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LOCATION: MASSARA GROUP HQ
CITY: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
DATE: AUGUST 18, 2026 | TIME: 6:30 AM
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System Broadcast
Vitalyx Recipients: 7,125,549,043
Rejuvenex Recipients: 461,098
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@TheVatican: The Holy Church urges continued caution regarding Vitalyx and Rejuvenex. Only Our Lord promises Eternal Life.
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The global reaction to Vitalyx had been slow and more measured.
But when Mallory announced that Rejuvenex carried the promise of extending the human lifespan into centuries or millennia, the fallout was immediate.
Religious faiths that promised eternal life only in the afterlife were at an impasse.
To expect their believers to hold off on perfect health was already a tall order. But to tell the elderly and those who had lost their youth to forego a chance at regaining it was a step too far.
Not to mention the problem of living for so long. It was both a blasphemy and salvation wrapped up in one. A dichotomy and a dilemma for the ages.
The essentially programmed obsolescence of human life itself had been broken in a most fundamental way by the two miracle serums.
Yet, who could denounce them? It was impossible not to cheer on such scientific advancements publicly. Even if you were working behind the scenes to hoard it for yourself.
The Core Council had ensured that Rejuvenex was staged well ahead of the announcement, and people started flooding local hospitals, pharmacies and clinics everywhere.
But not everybody was so egalitarian in their opinion of the new announcement. Perfect health was one thing. But there were those who believed that longevity should belong only to a select few.
The perpetuation of lesser gene pools was bad enough. But to have those abominations of mixed race, poor breeding and low social station live forever was simply intolerable.
Forty-six such people set plans to gather at a private island in the Seychelles five days after the announcement.
They were to make their way to the island quietly, preferably on their own private yachts. The island in question had a cove with an overhanging feature that would shield the yachts from overhead satellite surveillance.
And security wouldn't be an issue. The Massara Group had been contracted for protection. One of the best in the world, Massara was recommended, and used personally, by more than half the sheiks and royal families in the Middle East.
And that is how The Massara Group's CEO, Samir al-Mansoor, heard about the Seychelles summit.
Two hours after Mallory's historic announcement ended, Samir was on a conference call with one person showing his face, and 45 others who masked their identities.
"There is no need to hide your identities," Samir said. "The Massara Group values confidentiality above all else. We wouldn't have the reputation we've got without trust."
Most of the screens flickered on, and Samir had to hide his surprise. He did some quick math in his head while the host of the meeting prepared to begin.
The combined net worth of all the people on this call could erase hunger and poverty from the Earth fifty times over.
"Thank you for your trust," Samir said. "Now, how can The Massara Group help you today?"
"We are looking for protection for a retreat on my private island on the Seychelles," Gideon Blackwell said.
Gideon had been marked as the third richest person in the world. He had built his empire on war. Specifically, he'd designed a device that would exponentially increase the yield of a standard missile attack.
"More literal bang for your buck" was the humorous tagline he would use in his sales pitches.
Never mind that all it did was spread smaller, sharper shrapnel over a wider area of effect.
It was a cruel technology designed by a cruel man. Of course he only showed his true self behind the scenes. But Samir knew that was the case for many of the men on the screen.
And yes, they were all men. Four of the five richest people in the world were there, and all 46 on the call would be listed in the top 100 wealthiest on the planet.
Gideon went through the high-level details with Samir.
They were asking for a three-hundred member security team. The island wasn't large, but he was asking for enough to cover the yachts, the entire island perimeter, the main residence, conference center, and all the guest houses.
300 was a big number. Paranoia dressed up as thoroughness.
It would be a sizeable contract. One that, just six months ago would have made Samir very happy.
But now things were different. And he was quite sure whatever these men were discussing on the island so far out of the public eye, it wasn't world peace. It wasn't anything good.
Samir accepted the contract and began making preparations.
First, he contacted Li Wei and Graham Thorne. They immediately got on a conference call to discuss.
"They want a three-hundred member security detail," Samir said. "I realize we're spread thin with the Rejuvenex rollout, but something about the men on that call make me feel we should take this seriously."
"300 is a lot of people for an isolated island. Any idea what they're planning?" Grim asked.
"None," Samir said, "but the timing of it is suspicious."
"That's true," Li said. "Let's do it. We should be able to rearrange forces from the larger cities without too much trouble. When are they needed?"
"That's the thing," Samir said. "They want us there in two days. Their summit starts the day after that, and they said they don't know how long it will be, but we should prepare for a month."
"A month?" Grim asked. "That's…"
"Yeah," Samir said. "I think we need to be prepared for anything."
"Let's make it happen," Li said. And Grim agreed.
They shifted resources and by the end of the day, three hundred Peacekeepers were on their way to the Seychelles.
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System Broadcast
Vitalyx Recipients: 7,348,047,352
Rejuvenex Recipients: 2,088,525
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@Dracula94552: Only vampires knew eternal life before. Now humans will join us? I wonder if Vitalyx would allow us to walk in the sun?
@TrollKing694U: Crawl back to your hole, Sparkles. The sun belongs to us. #TeamJacob
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