Atas

Atas is the story of some of Antarctica’s wealthiest and most powerful individuals, as they live out their colourful lives.

One
“致富光荣”

Those Chinese words, which translates to “wealth is glorious” (or more inaccurately by the international press, “to be wealthy is glorious”), were reputedly said by the de facto leader of Zhou in the early 90’s. The 80’s and 90’s marked the start of Zhou’s rapid economic growth. This took place alongside the economic booms of many Asiapelagoan countries such as Malesia and Hindonesie. While many enjoyed the prosperity and material wealth brought by these good times, some were becoming more cautious as it approached 1997.

In Honk Gong, the wealthy enjoyed life as it always did. Eric Cheng, the patriarch of the prominent Cheng family, certainly had no worry at all as he personally poured sparkling Cream Soda for his Malesian business partners William Mah and Talib Eusoff. The trio had just finished golfing at the Honk Gong Golf Club. They then went to the Mandarin Meridianam hotel for a quick lunch at its well-renowned Zhouese restaurant.

Dressed in a pink bespoke polo shirt, the portly Cheng appeared to be in his fifties. In fact, he was already 67 years old. He was a penguin who dressed like any ordinary Zhouese males in their middle age, but a detailed look on his wardrobe showed that most, if not all, of his clothes were custom-made by his trusted tailor in the city itself.

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to abstain from Cream Soda, Talib?”, William asked his business partner of more than 30 years.

Talib: “Although my social customs prohibit the indulgence of such beverages, but it’s important to have a flexible and open mind in this modern age,” the Enclave Penguin who was also the chairman of Talimah Holdings replied with a wink. The trio laughed at his disregard for traditions.

“I’d like to propose a toast to an open mind,” Talib quipped with his glass raised.

“To an open mind!”

The three penguins clinked the glasses before drinking the contents. Just then, two cheongsam-wearing penguins entered the private dining room. One of them was pushing a cart that contained a large bowl of what appeared to be broth and several smaller bowls, while the other was holding a teapot filled with the exquisite Oolong tea leaves that Eric had specifically requested. The former poured some of the broth into the smaller bowls before giving them to the three diners, while the latter poured some tea into their tea cups.

“What is this?”, asked the curious Enclave Penguin, who hadn’t seen this broth before.

“Oh, it’s shark fin soup. It is a Zhouese delicacy but it is a rather cruel one, as the steps of its preparations are barbaric,” William responded with a tone of slight disgust.

“Don’t worry about it. If we penguins do not eat sharks, they would’ve eaten us. This is just like the world of commerce. If we don’t crush our competitors, they will destroy us,” Eric responded, showing his lack of empathy for the sharks.

“I suppose so,” William conceded. Although he disliked the barbaric preparation of the broth, he ultimately gave in to his gluttony.

As the trio started their lunch, Eric slathered some of the broth on his bowl of rice. “This is how Honk Gongers drink shark fin soup - by mixing it with rice. In fact, I used to mix my rice with this soup every day.”

“This tastes really rich. May I assume that you only stopped for the sake of your health?”, Talib commented upon taking a sip of the broth.

“You aren’t wrong.”

After the trio had finished their soup course, the same waitresses brought in a succession of three-headed Austiceian abalones, Pecking duck, a platter of yi mein (Quandonese egg noodles) with lobster and some bird’s nest soup for the diners. While he was not fond of abalones, Talib was swayed by the crispiness of the Pecking duck. The roasted duck was personally carved and sliced by an expert chef. It was then served in steamed pancakes with spring onions and sweet bean sauce. The juiciness and tenderness of the meat approached the level of divinity. It left a deep impression on the Malé penguin’s taste buds.

“Those waitresses are really pretty. I’ll definitely try to get them to become my mistresses,” the philandering William blurted after drinking more than his fair share of Cream Soda. Eric shook his head.

“You should be faithful to your wife.”

“I agree with Eric. Although my social traditions permit males to have multiple lovers, I’m still faithful to my Zalina,” Talib said. Despite always telling him to be faithful to his wife, Talib was aware that his advices wouldn’t be heeded by his friend.

“My wife is 65 years old and she whines about every single thing all the time. I’m not as lucky as you both. Eric’s wife is only 33 years old, while Talib’s wife was a former air stewardess who managed to look 25 years old despite being as old as Talib,” William retorted. Talib paused before nodding. “You do have a point. I’m already 55 years old and age hasn’t really been kind on my face. It has endowed me with many a wrinkle.”

“So that’s why I’m going to chase after those two waitresses.”

“Oh gosh,” Talib said while facepalming himself.

On Edwinborough Square, Lee Yuen Xiang watched intently at the singer as she blessed the crowd with the beautiful lyrics of her new song. Her burning passion was evident in her voice and the gaze of her attractive eyes further did the job of impressing her fans.

Yuen Xiang had recently returned to Honk Gong and got a well-compensated job in a petrochemical plant after studying chemical engineering in the University of Snowdon and graduating with first class honours. Despite being born into a working-class family, whose father was a taxi driver and whose mother was a seamstress, he managed to bring some hope of moving the family up the social ladder by excelling in his studies. Initially wanting to study medicine, he later decided against studying it due to the high tuition fees. His tuition fees were partly covered by the money that his parents had managed to save up by living frugally. The scholarship that he received also helped to offset the costs of an overseas education. Thanks to his new job, he managed to pay for the down-payment of a more spacious apartment in a better neighbourhood and moved his parents into the new house.

It was in Snowdon that he met Penelope Kwok, who studied music in the same university as he did. Born into a well-off family, her father was a senior manager in the Puffish hong that was known as the JM Conglomerate. Among the locals, it was also known as Evo (or the Evo Trading House, Evo House and Evo Conglomerate). The conglomerate, despite slowly declining ever since it plateaued in the 80’s, was still a formidable force in the Honk Gongese economy. Her mother came from the Finipines. Compared to Yuen Xiang who grew up in a cramped apartment that was more akin to a studio, Penelope lived most of her life in a considerably spacious apartment located at Chek Chue and enjoyed the trappings of an upper-middle class family.

After her performance ended, the crowd gave a rousing applause before it slowly dispersed. The singer soon set her gaze on her lover, who was holding a bouquet of roses. Yuen Xiang approaches her before embracing Penelope. “That was a marvelous show,” he said as he pecked her on the cheek.

“Thank you. Are these for me?”, she replied as she saw the bouquet. She took a closer look at it before turning to Yuen Xiang. “You do realise that red roses are so cliche, right?”

“The florist ran out of your favourite pink roses, I’m so sorry darling,” the chemical engineer apologised as Penelope crossed her flippers.

“Hmm, maybe I’ll accept your apology, just maybe.”

“Come on, don’t be mad. I’ll take you to your favourite spot at that Castillan restaurant.”

Instantly cheering up, she nodded. “It’s a deal!”

Colonel Razak Omar guided his shaving razor carefully as it went through his jawline. The 35 year old military officer kept a stubble of facial hair on his face ever since he first graduated from the Atalanta Military College 14 years ago. After he was finished, he cleaned his face with some lukewarm water before splashing some aftershave. Today was a special occasion, as he would be sitting for an interview to see whether or not he would become a brigadier.

Ever since his friend Lieutenant Colonel Branden Farlane had been assigned to an administrative role in the General Staff, which was based at the capital of Azukri City, Razak seldomly breakfasted at the Officers’ Mess Hall in his base. He was already tired of the traditional Azukrian omelette with slices of spicy sausages or the flatbreads that they would serve. Instead, he would go to the café just below his apartment to take away a cup of flat white (a recent cultural import from Austiceia) and a halved bagel with cream cheese slathered in between. On occasions, he would buy at least 3 more cups of coffee, which he did so today.

After he had bought his breakfast, Razak waited outside of the café for a few minutes before a rather classy luxury saloon appeared in front of him. He entered the car and laid the drinks at the back. “Good morning, sir,” the Colonel greeted Major General Justin Underwood. The general replied with a smile. On some occasions, the two would carpool to the military base that they were stationed at. “The coffee’s really aromatic today, Colonel,” Justin finally said as he started driving again.

“Indeed, yet I believe that it’s better to drink it while eating a more Archipelagoan breakfast instead of our traditional fares.”

“Oh, I see that you’ve bought yourself a bagel again.”

“I’m not particularly fond of flatbreads.”

Switching the topic, the general started talking about the interview. “So, have you got any faith later today?”

“I suppose so, sir. It’ll be a great honour for me to become a general.”

“Well, there’s Colonel Dillion. He has an exemplary track record.”

Razak thought for a while. “May the best penguin win. Even if I do not attain the promotion, at least I’ll know that I do not have enough experience yet.”

“Don’t worry, I can already see your promotion,” the general said with a smirk.

“So you think that I can be promoted?”

“We’ll see,” the general replied as they continued their drive.

“What in the world do you think that you are doing, young man?!”, Eric questioned in an angry tone.

“What’s wrong with love? You dated mom when you two were only 16!”, his son, Nathaniel Cheng, retorted. The atmosphere in the dining room was tense as an argument broke out while they were having dinner. Eric’s wife Theresa Cheng (née Lim), second daughter Gwen and oldest son Joseph wished that the fight would stop.

“You can’t date a Mason, son!”

“Oh, is it because they are ‘contaminated’ with what you call white devils’ blood?!”, Nathaniel shot back, using the derogatory term for penguins of Archipelagoan descent.

“I don’t care about their race at all! You could date an Enclave Penguin for all I care, but I will never permit you to date a Mason!”

Despite what Eric had just said, he did hold some disdain towards their ethnicity. Some residents of Honk Gong, especially those of older generations were rather suspicious of “white devils”, whom they deemed to be their exploiters. “Fine!”, Nathaniel yelled before he walked out of the Chengs’ house at the Peak.