Balance of Power Shifted (22 page)

Julius gave the first
recommendation, which was to have the press conference an ‘invite only’ affair and target investors, car manufacturers and home construction giants.  Sean and Fiona brought up the need to make glossy marketing materials for attendees to take away with them.  Apparently, we did not have a marketing group yet. Fiona had been trying to come up with content for the web site, and she and Sean had been brainstorming about how to start up a marketing team and or engage a marketing agency.  There were other great ideas and recommendations and we ended up determining that we would need two weeks to prepare.  In closing, I asked everyone to present names of people or organizations we wanted to invite to Julius or Iris and they would handle the invitations.

T
he two weeks went by quickly and even though we had reservations about the event, it was exciting Julius thought to himself.  RSVPs to the event invitations had been lukewarm at best.  It seems that not everyone had read or seen the articles.   In some cases, it was not until they received emails with a smart looking brochure teasing them about the capabilities that affirmative responses started to come in.  In all, about two thirds responded that they would be there.  We expected a few ‘no shows’ to bring the number down even more.  In the end, he thought we could expect 65 to 70 attendees. 

Julius was excited as anyone about the press conference
today, but had a meeting in two minutes to talk to Ty about a number of people who were not on the invite list that were trying to get invited.  As he was printing out the confirmation list, Ty walked in.  “Mr. Filamore how are you today?”  Julius enjoyed his conversations with Ty since Bill and Mike had him take over developing procedures for the main office with Clavis.  Ty was a consummate professional and did not mind explaining how physical security worked to a novice like himself.  “Hello Ty,” Julius said, as he handed him freshly printed documents.  “Here are the guests who responded that they would be here as well as a separate list of those who have declined.  If anyone from the declined list shows up, capture their name and let me know they are here.  I also expect a number of gatecrashers as we have discussed earlier.”  “We have that covered Mr. Filamore.  We have set up some temporary fencing and have a dozen security guards ready.  We will also have a security guard on the shuttle bus from the main building to the event site.”  Julius stood up and said, “I guess we are all set.  Good luck tonight Ty and keep Mike or me in the loop on any problems.”  Ty stood up and said, “see you tonight then” and hustled out of the room.

Fiona
was working with Mike and was putting the final touches on an interactive video display that walked viewers through a variety of use simulations where Electricus could replace many of today’s energy choices.  They also worked on the sound system and large projection system where Bill and Mike would bring the attendees through the designs used in the cars, how the Power Pads and Panels worked in a home as well as how they worked in the very building they were sitting in.  The design gave them a solid understanding of what they were looking at when given access to the actual cars and building power sources.  Fiona had never been so enthused in her life and was also thinking of what she would do to Mike when they got home tonight.  During his walkthrough presentation, his presence and bearing belayed his age.  He was very dynamic, genuine and an excellent speaker.  These were things that subconsciously she had recognized in him, but since he was also a very humble person, were not always evident.  Excitedly, she waited for the event to start.

Sean and Steve were giving the others
, lessons on how to drive the cars and had been on the road acting as a high school Driver’s Ed teachers for almost 3 hours.  They had mapped a course that all drivers had to follow, which allowed them to show the passengers the acceleration to speeds of up to 55 mile per hour.  Their orders stated that there were no route deviations and each car had a 2-way radio for any issues.  Iris was the last driver and she looked like she was having too much fun.  For many of them, this was validation of why they dropped their previous lives for the current one.  Bill had dropped a big one on everyone yesterday and informed the management team that everyone would all have their own Electricus company car within 2-months.  Bill also said we had a choice of colors as long as it was silver.

Bill felt the need to keep wiping his hands on his pants since they were sweaty.  He did not see himself as a front man and was not used to speaking in front of a crowd of strangers.  He was concerned that questions may go into areas that Mike and he had agreed to be off limits.  This included the origins of Electricus,
reproduction of the same and conversations leading off in global geo political and economic areas.  Our pat answer was to deflect by saying, “we are just a small startup at this time and have got a long way to go before we get in to discussions such as those.”  Mike did not know it, but Bill was going to deflect all of those types of questions off to Mike.  Bill speculated that Mike was not even aware of his communication capabilities himself.  He really had a gift.  Bill caught Mike’s eye and walked over and said, “I’m going over to the main building to get ready to meet and greet the guests there.  As they get off the bus, coordinate them to come in here for hors devours and something to drink.”  “Got it covered Bill,” Mike said, “and by the way, quit wiping your hands on your pants you’re even making me nervous,” he said.  Bill thought that this was a vain attempt by Mike to joke me out of my nervousness.

According to a phone
call just received, people were starting to show up at the main site.  The event appeared to be going as planned and start at 7 pm.  I saw Fiona back by the office.  She was dressed in a plain black dress and comfortable black shoes.  She called dibs on the Hummer and was going to be driving it tonight.  She looked fantastic; then again, she always looked good.  I took the opportunity to sneak up behind her, gave her a quick kiss, and on her long slender neck adorned with pearls that I had bought her years ago.  I wished her good luck.  She turned towards me and seeing no one watching, gave me a hug and told me to not make a fool out of myself up there today.  She also added, “by the way don’t wear yourself out, I want you to have energy for later on tonight,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.  She then pushed me away and said she had heard the first bus should be here any second.  Straightening out my nametag, which everyone was wearing along with his or her title, I walked out to the front to meet the bus. 

The luxury bus arrived a minute later and as people streamed off
, it was apparent that there was significant diversity in this group.  It was easy to tell who the press was and slightly more difficult to figure out who were the investors and who the business representatives were.  All wore a nametag with their affiliations and carried an Efficio carry bag, which had an assortment of information and goodies in them.  About a quarter of the group were women.  I shook everyone’s hand as they walked by and introduced myself and directed him or her to the refreshments.  About 20 minutes later the bus returned with the second and last load of attendees.  It looked like Julius’s estimate was right on the money with about 67 guests. After ushering everyone inside, we let the group socialize for about another 20 minutes.  At that point, I made my way to the podium and announced “thank you for coming, grab a drink or some food, and have a seat in the main presentation area.”  The buzz in the room went up another notch as everyone started to grab their seats.

Once everyone sat down, Bill and I took the stage. 
Bill introduced himself and me as the two founders of Efficio and then introduced the management team around the room.  He then told everyone in the room to “get ready to be astounded by an amazing story which will fundamentally change how the world operates.  Michael Carter will guide you on this amazing journey for the next half hour afterwards you will get to see and touch what all the excitement is about as you learn about Electricus.  Our team gave Bill a round of applause, which included audience participation.  To say I was surprised at Bill’s exciting introduction would be an understatement.  In my opinion, he nailed it and it was up to me to carry that energy forward.

“
Thank you Bill for your introduction and setting the tone for what will be an amazing evening.”  Fiona worked the slide show for me and brought up my first slide, which posed the question “What if,” I said and paused then repeated it again.  “What if, humanity was provided with a living organism that when exposed to even the most imperceptible amount of natural or manmade light will generate electricity and not only produce it, but produce in a consistent and predicable manner that would allow the harnessing of this energy for a myriad of uses?”  I let this statement sink in for a few seconds before I asked the next question.  “What if, “this organism could be reproduced in a predictable and consistent manner?  The answer my esteemed guests would be a clean, free source of electricity that would replace the type of energy used today.

Now many of you may have seen a recent video released on YouTube a few weeks ago, and in
truth, this was an inadvertent release of the information.  The video was in fact a recruiting tool used to entice the management team you see around you and provided a basic understanding of what my colleague Bill spoke of as Electricus.  I cannot provide you all the details of how Electricus came about, however I can share with you the concepts of how it has been harnessed.” 

For the next 15
minutes, I ran through the practical applications from housing to automobiles as well as field installations from deserts to glaciers.  As I was going through the slides, I was keeping an eye on the audience’s reaction.  It was evident by their rapt attention that they were witnessing a life-changing event.  I ended the presentation by asking if there were any questions.  A flurry of hands went up and the one that looked like it went up first I selected.  Her name was Sharon Trey and she was a reported for the largest New Jersey daily paper.  “Mike” she said,” this all sounds fantastic, but how can you prove this is what you say it is.  In fact it is almost too much to believe.”  Sharon, I am very glad you asked that question first.  After we are done with questions, you will all have access to cars that are equipped with Electricus as well as is everything in this building, which is running off our Power Pads and Power Modules.  We also have a demonstration set up outside to simulate an installation in a wilderness situation.”  “Next question” I asked. 

The next question was from a scientific journal
reporter and asked what form was Electricus or in other words, you said it was a liquid.  Could you provide more information?  Definitely, I said.  Electricus will reproduce until it reaches a saturation point in a water solution.  When the saturation point occurs, all reproduction stops on its own accord.  The organisms’ then work together to form polarities, which then allow current to flow.  Our Power Pads are designed to work with the polarities and channel the output through our Power Panels.”  Mike noticed to himself that only reporters were asking the questions and shrugged it off expecting the others to ask their questions in a private session  After fielding a variety of about 20 questions, the audience was directed to follow Bill and Sean for the unveiling.

The
audience was herded behind the partitions and greeted by the site of the four vehicles.  Bill and Sean directed equal groups to the four cars where Steve and Fiona took over their anxious audience.  For the next 20 minutes the team members explained the design of Power Pads, incorporation of standard DC motors to replace combustion engines and the installation of driver controls.  Each talked about the drive train and controls and explained that it was no different from factory built electric cars currently on the market or retrofitted cars.  Lastly, they explained that a simple battery function provided options for maintenance and could be removed if desired.  This reduced the car’s weight by hundreds of pounds since a large bank of batteries were no longer needed.  Rico was enjoying the unabashed astonished looks on the faces of the guests.  They were all over the cars trying to get a better look and looking for some kind of trick.  Fiona created a huge stir when she announced that she was ready to take passengers for a test drive.  Who wants a ride she asked, and when all the hands went up, instead of there being a dilemma, she laughed and said that we had anticipated this and on the back of your badge is a number.  For those with 1-5, please take a seat in the Hummer.

After the first group started loading up
, I directed the remaining guests to the interactive web application created by Fiona as well as to Kristen and Taylor who were ready to show the visitors how the building was running on Electricus.  I also reminded everyone of the demonstration outside of a portable platform.  Most guests went to see what Kristen and Taylor had to say with a quarter heading out the doors towards Julius and Iris and their demonstration.  A trio of men came my way and introduced themselves as friends of Julius.  The man in the middle introduced himself as John Zimmerman and appeared to be the spokesperson for the group.  Mr. Carter, he said “on Julius’s recommendation alone we would have invested with your company, but after seeing what we saw tonight, we wanted to tell you we would be proud to invest in your organization.”  The others were all shaking their heads in agreement and all I could do is shake my head along with them.  John excused them and said that they had a ride coming up in the Hummer with that beautiful young woman and did not want to miss it.  Looking out from the front doors, I could see the cars loading with the next group.