CHAPTER 232: LEGACY

Heidy turned to look at Cindy, then at Jack, then back at Cindy. "Really?" she asked, sounding a touch annoyed.

Cindy looked at Heidy confused, then looked at Jack, then back at Heidy. "What?"

Heidy pointed at Jack with her eyes while facing Cindy.

"What?!" asked Cindy, still confused.

He turned to Heidy. "I have a stronger soul, and that has a subconscious effect on people. Cindy is bi-sexual and might feel a subconscious attraction to me because of my stronger soul."

"I do?" asked Cindy.

Heidy sighed. "Okay, that makes sense. It’s not a problem. I was just surprised that she was responding this way to someone so young. She usually goes for older men."

"You have an open relationship?"

"Sort of. There’s been a few times where I’ve let her play with a married man. It helps her maintain the right perspective."

Jack didn’t understand how Heidy could ever let that happen. He could feel some anger just thinking about the idea of letting another man touch one of his girls.

Seeing Jack’s expression, Heidy said, "You disapprove?"

"She’s your partner, not mine. So, to each his own, and all that. It’s just not something I could ever tolerate."

Then he turned and headed towards the walkway that led across the water to the exit of the room.

"Come on, let’s go get your new rooms set up."

He led the two women out of the interview room with the island and into the separate space he’d created for Phineas and people like him. Madison and Isabella followed, but split off once they exited the interview room.

He created a bedroom for them and populated it with the same bed and furniture that was in their physical bedroom. Then he created an office for them next to Phineas’ office, and templatized and linked their laptops.

They had met Phineas before, so no introductions were needed.

Before he left them to head back to the interview room, he said, "Once I have the corporation set up, I’ll have a lawyer contact you so you can sign your employment contracts and get started."

"Do you have any preferences for who we hire?" asked Heidy.

"I don’t have any recommendations. But for all C-suite and VP positions, I think it would be best if we interviewed a copy here first, just to make sure they can actually be trusted. We don’t want to hire any moles."

"That’s good to hear. If you hadn’t suggested doing so, I would have," said Heidy.

"What about physical access to the data centers once you have your servers deployed? Do you want to only allow soul bonded people to have access?"

"No. I think we should interview the people that will have access to security monitoring systems and data, but no soul bonds."

He returned to the interview room and summoned Lars Jensen and his granddaughter.

Lars was an old man, possibly in his seventies, with white hair, and piercing blue eyes. The man held himself erect, with none of the stoop that he commonly saw in people the man’s age.

His granddaughter, Astrid, was in her late-twenties and was tall, with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and white, lightly tanned skin. She wasn’t quite as starkly beautiful as Nora, with more of a girl next door look.

Astrid looked at her grandfather with concern while he looked around the room, then back at Jack.

With a twinkle in his eye, Lars said, "I’m pretty sure this isn’t Valhalla."

Jack smiled. "No, not Valhalla, or heaven. This is my soul space, and you two are copies. Your original selves are still asleep, unaware of your existence."

"Why do I believe you?" asked Astrid. "What you just said should be impossible."

"You’re the first person to ask me that. Everyone else just took it in stride. As for why you believe me, even though everything you know says it’s impossible. It’s a feature of the copy process."

"But how is this possible?"

"Let me tell you where you are, how I brought you here, and why. Once I’m done, you can ask any questions you have."

She nodded, then he told them about Genesis Heart, sapient templates, soul bonds, his overall plans, and his plans for their company.

"That’s quite the ambitious plan you have there, young man," said Lars. "Why did you pick Jensen Manufacturing?"

"Several reasons. You made the displays for the original Horizon VR headset, Phineas thinks you are honorable people, your company already has the infrastructure for chip manufacturing, and you are in a pickle. Thus, motivated sellers."

Lars nodded. "All good reasons."

"And you’re saying you can provide the fabricators needed to make these new displays?" asked Astrid.

"Yes. Not only that, but we’ll also provide machines for fabricating chips and the glove fabric. You’ll need to expand, but we think you have enough space to host enough fabricators to meet initial demands."

"But you want us to merge with Horizon VR? Why?" she asked.

"Why keep the two companies separate if everything Jensen makes is for Horizon?" he replied.

"But..."

Lars put a hand on her thigh and squeezed. "Astrid, it’s okay. This is a good deal. I told you that when Phineas first proposed it."

Looking at Astrid, Jack asked, "I already stated that Jensen Manufacturing would remain intact, just becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon. So, what’s your concern?"

"She’s concerned about my legacy," said Lars. "If I sell to Horizon, she’d worried my legacy will be buried."

Jack didn’t understand old men’s obsession with legacy. Sure, people said it was an attempt to achieve some sort of immortality, but he still didn’t get it. Once you’re dead, you’re beyond caring. So why bother?

"It doesn’t help that I’m dying," added Lars.

"Cancer?" asked Jack.

Lars nodded. "Pancreatic."

"I kept urging him to-" She looked frustrated and close to tears.

"This may not be Valhalla, but I can offer you a form of afterlife. Something no one else can provide."

"How?" asked Astrid, almost sobbing.

Looking at Lars, he said, "If you accept a soul bond, then die, your soul will remain connected to me, and I’ll be able to summon you here in my soul space."

Then, looking at Astrid, "And if you accept a soul bond, then you will be able to visit your grandfather here in my soul space."

"What about my cancer?" asked Lars.