The governmental orders would take just twenty percent of the run-time, and by happy coincidence, increase the immediate profit margin on the governmental account. For the commercial orders, the priority orders — with the new definition — would take just under thirty percent of the run-time. Leaving fifty percent capacity unclaimed. Grum claimed it for Space Division, until someone told him otherwise. He sent an email to that effect to Ben, saying that this was a new interpretation of the board's wishes, and given the USSMC priority on the UMBRA programmes, please implement immediately. He did not want Ben to get backlash from it, so he made it a direct order.
He got a private message back.
That was JFDI, wasn't it?
Yes, sorry. Can't say more. I'm dealing with your Actuarial Compliance.
Got it.
Actuarial Compliance was a code between Ben, Stew, and himself. It was a nonsense phrase, but sounded authentic. Even if you know what the words really meant, it sounded plausible, and for what it really meant it was actually quite apposite. Grum was pleased with it. It meant Arse Coverage. So now Ben knew that if he followed Grum's somewhat strange orders, neither he nor his staff would get into trouble for it. Good enough.
He was reasonably sure that no-one outside of Core Power would realise what he was doing until it had already been done.
The other screams he heard were from headlines which Steve Branch had pointed in his direction. They were mainly about how USSMC was funding dirty nuclear power, and a call to boycott their products.
He certainly hoped that this had not been leaked from the board. If it had, then someone on the board was not playing with a full deck. This could actually be serious trouble, and not just for Grum. He needed to talked to Steve Branch about this, then probably Stew would want a word with him.
Steve was not answering his phone. Just when he needed to seriously call on his expertise.
Grum's office door opened, and Stew walked in. 'Got Steve with me. He'll be here in a minute. Someone called him.'
Of course you have. 'Come in, grab a coffee, sit down, and tell me what you know.'
'Well,' Stew began as he went to fill up his mug, 'I know someone has been playing silly buggers with Ben's schedule…' Grum watch the mug change and groaned, putting his face in his hands. 'You energy?'
Grum nodded without lifting his head. 'Every time!'
'I know, right?' Stew laughed.
Grum lifted his face from his hands and glared at Stew. 'I ought to ban that mug. And yes, I have been messing with Ben's schedule…' Steve Branch walked in at that moment and Grum changed the direction of the sentence without missing a beat. '…but I've dealt with his Actuarial Compliance so there shouldn't be a problem.'
'Actuarial Compliance?' asked Steve.
'It's just a thing for Nevada,' said Grum, offhandedly. 'In, coffee, sit, talk. What do you know about this thing you sent me?' Grum put the headline up on the main screen.
'It's just what it looks like,' said Steve as he went to get a mug of coffee for himself.
'We're being boycotted?' asked Stew, and Grum caught a wink in his direction. He assumed that was in acknowledgement of the Arse Coverage and swift change of direction.
'Probably not. Not if it stays at this level. You could could make a reactor which ran on a lump of granite bathed in sea water — both mildly radioactive substances, as I understand it — and some of the hard-liners would not care. If the words "nuclear" and "reactor" appear in its name, it must be dirty, and dangerous to the environment.'
'It's not the same thing,' said Grum, somewhat reprovingly, 'but I take your point. They have valid concerns about standard third generation reactors, in my opinion, but then we're not looking to build any of those on Earth.'
'Oh boy, I hope you never say that in public. I can understand what you want to do, but some of the same people protesting are also the people who believe in the healing power of lumps of quartz, and that the moon has her own mystical energy.' Steve was obviously concerned that Grum would not realise what a comment like that would do to USSMC's image, if Grum made it in public.
'Don't worry, Steve, I don't intend to blab about all the lovely nuclear power stations we're going to put on the moon.'
'Good. But back to the point. Even here on Earth, they are not willing to distinguish between the generations of reactor. Well, that's a generalisation. But it's true of the ones who are protesting outside the fourth and fifth generation research sites. And even you did not know about the augmented thirds until you looked into it, so it's not unreasonable for people who really know nothing about nuclear science to get confused about the generations of reactor.'
'All true, but how do we deal with it?'
'Deal with it? We don't deal with it. We put out generic statements about the safety of the various testing sites, try and get some articles in the popsci press about the differences in reactor generations with some upbeat messaging about using old waste for fuel as a form of nuclear recycling. Then we put someone like me in a suit to stand in front of TV cameras and tell everyone that it's all OK, and – if the protesters would just read the literature – that their worries would be washed away. All true, apart from the last bit. Some of the protesters will never be satisfied with the science. Fortunately for us, they tend to be the type of protester who is least credible with the public at large.'
'Is that it?'
'Damage limitation, I'm afraid. Until it dies away. Oh, and I go poking my nose into places until I find out where the leak is.'
'Good luck with that,' said Stew, grinning.
'On this one? I'll need it. Too many potential holes.'
'That's what I mean,' said Grum. 'You won't be able to trace it back to the source, I'm guessing.'
'I might, but we'll have to see how it goes. The media machine is already in operation. It always is, of course, we just crank up the dial at times like this. You might need to find something as yet unpublished which we can use to get an article or two. If you haven't already given everything away, that is.'
'You know precisely how much of precisely what has been given away.'
'Fair to say,' Steve grinned.
'Are you sure it would cause too much bother if we said we were only building on the moon?'
'Funnily enough, yes. The public can be touchy about the moon. Everyone knows it's a lifeless ball of rock, and the majority are in favour of someone returning and setting up camp. But if you mention mining to them, the percentage goes way down.'
'But you'd need to mine for oxygen, aluminium, all sorts.'
'I know, but your average person doesn't think about that. They hear mining and think about all the strip mining done last century, or the popular image of a quote-unquote dirty coal mine. So their minds make a link between that and the moon and see the moon getting dirtied up. Not good. Mention putting something which is reviled by more than half the populace — nuclear power — on the moon, and there would be uproar.'
'I never realised.'
'That's because you're a scientist, Grum. And don't forget your own reaction to using nuclear power. It's a valid gauge of non-specialist opinion, which tends to run on gut feeling, just like everyone else's.'
'So, we build them first and when people find out they are up there, just turn round and say "how did you think we would power the place"?'
'Pretty much. It's always easier to ask forgiveness, especially if we have managed to do something which balances it in the minds of most of the populace. Like build out the moon base, or create enough antimatter to power spaceships to visit other worlds. That kind of thing is so big and impressive that most people will accept a bit of sacrifice.'
'No pressure, then,' said Grum.
'Bah,' said Stew. 'You enjoy the pressure. You get off on it.'
Grum scowled. 'I do not.'
'If I were you, I'd sue your face for libel,' said Steve. 'In any case. If that covers this off, I have to get going and actually do what we've been talking about.'
/> 'OK, Steve, thank you. If you could stay for a bit, though Stew, I have other programme stuff to talk to you about.'
'OK, boss,' said Stew, not moving from his seat.
'See you anon, Grum.' Steve got up and left the office, closing the door behind him.
'So, what's this about, Grum?' asked Stew.
'I think I know the game the board are playing.'
'Well, that's got to be a good thing, right?'
'I don't think so. I think that they are vindictively following my lead.'
'I don't get it.'
'You know that I have heavily emphasised areas of profit-making, or at least positive cash-flow within the organisation in order to convince the board to authorise expenditure?'
'Sure.'
'Well, I have just had this heads-up from Kelvin.' Rather than put the email onto the main screen, Grum turned his desk monitor a little, so Stew could partially see it. Stew leaned closer and read.
" CONFIDENTIAL. INTERNAL ONLY.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Good news! We're stepping up our game!
When Kelvin Goldstein formed USSMC in 2017, it was a bold and game-changing move. Everyone knew that it would require massive investment, and a longer-than-normal period of pure research and development.
In that time we, as a company, have achieved great things — but as a business, we never made a profit.
We are please to say that, due in large part to the actions and leadership of Grum Hewson (VP Core Power), we now have business lines which build on those years of time, effort and investment to bring us closer to the goal of profitability, which we're sure we all support.
The company will now refocus its efforts on those areas capable of producing profit for the business, with the aim of reaching the self-sustaining profitability which is the goal of any business.
We congratulate Grum and his team on making this path possible, and look forward to a future filled with brighter market opportunities.
Kind regards,
USSMC Board of Directors"
'Shit,' said Stew.
'Yup. They are moving from the R&D phase — which I admit has been longer than normal — to the operational phase. But they are doing so without regard of how we got here, nor how that can be supported.
'But that will damage the business, won't it?'
'For sure. I suspect it is a reaction to my giving away IP… Well, not giving away, sharing… But the board just see a loss of leveragable assets from the balance sheet, even though they weren't actually usable in any meaningful sense. Ah, and there's a follow up from our CEO.' Grum opened the second email.
"Grum,
I see you've read the internal release. Just to be sure you're clear: refocus on profit, means cutting R&D.
KG"
'Yeah,' said Stew, 'I think we got that.'
'He's making a point. And this is what I mean about vindictively following my lead. They have moved to an operational model without allowing for the fact that much of the profitability has a very short pipeline from R&D to product. They have also inextricably linked me with the coming cuts.'
'They are better than the old VP was at this.'
'Definitely. I may be out of my depth, here.
'So what do we do?'
'Our turn for some damage limitation. We need to ring-fence any research which is directly supporting the real goals.'
'Real goals?'
'Like I said before, the profits we can make from the current products are peanuts. The board knows this, and they know that this drive for short-term profit will damage the company, but it will also probably get rid of me. The real goals have to be Hank's top line projects and ours. Those are where the company can seriously steal a march over every other business out there.'
'But if they know it…'
'It'll delay results by a year, maybe. At which time, they will say something along the lines of "Grum and his team were too aggressive. We applaud, but someone more stable at the helm…", or similar.'
'Risky,' said Stew, glaring at his coffee.
'Yes, but they have obviously taken the view that I'm more risky to their position and influence.'
'So, we follow their lead?'
'Exactly. Turn about is fair play. We're going to have to move things about, and we probably will have to cut some things back. In fact, we definitely will. That is gonna hurt.'
'You don't say. Everything SyncDep does is facilitating R&D.'
Grum looked solemnly at Stew. 'I know, mate. And I'm going to have to lean heavily on you to find the biggest budget cuts with the least damage. I'm going to have to make the case that the most efficient streamlining tool we have is SyncDep, but we'll have to be able to back that up. Micro-moves and macro-cuts. If we can move all the research directly supporting the active nuclear power programmes into one "fourth-level support group" and then cut the R&D groups, for example, that will help. Shifting a couple of people around but cutting whole programmes or departments will also help. I suspect that the whole of the fusion department will have to go despite them being involved in a high profile international programme. But if we can negotiate with the governing body of that programme to pay for the staff and resources, in exchange for free access to our research materials, do it. Ideally, we'd save money but lose nothing. I don't think that will be achievable, however.'
'Nor do I. Does USSMC have a programme for supporting redundant workers? Helping them re-skill or get new jobs, that kind of thing?'
'Find out. Some of the other employee benefits are very generous — as we personally know — so maybe there is one. If so, we need to make it squeak for every worker we have to cut.'
'Won't that be expensive? Isn't this a money drive?'
'They don't really care about the expenditure. It's an excuse. This is a political play, and as usual in politics, they are playing with people's lives.'
'So what does that say about you? You're in the game, too.'
'It makes me reluctant, Stew. It also makes me angry. But the board have made the announcement and linked me to it. I can't stop that. I can try and craft a Division-wide message to counteract as much of the board's message as possible, but it's damage done. The only choice now is limitation.'
'You could go to Kelvin…'
'If he let this pass, then he had no choice, and neither do we. Let's focus on limiting the damage. Both to the people who work for us, and our position. The two are very much linked, at this point.'
'I'll get on it.'
'As will I.'
Chapter 12
IN Grum's message to Core Power, he tried to distance himself from the board's decision, and to say that he would work to mitigate what everyone must feel was an attack on their very purpose. As a researcher, himself, he knew how they felt.
Then he started making cuts. It was painful. SyncDep had identified projects and even individual researchers who had not significantly contributed to anything for years. Those he did not have too hard a time letting go. They probably should have gone already. There were others, though, who were active, and producing papers and/or experimental results, but in a field that he could not parley into a support role. Those were harder to deal with.
Ironically, by making whole departments, programmes, or projects redundant, it made it easier for Grum to give compensation. By making a "without prejudice" agreement — which was legalese for "we agree not to say anything bad about each other" — in addition to, or instead of, the redundancy payment, he was also able to improve compensation. USSMC did have a limited retraining and "displaced worker" support programme, but… Like most such programmes it did not help people all that much.
Grum did not know which one of these actions got him invited to a board meeting, again. It could have been a combination or all of them. Either way, he was brought before a very smug — with the notable exceptions of Kelvin, Hank, and Tabia Barron the medical research director — board and complimented on his willingness to embrace the board's d
irection. However, the board had noticed that a change in priorities seemed to have taken place at the Nevada Antimatter Power Facility in contravention to the board's previous instructions, and could he explain that.
So, Grum did. He laid out his reasoning that this schedule maintained the priority for the number of orders confirmed by each of the sectors specified by the board, but happily allowed for an increased production in the number of orders able to be filled for USSMC's internal high-priority programmes.
As Grum had expected. The board issued more specific instructions "for the avoidance of doubt" on precisely what they wanted prioritised. It was not logical, and it was certainly detrimental to the overall efficiency of the facility, but Grum saw what they were doing.
Partly, they were putting him back in his box — or trying to — and they were trying to hamstring Hank's influence. Additionally, this would decrease the influence of the medical research director and Kelvin, as well.
No pressure, then.
Their orders were to prioritise, as per the company statement on profitability, the profitable accounts and only allow USSMC-internal orders to be filled when and if there was a break in the schedule to allow for such.
That, Grum knew, was crazy. He tried to find a loophole he could exploit, and could not see any. So, he decided to try and make one.
Could the board clarify what they meant by both "priority" and "orders"? Because both conditions were being met at the moment, technically, and for the further avoidance of doubt, he would appreciate guidance.
Certainly, they said. Commercial products should be prioritised over everything else until market demand was met. Then the largest units for the governmental orders were to be prioritised. Then USSMC-internal programmes could be serviced in the spare time, if any such existed. Was that clear enough?
Certainly it was, and he thanked the board for their consideration.
Leaving Earth Vol. 1 (Leaving Earth Omnibus) Page 27
