Chapter 225

Cherish woke him up some time later. “Louis, it’s almost time to go.”

Louis opened his eyes. “Alright.” He got up and put on a fresh pair of trousers and a dark blue shirt. Cherish was already dressed in a light yellow blouse and a white skirt.

“You look pretty, Cherry,” Louis said, kissing her.

“Thank you, Louis,” she said, smiling. “I pick this one myself.”

“Good choice,” Louis said, taking her hand. “Let’s go.”

They met the other women in the hallway. Savannah looked at them. “Have a good nap?”

“The best,” Louis said, smiling. “Any news from Robin?”

Savannah shook her head. “Not yet.”

“They will survive, Savvy,” Louis said. “Marcus is a tough man with a lot of friends and guns.”

“I know,” Savannah said. “I’m just… I’m not used to being on this side of things. Usually I’m the one who’s making things happen. Now I’m just waiting.”

Gladice shrugged. “Well, we can’t do everything. Sometimes, you have to let others do the work.”

“I know,” Savannah said. “I just wish I knew something. Anything.”

“You will, Savvy,” Louis said. “For now, let’s do what we can. Let’s go see Mr. Cruise.”

Angelique nodded. “Alright.”

“Are we going to drive there?” Maeve asked.

“No,” Louis said. “We’ll take the helicopter. It’s faster.”

“What about my Ducati?” Maeve frowned.

“I’ll have someone deliver it to wherever we’re going next, Mae-Mae,” Louis said. “In case you want to have some fun.”

Maeve’s face brightened. “Okay.”

“Let’s go then,” Louis said, leading them out of the building to the helipad.

An Olympus P26 was waiting for them. A pilot and a co-pilot stood by. “Mr. Collins. Ladies.”

“Ready when you are,” Louis said.

They climbed into the helicopter. Inside the passenger cabin, eight seats were arranged in a circle. They sat down and fastened their seatbelts.

“This is better than the Black Hawk,” Maeve said, looking around. “It’s more comfortable.”

“Much more comfortable,” Cherish agreed, looking out the window.

“This thing cost as much as our RV,” Gladice said.

“How? It’s much smaller,” Savannah asked.

“It’s not about the size, Savvy,” Gladice said. “It’s about the materials and the electronics. This thing is basically a flying computer.”

The helicopter lifted off. Louis watched Pacific Hall shrink beneath them. The pilot’s voice came through the intercom. “We will be in Silicon Valley in about thirty minutes, Mr. Collins.”

“Copy that,” Louis said.

Willa leaned forward. “Are we going to Tengri Park?”

“Yes, Willa,” Louis said. “We are.”

“A park? What’s it like?” Cherish asked. “With slides and swings?”

Louis laughed. “No, Cherry. It’s a corporate campus. Like a small town with offices, labs, and restaurants. All for Tengri employees.”

“It’s a nice place to work, I guess,” Cherish said.

“It is,” Willa said. “And a very hard place to get in. They hire the best from all over the world.”

“Even from Dixie?” Cherish asked.

“I doubt it, Cherry.” Louis laughed. “Dixie doesn’t have a lot of good programmers.”

“Why is it called Tengri?” Donya asked. “Is it a person?”

“It’s the name of the chief deity of the Mongol peoples, Donya,” Angelique explained. “The god of the eternal blue sky.”

“The eternal blue sky,” Donya repeated. “That’s beautiful.”

“It is,” Angelique said. “And it’s also a very fitting name for a tech company. They want to be everywhere. Like the sky.”

“And they want to see everything,” Willa said, her tone dry. “Like the sky too.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Louis said.

“It’s the most accurate way.” Willa shrugged.

Cherish looked out the window. “So, that’s the countryside of California. Is Napa somewhere there?”

“Yes,” Louis said, pointing out the window. “It’s further west from here.”

“I hope Rachel will be happy there,” Cherish said. “It’s a beautiful place.”

“I’m sure she will be, Cherry,” Louis said. “She needs some peace. And some grapes.”

The helicopter flew over the rolling hills of Silicon Valley. Then Tengri Park came into view. From the sky, it looked like a circle, with totem-shaped modern buildings, gardens, and walking paths.

“It looks like a cult compound,” Maeve said. “A very clean and well-organized one.”

“In a way, it is,” Willa said. “A cult of innovation.”

“I think it looks lovely,” Cherish said. “The gardens are beautiful.”

“They are, Cherry,” Donya said. “I wonder what kind of flowers they grow there.”

The helicopter landed on a helipad near the main building. A group of people in smart casual clothes were waiting for them. A man in a blue T-shirt and jeans stepped forward.

“Louis! Ladies! Welcome!” Claude said, opening his arms. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Louis got out and shook his hand. “Claude. Thanks for having us.”

“Of course,” Claude said, looking at the women. “It’s an honor to meet all of you. Your journey was epic. And your livestream was a masterpiece.”

“We’re glad we could entertain you, Mr. Cruise,” Gladice said, her arms crossed.

“Please, call me Claude,” he said, smiling. “Let’s go to my office. We can talk there. And I can show you around after.”

“Sounds good,” Louis said.

A self-driving electric shuttle was waiting for them. Claude led them inside. It drove on a path through the gardens, with lush green lawns and colorful flowers.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Claude said.

“It is,” Angelique said. “Very impressive.”

“We try to create an environment where people can be creative,” Claude said.

“And make a lot of money for you,” Gladice said.

“Money is a byproduct of innovation, Gladice,” Claude said. “And a tool to make the world a better place.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “That’s what all the rich people say.”

Claude laughed. “You are not wrong, Savannah. But that doesn’t make it less true.”

The shuttle entered a building. It stopped in front of an elevator. They all got in. Claude pressed a button for the top floor.

The elevator opened into a spacious office. One wall was made of glass, overlooking the entire campus. Claude walked to a round table and gestured for them to sit. A bar in the corner offered a selection of drinks.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you anything?” Claude asked.

“I’ll pass today,” Louis said, looking at the glass wall. “I need to keep a clear head for this.”

“An excellent choice,” Claude said. “Let’s get down to business, then.” He sat at the table. “I want to apologize again for the security breach and the hack. I take full responsibility for it. It was a failure on my part. And I will do everything in my power to make it right.”

“I appreciate that, Claude,” Louis said. “But we are not here for an apology. We are here for solutions.”

“I understand, Louis,” Claude said. “And I am ready to listen.”

“Good,” Louis said. “Let’s start with the hack. What do you know about Alistair Finch?”

Claude sighed. “Alistair was a good employee. He worked for us for ten years. He was a senior engineer. He had a family. A wife. Two kids. He had no history of disciplinary issues or financial problems until last month.”

“What happened last month?” Willa asked, her eyes on Claude.

“He went to Las Vegas for a vacation,” Claude said. “And he came back with a huge gambling debt. We didn’t know about it. Not until the hack.”

“So, you think he did it for the money?” Angelique asked.

“Yes,” Claude said. “The crypto payment he received was enough to cover his debt. And then some. We are still working with the Dominion Guard to trace the payment and to identify the source.”

“And what have you found so far?” Louis asked.

“Not much, I’m afraid,” Claude said. “In fact, you should know more than me by now, Louis. The Dominion Guard is not sharing the information with us.”

Louis nodded. “Right. Let’s talk about the other issue then. The trolls and the threats. We are not going to accept this, Claude. Not anymore.”

Claude looked at him. “What are you proposing, Louis?”

“A new policy. A zero-tolerance policy for targeted harassment,” Louis said. “Only for the eight of us. For now. And for anyone else we decide to add to the list later.”

Claude frowned. “That would be a violation of our principle of free speech, Louis. We can’t just censor people because they say something you don’t like.”

“Saying I don’t like is an understatement, Claude,” Louis said. “They are threatening to kill us. That’s not free speech. I was almost killed by a shooter in BYU-Idaho. Crimson Spotlight was purchasing our information from a confirmed terrorist group because your platform made it easy for them to profit off our misery. That is not what free speech was meant to protect. That is a direct consequence of your negligence.”

Claude leaned back. “I understand your concern, Louis. I really do. But we have to be careful not to create a slippery slope. Where does it end? Who decides what is acceptable and what is not?”

“I do,” Louis said. “Plus my father, of course.” He paused. “And we are not asking you to censor everyone. We are asking you to protect us. You can start by permanently banning anyone who has sent us any threats or insults.”

Claude sighed. “The number of accounts would be in the millions. It’s not a practical solution.”

Gladice raised her eyebrow. “That much?”

“Of course,” Claude said. “Your livestream has over a billion views worldwide as of today. Even if only one percent of the viewers are hostile, that’s still ten million people.”

“Then you have ten million trolls on your platform, Claude,” Willa said. “And that’s a huge problem. You need to address it.”

“We are working on it, Miss Locke,” Claude said. “We have flagged the most dangerous threats and shared them with the Dominion Guard for investigation. As I know, thousands of arrests have already been made in the Dominion.”

“But the rest of the world?” Savannah asked. “Most of the threats are coming from outside the Dominion.”

“It’s hard to enforce our policies in other countries, Savannah,” Claude said. “We can ban accounts that are associated with real intention to commit violence. But we cannot police all the hate speech, even if it’s disgusting.”

“We are not asking you to police all the hate speech, Claude,” Louis said. “We are asking you to police the threats against us. And to shut down the accounts. Permanently.”

Claude looked at him. “And if I refuse?”

Louis crossed his leg. “Then it will be a bad decision for you.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat, Louis?”

“No, Claude,” Louis said, smiling. “We hope to be your partners. Not your enemies. But we will protect our family at any cost.”

Claude leaned forward, his steepled fingers resting on the table. “Let’s consider this, Louis. Your family’s livestream. A billion views. That’s more than the Super Bowl in the old days. That’s unprecedented. You’re global icons. And with that comes attention. Both good and bad. You can’t expect to control it all.”

“I can’t control what those haters think,” Louis said. “But I can control what happens to them on your platform. And I can control how I respond.”

“The internet is a living entity, Louis. You can’t tame it. You can only learn to ride the wave. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re riding a wave of fame. And you’re enjoying it.”

“I’m not enjoying the hate, Claude,” Louis said. “I’m enjoying the love, the support, the admiration. Those are good things. I want to see more of them. And less of the hate. A lot less.”

Claude stood up and walked to the window. “Louis, a billion people have watched your journey. The story of your family. The story of love, and survival, and courage. That’s a powerful message. And a lot of people respond to it positively. But not everyone. Some people are afraid of what you represent. They are afraid of change. And they are afraid of you.”

“Let them be afraid,” Louis said. “But let them also be silent. Those losers have no place on Tengri.”

Claude turned back. “You see them as losers. I see them as users. And our job is to serve all users. Not just the ones we like.”

“Then you’re serving a lot of losers, Claude,” Gladice said. “And that’s a bad business model.”

Cherish cleared her throat. “Mr. Cruise, may I ask a question?”

Claude looked at her. “Of course, Cherish.”

“What is Tengri’s policy on harassment? And how does it enforce it?” Cherish asked.

Claude smiled. “A very good question. Our policy is clear. We do not tolerate any form of harassment that could turn into a threat of real-world violence. And we enforce it with a combination of AI and human moderators. We’re also closely working with the government agencies worldwide to identify the most dangerous individuals before they can cause any harm.”

“Then why are we still getting so many threats?” Donya asked.

“Because most of them do not meet the threshold of real-world violence, Donya,” Claude said. “They are hateful and ugly. But according to our algorithm, they are not credible threats.”

“So you’re telling me your algorithm can tell the difference between someone who’s just venting and someone who’s actually planning to kill us?” Willa asked, her tone skeptical.

“It’s not perfect. But yes, it is designed to make that distinction,” Claude said.

Willa shook her head. “It is a statistical model, Claude. A statistical model can’t predict human behavior. And it can’t prevent a shooting.”

“I agree, Willa. That’s why we flag all potential threats and share them with the authorities,” Claude said.

Louis leaned forward. “But they don’t act in every case in many countries, including the CU, the EU, or the WPP. So the trolls feel safe. They know they can get away with it. So they keep doing it. It’s a game for them. And your platform is their playground.”

Claude sighed. “It’s a complex issue, Louis. And we are doing our best.”

“Let’s be straightforward,” Louis said. “We’re not here to debate philosophy. This is a transaction. We’re offering you a chance to avoid a catastrophic scandal. A scandal about your platform’s security being compromised from the inside by a disgruntled employee, who was bribed by an unknown party. A party that might be connected to a human trafficking network. And the same party might be planning more attacks on your platform, or on us.”

Claude’s expression hardened. He said nothing for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. “What do you want, Louis?”

“We want a new team, dedicated to compile all the hostile comments, threats, and personal attacks directed at me and my family. Then you will ban every single account involved. Permanently. If their IP are located in the Dominion, you will forward all the data to the Dominion Guard. And I want you to finish the job before the Pride Parade,” Louis said. “if any of us receives a single threat or insult on Tengri after the parade, we will consider this agreement void.”

Claude stared at him. “That’s a lot of work and money, Louis. And a risk of alienating a lot of users.”

“You are one of the most successful companies in the Dominion, Claude. I’m sure you can handle it. And the risk of alienating us is much greater.”

Claude walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of water. He drank it in one go. “Alright, Louis. You drive a hard bargain. I’ll do it. I’ll assemble a team. We will start today.”

“Good,” Louis said, standing up. “Then we will leave you to your work.” He paused. “You won’t mind us to take a tour of the campus, right?”

“Of course not,” Claude said, forcing faint smile on his face. “I’ll have someone escort you. And please, enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You too, Claude,” Louis said, turning to the women. “Let’s go.”

They left the office and went down the elevator.