The Divine Dissimulation [Complete]

Chapter 11 Abraham Goldstein Travels to the Terran Council Meeting.

A few weeks later, Abraham Goldstein stepped out of the vacuum tube transport that took him from his headquarters in Antarctica to Hansstadt in Europe. Abraham hated to travel with the vacuum tube trains and usually avoided it as much as possible. Although the vacuum tubes were considered safe, he was unsettled from travelling under the bottom of the ocean in a confined tube, and the built-in virtual reality entertainment system could not distract him from the claustrophobia he felt.

Hansstadt was the capital of the House Muller faction, and Terran Council annual general meeting was held here. The Terran Council met for monthly meetings as well, but Abraham Goldstein never attended these due to his age and his dislike of travelling long distances. He always made sure to stay represented, by sending the CEO or some other leader from the family.

Hansstadt was a fascinating mix of old and new, and it was a tax-free zone entirely owned by House Muller. It was built in the Alps where Europium Tower built on top of Mount Blanc constituted the largest building in the world. Built as pyramid it was supported by the mountain with its top 2000 meters over the summit of Mount Blanc. Hansstadt had a comfortable climate averaging 22 throughout the year due to orbital mirrors reflecting down sunlight during the winter months. 30 Kilometres away from Hansstadt was the Muller ski slopes that were always covered in snow because orbital shades was active in the summer which stopped the snow from melting. Around Hansstadt there was many old palaces that was disassembled and then restored to their former glory. This was because the Muller's valued history, and many of their leaders wanted to live in old-fashioned residences outside of Hansstadt instead of staying in the modern dwellings of Europium Tower.

Abraham Goldstein, Isaac Goldstein, and their bodyguards met with Andreas Muller, PR manager of House Muller.

Andreas Muller:

-          Good day Abraham. Is it just you and Isaac today? We assumed you would come with a larger delegation.

Abraham Goldstein:

-          Yes, but I decided that was not necessary. We have discussed the issues in advance, and I have the board's full confidence to make decisions.

Andreas Muller:

-          I see. My condolences on the loss of your grandson Jake Goldstein, he was a great man and will be missed.

Upon hearing this Abraham froze for a second. He had taken measures to prevent the deaths from becoming public and yet Andreas Muller knew about it. Abraham concluded that there had to be a spy in his company.

Andreas Muller:

-          You look pale Mr Goldstein, is anything wrong?

Abraham Goldstein:

-          No, it's just the sorrow of losing my grandson that is wearing me down.

Andreas Muller:

-          I understand. It’s a shame the invitation to the funeral was misplaced, House Muller would have liked to take part in the funeral, showing our respects.

Abraham realised that house Muller knew about the other deaths at The Annual General Meeting and decided to come "clean" with a fabricated story of what happened.

Abraham Goldstein:

-          I wanted to keep this a secret until after the Terran Council meeting, but since you already know, I am going to tell you the truth.

-          I was sick on the day, and I could not make it to the meeting. When I recovered, I found out that five of my family members died that day, murdered by poison.

-          I chose to keep the deaths a secret, as we are conducting an undercover investigation to find the perpetrator.  

-          Once the deaths are made public, we will have a proper funeral for those upstanding members of our family.

Upon hearing this, Isaac Goldstein almost exploded but he managed to keep calm. The old monster was twisting reality and feigning grief for his victims. Although Abraham Goldstein had promoted Isaac several steps the promotion was a punishment as he could feel how Abraham was messing around with his brain using him as a puppet. Abraham tapped Isaac’s shoulder.

Abraham Goldstein:

-          Don't get carried away in grief, Isaac. We will find and punish the killers. But for now, let's just focus on the work at hand.

Isaac Goldstein:

-          ….

Andreas Muller

-          Okay, gentlemen. I think it's better that I take you to your rooms now. I am sure you need to rest before tomorrow's council meeting.

Andreas led Abraham and his entourage to their rooms. As he left Abraham told his bodyguards to find and destroy any surveillance equipment in the room, and then he went to sleep.