Perion Synthetics by Daniel Verastiqui Page B

now?” asked Cam. “I’d like to get an idea of your personal and
professional history since you joined Perion Synthetics.”
    “Unfortunately, I have some pressing matters
to attend to. My better half is well-versed in my backstory, and she’s a much
more visually appealing interface to get the information from, don’t you agree?
Please speak to her first, and if you still need more for your story, I’ll be
happy to arrange a follow-up meeting. Until then, it has been a pleasure
talking with you, Mr. Gray.”
    Talking at me, thought Cam. He
pocketed his phone and shook Chuck’s hand. “Any suggestion where I should start
my investigation?” he asked.
    “Dr. Bhenderu has arranged a demonstration
for you at Southpoint Synthetics. He wouldn’t give me the details, but I assume
it will be worth your time. They have some new and exciting products on display
there, and it may be interesting to see how our boys on the front line handle
an outlander.”
    “Dinner tonight?” asked Sava.
    Chuck was already walking away; he answered
over his shoulder. “I will do my best to be there. Big things are happening
upstairs.” The silver door swung closed behind him.
    Sava turned to Cam. “What’s that look for?”
    “Your boyfriend, he’s… a charming fellow.”
    “You could learn a thing or two,” she
replied, putting her hands on her hips.
    Cam consulted his phone and exclaimed, “Four
plus four equals eight!”
7
    Southpoint Synthetics was a two-story building sitting on an
acre of evercrete between an arts and crafts store and the W. G. Walter
Spiritual Center. The scaffolding of a rooftop helipad hung out over the edge
of what could have passed for a car dealership anywhere else.
    Sava explained that Southpoint was the
brainchild of Katherine Shaw, Perion’s vice president of business development and
former rising star at Nixle Chronos. She had been personally responsible for
the successful launch of NC’s self-contained augmented reality exotech and had
been plucked from the company by James Perion himself.
    According to her dossier, she was wife to
Nicholas “Nico” Shaw, personal assistant to Perion’s son Joseph. The list of
her accomplishments was a mile long, which was probably why Perion had agreed
to let her establish a dealership in the middle of the city and stock it with
products and employees, neither of which were actually expected to sell.
    “It’s the simulation that’s important,” said
Sava, as the car pulled into the parking lot beneath the mammoth Southpoint
sign. “Mrs. Shaw wants to get the procedures in place years ahead of the
product launch. A few months ago, she sent out a memo telling everyone it was
their professional responsibility to visit Southpoint at least once and pretend
to be a customer looking to buy. It gives the salespeople something to do.”
    Cam detected a lack of enthusiasm. “I’m
guessing you don’t agree with the wasting of resources?”
    “It’s not just that,” said Sava.
    The car came to a stop and the chauffeur
opened the door for her. Over the roof, she continued.
    “It just makes them seem even more inhuman
than they already are. Buying and selling products that look like
humans? And no one bats an eye at this?”
    “I guess so long as the synthetics aren’t
wearing loincloths and bound with shackles, we should be okay, right?”
    Sava rolled her eyes and headed for the
front door. She was met inside by a man in a blue suit and an outrageously pink
tie. He was a salesman head to toe; the only thing more artificial than his
smile was his jet-black hair color.
    “Ms. Kessler, what a nice surprise. What
brings you in today?”
    “My friend here needs a new synthetic,” she
explained, her acting skills strained to their breaking point. “His previous
model suffered a water intrusion short after he told it to put liquid dish soap
in the dishwashing machine.”
    The salesman nodded and switched his focus
to Cam.
    “A shame,” he said.
    “And