"A gamble."
"That is what Dynasties Online was."
"One giant gamble."
"A gamble that would make or break me, one that I had bet my entire fortune on."
"One that could affect even the most powerful of countries."
"As Dynasties Online would link the virtual game world and the real world like never before."
James Larant, creator of Dynasties Online and CEO of Dynasties Inc.
….
While the virtual world was on the verge of descending into war, a storm was sweeping over the real world. After 3 months of Dynasties Online Servers opening, those untalented men of wealth, influence and power finally figured out what James Larant's grand scheme was.
….
James Larant was relaxing in his penthouse office, reviewing the financials from his many enterprises.
To say that they were bleak would be an understatement, but this turn of events was not unexpected by the eccentric Dynasties Inc. CEO. In fact, he had prepared for years for them.
Despite knowing and expecting that the initial start-up costs for Dynasties Online would be enormous, he didn't think they would be this large as, after only 3 months, money was already starting to dry up. Soon, if things did not change, he would need to use the profits of his other enterprises to cover this cost.
This is because even after losing many players to the vicious fighting over the very limited resources in the game, there were still 250 million players playing Dynastes Online worldwide.
A number that would only ever go up.
Any other gaming company would be over the moon at being able to sell so many copies of a game; however, James was not.
Oh, he was delighted with the influence this number of players would give him, but he was also wary of its costs.
Because with only a few hundred or maybe even tens of thousands of exceptions, he was essentially paying for nearly 250 million people's livelihoods.
And that was no small amount of money because we are not talking about billions of pounds but trillions.
In total, over the 3 months that the game servers have been open, James Larant has had to spend £750 Billion paying players who have exchanged gold with the game system, and this was after the 20% tax.
If it were not for £800 billion, just over half of this massive number being able to be paid off from the enormous profits from players' purchasing of gaming equipment, then James would have had to conjure all this money with a click of his fingers.
Not an amount that anyone could find easily within 3 months, no matter how capable they were.
Even the subscriptions to the game only come to just under £15 billion, a mere hundredth of the grand total he has had to pay off over the last 3 months.
Luckily, a portion of this money he gave away comes back to him due to the player's spending money in his virtual store, but not all that money comes back as rent, water, and electricity are all things that people need to spend money on even if most of this can be covered from their UBI.
There are also pubs, clubs and other entertainment venues that players will use this money on, not to mention drugs and many other potentially illegal things people could pay for.
There was little to no profit, and by the end of the year, unless things changed, then all Dynsaties Online would be nothing more than a massive tax write-off.
Because all the companies that James made are subsidiaries of his main one, all their finances are reported on the parent companies' consolidated financial statements. As a result, if one company is making a loss, you can use your other companies and their profits to cover the cost of any projects that may have made a loss.
Of course, it helped that all the subsidiaries are wholly owned by Larant Enterprises, the parent company for all of James' other entrepreneurial endeavours.
But while he was prepared for such an eventuality, as the player base exchanges more and more, eventually, there will be a time when even his great wealth won't be able to cover the losses.
Despite all these problems occurring, James was calm.
He had been expecting such a thing to happen.
Despite the majority of James' competitors being nothing more than incompetent young masters who gained their positions through nepotism, they were right about one thing.
And that was that, it was almost suicidal for anyone to attempt to do what James was trying to do, even with the years of preparation the eccentric businessmen had made.
While Dynasties Online had the potential to make him one of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most influential men in the world, it could also ultimately backfire and bankrupt him.
In other words, it was a giant gamble.
A gamble in which the outcome is decided on who gives in first.
Between him and the other large corporations.
A gamble that James was determined to win.
'It should be any day now.'
James thought, and the second after he thought this, he smiled slightly.
Ring Ring! Ring Ring!
The phone was ringing, which meant only one thing.
Every company finally received their finance department's quarterly financial report and noticed a discrepancy.
A large discrepancy in which their profits were far lower than they were in previous quarters.
The other large companies, especially those primarily serving the lower classes and the unemployed, had finally begun to feel the sting of catastrophic losses that would only ever worsen over time, that Dyasties Online caused.
A loss that could only be regained by entering the game and competing for resources to increase the number of product slots or shops under their control, allowing them to sell their merchandise to the large player base.
James let the phone on the desk ring for a few seconds before casually picking it up and spinning in his chair to stare out of the large glass wall, admiring the sunset, which seemed to denote the fall of one era.
And the rise of another.
One where he will wield unparalleled power and influence to ensure that a tragedy like that that happened 15 years ago never happened again.
But no matter what, it was going to be a long night.
….
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS! DID YOU OLD FOGIES AT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT FINALLY GO SENILE OR SOMETHING."
Spencer Henderson roared angrily at the man who nervously gave him the quarterly financial report for the last 3 months, knowing just how poorly his CEO's reaction would be.
"We have checked the numbers over and over again, sir. We even sent them to 3 different independent financial companies and put them through the latest tech, and they all came out with the same figures."
"I am sorry to say, but over the last 3 months, we have seen a marked drop in sales, and even supermarkets that we have a good relationship with have suspended their orders for the next few months as they still have plenty of stock to go through."
The ageing 60-year-old man replied he was a good friend of Spencer's father, who was the last CEO and used his significant influence within Drinkalicous as a majority shareholder to get his son to inherit his position as CEO.
Drinkalicous was a company that made and sold many soft drinks with Rango being amongst their best sellers.
In the high-tech world they lived in, where most brands were established with large customer bases, it would take a true genius to create a new company with a new idea, as many had already been patented or were already done.
As a result, the economy has become relatively stagnant. With AI and robots taking many jobs that people feel are beneath them, leading to UBI and a high unemployment rate because it is cheaper for these companies to employ robots and high-tech AI rather than people who always want more money or higher wages.
Thanks to this, an unofficial class system appeared with those at the top of companies, shareholders at the top, and workers and those without at the bottom despite people screaming that everyone is equal because they live in a democracy.
What a load of bullshit.
Due to the lack of jobs in the world, many people try to have their family or children take over their positions, which is why you find that many jobs end up being inherited.
Was it fair?
No.
But since when has the world ever been fair?
Was it understandable?
Yes.
For many, their family is the most important thing, something almost everyone can relate to. Many people in history have done truly terrible things for their family and its prosperity, so when the options are having your son or daughter inherit your position and salary and maintaining their current lifestyle or becoming unemployed and hoping to grab one of the few available jobs, it is obvious what people would do.
After all, it is self-interest, above all, that motivates most people.
The only person in history famous for not putting family first was Stalin, who refused outright to exchange prisoners of war during WW2 for his son.
He is one of the most reviled people for that, as well as the murder directly or indirectly of millions of people.
So, despite his principled stand not to make any deals with the Nazis in World War 2, he is by no means someone to look up to.
For you can admire one part of a person's character while hating everything else about them.
As a result, many people inherit their positions in this new society, and those without them, well….
At least they get UBI and can survive while going out to the pub every now and then.
Though holidays abroad are a big no-no, you still get to live at least a semi-decent life and don't starve.
This is far better than some places around the world that have not had the same social progress as the West has or where democracy and freedoms are not embedded into every fabric of society.
There, they implement aristocracy directly, leaving no one under any illusions of where they are in society. If the lower classes ever revolt, robots and high-tech AI soldiers are quickly sent to quell them without pity or mercy.
Some even take on these people as 'servants', essentially slaves, but due to the universal condemnation of such a word, those with power, as always, officially call them something else.
There are many countries where such tactics have been common. Even in the modern world, where we have united nations and human rights, they are regularly trampled on by powerful countries that do not need to fear retribution from the wider international community.
This is because usually, the world gets outraged for a few months but then settles down, focusing on the next interesting piece of news, and if you can blame someone, even better, just put all responsibility onto him, have him tried for crimes against humanity, then continue on ruling with all the benefits those crimes bring as if nothing had happened.
After all, you have already accomplished your political goals, so a few sacrifices are nothing much in the grand scheme of things.
Few people understand that unless there is tangible punishment or a response to someone's actions, they will never learn that they are wrong or fear what will happen if they do retake them.
So when someone is not punished for breaking the rules, they will break them again and again.
This is why the more unhinged world leaders in the past could pretty much do whatever the hell they wanted in their own countries without any real pushback.
For countries like Russia and China, who have historically been very politically antagonistic towards America and Western-allied countries, having nukes and a large portion of the world's economy reliant on your exports does help a lot when these sorts of problems occur.
Either way, for these reasons, Spencer inherited his father's position and, in time, likely his stocks and shares in the company as well, unless one of his brothers can get them.
Even James Larant got his position this way, showing that just like in ancient times, there are geniuses amongst both the lower and upper classes of society, with one wanting to spend his extraordinary amount of wealth to do something good for once.
However, Spencer does not have an iota of James' talent; otherwise, like the other talented young CEOs, he would have invested in DO early instead of just discovering the game's impact on the business world now when it was too late.
"What the hell has happened for us to lose so many customers over the last 3 months?"
"We don't exactly know, sir. All we know is that sales have been going down by 10% every month since February."
Spencer was stunned for a second as he finally began to connect the dots that his talented peers had done months ago.
'February?'
'Didn't that idiot James Larant release that game that players could make money off in February?'
'But what the hell has that got to do with our low sales?'
Spencer wondered, and for those who were wondering, Spencer was one of those who laughed when he first heard about Dynasties Online and James' plans.
Not that he would be laughing for much longer.
Unfortunately, beginning to understand something does not mean that you can come to the correct conclusion.
If his father were here, he would be facepalming right now at his son's idiocy, but unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, he is not, as he is not there to make the quick connection needed for the company to get those sales back or there to see his son's bumbling incompetence first hand.
Small victories, one could suppose, but incompetence can only be covered up so much.
Currently, that father and former CEO of Drinkalicous, Hendrick Henderson, is enjoying retirement, though for how much longer is a good question. If things continue as they have been over the last few months, then there is a good chance they will bring back that old fox of a CEO to fix things similar to what Starbucks did.
Luckily for Spencer, his father had left him his right-hand man to help him through this problem, and unluckily, he was also ordered to report his opinion on the young CEO's performance back to Spencer's father.
After all, someone as competent as Hendrick would not just leave a company he held a majority stake in and not leave eyes and ears behind.
And the aide's reports were less than flattering on Spencer's stewardship of the company, so instead of seeing Spencer's incompetence first hand, he hears about it second hand.
Though, of course, Spencer does not need to know of things such as this, anyone intelligent would be able to realise that this old subordinate of the CEO would be a spy.
Unfortunately, Spencer was below the average when it came to his brain functions, and if it were not for his father and wealth, then he could only be a loafer getting drunk now and then.
After all, just because it was almost impossible to move up social classes did not mean it could not be done.
In fact, it was idiots like Spencer in positions of power that allowed someone new and unrelated to him to take the reins.
Seeing the perplexed look on his old friend's son's face, Emiel Kosters, Hendrick Hendersons' friend and close confidant, sighed before giving Spencer the answer that he needed.
"Sir, since February, all of the unemployed and some in the lower classes have begun to play Dynasties Online, and while they are now making more disposable income, to spend most of that income, especially when it comes to buying groceries and other food items, will be done through the game's virtual marketplace."
Emiel started to explain, only to grimace when he heard his superior's answer.
"But why would that affect us?"
Spencer asked in confusion.
'Idiot, I am dealing with an idiot.'
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, the talented aide continued his explanation.
"Because our main customers are just those people and because online shopping is far more common these days than in-person shopping, it is easy for people to move from shopping online to shopping in the virtual world, especially if like you can in DO touch and examine the product on sale like you would in the real world."
"To put it simply, sir, our market is being slowly taken from us, and now we can only make money by selling our products wholesale to James Larant's online supermarket, making us dependent on him."
"He is also making sure only to buy a certain amount from each supplier and has even said that if they fight for resources in the game and make progress, then he may be able to increase his orders from them."
"We can, of course, try to wait until the other supermarkets can get a foundation there, but that will take years, and over those years, our profits will only continue to decline while our competitors may be able to take over our part of the market."
Emiel explained patiently, really hoping that by now, Spencer would be able to see why this is a massive problem and how only by losing money and waiting for other supermarkets to gain a foothold in the game or by competing directly in it would they be able to overcome this crisis.
Unless, of course, they could make a deal with James Larant, though Emiel would imagine that almost every single company that primarily serves the lower classes would be looking for a similar deal.
At least in those countries where DO was released and not in places like China and Russia, where, for differing political positions, those countries banned the game.
It seemed that while Spencer was incompetent, he was not a complete lost cause as he quickly picked up the phone sitting on his office desk and called James Larant.
Well, his office, anyway, as there were not many people who actually had his personal phone number; he always was a somewhat eccentric person that, apart from business, many people did not want to associate with.
Unfortunately for Spencer, getting in contact with James Larant would be far more complicated than he had expected, as he was not the only CEO who wanted to talk to him at that moment.
"James' office line is very busy at the moment, so we cannot take your call. You are in position 256. Please hold until the line is available; leave a message or call him back later."
A mechanical female voice said over the phone, and an automatic response came through the telephone, frustrating Spencer.
He was not used to waiting.
People waited for him, not the other way around!
But what annoyed him more was when a shout came out from the phone that almost made him put it down as the hold music played.
"AAVAA MARRRIIIIAAA!"
The woman on the other end shouted, taking him aback as he cringed slightly.
Despite Spencer's annoyance, he could only endure and wait his turn. Ultimately, it took so long that he went for a nap while having someone watch over the call until he was woken 3 hours after initially starting the call by an assistant.
"Sir."
"Sir."
A voice said softly in Spencer's ear. In an instant, Spencer was awake and back to his senses. He saw that night had already fallen while he slept after being bored for an hour waiting.
In total, he had spent 3 hours on hold.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of his torment.
"Ah, he's got to me good. Finally, I can give that arrogant bastard a piece of my mind!"
Spencer growled, picking up the phone only for no one to be on the other end, stunning him due to his shock.
"Sir, they said the office is closed for the day and to call back tomorrow during regular working hours."
The female assistant said nervously. Spencer's face went red from anger, and clenching his fists, he slammed the phone back down into its holder.
"AAAAHHHHHH."
The guttural scream of humiliation and anger heard throughout the office would be talked about for days to come, and Spencer swore he would get back at that so-called genius one day.