Season 3 chapter 96
The Ghosts of Failure
Kniya and Malesh arrived at the control console, practically vibrating with excitement as they looked at the massive new reactor.
"Sir, the new reactor is officially completed," Shuntesh announced, a massive, proud smile on his face. "And now, we can finally test it."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Kniya cheered, pointing at the heavy brass ignition switch. "Hit the button, Shuntesh!"
Shuntesh raised his hand, hovering his trembling finger over the brass button.
But right as he was about to press it, his brain violently stalled. A massive, suffocating flashback hijacked his vision. He suddenly saw the blinding blue light turning into an angry crimson red. He heard the deafening, bone-shattering BOOM of the iron casing blowing outward. He felt the phantom heat of the liquid slag melting his first 500-billion-credit prototype into a puddle of useless ash.
His hand began to shake violently. The absolute terror of failing these two men again completely paralyzed him.
Seeing the sheer panic taking over his lead researcher, Kniya immediately stepped forward and slapped Shuntesh firmly on the back.
"Hey, man, don't sound so depressed!" Kniya encouraged loudly, his chaotic energy cutting straight through the anxiety. "We are going to create the ultimate revolution! Drop the history! Whatever happened in the past is dead! Start the fucking reactor and let the energy flow!"
The Twelve-Second Triumph
Bolstered by Kniya's absolute, unyielding confidence, Shuntesh gritted his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and slammed his hand down onto the brass ignition switch.
VMMMM... VMMMMM...
The deep, rhythmic mechanical thrumming echoed through the laboratory. Inside the heavy isolation chamber, the massive reactor began to spool up. The heavy gears locked into place with terrifying force. A bright, blinding blue light emanated from the core, illuminating the newly forged composite alloy. Hissing sounds erupted as high-pressure steam violently vented from the primary cooling pipes.
Shuntesh held his breath, staring at the pressure gauges.
One second. Two seconds. Four seconds.
The pressure inside the core skyrocketed, compressing the highly unstable Fisluation sand. The heat index climbed to a level that had instantly vaporized the previous machine.
Eight seconds. Ten seconds.
The composite alloy held perfectly. The blue light stabilized into a beautiful, steady, blinding beam of limitless, raw energy. The gauges peaked and locked into the green zone. It was working. It was actually working.
Twelve seconds.
CRACK.
A microscopic sound, barely audible over the roaring machinery, echoed from the base of the primary containment unit. The brand-new, hyper-resistant alloy had survived the kinetic pressure, and it had survived the thermal heat. But it could not survive the highly corrosive, acidic byproduct of the burning Fisluation sand.
CLACK-CLACK-SCREEEEECH!
Thick, highly toxic black smoke violently erupted from the top vents of the machine. The steady blue light instantly flashed into a terrifying, unstable crimson red.
"Down!" Malesh roared, grabbing Kniya by the collar and dragging him behind the reinforced concrete barricade.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive, deafening explosion shattered the laboratory. The reinforced geometric plates of the second reactor violently blew outward, sending a massive shockwave of heat and heavy black smoke across the room. The core of the machine instantly reached critical failure, melting down completely. Glowing, super-heated liquid slag poured out of the shattered chassis, pooling onto the concrete floor with a violent, hissing sizzle.
The Capitalist Intervention
The heavy black smoke slowly cleared.
Shuntesh Hawada fell to his knees in the dirt. His eyes were wide, completely devoid of life. His mind entirely shattered into a million irreparable pieces.
I did it again, his internal monologue whispered in pure, suffocating agony. I destroyed it again. I wasted another five hundred billion credits. I am completely incompetent. I am a fraud. I am a failure.
The absolute devastation completely stripped Shuntesh of his own internal peace. The unbearable weight of disappointing the only two people who had ever believed in him was too much for his brain to process.
His hollow eyes slowly darted to the side. Lying in the dust just three feet away was a massive, incredibly sharp, heavy iron pipe that had been blown off the scaffolding during the blast.
Driven by pure, blinding despair, Shuntesh lunged forward. He aggressively grabbed the heavy iron pipe, raising it high above his head with both hands, fully intending to bring the jagged metal violently down onto his own skull and end his miserable life right there on the concrete.
But before the metal could even begin its descent, a hand shot out with terrifying, lightning-fast reflexes and violently snatched the pipe right out of the air.
Kniya stood over him, holding the heavy iron pipe with one hand.
"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!" Kniya yelled, waving the heavy metal in Shuntesh's face. "This is a really expensive, custom-machined pipe! Do not waste it by smashing it against your thick skull!"
The Value of Life
Malesh stepped out from behind the concrete barricade, aggressively dusting the thick, toxic ash off his tailored coat. He looked at Kniya, letting out a long, deeply exhausted sigh.
"Ah, Kniya, how much of an idiot are you?" Malesh criticized flatly, shaking his head. "Don't be capitalistic right now, even though you are actively trying not to be. Read the room."
Malesh walked over, completely ignoring the bubbling pool of liquid slag, and stood directly in front of the kneeling, weeping researcher. Shuntesh was violently trembling, clutching his head in absolute despair.
"I ruined it..." Shuntesh sobbed uncontrollably, refusing to look up. "I just burned five hundred billion credits of your liquid capital in a single afternoon. I destroyed the prototypes. I destroyed your trust. I am a complete failure... I deserve to die for this!"
Malesh's deadpan mask softened into a look of absolute, highly serious authority.
"Shuntesh, this was a really bad act of yours," Malesh lectured quietly, his voice carrying a heavy, undeniable weight. "Trying to do that to yourself is unacceptable. Well... we all know that the reactor blasted again. And me and Kniya... we are absolutely not laughing this time."
Malesh paused, glancing out of the corner of his eye. Kniya was actively biting his own lip, his shoulders shaking slightly as he aggressively tried to suppress a highly inappropriate chuckle regarding the sheer absurdity of the explosion.
"Well, Kniya has chuckles, I know that," Malesh sighed, shaking his head in pure exhaustion. "I don't know why he is always like that. I am trying to be serious and calm myself down, even though I also got a massive burst of adrenaline in my brain. But listen to me, Shuntesh. Do not worry about the money."
Malesh knelt down slightly, locking his dark eyes directly onto Shuntesh's tear-streaked face.
"This thing is not important," Malesh stated with absolute, unyielding conviction. "The five hundred billion credits? We will make it back. But it is absolutely not as important as your fucking life. Just have this thing completely locked in your mind right now. Do not ever risk your fucking life for this small, useless fucking machine."
Kniya, having finally swallowed his laughter, immediately chimed in. He marched forward and aggressively pointed the heavy iron pipe at Shuntesh.
"Yeah, bro!" Kniya agreed passionately, his chaotic corporate energy entirely taking over. "Listen to him! If you die right now, the biological matter from your head would completely spoil this premium iron rod! This is custom-forged, high-carbon Kavilson steel! It would actively erode the metal, and then the pipe would get totally wasted! Plus, do you have any idea how much a specialized hazmat cleanup crew costs to scrub brain matter off a laboratory floor?! It is an unauthorized expense! It is a massive financial liability!"
Malesh slowly closed his eyes, aggressively rubbing his temples in pure frustration.
"What the fuck am I even talking with?" Malesh groaned, glaring at his best friend. "You are actively calculating the depreciation value of a metal pipe over a human suicide. Well, I definitely think, Kniya, that you are a complete psychopath who only thinks of the fucking money."
Kniya completely ignored Malesh's great, moral speech. He simply tossed the iron pipe back onto the workbench with a loud clatter, whistling a cheerful tune. He didn't want to show his genuine emotions. He didn't want to admit that seeing Shuntesh try to harm himself had genuinely terrified him. For Kniya, wrapping his care in twisted, highly specific capitalistic humor was the only way he knew how to show that he actually gave a damn.
The Sunk Cost Pep Talk
Shuntesh slowly wiped his face with his soot-stained sleeve, still completely overwhelmed by guilt. He looked at the smoking crater that used to be the third prototype.
"But sir..." Shuntesh stammered, his voice breaking. "The absolute financial loss... it is mathematically unjustifiable. You cannot legally fund me anymore. Any rational board of directors would completely terminate this project."
Kniya aggressively turned around, his eyes locking onto Shuntesh with pure, unfiltered corporate intensity.
"Listen to me, Shuntesh! Do you know what the 'Sunk Cost Fallacy' is?" Kniya demanded loudly, completely hijacking the emotional moment to deliver a psychotic business lecture. "It is a pathetic economic theory made up by weak, cowardly bureaucrats who are terrified of spending money! They say that if you lose a billion credits, you should stop spending! But we are Kavilson Steel! We do not stop!"
Kniya marched over, jabbing a finger toward the melted reactor.
"We have already poured nearly a trillion credits into this exact crater!" Kniya calculated aggressively, his voice echoing in the destroyed lab. "If you quit right now and die of depression, I legally lose trillions pf credits! That is a negative 100% return on investment! But if you build a fourth reactor, I only lose another 500 billion, and we might eventually make several trillions from it! Mathematically speaking, your depression is actively bankrupting my future assets! You are literally not authorized to give up!"
Malesh let out a slow, exhausted breath, completely tired of translating his best friend's unhinged brain.
"What Kniya is aggressively trying to say, Shuntesh," Malesh deadpanned, placing a reassuring hand on the researcher's shoulder, "is that we still believe in you. Your raw ability is undeniable. The telemetry is improving every single time. We are completely rejecting the concept of termination. We are going to find the liquid capital, and you are going to build the fourth prototype."
Shuntesh stared at the two billionaires. A fresh wave of tears hit his eyes, but this time, they weren't tears of despair. It was profound, absolute gratitude. They had just lost half a trillion credits in a catastrophic explosion, and their immediate response was to threaten him with corporate logic just to keep him alive and working on his dream.
"I..." Shuntesh breathed out, finally pushing himself up off the concrete floor. His scientific resolve snapped back into place. "I will not fail you again, sir. I promise you."
"Great! Glad we solved your little crying session!" Kniya dismissed cheerfully, instantly bored now that the emotional crisis was resolved.
Without waiting for another word, Kniya completely wandered off. Entirely ignoring the lingering emotional weight of the moment, the Managing Director casually strolled toward the smoking, completely melted ruins of the containment chamber to poke around the debris.