Core Beliefs - Chapter 10 - Planning Moves

Chapter 10: Planning moves

Matt drove home from Joe’s on Sunday afternoon. He had an entire list of things to be done, but they would have to wait for normal business hours. Sunday evening, while sitting at his desk in the study, he let his mind travel back through the events of the last few weeks. The words of Dr. Chang kept coming back: “I feel more assured that our discussion and meeting were not a coincidence and that there is more at work here that either of us may realize.”

She had said that, and Matt wondered if some sense of providence threaded through all that had transpired.

He went to bed and, for the first time in his life, he had a long, continuous dream about a land where there was harmony and common purpose and technology helping people beyond his wildest imagination.

He woke Monday morning refreshed, and to his surprise, facets of his dream kept coming back, and at times, it was hard to think of anything else.

His day had a full schedule, including going to Inter-Mol to meet with Marcus Corush. The project for Wheatley University had particular interest for Matt, and he wanted to be familiar with Marcus’ approach. He also wanted to bring Marcus up to date on his conversation with Dr. Chang.

The two men met in the Inter-Mol conference room. Marcus had already put his materials on the table and, after closing the door, they sat side by side.

Matt could sense an amazing level of excitement as Marcus outlined the scope and strategy for the project. As Matt listened to the concept and thought process of the proposed design, he found himself getting energized.

Inter-Mol had been working for some time on compacting, literally miniaturizing components used in several products. Marcus had reviewed the schematics to see how many components and functions were duplicated.

“Matt, over 75% of the components are at least duplicated, and many are repeated three and four times.”

Marcus showed Matt a stack of electronic schematics with twenty to thirty drawings. He pulled another stack that had six drawings.

Looking at Matt, he said, “I can take this,” pointing at the big stack, “and turn it into this,” pointing to the small stack.

“Marcus, this is wonderful. Tell me more.”

Marcus continued outlining the technical aspects. He had a couple of diagrams of what the finished units might look like.

“Matt,” Marcus had a tentative tone in his voice, “what I wanted to ask you is if you thought I might be able to get some help from Cor-Digital on the electronics. They are much better equipped to create the miniaturized circuits and test the functionality than we are.”

He paused as Matt weighed the idea.

“There are also some ideas I have about the possibility of a unique headgear. Rather than rigidly spacing the sensors in a grid, the entire headgear would be one continuous pickup module, and it could capture every brainwave.

Matt found the concept fascinating.

“So, you are looking for something in a material that has elasticity?” Matt asked.

"The system needs a series of interactive membranes to capture and process the waves, streaming the output to the analysis equipment."

This last comment triggered Matt’s memory. He remembered his conversations with Dr. Chang and Dr. Kumar. He spent the next fifteen minutes relaying the theories of Dr. Kumar and the discussion with Dr. Chang.

***

It fascinated Marcus that this man, with no major degree, could understand these concepts and converse on them with some of the most intelligent members of the scientific community.

“Marcus, if we can make all these reductions and still keep the functions, then could we make this available to the medical community for a substantially reduced price? Imagine how many people this technology could help!”

Marcus smiled and thought, ‘It isn’t just about profits.’ Matt’s statement conveyed a lot about what business the company took on.

“The best place to look for the materials for the headgear would be to call Melissa Kyle at Myoplex,” Matt chuckled as he spoke. “They are developing incredible materials, and Melissa is superb with elastomers.”

Marcus wrote down her number.

***

Matt thought about the miniaturization and knew that Chris Martin was the best, but he couldn’t put Chris on that project. “I’ll have to get back to you on the miniaturization.”

They wrapped up the meeting, and Matt headed home. When he arrived, he found calls on his answering machine. There were two, one from Lucy at the office and the other from Charlotte Martin. Lucy had some legal documents he needed to sign. Charlotte’s call was more interesting. She had put together a dossier on Dr. Kumar and wanted to know how to best get it to Matt.

By email, they agreed he would drop by the Martins' house on Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday morning, Matt went to the office, signed the documents for Lucy and checked up on the new management system. Seemed that, for the most part, things were running okay.

He called Chris to see how he was doing. Chris seemed to have everything under control and continued to interview candidates for the head of R&D at Cor-Digital.

“Keep your eyes open for someone well-versed in miniaturization.”

“I interviewed someone strong in that area, but not in some of the other skills needed as a manager.”

“Chris, take another look at the candidate. It might be that we could create a position for him associated with a specific project.”

Matt reminded Chris that he was meeting with Charlotte in the afternoon and wondered if they wanted to catch dinner together. This was fine with Chris, and he confirmed he would leave a little early.

Around three in the afternoon, Matt headed to the Martin house.

The kids greeted him at the door. Their happiness bubbled into him instantly. It felt wonderful. They talked for a few minutes about the school day. Jacob showed off his first-place ribbon for a science project.

Charlotte finally shooed the kids to the living room, and she and Matt went to the kitchen. From a cabinet, Charlotte pulled a large three-ring binder. She handed it to Matt. Instead of sitting across from him, she sat next to him so she could guide him through the contents.

She had everything organized and indexed. It included the historical aspects of Dr. Kumar’s parents and family, his personal and immediate family, religion, education, activities, and hobbies. Even his published works received brief summaries, not detailed ones.

The last section of the book took Matt totally by surprise. It was an in-depth psychological profile.

Matt glanced at Charlotte and, without his asking, she softly admitted she had a master’s degree in psychology.

“You continually amaze me,” he said.

She blushed. Charlotte guided Matt through the psychological profile and explained the methods used to arrive at the conclusions.

The detail and thoroughness of the report amazed Matt.

The information summarized that Dr. Kumar was not just highly intelligent and well-educated. He was a certified genius with multiple degrees, research grants, and highly praised projects. He had an international standing as a premier scientist and educator.

The profile also showed him to be a very compassionate man, doing volunteer service in Bangladesh following natural disasters. His religious philosophy was of the Buddhist sect that advocated the value of life, and he adhered to a restricted diet, though he was not a practicing vegetarian.

It seemed he had always been gentle to others but was outspoken when it came to injustice, particularly associated with military conflict.

There was much more to the study, and Matt was thrilled with what Charlotte had accomplished and what he had learned about this man.

They had finished and were drinking some coffee when Chris walked in. Matt stood and shook his hand. Charlotte gave Chris a quick kiss. Chris grabbed a cup of coffee and asked, “Well, what have you two been up to this afternoon?”

Matt pushed the binder towards Chris. “This has been one busy lady!”

“I don’t know how she does it, “ Chris said, "but she is amazing, isn’t she?”

Charlotte was blushing but appreciative of the recognition. They chatted for a few minutes, and Chris told them he had talked to Eldridge and confirmed the entrance to the silo had been covered and camouflaged and that everything was secure.

Chris said that the word had gotten around town that someone had helped Eldridge pay his bank note, and Eldridge had told his neighbor and the manager at the seed and feed that he had a partner on the farm and that he was quite happy with the arrangement.

Matt suggested they head for dinner to beat the crowds, and Charlotte went to get the kids. They loaded up in two cars, and this time, the youngest, Janet, wanted to ride with Matt. It was okay with Charlotte, and they headed for a nearby restaurant.

Janet sat next to Matt, talking away when unexpectedly she asked, “Are we going to have to move?”

Matt thought for a second and wondered if he should try to answer, but he realized she must have a reason for asking, and that meant they had discussed it.

“Have your mom and dad talked about moving?”

“Yes, they are saying we are probably going to move to a new home somewhere else.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Janet was quiet for a few seconds and finally responded, “I’m just a kid, and I know Mom and Dad are always trying to do what’s best, but I have lots of good friends, and I like my school, and this is my home, and I’m afraid of moving.”

Matt realized that the decisions they were making were affecting an ever-larger circle of lives.

He thought for a minute, “Janet, sometimes we look at things, and they may seem scary. Take a roller coaster. When you get on, you can decide whether you are going to be afraid or if it's going to be an exciting adventure. The same is true about things that happen in life. You can decide to make them sad and bad, or you can decide that this is new and exciting and that you are going to enjoy every minute of the adventure. The thing is, it’s your choice, and no one else can make it for you.”

Janet remained quiet for a little bit. Just as they pulled into the restaurant, she said, “I didn’t think about it that way. Do you think I can still call and talk to my friends here?”

Matt laughed. “I’ll make sure you have your own phone so you can call them anytime you want.”

“Oh yes, this is great!”

They parked next to Chris’s car, and Janet jumped out, ran to her mother. “When we move, I get my own phone!”

Charlotte’s eyes flicked back and forth for a minute. Matt just shrugged his shoulders. They went in to eat.

“How did this phone thing happen?” Charlotte asked.

“We were talking about choosing whether we were going to be afraid of changes or if we would choose to make it an adventure, and for Janet, losing her friends was her biggest worry. The phone seemed to solve that.”

Charlotte smiled. “Yes, we’ve been having a bit of a struggle with her on this. I never thought of approaching it like that.”

Looking at Janet and then Matt, “I’m glad you two had a chance to talk.”

Matt let things ride for a few minutes while they ate salads. As those were being cleared away, he looked at Charlotte. “I have another task for you.”

She smiled and looked at Janet. “This sounds like another adventure!”

Matt, Chris, and Jacob all laughed, and Matt continued, "Apparently, someone has already mentioned the subject of moving?”

All the Martins nodded their heads in the affirmative.

“Charlotte, you need to start looking for a place in or near Wichita to be not only your new home but also big enough for us to have guests and visitors.”

“Can I help, too?” Jacob asked.

“Me too!” Janet piped.

“We will make this a family project,” Charlotte said. “We might even let your dad have some say in things.”

Dinner finished, they went their separate ways.