Chapter Fifteen
Clarity had a candle light dinner with Shalia Owell and they talked for about an hour after eating in the presidential Suite a delicious pork neck and fragrant herbs plate sent from the 'Sky on 57' restaurant. Listening to some jazz music, they talked about their experience meditating with Madame Wa, and how their lesson was enjoyable. Feeling aroused after drinking a few glasses of red wine, the wealthy heiress gave Clarity a long massage in bed, before they both got naked and frolicked for several hours. The next day, Clarity decided to show Shalia her decryptor for the first time. She tucked her hair in a ponytail with an ivory rose hair pin borrowed from Shalia's dressing case, and washed her face with fresh water. In some ways, she appreciated the wealthy young girl. She thought of Shalia Owell as hot-headed, capricious, ambitious, and influenceable, but she was open-minded and adventurous, qualities she admired. After a good breakfast brought in by room service, Clarity shared her thoughts, looking into the blue eyes of Shalia Owell.
"I've been thinking about our lesson, Madame Wa is not teaching us meditation right."
"What do you mean? I feel chi, you felt chi in your body as well right?"
"We're not supposed to visualize energy, simply feel it." Clarity took her decryptor out, catching the attention of Shalia Owell.
"It's your decryptor, neat, show me." She looked closer and saw Clarity open the meditation module inside the Meridian 57 cluster of files, indicating specific instructions to meditate while thinking about an inner smile, smiling inwardly to her body and various organs.
"Madame Wa never spoke of the inner smile."
"That doesn't mean she's not teaching meditation properly."
The indications of the module were built like index cards, showing how to breathe and smile into the various glands, thalamus, pineal gland, known as the crystal room, the base of the skull, and each vertebrae, collecting energy in the cauldron, in the navel.
"It says feel energy move by itself. All of this does not involve aroused energy, she's going too fast."
"What is the problem with working with sexual energy? Taoist practices embrace sexuality, it's documented."
"Got to learn inner smile and regular orbit work, along with chi self massage and chi kung, before working with what is called the sexual palace. It's all part of a complex, integrated system, sexuality on its own can lead to imbalances." Shalia chose to ignore Clarity.
"I like Madama Wa, she's good for me."
"She doesn't follow tradition."
"Show me what else your decryptor says."
Clarity hesitated but pressed on a button she'd never explored labeled longevity. The module had clear explanations and charts of new ceramic material, an alternative to bone structure, other materials emulating muscle and tendon tissue, and a plasma-based fluid which could potentially replace blood, bringing nutrients to cells. On the following page, there was a chart depicting a person, and its various attributes, intricate meridian channels, organs working in harmony. One attribute caught the attention of Clarity. The label age said one hundred year person, but the field labeled as real age said fifty years. According to the research done by the monks of the Enlightened Society, youthening the body was possible. Shalia's eyes grew wider as she looked at the age indications of the chart.
"Lend me your decryptor, I want to examine this chart showing so much youthful longevity is possible. We can use this in our new health phone." Clarity placed her hand on Shalia's chest.
"No, this is not ready to be sold or distributed, it's a private sample of very delicate research. I've been entrusted by the warrior monks of Pentatone with this module and explanations and charts. This material is not meant to be sold or commercialized to a few people, it's meant to inform people about the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine."
"The monks you speak of do not have any money, they cannot make very meaningful discoveries." Clarity disagreed.
"You're wrong, they have all the knowledge they need to make the body last longer, because they understand the practices of Taoists and the explanations in the canons. That is more effective than all the technology used in western medicine today. Technology doesn't make you healthy, it's how you take care of your body that does."
Shalia took out a bottle of perfume shaped as a diamond, offering it to Clarity.
"Join me with Madame Wa, she is an authentic White Tigress." Clarity refused the bottle of perfume.
"No thanks."
Shalia did not like to be shown wrong. Her own confidence was delicate and she didn't expect her source of emotional support to tell her she was dumb.
"Leave the room, please, I don't want to see you." Clarity did not feel offended, and understood the reaction of Shalia, as she turned off her decryptor and placed it back in her pocket. The rich socialite lacked the confidence to fully take in the constructive criticism thrown at her. But the disagreement went beyond a simple difference of opinions. Their values were different and Clarity was finding out the extent of how different they were. She walked out of the presidential Suite, leaving Shalia Owell on her own.
Shalia held the badge of Clarity in her hand, displaying the Herbaline credential that the teleoperator had shown her at the Economic Forum attended a few days earlier. While Clarity was lying naked in bed, the night before, she'd searched her pants, at the same time as reaching for the massage oil she used on the teleoperator. Following indications of Madame Wa, now, she wanted to investigate her new friend Darcy Emmers, to know more about her. She poured herself a glass of Red Bull and drank half of it. Her infatuation with Clarity was ending, and she reasoned that their argument probably helped.
She grabbed her phone and began with simple verifications, calling Herbaline in the U.S. asking if any employees there matched the name Darcy Emmers. Herbaline operators were quick to sell diet and weight prevention herbal products, but not very cooperative when it came to revealing identities of their own people.
"We cannot reveal any information regarding Herbaline employees. Our bylaws forbid us to do that."
"Thank you," said Shalia.
She called Dale Irwail with another idea in mind.
"Dale, hi, it's Shalia. Can you provide access to the private search engine of the company? Yeah, Kishin came while you were out and inquired about the theft of the containers, I want to check some of the raw materials and suppliers. All right, very good, yes, I know how to get into the database of human resources. Thanks."
She turned on her laptop and got into the company's private database. Over the years, the company had gathered an extensive file on prominent personalities, business and political authorities involved with the various deals made by her father and the Board of Directors, which allowed the conglomerate to thrive in an era of substantial competition. In addition to high ranking company officials and politicians, there was a column labeled 'operational contacts', which showed the names of people employed at embassies, consulates, economic councils, non-governmental organizations and think tanks, people who carried out day-to-day activities serving as information sources for the company. She searched for people located in Singapore and found an official working in the customs office at the airport, someone who had approved a working visa for various executives involved with the purchase of electronic circuitry used in some O&O appliances.
"Darcy Emmers, hold on, let me check the files. When did she get into Singapore? Last few days?"
"Yes, a week or two at most."
"One of our files shows the name Darcy Emmers. There was a passport of Singapore issued to that name about a week ago. I guess there was a change of name, because there is a second register with another name, attached to the first name. Both numbers go together. The numbers are not accessible, but I can have access to the second name. Hold on." Shalia held her breath, thinking she was making progress.
"What is the name?" Shalia heard the familiar sound of some keyboard keys being typed on a computer and the officer came back with an answer two minutes later.
br /> "Clarity Nice, she is a citizen of the U.S., apparently involved in some kind of problem with U.S. Treasury bonds which were stolen. U.S. authorities keep refusing to issue her passport, but her application for citizenship was accepted here in Singapore, she's got diplomatic status. She stayed at the Ambassador Transit Hotel for one night a few days ago after the passport was issued."
Shalia inquired about the precise date of the stay at the Ambassador, and noticed it corresponded to the day before she'd met Clarity at the Singapore Economic and Health Forum.
"Very good, that's helpful, thanks."
Shalia Owell smiled inwardly. Just as her White Tigress had said to her, Darcy Emmers was not who she said she was. After looking at her decryptor, it was obvious that Clarity Nice worked for those warrior monks who knew about sophisticated meditation techniques. She had juicy information to report to Madame Wa, information which could grant her membership with the Shade of White Lotus Society, and maybe even access to the Privilege Club. None of her friends knew of the exclusive club and she liked the idea of showing off an exclusive luxury card. Being involved in the new Telval film in order to gain membership access to the club looked more and more attractive.