On the television, a protestor sets fire to a Google banner and screams into the camera. “The end times are here!”
Beth lowers the volume. “Friends, we must stand up to GoldRock and the government. They are trying to change our core values of innovation and freedom of information. These ideals are under attack by a merciless force that will take us to a dark age.”
“Would you like me to send the message?” Cooper asks.
“With highest priority.”
There is a knock at the door and her assistant Sara walks in. “Beth, there’s something urgent.”
“What is it?”
“I just received a subpoena from the government. They want you to appear before a federal judge.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. Leave it on my desk.”
“I’m worried. Are you in trouble?”
“No. Don’t worry, our lawyers will take care of it.”
“My heart dropped when I saw it.”
“Listen, I will stand up to Washington. There’s nothing to fear. This is part of my job.”
Sara’s frown turns to a smile. “Okay, Beth, we know you’ll be fine.” She looks up. “Also, Austin Sanders is here to see you.”
“Bring him in.”
Austin nervously paces into the room. “You wanted to see me, boss?”
She grimaces and points to the television. “What the hell did you get us into?”
On the TV screen, a reporter stands in front of a throng of protestors, one of them shouting, “Google is the Devil!” It cuts away to a montage of large gatherings across the world. The countdown continues on the bottom of the screen.
32:01, 32:00, 31:59…
Austin laughs nervously. “This is all a big misunderstanding.”
Beth fumes in anger. “How about I fire you right now?”
“Let me explain—”
“The CIA is taking me to court for leaking sensitive data, and now people around the world think we’re hiding information about some catastrophic event. Can you explain what on Earth is going on?”
Austin motions. “Hear me out. A week ago, the CIA asked me to hack some Chinese communications from Mars. It turns out the CIA was wrong; the signal is actually from a nearby star.”
“I need a cocktail.” She rubs her face in her hands. “This is the strangest story I’ve heard. What is this mysterious code? Who sent it to us?”
“We’re not sure, but we think it’s a message from an intelligent species near Barnard’s Star. We don’t know what they’re trying to tell us.”
“Then why did you leak this story to the press?”
“I did not leak anything to anyone.”
“Why is everyone calling it the end times?”
He blushes. “I have no idea.”
She scowls. “Your story doesn’t add up. Why didn’t you call the CIA back and report your findings?”
He looks away. “We were busy on other projects. We’re certainly not hiding anything and I’m happy to prove that to you.”
Beth hears a commotion and walks to the window to find protestors congregating outside. “They’re making such a big deal out of this. I’ll bet your radio signal is just random space noise.”
Austin balks. “…well…”
“What?”
“…there’s more I didn’t tell you. The decrypted code is an old rock song, ‘Johnny B. Goode.’ It’s being transmitted across the Galaxy.”
She shrugs. “And?”
“The same track was carried on Voyager 1.”
“You mean the probe from the 1970s?”
“Yes. It has been flying through space for the last century. We think an intelligent species intercepted our spacecraft and broadcasted the song back to us with an embedded signal.”
“A countdown?”
“That’s right.”
Beth’s eyes widen. “Incredible…”
“What?”
She paces the room silently and then raises a finger. “Don’t you see? Someone in space communicated something intended for us. They want to get our attention.”
Austin’s crosses his arms. “You think they’re trying to tell us something?”
Beth walks to the window. “They probably discovered Voyager 1 and realized they have intelligent friends nearby.” She looks to the sky. “They’re trying to speak with us, Austin…”
“To say what?”
9:59, 9:58, 9:57…
She glances at the timer on the television. “I don’t know, but we’ll find out soon.”
The shouting outside crescendos. Beth spots protestors picketing and throwing rocks at the building. “Why are these people so angry at us?”
“They hate our success,” Austin says. “We’re the largest corporation in the world. It comes with the territory.”
Beth pauses. “That doesn’t explain it. Remember Amazon? They were the biggest monopoly of all time before the government split them up. There wasn’t this much hatred against Amazon.”
“You’re right.”
“For some reason, they think we’re holding something back from them.”
Austin cocks his head. “Well, did you read the Telegraph article this morning? It portrayed us like the Illuminati.”
“Who leaked the story to the press?”
“I don’t know, Beth. There must be someone out to get us.”
She nods. “I know a person who fits that profile—Manos Kharon.”
“GoldRock?”
“Yes. I bet they’re behind this. They’re trying to sabotage our business and change our operations.”
“But why?”
“To make money, I guess. Manos is a shady businessman. Whatever his intentions, he’s hell-bent on the Information Tariffs. We can’t allow GoldRock to take over.”
Austin crosses his arms. “We have to stop him. I’d like to handle this the old-fashioned way, with a punch in the face.”
“You can’t restrain a bully like Manos with violence.” She takes a deep breath. “If we fight back tit-for-tat, we will lose our way and defeat ourselves. There’s only one way to handle him.”
“How?”
“By innovating. Instead of violence, we must turn to compassion and win back the hearts and minds of our customers. We have to return to Google’s core mission and advance technology for the betterment of society.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, there’s one issue that threatens all life.”
“What’s that?”
“Climate change. The world’s sixth mass extinction is underway. We have to stop it before it’s too late.”
They jolt as a rock smashes into the window and ricochets off the bulletproof pane. Outside, protestors set fire to trash bins on the quad and hurl objects at police. On the television, an angry mob shouts at a reporter. Beth glances at the timer.
5:59, 5:58, 5:57…
She mutes the volume. “We can’t be distracted by this madness. The planet is on the brink of catastrophe, and the only solution is to end the use of fossil fuels immediately. That’s only possible with a powerful clean energy technology.”
“You’re right.”
She looks at him. “What’s happening with Project Titan?”
He sighs. “I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up.”
“Why?”
“We haven’t made any progress.”
“None at all?” She grows sullen. “That’s not what I want to hear.”
“I’m sorry to say this, but the TransAtomic executives duped us. Their blueprints are garbage.”
“You’re kidding me.” She flushes and rubs her face with her palms. “That’s unacceptable. You must succeed. There is too much at stake.”
“Look, their nuclear reactor will never work. There is no way we can trigger the fusion reaction.”