Hello Darkness by Sev Romero

Author:Sev Romero
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Loud Minds Press

“Impressive!” says Kate. I assume she’s being sarcastic. “I now know less,” she adds.

Yes, sarcasm it is.

“Corporate vomit,” I whisper, knowing the floating screen is listening to me. “We have a meeting with Dr Albrecht,” I say to the screen, with the snarkiness we reserve for artificial intelligence.

Thank you, please wait here.

The screen flutters away, leaving me to observe the crowd of staff hovering around us. Most are pacing in and out of doors and lifts. Little security blips blaring off as they pass through what must be secure zones. I watch a couple on a bright green sofa sipping on pre-packaged smoothies and exchanging exaggerated hand gestures. Another researcher in a white lab coat is loitering under a glass staircase, coffee mug in hand and betrothed to a feed through his smart glasses. They could all be models from corporate stock images.

A clean-shaven man in a shiny tailored suit and thick-framed glasses slices through the congregation and greets us with a loud smile.

“Welcome, Mr Thorburn, I’m Silas. We spoke yesterday. I’ll be taking you to Dr Albrecht.”

“Hi, this is—”

“Kate Yassmin Mbachi. Yes, I now have your details as well, Ms Mbachi. Nice to meet you. Please follow me.”

Kate and I exchange smirks, before racing to keep up with Silas.

We take a lift to the fourth floor and are led through an open plan office where the carpets, walls, and fixtures match the corporate colours of pastel blue, pastel green, and of course pastel pink. There are staff scattered around, but the ambiance is closer to a library than a busy office.

We walk towards two black plate glass doors. Written in gold and black lettering across one door is ‘Dr Edde Albrecht’. The doors open automatically and we progress through to another foyer. It’s nothing like what we saw downstairs, but still impressive. This round room is less corporate, and more Hollywood. Red carpet, black leather couches, and gold trim glistening off the receptionist’s desk. Huge abstract paintings loom over us.

Kate eagerly points at one. “Oh my God, they look like Pollocks. If they’re original, they’re worth a mint.” I nod like I know more about art than Charlie’s drawings, but I have to wonder what they’ll be worth when there’s no one around to enjoy them.

“We’ve entered the high rollers’ lounge,” I quip. Kate snorts and her cheeks puff out like she has caught a laugh from escaping.

Silas ignores our mischievousness and walks us over to the receptionist, who is standing behind a glossy black desk. She waves us through another set of doors, without even a side glance.

This room is much smaller, and yet far more interesting. A long glass desk sits in front of one of the building’s impressive arched windows. Black screens take up most of the wall space around the rest of the room, except for one section that’s busy with plaques, certificates, and dozens of pictures of Dr Albrecht with celebrities and politicians.

I recognise most of them. There’s billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk,

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