FB: Chapter 21 – My Loving Family

I had gone back home for Thanksgiving to New Jersey. Beth was working in Exponential along with the minions Anthony had sent into the game. A guild account had been set up in game. Any money they earned or were paid, half was automatically deposited at the Bankers Union where the union would deposit it into the guild account. They could collect their pay in coin and put it in their inventory. But doing that would see them get kicked out of the guild if discovered. Also, it was a huge hassle to use physical currency.

It cost 1 silver a month to set up a basic account. There were a lot of additional features if I was willing to pay more, which I had to. I was paying 1 gold a month to have a rank 2 account with the Bankers Union, which allowed me to get deposits from multiple people. I had pulled out 90,000,000 dollars worth of coinage from the game. That was 50 gold coins, counting the 10% transfer fee that was subtracted. Then there was the 15,000,000 dollars that went for taxes.

I had done this in order to get Anthony to stop hesitating about investing more. When I whipped out that much money, he hadn’t hesitated about investing more of his money to speed things up.

Most of that was going into the construction process which was going full speed ahead. The goal was to get up the main building before winter hit. Progress was being made and everything was on track. That is what happens when you throw a lot of money at a problem. That was also enough to cover my financial side in the physical world. The rest of the money would be kept in game, and I wouldn’t be spending my personal money on guild or corporation stuff going forward.

It was important to draw hard lines between what was my property and what was the guilds. All too often in smaller guilds, the guild leader and officers treated the guild account like a personal piggy bank. That would lead to drama and not work if the Fanged Fox guild had to grow beyond 20,000 people. Better to set up things in a proper manner ahead of time.

Vast swaths of nearby land were purchased up by the Fanged Fox Corporation. We wanted to get as much land as possible before the nearby QAI node was officially announced. Since we were paying slightly over the market price and the area was struggling, the sale of property proceeded very quickly. The land for the QAI node was already purchased, since I had looked at the surrounding real estate but construction hadn’t started yet. In half a year construction would start and in three years it would be finished, sending real estate prices skyrocketing over that time period.

The major issue was getting more capsules. Anthony had reached out to Exponential Corporation in hopes of increasing our purchase limit. It was raised to 20 per month if all capsules purchased were at the premium level for the next six months. He signed off on that quickly, since we had already planned to pay that much.

An office building was also being constructed on the purchased land for our real-world office. It would be ten stories tall, with a massive lobby and high-quality furnishings. We needed a place to manage all the capsule complexes we were building and to hold high level meetings. I insisted that there be a bunker built as well for our officers’ capsules in a secure location.

Anthony was skeptical of my request, but it was something I insisted on. Once more money came into play in regards to Exponential, things could easily turn quite deadly. That was why I went everywhere in the real world with my bodyguard slash driver. I would be one of, if not the highest priority target for such actions in the future. I had even changed my car, selling my beloved car to Beth in exchange for something with a lot more protection.

My armored SUV pulled into my parent’s house. I had left right after a grinding session and slept in the car for the trip, while my driver read a book in the driver’s seat. I had to adjust my hours, so I showed up Thanksgiving morning. I would be heading out after dinner and sleep on the way back. Bethany had gotten my original car. I had worked so hard for it as a teen. But with my wealth, I needed the armored matte black SUV more than a car I had earned through waitressing.

“Sis!” Rodrick said as I entered my parents’ home. My bodyguard was right behind me. “New boyfriend?” he asked and gave me a hug which I returned.

“This is Sam from Secure Solutions. Today’s driver and bodyguard. I let mom and dad know he would be coming, since I have someone following me everywhere once I leave home,” I said.

“You have a bodyguard? I know you said you are doing quite well, but isn’t that a bit excessive?” Rodrick asked.

“If anything I should have a team. When I go public, I will need one and will get people to watch over all of you as well,” I replied. Rodrick looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

“Well, I am sure there is a story there. We can talk about it with mom and dad, so you don’t have to repeat yourself,” Rodrick said.

After everyone introduced themselves and we had a light lunch before Thanksgiving dinner later this evening, Sam said he was going to walk around the outside of the house while I talked to my family.

“Really a bodyguard?” my father asked after he went outside.

“I am the Guild Leader of the Fanged Fox Corporation, which is equivalent to the CEO of a major corporation. Our current valuation is around half a billion which will only increase,” I said. There was utter silence.

“Half a billion?” Rodrick asked in shock, while my parents had gone bug eyed.

“Hmm, yes. Once I go public with what I have planned, that value should increase to around twenty billion at the very least,” I explained. There was utter silence at this.

“How? What are you even doing?” my father asked.

“I have one major investor with the high chance of bringing in a lot more. That is why I need a bodyguard right now and a team later on. Since I am the lynchpin that will have to make everything work in Exponential,” I explained. Unlike a CEO of a regular corporation, taking out a person who was both a Champion and Guild Leader could easily collapse out an entire guild and wipe it out.

“Okay, sign me up. Who needs school or football when you can make that much,” Rodrick said.

“You aren’t joking with us?” my father asked, and I shook my head.

“Even without my initial investor, I would still need the protection and have a valuation of around a hundred million dollars right now. If you want to quit your jobs, I am happy to give you both some money,” I told my parents.

“This is a lot to take in,” my mother said.

“How is this even possible?” my father asked.

“Rich people with a lot of money wanting to move their assets into a place with the highest yields to keep up their wealth and earn more money. The exchange has dropped to ten dollars per copper, but the demand is still there. Also, Exponential is the future. I am not joking about that. If you are interested, my capsule complex will be finished late February with a bunch of capsules being shipped to the building. Interested?” I asked.

“Yes,” my father said. “What? Don’t act so surprised. She is making good money. And I am sure I can earn more than rich idiots playing the game.” It was a lot of money, and anyone would be tempted by the possibility of vast wealth. That was the great part about Exponential if you knew what you were doing. It basically added on an entirely new economy to the world.

“If I want to play?” Rodrick asked.

“Graduate early by taking a GED and your football season will be over by then. You are eighteen right now, so you can join Exponential as well,” I told him. There was an age limit for the capsules for safety and legal reasons. Technically one could be as young as fourteen, but most countries didn’t allow that, since the port would have to be replaced yearly as a person grew.

“And my friends?” he asked.

“For immediate family there is a modified guild contract, which means you can be part of the guild, with the only requirements being behavior in game. Anyone else will get the regular guild contract. Half of all income goes to the guild, and there will be earning requirements. But they would get to use a capsule and keep the other half themselves. These are contractor positions. For officer and salaried positions, those would need to be discussed, once the guild becomes official,” I replied.

“Wait, you are hiring, for the top level positions of your company?” Rodrick asked.

“Yes. Recruitment, Advancement, Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence, Combat, Accounting, Knowledge, Relations, Operations are the staff officer positions that I need to recruit for on top of all the Champion positions. I know Anthony will be handling the real world side in terms of executive level positions, not that we will need that many,” I explained.

“What the requirements?” Rodrick eagerly asked.

“Be very good at playing Exponential or in a specific way. You would probably be better off trying to be a Champion by focusing on combat with your football experience,” I replied.

“Accounting, what does that position do exactly?” my father asked. I could tell he was interested.

“Keeps track of the guild’s finances, incomes, and expenditures. Projecting out the cost of conflicts and trying to keep the guild financially stable. Long term conflicts are primarily determined by how much money one side has. Once the money starts running out, then a guild will have to retreat from the conflict,” I explained.

“On top of that, they will have to keep track of market trends. Assess opportunities from a financial perspective. These positions are work, a lot of work. Since we will be trying to keep staff positions as low as possible,” I explained.

“And the pay?” my father asked.

“That is still being worked on. Most likely starting at a two hundred thousand a year with a lot of benefits.”

“That isn’t that much for a corporation of your size,” he said.

“The benefits offset such an issue. A lot of money will have to be reinvested at the start. In time the dollar’s value will go up, while the value of copper will decrease with all the players. Since the primary revenue stream of the company is from the game, we can’t afford huge salaries at the start and will most likely be supplementing people’s pay with in game currency, they can cash out themselves to avoid legal issues,” I added on.

“What kind of benefits?” my mother asked.

“Housing and food are covered on my end. And capsules of course. You don’t have to make a decision today, it is a lot to think on.” The currency dynamics were quite complicated. While some countries wanted to tax Exponential, the mega corporation had basically gotten various governments to sign off on not taxing the in-game economy in exchange for building QAI nodes.

There was even a law that was passed in the US in the future specifically prohibiting the taxation of all money inside the game. That had been combined with the guild share redistribution. Anything that came out was taxed and reported, so no one had a huge problem with this. It wasn’t real was the argument and they were building power plants along with the nodes. So, the states the nodes were in had gone along with the no taxation law as well, the same with other countries.

If a country tried to tax the game economy, they would get cut off and no one wanted to risk that in the future. Otherwise, people would have nothing to do inside their capsules unless they purchased military connections. Exponential kept a tight monopoly on what activities could be done with the capsule, funneling all the people into the game. Once the defense industry and medical industry got involved, there was just too much on the side of Exponential Corporation to do anything.

With the boost of human abilities from medical nanites, no country could afford to alienate the company, otherwise their armed forces would take a huge hit as well. There had been talk in the future about countries ceding control of their nation to Exponential in exchange for subsidized capsules for everyone. That was the power of the world’s first mega-corporation.

There were other people who raged about QAI taking over the world and how it was Skynet, but it was too late once the defense, medical, and health insurance industries all got involved. The biggest pushback had been laws in countries with severe population decline that people who turned 18 had to have had at least two children in order to be allowed to use a capsule.

The entire world would become focused on Exponential to the exclusion of all else. Countries were even moving their prisoners into long term capsules. They would have contracts that took 90% of their earnings, but almost all the prisoners leapt at the chance. Compared to sitting in a cell, being free in game was far more preferable.

And with QAI watching everything, well, it was hard for criminals to remain criminals unless they wanted to risk being sent to an in game prison area like the Penitent Mine. Even now, that place made my butt cheeks clench up a bit with how horrible it was. A different kind of hell than the Murk Swamp.

“I will have to look into getting a GED,” my brother said. My mother let out a sigh.

“You will miss your graduation. We will talk about this. Getting a GED is not the same as getting a diploma,” she said.

“Well, I need to do a lot more research and have a lawyer look at this contract you talked about. But my interest is peaked. It might be quite enjoyable,” my father said.

“Enjoy? You and your shooter games,” my mother said with a sigh.

“Ah, yes. Well, I am sure I can figure it out. And we can always stop?” he asked me.

“Yes. But then you would be subject to the year of non-compete and the long term non-disclosure,” I explained.

“Keeping secrets sister?” my brother asked with a grin.

“Yes. How I am earning as much as I am is top secret. So, if you join, I won’t be able to hold your hands,” I replied.

“You wound me. I am wounded dear father,” my brother clutched his chest, and I rolled my eyes.

“Smart. I am glad you aren’t an idiot bragging about everything,” my father said.

“Well, just let me know by February when you want to sign up. The first capsule complex will be done, and recruitment will be open,” I explained.

“How do you plan to manage everyone?” my father asked.

“People can figure things out on their own at the start. High earners will be kept, low earners will be let go from the guild. Once people hit level 30, then I will offer another contract. They would get to keep seventy five percent then.” The standard was seventy percent, but I could be nicer than the corporate and national goliaths from my past.

“Hmm, how long would that take?” my brother asked me.

“About a year. Or half a year if you really push yourself and are smart about things. I plan to expand rapidly as well.” With all the investment coming my way, the Fanged Fox Guild would be expanding very, very quickly in terms of numbers.

The real killer was that year of non-compete. While people could leave and get their own capsule and do their own thing, the point of guilds was to help streamline everything and push back on other guilds. If I was going to run a guild, then I would aim to make it a super guild and have some real power. With all the land that was being purchased, we would be able to fit a lot of people into our capsule complexes. That would be good enough for our core members.

While other people might build higher than five stories, there was too much risk of vibrations. In the future five stories was considered the optimal height for a structure. That is why I couldn’t just invest into skyscrapers and the current cities didn’t turn into high end hubs.

Cities were considered trash for having the best possible connection. With at least 20,000 core members, I could recruit large numbers of external members as part of my guild. Cities were where I would bulk up on external members to boost my future member count. That would hopefully put me over the million-player mark in terms of players working for me and the size of a super guild.

Super guilds were often national or corporate guilds and had over a million players. They mobilized a massive amount of power and resources in game. While I would like to reach such lofty heights one day, that was a big stretch goal. The nations and top corporations guarded those higher ranks jealously. Often the smaller guilds aligned themselves with the super guilds for protection and cover in game.

I could worry about that once I reached that point. The most important thing was earning money now and personal power. If a guild had weak Champions, they were viewed as a weak guild. Once they were viewed as weak, people would leave as quickly as possible for better guilds.