glowing tip of his second smoke left a contrail that defined his previous path.
Kira pursed her lips. ''Do you want to run an advertising campaign against them? I can't believe it would be effective. That would be like the Hershey Company running advertisements against dietitians who tell overweight people to give up chocolate."
''Exactly. We can't use straightforward advertising. A frontal confrontation is inappropriate in this situation. It's similar to our problem with beating referenda. We should probably build an organization like the Citizens For Freedom—we used them to beat down legislation on no smoking in public buildings. We need somebody who seems unbiased—somebody who can complain about those ZI kooks messing with the minds of our children."
Daniel saw from the look in Kira's eyes that he had been too blunt in his analysis. He was not surprised when she responded badly. "The Zetetics are a bit cultish, but they aren't exactly kooks."
He backed off. We might not need to go all the way to building an organization to counter them. First, we should try to exploit the media; after all, that's cheaper, and it's at least as effective when it works."
Kira nodded. "Yes, that seems like a sensible approach. " Daniel could see that she still held distaste for the idea of fighting the Zetetic Institute, but he could also see that she was challenged by the problems of manipulating the media. "First, we need to find sharp newsmen who already distrust the Institute. That shouldn't be a problem; there are newsmen who distrust everything. Then we need to cultivate them and make sure they're successful, without letting them know they're being helped."
Daniel gave her a satisfied clap of his hands. "Yes! And we have some great ways of helping them. We have inside information on just about every dark corner of society—politicians, in particular. Our selected reporters wifi receive leaks to help them build their careers. And, of course, the magazines and cable channels that depend on Wilcox-Morris for advertising support will be particularly eager to ran their pieces."
These thoughts were obviously new to Kira; her eyes looked beyond him at the broad ramifications. She had an open look, her face filled with an emotion he dimly recalled from his childhood. It was the emotion that came with a sense of wonder. "Of course. You have leverage all over the country." Her wonder turned into a moment's revelation, as she realized how much easier her job would be, working with the tobacco industry.
Daniel shrugged. "Well, for what it's worth, we have all the power that money can buy. There are limitations, of course, on the power that money can buy, but there aren't many things that can buy more power than money."
"So, would you like a list of candidate reporters?" Excitement filled her voice. She clearly relished the idea of using the media as much as Daniel did himself.
"Excellent." He stood up, concluding the meeting. "I think we can do lots of business together."
Kira also stood up. "I agree. I'm quite confident that both of our companies will profit from this link-up. " She paused at the door, and turned to him. "I still can't believe you think the Zetetic Institute is worth bothering with."
Daniel's voice grew stem. "I've made my career out of seeing where trouble will appear before anyone else could see it. There're other sources of trouble for our business, too—plenty of them. But this is one we have to nip in the bud. Believe me." He watched her depart, then snuffed out the remains of his second cigarette with methodical care. The ventilation sucked away the odor of tobacco with equally methodical efficiency—at least, it sucked away enough of the odor so that a smoker could no longer detect its presence.
Daniel stepped up to the great wall of glass, to look outside and luxuriate in the gentle springtime. For a moment, his mind flashed over the years of his life—from his childhood on a tiny farm, to his first
Kira pursed her lips. ''Do you want to run an advertising campaign against them? I can't believe it would be effective. That would be like the Hershey Company running advertisements against dietitians who tell overweight people to give up chocolate."
''Exactly. We can't use straightforward advertising. A frontal confrontation is inappropriate in this situation. It's similar to our problem with beating referenda. We should probably build an organization like the Citizens For Freedom—we used them to beat down legislation on no smoking in public buildings. We need somebody who seems unbiased—somebody who can complain about those ZI kooks messing with the minds of our children."
Daniel saw from the look in Kira's eyes that he had been too blunt in his analysis. He was not surprised when she responded badly. "The Zetetics are a bit cultish, but they aren't exactly kooks."
He backed off. We might not need to go all the way to building an organization to counter them. First, we should try to exploit the media; after all, that's cheaper, and it's at least as effective when it works."
Kira nodded. "Yes, that seems like a sensible approach. " Daniel could see that she still held distaste for the idea of fighting the Zetetic Institute, but he could also see that she was challenged by the problems of manipulating the media. "First, we need to find sharp newsmen who already distrust the Institute. That shouldn't be a problem; there are newsmen who distrust everything. Then we need to cultivate them and make sure they're successful, without letting them know they're being helped."
Daniel gave her a satisfied clap of his hands. "Yes! And we have some great ways of helping them. We have inside information on just about every dark corner of society—politicians, in particular. Our selected reporters wifi receive leaks to help them build their careers. And, of course, the magazines and cable channels that depend on Wilcox-Morris for advertising support will be particularly eager to ran their pieces."
These thoughts were obviously new to Kira; her eyes looked beyond him at the broad ramifications. She had an open look, her face filled with an emotion he dimly recalled from his childhood. It was the emotion that came with a sense of wonder. "Of course. You have leverage all over the country." Her wonder turned into a moment's revelation, as she realized how much easier her job would be, working with the tobacco industry.
Daniel shrugged. "Well, for what it's worth, we have all the power that money can buy. There are limitations, of course, on the power that money can buy, but there aren't many things that can buy more power than money."
"So, would you like a list of candidate reporters?" Excitement filled her voice. She clearly relished the idea of using the media as much as Daniel did himself.
"Excellent." He stood up, concluding the meeting. "I think we can do lots of business together."
Kira also stood up. "I agree. I'm quite confident that both of our companies will profit from this link-up. " She paused at the door, and turned to him. "I still can't believe you think the Zetetic Institute is worth bothering with."
Daniel's voice grew stem. "I've made my career out of seeing where trouble will appear before anyone else could see it. There're other sources of trouble for our business, too—plenty of them. But this is one we have to nip in the bud. Believe me." He watched her depart, then snuffed out the remains of his second cigarette with methodical care. The ventilation sucked away the odor of tobacco with equally methodical efficiency—at least, it sucked away enough of the odor so that a smoker could no longer detect its presence.
Daniel stepped up to the great wall of glass, to look outside and luxuriate in the gentle springtime. For a moment, his mind flashed over the years of his life—from his childhood on a tiny farm, to his first
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