[center][h1]
Saturday 10th September, 2094
Aachen Germany
[/h1][/center]

[b]Soundtrack: [url=https://pie.yt/?v=https://youtu.be/75r0nQu-hMs?si=cgztRwsLTGn90KlV&pieshare=1] Crocodile Rock - Elton John [/url][/b]

Alexander and Mabel had a busy week. Mabel had sent out the survey on Monday and the employees had completed it by Wednesday morning. The employees had some interesting ideas. The staff embraced the idea of a company picnic. Evidently company sports competitions and teams were popular in Germany. They were excited for an event that would include their families. Alexander gave Mabel the okay to plan the Zoo Company picnic. They would plan it for the Saturday after the Argentina race. The zoo needed a little time to prep on their own end as well. They still needed a little time to get everything pulled together. Mabel was already working with the Zoo staff to plan the event. Alexander called Lena to see if she would be available and would like to join him. Lena had that weekend free and was looking forward to seeing him. Alexander smiled and called Arianna and invited her as well. It was time he introduced the two of them. He wanted to do it before Mabel intervened and it was out of his hands. 

Mabel had compiled the employee suggestions into a report for Alexander. He spent some time reviewing the survey. Mabel had included a few questions about stress levels and work/life balance. Employees were reporting high stress and anxiety levels but also were indicating they understood it was a temporary situation. Alexander reviewed the data around work/life balance a little more closely. He would have to ponder how he could provide that for his employees. Some of them needed to be in the office for regular work hours, others could work a flexible schedule based on their needs as long as their work got done. Maybe he could offer a few personal holidays that employees could take with some notice. Some employees could rotate partial days with each other as long as there was coverage. Some employees could be offered the opportunity to work occasionally from home. Alexander would have to work up his ideas and do some number crunching and run it past the board of directors for approval. 

Alexander moved on to the employee suggestions for changes and services they could make to headquarters to help with stress levels. The nature of what they did meant long hours and weekend work on race weekends for some staff. Alexander smiled as the child care center on site requested an outdoor park with a playground area for the families on campus. They thought it would be a great way for families to spend some time together during their lunch. They could eat in the cafeteria and then go out for a walk or to play together. Chef Jacques wanted to include a vegetable and herb garden in the green space. Evidently he liked to grow his own produce. He argued that veggies could be included and harvested to add aesthetics as well as flowers. He also thought it would be a fun and educational component to their day care center. They could bring the children out to learn more about how plants are grown. Alexander smiled knowing that Arianna would love that. He added that to his budget proposal for the board of the directors. Another popular suggestion was on site masseuse and spa services. They did get some interns for the physical therapy and training department. Maybe they could provide some hands-on experience for the interns who were looking to turn that into a career. 

Alexander had met with the various department heads to make sure everything was in order for Argentina. They had learned some things and it was time to step up what was working. The hyperbaric chamber treatments and deep breathing exercises were paying off for Paul. The cognitive training from the medical team with the guidance, monitoring, and support from the Shinichi team were also showing results for Paul. They had enhanced his physical health and performance even without extremely invasive cybernetic replacement surgery. Paul now could control his heart rate and breathing. It was not as good as synthetic lungs or a synthetic heart but he was seeing better results than biology alone. The nanite neural network allowed him to slow or speed up his heart through his neural interface. It allowed him to ensure his lungs were expanding fully for oxygen when he was breathing even under the g-forces in the race. Konrad’s trick of preloading Paul on electrolytes before a race had been inspired and helped him cope better with dehydration and heat exhaustion. They would be adding that to the routine especially for races such as Singapore where the heat was almost intolerable. 

Alexander had offered the same support to Dorian. He had also finally gotten a moment to ask the older pilot if he would like to see Dr. Ingold as well. He had left the invitation open. He had informed Dr. Ingold that Dorian had permission to see her if he chose. He was not mandated to see her unlike Paul. Paul was still seeing Dr. Ingold three times a week. Paul and Dorian both were putting in loads of simulator time. They were competing with each other on past circuits. They were not sure if the circuit would change for this year’s race. Mag tracking allowed some circuits the flexibility to change pieces of it up every year. He met with Cavan and the new engine specialists from Meridian Aerospace had already found a few tweaks to help reduce the energy cost to the engine making them a little more efficient and eke just a tad bit more speed. The nap pods had been installed throughout headquarters already. They had been a hit with the engineers and the scientists. Alexander knew they would be. 


[hr] 

Paul and Dorian were training alongside each other every day. After Singapore they seemed more in sync and were helping one another. Paul had been letting Dorian where he could improve and vice versa. It was as if everything seemed to click for the two of them all of sudden. Dorian was helping Paul train where he was weaker and Paul was helping Dorian eliminate some bad and sloppy habits he had picked up as he aged. The two complimented one another in training and the tension had reduced to a true camaraderie and support for the other. Paul was still working out his racing style. He was committed to finding what worked for him. Dorian had been helpful by putting in countless simulator hours as an opponent. Alexander had even climbed into the simulator to give both pilots someone different to train against. Alexander invited the two junior pilots, Sami, and Tocho to also give them a new challenge. The training helped speed up Dorian by highlighting where he was losing time through bad habits he had picked up with experience. Those bad habits didn’t matter as much when he was younger and faster but it really showed now. Paul kept getting smoother and better at ELS and overtakes. The varied training with new pilots helped hone his racing instincts and watch for new tricks as he developed his skill and instincts. 

Paul always had requests for interviews. She had nipped the rumors about the psychologist in the butt by having Paul make a statement that he was indeed seeing a therapist. Katherine had helped him with the statement and it had been well received by his fanbase. The media had jumped all over with the drama. Paul had simply not engaged since he was focused on training for Argentina. Paul had been approached for some new endorsement deals. Paul was pleased with his new agent. He loved that she sent him weekly reports of the endorsement offers. He had been approached by a fashion designer wanting him to endorse his new cologne. Paul would be required to shoot a complete advertising campaign. A furniture company wanted him to endorse their line of mattresses. He had contacted Chelsey and told her to try and arrange some offers for mid October. He would leave the scheduling to her. He knew he could trust her to follow his wishes. Paul felt good about the intense training. He could see the improvement. He was not ready to interrupt that. 

Paul knew that Argentina was going to be a tough race. Bea and Ava had the home circuit advantage. Thanks to Felix’s efforts they now had faster ships with similar handling. Paul knew it was just a matter of time before Bea beat him again. He smiled thinking about the feisty happy pilot. He liked Bea’s spunk and sass. He smiled as he remembered the remarks to Amy and Harrison. The experienced pilots should be worried as the three rookies tried to make their mark on the racing season. 
[hr][b][center][h3][code]Tuesday 09/12 10:28   To: Beatrix Ward      [Batt: 43%][/code][/h3][/center][/b]

[center]———— Today ————[/center]
[color=fff200]Paul:[/color] So thinking about trying art therapy. Any recommendations on where to start? What are we doing while in your town for the race? I need to know what to pack.