Congressman Michael DuPont sat in his office, feeling much older than his 35 years.
The power vacuum that had been created by Senator Clarke's arrest should have come as a welcome relief, and a much-needed opportunity for small fry like him to make a name for himself.
Unfortunately, the void was quickly filled by yet another loudmouth who was more interested in farming various online and offline causes than actually addressing Massachusetts's lack of opportunities for the skilled workers that its institutions were producing.
Michael himself was struggling for campaign funding, and had sold off a lot of his family's holdings as part of a four square kilometer land parcel for a pittance of $4 million to some kid who probably just wanted a tax write off.
"Mr. DuPont, you have a visitor." said his secretary, interrupting his thoughts.
"Send them in." replied Michael wearily, looking up from his desk.
Michael was taken aback when a tall teenage boy with sleek black hair, piercing blue eyes and dressed in a sleek black leather business suit walked into his office.
He felt slightly under-dressed in the black turtleneck and tan chinos he wore to connect with the youth and Silicon Valley crowd.
"Hello, Mr. DuPont. My name is Aaron Zakhrov. I'm the one who bought the land parcel with the lead mine on it." said the boy.
"U-um yes, unfortunately, you won't be able to sell it back to me or to the state. We're fresh out of cash." replied Michael, trying to sound as professional as possible.
Aaron held out a folder to Michael. "This is the results of my team's environmental survey. We found a uranium vein embedded in the lead mine, along with a sealed hydraulic fracking well that is filled with lead-contaminated, but cleanable water. I want a mining rights to the uranium, and I have a proposal that might interest you." he declared, as he sat down in the chair opposite Michael's desk.
Michael opened the folder and began to read the report, his eyes widening in disbelief as he read the results of the survey, and Aaron's proposal.
"Let me see if I have got this right. You want to mine the uranium, feed it into a modular pressurized heavy water reactor, build a heavy water production facility to achieve full vertical integration for the reactor supply chain, and then build your game studio headquarters that is powered by that reactor and sell the extra power capacity back to the grid. And you want to do all of this in my constituency, on that land parcel you bought, and want full ownership rights to it. Even if you've got the cash, which I doubt you do. Do you have any idea about the kind of pushback you'll get from this? This is Massachusetts, not North Korea!" growled Michael, looking at Aaron with disbelief.
"Handling the politics, optics and selling the proposal to that ignorant rabble you call your constituents is your job. Building something that will generate profits for both of us, while developing and gentrifying the area is mine." came Aaron's cold reply.
Michael carefully considered Aaron's proposal. On the surface it was technically feasible, and had the potential to create multiple high-skilled and high-paying jobs, and drive economic growth in the area. However, in a state as blue as Massachusetts, the political ramifications of such a project would be enormous, and backing such a plan could either kill his career or make him and his constituency billions.
"Alright, let's say I agree to this. What do you need from me? And what do I get from it?" asked Michael cautiously, looking at Aaron.
"You get me whatever rights and permits I need for the project, and I will handle the rest. I'm already putting out feelers for acquiring the necessary raw materials and equipment. And as for what you'll get, you'll have a thriving industry in your district, with all the jobs and economic benefits that come with it, along with a dedicated campaign backer in the form of me and Sirius Software." replied Aaron, looking at Michael with a steely gaze.
"Alright, I will see what I can do. But you need to understand that this is going to be a long and difficult process." said Michael, looking at Aaron.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Are you scrupulous out of cowardice, idealism or ignorance Michael? I can assure you that your political rivals and enemies don't share those values, even if they parrot them to their advantage. You sold me a lead mine, get me a lead mining license. I found an abandoned hydraulic fracking well filled with contaminated water, along with a viable aquifer, so grant me water rights and permits for a desalination and geothermal plant. I'll handle the rest, and disguise the nuclear energy as geothermal using the fracking well. Or are you that squeamish about a few falsehoods to placate a populace that doesn't know what's good for them?" he asked icily.
"Now you listen here kid, I'm a Congressman, not some warlord dictator. I have to answer to my constituents, the Feds, and my party bosses. If your little nuclear reactor blows up, and they even have an inkling that I knew or had something to do with it. It will be my ass in jail, or probably even the federal death penalty! This ain't a game of Sim City or Civilization!" thundered Michael.
Aaron returned Michael's gaze with a steely determination. "I understand. But I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this project a reality, even if that means taking the entire fall myself. If you don't have the stomach for it, then I'll find someone who does." he said, his voice firm and resolute.
Michael sighed and held his head in his hands.
Aaron surveyed him coldly before saying: "This is just to get it up and running quickly, once we've got the pieces, we can retroactively get the legitimate permits and licenses. The classic illegal until there's no choice but to make it legal playbook."
"Alright. But the less I know about your shenanigans, the better. And you can hold off on any campaign funding until after you pull off your little super-villain scheme. I'll get you your lead mining license for now, since it costs me nothing and costs you everything." growled Michael.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Michael." said Aaron, giving the older man a steely handshake.
Michael pulled up Sirius Software's articles of incorporation once Aaron had left his office.
"I can't believe I just got schooled in realpolitik by a kid who isn't old enough to vote." he muttered to himself, as he began to draft Aaron's mining permit.
----
"As you can see, the Sirius Software mining robot is capable of drilling and extracting lead ore from the mine with minimal human intervention. It draws power from cables, making it much more robust than battery powered alternatives, and booster relays allow the operator to control it from outside the mine." said Aaron, as he demonstrated the mining robot to a group of investors and mining corporation heads in a makeshift conference room that Harry had built about a kilometer from the mine.
The men in the room marveled at the video feed from the robot, that was drilling and scraping lead ore from the walls of the mine, and loading it onto a waiting mining cart.
"Can it be configured to mine ores other than lead?" asked Friedrich Albrecht, the CEO of Albrecht Nuclear systems, a German nuclear power company that also had Uranium mines in Africa and South America.
"Yes, it can be configured to detect and mine any ore, including radioactive ones like Uranium and Thorium, and even carbon based minerals like coal, graphite and diamond." replied Aaron.
"That thing is the permanent solution to my union problems. How quickly can you ramp production?" asked Friedrich, a manic glint in his eye.
"With the right funding, we can ramp production to 100 units a month. But I will need a lot of cash to do that." replied Aaron.
"I'm blocking the first ten thousand units, configured for Uranium mining for $4 billion. Payable in 10 quarterly installments of $400 million." bid Friedrich, much to the surprise and shock of the others, who were still weighing the merits of the robot versus the costs and risks of pissing off the unions.
"That's a lot of money for a robot that isn't even in production yet." said one of the other investors, looking at Friedrich with disbelief.
"I know innovation when I see it. And I'm sick of dealing with unions and their bullshit! This will make my Uranium mines the most profitable in Europe!" shot back Friedrich, glaring at the other investors.
"You get the robots and a 5-year support contract. Throw as much money as you want, but you're not getting a single share of equity." replied Aaron coldly, handing Friedrich a sales and support contract.
"Selling your product without selling your control. Now that's a practice that I respect." said Friedrich, as he signed the contract and handed it back to Aaron, as the others filed out, put off by the lack of equity options or controlling stakes to mitigate their investment risks.
Andre watched Friedrich give Aaron a final handshake leave the conference room with growing alarm.
Aaron had taken a gap year from college, and jury-rigged a collection of electronics, sensors, IoT devices and robotics into the mining robot, and had now successfully pitched it to the tune of a $4 billion contract, without selling a single share of Sirius Software.
"Harry, do you have the plans for the mining robot factory ready yet? No? Well get a move on. We've got to crank out ten thousand robots for Albrecht Nuclear Systems." demanded Aaron over his phone.
Aaron hung up and turned to Andre. "Is the employee contract and NDA ready Andre?" he asked.
"Yes, but are you sure about this Aaron? Having a dress code that mandates women to wear skirt suits and high heels in this day and age will turn off a lot of female talent and make Sirius Software's image even more controversial." warned Andre.
"I refuse to let androgynous social justice obsessed vermin into my company." said Aaron coldly, and with quiet conviction.
Andre sighed. The NDA and employment contract Aaron had asked Andre to draft was extensive and extremely strict. It forbade any discussion of politics, religion or ideology among employees when communicating over Sirius Software's communication channels, forbade discussion of Sirius Software's games and policies on public forums and social media, and mandated a dress code of skirt suits and high heels for female employees, and business suits for male employees. Consequences for violations included heavy fines, and immediate dismissal without severance. Aaron's cold belief that any progressive individual who protested high heels were vermin only added to his concerns.