It is a revolution. It is not easy or peaceful, but revolutions are necessary. And with the Oracle Project, we will not be in the dark as to what this revolution may bring."
Mike sighed before saying, "While I understand the need to change the current order, to achieve the goals you gave everyone, we will not need leaps in power, we will need a jetpack."
Leonard smiled, before taking his coat off the chair and taking out a box from its inner pocket. He approached everyone and placed a small transparent packet from the box, laying out one in front of each member. As they looked at the packet, they found an unassuming pill inside each packet, transparent like glass, no bigger than an aspirin tablet.
As the members looked at the tablet, Mike asked the question in everyone's head, "What is this thing?"
Leonard smirked as he answered, "This, my friend, is the jetpack."
AN- And that's a wrap on the chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Stay tuned for more.
AN2- Thank you to all my patrons who stood by me. Your support keeps this story going.
Support me on Patreon at patreon.com/SparksNFlames