The condition was simple. No deception, no lies, no backstabbing. If they wanted me to trust them, they had to be honest.
We had a lawyer look over the terms of the contract, and then signed it. For some reason, Ling Corporation and a few companies wanted Shen Industries' help in making media and entertainment products. I wasn't sure about diversifying, but whatever. They promised us a lion's share of the profits as mentioned earlier, but I still wasn't very certain about this.
"What do you think?" I asked my vice-president, William Wang. He shrugged.
"If you're asking me, I say we should go for it."
"Okay. Any particular reason why?"
"It makes us money. And it's media. That means we have a chance to publicize our image. And you can garner more interest and support from people regarding your sci-fi products, especially through games and movies."
Sci-fi products? Did he really just called all my research projects sci-fi products? Damn. That was just weird. I didn't know what to say. Except that I resented that. My energy shields, giant robots and even Alcubierre drive were no longer restricted to the realm of "fiction." I had literally made them all a reality. Okay, maybe not the Alcubierre drive. Not yet, anyway. But I was determined to make it succeed before long.
I just hoped I would still be alive to see my Alcubierre drive or faster than light travel project bear fruit before I died.
"But media? Entertainment? That's way out of my field."
"Don't worry," William assured me. "I'll handle all that."
"All right. I'll be relying on you." I still wasn't sure about all this, but if there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I could depend on William. We had been friends for so many years and he had never left my side even when our company was at its lowest point. He wouldn't dream of harming Shen Industries.
And I was sure he had no intention of betraying me. If he did, he would have done so already. He had plenty of opportunities. Besides, I could see that he was invested in this project, so I might as well give it to him. It was sort of a repayment for his loyalty and support over these years. I couldn't have gotten this far without him. He deserved to work on something that was of his interest, rather than be dragged about by my delusions.
"Thanks." William was grinning. "You won't regret this, I promise. I'll develop a whole gaming department. And a movie department too. You can handle the gaming department while I take charge of the film stuff."
"All right then." William was right in that I had a hobby in gaming. But I hadn't gamed in many years now. I just didn't have the time to play games in recent years, not with all the projects, tinkering, inventing and business burdening my mind. Whatever free time I had, I spent on reading instead. It had been so long since I had last gamed.
On the other hand, William and I had been friends from our university days and he was aware that I used to game back then. Ah, those were simpler times. I used to have more free time than I did while studying at the university, gaming. I still played Warhammer 40,000 occasionally, but that was more tabletop than computer games, which was something I hadn't touched in years. When given a choice between gaming and reading, I would choose reading over gaming.
That was just reality. My reflexes had deteriorated and I was no longer able to game skillfully anyway. My younger opponents would just laugh at me online. It was more fun to watch pro matches of Starcraft 4 than playing the game myself.
Still, I did feel a little excitement at the opportunity to develop my own games. I was a big fan of the Supreme Commander series. Perhaps I could buy the rights from Square Enix and develop a long awaited sequel worthy of Chris Taylor, who lived over a century ago. I did have the money to sponsor the production of such a game, after all.
Yeah, this might just work…
"I will reach out and contact some people for the gaming studio," I suggested as my eyes gleamed excitedly. "I have a good idea in mind."
"If you say so." William smiled back, rubbing his hands gleefully. "As for the films…I think we can first begin by officially taking Royston Tan's movie under our company."
I had almost forgotten about that. "How are things going on that side? We're still sponsoring his movie, right?"
"Yeah, but now we can officially provide resources from our new film department. Publicity, advertising, agents, exclusive sponsorship…this will be good for the both of us."
"I don't doubt that." I nodded. "Okay, let's do that then."
*
After that, I returned to the laboratory to continue my research on antimatter and the Alcubierre drive. As I said before, I was out of my depth. Particle physics and quantum physics were not my field. I had no idea what the scientists were talking about half the time, and struggled to grasp the weird concepts of quantum physics. I felt as if I was completely lost.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a week before I was called back to my office. This time, it wasn't William who called me back, but the gaming studio I had assembled was arriving. Christian Taylor, the descendant of the legendary Chris Taylor, had founded Solar Powered Games, a throwback to the ancient Gas Powered Games that his ancestor had created over a century ago.
"You wanted a Supreme Commander sequel?" he asked. I liked him immediately. He was to the point, not wasting time on pleasantries.
"That's right. How big of a budget do you need?"
"Um, 20 million USD sounds about right." Christian Taylor was checking the proposal I had offered him. He was a middle-aged Caucasian man who was getting on the plump side, with dark hair and a friendly grin. "I assembled a team of programmers, software developers and artists to handle the project, and rest assured, they are the best of the best in the gaming industry. You won't find a better or more passionate team elsewhere."
"I believe you." I nodded. "All right then, I'll leave it to you. How long do you need? 4 years? 5?"
"Five is a bit too long, but four years should be enough." Christian Taylor nodded. "I have the concept for the game written. If you would like to look at it…"
He passed me a printed document. I was surprised that he didn't email it to me. Seeing my expression, Christian scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh, well…I meant to, but I got too excited and just printed everything out."
"Makes sense, I guess. That's fine. We aren't too formal over here. Just do whatever you need to at a relaxed pace. Don't feel too much pressure. That said, do make sure you come up with a quality product. We all need Supreme Commander 3."
We also needed Dead Space 4, but…we would discuss that depending on how Supreme Commander 3 fared in the market.
"All right then, I won't waste too much of your time. We'll get started."
Christian Taylor raised a hand in salute, but I held up mine to stop him. "Do you need computers? Software? An office?"
"We have that all sorted. We have our own computers, software and office. Honestly, all we needed was money. You bailed us out." Christian Taylor then lowered his voice. "We were on the verge of bankruptcy and closing down. Without your injection of cash, I would have to fire over 75% of my staff. The current global economy isn't very good for gaming studios…especially small ones like ours, which focus on real time strategy games. Most people prefer shooters or RPGs these days."
"We'll figure it out," I promised him.
Then the meeting ended and we went our separate ways, with Christian Taylor taking Solar Powered Games and beginning the long project of developing a triple A big budget real time strategy title. As for me, I returned to my office shortly. I called it my office, but honestly I never spent any time there. It was just a spot reserved for me during my infrequent returns here.
"So how did the deal with the gaming studio go?" William asked when I returned to the office. I contemplated for a moment.
"All right, I think. Now everything depends on Christian Taylor and Solar Powered Games, and whether they will be able to produce a successful title. I am confident that they will. Hopefully we can kick start the franchise after over a century."
"Yeah."
We hadn't discussed much when the door suddenly flew open. Linda Ling was rushing into the office, looking very pleased.
"Brother-in-law!" she called out cheerfully. "It's been a while! I missed you!"
The bitch was literally trying to throw herself into my arms or something. I deftly stepped to the side and she missed entirely. Not satisfied with simply dodging, I stuck a foot out and tripped her, causing Linda Ling to crash right onto the floor, falling on her face.
"Are you all right?" I asked sarcastically as she sat up, looking stunned. But I didn't offer her a hand and kept my distance.
"Uh, no…I mean yes…" She quickly got up.
"How did you get in here?" William asked incredulously. Linda Ling turned to him with a sneer on her face.
"I told them that I was brother-in-law's sister-in-law. So they let me into his office."
"Tell them to ban her from the building in future. Disseminate her photograph and put a black mark on her." I lowered my voice into a whisper and William nodded before he sent a text message through his smartphone. I turned back to Linda Ling. "What do you want? Why are you here?"
"I heard that your company has a new film department and that you're hiring Royston Tan's new movie. Can I get a role? Please, please, please!"
She got on her knees and begged. She actually tried to grab my arm, but I moved away, keeping a distance between us.
"Don't come near me," I snarled coldly. She flinched and obeyed, surprisingly enough.
"We are family, aren't we? You're engaged to my sister. Please help me! I'll do anything in return!"
"Really? Then I want you to promise that you'll never approach me or Lily again. That you had best keep your distance from me and Lily, and that you will never do anything to harm Lily. Otherwise…"
"Eh? That's…" Linda Ling trailed off. I folded my arms and continued to stare at her icily.
"What? So you don't want the role? Then get lost. Don't waste my time."
"No…okay! I agree!"
"I've recorded it, so no backing out of this." I raised my smartphone. "Now get out of here. My vice-president will give you the details once he arranges everything."
"Thank you very much, brother-in-law!" Linda Ling was on the verge of weeping. At my glare, she backed off from the whole hugging thing and swiftly left the office.
"Are you really going to get her a role in the movie?" William asked in a disbelieving tone. I turned to him, a grin spreading across my face.
"Yeah, a very special role. William, ask Royston Tan if he has any bitch characters in the movie. Preferably those who end up getting slapped all the time. Since Linda Ling wants a role so badly, let's see how much pain she's willing to bear for it…even if it gets to the point where her face gets ruined by all the slapping she will receive."