Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 49

"The team's having trouble with the changes you requested," said Thor. He hadn't shaved since New York, and it was starting to show. His beard was coming in as blond as the cropped hair on his head.

"Troubles?" asked Doug.

"Yes. Both technical and moral," said Thor. He'd ordered security to make a private walking path. After all, Luna had built a grand campus for walking. It was a shame to put it to waste. Thor wasn't so much mimicking Steve Jobs as he was keen to enjoy the sun and fresh air.

"Moral?"

"You're surprised? The team was never intended for assassinations," said Thor. He had ensured that no employees would be allowed near the path during this time of day; he could talk freely without worrying about anyone overhearing.

Doug's ears turned red. Thor noticed and decided to continue with his explanation.

"The team we put in place after Taye's initial success was made up of the best minds we could find. You can't be surprised that some of them ended up having a conscience."

"I thought you paid them not to have a conscience. That was our plan, wasn't it?"

"Well—"

"Well? Was it or wasn't it?"

"It's not that easy." Thor hated that he was losing control of the discussion. Doug had been pulling the strings for far too long now. It was about time he paid a little more respect to the man who was making all this happen. "Look, I told them when I hired them that this was the only fair and just way to handle population control."

"They don't know the real reason?" Doug asked.

"They don't need to. It's easier this way. For them and for me. Most of these guys think they're doing a good thing."

"They are doing a good thing."

They passed the turtle pond. Thor had had the turtles removed when he created this walking route. He didn't like animals that moved so slowly.

"Look, Doug. I do plenty of things you don't tell me to do. If you had to tell me, then quite frankly, I wouldn't be the right man for the job. If I had to pass every single decision through you, we wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Fine, then let's kill half the team. The ones most morally opposed. I assure you, the other half will get in line quickly."

"That's not the only problem. There's also the technical issue. Gaia's not the same as when we started. The code we now have makes almost no sense to anyone on the team. Even our best guy can't make head or tail of it. We don't know how to change it."

"Is it even working?"

"Yes. It's difficult to get hard data this early, but preliminary data suggests it does seem to be working. We've been monitoring daily death statistics from local hospitals, and there has definitely been an increase in just the last day. We have to watch for a few more days to be sure it isn't a statistical fluke, and then, at the end of the month, we can check the bigger death statistics."

"Good," said Doug. "The ability to target specific people was a stretch goal, but it's becoming increasingly important. Just look at the situation with Luna."

Thor kicked a rock off the path, as they headed for the walk around the small, man-made lake.

"I know, I know. We've been looking for her."

"If Gaia could target her, we wouldn't need people to look for her."

"She's off the grid. Even Gaia wouldn't be able to find her."

"We'll see when you get the job done. Find a way to motivate them. We can't have loose ends like Luna just walking around, ready to spoil everything we've worked so hard for."

"Speaking of which," said Thor, "I think it's time to move to the next stage of the plan."

"It's not time yet."

"I think it is."

Thor picked up his pace. Doug kept up.

"Who hired who here? You do what I say, when I say it."

"I think it's about time you considered me a partner in this operation."

"Partner?"

Thor stopped short. They were on the far side of the lake by now. A bird was singing. Thor wanted to go find that bird and kick it.

"It's not that hard to imagine, is it? With what we're about to do in the next stage of Gaia, there will be plenty of money to share between the two of us."

"Share?"

"Are you a fucking parrot all of a sudden?"

The bird sang louder.

"Kill Luna," said Doug. "Then we can talk about a partnership."

Thor was prepared for this moment. His men were in place. He'd orchestrated the conversation with Doug perfectly. He picked up his phone, then dialed a number that wasn't in his contact list.

"Take her out. Now."