Perfectible Animals: A Post Apocalyptic Technothriller (EidoGenesis Book 1) by Thomas Norwood
Authors: Thomas Norwood
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convince Klaus, it’s Jan.”
“Whose opinion does Klaus respect most, Michael?” Roland, one of the CEOs, asked. “If we can convince that person, we might be able to get them to convince Klaus.”
“Anthony Simons. Unfortunately, Anthony is against our project. He thinks it’s never going to make money.”
“Who else is there?”
“Zhao, the treasurer. If we could convince Zhao then he might put pressure on Klaus. Zhao’s a numbers man.”
“Well, let’s talk dollars and cents to him then,” Frank said.
After the meeting was over, I came out of my office and into the living room.
Annie was sitting watching something on her visual overlay, and she didn’t look up at me. For the last few days she had been acting strangely, and I wanted to ask her what was wrong but knew that when she got into one of her moods it was usually best to wait until it had passed.
“Well, things are looking promising,” I said.
Annie looked up at me. “In what way?” she said, although there was a lack of interest in her voice.
“They’re interested in investing. Although they want to take a controlling share.”
“That’s great,” Annie said, and went back to her reading.
I was almost going to say something, but the last thing we needed was an argument, so I went into the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea.
“Would you like a drink?” I called to Annie.
“No thanks,” she called back, her tone still flat.
Over the next several months there were many meetings behind closed doors. Jan Peters, Gendigm’s representative, working for a dummy corporation called HGM industries, met first with Zhao, then with Klaus, then with a few other key figures on the Geneus board. More than a financial decision, or even a power struggle, it was a psychological and emotional attachment to the company that was making Klaus’s decision to let go difficult.
Letting go of Geneus would essentially mean the end of his life’s work and the beginning of the end of his life itself. Klaus was still strong and fit for nearly eighty, and the idea of letting go of the one thing he’d spent his life working on, that had given him meaning, purpose and drive all these years, was, understandably, a step he was finding it difficult to take. He was also a control freak, as most people in positions of power were, and he felt he had been manipulated into this decision, rather than coming to it by himself, which he wasn’t happy about either.
Anthony was still completely against the takeover, suspecting, rightfully, that if it happened he would never become CEO of the company and that he might even find himself without a job. The other board members were split, but in the end it would come down to Klaus’s decision anyway.
One day a meeting was called and I hoped the decision was all but made.
Jan came into the room and shook hands with everyone.
“Okay everyone,” Klaus said, “Jan’s here to present the details of HGM’s final offer.”
Jan took his position at the front of the room. He wiped his lips and stared at us all for a moment, as if considering. “Thanks Klaus, and thank you everybody for your time here today. As you know, HGM industries is interested in purchasing a fifty-one percent controlling share in Geneus. We believe, as do a number of you, that Geneus is indeed on the verge of genius and that with some good investment we can bring to fruition all that you here, especially Klaus, Michael, and Masanori, have been working on for the last three years.
“You already know the technical details of the project, so I won’t go into those again, but I would like to share with you our vision for the future of Geneus and give you some projected figures. I would also like to inform you of the changes that we would make to the company structure and the positions, salaries, and bonuses that you and the rest of the Geneus employees would be provided with were this takeover to go
“Whose opinion does Klaus respect most, Michael?” Roland, one of the CEOs, asked. “If we can convince that person, we might be able to get them to convince Klaus.”
“Anthony Simons. Unfortunately, Anthony is against our project. He thinks it’s never going to make money.”
“Who else is there?”
“Zhao, the treasurer. If we could convince Zhao then he might put pressure on Klaus. Zhao’s a numbers man.”
“Well, let’s talk dollars and cents to him then,” Frank said.
After the meeting was over, I came out of my office and into the living room.
Annie was sitting watching something on her visual overlay, and she didn’t look up at me. For the last few days she had been acting strangely, and I wanted to ask her what was wrong but knew that when she got into one of her moods it was usually best to wait until it had passed.
“Well, things are looking promising,” I said.
Annie looked up at me. “In what way?” she said, although there was a lack of interest in her voice.
“They’re interested in investing. Although they want to take a controlling share.”
“That’s great,” Annie said, and went back to her reading.
I was almost going to say something, but the last thing we needed was an argument, so I went into the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea.
“Would you like a drink?” I called to Annie.
“No thanks,” she called back, her tone still flat.
Over the next several months there were many meetings behind closed doors. Jan Peters, Gendigm’s representative, working for a dummy corporation called HGM industries, met first with Zhao, then with Klaus, then with a few other key figures on the Geneus board. More than a financial decision, or even a power struggle, it was a psychological and emotional attachment to the company that was making Klaus’s decision to let go difficult.
Letting go of Geneus would essentially mean the end of his life’s work and the beginning of the end of his life itself. Klaus was still strong and fit for nearly eighty, and the idea of letting go of the one thing he’d spent his life working on, that had given him meaning, purpose and drive all these years, was, understandably, a step he was finding it difficult to take. He was also a control freak, as most people in positions of power were, and he felt he had been manipulated into this decision, rather than coming to it by himself, which he wasn’t happy about either.
Anthony was still completely against the takeover, suspecting, rightfully, that if it happened he would never become CEO of the company and that he might even find himself without a job. The other board members were split, but in the end it would come down to Klaus’s decision anyway.
One day a meeting was called and I hoped the decision was all but made.
Jan came into the room and shook hands with everyone.
“Okay everyone,” Klaus said, “Jan’s here to present the details of HGM’s final offer.”
Jan took his position at the front of the room. He wiped his lips and stared at us all for a moment, as if considering. “Thanks Klaus, and thank you everybody for your time here today. As you know, HGM industries is interested in purchasing a fifty-one percent controlling share in Geneus. We believe, as do a number of you, that Geneus is indeed on the verge of genius and that with some good investment we can bring to fruition all that you here, especially Klaus, Michael, and Masanori, have been working on for the last three years.
“You already know the technical details of the project, so I won’t go into those again, but I would like to share with you our vision for the future of Geneus and give you some projected figures. I would also like to inform you of the changes that we would make to the company structure and the positions, salaries, and bonuses that you and the rest of the Geneus employees would be provided with were this takeover to go
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