Living in Syn by Bobby Draughon

relatively
small proportions shocked him.  But more than that, the room conveyed the
feeling of weight, of the certainty that comes from generations of wealth.
    Everything
in the room seemed massive and silent.  The thickest, heaviest wooden table he
had ever seen seated twelve.  More than six inches thick, it held two one-inch deep
drawers at each setting.  They contained parchment and onyx pens to be dipped
in ink.  Who actually writes nowadays? And with an ink pen? Equally massive
bookcases lined the walls and handsome leather bound books filled their
shelves.  They also held cut-lead crystal decanters filled with the world's
finest brandies, scotches, and the like.
    The
ceiling formed a cupola over the room.  Hand carved mahogany trim rimmed its
insides.  Finally, the trim gave way to a stunning mural of Da Vinci, with one
of his paintings in progress, and with notes on his work table showing his
helicopter design, anatomy drawings, and several other works.  Mission located
the artist signature.  He nodded.  No expense had been spared.
    Reviewing
the bios on the Paradox officers would occupy his mind.  Susan had briefed him,
and their organization was really quite simple.  The president and three vice
presidents directed the entire company. 
    Vice
President Warren Westin managed the vast Operations Division.  Sometimes the
distinction between engineer and scientist means little.  With Warren it meant
everything.  He was an engineer from beginning to end.  Paradox recruited him
during the early years, as much to provide them with credibility as to obtain
results.  As Chief of Operations for a major computer manufacturer, and then as
Executive Vice President for ten more years in manufacturing smart prosthetic devices, industry considered him the best in his field.
    He made
an immediate and dramatic impact at Paradox.  He led an operation that used
more of a make it in your garage process to an award winning system for
quality and productivity.  Susan rated him as extremely effective, but blunt
sometimes to a fault.  He despised office politics and preferred to shoot it
out in the Officer's Meetings.  Right now, he  frowned, presumably at the
prospect of this meeting.  At most he reached 5'8" and measured about the
same in width.  Nevertheless, he wore a work of art in a suit Mission guessed
to be tailor made in London or Hong Kong.
    Vice
President Tanya Ricci led the Sales and Marketing Division.  Mission tended to
dismiss women's descriptions of other women, but he admitted Susan hit the mark
with Tanya.  The clothes didn't say it, they seemed exactly what a powerful and
attractive woman would wear to a business meeting.  To be sure, her mouth
suggested contradiction with indications of passion and cruelty, or perhaps it
was her eyes sending messages with potential for seduction or frozen reserve. 
In any event, the sum of the impressions told Mission that this woman was a
predator in every facet of her life. 
    She came
directly to Paradox from college, and while she performed well, she didn't set
the world on fire. But about a year ago, she changed her appearance to take
advantage of her looks and worked much more aggressively.  Then the promotions
chased her until the current VP retired, mostly to escape the pressure of Tanya
nipping at her heels.  In terms of success, Tanya continued to increase sales
in the Paradox traditional markets, and displayed real creativity in developing
new markets.
    Vice
President Fenwicke Matlin headed perhaps the most impressive commercial think
tank in the world inside his Research and Development Division.  Susan's
department comprised a major piece of R & D, and she reported directly to
Fenwicke.  He wanted no part of management or administration, and delegated
those duties to his deputy.  He wanted to play in the laboratory, and to tinker
with the synthetics.  His legendary brilliance sometimes inhibited a clear
focus on non-technical issues, but he