"I appreciate the assist, by why exactly are you mucking around
down here Aaron?" asked Mario as he, Aaron and Harry walked
through the dark tunnels of the lead mine in thick hazmat suits and
carrying various survey equipment.
"You could call
it owner's prerogative, after all I do own the mine" replied
Aaron.
"Yeah, well
environmental surveys are actually quite boring." chuckled Mario
as Harry carefully knocked on the tunnel walls with a hammer.
The hammer struck a
wall with a hollow crack, and part of the wall collapsed, causing
Harry to jump back in surprise.
"Whoa, what was
that?" asked Mario, looking at the dust cloud that had formed.
"It looks like
a well or something" replied Harry, cautiously shining his
flashlight into the hole.
"A well? In a
lead mine?" asked Mario, looking at the hole with curiosity.
"Well there is
a lot of water in it, can see the ripples right there" replied
Harry, pointing at the water.
Mario cautiously
stepped closer to the hole and shone his flashlight upwards,
revealing a concrete roof.
"Harry, can you
get a sample of the water? I think this is a hydraulic fracking
well." said Mario.
"A hydraulic
fracking well? Those have been banned across the state. What's one
doing here?" asked Harry, as he carefully filled a small vial
with water.
"Probably
started back in the 70s as a response to the oil crises, and then
abandoned when they didn't hit petroleum, and the green factions took
over," replied Mario, looking at the water.
"I'm picking up
some strange readings on the Geiger counter," said Aaron,
looking at the device in his hand.
"Strange? How
strange?" asked Mario, looking at Aaron.
"Well, given
the amount of lead in this mine, I would not expect to see any
readings at all," replied Aaron.
"Alright, let's
find the source of the readings," said Mario, and the three of
them began to walk deeper into the mine.
As they walked, the
readings on the Geiger counter began to increase, and Aaron's
expression grew more serious.
"Looks like its
coming from behind this wall," said Aaron, as they reached the
dead end of the tunnel.
Harry carefully
knocked a few rocks loose with his hammer. A faint glow began to
appear, and the Geiger counter began to beep more rapidly.
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"You've got to
be kidding me!" said Mario, looking at the wall with disbelief.
"Is that
Uranium?" asked Harry, looking at the glowing rocks.
"Yup. That's
Uranium alright," replied Mario, looking at the Geiger counter
readings.
Aaron started to
chuckle, and then he burst into a fit of manic laughter, causing
Mario and Harry to look at him in concern.
"This is
perfect! We now don't even have to worry about securing a uranium
fuel source for the reactor!" said Aaron, still laughing.
"I don't know
if you are lucky or crazy. To think that we would find a uranium vein
in a lead mine!" said Mario, shaking his head.
"Mark this
place on the map, and let's get out of here. I'm going to have a chat
with Andre to secure the mining rights" said Aaron, as he turned
to leave.
"Wait, what
about the water sample?" asked Harry, looking at the vial in his
hand.
"Grab that too,
we can check its heavy metal content and see if we can use it,"
replied Aaron, as he walked back towards the entrance of the mine.
----
Congressman Michael DuPont sat in his office, feeling much older than his 35 years.
He had had sold off a lot of his family's holdings as part of a four square kilometer land parcel for a pittance of $4 million to some kid who probably just wanted a tax write off.
His own business, DuPont Hospitality and Services, was struggling with a rebranding effort that he had spearheaded.
He called it a "return to elegance", which was essentially a new uniform code that brought tailored suits, blouses, pencil skirts, fitted slacks, hosiery, and formal shoes back with a vengeance, and he had tightened up the grooming standards - neat hair, no tattoos, "conventional" makeup and piercings - for all staff, regardless of gender.
The strategy had pissed off both feminist groups and labor unions alike, and he was neck-deep in a social media firestorm.
The only saving grace, was that his clientele and customers were happy with the changes, and his revenues were stable despite the bad press and the high turnover of staff.
"Mr. DuPont, you have a visitor." said his secretary, interrupting his thoughts.
"Send them in," replied Michael wearily, looking up from his desk.
A tall teenage boy with sleek black hair, piercing blue eyes and dressed in a sleek black leather business suit walked into his office.
"Hello, Mr. DuPont. My name is Aaron Zakhrov. I'm the one who bought the land parcel with the lead mine on it," said the boy.
"U-um yes, unfortunately, you won't be able to sell it back to me or the state. We're fresh out of cash," replied Michael.
Aaron held out a folder to Michael.
"This is the results of my team's environmental survey, and I have a proposal that might interest you," he declared, as he sat down in the chair opposite Michael's desk.
"Even if you've got the cash to pull this off, which I doubt you do. Do you have any idea about the kind of pushback you'll get from this? This is Massachusetts, not North Korea!" growled Michael, as he flipped through Aaron's report and proposal for building out an underground nuclear power grid, his game studio headquarters and datacenter, a uranium and lead mining complex, heavy water processing plants, and a host of other auxiliary facilities, both above and underground on that condemned 4 square kilometer land parcel - all integrated and 100% owned, and operated by Sirius Software.
"Handling the politics, optics and selling this proposal to that ignorant rabble that is your constituents, is your job. Building something that will generate profits for both of us, while gentrifying the area is mine," came Aaron's reply.
"All right, let's say I agree to this. What do you need from me? And what do I get from it?" asked Michael cautiously.
"I get the permits and rights from you, you get the industrial and economic benefits," replied Aaron, looking at Michael with a steely gaze.
"All right, I will see what I can do. But you need to understand that this is going to be a long and difficult process," said Michael.
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"Are you scrupulous out of cowardice, idealism or ignorance Michael? I can assure you that your political rivals and enemies don't share those values, even if they parrot them to their advantage. Or are you that squeamish about a few falsehoods to placate a populace that doesn't know what's good for them?" he asked icily.
"Now you listen here kid! I'm a Congressman! That means I'm a public servant, not some warlord dictator! I have to answer to my constituents, the Feds, and my party bosses! If your little nuclear reactor project blows up, and they even have an inkling that I knew or had something to do with it. It will be my ass in jail, or probably even the federal death penalty! This ain't a video game where you can just crank out nuclear reactors with no consequences or oversight!" thundered Michael.
"I understand. But I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this project a reality, even if that means taking the entire fall myself. If you don't have the stomach for it, then I'll find someone who does," said Aaron, his voice firm and resolute.
"All right. But the less I know about your shenanigans, the better. And you can hold off on any campaign funding until after you pull off your little super-villain scheme. I'll get you your lead mining license for now, since it costs me nothing and costs you everything," growled Michael.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Michael," said Aaron, giving the older man a handshake.
Michael pulled up Sirius Software's articles of incorporation once Aaron had left his office.
"I can't believe the kid isn't even old enough to vote!" he muttered to himself, as he began to draft Aaron's mining permit.
