Before being appointed as the manager of the TESO2 factory, Hianyan had been forced to kill his eldest brother, divorce his wife, engage in sexual relations with a few politicians, and worst of all, fawn over a man named Labiba.
In his time, Labiba held considerable importance within the END99141 colony. Labiba was the flesh-and-blood example of how sycophancy could get a person places. The fact that he could manage a massive factory while his unqualified, warped body could barely sit upright was directly proportional to how well he licked Orvain Ashengine's boots.
Of course, in the beginning, no one knew who Labiba really was. When TESO's first factory opened and its manager was someone else, everyone knew Labiba as a very hardworking TESO staff member. In fact, some staff members, hearing that he would be appointed as the manager of the first TESO factory on this planet, rejoiced at being rid of their foolish former manager; they assumed that a manager they had heard was hardworking would value labor. This illusion of Labiba's lasted until the opening of the TESO2 factory.
The opening of TESO2 and all other factories on this planet was not a choice for the Terraforming Solutions company, but a necessity. Terraforming Solutions was losing so much money and blood that this company, which had shown no growth for centuries, had to stop insisting on expansion, close its businesses, and downsize. If it was to open a factory, these establishments had to be cheap operations that merely used the TESO name as a brand, rather than high-tech, expensive ones. That was why the facility where Hianyan was the production manager had been closed, and they had kept deceiving Hianyan with the promise that a TESO factory would be opened in END99141 instead.
Yes... at that time, nearly a century ago, approximately 81,270 people had been laid off. Hianyan was one of those people. No matter how much the people fired from the TESO factory tried to seek their rights through legal means, no one responded. Because everyone knew: people low enough to work in a TESO factory were useless people... Of course, not everyone was useless. For instance, Hianyan was a quality engineer who could have produced groundbreaking theses at several universities. But because of the company's reputation in the eyes of the public, both TESO and those working at TESO were people whose rights were not even worth defending. Hianyan had worked at TESO because TESO gave him the highest salary... In fact, he often received even more than he deserved. This was TESO's policy. It silenced people with money and kept them within the company.
Unemployment hadn't harmed Hianyan much. He had plenty of saved money and could get by with it for a long time. Because of that cursed immortality, he would eventually need money, but perhaps he could find a job by then.
Although unemployment hadn't been able to harm Hianyan, if there was one thing his unemployment truly harmed, it was his wife. Hianyan thought they should cut back on their spending just in case, despite having money. His wife, who had fitted herself with expensive cybernetic modules, accused him of being paranoid and interpreted his not looking for a job as laziness. While this argument was small at first, it grew significantly later on. Hianyan even had to see a psychologist for a long time because he sometimes couldn't bear the pressure his wife put on him. In the end, it wasn't Hianyan who filed for divorce, but his wife. The court found Hianyan—who wouldn't give money to his wife—guilty of domestic mobbing, and for this reason, Hianyan paid a heavy settlement. Thus, they were forced to divorce.
Having lost most of his money, Hianyan was hired by his brother, who worked at TESO but hadn't been fired because he was good at sycophancy. Hianyan, who had worked as an engineer for years, came to the factory in Uruzen City—which would later become the main TESO factory—as a procurement specialist under Labiba's leadership.
At first, the job wasn't bad because he was truly desperate for it. Due to the settlement he gave his wife, he would have barely any money left to maintain his cybernetic modules, and a large percentage of deaths occurred due to lack of maintenance. A mechanical part malfunctioning out of nowhere could be fatal. Therefore, he had to work, he had to earn money.
Later, he began to realize how shitty his job was. Whatever he tried to purchase, he hit a wall of politics. When he hit politics, he had to go and bribe a few officials, and whenever he dealt with bribery, he would sweat with stress. When the products he bought wouldn't pass through customs, he went and tried to persuade people. To deliver the products he bought to END99141 on time, he constantly bothered his acquaintances at the Interstellar Trade Agency; he lived and breathed with them.
In short, his job was quite shitty. It involved no engineering, required no use of intellect, and had no respect for personal time. Since he was a cybernetic, he could neither close his eyes nor fall asleep except when he was charging. Some cybernetics preferred to sleep when their minds were very tired. Hianyan also came from this tradition, but he didn't know when he had last slept other than to charge, and a week was usually enough for a cybernetic to charge.
Later, he noticed this situation and sought venues to express his discomfort. But even his brother, who had hired him, thought these complaints were spoiled and accused him of being soft.
One day, he caught the chance to have a long conversation with Labiba. Labiba shared the secret that the TESO2 factory would be opened in Calos City and that a manager needed to be appointed there. The reason Labiba shared this was obvious: to increase competition.
Hianyan's brother was one of the favorite candidates for the new factory. But Hianyan's brother had made no extra effort to be so favored. According to TESO traditions, if a manager was to be appointed to a newly opened factory, it would be one of the production managers, and at that moment, the only production manager at the TESO factory in Uruzen City was Hianyan's brother. Therefore, no one wanted to enter the competition for this new 'throne.' Except for Hianyan, who knew how sycophantic and yet unqualified his brother was...
Upon learning of this new managership, he began to fawn over Labiba. This sycophancy started with simple praise and then went as far as meeting Labiba's personal needs. He wiped that mutant-bodied, warped creature's sweaty body with his own hands after some meetings; if he soiled himself, he cleaned the excrement with his hands. Labiba seemed to take pleasure in this for a long time, as if in mockery.
As a result of all this sycophancy and hard work, a few weeks before it was announced who the general manager of the new factory would be, a rumor reached Hianyan's ear. According to the rumor, his brother would be the new general manager. He loved his brother, but his brother didn't need this. If anyone needed it, it was Hianyan, and his brother would likely receive this situation with understanding. Hianyan went to his office one day to tell his brother to withdraw.
His brother was chatting with many SWR officials amidst laughter. In short, he was pursuing some sycophancy again. His brother invited Hianyan to the table as well. Hianyan met a few SWR officials there. Not officials belonging to the 12 agencies of the SWR, but officials loyal directly to the SWR itself. One of the officials was a cybersecurity expert, one dealt with accounting... and one was in the military. But there was one more man besides the officials: Haim Lehstorm, the general manager of the Dermovox Xenobiology Science Facility.
He met Doctor Haim Lehstorm there. Despite being a cybernetic himself, he was someone who yearned to become a Neo-human. In fact, according to what he told, he trusted his facility so much that he would merge his brain with the facility and connect himself to it. Even if he was to become a Neo-human, it would be for the facility.
He met many officials that day. These were important officials. Thus, Hianyan formed some friendships in a political context.
Haim Lehstorm had come to say that the robots in his facility were constantly malfunctioning. He mentioned that the repair kits they bought from firms like Evoke Systems etc. could not find a solution to these malfunctions; in fact, they sometimes caused their robots to behave strangely. Under the supervision of those three officials, they were going to sign a business contract. TESO1 would produce special kits for them.
"Lately..." Hianyan's brother had said. "...your facility is not being spoken of very well, dear Lehstorm."
"I understand perfectly what you mean," the broad-shouldered man had said. He reached for his tie and adjusted its tip. He was sitting deeply reclined in the chair. "Ronald Coldwer is no more. Our company has passed to an investor named Dante Shade. We are now doing more traceable business."
"I heard that Dante Shade left no humans in the facility," the cybersecurity official interrupted. "A facility consisting only of robots, isn't that very interesting?"
"Shade thinks there is no element in the facility that requires humans," said Lehstorm.
"Or he doesn't want humans working because he's hiding something."
"Come on... don't be like that..." Lehstorm said, grimacing. "You know Dante Shade is a mercenary working for the SWR."
"Wasn't your old boss, Ronald Coldwer, himself the head of the Agency for Cosmic Innovation and Scientific Development at the time, huh?" said the security guard official. He was walking around the room, playing with the hologram pot in the middle of the room. "A traitor is a traitor," he said with a terrifying smile. He adjusted the military beret on his head and said: "That facility was created to make weapons against the SWR. The person who founded that facility was a traitor who put his passion for colonialism (as he said this, his face shriveled with great disgust) before his passion for the great republic that nurtured him, truly valued him, and made him a man. A traitor!"
"The interstellar war ended years ago, gentlemen... there isn't even a trace of war left. Are there any colonies left? Is there any war left? All these were things that happened during the war... You're talking about things that happened 104 years ago."
"Since the discovery of immortality, centuries are now just years, my dear friend," said the accountant. "Dante Shade allowed everyone in the facility to leave after making them at least Enhanced, right? A facility controlled by robots... They say Dante Shade himself is silent... The fact that a facility for which he arranged such a large budget is this silent makes me quite suspicious."
"If you truly have doubts, Bioethics Oversight Inspectors can come and investigate," said Lehstorm. "I don't see a problem."
"Let them fix their own asses first," said the cybersecurity official, and all the officials began laughing together. "Their damn agency is in a constant state of chaos due to corruption... But if you noticed," he said, pointing to his friends with his hands. "You should say this to Agency Officials, not to simple officials like us. You should perform your show there, not here."
"This isn't a show... I'm speaking the truth."
"Ah... please let's take a break from the argument, friends," said Hianyan's brother. Out of the corner of his eye, he was looking at Hianyan, who had just entered through the door and was waiting in the corner of the room. "This friend of ours is aware of how grave and suspicious his situation is. If he weren't aware, he wouldn't have come to TESO among so many firms. Look, doctor, I believe you. But belief is sometimes not worth taking the risk. If you add 10% on top..." He paused and thought for a while. "Yes... you add 10% more, and this offer becomes acceptable to me."
Haim Lehstorm, having secured the deal at a price far above his expectations, looked quite miserable as he left the room with his head bowed. This was a simple strategy. Whenever Hianyan's brother was going to talk business, he would call these three official friends and put psychological pressure on the man he was going to talk business with. Especially if the man they were going to talk to was such a passive man... After all, no one could easily raise their voice or oppose three SWR officials.
With Lehstorm's departure from the room, drinks emerged from under the tables once again, and people began to consume their alcohol thirstily. That night, after having fun with his brother's friends for a while, Hianyan told his brother for the first time that he would be a candidate for TESO2. His brother's reaction was different than he expected. A small nod and a wish of luck...
Hianyan had been wrong to think his brother's reaction would be this. His brother suddenly began spreading rumors about Hianyan, doing whatever he could to defame him. Although Hianyan offered to talk with his brother, his brother wouldn't even listen. It was as if merely expressing his desire to be a candidate was enough to make Hianyan an enemy. Hianyan's work began to falter, some officials stopped connecting with him, and a large part of his job was with customs officials. His brother's frantic attacks on Hianyan began to create a great paranoia in Hianyan.
At the same time, he was working frantically, fulfilling Labiba's strange requests, and dealing with his brother's slanders. At the same time, he had to pay his wife's alimony... In fact, one of his brother's officials offered to let Hianyan's product pass through customs if Hianyan slept with him; Hianyan was forced to sell his body just to not lose his job. That was the last straw... One night, while talking contentiously with his brother, he threw him into a shredder. While his brother's body was being torn apart inside the machine and Hianyan was covered in blood, he just watched. Hianyan even felt as if his brother, struggling inside the machine, was still saying something to him; as if he still wouldn't shut his mouth.
He had made many plans for that night. It was seen as just a workplace accident. Anyway, there were constantly people dying from workplace accidents in TESO factories.
And when the election approached, the manager of the TESO2 factory became Hianyan. Labiba had given him this rank... perhaps because he was saddened by his brother's death... who could know? But if one thing was known, it was that no one wanted Hianyan to be the TESO2 manager. Especially Nagara, that man who was a member of the management of Terraforming Solutions and worked in the management at the factory in Uruzen... That man didn't want it.
Therefore, the construction of the factory had been quite painful. To minimize this painful process, Hianyan had received help from a few Calosian locals. The grandchildren of these locals would live on the top floor of the Calosians and would be known as the manager Calosians. These helping locals were of the lineage of Calmo and Tita.
"Master Hianyan!" the secretary said with great haste. Hianyan reached for his ear and began to play with the audio settings to suppress that sound coming to his ears with a loud ringing.
"What happened, secretary?" he shouted. "I see you're quite excited for an AI!"
"Sir, there has been a moment of chaos... everything... everything has turned into a mess."
"What does that mean, secretary?"
"Bolver is dead..."
Hianyan was watching the sun from a balcony above the clouds. Being able to see the sun on this planet was a blessing. These words of the secretary must have disturbed him, as he began to click the pen in his hand repeatedly. "Bolver is dead?"
"One of the robots went to Bolver's office and found his mangled body. Then, when the camera records were examined, we learned that this man, whom we think is an SWR citizen, committed the murder. First he talked with the Calosians, maybe he's trying to prepare an uprising, then he followed Bolver and killed him. Now he is in a clash with our robots..." Images of the man came before Hianyan's eyes one after another. "We scanned the man's face on the Net, but we couldn't find anyone. The man didn't just kill Bolver, he also tore apart other robots. This nonsense committed by this SWR citizen has cost us 6 robots."
"Where is he now?" Hianyan asked. At that moment, holograms began to come before his eyes one after another. This stranger was in constant clash with robots. It was as if he was pursuing putting the entire facility into chaos. While tourists were getting into their vehicles and leaving one after another, and robots were rushing toward the lower floors, that man had taken his guard, waiting for his next prey. "As I understand it, this man is an Enhanced and what's in his hand is a weapon... Isn't it impossible to bring a weapon into this facility? Is there a regulation that has changed?"
"No sir, no regulation has changed. We have no idea where he found the weapons." At that moment, in the camera records in Hianyan's eye, one of the robots was in a clash with this Enhanced. The Enhanced emerged from behind the container he was hiding behind and tore the robot to pieces by firing repeatedly. "We also examined the cameras, sir. Before being killed, Bolver talked with Nagara." At that moment, images came one after another. Nagara talking with the briefcase in his hand. "The eavesdropper of these conversations is that Enhanced man. What do you want us to do with that man?"
"Don't kill him, knock him out and bring him to me."
At that moment, the door of the elevator that would take him to the top floor opened. "Because I have a very important guest right now."