"Hahahaha!"
Three men sit across from one another in an office, drinking and laughing.
It's late.
Most of the employees have already hopped into their cars and flown home.
Not these three.
They sit on the top floor, having the time of their lives. What could possibly be so funny to keep them at work this late?
The answer becomes clear when you look at the papers around them, and who they are.
Two are familiar figures: the Director and the Casting Director. They sit on one side of the desk.
Their boss, Harvey Eparstein, sits on the other. It's his office where this impromptu celebration is being held.
Spread across the table are the weekly rating sheets. Sitting comfortably in the top two spots are: Rio's Big Adventure! (Episodes) and Rio's Big Adventure! (Livestream)
Aside from the inept title, the show has been extremely well received. A few critics' reviews are scattered among the papers.
"A must-watch!" declares one.
"Ten out of ten!" screams another.
Yet another proclaims "Screw the big three, Rio's the only one for me!"
You get the idea.
After taking a sip of his wine Harvey leans back and sighs happily.
"You two are doing great work with this!" He purrs while tapping on the ratings. "The director tells me that this was all your brainchild, Casting Director."
He turns to face him. "I see a bright future in front of you!"
The Casting Director takes a sip of his water and says "I do not deserve your praise. While the thought may have been mine, it took the Director's leadership and experience to mold it into something doable."
The Director waves it off. "No! No! It was you!, it's time for the old generation to step aside and let the new generation's ideas shine. That's why we have talked."
Pointing at Harvey he continues, "And we have decided that you will be the Assistant Director from now on."
The (now former) casting director gasps and puts up a surprised front to mask his disappointment. His fist clenches and slowly releases.
Outwardly however he continues his act. "Oh I'm not deserving!"
The other two men say together, "You are the most deserving!"
The Assistant Director sighs and makes an elaborate show of giving in.
"So Assistant Director" Harvey says, "what exactly do you have planned for our golden goose?"
The director also looks at him clearly interested as well.
"Well, this was out of my perview, but since you asked…"
As he spoke the faces on the two men shifted with the words like shadows. Shock, horror, disbelief all appeared in flashes but one emotion stayed or rather a thought shared between the other two men
"This is utterly insane!"
When he finished explaining, the Director says slowly, "You weren't joking when you said you wanted to push him to the limit. Can we even show that on TV?"
Harvey sat there, frozen. His senses of being a movie executive for the last forty years were screaming, pleading, BEGGING him to let this youngster create. He saw not a young man sitting there showing his vision.
HELL NO.
He saw money, franchise money.
Shirts, games, books, vr sims, theme park, swimming pools of money, money.
His hands rattled shaking the table. The shock had faded, the horror has disappeared, and the disgust? That was a problem that sobbing into his millions could fix after.
"Yes." He breathed.
"What?" The directors yelp together.
"I said yes." Harvey says louder to the sacks of money presented to us as people.
"Don't worry about what you can and can't show. Let me deal with all that!" He says rising out of his chair. "Just give me your best work alright?"
Copying him, they also rise.
Harvey offers his hand out palm down.
"Let's make some mon- a great show!"
The Director puts his drunken hand on top of his.
"Let's… let's get it onnn!"
The Casting Director hesitates, but also puts his hand on top.
"I'm in your care then."
Below all those hands, all of those aspirations, all that greed, sat a fourth mouse, blinded by the desires of others.
Rio's picture sat there on the table starting up at the hands piled, silently watching in abject horror.
Or not.
After all it was only a picture.