Hearing the name Aric creased his eyebrows. Mira had been updating him on the internet news around the world, and he had a good idea of who this person was. He was the CEO of Google. It was early 2008, and Google had just narrowly avoided filing for bankruptcy.
Yes, Mira had told him about this and how Google’s ad revenue had been declining for the past couple of years due to its refusal to use cookie-based web tracking. It was only in 2007 that it bought DoubleClick for $3.1 billion and upped its game.
Aric had been expecting calls from major companies worldwide ever since he launched his product on the internet. Thanks to Mira, he had been able to target people who were in dire need of this product. Mira couldn’t perform any illegal activities like hacking, but that didn’t mean there weren’t grey areas to exploit. By utilizing these, Mira was able to push the product to its desired target, and today, finally, there was a result.
"... I hope I’m calling the right number." Aric could hear the distinct American accent. Honestly speaking, Aric had been expecting someone to contact him eventually, but a call from the current CEO? For some reason, he wasn’t flustered at all.
"Yes, Aric speaking."
"Ah... I’m glad I got the correct number. We’ve come across your product, and I’d like to discuss acquiring your work. Would it be okay if we could talk face to face and be more open about the product?"
"That will depend on your sincerity. And yes, I’m open to a formal meeting," Aric replied.
"Uh-huh... Okay. I’ll take the next immediate flight to Mumbai. My email is ^&&&($#$#(@gmail.com. Let’s communicate more after I arrive. How about it?" Eric asked.
"No complaints there," Aric replied.
"See ya."
"See ya."
"..."
"That was quite formal. You almost sounded like you own Google, not him," Mira said after the call was disconnected.
"We both know he doesn’t own Google," Aric replied.
"Yes, but he could own multiples of you within seconds," Mira said.
"One shot from a plasma pistol, and he’d be dead, and nobody would ever pin it on me," Aric smirked.
"If you bring cannons to an archery war, I can’t do anything," Mira said.
"Look who’s talking," Aric rebutted. It seemed like Aric was always at odds with Mira, but what Mira was doing was helping Aric open up more emotionally. Being an AI, she had gone through a lot of psychology books, and from the looks of it, the life Aric was leading on Earth wasn’t healthy at all. Thus, she had been teasing and taunting him. Of course, she would stop if Aric asked her to, as he was the boss, but Aric never seemed to be bothered by it and would stoop to the same level as the AI.
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While Aric was busy arguing with Mira, something else was happening on the other side of the planet. The call had arrived in the evening for Aric, so it was quite early in California, US. The call actually came from a conference room where Eric was present along with some of the major shareholders of the company.
At this point, some of them didn’t have very happy and gratified faces.
"How does someone who hasn’t even graduated from university make such a groundbreaking product? And how come he has the audacity to speak like that to us? Wasn’t he taught manners?" one of the shareholders said.
"I thought Indians were known to have manners and follow the rules. What’s up with this naughty teenager?" another shareholder said.
"Probably teenage hormones. Are you sure he recognized you, Eric?" another shareholder asked.
"I’m 100% positive he recognized me. In fact, from what the analysts told me, I’m sure he’s as confident as he was on the call. From what I hear, the technology is way ahead and would reduce our costs significantly by at least millions a year, if not billions. And that’s me being conservative about it," Eric said.
"Hahaha. Do your analysts psychoanalyze from one product? You know, Eric, that’s just pseudoscience," one of the silent shareholders said.
"Gentlemen, I know most of you look down on the kid who just popped up out of nowhere. But let me assure you, the product is groundbreaking. I’ve personally asked the best software engineers and even some ethical hackers to reverse-engineer the product, and they couldn’t even pass the first stage. According to them, software can’t process data that fast—at least not with the current hardware we have. Their rough estimate is that we might reach the desired level in the next 20 years, but not before. And we’re not the only ones alerted by the product. Adobe also has its eyes on it, and from the grapevines I hear, even Apple is interested in it. We already know that Apple is funded by the military, just like us, so this product is pretty astonishing to catch their eyes. We need to play our cards," Eric said, unbothered by the formal air in the conversation regarding someone Aric’s age.
For what it was worth, it made him more certain that Aric wasn’t someone to be fooled. Truth be told, he didn’t like these shareholders at all. But major decisions would always need the approval of these men who acted like they knew all but in fact knew jack about Google.
All they cared about was the money and the power Google gave them. He was unhappy with them, but there was nothing he could do about it. Grit his teeth and carry on with what he considered the right path for the world-renowned search engine.
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