The observation deck stretches in glass and steel around me. Below, New York spreads in lights and traffic, a circuit board come to life. Gatomon curls on my shoulder, her weight familiar and light. BlackGatomon perches on the railing, tail twitching at the distant movement below.
She's grown fond of high places. Probably because it reminds her of rooftops.
"Still impressed by your own empire?" BlackGatomon's voice carries that usual edge.
"Wouldn't call it an empire yet."
Gatomon purrs, a low rumble that vibrates through my coat. "Close enough to the top."
I turn from the view. Engineers hunched over terminals. Scientists calibrating energy matrices. The hum of servers and the click of keyboards. Two years ago, this was empty floor space. Now it's alive with purpose.
The conference room door slides open with a touch. My Digivice chimes softly against my chest. Someone's already inside.
The conference room hums with the low buzz of holographics. Tony leans back in his chair like he owns the space, which he kind of does. Peter adjusts floating projections with that earnest focus he gets when schematics are involved. Gwen swipes through UI schematics, her finger tracing interface flows. Olivia sips from her ridiculous mug—the one that looks like it survived a chemistry experiment.
I tap the main display. Blue light spreads across the table.
"Timeline for public introduction," I say. My finger traces the projected dates. "Marketing and PR strategy starts here."
Olivia raises an eyebrow. "You're really doing this, aren't you?"
"Doing what?"
"Running a company before you can legally drink."
Tony snorts. "Kid's got better instincts than most MBA grads."
Peter flicks a hand gesture. Server load simulations cascade through the air. "Projected user numbers peak at two million concurrent. Stability holds at ninety-eight point three percent with current architecture." His voice carries that familiar intensity when he's explaining tech.
Gwen steps into a simulated EDEN environment. Her avatar moves through virtual spaces like she designed them in her sleep. "User flow's intuitive. Accessibility parameters are solid. We just need to scale the encoding." She glances at me. "Working on it."
A familiar weight settles on my shoulder. Gatomon presses against my neck, purring loud enough that Olivia glances over. She thinks I have a very large, very strange cat.
BlackGatomon drops from the ceiling vent like a shadow given form. She bats at Peter's hologram, making the server stats flicker. I translate with a grin. "She says the numbers look boring. Wants to know when we're eating."
Olivia blinks. "You can understand your cat?"
"She's very expressive," I say, scratching behind Gatomon's ears.
Tony straightens up. "Speaking of audiences, what about the Stark Expo?" He snaps his fingers. "Global reach, live demonstrations, press from thirty countries. We could debut EDEN there instead of a quiet rollout."
I tap my finger against my chin. The Stark Expo idea isn't just flashy—it's risky. Public demonstration means no room for error. I scan their faces: Tony's already calculating exposure metrics, Peter's bouncing on his heels, Gwen's processing data streams, Olivia watching with that unreadable expression.
"Pros and cons," I say. "Someone talk me through why this isn't suicide."
Peter's eyes light up like he just solved Fermat's last theorem. He swipes his tablet alive, fingers flying across the screen.
"Okay, so imagine this—we set up interactive terminals. Not just demos, but actual EDEN access points. People could walk in and experience the full immersion. We could showcase the collaborative building features, the physics manipulation, maybe even sync multiple users across the expo floor." He's sketching wireframes now, diagrams blooming across the display. "The scalability testing alone would be invaluable. Real-time stress testing with thousands of users."
Gwen nods slowly. Her analytical mind clicks into gear. "The Expo platform gives us a controlled audience sample. We could run A/B testing on interface designs, gather immediate feedback on user experience. The exposure metrics Tony mentioned—" she flicks a glance at him "—translate to adoption rates. If we demonstrate stability under pressure, investors follow."
She taps the holographics. "We'd need redundant systems, backup servers, fail-safes. But the UX presentation becomes living proof instead of projected slides."
Olivia's nod is slight, almost imperceptible. Her lips curve just enough to show approval without enthusiasm. She sets her mug down with deliberate calm.
"The Expo draws international attention," she says. "Media coverage, venture capitalists, tech journalists. You'd have six months to prepare instead of eighteen. That's not just acceleration—that's market dominance." Her voice carries the weight of someone who's seen startups rise and fall. "But you'd need to ensure the product doesn't embarrass itself on the world stage."
I gesture toward the Stark Expo section of the presentation. The holographics flare brighter, more detailed.
"That's it then." My voice carries new energy. "We take EDEN public at the Expo. Peter, you and Gwen draft the demonstration protocols. Tony, we'll need your resources for backup infrastructure." I pause, feeling Gatomon's purr against my shoulder. "Olivia, can you handle the business side? Legal, investor relations, the whole circus?"
Her smile is small but genuine. "I was already drafting the prospectus."
Gwen steps away from the main display, her fingers dancing across a terminal interface. Something in the data stream catches her attention.
"Hold on," she says, brow furrowing just slightly. Her thumb swipes through cascading code, making a micro-adjustment that sends ripples through the projected architecture.
I watch her work, but something else pulls my focus.
My Digivice gives a faint, almost inaudible chime against my chest. The screen flickers to life for just a heartbeat. A digital signature flashes across it—unidentifiable, fragmented—and then vanishes like smoke.
Gatomon lifts her head from my shoulder. "Something wrong?"
"Probably just a glitch." But the timing feels off. Too deliberate.
Tony claps me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stumble forward. "Kid, you're about to change how the world connects."
Peter and Gwen exchange a look across the table. Shared anticipation. They know what this means.
"Meeting adjourned," Olivia says, gathering her tablet. "I want preliminary designs on my desk by Friday."
The conference room empties out. Peter lingers by the door, still bouncing on his heels. Gwen flips a final switch on her terminal, and the holographics fade to black.
I make my way back up to the observation deck. The city sprawls below in a grid of light and shadow. My Digivice rests in my palm now, screen clear, no phantom signatures dancing across it.
Gatomon settles against my side. BlackGatomon drops from the ceiling vent with that theatrical flair she loves.
"Six months," I say aloud, more to myself than anything. "Stark Expo. Two million people walking through those doors."
BlackGatomon yawns, showing off those sharp teeth. "And you think they'll all fit in our little digital playground?"
"They will when we're done." I thumb the Digivice. The interface responds instantly, familiar and smooth. "Gwen's already cracking the encoding problem. Peter's got server loads mapped out. Tony's got resources we couldn't dream of."
The future settles over me like a second skin. Not just EDEN—something bigger. A bridge between worlds. Between what was and what could be.
"Chosen Child," Gatomon murmurs, that familiar weight of destiny in her voice.
I smile. "Not a child anymore."
The city breathes below us, alive with possibilities. Tomorrow, we build the future.
***
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