Penelope had a small cabin to herself now, and for the mont had configured it as an office, with chairs on opposite sides of a large table, and a bare wall ready to display any needed data. She studied the diagram Petra had generated for her, considering connections and possibilities. The situation was not just fluid but turbulent.
"Miss Montpelier, John Throckmorton is approaching your cabin."
"Thank you, Petra." She still wasn't sure what to make of the artificial intelligence. Questioning it about itself tended to give contradictory answers. "Wait until he requests admittance, then open the door for him, please." She stood to greet her fellow billionaire.
"Certainly."
It was only a few more monts until the head of TM Industries paused, then entered her cabin. She steadied herself ntally. "Mr. Throckmorton, thank you for agreeing to et with ."
"Miss Montpelier, thank you for the welco. My genuine condolences for your loss."
Interesting. 'My genuine condolences'? Most would say 'sincere.' Is he trying to say that it isn't just words?
"Thank you, sir. Did you know my grandfather well?"
"No, I'm afraid I didn't have the pleasure."
And that was pro forma.
"Please, have a seat."
"Thank you." They both sat at the sa ti, facing each other. After a mont, the man continued, "If I may, this must be a difficult ti for you, but your grandfather was not one to suffer fools. I am certain that he gave you the skills you will need to cope with the challenges ahead."
Penelope resisted the urge to blink. "Thank you."
Throckmorton took a deep breath. "So. What can I do for you?"
"First of all, thank you for your assistance to Dr. Vickall. Apparently, sothing you said led her to finding the cure for my sickness."
"Oh, you're very welco. It was a passing observation, nothing more. I'm glad to see you are making a recovery."
"Thank you. It seems that I was infected with a genetic weapon that had been aid at one of my birth parents, whoever they are."
The man nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. It could have happened at one of the etings where a lot of us gather. Davos, perhaps."
Penelope smiled thinly. "It would seem that I was not born in a gutter after all. Rather, I'm likely an unacknowledged offspring of so other billionaire."
"And your grandfather had the good sense to take you in. He must have cared for you very much, to send you up here rather than co himself."
That hurt. Grandfather didn't... She stopped the thought ruthlessly. "Thank you."
The two of them regarded each other across the table in silence for a few monts. The man's poker face was not as good as Penelope would have expected. He seed to be having trouble managing his emotions, which did not match what was said in his dossier.
"So," he said finally, "What can TM Industries do for the Montpelier Conglorate?"
To business, then. "As one of the survivors of the purge of the older generation, I am wondering what your position is on the situation, and whether you have any insights to offer a young heiress."
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Throckmorton nodded. "I see." He leaned back in his chair, staring at nothing for a mont before refocusing on her. "The rules for the many have rarely applied to people like us. In centuries past, we would have been royalty, and before that, god-kings and absolute rulers."
He smiled thinly. "We have just discovered that we are not at the top of the pecking order. Many of us will not take that well."
Penelope nodded. "I expect many of those have been marked for assassination. Though it is hard to know exactly what criterion Tomsun and Telnik are applying. Do you think he ans it, when he says, truth, justice, and freedom?"
"I do. He's a rather ordinary young man, though he's gotten an intelligence boost. He's very much a realist, and not squeamish when it cos to the difficult decisions. But underneath, he agonizes over so of them. He's plagued with guilt."
Penelope wondered what Throckmorton's basis was for thinking that. "What will be the long-term effects of this purge?"
The man pursed his lips a mont. "After the Titanic went down, fresh blood among captains of industry led to more innovations. I predict a lot of bad traditions will die off. Now, the next generation will have many of the sa problems as before, but it will take ti for the decay to set in again. Those hungry and ruthless enough will start to muscle in and take over industries again.
"However, the United States won't be as welcoming to excesses as before. You've read the new Constitutional Andnts?"
Penelope nodded. "If those get ratified, it will be a lot harder to buy politicians."
"And a lot less appealing to be a politician," Throckmorton agreed. "In addition, those without scruples who end up in positions of economic power will be at least sowhat restrained due to the threat of more alien intervention. So will bull right ahead, with no thought of consequences, believing that the aliens are gone for good, or that their eventual return will be soone else's problem."
"What if the Andnts get repealed once the aliens leave?"
He shook his head. "It will be difficult to repeal anti-corruption reforms."
"But won't they try to argue that they are invalid because the legislatures were under duress?"
"They'll try. It depends on the new appointees to the Supre Court."
Penelope nodded. "What do you foresee as the main opportunities in the new world order?"
Throckmorton smiled. "The Montpelier Conglorate is well-positioned to expand into mass dia. So is TM Industries. Under the new rules, it won't be possible to gain controlling interests, but I strongly advise grabbing a piece of the pie while things are in flux. If you can tolerate the alien 'censorship', you should be able to get shares cheaply."
"I was considering purchasing shares in EveryoneOnLine."
"Don't restrict yourself so much. I'll be grabbing stakes in as many different dia markets as I can...and I would welco an ally. Soone of like mind on the boards of many different corporations."
"You want to reconstruct the old web of business relationships."
"I do."
Penelope considered. "What would you say is your overarching vision?"
Throckmorton gave a small smile. "I think Truth, Justice and Freedom for All has a nice ring to it."
She arched an eyebrow. "That won't be very profitable."
He shook his head. "It will be. We both know that many of our...predecessors...were focused on market share, even at the cost of decreasing the overall market size. On the galactic scale, that is completely unworkable.
"Earth is small, Penelope. We need to grow larger, not shrink. We need more human beings, not fewer. And we need those humans to be strong, healthy, and well-educated. The portals last year precipitated a shift towards improved education, and we need to accelerate that. We can turn a greater profit with a smaller share of a dramatically larger pie. Instead of billions starving, I want billions of consurs, innovators, builders—custors."
"You believe we are stronger together—a united human race against the galaxy."
"I believe we can be. I've asked Dr. Vickall to make the brain augntation surgery available for eventual distribution to the entire population. She says it might be possible."
"That would definitely help." Penelope tilted her head, regarding the man across from her. "You do not match your dossier, Mr. Throckmorton. Does the brain augntation surgery do that much?"
"No. It turns out, having a healthy brain for the first ti in my life has a much greater impact." His fingertips brushed his right temple for a mont.
Penelope knew there was more he wasn't saying. She had a few intriguing guesses as to what. "You're going to alarm your stockholders."
He smiled thinly. "I'll tell them to be grateful that I wasn't replaced by a teenager. Who knows what kind of crazy reforms such a teenager might push for?"
There was a very long pause. Penelope thought about how the world had always been, and thought about how she would reshape the world, given the opportunity. Arguably, she had that opportunity now. Throckmorton's vision was fraught with peril, but might in the long run be the winning strategy. Finally, she gave a small snort and smiled.
"Who indeed?"
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