62 M1 - Term: 1 to 2 - Break (2/2)
”Till he tells us to stop dummy,” Picard answered throwing a surprise strike Barrans way.
”Where are you going?” Barran asked Daedo who was walking towards the exit.
”To see Cisse and our reactor experiment,” Daedo replied.
”What? You're not going to watch me kick ass?” Barran cried as Picard punched him under his rib cage near his kidney.
”Focus,” Picard warned him.
Daedo left the pair, the data was being stored, and he could create wireframes after sorting the best forms from the good and average ones.
Cisse had begun initial experiments the previous week after the construction of the lab and equipment was complete.
”How are the initial results?” Daedo asked. He had a few messages from Cisse which contained pre-test data and not much else.
”All the safety checks are completed. And I am able to get the first part of the fission reaction to realise. My main issue after splitting the Proton and Neutron is the second split in a controlled fashion. We are dealing with sub-atomic particles and where the annihilation reaction happens naturally, splitting the protons and neutrons into quarks is not,” she summarised.
Daedo knew better than to ask how long, she would get it done when she could. ”Is there anything I can help with?” he asked.
”You can review my test methodology and offer constructive criticism or inspiration. We are going to have to find a new method, the existing is too inefficient to be useful for the tri-reactor,” Cisse stated.
”Troika?” Daedo prompted.
”Troika reactor?” Cisse asked, ”I like it. When did you think that up?”
”I didn't Myrmidon did,” Daedo replied, ”to be precise he described a group of three pattern as troika, and it immediately felt right to me.”
”Thank him for me. I just looked it up and like it more and more,” Cisse stated. ”We are a long way from a working prototype though Daedo. I hope you don't need this in a hurry.”
”No problem,” Daedo replied. ”It will be ready when its ready.”
”It will take a lot more work to get it down to micro. You should be prepared that it will be building size and at best Mech size years before we reach a working micro-reactor,” Cisse stated.
”If you let me know the constraint I am sure there is something we can work out,” Daedo said. ”Can we capture and secure the anti-hydrogen?” He asked.
”There are methods, whether they are feasible cost wise is another matter,” Cisse replied and laughed at her pun.
Daedo responded deadpan, ”If its possible we could just put an Annihilator in the exos and load it with anti-hydrogen cartridges.”
Her ignored humour forgotten Cisse replied, ”That's brilliant. Ok, when I get to annihilation, I will work on capture. A micro annihilator will not be difficult, only the capture and storage of the antimatter will be.”
”I will leave you to it, I will look over the methodologies and come back if I come up with any ideas later today,” Daedo said before leaving.
Daedo took the lift up two sections to the main workshop area. Barran and Picard were on lower one, and Cisse was on lower two. Mace was working on her chemistry, she had spent almost four hours each day in virtual tutes and was well on her way to establishing the foundation knowledge she required for her specialist role.
Daedo waved to his father who kept himself busy ensuring the programs which were usually running in the workshop were working flawlessly. Most of his time was spent building a small army of robots from spare and manufactured parts, which were either general purpose or for a specialised function. Many more than they currently needed, but it was all part of the workshop expansion plan. If they built many more robots, they would probably have to dig out another floor to store them. Lower three.
Daedo reviewed the latest batch of exo tests. The gains he was making were becoming smaller with each iteration. The next leap in performance would come from changing the mesh compound and the hydraulic fluid, but both of those innovations fell into Mace's department. And he wouldn't start on the mech design until he had the data from Picard.
Daedo twiddled his fingers. It was not often he was in this position. Thinking to himself. 'What to do.'
Sighing, he finished crafting the report and request to Master Nader regarding specialisations. He only needed to keep himself busy until Barran was finished sparring with Picard. Without Vannier or Axelzero to keep him in check it fell to Daedo to attend a few meetings, that Barran had set up, as a chaperone.
When it came to business Barran was like a volatile prototype particle projector cannon. Extremely powerful, but you needed to monitor it closely so it wouldn't blow itself up.
It was not long before Barran was poking Daedo virtually.
*Barran: ready?*
*Daedo: sure. I am in the workshop you know.*
”I know,” Barran said, ”But I didn't want to disturb you.”
”The meeting is in ninety minutes?” Daedo asked.
”Yeah,” Barran answered, ”the one that is face to face is in ninety, and the rest are virtual. We have four.”
”So you need me for the physical and Axelzero will handle the virtual?” Daedo asked.
Barran shrugged, ”You make the rules. We have one virtual while we are in the auto.”
”Let's go,” Daedo said, looking at the time to get to Zurich was over an hour.
Daedo watched as Barran took the first meeting virtually from their auto. It was a long range type which could fly along the highways at seven hundred kilometres per hour once it hooked into the stream. The ride was smooth inside the cabin and with their helmets on they couldn't tell the difference between the workshop or an auto travelling at high speeds.
The first meeting was with Genitrix who specialised in high-end AIs. It was one of the major players in this space who did not have a tier one Academy and were a dominant global organisation.
”Good morning,” Barran began. In the virtual meeting was a product manager and lead developer from Genitrix. The product manager was a young man in his thirties, Sven and the lead developer was a young lady in her twenties, Tyra. The AI development business was full of the younger generation, especially the ones dealing with the cybernetic implant interface.
”Good morning young geniuses,” Sven began by praising the cadets.
After a few minutes of introductions and other business formalities which Daedo found interesting from a learning perspective and inefficient from a productivity perspective.
”We know you are busy people, so let's discuss the matter at hand,” Sven lead the meeting.
”We have all day for Genitrix,” Barran replied, ”you are the best in the business.” It was Barran's turn to lather the prospective partners with praise.
”Thank you, thank you,” Sven said. ”And we are very much impressed with the test data and the efficiency of your foundation code. Where do you see the market for this AI?”
”Military applications. Daedo and I are using it now for this purpose. We are using it in tactical, academic and R and D applications. Picard another high performing cadet is also using the AI foundation. You have our academic results?” Barran asked.
”Oh yes. We do. It is a tier three academy, so these results are very impressive,” Sven stated. ”We see a good fit for all new cadets, and we can use your achievements as case studies. We would like to find a bigger market, however. The cadet intake is only two hundred thousand per annum.”
”Competitive gaming,” Daedo added.
”Oh yeah,” Barran said, ”Have you heard of a game called CyberMech?”
”Of course!” Sven answered, ”Tyra here is an addict herself.”
Barran rubbed his hands with glee. ”Oh, so, have you not noticed the name of our company?”
”Daedalus!” Tyra yelled. She had been silent up until this moment.
”Ahuh, and I think you know where this is going, Tyra. This cadet sitting next to me is Daedalus.” Barran announced. ”Now he was using this AI and his military-grade implant while playing CyberMech.”
Now that it was known by the AI chief knew that Daedo had birthed Myrmidon years earlier he had let his squad know the truth. Their knowledge was no longer a risk, and they usually kept quiet with strangers on the subject.
”You can use the name Daedalus free! Whatever helps sell more units. Now how is that for a market?” Barran asked.
”The gaming market is the number one market,” Sven replied, ”Its worth billions.”
”And you have the AI created by the number one player of the number one game. Surely all we need to do is discuss advance and royalty percentages.” Barran drove home the opportunity.
”Is exclusivity on the table?” Sven asked.
”Not for military use,” Daedo replied. It had to be available to everyone without limitations if there was going to be a war.
”You could possibly wrap up exclusivity for the gaming version, but that would require an enormous advance which I don't think is achievable,” Barran stated.
”Why would the advance need to be so large for exclusivity?” Sven asked.
”We would need to ensure Genitrix performs in sales of the product when it has exclusivity,” Barran said simply while Sven nodded. This had to be rudimentary for Sven he must have been testing Daedalus.
”The market size will rule out a large enough advance for exclusivity. I couldn't authorise that amount, not without full board approval. But I can make an offer with thirty percent royalty,” Sven stated.
Barran laughed and fell off his virtual chair. ”Sven. I thought we were friends. You have the best product. You have the name Daedalus, the perfect marketing tool. All you need to do it put it up for sale in all your channels and watch the creds roll in. No Sven. Seventy percent royalty. It's a digital product that has a minuscule cost of sale.”
”We can do better, but surely with our reputation and reach, no more than fifty percent. We don't have any other products above fifty percent,” Sven countered.
”Sven, I love you, but; Seventy percent is our final offer, and we require one hundred thousand bitcred advance upon signing of the contract. Since it's not going to be exclusive you will want to get to market first I am sure,” Barran conducted business meetings as well as he fought in melee.
Sven looked downcast, ”I will need to check with the CEO and CFO to approve this deal. I will get back to you soon. Oh and Barran?”
”Yes Sven,” Barran answered.
”Please do not go ahead with another company, give me some time. We want to be first,” Sven asked.
”You have one day,” Barran replied ruthlessly.