How did it feel? Leaving aside the danger element, how did it actually feel? Being more famous than Elvis.
LOMAN
I wouldn’t call it fame exactly.
AGENT Classified
Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified
LOMAN
Classified
AGENT Classified
If you say so. But credit to you, you took advantage of it. In the courts.
LOMAN
Now you’re getting on to a sensitive subject.
AGENT Classified
I don’t think so.
LOMAN
It wasn’t my doing. You started it. The government. Companies. Advertisers. You were all using the robot. Making money, putting its face on everything. And I thought, ‘Wait a minute. I’m the one suffering here. I’m the one it’s chasing. Don’t I get anything out of this?’
AGENT Classified
And so you went to court to fight for ownership?
LOMAN
Exactly.
AGENT Classified
And?
LOMAN
And what? You were there, weren’t you?
AGENT Classified i
The court judgement indicated Classified ClassifiedClassifiedClassified Classified This gave us a precedent that Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified Classified
LOMAN
That’s what happened in the courtroom. I made a different deal with Toby.
Chapter 21
As Toby made his way up the stairs, his feet padding softly on the thick red carpets, he realised it was a long time since he’d been in the Waldorf. She still looked the same though; grandness at every corner, opulence whispering about a time since passed. It seemed a suitable place for someone who had lost his own past and Daniel had been living in the penthouse for two weeks now. Outside the suite a Secret Service man called Bruce, who Toby vaguely knew, gave a nod.
“How is he?”
“Not good.”
Before Toby could knock, the polished wooden door swung open. Inside Daniel was holding up a newspaper.
“Have you seen this?”
Toby accepted the copy of the New York Times that was thrust into his chest as he entered, before sitting himself down on the top of the nearest sofa. There were four.
Looking down at the newspaper he understood Daniel’s mood immediately. On it was a picture of the robot drinking a famous brand of cola with a suitably stupid tagline. Ah, it was time for that conversation.
Toby looked up and saw Daniel was pouring himself a drink. The room was dominated by floor to ceiling glass in one wall that looked out over New York City. Elsewhere mirrors, gilt edged pictures and crushed velvets heightened the magnificence. This must be costing a fortune, he thought.
Toby straightened up, folded the paper and casually tossed it onto the table. “It looks harmless enough. Legally, they can’t use your face though. We made sure of that.”
Daniel turned, his eyes snarled. “We? You knew about this?”
Toby sighed. “I wasn’t personally involved, but a lot of companies are using its image. We’ve put strict controls down though so your rights are protected. A bill was passed by Congress in the middle of the night.”
Daniel sipped at the whiskey. What was it, thought Toby, four thirty in the afternoon?
“It’s understandable that you’re shocked,” he said, “but it was inevitable. By taking out trademark protection, copy and image rights, we can control the whole situation.”
“It sounds like a business.”
Toby eased over to stand next to Daniel; he reached down for a tumbler and the decanter; art deco crystal by the look of it.
“It’s the way of the world,” he said, turning to look out of the window. Christ, what a view. You could make out Central Park; the city really was beautiful on a late summer afternoon. The haze, the warmth of the sun as it said goodbye. It brought back memories. He’d sat in that very park. Shared a picnic, wine. Hit a ball.
Daniel’s glass was empty and Toby noticed he’d calmed down a little. Now was the time to have a conversation; when he was rational. Toby liked Daniel, but the guy was under so much pressure, so in the spotlight, that it was hard to even have a frame of reference for where he was emotionally. Truth be told, Toby had ordered a psychological evaluation about three weeks ago and they were already monitoring his behaviour.
As they made their way back to the sofas, Daniel sparked up again. “Who gets the money?”
“I beg your pardon?” The two were sat opposite each other now, a dark coffee table stacked with newspapers and magazines. Only now did Toby notice the robot seemed to be on the front cover of them all.
“The money. All these companies must be paying for these rights? These adverts cost millions.” Daniel waved his hand at the glossy prints. “I’ve seen it on TV too. How much do they pay?”
Toby thought it best to nip this in the bud. “I can see where you’re going with this but trust me, it’s nothing compared to the cost of transporting and protecting you.”
The two fixed each other and Toby realised now how seriously on edge Daniel was looking.
“Maybe,” he said, and again he pointed at the magazines, “but maybe if I was getting all the money off the companies I could look after myself.”
Toby stood up, set the drink down and buttoned up his jacket. “That isn’t going to happen.”
“Really?”
“This is a military operation now.”
Toby made his way to the door and opened it, but before he could get through Daniel spoke. “I’ll see you in court.”
Toby turned around, his eyebrows creased together. “Excuse me?”
Now Daniel was walking toward the door, a brown paper envelope, seemingly produced from nowhere in his outstretched hand.
Toby opened the enveloped and looked at the papers inside. “Is this a joke?”
Daniel didn’t move. “I want what’s mine. I’m the thing it’s chasing. It belongs to me.”
Chapter 22
Judge Jeremy C. Rafferty pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. His eyes were sore, his ears were aching and his stomach was complaining. As he massaged the skin, working across his eyelids, he deflected a yawn out of the side of his mouth before looking up. Before him the courtroom looked like some sort of overgrown hedge of people and cameras.
On one side were eight, smartly dressed, top government lawyers; one of which was in the middle of his closing remarks. They all wore near enough the same suit and had the same docile expression that comes with a Harvard education and a sense of self-confidence that only the truly corruptible can display.
On the other side a young man, smartly dressed, but not ‘empowered’. Sat next to him a robust, red faced county lawyer called Mitchell, whom Rafferty vaguely knew, looking well…there was no other way to put it – haughty. His face showed true displeasure. His chin up, his mouth dead straight and the fire of self-righteousness burning in his eyes. Usually you only saw that face on someone driven by a cause. A true cause. But today, well, today was different.
He listened to the government lawyer flap away. “And so, to summarise, the government of the United States recognises the plaintiff’s intellectual rights to the property but must, as a matter of national security...”
But then something caught Rafferty’s eye. A movement, from the young man. Maybe it was a flick of the head, or even perhaps a nod. But he had seen it, and so too had his attorney. The government lawyer finished, sat down and shook the hands of all his colleagues with a smile.
Then up stepped Mitchell. “Your honour, my client would like to drop his case.” There were gasps and a flurry of camera snaps. Across the room there were smug grins from the Harvard boys. Mitchell put his thumbs on his belt hooks and continued.
“He would like to apologise to the United St
ates government and has let it be known to me he will pay all legal costs.”
Mitchell looked back at his client and shared a warm smile. Rafferty could see the young man now, Daniel Loman, was starting to check his phone. What were they doing? “This unfortunate case was brought about by my client’s desire to take control and responsibility of this… anomaly.”
‘Anomaly’ was the legal term they had decided upon in advance of the case. Rafferty didn’t want to hear about alien robots in his courtroom.
Mitchell leaned on his desk, loosened his tie for dramatic effect, and dabbed his brow. “He fully submits that he was wrong to try and do so and that the aforementioned anomaly is in fact the property of the United States government.”
Rafferty leaned forward towards the microphone; he could see light at the end of the tunnel. “Well, I’m pleased to hear it counsel.” He picked up the gavel. “This court finds in favour of the United States government in the case of Loman – “
“Furthermore,” Mitchell said, “my client would like to ask for discretion and privacy from the press as he wishes to take a break from public life and spend two years touring Europe.”
The smiles went and the Harvard boys stared with open eyes and mouths. More gasps and murmurs could be heard from the courtroom.
“And possibly Asia,” said Mitchell. Swearwords could be heard emanating from the opposite side of the room.
The Harvard boys turned into a huddle. Papers flew, books were opened and indexes scrutinised. One stood up. “Objection, your honour.”
Rafferty looked down at him incredulously. “To what?”
“His vacation,” he said, without a hint of intelligence.
“Did I hear you correctly?”
The young lawyer adjusted his glasses and, despite one or two of the others tugging on his jacket vents, continued. “Your honour, this is clearly designed to cause what can only be described as criminal damage. It’s negligence on a grand scale. This robot – “
Rafferty winced.
“– could cause millions of dollars’ worth of damage to other countries; even loss of life.”
“This robot? You mean your robot counsel, you just won the case.”
“But your honour?”
People were getting far too excited now. He could see journalists practically setting fire to their notepads with the friction from their pens and the cameras were swivelling around desperately trying to get the most important shot. But all the time, the young man on his right just stared down at his phone, oblivious. It was time for this farce to end.
He banged the gavel down hard three times. Looking up he saw all eyes turn and people settle themselves. “Gentlemen, this case is now closed. However, I would like to see both counsels in my office. Case dismissed. Bailiff, clear the court.”
Doug, the large wall of a man who looked after the court room, gave a nod to his men and slowly the crowds started to be shepherded out; the guards making sure there was no nonsense. The lawyers gathered their papers and stuffed them into their cases before grudgingly filtering out past the man who had been keeping tabs on them from the back of the court. His name was Toby. Rafferty had met him briefly before the case at a luncheon. Strange how he’d known Rafferty would be the judge even though he hadn’t been assigned.
He had a quiet word with the lawyers and seemed to be attempting to soothe them. Despite winning, they had the look of defeat written all over their perfectly symmetrical faces. Finally, there was just Toby and Daniel left. Rafferty stood up and motioned them to follow him before leaving the court.
Chapter 23
“You can’t do this, Daniel.”
Daniel and Toby where outside the Judge’s office, waiting for the clerk to give them the nod. Toby was sat by the door on a leather backed chair next to a pot plant. The grand oak panelling around him made him look smaller.
Daniel was sat across the waiting room on a couch. He turned his head. “Can’t do what?”
Toby brought his hands together and his fingers started tapping against each other. “Go off gallivanting around the world. We won’t allow that.”
He looked quizzically up at the ceiling. “How exactly are you going to stop me?”
“We certainly won’t help you.” Across the room a clerk, who had been tapping away on her laptop, briefly looked up; Toby frowned and she looked straight back down.
“I don’t need your help.”
“You’ll need a passport.”
He laughed. “Maybe. Or maybe I could go to Florida, then New York? Maybe see the Grand Canyon…even the Whitehouse.”
Toby’s fingers stopped drumming.
“You can’t keep me prisoner. I’ve done nothing wrong. If you try, I’ll make sure every T.V. channel and newspaper in the world knows about it.” Daniel looked down at the floor, his expensive shoes made a satisfying noise when he lightly tapped them on the wooden boards. “You’re not in control any more. Nobody is.”
Toby shook his head. “You’d pretty soon lose public opinion if the robot was putting holes in people’s houses. Or how about a hospital Daniel? What if it walked through a retirement home? Think of that. It doesn’t stop. It never stops.”
It had been a long day. Outside an orange glow sank behind the silhouettes of the trees making way for shadows. He had been prepared for Toby and his lawyers; Mitchell had stage-managed everything. Legally there was no precedent for any of this so he had found quite early on that no lawyer could guarantee a result either way. That’s when he’d met Mitchell.
The brash Texan lawyer, with his stoic southern drawl, had persuaded him there was another option when he’d asked the question, ‘How do I take back control of my life?’ The answer was simple - make the government not want to win.
With legally confirmed ownership and, more importantly responsibility, Daniel could walk away. Literally. Of course the upshot of that would mean, ironically, Toby and his team no longer had control. Then, they would be in a better position to negotiate and Daniel intended to do so.
He looked back at Toby. His mouth was stern and his hands clenched, but it was his eyes that gave away the futility he saw descending. Toby was pragmatic, a scientist Daniel had always guessed, but he was also not used to losing control.
“Public opinion?” said Daniel.
“You’ll need them on your side if you go it alone.”
“Haven’t you seen? People love me. I’m on every channel, on the front cover of every magazine. Everyone wants my picture. There’s a whole bunch of them outside in white robes who think I’m Jesus!”
It was true. Jones had had to screen him from the lunatics who were at this very moment holding a vigil in front of the court.
Toby adjusted his glasses thoughtfully. When he spoke his voice was gentle and patient. “There must be some way we can resolve this?”
Daniel’s face was in darkness now, the late sun finally leaving for distant warm oceans.
“There is. I’ll do what you want. Keep moving back and forth to keep it in the sea.”
“And, in return?”
“I want what’s mine. The money.”
“Money?”
“It’s my robot.” Daniel said, “I get to say who uses it and when. Image rights, copyrights everything.”
Toby nodded, but his wide eyes suggested comprehension not agreement. “Ok.”
Daniel felt his shoulders sag and his stomach loosen. He undid his tie and the cool rush of hot air escaping felt good on his chest. “You know it’s everywhere? They’re using it to sell cars, perfume, holidays even candy to kids.”
Toby nodded reluctantly.
“But from now on they’ll have to go through me. You don’t like it? I walk.”
Toby spoke like a professor or school teacher; calm, but persuasive. “Maybe we can arrange something?”
Daniel stood up and arched back his shoulders. He was tired of being inside when he should have been outside. Tired of being outside when he should have been inside.
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“I want a say. I want to sit in on all those meetings you have without me. I want access to all your files and information so I can get second opinions. I want full disclosure.”
Toby shrank back in his chair uncomfortably. He tilted his head, “That would be most difficult.”
For a few minutes neither said a thing. Daniel stood staring out of the window, Toby watched him from the wingback. Finally, the door opened and the Judge ushered them in. Two lawyers were already there; the Harvard boy stood, Mitchell seated.
Rafferty motioned for them to sit and Daniel took the chair next to Mitchell who gave him a wink, placing his case on the floor at the side of his chair delicately. The other man, Moss, sat down awkwardly; knees angled he opened his briefcase on his lap and started to rummage through. Toby stood at the back.
“Your honour,” began Moss, desperately looking up, but Rafferty cut him off with a wave of his hand.
The Judge spun around on his chair and reached up to one of books that filled the wall behind him. It was plain leather bound, blue with gold edges.
“Gentlemen, I believe we have reached an impasse. I think the only way forward through this unprecedented, and I do mean unprecedented, situation is to try and come to some arrangement that suits both sides. I’m afraid I don’t believe it is a matter for the courts.”
Moss spluttered. “I must protest. This man’s recklessness could cause serious, even catastrophic loss of life. If that robot walks through a nuclear power plant –”
A bang sounded across the table. Even Mitchell started. Rafferty had thrown the book down. It was a volume of cases.
He eyeballed the government lawyer across the table. “You tell me where you can find the word ‘robot’ in there.”
Chapter 24
Daniel sat back and closed his eyes. The air conditioning vent was directly above his head and a cool breeze poured over his face. The leather chair squeaked a little as he pushed back further. Lying back, in his mind he looked up into the sky. Surging higher he went straight through the cumulonimbus above his office and surged to the warm, bright embrace of the sun. Then he hovered, his momentum suspending him before a slow descent turned into a rapid one and he awoke in his chair with a jolt.
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