FTM

“Oh dear.” Francis Tolliver stared at the document in front of him for several long seconds before looking up at the rather excited scientist in front of him. “Are you absolutely certain?”

Dr. John Coppers nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. No question about it.”

“Oh dear.” Francis shook his head in consternation. “Oh dear, oh dear.”

The grin on Dr. Copper’s face faded without entirely disappearing. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t suppose you’ve got any more tests that you could run before we pass this on up the chain?”

“What? No. It’s been tested. It works. It works perfectly.”

“I see.” Francis shook his head again. “How unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?” Dr. Coppers blinked. “It’s an innovation of epic proportions! Faster than light communication on an interstellar level!”

“Yes, it’s very impressive.” Francis replied.

Faster than light communication had been achieved long ago, but for reasons Francis Tolliver couldn’t begin to understand, and had no interest in learning, it didn’t work between solar systems.

“Impressive? It’s paradigm changing. Cheap communication with the other solar systems will revolutionize everything. We’re standing on the precipice of enormous change!”

“Yes, well, that’s just it, you see.” Francis answered, his voice betraying a hint of embarrassment. “Change. That’s the key word. This will change everything.”

“Right.”

Francis sighed. It was always a bit of an ordeal, talking to the scientists and engineers in his department. Francis had no illusions regarding his own intellect. He’d never thought of himself as particularly brilliant, and having spent nearly two decades with this job had given him a very clear picture of how much of a genius he was not. It often strained his capacity just to figure out what some of the projects in his department were actually all about.

But for all their brilliance, the innovators and thinkers in his department lacked a certain understanding. That was why Francis worked with them. His job centered around cost-benefit analysis, and determining which of the projects dreamed up by the men around him should be sent to his superiors for approval and mass production.

“Dr. Coppers.” Francis paused, trying to think of the best approach. “The company we work for is run by a group of men. Our board of directors, yes?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know what all of these men have in common?”

The doctor stared at Francis with a bewildered expression.

“They’re all very wealthy. They’re very powerful men who own companies, and have gigantic bank accounts.”

“I suppose so,” the doctor agreed, still not certain where this was going.

“Right. Now, how do you suppose men like that feel about ‘paradigm altering’ events?”

“I’d imagine that they’re just fine with them, as long as they can make money off of them.”

Francis shook his head. “No, no. Look, it’s like a gigantic game of king of the hill, you see. The people on the bottom of the hill, they like change, it gives them a chance to move up. The people at the top of the hill, they don’t like change, because it gives them a chance to move down. Even when the change is the hill getting bigger, they don’t like it. They’d rather be at the top of a smaller hill, than halfway down a larger hill. You see what I’m saying?”

“But, the possibilities . . .”

Clearly, the doctor did not see what he was saying. Francis leaned back in his chair, ignoring the didactic ramblings of the good doctor. Francis needed to find a way to explain the situation, some way of forcing a man who always thought in the long term, and in terms of the big picture, to see the world through the eyes of a complete jerk.

“. . . and that doesn’t even touch on the economic changes.” Dr. Coppers continued.

“Economic changes.” Tolliver repeated. “That’s perfect. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Pardon?”

“Look, you invented a device that communicates faster than light, and that is a wonderful thing. That is a useful thing. That is a world changing device, and something you should be very, very proud of. The thing is, it isn’t just faster than light, it’s faster than money.”

“Faster than money?”

Francis nodded vigorously. “Oh yes, faster than money. You see, money isn’t a thing, it’s a concept. Right?”

“Oh yes. It’s a system of value based upon an agreed delusion, essentially.” The doctor began.

“Right!” Tolliver interrupted before the man could really take off. “It’s a shared delusion. An idea. Person A gives Person B an object, and Person B gives Person A the money that represents the agreed upon value of the object. Then, person A can spend that money on another object. The money is simply a way of storing value without having an object to store it in, so to speak. Now, what happens when Person A lives a hundred lightyears from Person B? I mean, Person A has to send the item first, then Person B, or rather Person B’s grandchildren take possession of the object and send money to Person A’s great, great grandchildren. The problem, of course, is that during the entire course of transit, the object and the value that object represents, are removed from the economy. Money ceases to exist while both people wait for it to get where it’s going.”

“And that time will disappear with the . . .”

Tolliver held up a hand, stopping the scientist mid-thought. “Just a moment more, if you please. The thing is, people, and by people I mean the kind of people we work for, they don’t like waiting, so they created a secondary kind of money, if money is simply an idea, then this is the concept of an idea. Exchangeable futures on money, you see. A system that allows them to spend money that they expect to receive. Quite a unique idea, and a very difficult thing for the government to regulate. Now, having existed for several hundred years, this secondary money, and the complexities it represents, have become deeply entrenched in the way businesses work. In fact, many millions of transactions are based around the exchange of concepts of ideas. Untaxed exchanges which represent future agreements that will probably be re-exchanged at some future date, but long before the actual money re-enters the system. It’s the way things work, and it’s the way that the people we work for make more money than you and I will ever see in our lifetimes. You see what I’m getting at?”

The two men stared at each other for a very long time.

***

“Mr. Tolliver?”

Francis looked up from his desk. The man in his doorway was wearing a very expensive suit. It cost more than Francis’ house.

“Sir?” Francis stood up, extending a hand.

The man ignored the hand, but smiled far too widely as he entered the room.

“Mr. Tolliver, I’m from the home office. Mr. Grey sent me.”

“Of course.” Tolliver lowered his hand, but remained standing. “How may I help you?”

“Mr. Grey had some questions regarding a project that came across his desk recently. Something from your office.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“Some sort of communication system.”

“Communication system.” Francis shook his head. “Sorry, I have a great many projects come across my desk, I don’t remember all of them.”

“Any chance you might have it on file?” The man asked, his smile diminishing from a shark-like expression to something rather more human.

“I could check, but with my filing system,” he indicated the piles of paper sitting on and around the filing cabinets. “It’s no telling how long it would take.”

“I see.” The man paused. “By the by, Mr. Grey is moving a few men from your department to another system. Dr. Coppers and some of the people under him.”

“That would explain why they didn’t show up today.” Tolliver answered with a nod.

“Yes, yes it would. Is that a problem?”

“Why would it be?” Tolliver asked, a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

The man in black nodded, relief washing over his face. “Well, Mr. Grey will be pleased that you understand.”

The man in black extended a hand, which Francis shook briefly.

The man in black left.

Francis sat down, shaking his head. It was a shame, really, the doctor had seemed like such a nice man.