“Well, first they’d have to know what was going on, which hopefully we’ll be keeping a secret. Second, the stazing signal’s sent out immediately after the measuring signal. There isn’t time to insert a sensor in the signal path.”
“You mean within seconds?”
“I mean within microseconds. Computers are very, very fast, you know?”
“Suppose they found a way to insert an electronic sensor? Something so fast it could insert within microseconds.”
“Well, then they’d have to know when the measurement signal came to an end and the stazing signal began. There’s not an obvious difference.” Gunnar opened his mouth to interject again, but Kaem held up a hand to get him to wait. “Additionally, it wouldn’t matter. The two signals are so close together because if they weren’t, slight vibrations could change the stazing signal needed. So, if they tried to staze the exact same mold with the exact same stazing signal, there’s a good chance it wouldn’t work more than one or two times in a hundred. And after the mold was opened to extract the Stade that’d been formed, then closed again, with, therefore, slight changes in the configuration of its dimensions, it probably wouldn’t staze more than one time in a thousand. To staze things successfully, they’d need our proprietary chip, with its proprietary firmware. Hopefully, our thermite circuit board protection system will keep them from getting either of those.”
Gunnar said, “I guess I worry too much.”
“No such thing. I’m worried about it too, because someone,” he eyed Gunnar, “has me thinking we don’t want to get a patent. Let me know of any other possible holes you see in our plan to keep the stazers’ function a secret.”
Gunnar looked thoughtful. “So, you’re saying we can specify exactly what a company can staze with our stazers?”
“Yeah, they’d need to send us a design drawing of the dimensions of the objects they’re planning to staze. Then we can authorize their stazer to staze those and bill them according to what they’re stazing, how big it is, how many of them they make, etcetera.”
“And we can cut them off anytime we want because the Stazer has to check back with us over the internet before each stazing, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What if they’re doing it with Mylar?”
“Oh, yeah. Mylar film stazings are a bitch for the stazer to calculate. Especially your big blimps when they’re out in a breeze and the Mylar’s rippling. You probably don’t realize it, but your stazer usually has to make more than one attempt to staze one of those. You probably won’t be able to staze at all in a significant wind.”
“Other people will be able to staze in Mylar though?”
“Uh-huh. I’m figuring we’ll charge them by the volume successfully stazed. You have a better idea?”
“We won’t know what they’re making though. Not like we will when they send us design drawings.”
“Actually, the stazer can calculate and produce a drawing of what they’re making for us. We’ll be able to look them over and decide whether we think they’re making weapons.”
“If you don’t want them making weapons, we’re going to have to hire a lot of smart people who can recognize weapon components when they see ’em.”
“Yeah, their salaries will have to be added onto what we’re charging. Maybe you could start thinking about a training program to teach them to recognize weapons?”
“Okay… Wait, I can imagine Stade would make a great cannon barrel and that they’d be easy to recognize, but what if some smart SOB comes up with a weapon we haven’t thought of?”
Kaem frowned, “I guess all of us should spend some time thinking about how Stade could be weaponized.”
Gunnar sighed, “First thought. A short-term Stade full of radioactive dust and a stick of dynamite. You light the fuse, staze it, send it to New York and the Stade expires the day after it arrives. The fuse resumes burning. The dynamite explodes. Voila, a dirty bomb.”
Kaem sighed, “Crap. How are we gonna we keep that from happening?”
“Well, it isn’t that easy for terrorists to get radioactive dust. But anthrax wouldn’t be that hard for them to come up with and it’s pretty bad too.”
“Yeah, yeah. I understand the problem. What’s the solution?”
Gunnar looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “We don’t sell stazers, we only lease ’em. That way we get some income even if they aren’t using it. And when we lease a stazer, it only works in the location we licensed it for. The owner can’t sell it or let it be stolen by a terrorist.”
“We’re going to ask the FBI where all the terrorists live?”
Glumly, Gunnar sighed, “I don’t know. We’re gonna have to give this a lot more thought.”
Chapter Four
Arya walked Desiree Lanis, the engineering applicant, into the bigger part of Staze’s building, saying, “You understand we can’t hire anyone right now? We’re only interviewing people so we’ll be able to rapidly fill positions when our cash flow situation improves.”
The young woman asked, “When are you thinking that’ll be?”
“One to two months. Like we said in our email, if you have to have a job before then, we’re not the place for you.”
“No, no. I’ve got a job. I just have to give them two weeks’ notice, then I’ll be here.”
“Where are you working now, Ms. Lanis?”
“I work for Ledger and Ledger. They’re a high-tech construction company with projects all over the world. I’m on a project in Richmond at present.”
“Are you unhappy with them? Tired of moving from place to place?”
“Oh,” she said as if surprised. “No. I’m quite happy. I like the kinds of projects they take on and
