" Leonard Speaking"
' Leonard Thinking'
Private Hall, Hilton Hotel, Washington DC
The conference went on for Leonard looked at the scores of scientists, teachers, hackers and industry professionals intermingling among themselves. His conference had just ended, and the buffet had started. This scene brought joy to him, as he saw biologists discussing ideas with engineers, mathematicians talking with philosophers and hackers, both white and grey hat, discussing the latest technologies in data privacy. Scientific discussions and sharing of knowledge happened wherever his eyes went. Paige came to him as the music started to play.
Leonard pointed at the crowd before speaking, "Do you see these people? I doubt many of them even knew each other before coming to the meeting. Yet here they are, talking to each other like best friends. I say, many new paradigms will be formed before we leave here."
Paige smiled at his words. She looked at the crowd with bright eyes. This was something she was trying to do for so long. But somehow, Leonard was far more efficient in his approach to discovering talent. She asked, "So, what now?"
Leonard looked at her and said, "Now, we meet the inner circle."
Leonard's eyes quickly scanned for Mike, he was at a small table with Sofia. He went to the table, "Mike! How have you been?"
Mike snapped to the sound. Leonard was quickly approaching the two. The last few hours had been topsy turvy for him. He knew that Leonard had some end goal, but the speech just touched the tip of the iceberg. Now, he had some inkling to Leonard's ambitions.
Leonard continued, "Dr. Vasquez, it's good to see you as well? Do you mind if I borrow Mike for something? Don't worry, I'll return him safe and sound." Mike looked at Sofia for a moment before standing up.
Leonard quickly pulled Mike over to the side and gave him a list. He whispered, "Please get these people over to the conference room. I need to talk to them. Once everyone is informed, take Sofia there as well. I will be with you in a jiffy."
Mike nodded and went to call the people. Leonard glanced at the crowd for a few seconds before leaving the room. Mike looked at the list. His name was there, along with Sofia. Thankfully, Leonard had included a picture of the people as well. Mike quickly composed himself and started to find the people.
Elliot Alderson P.O.V
Elliot did not like parties. They were usually loud and messy, with people getting drunk and eating lots of food. Truthfully, he did not like to be around too many people. Unfortunately, the conference had slowly, but surely, devolved into a party. While it was not as loud as some nightclubs he had visited before, it was crowded with people from many walks of life, with a lot of food, and music playing to liven up the evening.
His thoughts shifted back to the beginning of the conference. He remembered his awkwardness when he entered the conference hall, he recalled the hesitation he felt before the conference started. He even thought of leaving, but thankfully, he didn't.
He was awed when Leonard took the stage. Leonard wasn't overly tall, or buff. But there was a presence about him. His confidence in himself seemed to draw people in, while his intelligence and ability made them submit. But Elliot was attracted to his vision. A world without lies, where good people were protected, was a world he could get behind.
He had just picked up a glass of wine when he heard someone call him.
"Mr. Elliot Alderson."
Elliot looked at the clean shaven suited man looking at him. Once he had Elliot's attention, the man continued, "I am Dr. Hofstadter's attorney Mike Ross. Dr. Hofstadter wanted to see you. Could you please, move to the meeting room 1A? Dr. Hofstadter will see you there."
Elliot simply nodded as Mike left, possibly to call another guest. Elliot looked at his wine glass, completely untouched, and now wasted. Taking a deep breath, Elliot quickly gulped down the wine as his face flushed a little. Putting the empty glass in a passing waiter's tray, Elliot moved to the meeting room.
Leonard's P.O.V
Leonard sat in a chair as people filed into the room. Paige was the first to come. Leonard quickly motioned her to sit at his right, as Emil Okoye, Arun Rao, Colonel Giselle Blanco, Elliot Anderson and Dr. Sofia Vasquez came to the room. Mike was the last to come.
Leonard turned to the people he called. They were his choice, his inner circle. He had picked them among millions. There will be more, but that was for another day.
Leonard addressed the sitting people, "Good evening everyone. I hope I did not interrupt your meal. If I did, I apologize for that. Let me reintroduce myself, I am Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, and the beautiful woman sitting by my side is Dr. Paige Swanson. Dr. Paige these are Mr. Arun Rao, a well known engineer from MIT. His chemical solutions to environmental problems may end up saving the earth someday. Next to him is Mr. Emil Okoye. He is from Nigeria, though currently, he teaches Philosophy at my alma mater. His work as a social activist for Africa in the past year has been quite significant. Then we have Dr. Sofia Vasquez. She is not only a talented doctor, but also a brilliant researcher in the field of pharmaceuticals. Then there is Colonel Blanco. She has led many peacekeeping operations for the UN. She is especially known for her protection and elimination records. Lastly, we have Mr. Elliot Alderson. Currently he works as a private network security specialist at a New York company called Allsafe. You all are already familiar with Mr. Mike Ross, my attorney."
The people introduced each other again. For a minute, Leonard kept quiet, observing the people in front of him as a slightly awkward silence spread across the table. Paige quickly nudged Leonard, asking him to speak.
Leonard quickly folded his hands together before speaking, "I believe you have some questions for me."
Giselle spoke before everyone else, "I don't have a question, but I do want to thank you. You saved my daughter's life."
Leonard smiled at that, "It may seem that way to you, but truthfully, I did that due to you. There are many people qualified for the job I offered you, but you were the candidate with the best character and ability. In other words, it was you who saved your daughter, I was just a medium."
Giselle smiled at that. Emil had a small smile as well, before he looked at Leonard, his face blank, "I want to ask you, did the things you showed on the screen true?"
Leonard looked at Emil and said, "Mr. Okoye, everything I said was true. Maybe you would have preferred a different answer, but I cannot give one. I understand, it must be painful to know that your village got in the way of greedy people. It horrified me as well. The only thing we can do about it is to make sure such things don't happen again."
Elliot hummed, before asking in his awkward voice, "Why did you call us?"
Leonard smiled at that. This was the question he was expecting. Leonard looked at everyone before saying, "When I conceived the idea of Chaldea, I knew that it would be impossible to do on my own. I could try my best in science, but without help from other sectors, my scientific discoveries would end up gathering dust. No one would want a million dollar project that has no market future. Often, transitional tech faces problems with funding as there is no direct use of that. I knew that if I wanted to progress science, I would need a team. Some parts of the team would handle financial matters, some would be my legal arms, others would help in research, industry, policy etc."
Everyone listened carefully. Leonard looked everyone in the eye and continued, "While skills could be taught, character is something people nurture over their life. So, I decided. I will not bring about anyone with just money in this organisation. The criteria for that was character. After looking through thousands, I found you. And now, I formally extend this invitation to you. Will you join Chaldea as its board?"
Elliot opened his mouth and closed it again. Leonard quickly caught on to that and asked, "Anything you want to say Mr. Alderson?"
Elliot hesitated before replying, "No."
Leonard chuckled and said, "You don't need to say anything. You are wondering if there is any difference between me and any of the companies I mentioned before.There is a huge difference. First is greed. I don't care much about money. Even without forming Chaldea, I could earn enough in a day that most people do not earn in years. Second, I don't need recognition, or credit for anything except my work. What I want is betterment, not just for me, or the USA, but for the entire world."
Leonard sighed, "The only issue with this is that I need to follow the rules of the society. Anything that benefits the world, but is disruptive to the market will be shut down. My life would be in danger. I might even be discredited in the scientific community. Some of you might have even experienced it first hand."
Arun and Sofia nodded. They had experienced disdain, persecution, and disgrace. Sofia even went to jail, just because she saved people.
Leonard continued, "Besides, do you think everyone in the room to the side agrees with me?"
Everyone in the room was startled. Arun asked tentatively, "They don't?"
Leonard explained, "Many scientists work for established firms or universities. They earn a lot of money for their research. If I disrupt the market, many of them will find themselves jobless. And believe me, Chaldea is disruptive."
Emil wondered, "And you still invited them to this conference. They would tell their bosses about this conference, as soon as they leave."
Leonard smiled devilishly, "About that, you must have noticed that most phones do not work here."
Elliot nodded. He was wondering about that in the conference, especially when Leonard used his phone.
Leonard said, "I installed a special jammer in the conference room. The people in this area are in a blackout zone. They will not receive any information, nor will they be able to send any. Now, I have asked one of the waiters to bring some of the scientists who will surely tell on us, to a separate room."
Paige asked worriedly, "What are you going to do to them?"
Leonard smiled, "You will know soon. Before that, I implore you to wear these glasses."
Leonard swiftly took out a box, handing each member a pair of glasses. As everyone wore them, Leonard asked Giselle, "Colonel Blanco, I hope you brought your gun with you."
Everyone was horrified at the question. For a second, they wondered if Leonard had gone crazy. Giselle nodded unconsciously. Without explaining anything further, Leonard led them to a soundproofed room. Five scientists and an economist sat in the room, discussing something furiously.
As Leonard and his members came to the room, the people inside had plastered fake smiles, their previous looks of irritation and dissatisfaction, melting into a genuinely comforting look with practised ease. However, no one in Leonard's group was a fool. The quick change was quickly noticed by them.
Leonard began excitedly, "My friends, I apologize for the delay. I was in a discussion."
The lead scientist, a balding man, waved his hand to indicate he did not mind the wait. Leonard quickly looked at them and asked, "What did you think of my conference? I must say, the support is overwhelming."
An assistant spoke, "It deserves all the support sir. I say, such initiatives where scientists can collaborate more easily would be accepted by every self respecting scientist."
Leonard smiled before the smile melted like an ice cube in a volcano, "Then please tell me, why do you not support my vision? According to your own idea, you are scientists without self respect."
The assistant looked at his superior at his side and stammered, "I don't understand what you mean sir?"
Leonard laughed coldly, "Oh please…we have already gone past the pleasantries. Two of you even helped engineer the disease that Dr. Vasquez here was blamed for."
This caught Leonard's group off guard. While they had heard of WCKD, to think two of the scientists associated with such a company were present in the conference was shocking. Sofia's and Mike's expressions became unkind. They knew how difficult it was to defend Sofia in the Federal Court. Now, the gun Leonard asked for seemed necessary.
The lead scientist gave a grunt of annoyance before walking towards the door. Leonard gave a signal to Giselle, who quickly closed the door. The economist protested, "Even if they did, you cannot keep us here. It is against the law…"
All of his protests died as Leonard pulled out a gun from under his coat. Leonard commanded the lead scientist to come back to the group. Leonard handed his gun to Giselle before continuing, "I understand your position. You work for a company that pays well, with sufficient funding and no moral compass to speak of. I am a scientist as well. I totally do, but working for that company has made you a part of those sins. Now, I can kill you right here, but that will not solve any problems. People like you are easily replaced."
Leonard reached back into his coat and took out a small silver cylindrical device. He continued, "I am a physicist, but I have made extensive studies in multiple fields. One of those fields was the brain. You might not know this, our brain is a fascinating organ. It encodes and stores memory in the form of neuron connections. However, these connections can be broken by a sudden stimulus, leading to conditions like amnesia. It is very common during accidents. These connections become stable after longer periods of time, but for a couple hours to a week, these connections are fragile. And if we know how, we can do something. For example, please look here."
As the scientists looked at the device in Leonard's hand, the device emitted a flash of light, causing the scientists to go blank."
Leonard quickly spoke, "You came to the conference, but there were no projects worth checking out. It was a small conference for obtaining research funds. At the end, you received a pen as a gift from the organiser."
Leonard quickly pulled out a pen from his pocket, casually slipping it into the pocket of the dazed scientist. He continued, "You liked the pen, and decided to make it your default one. You carry it everywhere."
In a few more seconds, the scientists came out of the daze. Leonard's group, including Paige, were slack jawed at how easily Leonard was able to erase and modify memories using a flash of light. Leonard greeted the scientists again and bid them goodbye. As the scientists left, Leonard announced, "Chaldea is a dream worth protecting. And I will protect it to the best of my abilities.
Paige looked at Leonard's face. His eyes were full of conviction and her heart fluttered at the determination in them. She reached into her pocket, withdrawing a Superman flash drive. She looked at the drive for a few seconds before smiling and giving it to Leonard.
AN: That's a wrap. Just a couple of chapters more before the end of the Sabbatical Arc.
AN2: I wish to thank my patrons Cujo, Neveah Strudivant, madao, Brody Mcdermott, Wilder, Cle, Warsame Warsame, jacob hixson, Luke Bohlander, Jordane Minott, Rickard Gustavsson, Kameron Krueger, Lamar Naugles, TyrantGod, Randomdepressed, Nathan, Matthew Hankins, Darth Melkor, Haku, Darren Burns. Thank you very much for the support. Stay tuned for many more interesting stories.