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662. The Empire's Age of Exploration: Fatima Fatesh's Motivation
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 04:32:28 +0000 UTCMars, Ares Detention Center:
“I have rights,” Dr. Foster yelled as she banged on the energy shield of her cells. Normally, she could punch through a planet with enough effort, but in this place, she was weaker than a normal person in the Old Era.
“I have the right to representation and the right to contact my family,” she continued. “Give me my phone call.” Dr. Foster continued this temper tantrum for a good minute before a guard slowly approached. The guard types a code into the holographic pad in his wrist, allowing him to transfer sound into the prison.
“You bastard. Do —”
“You have a call from your family,” the guard said calmly before pressing a few more buttons. A screen appeared in Dr. Foster’s cell, and the guard walked away without another word. Dr. Foster looked at his back with gritted teeth before the person on the screen soon divested her attention.
“Honey, you have to get me out of here.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” said William Benson, a Tier 7 Arcanist and CEO of Steel Heart Inc, a company with a contract with the government to manufacture Mana Crystals.
“W-What?”
“How many times have I told you this woman was a Tower Master, and with one word, she could ruin our lives?” William yelled. “You told me you would control yourselves.”
“I-I-I.”
“What has gotten to you? Is it so hard to control yourself?”
“Why are you taking that stupid woman’s side?” Dr. Foster argued. “What kind of Tower Master believes in make-believe God? I don’t believe for a second there was no fraud during her Master Review.”
William looked at his wife in horror. Now, this woman was questioning the Master Review. There are literally trillions of Arcanists but less than a hundred Tower Masters — that’s how strict the process is.
“You’ve really gone mental.”
“I don’t have time to waste with your nonsense,” Dr. Foster snapped. “Call your sister and ask my brother-in-law to look into my arrest. I know he’ll understand.”
“I can’t believe I married someone as stupid as you,” William sighed as he caressed his lobe.
“What did you say?”
“Do you know the consequences of your actions?” William asked. “Our company just received a memo from the government that there was a problem with our contracts, and we may have to negotiate again.” William stared at the blank look on his wife’s face.
“The contract was signed ten years ago and should be good for another 40 years. Why is there suddenly a problem?” Dr. Foster’s face turned pale.
“If nothing unexpected occurs, I will be fired or demotivated to appease the government,” William continued.
“No, it can’t be,” Dr. Foster muttered. Mana Crystals are rapidly becoming the primary exchange rate of the entire Astral Plane, and many millions of worlds are using them for their exchange. So many people want to enter such a rapidly developed field, and Steel Heart Inc. was lucky enough to be one of the few who received an official contract.
“You think that’s it?” William sneered. “My sister just called, screaming and threatening to kill me. Jacob was just called into a meeting: he now has no chance at an Elder Seat Position after having such a tarnish to his record.”
“No, you’re lying,” Dr. Foster screamed. “Jacob is a Council Senator — he is in the core of power of the Empire.” She held her scalp, almost ripping her hair out.
“Core?” William sneered. The only people who can be called the core of the Empire are the ones who were close to the Empire in the Old Era. “How many times have I told you politicians and the wealthy no longer hold power in this era? Now, the true elites are the scholars, the scientists, the engineers, the innovators.”
Dr. Foster was having a mental breakdown, so she barely heard these words.
“We had such a bright future,” William continued with a deep sigh. “My sister and Jacob would secure military power, I would secure the wealth, and your job was to be the power. Together, we would build a legacy that could thrive in this surging era. But no, you had to run everything.”
“It’s not my fault, It’s not my fault.”
“And for what? Jealousy?” William stated with gritted teeth.
“Who's jealous of that stupid woman?” Dr. Foster screamed.
“I don’t have time for your hysteria,” William said, his demeanor suddenly turning icy. “From now on, you’re on your own.”
“What do you mean by this?”
“I’m divorcing you. You can expect the paper sometime after your release,” William said coldly.
“No, you can’t do this.”
“Watch me.”
Dr. Foster looked at him; her eyes suddenly turned hateful and wrathful. “Damn you, cu*su***, I’ll take you to court and take everything you own.”
“You can try,” William chuckled. Under normal circumstances, divorce is something serious — especially for high-level Arcanists like themselves. There is usually a long process involving government interference and division of assets. However, after Foster’s charges, William has a way to fast-track their divorces and even keep most of their assets.
“You –” The screen went black, and Dr. Foster threw another tantrum.
…
The rest of the night was uneventful, except someone from the Department of Healthcare Security came personally to apologize to Fatima. They also gave a handsome compensation. Fatima tried asking about her pending application in the Divination Department, but the government personnel said it was a different department and not their responsibility.
So, Fatima headed home after today’s work ended. She used the hospital Void Gate to teleport home. Her tower was not in Arcane City but on a deserted planet used as a research base in the Aguine System. This place contained a unique healing energy that Farima discovered that was beneficial to the soul.
As soon as she arrived, Fatima underwent an extensive cleansing process to ensure she brought nothing of danger into this space. She killed all bacteria, removed all traces or auras of any energy, sealed most of her power, used Light Magic Purification, used Death Magic to kill any potential danger, and even used Divination to ensure she did not miss anything. The entire process took four hours, and she did it patiently.
Once everything was done, Fatima entered a room. A little girl about 8 years old floated in the air, surrounded by a green shield. Fatima slowly approached by flying to her. She gently caressed the little girl’s face.
“Rana, baby, how was your day?” Fatima said in Arabic. For the next two hours, she spoke to her unconscious daughter as if she could hear. Finally, she left to check on her vitals.
“A 0.5% deterioration from yesterday,” she muttered, her brow furrowed deeply. That percentage might seem small, but this has been happening for decades. Rana is Fatima’s everything, and watching as she slowly dies without being able to do anything has almost driven Fatima mad.
‘Maybe I can stabilize her,’ Fatima thought. After the operation on Koa Ulilanu, she had some inspiration on how to stabilize Rana’s situation. Fatima did not waste time. She used the Arcane Merit she received as compensation to buy a few rare and limited resources from the Empire. The thing she ordered arrived a few minutes later, and she immediately started her work.
