Mage Adam

The Rex Consortium was efficient, but Adam didn't expect any good news.

Even though Mordo had asked him to come in person, Adam figured it was just to tell him the negotiations had fallen through.

When he got to the factory, Victor was waiting outside again. The look on Victor's face told Adam everything he needed to know.

Victor seemed a bit down. "I'm sorry, Adam. A few of the other Towers in the consortium aren't excited about the new project you suggested. But honestly, that's not the biggest issue."

As they walked inside, Adam kept things light. "I had a feeling. So, is this your way of telling me I'm out?"

"It's not like that," Victor quickly replied. "No one's kicking you out if you still want in. But the contract and shares need to be discussed again. The Tower Master and the other transdimensional mage reps are inside. I won't be joining you."

Victor felt awkward. The consortium's profit-driven approach embarrassed him, and he couldn't face Adam anymore.

Inside the room, a conference table sat in the middle. Mordo was at the head, looking stone-faced.

Six Master Mages were with her, and Adam recognized one of them---Andre, the head of Rex Mage Academy from back when Adam was an apprentice.

As soon as Adam entered, they stood up to greet him, but Mordo cut them off.

"Let's skip the formalities. Just tell Adam your decision so we don't waste time," she said bluntly, clearly unhappy with the consortium's direction.

The others shared uneasy glances.

Andre was the first to speak. "Adam, the contract you signed with Mordo's Tower and the Rex Consortium, covering civilian electricity production, and the research, manufacturing, and sales of communicators, is about to end. We'd like to sign a new agreement and adjust the share split."

Civilian electricity, once dismissed by everyone, had turned out to be much more profitable than communicators---by a huge margin.

On Earth, Nikola Tesla gave up his patents on alternating current, offering them freely to the world. But in the Mage World, Adam wasn't so generous. He held patents for everything electricity-related. He not only owned shares in all the power companies but also earned a patent fee for every unit of electricity sold.

If it weren't for the alternative energy sources in the Mage World, Adam might already be the wealthiest mage around.

After hearing Andre, Adam asked, "I'd like to hear what the consortium is proposing."

"We have a plan," Andre began, but Mordo let out a heavy sigh, cutting him off. Ignoring her, he continued, "Regarding civilian electricity, we're offering to cash out your shares. This would mean you'd no longer be involved with the power plants or companies. However, we would continue paying you the patent fees. The Tower guarantees this, and no one would go against it."

Adam understood their position. The profits were undeniable, but while the consortium had handled building factories, promotion, and sales, Adam's large shareholding felt like a weight on them. To them, it seemed like he was collecting rewards without doing much.

Adam didn't feel the need to act out of pride. Letting go of his shares in the power plants, or at least not holding shares in future ones, was inevitable. The patent fees alone would bring him more wealth than he needed, and there was no point in being overly greedy.

All electricity-related patents were still exclusively licensed to him, so he'd continue collecting patent fees across the Mage World. Besides, if his atomic energy research made a breakthrough, current power plants might become obsolete before they reached their full potential.

Just as he was about to agree, Mordo cut in coldly, "In my personal power plants, Adam's shares will stay."

Andre sighed and responded, "That's your right." He then turned to Adam and asked, "Do you have any objections, Adam?"

"I agree," Adam said, "but on one condition---my shares must be cashed out at the highest market value to date."

Andre nodded quickly. "Of course. Now, onto the second issue---communicators. The consortium feels the current models are more than enough for daily use. We don't see the need for a major upgrade. We reviewed your proposal and, frankly, think it won't be widely accepted. Mages are unlikely to embrace something that invades their souls and bodies. We hope you'll reconsider."

When Adam didn't respond, Andre added a sweetener. "The Rex Consortium has already secured cooperation with several Towers' trading partners. If you agree, you'll keep your leadership position, but your shares will need to be diluted."

"No need," Adam replied. "Cash out my shares here as well. Once the contract ends, I'll withdraw from this industry."

Adam had already made up his mind. Once the M Programming Language was complete, personal chips would soon follow. If the features he imagined---especially in big data and cloud computing---came to life, current communicators would be outdated.

As for whether mages would embrace this new tech, Adam was confident. The Tower and Mage Council would support it once they saw the benefits. They might add rules to limit developers' control, but Adam wasn't aiming to dominate with this technology---he just wanted to push progress forward.

...

The meeting wrapped up. Adam noticed Mordo seemingly wanted to say something, but in the end, she kept quiet.

Adam didn't say anything else either. As long as the contract terms weren't violated, he could accept the outcome. The consortium had invested a lot, but they'd made huge gains too. Whether the contract would be renewed after it expired was up to both sides, and there was no reason to force things.

As for the shares Mordo chose to keep, Adam was confident they'd yield great returns in the future.

After leaving the factory, Adam returned to his lab to focus on completing the M Programming Language, which had become his top priority. Once the language was done, creating the operating system would be simple.

A month later, the M Programming Language was nearly finished, and more good news arrived from Trials of War. As compensation for his help, Priscilla had given him the methods and ancient magic used to build the Mindweaver, free of charge.

Rex Consortium just let go of a huge cash cow.