Duplicate Minds

Sixteen

Gregory Maltek's office was on the top floor of the sixty-five-story building. Roger led Rajeev into an executive elevator and accompanied him to the top.

When the doors opened, Roger stepped out and gestured for Rajeev to follow him. They walked down the hall, took a left, and then entered through a set of french doors on their left into a spacious office.

A man sat on an ergonomic balance-ball chair behind a desk, typing on his computer. When Rajeev and Roger walked in, he looked up and smiled broadly, standing and walking out from behind the desk to meet them.

"Rajeev Sundaram!" he said. His voice was deep, rich. He looked to be in his early thirties. He wore a white dress shirt without a tie and with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore a pair of straight-legged khaki pants and a pair of black loafers. "I apologize for the unorthodox invitation, but you're a difficult man to get in touch with." He nodded to Roger. "Thank you for getting him here, Roger. I'll take it from here." Roger nodded and left.

Gregory led Rajeev to a small leather loveseat in the corner of the room. He took a seat in an armchair facing it.

"Why did you bring me here?" Rajeev asked.

"You get right down to business, don't you?"

Rajeev nodded. He got the impression that Gregory Maltek was highly amused by himself, and it annoyed him. But he'd flown all the way out here and it would be a good idea to at least find out why he'd made the trip.

"I gather you're aware," Gregory began, "that my company and your son's company are competing for the same clientele."

"You aren't competing at all, yet. Neither of you actually has a product on the market."

He nodded. "That's true. Neither of us has a product on the market. But that doesn't mean we aren't already competing. Do you remember the format war between Betamax and VHS?"

Rajeev nodded. "I didn't live through it, but I've heard about it, of course."

"The format wars are a lesson in hubris. Sony thought they'd developed a superior format with higher resolution, superior sound and longer-lasting players. And they weren't wrong. Yet the format failed. Do you know why?"

Rajeev shook his head. "I don't."

"It's because they didn't make it for the people—they made it for themselves. They didn't realize that people didn't give a shit about picture quality. The Betamax players were too expensive. VHS players were cheaper and they allowed for longer recording times. VHS was the tape player of the people, and it won out because it met the needs of the people."

"So how does this relate to Next Level Technologies versus Fresh Meat?"

"It's my belief that only one of our respective technologies will win out. So the question is, will people extend their lives by transferring their consciousness into a robotic body, or an organic one?"

"And you undoubtedly expect they'll choose the latter."

"Why wouldn't they? It's the natural choice. People get old and what do they wish for? To be made into a robot—or to be young again? The technology NLT is developing requires its customers to make a trade-off. There's a pro and a con. They get to extend their lives, perhaps even live forever, but as a result they must give up their flesh-and-blood existence and live as a machine incapable of eating, drinking, screwing, or even taking a good shit. Hardly a life worth living."

"It's certainly been an adjustment, but at the same time, I'm not suicidal."

"I'm not saying you are. I'm just saying, I bet you'd be a hell of a lot happier in one of our products than you are in your son's."