Fluorine
Prologue
(the fonts don't work, i need Blackladder ITC, Calisto MT, and Agency FB.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our facilities invite you to a special event being hosted tomorrow, at 11:00 AM. Only the best scientists in town get to attend, and it’s a once in a lifetime thing. We know of your loss, and we’re sorry. But this is the biggest company in energy and medicine in all of Corrios.
Don’t be late.
Call 543 643 2112
-The Compounds Team
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter one: Once in a Lifetime
That was all that the note said.
Nothing more, nothing less.
So vague, those people from the Compounds. They had been hiding their secrets from the rest of the public for a long time; finally some scientists get to see the big hubbub of the company who create all of their power. And, medicine?
One of those scientists was, of course, Aspen.
He knew that if the Compounds opened up, he would be invited. He was, after all, one of the most popular scientists in the entire country. However, the country being quite unpopulated didn’t help.
Yet still, nobody knew anything about the Compounds.
Aspen awoke to the pitter-patter of rain on the window, and looked around his room. It was rather dank and dusty, him having not cleaned in an eternity. Aspen groaned and got out of bed, putting on his clothes and walking out into the kitchen to get some coffee. Mmm, Coffee, he thought while sipping the deliciously hot substance. Isn’t everything a substance to him?
Aspen drank down all of the coffee before looking at the letter on the counter. What did it all mean? The letter made no sense. And the number? It wasn’t even real. The compounds didn’t have a public phone number. Why trust the compounds? They don’t have anything for them. Actually, yes, they do; they have all the energy in southeast Corrios.
Aspen stopped thinking for a split second before eyeing the letter. It had said we know of your loss, and we’re sorry. But how did they know? Just thinking about it brought back memories of tragedy. He sighed and got his coat and umbrella, walking outside into the rainy morning. He has been excused from work because of the “special event.” Aspen hadn’t had a day away from his job for the past three years; except for when he was excused for the funeral of his sister. Just thinking about the accident brought tears to his eyes.
Aspen’s workplace, known as The Scientific Offices of Southern Corrios, was only a five minute walk away from his country house. Who doesn’t have a country house in Corrios?
Aspen walked inside, his excuse for actually being there was “I want to get some work done.” He walked inside, showed his ID to the guard, and went to his office.
\-/-\-/-\-/
“Hey.” Said Lily as she walked into Aspen’s office. “Why are you not at this special event thingamajig? I thought you were going to not be here today.”
Aspen looked over his shoulder to see Lily standing behind him, glowing with a sweet smile. “Oh, just to get some work done. I decided filling out the Act of Forest Conservation’s appeal right now might be nice. Seriously, why conserve the forest when resources are dwindling and we are literally teeming with extra wood? There’s no sense to it.”
“Well, there is the point of conserving the forest,” Lily pointed out smartly. “And the government probably doesn’t want foreigners just cutting down wood like drunk lumbermen.”
“Oh well. It’ll probably be passed anyhow. It’s not terrible, but I’ve seen better laws.”
Lily looked around with a troubled face for a moment, then put back on her warm smile. “Ok, well, I better get back to work. Bye!”
“Oh, bye!”
Aspen worked until it was 10:00. He then hopped up and slid out of the