The hair thickened up and covered everything, then shrank toânothing.
Looking at Spazz and Jena, I could clearly sense how they felt. They were scared to death. As was I. And then Momo was back
again, only her head this time, lumpy and crooked and cubist.
âWhat steps will you take to commence the Great Work, Joe?â asked Momo.
âI donât see why we shouldnât still go to Tahoe,â said Jena in a small voice. She was way on the other side of the room, squeezed into the corner and biting her nails. âListen, Momo, if you want Joe to start a company, heâs going to need seed money. Even before the first round of funding. Weâre not just talking research and development, weâre talking focus groups, marketing studies, prototypes, and a business model.â The touchstone words put Jena on familiar ground. She ran with it.
âWeâll start out with a proof of concept,â continued Jena, her cheeks growing pink again. âThen do some surveys to figure out the best way to productize. And meanwhile weâre getting a buzz going. If we do this right, the venture capitalists will call us instead of us calling them. Maybe a stunt of some kind to whet the publicâs interest. Free media exposure. How about a contest to raise the profile? Weâll have Web of course, Web from the start, but if we wanna hook the front porch folks, weâll need to get direct mail and telemarketing campaigns in place, all ready to go as soon as we can pull the trigger. Youâre talking about a serious budget, Momo. Millions. I could work it up.â
âThe prophets and holy men we used in the past had no business models,â said Momo thoughtfully.
âJoe, a prophet?â said Jena, laughing again.
âCan I get some respect?â I said. âYouâre right, Momo, business is the way to go. And weâre the ones to do it for you. And as for funding, if you donât make a scene in the casino, Jena and I can win mucho dinero in Tahoe. Nothing like what weâll need, but at least enough to start. Once weâve got some seed money, weâll think of a way to make it grow. Blackjackâs just for openers.â
âYou only have six hundred dollars in your wallet,â said Momo. âThatâs a rather small stake for gambling.â
âItâs enough. If I keep winning itâll build.â
âIâll obtain some additional cash,â said Momo. A proper amount to start with. I see some nearby. Wait.â She disappeared.
âItâs gotta be Vegas,â said Spazz.
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â I said. I was still mad at Spazz for laughing at me.
âVegas is where the high-roller games are. You win more than a hundred grand at Tahoe or Reno, theyâll throw you out and maybe stomp your butt in the parking lot. If weâre talking about winning a million off quality people, itâs gotta be Vegas.â Spazz gave a brisk cough for emphasis.
âWhatâs this âwe,â Spazz?â I said coldly.
âDidnât you say you needed an assistant, man? Hell with that, Iâll be your Chief Technology Officer. Or how about your âapostle. I heard that stuff about prophets. Momoâs tried this before, right?â
âI donât know if it was Momo herself. It might have been one of her ancestors. She said her trick for giving me my third eye was a family secret.â I lowered my voice and took Jena aside, hoping Momo wasnât watching us from somewhere vout there.
âYouâre smart to build up the budget estimate,â I murmured to Jena. âIf Momoâs machine works, greatâand if it doesnât, weâve still helped ourselves to a big chunk of the cash flow. We work this thing, and we get rich either way. You think I should really cut Spazz in?â Jena nodded enthusiastically. I was going to have to keep an eye on those two.
âWhere
K. Sterling
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