Blogbuster: A Sci-Fi Thriller

by Mars Dorian

  Roman whistled.

  “Tricky, tricky, Violet. Why did you decide to change course when you were doing so well?”

  Violet stood up from her position.

  “Sir, we were doing alright, but I was afraid doing good wasn’t good enough to win against the other team. That’s why I came up with the idea. Great results ask for great risks.”

  “Well, let’s see if your risk paid off. Laci, how did it work out for team V-empire?”

  She read the sales data in front of everyone.

  “Well, they sold 1,056 Vorbs, bringing in a total of 526,944 credits.”

  Roman nodded.

  “That’s quite impressive, ladies.”

  Elli Mental smiled, Violet tried to, as well. But that number, although it did sound impressive, didn’t mean anything without knowing the rival team’s sales. Even the twins kept empty looks on their faces.

  “Now what about our Gold Crush over here?” Roman said.

  Laci continued.

  “I have to admit they had a rough, rough start. Their strategy was to enter TechTown and pitch the Vorbs to rich, early adopters, mostly tech entrepreneurs in their twenties and thirties. Bam offered to drive his team on manual, based on his career as a stunt driver, but he caused the vehicle to get stuck in a tight alley. They lost valuable time just reaching the place.”

  Roman chuckled.

  “Guess you quit your stunt driver career for a reason.”

  Everyone in the room chuckled, well, except for Bam. He forced himself to look unconcerned. Laci looked back on her eScroll.

  “And frankly, sales weren’t trickling in, either. The boys went for any rich-looking person they could reach, and pitched in front of investors, but they couldn’t make it beyond a couple of sales. Bam even tried to get attention by slamming into a limo.”

  Roman rolled his eyes.

  “Now where did I hear that before?”

  Laci went on.

  “But thanks to Trigger’s connection, they snatched a twenty minute pitch opportunity in front of Mr. Jones, a VC in online investment. Since twenty sales wouldn’t suffice, Whizzard tried a rather unconventional sales method.”

  Roman smiled.

  “He had some bulletproof arguments.”

  Whizzard grinned. Roman waited for the number.

  “So, what’s the final verdict?”

  “The boys reached a total Vorb sale of 1,022.”

  Team V-empire launched straight from their chairs on the other side of the courtroom. Elli squealed and hugged Violet with all her might. Even the TwinBuilds forced their faces to put on a cheery grin.

  “Hold on, ladies,” Laci said, “I’m not finished yet.”

  Team V-empire froze their victory dance and turned to Laci with o-shaped mouths. For the duration of a breath, the courtroom became silent. Laci enjoyed the attention and stretched the moment as many seconds as she could.

  “I’ve forgotten to mention something important.”

  62

  A Vorb lowered from the ceiling and zoomed straight onto Laci’s make-upped face. She didn’t like zooms that close to her skin, because of pores and possible wrinkles, but five layers of youth cream should trick even the sharpness of Omnilook 3D lenses. Or so she hoped.

  “Vloggers, shockers. I haven’t yet mentioned Fitnessy’s contribution to team Gold Crush. She split with the boys after the car disaster and decided to engage her community. And despite trashing one of her follower’s cars, she found nothing but affection. Fitnessy sold directly to her fanbase and brought in an additional three hundred and fifty sales.”

  The Vorb closed in on Fitnessy and recorded her larger-than-life smile.

  “So in total, team Gold Crush made more sales.”

  Roman raised his eyebrow and opened his lush lips.

  “Wow, now that comes at a surprise. Looks like Gold Crush won after all. Congrats, your teamwork sucked, but hey, in the end, it’s all about the numbers.”

  He swung his hammer around like the nordic god and pointed it at the boys and Fitnessy.

  “You can go now and take the rest of the day off. Enjoy your win and boast in front of your fanbase. And sib some fruities. The lychee lassi is damn good.”

  Whizzard, Fitnessy, Trigger and Bam left the courtroom. Before Bam passed through the door’s threshold, he turned around and glanced at Violet, but she didn’t look back. He sighed and moved out with the rest of his members. Roman hit the hammer again, cracking the hard steel against his mahogany desk.

  “I could really get used to this.”

  Laci smiled.

  “You sure have a penchant for it.”

  Roman changed into his pokerface and proceeded to distill judgement on team V-empire.

  “Now, ladies, you started with a bold idea and made good initial sales, but in my world, second place is really another word for losers.”

  Elli Mental curled her lips. Violet decided how to handle this result, and the twins, well, they were beyond good and evil at this point. Since no one said a word, Elli stood up.

  “Mr. Stax, we were better. The boys threatened innocent people with violence, we put up a fashion show and made ginormous sales. We should have won. It’s unfair.”

  Roman sighed.

  “Stop shoulding all over yourself, little one. Unfair? Welcome to reality. If you want fair, get a hair bleach. In this world, you play the cards you’re dealt with and stop crying about it.”

  Elli sniffed, so loud it drowned the circling beeps of the Vorbs above. Roman rolled his eyes.

  “The second round will start the day after tomorrow, but one or two of you will have to go. The question is who?”

  He pointed his hammer at Violet.

  “Tell me, fashion girl, who didn’t deliver in your team?”

  Violet frowned. She didn’t expect to make that decision. She swapped looks with Elli and the Twins. They looked back at her with pleading faces.

  Violet said,

  “Sir, I think everyone tried their best to win this round.”

  Roman waved her off.

  “Yadda, yadda. Drop the nice play, you’re here to work for me and make a million credits, right? Plus, the fair play mode doesn’t fit your personal branding, Violet, you’re supposed to be the brash go-getter.”

  He paused.

  “If you’re not going to nominate someone, I’m going to fire you by default for being indecisive.”

  Violet swallowed. Felt her heartbeat going overdrive, felt the sweat on her forehead dropping down. It was time to switch gears and go for her trademark Violet approach.

  “I think we all did our best, sir, however, I believe that Elli Mental was by far the most active in our group. She brought in the initial sales, convinced the headmaster and kept the team spirit going. The TwinBuilds remained passive for most of the mission.”

  Roman Stax smiled from his elevated desk.

  “So the twins must go?”

  Violet hesitated, but nodded. Elli gave her a wink only she could see. Roman twisted his head towards the twins.

  “Now Violet wants to see you both go. What’s your defense? You better bring a good one.”

  The male twin, Beta, stepped up.

  “Sir, it’s actually the other way around. We think Violet didn’t bring the passion. Her sales approach was lackluster, she was basically just watching me, Alpha and Elli. She didn’t even communicate with her community. We believe she has to go.”

  Alpha, who stood right next to her twin brother, smiled in agreement. Twin style, twin mind.

  “She did create the fashion show, but it was a huge risk and led to mission failure. We would have won if we stayed on campus and continued selling.”

  Violet blasted from her chair, so fast, it tumbled over.

  “How can you say that? Our sales were meager, we were moving at snail speed. If it wasn’t for me, we would have made less than a hundred sales.”

  Alpha sighed.

  “That’s your opinion, and you don’t have
the data to back it up.”

  “How about I take some data and shove it up your twin hole.”

  Roman cleared his throat. The sound, reminiscent of a ninety year old before his last orgasm, traveled to every corner of the courtroom.

  “Girls, girls, behave, no wrestling please, this is a place of fairness and balance.”

  The ladies, including Laci, responded with their finest WTH faces. Roman ignored their laser-like eyes and switched focus back to little Elli, who was sandwiched between her team.

  “Now to you, freckleface, you have the final say.”

  She nodded and stepped in front of the desk, looked like a lawyer in micro format.

  “Thank you, sir. First of all, I feel blessed to be in this team. Both Violet and the TwinBuilds were doing the best to their ability. And although we’ll be competitors from now on—“

  “Save that sugar before I get diabetes,” Roman said.

  Elli swallowed.

  “Fine.”

  Pause.

  “I was the best persuader in the team and I made the most sales. And although the twins weren’t nearly as good as me, they certainly brought the passion.”

  She moved around to Violet.

  “It’s true that Violet felt a bit emotionally detached. Her idea to take your helicopter was bold and smart, but she certainly lacked spirit when it came to making the actual sales.”

  Violet snarled at every micro-motion on Elli’s chill face. Not a twitch of shame, no ‘sisterly love’ whatsoever. So this was it. Violet saw herself in a gloomy blog article with keywords such as ‘goodbye Blogbuster’, ‘goodbye million credit salary’, ‘hello debt’. Elli looked up at Roman’s mighty-high desk.

  “So, my final verdict is this.”

  63

  “The twins have to go.”

  Such a tiny voice, and yet such an impact on the people in the room. Especially on the twins, whose faces formed into frowns. After a second delay that felt like it lasted for an eternity, the information trickled into their brains.

  “What ?”

  Alpha grabbed Elli’s thin arm.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Elli shook her head, but kept her eyes fixed on Roman Stax.

  “Sorry twins, I do appreciate your commitment, but I only want to team up with winners, and you don’t have what it takes to win this show, for now.”

  She turned around and put on her sugarcoated face.

  “I wish you all the best though.”

  Alpha kicked the table in front. Beta tried to hold his sister back. Didn’t work. Roman sighed.

  “The first passionate reaction I’ve seen from you, guys. Too bad it’s too late.”

  He grinned at Elli.

  “I didn’t expect that decision. At all. You made it sound like you preferred the twins over Violet. What made you change your mind?”

  Elli nodded.

  “It’s true, but I find them too hesitant and naive. I think they can be great, persuasive vloggers, but they need more experience. Violet on the other hand brought both attitude and experience, she just lacked passion during the actual sales process.”

  Roman nodded, leaned back into his judge throne and crossed his arms.

  “So, looks like both Violet and Elli are against you, twinnies.”

  Alpha fumed.

  “Mr. Stax, please, they teamed up to conspire against me and my brother. We were active, we built that stage, we handled the sales. And I promise, in the next mission, we’ll do even better.”

  “I can’t build a business based on promises. And being active doesn’t mean jax, heck, my body bacteria is active right now, but I’m not going to make it Head of Online Content.”

  “Mr. Stax.”

  “TwinBuilds.”

  He grabbed the hammer and hit it on the desk. Three hits echoed through the farthest corner of the courtroom.

  “You’re busted.”

  “Nooo.”

  The twins moaned. Alpha wiped her tears away and mumbled around, stuff like, no way, that’s unfair, yadda yadda. Roman rolled his eyes and hit the hammer one more time.

  “Please leave this building before I have to call security.”

  Alpha stormed out the courtroom, but not before she kicked at least five chairs in the process. She also booted the door, once before she entered it, and then when she wanted to slam it shut. Didn’t work. The two doors were massive, old-school. A mechanism made it impossible to shut them with vigor. The only thing Alpha could do to show her anger was to land another swift kick. She hurt her left foot in the action and limped out the BBB.

  Beta stormed towards the exit after her. In mid-walk, he stopped and bowed.

  “Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Stax. We learned a lot.”

  “De nada.”

  He thanked Roman in silence again and headed for the doors. A Vorb followed them and recorded every micro reaction, including a close up of Alpha’s face. Back in the courtroom, Elli sat back down and moved closer to Violet. So close she could whisper into her ear.

  “It’s us against the world, sister.”

  Violet sighed. This show was getting more twisted by the minute.

  Laci checked the official Blogbuster channel and read some selected comments.

  Schrottfresser wrote.

  OMG, they should have fired Violet. She DESERVED it.

  MindyAusMarszahn wrote.

  Poor Twins, I rooted for them. All the best. Now I’m on team Violet.

  #violetismyfavoritecolor

  TeenageMutantNinjaTurd wrote.

  No wins for the twins.

  ByeByeAlphaBeta wrote.

  Bye, bye, Alpha and Beta.

  SomeRandomChick wrote.

  Wow, two people gone already, and it’s just the first round. This is insane. And it’s fun to watch. Keep up the drama, fellas, and I keep on watching.

  2cruel4school wrote.

  Elli was right, the twins were 2 naive. They should stick to playing with space ponies.

  TwoGether wrote.

  Violet and Elli, sisters of a sinful desire + dreamteam 4ever.

  A thousand more comments trickled in. They ran the gamut from ‘LongLiveViolet+Elli’ to ‘Violet sucks and must die’. Some were too cruel for a mention in the Blogbuster show.

  Roman dissolved the round. The ‘surviving’ vloggers were ordered to retreat.

  “Smile, my media homies. You’ve made it to the next mission,” Roman said.

  Outside the Blogbuster Building, Vorbs hovered over the entrance and recorded the legions of fans. The security forces held them back as the twins stormed out and ran across the street. The crowd unleashed a snapshot hailstorm. Press, fans, trolls and amused bystanders blocked the red carpet and intercepted the twins. The blog press went wild.

  “Why do you think Elli voted you out?”

  “Are you disappointed that you lost?”

  “What happens now?”

  “Please, say something, anything that gets us views.”

  No comment. The twins didn’t say it, they just left everyone behind and dashed away. Far away from the lights, the crowds, the BBB. Two blocks away, they entered a random shuttle and rode back downtown. Inside the bus, they moved towards the backseat and settled down. Beta’s face hadn’t changed from when he left the courtroom. He thought the Blogbuster was a great experience. But Alpha, well, she looked through the back window and squinted her eyes. If looks could kill, hers would have caused a carnage.

  64

  In the commons area of the BBB, Laci gathered the leftover vloggers.

  Violet Gear

  Bam

  Trigger

  Elli Mental

  Whizzard

  “Guys and gals, was that intense or what? Whooosh. Look at my arms, they’re still shaking from excitement.”

  They didn’t shake at all, but no one could see it, thanks to her skin-covering cosplay.

  “You are free for today. Chill out in your rooms, grab some dinner in our cafeter
ia or watch some J-porn. Yes, you do have full online access now.”

  A happy smile on tired vlogger faces. Finally. Being offline for a vlogger felt like going cold turkey with an alcoholic beverage printer in front of your eyes.

  Looky, looky, but no touchy.

  Laci beamed.

  “Before you get lost in the web, here’s the schedule. The next mission begins in two days. Tomorrow we’ll have a surprise tutorial, which of course is mandatory for all of you. After that—“

  She paused her speech and looked around. Everyone was paying attention, just not to her. Fingers wiped, o-shaped mouths ‘oood’, comments beeped, as every vlogger interacted with their online community or checked out other web-related stuff. Laci faked a melodramatic clear-throat sound effect, but no one cared.

  “Hey you guys, I wasn’t finished with my announcement…”

  But they were finished with her, so she excused herself. On her way out she said,

  “I have actually something important to do in the media center,” and whoosh, escaped the awkward social media scene.

  Oh well, at least she looked da bomb in her Princess Hilda cosplay.

  65

  Violet left the commons. The last eight hours were intense, and she needed some quality time with the most important person in the world — herself. It was time for her introvert self to rejuvenate in solace.

  Back in her suite, she tossed her suit and shoes on the floor and proceeded to indulge in a mint-flavored shower and immersed her body into some lychee lotion. Crawled into her bed and cuddled with the sheets. Fluffypuff waves of comfort flooded her body. It was the best feeling of the day, almost better than winning but not quite as good as creating new sketches though.

  But she couldn’t rest just yet.

  Because, community.

  They were waiting for the queen of fashion.

  She checked her inbox and gazed at the onslaught of messages. Over one thousand five hundred twenty-two mails waited for her personal reply. Violet sighed. She’d need at least two days of constant typing and calling to tackle the text attacks. That’s why she decided for priority mail only, which was sprinkled far and few between.