Rama was waiting when they gathered below decks, sitting at the end of a large wooden table in the crew quarters. The boat continued to travel through the fog, though Jacob spotted no one else onboard. It appeared to be set on some form of autopilot, which likely engaged as soon as they had gotten far enough out to sea. The ocean was quiet as they traveled, with the water lightly swaying under them. The fog never lifted, traveling with them as it got further and further from land. Shortly after casting off Rama had instructed them to meet her below decks at this time, refusing to say why. The woman seemed to thrive on riddles and mystery, a fact which didn’t surprise Jacob in the slightest.
“The sails are full, the sea awaits, to uncharted waters we go.” Rama smiled at the group, breaking the silence. “But before we get there, we must prepare for our voyage.”
Rama reached a hand into her sea coat, and pulled a silver card out of an inside pocket. The card appeared nearly identical to the invite they each had found, differing mainly in coloration and lack of text. Instead of words, the card appeared to be printed with the silver image of a key on both sides. Rama placed it on the table, and silver lines started racing across the wooden surface. The lines coalesced into the thin and minute letters of a contract, with text so small it was nearly unreadable.
“What you’ll see, none others have seen. What you’ll hear none others have heard.” Rama said cryptically, smiling at the group “And I would like it to stay that way. My factory is full of secrets; secrets that could ruin me if they were released. Before you can further, you must agree to this.”
“And what exactly is this?” The timid voice of Veronica’s father piped in. The small man leaned forward, trying his hardest to read the contract. Jacob had almost forgotten that Veronica’s adopted family consisted entirely of lawyers. He smirked a bit; the timid man didn’t meet the reputation of the family, which was known for being vicious in the courtroom.
“Just a standard contract.” Rama replied evenly “Nothing I’m sure you’re not used to. Boilerplate indemnity and non-disclosure.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“I’m sure you will.” Rama looked away from the man at the rest of the group “Feel free to read as much of the contract as you need, but know we reach our destination in less than 10 minutes. Anybody who has not agreed, will not continue.”
The small man leaned over the contract, reading it as fast as he could. Beside him Veronica rolled her eyes impatiently.
“Think our governments would be ok with us signing that?” Stan whispered softly into Jacob’s ear. The actor had stuck to Jacob like glue ever since seeing the party from Paraguay frozen on the docks.
“No, but they’d be angrier if we didn’t go on” Jacob whispered back. He looked over at Rama, who sat watching all of them patiently. A light smile was on her face, and Jacob was tempted to equip his Insight of Soul. Rama looked at him, almost as if she knew what he was thinking. The moment she locked eyes with him Jacob knew it would be a bad idea. He didn’t know how, but she would know he was using it.
“What happens if we break this contract?” Jacob said carefully, keeping Rama’s gaze.
“I wouldn’t recommend that you do.” she replied. The small man looked up at her, frowned, then immediately continued reading “While you are in the factory, you are my guests. Break the contract, and you stop being my guests.”
“And how can we avoid breaking something we barely have time to read?” the small man muttered “Sounds like entrapment to me, good luck enforcing that in a court.”
“Rules of the tour are in section 4, subsection 12.” Rama pressed a hand to the silver card, and a portion of the contract started glowing. “I suggest you all read that part carefully.”
Jacob and the others around the table leaned forward, squinting to read the tiny text:
S4, Sub12: RULES AND CONDITIONS FOR ACCESS TO, AND OBSERVANCE OF, WONDER CORPORATION FACTORY FACILITIES
All parties which are subject to and in accordance with this agreement, either now or in perpetuity, or in a temporary period for any portion of time past, present, or future in any nation, realm, territory or world shall uphold for the duration of their subjection to this agreement the following terms and conditions; whereupon they violate and or knowingly disregard the terms and conditions of this document they shall forfeit any and all privileged knowledge, personal gain, and prizes obtained prior to and during the violation and/or knowing disregard of the following specified guidelines:
a) Parties subject to this agreement shall not knowingly or unknowingly disclose any and all information, creations, ideas, or vague ideations from Wonder Corp, its founder, its workers, or its created beings to any other party without express permission from all parties subject to and privy to the agreement that has been formally agreed upon.
b) Parties subject to this agreement shall not commit corporate sabotage, corporate theft, corporate negligence, corporate malfeasance, and/or corporate frippery while subject to and agreeing upon this agreement.
c) Parties to this agreement shall not observe, take, ponder, or inquire into areas or inventions not expressly discussed in viewing, observing, touring, or utilizing Wonder Corp. facilities while directly in accordance with terms and conditions of this agreement
d) Parties subject to this agreement may appeal any process, procedure, grievance, concern, or other discontent with results and penalties levied upon the dissolution or breakage of this contract via organized card match with a Wonder Corp. representative of the company’s choice.
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The writing faded to back to silver just after Jacob finished it, and the winners leaned back into their seats The legalese seemed to be burdened with a significant degree of nonsense; Jacob had no idea how things such as vague ideations would be determined in a civil court, or what corporate frippery even meant. He had a nervous pit in his stomach that the contract would haunt him later, but he had little choice. He doubted the consequences signing were greater than National Intelligence’s response to him refusing the tour.
“How do we sign?” Jacob’s asked quietly
“Both you and your guest must place your Invite Card on the table.” Rama replied, a re-assuring tone in her voice “Do so, and your signatures will appear.”
“It seems like we don’t have much of a choice.” Jacob kept his voice low while talking to his grandfather, trying to avoid being overheard. The others around the table started muttering amongst themselves, likely having similar conversations.
“No, we don’t.” His grandfather said nearly silently “And we have everything to lose.”
Jacob nodded and tapped his deck box. The box dispensed the invite card, and Jacob considered it for a moment. There was a chiming sound, and Jacob looked up to see Veronica’s card on the table. She was holding the small man’s hand to it by force, while she smiled brutally at the rest of them. Two thin signatures appeared below the contract in silver.
“The contract-” the small man was interrupted by a warning look from Veronica so foul it could raise the dead. The small man gulped, then looked at Rama “Should be fine. The courts can figure out if it’s enforceable.”
Rama studied Veronica curiously “I see you know what you want, and will do whatever is necessary to get it.”
Next to Veronica Jacob caught Kerl and his mother place their invite on the table silently, followed closely by ViolaKu and Amaryllis. The Germans nodded at Rama, who nodded back. Two chimes sounded as their signatures appeared. Jacob looked at his grandfather, and the old man placed his hand on the card. The two of them raised the invite and placed it on the table, the small chime announcing their agreement. Jacob was sure there were plenty of clauses in the contract that would terrify him in the long run, but he could think of nothing that would compare to the wrath of National Intelligence. He was trapped between an unknown contract and an unknown punishment, just like all the other winners. Their fates were in the hands of the mysterious woman at the front of the table, a woman who had led a company for 50 years without aging a day.
There was a final chime, and Jacob looked over to see that Stan and his wife had quietly placed their card on the table. Stan shrugged, struggling to hide his own discomfort as his signature joined everyone else’s below the contract. Jacob nodded re-assuringly at the man, then looked to Rama. She gazed over the winners for a moment, then removed her card from the table. The contract faded away, returning the surface to its plain appearance.
“We are almost to our first stop.” Rama said, rising to her feet “Though I cannot let you off this ship unprepared. What you will see in our first destination is magical. And to see magic, you must hold it.”
Rama flicked her coat over the table then removed it. Where it had covered the surface 5 small stacks of cards were sitting.
“Magic you must now take on faith.” Rama started handing the stacks to each winner as she spoke, giving Jacob his last “You may look at the cards later, but you cannot do so now. Consider this as both a gift and an instruction. Some cards must be trusted as they are, and given the faith they deserve.”
“Are we going to have to use them?” Stan asked nervously, his suave demeanor slipping slightly.
“You are entering a card factory, Mr. Wilcox.” Rama bore her gaze into him, then turned to address the last part of her statement to Jacob “Everyone who completes my tour will leave knowing them. Trust the cards in your hand, and they will teach you. Trust them implicitly, and they will deliver you.”
Jacob raised an eyebrow and placed the cards into his deck box. He looked up and saw the others do the same. Stan hesitated for a moment, then tucked the cards into his pocket. He alone of the winners wasn’t wearing a deck box, with even Kerl thinking to bring one. Whether it was intentional or an oversight was unknown to Jacob, who noticed the actor’s distinct discomfort at the cards. Was Stan afraid of the cards? Was his refusal to use them in acting because of that? Or was there something deeper, a traumatic event that made him disregard them? There was nothing in his file about any notable incidents, but that didn’t mean nothing had happened.
There was a sudden jolt aboard the ship, followed by a large scraping sound. Jacob and the other winners jumped in their seats a bit.
“What was that? What’s going on? Did we hit something? Are we sinking? What’s happening? Explain yourself. If I’m hurt…” The voices of the other winners rose over each other in a panic, as everyone began talking at once. Jacob glanced over at Rama, who was unphased. She saw Jacob’s look and smiled, before standing up.
“Our first stop awaits.” Rama looked past the group at the open entryway to the main deck. Jacob followed her gaze, and saw the fog begin to part outside. A shadow fell over the entryway, and Jacob glanced at his grandfather. The old man was staring intently at the entryway, as was everyone else. Jacob stood up, and slowly walked towards the main deck. He climbed up the stairs to emerge from the cabin and stood in shock. He didn't say a word, even as he felt the others walk up to join him
Their vessel had pulled into a massive hanger, with a large entrance through which Jacob could see the ocean. Every wall was covered in riveted metal and steel beams, with the space clearly being built for utility over beauty. The small boat was the only vessel within, but Jacob could tell there was room for several more. Around the room small machines moved and whirred, robots of every shape and size welding, cleaning, and tying down the ship’s lines. There was a sound, and Jacob turned his head to see a giant ramp raising, sealing up the entrance to the sea. There was a clang as the ramp shut fully, then a scraping and hissing sound. Jacob saw a series of pneumatic bolts, each bigger than the size of a full grown man slowly locking into place, sealing the room.
“Are we there?” Kerl said softly “Is this the factory?”
“There are more ways to go, my friends.” The group turned at the sound of Rama above them. She was back in the small cockpit, tying a line around the ship's wheel “But we'll be getting there in style. Everybody off!”
A robot pulled a metal staircase up to the side of the boat, latching it on so the passengers could de-board. Stan shrugged next to Jason, and moved to to the stairs. He helped his wife onto them, then began walking down. Jacob glanced at Rama, who looked back at him stoically.
“Well I suppose if she wanted to kill us,” He said under his breath to his grandfather “she would have done it by now”
“Maybe she's building the suspense” the old man replied. His grandfather began moving towards the stairs and Jacob quickly joined him, the two walking down the rickety metal. A robot stood at the bottom, and gestured to an area a few feet away where Stan and his wife waited. Jacob and his Grandfather moved to join them, watching as the other winners disembarked. The last to leave was Kerl, who was talking excitedly to his mother as he did. Rama stood on deck for a moment looking down on them, then dramatically leapt off it. This time she didn't somersault through the air, instead choosing to lightly land on her feet. Jacob raised an eyebrow. A large klaxon sounded throughout the hanger, and the entire structure jerked forward.
“Are we moving?” Veronica called out. Somehow she seemed to tinge every word with scorn, a skill Jacob distinctly hated.
“We're submerging.” Rama smiled at the group, and held out an arm to gesture around the space “welcome, to the WCS Caesarion the pride of the Wonder Corp. Fleet. If you'll all follow me, I'll lead you to your cabins.”
Rama began walking down the hanger, and Jacob took another look around. It took him a moment before the truth finally dawned on him.
They weren't on another ship.
They were on a submarine.
And it was diving.
you promised duels, where are the duels? Foreshadowing isn’t as interesting as epic and amazing duels, but it is important for the card use that is on its way. In this world, losing a duel could result in you losing your life. There are real consequences to every loss, and in this factory tour there are also strict rules. Break those rules, and misery follows. Some of that misery occurs in 2-3 chapters from now, when we start our very first official match, using official tournament rules - a match which will likely last two chapters given how it is currently playing out in drafts.
will be deckbuilding in the next chapter. Some readers mentioned liking card strategy and the act of building a deck as well, and I saw an opportunity while working on my drafts to place an emphasis on that in the next chapter. Not all of our characters in this story are casters, but like Rama said, class is in session.
is a very heavily inspired Wonka book. Every book in the series has an inspiration that drives it, or a direct retelling it is trying to portray. If that’s not your flavor I totally understand, might I recommend one of Slugworth’s candies. That will mean that much of this story is similar, but I hope you’ll stick around because it is definitely not the same. It has a lot of twists and turns of its own, and has a few surprises towards the end that are definitely off script from the original.
trust in the cards…
Where do you think the WCS Caesarion is taking them?
