Chapter 15

When we moved out of the old shop, we removed the entire security system. Whoever is bankrolling these assholes had it re-installed. Staking the place out, we discover a flaw and decide our plan to abduct another boy isn’t needed. The thing is the people who re-installed the alarm system didn’t think about where they put the keypad to enter the alarm code. If the main door is open, you can see the keypad. It is a rarity that the boys show enough intelligence to close the door before they enter the code. Unfortunately, we haven’t had a good shot of anybody entering the code because they have been too tall, and they typically block our camera’s view with their shoulders.

Thursday, our school’s basketball team wins a preseason game. Jasmine, the girl who started the blackmailing of her fellow cheerleaders, is the first through the door. They sent her ahead to open the shop for the girls to arrive and get ready for the post-game party.

Jasmine is only 4’ 7”. Our camera across the street has a clear view of the code she enters in the keypad.

Shortly after she arrives, the other girls start showing up. The shocking thing is that the boys’ coaches drive the girls from the game, and the coaches join the party. Even if the girls were all willing, the coaches are all guilty of statutory rape just by being there.

Shortly after the basketball team arrives, other cars show up, some of which have more girls, others have prominent members of the community. I recognize two cops. One is an RCMP and the other Vic PD. The Vic PD officer makes me wonder if this is bigger than just the western communities, which only has RCMP.

I am horrified when I see the video of the last four arrivals. Since it is a basketball party, it is a surprise that Allan and Zed, two members of the lacrosse team, are escorting two new girls into the party. The horrifying thing is the new girls are my employees. Beth, I know well. She is one of our Jr. office secretaries. She is a good looking brunette, but not as attractive as any of my girlfriends. Xena, I don’t know as well. She sews the skin on the kayaks for us. She is short and stocky, with quite a bit of strength, which gives her an advantage in stitching it on smooth. She isn’t an ugly girl, so if you are into the muscular type, I’m sure she is attractive.

Both girls are bawling their eyes out as they are escorted into the shop.

It is Friday lunch when I am told about it by my security staff. I don’t get to see the video until I can get to the office Friday afternoon when I get back from UVic. Beth and Xena don’t show up to work, and we can’t get a hold of them.

I let Paul know that he should start thinking up a plan to duplicate whatever blackmail materials they have in their hideout, without anybody knowing we did it. In any event, we can’t gain access until at least 1 am Tuesday morning. We have no clue what time they will vacate Sunday night, but it isn’t likely they will stay that late on a Monday. There is nothing we can do until then, so I immerse myself in my work while watching movies to occupy both sides of my brain.

Unfortunately, when I get emotional, I sometimes overreact. I’m sick of the slow progression of things and want to cut the tether of caution. The first thing I do is put the wheels in motion to start a project I was going to save for twenty or thirty years. I call Steve Jobs.

“What’s new and exciting?”

“More than you think, Steve.”

“Oh, I hope it isn’t too much. Between the internet, our new server and the game system, we are getting a little swamped.”

“I kind of figured that NeXT would be saturated with projects.”

“It is a good problem to have. Before we hooked up, NeXT was going under.”

“I’m glad you feel that way because I have a proposition for you.”

“I would love to, but as I said, we can’t do much more than we already are.”

“That’s good because I wasn’t offering to work with NeXT on this. I need a business partner that has contacts that can quickly get a business established.”

“What are you working on?”

“I have seen most of SunDisk’s patents and know I can improve them, using different materials. I just need somebody to help me finish the design and take it over. I have too many other projects on the go to coddle this. I also need somebody that can manage the business once we are ready for production.”

SunDisk leads the world in memory chip technologies. Unfortunately, Sun Computers goes after them for copyright infringement. Instead of paying out to Sun Computers, some time in the early to mid 90s, SunDisk changes it’s name to SanDisk.

“Aside from just giving you some contacts, which I could give you for free, what do you want from me?”

“I figured if you had a vested interest in it, you would look over their shoulders and keep things running smoothly. You know a lot more about the computer industry than I do, and you have a working knowledge of the tech.”

“What do you need for somebody to finish the development?”

“Anybody working on solid-state drives, particularly ferroelectrics.”

“I’ll ask around. I already have somebody in mind who can run the company, but she will likely want a piece of the action and not just a salary.”

“Not a problem. You realize, if we are quick about it, we can beat SunDisk to the punch and release our solid-state drives before they do? We could turn things like media players and cameras digital. The ferroelectrics will make us billions in the long run. You could pull a hostile takeover and get Apple back from the assholes that stole it from you.”

“It takes more than money to pull a hostile takeover. They used politics to claim I was destroying the company’s profitability.”

“And look what they have done since you left. It is worse now than ever.”

“I suppose it is getting ripe for another takeover. We can buy shares and convince enough of the other shareholders to back me, but then, what about NeXT?”

“Once you are in control again, sell NeXT to Apple. Making it a division of your old company will cause Apple’s logistics to pick up the slack, freeing up a lot of money you currently spend on infrastructure. Both companies are working on similar operating systems. Combine the projects and free up more people we could use on other projects.”

“I honestly think their operating system is going to fail. Most of the people I free up doing that are programmers. They know little about hardware. I have a few people in mind to create our new computers. With everything we are doing together, I am running out of people, and finding new people is becoming difficult.”

“I like hiring inexperienced people who don’t have a preconditioned way of doing things and training them to be the way I want them. I also partner with the local university and have some of the engineering professors give assignments that can be used in my projects. If I use a student’s work, I award him. Any students participating have to sign NDAs. I am hiring a few students based on the work they have already done for me.”

“I’m not sure I like that. It’s difficult enough to keep things out of the competition’s hands without making things vulnerable to corporate espionage.”

“I only give them portions of bigger projects that can’t be exploited.”

In truth, there are some things Finco could capitalize on since the ships we are putting forth for the government contract are similar. Our V hull gives us a bit more displacement, but our internal design is almost identical. As it stands now, they are ahead of us in the bidding war, but the military isn’t finished with changing their requirements, and in the end, our ship will be a better fit. The only question is, will they give the contract to Finco simply because of their Quebec roots?”

We talk specifics about the creation of the new company and agree to call it Solid State. When things start to wind down, I ask, “I need one more favour.”

“What more can there be? You’re overtaxing us, and we are starting Solid State.”

“I need an introduction to Ken Olson. If I could even find his phone number, he likely wouldn’t take my call. I have a project for him that has nothing to do with any of our joint projects.”

“Can you tell me what it is?”

“I’m afraid not. It has military applications, so I am hesitant to talk to anybody I don’t have to about it.”

“I will give him your number and tell him to call.”

That pretty well ends our conversation. I honestly think that Steve would drop what he is doing to help with the project I am about to give Ken. Steve would be a much better choice, given his contacts and experience. My problem is, I don’t want to provide Steve with that kind of power. He isn’t a bad guy or anything, but in the future, there are a few times that he states that humanity isn’t worth saving. Even if Steve is a good guy, a mindset like that could cause him to make choices that I would rather he not. I need Steve and his team together with Apple so I can later commission them to build an operating system for the project I am about to entice Ken into.

I’m not worried about Ken. He is known for his charity and restraint.

I had four years to memorize all the scientific and engineering magazines and journals I brought with me in my space ship. Let me tell you, in four years, reading the same things over and over again; you memorize a lot.

In the same magazine where I got the idea to turn the lacrosse players gay, there was an article examining a fetuses DNA using the mother’s blood. I don’t understand half of the material. DNA is not my thing. The part I was able to understand was talking about a simple procedure that was developed in 2013. It reads the DNA and RNA of the baby to see if it is developing correctly. This simple procedure virtually eliminates stillbirths as the doctor is given enough warning to prevent it. Unlike other medical procedures that examine a fetus, this is an entirely non-evasive procedure.

I am almost excited when I make my first phone call on Saturday. Since I am such an important part of UVic and rarely work banker’s hours, I have the dean’s home phone number. That is the number I call.

“Hello,” answers an older woman.

“Hi, Karin. It’s Trent. I was wondering if your husband is home. He is going to want to hear about this.”

“Trent, a boy your age should slow down and enjoy life. I’m glad to see you are doing so well in university, but you really should slow down, at least until you graduate from high school.”

Am I supposed to tell her that I already had a childhood that didn’t turn out so well and that I am on the clock trying to stop the destruction of the earth and extinction of humanity?