Book 4: 3rd World Products, Inc.

by Ed Howdershelt

  Turning to Steph, Mills said, “So start explaining. Please."

  With a nod, Steph said, “I included male and female contraceptive capabilities in order to prevent an unavoidable overpopulation of Earth within three generations."

  She caused two field screens to appear and displayed graphs to illustrate her calculations, showing population growth without the introduction of PFM's to the general populace on one screen and population growth with PFM's on the other.

  When she was finished explaining normal human attrition rates and the effects of a lack of them, Steph simply stopped talking and sat down.

  For some moments everybody was as quiet as stones, then Mills asked, “You don't mind if we try to verify some of those ... estimates of yours for ourselves, do you?"

  "I had no doubt that you would,” said Steph. Looking around the room, she asked, “Does anyone here wish to return her—or his—PFM?"

  Nobody spoke or moved until Angela asked, “Is the contraception optional at all?"

  Shaking her head slightly, Steph said, “No, it is not optional. In order to be fair to all, everyone who wears a PFM will be subject to the contraceptive effect."

  Linda said, “I'm not sure 3rd World will go for this, Stephanie."

  Steph looked at her and flatly said, “If they want to market PFM's, they will."

  Mills snorted. “Why? Because you designed them?” She laughed and asked, “Who the hell are you to be deciding whether people will have children?"

  I started to snap at Mills, but Steph raised a hand and I held my tongue.

  "Dr. Mills,” said Steph in a cool tone, “My calculations are the reason 3rd World won't object to contraceptive PFM's. No other reasons are necessary."

  After a long glare at Steph, then one at me, Mills stood up.

  "I've heard enough,” she said. “This is ludicrous. People aren't going to agree to trade off their reproductive futures for these ... these things. These toys."

  "Toys?” asked Wallace, a note of amazement in his voice. “Hardly. I spent the morning in a lab, Mills. My protective field can deflect baseball bats, fire axes, and bullets. Nothing got through it, not even an argon laser. Toys they aren't."

  He stood up and said, “I've heard you have some kind of problem with Ed and Steph, Mills. Don't let it screw up your thinking. I've seen population figures like those before."

  "Seen them where?” asked Mills sharply. “In a supermarket scandal tabloid?"

  "Enough, please,” said Linda, cutting off Wallace's answer. “Dr. Mills, I expect a more open mind in a senior lab official. Stephanie's very good with numbers, so don't automatically disregard her calculations."

  Almost too softly to be heard, Angela said, “I'll keep mine.” When we looked at her, she steeled herself against all the rank and tension in the room and again, in a louder voice, said, “I said I'll keep mine. With one of these I won't need my pills anymore, and I hate pills."

  "Same here,” said Myra with a nod as she stroked her PFM. “I hate the side effects, but I don't trust anything else. How will they decide who gets these things first?"

  Before Steph could answer, I said, “Money. Same as always. Some from individuals, some from social service organizations, some from the government. Raising funds will give them time to think things over, too, but I know some women at a Florida battered women's shelter and clinic who'll be thrilled to get their hands on PFM's, contraceptive or not."

  Mills actually rose and took a couple of enraged steps in my direction before Linda's sharp, “Mills!” stopped her.

  Linda said, “I know Ed too well to think he's speaking from greed. He's helped that shelter extensively and he made their website. I think he was simply expressing an opinion about their level of interest.” She stood up behind her desk and said, “You've been building up to something for days, Mills. What is it about these two that bugs you?"

  With a narrow gaze at Linda, Mills said, “It's rather personal. I'd prefer not..."

  "I'm not asking what you'd prefer,” said Linda. “I want to know about your very obvious problem with Ed and Stephanie, and if you can't get it out in the open here and now, you could be looking for another job soon. Is that clear enough?"

  Stiffening, Mills said, “Oh, Yes. Very clear. I just never expected you, of all people, to put concealing an old friend's ... indiscretions ... above 3rd World's interests.” She turned to point at Steph as she said, “I think he's sleeping with that ... that thing."

  Wallace glanced at me with a fat grin and his eyes moved to Steph. Linda raised an eyebrow at his reaction and left the eyebrow up as she looked at me. Before I could say anything, she raised a hand and returned her glaring gaze to Mills.

  In frozen tones Linda said, “I fail to see how that would be against 3rd World's interests. How is what they do in private your business? Or ours?"

  Shocked, Mills asked, “You condone it?!"

  "IF they're sleeping together, I'd call it their privilege. They'd be hurting nobody, least of all 3rd World. Why the hell do you care, Mills?"

  "I can't believe I'm hearing this!” Shaking her head in frustrated rage, Mills almost shouted, “She's not even human, damn it!"

  Linda shrugged and said, “So? Sometimes I wonder about him, too. They'd probably be a good match."

  Wallace laughed shortly and grinned when Linda looked his way.

  Returning her gaze to Mills, Linda said flatly, “Mills, let's hear it. Who appointed you to be anybody's damned Guardian of Morality? What gives you the right to give a damn whether he's sleeping with Stephanie?"

  "Oh, for God's sake!” exclaimed Mills. “Even you? You're referring to this goddamned computer hologram as if it were a real person!"

  I stood up. When Linda's gaze met mine, I held up a hand to take the floor.

  "Linda,” I said, “We've all met this kind of blindness before. You won't change her mind, so let's just move on—or return—to other things."

  "In a minute, Ed.” She faced Mills and said, “Dr. Mills. Listen to me very carefully, please. Your attitude most closely resembles blatant racism, so I'll respond to it as such. You and all others under my influence and control will treat all AI's as you would treat human beings, effective immediately. You—or anyone else—will be fired for discrimination the first time you fail to do so. For that matter, a company-wide memo on this subject will go out tonight."

  For a moment Mills simply stared at Linda, then she said, “You aren't in a position to set company-wide policies."

  "I'll second it now,” said Wallace, “And 3rd's top brass will back it immediately. It's time to shut up while you still have a job, Mills."

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Mills looked at Wallace for a moment, then at me, Steph, and finally at Linda. She snatched her purse from the chair and walked to the door without a word, but Linda called her name as Mills reached to open the door.

  "Dr. Mills."

  When Karen turned half around to look at her, Linda said, “This meeting isn't over. Walking out that door will be considered a resignation without due notice."

  In an icy tone, Karen said, “Fine. You won't get the satisfaction of firing me,” then she opened the door and walked into the anteroom.

  Linda pushed a button under her desk. When Mills reached the outer office door, it wouldn't open.

  Pushing a button on her phone, Linda said, “Connor, send an escort team to my office immediately, please."

  "Yes, ma'am,” said George Connor.

  Releasing the button, Linda said, “Dr. Mills, you're restricted to quarters until you leave us."

  Returning to the room, an astonished Mills asked, “Restricted to quarters?!"

  "Turn in your badge, your ID, and your keycard,” said Linda. “Right now."

  After a moment of stunned silence, Karen unpinned her badge and tossed it on Linda's desk, then pulled her wallet out of her purse and dropped her base ID and keycard on the badge. Linda swept the items into her top desk drawer.

&
nbsp; Steph had been sitting quietly throughout it all. She now stood up and walked to stand next to Mills. The two eyed each other for a long moment, then Steph spoke.

  "This has gone too far,” said Steph. “Dr. Mills, Ed and I do not sleep together."

  Turning to Linda, she said, “I think this resignation may be unnecessary. Dr. Mills holds an opinion based in prejudice, but the same could be said for many on this installation who nonetheless accomplish their tasks."

  Linda said coldly, “She just quit, Stephanie."

  Through my implant, Steph said, “Ed, unless you object, I'm going to emanate theta waves to calm people a bit as I try to turn this around. Will you support me?"

  I looked at Steph and nodded imperceptibly even as I wondered what she was up to and why. As the theta waves began I immediately felt some of the tension leave me and looked around.

  Wallace sighed and repositioned himself in his chair. Angela lost some of her rigidness and eased back in her own chair a little, as did Linda. Myra had stood up at some point and now sat back down. Only Mills and Steph were left standing.

  Steph quietly said to Linda, “Her resignation won't rectify anything and it will take a month or more to replace her and bring her replacement up to date."

  After a moment Linda asked, “...It won't rectify anything? Steph, she just spent four days with you. If she isn't a believer by now, she never will be."

  With a shrug, Steph said, “She doesn't have to believe in my sentience. She merely has to do her job and act within specific behavioral guidelines, as do we all."

  "'We' all?” asked Mills. “You're including yourself?"

  Steph nodded. “I am. You irritated me quite often during your training, but I continued as required.” Turning to Linda, she asked, “Shouldn't Dr. Mills—believing herself to be truly sentient—be capable of doing the same?"

  I chuckled and all eyes fixed on me for a moment.

  "Hey,” I said, “It's funny to me. It's kind of like a black guy defending a klansman's right to be a bigot, as long as he shuts up and gets the job done.” Looking at Mills, I asked, “Well, what about it, doc? Are you going to let Steph out-sentient you?"

  Wallace was next to chuckle. Mills fixed him with a withering gaze for a moment, then her demeanor seemed to turn thoughtful.

  Steph turned to face Linda and said, “Everything said and done during this needless altercation could be reversed IF those involved will allow it."

  Shrugging, I said, “Sure. If Mills can manage to be civil toward us, that's good enough for me, Linda. Steph?"

  "For me, as well,” said Steph.

  "There's still the matter of her attitude,” said Linda. “Especially concerning the PFM's. A poor attitude is a security risk."

  Steph said, “All available features and the contraceptive nature of PFM's will be public knowledge the day they're introduced as products. How Dr. Mills relates to AI's may be governed by rules, just as rules have governed people concerning issues such as skin color and gender. Has she displayed controversial attitudes about anything else during her time with 3rd World?"

  Throughout my years of knowing Linda she's always been one to make quick, pragmatic decisions, even when those decisions meant backing down a bit to make room for a better point of view, but something about her silent demeanor made me wonder if she'd back off this time.

  "Linda,” I said quietly. “You could call this a personal disagreement and let it go. Installing new people in management jobs is a pain in the ass for everybody concerned, and you did say she was good at her job."

  Linda's eyes left Steph's and found mine. Her gaze narrowed slightly and the tip of her pencil slowly tapped several times on the yellow pad in front of her. I couldn't tell if she was really having a hard time letting go of it or acting.

  She looked at Mills and softly said, “Dr. Mills, it seems that you have advocates, if not precisely friends, and at this moment I'll frankly be damned if I know why these two are interested in keeping you here at all. But I listen to my people—human or not—so you get another chance. Do you want to rescind your resignation?"

  When Karen looked at Steph, she received an expression that could only be described as mildly questioning. From me she got a shrug as I settled back in my chair.

  Wallace muttered, “Yeah, what the hell,” and sipped his coffee.

  There came a knock at the outer office door and Anna peered around the inner door's frame for instructions. Linda held up a hand and looked at Mills.

  Mills again faced Linda and sighed gently, then said, “Yes. It's rescinded."

  Pressing a button on her phone, Linda said, “Connor, the crisis is over. Recall your team, please."

  Connor said, “Eleven, ma'am. Confirm."

  "Sixteen,” said Linda. “I'll get with you later to set new codes."

  "Yes, ma'am,” said Connor. “Recalling the team now."

  Before she released the button, Linda said, “Thank you, Connor."

  Wallace seemed startled. It probably hadn't occurred to him that Linda would have cancel codes in place for her own office. Oh, well. It's the little things that keep a relationship new, I guess.

  Linda handed Mills her ID, clip-on badge, and keycard, then gestured toward the empty chair by her desk. Mills sat down to reattach her badge and slipped the cards in her purse as Linda spoke.

  "Stephanie, if 3rd doesn't go for the contraceptive feature, what happens to the PFM project?"

  "It will change,” said Steph. “The PFM will become a simple entertainment device and lose more than half its value instantly. Elkor, my station self, and I won't allow the protective field feature unless the contraceptive feature accompanies it."

  Looking at me, Linda asked, “Do you have anything to say about this?"

  "I think she's right,” I said. “Steph, do it your way."

  Wallace put his coffee down and asked, “What's to stop 3rd World or the Amarans from making their own version of the PFM that includes the protective field? It isn't as if they couldn't make them somewhere else."

  "Common sense, if nothing else,” said Steph. “Earth would become a battlefield when food and other resources became drastically scarce."

  "But would they care about that? The factory station is in full production. It's self-contained. Even if Earth blew itself up, the factory could continue."

  "That's true,” said Steph, “But nearly half the people on the station are from Earth. Nearly all the Amarans have married people from Earth. What happens to people here will directly affect a majority of the factory people."

  She walked to stand beside her chart screens and said, “3rd World is a company with a conscience, as is the Amaran parent company. The Amarans deal fairly with client worlds, but they don't mind at all if a single factory world doesn't achieve its independence too quickly. The longer it takes, the more profit is made on goods, but only if the client world is at peace and producing those goods or services."

  The two screens disappeared as Steph said, “Profit depends upon production and uninterrupted production depends upon a prosperous peace. PFM's won't be made at the factory station; they'll be made only on Earth and they require two elements that are difficult and very energy-expensive to manufacture in a gravity field. That ensures that certain materials will necessarily be harvested and manufactured in space and delivered from the station, which will in turn assure that communications and interdependence with the station will not be severed later for political reasons."

  In closing, she said, “Exporting PFM's without built-in contraception would amount to nothing less than exporting the problem of overpopulation to other client worlds. Within a few more generations there'd be no viable mass market for anything except food and weapons, and there'd be no surplus food.” After a pause Steph added, “And the one thing that the Amarans need above all is a viable, solvent, multiple-product mass market."

  Absolute silence followed Steph's speech for long moments, then Myra said, “Maybe PFM's shouldn't be made a
t all. Maybe..."

  "Too late for that,” snapped Wallace gently.

  "No, it isn't,” said Mills. “We could shut this whole thing down right now by saying that there was a design defect. More research needed for safety. That sort of thing."

  "That action would be investigated,” said Steph. “Too many people know about PFM's now and many would be very suspicious of any effort to suppress them."

  "Well, damn,” said Myra, lifting her left arm to show her PFM. “I was wondering why I rated one of these before there were enough to go around.” She looked at Steph and said, “I bought your story about showing it around when I got back, you know. That was a good touch."

  "That was—and is—the truth,” said Steph. “Purchases by agencies such as yours will fund further production and help make it possible to lower prices for everyone else. I expect to be able to eventually bring the price of a PFM down to less than twenty dollars."

  Steph might as well have said she'd give them away. Everyone in the room stared at her as if she'd gone insane.

  Wallace actually said it. “Are you nuts, Stephanie?! Twenty bucks?!"

  She nodded. “Twenty bucks. Sales to governments and corporations will make it possible to lower the price through production volume, and I believe exports should take the price below a hundred dollars. Once they reach that level, enough people will be able to afford them that it should be a matter of only months..."

  "But ... But twenty bucks?!” yelled Wallace. “At that price..."

  "At that price,” said Steph, “Everyone on Earth could have one by the end of the seventh year of production."

  Myra goggled and asked faintly, “Everyone? Stephanie ... There are something like six billion people on Earth."

  "There will be over nine billion by then,” said Steph. “And most of them will be living in a state of safety hitherto unknown on this planet."

  "Better make that ten years or more,” I said. “And anybody who has a vested interest in illness or death is going to make things as hard as possible."

  Angela, so long silent, sharply asked, “What?"