Chapter 8 - The Gala of Tomorrow
The Northstar Gala was the biggest event of the year. Investors, tech moguls, and city officials were all present, waiting for the unveiling of the Aegis-5.
The ballroom was packed. Claire sat in the center of the stage, her silhouette framed by the harsh, dramatic lighting. The tension was palpable. The board was watching. The press was watching.
Julian Thorne’s downfall had cast a long shadow, and the company needed this success.
"We have spent years building machines that can think," Claire said, her voice amplified across the hall. "But we forgot that a machine is only as good as the heart of the person using it."
She looked at Mason, who stood in the wings, and then at Lucy, who was sitting in the front row, camera ready.
"Tonight, I don't just want to show you the Aegis-5," Claire said. "I want to show you the future of Northstar."
She stood up.
The collective gasp from the audience was like a physical wave. She stood, not with the rigidity of a machine, but with the fluid, deliberate grace of a human, the support frame nearly invisible beneath her tailored dress.
She walked across the stage. She walked to the center, to the microphone.
May you like
She stood.
The applause that followed wasn't polite. It was a roar. It was the sound of a thousand people realizing that the impossible had just become reality.
