“You have five minutes.” The Coalition CEO sat across from Doctor Mark Kirby and waited for a reply.
Turner noted that this time Kirby was not sweating.
“I want my own division, with my own budget, with no questions asked,” Kirby replied.
Turner briefly thought about having Kirby killed. “Do you understand who you are speaking to?”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
Kirby started to sweat. Perhaps I’ve overreached with my bold demands, he thought. He quickly pushed the thought aside. There was too much at stake to turn back now. Kirby knew he was not a good negotiator, but he also knew this would be his only opportunity.
“I know who I’m talking to. And I don’t mean to offend you by saying, ‘no questions asked.’ You’re the CEO of the company and have a right to know everything. But understand when dealing with Alex Luthecker, knowing things can be a liability.”
“Where is he? Where is Alex Luthecker?” Turner interrupted. He was beginning to lose his patience.
“I don’t know,” Kirby replied. Turner moved to speak, but before he could, Kirby quickly added, “But I don’t have to. He’ll reveal himself.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I’ve been tracing his movements. They form a pattern. And I’ve been in contact with his only living relative.”
“His mother.”
“One of them, yes. He has two…”
“I know his history. Do you think he’s going to come out of hiding for her?”
“Possibly. I have his medical records. But more importantly, I know what he wants.”
“And what is that?”
“Change.”
“Change of what?”
“Trajectory.”
“Doctor Kirby, if you do not start answering in specifics this conversation will not end well for you.”
Kirby took a deep breath. He was losing the Coalition Properties CEO for a second time. He felt sweat pouring down his back. Kirby began to realize that more than being a bad negotiator, he was just plain bad with people. He carefully gathered his thoughts before he spoke. If there was a time to be direct, it was now.
“Perhaps I should start with my goals and work backwards from that,” Kirby began. “That might make things easier to understand.”
“Make it quick.”
“I am primarily concerned with one thing: survival of the species.”
“Oh. Your extinction theory.”
“It’s not a theory. It’s a mathematical certainty.
“The valued members of the species will survive.”
“Maybe, but in what manner? Because the state does not exist without the people.”
“There will be enough who survive to service the needs of the upper classes.”
“I don’t agree. There will be chaos. Savage chaos that benefits no one, unless we intervene and steer things in a manner that benefits what you consider the more valued members of the species.”
“What does Alex Luthecker have to do with all of this?”
“If he’s capable of what I think he’s capable of, we need him to step in and use his influence. We need to convince him to save the world on our behalf.”
“The world will be just fine. This isn’t a comic book, doctor.”
“Comic book or not, things are about to come to a savage end, and we need to convince him to help stop it.”
“Why? To what end?
“To set the stage for a glorious future. A rebirth of mankind.”
Turner no longer thought about having Kirby killed. He thought about having Kirby committed to a Coalition asylum. “That sounds just a bit unrealistic,” he finally replied.
“It’s the only way that Coalition Properties stays on top. Has anything to stay on top of.”
“And exactly how does Coalition Properties benefit from your ideas on saving the world?”
“That’s the best part. We part ways with the climate deniers and get in front of the problem. We kill the golden goose.”
“The golden goose?”
“Oil. We reestablish the Coalition as a leader, but not just in weapons and energy, but in world-saving technology. We clean up our image, along with the planet. We do so aggressively. And all the while, we monetize it. We own it all, lock, stock, and empty oil barrel.”
Kirby could see that he finally had Turner’s attention. “Our core businesses do not change. Our core ownership structure does not change. And we patent and make proprietary all the technology necessary to save the world from itself.”
“I’m not going to get rid of our oil interests. That’s ludicrous.”
“I’m not saying get rid of it. I’m saying stop protecting it. Let it die a natural free-market death, and be the leader in what naturally replaces it. And if in the process it starts the world along a path that prevents the next extinction all the better. And you can profit from all of it.”
Turner thought over Kirby’s words.
“The Coalition ends up owning the world, not just now, but in the future. But here’s the important part. This is all your idea. It’s in your head, not mine, a very important distinction when it comes to dealing with Alex Luthecker specifically. Neither of us wants him running around inside our heads. So focus on your goals, monetizing the survival, and I’ll focus on mine, getting him on board. Trust me, and I’ll trust you. Then we both win.”
Turner examined Kirby for several seconds. He thought the man was a bit of a kook, but the Coalition CEO decided to play along with Kirby and see where he was leading.
“So how does Alex Luthecker fit into the Coalition?” Turner asked.
“First, we stop defining him as either an asset or a threat. We stop defining him in any way. More importantly, we stop being afraid of him. We stop thinking about him at all. The Coalition literally stops all efforts to chase him, bring him in, or hunt him down. And I mean that.”
“And then what?”
“I find him and convince him to come in and join us voluntarily. I involve him in the problem I want to solve: saving the planet from certain doom. I put his massive memory capacity and ability to influence others to work—and I am completely, one hundred percent sincere about it.”
“When you say ‘I,’ you really mean the Coalition.”
“No, I mean I.” But I remember who I work for. And you do what you have to, and you keep me out of the loop. See how that works?”
Turner mulled over Kirby’s proposition. “I’m not interested in meeting him,” Turner said.
“You can’t. In fact, no one from Coalition Properties outside of myself should ever deal with him again. And after this meeting, we can never speak again. Not until it’s done, and he’s on our—my team.”
“But— ”
“Say no more, Mr. Turner, for your own safety. Considering whom we’re dealing with here, it’s important that we strictly compartmentalize our thoughts. And it’s important that you understand one more thing: I am one hundred percent sincere in my desire to save the species. And that is my only desire. There is literally nothing else on my mind. I will convey that goal and the sincerity behind it to Alex Luthecker. Because I also believe, without a doubt, that he’s the only one who can help me.”
Turner understood what Kirby had in mind. He had to admit that it was clever. It was also a fool’s errand, but Turner saw no immediate downside. And it might inadvertently lead to Luthecker’s whereabouts, which was information that Turner, despite his reluctance to even recognize Luthecker’s existence, would need in order to keep the problematic soothsayer in check, should the necessity to do so arise.
“Okay, I’ll let you run with this. For now. But I want to know as soon as you make contact with him,” Turner said as he got to his feet.
I’ll have Kirby followed from now on, Turner thought. And he had his own agenda he would pursue.
“Fair enough,” Kirby replied as he got up from his seat.
He was surprised when the Coalition CEO offered his hand. Kirby shook it vigorously, pleased to finally be a respected part of the team. At the very least, he had bought himself a little more time. Kirby had sold an idea to Glen Turner without the Coalition CEO seeing the opportunity he had to play both sides against each other.
It was ironic, because what Kirby was planning would be something that Alex Luthecker could probably see before Kirby spoke a word. Knowing this, Kirby decided he would have to craft his argument with Luthecker differently. It was a challenge Kirby looked forward to. Because only then would Kirby get the recognition he truly deserved.
In Kirby’s mind, only he could save the world. And when it was all over, Luthecker, Glen Turner, the Coalition, indeed the whole world, would finally see what Doctor Mark Kirby was truly capable of.