Page 64 of Moonlighter

But who wouldn’t be? Alex and Bingley go on together like a two-man act. He recommends some restaurants and offers to call them. It’s clear that everyone is charmed. “That will be all, Bingley,” she says while they’re still chuckling. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

“Certainly, my liege! Just don’t cover me with—”

She drops the black cloth over him again.

“Blast it!”

As the laughter dies down, she takes her place behind the podium. “Charming fellow, isn’t he? Bingley’s AI brain was developed by my friend Nate Kattenberger at K-Tech. The Butler contains terrific technology, well executed. He’s the best smart speaker to come to the market and a joy to have around. Although, I wonder how many executives in this audience would tell me that the market for smart speakers is crowded. Am I right?”

The audience gets quiet.

“The Butler’s price tag will be well over three hundred dollars. Whereas you can get a cheap smart speaker for fifty bucks right now. So, you might ask yourself why I went to all the trouble. The answer—I promise you—is much bigger than Bingley’s hunky British accent.”

There’s a murmur of uncomfortable chuckling.

“The Butler is a very different product than others on the market. It’s what Bingleywon’tdo that’s truly innovative.” She holds up two fingers in turn. “He won’t let you down—not without a fight—and he won’t tell anyone your personal information, your search history, or your thoughts and dreams.”

She taps thoughtfully on the podium. “We are at a crossroads in consumer tastes and preference. Gone are the days when consumers blindly put their trust in the latest slick app or gadget. The world is covered over with shiny apps. And the tech industry has widely abused its customers’ trust in the name of data mining and advertising.

“The next wave of consumer tech will be driven by two very important ideas—excellence and privacy.

“Excellence means creating a product that people will brag about owning. That’s the only kind of product I’m going to make. But excellence also meansprivacy. Our customers haven’t always valued their privacy highly enough. It’s partly their fault for choosing convenience over safety. But it’s mostly our fault for not disclosing the risks.

“Meanwhile, some of our colleagues have made woeful apps and products. Our failure to ask the big questions has led, for example, to a globally insecure banking system, hacked electrical grids, and misused facial recognition software. If we’re not careful, our societal legacy will be global chaos, wrongful arrests, and surveillance by abusive exes.”

I nearly choke on my sip of wine. She slipped that line right in there, smooth as silk. I can’t help myself. My eyes dart to Jared Tatum, just to see his reaction. But his face is as placid as it was before.

Hmm.

“All in the name of a fun time and a good bargain,” Alex is saying. “But everyone in this room has the power to build better tools. I’m here to tell you that privacy is sexy. And our customers are not stupid. Theywillpay more for products that aren’t peddling their private information to the highest bidder. They will reward you for your thoughtful innovation. They are slowly learning that there’s no such thing as free.”

Alex glances toward her new device. “The Butler does all his own offline processing. The owner’s voice is never transmitted to our servers unless the customer approves it in real time. And all information is completely encrypted.”

She glances around the room, making eye contact with people at dozens of tables. “This project took me two years. Building a truly private product wasn’t easy. But neither was it impossible.

“Privacy is not a party trick. It’s not cute or funny. But it’s important to our future as a civilization. Tonight, I challenge all of you to look at your work and consider your business models. What will you add to the future of personal electronics? What will your legacy be? Thank you and good night.”

The applause is thunderous.

On her wayback to the table, several people flag Alex down. So it takes several minutes for Alex to reappear at my side.

“That was amazing,” I tell her when she finally sits down again.

“Remarkable,” the gray-haired men at our table agree. “Well done.”

“Thank you.” Her smile is tight. Honestly, she looks awfully tense for somebody who’s just finished giving a terrific speech. But I don’t ask her why, because the MC is introducing someone else now. A lifetime achievement award is about to be granted, and the audience listens politely.

I hope the speeches end soon. I’ve already heard the best one, and I can’t wait to take off this bowtie. The night is still young, too. If we got out of here, I could have a glass of scotch or a walk on the beach.

Not two minutes later, though, Alex clamps her hand onto my wrist. “Ladies room,” she gasps. Then she pushes back her chair and stands up.

Well, fine. I guess I’m getting my wish. It’s my job to stay close to Alex, so as Alex walks away, I casually place my napkin on the table, nod to the others, and ease out of my chair.

Something is wrong, though. It’s not like Alex to storm out of the room during a quiet moment like this. As I wind between the tables, following her out, it’s clear that we’re interrupting the action onstage.

And she’s really moving. Even my longer stride can’t keep up with the beautiful woman in the cocktail dress and three-inch heels. She’s leaving the way you’d evacuate from a fire.

When I reach the lobby, she’s still moving fast—a human streak heading for the bathrooms. My only guess is that she ate something earlier that doesn’t agree with her. So I let her escape to the sanctity of the women’s room, and I park myself right outside to wait.