And nothing is but what is not.

Despite having only been built in 2049 and inaugurated at the start of 2050, both the height of it and its architecture made the headquarters of the Mass Fusion Corporation memorable and a young but very much visible landmark on the busy skyline of Boston, Massachusetts. With only a few of the ninety floors rented out to other companies – including Vertex Pharmaceuticals, MathWorks, and BBN Technologies – it could almost be considered ironic that, to a select few in the company, the most important of their work was beneath the building in its lower levels and not reaching up into the skyline.

Descending to those levels, terse silence held between the company's CEO and CTO in the lift with neither man particularly eager to break it. On the part of CEO Dr. Karl William Oslow, the silence was one of thinly veiled anger and unmet deadlines; on the part of CTO Dr. Noel Mason Chandrich, the silence was one of trepidation and aggravation with his business partner. The lift continued to descend, but, unlike its counterpart well above them, not being made of clear glass made it feel much smaller and much, much tighter even though they were the only two people in the lift. Upon making it down and the bell of the lift ringing out as the doors opened, Dr. Oslow was the first to exit, swifter on his feet than Dr. Chandrich who, it seemed, had been more distracted by the terse silence betwixt them than Oslow. He stayed back at the buzzing of his mobile in the pocket of his lab coat, only to think better of it seconds later and half run to catch up to Oslow again. Well aware of the strict access to their destination, Chandrich lifted up his ID badge from the lanyard upon which it was hanged around his neck and towards the tired looking receptionist who buzzed him in.

Making his way through the doors as soon as they were parted just barely enough for him to pass through, Chandrich tried to go through the notes he had taken on work in the last six months, only to pause and stare at the unfinished work before him; the white fluorescent lights a little too bright from reflecting off the heavy, thick glass wall at the end of the room and the dull, grey, and silver metal machines behind it, Chandrich pursed his lips in disapproval. The closer he got to the glass, the disappointment lifted marginally upon noticing construction had been completed on the super structure of the machine. The internals, however, his mind coldly reminded him, I can't imagine all of the components for it are finished, let alone fully tested. This is going to be the best damn nuclear reactor in the United States. If all of those components are finished, Karl likely rushed them and they'll have to be done over again. Bristling at the thought and his chest tightening and shoulders slowly lifting towards his ears, Chandrich turned around to take a look at the room around him; to his relief, it, as the reactor's control room, seemed to be as it was meant to. Catching a glimpse of Oslow walking down to the small and only conference room on the Reactor Level, he started after him, taking his mobile out of the pocket of his lab coat as he did to open his project notes.

Project J5-9251634

"A revaluation of modern, nuclear fusion energy to increase power yield and longevity of the reactor and its components."

He scrolled down a little further, and his tension waned a little at the posted update and its files.

Development of a working beryllium agitator for the advanced, next generation nuclear fusion reactor under Project J5-9251634 has completed. This working prototype has received approval and distribution of a propriety licence from the United States Patent Office. The prototype agitator is going to be remade with stronger, more durable materials for the final product as patented, but is by and large already a success in terms of development.

Following the completion of Project J5-9251634, the process of replacing old, fission based facilities will begin. Within the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts and the State Of Rhode Island, there are two fission facilities that will need their internal infrastructure replaced in favour of fusion; in the New England Commonwealth as a whole, there are four additional facilities that will need to be overhauled quickly and discreetly so that there exists no opportunity for a reveal of the fission facilities having been providing power instead of fusion facilities.

As for the remainder of Project J5-9251634, the primary issue now facing the project is the mitigation of radiation, which may make the ultimate installation of the agitator difficult. In previous Projects here at Mass Fusion, the mitigation of radiation has been the largest issue facing the work. Project A-2325179 (better known as the Cleanpower Initiative) was and remains a financial success, however its initial products, specifically the FDBs, disguised fission as fusion. That disguise has been well upkept, however the lead shielding was and remains insufficient in protecting the installation teams and consumer from becoming irradiated. Project E-8245139 addressed most of the issues with the too weak lead shields, and lowered the rates of accidental irradiation significantly. Under Project C-5413338, most FDBs have been scrapped and replaced with small, fusion generators since their release in 2072. Those generators were designed to be similar to the fusion cores developed for the US Military and in collaboration with the West-Tek Corporation through Project D-6711296. Research and production on the generators were completed in the fourth quarter of 2071.

Unlike previous Projects, Project J5-9251634 has run well over its initial budget of 361,000,000,000$. Despite that, the profits to be reaped from it are projected to be tremendous. Some of the overbudget costs are also, potentially, able to be covered by a sale to the military of a beryllium agitator, at which time –

"Because that would be a prudent partnership," Chandrich swore under his breath when he finally picked up his pace again and shut his mobile to sleep. "We're trying to finish a clean fusion project, not sell over five years of work off to the highest bidder."

His gaze drifting up towards the clock as he walked, Dr. Noel Mason Chandrich pursed his lips; almost, he told himself, masking his satisfaction at the knowledge stopping to read through some of their work and give the reactor a cursory glance made him just a few minutes later than when he knew Oslow would want to begin the week's briefing on the state of development by the Project J5-9251634 team. With a swipe of his ID card, he stepped into conference room only to be greeted again by the cold and sour countenance of Dr. Karl William Oslow. He kept his own face as perfectly neutral as he could and sat down at the table. Hearing one of his colleagues stand up to close and lock the door into the conference room, Chandrich raised an eyebrow at the sight of the person doing so being Dr. Walter Coren Goldburgh, whom himself glanced disdainfully at Oslow when he rejoined them all at the table. The only one in the room with an even slight air of positivity was Dr. Eveline Denvers; no hint of concern nor irritation seemed to visible in her face nor in her body, the most negative feeling, so Chandrich believed, potentially held in her being a little bit of exhaustion, the same as nearly all of them.

His gaze flitting about the room, a faint surge of vindication rushed through his veins when he caught eye of the ever deepening frown on the face of Dr. Katharine Janessa Hathaway at the words leaving Oslow's mouth. Of her, Denvers, Goldburgh, and Chandrich, it was only Goldburgh who seemed to be paying much attention to Oslow; whether the three of them were more presently impatient and irritable than Goldburgh or not, none of them appeared pleased by Oslow's choice of subject by which to commence the meeting. Instead of discussing our work on the reactor and agitator, we have to hear of our competitors and how to stifle them? No, that work is for PR and not for those of us doing real work. His hands clasping around each other in his lap, Chandrich quietly sighed. In much of the same mood, Hathaway took out her tablet and began to scroll through blueprints, while Denvers took a cursory glance over the latest experimental reports and, every so often, at Hathaway and the others. Having no desire to continue listening to Oslow discussing their competition, Chandrich coldly leaned forward a bit from where he was sat and cleared his throat, frowning when he finally had the attention of Oslow and the rest of their coworkers.

"CMP, Northeast Utilities, Poseidon, VELCO, and Verde Energy are not why we're building this reactor. All of them still rely heavily on the ever dwindling wells of fossil fuels but we, when this project is complete, will have a truly clean and renewable source of power. There's no point in discussing them or their current 'strength' in the industry, Karl. We've spent the last five years working on this, while they, barring Poseidon, haven't changed their business practises in nearly fifty years."

"Notwithstanding, when we're able to throw the switch on the new reactor, we'll have the most efficient energy source in the New England Commonwealth," Denvers irritably added. "I think we all would like to see our corporate rivals eat it, Karl, but, if we focus on that, we'll risk rushing and ruining the project."

"Especially if we push it to be ready as far ahead of schedule as you've suggested," Hathaway said with a pointed look towards the man over the rims of her glasses. "You want to throw the switch in December? At the earliest, we're looking at being able to do that in April of next year."

Oslow's gaze narrowed. "If my parents were able to work their way out of Norway forty years ago when the oil there began to run dry, you can get this project done well ahead of schedule."

"That's not the issue, Karl, and you damn well know it," Hathaway sharply cut in. "Dr. Chandrich has said it before, as have myself and Dr. Denvers, but it is right and reasonable to be worried about the problems with mitigating radiation. If we were to throw the switch tomorrow – if the reactor were even complete which it is not – or even in December, any technician going in there, whether or not they were in the best hazard suit in the world, would almost certainly receive a lethal dose of radiation within one to three minutes. What we've done here is remarkable, and will be, I'm sure, the most powerful and advanced, true fusion reactor in the world, but it won't be if we rush finishing the project."

"I did not say rush the project. I said to work it ahead of schedule which, by your own admission, is possible," Oslow pursed his lips. "You can't do December? Then April it is."

"The exterior super structure of the reactor has only just been completed," Denvers said, opening her laptop. "As for the interior structure, how quickly we can work will depend on both how long the manufacturing and installation of the parts take and how long the final development and manufacturing of the beryllium agitator take."

Oslow took a glance at the models Denvers had pulled up on her computer.

"Those look about the same as they've been through most of the last month," He said, standing up and retrieving several hefty packets from one of the room's filing cabinets. "Which is good, but not good enough."

"The same can be said of the measures we have for radiation mitigation from our current, smaller scale tests," Denvers coldly replied before Hathaway could. "We've been using nearly the same measures we have on our current FDBs."

"Which is far from ideal," Goldburgh put in. "Because the 'fusion' distribution boxes have a plethora of their own problems."

"Something we've well known for the better part of the last twenty years," Oslow said shortly, slamming the file cabinet shut and returning to the table with the packets. "We've sufficiently fended off lawsuits, OSHA, journalists and the media at large, the EPA and DOE, and the NRC. The shielding is often weak, I will give you that, but, if even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can't get near enough to them to prove they pose any danger, there is little to worry about."

"Dr. Goldburgh, Dr. Denvers, and Dr. Hathaway are correct to be concerned about the radiation shielding, Karl," Chandrich said, standing up to take a packet from him before passing a few others around to their colleagues. "What are in these?"

"Quite a bit we need to go over," Oslow evasively replied. "But, with regards to the shielding, if this project runs the course it's meant to after we can throw the switch, no one will need to be exposed to the radiation after it is started."

"We don't know whether or not it will need regular and/or intense maintenance," Chandrich reminded him, not sitting back down himself until after Oslow did so first. "In that event, especially if it ends up requiring serious and frequent maintenance, we'll have to have a – if not idiot proof then at least generally safe – standard and hefty shielding mechanism for those performing the maintenance."

"We could, potentially, use power armour as an outer shell for a maintenance worker with their inner garments being, first, their regular clothes and, on top of them, a hazard suit," Hathaway mused, doing her best to avoid the glare Denvers sent her. "Though I'm not quite certain how we would be able to acquire a few pairs, given the state of the War."

"I have a few contacts, still, at Poseidon Energy from my days working there in the '30s and '40s, as well as some over at West-Tek," Oslow told her. "If it comes to that being necessary – but, in particular, for the final installations – then I'm sure we'll be able to have that arranged."

"But without tipping off our competitors?" Denvers sceptically pressed.

"Or, for that matter, the military?" Chandrich frowned when Oslow scoffed. "Getting deeper into bed with the military could be bad for us, Karl. Between how bad off the world is becoming and how much still needs to be done, risking catching their attention too much could lead us open to them taking the results of our work on the reactor away from us and setting us even further behind schedule. And not to mention the ethical implications of –"

"Noel, we're all tired of hearing you lament our very much small amount of military funding, especially with how far overbudget we've run and how much further overbudget we're likely to," Denvers shot him a dark look. "I'd recommend you – like all of us – focus in on your work as the lead of the research department and CTO rather than on whatever lofty ideals you're getting from going to socials after work with people like Charlene Constance Lynch."

Chandrich bristled. "My concerns about the military interfering with my work at any company long predate my meeting Lynch. I've been working here – founded this company alongside Karl – since 2052, oversaw the distribution of the first FDBs, and have fended off military involvement in most of our projects except for, naturally, the Fusion Cell Project that brought about the fusion cores our men and women in uniform rely on for their power armour today. We are the primary power provider for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. We don't need the military for this project."

"That doesn't negate the fact, as Eveline implied, your…friendship," Oslow said the word as though it disgusted him. "With Lynch is questionable. Associating with someone so insufferably politically mismatched, and who has been for the last twenty years no less, is not a good look for you personally or professionally as a member of the Board of this company. The only good thing you can politically state about her is she is and always has been a staunch anticommunist."

"It's a distasteful friendship, Noel," Hathaway pointedly added. "Especially with the truth of most of Lynch's notoriety having originated in that whole mess of a discrimination lawsuit between California Crest Studios and Jane Blanchard back in the '50s. Esteemed as Blanchard has become, Lynch made a permanent name for herself in possibly the most distasteful way possible."

"Thank you, Katharine," Oslow said, a smug edge slipping into his voice when he turned back to Noel. "I would go so far as to say that is the incident that makes your association with her look the worst. Lynch may have been technically correct in her…'witness testimony' in Blanchard's lawsuit that a woman's right to choose, and indeed Blanchard's, includes her right to choose life – Lynch's words, not mine – but it was obvious why Lynch took the stand on it. Lynch doesn't care that the Feds encoded the right to terminate a pregnancy pre-viability and not over sex or disability a good twenty years before she got involved with Blanchard's lawsuit. She clearly wants the practise banned entirely, and she's out of her mind and stuck in the past for it. How can you willingly associate with her knowing that?"

"Not to mention the damn near seditious things she's said about the War, which I think are significantly more salient as they're much more recent. Lynch's opinion on the former are bad enough, but her opinions on the War are, in my book, worse for your reputation, Noel, and, by extension, all of ours. Like Karl said, the only good thing you can say about her is she has always been and remains aggressively anticommunist," Denvers said, a frown deepening in her countenance. "She somehow believes our need to fight on the global stage ended 'largely after we put an end to terrorism,' and that the War should end with freeing Anchorage! Not to mention her bizarre paranoia and belief that we're – somehow – tempting fate by building protections in case of the worst! If she weren't protected by having raised one of the most influential men in robotics and technology, she'd be in prison by now!"

"To the first, I don't agree with everything Charlene says and does, and it's absolutely true some of her beliefs are distasteful and old fashioned, though I'd ask you to keep in mind she's a devout, Orthodox Christian woman in her seventies," Chandrich let out a tired sigh. "That said, while I disagree with her on a lot, I do agree with her that we have to be careful with the way we approach the War and what we in the corporate and civilian sector offer the military. I met her fifteen years ago because we both attended a conference for citizens concerned about the military's growing physical, on the ground presence in the day to day life of the average American, and that is the reason she and I are friends."

Oslow frowned. "Are you saying you think we should capitulate to the Reds?"

"I am not, and neither is she. Lynch has a great deal of respect for the military, especially seeing as her own father served in the Army during the wars of her childhood in the 2000s and 2010s, but she also has reasonable concerns, as we all have every right to," Chandrich paused a moment, frustration beginning to grasp him. "As Americans, we have the right to disagree with, to petition and protest our government, and to speak freely and hold our own opinions, and to peacefully assemble with whom we wish. You, Karl, and you, Katharine, Eveline, and Walter do not get to tell me with whom to associate or to not associate, particularly when you well know my association with her has nothing to do with my concerns about us deepening our ties to the military. Again, you all know damn well my objections to that predate meeting her."

"'We're not Poseidon,'" Goldburgh almost mockingly quoted. "As you've always said. But, bad associations or not, they're not what we're here to discuss."

"They're not," Chandrich frigidly agreed, casting a harsh glance towards Denvers. "The lot of you, however, dragged it in that direction and forced me to defend myself."

"With that settled, then, I think it's high time we officially add Dr. Gregg to the 'need to know' list for the project, seeing as she runs the reactor facilities department," Goldburgh cleared his throat, expecting one of them protest though none of them did. "She's going to be integral to ensuring things work out logistically with getting the reactor ready to go online, and we're getting close enough to that for her to need to be informed."

"Something I referenced in your packets," Oslow said irritably. "Though none of you seem to be particularly interested in discussing what is in them and our work."

"Nor you," Denvers said, taking a few files out. "But, by the same token, I don't believe underscoring the fact will force any amount of productivity."

Oslow twitched, about to say something, but forced himself to remain silent though he bristled. Loathe to give any amount of credit to the woman she well knew did not want her on the team working the reactor's agitator research and development, Hathaway merely looked between her and Oslow every so often though lidded eyes. The pressure falling off of him, Chandrich allowed himself a minute to regain his bearings on his surroundings, to get a read on his colleagues, and to neutralise his composure. Goldburgh was not so subtle nor restrained; instead whispering something to Denvers about Oslow that made her lightly laugh as the CEO laid out what he sought to discuss first before himself. Silence fell only when the centre of the table lit up and projected a hologram of the current state of the reactor and its systems. Hathaway shortly inclined her head towards it in pride. Denvers' countenance remained frustrated. Goldburgh let out a low hum of approval, and Chandrich, even still tensed, looked just barely approving himself. At the tapping of his knuckles against the table, they all looked to Oslow, before soon looking back at the models and the packets before them.

"So," Hathaway said, her lips pressed into a thin line. "To start, what is this 'ARCHIMEDES Project' out of Poseidon, Karl? Does it even have any relevance to us at all, or do you want to sabotage it to tank their falling stock prices even further?"

"Seeing as they're one of our largest corporate rivals, yes," Oslow said. "As for what it is and what I learnt of it from our contacts, it's a massively powerful energy weapon capable of frying anything running on wired electricity within several miles. The military is, of course, funding most of it and our military inspector – Brigadier General Scott Lowe – is the same as theirs."

"And you want to be ahead of them fiscally, productively, never mind the massive differences between our work and theirs, at least in that respect, as well as ahead of them in our military contracts and work," Chandrich frowned when Oslow barely acknowledged his words. "I sincerely hope you aren't set on handing this project and our…newest, proprietary development with it over to the military. This project's goal is to achieve true, clean fusion with a reactor powerful enough to power the whole of the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is not to develop a new toy for the military to use in the War."

"Being 'ethical yet groundbreaking' won't mean a damn thing if we're all dead," Goldburgh reminded him. "And we have been worked to become the primary power producer for our part of the New England Commonwealth over the last twenty three years. If the military need it to win the War once and for all, we can always manufacture a second agitator either for them or for our reactor."

"Something that would be immensely costly," Chandrich countered. "If we're not careful with our money for the rest of this project, we could risk having to file for bankruptcy as a business if the economy takes a bad turn again like it did a few years ago."

Oslow begrudgingly nodded. "Another reason to push the project ahead and as ahead of schedule as possible."

"We only achieved true fusion for our products in '66, Karl. This is still an incredibly risky and daunting undertaking," Denvers shook her head. "And, though I'm not thrilled to agree, Noel has a point about the cost. The beryllium we need for the agitator seems to go up astronomically in price by the week if not by the damn day, and the budget cuts some of our teams have had to make do with aren't helping in getting the project ahead of schedule either, even if I'm simply speaking for myself and the Particle Theory Department."

"And we're not completely finished with prototype testing on the Reactor Development And Testing team," Goldburgh mildly noted. "Cold starting this reactor is taking longer than we thought it would because we must ensure it will work. Keep that in sight, Karl."

"As well," Chandrich said, clearing his throat to get their attention. "If we have to aim to have this done by April of next year, then we need to do it right, and that does not," He coldly stared down Oslow. "Mean including the military to get extra funding and researchers."

Oslow leaned forward slightly, meeting the Chandrich's cold stare with one of his own. "You're turning down necessities for –"

"This has nothing to do with any sense of pride I may have, Karl, and you know it full well, otherwise you wouldn't be fighting with me on the subject," Chandrich shook his head. "Katharine and her team need to get the graphene shielding figured out, Walter and his team have to ensure our work is sound, and Denvers and her team need to check that all of our work is done correctly from the mathematical, engineering, and science angles, all of which you seem eager to brush aside."

"I am not –" Oslow irritably began.

"The reason I am opposed to accelerating the project's schedule the way you want to, Karl, is because I can see as well as anyone else that your more recent contacts with and deeper military involvement might be making it more difficult for you to follow a rational course of action," Chandrich said calmly, though fury began to slowly make itself known on his colleague's face. "Which is precisely why I want you to reconsider. Not because of my personal views on the War or because of those of whom I partake in the company of, but because, for one, I thought this is exactly why you left Poseidon back in the '40s after working with them for over a decade, Karl."

"It was, but times have changed," Oslow said, struggling to keep his voice even.

"But have they so drastically?" Chandrich pressed.

Oslow twitched. "Noel –"

"Whether you or any of us like it or not, Noel, we all have to take part in the War effort now, in whatever capacity we can," Denvers said, an edge of finality in her tone as though she were scolding a child. "I don't know what it will take to get you to understand that, but you need to sooner rather than later."

"Otherwise," Oslow said, his voice low. "You may find yourself out of a job after we finish our work on the reactor."

Chandrich raised an eyebrow, bristling. "Do not threaten me, Karl, not after we've worked together so long."

"Heed our advice better, then," Goldburgh told him. "Eveline is right. We all have a role to play, now, and ours could easily be in ensuring our country has a future that isn't primitive and without electricity, or plumbing, or all of the other small things that keep our lives going day by day."

"I understand that better than I wish I did."

"Then be careful what you say," Hathaway said, her voice a little kinder than Goldburgh, Denvers, or Oslow's. "If you confess to some of the things you're thinking, you're dead. That's the way it seems, now, at any rate. Keep up appearances the same as we always have with convincing the public we've been using fusion power all along, and that we haven't been starting to replace some of our fission infrastructure with fusion because we have no choice other than to do so or risk being found out."

"Every company in this country has a major skeleton or two in their closet, and that's more and more true than it had ever been before the War began to escalate twenty, thirty years ago, now," Denvers stated tersely. "The last thing we want or need is to become a target of one of the groups insane enough to try and take on the companies that keep America running and on the forefront of human innovation and scientific progress."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't be wary of becoming another defence contractor under the government's belt," Chandrich said.

"Hence why we've hired and continue to hire better and better lawyers to continue to work on and maintain our legal ground to prevent a major defence contractor like Poseidon from coming even close from buying us out," Goldburgh said with a resigned hint to his voice. "It hasn't happened yet, but I suspect they'll attempt it sooner rather than later, most especially once we're able to throw the switch on the new reactor."

"Focus on it, then," Oslow irritably said, staring all of them down to ensure they stayed quiet long enough for him. "Turn towards the documents at the back of your packets. Let's discuss the state of the logistics for finishing our new reactor and beryllium agitator – and the possibility of a collaboration with the CIT on it. Mass Fusion will be the future of the New England Commonwealth's energy, and we will drag the best minds in the world to solve this conundrum if we truly find we cannot but, for now, we all know damn well what to do."

"Keep up appearances and lie about what's right in front of us to prevent distraction," Chandrich said to himself under his breath, running a hand through his hair when he found the documents Karl referenced. "Even if it's at the cost and eclipsing of our own morals."