Silicon Surprise

"Oh that my vexation were actually weighed,
And laid in the balances
Together with my iniquity!
For then it would be heavier
Than the sand of the seas.

Job 6:2-3

They were half way through dinner at the posh restaurant, and nothing but pleasantries. Nikki's temper was begging to show. She picked at her food, jumped at the slightest commotion in the busy dining hall, and was otherwise an unusually inattentive hostess.

Kase had called her at the Tribune requesting a rush meeting. She had plans for the night, but there was a strident urgency in his voice. If there ever was a cool character in the heart of controversy, it was Kase, the quintessential tekkie. His faith in technology was absolute and unwavering; she had never once seen his façade crack. Never one to miss an opportunity, though, he had suggested the most expensive and exclusive place in town. Nikki had been able to whittle the tab out of her editor, but only on the promise of front-page news.

Anything technology oriented was a big, big deal in Austin. All of the major players in the semiconductor game were there, in force. Dell, Motorola, Applied Materials, IBM, Texas Instruments, Trilogy and on and on. Not to mention Semitetch and the University of Texas' Balcones Research Center. The concentration of brainpower and money was awesome. A small tremble of a rumor in Austin could quake the entire industry, and with it the world financial stability.

Kase was one of the big players in the game. He claimed to be an engineering consultant and put on airs to being nothing more than that. However, she knew better. His reputation in theoretical physics stretched back almost twenty years. He had been a stable and influential presence in the high tech Austin community for even longer than that. Then about eighteen months ago he had suddenly dropped completely from sight. It was as though he had disappeared from the face of the earth.

She got the first solid news of him not too long ago, actually. He was in graduate school at the University, in Aerospace Engineering. She had made the mistake of asking her contact, who happened to be Kase's graduate advisor, what he was studying. She zoned out as soon as the professor got past something about celestial mechanics, mathematical physics, and theoretical astronomy. She did notice, though, the sparkle in the scientist's eyes as he spoke. She knew him well enough to surmise that Kase and he were onto something, and it was substantial. Dr Szebeheley had been the mastermind behind plotting the geometry of the moon missions, and had been the leading scientist in the field for quite some time. It took a lot to get him excited.

The dinnerware had been swept away. Nikki and Kase were desperately alone at the table, a long stretch of sparkling white tablecloth between them. They ordered coffee and were silent for a moment while they added sugar and cream. Then, to her amazement Kase got up and settled into a chair at her side. He scooted it closer and tipped his cup to hers with hearty cheers. She felt his hand on her shoulder, then reaching to massage her super tense neck muscles.

"I admire your patience," said with a rakish smile. "Although you really don't hide your curiosity very well," as he reached down to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. "I like that."

Nikki felt herself break out in a cold sweat. She tried to fight back the arousal, but it was starting to overwhelm her. Sitting straight up in her chair, she tried to put a little distance between them, but just could not.

Kase leaned forward then, and said very coolly.

"I really would like nothing better than to whisper sweet nothings in your ear right now, love. Must admit I'm a little excited myself!" His attempt at seriousness was completely lost on her; in fact, the mystery of him threw her emotions in even more turmoil.

"Nikki," he said and grasped her elbow as it rested uneasily on the table. She felt herself ready to swoon at the tender touch.

"Are you familiar with the doubling principle in semiconductors - how microprocessor speed doubles every couple of years?"

"You got to be kidding?" She blurted out, having totally forgotten the ostensible purpose of the meeting, and desperately wanting the romance in its stead. Her mind made her head nod agreement, but her heart was still very much in control of her physiology.

"What if I told you I have a spanking new theory that says the doubling principle has reached its very last iteration?" Only Kase could manage to speak such a serious statement to her with such allure and sexual abandon.

They were still close and getting closer. Then he reached across under the table none too subtly and slid his warm hand under her dress. Nikki's eyelids fluttered and a flush of blood to her head made her light headed.

"Slap me," Kase said quickly. A few seconds of bliss later, Nikki was still in denial. "Do it," he said; and she regretfully obliged him; smacked him with a real winner.

Kase backed off in a lightening reflex, startled and in not a little bit of pain. Tears blossomed at the corners of his eyes, and with a little boy smile he told her that the tears were not for the pain, but because of his affection for her. Nikki's mind noticed, but her heart was still aching badly.

A brief silence settled on the dining room, as the other elegant diners pretended not to notice what had happened but strained eye and neck muscles mightily to confirm what had clearly reached their ears. Kase and Nikki were standing, and he was making an overly pantomimed apology.

"Tell your editor," Kase whispered. "I'll be in touch, OK?"

All of the warm blood had rushed from her face by this time. She was near to a state of shock, and but for Kase's strong arm holding her elbow she would surely have collapsed in a pile of frazzled nerves. The shear artistry of Kase's performance was stultifying, and the steel in his voice had reached her very soul. The performance had a profound affect upon her, in every way.

Noticing the cascading dismay in her features, Kase gave her a warm kiss on the mouth. When he pulled back there was ruby red lipstick on his mouth, and she smiled despite herself. As he reached up to wipe it off with the napkin, he said to her carefully. "Don't worry, Nikki, it'll be OK."

She stood there, still benumbed by the news. His eyes bulged a little then, and he motioned with his hands for her to go before she blew the whole carefully orchestrated scene. She left with a little huff, trying to play up his game. As she left, she saw from the corner of her eye a grimace on his face, as he reached into a tattered billfold for a shiny new credit card.

Then it dawned on her that Kase was actually going to pay for their dinner. Now she was worried, more so even than her intellect could register. Then she noticed a crumpled little piece of paper smashed into her benumbed palm.

Hustling through the foyer, she practically ran to her car through the dark parking lot in the Arboretum. It was all she could do to keep from bursting into deep wracking, sobbing tears. In one dizzy instant, her whole world had been shattered. It was just too much to bear alone.

In the dim light of the car interior, she desperately pealed the note apart. It had a hotel room number and a time. Somehow she fought back the overwhelming feelings, and managed to pull half gracefully from the parking lot, paranoid of doing anything to attract undue attention.

Driving carefully away from the fancy restaurant on Sixth Street, Nikki could not help but imagine what Kase's news would mean. Austin was a wealthy, vital city. It had doubled in size, and quadrupled in wealth over the last five years alone. The semiconductor industry had been the driving force behind it all.

If what Kase said was true - and she had no doubt, it was. Then it would all come to a swift, painful halt. Nikki had been in Silicon Valley in Southern California years ago, when the industry slumped. The town had collapsed overnight. San Jose had been a decade recovering a semblance of prosperity.

It would not be just a local sob story, this time. Semiconductors were no longer a regional phenomenon; but global. They had fueled the entire economy of the United States for the past ten years, and with it, the world economy. A slump in the industry would mean far, far more than hard times for Austin, Texas.

The industry had grown because of one simple principle: the speed of the microprocessors in the heart of personal computers doubled every two or three years. This meant that every few years computers became totally obsolete - their software as well.

If the cycle were to stop, people would no longer need to purchase increasingly expensive computers. Software firms could add no fancy new features to their programs, because the PC's could not handle them. Computer manufactures would suffer a drastic loss in profits, and software firms would fold.

On another scale, the world financial health would crumble. The Asian economies were practically moribund already; a collapse of their most profitable industries, in semiconductors, would be the last bell to toll.

It was just Kase's style to be right in the midst of it all, she thought, and managed a small smile. If his past escapades were any indication at all, she was in for one hell of a wild time! Actually, they all were.

Will Clark

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