Mr Wang stroked his chin appreciatively, while Mr Ma nodded, his wrinkled face remaining a mask of expressionless blankness.
‘Astonishing,’ Mr Wang remarked after a while.
‘They seem to quite enjoy it,’ Ms Fang replied with a subtle grin.
‘No doubt they do.’
‘What is more, we can actually see the dreams we’ve conjured up playing out on a screen.’
Mr Wang beamed a broad and enthusiastic smile at Ms Fang.
‘Amazing! And this will be true for anyone who installs the chip?’
‘Yes. Right now all we’re able to see is the virtual world we create, and how they interact with our creations … but with further research, we believe that we will soon be able to start accessing their dreams, and then, later, their memories. Furthermore, and this is something I think you’ll be very intrigued to hear about, we may soon be able to start manipulating their thoughts, desires and decisions.’
‘If you could achieve that,’ Mr Wang murmured, ‘the possibilities would be beyond endless.’
Mr Ma, who had been listening closely to this conversation, finally registered emotion on his face, and began gesticulating enthusiastically in sign language, grunting with his twisted mouth as he did so in his eagerness to get his message across. Mr Wang interpreted his gestures for Ms Fang.
‘Mr Ma says that this is the day he has been waiting for his entire life. He says that you have brought a dream of his – a dream he has had since the days of his youth – to fruition. With this product installed in the brains of the general population, we will have absolutely complete and incontestable control. We can provide the masses with any pleasure, any addiction they wish, and it will all be virtual; not even existing in the real world. We can sell millions of products that need no raw materials, no factory production, no freighting, no shop space, nothing … nothing but a team of software engineers to create and sales agents to sell. The consumers will be so saturated, so hopelessly lost in their addictions that they will do anything – nay, buy anything – that we want them to. They will live only to feed their addictions. They will be utterly powerless – a race of slaves who will gladly shackle the manacles around their own limbs and throats! This, Mr Ma says, this is the essence of absolute power, distilled to its base element. Uncontested control, which the subject will not only never try to resist, but actively beg for.’
Ms Fang smiled broadly.
‘I am happy that he is so impressed with it.’
‘Also, Ms Fang, he wants you to join the ranks of the Huntsmen, and is prepared to offer you shareholder privileges. He believes that you have an extremely bright future ahead of you in our prestigious corporation.’
Ms Fang’s jaw dropped in shock, but she quickly regained her composure.
‘Sir, I … you don’t know what this means to me, I—’
Mr Ma held up a wrinkled hand and silenced her, and then communicated in sign language with Mr Wang.
‘We will figure out the details later. For the time being, though, you will retain your position as head of this team, of course, because this project takes priority over everything else. There is, however, one further thing: trust. It is of extreme importance that we are able to trust you. Bringing you up into the elite ranks of the Huntsmen Corporation requires an immense deal of trust, and if you ever betray us, it will come at an unimaginable cost to both yourself and anyone close to you. You do understand that this, yes?’
Ms Fang nodded and swallowed slowly.
‘I understand. What can I do to prove my trustworthiness to you?’
The faintest, most subtle hint of a smile showed its sickle edges at the corners of Mr Wang’s mouth.
‘There must be some on your team who are perhaps not quite as loyal as they should be. Who may be, how do I say, weak of character. Able to be bought out by a rival corporation, perhaps, willing to sell our secrets to the highest bidder. You’ve been working on this team for what, sixteen years now? You surely know the strengths – and weaknesses – of every member, do you not?’
‘I do.’
‘You understand that anyone who harbours even the most remote possibility of being a traitor must be dealt with immediately. This is crucial to the success of this project; secrecy is of the utmost importance. We cannot tolerate anyone who might compromise the classified nature of this project.’
Ms Fang’s face was blank as marble-carved death mask, but an almost vicious keenness crackled in her eyes.
‘What would you have me do? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.’
Mr Wang placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently and reassuringly and flashed her a subtle yet rather terrifying smile.
‘Names, my dear. That’s all we need from you at this point. Just a few names. Anyone on the team who may be a … liability.’
‘I can give you names. Yes, yes … I can give you names.’
‘Excellent. Huntsmen Inc has many ways of making people … disappear.’
‘I can tell you some names right now,’ she blurted out, almost too eagerly.
Mr Wang chuckled.
‘Enthusiastic, you are! Excellent. Your ambition is dripping from your pores like sweat on a Shanghai summer day. I like that. You’ll do well with us.’
‘I think I will,’ she said softly, and with that, she began listing the names of those colleagues of hers whose
