Overlooking the vast and dusty landscape, a sense of achievement welled up inside me. A few weeks after my meeting with Mr. Booker, I found myself marvelling at an ongoing construction project, nested in the middle of nowhere. The site was busy with workers feeding materials into a remarkable machine, our pride, and the cornerstone of ASURA Corporation's construction arm: the fabricator.
The Fabricator was a behemoth, a testament to the prowess of our technology. With an imposing structure, it featured a huge tray that accepted raw materials, connected to a conveyer belt that hoisted these inputs to its top. Its role was to process and transform them, producing components for construction with a level of precision that was unmatched in the industry.
But what truly made it a marvel was its ability to create out of seemingly nothing. It could take something as ordinary and abundant as dirt and transform it into valuable materials for construction. Its internal workings involved a series of complex processes, including disassembling the molecular structure of dirt and then reassembling it into the necessary components. The efficiency and speed at which the fabricator could do this was nothing short of miraculous.
The machine, both innovative and lucrative, had attracted the attention of rival companies. Failed attempts at replication had led to desperate measures, including attempts at theft. However, all such ventures had ended in vain, with the would-be thieves awakening miles away from the site, completely lost and disoriented.
Watching the construction team diligently feeding the fabricator, I couldn't help but feel satisfied. My satisfaction, however, was short-lived. The earpiece that connected me to the corporation crackled to life, notifying me that the person I had been expecting had arrived in the vicinity.
I climbed into the backseat of a waiting car, leaving the mesmerising sight of the construction project behind. A twenty-minute drive later, we passed by a gate. The sign affixed to it read, "Property of ASURA Corporation. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Stay clear at all times." The sign, in its simple way, marked the territory we had conquered and were about to transform.
"Is it to your liking, master?" Sebastian's voice broke through my contemplation. I paused in the middle of taking a sip from my water bottle to throw a glare at him through the rear-view mirror. His laughter filled the car, echoing against the silent backdrop of the open plains. "Forgive me, Master," he said between chuckles, "but I had told you that when it is just you and I, I will assume my proper role as your steward."
My silent reprimand lessened, and I turned my gaze to the landscape stretching before us. We passed another sign, this one displaying the distance to nearby towns. 'Port Augusta 280 KM' it read, setting the course for the next phase of our journey, the next stepping stone in our path to a future brimming with possibilities.