Chapter 81 - Sixth Street

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At the remote testing facility 50 miles east of Austin, a man wearing a graphene fiber power suit was busy traversing the obstacle course designed by Heidi.

A 6-foot tall wall presented itself to Felix. Without additional gear wearing him down, he jumped with an explosive force and landed on top of the wall in a crouching position.

[I expected to slide off the wall pathetically. This suit is more impressive than I thought.] Felix pondered.

"How does my jump get the extra oomph?" He asked curiously.

"The suit generates vibrational kinetic energy underneath the energy boots when jumping. In addition, the batteries' limited power output can increase the user's strength by three times passively for 12 hours before needing a recharge via solar cells on the muscle fibers or connecting a charging cable to the helmet." Heidi explained.

"Oh, so the batteries are in the helmet itself. Could I suggest additional power packs to prolong use time? Unfortunately, places underground or in forests don't have much potential energy like the deserts of Afghanistan." Felix proposed seriously.

"I agree. We're already developing modular accessories for the three types of suits. Now for the last test of the day, the ballistics. An FS sniper is locked and loaded a few hundred meters east. He'll be shooting you once in the chest and head with M993 7.62x51 mm armor-piercing rounds from an ideal range for velocity. Say hi if you see him." Heidi stated mischievously.

"Wait, what?!" Felix replied before getting shot square on his chest; the sheer force robbed him of oxygen as he suddenly fainted.

"Felix, wake up! Come on; it wasn't that bad of a first practical test. Look, you're not dead. Just a bit bruised up a little. The graphene fibers acted the way our Infinity physics simulations predicted and absorbed the kinetic energy from the armor-piercing round. Hey! Are you awake?!" Heidi stated impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just trying to breathe here. My life flashed before my eyes for a split second. Is it necessary to shoot the helmet too? Don't you feel a bit concerned for my tofu brain?!" Felix replied, shook.

"Hahaha! I was kidding about shooting you in the head. We've already tested it using ballistic gel. The user will survive but will suffer from a severe headache. Better a concussion than straight dead, if you ask me." Heidi stated with a chuckle.

"Thank God! I thought I wouldn't survive long enough to test the other variants. It's Friday night, tonight. Are you and Alexis interested in going out for a drink or two? The trials have me thirsty." Felix suggested.

"I'd like that, Felix. Heidi and I have been thinking the same thing. Let's go to this new place on Sixth Street I've heard about recently. It's a multi-story digital entertainment spot with a bar on the top floor." Alexis replied after hearing Felix over the comlink channel.

"Sounds interesting. I'm down to experience this 'digital entertainment bar.' How about you, Heidi?" Felix inquired.

"Fine, the other bars were growing stale anyways. Let's take a company CAV because my LaFerrari can't fit three people unless Felix is okay hitching a ride with our security detail." Heidi stated jokingly.

"Hell no. The CAV is the only option. But, wait, you own a LaFerrari?!" Felix replied in surprise.

"Can't a girl appreciate Italian engineering? But, of course, men aren't the only ones interested in high-performance machinery. I'm looking forward to racing Director Price and his Agera SFV whenever he comes back from Kandahar for vacation. He's been talking shit during our director meetings non-stop since I bought my LaFerrari." Heidi explained.

[I feel so left out. I'll go shopping for a supercar while I'm here in Austin, for sure!] So Felix pondered as they boarded the company CAV.

Sixth Street is a well-known entertainment district a few blocks south of Downtown Austin. Live music and cheap drinks flowed through the area, especially on weekends.

An exquisite eight-seater aerodyne vehicle began landing after performing the typical landing protocol of warning bystanders and clearing the area.

University students from UT, Saint Edwards, and Concordia were accustomed to seeing more and more CAVs flying around the city.

"Look, it's a Future Tech AV. Maybe we'll be lucky and meet Vince Dalton or his friends tonight. The livestreams from his yacht were so entertaining; I want more!" A young woman wearing a UT burnt orange top said to her friends.

Two beautiful women accompanied by an athletic and handsome man disembarked from their CAV with a few security guards in tow.

"The place is called the Digital Den and opened a week ago. It should be the corner building over there." Alexis stated while leading the group through the sidewalks.

Their entourage noticed the first floor was open to all ages and featured Infinity Consoles and Hypervisors for rent in private booths. The second floor was for customers aged 21 and older, designed like a typical sports bar with flatscreens showing esports events and livestreams like the APL. Finally, the third floor was invite-only and for VIPs.

[This place is packed, but I expected such considering it's a Friday night at Sixth Street.] Felix pondered.

A lovely hostess noticed a group of people walk into the building escorted by FS operators the locals were accustomed to seeing around the city.

"Good evening, everyone. Do y'all work for Future Tech? Digital Den's owner welcomes all employees to enjoy the private floor if you're interested." the hostess explained politely.

"Yes, and that would be wonderful. I enjoy a wild night once in a while, but the second floor is getting a bit too rowdy." Heidi replied.

"Sorry bout that, madam. The University of Texas versus the University of Houston War Online Arena match is starting, and everyone wants to watch the Arena Collegiate League's first game. So your group will enjoy much more privacy upstairs. Feel free to take the elevator." the hostess explained.

[Marco has been bugging me about this War Online and gaming thing for a while now. All the youngins look so excited to watch, so maybe I should try it out sometime.] Felix pondered while the elevator moved up two floors.

The Digital Den has only been open for a week, yet the lower floors and the lavishly furnished VIP lounge were relatively packed.

The group noticed a Hispanic-American man in his early 30s drinking at one of the tables with two much younger people.

They approached the occupied table to greet their fellow Future Tech executives.

"Good evening, everyone. Do you mind if we join you at this table tonight?" Heidi inquired.

"Please take a seat, guys. We can't possibly deny a request from Director Heidi." Andreas replied in banter.

"You're still the same cheeky bastard from two years ago before we started working for Future Tech AI and Patel." Heidi bantered back.

"Come and sit down. Kyle, Sarah, and I are familiar with Alexis from Future Education, but who's this Adonis of a man?" Andreas asked curiously.

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Felix, a Future Security Lieutenant-Colonel. Vince has mentioned his friends in our conversations plenty of times. So it's great to put faces on names finally." Felix stated courteously.

"Oh yeah! You're the paratrooper Vince told me about a few times. Afghanistan is lucky to have men like you protecting it. So are you guy's watching the ACL match tonight?" Sarah said sincerely.

"We wanted to go out and have fun, primarily. So I suggested trying out this new place after hearing good reviews." Alexis explained.

"That's funny cause my dad owns the Digital Den. He closed down his old bar and built this new and high-tech building to cater to different demographics. We noticed Andreas drinking at the bar earlier and invited him to our table moments before y'all arrived." Kyle explained.

"Oh, that explains why Future Tech employees have access to a dedicated VIP lounge at the top floors. So, where's the rest of your clique? " Alexis inquired.

"Rick and Jessica are getting us Gelato from across the street, and Vince is working at his penthouse office still. I'll message them if you guys want some too." Sarah stated.

Heidi, Felix, and Alexis ordered a few drinks and snacks to start the night before catching up with their fellow executives.

"How was the rest of your trip to Vancouver on The Longhorn the past week?" Heidi asked.

"It was great fun spending some vacation time with old and new friends. Hailee, Alice, Jaden, Fortis, and the rest of Prime Alliance were amusing to be around." Sarah replied honestly.

"I'm glad you guys enjoyed the trip. I've been playing more Everlife Online since the E3 presentation with my younger brother these days. Video games weren't my thing before, but now it's one of my favorite hobbies." Alexis stated.

"Oh really? I've been contemplating new Future Studios media we can add to demonstrate the power of the Hypervisors. Do you have any ideas, Alexis?" Kyle inquired.

[Director Kyle asking for my opinion?! Helping other executives will surely help me rise through the ranks of Future Tech!] Alexis thought while listing a few suggestions based on her experience with testing the Hypervisors.

Stats last time checked: 

Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion 

15 million BTC (currently trades at $25,000) 

$16 Billion cash in Future Tech 

105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, Epic Games, 60% of SpaceX, 10% of Tesla, 10% of Koenigsegg) 

20,000+ operators under Future Security 

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner, The Longhorn 

Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E) 

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram, Twitch)