Chapter 78 – A Vision Shared

Bonus Chapter

The conference room on the top floor rented by Industrial Illusions remained quiet.

Morning sunlight filtered through the large windows overlooking Los Angeles, illuminating the long polished table occupying the centre of the room. Several folders had already been neatly arranged at every seat, accompanied by glasses of water, notebooks and freshly prepared coffee.

Roland had seen to every detail.

Alexander entered several minutes before the scheduled meeting, glancing around the room before taking his place at the head of the table.

Roland followed shortly afterwards, carrying one final folder before he announced, "Everything is prepared, Master Alexander."

Alexander nodded absentmindedly.

Unlike the public presentations he had already given countless times for Duel Monsters, this meeting left him strangely restless, but it wasn't nervousness, as public speaking had long ceased to bother him. Rather, it was the realisation that what happened inside this room today might shape Industrial Illusions for decades to come.

He quietly looked around the empty conference room while thinking, 'A few months ago I helped repel a Demon, a bit later I was fighting a rogue Duel Spirit, and a week ago I helped Blade kill Dracula and Deacon Frost. Now I'm worried about the engineers I recently hired...'

He couldn't help smiling and muttered, "It seems that changing the world really is harder than saving it..."

Roland, naturally, appeared as composed as ever as he observed, "I would argue, Master Alexander, that changing the world properly requires considerably more paperwork."

Alexander laughed softly and admitted, "You're probably right."

After that, silence settled between them as they waited and Alexander's thoughts drifted back to one particular interview. One that had stood apart from all the others.

Unlike the other candidates, Phineas Mason had arrived carrying a weathered leather briefcase that looked ready to burst apart.

Phineas Mason looked to be in his mid-thirties, with neatly kept brown hair and striking grey eyes that rarely missed a detail. His features were sharp but approachable, carrying the thoughtful expression of someone whose mind was always occupied with the next problem to solve. He dressed without much concern for fashion, favouring practical clothes.

The moment he entered Alexander's office, he offered an apologetic smile, "My apologies."

Alexander blinked and asked, "For...?"

"I had to stop twice on the drive over."

"Car trouble?"

"No."

Phineas awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before he admitted, "I thought of a better gearing mechanism for an automated assembly arm."

He gently opened the briefcase.

Instead of organised documents, notebooks immediately spilt across the desk.

Loose pages. Half-finished blueprints. Mechanical sketches. Tiny handwritten calculations squeezed into every available margin. One napkin even contained what appeared to be an entirely redesigned gearbox.

"I was afraid I'd forget it."

Alexander stared at the mountain of sketches for several seconds before smiling to himself, thinking, 'Yep... definitely a Marvel-like genius.'

After introductions were exchanged, Phineas looked around the office with visible curiosity, "I hope you don't mind my asking..."

Alexander gestured for him to continue, which he did, "...Industrial Illusions makes a card game, right?"

"It does."

"So why exactly are you interviewing mechanical engineers?"

Alexander smiled and replied, "Because I envision much more in Industrial Illusions' future than just a card game, and to make that future a reality, I need people like you."

That answer clearly caught Mason's attention.

Rather than beginning with the résumé lying on the desk, Alexander slid a single sheet of paper across the table and said, "Now, I'd like to ask you something back."

Phineas picked it up and saw that it contained only one sentence.

Suppose you had to reduce the size of a projector by ninety per cent without sacrificing image stability. Where would you begin?

Several seconds passed.

Alexander expected him to begin proposing optical solutions.

Instead, he asked, "What projection distance?"

Alexander blinked, "...Excuse me?"

"Indoor or outdoor? What image resolution? Colour accuracy or brightness? Continuous operation? Portable? Power limitations? Budget? Existing manufacturing capabilities?"

After that storm of questions, he looked back up and asked again, "...Or am I allowed to assume technologies that don't exist yet?"

Hearing that, Alexander slowly smiled, and then the interview quickly transformed into a discussion rather than an examination.

Alexander answered each question.

Whenever one limitation appeared, Phineas immediately adjusted his thinking.

He never became attached to a single solution, and instead, he sketched several.

One prioritised efficiency. Another favoured reliability. A third deliberately sacrificed manufacturing simplicity to maximise performance. Every solution came with advantages, and every solution came with drawbacks.

Alexander watched him quietly and noticed that there was no arrogance or desire to prove himself, but only genuine curiosity and desire to create.

Eventually Phineas leaned back and commented, "Companies don't usually ask engineers to imagine impossible machines."

Alexander folded his hands and replied, "That's because most companies have no intention of building them if they can't instantly profit from them... Not most of them, at least."

Silence instantly fell into the room as Phineas studied him carefully before he said, "I've spent years watching good ideas disappear."

He gave a small, self-deprecating laugh, "Not because they couldn't work. But because nobody wanted to take the risk."

Alexander nodded and suggested, "Then perhaps you've simply been working for the wrong people."

The room became quiet once more.

Finally, Alexander spoke again, "I'd like to offer you a position."

Phineas smiled politely and said, "I was hoping you would."

Alexander continued, "Not simply as an engineer."

He slid another document across the desk and revealed, "But as the Head of Research and Development."

Phineas froze before he observed, "Surely there are candidates with stronger management backgrounds..."

"There are."

"Then why me?"

Alexander answered without hesitation, "Because I don't need someone who knows how to manage people perfectly. I need someone who knows how to bring together people who each know something different."

He gestured toward the scattered sketches covering the desk and continued, "You never tried forcing one solution. You looked for every possible solution. You asked the right questions. And more importantly..."

Alexander smiled, "...You clearly enjoy solving complex problems alongside other people."

Phineas remained silent for nearly a full minute before he finally said, "I'd be honoured..."

The memory faded, and Alexander found himself once again seated inside the conference room.

The clock ticked toward the scheduled meeting, and finally a knock came from the door.

Roland opened it.

The first members of the newly assembled research division began arriving one after another.

Dr Amelia Hart entered first, greeting everyone with calm professionalism.

Dr Amelia Hart was a composed woman in her late thirties with chestnut hair usually tied into a tidy bun and thoughtful hazel eyes. Every movement reflected quiet discipline, and she carried herself with the confidence of someone who refused to compromise her principles. Even in conversation, there was a patient warmth beneath her perfectionist nature, especially whenever she mentioned her young daughter.

Victor Alvarez followed, carrying a small notebook despite already having received company stationery.

Victor Alvarez was a broad-shouldered man in his early forties with dark hair beginning to grey at the temples and observant brown eyes. He wore practical clothes, kept a small notebook within arm's reach at all times, and had the habit of delivering dry jokes with a perfectly straight face. Years of engineering had given him an efficient, no-nonsense approach to nearly every problem.

Naomi Ishikawa looked around the room with open curiosity.

Dr Naomi Ishikawa looked younger than her years, with straight black hair cut just below her shoulders and sharp dark brown eyes that constantly seemed to be evaluating the world around her. She carried herself with restless intelligence, clearly someone whose mind moved faster than the conversations around her. There was a quiet frustration behind her professional smile, as though she knew she was capable of far more than anyone allowed her to prove.

Elias Kovacs gave everyone a firm handshake.

Elias Kovacs was a stocky man in his mid-forties with weathered features, short salt-and-pepper hair, and steel-grey eyes. His rough hands and perpetually rolled-up sleeves spoke of countless hours spent building machines rather than merely designing them. Gruff and blunt in conversation, he nevertheless possessed the patient instincts of a teacher whenever a younger engineer genuinely wanted to learn.

Priya Ramanathan quietly introduced herself before immediately studying the projector already installed inside the room.

Priya Ramanathan was a woman in her mid-thirties with neatly braided black hair, warm brown eyes, and an energetic presence that filled any workshop she entered. She had a habit of absentmindedly sketching tiny circuit layouts on scraps of paper while thinking through a problem. Her creativity and optimism made seemingly impossible engineering challenges feel like puzzles waiting to be solved.

Jonathan Mercer arrived carrying several production reports despite nobody asking him to.

Jonathan Mercer was a clean-cut man of forty with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and an approachable demeanour that put people at ease. Unlike many researchers, he spent as much time talking with technicians and factory workers as he did with engineers, always looking for ways to turn ambitious ideas into practical production lines. His greatest strength wasn't inventing new technology, but it was making sure everyone else's inventions actually reached the world.

Thomas O'Connell almost stumbled into the conference room, moving with the pace of a zombie from a horror movie.

Thomas O'Connell was a lean man in his mid-thirties with unruly auburn hair, light blue eyes, and a perpetually tired expression that came from too many late nights in the laboratory. He spoke with quiet enthusiasm whenever the conversation turned to batteries or power systems, revealing an optimism that years of rejected funding proposals had never quite extinguished. Beneath his reserved demeanour was an inventor convinced that efficient portable energy could change the future.

Finally, Phineas Mason stepped inside.

He immediately greeted everyone as though they had already been colleagues for years.

Conversations quickly began forming naturally around the room, and Alexander noticed something encouraging.

Nobody was trying to establish superiority; instead, they immediately started asking questions.

"What exactly do you specialise in?"

"I've actually read one of your publications."

"I've wanted to ask someone about composite ceramics for years."

Within minutes, the atmosphere had become surprisingly relaxed while Roland quietly closed the conference room doors.

At this point, Alexander stood, and the conversations gradually faded.

He looked around the table, making sure to meet the gaze of every single one of them before he spoke, "For the past several days, I'm sure you've all wondered why a company best known for producing the card game Duel Monsters has been recruiting specialists in electronics, manufacturing, software engineering, materials science and energy systems."

Several amused smiles appeared in response to that.

After that, Alexander reached toward the projector as he said, "I believe it's time to answer that question."

The lights dimmed slightly, and the first blueprint appeared, the Duel Monsters Card Microchip.

Nobody spoke immediately, and instead every engineer leaned forward. Eyes narrowed. Expressions sharpened. Almost instinctively, each began examining different portions of the schematic, or at least the ones they could understand.

It was Victor who finally broke the silence first, "These circuit traces aren't conventional."

Amelia pointed toward another section, "The structural layers seem designed around repeated mechanical stress."

Naomi frowned thoughtfully, "Why is there onboard data storage inside something this small?"

Priya quietly added, "These sensing components shouldn't fit inside current manufacturing tolerances. Is this even possible?"

Jonathan looked toward Alexander and asked, "Why embed something this sophisticated inside cardboard?"

The room slowly came alive.

Technical observations began flowing from every direction, and Alexander simply watched. After several minutes of discussion, he finally spoke, "What you're looking at isn't the product."

The room quieted once more.

Alexander picked up a marker before approaching the whiteboard, "It's only one component of a vision."

Then he began sketching. A card. A reader. Projection emitters. Recognition systems. Communication pathways.

"Imagine a game. One where physical cards carry digital information. They're recognised instantly. The information is processed in real time. And that information is used to generate interactive holographic projections."

He deliberately avoided speaking with certainty; instead, he was much more careful, "I believe such a system should be possible. I theorised it and called it Solid Vision Technology. I understand the destination; I know it's possible... But I cannot build the road alone."

Several engineers exchanged thoughtful looks.

Alexander then changed the slide, and the second blueprint appeared, one he brought just yesterday and the foundation of what is going to make Duel Monsters unique, the Battle Box.

This time, nobody asked questions immediately.

Instead, they silently compared both blueprints, and after some time, connections slowly emerged.

The card. The reader. The processing hardware. The projection systems. One invention suddenly became many.

After several long moments, Phineas quietly spoke, "This isn't a single engineering project..."

He pointed toward different portions of the design, "Materials science. Microelectronics. Portable power. Mechanical engineering. Software. Manufacturing. Signal processing."

He looked around the room and declared, "It's at least a dozen projects pretending to be one, and each one is at the very least decades ahead of anything currently possible."

A grin slowly appeared on his face, "Which means none of us can solve it alone."

That single observation transformed the meeting, and almost instantly, everyone began discussing possibilities.

Amelia considered composite materials capable of protecting embedded electronics without interfering with signal transmission. Victor proposed modular circuitry while already discussing electromagnetic shielding. Naomi began sketching firmware architectures capable of rapidly identifying encoded card information. Elias examined the housing, suggesting interchangeable modules that would simplify repairs and future upgrades. Priya explored methods of shrinking sensing hardware even further. Thomas immediately began estimating portable power requirements while comparing several battery technologies. Jonathan quietly calculated manufacturing costs before recommending design changes that could dramatically reduce future production expenses.

And throughout it all, Phineas never dominated the conversation; instead, he guided it, and whenever one specialist solved a problem, he immediately pointed toward another engineer, connecting everything into a single working solution while also giving his own brilliant inputs.

"If Amelia can achieve that material... Victor's shielding becomes much easier."

"If Naomi reduces processing overhead, Thomas won't need batteries quite as large; we can even..."

"If Jonathan changes this manufacturing process, Elias can simplify the internal structure."

Alexander found himself speaking less and less as he no longer needed to direct the discussion because the team had already begun thinking as one.

By the time the meeting finally slowed, the whiteboard had disappeared beneath equations, diagrams, annotations and hastily drawn arrows connecting dozens of ideas together.

Coffee cups sat forgotten as several engineers were still debating details.

Naomi was arguing software optimisation with Victor. Amelia and Priya had already begun comparing possible materials. Jonathan had started calculating production estimates on a spare sheet of paper.

Phineas slowly leaned back in his chair; he looked around the room before quietly laughing and saying, "Hehe... This is going to be unbelievably difficult."

He paused, and the grin returned as he added, "Which is exactly why I want to build it and see it complete."

A ripple of agreement spread around the table.

Amelia smiled, "I was thinking the same thing."

Victor closed his notebook with a satisfied snap, "It's been years since I've worked on something genuinely exciting."

Naomi looked toward Alexander, "When do we start?"

Alexander slowly looked around the room.

When they had entered this morning, they had been accomplished engineers employed by the same company, but now they were beginning to become a team.

He smiled and replied, "Immediately."

Outside the conference room, Industrial Illusions continued operating exactly as it always had. Inside, however, the foundations of a technological revolution had just been laid.