Smartystan

Timothy Gummer, 37, looked at his wife. It was a gesture of fighting. A torment and a storm churned in his soul. He loved her altogether hard and simply. Yet, at the same time, it was an incredible lightness. He had placed his gaze on her eyes and sipped his scotch.

“What are you thinking behind those big brown eyes?” Belinda asked.

“I’m thinking I’m not lucky or blessed but fortunate. I’m fortunate to have a career and a romance. Once you have those in place, you’re ready to embark on a voyage of joy.”

Belinda laughed heartily, freely. She let her head go back. In their living room, they found spacious opportunities to talk. A learned machine sat down and snapped their picture. They both smiled. They had become accustomed to this kind of behavior. When Timothy looked at his glass and asked for a refill, it was already on its way before he could even finish the order. “Scotch and water. Just like that.”

“Tim, I wanted to know what the difference was between me merging with Keija and you downsizing to cut losses….”

“It’s simple really, darling. You merging will create more shareholders and grow your business. I’m trying to save mine.”

“Do you think we should have our own for-profit institute? Like Delaseer?”

“Let’s focus on our own separate businesses. If we set up one, we may not like it as much as you enjoy Delaseer. You crafted a country-state with that thing, for Chrissake.”

“I know. I just want to do business with you, again.”

“We’d be at each other’s throats again. You spinning off from FrommerGummer was the best thing that could’ve happened to us. UltraSynths is going to be phenomenal. The stock is ridiculous. Everything seems to be on the right course.” Belinda looked back at him as if to ask, “how do you know so much?” But she never queried.

Gummer just observed that his wife had been right to leave the company he founded and start her own. When UltraMinds launched, he was the first to snap up the most shares as a gift to her. That was the sweetest thing of all.

“You know, people think of business as numbers, sales, profits. It is. But there’s mind and blood behind every transaction. Every day, trillions of dollars are on that WiSE. We should be glad to have a system like capitalism that permits us to do what we wish with our money.”

Belinda stretched. “That’s true. We’ve got the mind muscle to fulfill all of the deeds to know what we’re doing.”

“Now, we are positioned to make more money. Such couldn’t have been said if we never took the right steps. That’s the power behind all of this. It’s not just the money and the power. It’s what sparked all of it. We look at figures and facts. Greatness is at the root. Reason is at the root. We want to do this. In the morning when we wake up, we want to be at our desks or touring the factories.”

“FrommerGummer has a lot to do with the president wanting to sign into law a bill which will free up more space for the building of your nuclear cars. That’s rather impressive. You started out as a physics graduate from New Sweden. You took your time and allowed yourself to be an advocate for business and science. What better pair is there?” Belinda asked.

“I know.” He sipped. “I think that when you go from zero to a ten billion dollar valuation, it’s something that must be recognized. It’s something that ought to be prized. When we started putting algorithms on our sheets and hanging them on the walls, I knew that we’d have a special little something.”

“Special little something…more like a gargantuan corporation giving jobs to tens of thousands,” Belinda reminded.

“Yes, we both know that’s not why we do it.”

“I know. I just thought I’d reiterate all of the releases that have to be written to appease the press. I think they’re starting to finally come around, though,” she added.

The learned machines along with the synths that Dr. Frampton had made specially for the Gummers roamed around the mansion in succinct synchronicity. Their movements remained graceful and exact. They worked out the kinks where the products fought no more. They lived in peace and harmony among the humans.

Gummer got up from his seat, scotch in hand. “I have to say to you, in no way are we supposed to be together. I’m a nerd. You’re the princess. I just had enough self-esteem to take you into my geeky lair. I appreciate you. You’re my wife and I say that nothing can stop our connection.”

“Yes, Mr. Nerd. But you’re forgetting that I’m no college homecoming queen. I got dirty and put my face to the sweaty walls of factories just to find out how machines functioned. There’s a vitality in what we do and who we are. It’s a lifeforce. Believers say it’s like salvation, or nirvana, or Jannah. When you find it in that special person, you get to know the greater feeling that you know also exists within yourself.”

Gummer walked over to his wife. It was a slow gait: Like he was performing a waltz. He kissed her mouth. “You’re all I’ll ever need. I admire you. You're what makes sense. You’re true.”

“I know you to be the best person I can say this to. You’re antithetical to greeting cards. What you mean to mean I’d need reams of paper to transcribe. I’d write it, though. I’d write it until my hands bled. That’s how much you mean to me. That’s how much I adore you.”

“C’mon. Let’s let these wonderful creations pick up after us and we’ll journey upward.” he took her hand in his and led her up their spiral staircase. It actually looked like a DNA double helix. Belinda smiled and continued with her confident stride, hand in hand.