Chapter 2

Monday is supposed to be a half-day of school, but it doesn’t last that long. We go in for our report cards, finished cleaning out our lockers and sign yearbooks. I am surprised by how many people ask me to sign their books. I don’t know half of them.

Since it is the last day of school we, close the shop down for two days. Everybody deserves a break, and we have a lot of new people starting, so I figure having everybody begin on Wednesday, after my staff has had a break, will be best.

Dick, my uncle that is building my new shop and restaurant, picks me up after school for a meeting. He refuses to take time off.

We head out to the Langford Lake property, where we have a portable office for him. The entire ride we just socialize, but as soon as we get in his office, it is all business. I start, “We are expanding too fast. We can’t wait until the new shop is built. I need to move the boat business out of the rental shop.”

“I can only build so fast. The main shop will not be finished until you are back in school.”

“What about sea cans?”

“What do you want with containers?”

“Make a shop out of them. In a sea can, we can build two small kayaks or one big one. Better yet, make three walls in a U shape. Each wall consisting of 2 sea cans, back to back. Put a roof over it and fence in the 4th wall. That will give me a shop 96 x 96 feet, which will give us room to grow. Build a storage shed using the same method only one container deep. That gives me a 56 x 56 foot storage shed. Bring in two doublewide offices. We keep the rental shop for the bikes, and you start breaking ground on the oceanfront property.”

“Doing that, we can have a temporary shop built in a weekend. What is this about the oceanfront? I thought we were going to hold off on that.”

“I was thinking of buying Yarrows, but then I would have the same union problems they have. I think it best that we build a new shipyard. The landscape is perfect for a rail system instead of a dry dock. We build the ships on rails that extend into the ocean. When we finish a build, we just use the rails to slide the ship into the ocean. It will be easier to build and cost a hell of a lot less. We just need a rail system that is rated for 1200 tuns.”

“You lost me. What do you need such a large rail system for?”

“I suppose you aren’t in the loop, are you? It is just another reason to move the company here. We are bidding on the Navy’s Marine Coastal Defence Vessel (MCDV) contract.”

“That is a bit ambitious. You don’t have a shipyard or crew to man it.”

“Most of the main bidders don’t have the assets in Canada to build the ships, and one of the main requirements of the bid is that the ships are built in Canada. Most of the bidders have no clue about the union problems they are going to have, so they are underbidding. I’m building a robotic factory to eliminate the problem and build ships cheaper. We will build it modularly and build them six at a time.”

“That is going to cost you.”

“Not as much as you think. By the end of the week, I should be consulting with Kawasaki.”

Having a new plan forward, Dick and I have another hour’s worth of discussions to work out all the details. By the end of it, we figure we can have the temporary location built in less than ten days. Dick ends up putting a hold on all his other work, except the restaurant, until he has the new kayak shop built.

When we finish our meeting, my security team drives me into town, to Vic’s bar and grill. No, it’s not a bar. It is the best steakhouse in Victoria. Since I am early, I invite one of my security to take a seat.

I ask, “How are you liking the new assignment, Jason?”

“I must say it is a bit of an eye-opener. Normally, when I play bodyguard to a 15-year-old kid, it is more of a babysitting job and less guarding a captain of industry.”

I laugh, saying, “I can see how that would be a bit of a change. Nobody ever accused me of being normal.”

“You can say that again. I will say it is nice to be able to go home and be proud of my job. There are too many times in this business when you guard somebody because they deserve to have people after them. Sure, not everything you do helps people, but your work with medical implants is going to help many people for time to come.”

“It’s nice to be appreciated. I don’t get to talk to you guys often. Is everybody else as happy with the job as you?”

“Not everybody. Craig is thinking of putting in a request for a transfer.”

“I suppose Dahlia’s exhibition streak is a bit much for him.”

“He has a daughter her age. Having you fucking her in plain view of everybody wasn’t exactly his cup of tea.”

“She is a wild one. I’ll talk to Kim and get his assignment changed, so he is protecting Carol. He will not likely see anything like that with her. Talk to him for me. Let everybody know; if they have an issue like that, we will take care of things.”

“You should really find a woman to guard Dahlia. You will either find most guys are like Craig, and it affects them that way, or they are distracted from their job because they are too busy watching the show.”

“I was thinking along the same lines. It looks like Kawasaki is here. You better get back to work.”

He says, “Yes, boss. “ We both get up, him to leave, and me to greet my guests.

During my first life, much of my time in the orient was when the military was pumping me full of drugs to keep me going after my body gave out. Because of all the drugs, I don’t remember how to properly and formally address a Japanese man, so I do the generic greeting that tends to appease most orientals. He offers his hand, and I shake it in both of mine as I bow my head saying, “Kon’nichiwa Sato-san. (Hello Mr. Sato)”

He bows his head and says, “Kon’nichiwa, This my interpreter. Takashi-Kun and my colleague Ito-san.”

It always disappoints me when a Japanese man refers to a woman as kun. It is a title for somebody beneath you. In my book, it doesn’t matter who you are; you can not do your job without everybody else in the company. No person is more important than another. Sure, a hard worker is of greater value than a leach, but two people who put forth an effort are just as valued to me no matter what they do.

I shake each of their hands, addressing them by name. When I shake the interpreter’s hand, I am sure to address her as “Takashi-san.” She smiles at this.

We all take our seats, and Sato says, “It nice meet you. I want meet boy who sold us new servo design.”

“Thank you, and I am glad to meet you too. I have a feeling we will become close business partners after today.”

As soon as I finish talking, the waiter is there to take their drink order. This place is very professional that way. They never interrupt you.

Ito asks, “Why you want meet us?”

“I never talk business until after the meal. Please take your time with the menu. As far as I am concerned, this is the best restaurant in town. Everything on the menu is good.”

Takashi keeps me entertained while the men look at the menu. She says, “I’m surprised you are so young. When they told me I would be meeting a great inventor, I was expecting an old man.”

I laugh and say, “I get that a lot. Just as I am sure, people are surprised by your beauty.”

She blushes, and I can see Ito smile. It makes me wonder if she is here for more than just her ability to interpret. It is a common thing in most oriental cultures. In fact, in China, you never bring your wife to a business meeting. They expect you to bring your mistress.

As always, the meal is incredible. The company is a bit stiff. I’m thankful when the meal is over, and it is time to start business. I open my briefcase and hand them NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) to sign. I tell them, “It’s just the standard paperwork so that we can discuss my inventions. If you can’t read English, then flip the page over. I had it translated for you.”

They quickly read it over, and they all sign. I then collect the papers and give them the schematics for a modified P3 series Honda Robot. It has a lot of upgrades that would advance their robotics by at least ten years. There are also notes mentioning some of the modifications the ASIMO had. As they look at it, I tell them. I am hoping we can become partners in robotics. I want you to build me a shipyard, and I will help your advanced robotics team.”

Honda has just finished developing its E2 robot. It is essentially a box with legs. In my first life, it took them until 1993 to perfect the walking box. I admit my knowledge of robotics from 2039 is limited. Making a walking box is easy. Thankfully I went to a robotics expo in 2005 where Honda was showing off their latest version of ASIMO, their humanoid robot. If it weren’t for its poor human interaction programming, it would have been a hit. At the expo, I was able to convince one of the engineers to give me the schematics for the P3 robot. At the time, it was considered to be obsolete.

Kawasaki partnering up with NeXT and me could easily make something much better than ASIMO. I have already entered negotiations with Steve Jobs for NeXT to do the programming.

Ito and Sato are a bit surprised at what they are looking at. Ito says, “This amazing. How you get gyro so small?”

I almost want to laugh. Smartphones end up having multiple gyros in them. The gyroscope in the E series is big enough for a ship.

“You will see that there are many advancements in the schematic that you have never seen before. You have the most advanced factory robots on the planet, and I want to improve them, so that I can make having a robotic factory more feasible.”

Takashi speaks to them in Japanese. At first, I think I am using too big of words for them to understand me. Ito tells her something that causes her to blush. As he talks, she keeps saying Hai (yes). He is telling her to do something that she is ashamed of.

Sato asks, “What you want?”

“10% of Kawasaki and you build me a shipyard with your next-generation industrial robots.”

They are not happy about that. Sato argues, “Too much.”

“With those plans, you can make Honda’s E series obsolete. You can also greatly improve your industrial robots. You will be ten years more advanced than anybody else on the planet. Just think of what it could do for your space program. Your shipyards are starting to lose to Korean yards. This deal could turn that around. I ask for 10% because this deal will likely grow your company by 20%.”

They start chatting among themselves again for a bit. Then Sato and Ito get up to leave. I get up, and Sato offers me his hand to shake. When I reciprocate, he says, “Good talk. We meet tomorrow. Need phone head office.”

They leave, but Takashi stays behind.

I ask, “Takashi-san, why didn’t you leave with your companions?”

“Please, when we are alone, call me Miyu.”

In the Japanese culture, only the closest of friends and family call you by your given name. Either she has adapted to the English culture in a way her co-workers would frown on, or something is up.