CHAPTER 1 UPDATE: Utterance

Space had always felt like a hollow place, a blank canvas patiently waiting for an artist to make the next stroke, yet the assembly chambers managed to frame the outlook like a portrait through its large paned glass windows. Inside those walls, time was as worn into the institution as it was into the very decrees that had governed the galaxy for thousands of years. 

Through the entrenched corridors, the clacking of Jack’s leather soles on the tile floor advanced down the hall before he did. His stride was steady as he counted the dark green doors on either side of him. The counting continued until Jack reached a room with a sign that read “Room 37”. He tried the lever to see if it was unlocked before entering the room and being greeted by two other people, a young man and an even younger woman.

“Are you guys ready?” Jack asked.

Adam and Jack glanced at Charlotte who had heaps of files in her hands. 

“Charlotte?” Adam confirmed.

Charlotte’s chest tensed as her stomach dropped. Her eyes widened as if she were a deer while Jack and Adam were the headlights. She released a gasp as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

An intercom speaker sat on the wall right next to the opening of the left swinging door. Jack pressed the button to call as he looked at Charlotte and Adam one final time in confirmation. Slowly, Jack nodded before speaking into the intercom,

 “We’re ready.” 

A formally dressed man quickly came to escort them to their destination. While walking, Charlotte's eyes caught the infinity symbol etched on the man's shirt. Does he actually understand the weight of the symbol he wears? Charlotte thought to herself. 

They passed the Utterance sign, the famous infinity symbol with a simple “UTTERANCE ASSEMBLY “ engraved at the bottom in bold, unapologetic letters. Finally, as they kept walking, the three of them approached a lounge area outside of a set of dark electronic doors. The chamber doors unveiled more and more of themselves as they got closer, her footsteps becoming more intentional with each patter to the ground because of it.

They reached the private lounge. Centered on the back wall was a set of dark green, electronic doors. Next to them was a keycard lock. The man walked up to open the door in an unhurried manner using his keycard before Jack said,

“Wait, can we just, uh… have a moment?” The man nodded and stepped to the side of the keycard swiper. “Are you ready?” Jack asked calmly. 

Adam rebutted. “You already asked us that.”

“I know, I wasn’t talking to you,” Jack spoke almost under his breath.

The employee slid the keycard across the reader before the doors slid into the walls. Jack, Charlotte, and Adam stepped into a tight corridor where they were immediately met with an underwhelming wow factor, a large wall. The man guided them to the right, and it was then they realized where the real wow factor was. They entered a sprawling room with warm lighting. A large, unbroken walkway dominated the center of the grand room. On the right was a giant window wall showing all the freight ships and nestled stars. On the left of the room were large vanities that sat beautifully on the walls. 

Jack, Adam and Charlotte continued through the space until they entered a room that was roughly eight by five square feet. Black covered the walls giving the already small space a suffocating feeling. The man instructed them to stand in a row of three with Jack in the center directly in front of the door. 

“Good luck, I wish you fortune and favor.” The man said before walking off. 

Jack, Adam and Charlotte kept their faces to the wall before the electronic door in front of Jack opened. A smell of mahogany immediately permeated the small space. Something instinctive caused them all to just look at each other, gauging each other’s reactions.

Jack stepped in first, followed by Charlotte and then Adam. Charlotte looked around in awe of the space that was even larger than the one they had just exited out of. The dark, forest green room was rounded polish that made the room look like it was shiny.. Charlotte's eyes glided through the space until she noticed the signature window wall at the forefront of the chambers. Right in front of that window wall sat a large stage-like platform that cleaved the room between the window and the two story seating ahead of it. 

At the center of the platform was a black box. Charlotte, Adam and Jack walked up to the platform near the black box. They turned to face the seating area. Charlotte gulped. Jack could feel his hands tightening uncontrollably. Adam’s heart was beating like it was going to grow legs and sprint out of his chest. There in that seating sat some of the most important people in the galaxy. On the bottom row were sixteen representatives all sitting at a semi-circular table. But at the top, that's where power stopped being representative and became power itself. There sat eight tribe heads, ready and attentive to what Jack, Charlotte and Adam had to say as they leaned forward in natural curiosity. For even Charlotte, Jack and Adam understood that on the very ground they were standing on, history didn’t just occur, it was decided. 

“Hello, Assembly” Jack stepped forward and spoke. 

“My name is Jack Dane, you may already know me as the head of Daneyear Research of Technology or DROT for short. Today, I’m backed by my subordinates & scientists,” Jack extended his hand to the two. 

“Charlotte Anderson.”

“Adam Larson.”

“And oh boy, do we have something completely unheard-of to show you today.” Jack smiled, his tone was confident. “We all want to change the world, but the real question is, how bad?” Jack put his hand up to his mouth and tapped the top of the box. “What would you do if you had the ability to… create?” Jack let the pregnant pause linger “No takers, well then, let me tell what I would do.”