Chapter 2

Giving visible evidence of the nervousness he felt, Chuck Norton shifted from leg to leg in a slow motion version of the pee-pee dance. He had been called to the office of the Vice President of Research and Development without warning or explanation. There was no way that was a good thing. The woman had a reputation for not suffering fools lightly. He could not think of any reason for him to be there, and that made him worried.

He looked around at the office. The carpet was thicker than the carpet at his home. The solid wood furniture looked expensive. Two very large monitors occupied her desk; one on each side of it. He knew that they were connected to a single very powerful computer that was hidden inside the desk. He knew that only because he had been given the work order to install them. He wished he had a work order to justify this visit.

Melinda looked down at the report she was reading and then back up at Chuck. She frowned trying to make sense of what she had read. Finally, she asked, “Superglue?”

“What?” Chuck asked unaware of what she was talking about.

“You were supposed to replace a computer yesterday,” Melinda answered. In light of what Jack had told her about being nice to Mike, she had attempted to upgrade his antiquated computer system. Everyone enjoyed getting a more powerful machine and she was sure that he would appreciate the gesture.

“Oh, that,” Chuck said relaxing now that he understood what this meeting was about. He pulled on his ear lobe and then added, “Yeah. We couldn’t remove the monitor, the lamp, or the mouse. All three of them were super glued to the desk.”

“Why would he do that?” Melinda asked not expecting to get an answer.

“I don’t know, ma’am. He glued the desk in place, too.”

“His desk?” Melinda asked incredulous that anyone would super glue their desk in place.

“Yes, ma’am,” Chuck answered unable to keep from chuckling based on the shocked expression on her face. He had told the story around the break room and everyone else thought it was pretty funny.

“What kind of madman super glues his desk to the floor?” Melinda asked.

Despite knowing that it was a rhetorical question, Chuck answered, “Someone who doesn’t want their desk moved.”

Melinda asked, “Did you replace his computer?”

“No ma’am,” Chuck answered.

“Why not?”

Chuck had not told anyone what he had discovered when he opened the antique case. The inside of the case had been packed with sixty-four of the smallest CPU cards that he had ever seen. There was a lot of computing power packed into one place. He answered, “His computer was better than the one I would have replaced it with.”

“That old crate?” Melinda asked wondering if Mike had somehow brainwashed Chuck into that strange mindset of his where he believed that old equipment was better than new equipment.

“All you saw was the outside. I looked inside the case. That old crate contained the most advanced computer hardware I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure that I even understand how it works,” Chuck answered.

“Where did he get it from?” Melinda mused aloud.

“He might have gotten it from Steve Connor,” Chuck answered.

“Steve O’Connor?” Melinda asked wanting to make sure that he hadn’t dropped an ‘O’ from the front of the name.

“Steve Connor. He works in the robotics division over in manufacturing,” Chuck answered.

“Okay.” She jotted the name down on a notepad.

“Now that guy is a real squirrel,” Chuck said shaking his head.

“What do you mean?” Melinda asked.

“No one goes in his lab. Rumor has it that he has the entire place booby-trapped. Considering what he can do with a robot, everyone is convinced that entering his lab would be like walking into Terminator Land,” Chuck said.

“Why would they think that?” Melinda asked. She knew how rumors like that could spread.

“When you walk up to the door, a robotic voice tells you to leave or face dire consequences up to and including death. The freaky thing is that it addresses you by name,” Chuck answered.

“I wonder why they haven’t fired him,” Melinda said.

Chuck replied, “The guy is real good. Seventy percent of the robots we use in the automated manufacturing facilities run on software that he’s written. I’ve heard that he has over two hundred patents.”

“I wonder why I’ve never heard of him,” Melinda said thoughtfully. If he was that good with robots, then he should be working in her autonomous vehicle area. The Bird-4 project was way behind on the guidance software side of things.

“I don’t know,” Chuck answered.

After having spent three hours reading about Steve Connor, Melinda stopped by Dale Long’s office. Sticking her head in the door, she said, “Dale, I just learned that you have a guy in your division that I might need for a year or so.”

“Who?” Dale asked looking over at the attractive woman.

“Some guy by the name of Steve Connor,” Melinda answered.

“You can’t have him,” Dale answered automatically.

“Why not?” Melinda asked despite knowing that Dale would be a fool to let him go. Steve was a real producer. She had also read the personnel file which wasn’t quite so complimentary of him.

Dale answered, “He’s a money making machine for my division. There is no way that I’ll let him go.”

“I really need him for a black project,” Melinda replied. She knew that a project like that could often command considerable leverage in getting people permanently reassigned.

Dale sat back in his chair. He knew that he didn’t want to get into a pissing contest with Melinda. Odds were good that he would lose; particularly if a black project was at stake. Those kinds of projects often translated into billions of dollars of revenue over decades. No one would let a petty turf war risk that kind of money.

After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that he didn’t have to do anything. One conversation with Steve would convince her to leave him alone. He said, “Go talk to him and see if he’ll work for you.”

“Thanks,” Melinda said leaving as soon as the word was out of her mouth.

Dale chuckled once she was gone. Turning back to his work, he said, “She won’t be thanking me when she gets back.”

Melinda turned the corner of the brightly lit hallway and came to a stop. The hallway was so brightly lit that it almost hurt the eyes. The walls were a sterile bright white with a single door at the end of the hallway on the left side. The floor was white with a red line drawn across it and the message ‘Do not enter’ was written above the line. She stared at the line realizing that it was being projected on the floor by a laser. She looked around to spot the laser and noticed that there were a dozen cameras aimed at her. She took two steps to the side. The nearest cameras tracked her movement.

She stepped across the line. The message moved to five feet in front of her and changed to read, ‘Turn back now.’ She muttered, “Nice theatrics.”

Although the hallway was only thirty yards in length, it seemed longer to her. The cameras swiveled to track her progress. Despite expecting it, chills ran down her spine while she walked down the hallway. The cameras made an ominous whir when they turned. She didn’t realize just how intimidating it was to be watched by a dozen cameras like that. She almost stumbled when the message on the floor changed to read, ‘Death awaits you.’

She reached the door at the end of the hallway and stared at the red lettering that had appeared over it. It read, ‘No gurlz aloud.’ She said, “You could have spelled it correctly.”

The sign changed to read, ‘Abandon all hope.’ A metallic voice came from a speaker by the door, “You have been warned, Doctor Melinda Davis, Vice President of Research and Development. Leave now or face dire consequences.”

Despite being half tempted to run, she reached out to open the door. It was at that moment when she realized the door didn’t have a doorknob. She pushed the door, but it didn’t open. Glaring at the speaker, she said, “Very funny. Let me in.”

“Say the magic word.”

Melinda stared at the speaker for a moment unable to believe what she had heard. There was no way that it was a program on the other end. She bit her lip to keep from saying something that she might regret. She forced the word from her mouth, “Please.”

The door slid open making a sound straight out of a science fiction show. She mumbled, “Someone has watched too much Space Trek.”

The speaker announced, “You are now entering a sexual harassment zone. You have been duly warned.”

“Very funny.” Rolling her eyes, she entered a small room about the size of a closet and heard the door slide to a close behind her. A sick feeling of being trapped rose when the lights in the room started to fade. She started feeling dizzy when they went out entirely. There was the sound of a door sliding open. She looked into the dimly lit room beyond the door. All of the light in the room came from images projected on every square inch of the walls.

“You are a pretty one now, aren’t you? Too bad my cousin has already claimed you for a wife or I’d be asking you to shimmy out of those clothes and spread out on that table over there.”

“What? Who?” Melinda asked stunned by the statement. She looked around for the source of the voice before spotting a man who looked a lot like Clint Eastwood seated in a chair.

“Cousin Mike told me that he is going to marry you,” Steve answered.

“Mike who?” Melinda asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Only one other man in the company dared make those kinds of vulgar statements to her.

“Mike O’Connor,” Steve answered.

“He’s delusional. We aren’t getting married,” Melinda said clenching her hands into fists.