Chapter 89: Psionic Mastery
1 Week Earlier
Inside the grand halls of Malacañang Palace, Richard had been immersed in a relentless cycle of meetings, blueprints, signatures, and visions. For an entire week, he had stood at the confluence of national ambition and technological evolution. Flanked by government bodies—DOST, DICT, DOE, and ERC—and representing Bytebull, the tech behemoth he co-founded, Richard had become a keystone in a project that could redefine the Philippine future.
The core of the mission: Reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant with a staggering $11 billion initiative. But it was far more than energy. Richard and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) drafted a $3 billion cyber defense initiative, forming a unified firewall around the nation’s digital architecture, with Bytebull’s cutting-edge AI-driven protocols at the helm.
And then, there was the crown jewel—the acquisition of the Pheonix AI framework for $15 billion. This technological marvel was now licensed across multiple domains: government database optimization, automated budget accounting, traffic AI regulation, and the deep digitization of bureaucracy. With Phoenix, inefficiency would become obsolete. The old, paper-based structures were to be phased out, replaced by machine learning algorithms and real-time data flows.
The President himself had greenlit Richard’s ambitious vision: the development of a Technological Hub in Clark, Pampanga. Not just for Bytebull, but for giants like IBM, and other global tech contenders. It was a declaration of the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s rising digital titan. The clock was ticking—everything was to be operational by 2020 or earlier.
Present Day
The gates of Malacañang closed behind Richard as he stepped into the humid Manila morning. At the foot of the stone steps waited Ciano, his own personal security detail, flanked by Mr. Reyes, the veteran government official who had been their silent escort all week.
Richard loosened his tie slightly as he sank into the backseat of the black sedan. His mind buzzed—not from caffeine, but from sheer exhaustion. The endless hours of paperwork, policy discussions, and executive logistics had taken their toll. But it was worth it. Every form he signed was another gear in the machine he was building.
He glanced out the window as the vehicle began the drive to the airport. "We need to digitize this entire thing," he thought, imagining a system where no one would ever need to physically sign 800 pages again.
Ciano broke the silence. "We could assign someone to represent Bytebull here permanently. Maybe Jorge. He’s meticulous with government liaisons."
Richard nodded slowly. "Yes... but the government needs to respect the person they’re dealing with. They need to trust that whoever’s in front of them knows what they’re doing. And right now, that still needs to be me."