[indent][indent][indent][indent][center][img]http://www.lexcorp.io/uk/files/images/LEXCORP_share.jpg[/img][h1]Prodigal Son[/h1][u][b]Lex Luthor on the Future of Metropolis[/b][/u] [color=black][sub][b]© The Daily Planet[/b] || article written by JOHNATHAN CORBEN[/sub][/color][/center] [h3][indent][color=white][sub]The world is changing. There was a time and place where we, as a people, didn’t have to fear the overwhelming dread of the unknowable despair. A time where, no matter all of our faults there existed a commonality in our shared reality. A time where you didn’t have to look at your neighbor, your friend, or your daughter with a gleam of distrust. There was no worry that people you knew had a monster inside them; a piece of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There weren’t lunatics sulking in the shadows, dragging you out of your home in attempt to maim or murder you. No Bats in Gotham. No Monsters in New York City. No gods to demean you. At some point. We have to address the elephant in the room. We have to find a little hope. From the rubble of the slums of Metropolis emerges that hope, or so I’m told. Hope for a city. A city of new tomorrow. Alexander Luthor’s tomorrow. A few days ago, I met the ambitious CEO and lead scientist of LexCorp. I had questions. He had answers. Instead of a penthouse or well-tailored location, Luthor, or Lex as he prefers to be called, shows the world that he is a man of not wasting time or embellishing his supposed brilliance. Our conversation occurs in his office a few minutes short of lunch hour traffic. I can see the highlight of the ‘Suicide Slums’, the poorest section of our nation’s greatest city. It serves as a reminder to me that this man of brilliance has his priorities set – or that he wishes everyone to believe that to be so. The truth, in my experience, often exists somewhere in the middle. He speaks to me politely and with assurance.[/sub][/color][/indent][/h3] [indent][indent][hr] [indent][b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Welcome to LexCorp, Mr. Corben. Shall we start this interview? [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] Not at all. I’m on your time. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] You’ve built the largest upstart in the tech sector seemingly overnight, what’s your secret? [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Being better than everyone else. [color=silver][i]There's a short pause as Lex takes a second to chuckle at his own joke.[/i][/color] [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Really, there’s no secret. Building something like this is about having a product or idea and then making the public want it. To stay ahead of the curve, you have to create tomorrow's demands, yesterday. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] True, but being successful is one thing. Outpacing giants like Wayne Industries is another. [color=silver][i]Lex scoffs at the mention of Wayne Industries.[/i][/color] [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Wayne Industries is a decaying corpse in a sea of sleeping giants. To be concerned about the merits of a company twice merged that peaked during the Nixon Administration is laughable to any company eager to deliver on their promises. LexCorp is above its competitors. Not even Stark International or Queen Enterprises inspire concern. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] LexCorp is the future. And the future is ours. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] And the future is what we're here for. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] Right. So, LexCorp is the result of your hard work and acumen for seeing potential. How difficult was the transition from Amertek to LexCorp? Transforming Amertek into the company of tomorrow must have had some hurdles. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Amertek was the first piece of the puzzle. As you know, the company was more interested in warmongering than creating substantial products. Once it lost its military contracts with the government it lacked the ability to sell anything outside of missiles. I made some principal investments and the executives were desperate for an out. Had they realized what it would become, well, they are probably regretting not staying on in retrospect. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] Definitely. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Anyway. We partnered with a cellphone company and after a long research cycle we came out with the Amertek Vision – which as you know made the cellphone market implode. Nobody actually thought we could come out with something so advanced and affordable. It became the landmark of transforming Metropolis back into its namesake. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] People are still trying to figure out how you did it. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] When they figure it out, let me know. I'd love to look at it in retrospect from another perspective. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] What's your perspective of things? On what's going on down there? [color=silver][i]Corben motions to the Suicide Slums and Metropolis that is in clear view from the office windowpane.[/i][/color] [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] The world's on fire out there. [color=silver][i]Lex places his hands behind his back as he peers out the window.[/i][/color] [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] The world has been on fire for as long as man has had access to it. These… metahumans and vigilantes... are an inevitability. They are a symptom of a great problem that we as humans are not being the best we can be; we are not offering all we can offer. Take a look down there. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] We are in the greatest city in the world and still we ignore the homeless and the hungry; the forsaken and the forgotten. Can you explain to me why the city of tomorrow excuses misery? The answer, of course, is obvious. We’ve lost our way. Much like Icarus, we flew too high and were blinded by the idea of something greater than ourselves. We didn’t need to fly to be great. We needed to be grounded with hand outstretched to those in need. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Humanity doesn’t need capes or cowls. It needs medicine, empathy, and solidarity. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] That brings me to my next question. How can you claim to be helping the citizens of our country when you refuse to lend your aid to research in defending them? Tony Stark cares. Why don’t you? [color=silver][i]Lex's grip on his wrists tighten for a second, before he looks over his shoulder.[/i][/color] [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Are you a warmonger, Mr. Corben? [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] I’m an American. [color=silver][i]Lex offers a stifled chuckle before musing his thoughts for a moment.[/i][/color] [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] The American Military-Industrial Complex strikes again. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to hear such inane nonsense. Tell me something. How long have we, humans, squabbled in the dirt over arbitrary boundaries and beliefs? How can we become the best of humanity when we are pointing missiles over each other’s heads. It is not my priority to arbitrate development of weapons of mass suffering and nor should it be of any man. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] But don’t you worry, Mr. Corben, for you will soon see how much I truly care about my fellow man. There are ways to protect all of us from threats seen and unseen without resorting to funding these immoral weapon development firms. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] So your goal is to destroy that immoral industry? [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] No. My goal is to leave the planet in a better state of being for the generations that follow. I care about the betterment of the less privileged and the systematic removal of poverty bar none; the advancement of humanity. Who wouldn’t want what I want? [color=silver][i]Corben scoffs.[/i][/color] [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] And how are you going to eliminate poverty, Lex? [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] An extension of my current projects will lead to this inevitable goal. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Plans are already in the motion to take down all of those decrepit homes in the Suicide Slums and build a housing project entirely for the homeless. Rent free. No longer will they have to suffer to the elements. That is, of course, only the first of my many projects undergoing development here at LexCorp. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] Interesting. It appears we only have enough time for one more question. [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] By all means. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] When can we expect the release of the new Lex/OS? [b]LEX LUTHOR:[/b] Oh, it’s nearing completion. Give it a few months. I hope to have it out this August, but development is never one hundred percent predictable. [b]JOHNATHAN CORBEN:[/b] Until next time, Lex. [/indent] [hr][/indent][/indent][h3][indent][color=white][sub]Despite our ideological differences, I leave Lex’s office somewhat intrigued. Perhaps there is some truth about this “prodigal son” of Metropolis. I may be growing older but I do certainly know one thing for sure. LexCorp is the future and the future is now. [/sub][/color][/indent][/h3] [/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]