A/N: Takes place in the Moonstone-verse, roughly a day before the start of the series. It's meant to provide a little context as to why the New Syndicate wants to pivot. Money, money, money, money...
Gate Economics 101
The boardroom was full of grumpy old men. Arata Fujita, then head of the Syndicate, was looking on with dispassionate eyes, completely and utterly bored.
Atlas shrugged. He could handle his father and the Syndicate Board of Directors any day. It didn't matter if they always belittled him and made him feel less than his late brother, Michael, who in an ingenious play decided to hire the contractor who later killed him. Today was his day. The Gate Economy was his idea. And goddammit he was going to teach those old sons of bitches how it worked.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Atlas said loudly. The twelve men grunted in response. "I've called this meeting today to vouch for the continued existence of the Gate known as Hell's Gate. This may come as a surprise given the Syndicate's current goals, but—"
"You want those monsters to live on?" Ito shouted.
"They're not monsters," Atlas muttered to himself, but knew that that conversation wouldn't lead anywhere productive. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Anyway…The Gate Economy rests upon a few great pillars: 1) Artifacts that we can own and control from the Gate 2) Derivatives from the Gate and 3) The Gate and all associated merchandizing. We would have a complete monopoly...if we act fast."
He pointed to the projection against the wall, at several images of flower-liked products from the Gate.
"This stone flower produces its own stone garden," Atlas said, "When normal bees are allowed to pollinate these flowers, they produce hallucinogenic venom. We can control the market of this recreational drug in safe settings, set up rooms where we can charge upwards of a one hundred thousand yen, roughly a million USD, per hour of relaxation."
He pointed at another flower. It was purple with an eerie glow. "This specimen has since withered," he said. "But we know the location of the flower from within the Gate, where we can send a robotic team to cultivate more until PANDORA is able to replicate its biology. The seeds from this flower are able to stall contractor ability in individuals showing signs of contractor inclinations. Imagine, let's say, that a young child is showing signs of contractor activity. They can hardly control their power and training at that age is nearly impossible. People will pay a pretty penny to give their children the childhood that they deserve before being swept into our ranks. Adult contractors are much more responsible with their powers and have much greater control. It would minimize any damages associated with involuntary contractor activity that would save us money in the long-run."
"I see what you mean," another one said. "But if we just destroyed the Gate, then we wouldn't have to deal with contractors at all."
"That brings me to my next point." Atlas clicked his remote and the projection changed to that of vials and serums from PANDORA laboratories. "We have discovered that certain plants from within the gate can be used to derive cures for a host of diseases, including cancers. By keeping the Gate open, we will be able to access the materials we need for our pharmacies. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on all of humankind, if not other flora or fauna as well."
"And the merchandizing?" Suzuki huffed. "What kind of bullshit idea is that?"
"Well, everyone likes an adventure, don't they, Mr. Suzuki? People pay every year to get scared at the movies. What if we could develop into the Gate a little further than PANDORA already is and have tour groups and other educational programs inside the Gate's outer border? The gift shop could be packed with Gate clothing and accessories. We could create online learning systems for universities and charge them for access for Gate-related information. This would ensure the continued supply of informed scientists and we could have our pick of the top of the class as our personal feedstock straight into PANDORA."
"And when they go missing and die on their field trip?" Suzuki asked, thinking of the last few times expeditions inside the Gate had taken a turn for the worse.
"That won't happen," Atlas said. "PANDORA is already at the outer boundary and going in just a little further won't trigger the Gate's innate defenses. We would make sure no one could stray off the designated path either."
"This is nonsense! Mr. Fujita, please, can we get back to the meeting about destroying contractors?" Ito asked.
"It's a nice idea, son, but it will never happen," Arata said, "We already have our sights set on the Sun Spot Cycle and we've poured too much money into this already to avenge the death of your late mother. To back out now would be…" he laughed cynically, "absolute folly. Sit down, Atlas, and don't waste any of our time again."
Atlas nodded, having expected this kind of response from his father. Well, he had tried his very best to educate them, despite Amber telling him that it wasn't going to work.
This time tomorrow, he would give Bai permission to do what she had wanted all along, and he wouldn't feel sorry. Not one bit. After all, it had taken him upwards of five hours to put together that nifty powerpoint presentation, complete with redacted documents and figures, and simulated supply and demand curves.
"Thank you, Father," Atlas said, taking a seat at the table. "I'll keep that in mind."