A bright Future.

The hissing sound of the closing doors always reminded him of his vacuum sealer. Each time, a brief shiver of goose bumps.

It was New Year’s Eve. The fiscal year was over.

And what a year it had been. The first shiver of the day had hit him right in the morning when he had seen the dizzying commission payments on his account, acknowledging them with a satisfied smile.

Nicely split, according to the currencies of the countless sectors. He didn’t even had to exchange the coins himself. Now that he had moved up to middle management last year, these payments had become more and more frequent. But the coins were all ephemeral in nature, far too many wonders and infinite comforts existed in the vastness out there on which he just stared through the window of his shuttle.

Next year would surely be even better. Would have to be better. There was no place for stagnation of any kind.

The third shiver came over him as he watched the just-abandoned planet shrink. He would never set foot on it again.

They had all been wrong in the end. Too little time had remained.

He pushed away the thoughts of all the forecasts and all the consequences which had come about unstoppably a few weeks ago. Catastrophic news for all those workers of who still operated on the ground. He did not even know how many millions there were.

The wave of automation of the last decades had destroyed millions of jobs. Those down there, however, were so outrageously cheap to employ that they had been allowed to continue working on the good old planet. The profit margins were more than respectable. On most of the new planets it would have been unthinkable to use up their own manpower like that. Even the robots there were treated with much higher care than the humans who spent their time down there.

Too bad, but unstoppable. The competition did not engage in sniveling moral debates either. Whoever wanted to keep up in the interstellar system had to make sacrifices.

But today, even he was a little bit emotionally battered.

He had checked the numbers himself; they were correct. How were the others doing at the moment? He didn’t even want to imagine their fates. Even the goddamn prognosticators had been wrong. The instability had occurred far too early. Measures should have been taken much sooner. Now they had a huge problem down there, and even worse, the corporation had much less revenue. This should not have happened.

As the shadow of the approaching corporate cruiser slowly settled over his shuttle, he thought about his next career step. There were still several planetary mines which promised good yields, in this regard, the risk management and the planners had behaved correctly.

Perhaps he would even be given the chance to choose one of the brand-new factory locations. After all, his record was impeccable. Not least a reason why he was one of the few who were allowed to be present on this New Year’s Eve.

He didn’t had the time to think it trough, the shuttle was fast and had already reached the boarding entrance of the gigantic concern ship.

The hissing sounded again, but this time, it was not replaced by the oppressive silence of the interior of the transport shuttle, but by perfectly matched lounge music. He left, visibly relieved, and entered a narrow, unadorned hallway. His employer didn’t need to impress visitors, everybody in the Galaxy knew the almighty brand already.

The corridor was just lined with dozens of windows that offered a view of space around. He knew the view and did not dwell on it. A softly breathed welcome sounded in his ears, which the AI of the control center sent to him via the implants near his auricle. He was also immediately welcomed by the approaching servants.

They both held open a glass door a few meters away from him to enter the studio. He did not need to introduce himself; the assistants knew exactly who he was and what position he held in the company. He was not yet a king or even a prince, but in any case, a nobleman, and he was received just the same. The lightly but elegantly dressed ladies bowed deeply as he passed between them. They were not bothered by the fact that he neither returned their greeting nor paid any attention to them, they were happy to serve here on the ship. To be a service person on a cruiser meant not least the jump into the middle class. Strict rosters and no mistakes allowed one to bathe in the modest luxuries of the lower levels of these ships. Anything was better than being down there on the dying planet.

He simply didn’t had time to deal with such individuals. What should he discuss with them anyways? They had not attended any of the elite schools. What was the use of false niceness? They were peasants and would remain so.

As he stepped through the door, the studio opened up before him. A gigantic room, full of chairs, various bars and special accessories. It was the anteroom to the, even more opulent, conference room. The conference Room could be reached through a high archway at the very end of the studio, whose passage was still covered by a billowing fog, which would clear only at the time of admission.

He was too early. Punctuality was a must, but being too early quickly made one look lazy. No one should have that much time to spare during a workday to show up somewhere way too early. This briefly annoyed himself, but he quickly dismissed the thoughts. After all, he had been among the first to be evacuated. He was too important to be put at risk, so it was not his fault that he had to leave the office so early.

Through one of the round windows to his right, he could see thousands of other evacuation shuttles. These were piloted from fully autonomous outside sources and were able to defy the toxic conditions down there. Unceasingly, the ships carried the planet’s valuable machinery and still hastily mined ores away from it.

It was over.

Averting his eyes from the window, he turned to one of the many small counters. Before he had even taken his final seat, a waitress was already standing in front of him, ready to fulfill all his wishes. She was human and he liked her at first sight. He detested the robotic service staff. The emotionless creatures served everyone without understanding the status system. But on the opposite, the young woman in front of him understood the difference between him and her perfectly.

He randomly ordered one of the whiskies on the menu. Sinfully expensive they all were, a misstep was consequently hardly possible. He would have to kill at least another hour. Before that, the staff evacuation would not be completed.

The bartender had herself identified as 7 by the code which was printed on the right breast of her elegant service costume. He let her know that her services would be called upon all night, which was acknowledged with a joyful smile. He had reserved service people before. There was not much talk, after finishing the glass, he gave 7 a wave on which she immediately provided for replenishment.

As expected, after about an hour, most of his fellow colleagues also found themselves in the auditorium. He rose to shake a few hands. The mood was hard to describe. The evacuees could be recognized immediately by their mostly concerned expressions. These were in stark contrast to the euphoric faces of the ones who had arrived with the cruiser from other business entities.

The highlight of the waiting was an almost degenerating fight between two guests. It had found its origin in the remark of an external sales manager who had called the burning planet an „early New Year’s Eve firework”. But before it could come to serious arguments, the metallic voice of the security AI o had given a warning, which each guest could perceive exactly over his own telecommunication intercom. The group’s compliance rules tolerated competition of almost any kind, but a physical altercation at an end-of-year party would have serious consequences nobody wanted to suffer.

He had hardly shown any interest anyway, instead focusing his attention to 7 and the drinks she was creating with the upmost skill.

After exactly one hour and 14 minutes the fog in front of the entrance door lifted and the numerous guests were able to move to the high-class armchairs which were marked with their names.

His seat was far in front, 4 row. A sign of appreciation.

He let the speeches and self-praise of top management wash over him. His name was not mentioned once, he didn’t had expected it anyways. Today, there was only room for the big ones of the group. Even parts of the board of directors had come. Some of the old board members still had some nostalgia for the dying mine down there. The younger ones no longer had anything to do with the planet and were much too busy opening up new opportunities and business fields in the endless expanse.

In addition to the speeches, there were shows and presentations on the latest achievements of the group. A real goodbye for the site was not pronounced, also compliance guideline. No one wanted to spoil the mood of those present.

Afterwards it went into the adjacent ballroom. 12 o’clock moved already closer.

For him, it was handshakes and high-quality drinks again.

He tried to reach one of the board members for a chat, but never found the right timing.

When the countdown that announced the New Year’s show expired, unbelievable things broke over the guests. The company spared no expense or effort. The images and performances offered to those present were partly real and partly projected, so well that no one could distinguish illusion from reality. The whole hall turned into a single multimedia experience. It was the perfect end to a year of consistent work.

Immediately after the show, the gathering began to break up. Excessive celebrations were a sign of unprofessionalism. The event would of course be publicized for marketing purposes.

All those who still wanted to satisfy private cravings would do so behind the closed doors of the golden suites and rooms that awaited them on the noblest floors of the cruiser.

He too, felt an unusual desire for more today.

He had not allowed himself to drink so much for an eternity. Normally, he would have taken one of the neutralizing pills that would have banished alcohol from his body by now. But he had quickly discarded the idea, he would allow himself this one night.

Tonight, many of the top level would also take a little time off. From the next week on, he would belong fully to the group again anyway, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Today there was nothing more to do. All he could have done was to go through the preparation sheets for his new assignment, but he had already done that, three times, that would be enough.

While leaving the room, his eyes fell on the planet again. The fires had gotten worse. Evacuation ships could no longer be made out. Only a few security frigates were still cruising at a sufficient distance.

He surrendered himself briefly to the escalating feeling of sadness which he felt at the sight of the world falling apart in front of him.

With all his willpower, he banished the thoughts. Damn, he really had drunk too much. He would go to his room. He had already ordered 7 there.

Tomorrow business would have him back. Whether the sight might have already burned up by then?

He did not know and didn’t allow himself the answer if he even cares.

There was still a little time left, a little pleasure, one last dance, before Earth wouldn’t be no more.