He smiled an unbecoming grin at me. There was a smattering of applause around the table. I raised my eyebrows, but said nothing.
“Patricia?” asked Kesselring, “Anything to add?”
“I liked it, looked wonderful to me,” I said sarcastically. “Who could possibly resist a pitch like that?”
Kesselring’s lips pressed tightly together. “I assume you have something more to say?” he asked.
I paused, struggling, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Look, I’ve got some issues with how this ‘happiness index’ has become such a central barometer of what we’re doing.” I probably shouldn’t have baited Hal, and I was treading on thin ice with the Chinese delegation dialed in today, but the urge was too strong.
“Isn’t happiness the central, single most important thing in a person’s life?” rejoined Hal, assuming a defensive posture.
As he turned to face me, his skin began sporting that revolting smile he loved to use on his EmoShow. To me he looked like a weasel on Prozac. His program was becoming ever more popular as it traded off the Cognix brand, but I had no idea what people saw in him. His ego had long since outstripped his talents.
“I wouldn’t argue with you Hal,” I replied, holding up my hands in mock defense, “but this is supposed to be a serious medical evaluation, not a popularity contest. And knowing about happiness is different than actually creating it.”
“Patricia,” Hal responded in a measured tone, as if I were a guest on his show, “I think you have some issues going on here, some issues beyond this discussion.”
“Don’t try to deflect this,” I snapped.
“Okay fine,” he laughed. Now he was the one with his hands up in mock defense. “I’m just saying maybe you should have a look at your own happiness indices before you go knocking the program.”
He looked at me with raised eyebrows and tried to convey his simple, dishonest frankness to everyone in the room.
“I am happy!” I shot back before I realized what I was doing, my voice louder than intended. I closed my eyes and shook it off, taking a deep breath. Little bastard.
The room fell quiet.
Kesselring rolled his eyes slightly and smiled towards our Chinese guests.
“Let’s move onto the next topic, shall we?” he asked around the table, and everyone nodded. “So, you all have the information about pushing the Infinixx launch ahead of the pssi launch. Who would like to open the discussion?”
“Give me one good reason we should let this happen,” immediately fumed Dr. David Baxter.
“David, you’ve seen all the phutures Nancy has presented. Almost every scenario comes out pushing the Cognix stock higher as we establish this with early adopters,” I countered. “You’re just annoyed because it’s not under your thumb.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” replied Dr. Baxter, and a tumult of angry voices and arguments began while Kesselring sat quietly and watched the whole thing, sighing. After a few minutes of this, it seemed we were at a stalemate when Jimmy spoke up.
“Okay everyone, I will give you one very good reason,” he shouted out. He stood up, raising his hands to quiet everyone. I could see him wink at Nancy.
“I’ve managed to secure an agreement with both India and China to launch simultaneously with us.” Even as he said it, the Chinese representatives began nodding their understanding and agreement.
Gasps issued forth around the table. Details of the negotiations sprang into everyone’s workspaces the moment Jimmy spoke and we all dropped off a splinter to have a look. Having India and China agree to a simultaneous launch wouldn’t just be a commercial coup, but a major political one for Atopia as well.
“How in the world?” said Dr. Baxter, his voice trailing off while his mind assimilated the back-story.
“You’re giving up a lot here,” said Kesselring. “A lot, but I can see the balancing act and the payoff. I like it. Are there any objections?”
Kesselring looked automatically towards Dr. Granger, who looked like he was about to say something, but then just shrugged and shook his head, looking towards Jimmy. Kesselring looked towards Jimmy as well and smiled, nodding his congratulations.
“I assume you’re good with this Nancy?” asked Kesselring, looking back towards her.
Kesselring looked directly at me. “I’m ready to make this happen, but I need one thing from you.”
“Yes?” I had a feeling I knew what was coming next.
“I need you to put this Synthetic Beings Charter of Rights on the shelf until after the commercial launch of pssi.”
I sighed and looked at the ceiling. He knew exactly how to exact his price for this.
“Yes, I can do that. But it will be at the top of my agenda as soon as we launch.”
Kesselring smiled. “Then we’re all agreed.”
Approving murmurs began to circulate. I reached out and held Nancy’s hand in mine, and smiled at both her and Jimmy. I was so proud.
“So, are we a ‘go’ for a worldwide press release?” sighed a resigned Dr. Baxter. He was Bob’s father. Talk about an apple falling far from the tree.
“Yes,” replied Kesselring, “assuming this is acceptable with our Chinese delegates?”
He looked towards them. They all nodded curtly in unison. I wondered if they realized that nationality was another idea that pssi was about to render irrelevant. Or perhaps, more to the point, a good chunk of the world was about to become de-facto Atopian citizens.
“Yes, let’s go ahead with the release. We are about to make history, ladies and gentlemen.”
“Imagine, a trillion dollar IPO,” I heard Hal muttering under his breath as he reviewed the launch details, stars gleaming in his beady eyes.
Getting up to leave, I said goodbye to both Jimmy and Nancy on private channels. I nodded politely to the Chinese guests, then to Kesselring and the rest of the Board. I even nodded to Hal, thanking him for not interfering in the Infinixx proposal.
The black granite and glass of the conference room melted into the deep mahoganies of my private office. I was making for the bar. A nice scotch on the rocks was just the thing I needed.
Marie was sitting against my office desk, her long shapely legs crossed in front of her as she leaned against it, propped up by her arms. Cigarette smoke was rising slowly around her, and she took one more puff and put it out in the crystal ashtray on the desk. She leaned forward and stood and walked towards me, waving me off. She’d get the drink.
“I know Hal is a pain, Pat, but you shouldn’t let him get to you,” she said finally, plucking my favorite scotch bottle from the collection. A glass appeared in her hand and ice cubes chinked softly together as she poured the whiskey over them.
“It’s not that, Marie. I need to find out what Kesselring is hiding from me,” I replied. “Shifting Infinixx up on the release schedule was just too easy. Hal folded without even a peep.”
Marie raised her eyebrows. “Sometimes things just make sense, even to Hal.”
“Maybe, but Kesselring didn’t even seem surprised. I have the feeling something else is going on, and I need someone with, well, special skills to have a look at this from the outside.”
“On that note, your old student Mohesha from Terra Nova called again,” explained Marie. “She wants to set up a talk. It sounded very urgent. In fact, more than urgent.”
I decided to shift back into a much younger version of myself, and was now dressed in a short black skirt and cream silk chemise while a sub-proxxi of Marie walked my real body home from the Solomon House. I sighed and looked down admiringly at my legs, reaching down to straighten my skirt, sliding a hand along my thigh as I did. I trembled slightly at my own touch.