Chapter 13: Big Business

The two business women made their way over to the large meeting table at the back-center of the room. It had simple and exquisite floor cushions in lieu of chairs. Ms. Oshie sat down on the one at the table’s head, but schooched the cushion a bit away from Ms. Choi so she could better angle her body to face her associate. Ms. Choi just sat on the closest cushion at the side of the table.

Ms. Oshie sat on her knees, while Ms. Choi crossed her legs. The latter’s eyes were fixed on the table surface. It was was clear, and filled with countless fancy looking buildings. Each one was divided via clear panes from others: sometimes among other smaller buildings and even entire courtyards. Each one had a plaque with company names and information on them.

“What are all these?”, said Ms. Choi.

“Lilliputian companies. I acquire them as another collection of mine. Do you like them?”

“Yes. Sorry, I just had forgotten about this while I was busy being impressed by your office floor and pleasingly captured by our chat.”

The two shared a small laugh.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Certainly.”, replied Ms. Choi.

Ms. Oshie hit a button on the table which turned on some intercom.

“Could you bring the refreshments to my office. My meeting with Ms. Choi is about to start, so please close the door on the way out.”

“Right away Oshie Sama.”, came a woman’s voice on the other line.

“So,”, began Ms. Choi. “How do these Lilliputians get food? Water? How is all that handled. Do they grow it themselves somewhere or...?”

“Ah, no.”, began Ms. Oshie in turn. “Every week I vacate my office and some staff comes in to place supplies around the city and in each divided section of my meeting table. We have a proprietary sleeping gas blend to make sure they are not disturbed. You might have noticed there’s a few inches of empty space between the barriers and the ‘ground’ of my displays? That’s to accommodate the Gulliverian employees who help with those processes.”

“Oh, very interesting.”

There was another moment of silence before Ms. Choi continued.

“Where do they come from, if I might ask?”

“Oh, from all over Lilliput.”

“The buildings too, though. I noticed a few of them were actually under construction: in the floor display, that is.”

“Ah.”, said Ms. Oshie.

“A great question. Like I said, the buildings in the table display are ones I explicitly purchased. Many of the buildings in the floor display were acquired by other means as well from Lilliputian lands. However I also want my little ‘country’ to expand on its own. So, I order some Lilliputian building supplies to be delivered with the food and water at times. The country’s rather recent: I only got control of Oshie Corporation just two years ago, and it was then I really started the project by moving Lilliputians over from a more private collection at my home. However, some cities here have grown by over a quarter of their old size or more since then.”

“How very smart of you, but they don’t mind building here. I mean, they know of their fate certainly.”, said Ms. Choi.

“Certainly.”, repeated Ms. Oshie. “But, they must entertain themselves somehow. Most of the have acclimated towards their lives here, under my feet. They try to go about things as normal as possible, and construction work is an outlet for many of them. Each city has its own government of some kind by now, and the country itself has one. It’s all beholden to me, of course, but I try not to interfere too much--if only cause it’d usually be a tad ‘beneath’ me.”

The two shared a laugh over the little pun there. A sharply dressed Brobdingnagian assistant entered. Her feet were bare to abide by the policy of the executive floor, though they had a turquoise polish on the nails. She was short, petite, and carried a lidded tray over to the meeting table. She didn’t once look or comment on the floor or the table. She was clearly used to it, and didn’t mind it one bit.

“Here you are Oshie Sama.”, she said with a bow. “If you require anything else please let me know.”

“Thank you.”, said Ms. Oshie. The assistant moved to lift the lid off the tray, but the kimono wearing woman politely waved her off, wanting to do it herself. The assistant left, her feet stomping back over the Lilliputian country beneath her. She closed the door behind her as requested.

Ms. Oshie moved her hand to the tray lid.

“Part of why I’m so interested in meeting with you, and see value in your business, has to do with some of its history.”

“History?”

“Yes.”, said Ms. Oshie. “It was before both our times, but back when laws forbidding the consumption of Lilliputians were introduced, Brob Delights Food Inc. was chief among the food companies lobbying against it. The company, now yours, wasn’t just the most outspoken about, you were the most by miles. Of course, now your public relations downplays it, but something tells me you might still practice that tradition in private.”

“I... yes.”, said Ms. Choi. “I’ve been known to indulge in devouring the smaller sizes now and then.”

Ms. Oshie smiled to match Ms. Choi’s own. She lifted the tray lid and revealed a small porcelain pot of tea. It was already pre-poured into two tea-cups with elegant, subtle designs. Between the cups was a small plate with avocado sushi. On top of each piece of sushi, laying on the solid gob of the avocado between the rice and seaweed, writhed hundreds of screaming little specks.

“Lilliputian garnish?”, said Ms. Choi.

“Indeed. I hope it doesn’t offend.”, said Ms. Oshie. She reached for a pair of chopsticks by the plate. Ms. Choi reached for her own pair, pinched up a piece of sushi, and brought it her mouth. After a few chews, she swallowed.

“Not at all.”, said Ms. Choi.

Ms. Oshie followed and did much the same, smiling all the while.

--==--==--==--

The Lilliputians were stuck to the sushi pieces by both the cling of the avocado mass against their tiny bodies as well as a very thin--to a Brobdingnagian, at least--layer of somewhat sticky seasoning. As such, they were helpless when the short-haired Brobdingnagian pinched up their little ‘island’ and brought it to her awaiting mouth.

Those lips parted, following all the etiquette standards of the upper classes of Brobdingnagian elite. Yet, that made no difference to the Lilliputians. To them, she was a monster and her mouth doom. When those lips swung open, they were blasted with the humid gale of her breath and the sweet, all encompassing scent it carried with it.

In they went. The chopsticks parted and Ms. Choi’s tongue took over handling the piece of sushi. That great muscle wrestled the sushi piece to bits. Rice flew off to all corners of the mouth, along with many Lilliputians that jostled off the piece of sushi. Others were crushed against her palate, and many more were crunched by Ms. Choi’s teeth as they munched the piece of sushi to paste.

Others yet lived, traveling down her throat to simmer in her gut.

The ones on the piece of sushi Ms. Oshie ate fared even worse. She seemed to smile right at them as she opened wide and put them in her mouth. She chewed just once, trying to minimize the amount of early causalities. Instead, she nimbly worked her tongue to press the piece of sushi against the roof of her mouth and her cheeks. Her saliva drenched the piece of food and the Lilliputians ‘garnishing’ it.

Once satisfied, she swallowed the piece mostly whole. Her throat further smushed them as it carted them towards her awaiting gut.

The torrid air within their stomachs was far from inviting, and the noises and uproarious churnings did even less to make them feel welcome. A roaring current soon approached as hot, steaming tea flooded the respective guts of the two Brobdingnagian women.

They had each taken a sip of their cups in unison. It was just a sip, but just a sip was still a lake’s worth to the minuscule Lilliputians languishing within their bellies. Their heartbeats, their laughter and words: all reached them as muffled, seemingly-mocking utterances while they started to digest away in agony.

--==--==--==--

“Mmm, very well made: the tea and the food.”, said Ms. Choi.

“Thank you. I hire only the finest chefs for my meals, refreshments included in that category.”, said Ms. Oshie.

“I can tell.”, said Ms. Choi. She took another piece of sushi and devoured it with dainty grace. In the process, one building within the table caught her eye. It was just below and to the left of the tray. The Lilliputian structure was taller than any of the rest, and she noticed the plaque on it.

“Lilliadventures Inc. What’s this one?”, she asked.

“Ah,”, said Ms. Oshie. That’s my latest acquisition. They only recently sold their stock on the Brobdingnagian market.”

The two leaned towards the particular divided-area that the building rested in. Both of them looked at it, peering easily past that near-perfectly transparent material making up the table’s surface.

“Very impressive as well.”, said Ms. Choi. She blinked at it a few times.

“Thank you.”, said Ms. Oshie.

“Now, you were mentioning laws, is that what this meeting is about.”

“Oh more than that, but yes. We can start with that then discuss some actual business matters.”

She took another sip of her tea.

“Lilliputians are protected by law for humanitarian reasons, true, but also due to their help in technologically progressing our society in the past. They had a leg-up on us in the past there, but since contact all three governments are roughly equal in terms of development within their borders. This is all old news, history really. The point is, I think those laws are too generous, and I’m not the only one.”

Mrs. Choi nodded.

“Now, as you may know, some candidates of the Brobdingnagian legislature are up for reelection next week, and I’ve backed some alternatives who are more amiable to my interests. Anyways, some of the main Lilliputian and Gulliverian protection laws are up for renewal within a couple months, and I was thinking of lobbying for some changes...”

--==--==--==--

Mr. Gonzalez had heard it all. He along with everyone in the table had those same awful headsets pierced into their ears. The two Brobdingnagians had discussed eating Lilliputians, and he heard the sounds of that consumption taking place.

Then, he saw them. Two gigantic Brobdingnagian faces looming high above in the new ‘sky’. They talked about his company like his wasn’t there. They blinked a few times, eyeing the entire courtyard like it was some sort of quaint little trophy.

Then, just as soon as they stared down at his life’s work, continued from generations of labor, they turned away without so much as a word towards him or anyone else that shuddered beneath their gaze.

At last, the fires of Mr. Gonzalez's rage, his short-temper, were extinguished by the ever encroaching waves of hopelessness. It had finally sunk in that his entire company was taken. His life, and the lives of his employees were destroyed all to be one little decoration among many on some table.

All his work was just a minor distraction. An ornament to talk about for a few moments before getting down to business. And the two women definitely talked business. They spoke for well over an hour about laws, business partnerships and deals.

He tuned out for most of it.

This was his life now. He was to be a small mote of dust, hardly if even visible to them. The former CEO was a speck among a display piece. Even the most lucrative Lilliputian company meant almost nothing to these Brobdingnagian it seemed. It was just a display piece. A trifle.

That was what he was to be while the beings above him talked business.

While gods talked business.

Fin.