The Future Is Yours: A Novel
Page 22
Sincerely,
Leila Keener-Boyce
Chief Legal Officer
The Future
REPLY
Ms. Keener-Boyce,
Thank you for your message. I am inclined to ask how you got your hands on this Memo, which is security-graded Confidential, but that is not the most pressing issue on my mind.
I think we may be able to broker an understanding. I would love to have a closed-door sit-down with you and the co-founders Boyce and Chaudry. Please relay my request to them, and if they are amenable, then my office will arrange travel to D.C. posthaste.
Sincerely,
Michael P. Stenhoff
Secretary of Defense
FWD
From: Leila Keener-Boyce
To: Ben Boyce, Adhvan Chaudry
Hey guys, looks like the DoD wants to meet with all of us. I suspect that means all three at once, and that attending this is mandatory. The DoD has pretty much no authority over consumer products, but there is some precedent for them to designate our company a threat to national security, which would effectively allow the FBI and DOJ in the front door.
I know it’s a difficult time, but can we all set aside our differences enough to go and convince the military that our computers aren’t going to blow up the world?
REPLY
From: Ben Boyce
To: Leila Keener-Boyce, Adhvan Chaudry
Yeah I can handle that.
REPLY
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: Ben Boyce, Leila Keener-Boyce
L—
I write this reply with full expectation that it is being read by the Federal Government.
If I say no, I suspect that I will be summoned to the meeting with chloroform and a white van anyway.
So yes I’ll be there.
—A
REPLY
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: Ben Boyce
B—
Re: Lei’s comment about “blow up the world”…
I’m guessing you have not shared with her the articles I pulled from the Prototype re: Russia, Ukraine, etc.
You know, the ones where our tech actually does set the stage for WWIII.
We should likely do so before walking into this mtg.
—A
REPLY
Hey man, I hear you, but I don’t think we should tell Lei. What’s gained by it? We gotta just take the 5th on all this, talk about the tech more generally, and her knowing only implicates her too.
We seem to be in a new situation here. The initial predictions are no longer all holding. That means we can’t take all that as gospel. This DoD meeting—there’s no reason we have to give them anything, it might be a chance for us to see what we can get.
EMAIL
From: Paolo Ventrini
To: Ben Boyce, Adhvan Chaudry
Boys, I hear from a little birdie that you have been summoned to a meeting at the Pentagon. I feel it is important that I attend to represent the investors’ interests here, as it is likely that whatever consequences are brought up will affect the bottom line of the company. Please do not create another Google-type situation.
Paolo
REPLY
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: Paolo Ventrini, Ben Boyce
P—
The Pentagon does not issue +1’s,
so we could not invite you even if we wanted to.
Take it up with the Secretary of Defense.
—A
REPLY
From: Ben Boyce
To: Adhvan Chaudry
“The Pentagon does not issue +1’s” lmfao thank you for brightening my day. Also what is Paolo pissed about, we’re still growing and still making these dickweeds money hand over fist.
REPLY
B—
Appreciate the olive branch,
but laughing your ass off at my email is not a substitute for trusting me with our technology.
I’ll see you at the Pentagon.
—A
TWITTER POSTINGS—NOV 9, 2021
@HEYBENBOYCE
Just got out of closed-door meeting with Department of Defense officials about The Future. They want to exclusively acquire rights to The Future technology. #TheFutureIsYours
@HEYBENBOYCE
We will not be bought by the MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! #TheFutureIsYours
@HEYBENBOYCE
They are threatening to label us a threat to national security. Why? Bc this technology is POWERFUL. #TheFutureIsYours
@HEYBENBOYCE
Your govt does not want you to have any control over your future. #TheFutureIsYours
@HEYBENBOYCE
Fight the Power! The Future is coming soon! #TheFutureIsYours
TEXT MESSAGE EXCHANGE
ADHVAN CHAUDRY
November 9, 2021 7:25 PM
Do you really think Ben tweeting like Trump is the best way to handle this?
LEILA KEENER-BOYCE
Of course not. But he’s certainly not listening to me. And he no longer has a cute Communications girl telling him what to do. So, cat’s out of the bag.
Besides, didn’t you see all of this coming?
I did not.
We are off the map now.
I no longer know any more about the future than anyone else.
Is that why you were so quiet in the meeting?
One reason maybe.
Just listening. And thinking.
It’s clear I can’t count on Ben to do much of either.
Haha those were never his strong suit.
It was good to see you today, even if the context was strange.
The context has always been strange, for me.
I’m glad that now we’re at least on the same strange page.
But yes.
It was good to see you too.
EMAIL—NOVEMBER 9, 2021
From: Orville Crane
To: Adhvan Chaudry
Mr. Chaudry,
Writing to introduce myself as a real fan of your work.
As you can imagine, the DoD was greatly annoyed by your co-founder’s response to that closed-door meeting. I must acknowledge, the generals set the agenda there, and we the scientists trusted them to proceed with some measure of respect for the incredible work you’ve done. Won’t make that mistake again.
In light of the fallout from that meeting, we hope you’ll view us at DARPA not as “the government” per se. We thought we might make a more direct appeal to you, for a more specific reason.
We know that you have pursued what you label the “2.0” version of your technology for some time now. We also know that you have abandoned it as theoretically impossible, due to the necessity of a supplemental technology—that is, teleportation, as you put it—and the necessity of inordinate amounts of energy.
Now, I cannot say anything here that is classified, but what is declassified is that one of the technologies that we at DARPA started working on as early as the mid-’60s was, to put it indelicately, teleportation. And that while teleportation may sound like sci-fi, we were exploring the very real possibilities for how mass could be translated into information, and sent instantaneously across great distances. That project made some progress but was abandoned in the wake of the MKUltra kerfuffle over at the CIA.
However, you are no doubt aware of the 2007 Barrett et al. paper “Deterministic Quantum Teleportation of Atomic Qubits.” And you could probably make guesses about how that may have affected (perhaps even revived) DARPA interest in the teleportation project. Meanw
hile, if you looked at the last decade’s reports on defense spending and DARPA funding in particular, versus the recent published/implemented output, you’d likely think either (A) we are a huge black hole for taxpayer money, or (B) we have been cooking up something really fucking cool over here.
Well, jury’s still out on the tax-dollar black-hole thing, but I would just like to say…why don’t you come down to the DARPA lab before you head back to California. I’d like to show you something really fucking cool.
Orville Crane
Chief Special Projects Director
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
REPLY
O—
I’m interested.
To be clear, does this invitation extend to Ben too?
—A
REPLY
Mr. Chaudry—
This invitation is to you personally and you alone, and we would prefer that you not even discuss it with anyone else. Nondisclosure is of utmost priority with our organization.
If you have qualms about coming without your co-founder, I will absolutely respect that. But based on his behavior on social media in the wake of our meeting, we do not feel that he is reliable when it comes to national security. The choice is yours. And as you weigh it for yourself, I would simply encourage you to consider: if the opportunity were presented to him, and not to you, what would he do?
I hope we’ll see you soon,
Orville Crane
Chief Special Projects Director
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
REPLY
O—
I’ll be there.
—A
CHAPTER 20
TUMBLR BLOG POST—NOVEMBER 11, 2021
THE BLACK HOLE: ANONYMOUS MUSINGS OF A SCI-FI SUPERFAN
“Fuck Doctor Who”
I discovered Doctor Who in middle school,
during the unmatched reign of David Tennant.
I dreamed that one day he’d come and sweep me away in the TARDIS.
For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is a Time Lord—
an immortal alien who keeps taking on new bodies (hence the new actors).
In every iteration, he is joined on his adventures by new Companions,
who get to leave home and follow him through time and space.
As a kid with no friends, I was captivated by the prospect of being a Companion,
of meeting the brilliant and powerful Doctor,
of a friendship that transcended the bounds of my humdrum reality.
But as I grow older, I can see…Doctor Who is a narcissistic sociopath.
An immortal who drags mortals into his dangerous galactic escapades.
He demands that they leave their home, friends, and family,
risk everything, and commit wholeheartedly to following him.
But he makes no reciprocal commitment to anyone.
He risks nothing of himself.
The Companions are merely dupes,
fangirls and fanboys who give their everything for a fraction of the attention of a greater being.
We are meant to watch with renewed delight,
as Doctor Who takes new forms, and finds new Companions.
All he’s really doing is chewing through people,
using up their talents and their passions in the service of his own goals,
his own self-aggrandizement.
Well, fuck that.
Perhaps growing up is reaching the moment when you no longer yearn to be a Companion,
and are ready to see yourself as the Doctor.
EMAIL—NOVEMBER 12, 2021
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: Leila Keener-Boyce
L—
If I ran away…would you come with me?
Suppose it was somewhere (maybe somewhen) that we’d never be found.
Suppose I had a way to start over.
Really, genuinely start over.
Would you?
—A
REPLY
Hey A, I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is no starting over. Not for us, not for anyone. I’m sorry, that is just reality.
Listen, I care about you. And I love the dreamer inside of you. But sometimes maybe it takes you out of your own life. Sometimes maybe the tug of what could be stops you from acknowledging and enjoying what actually IS. Here and now, right in front of you.
You have, literally, your dream job. You have friendship and respect and success. I’m not saying life is perfect or the world is all fine and dandy, but maybe it’s time to start facing reality and making things better, instead of constantly looking for a way out?
Lei
EMAIL—NOVEMBER 13, 2021
From: Ben Boyce
To: Adhvan Chaudry
Hey, you gonna be back in the office today? We’re going into production in a few weeks and there are still some kinks we need to work out in the operational interface. Evelyn is afraid that there might be a way to basically jailbreak the device…I told her that was impossible but I didn’t really know enough to explain why. Can you talk to her?
EMAIL
From: Ben Boyce
To: Adhvan Chaudry
Hey I heard you weren’t even back from DC yet, and that you were taking another meeting. Is that true? If so, we need to discuss this right away.
EMAIL
From: Ben Boyce
To: Adhvan Chaudry
Dude you can’t just ignore me like this. I let you get away with not coming in and not picking up your phone but you gotta at least reply to messages. Hit me back ASAP.
EMAIL
From: Ben Boyce
To: Adhvan Chaudry
Hey man, this is your last chance I’m seriously considering drastic action here. You are a leader at this company and this is a crucial moment. We are UNDER ATTACK from all fucking sides! We are at risk of missing our LAUNCH. We are facing a lawsuit that is big enough to SWALLOW US ten times over.
REPLY
B—
Wanted to let you know…
I am stepping down from my position as CTO,
and forfeiting my salary for the rest of the year.
I am no longer part of The Future.
—A
REPLY
Ummm wtf are you talking about? This is your company too, this is not a job you can just QUIT! Come in and TALK TO ME!
REPLY ON THE SAME THREAD
Don’t just ignore me. You really think you’re gonna be better off on your own?! You think you could’ve done something like this without me? Do you even realize, the job you got at Google out of grad school, that was ME putting you forward for that! And THIS job obviously you never would’ve had if I hadn’t raised the money. And then I stuck my neck out to keep you on the Board five months ago. So literally your entire career, every dollar you made, I have been involved with, and now you’re walking away, seriously?! I dunno what’s going on in your head but if you care about me, our friendship, our company at all, you gotta stick around and see this through.
EMAIL
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: Prisha Chaudry
Mom—
Wanted to let you know, I’ve decided to leave my job,
which means leaving the company I have built.
I am embarking on a new venture, and for the first time in ages, truly stepping into the unknown.
I am walking away from a sizable payout, but I see no alternative.
As a result, I may not be able to continue sending you money.
—A
REPLY
Adhvan thank yI the mesage I am sure to leave your company is right by you or you would not. Ther369pprox.369ntmentsapointment I am very proud you are smart and work hard maybe now you are time to find a nice girl. On Sunday I will make daal you can come over please in time for the Internet account is not correct. Life is funny you never know what happens but better to not be alone.
EMAIL—NOVEMBER 15, 2021
From: Adhvan Chaudry
To: (undisclosed recipients)
Colleagues—
In a short span, we have created something truly amazing here.
But when I reflect on what we’ve done, and where we’re headed,
I am reminded of Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb.
Upon witnessing the first detonation