The meeting was relaxed. Those attending the weekly, unofficial brainstorming session held at Tesladyne headquarters were secure enough in their positions to be able to strategize freely and were encouraged to bring forth novel strategies for their peers to tear apart. It was 'unofficial' due to the mix of people in the room. The tangle of control and ownership between Tesladyne, Teslatech, Technodyne, TechIndustries, and a dozen other companies was an ever-changing matrix where money, resources, and even personnel flowed as needed. Technically separate companies, they were in essence a colony of ants with many queens living in the same anthill, and Queen Tesladyne at the top.

  There were a few unwritten rules: Don't show up uninvited if you want to keep your job. What happens during brainstorming stays in the room. One department will take the project, and everyone else comes down with a case of amnesia. If something is important enough that it requires immediate action, the topic is shifted to the Tesladyne Board for formal discussion. Normally, the acquisition of a small plumbing firm wouldn't even be brought up. But Arthur McCready had seen something that needed to be discussed further.

  "We need to shift strategies about acquiring the Fusion Care technology." Several people stopped talking as Arthur walked to the front of the room. "I would like to open the topic of the connections between the Claw Master corporation and Manpower, and their respective CEOs, the elusive Mr. Milo Babbage and Belinda Siemovich."

  "I heard something about that. The Clogeater buyout? What happened?"

  Arthur put up a photo of Belinda Siemovich on the screen. She looked like a teenager, smiling and eating a sandwich that would have satisfied Dagwood Bumstead. "This young lady showed up unexpectedly at the meeting, acting in the capacity of the representative of Claw Master. Don't let the cute little girl look confuse you. She was in control of the situation and produced previously unknown agreements between Claw Master and Williamson Plumbing. The meeting went well after those revelations, and we only had to throw Dick to the wolves. And frankly, that was his own fault for losing control and not being able to reassess the situation. But you can see how I might have questions and concerns."

  Many heads nodded, and speculations were voiced, with one person after another adding their thoughts.

  "I can see that, Arthur, and it's intriguing. Claw Master and Babbage came out of nowhere only a couple of years ago and have made several small waves, the latest being their entry into electrical distribution. He's a ghost as far as any background, schooling, or history anywhere. We don't even have good pictures of him. This isn't totally unheard of. People have reinvented themselves before, changing names and faces. But a lot is going on with him that is strange."

  "It's the Siemovich girl that I'm interested in. There is a lot of history to her family. They've changed with each generation. Organized crime to an Importation Empire, then Biotech, and now Virtual Reality Staffing. But that doesn't mean they leave behind all the old baggage. They always keep the good people, and the right connections. I'm happy that Victor is out of play, and it seems that the new heir put him in that box. That girl has a lot of money, and she has some connection to Babbage beyond just renting part of the habitat he has taken control of."

  "A merger of some sort? Or is she working for them? She's on record now as one of their lawyers, but that doesn't feel right."

  "There's more to this as well. She's deeply involved in the Genesis game, who also have offices in that habitat and employs Manpower to care for the bulk of the Contract Workers in the game. And Claw Master debuted at her gaming event with their first product. This goes back further."

  "And, somehow, has links to Rhebus now. Same habitat, working with Manpower, Clawmaster, and Genesis."

  "I don't know. I see that as a response to an opportunity to get their hands on the Claw Master tech and an endless supply of guinea pigs to test things on. Rent in that habitat is next to nothing, and they have a controlled environment to do their work. Rhebus has always been secretive, and all of their laboratories have state-of-the-art security. This allows them to take things to an entirely new level."

  "Either way, they're involved now and linked to the rest. But does it matter? I don't see a threat to us. The deal Arthur secured got us what we wanted at minimal cost."

  "Cost is one factor, but control is another. I'm seeing a group of corporations forming a block, and one that we may have to deal with ten or twenty years down the line. At what point do we decide they are a threat, or an asset we need to acquire?"

  "Could buy them out now? They aren't publicly traded, but everyone has a price.

  "Doubtful. The Siemovich girl alone has the assets needed to negate most any form of pressure we can bring to bear. Rhebus has built up a lot of goodwill with the public, and has favors owed to them from many governments. No one wants to upset them and then not have their response teams show up to the next disaster. They are bulletproof right now, and frankly, doing good work cleaning up the messes everyone else makes. I don't see an upside to pissing them off with an attempted takeover."

  "But that's just it. We could be reaping the benefits if we owned them."

  There was a moment of silence, then polite laughter from several people. "Really, James, do you foresee our accountants ever being willing to put out money for the public good? Even if we acquired Rhebus, we'd ruin it overnight. They take a lot of chances and throw a lot of money in the wind. If their medical breakthroughs weren't so profitable, they'd be bankrupt operating as they do."

  James shrugged, and Arthur decided to get involved. "It's all well and good to talk about what we can see, but what urged me to bring this topic to the group is what we can't see. What events and plans led to this alignment of people? I don't believe in coincidences, no matter what things are made to look like."

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  "A good point, Arthur. Let's start over and assume there is a grand plan being put into play. Who initiated it? Babbage is an unknown. He could be anyone, or no one. But Belinda Siemovich comes from old money and a family that has built an empire before, and changed their colors like a chameleon as needed. I think it starts with her."

  "How early? She hasn't had the freedom to do much of anything until lately. If what we know of her medical conditions are to be believed."

  "Put someone in a cage, and they fight to get out. I suspect around fourteen she started testing the bars, most likely goaded by her great-uncle, Victor. They begin plotting to free her from her stepfather's control, and Belinda secretly plotted to free herself from Victor. We can easily see the endgame of that planning: Victor will die in prison. Victor pushed to have Manpower set up in that habitat, knowing it's the easiest country where he can seek asylum if needed. He had deals ready to go with US DOJ. To go legit, he needed to make a break from his criminal past. He hides his money, cuts deals, collapses his criminal empire, and flees to the US, where he can begin building a legitimate business with Belinda, soon to have her fortune. And I'd wager there were already deals under the table for the formation of Claw Master, and for Rhebus to move their headquarters."

  "Have we considered that Claw Master is a shell for Rhebus? They want to keep their squeaky clean 'not for profit' image. Creating Claw Master would let them patent and market inventions adjacent to their medical business." Heads nodded. It was an old trick, and a successful one. Certainly, Tesladyne had used it many times.

  "So, that simplifies things down to Rhebus and Siemovich, and the link is obvious. Her parents were pioneers in medical and biotechnical advances for a decade. Just what her mother did after Vigo's death was breathtaking, what we know of it. If only she'd lived longer. There were fortunes to be made in her technology."

  "Dear god, I NO! I'm worried you were going to say her name and summon her, like some demon from hell. She outright destroyed a dozen corporations and thousands of careers. Anyone connected to Vigo, or who had crossed her family, went down as she consolidated her fortune. If you ever had to talk to her, you'd know. That's a devil we don't want to deal with again."

  Arthur thought for a moment and said, "We need to be careful then. I watched her daughter destroy Dick. It was done so quickly. She had everyone in the room hanging on every word, and no one had doubts about what she said. She has drive and isn't afraid to use her leverage. The more I think about it, the more I'm certain she is the driving force behind these things coming together."

  "What did she have to offer Rhebus, though? They don't need money. They could build a secure headquarters anywhere."

  There was a low cough from the corner of the room where an old man was napping. The room went silent. A nurse pulled back the blanket, folding it on his lap, and another adjusted the pillows that were holding his frail body in place. He snapped his fingers, and a cup of tea appeared. Everyone waited as he took three precise sips and handed the tea back to the nurse. Master Aaron didn't speak much, but when he chose to take part in a conversation, they listened. He was the great-grandfather of the current CEO of Tesladyne and had over a hundred years with the company. Anyone looking at him would guess his age at over one hundred, not knowing it was closer to double that. The very best medical care might even keep him alive for another century if his mind stayed firm.

  "She gave them her father's research library. Isn't it obvious? Or do none of you know the sordid tale of the Frankensteinian experiments conducted by Vigo's family and a treasure trove of knowledge that stretches back to Nazi Germany? It's real, and there is evidence that Belinda Siemovich has it. There are three doctors hidden away in a private prison. They were unsuccessful in buying their way out with the knowledge of the library's existence. Some sins are unforgivable. Such as trying to stuff a Siemovich into a capsule and keep her as a bargaining chip. Now, Rhebus has that treasure trove, and she owns them."

  People were quiet, waiting for him to go on.

  "The girl is building something, and I, for one, want to see what she does. Fifteen of the last twenty-five major advances in medical technology came out of Rhebus. I want to see what they do next. Maybe it's because I'm closer to leaving this mortal coil than the rest of you, but I want to know how far their advances in cloning can go."

  Arthur waited a full minute, then asked politely. "And your advice on dealing with them?"

  "The obvious. We wait and see what they can do. Make small alliances. Do business so they are familiar with us. Try to infiltrate them and observe. Watch their every move. She's collecting geniuses and putting them under one roof, disguising her advances as video games and plumbing aids. You'll do the same thing you just did, Arthur: You buy from them. Become their best customer. Buy the rights to market their inventions. And you damn well don't do something to piss off Belinda Siemovich. Whoever said her mother was a demon underestimates what that woman could do. Vigo was Satan personified, and his wife became far worse after his 'accidental death'. No, don't ask. Twenty generations back, the Siemovich were Russian warlords who put their enemies' heads on pikes. I don't mind dealing with such people; they get things done. And one other thing, Arthur?"

  "Yessir?"

  "There are rumors that Rhebus is working on full-body cloning. Can you comprehend the value of that, Arthur? Can any of you young people with good legs and kidneys understand what old men like me would pay to be young again? Play nice with Belinda Siemovich. Or there will be heads on poles at Tesladyne. Now go, I need another nap. Keep me apprised, Arthur."

  The top minds of Tesladyne quietly left the room, reminding themselves that they knew nothing, had heard nothing, and would say nothing.