You may be wondering why I called you all here...

[luthorcorpceo]

Who: Lex Luthor, Miko Nakadai, and you???
Where: LuthorCorp HQ
When: Shortly before the Level 4 outbreak has been contained
What: Lex Luthor tries to communicate with the world; always a bad idea
Warnings: Rampant condescension, snarky sarcasm, and perhaps a bit of real science

Luthor put down the phone while suppressing a grimace.  So far his efforts to contact Dr. Baelheit have been fruitless.  A man less preoccupied with his own business might consider that the Level 4 outbreak going on may be distracting the head of Mintaka Industries, but as Luthor considered that the disappearance of a few freaks was no concern of his, it never occurred to him that it might be of concern to Baelheit.

There were other ways to gain the resources that he would need to develop the new device.  He may as well start with the, ah, less messy approaches.  He touched the surface of his immaculate glass desktop.

"Miss Hammersmith."

A casual observer would not have been able to locate the speaker from which the response came.  "Yes, Mr. Luthor?"

"Contact the public relations department.  I need one hundred press packets prepared;  I am calling a conference Monday morning at 9AM.  Contact the usual outlets."

He lifted his hand from the desk.  There was no need to wait for Miss Hammersmith to reply; she had certainly started to execute his order the moment he had given it.

He now had a little over 48 hours to decide what to say and how to say it.  However, a green light hidden in the glass started to flash, and he pressed the desktop again.

"Yes Dr. Tsao?"

"My progress report on Project Achilles is ready."

This was news for which he had been waiting for some time.  "Come to the executive conference room to present it.".

Preparing for the press conference could wait a little while...

Comments

The press conference begins...

[luthorcorpceo]

Lex Luthor strolled into the anteroom of the LuthorCorp auditorium to prepare for the press conference. His meetings over the weekend with Dr. Tsao about Project Achilles have left him in an unusually good mood; for once his employees have been demonstrating the competence for which he pays so well.

His personal assistant, Miss Hammersmith, was waiting for him. “Mr. Luthor, about the conference...”

“Thank you for working overtime this weekend; I appreciate that you know how important this presentation is for the company.” Luthor strolled past her out to the stage, failing to notice the distraught look on her face.

Arriving at the lectern, he turned for the first time to the gathered press corps seated before him. That is, the vestige of a gathered press corps seated before him. He instantly dismissed the possibility that he is early; he has never been more than ten seconds early or late to an appointment since the sixth grade, and he was only seven years old then. Clearly, the press release had the right time, or nobody would have shown up.

Or has nobody shown up? The only person he can see in the seats is a young oriental woman in the first row. Surely, she is too young to be a reporter of any importance. Still, she appears to be eagerly awaiting the start of the conference. He has heard that these oriental kids are sharp; she must have sensed the importance of this discovery. The fact that nobody else is here is mute testimony of the sorry state of American education.

He glances at his watch (a mere formality), and clears his throat. “Welcome to LuthorCorp, and thank you for coming. As I am sure you know, I am Lex Luthor, the founder and CEO of LuthorCorp. The technical background of today’s announcement is in your press packets; I assume that you all have received them?” He had decided to address the young woman in the plural, in case anyone is sitting in the dark rows in the back. This lighting may be good theater, but under the circumstances it is annoying.