The Gravity of Tomorrow
Copyright© 2026 by Sci-FiTy1972
Chapter 14: The Man Who Wanted to Buy God
The first person who tried to own what Ty and Ann represented did not wear a uniform.
He wore a suit that cost more than most people’s cars. He spoke softly. He smiled often. And he never raised his voice—because he had never needed to.
His name was Elliot Rourke.
And he believed that everything in the world had a price.
The meeting didn’t happen in a government building. It didn’t happen in a lab or a base or a place with security clearance.
It happened in a coffee shop.
A clean one. Bright windows. Neutral music. The kind of place where nothing important ever seemed to occur.
Ty noticed the man the moment he walked in.
Not because he looked powerful.
Because he looked prepared.
Rourke ordered tea—not coffee. Sat at a corner table. Didn’t open a laptop. Didn’t check his phone. Just waited.
When Ty stepped inside five minutes later, Rourke stood.
“Ty Morgan,” he said warmly. “Thank you for coming.”
Ty didn’t shake his hand.
“You didn’t tell me who you were,” Ty replied.
Rourke smiled as if that were charming. “I wanted to meet you first. Titles complicate things.”
Ty sat anyway.
Across town, Ann felt the awareness stir.
Not alarm.
Attention.
She paused in the shelter hallway, her clipboard resting against her chest.
Someone important was stepping into their story.
Rourke folded his hands on the table. “I represent a private consortium. Technology. Infrastructure. Health initiatives. We invest in solutions that governments can’t build fast enough.”
Ty watched him carefully. “You left a card on my car.”
“I did,” Rourke said easily. “You didn’t call.”
Ty leaned back. “You didn’t say what you wanted.”
Rourke’s eyes flickered with something like admiration. “Straight to the point. I like that.”
He slid a thin folder across the table.
Ty didn’t touch it.
Rourke didn’t mind.
“We’ve noticed anomalies,” Rourke said. “Patterns of survival. Probability curves bending in places they shouldn’t.”
Ty kept his voice level. “People notice all kinds of things.”
“Not like this,” Rourke replied. “Not when data starts contradicting itself.”
Ty said nothing.
Rourke leaned in just a fraction. “I don’t care how you do it. I care what it could mean.”
There it was.
Not curiosity.
Opportunity.
Ann arrived at the park ten minutes later than planned, the winter air sharp against her cheeks.
Ty was already there—standing, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the frozen pond.
“You met him,” she said.
Ty nodded. “Yeah.”
She studied his face. “How bad?”
Ty exhaled. “Worse than I expected. Better than a government.”
Ann frowned. “That’s not comforting.”
“It’s honest.”
They sat on the cold bench.
Ty told her everything.
About Rourke. About the data. About the offer that hadn’t yet been spoken.
“He didn’t ask for control,” Ann said. “Not yet.”
Ty shook his head. “He doesn’t think he needs to.”
The presence arrived that night.
Not abruptly.
Deliberately.
“The first claimant has stepped forward.”
Ann folded her arms. “Claimant. That’s ... unsettling.”
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