Galt sat alone in his office. It was several hours past the normal quitting time at J. Galt Inc., but he knew he couldn't leave. Hundreds of feet below him, anarchists mounted their second assault for the day on his building. Company security had been firing tear gas and tasers into the crowd all day but it seemed to have no effect. Through stinging eyes and charred skin, the rebels pressed forwards. Current reports estimated roughly four hundred dead all over the Escapist.
Standing up to get a better view of the chaos, Galt looked out from the balcony. The park had been turned into a burnt and trampled field, statues were smashed, fountains cracked and dried, the gardens Galt had poured thousands into were now little more than bonfires, glowing embers peeking out from beneath the mass of humanity.
An aide approached from the room, she seemed worried, no one was quite sure just how far the rebellion had spread. Contact with other buildings had become a difficult to maintain luxury. "Chairman, Rain's just been patched through. The signal's pretty bad but we think that we can power the transmitter just long enough to get our message out."
"Good, just give me a few minutes with him and we're leaving. I can't stand watching those bastards run all over my property like this." Galt leaned heavily over the ledge, "You hear me! This is my property! Mine goddamnit!" The industrialist tried to compose himself before walking back into the room. It was bad enough he was powerless to do anything against the riots, best not to look isolated in front of anyone else.
Rain's face dominated nearly all of the screen. A small ticker ran across the bottom. Plummeting stocks and body counts seemed to be the only news from Zemalac.
"Good to see you Rain, I take it that the rebels have yet to breach your...whatever the hell you're hiding in right now. I can't really tell what those walls are made out of...I think that one might even be moving..." Galt's disgust with his rival's architectural tastes seemed to get the better of him momentarily.
"Galt, just get to the damn point. This is taking precious time away from grinding up orphans. Toebiter just plain lacks the finesse to do it properly and I hate it when they're not the right consistency, it makes sacrifices so much harder." the talking mask replied.
"Alright then, listen, this whole deal is largely your fault. I told you that Ultrajoe didn't need that surgery so soon after his exile, now's he's more powerful than you could ever imagine, and holding goddamn Woodstock '08 on my front lawn. Point is, if any of us want to ride out this damn revolution with our necks intact, we might need to put away ideological differences in the name of self-preservation. So, unless we can make a deal with this man, then you'll find yourself up to your ears in rhetoric in no time."
Before Rain could reply, the screen flickered off and the windows shattered. Galt was thrown to the floor as glass rained down upon him. Staggering to the balcony and trying to wipe the blood from his face, Galt saw the flaming wreck of a zeppelin slowly crumbling into the streets. Across the park, one of the great ships had crashed into the offices. The radio tower snapped under the heat and plummeted. Protesters rushed out from the commercial park and onto the lawn. Galt felt the heat wave from the blast envelope him in it's gentle warmth.
"Nietzsche protect whichever misguided soul thought that was the best idea."
As his world was fast burning to the ground, Galt staggered into his office. Collapsing in a heap on his desk, he could see the faint outline of a man in a suit approach him.
The man's face was simply a smooth, green surface. The worlds "No picture available" wrote themselves with fire in the air. The apparition calmly stepped towards the haggard businessman, he straightened his tie before speaking.
"John, do you know who I am?" the spirit asked.
"Why...why yes. Y-You're, You're Anon. The final boss of the interwebs. You're the whole reason I'm here today! You were my inspiration!" Galt's voice was raspy, glass had plowed small red rivers in his face.
"Ah, I was, but as all things must, I died. The cancer overcame me. The newfags killed our lulz. I had hoped you would take my place. You had the potential Galt." the voice became harsher. It was clear it did not approve.
"I..I tried, sir. I tried so damn hard. Once you were gone, I just couldn't focus. I got caught up in the serious business of this election and never realized why I was even here."
"That's clear, but there is still time. There's still a chance for the lulz to come back. Will you do it, John?"
With all the dignity of a whore in church, Galt flung himself at the feet of the ghost. Tears flowed from his eyes.
"Anything Anon! Anything to bring back the old ways! Oh how I long to simply post some Cp just one more time..."
"Not your personal tissue box, newfag. Quit crying. I've been dead long enough to get bored with you mourners."
Galt stood up, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes.
The apparition spoke in an instructional voice. Who knows how many had lost their System 32 at the hands of these honeyed words.
"Go out. Face the mobs. Find the Ultrajoe, take up his cause. It is anarchy that will be the lulziest. With him, go out into the mountains. Find the would-be king Rain. Deliver your ballots unto him. He will make for a temporary fix. A bridge between the serious business and our paradise."
"If it is required of me, I shall do it. I will deliver, Anon."
"I knew you would Galt. The Anon always will deliver."
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The lobby doors flung open, the man strode boldly out onto the burning lot. A messy head of black hair obscured the onlookers' gazes, but they knew who it was. Upon his brow was burnt the letters L-O-L, and his eyes where both a shade of crimson and green. Galt found the man in the horned helm, its blue paint still shining after the fires.
"Let us leave this place, Galt. We've got bigger problems to deal with."
With that, the duo left the burning ruins of J. Galt Inc.'s Corporate Offices. Driven by two different lusts, they set out on their quest to make the Escapist a much more interesting place.