The Unexpected
Copyright© 2025 by Technocracy
Chapter 10
Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 10 - "If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out, and difficult." -- Heraclitus of Ephesus
Caution: This Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Heterosexual Fiction
Needham, Ma - 09 October 2001
Doris and Harry Spoons, and Robert Northrup sat at Benny’s ‘new’ table and chairs, procured from the Catholic thrift store. Benny placed three beers on the table, then remained standing, observing the street activity below through the kitchen window. Benny patiently listened to his friend state the self-evident, not able to realize, or recieve, praise.
“Benny, what you did was nothing short of brilliant. Goldman really screwed the pooch when they didn’t immediately follow you down. It looks like they are going to force it further down by playing with stub quotes.”
“Why would they do that, Harry? And what is a stub quote?”
“It’s a bogus offer, typically for a large volume transaction, that’s so far off the current value, that it’s not intended to go through, but is used to manipulate share values.”
“Is that legal?”
“Yep. It’s a scum-bag move, but a common tool for large makers such as Goldman Sachs. They’re obviously trying to mitigate their short-term losses from last month. But we did learn one very important thing.”
“Which is?”
“Not one of those big main-frame institutional auto-magical trading systems can handle a zero price, and they sure as heck don’t know what to do with differing price and volume vectors.”
Robert considered Harry’s evaluation of the big investment institutionals. Benny voiced the question before Robert could compose a query.
“Incredible. We cannot possibly be running the only systems that accounts for these edge cases?”
“I wouldn’t bet on that, Benny. But as for us having a sit-down with the SEC, there is a unity probability, a sure bet that...”
When Harry paused, Robert prodded.
“A sure bet against what?”
“A big reason the feds are stopping by for milk and cookies tomorrow - they wanna know how we were able to catch the bogus spread and avoid the peaks. I’m gonna guess they’re not cranked up much about that huge short that Benny pulled off...”
The lawyer was growing tired of feeling stupid.
“Harry, just tell me. Why would they not want to investigate it? It was a very large move.”
“Geez, Robert. Ya can’t possibly be thinking that we were the only clowns that dumped their trading accounts to short the whole freaking galaxy after the attacks? It’s the most Ferengi move you can do and not have to go to jail.”
Benny ignored the obvious, hoping that Harry was not about to quote one of the the Rules of Acquisition. He had been increasingly anxious since receiving the formal notification from the SEC enforcement division.
“Robert, you said that we will not need hired guns to help us with SEC regulatory issues. What will be our party line for dealing with federal investigators?”
“Once again, Benny, there is no ‘party line’. If the SEC gets a whiff of any level of deceit, they will dissect our books and our trading systems. We answer their questions, and only their questions, while being succint and honest. You and Harry know the drill. I lead, you follow only if I give the go ahead.”
“Good enough, Robert. What is the status on the patents?”
“The analog decimation filter was submitted as a provisional application, and has been filed, so we have twelve months to complete it. The other was questioned. The PTO suggested that we amend our previous patent, as they did not understand that the difference between the two submittals was the phase and volume magnitude control loops. I will be attending a ‘mini’ PTAB in about eleven days to resolve the two patent’s scope to their satisfaction.”
Harry briefly wondered why a man with an engineering degree would go to law school.
“Sounds good, Robert. So what are we gonna do about Goldman Sachs’s Men-In-Black? They’re getting to be a royal pain.”
Robert lectured Harry, to the amusement of Doris.
“Harry, if you would have read the contract, that you signed, for and behalf of Scientific Investment Groups LLC, You would have seen the personal security clause. You do remember that you’re the CEO?”
Benny waived his hand dismissively, wanting to defend the Goldman Sachs security team.
“They are not that bad, Harry. One of them runs with me most mornings, and Lizzy likes having them around.”
“Yeah? The two we got at my place are some real winners. It’s like talking to robots. Did ya know that they’re all retired military?”
“Their background was in the Goldman Sachs briefing package. Did you not read it?”
“Nah. I’ll get around to it.”
“Read it, Harry. It explains policy, procedures, and what, and how, we are supposed to maintain physical security. The three we have here are retired soldiers that were members of something the army refers to as ‘rangers’. They seem very professional. I like the one that runs with me. And they have been teaching Lizzy self-defense technique.”
“Yeah? Wanna trade security teams, Benny?”
The lawyer offered firm advice to his favorite redneck PhD.
“Be nice to them, Harry. They’re doing their assigned job. In any case, the head security guy said that, most likely, their number will be reduced by about half by the end of the month.”
“So what happens then, Robert?”
“They would not say. But I have derived, by inference and extrapolation, that a western military response is imminent into southwest Asia, which will be coincident with the time that the administration thinks we have found or contained any remaining terrorist cells within the U.S. We should consider ending any long-term puts before the formal announcement of any military actions.”
“Yep, been thinking about that. I’ve already started to looked at the Defense-Aerospace stock trends. We get in now, pull out in about three to ten months, when everyone else piles on. Then we do our puts, and have our systems call the shorts per the projected strike limit.”
“Sounds like a plan, Harry. But I will need about ten hours advance for any given 24-hour expiry, before I re-start the systems. But remember what Robert said, no references to any of these future plans to anyone.”
Needham, Ma - 10 October 2001
The two SEC investigative reps were definitely not MIBs; they were stately, well-dressed, mid-aged men of a reserved nature.
‘ ... to be clear, Mister Northrup, we are not asking for, and we have never asked for proprietary information. We have no operational background because Goldman Sachs has not included any organizational information for SIG in the MD&A report, excepting the seed amount for your LLC, mentioned only as a foot note.”
“Then what is being asked?”
“Mostly what particular data elements are being used from our EDGAR database.”
“Is that it? You people could have handled this with a single phone conversation. We only use EDGAR to verify corporate existence.”
“Existence?”
“Exactly that. We verify that we have a going concern; that is, does the company have an effective 10-K form for the current year, and if so, have the two preceding 10-Qs changed the ownership or address of the company?”
“Interesting ... actually, this is quite incredible. So your data for trading activity is obtained external to federal government data?”
“That is correct ... Having answered that, why would the SEC care? We have no access to insider data, so that negates any investigation. What is the SEC looking for?”
“The Department of Justice wants us to find activities that financially benefited greatly from the terrorist attacks. They want to know if these people had connections to the terrorists.”
“Are we suspected of such connections?”
“Not at all, sir. We were hoping to duplicate your methodology, then have federal law enforcement back-track that to identify people that may have foreign connections to the mid-east and to eastern Europe. We would like to understand how Goldman Sachs uses your trading data and actions.”
Harry and Benny exchanged quizzical shrugs, neither understanding how their systems could possibly be used to trace the bad guys.
“Actually, we have no idea what Goldman is doing with our trading data. We are an independent subsidiary. Our trade computers parallel the data to them, then Goldman decides what and how to shadow our moves.”
“Interesting ... One other thing, Mister Northrup. You should understand that the industry is closely watching Goldman Sachs, as they were one of the few that emerged unscathed by the attacks. The chief finance officers of all major exchanges are also watching. I hope that Goldman Sachs is prepared for the eventual publicity that will result.”
“Not my problem. Anything else we can help with?”
“Yes, sir. Our analysts have surmised that there is no single control point for trade snaps. Is that correct?”
“It is.”
“So they run in parallel?”
“They do.”
“Do they seed each other?”
“Some do, it depends.”
“On what?”
“Actually, I do not understand all of it, but the theoretical basis will be published in a forthcoming PTO filing.”
Robert paused for a short internal dialogue, then decided why not, as it was about to be public knowledge.
“Harry, would you like to provide a preview of our latest filing?”
“Uh, sure. First of all, we are not always seeking a specific level, nor are we necessarily looking for any specific trends, as first-order PDEs are generally useless once past two terminal intervals of trade swaps. So we use phase coherence where the...”
Benny watched the wild-eyed expression of the two SEC investigators. It took less than 10 minutes into Benny’s explanation for the govies to realize that the world’s central banks would have to re-evaluate their basis for currency stability and for the future of macro-economic forecasting.
Needham, Ma - November 2001
The two most recent hires, Michael Frother and Lydia Givens, were in the two ‘labs’ of Scientific Investment Group, LLC. One of the two apartments over the bakery comprised the lab space, where the bedroom was the electronics lab, and the living room was the finance simulation lab, mostly Mac G4s.
Lydia walked into the electronics lab with a pained expression.
“I can’t stand it, Mike. The smell is too much.”
“You got it. I’ll be back in a flash.”
Mike Frother descended the stairs to the alley, then went between the narrow space between the buildings, to the front of the bakery.
“Michael! It is a good time, they just came out of the oven.”
“I’ll take two, Jose ... Thanks, uh, did you see Benny this morning?”
“I did, along with his big friend.”
“He in a good mood? He say anything about this evening’s meeting?”
Jose’s accent became mysteriously heavy, with a drawn-out enunciation.
“Benson is never of a ‘mood’, young man. Benson is Benson. He is a man that will not be swayed by changing styles.”
Mike had never, not even once, received a reasonable answer from the baker. He was cryptic and guarded about the inner circle of SIG. Mike was well-aware of his almost-ideal situation; as he was a recent engineering graduate with no relevant experience. Mike knew that he was well-paid and had not been relegated to work on mundane problems, but the opacity of the small company remained disconcerting.
Mike returned to the south apartment above the bakery, finding Lydia waiting.
“Going to assume you asked him. Does Jose know anything?”
“If he does, he’s not saying.”
“Gimme that bread ... so what were you working on this morning?”
“Finished building the proto for the power sensor signal conditioning. The board house screwed up the middle layer, so had to do some cuts and jumps. What they got you working on?”
“Doris has me setting up some spreadsheets to accept the data from Benny’s stuff. Do you have any idea what all of these numbers are?”
“For any particular circuit or data stream? Nope, not a clue. But the only rational assumption is that it all goes into the analysis of raw trading data. What else could it be?”
“Did you ever read any of Harry’s or Benny’s academic publications?”
“Unfortunately, I have, Lydia. Their papers made me feel stupid. Very stupid.”
Needham, Ma - 04 January 2002
At 8:24 PM, Lizzy and Benny started shutting down the store as Andrea closed out the register and locked up the cash drawer. Benny pushed the two tables together, then set up a line of folding chairs facing the tables. A small easel was the final item.
As Jose, Andrea, Lizzy, Doris, Mike, and Lydia sat, two members of the security detail stood to the rear. The other four exited the store, going off duty. Robert Northrup, Benson Harrison, and Harold Spoons stood behind the tables, in front of the group. Harry leaned back against the meat counter as Robert and Benny opened the meeting.
“As of today, everyone present are full-time employees of Scientific Investment Group, with benefits. While we have incorporated in Delaware, we will have people in Boston and southern California, with the base of operations here. Brandon and Michelle, and of course Henry, have resigned from Goldman Sachs, and are now employees of SIG ... Harry, where are the charts?”
Harry pointed to a file folder. Benny pulled the first paper, placing it on the easel.
“This is where we have been...”
Benny placed another paper on the easel.
“This is where we are...”
Then a third paper was placed on the easel.
“And these are projections for the next five quarters.”
Lydia and Andrea gasped at the numbers. Lydia’s recent degree in finance and limited experience could not offer a reason for, what she considered, a freakish future rate, even considering that the company had almost no burn to their runway.
“Here is the deal. For this quarter, and perhaps into the next quarter, we will issue a monthly bonus of about thirty to forty per cent of your gross pay. It may vary, depending on our actual net for the respective period. The bonus is not because we are wonderful people; we are not. We run SIG as a pragmatic business. The Goldman Sachs accountant has us dissipating a portion of some unusual short-term, one-time gains. It is not reasonable to expect these bonus payments to continue ... Robert?”
The lawyer stood, scanning the small group, hoping that the head count would not greatly increase. Clearing his throat, Robert proceeded.
“First subject for our company is security. Do not discuss the details of your job with anyone. I will seek court orders for any violation of the NDAs. They may be other governmental, or external corporate concerns, that attempt contact. Report all external contacts. Never talk to a government member without myself present. Never talk to any external party, period. You’re not legally obligated to talk to anyone. They only time you are required to talk to a government official would be to comply with a court order. If you provide any level of commentary to an external party, you will be terminated and subject to tort and injunction per the NDAs. Questions?”
Michael Frother was quick with a question.
“Mister Northrup, is there a reason that the federal or state government would want to talk to me, or anyone else for that matter? Are we doing anything unethical or illegal?”
Robert eyed Mike with a hint of suspicion.
“We are in strict compliance with all applicable regulations. As for externals making contact, unlikely to occur at your level. It is more likely that an external corporate interest would attempt contact one of the two principals. In any case, report this immediately if it occurs.”
Lydia Givens voiced her unease with the level of security.
“Why all of this hush-hush security?”
Harry stepped away from the meat counter, eyeing the young woman with ambivalence. He took the question, wanting the new employees of SIG to have a clear understanding of the issue.
“Lydia, most of what we develop and do has been well-documented via our research papers. So this stuff ain’t, generally, anything new. Thousands of investors have been using similar trading methods for years. What is unique are the systems-level implementation details, and the granularity of control, timing, and synchronization for our data stream I/O. This represents a razor-thin advantage, and this advantage probably will be a short-term phenomena. Suffice to say, that is why Goldman Sachs has invested in our little concern. So we keep it quiet as long as possible. The sooner the big guys figure this out, the sooner your pay stubs will decrease. Understood?”
“I understand, Doctor Spoons.”
“Geez, call me Harry. Sorry for the interrupt, Robert.”
“Not a problem. Back to security. Henry is in charge of all things physical. Have his number on speed dial. He lives in the Boston area, so he can respond during off-hours. Also, the second apartment is being re-furbed for Brandon and Michelle to work and live out of, at least part-time, so there will always be at least one member of the security team on-site. On that subject, Benson and Harold will be in and out of the four apartments on and off for the next three or four weeks, installing security systems. Questions about security?”
“Uh, Mister Northrup, why do they have guns?”
“Part of Goldman Sachs requirements. They all have extensive training, experience, and are licensed to carry firearms.”
“Uh, okay.”
Harry gave Lydia the stink-eye, wondering if she was one of those ‘east-coast commie Marxists’; quite antithetical to his south-Texas sensibilities.
“Mister Northrup, do you really believe that we will be targeted for industrial espionage?”
“Henry? Would you address that?”
The manager of the security detail stepped forward, his demeanor seldom revealing emotion.
“The last briefing from Goldman Sachs indicated significant interest coming from eastern European and Chinese and Russian companies. China and Russia corporations are typically a proxy for their governments. It is probable that one of this group will be targeted by a foreign interest. Maintain plant security standards, and act per Mister Northrup’s notification requirements, and it will be contained.”
Mike had no idea what Henry meant by ‘contained’; and without doubt, Mike was certain he did not want to know its meaning. Doris, Lydia, and Andrea were of similar ilk, as they neither understood the nature of the security team’s (necessary) beast, and because the former soldiers’ sangfroid disturbed their civilian sensibilities. Andrea was further disturbed by the easy acceptance of the former soldiers by Benny and Lizzy. Andrea had always seen para-military forces as problematic per her experiences as a child in Portugal.
Needham, Ma - 02 April 2002
Store patrons walked in and out, occasionally pausing to listen to the late afternoon discussions. The gatherings of Benny and Harry, and other members of the SIG company, in front of the meat counter, had become a neighborhood fixture and social event. Lizzy commented that there was a measurable uptick in business when the local denizens realized that SIG principals had gathered at Andrea’s market.
Some discussions were severely academic, and tended to be ignored by the locals. Other discussions, of history, politics, and technology were eagerly consumed, at times causing restrictive crowds to form within the small market. Lizzy and Andrea took to gently directing traffic at times. This day’s babble-session, while academic, had still gathered a decent-sized crowd. The locals knew enough to know that the subject was important and relevant, but were unable to comprehend much of the discussion.
Harry’s level of exasperation with Benny went up a notch, or two, or probably three. Harry was convinced that his friend was in denial.
“Benny, interest rates are cranked up to force a recession. The feds have done it four times in the past 35 years. None of these fancy MBA schools will ever talk about it, unless they disguise this stuff in weird techno-babble. They don’t want anyone to know that they always will have their finger on the other side of the balance beam.”
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