Chapter 59 - Recruitment

A clear blue sky glowed above the City of Austin a day after Vince's belt promotion.

Edward Snowden had just landed at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on one of Future Tech's Dreamliners. Hudson extended the best hospitality for Snowden's visit, including an armed FS squad escort.

Instead of the usual armored black SUVs, One mil-spec Stingray and a civilian AV were waiting and ready to transport Snowden directly to the Future Tech Headquarters.

A man in his early 40's wearing a Future Couture business suit was waiting to welcome the company's guest.

"Edward, thank you for accepting our invitation. How was the flight from DC?" Hudson asked.

"The Dreamliner made the flight feel like a hotel in the sky and was quite pleasant, unlike my international flight from Hong Kong to DC a week ago," Snowden replied.

"Good to hear. We'll be taking a company CAV from here. Hop on." Hudson instructed as he entered the hover vehicle.

The civilian AV or CAV is the first commercial version of the turbofan aerodyne vehicles manufactured by Future Tech.

It was smaller and less armored than the military-oriented FAV-1 but was more agile, quicker and featured luxurious comforts like better seats and an exquisite exterior/interior design.

A Future Tech CAV with all the bells and whistles cost around $4 million each, significantly cheaper than the upcoming Koenigsegg Flyga, an exotic/hyper AV costing around $7 million.

[Even though I've seen these flying vehicles on TV before, it's still surreal hovering around the busy city streets in one of them.] So Snowden pondered while the CAV and Stingray approached Future Tech Headquarters.

They were hovering higher than most skyscrapers, which gave the passengers a bird's eye view of the Austin Metropolis.

Edward stared in awe after seeing the massive technology campus complex located 30 miles away from the city center.

He watched autonomous drones patrolling the district, an AI-driven public transportation system, and the large manufacturing and research complexes scattered around.

[This is the most futuristic thing I've ever seen. Even the supercomputer buildings in Japan aren't as impressive as that city in and of itself.] So Edward thought.

"How many people work at the Future Tech campus?" Edward asked curiously.

"As the head of corporate staff, I'm the best person to ask about this topic," Hudson stated confidently.

"After two years of construction and expansion, the campus currently employs a little over 50,000 people of varying skill and specialty who are primarily working with Hive Mind manufacturing and some of the less sensitive research projects. The rest of the crucial corporate staff of 25,000 people work at the downtown headquarters and its surrounding buildings."

"Future Tech employs over 30,000 people across the different branches within the United States and foreign nations like Afghanistan and South Korea. Future Tech has a little over 105,000 employees right now and is still growing. I didn't count the Future Security operators because Price is in charge of the military workforce." Hudson explained proudly.

"Your company was crazy to expand so fast since its inception two years ago. Is Vince Dalton truly such an extraordinary genius?" Edward asked.

"Vince is a smart kid; that indeed is true. But the reason for his success is because of his foresight and willingness to rely on his staff. He understands that even though he's a prodigy in network architecture and systems programming, he's only one person, and teamwork builds success."

"Vince is always optimistic and glad to help anyone who has potential. He keeps his employees happy by investing all of his cash into projects, programs, and funds. None of our researchers feel like they can achieve the same success working for different companies." Hudson replied.

"I've heard stories of Vince's first business ventures in mobile games. I would have never thought he'd be a technological pioneer of his generation." Snowden stated.

[Though his involvement in the Afghanistan War is unfortunate, it seems like Vince gives more life and prosperity to everyone around him. Maybe he isn't as bad as I first thought.] Snowden pondered.

"Speaking of his mobile game business. The first people who started working for Vince were his four school friends. All of them are currently high-ranking employees at Future Tech. Vince mentored and directed them on their development path before the release of War Online."

"On a side note, Vince sponsored and endorsed Tom Fury, one of his school seniors, who'll be surely fighting for the UFC championship next year. He even gave a local Austinian named Randall Stevens a seat in the fastest Formula 1 car on the 2013 grid."

"Vince loves supporting his friends, employees, and strangers with as much as he can, so please think carefully about this job opportunity during the meeting," Hudson asked sincerely.

"Of course, Hudson. Especially considering how well Future Tech has treated me since leaving DC." Snowden replied honestly.

The CAV and Stingray escort both landed on the headquarters helipad a few minutes later.

Aiya was waiting for their arrival and welcomed Edward to Future Tech.

"I hope you had a pleasant trip, Mr. Snowden. My name is Aiya. Please follow me to Vince's penthouse." The butler bot stated.

[WTF?! It's a talking humanoid robot.] Snowden thought in surprise.

"Thank you for having me. May I know what exactly you're supposed to be?" Snowden asked.

"I am Vince's butler bot, the first and only artificial general intelligent android. Further information is classified, unfortunately. Most people don't realize I'm not human, but you have a sharper eye than most." Aiya replied politely.

"Thank you for your honesty, Aiya. Please lead the way." Edward stated.

Hudson, Edward, and Aiya walked through the futuristic corridors within the headquarters and reached the penthouse entrance.

A young 15-year-old CEO and a Japanese executive director were waiting in the living room.

"Mr. Snowden, I hope you've been treated well. Take a seat." Vince said while shaking Edwards's hand.

"This gentleman right here is Azuma, the head of NetServ," Vince stated.

They both greeted each other politely and sat back down on the sofas.

"This is quite an impressive headquarters, Mr. Dalton," Edward stated while Aiya served tea and snacks on the table.

"Please, call me Vince. Thank you, I do get that comment a lot these days." Vince replied sincerely.

"Call me Edward then. But, first, I'd like to thank you for persuading the President to absolve me for what I did." Snowden stated honestly.

"Don't mention it. I agree with your actions because civilians deserve to know the truth. Corporations mine consumer data every second, but we still have to conform to government standards." Vince stated.

"Thank you, nonetheless. I thought I'd be living in a remote forest for the rest of my life and instead become someone who made a difference in the world." Edward stated.

"You can continue making a difference here, at Future Tech. We treat our staff well, and I have a perfect NetServ project that requires your expertise. How much of an annual salary would a man of your talents be?" Vince asked.

[Is this kid handing over a blank cheque to me? Does he think that money can buy anything?] Edward thought.

"$500 thousand a year," Edward stated plainly.

"I sincerely offer you a program director position at Future Tech NetServ for an annual starting salary of $1 million. The paperwork is ready whenever you are." Vince replied.

[Starting at $1 million?! It does sound like he values my skills and experience. Well, Future Tech will be better than any other company, anyway.] Edward pondered.

"Before I answer, I'd like to ask why you're going to such lengths just for hiring me," Edward asked curiously.

"Honestly, your story reminds me of my life in a way. You were talented as a young man and slowly climbed the ranks of the NSA, using security clearance access provided by your parents. Then, unfortunately, you swam too deep and had to make a life-changing decision and stick to it."

"People praise me due to my success, but I find myself drowning in corporate affairs every day. I'm lucky enough to be able to entrust duties to capable and responsible people, but sadly, you didn't have that luxury."

"I want to allow you to work in our environment, one that supports each member in achieving greatness," Vince explained.

"I can see how you persuaded President Obama. Do you give compelling speeches like this all the time?" Edward asked jokingly.

"I take your answer as a yes, then. Aiya, please prepare the contract." Vince said before drinking his tea.

Stats last time checked:

Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$45 Billion cash in Future Tech

105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, SpaceX)

20,000+ operators under Future Security

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner

Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E)

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram)

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