Conversation · Mega Rich Light-Bending Guy

The shape stands in stunned silence.

"Not the blaasma gun again." The lieutenant takes off the glasses and rubs his eyes with his fingers. "It's not even possible."

"It is not possible. But what a dream..." He shakes his head. "Either way, even if I could do it, I certainly wouldn't give an incompetent and corrupt police force WORLD-ENDING weaponry."

"Large-calibre weapons for patrol officers."

"You want to take an incompetent and corrupt police force and give them deadlier weapons? No, no, that won't work..."

"Because they have guns!"

"I'm already on the board of two major arms manufacturers. I've got no shortage of guns, if I wanted such things..."

"Because it's chronically mismanaged, deeply corrupt, and completely outmatched."

"Just a minute. The RCM has its difficulties, but generally speaking--"

"You know, that's exactly what I've heard. From what I understand, the RCM as currently constituted is essentially a lost cause..."

"That's why I should invest? Are you trying to say that the RCM's bad reputation makes it an undervalued asset?"

"No, I think it's exactly as valuable as it looks."

"Yes."

"Okay, so I've got this idea for a board game."

"Go on."

"Brace yourself. It is very high concept."

"I'm ready."

"Its a pen-and-paper game where people all over the world can play with each other -- using radios!"

Nicking an idea that wasn't worth anything in the first place and trying to pass it off as your own? How very entrepreneurial. I love it.

"Hold on. Have we met before?"

"Maybe? I wouldn't really know."

"No, on second thought, it couldn't have been you."

"Your idea reminds me of a group of young men who came to me a long time ago, calling themselves 'Fortress Accident' -- the name should've been a red flag."

"They pitched me and a handful of other investors on an idea for a role-playing game that would, in their words, change the world."

"What happened?"

"Well, at first everything was rosy, the ideas were solid, but they were lacking in... how do I put it..."

"They lacked the will to get things done. As their financial situation became more desperate, their ideas devolved from realistic to absolute insanity."

"We lost all of our money. High-art types never deliver. They're only good for peddling welkins or whatever creeps they come up with."

"I guess the inordinate amount of time they poured into drawing mythical creatures did not generate a return on investment."

"Did you try to salvage the project somehow?"

"Sadly, when we got there, it was too late. The concept had run out of steam, only dust remained."

"What I want to tell you is this: it's a very bad idea. Dead in the water. You seem like a reasonable man, but that is not a reasonable plan."

Okay. Well. Maybe I was wrong. We've all learned something today.

"Thank you for the advice."

"You're welcome. Now, was there something else I could help you with?"

"Are you sure you don't want to give those little welkins a second go?"

"Absolutely not."

Stop embarrassing yourself. Pop a magnesium and calm down.

"Wait. Where are they now?"

"Nobody knows for sure, but the place can't be pretty."

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, on second thought, it couldn't have been you."

"It's a twist on an already established, working idea."

"Yes?"

"It's a pen-and-paper role-playing game -- only the players are connected with radiocomputers!"

"How did you become so rich?"

"Oh, lord, not this again."

"What's the matter, Kim?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that we've got this murder to solve, and yet you go around asking everyone about money. And every time I ask, 'Are you sure this is related to the case?', you say, 'Sure, Kim. I think it is'..."

"And yet it never seems to get us any closer to solving the case."

The man chuckles. "It's quite alright. I'm used to the question by now. To be blunt, I inherited my fortune from my grandmother, who, herself, was an extremely high-net-worth individual back in Graad..."

"All I did was take her fortune and invest it prudently. Believe it or not, it takes more than a bit of skill not to blow a vast fortune on sailing boats, bad choices, and unsupervised state policy."

And blow.

Actually -- at the level this guy is, it takes several generations to do that, but all right.

"What's it like being an extremely high-net-worth individual?"

The man exhales with a whistle. "I gotta tell you, at first, being rich is a lot of work. You've got to work hard because everything's so darn expensive. You know, prices increase exponentially at this income level..."

"But then, once you've reached my position, it's nearly impossible for me not to make money. My assets are so diversified that I'm bound to come out ahead no matter what..."

"Some of my lower-net-worth friends say to me, 'But doesn't that take all the fun out of it?' and I tell them, 'Not really.'"

Say nothing.

"Capital." He nods. "Makes one speechless, does it not? Blinds like the sun that rises from beyond the horizon after a gloomy winter."