Re: Life - Business & Technology

(Comment here for anything you want to see on a new YouTube video about this novel)

A day and a half later, The Longhorn docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Vince gathered contact information from his new acquaintances from E3 and Prime Alliance.

"I can't promise to watch the next Finals in person, but let's all keep in touch. I'll have Marco dispatch a CAV for you guys; unfortunately, the Stingray can't land in residential areas." Vince suggested.

Hailee walked up to Vince for a quick conversation after hugging him.

"When is a good time to see you all again?" Hailee inquired.

"You can swing by whenever you're not busy with work. Your Future Security detail can arrange the flight travel. Are you sure you're okay with me assigning you a security detail? I know it seems a bit much, but I prefer to be thorough." Vince asked sincerely.

"I said it's fine. And those Dragonflies can disable cameras; I'll have them terrorize my daily paparazzi stalkers. They're so annoying all the time." Hailee replied genuinely.

"I'm glad you'll at least gain some amusement from my FS operators. The LA branch will cycle them weekly as they prefer cleaning up the Afghan countryside more than guarding people." Vince stated.

A CAV slowly landed on the pier's access road and was ready to bring the guests back to their respective homes within the city.

The others bade their farewells to Jaden, Alice, Fortis, and the rest of Prime Alliance.

Hailee kissed Vince on the cheek before saying goodbye and entering the waiting AV.

[Well, It's time to get back to work.] So Vince pondered while watching the CAV fly into the city.

The Future Tech executives landed in Austin later the same day, with the usual Stingray pick-up ready and waiting.

Most of the group returned home after arriving at the headquarters on their CAVs, while Vince decided to work the rest of the day.

"Welcome home, Vince. May I get you something to drink or eat?" Aiya said to Vince as he entered the penthouse.

"A cup of coffee would be delightful. And please have Ralph meet with me if he's in the headquarters. Thank you." Vince replied.

"Understood," Aiya replied with a slight bow.

A finely dressed caucasian man in his early 30s wearing a three-piece Future Couture suit arrived at Vince's office after ten minutes.

"Vince, Good to have you back. How was your mini-vacation on the west coast? Ralph asked.

"The E3 announcement seemed like a success thanks to Alexis and Heidi supporting the event from the background. The trip from LA to Vancouver on The Longhorn was quite fun. I suggest you and your family take it for a spin." Vince replied.

"I expected it was a pleasure navigating the Pacific Ocean in The Longhorn, especially considering it cost $600 million. Thanks for the offer. You want to discuss the initial sales numbers for the Infinity Product Line, I presume?" Ralph stated openly.

"That's why you're my Chief Financial Officer; you always know what I need," Vince replied with a chuckle.

"The new consumer product line is only available in the US momentarily because all require an Infinity Cloud account with a NetServ Subscription to operate. As a result, our Sales sub-division estimated a significant decrease in orders, but the flagship products like the Infinity Smartphone, Infinity Console, and the Hypervisor are selling strongly." Ralph explained.

"The first week of sales included 5 million Consoles for $999 each, 25 million Smartphones for $499 each, 1 million Hypervisors for $1,999 each, 500 thousand Workstations for $4,999 each, and a massive order from Amazon for Infinity Servers. In addition, the EU is negotiating a deal to purchase an Infinity Supercomputer for ITER and their fusion research program." Ralph stated from the top of his head.

"The flagship products alone equate to a bit below $22 billion before taxes. That seems like decent sales numbers for the first week. Though I assume more people would test them out if it weren't for the required subscription. I'll have to ask Azuma-san his opinion about a free first-month subscription promo I'm considering to increase our sales volume potentially." Vince replied.

"Vince, I need to discuss a sensitive topic with you. I understand your position in saving all our Bitcoin assets, and Director Dollar has maintained the Bitcash and Bitcoin trading platform well. Still, as a person who works in finance, it's difficult for me to concede why we're just sitting on $375 Billion worth of BTC, at $25,000 each." Ralph explained honestly.

[You won't believe it, but that's not even half of what BTC was worth in 2021. Future Tech is just accelerating its growth.] Vince thought before replying.

"Okay. I'll share an outlandish vision I have for Bitcoin with you and the reason why I prefer hoarding BTC and choosing to promote Bitcash to our users. The US Dollar is not worth anything, and the government can print more, therefore inflating supply in the market. So Director Dollar and I designed and implemented Bitcash as a future replacement for the US Dollar, backed by the value of Bitcoin. Though it may take years or decades before our economy fails due to the government defaulting interest payments for bonds or whatever the suits at Wall Street would do." Vince explained thoroughly.

"Hmm. I see now why I've always thought you were a cunning fellow. You practically set up Future Tech to become the global bank of tomorrow. And I assume you came up with this idea when you purchased Bitcoin Market in 2011. You're a fucking genius, Vince. So even if the US turns to dust tomorrow, we'll still have funds to protect our assets." Ralph replied, amazed.

[Gold isn't the only scarce commodity, and users can't seamlessly send gold digitally to other people.] Vince thought.

"Our traditional profits should be enough for our current rate of expansion. I'm open to selling BTC if required but prefer otherwise. How are the earnings from our other businesses?" Vince asked.

"Thank you for enlightening me about the BTC situation. Everlife is shattering triple-a video game records, last time I checked. The first-day sales record is now 15 million units sold, and we've sold 50 million units after a week." Ralph replied.

[Not bad for a full-priced video game. These stats are more akin to free-to-play mobile games than triple-a games.] Vince pondered.

"Q3 will be rolling over in a few weeks. Has your department projected expenses and gross profit already? Vince asked.

"The majority of Future Tech divisions are still within their 2013 budget limits, except for newer ventures like FT Maritime in Houston and the fusion energy research program. As a result, the accounting department will set aside a portion from our recent profits for funding, leaving $10 billion as liquid cash freely to use." Ralph replied.

"Alright. Thanks for meeting me in the middle of the day." Vince said in gratitude.

"It's my pleasure. I just remembered Heidi and Morgan needed to speak with you." Ralph replied before leaving.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Swiss Alps, a man wearing a lab coat entered a lavish office furnished with high-end hardware tools.

"Enigma, my team has partially re-engineered the first generation Future Tech electronic devices. Our version performs 25% less than the original but is still faster than current Intel and AMD processors. We've also progressed in replicating the military spec AV turbofan engines from Koenigsegg. But, any fuel mix we use burns much faster than what the US Military AVs consume during operation." the Anarchy researcher explained.

"You've done good work, considering it has only been a year since the first-gen products were released. How about the status of our other current projects?" Enigma inquired.

"Lee's ballistic missile system development is almost complete, though manufacturing specific components will be difficult. Our cover organization, called Lazarus Group, gained notoriety in East Asia and is now in contact with Russian GRU cells, which are interested in paying for the group's hacking services. Something about disabling the power grid in South Ukraine." the lackey replied.

"Alright. I'll deliberate on a course of action our little Lazarus Group should take. Update me on your progress daily. Dismissed." Enigma stated.

[Anarchy needs more time researching and developing the new Future Tech products like their fuel mix and advancing our  AI manufacturing. I guess a distraction is required. Maybe Sarin Gas or cyber-intrusion, or perhaps even both.] Enigma pondered with a villainous smile on his face.

Stats last time checked:

Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion

15 million BTC (currently trades at $25,000)

$18 Billion cash in Future Tech

105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, SpaceX)

20,000+ operators under Future Security

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner, The Longhorn

Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E)

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram, Twitch)