The Hawk and The Chipmunk
Copyright© 2005 R. Michael Lowe aka The Scot
Chapter 72
Marsha led Dan Cashman to her research lab and demonstrated her new computer’s capability. He didn’t have any idea what Hawk was contemplating, but he knew once this system hit the market it should sell like hotcakes - especially in the corporate and government markets.
Still standing in front of the prototype Dan pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. The direct line he had programmed into his phone rang at the desk of the secretary of his counterpart with their computer company partner. “Good morning, Dan,” answered the secretary after seeing his name on the caller ID.
“And a good morning to you, Pat. Is your boss in yet?”
“She’s on her first cup of coffee, but she’s here. I think the budget meetings must have run late last night. I’ll tell her it’s you.” Before Dan could thank Pat, she had already put him on hold.
Moments later a softer female voice asked, “I hope you’re not wanting to back out of our agreement. I just finished doing all the numbers based on our existing agreement.”
“No, Kathleen, but we may need to make a few changes.”
“Dan, don’t even suggest such a thing. Anyway, why would you want to do that?”
“I’ll tell you, but I want to make sure you don’t have a mouth full of coffee when I do. I don’t want you to claim I owe you a new keyboard.”
She laughed, and said, “OK, I’ll bite. What’s on your mind?”
“How about a new computer design that could make your competition almost a forgotten name?”
“If you’re not joking, what do you want? Would my having one of your children influence you?”
Dan laughed, “Kathleen, I’m not that greedy. But, if this takes off like I suspect, I know we don’t have the capacity to produce the units in the quantity that will be needed. I could also use some technical assistance to turn the prototype into a working model.”
“OK, Dan, what’s the bottom line?”
“I want sixty-five percent of gross profit less advertising as a royalty, along with the rights to the old Komtech name. I’ll give you a six month exclusive before we start manufacturing under our own name, and I want you to train and use as many American Indians as possible in the production process.”
“My first suggestion might be more acceptable,” Kathleen laughingly replied. “Now, before I waste Matthew’s time, what’s so great about this computer?”
“Now, you realize this is just a prototype, but we’re talking an internal Beowulf cluster of four quad-core chips with special wire linkage that increases throughput by a magnitude of at least eight. Instead of a standard motherboard design the guts of the system will be encased in a metal box about three centimeters thick, and filled with a non-conductive liquid that can be maintained at around five degrees Celsius. This will normally be placed inside a more traditional computer case, but there will be no fan, no heat sinks, and the system includes both surge protection and battery backup.”
“Dan, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, but can you get me some? If you’re serious, I suspect you might be able to get more than what you’re proposing.”
“Kathleen, I’m happy with what I’m proposing, but there’s more.”
“More?” she answered incredulously.
“Yes, but in that, there are also some negatives.”
“OK, you’ve led me this far down the path. What are these positive and negative points?”
“The self-contained part, which includes a terabyte solid state drive is completely shielded from an electromagnetic pulse. Any normal add-ons like extra memory, video cards, etcetera will be somewhat protected, but may or may not weather the pulse. Also, we think we can work with Microsoft to include some key aspects of their operating system in the firmware that replaces the BIOS. We’re trying to make it an instant on system, along with resolving some of their key security concerns.”
“Dan, let me get with Matthew, but could we fly down this afternoon and see what you’re talking about? If you’re right the first thing I would do would be to short sell every share of Zelk stock I could get my hands on.”
“I was already thinking the same thing, but I needed an agreement and a time frame so we can know when this baby will hit the market.”
“That makes sense. I’m also going to talk to Matthew about getting you some stock options.”
“Kathleen, let me know your schedule so I can make sure those that are needed will be available. As for the stock options, if you do so, I would prefer they would go to the team that designed the system, and no, you can’t hire them. We keep them as slaves, chained up in little cages in the basement, as well as holding their children as hostages.”
The woman on the other end of the line burst into laughter before saying, “Sounds kinky. Do you have room for one more?” Now it was Dan’s turn to roar in laughter, and by the time he calmed, she had already ended the call.
Dan looked back toward Marsha and saw a woman in total shock. “Marsha, are you OK?” he asked, his voice betraying his concern.
“Mister Cashman, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I was able to follow most of that conversation. I’m not sure who ‘Kathleen’ is, but I have no doubt who the company is. Would you really pass up an offer of stock options and give them to us instead?”
“Yes, Marsha, if they really offer them I’d want that reward to be shared by you and those who worked with you to design this ‘sucker.’ It would be the least I could do, since options in this company would be worthless.”
“Why would that be the case?”
“Because I can’t see the need or the desire for Hawk and his family to ever go public, and without being publicly traded shares of any stock options would be worthless.”
When Hawk arrived at the turnoff to Jason’s cabin the old man was sitting along the edge of the trail that was effectively Jason’s driveway. Hawk stopped the car, greeted the old man, and helped him into the truck. From that point Eagle Eye didn’t say a word. Instead, he just pointed the turns Hawk was to take. Finally, he had Hawk stop next to another wickiup, only this one had a fair sized stream behind it and there was no fire ring near the front opening. Hawk helped the old man down from the truck. The old man looked deep into Hawk’s eyes and said, “Strip, bathe and go to spirit lodge. No clothes.” Hawk was puzzled by the man’s strange demeanor, but did as he instructed. When he finally entered the lodge it was so filled with steam he could barely see the outline of the old man who was pointing to a spot next to him. Hawk obeyed, waiting for the old man to tell him what was on his mind. His biggest fear was he’d offended Eagle Eye or the tribe in some manner. Finally the old man said, “It’s now OK to talk. Before, there was something on your body emitting an electronic signal.”
“Could it have been my cell phone? It has a GPS system that periodically transmits my location so Jason could find me if I got lost or kidnapped.”
“That’s possible, but I’ve never heard of such a system. Also, what is this GPS you mentioned?”
“GPS stands for Global Positioning System. There are a whole series of satellites in the sky that circle the Earth from pole to pole. Every few seconds each satellite transmits a unique signal which your device is able to receive. Anyway, a GPS device can pick up the signals from up to twelve of these satellites, and from that information it can determine your location to within a few feet. The more different satellite signals the device is able to receive at any point in time the more accurate the result.”
“Impressive technology, though it sounds more like something the military would use.”
“They’re the ones who built and maintain the system, but it’s getting more and more popular among civilians. There are even devices being developed for cars and trucks that will replace maps. You tell it where you want to go and the device will tell you the best way to get there. From what I’ve read there should be some out within a year or so which will give you step by step voice instructions as you drive.”
“That’s even more impressive. I thought I did a pretty good job of keeping up with changing technology, but it seems I may be falling down on the job.”
“If you’d like, come stay with us on the ranch for a while and see what new wonders are being developed. There are now TV channels that show and explain a lot of this. In addition, you can find much of what you’re looking for on the Internet.”
“I may soon take up your offer, as I plan to be there when my great-grandson is born. I’m also interested in continuing our discussion concerning capturing all my teachings and stories for future generations.”
“Just remember you’re welcome to stay for as long as you wish. Now, I’m sure you didn’t call me up here to talk about this.”
“No, I sensed your feelings of turmoil and felt you needed a break. This time in the spirit lodge is not for dreams, but to relax and let your mind seek its correct path.”
“Do you know what I’m contemplating?” asked Hawk.
“Yes, and I also know why your mind is in conflict. I think your path is just and your heart is pure. You’ll find the balance and the safeguards to reduce potential deviations to the path you are on. I also know one of your biggest temptations will be eliminated within a few days, freeing your mind to focus on the future, and not your past. Now, I want you to sleep for a while, though I doubt you’ll dream. I’ll reduce the heat in this place and vent out most of the steam. That should make your sleep more pleasant, and I’ll wake you before darkness descends.”
Jason was exhausted when he returned to his office a little after 7:00 p.m. There had been a slight delay in the final passage of the Interior Department’s Budget by the House, and since the bills passed by each branch had to be identical, it was best to wait for the final House vote before the Senate debate could begin. Throughout the afternoon and early evening there had been many arguments over various sections of the bill, but most of it had been nothing but political posturing by the various Senators to impress their constituents and probably the media. At least no one had seemed to notice the small additions that had been made, but Jason had already learned most of these Appropriation Bills were not always read in their entirety. Finally, it was passed in a straight up and down vote. Jason did find the wording used by the President Pro-tempore when the Appropriations Bill was presented rather interesting. He had said, “The vote is for the approval of this document, as it’s currently written.” Jason would later learn that this wording was used in both Houses, at the direction of his ‘co-conspirators.’
Finding all his staff had gone home, he went to his desk to see if any notes had been left for him. There were several, including one from Maddie letting him know a young couple had been picked up at the airport and taken to the ranch. There was also one asking him to call Joel Cameron on his cell phone. Finally, there was a purple note sticking out from underneath his keyboard. A very unusual purple - one only used by the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates. Inside the folded note, he found:
اسمي Longbow تعالوا معي الى بر الأمان
It was Arabic for ‘my name is Longbow, come with me to safety.’ It was a phrase he’d once used a long time ago, in a place far away. Beneath the phrase was a phone number.
Puzzled by the note Jason removed his cell phone from his locked desk drawer. It was where he’d instructed Maddie to secure it before she headed home. After checking his battery level and signal strength he dialed the number. A male with a Cambridge accent answered, “Yes.”
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