Off Topic
Opening Gambit
October 23, 2061 | Forever Land | Monica had been right. Taking the Door to mom's concert had been a perfect way to let off steam, and taking a week to extricate herself from her last job and move into her own little Tiki hut was just what the doctor ordered. It was quaint, her office. Small, but uncluttered enough to make it feel both larger than it was as well as comfortable. She'd have a sound system installed next week. And a small couch to sprawl out in. It was going to be perfect.
Director of Public Outreach.
It was a job she'd been prepping for all her life, though she'd never known it. Kind of like dad kept saying. The harder I work, the luckier I get. Thanks Dad.
She'd handled a few little bits over the past week. A virtual press release about Dana Munce and a series of queries for player interviews. Now, though, she had to get to work. And she had plans.
I want you to dig, Monica has told her.
So dig she was going to do.
She clicked a button on the Coconut, which was what all the staff called the Atoll's internal communication system.
"Hello," Amit Hahn's voice came straight into her head.
"This is Marie Manning, the new Director of Public Outreach."
"Yes, yes! I know who you are. Welcome aboard Ms. Manning. So good to have you here."
No need to suck up so fast, she thought. Marie Manning was used to people doig that, though. When your dad is a Hall of Famer and your Mom is still an International pop star, you tend to get a lot of it. "Thank you," she said, controlling her voice. "Do you think you could be a dear and come to my office now?"
The statistician's response was quick but his voice belied a certain hesitation. "Sure."
"I need you to bring some data, too," she said.
"I got it. Stats and background, right. Everything you need for press releases."
He arrived a moment later. He was as sharp as she'd been led to expect. Quite brilliant, actually. And though he was way too young, she couldn't help but note that he was intensely cute. Give him ten years and he'd be handsome. A deadly combination, brains and looks. If he played his game right, this was a guy who was going to go someplace. They spent the next fifteen minutes scrolling through numbers dense enough to put a normal person into a coma. Marie waited him out, though. Amit was also cute in the way his voice got all rushed as he explained details to her. It was awkward, in a way. She didn't understand all the math he was flinging, and halfway through she realized he was in performance mode. Like that was ever going to happen.
"Is that what you needed?" Amit said when he was finally through.
She sat back in her chair.
"Yes. I did need all of that. But I need something else, too. Something I'm guessing you might need to go back to do some work on."
"What's that?"
"I want to know which players our fans love the most. And I want to know which of our guys are at the most ease talking in groups, working with people."
Amit pushed a few virtual buttons and pointed...
"And I need psych profiles, too. Deep psych profiles."
"Of the players?"
"Sure," Marie said, focusing intently on the young statistician. "And of our fans. I'm looking for hot spots we can exploit. Places where we get the most and least support, and what the people are like there."
"I see."
Marie could see wheels churning in the young man's mind.
"And I want more, too."
"More?"
"I also want information on every GM in the league. Maybe even in the GBC, too. You never know when that will become necessary. I want information on their decisions, and the way they work with their public. Trends, you know? Anything that seems of interest."
"I see," Hahn replied. "Isn't that heading close to corporate espionage."
"Not the way I see it. Keep with public documents, right? Nothing close to illegal, of course. But put them all into one of those fancy smart data bases you're talking about and spit me out something I can use."
The statistician mulled that over.
"Do you think you caan you do that for me?" Marie said, giving her most charming Mikki Manning smile.
"Sure," Amit replied. "Let me work on it a bit."
"Great," she replied.
A moment later, Amit Hahn left the office. Marie smiled. That went well. Now, though, it was time for the next part of the plan.
She clicked another button, then entered a sound code that was keyed to the frequency of her voice. A soft hum came as protocols linked up. A voice came from the other end. Feminine and low. "Hello, Marie. I heard you might be calling. So glad to hear from you." A moment later the VR system kicked in and it was like they were in the same room.
"Heidi Hickman," Marie replied, feeling a cold combination of excitement and anxiety at speaking for the first time in her life to the woman she'd heard about so often, and idolized for so long. "I admit I'm nervous to talk to you."
Hickman smiled. "Well, then, we should just get straight to business, right?"
"That would be great," Marie said. "I've got some information coming my way, and I want to be ready to act on it".
"I see," Heidi Hickman said. She folded her hands in front of her and the two of them did, indeed, get straight to business.
Director of Public Outreach.
It was a job she'd been prepping for all her life, though she'd never known it. Kind of like dad kept saying. The harder I work, the luckier I get. Thanks Dad.
She'd handled a few little bits over the past week. A virtual press release about Dana Munce and a series of queries for player interviews. Now, though, she had to get to work. And she had plans.
I want you to dig, Monica has told her.
So dig she was going to do.
She clicked a button on the Coconut, which was what all the staff called the Atoll's internal communication system.
"Hello," Amit Hahn's voice came straight into her head.
"This is Marie Manning, the new Director of Public Outreach."
"Yes, yes! I know who you are. Welcome aboard Ms. Manning. So good to have you here."
No need to suck up so fast, she thought. Marie Manning was used to people doig that, though. When your dad is a Hall of Famer and your Mom is still an International pop star, you tend to get a lot of it. "Thank you," she said, controlling her voice. "Do you think you could be a dear and come to my office now?"
The statistician's response was quick but his voice belied a certain hesitation. "Sure."
"I need you to bring some data, too," she said.
"I got it. Stats and background, right. Everything you need for press releases."
"Is that what you needed?" Amit said when he was finally through.
She sat back in her chair.
"Yes. I did need all of that. But I need something else, too. Something I'm guessing you might need to go back to do some work on."
"What's that?"
"I want to know which players our fans love the most. And I want to know which of our guys are at the most ease talking in groups, working with people."
Amit pushed a few virtual buttons and pointed...
"And I need psych profiles, too. Deep psych profiles."
"Of the players?"
"Sure," Marie said, focusing intently on the young statistician. "And of our fans. I'm looking for hot spots we can exploit. Places where we get the most and least support, and what the people are like there."
"I see."
Marie could see wheels churning in the young man's mind.
"And I want more, too."
"More?"
"I also want information on every GM in the league. Maybe even in the GBC, too. You never know when that will become necessary. I want information on their decisions, and the way they work with their public. Trends, you know? Anything that seems of interest."
"I see," Hahn replied. "Isn't that heading close to corporate espionage."
"Not the way I see it. Keep with public documents, right? Nothing close to illegal, of course. But put them all into one of those fancy smart data bases you're talking about and spit me out something I can use."
The statistician mulled that over.
"Do you think you caan you do that for me?" Marie said, giving her most charming Mikki Manning smile.
"Sure," Amit replied. "Let me work on it a bit."
"Great," she replied.
A moment later, Amit Hahn left the office. Marie smiled. That went well. Now, though, it was time for the next part of the plan.
She clicked another button, then entered a sound code that was keyed to the frequency of her voice. A soft hum came as protocols linked up. A voice came from the other end. Feminine and low. "Hello, Marie. I heard you might be calling. So glad to hear from you." A moment later the VR system kicked in and it was like they were in the same room.
Hickman smiled. "Well, then, we should just get straight to business, right?"
"That would be great," Marie said. "I've got some information coming my way, and I want to be ready to act on it".
"I see," Heidi Hickman said. She folded her hands in front of her and the two of them did, indeed, get straight to business.
