T2 - 01 - The New John Connor Chronicles - Dark Futures by Russell Blackford Page A
Book: T2 - 01 - The New John Connor Chronicles - Dark Futures by Russell Blackford
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Authors: Russell Blackford
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returned from the kitchen. She seemed less on edge now. The talk must have been doing her some good. "Thanks for coming to see me," she said. "It's nice to be kept informed."
"No problem. This affects you pretty directly."
"Yes, I suppose it does. Oscar, when I told you the project was viable I was assuming the worst. I can do it."
"Okay. That's my assessment, too."
She gave him another funny look, as if not expecting that he'd have his own assessment. "The trouble is I'm going to have to reinvent a lot of Miles's work, relying on the little I know about it, plus my own expertise. It could take me years to get to where he was. Are you sure you can put up with that?"
"From my point of view, yes. Miles's work was so far advanced... We'd still have a head start over our competitors. Thanks for that. Right now, though, it's only one issue—the company's whole future is on the line."
"Of course."
"But I think we'll pull through. A lot of our operations are almost unaffected." Cyberdyne's manufacturing plants were scattered across the U.S. and various parts of Latin America . Its sales offices were even more widespread. Not everything was gone, not by a long way. "Fortunately, we had a lot of organizational data backed up. Trivial as that may seem to a lot of the staff, it means we can keep running without too many problems. It's not like we're in the fog of war."
"So where does that leave me?" she said.
"It leaves you like this. Cyberdyne is still probably viable. We'll doubtless lose a lot of money. There'll be wrangles about the insurance, and we won't get everything back-our lawyers are already arguing with the insurance company's lawyers about whether this fits within the policy. But we're not out of the game yet, and there are still positions for our best staff."
"Meaning me?"
"Yes, meaning you. The work Miles was doing is still worth rescuing, and you're the best person to do it. I'll help you all I can. Now, I know you're feeling shaky, and understandably so, especially while the Connors are still at large, so I'm not looking for an answer from you now. But I'll be wanting to know whether you'll stick with us. You can assume we'll show our appreciation."
"What does that mean, Oscar? Are you trying to drop me a hint or something?"
"The hint I'm trying to drop is that we don't want to lose your services. I don't mind telling you that you have a fair bit of bargaining power."
"Like what?" she said. Her tone could have been either sarcasm or a mask for naked curiosity.
"Like this would be a good time for you to take over from Miles as Director of Special Projects."
"Well, it'd be a bit ghoulish discussing that today."
"Maybe, and I really will leave you alone in a minute. Let me just add that Charles and I had a long talk about this. He rang me about
3:00 a.m.
, and we were on the phone for at least an hour." In fact, Layton had started off
CHAPTER SIX
ADVANCED DEFENSE SYSTEMS COMPLEX
COLORADO
AUGUST 1997
JUDGMENT DAY
Miles called on Steve Bullock, the facility's Chief Security Officer, who had a room on the same floor. He sat here like a spider, watching everything that went on. "I'm going to The Cage in a few minutes," Miles said. "Can you send a guard to meet me?"
Bullock was dark, serious, with a shaved skull and bull neck. "No sweat," he said, picking up a handset. "Five minutes' time?"
"Okay."
Miles took an elevator downstairs to the complex's main operations hall. Air Force personnel in gray flight suits predominated here, monitoring a dozen benches of computer screens—forty-eight screens in all—working side by side with casually dressed Cyberdyne employees, who were still the technical experts on the project.
Like the entire facility, the operations hall was over-seen by discreet security cameras mounted in every corner.
Miles nodded politely as he wandered from bench to bench, getting only the most general overview of the information coming in. These staff members were
"No problem. This affects you pretty directly."
"Yes, I suppose it does. Oscar, when I told you the project was viable I was assuming the worst. I can do it."
"Okay. That's my assessment, too."
She gave him another funny look, as if not expecting that he'd have his own assessment. "The trouble is I'm going to have to reinvent a lot of Miles's work, relying on the little I know about it, plus my own expertise. It could take me years to get to where he was. Are you sure you can put up with that?"
"From my point of view, yes. Miles's work was so far advanced... We'd still have a head start over our competitors. Thanks for that. Right now, though, it's only one issue—the company's whole future is on the line."
"Of course."
"But I think we'll pull through. A lot of our operations are almost unaffected." Cyberdyne's manufacturing plants were scattered across the U.S. and various parts of Latin America . Its sales offices were even more widespread. Not everything was gone, not by a long way. "Fortunately, we had a lot of organizational data backed up. Trivial as that may seem to a lot of the staff, it means we can keep running without too many problems. It's not like we're in the fog of war."
"So where does that leave me?" she said.
"It leaves you like this. Cyberdyne is still probably viable. We'll doubtless lose a lot of money. There'll be wrangles about the insurance, and we won't get everything back-our lawyers are already arguing with the insurance company's lawyers about whether this fits within the policy. But we're not out of the game yet, and there are still positions for our best staff."
"Meaning me?"
"Yes, meaning you. The work Miles was doing is still worth rescuing, and you're the best person to do it. I'll help you all I can. Now, I know you're feeling shaky, and understandably so, especially while the Connors are still at large, so I'm not looking for an answer from you now. But I'll be wanting to know whether you'll stick with us. You can assume we'll show our appreciation."
"What does that mean, Oscar? Are you trying to drop me a hint or something?"
"The hint I'm trying to drop is that we don't want to lose your services. I don't mind telling you that you have a fair bit of bargaining power."
"Like what?" she said. Her tone could have been either sarcasm or a mask for naked curiosity.
"Like this would be a good time for you to take over from Miles as Director of Special Projects."
"Well, it'd be a bit ghoulish discussing that today."
"Maybe, and I really will leave you alone in a minute. Let me just add that Charles and I had a long talk about this. He rang me about
3:00 a.m.
, and we were on the phone for at least an hour." In fact, Layton had started off
CHAPTER SIX
ADVANCED DEFENSE SYSTEMS COMPLEX
COLORADO
AUGUST 1997
JUDGMENT DAY
Miles called on Steve Bullock, the facility's Chief Security Officer, who had a room on the same floor. He sat here like a spider, watching everything that went on. "I'm going to The Cage in a few minutes," Miles said. "Can you send a guard to meet me?"
Bullock was dark, serious, with a shaved skull and bull neck. "No sweat," he said, picking up a handset. "Five minutes' time?"
"Okay."
Miles took an elevator downstairs to the complex's main operations hall. Air Force personnel in gray flight suits predominated here, monitoring a dozen benches of computer screens—forty-eight screens in all—working side by side with casually dressed Cyberdyne employees, who were still the technical experts on the project.
Like the entire facility, the operations hall was over-seen by discreet security cameras mounted in every corner.
Miles nodded politely as he wandered from bench to bench, getting only the most general overview of the information coming in. These staff members were
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