2024-2120

by Russell Fine

  She sighed deeply and said, “I suppose you do have some valid points, but I still foresee a lot of problems.”

  Albert continued, “Have you considered how the availability of cheap, unlimited electrical power will benefit the poorer countries of the world? With these devices, even the most remote places on Earth could have electrical power. They would be able to provide light, heat, and perhaps even water anywhere. Also, consider the fact that most of the countries that finance terrorism are economically dependent on oil. What do you think will happen when the need for oil drops by ninety percent? Without money to fund terrorism we might actually find ourselves with world peace.”

  “I think you’re dreaming, but that’s a nice thought.” She paused for a moment and asked, “Have you thought about how you’re going to manufacture these things?”

  “Actually, I have. I don’t want to be directly involved in the manufacturing process. In the next few days, I’ll probably get a lot of offers from large companies who want to manufacture these devices. You may rest assured I’ll pick an American company. If you like, I’ll keep you informed as things progress.”

  “Okay, that would be great. You’ve given me some things to think about, but I’m still concerned this could devastate our economy. I’m going keep a close watch on you. If you do anything that even has a tinge of illegality you might find yourself in federal prison. I’ll have my assistant contact you later this morning and let you know how to get in touch with me. I expect to receive regular reports,” she said, and she hung up the phone.

  Susan was staring at him during the whole conversation. “That went better than I thought it would,” he said to her.

  At a few minutes before 9:00 Matt Brewer came into the office. A minute or two later the reporter from the school newspaper came in too. Albert greeted them and turned them over to Tim for the demonstration.

  Albert went back to his office thinking about his conversation with Vice-President Pratt. He wondered if there really would be companies eager to make the power modules. He had neither the money nor the knowledge, that was needed to set up a manufacturing operation. After thinking about it for a while he decided that, for now, all he could do was wait and see what happened.

  Tim walked into Albert’s office and said, “The demo went perfectly and Matt is no longer skeptical. I’m going to show him the car and take him for a ride. We should be back shortly.”

  “Do we have another prototype to give to Matt?”

  “Yeah, I set that up as soon as I got in this morning. Matt said he was going to try to get a story ready for the news this evening.”

  “Perfect, I want to make sure everybody knows about this as soon as possible.”

  “I’m sure you realize that as the information about the power modules spreads, people are going to want to know when they can get them.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that since my conversation with the vice-president this morning. I told her I expected some large companies to contact me about making them. I hope I’m right about that.”

  “I suspect we’ll be inundated with offers within the next few days. Don’t worry about it. I’m going now. Matt’s waiting by the car,” Tim said as he left Albert’s office.

  An hour later Tim and Matt walked into Albert’s office.

  “You were right. I’m impressed. I really thought it was some kind of hoax. I’ll be on the 6:00 PM news today with the story. At this point, I don’t think it would be wise to tell the public about you or your company. Do you agree?” Matt asked.

  “You’re probably right. I should’ve thought about that yesterday, but by now the news is probably all over the Internet. I even got a call from the vice-president about it early this morning, so it’s too late. I think we’d better hire some security guards before the crowds show up at the door. Tim, please backup all of our files and then take the backups to the bank. Put them in the safe deposit box.”

  “I see you’re busy, so I’m going to leave. I’ll send you the piece for the news before it airs so you can review it. Thanks for everything. Good luck,” Matt said as he shook hands with everyone there.

  After Matt left, Albert walked over to Susan’s desk and asked her to contact a security company and arrange to get twenty-four-hour security at both the office and his home as soon as possible. Then he went back to his office. He was worried about two things: security and manufacturing.

  Albert ultimately decided, despite the security, he didn’t want to go home. He was concerned there would be crowds at his home and he didn’t want to have to deal with that. So, he went shopping for the clothes he would need for the next few days and checked into a hotel.

  APRIL 12, 2024

  Albert arrived at the office at 7:15. He was surprised to see there were at least a hundred people outside the office being held back by the security team. As he walked into the office the crowd screamed questions at him, but he ignored them until he got to the office door. Then he turned around and facing the crowd said, “There’s no schedule for manufacturing the power modules yet, and the prototypes are not for sale. I promise that when we know when and where you can buy one, the information will be made public.”

  When he went into the office the phone was ringing. He decided not to answer it because he was sure it was somebody wanting the same thing the people outside wanted. He was wondering how he was going to get anything done in the office when his cell phone rang.

  It was Tim. “I drove by your house this morning to see if there was a crowd there. I think there were fifty people and the police were there as well. Apparently, somebody tried to break into your house to steal the power module you have. The security guards you hired stopped him and called the police. I think we’re going to have a problem. Perhaps you can arrange to be interviewed on the news tonight so we can dispel the crowds.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll call Matt and ask him to arrange it.”

  Albert called Matt, but Matt didn’t answer so he left a message telling him what he wanted. He also told Matt to call back on his cell phone because he wasn’t going to answer the office phone today. After he hung up he looked out the window, but the crowd hadn’t dispersed.

  At 7:45 Susan came in. The people outside screamed questions at her and, like Albert, she ignored them. “I think they got mad because I wouldn’t answer their questions. I don’t have any answers for them anyway,” she said.

  “I told them we would make an announcement about the availability as soon as we know anything, but that didn’t seem to help. I took the phone off the hook because it was ringing constantly and I don’t want to answer it. Also, Tim called to tell me somebody tried to break into my house last night to steal the power module, but the security guards caught him and called the police.”

  Susan went to make coffee and saw Albert had already attended to it, she turned and watched him walk to his office. He was still thinking about how to manufacture the power modules when his cell phone rang. He answered it without looking to see who was calling and was surprised to find it was Vice President Pratt again.

  “Good morning, Mr. Simpson. I saw the news last night, and apparently so did a lot of big shots at Vextor Motors, Kingman, and Chapman. Since they all made substantial contributions to us for the last election they all called to ask me to use my influence in order to secure the manufacturing rights to your invention. I told them to contact you and gave them your cell phone number. I also received calls from Toyota and Honda, but I told them this product was going to be manufactured by an American company. They weren’t happy. I hope you realize you have the opportunity to make or break some of the biggest companies in the country,” she said.

  “I’ve thought about that. It won’t be an easy decision. It’s probably better they called you instead of me because they would never get through on our office phone. I’ll be happy to listen to their offers. I expected offers from car companies, but I also thought some of the appliance companies like GE or Westinghouse might be i
nterested as well. Would you like me to keep you informed?”

  “Yes, I would. I know which company I’d like you to pick, but because of our political differences, I won’t discuss it with you. It may negatively affect your choice.”

  “My choice will be based solely on the company’s ability to manufacture and distribute the power modules. There won’t be any politics involved in my decision.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. I hope you’ll make your decision in the next few days. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  By noon Albert had received calls from all three of the car companies. He set up meetings with Vextor Motors for the following Monday morning and with Chapman for late that afternoon. He was going to meet with Kingman on Tuesday at 10:00 AM. All of the meetings were going to be at his hotel. He called the hotel and reserved a small conference room.

  Albert walked over to the lab, where Tim was playing computer games. Albert said, “Tim, I need three more prototypes. Do we have them?”

  “No, we only have two left. I still have a few more alloy rods. Do you want me to make another one?”

  “Yeah, I won’t need it until the day after tomorrow. I’m going to leave now. Please bring all three over to the hotel when they’re ready. Also, see if you can find a safe place to store the Electro for a while.”

  “No problem. I’ll take care of it. See you later.”

  Albert went back to the hotel and was relaxing in his room. At 5:00 PM there was a knock at the door. Albert looked through the peephole and saw it was Tim. He was carrying two power modules. Albert opened the door and Tim came in. He put the two power modules down on the desk. “The third unit is in my car. I thought we could go to dinner and you can get it when I bring you back to the hotel,” Tim said.

  “That sounds good. Let’s go.”

  ***

  After they were seated at the restaurant Tim asked, “Are you ready for your meetings tomorrow?”

  “I hope so. I’m going to ask for a royalty to be paid to us for each unit they sell. I think

  Five percent of the retail price would be about right. You and Susan would each get twenty-five percent and I’ll get fifty percent. But I want to hear what they offer before I make any suggestions. I suspect they would be able to manufacture in excess of one hundred million units in the first year of production,” Albert replied.

  Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Then Tim said, “You were right when you said we were going to be rich. I just can’t imagine having that much money. Dinner’s on me!”

  “OK, but don’t spend it yet. I suspect it will take some time for the attorneys to work out the details.”

  They ate mostly in silence, both of them thinking about the future. After dinner, Tim drove Albert back to the hotel. Albert picked up the power module and said, “Thanks for dinner. I’ll call you after my meeting with Vextor Motors. Goodnight.”

  “You don’t mind if I call Susan and tell her what we discussed, do you?” Tim asked.

  “No, of course not.”

  APRIL 15, 2024

  At 9:45 the next morning Albert’s phone rang. It was the front desk telling him a Mr. Walters from Vextor Motors was here to see him. Albert told the clerk to send Mr. Walters to Conference Room C and he would be there in a few minutes.

  When Albert arrived at the room he found Mr. Walters seated at a small conference table. Mr. Walters stood up and said, “Good morning Mr. Simpson. My name is Aaron Walters. I’m in charge of the New Product Development at Vextor Motors. We’re very interested in the power modules you have developed.”

  “Good morning. Please call me Albert. Is it okay if I call you Aaron?” Albert replied.

  “Certainly.”

  “Would you like me to order some coffee or anything?” Albert asked.

  “No, I just had breakfast. I would like to ask you some questions about the power module.”

  “Go ahead, ask me anything you like.”

  “I saw the story about the power module on the news and it just seems too good to be true. What is the longest any of these devices have been running?”

  “Well, my home has been running off of a power module for months, the original unit in our lab has been running even longer, and the unit we installed in a Paxton Electro has been powering the car for almost that long. I have a prototype in my room I’ll give you later. You’re free to test it, examine it, and even take it apart if you like.”

  “Have you patented it yet?”

  “The process has been started. Our attorney has assured us we’re fully protected.”

  “Can you give me some history regarding the development of the power modules?”

  Albert spoke for the next several minutes outlining the highlights of the development of the devices and then asked, “Is that what you wanted to know?”

  “Yes, that was great. If our testing proves the validity of the product, we are prepared to offer you twenty-five million dollars for the rights to the product. That would make you and your partners very rich,” Aaron said.

  “Aaron, I appreciate the offer, but I suspect whoever has the manufacturing rights to the power modules is going to make billions of dollars. I would estimate the cost to manufacture a power module would be about forty dollars. The most expensive part of the device is the alloy rod, which is primarily silver, and at current market prices, the materials for the rod would cost twenty-eight dollars. I’m sure that during the first year you’ll be able to sell every power module you make, and that number could be close to one hundred million. If you sell the modules for two hundred fifty dollars each your profit would be two hundred billion dollars. Additionally, since you would have the only cars that don’t require any fuel, your car sales would be unbelievably high. Based on that I would think you could offer us a lot more.”

  “Okay Albert, I see your point. What did you have in mind?”

  “I was thinking more in terms of a smaller cash payment, perhaps five million dollars, and a royalty of five percent of the retail price on each power module that is sold. Would Vextor Motors agree to that?”

  “I don’t know. That decision would have to be made by the board of directors.”

  “Okay, I’m going to go back to my room and get your power module prototype. I’ll be right back.”

  Albert left the conference room and went back to his room to get the prototype. When he got back to the conference room Aaron was on the phone. He could not hear what Aaron was saying, but the call ended a few seconds later.

  “I believe the board of directors will agree to your terms,” Aaron said.

  “Great! Please put that in writing. I have a meeting this afternoon with Chapman and a meeting tomorrow morning with Kingman. After all the meetings, I’ll make my decision. Additionally, I want to know your plans for distribution of the product for home use so your response should include some marketing plans. I don’t want the modules to be made strictly for automobile applications.”

  “Okay, I understand. It will probably take a few days to put all that together. If there’s any delay I’ll let you know. Is that my power module?”

  “Yes, please take it with you. I’m looking forward to receiving your response. Goodbye, for now, Aaron.” Albert said as he shook hands with him.

  As Aaron picked up the power module and his briefcase, he said, “Goodbye, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Albert.”

  Albert went back to his room and waited for his next appointment, which was not scheduled for several hours. He called Tim on his cell phone and found out the crowds were still outside the office and his home, but there were fewer people. He gave Tim the details of the meeting with Aaron and asked him to inform Susan. Tim was very happy with the results.

  “Have you considered what’s going to happen to the price and availability of silver when the power modules go into full production?” Albert asked but not waiting for a response he continued, “I checked and found the worldwide annual production of silver is about seven hundred millio
n ounces, and the power modules will use a big chunk of that. That could make the power modules very expensive, perhaps too expensive for some people to buy. I don’t want to price anybody out of the market, but I have no idea how to prevent it. Anyway, give it some thought. Perhaps we can find a solution before it becomes a problem.”

  “Okay, I’ll do that, but unless we find another material to use instead of silver I can’t imagine any way around it,” Tim replied with a hesitation as though he was already trying to think of a solution.

  “I’ll call you after the meeting with Chapman,” Albert said as he hung up the phone.

  Albert was relaxing in his room when the phone rang at 1:50. It was the front desk informing him Dr. Emma Foster from Flexton Chapman was here to see him. Albert told him to direct her to the conference room and let her know he would be there in a few minutes.

  Albert walked into the conference room carrying a power module. He introduced himself and asked Dr. Foster if she wanted something to drink.

  “Good afternoon Mr. Simpson. Some coffee would be great if it isn’t too much trouble.”

  “It’s no problem at all.” Albert picked up the phone, called room service, and ordered coffee for two. Then he turned to Dr. Foster and said, “I’m sure you have some questions, so please feel free to ask anything you like.”