Episode 13 – Olympics 2212.

Eric Prenderghast wasn’t happy,

'For God’s sake Art, we’re not after consumer customers!'

'..but the ad speaks directly to…'

He leaned forward, jabbing his finger..

'Talk about bad taste! Have you no morals? And who’s stupid idea was it to put PlasiMetal wings on the damn pigeon?!'

'Well, that was my idea, but...'

I noticed that, unlike most people, Eric wasn't wearing the obligatory London 2212 Olympics 'Pigeon Pin' badge in his lapel.

He sat back. 'Well, you can tell Dorid that, when I next see him at the Cheroot Club, I’m going to stick his inflated invoice where the sun doesn’t shine and, talking of which, if September’s adholo doesn't reflect our business a little closer, you may also want to order yourself a prosthetic ar…'

Before he finished the sentence, Eric severed the vMeet connection and his hologram fizzled out.

'Jeez Art, that sounded heavy.' Offered Nepty helpfully.

'I think he’d had a bad night.'

We had launched PlasiMetal’s new AdHolo campaign that morning, and Eric had just seen it.  

As well as being cheap, incredibly light, strong and pliable, - a natural material for hovercars - PlasiMetal™ was also being used to make the ‘blades’ that were powering several Olympic athletes into gold medal places.*

*Modern, powered prosthetics had been outlawed in sport, since Roger ‘Rocket’ Rogerson broke the one minute mile - and his neck - back in 2196. But PlasiMetal was inert, so its use was permitted. It was also so effective that there were rumours that foreign athletes were deliberately having amputations to further their careers.

And PlasiMetal had just received the 2212 Clever Stuff Medal from the Modern Universe Polymer Pursuit of Excellence Trust.

So I was (had been) quite proud when our design team created a 30 cm, 3D, 'blade-runner' AdHolo Olympian that shot out of targeted prospects’ screens to run around their desks, followed by a glowing 3D slogan, (pulled by the omnipresent pigeon) that said:

“PlasiMetal™ - The medal winner that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.” 

-----

I flicked my iPear™ on, to see what was happening in the 2212 Olympics.

- Top news item was that the Association of Beach Volleyball Players had insisted on a ban on pirate holo transmissions. Some seedy ‘men's clubs’ were offering ‘personal’ sessions where the better looking players were isolated and their holograms unknowingly performed ‘solo’ in front of groups of ‘excited businessmen’. This 'creeped out' the players, to the point where they were threatening to pull out of the tournament if something wasn't done.

- Hover traffic to the Olympics had been much lighter than expected, since many had opted to visit the games as avatars. - You could now wrap any of the stadia right around you at home, and still experience - and help generate - a real atmosphere. (Each booked seat had a 3D projector, a microphone and speaker, so every visitor had a virtual presence at events where they had a ticket, even if they didn't turn up.) 

- Another part of France was claiming to be part of Great Britain to share in our medal success. BigMex were complaining, now that it had been squeezed into third place in the medal table.

- Yet at the same time, France was moaning at the startling success of our AntiGrav cycle team. They said the geared fans that drove our cyclists forwards were non-regulation, even though they were actually manufactured in France. (These propellers, it turned out, were also made out of PlasiMetal. I pondered momentarily on a new campaign to appease Eric…“Peddled across the world”…”The fast track material for manufacturing success”… “Discover PlasiMetal, you’ll be a fan too”…?)

- Also on the subject of AntiGrav; Queen Jessica was recovering well after her AntiGrav pack malfunctioned as she dropped into the opening ceremony at Olympic Park.

-------

Dorid strode into my office. It was great to see him again. Especially as the Olympics still had a week to go. His pigeon pin gleamed, but I thought he looked tired.  

'Just popped in to pick up my MagniLenses™ - thought I’d say hi,'

'Beach Volleyball again?'

He looked a little embarrassed,

'Err, no actually. I’m watching the Dolphin Dressage event, down on the New Serpentine. The Brits are doing spectacularly well with the new frictionless saddles. You going?'

'No, I’ve got to come up with a new campaign for Eric at PlasiMetal.'

He sat on the corner of my desk, threatening my personal space, arms crossed, frowning in sympathy, 'Didn’t he like the last one?'

'You could say that, I hope for your sake that his last invoice wasn’t printed on a sheet of PlasiMetal.'

As Dorid left, a late news item popped into my iPear. 

Headlined “Pirate Peepers Potted – Police Pounce at Private Party,” There was a murky shot of several middle aged men sitting in the dark, round a glowing hologram of Brenda ‘The Body’ Boddigan, our latest Beach Volleyball hopeful. 

Looking closer, I could swear I saw Eric Prenderghast’s leering face through the clouds of Synthihale Cigar smoke, just behind the nubile Brenda - and, wait a minute, wasn’t that Dorid beside him? 

The text went on to say that two 'punters' had managed to evade capture, but the police were taking 'prints from pervert's lost pigeon pin.' 

I shouted after Dorid '..and if you run into Eric, tell him his pigeon came home to roost...'


To be continued.

Hartley-Stone
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