Chapter 21

Stone called Danders and instructed him to stop work, give the employees pink slips, take everything out of the vault at the Nelson Corporation, and bring it to him. He wanted no one other than himself to be able to create another pair of neural impulse interpreting eyeglasses or to have access to the information regarding them. He had already taken the correct version of the software developed by Stone, Incorporated that intercepted the brain’s neural impulses and sent them to the eyeglasses interpreting software, but didn’t tell Danders. Now he alone had control of the thought-reading invention.

Stone let Danders know that he had set up a meeting with the buyers of the invention for later that afternoon, and that he wanted to go alone. Danders objected, thinking that it was risky for Stone to be alone with a client and the invention. Stone was not worried and told him that he would text him if something went wrong.

“That’s a bad idea, Jon. McGowan will probably have muscle with him. Are you bringing the invention? They could steal it from you.”

“You sound paranoid. He’s not going to do that. One of the reasons I’m going is to discuss the financial arrangements for our payment. I have to handle that part of the deal now that I’ve fired Summa. I have to keep an eye on all the funds transfers going on among the various countries over a few hours it will take to get our money because we’re getting so much. Don’t forget, about half of what we’re being paid will be in cash in various currencies. We’re also getting paid in worldwide stock and bonds, commodities, ownership of land in five continents and islands all over the world. We will have so many assets that we will die before we get to enjoy them all. Our wealth will give us unprecedented civilian power. We must use that power intelligently or else it will be used against us. We have to consider the possibility that the man we sell our invention to may not be or remain a benign force and may one day turn against the needs of the people. He may consider us a threat and harm, even kill us to keep us quiet.”

“Jon, if that happens, we will be too jaded, sated, and intoxicated to give a shit. I plan on enjoying what I get until my body can’t take it anymore. Harm or kill us? You’re the one sounding paranoid. And even if you are right, the people we’re dealing with will find a way to kill us if they want us dead.”

Stone had no comeback to that, knowing it was true.

The H. Gedacht Company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the past seven years under the symbol HG. It incorporated in Illinois in 2008 as a technology company and lists G. Evan McGowan as the Chief Executive Officer. It recently traded at $432.58 per share. McGowan is the owner of many businesses, some publicly traded, some privately held. He is purported to be the wealthiest man on earth, with a net worth of $2 trillion dollars. Accompanying his incomprehensible wealth is the power it brings.

McGowan wants to own the thought-reading product being developed by several private entities. He doesn’t care who develops it. He knows that the governments working on it will not share it if they develop it first, and to avoid that, he has publicly announced that he will pay whatever the winning company demands.

Stone and McGowan have discussed McGowan’s purchase of Stone’s invention. Now in control of all aspects of it, Stone is ready to proceed. But Stone has never been specific in his description of the invention and McGowan knows nothing about the eyeglasses. So far, the advantage belongs to Stone.

They chose to meet for lunch the following noon at one of McGowan’s many restaurants, “Grub.” McGowan thought the name was hilarious, given that it was rated five stars and one needed a reservation and a lot of cash to dine there. Riffraff were not tolerated. Everyone looking like riffraff was required to put a $300 charge on their credit card or the same in upfront cash in order to get a table. Their orders were reviewed by the headwaiter to make sure that their tab, including a twenty percent tip, was no more than that amount before the order was placed. If it was more than the $300, the offenders were required to come up with the difference, or change their order, or leave.

One customer had the audacity to protest this policy as discrimination; he raised his voice and tried to cause a scene. The other customers ignored him and he and his party were escorted out the back door, and advised not to return.

“Grub” was nonpareil. The décor and the food were sumptuous. Bocote tables with marble inlays, fancy chandeliers, and an ever-changing menu made it a favorite dining place for the wealthy. McGowan and Stone sat at a table overlooking the water. McGowan was used to the dining, the ambiance, and the soothing effect the water had on one’s digestive system; to him, everything was normal. For Stone, it was a time to remember. He was well off financially, but this was a glimpse of how the obscenely wealthy lived and from outward appearances, he was enjoying what he saw. McGowan picked up on that enjoyment.

“I’m glad we finally get to meet, Mr. Stone,” he began, “I’ve been looking forward to getting together for some time, and not just to talk about your invention but to get to know you and what you want out of life now that you will have wealth beyond imagination.”

Stone, wearing the eyeglasses that McGowan knew nothing about, read McGowan’s thoughts before responding.

He looks like he believed that I care about him. Is he a dreamer or is he practical? What does he think I’m going to do with his invention?

“Please call me Jon. Ok to call you Evan?”

McGowan nodded affirmatively with a welcoming smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Evan, and not simply because you are about to make me the wealthiest person on the planet,” Stone said with a laugh. “You have built a vast empire and a reputation as large. From what I have heard and read, you are unsurpassed in your ability to determine the value of a person, a product, a business, a movement, anything relevant to how people live and what they like, and you acquire those things that you determine to have value, using your money and charm, or your ruthless actions. Once your mind is made up to acquire something, it happens.”

His smile now a threatening one, McGowan interrupted with, “I always get what I go after.”

“I haven’t decided what I will do with my soon-to-be fortune,” Stone continued, nodding in understanding of the comment and the smile, “other than to devote much of it to altruistic purposes. What will you do with the invention?”

McGowan couldn’t help himself. Variations of ‘the smile’, smug now, seemed to be a fixture on his face. Stone wanted to change his expression. McGowan’s thoughts began flowing.

I know everything about your invention Stone, more than most of your employees. With it I will become the most powerful man on the face of the earth. Little do-gooder brainiacs like you will serve me well. You must be smart but you aren’t tough enough to handle what you have created.

“One thing I will use your creation for is to help people in need. Perhaps the two of us can work together in this endeavor? Our country is in danger of being overtaken and taken over by China; another use of your invention is to give our personnel access to the thoughts of those who would do us harm. It goes without saying that your creation is of such importance that it cannot fall into the wrong hands,” McGowan answered.

Keeping it in your hands is the same thing.

Stone conceptually never had compunctions about the thought of selling his invention while he was making it, providing the seller was a rational, reasonable, righteous person. McGowan didn’t fully fit those criteria, and he was concerned. What good was all his newfound wealth going to do him if a dangerous man got control of it? His brain was racing, knowing he had to try to delay the transfer of ownership without putting his life at risk.

With a more serious look, McGowan asked,

“When can we close this deal, Jon? It’s Wednesday; let’s do it on Friday. That gives you tomorrow to show me the product and Friday for me to do all your payments. I’ve got money coming in from a lot of places to get you your asking price and we’ll have to start first thing Friday morning to finish by the afternoon.”

What in hell am I going to do? Stage a robbery of the invention? No, I can’t let the world know that I’ve completed it. Its existence has to remain a secret. I’m a brainiac, Mr. McGowan? I feel like my brain cells have turned to pudding. Aah, wait…an old version of the eyeglasses might do the trick for now.

“I suggest that we begin tomorrow at 10:00, Evan,” said Stone as he finished his second bottle of Bling water. “That will give me time to have things set up and then show you our product and have you ready to go on Friday.”

“Very good, Jon,” McGowan answered as he stood and offered his hand.

On the way out of the restaurant Stone texted Danders and told him to bring the prototype pair of eyeglasses to his office and to meet him there in fifteen minutes. Stone made sure that he did not remove the special eyeglasses he was wearing until he was well out of sight of the restaurant’s cameras. He didn’t want McGowan to know that he normally didn’t wear glasses.

After Stone left, McGowan called Mark Straight, his head of security, and told him to follow Stone and keep watch over him until he arrived at the 10:00 meeting the next morning.

Loud music was playing in every room except where Stone and Danders sat. The music was a distraction so that their conversation could not be understood by anyone. Stone had swept the room for listening devices and found none. Looking at the original pair of project eyeglasses that were cutting-edge four weeks ago, they seemed like relics now. Bulky, heavy, with white frames and an odd shape (one lens larger than the other to accommodate the display of words), they were a fashion misstatement, but a hell of an invention. Most importantly for Stone, however, they worked. The older software incorporated in these frames displayed the exact words received from the subject 58% of the time, while the eyeglasses Stone wore to meet with McGowan displayed the words exactly 98.1% of the time.

“What’s going on, Jon?” Danders asked. “Why are we looking at this old white pair? Has a problem shown up with the new ones you’ve been using?”

“The new pair shows that McGowan cannot be trusted. I don’t want to sell him what we have now because I’m convinced that he will use it to control people and ultimately, countries. He is an evil man. If I can sell him these old glasses, by the time he upgrades them to the level we have with the black eyeglasses I’ve been wearing, other companies will be selling products that are better than what I’m hoping to sell him. McGowan’s power then gets diluted and his ability to use our invention for evil gets preempted by the more powerful versions on the market.”

“What makes you think that McGowan won’t know that he’s buying an outdated product? Haven’t you been giving him updates throughout this process?”

“Only in non-scientific words. He knows about the neuron-receiving software and our first version, but that’s all.”

“The first eyeglasses were developed a month ago. He’s going to believe that we have not improved them since then? Our entire invention has developed far quicker than we ever thought possible, and I think he knows that. I believe that he is involved in trying to buy off the team. I think we have no choice but to give him our current product,” Danders replied.

Stone stared out the window thinking about what Danders said. He noticed a black Audi parked across the street. It looked like a car that had followed him from the restaurant. He nodded in agreement with Danders, but said, “McGowan will kill us if he thinks we are trying to fool him. He’s got someone on the inside, too, one of our team members. I don’t know who it is, and I don’t think we can figure it out in the next couple of days. So be careful and trust no one. I want you and your wife to go to your hideaway now. I don’t want you getting hurt. I will not give McGowan our newest version when I meet with him tomorrow. I think I can bluff him, especially if I’m wearing the new eyeglasses. Even if I cannot fool him, he won’t kill me. He will need my help to get him what he wants.”

“I have a hard time believing that McGowan will kill to get what he wants, especially since others are coming out soon with their own versions of thought-reading software. But in case I’m wrong, I’m not going to let you face him on your own. I’ll be going with you tomorrow morning. Never mind shaking your head, I’m going.”

Reluctantly, Stone agreed. Together they tested the original software and eyeglasses before packing them up.

As he walked Danders to the door, having left the room with no listening devices, Stone said,

“One more thing. There’s a black Audi outside that followed me from the meeting with McGowan. I want you to wait a few minutes after I leave before you head out. And keep an eye out for anything suspicious-looking. Call me when you get home.”

“There’s a car following you? No wonder you put the music up so loud—you think someone has put listening devices in our offices, homes, cars, and phones. They’re probably watching and listening now.”

Stone laughed a false laugh.

“They probably are.”

McGowan’s head of security, Mark Straight, shared a genuine laugh with his underling, Cueball Wilson, as they sat at the row of screens showing the outside of Stone’s office.

Twenty minutes later Stone got a phone call from a pizza shop. He answered.

“Hi, you ordered a large with cheese, mushrooms, and curly fries but my driver can’t find your house. Can you give me the correct address, please?” asked the female voice.

“I didn’t order a pizza.”

“Maybe I punched in the wrong phone number. Is this 970 555—"

Stone interrupted her. “No, it’s not. Good luck finding a home for the pizza.”

“Yes, I’ll need it; I hope I can pick up the trail,” she said as she hung up.

Mark Straight looked at Cueball. “What was that all about?” he wondered. “Check Stone’s phone records and find out where that call came from.”

Cueball was able to quickly determine that the call came from a burner phone, and it was untraceable.

Straight wondered why a pizza place would use a burner phone. He decided it wouldn’t. He went downstairs and let McGowan know about the call, telling him that he thought it was a coded message. McGowan, ever smiling, advised Straight to add more people to keep watch over Stone’s activities. Nothing was going to stop McGowan from taking possession of the invention, not even cloak and dagger games.

It was a coded message that told Stone that Danders was safely home and that he, too, was tailed. Stone wasn’t surprised. He knew that anyone involved in the project was going to be watched by McGowan’s people, especially those like Danders and anyone else close to Stone or Long.