The Quantum Brain (Pulse Science Fiction Series Book 2) (5 page)

Mark still believed his secret was safe, but the puzzle was there. Some people were beginning to see it. It was likely they would start putting the pieces together. It was possible that someone might solve the entire thing in time. Mark had wished that it would take longer before someone started seeing the details Mark had found. If it was closer to the final event, they wouldn’t figure it out in time. Now, he was not so sure.

Mark swallowed and shut off his monitor.

He was too wired to sleep, but too tired to continue working. He laid in bed in the darkness of his apartment staring at the ceiling for a long time.

Dr. Thomas Kell startled awake. It was the blond woman. Not the one with the glasses, but the other one. Dr. Kell recoiled at her standing over him. What was she doing in his apartment?

He looked over his shoulder and realized the he was in his office at the facility. What was she doing in his dark office?

“What? Um … What’s going on?” He managed to say.

She took a step back closer to the light from the hallway spilling in through his doorway. She turned herself into a slender, shadowed figure without features in the contrasts of darkness and light. It filled Dr. Kell with a sense of nightmarish dread.

She spoke with a pleasant tone that did not match the uneasiness of the scene. “You and the other project managers are being called in for an emergency call.”

“How did you find me?” Thomas Kell sat up slowly.

“Security reported the location of each of the people called to the meeting once Mr. Decker called it,” she said.

“What time is it?”

“3:47 AM local time,” she said. “Mr. Decker will begin the conference call in the conference room on this floor at 4:00 and he said he expects everyone there and ready, Doctor.”

“Wait.” Dr. Kell blinked and stared at the floor. “Decker? Miles Decker? Why is he calling us to a meeting? Where is Hazel Conrad?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard, Doctor?”

Thomas looked up, but she was still the slender shadow against the blazing hallway light. He looked away. “What are you talking about? Heard what?”

“I hate to be the one to tell you, Doctor.”

“Well.” He glanced at his desk. “You are the one that woke me up, so I guess it has to be you then.”

“Hazel Conrad was killed in a plane crash last night on her way to Washington. There was some sort of system failure and no one survived.”

Dr. Kell held out his hands in front of him and shook his head. “She’s dead? She died? What’s going to happen to the company?”

“I’m sure that is going to be the main topic of the call, Doctor. You have about eleven minutes to get to the conference room. The other project managers are assembling there now. Sorry for the short notice. We tried you at home and on your cell before we looked for you here.”

“That’s fine. Not your fault. I’ll be ready.” He stared at the floor a moment longer. “I know you are not a secretary, but would you be willing to get me a cup of coffee or something to help me wake up.”

She didn’t answer. Dr. Kell was sure he had said something that was going to get him in trouble with HR. He lifted his eyes and saw her shadow from the doorway was gone. She had left before he asked, she had stormed off in insult, or she was getting him coffee. There was a wide range of possibilities and he did not know which was being carried out.

Dr. Kell considered going down to the lab to ask Q1 which was going to happen. He could have asked about Hazel Conrad’s trip. He might have known about the crash ahead of time and been able to warn her. It was too late now.

Miles Decker was going to tell everyone what to do and a meeting with Decker did not usually go well. Dr. Kell wasn’t sure if he should go ahead and pack his desk or just set the whole thing on fire.

He thought he could use something stronger than coffee before this meeting.

He could taste his breath. He decided not to talk during the meeting. That was probably the best move for a wide range of reasons.

Thomas Kell stood slowly. He stepped out of his office without closing the door and made his way slowly to the conference room. He was one of the last to enter and there were no seats left. He stood against one of the back walls.

The others had tablets with them. He thought maybe he should have brought one as well. It was almost 4:00 and he didn’t want to leave the room to come back late. He stuck his hands in his pockets.

Everyone was muttering among themselves and staring at a blue screen on the large wall monitor on the opposite side of the room. It hung there in a solid light like a threat. Everyone waited for Decker to pop onto the screen to pass sentence on all of them.

Thomas realized they were all in fear of their own skin and were thinking little of the loss of Hazel Conrad except in how it impacted their lives and jobs.

He sighed and looked down at the tile floor between his feet.

The screen popped out of the blue image and there was an intake of air from all the lungs around the room. Dr. Kell swallowed and looked up. The room on the other side of the feed had wood beams. There were tall windows in the background showing snow covered pines and capped mountains in the haze of the far background.

A tall man with dark hair sat at a table in profile in the frame. He had an open laptop and files scattered across the surface. He lifted a mug of steaming liquid to his lips and took a slow sip. He lowered it back down with a heavy clunk of ceramic against wood. He paused and flipped a page on the stack in his hands with a quiet rustle of paper.

He didn’t look into the camera nor did he speak.

Dr. Kell recognized Miles Decker from newspaper and web images he had seen over the years. He looked younger than Thomas expected. Maybe he was dying his hair. Dr. Kell knew Decker was older than him, but younger than Hazel Conrad had been. He looked like an athlete though instead of a senior partner.

One of the managers closer to the screen looked around the table. No one made eye contact with him. The manager looked back at the screen and said, “Mr. Decker, we are live and ready.”

“Shut up,” Decker said without looking up. His voice was clear and the connection was good. Miles Decker flipped another page with a soft rustle.

After about half a minute, he tossed the papers in his hands on the other clutter on the table next to his laptop. He turned his head a quarter toward camera. He took several slow, steady breaths that no one in the conference room dared to interrupt.

“Hazel Conrad is dead,” Miles Decker said still facing sideways from camera. “I’m going to tell you some information that cannot leave this room. The investigation into the plane crash is just beginning, but skies were clear and the plane was serviced well. They will check for mechanical error over the next few weeks, but the current theory is pilot error. There was no mechanical error and our pilots are the best money can buy. There is reason to believe that terrorism may be involved. That story is contained for now, but won’t be forever.”

Several gasps traveled around the room. Decker turned toward camera and the room went silent again.

He continued. “Our stock price is going to take a hit when the Market reopens to the news of Conrad’s death. Once the theory of terrorism surfaces, it will be hit again. Do not let that leave the room or I will find out who talked and I will make it my personal mission to take you apart. No one is to sell a single share of stock from your options. None of your family members and none of your friends. It will be looked at as insider trading and we will sacrifice you to federal regulators, if it comes to light. I will also take it personally and I will not forget.”

Miles stared into camera and no one spoke. No one moved. Dr. Kell had to remind himself to breathe. He felt like there was no oxygen left in the room.

Decker said, “Good.”

He turned away from camera and shuffled pages on his table. He did not pick up any.

“Who is in charge of the Q1 project?” Decker asked. “Kell? Is Dr. Kell there?”

Every eye in the room turned from the screen to Thomas standing against the back wall. He took a step forward and wavered on his feet. He found himself wishing he had stayed against the wall for support. He took his hands out of his pockets for balance, but then didn’t know what to do with them. He ended up crossing his arms.

“I’m, ugh, I’m here, sir.”

“I’m taking over the negotiation with the Pentagon on the Q1 applications,” Decker said staring down at his laptop. “This will be going forward and the FBI will be involved in security protocols once the deal goes through.”

“The Pentagon, sir? The FBI?” Thomas stared at the screen with his arms crossed.

“Yes, they are the best of friends and business partners under Homeland Security. We need this contract to go through quickly to keep our stock from going into freefall,” Decker said. “I want FBI protocols in place on Q1 beforehand so that nothing is held up.”

“Are we using the Q1 for military applications, sir? We’re not even sure about its full capabilities yet,” Dr. Kell said.

“They will use it for any purpose they pay us for,” Miles Decker said. “Being the Pentagon, military applications is a pretty safe bet, I would say. There will eventually be a liaison from both Defense and the Bureau, but I will send you the security that needs to be implemented. You are overseeing our cyber security upgrades, yes, Dr. Kell?”

“Yes, sir. The encryption and …”

“Good,” Decker said. “Do you have any doubts the contractor can pull off what I need done.”

Kell swallowed. “He can do it, sir.”

“Excellent,” Miles Decker said. He scrolled through something on his laptop and then shook his head. “We are going to be shutting down a few lines of research. Some of you will be moved to other facilities. Others will need to be let go. Again, keep in mind your non compete clauses in your contracts, if that becomes necessary. Nothing personal. We can’t sink the ship because we are trying to save every rat on board, you know? I’m looking through these projects we are pouring money into and I don’t even care about half of them. I’m not sure what Hazel was thinking, but it doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

No one had a response. Most of the managers were staring down at the table. Dr. Kell took a step back to the wall.

“Dr. Kell again?”

Thomas Kell stepped forward once more and wrung his hands in front of him. “Sir?”

“You are overseeing the generation two work also, yes?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Hmm. It’s starting to look like I could keep you on and clear the rest of the room.”

Those that weren’t staring at the table were glaring at Dr. Kell at that point. He tried to focus on the screen and the Canadian ski lodge.

“We can’t do any of this alone … sir.”

“Very magnanimous of you, Dr. Kell, but if the rest of these people want to save their jobs, they will show me usefulness on the projects I care about. It’s your job to work the magic that makes me and CDR money. You don’t need to save managers that can’t save themselves. I’ll make those choices.”

Dr. Kell looked away from the screen. “Yes, sir.”

“Generation two. Where are we?”

“The uplinks have begun. Android body designs are underway including human like figures for domestic models and large industrial designs for construction work,” Dr. Kell said.

“Good stuff. I’m looking at it now,” Miles Decker said. “Regular hard core sci fi stuff. When will we be ready to roll out production?”

“The bodies are not a problem,” Dr. Kell said. “The Japanese designers and American universities had already worked out many of the mechanical and aesthetic issues. We improved on their existing designs, of course.”

“Are we running into any legal or proprietary issues on that front?” Decker asked.

“No, sir. Our designs are different enough to protect us.”

“When can we have prototypes in operation for generation two?”

“We are still working on the AI and operation command system, sir.”

Miles Decker looked up, but not into camera. “I’ve looked at the data on Q1, Dr. Kell. That thing can operate an android body. What’s the problem?”

“We are working on the bio hardware design, if you will, so that we can create a version of the Q2 that can be produced in mass and not just be a unique happy accident,” Dr. Kell said.

“And how close are we to transferring from a happy accident in Q1 to mass production in Q2?” Decker asked.

“Not exactly close,” Dr. Kell said. “Not out of reach either. We recently moved the objectives of Q2 from drawing board to production and if I’m hearing you right, we are moving from a prototype production goal to mass production.”

“You are hearing me right,” Miles Decker said. He rolled his knuckles over his table making a drumming sound. “We need a moon shot, Dr. Kell. CDR is not going under. This is going to happen. Consider me Kennedy at a Texas university surprising the geeks with an impossible promise. But I’m also Nixon living to see the thing happen too. You hear me?”

“I hear what you are saying, sir?”

“Good.” Miles Decker closed his laptop and folded his hands behind his head still facing sideways in frame. It had started to snow outside the windows. “I’m not willing to wait a decade for my moon landing, Doctor. The government has no regulations on androids at this point, so we can rush to market and be grandfathered in as we rake in money. My father used to say with government, if it moves, they want to tax it. If it keeps moving, they want to regulate it. If it stops moving, they’ll subsidize it. Now we know how to avoid taxes. The way to avoid regulation is to move before they realize you are moving. Once every house and every business owns our androids, they all become customers and they all become constituents. People won’t want the government messing with their new toys then. We’ll have ground to fight against restrictions on their power or their intelligence. If regulation comes before we have taken ownership of the market, it becomes harder. I don’t like my life being difficult. So, what are we going to do and how quickly can we do it?”