Page 71 - SurprisingTruthFinal

Nicholas Boothman
restaurant where he saw a group of old colleagues, his
former peers in the cynical art of spin, trying to have a
final, forced ‘honest dinner.’
He stood outside, watching through the dusty pane
of glass. Four people sat around a table, picking at
plates of expensive, cold food.
A woman, Gina, a slick media strategist he knew,
asked her husband, Nolan, a corporate lawyer: "Nolan,
tell me, truly, why did you lobby to get me transferred
to the Tokyo branch last year?"
Nolan had no defense. He was bound by the
Mandate, enforced by the chilling presence of The Gaze
app running on the small tablet placed at the center of
the table.
Nolan sighed, the air leaving him in a defeated rush.
"Because I hated your success. It made me feel like an
inadequate provider. I wanted you gone so I could stop
feeling like a failure in my own house."
Gina's face, usually a mask of professional
composure, cracked. She didn't shout. She didn't cry.
She simply stood up, knocking her chair over, and
walked out, leaving Nolan sitting alone with his raw,
exposed failure. No forgiveness was offered, and none
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