Rewind 4

A cold room devoid of any warmth, it was contrary to the rest of the labs. Sure other offices were serious and uninviting in their presence. Those in them were no-nonsense and focused strictly on a single goal. They were cold too, but they lacked something that could be found within this room. This room had a purity to it that was unmatched and ruthless. It was truly frigid.

Isamu didn’t know why he had been called to the CEO’s office. It was the first time that he had ever been asked to stand before the man. He might have run the company, but there was a detached sort of presence the man had with his employees. Most people he would eventually see just through the halls, even if he never spoke to them or even knew their names. Yet, this man was never around, at least in the sense of being a visible head of the company. He was a busy man for sure and still made all of the decisions on any projects that they carried out. For being so distant, he was more involved than even the managers and upper management types that were supposed to be running things for him.

An odd contradiction for sure, Isamu didn’t know what to make of him entirely. And he still hadn’t seen the man. A tall executive chair blocked the view of the man offering a strangely ominous presence. But that quickly changed as it turned to reveal a surprisingly young man buried within the leather. Isamu had to be honest, he knew about the man, but never actually looked too much into him. It wasn’t something that really bothered him. Knowing or not, the one in charge didn’t really change his work. So he had a different image in mind before meeting the man.

“Mr. Hayashi,” the young man spoke in soft words that made him seem even younger. It made him question which of the two of them were the oldest. “I’ve heard nothing, but remarkable things about you.”

“Overstated I’d imagine, sir.”

The CEO stepped out of his chair and walked around his desk offering Isamu a seat. “Modest too. But it’s not overstating how much you’ve advanced our work since you’ve joined us.” Once Isamu sat down, he walked over to the window letting the sun wash over his face. “In fact, you’ve become a bit of an annoyance to my daily routine.”

Now he was lost, not sure where the man was going. ‘Is he firing me for being too good at my job?’ Isamu wasn’t blind to the numbers that were jealous of his achievements. He had a target on his back at all times that he was careful to keep to a wall, though not always successful. This might have been his time. “Sir?”

Smiling back at Isamu, he dismissed the possible fears. “Most of the teams want you on their project. It’s gotten to the point that I have a separate folder for all of the requests for you.”

‘I haven’t heard anything about requests. In fact, I’ve probably have the least amount of transfers. Why would he keep me on a specific project?’

Clapping his hands together, he interrupted Isamu’s thoughts. “Enough about my personnel issues, you’re no doubt wondering why I’ve called you here.”

“Yes, sir.”

He retrieved a sealed folder from behind his desk and slid it over to Isamu. “You’ve impressed me and I’m rarely impressed.”

The folder itself was completely normal and non-descript. In fact, Isamu had no clue what it contained as there was no text on it at all. Even the seal was completely clean. “What is this, sir?”

“My hand.”

“Hand, sir?”

“In simple terms, it’s a promotion, but it’s much more than that.” Tilting his head back to the window, he looked out at the city stretched out before them. “Mr. Hayashi, why did you pick neurological research as your field?”

It wasn’t something that he had thought about since he entered university really. Even joining Toyama Labs was just something that happened because professors recommended him, he didn’t start because it was his goal. “Part of it was me not thinking. I wanted to be able to help people. The other part of me saw the mind as something we still know so little about. If I could use what I had been fortunate to be born with to advance our understanding, maybe it could save people or improve their lives.”

“A typical answer. Do you still feel that way now?”

“Some days I do, some days the challenge is reward enough.”

“Then my offer to you is this. The ultimate challenge with the greatest reward. The success of this project will completely alter the field as you know it. Medical science will advance by decades or centuries and you’ll be able to save every life in our country.”

Isamu stared down at the folder suddenly feeling a strange weight from something so light. A lot of it didn’t make much sense, but there was sincerity in the words that couldn’t be mistaken. He believed it whole-heartedly and was completely set on the path. This must have been what made him such a focused and driven man to be a CEO already. It was strange. “Sounds like a dream.”

“A worthwhile dream. Think about it, the offer. If you wish to seek a higher challenge and truly test that which you were born with, this is your path. Think it over with your wife, this concerns her too.”

“Tomiko?”

“You aren’t the only one making a name for themselves in my company. This is an offer to the both of you.”

“Then shouldn’t she be here too?”

“Your wife declined our meeting.”

‘She did? Why? Without even knowing what it was about.’

“Your wife’s a strong and proud woman. But she’s also talented as well. Tell her I don’t make such an offer lightly or without merit. I want both of you.”

Chapter 400 – Rewind 4

“How come you didn’t want to meet Mazawa?” Isamu asked Tomiko when he entered the car. He waited until they were out of the building and alone. It wasn’t something that he wanted to discuss publicly knowing how the others were about him.

“He wasn’t firing me, so I didn’t have an interest in what he had to say.”

He had doubts about that. Not even because of what the CEO said, he wasn’t blind to how she felt. There were times he wondered if she purposely requested a different team from him just to prove herself. She was the more positive and upbeat half to him, but Mazawa wasn’t wrong in saying that she was prideful as well. “He wants both of us, not because you’re my wife. Haven’t you spent long enough in self isolation?”

“You don’t understand how hard I work to just prove I’m not getting special treatment. Any offer I take from him will undo everything I’ve built and worked on up until now!”

Isamu paused, having to take it all in for a moment. He knew she had been holding it in for a while. It just wasn’t something that could be easily approached. He could only let her continue on the path that she set determined to show everyone how wrong they were about her. “But everything you’ve done has bore fruit. This offer is proof of that! You earned this, it’s not just given to you.”

“That’s not how the others will see it.”

“When have you ever cared about how others see you or what they say behind your back? You’re stronger than that.”

“I’m not always as strong as you think.”

He reached out over the gap to hold onto her. “Of course you are. It’s one of the many reasons I love you so much. Don’t hold yourself back on the account of others. Take this if you want it.”

“We don’t even know what the project is.”

Suddenly, Isamu felt like there was something more about her refusing to see the boss. ‘Is she worried about the work? Even I don’t know what it is, he never explained it. He only talked in flowery words about dreams.’ Isamu looked over at the sealed folder that he carried with him tempted to open it, but feeling opening it would commit him to an unknown path. “Do you know something about this secret project?”

She shook her head, being as blind about things as him. “Nothing more than the tiniest of rumors. Most know there is work going on in secret, but even that has never been confirmed until now. The most elite in the company work on it, people that no one ever sees anymore.”

“Hey now, you make it sound nefarious. Sure it’s extremely well hidden, but it’s not uncommon to protect research. And the way Mazawa spoke sounded earnest.”

“Dear, everyone sounds earnest to you. You’re terrible at reading people.”

“That’s why I have you to tell me when I’m wrong,” he teased. He pulled the folder out from the back of the car and showed it to Tomiko. “If you think this is a bad idea I’ll tear it up right here and refuse him. I’ll trust your decision.”

“But you want to do this. You'll regret it if I tell you not to.”

“I’d rather regret not taking a chance, if it meant ignoring you.”

“You’re not being fair.”

“I’m serious. Don’t worry about me and let that cloud your judgment. I said before you’re here to tell me when I’m going wrong. If this is the wrong path I won’t take it.”

“But we don’t even know what it is. It’s just a feeling I have that something’s not right about it.” Isamu immediately ripped the folder in half before she could even stop him. “What are you doing?!”

“I already said I’d listen to what you decide. You’re not feeling right about it, we won’t do it. It’s simple.”

“But I could be wrong…”

“Do you believe you are?”

“I don’t know…” Tomiko fell silent with no more words for her husband. She remained withdrawn during the entire car ride back to their house. Even though he acted as he said he would, she still found it shocking, even if it was normal for what he would do. She didn’t think he would close off a career path so quickly.

The night left her pensive and unable to function. Even though he made the decision based off her gut, she still thought about it. The whole thing felt off to her, but she didn’t know why. It confused her and worried her. She wanted to know what it was that left her feeling so ill at ease about the secret in the company. It always lingered in the shadows as the dark part of the company. Any company had secrets, so this shouldn’t have been any different, but she never felt right about it. But it was never something that she could put a finger on. So she never acted on it.

She wanted to know. That much she felt certain about.

The next morning, Isamu walked through the waiting room of the CEO’s office. He already had his words prepared for him, but they all flew out of his mouth when he opened the door to find Tomiko in there. “Tomiko?! What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Hayashi. I was just talking to your wife about some of the details of the assignment.”

He quickly closed the gap trying to get over and understand what was happening. “Details? Assignment?” Isamu looked down at Tomiko in the chair wanting to know what she was doing.

“That’s right. I was pleasantly surprised when she asked to speak with me in accepting my offer.”

“Accepting?” His eyes widened looking down at Tomiko in confusion. Something about things didn’t feel right to him. He couldn’t understand what would change her mind in just a night.

“She said that you talked it over and agreed to accept the offer. So I’ve been filling her in a little on the project goals until you arrived. But now that you’ve come, there’s someone that I want you to meet.”

Things moved faster than he expected. ‘Someone to meet? The project lead?’ Isamu couldn’t find his curiosity as he worried over what a rash and out of character decision Tomiko made for the both of them. He could only stare at her wanting answers.

“Isamu, you should be looking forward. We’re about to meet the man that’s been aiding their research.”

“What is their research?”

“Mapping and recreating neural pathways.”

“That’s a fairly mundane subject for a top secret project.”

“I assure you, nothing about it is mundane,” a new voice spoke coming out from a side door into the office. It wasn’t a voice that either of them knew, but it spoke with a deep respect and command as though used to leading.

The CEO opened the door letting the stranger into the room. “Good timing, Mr. Atlas. These are the two I was telling you about.”

Pointed at the couple, the foreigner tilted his head to look over at the Hayashi’s. He smiled warmly at them, extending them both a hand of greeting. “Welcome, you can call me Atlas. I’m going to show you to a new world that you’ve never seen before.”

“What world is that?”

“The world of the impossible. The place I call home.”

Both of them found the foreigner’s words confusing and strange. For being a scientific pursuit, this man before him seemed the least scientific. He almost didn’t seem to belong in the group. They both wondered what was going on and if the CEO might be getting conned here by the foreigner.

“I can see you’re both suspicious. It’s not the sort of thing you can understand without seeing. Behold what it is that you will be trying to find the answer to that has eluded my people for millennia. What is the source of our power, the power of the Atlanteans.” Suddenly the entire world warped and shifted, taking them to a vast open plain of green. “Welcome to Atlantis. I look forward to working with you in finding all of the secrets lost to us.