WetWeb (22 page)

Franklin picked up the pen and began to take notes.

“This repetitive cycle of conversation and the Warmbots watching you from outside your window; these are both symptoms of the same root cause.  The root cause is a small error, a mistake. 
A mistake that was introduced into the network when the WetWeb was very new
.
  It was b
efore we could anticipate that it might grow to envelope all of our society.  This mistake, this error, it is called a loop.  A loop is an error in programming.  It is not a virus.  It has no malicious intent. It was just a mistake, an oversight.  It is a mistake that I made during the early days of the Warmbot wars.

* * * * *

The executive conference room on the top floor of RSI Gaming Corporation was full to capacity.  Al McKnight was seated at the middle of the highly polished conference table that extended throughout the length of the room.  Extending to his right and to his left were the senior executive staff.  They all reported to Al McKnight directly; this included well dressed executives with titles that ranged from VP of Marketing & Communications
,
to Chief Financial Officer
,
and so on.

Sitting across the table from Al McKnight and his team were assembled the board of directors and their lawyers.  The board members were distinguished from the lawyers by their more casual dress.  The lawyers all wore wide ties
,
and grey or dark suits
,
while the board members wore casual shirts, open at the collar.

Christopher Mark and Anand Ramasubramanian were present.  They were there representing the systems and technology division of RSI Gaming
.  B
ut
,
since the conference table was completely full
,
Anand and Chris Mark were forced to sit on extra chairs that were brought for them and situated below the media screen.  Situated beneath the view screen, Mark and Anand felt like they were part of the display.

As the meeting progressed, the executives from Al McKnight’s team flashed a series of images upon the media screen.  From where Anand was sitting, below the screen, if he twisted his neck to try to follow the presentation he could only make out vague distorted shapes and colors.  So instead, he contented himself with watching the reaction to the presentation on the faces of the board members and the lawyers who were all staring intently at the media screen over his head.

The VP of CorpComm was leading the current presentation.  From his position seated next to Al McKnight, he clicked on a hand held device and a new image was flashed up on the media screen.  The glow from the image cast a blue green light upon the faces of the board members and assembled senior staff.  The blue green light reminded Anand of his time in the control room back in Wild West Alive.

The VP of CorpComm clicked on the device again and the image changed.  Now
,
the reflecting light made the audience turn yellow.  They appeared jaundiced and their expressions completed the impression that they were suffering from a painful malady.  The yellow image on the screen must have expressed in some graphic way the public reaction to the violence at Wild West Alive.

The VP of CorpComm explained the image on the media screen. 

He said,
“The news of the murders at WWA triggered an outcry of public indignation against RSI Gaming Corporation.  The concept of employing actors as avatars in a realistic fantasy world is no longer palatable to large segments of the public.  Our customers are being socially criticized by their families and their peer groups.  The subscription rates for Wild West Alive, as you can see here, are in
a
free-fall.  We have no choice but to suspend the gaming operations at WWA
,
and also postpone the planned launch of
Rome Alive
.”

One of the casually dressed board members interrupted with a question,
“How long do you anticipate
it will be
before you can re-open the games?”

The VP of CorpComm was animated and positive in his response.

“Yes,” he said, “Let me show you our timeline… here.”

The VP of CorpComm paused as he worked the clicking device on the table in front of him; he was quickly advancing the presentation.

Anand watched as the slightly upturned faces assembled around the conference room table glowed green, then blue, then white
,
and then finally stopped changing.  The image on the media screen must have included a multitude of small red dots plotting a complex timeline and representing consumer reactions to the violence at Wild West Alive.  The reflection of the red dots upon of the pale faces around the conference table caused the assembled executives and board members to all to look speckled.
 
Anand thought they had gone from Jaundiced to diseased.  Their white faces were now covered with small red dots
,
as if they were suffering from measles or a rare and virulent pox.

The VP of CorpComm continued his presentation saying
;

We generated a forecast of the public’s interest in this topic together with anticipated reaction to a re-opening of the games.  To do this, we used data gathered from other industries that have faced similar massive public relations problems.  Airlines, for example, that suffered a crash due to negligence
,
or a chemical company where insufficient safety protocols resulted in a factory explosion that killed the local population. 

We know that there are two critical factors that we need to consider:  First, the rate at which public interest in our problem will decay over time; and secondly, our customers desire and interest to return to the games.  We call this the ‘Forget and Forgive’ index.”

As the VP of CorpComm continued to explain, he was pointing to the media screen and tracing along the diagram of dots that was over Anand’s head.

“Based on the forecast provided by our
‘
Forget and Forgive index
,
” he concluded, “Wild West Alive and Rome Alive will be ready to re-launch here.”

The VP of CorpComm walked over and was now pointing to the other side of the media screen somewhere over Christopher Mark’s head.

The speckled faces of the board members did not look healthier with this diagnosis.  Some turned away, others began closing their notebooks, as if they were preparing to leave.

It was at this point that Al McKnight stood up.  His wide shoulders blocked the projection of the image on the screen and as result, darkened the room. 

He said, “Let in the light.”

When Al McKnight stood, he was impressive. Tall, well groomed, athletic, perfectly dressed; when he spoke he demanded the full attention of his audience. 

One of Al McKnight’s underlings was busy raising the blinds.  As the blinds started to rise, a bright golden square of light raced across the floor at McKnight’s feet.  As the blinds continued to climb, the square of light expanded
,
bathing the room and its occupants in a healthy golden glow from the setting sun.

From Anand’s perspective, the light alone seemed to have a miraculous effect on the assembled board members and the lawyers.  The “Red Pox” that covered their faces from the dots on the presentation seemed instantly cured.  But
,
the gold light had only removed the symptom.  The real healing would need to come from Al McKnight himself.  McKnight needed to show the board members a way back to profitability and sustainability for RSI Gaming Corporation.

“Gentlemen,” McKnight began
.

What you now know as the ‘incident’ at Wild West Alive was both tragic and costly.  The incident was tragic in that a few of our valued employees were hurt or killed.  The incident was costly because
,
as a result of the negative publicity that followed, we have been forced to suspend our profitable gaming enterprise at Wild West Alive
,
and also delay the launch of Rome Alive.  We have made significant investments in these games and now it appears that we will not be able to return to profitability
,
or recover our investment in the near term.

McKnight paused; all eyes in the room were on him.  He casually strode around to the head of the table and positioned himself in from of the now open blinds.  He was now standing directly in front of the bright gold light from the setting sun.  McKnight cast a long shadow across the length of the board room table.  The gold light illuminated his outline and darkened his features. 

From this dramatic stance, he continued
,

What you do not know is that this same incident, which put our enterprise at risk, was also inevitable and fortuitous.
 
Inevitable because violence is mans nature.  The history of technology is the history of bloody conquest.  From the first stone axe to our modern missile systems
,
technology
was
used to gain an advantage, a military advantage over our enemies.  For a technology based enterprise, like RSI, the military market set the pace and the standard for the industry. 

Our new technology, which we now are calling Synaptic Derivation, is not exempt from this axiom.  So now we begin to see the incident at WWA in a new context.  Our technology is unique
,
and yes, it was generating some revenue through its use as a toy, or a novelty
,
in the gaming industry.  Our use of the technology was quite literally to create a virtual playground for adults.  But now it is time to put away childish things.  It is time to allow Synaptic Derivation to find its true target audience. 

This new technology, Synaptic Derivation, is ready to be introduced to a much stronger market
,
and to be applied to in a much more necessary application.  Synaptic Derivation is ready to be adopted as a military weapons system.

McKnight paused to allow his message to be understood.  There was no noise in the room. 

He continued
,

So
,
now the lights are on, and you begin to see.  And now I will tell you why the incident at WWA was also fortuitous.  During the incident when one of our rogue employees used deadly force against multiple armed assailants, at that very moment General Mueller himself from the Alliance Joint Chiefs, together with his staff was observing the action.  They were Synapped in remotely.  Their purpose was to evaluate RSI technology for potential development into a military weapons system.  The violence, the real
violence
,
that
erupted involving both remote players and local hosts convinced the general that RSI was ready for adoption to military application.

Now Al McKnight looked directly across the long table at Anand Ramasubramanian.

He said
,

The killings at WWA closed our gaming business temporarily
,
but this incident also closed the deal on our first military weapons contract.  I am pleased to announce that the advanced neural interface device developed for Rome Alive, together with our Synaptic Derivation systems
,
will be adopted for military use on a trial basis. Gentlemen, RSI Corporation is now in the business of delivering an advanced weapons system for the Alliance governments.  A system that will be deployed into the desert wars as soon as possible.

And Gentlemen, the revenue from our new Government military contract will make the earnings we are losing at WWA and Rome Alive look like a rounding error.

At this the room burst into spontaneous laughter, then applause
,
and then a standing ovation. 

Al McKnight was visibly pleased.  He smiled warmly, clearly enjoying the success of the moment.  But he kept his gaze trained on Anand Ramasubramanian who sat quietly at the other end of the table.

Eventually, Anand stood and joined the applause.  It was all clear to Anand now.  The murders at WWA were staged to impress the military observers and General Mueller.  Al McKnight himself was the remote player who was controlling the Marshal Dirk Redburn.  Al McKnight had engineered the entire vendetta from the beginning.  McKnight himself was responsible for the killings at Wild West Alive and his motive was to impress General Mueller and get a military contract signed. 

Al McKnight had wanted to change the application of Synaptic Derivation from a game, a novelty, into a weapon system. He had risked everything to change their product and their marketing strategy.

For the first time, Anand appreciated the connection between Christopher Mark and Al McKnight.  Two different personalities
;
one obsessed with technology, one obsessed by business success.  But
,
they shared a common goal.  Together they set out to change the world; and they did.