Artificial(ish) Intelligence

Chapter 78

"They've what?" said Josef.

"Recommended stripping the company," said Ms Glas, via the chat app.

"My company?" said Josef.

"The company I have a fifty one percent share of," said Ms Glas.

"When was this?"

"Yesterday."

"When did the board have their first official meeting?"

"Yesterday."

"What's the justification?"

"The board aren't satisfied that you can get a working version in a realistic time frame. But the eye-pee could be salvaged and the Schuvantz Building is a reliable--"

"I've got the demonstration tomorrow," said Josef. "A prototype. It's ready. The product is good to go. And I've secured a customer! Sinclair's on-board with--"

"Calm down," said Ms Glas. "This is just a recommendation. I'll make sure you get your chance to demonstrate the technology."

Josef sighed in relief. A little too loud. Game face, that's what he needed. Don't show them your emotions. Don't show them you even have emotions. "Fine," he said, his voice suddenly resonating deeper.

"But you might want to check your messages," said Ms Glas, before hanging up.

"What did she mean by that?" said Josef, to no one. He waited for a response. Also from no one?

The holographic form of his digital assistant materialised. Oh, I guess that's who he was talking to.

"You've got all of 'em. The communications. Yup. Every one. Mhmm. Yup," said Lem. "Oh."

"Oh?" said Josef.

Lem poked about at a large holographic binder. "Here's another one. Just came in. Yup."

"From father?" said Josef.

Raymond Sinclair, CFO of Integrity Values, filled the screen. His hair was dishevelled and he moved his eyes as if watching a tennis match.

"This isn't how you make friends in this city," he said.

Josef scrunched up his nose.

"All that I worked for...down the drain. My plans. Our plans."

"What is he on about?" said Josef.

"I just gotta know, was it incompetence or did you deliberately screw me over? No, seriously. Let's get it out in the open. Because he found out somehow, and you're the only one I spoke to. Do you know what it's like being canned after giving your life to a company? After sacrificing a family, everything!? Hmm? Of course you don't. Making-love trust-fund baby."

The man disappeared from his screen.

Josef's one buyer had become its zeroth. Why? It didn't really matter at this point. Was this an end-of-lifer? "No, it'll still turn out OK," he said.

Moments after he successfully demonstrates the capabilities of the True_AI module, he'll have another willing customer, one far more important than a minor financial services company.

But would it even get to that point? Mathison was going to ruin it all, he could sense it. The new world was all about disruption, staying lean, agile, but the engineer was living in the past, content to potter along while Rome burns. It was worse than that, though, wasn't it? He sensed cold feet.

This would require a multi-pronged attack. He'd need to give Mathison the right motivation to get his head back in the game, while providing as many potential human sources as possible.