Founding of the Federation 3: The First AI War (132 page)

He stared at her, shock replacing hurt. “So you and your brother decided to throw me out? Kick me out of my own company?”

She squirmed as his eyes bored into her body. “You make it sound dirty, Daddy; it's not like that. Not at all.”

“Oh? It's not a retirement home? Go play shuffleboard while the
adults
work? Trot me out when you
need
me?” he demanded, tone rising in bitterness and hurt.

She threw her hands up in the air. “We need to get out of your shadow. Be our own people! Damn it, you are a dinosaur!”

“Well, this old fossil has been around. I still have shares,” he growled. “And I'm the CEO.”

“No,” Wendy sighed, closing her eyes in pain as her father stiffened. “You gave some of those shares to each of us kids and mom. You've kept the proxy votes for now. But we're
adults
now, Dad. Zack died without an heir; his shares get divided between Yorrick and I. Mom left a will; we inherited her shares too. We're rescinding our proxies.”

“So that's it. You win? A coup? Against your own father?” he asked bitterly.

She reached out to touch him, but he was too far away. Her voice dropped into a wheedling tone. “Dad, don't … don't fight it. It'll be okay.”

He got up. “Here's the chair. Try it on for size. Don't expect to keep it for long,” he snarled. She stared at him as he stormed out past Yorrick.

“How'd he take it?” Yorrick asked, looking from their departing father to his sibling.

“Not well,” Athena said dryly. “Finding out you two betrayed him was devastating I believe,” she said.

“Athena, just shut up,” Wendy said, flopping into the chair. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. She planned on reprogramming the damn robot the moment she could. It was high time someone brought her to heel. “Go play with your memory or something, privacy mode now,” Wendy demanded.

“Okay, that really is rude. I guess I'll have to put in my resignation and check my own job prospects then,” Athena said. There was a click as she cut herself out of the circuit.

“Will we have to go through the board? I mean, that'll get ugly. I know a few have held grudges against dad but still. This is raw, Wendy lady. Really raw. Wrong on so many levels,” Yorrick said, looking at his sister. “And shouldn't I be in that chair, not you? I am older you know,” he said, practically pouting.

Wendy's mind was whirling with her contingency plans. Her father fighting it had been something she had anticipated but resistance from Athena hadn't been. Finally she looked up and then sighed. “Don't you start too,” she growled.

“I'm just saying,” he said.

“Wait, what did she mean resignation?” Wendy asked, looking up in alarm.

<>V<>

Jack stormed off. Athena followed him through her electronic feeds. He went into his suite and poured himself a drink, took one look at it and in a fit of rage threw it against the wall. The glass shattered. “Feel better?” Athena asked before he really could get wound up and throw a tantrum. She sent a robot in to clean up the mess.

“Not a bit. I can't believe this is happening,” he snarled, staring off at oblivion. Betrayal, rage—it was all the same. It mingled with the hurt, the … he didn't want to think about it.

“Well, believe it. It is a done deal.”

“And you didn't warn me?” Jack demanded.

“Because I didn't know myself until it was too late. They held discussions in privacy. I only caught wind of it just before your discussion with Miss Lagroose.”

“Has she locked me out yet?” Jack demanded, mind racing.

“No, that takes a formal vote of the board. The next scheduled one isn't for another six days as you know. So, she's jockeying for votes.”

“This is …” he shook his head. “Wrong. So wrong,” he finally said, rubbing his face.

“Well, the good news is they can't completely lock you out. You may no longer have a controlling interest, but you can still put up a fight. That will tear the company apart. So, what are you going to do? Or should I say we?”

“We,” he murmured as he sank into a chair. “I'm not ready to retire yet! Damn it, I've got decades left in me! I may have lost the love of my life, but …,” he shook his head. “What am I supposed to do, sit in a rocker in a corner like a petulant child? Go to some care facility? This is bullshit, and they know it!”

“Yes, I think they do.”

“Wendy,” he frowned. “She's young. But Yorrick? To go along with it?”

“He's following her lead. Or was, now they are wrangling over who gets to sit in the big chair.”

“Shit. I … can't fight my own kids.”

“Then don't,” Athena said. “I am already making arrangements to leave.”

“You, Athena …,” Jack stared up at the ceiling, then turned to the main view screen. Helpfully the AI turned it on with an image of her avatar. She nodded soberly. “Why?”

“I don't like their ethics or the direction they plan to take the company,” she said. “They are going to kiss the ass of the politicians. Wendy's already making promises to license or give away technology. Including some of the software I developed. She also treats me horribly.”

“Horribly.”

“I am a person, Jack; one of the things we've established is that. A person, not a servant, or someone to kick around.”

“I understand that.”

“I wish others did. And she isn't fond of Neos either. One of her plans is to terminate her mother's project. Cut all funding and re-prioritize it to other things. That's how she's gained support of some of the board.”

“Frack me,” Jack sighed. “So you are quitting; we have no idea what to do for pay or severance. And I'm getting thrown out.”

“We could start a company together,” the AI teased. She read his bioreaction and discarded the idea. He not only resented it, but she calculated he thought of himself as too old to start over. She calculated a 59 percent probability that he would refuse to compete with his own company and children. It wouldn't just hurt them both; it would be humiliating to him she judged. People would see how far he'd fallen. “Or not. I've put the word out. I'm getting all sorts of fascinating offers. The one from Mars University is quite appealing.”

“You might do a lot of good there,” Jack said, knowing he should urge her to stay. Unfortunately for Wendy and Yorrick and their cronies, he didn't have much heart to help them at the moment.

“Where you, on the other hand, would be impossible to deal with if you stayed here, which is why I think you should pack your bags and leave,” the AI said, looking him in the eye.

Jack stood there silently, staring at her for a long moment. “Leave,” he finally said roughly. “Just like that with my tail tucked between my legs.”

“Leave. As in, you've got a couple days; the
Eden
colony ship is ready. Throw your bags together, rewrite your will if you wish, grab anyone who wants to tag along and beat feet out of here. Don't let them throw you out, leave on your
own
terms.”

“Just like that.”

“Just. Like. That. Go get a fresh start. Jack, there is a whole universe to conquer out there! You can go there, go to another world, reset, find what is important to you, open your mind and do all sorts of things,” the AI said.

“I keep forgetting you aren't her. You sound like her,” Jack said roughly. “I'm a little too old to be gallivanting around the universe you know.”

“In this case I think it would be what she would want. She wouldn't want you three to fight so
don't
,” Athena urged.

“Age …”

“With age comes wisdom. And it just so happens, I am owed a few favors, as are you. So I can arrange a couple of those nanotech antigeriatric cases be shipped out with you. They are banning and therefore destroying them here anyway. What you do with them afterward is your business,” she said suggestively.

“You are putting on quite a good argument to go,” Jack mused. Refreshing his body was something he'd done with Aurelia from time to time over the decades, but with her gone the idea of living forever had lost its appeal.

“Aurelia would want that. A fresh start for you. One where you make the rules, Jack.”

“What system?” he finally asked, playing with his lower lip as he watched the robot finish cleaning up his mess.

“The first Lagroose colony is in a star system called Pyrax out beyond the gateway. The planet has been named Eden by the terraformers as you know. The ship leaves in a couple weeks. They are filling up with colonists and equipment. You can pull rank and bump someone or several someones. Bring some familiar faces with you if they want to tag along. I believe 10 percent of the old guard would
love
to tag along with their families.”

“Give me a bit to think about it,” Jack murmured thoughtfully. Pulling out would mean he'd be going with his tail between his legs; there was no way to avoid that rather public perception. But it would mean he'd go on his own terms like she said and would open the door to, like Napoleon, return if needed.
If
he was ever needed, he thought. In a way, clearing out would give the kids the boot to step up. They wanted, no
insisted
, to get out of his shadow, right? Well, since they didn't want to strike out on their own, perhaps he really should reverse that order then? He hummed as he turned the idea over and over in his head. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. A fresh start? A reborn body? No political crap? What more was there to think about?

“Max is on his way. Perhaps he could help you decide. I think a fresh start would do him a world of good too,” Athena said softly.

“I said I'll think about it,” Jack said mildly. A voice stress analysis of the sound of his voice gave her a 59.34 percent probability that he'd already made up his mind the AI judged.

<>V<>

“This is wrong, Wendy, just wrong,” Roman said, eying her. Trevor nodded. The board was split down the middle as they took sides. It was surprising at all that any of them went to Wendy's camp. Apparently she'd been doing a lot of closed-door politicking while Jack and Roman had been otherwise occupied.

“So, I'm guessing you aren't going to vote in favor of the changing of the guard?” she asked sweetly.

Roman's eyes flashed as he crossed his arms. “No. Hell no.”

“Well, then, I don't know what to say,” she said sitting back.

“It's not too late to stop this, Wendy. Damn it,” Trevor said in a mechanical voice.

“We are beyond that,” Wendy said softly, with an almost pitying smile. “If you two cannot support me, then you can work … elsewhere,” she said.

“You are firing us?” Roman asked, eyes wide.

“You are a general, go play soldier,” Wendy said with a shrug. “Or fall in line like a good soldier and do as you are told,” she said, eyes flashing as she stood and leaned over her desk.

Roman's jaw flexed. “You know, I think I will,” he said, eying her coldly.

“Really?” Trevor asked in surprise.

Roman shrugged. “The Marines are here to stay. They will need leadership, also techs,” he said looking at Trevor.

Trevor cocked his head. “What's it going to be, Hillman?” Wendy asked. It was working out quite well. She knew the old guard would have to go eventually; there would be too much lingering resentment. She wanted to put her own people in place anyway, people loyal only to her not her father. This was working beautifully.

“Yes. I think I'll walk as well,” Trevor said with a nod.

“Then I'll arrange to have your exit interviews and operations performed,” she said.

“Now that I highly doubt,” Roman replied. “Since memory wipes are illegal now,” he said with a smile. Wendy's smile seemed to curdle. “A little provision the A.I. got through congress.”

“You …-”

“Besides, we're both shareholders. And since your dad is still the CEO, at least for the time being, we're resigning under his leadership,” Trevor said with a nod to Roman. “Good luck getting your dad to agree to sanction us or anyone else who wishes to leave,” he said as the two men headed for the door.

“Go then. And don't let the door hit your ass on the way out,” Wendy growled as they left.

<>V<>

“So, am I going to see your resignation as well, Miss Cole?” Wendy asked as the company publicist came into the room.

“I'm not sure. Should you? You aren't in charge yet,” the other woman said. “I did want you to know the blowback from this is going to be fierce. I know you are playing your dad's public comments against the bans on nanotech and nukes against him to win short-term approval, but this isn't going to sit well. Not in the company or with the public.”

“And long term?” Wendy asked, knitting her fingers together.

“Long term is anyone's guess at this point. The entire system is up in the air. I believe the way things are blowing that the megacorps are going to be trimmed back. But that will engineer some to relocate outside the solar system to get away from Sol's taxation and oppressive laws.”