Reaching Helix from Seraphys took around an hour in a regular civilian vehicle that followed traffic laws.
The car that Gio was escorted into the back of was not an ordinary civilian vehicle. It was an all-black sedan with a boxy yet sleek look reminiscent of the luxury cars of the bygone eras.
The ride was unbelievably smooth, as if the car was driving on clouds rather than roads, and in what felt like ten minutes, Gio could see Helix’s skyline rising around him.
It took a little over half an hour for them to reach.
Their first few stops were ordinary stores. Gio had so shopping to do, after all.
Imdiately, he found a phone store and bought himself a holowatch. He splurged a little and got the latest model that appeared as nothing more than a small black bracelet on his wrist.
His phone was too inconvenient. Having to hold a device up to his ear made him stand out too much. Getting a watch like this would make his life much easier.
While transferring his data from his phone to the new watch, he found himself several Sequencing-related stores and stocked up on essentials.
The driver was kind enough to wait for him in the car, allowing him the freedom to explore the city however he wanted. He only saw the man one ti when he went to drop off everything he’d bought.
’And now that the essentials are dealt with...’
Gio’s top priority in Arcadia specifically was advancing humanity’s technology. There were many people and companies he could deal with to start a new technological revolution.
’Arcadia is ruled by the Three Federations and the 10 Great Clans. Helix is in the Polestar Federation’s territory, and of the three, they’re the ones who care most about machines.’
The Lunaris Federation, its counterpart, was more focused on Sequencing and Sequencers, while the Greenrust Federation was more balanced and liked to put its funds into both.
’Most scientists and researchers co to Polestar, though. All of the world’s smartest talents gather here, but not all of them succeed.’
So of them faced exclusion from the sa institutions they sought to join. Sotis, it was because their ideas were too extre. Sotis, it was because their perspectives didn’t align with what others were pursuing.
Not all of them were good people, and not all of them were justified in feeling wronged by their exclusion, but that didn’t change the fact that all of them were geniuses.
’And as long as they aren’t harming humanity, all geniuses are allies.’
One only needed to find a way to deal with their strange quirks to make use of them.
Gio walked aimlessly through the city until he found himself in front of a boutique of so sort. From within, the powerful scent of candles wafted out into the street.
He entered the store curiously and looked around. The walls were lined with candles and nothing else. Let alone other kinds of products, there weren’t even other toiletries present.
Were candles such a big product in Arcadia?
’Well, they might be, but that’s not why this store has remained open for ten years.’
Gio looked over the shelves before spotting what he was looking for and nodding. He approached the only other person in the store, a tall and lanky man who was falling asleep at the cash register.
"Hello?"
He called out, causing the man to lazily turn his eyes to him.
"If you want a candle, we have candles. Help yourself," he said in annoyance, seeing that Gio didn’t have anything in his hands.
"Hmm," Gio responded with a curt nod.
"I want a pair of cinnamon candles. Is that possible?"
"It’s over there. We only have one."
"I’m sure you had a pair, though?"
The man’s eyes narrowed.
"What would anyone need a pair of candles for, anyway? Cinnamon is a strong scent."
Gio smiled and shrugged.
"That’s not for to decide. I’m just a ssenger for soone who dearly loves cinnamon. Isn’t that enough of a reason?"
The man squinted at Gio before nodding his head and sighing.
"I’ve never seen you before, but whatever. They’re really letting anyone in these days."
The man pointed his eyes at the door behind him and Gio thanked him with a slight nod of the head, moving behind the counter and pushing open the door.
The room beyond was just big enough to fit three or four people, similar to an elevator.
’Similar is probably not the right word.’
Gio grabbed a coat hook on the wall and turned it to the side. He looked above him at the oddly placed ceiling fan and pulled the cord that was hanging down from it.
’You would think that all of this is for the sake of secrecy, but really, there are easier ways to be secretive these days.’
Gio steadied himself as the room shook. It was indeed an elevator, and it was currently moving into the ground below.
’All of this is just because weird geniuses have a fetish for fantasy.’
To put it kindly, they built all of this spy movie-like machinery because they thought it was cool.
’They definitely have interesting tastes, but when it cos to skill...’
There was a place for those who had been excluded from scientific society to grow their skills. It was a place that operated within a grey area that ordinary scientists couldn’t always touch.
That place beca a second scientific society. Its highest mbers beca public figures on par with traditional scientists, so it was impossible for their activities to go unnoticed by the governnt.
However, the yields produced by research the true scientific society couldn’t attempt were just as useful as the yields of research they could. While it remained like an exclusive group, the underground society of science grew and expanded.
’They aren’t really a connected group, but they have so connection points. Really, most people who claim to be a part of the society are just honorary mbers in na only. They haven’t earned funding yet.’
People who earned funding were in places like these, hidden away from the world and focused on experintation.
Usually, nobody other than another mber of their society could reach a place like this. The cinnamon candle code sounded simple, but if the words weren’t spoken in a very specific order and with the correct annunciation of syllables, the man at the desk would not have accepted them.
What were such protections hiding...?
The elevator reached the end of its path. The back wall of the room slid open, revealing a facility made of clean white tiles and pure steel to Gio’s eyes.
It was a large space. There were several tens of scientists and researchers working out of this sa facility, so it was naturally large and divided into sections for each of them to use.
In total, there were probably several hundred people present here if one included the lab techs and other assistants.
This society was filled with useful people. So of them were even present in this very facility.
However, this ti, they weren’t Gio’s goal.
He walked around with a look on his face as if he belonged, searching for a certain woman. She was said to be on the sa level as a celebrity, so it shouldn’t have been hard to spot her out in a crowd...
...and indeed, when Gio ended up in her vicinity, she was as easy to see as the sun in the sky at the peak of noon.
Now, the sun’s shadow...
’If she’s there, then he...’
Gio spun his gaze around the area until he found a small coffee shop in the wall. The facility was basically independent of the world outside, so its presence made sense, but what Gio’s eyes went to was a man covered in a thick layer of clothing sitting at one of its tables.
His eyes were hidden, but Gio knew exactly where he was looking.
’There you are.’
That mysterious stranger was the man he ca to find.
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