That evening, gossip spread amongst the Alusia employees that the former Co-Director had come back to visit Alusia, and that Something had happened between them and Getti West. The details of what exactly had transpired eroded away to nothingness as the rumours spread further from the team working on the biophotonic decarboniser, though many of the tales still featured some mention of a “bincident”.
Not knowing what had really happened, many of the employees of Alusia had ended their working week afraid that Getti West would somehow tighten the screws even harder on the employees, and force them into even more drastic decisions to keep up with the company’s demands. The reality was very different.
Getti West Resigns As Director Of The Alusia Foundation
The headline hit inter-communal newspapers suddenly, and all at once. Alusia had, in secret, called a press conference where reporters from many of the well-established newspapers were welcomed to hear Getti West announcing her resignation.
For many of the researchers and other employees at Alusia, the newspaper headline was the first they had heard of it. There was no warning - no internal announcement or indication that things may be changing - they were just thrust into the middle of an intercommunal news story for which they had no time to prepare.
“Thirty-four years ago, when West Eastern bought the name and some departments of Alusia, I had no idea just how incredible of a decision that was; how incredible Alusia and all the people working here have been. The prevailing sentiment at the time of the sale seemed to be that no-one else particularly cared about the outcome of the auction, so I was determined to prove them all wrong, that Alusia had potential on its own. I’m so proud of everyone who has done so much to show that I was right.
My first years in charge of Alusia were spent as co-director alongside Elijah, and saw Alusia doing research and development for West Eastern railways. It was during this time that I truly fell in love with Alusia and saw the potential for what we could make. After Elijah stepped down, and Alusia became its own independent body distinct from West Eastern, my heart would not let me be anywhere other than leading this incredibly talented and productive group of researchers.
My heart and my dedication to this company, and the things that we have achieved and strived for have not wavered, but recent events have forced me to reconsider whether ‘Director of Alusia’ is the position I should hold going forward. This is not a decision I am making lightly, and I will deeply miss the community that has grown and developed in this company.”
Getti West’s resignation speech, transcribed by The Daily Wanderer, 23/07/1997
In Getti’s absence, Dr. Deborah Yutie took up the title of Acting Director for Alusia, and was later formally instated as Director.
Yutie’s appointment of Jamie Rayne as Chief of Research at Alusia caused an outcry among Alusia employees, as stories resurfaced of their involvement in the nearly-catastrophic tests of the External Combustion Engine.
At the time of the incident, a lot of the criticism was aimed towards Alusia’s co-directors, both of whom had been present for the incident, and had the authority to cancel the test. However, following Jamie’s promotion, logbooks and reports resurfaced that suggested they had been too focussed on appealing to the cameras and reporters to do suitable safety checks. A lot of noise was also made about the fact that members of the public - and in particular the reporters present for the event - were ultimately the ones who had to act to prevent a tragedy, rather than Jamie themself.
In response to this, Yutie released Jamie from the position of Chief of Research shortly after their instatement. This was seen as a sign that Yutie lacked mandate, vision and passion. Coupled with not having a Chief of Research, this ushered in an era of relaxed standards and lack of drive. Alusia’s output for research and innovation cratered. Noticeably, Alusia seemed to have lost its magic touch for new ideas being both fully-formed and correct.
Many of the projects they were working on, including the biophotonic decarboniser, were scrapped entirely, amidst layoffs precipitated by dwindling revenue. The laboratories became emptier and emptier, until eventually the plug was pulled entirely. Alusia was dissolved, and the name became nothing more than a footnote in history; an obscure factoid for trivia nerds who point out that saying “West Eastern invented the external combustion engine” is not, entirely, accurate.
Ultimately, the biophotonic decarboniser was prototyped, and then mass-produced, but not by Alusia. A team linked with Alusia’s former co-director Elijah led the charge on the idea, which proved to be very successful. The biophotonic decarboniser was clearly deserving of a Nonoka prize, and the only doubt leading up to the award was about which discipline the prize would be awarded in, as the work spanned biology, chemistry and ecology.