by Russell Fine
“I see no reason to ask for more. With the number of units, I expect will be sold, we’ll have more money than we’ll know what to do with. When we spoke yesterday we were discussing the plans for the automotive units. I would like to know your plans for the home and business units,” Albert requested.
“Nothing is set in stone yet regarding the distribution but as I said, we’re discussing this with all the major hardware retailers. The manufacturing will begin within forty-five days after receiving the signed contract, and we should be able to begin shipping shortly after that. That’s assuming we don’t run into any major manufacturing problems. Our expectations are we’ll be able to make nine hundred thousand units per month for homes and businesses.”
“Is that worldwide or only US production?”
“That’s worldwide; about seven hundred thousand will be available in the US. As you noted yesterday, there may be a problem with the availability of silver. We’re going to begin researching other materials immediately.”
Albert thought about telling him about Tim’s efforts to reduce the silver requirement but decided he didn’t want to do anything that would mess up the negotiations. So he replied, “That sounds like a good plan. I want to call a press conference for this afternoon and announce that Kingman will be manufacturing the power modules. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah, I think that’ll be fine. But you’re going to get questions you can’t, or shouldn’t, answer. Tell them we’ll call a press conference tomorrow. I’ll get a new contract e-mailed to you within fifteen minutes with the royalties inserted. Please sign it and have it witnessed. Then e-mail a copy to me and overnight the original. I’ll get the original signed tomorrow and e-mail overnight the fully executed contract to you. Also, send your banking information to me and I’ll have the initial payment wired to your bank tomorrow. Please review the contract completely before you sign it.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. I’ll also get my attorney over here to review the changes and witness the signatures. I’ll call you as soon as it’s signed and on its way to you. I’ll be waiting for your e-mail.”
“You’ll have it shortly. Thank you.”
Albert called his attorney, who agreed to be there at 1:30. A few minutes later he checked his e-mail and found the message from David. He printed a copy of the contract and read it. He didn’t find any problems and gave it to Susan to read. She read it and didn’t find problems either so she gave it to Tim. He simply put it back on Albert’s desk and said, “I don’t like reading legal stuff. If you guys read it and didn’t find any problems, I’m sure it’s okay.”
At 1:15 the attorney arrived. He read through the changes and his only comment was, “The contract looks fine. You people realize that you are all going to be very wealthy? That means you should all think about creating a last will and testament so your money will be distributed the way you want in the unlikely event of your death. Everybody puts it off, but I urge you not to do that.”
Albert hadn’t thought about that at all, but he realized the attorney was right. “We’ll do that within the next month or so. I’ll call you and set it up. I need you to witness our signatures on the contract.”
Albert, Tim, and Susan each signed the contract. Then the attorney signed as a witness. Albert asked Susan to make each of them a copy of the contract, scan it, e-mail it to David at Kingman, and send the original to Kingman by overnight courier. While Susan was doing that, Albert called David and told him the signed contract was on its way.
Then Albert called Aaron Walter at Vextor Motors. “Mr. Walter, this is Albert Simpson. I’m calling to inform you that we’ve made the decision to give Kingman the manufacturing rights to the power modules. The Kingman offer was more than I expected and they were the most prepared.”
For a second, there was only silence on the other end of the line. Then Aaron replied, “I’m sorry to hear that. I would have sent out our contract to you tomorrow. It included everything we talked about. We could have continued the negotiations but if you have made your decision we have no choice but to accept it.”
“Kingman has agreed to make the power module technology available to other companies in about fifteen months. They’ve also agreed to make power modules for other automotive companies for development purposes. That way Vextor Motors will be able to develop the products they want to build during that fifteen-month period,” Albert said.
“That will certainly make things better,” Aaron said with a brief sigh, he continued after a pause, “Will you get me a contact at Kingman?”
“Yes, I’d be happy to do that. There will be a press conference this afternoon where I’ll make the announcement, but I wanted you to know before that. Please feel free to call me if I can be of assistance to you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Simpson,” Aaron said and he hung up the phone.
Albert said, “I don’t think he was very happy with our choice,” as he hung up the phone.
Susan came back with the copies and gave each of them one. Then she said, “I put the original in an overnight envelope and called for a pickup. I also e-mailed a copy to David at Kingman.”
“Thank you. Please call our media contacts and set up a press conference for this afternoon. And try to call Vice-President Pratt as well. I promised I would call her when I made a decision.
“Okay, I’ll call her now. Then I’ll call our media contacts. Do you think 3:30 would be okay?”
“That would be perfect. That way the story will be ready for the 6:00 news.”
About fifteen minutes later Susan walked into Albert’s office. “The news conference is set for 3:30. The vice president was traveling, so I spoke to her aide and told her we’ve decided to give the contract to Kingman. She said the vice-president wanted the contract to go to Vextor Motors and she probably was not going to be happy with our decision. I basically said Vice-President Pratt could call you about it, but I was sure you wouldn’t change your mind.”
Albert said, with a note of anger in his voice “And you’re correct. I really don’t like politicians, once they have a little power they think they are Gods. Anyway, the contracts are signed and I couldn’t change my mind even if I wanted to.” Then Albert smiled at Susan and said softly, “Thank you for taking care of it.”
“Albert, if you dislike politicians so much why do you want to become one?” Susan enquired.
“I intend to be humble,” Albert responded, still smiling.
“Then you’re going to have to change your personality,” Susan said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess I will.”
They decided to hold the press conference outside the office. It was sunny and the temperature was a perfect seventy-four degrees. The people from the local TV stations began to arrive at 3:00; there was also a reporter from the local newspaper.
By 3:30 everything was ready, so Albert walked outside and stood on a small landing at the top of the stairs leading to the office. In addition to the reporters, there were perhaps twenty other people waiting for him to speak.
“I’m pleased to announce we have concluded an agreement with Kingman to manufacture the power modules we developed. I know you’re all anxious to know when these devices will be available, so I’ll tell you what I know.
“Kingman has already started working on modifications to one of their vehicles to work with the power modules. I believe it will be based on the current all-electric version of the STZ. We anticipate it will be available for purchase in about three months. However, because of the limited supply, and a substantial number of potential purchasers, Kingman is going to conduct a lottery of some type to determine who will be able to purchase one. I don’t have the details of how the lottery will work. I assume that Kingman will make that information available shortly. I can tell you there are no options on the car. The only choice will be color.”
At that point, somebody yelled a question. “Do you know what they will cost?”
“No, I don’t know what the retail c
ost will be. That’s a question for Kingman. We also anticipate people and businesses will be anxious to get the power modules that will enable them to disconnect from the power grid. Kingman is going to make those devices available through the major hardware retailers like Home Warehouse, Lance, Markman Hardware, and others in about sixty days. They’ll only be sold with the installation. You won’t be able to go to the store and just pick one up. I also anticipate there will be limited availability for a long time and I have no information on how the retail sales of the power modules will be handled. Before you ask, I don’t know what the devices will cost.”
“Do you know how many of the home type devices Kingman is going to make?” somebody asked.
“No, I really don’t. I can tell you that Kingman is planning to have a press conference tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll be prepared to answer your questions at that time.”
“How long did it take to develop the power modules?” another person asked.
“We had a contract with NASA to research the magnetic properties of materials that were to be used in a new project. During that evaluation, we found a material that had very unique properties. We realized the material could be used to make a self-sustaining electric power source. It only took a couple of weeks to design the first prototype. That unit is still running in our lab.”
“Have you given any thought to the effect these devices are going to have on the world economy? They could put millions of people out of work,” another reporter chimed in almost accusingly.
“Actually, I had that conversation with the vice president. I’m sure there will be changes in the economy all over the world. For some, like countries that are largely dependent on oil for their economy, there will be major issues. For countries with more diverse economies, the problem will be minimal. Yes, it’s true many people will lose their jobs and some businesses will fail. But the auto industry will see phenomenal growth and will likely increase employment substantially. I’m sure there will be new jobs to cover the ones that are lost. I want to thank you all for coming,” Albert said. He really didn’t want to answer any more questions so he went back into the office.
Albert decided to call David and let him know what had happened at the news conference. He warned him to be prepared to talk about product availability and pricing.
“We’re prepared,” David assured him. “Just so you know, the price for the home unit is going to be just under one-thousand dollars, not including installation. We decided on that price because that way we’ll be able to absorb the price increase in silver for the first year or two and keep the retail price constant. When people realize the product is dependent on silver and the public sees the price of silver increasing they’ll understand we’ll be forced to increase the price of the devices. Also, we’re currently in the process of making long-term agreements with several silver refiners so we’ll have an uninterrupted supply of silver at stable prices.”
“That sounds reasonable. I wanted to ask if you’ll allow my partners and me to each purchase a STZ when they become available.”
“Sure. The first STZ will go to our museum, but you guys will get numbers two, three, and four at no charge. Do you care about color?”
“I don’t, but I’ll ask Tim and Susan if they have a preference. Also, before the news conference, I called my contact at Vextor Motors and made them aware of our agreement with you. I also told them Kingman would make power modules available for development purposes and he asked for a contact at Kingman. Can you give me a name and phone number?” Albert asked quizzically.
“Just have them call me. I’m sure we’ll be setting up an industrial sales group, but until that happens I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay, I’ll give your name and number to both Vextor Motors and Flexton Chapman. I’m sure they’ll be contacting you shortly. Good luck with your news conference tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Albert. Please feel free to call me anytime.”
“Okay, I’ll do that,” Albert said as he hung up with David.
APRIL 19, 2024
Many historians look on this date as the first day of a new era. Although Albert had told the world about the power modules weeks before and held a press conference the previous day, it was the announcement by Kingman that made the world take notice. For the previous one hundred and fifty years, the people who had oil were rich. It started with John Rockefeller, who had become one of the richest people in the world by selling oil for lamps that brought efficient light to homes and businesses for the first time. Then it was the people who controlled the governments in the oil exporting countries who were rich. They all knew it would end someday, but that day always seemed to be many years away. Yet today they finally realized the end was in sight.
Kingman scheduled the news conference for 4:30. Minutes after Kingman announced they would be selling cars that didn’t require any external fuel within three months, there was panic. Not only were the oil exporting countries worried, so were all of the other automobile manufacturing companies. In several countries, automobile manufacturing was their biggest industry.
The following Monday the price for oil futures dropped from one hundred and ten dollars per barrel to sixty dollars per barrel. It would never recover. Within three days, oil futures were down to twenty-two dollars per barrel. Every car company, other than Kingman, saw their stock prices tumble. Kingman stock increased by thirty percent, and it kept going up for weeks. The big oil companies were hit even harder. Some oil companies saw their stock prices drop by seventy-five percent.
Albert was forgotten by the public, at least for a while, and that was all right with him. He and Susan went house hunting together and while looking for a home they found each other.
***
Tim bought his boat and went to live with his parents again. He bought some land nearby and had a house and boathouse built. He decided to use most of his very substantial income for charity, setting up a foundation that provided full scholarships for children whose families could not afford to send their children to college. He also gave large sums of money to charities that carried out medical research.
SUMMER 2024 THROUGH SUMMER 2027
Kingman and Other Car Companies
In late June 2024, Kingman announced they would begin taking orders for the new “No Fuel STZ” on July 8, 2024. They decided to set the price at thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, and that included a ten-year warranty on the power module. The cars were available in white, black, blue, and silver gray. That was the only option. When an order was placed the customer was required to give a one-thousand-dollar deposit. They explained the lottery system that would be used, and nobody would be able to purchase more than one vehicle. They expected the first deliveries in the United States to be made the week of August 26, 2024. Deliveries in other countries would begin two weeks later.
They also announced they would begin shipping home power modules to retail stores in the United States on July 15, 2024. Each retail store would determine how the devices would be sold. They expected to ship two hundred thousand units that week, and one hundred and fifty thousand units per week after that. The units would be available for Europe and Australia a week later.
Despite the fact Kingman made it clear that placing your order first did not increase your chances of getting one of the first vehicles, people began lining up outside Kingman dealerships as early as July 5th. As expected, the entire first year of production was sold by July 12th. Less than five percent of the orders had a color specified, and not one order stated the purchaser would not accept a different color if the color they specified was not available.
In the United States, Home Warehouse and Lance each began accepting online orders for the home devices. They were charging nine hundred ninety-five dollars for the unit and estimated the installation for a typical home would be an additional three hundred dollars. A credit card number had to be supplied with the order, but the card would not be charged until the device was available for i
nstallation. Many of the local municipal governments quickly passed laws that forbid these units to be installed in homes without a permit, and in some cases, where the municipalities owned the local electric companies, they were charging $1000 for them. That did slow down sales in some areas, but consumers filed lawsuits claiming the permit fees were too high, and ultimately, the consumers won.
Kingman was forced to delay delivery of the STZ vehicles by a week because they realized they had to make the vehicle, and the power module, theft proof. Every STZ was equipped with a keyless entry system, but after you got into the car you had three tries within thirty seconds to enter a five-digit code on a screen on the dashboard. If you failed to enter the code within thirty seconds all four wheels were locked. To unlock the wheels, you had to exit the vehicle, lock the doors, unlock the doors, and start over again. Kingman also placed the power module inside a steel box that could not be opened. It could be removed with a special tool, but only if the vehicle was raised on a lift.
In August 2024, Kingman ceased production of all gasoline-powered passenger cars worldwide so they could begin conversion to manufacturing electric vehicles. They also ceased production of gasoline engines for those cars at the same time. The engine manufacturing facilities were converted so they could make electric motors and power modules. This move allowed the power modules to be more easily distributed all over the world.
On September 3, 2024, Kingman began accepting orders for the T3000E electric pickup. Like the STZ, the first year’s production was sold in a week.
Kingman did supply power modules for development purposes to every car manufacturer that requested them. By early fall of 2025, they began making the production devices for Vextor Motors, Flexton Chapman, and the other automotive manufacturers that had the ability to stay in business after a ninety percent drop in sales.
By the summer of 2027 there was an enormous selection of electric vehicles available; not just family sedans and pickup trucks, but sports cars, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, and even a few small motorhomes. The automotive industry was booming, and all of the surviving companies were making more money than they had ever thought possible. Kingman was doing better than the others because they had a fifteen-month head start and the largest selection of vehicles. As a result of both car sales and power modules sales, Kingman had become the largest corporation in the world.