CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

"How did it go?"Glenn asked on the phone.

"I was successful."

"Really?"

"Hey, don't act surprised I can be reliable."

"You really got me worried when you called me Josh in the middle of the day. But don't you ever call me that again" He said trying to act serious.

"I know...I know you are sensitive to your middle name. I won't unless it is an emergency. I have to go, we are making the announcement in a few minutes." I said looking at the press conference that we set up for the announcement.

I was actually glad that I took the move to fire their competitive side to make them agree. We had the second option of exposing them for fraud, selling data of their clients, and drug dealing. Mentioning all of those serious allegations reminded me that I was not better than any of them since I attempted to hack a government agency and I was now plotting to expose their confidential files to the public.Maybe I was worse than them in that sense but no one is perfect.

We had all agreed to make the announcement as soon as possible. Considering DC was able to make the game in a couple of hours and there were a few final touches to be made here and there we had already achieved a huge step. The funding came immediately and since we were leveraging the popularity of the transport tubes release, the sooner the better it was for all of us to get the word out.

Patrick came in handy as he was the one who offered to prepare a simple and subtle speech for me.I owed him a huge favor and afterward promised him an all paid trip of the place of his choice.I doubt he would take the offer as he was a workaholic but it was the thought that counts.

I walked up to the podium and tried gathering my thoughts together looking at the speech.To my utter and bitter surprise, Patrick's idea of a smiple subtle speech was similar to that of a presidental address. That thing was extremely long and went on for more than three pages. It was impressive I would give him that but it was excessive to make it so long just to announce a real life a gaming tournament. I decided to fix the situation myself and come up with a clever impromptu speech which is just a recycling of many of the other speeches that I had given.

"Today, I stand before all of you to announce the first-ever Digicliff code to tournament gaming competition for both high school and university students or those within that age group."

The more I said the word tournament gaming the more I wanted to throw myself throw a window. I could feel the crowd getting second-hand embarrassment with doubts on their faces. I remained confident with what I said and only let those behind me see my nervousness.

"It is an AI-generated coding game that would be extremely difficult to beat even for me,"I said looking for their reactions

I could see a few faces finally warming up to the idea or most probably the heard the word AI and they were just interested in it even though it is not as exciting as all the news stations make it out to be. I knew no one could handle DC if he was out in the wild.

I continue my speech, "The winner of the tournament stands a chance to gain immediately paid internships and one on one training to either Digicliff, Maxima or Army's with no need of a degree or any other special qualifications but those who will desire to pursue a degree will be given a full scholarship to the university of their choice ."

Finally, with those statements, the press looked revved up and we're actually excited about the idea. Throwing Maxima and Army's names in the pot really did help bring more hype around the crowd. My plan was not that bad after all. It was also a subtle encouragement to keep pursuing the goal. I felt like a king well a king of sorts of doing an impromptu speech to a game I left my annoying computer to take care of was a king like quality then I was the king of kings.

"Mr. Mayday what will be the name of the tournament."One report asked out of nowhere.4

I looked at them and it hit me that after all the planning and holding several meetings, I realized we never named the name of the tournament. I had to come up with a clever mystical name. A name that would make everyone buzz about it. I was going through many names in my dictionary even considering different languages. It was more work than I thought it would be but I did not have hours on it and I just had to spit out anything that would come out of my mouth.

"Purpose."I blurted out in pure panic.

"The game will be called Purpose. Purpose has many meanings and one of the main goals of the tournament is to give purpose to all our young participants."I said biting my tongue with the name of the game.

That really was the best name I could come up with on the spot. I could feel Miranda and Glenn hitting their foreheads with the palm of their hands in disappointment with the name. It was not the best but it was enough to be believable. After all, once something is said we had to move on. My prayers went into people to participate even with a pathetic name like that. Or it may be the most clever name I would ever think of in my entire life. Only time could tell.

"The rules pertaining to the future tournament will be found at Digicliff's official website together with the registration. Registration is free and will begin in two days and everyone who fits the criteria will be able to apply before the end of the tournament. I urge everyone to participate and since this may open many doors of opportunity and might change your life."

There were so many people taking in unison. I could note many news reporters jolting down every possible question they would press me with. I looked at them and still nervous as ever. I could feel the sweat coming out of my glands slowly. The only thing relaxing about the situation was that everyone was interested and giving extremely promising rewards would actually encourage people to participate.

"Mr.Mayday, what is your motive with this competition?" one reporter asked.

It was as clear as day that people thought I had a second motive, which I did but I did not need the general public to know that.

"To find young talent, because from my perspective I believe that the youth should be trusted just a wee bit more and should be molded at a young age," I said truthfully with my own experience.

"What if cases of cheating occur?"Another one asked.

"We have the capability to easily catch anyone who attempts to cheat their way through the game and will be disqualified immediately."

After those first difficult questions, many questions followed. At some point, I got extremely tired answering question after question to the point my nervousness slowly vanished to discomfort. Luckily Patrick noticed and got me out of the press conference. I should have known that during press conferences the questions never end, they really ask anything.

They slowly left the building and by slowly I mean like literal sloths moving. Maybe it was my perception of time since time was relative especially in a state in which I wanted every single human being to leave me for a minute to breathe. Finally, they all left and I could feel a weight off my shoulders and I could finally rest. It was an extremely taxing day, from an all-nighter to meetings and a press conference. Those were the days I wished that I was just a shepherd who would just take his sheep to eat out in the open landscape. It was a delusional idea since I had only seen sheep on the internet and I was not really an outdoorsy person but it would be nice to dream of it.

After about a minute of regretting many of my life choices, I wanted to head back to the X-floor to even check if the game was made. I may have just announced a non-existent game to millions of people and the next day the image of the company would be tarnished. The pressure would never end even if I was the only one to blame.

As I walked back to my office, I found Patrick on the phone with a worried expression written all over his face. He was always worried but this one looked more worried than usual. Spending a lot of time with someone could really make me scale their range of emotions in seconds. He looked baffled and out of breath. I could tell by that face who was calling.

When he looked at me, he immediately handed over the phone to me like a scared child. I took the phone carefully and signaled him to rest. I could not have him fainting on the job, Glenn would make fun of him until his ears would bleed.

"Jay, are you trying to give my assistant a heart attack ?"I asked slightly aggressive.

"Cyrus, who gave you the go-ahead to hold a large-scale gaming tournament like that ?"

It was Jay on the phone one of the field agents of the executive.his job was simple .to keep a close eye on Cyrus Mayday to ensure that I did not repeat my mistake like last time. I had already accounted for the executive to be suspicious of the contest and I could easily get out of the situation without breaking a sweat

After so many questions I decided to give up.I should have known that during press conferences the questions never end.I cut the segment short and closed the conference.I found Patrick

on the phone with a worried expression written all over his face. He looked baffled and out of breath.i could tell by that face who was calling.

I asked him to hand over the phone to me, I could not have my trusted assistant fainting on the job

"Jay, are you trying to give my assistant a heart attack ?"

"Cyrus, who gave you the go-ahead to hold a large-scale contest like that ?"

"Technically it is my company, and decisions made will go through me who is the senior-most head which is me ."

"Well , Cyrus you should know your place. We would not want history to repeat itself." She said

"I am..."

"This is not a suitable method of communication, you know where to meet me. I will wait for you in the usual spot in five minutes. Kindly abide by the time."She finally said rudely hanging up on me.

"They haven't changed a bit," I said looking down on the phone.

It was Jay on the phone one of the field agents of The Executive. Her job was simple,' to keep a close eye on Cyrus Mayday', to ensure that I did not repeat my mistake like last time. I had already accounted for The Executive to be suspicious of the sudden tournament and I could easily get out of the situation without breaking a sweat. Well I may have exaggerated the point since I had already proved I was a bloody sweaty mess but I could handle the situation without needing a change of a shirt.