Chap 34 Next plan
The Rust Bucket rumbled down the highway, the retirement complex shrinking into a speck in the rearview mirror until the desert swallowed it whole.
Inside, the air was filled with the distinct, squelching sound of Grandpa Max enjoying his "road snacks" while driving.
"Mmm, you know," he said between mouthfuls, "Vera really outdid herself this time. The chickpeas add a delightful crunch to the grouper gelatin."
Ben turned green, sinking lower into the sofa. "I take it back. I should have kept my mouth shut. Watching him eat that is worse than the prank."
"Karma, Ben. It's called karma," Gwen retorted, though she looked equally nauseated as she pushed the lime-green mold as far away from her side of the table as physically possible.
While they bickered over the culinary nightmare, I lay back on my bunk, phone held high above my face. To anyone glancing my way, it looked like I was just mindlessly playing a mobile game, thumbs tapping the screen with a lazy rhythm.
In reality, my smart-glasses were projecting a stream of data that only I could see, overlaying the mundane ceiling of the RV.
I wasn't playing; I was managing an empire or at least, trying to keep one afloat.
A notification blinked in the corner of my vision:
>THE MAD SCIENTIST'S ASSET TRANSFER HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
I tapped the screen on my mobile, pulling up the feed. Dr. Animo had officially completed his transfer into the temporary building I'd purchased for him.
The grainy black-and-white feed from the multiple hidden cameras I'd installed showed the mad scientist pacing around the warehouse space. He was unpacking crates with a manic energy, checking on the specialized equipment he had requested.
"AI, status on the surveillance grid," I subvocalized, barely moving my lips.
>ALL CAMERAS ONLINE AND RECORDING, RIO.
>I AM MONITORING SUBJECT: ANIMO CONSTANTLY.
>I ALSO TOOK THE LIBERTY OF MAKING CONTACT UPON HIS ARRIVAL. WOULD YOU LIKE TO REVIEW THE INTERACTION?
"Play it,"
A new window popped up on my HUD, timestamped from earlier that morning.
On the screen, Dr. Animo stood in the center of the empty warehouse, clutching a specialized glass beaker like it was a holy relic.
My AI's voice rang out through the warehouse speakers, perfectly modulated to the deep, distorted voice of "Mr. Monkey" the persona I'd created to recruit him.
"Dr. Animo," the recorded voice boomed. "I trust the new accommodations meet your... unique requirements?"
On screen, Animo spun around, his eyes wide and gleaming behind his goggles. Hearing the sudden voice he didn't look terrified; he looked even more ecstatic.
"Mr. Monkey!" Animo exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the high ceilings and the spacious space filled with various equipment and animals trapped in glass ecosystems.
"It is magnificent! The isolation, the space... I can finally breathe! No more hiding in damp apartments, no more interruptions!"
He cackled, a sound that distorted slightly on the microphone. "The work I will do here... I have already begun calibrating the gene-sequencer. My Transmodulator will reach phase two faster than I ever dreamed!".
"Excellent," the AI's voice replied, smooth and commanding. "We expect great things, Doctor. Do not disappoint us."
"Disappoint?" Animo scoffed, turning back to his crates. "I shall revolutionize the very building blocks of life!"
The recording then cut off.
>HE APPEARS QUITE PLEASED WITH HIS NEW TOYS.
>THOUGH I MUST SAY, HIS MANIACAL LAUGHTER IS A BIT CLICHÉ.
"As long as he delivers results," I thought. "Keep a close eye on him."
I swiped to the next tab, and my internal satisfaction evaporated instantly. I was looking at my financial projections, and the numbers were bleeding blood red.
Buying the building was one thing as I had already prepared it way earlier, even if Animo hadn't agreed I would have done something else with it.
but the current problem was Dr. Animo's shopping list for research equipment which was burning a hole through my bank account at a terrifying speed. The things he needed were incredibly expensive, and the burn rate was unsustainable.
Centrifuges, gene-sequencers, bio-stabilizers, the man sure have an expensive taste for a disgraced geneticist
And it wasn't just the price tag that was the issue; it was the red tape. You can't exactly order high-end genetic modification hardware online without raising a few eyebrows at the FBI or the CDC. Most of this equipment was strictly regulated, requiring Level-4 bio-safety licenses, government clearances, and a mountain of paperwork just to prove you weren't trying to build a doomsday virus in your basement.
If I had tried to buy any of this under my own name which obviously I can't do as I am a minor, or even under the publishing company's name, I would have been flagged within minutes.
>NO WORRIES RIO.
>I ROUTED THE PURCHASE THROUGH THREE SHELL COMPANIES I CREATED IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS AND SINGAPORE.
>I ALSO TOOK THE LIBERTY OF FORGING A 'GRANT APPROVAL' FROM A FICTITIOUS BIOTECH STARTUP CALLED 'NEXUS GENETICS.' AS FAR AS THE GOVERNMENT IS CONCERNED, THIS EQUIPMENT IS GOING TO A BORING RESEARCH FACILITY IN NEVADA, NOT A WAREHOUSE OCCUPIED BY A MAD SCIENTIST.
hacking databases to insert fake credentials, digitally signing permits with the names of retired bureaucrats, and rerouting shipping so the delivery drivers wouldn't ask questions.
All the heavy lifting was done by the AI, truly showing its frightening potential and use, especially so in a 2000s backward world.
"Good work," I admitted. "But even with the fake permits, we still have to pay real money."
Currently, my only source of income is from my publishing company's sales of my comic books and novels.
Back in 2007, when I'd just finished building my AI, and till the 2008 end, I was just making novels and books. At that time I had the AI write the novels with me giving it the story. Because honestly, how else could a kid pump out five full volumes of Explorer of the Universe in a single year? It wasn't like I had the time or the stamina to sit glued to a keyboard all day.
Things really started changing once a few publishers came knocking with real offers. Around then, the AI had sufficiently developed to generate images too. That's when I started creating comic books. which quickly became popular with the kids.
Now the novels and comic books were all doing well, sitting comfortably in the "successful" category, but they were only earning "so-so" money compared to the costs of funding a geneticist's lab.
Though I had recently expanded into commercial merchandise, it was relatively only started at the beginning of this year, and the profit has just begun trickling in.
>WARNING: FUNDS DEPLETING RAPIDLY
>AT THE CURRENT RATE OF EXPENDITURE, YOUR CRUSADE FOR SCIENCE WILL RESULT IN BANKRUPTCY VERY SOON.
>SHALL I CANCEL DR. ANIMO'S ORDER FOR THE TITANIUM-PLATED HAMSTER WHEEL?
It was a bad idea using Data from Ben and Gwen to train the AI's language model at the start but nothing can be done now.
"It's a high-velocity bio-centrifuge, not a hamster wheel," I muttered under my breath, rubbing my temples as black lines appeared on my forehead. "And no, don't cancel it. We need him operational."
I needed a massive cash injection, and I needed it fast. The books were doing good, but they had a ceiling for how much they could make.
To support the kind of tech I wanted to build and to keep Animo operational, I needed to hit a wider market.
And for that I have to pull up my business agendas.
I pulled up my "Future Plans" folder.
Games. Anime adaptations. Movies.
It was time to push the agenda for making anime or movies based on my books. That was the golden ticket. If I could get my stories onto the screen, the licensing fees and box office returns would dwarf the book sales.
What about making a game you ask?
Well coding for games takes a lot of time even with my AI helping out, it's no small project.
And the most critical thing was that "Sumo Slammers" are dominating the scene right now, jumping into gaming would be like running headfirst into a wall. The hype around their new release is unreal, literally everyone's talking about it, everyone's playing it.
Competing right now would be pointless. It'd hurt both sides.
That's why currently, when hardly anyone's paying attention to anime or movie adaptations based on novels. I will strike and carve a space for myself.
It was aggressive, maybe a bit early in the company's life cycle, but I didn't have the luxury of waiting.
"AI," I whispered. "Draft a proposal for studio pitching. We're moving the timeline up. And starting a new bigbang of a multiverse."
>AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY!? EXCELLENT CHOICE.
>I WILL BE PREPARING THE DRAFTS NOW.
I smirked, closing the interface. The road ahead was quite risky, but if I played my cards right, nothing could stop me.