Part 1 can be found here
Part 2
10 months post Feeding Frenzy
Brennan Torgl was giddy with excitement. His proof of concept plan had been up and running for a month with few hitches. He just needed Everett Brooks, the Piranha who outbid the others, to sign off on this stage. Given that Everett had a disdain for fluffies and an eye for dollars Brennan was certain that he could get the signature with little effort.
Brennan had been working hard on this, too. He personally spent day and night fabricating many parts of the process personally. He didnât like other people with their hands on his designs; they just didnât have the same investment he did. He had to make sure that there was as little waste as possible. Every dime he was given had to be accounted for and the only way he was going to have it done right was to do much of it himself.
He did hire employees, of course. The vast majority of them were there for the dirty work. The plant wouldnât work without fluffies and he needed people to get them for him. Not that it was hard; he just hated the way the shitrats would cheer for joy for a ânyu daddehâ and âwawm howsieâ. Yeah, they got that, all right. That and the other ninety-nine fluffies to get this operation going. They were the final step to the process.
Many other arrangements had to be made before construction. He needed to ensure that he would begin with a large enough food source for his producers; for that he needed to set up supply lines. He managed to get several local grocery chains to collect their spoiled, expired, and completely unsellable food in exchange of promises for a renewable energy tax write-off. The money to get off the ground wasnât there yet. Brennan knew he had to start taking risks to ensure things went smoothly. Once he was established, he would be able to get his bean-counters to do the necessary paperwork.
After many months of work, Brennan finally had the facility started. The fluffies had been confined, fed, and started producing. It was now time to show his main investor that the money was well spent. Brennan looked at himself in the mirror of the meager bathroom built off the tiny closet he called an office. His suit had been freshly cleaned; his tie was on straight. Within a few minutes Everett would be in to check on the investment. Brennan did not wait long. Within a few minutes his phone beeped; the employee on the lookout verified that the top investor was about to walk in the door.
âShowtime,â Brennan said to himself, putting his game face on. He strutted up to the door to open it as Everett walked in with several advisors, taking a moment to look at the meager entryway. Everett took a look around, noticing an entire lack of chairs or decorations in the entry area. Aside from a row of coat hooks, the foyer was bare. He pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow as he took a look at Brennan.
âNot exactly the warmest of welcome mats, is it?â he asked, pausing for Brennan to answer.
Brennan was gob smacked. âWell⌠I uh,â he stammered as he tried to make it sound good âI was focused on getting the place running, Mr. Brooks, I didnât allocate any of the capital intoâŚ.â
He was cut off as Everett chuckled and slapped his shoulder playfully. âIâm only busting your chops, Torgl. If you had spent my money on mahogany furnishings and elaborate flower displays I would be quite upset with you.â He chuckled again, taking a breath to push levity aside. âI invested in your technology, not your interior decorating skills. Letâs cut all the niceties, shall we? My time is valuable. I want you to show me what youâve made. Show me and my staff how well it works. We want to know what youâve discovered in the past month and how we can get it to work better if, and this âifâ depends on what you show me, I decide to give the green light to a second larger site.â
Brennan took a deep breath and a moment to compose himself. âVery well, Mr. Brooks. I will try to keep this as succinct as possible. Follow me and Iâll take you to the first area of the plant. Walk this wayâŚâ Brennan led them through set of doors which led to a narrow hallway. He picked up some breather masks which laid on a table next to the door, handing them out. âThis area can have a few unpleasant smells, but everything is contained, I assure youâŚ.â
The next set of doors led to a room that had quite the pungent odor. Even through the masks it was not the most pleasant aroma. A conveyor moved from an outside wall, pulling the organic waste that had come in from an exterior dumping site. It was shielded behind plexiglass safe for a small area where a man sat next to the conveyor. He was in a yellow poncho wearing gloves and watching a monitor. Brennan gave a wave to the belt.
âThis is where organic refuse comes in. We currently have supply lines through many private retailers to keep a steady flow of food going. At the rate we are currently consuming it, we may have to slow collection as food waste is surprisingly building up faster than our fluffies can eat it. Once we go to our next stage we will be able to get municipal assistance as cities and towns apply for their own subsidies. This will ensure that a larger operation will not run out of fuel for our fluffies.â He gestured towards the man at the conveyor belt. âThis is Billings. Heâs currently scanning the waste for anything inorganic or harmful. You can put a label to tell people what to put in the garbage can but we canât trust that people actually read it.â As if on cue, Billings stopped the conveyor and reached into it with his gloved hand. He pulled out a diaper and tossed it down a chute next to the belt.
Brooks watched the display, keeping a blank expression as his advisors took notes into their tablets. âThis is definitely important⌠but where are the fluffies?â Brooks asked.
âTheyâre next on our tour. If youâll follow me. Iâll take you to themâŚâŚââ Brennan walked them along past the conveyor as they stepped through the doors to the next area. They came to a room with a ten by ten grid of fluffies confined to small boxes. A small trough extended from the wall along each row, provided them with a constant stream of food. They had enough mobility to reach down and eat, but not much else. They all looked sullenly at the wall across them. A large flat screen was streaming FluffTV to give them one single joy. There was the occasional snicker from the fluffies as they watched other fluffies clumsily playing on the screen. There was the occasion âWan out!â and âNu wike sowwy boxâ, but those went away as it was clear no one was listening to them.
Brennan gestured to the grid. âWe call this area âThe Wall.â Each fluffy is confined with their hindquarters vented into collection boxes behind them. Much of the system is gravity fed to minimize power consumption. We also have interior spra-â
Everett raised his hand. âEnough. Does this work?â He looked at Brennan with a cold, icy stare. His mouth could not be seen behind his mask but Brennan could tell he had a stern frown. His body language projected it.
Brennan was again caught off guard but he stood up straight ready to make his case. He looked Everett right in the eye and stared him down. âYes. This works and it works well.â Brennan stood as still as statue and held Everettâs gaze. âThis facility is powering not only itself, but is storing energy in backup batteries while still making a sizeable contribution to the power grid. The local power company is currently paying us. We already have had several shipments of the processed waste sent out and have several orders ready to fill. I can say most assuredly, unequivocally, that this process works and will generate revenue. If you will follow me to the condensers ââ
Everett raised his hand again. âThat wonât be necessary. Iâve seen enough. I like your setup, Brennan, I really do, butâŚ.â Everett turned to look at the wall of fluffies. âThis simply isnât going to fly.â Brennan stared at Everett, wide eyed. He couldnât have been more shocked if Everett had slapped him across the face.
âButâŚâ Brennan stammered, âThe process works! This will generate revenue! It IS generating revenue already! By the end of the year this facility will have completely returned your investment! A larger operation like this-â
âCould make us look, very, very bad,â Everett cut him off. âPlease⌠donât think of me as a whiny fluffy animal rights activist. I donât care about these things; Iâm pretty sure we ran over one on our way here. Hell, I eat veal every week!â He chuckled to himself. Everett walked closer to the wall of fluffies, looking at them. âBelieve me⌠if I thought it was in our best interests we would round up every one of these little abominations and shove a tube up their ass as they were force fed. Part of me was hoping to see something just like thatâŚ.â
Everett flicked a fluffy in the nose as it shrieked and filled the collection vent behind it. âThe problem is not that this worksâŚâ Everett turned to look at Brennan again. âThe problem is that in the last few months there has been a growing movement of⌠what do you call them? Hugboxers! Given the devastation that these things have caused in the past we felt that the PR risk was negligible. The thing is⌠People are watching. The number of people watching is growing. Now, I doubt that the hugboxers will ever get a majority vote or stake in these operations, but the fact is that they are there. If just one of them got in here and took a photo⌠well, weâre looking at a major PR mess. We need to head that off!â
Everett clapped his hands, squaring himself off to Brennan. âSo! Iâm not saying no, but I need to ask this question. Yes or noâŚâŚâ Everett slowly walked up to Brennan, firmly taking him by the shoulders. âCan you make this bigger and efficient while making it look like the fluffies are happy?â His icy eyes stared into Brennanâs.
Brennan was not prepared for this. He had spent the last few months looking at dollar signs, cutting all superfluous costs, but now he had to make them happy? These things were constantly demanding something; how could he possibly make them happy? He knew he had to. His process had multiple investors but Brooks had the controlling share. Brennan hardened himself, stared Everett right back in the eyes and spat out a sharp, concise âYes.â
Everett held to Brennanâs shoulders as he gave him a firm shake. He stared harder, his voice growing stern. âDonât bullshit me. If you bullshit me I can end this. Iâm going to ask again and I donât want you to answer me unless you are one hundred percent sure of your answer. Can you implement this on a larger scale and make it look like the fluffies are happy?â
The air between the two men grew thick. Hundreds of possibilities were zooming around inside Brennanâs head, but he had come so far. He got the process to work, dammit! He couldnât turn back now. It was either all in or die.
Brennan lowered his gaze, took a deep breath, and gathered all his will. His body tensed as he raised his eyes to meet those of the investor in front of him, and forced himself to believe that he could. âYes,â he said with a determined tone. âI will make this operation bigger and I will have a facility full of smiling shitrats making us money. You will have it.â
Everett released Brennan, lowering his hands to fold them in front of him. He furrowed his brow, tilting his head as he considered the situation for a moment. After what seemed like an eternity for Brennan, Everett started slowly nodding his head. âVery well. I will allocate funds for a larger facility. In the meantimeâŚ.â Everett waved at the wall of fluffies. âKeep this going. Just make sure you donât let anyone in here you canât trust. In factâŚ.â Everett motioned to one of the advisers. âYou! I want you to tell legal to draft up non-disclosure agreements for all of the current and future employees working in this facility.â He turned to Brennan. âLetâs keep a tight lid on this and keep the money coming in, shall we?â He gave Brennan a firm slap on the arm and turned to leave. âGood day, Torgl!â he said, walking quickly back out the way he came.
Brennan stood still as a statue as he watched Everett leave. He now had a lot of thinking to do. To make the fluffies happy he would have to give them more space. That meant losing more of the fuel into the air. That meant consuming more power.
âWaitâŚâŚâ Brennan thought to himself as he remembered Everett Brooksâ exact words. He asked if he could âmake the fluffies look happyâ. That was it. He didnât have to actually care about the fluffies. That wasnât the request. He just had to make it look like he cared.
âThat son of a bitchâŚ.â He said as he chuckled to himself. He finally had an idea to keep his process going and make the hugboxers happy. He walked quickly to his office. He had to start drafting a few new ideasâŚâŚ
I was originally going to do the first part as a one shot, but however so many ideas popped into my head. Hopefully you enjoy this and look forward to the next stage of Brennanâs operationâŚ
Letâs see what he comes up with