Port Casper

Chapter Twenty-Five

Maud Van Decker stood in an alcove outside a closed conference room on the twelfth floor of ITB, fighting a headache. The vase of freshly cut roses had been sprayed with perfume. It was strong, and a little nauseating. She fixated on the paisley border of the rug below. White on deep blue, its patterns helped her focus. Not that she liked paisley. She much preferred the traditional Navajo patterns common in Cloister Eleven. If she invested in a hotel on Mars, it would be completely Navajo.

She turned as an attendant came out of the conference room, the doors clicking loudly. She glimpsed the recently refinished mahogany floor before the doors closed. Everything was a little too pretentious here.

"Ms. Van Decker?" He was young, dressed in overly expensive business clothes. Cloister-made, she realized.

"Mr. Varghese asked me to inform you that the board is a few minutes late, and to please have a seat." He motioned to the leather club chairs by a large picture window. "May I get you any refreshments?"

"No, thank you," she said, taking a seat. She expected this. The board was always late.

She looked out over the city, with its modern spires and globes. Navajo rugs on Mars. A taste of home. She was sure it would become a fashion. Modern things felt empty after a while. Once she started producing liquid computers on Mars, she'd have the wealth to redefine taste. On Mars, people might listen.

Moments later, the attendant returned. "They will see you now, Ms. Van Decker. Please follow me."

Maud trailed the attendant. She looked around as he paused to close the door behind her. The sparse room was dominated by a conference table six meters long. A total of twelve board members sat on either side, a mixed gathering of old and middle-aged business drones. Varghese sat at the far end, facing Maud. The fattest drone of all.

"Leave us, William," Varghese said, gesturing toward his left. The attendant disappeared into a side room, presumably out of hearing range.

Maud stood relaxed, sensing the room still waited for Varghese's command.

"Secretary Marlow," Varghese continued, turning to the thin, elderly man on his right, "please suspend recording." James Marlow touched his console and nodded to the CEO.

"Very well. Ms. Van Decker, your report please," Varghese said. He steepled his fingers and reclined in his chair. The other board members, whose rapt attention had been on the chief executive, turned their heads toward Maud. She loved the feeling of their eager, greedy eyes pointed solely at her.

"Gentlemen, and ladies," she said, making eye contact with the three other women in the room, "our surveillance has proved most successful.

"Recent activity has confirmed that Unlimited Unlimited plans to license a new computing technology, perfected for space travel and unparalleled in terms of storage and processing capacity. They plan to develop it for commercial applications within the next two years."

The excitement was palpable in the room, much of it negative. Maud ignored the crowd. She delivered this information directly to Varghese. The rest of them were merely spectators watching two warriors discuss the latest battle.

"As you all know, our primary difficulty in the space industry is with the complexity of onboard computers. Existing storage technologies have failed in high acceleration testing. This new computer, a liquid computer, offers three dimensional storage, the ability to self-organize, and extreme tolerance to high acceleration."

"I hope you're saying we have this technology, Van Decker, or you're ringing our death knell up there," a rude board member interjected, to general murmured agreement.

"What I'm saying," Maud said, biting off the ends of her words, "Is that UU just acquired an inventor. As of today, they have no working models and they have no patents. We've been preparing to mass-produce the liquid computer for months. ITB should be able to bring the computer to market far faster than UU, and we will be in a position to dominate the industry for years to come."

She saw a few raised eyebrows and looks of disdain when she said the word, we. That's right, guys, she thought. I'm one of you now. Deal.

Varghese leaned forward in his seat. Maud noticed the move and stopped speaking.

"Where is the prototype, Ms. Van Decker?"

Maud stared directly into Varghese's eyes. He knew the answer. Which meant that he was trying to soothe the shareholders. At her expense.

"Our informant was unable to provide us information regarding the prototype. But it has not been delivered to UU at this time."

Varghese cleared his throat, but his face didn't betray any other useful information to Maud.

"We need the prototype, Ms. Van Decker. I don't care about space travel. I don't care about acceleration. The prototype. It's nearly 10 o'clock. Leave us now, and find it." He paused with a forced smile. "Oh, and remember to send roses to Vice Minister Gobi."

"Yes, sir." Bastard. She snapped to attention and turned toward the door. He'd never dismissed her mid-meeting before.

"And now, everyone, let's discuss our Hopper initiative."

Maud nearly stumbled. Had she heard the word correctly?

"Secretary Marlow, please resume recording."

Maud closed the doors behind her and sprinted back to her office. Her mind reeled. What did they know about Hopper? She flipped on the security cameras in the conference room.

"The goal, therefore, is to introduce legislation to allow AI on Earth. By that time, ITB will have the liquid computer and its patents."

"Donner," Maud hissed through clenched teeth.