Ari took a breath. The air had a bitter taste from the fumes of the city, but it was mixed in with the sweet aromas of the forest. "I don't know what it is," Ari said, a far away look in her eyes, "but I feel drawn to this place. In some ways, this world was the beginning of ours. These are the original trees, the original air, the original water. Maybe that has something to do with why I want to be here so much, and why all of us want to protect it."<br/><br/>"Are all of the monsters bad though? Can't we talk to them? Hasn't anyone ever tried to make a compromise, or was it just impossible? None of the elder gods I ask will talk to me about exactly what happened in the war with the monsters centuries ago."<br/><br/>---------------------<br/><br/>"Ah yes," said one of the older, and apparently more smug members of the council. "Genesis Collins. I'd almost forgotten about you."<br/><br/>"Gee thanks," Genesis said. "I feel loved."<br/><br/>The old man made a 'not amused' face. "Tell us Genesis: you'll be taking control of your parent's company soon. What plans do you have for it?"<br/><br/>"That's easy," Genesis said. "I'm going to do what I always do. I'll imagine the impossible and do my absolute best to make it real. In business we talk about sinking or floating, but if you have what it takes to fly, you won't have to worry about a thing."<br/><br/>"You're only speaking in riddles!" Another old man said. "What plans do you have for your<span style="font-style: italic">business</span>?"<br/><br/>"Jeez," Genesis said, not even pretending he respected these spoiled old farts. "You all have enough money in the banks to keep you set for life. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't well off. So I figure, I'm going to do what makes me happy and what brings benefits to the people who buy our products: I'm going to create more and more kick-ass technology. I'm not in this just to make money."<br/><br/>The old men were outraged. They started shouting protest at Genesis and some of their faces turned red. He just plugged his ears and winked at the other man who'd been pounded earlier.