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shawnmmcc
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Here's the next installment from the annals of the Morgan combine, trying to rationally explain certain game tactics in role-playing terms. 
CEO Morgan was dressed in yellow supervisor's coverall and a hardhat with a multilink. He strode up to the ramp where the famous "white elephant" was being disassembled. He hated this. He would have to admit he was wrong. He knew it was good management, and he knew it would increase the respect his subordinateds had for him. It still sucked. "Good morning, Herr Speer."
The man in the chief engineer's yellow and orange overall, holding a clipboard server, looked up. He was in his fifties, a big beefy bald hunk of a man. He was overweight, but you wouldn't want to fight with him, there was still plenty of muscle underneath. He smiled, his face flushed red, dimpling. "See, direktor, it worked. I told all of you it would." He smiled triumphantly, not gloating, just happy that after years of interdepartment fights and constant rumors and sarcastic remarks, he had been vindicated. "The disassembly is going wonderful."
They both looked up. Armor plates were being removed from the rover chassis, and the machine tools and construction equipment that had been aboard the pod were being unloaded. Herr Speer beamed at CEO Morgan. "All of this will be usable for the Planetary Transit System. I know we are going to have some inefficiencies, but it will save us a decade off completion of the special project."
CEO Morgan shook his head. The fights had been fierce over use of the two salvaged materials pods. One group had wanted to make additional Network Nodes, to speed up research. But the other had pointed out that large amounts of materials that were available would be wasted, unusable for constructing a new node. Instead they suggested making Rover Colony Pods, which they already had blueprints for, and essential convert them to depot use. As soon as the researchers did their work, the engineers could complete the special project in a couple of years.
He hadn't believed it, but the Engineers had convinced the accountants and researchers, He could have overridden the vote, but he eventually wanted a democracy in place. It was the only chance Jade had, she could never compete if Morgan Industries had become an authoritarian corporate state when he died. He shuddered, thinking about security chief Hugh Orde.
He had one more question. "Herr Speer, what about the personnel? I've seen the new marraige and birth numbers, but how did you do it?"
The man looked over sheepishly. "Your frauline, she can be very persuasive." Speer saw the expression come over Morgan's face. "No, no, not like that at all. If one listens, she is a very smart frauline. She made me swear not to tell anyone until after we had succeeded."
There was silence as Speer trailed off. Finally CEO Morgan told him, "Alright, explain away. I may as well find out from you, if this is what I think it is, she's going to be insufferable."
"When we were fighting in the boardroom, she came to me with this offer." Speer continued. "If I insist on the crew all being empath qualified, you know what they call trancers, then she would get me the votes of the researchers. I went along with it. She is very clever."
Speer looked at Morgan's expressionless face before continuing. "So now that we are decommissioning the pods, she has taken the very talented young people and started a matchmaking service. I remember you always telling us to use what we know, and make money with what you are good at, and she is very good."
Morgan looked puzzled. Speer continued. "She is young and has had, how do you say it, turbulent personal life. No, no let me finish," he said, holding up his hand as Morgan's expression clouded over. "She knows very hard it is for young people to find good person, so she takes these trancers and starts matchmaking service. Some go to Gaians, they really more green than we here, some come from Gaians, want more choice and freedom. Works good, more marraiges, less divorces, more little ones getting in the way." He finished with a big smile. "My Bertha finds herself a young man last year, one of first clients. They are big happy, and I have a grandson."
CEO Morgan gritted his teeth, forced a smile, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've done well. The Planetary Transit System will be operational next year, and the, umm, dating service Jade started is going to give us the baby boom we need to take advantage of it. That's what a good executive does, recognizing when his boss is wrong and working around him. I'm quite sure your subordinates have done it with you, and now for once I'm on the receiving end. I don't enjoy it, but the two of you did great!"
CEO Morgan strode off. He muttered to himself, "I don't know whether I should kill the girl, lock her up, or just turn the boardroom over to her." Then he smiled. Since his wife had died, he'd had dalliances, but nothing really permanent. "OK, little lady, let's just see how good you are." He pulled up his comppad, and accessed his alternate personality, the one he used when he wanted to be incognito.
He accessed the website, and the message chimed over his earpiece, "Trance matchmaking, to find the one who entrances you." He smiled, this was going to be fun.
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19-10-2004 23:58
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