NOVEL SIMPLE CHAPTER 13: Soy Sauce in Space
POV: APARTMENT IN B.C
Lily Buelles had seen her fair share of odd projects, but the email she received that morning had a whiff of something... unusual. She was no stranger to strange requests, but this one? It was a head-scratcher. The subject line read, *"Set Design Request - Sci-Fi Project,"* and it came from someone in Alberta. Given her recent work on a low-budget Canadian sci-fi flick called *Soy Sauce in Space,* a title that alone had made her cringe, she assumed they’d tracked her down because of that. The movie itself had been abysmal, but a job was a job, and in the world of Canadian set design, opportunities didn’t exactly flood in.
She opened the email, half-expecting it to be some sort of prank. But when she saw the attached contract offering $10,000 upfront and another $10,000 for setup/changes, her skepticism turned into cautious curiosity. The pay was generous, especially considering the fact that the work was estimated to take only a month. With some downtime between movies, she figured, *Why not?* Alberta wasn’t too far from her home in British Columbia, and WestJet was running a decent deal on flights. Besides, it wasn’t Air Canada, and that alone was a blessing.
Upon arrival, Lily was greeted by a man who introduced himself as Atlas and a woman named Alicia, who appeared to be his assistant. Lily took in Atlas’s imposing stature: a tall, broad-shouldered man with a chiseled jaw and intense blue eyes that seemed to pierce through to her thoughts. Alicia, by contrast, was petite with a keen, observant demeanor and short blonde hair pulled into a no-nonsense ponytail . They seemed earnest, though a little mysterious, and Lily was curious about what kind of movie they were working on.
“So, what kind of movie are we doing?” Lily asked, trying to get a read on the project.
Atlas smiled, his eyes sparkling with a mix of excitement and secrecy. “Let’s call it sci-fi. It’s about portals.”
*Portals?* Lily thought, *that could be interesting. Or it could be another Soy Sauce in Space disaster.* Either way, the money was too good to pass up. “Okay, where do you want me to start?”
Atlas and Alicia led her to a large warehouse at the back of the gym. It looked like it had been neglected for years, filled with dusty, outdated exercise bikes and broken machines. Most of the junk had been cleared out, leaving a vast, empty space. Lily’s set designer brain immediately began mapping out the possibilities.
“This is where you’ll be working,” Atlas said, gesturing to the space.
Lily took a slow, appraising look around. “What scene am I setting up?”
Atlas folded his arms, his expression turning serious. “I want you to imagine this whole room as a sleek, sterile sci-fi environment. All white, with computers flat-mounted to the walls. We’ll need several displays showing linked systems, something that looks like a central control hub.”
Lily nodded, jotting down notes. “Any specific details?”
“Yeah,” Atlas continued, “there needs to be a sound system that plays a single phrase—‘Portal countdown.’ Then it counts down from ten. It should be loud, and the acoustics have to be perfect. There should also be windows, but instead of looking outside, they should display an outdoor scene—think of a destroyed medieval town, something that contrasts with the sci-fi theme.”
“Medieval? That’s a bit unconventional,” Lily said, raising an eyebrow.
Atlas nodded, as if this mix of eras made perfect sense. “Yeah, I want the contrast. And we’ll need lots of overhead lights—those sci-fi-style ones. Plus, LED strips, some chevrons—think of it as a cross between a laboratory and a Stargate portal room.”
“Stargate portal room?” Lily repeated, trying to keep up. “Do you need me to build a portal?”
“No, no portal,” Atlas said. “But I do need the center of the room cleared. Big enough for twenty people to stand comfortably, not cramped like sardines.”
Lily’s mind was spinning with the possibilities. It was a strange mix of elements, but she could see it coming together. “Okay, I can do that. Anything else?”
Atlas seemed to hesitate for a moment, he said. “The movie won’t be due for another two years.”
Lily’s eyebrows shot up. “Two years? But you want this room done in a month?”
Atlas chuckled, sensing her surprise. “I know it’s tight. But the first month is just to get it all set up and under construction. That’s what the initial $10,000 is for. We’ll pay you another $10,000 to oversee the project. How does that sound?”
Lily couldn’t deny it was an appealing offer, especially considering she had nothing better lined up. But something nagged at her. “Are you sure you have enough of a budget to build it with my fees on top?”
Atlas turned to Alicia, who had been silently observing the whole exchange. Alicia looked slightly uncertain but nodded. “We’ll make it work. If the budget needs adjusting, we’ll figure it out.”
Atlas nodded in agreement. “I’ve got my own funds, so don’t worry about skimping on the details.”
*Hello apartment money. Goodbye apartment money.*
Lily felt a flicker of excitement at the challenge. This was shaping up to be far more interesting than she initially thought. A sci-fi room with medieval undertones and a countdown to who knows what? It might not be a traditional project, but it sure as hell beat working on another *Soy Sauce in Space*.
“Alright,” Lily said, feeling a bit more confident. “This sounds like a unique project. I’ll get started right away. And, just out of curiosity, what’s the name of this movie?”
Atlas paused, a cryptic smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “We’re still working on that.”
Lily shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s gotta be better than *Soy Sauce in Space*.”
Atlas laughed, and for the first time, Lily felt like she was on the same page with him. This might be one of the strangest projects she’d ever taken on, but it had potential. And in her line of work, potential was everything. *Because there’s no way a movie set that was being shot in two years was what she was making, so she had some serious snooping to do.*
***
POV GYM
Atlas was deep in thought about the training ahead. His goal was not just to prepare the recruits for physical challenges but to make them think strategically about the portal. He understood that if he revealed too much about the actual nature of the portals, he’d come off as a crazy nutbag. So, he needed to find a way to integrate their training with the idea of portals without laying it all out.
*I’ve got to do this right,* he thought, *The,SFB team need to be mentally prepared for the horrors of the wasteland.*
Atlas knew that to build the best team, he had to cultivate a mindset of adaptability and innovation. His recruits needed to be ready for anything, and thinking about portals was crucial. But he had to be subtle. He planned to gradually introduce the concept into their drills and challenges, making them think about alternate realities and unexpected scenarios without explicitly mentioning the fact that the portals were real.
He had started by assigning them tasks that seemed innocuous at first—designing and navigating complex obstacle courses, solving puzzles that required out-of-the-box thinking. Each exercise was designed to challenge their problem-solving skills and adaptability. The idea was to make them comfortable with ambiguity and teach them to thrive in unpredictable environments.
*They don’t need to know everything yet,* he reminded himself. *But they will. In time.*
Atlas knew that his methods might seem unorthodox, but he was convinced they would yield results. He was determined to build a team that could handle anything the wasteland could throw at them. And even if his recruits didn’t fully understand his motives, he hoped they would eventually see the value in his approach.
As he watched his recruits tackle their new tasks, Atlas felt a surge of anticipation. *I’m going to make sure they’re ready.*
And if it took a little madness to get them there, so be it.