Forum Overview :: Tansin A. Darcos's Alter Ego :: Tansin A. Darcos first appearance (part 1)

[quote name="Commander Tansin A. Darcos"]This is from a book I originally wrote, oh Christ, 20 years ago. It is where I first introduced Tansin A. Darcos in a story. (I actually wrote one probably 30 years ago when I invented the character, it was a story called "It can't be that bad.") From: In the Matter of: The Gatekeeper: The Gate Contracts (Part 1) Chapter 64 "And I will not pay money to those who steal."      I was really out of ideas. I had done all my homework. I suggested to Lynn that if she wanted, we could just snuggle together for a while, as I didn't want to have sex again this soon. It had only been about an hour, and I was afraid I was going to be worn out.      So we did. Actually, that was quite pleasant. To hold someone close and feel them next to you. So I finished the book I had been reading, with Lynn curled up next to me. So, having spent 2 hours together, just snuggling, Lynn looked very happy. I decided that I wanted to do something besides just stay in the room all weekend having sex, so I asked her if there was something she wanted to do. After she answered, with a single word, I responded. "Something other than that."      "Are you saying you don't like it?" She grinned.      "You're going to wear us both out. And I don't mean you." I smiled back.      "Oh, silly, it's not that much. Haven't you ever jerked off this many times over three days?"      I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. Maybe five or six years ago. I've been so involved in my classwork that I haven't done that much lately, maybe once or twice a week, sometimes I had to work so hard that I was too tired to bother and so on. So I was just lately feeling comfortable enough with my school work to be able to do that more often."      "Oh. I was going nuts about six weeks ago. I was used to having sex almost every day, sometimes twice a day, especially on weekends. I had broken up with Andre a month earlier, and hadn't had any for almost the whole month. The only thing that helped was that my backgammon friend, Alex, came by for a weekend, and I don't think we did much of anything else. That lasted me quite a while, then I started to get horny again, and that brings us up to last Saturday when you spoiled what was the first decent climax I'd had in six weeks."      "I said I was sorry, I didn't know."      "George, it wasn't your fault, I didn't mean to sound like it was."      "Oh. Anyway, I want to go visit the library and look up something."      "They're open on Sunday?"      "There's a large main library over in Panus, about 30 miles away, that is open from noon to six today." I looked at the clock and frowned. "But that wouldn't give me much time." Then I remembered. "Oh, wait, the East-Coast University Library never closes, so I can go there."      "Oh. Is that where you got those books from?"      "Yes. The ID cards we have also serve as library cards there."      "Okay. Did you want to go, now?"      "If you don't mind."      "Of course I mind, but I'll go with you. I guess maybe you're right, we should do something else for a while. But I expect some more later on."      "Okay."      We flipped again, and I won, so I drove out to the university again. After listening to music for a few minutes, I changed stations and found a news station.      "...as soon as it hits, with instant updates as they occur, all the news, all the time. Philip Martin is at the editors' desk, I'm Diana Martin. News Radio 12 time is 4:35 PM, Eastern Standard Time.      "Panus: Channel 2 News has just issued a formal apology over the air for releasing an unsubstantiated report that there was a cover up of an attempted sexual assault on the campus of East-Coast University. Administration officials informed Channel 2 that an entirely unrelated incident was being investigated by the Chancellor on Saturday, the incident did not involve a felony or any form of sexual misconduct, but was necessary to be handled on Saturday due to time conflicts, and that the matter had been settled amicably.      "Washington: National Guard troops, on orders of Howard Gallaudet, Court-Appointed Receiver for the District of Columbia, removed 3,500 protesters who had barricaded themselves inside and around DC's Old City Hall, known as the District Building. Protesters were driven off by trucks approximately two miles, then released. One Guardsman received slight injuries when a beer bottle was thrown at him, but no other injuries were reported and no arrests were made. "San Francisco: National Guard and Forest Service personnel as well as hundreds of firefighters are battling a 15,000 acre fire in the San Joachin Valley which has been exacerbated by drought conditions. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated, and reports are that 12 people so far have died due to smoke inhalation and burn injuries.      "Los Angeles: Red Cross officials are attempting to assist victims who have been left homeless as a result of days of rain, devastating floods and mudslides, this coming only weeks after a major earthquake struck Southern California. Property damage alone is expected to top $1 billion. Police report 14 people are either dead or unaccounted for.      "Cincinnati: Famed Rock Star Dick Spitz was found in a hotel room this morning, dead from an apparent overdose of PCP, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and moonshine. Spitz, 28, was most famous for his song, ‘It's Now the Time,' which went platinum in four weeks, and sold over 7 million copies. The song was number 3 on the charts before it was declared obscene by the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago. He is reported to be survived by ten children from four different women. Spitz was never married."      I had gotten into the parking lot, and was about to turn the radio off, when I heard the start of another item which was related to the reason I had decided to come over.      "Kansas City: Brown Computer Corporation announced today it was laying off 15 employees on Monday due to cuts required from cancellations of orders due to technical problems, and from the loss of royalties due to a Supreme Court case it lost earlier this month.      "There's a special offer this week at Ron's Supermarket, with two locations to serve you, at 1440 West Ron Street in River City, and 12345 North Southeast Avenue, in Panus. USDA Prime Chuck Roast, only..." I stopped the engine and got out, we walked over to the library, and went in.      I knew what I wanted to look at, so I went to where current newspapers are. I looked at the copy of the court decision in my briefcase, and got the paper from that day and the next couple of days. I found the advertisement in the Business section of USA Today:           Advertisement      An Open Letter to John Brown      From Arizona Computer Company      It was an ad with a printing of the company's letterhead, A front view of a computer with a map of Arizona on it, a dot radiating out of where Tucson is, and their trademark underneath, "Above all else... We shall go on... And continue!" Below that was an image of a typewritten letter with a block of text outside of the letter below it. Above the letter was another block of text:      A number of customers and suppliers have asked me why I have refused to pay licensing fees to Brown Computer for the use of their Multiprocessor Matrix design, in view of my record of always keeping my promises and complying with my contracts. I decided to publish the contents of the letter I mailed to John Brown which explains the situation. The letter read:      Office of the General Manager      Arizona Computer Company, Inc.      www.arizona-computer.com      Speedway Blvd. & Country Club Drive      Tucson, AZ 85711      John Brown, President      Brown Computer Corporation      www.browncomputercorp.com      39th Street & Troost Ave.      Kansas City, MO 64110      Dear Mr. Brown:      Approximately four years ago I entered into a license agreement with your company for use of your design for the Multiprocessor Matrix Configuration for Computing Systems, for use in developing superfast and scaled computers, similar to those using hundreds or thousands of separate multi processors, but with additional features.      At that time I paid your company the royalty rate it requested. While the rate was expensive, the technology was well worth the money, and I gladly paid what you asked.      Shortly thereafter, I was informed by two of my best employees that your design was intentionally copied from an obscure article in a mathematical journal, written by someone else. The minor changes between the original author's design and yours did not fundamentally change the concept. Based on my own knowledge of technology, I examined the material and discovered they were correct.      As such, I stopped production using the design your company sold, and retooled my manufacturing division to use the original design. I even went so far as to ask the original author for permission, even though I did not have to do so. I have never met this man, and I did not know him then, it was simply that I so admired the simplicity of his work that I wanted to tell him this.      When I realized what you had done, I informed you I was terminating my contract on the grounds of fraud on your part. A separate settlement covered the contract issues on that matter.      Your company had also informed me we were infringing on your patent, and I answered that we were not. I informed my attorneys that it was my judgment that your filing a patent on what was, for all intents and purposes someone else's design, was stealing. And I will not pay money to those who steal. Nor will I be a receiver of stolen ideas.      After several court trials, in which I lost, an appeals court finally ruled against you. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, for which certiorari was granted. After years of litigation in which I refused to settle for relatively minor costs to me, the Highest Court in the Land confirmed by a unanimous decision what I had said the day I refused to continue paying licensing fees to you. The relevant portion of the decision which was just released, reads as follows:           ... the patent itself was fraudulently obtained... there is no doubt that the actual inventor of the Multiprocessor Matrix Configuration for Computing Systems as described in the Brown Patent Application, was Dr. Hugo Sign of East-Coast University, and not the (appellant) John Brown.      It was not the money. I spent much, much more fighting this case than I would have paid in royalties to you or in a settlement. Twenty-two million dollars more, to be exact. It was a matter of principle that I deal honestly with everyone, and I do not deal with thieves, especially those who steal the work of others. In fact, despite the fact that I was under no obligation to do so, I had been paying the actual inventor a royalty for the design, because I respected what he had done.      This should therefore clear up any misunderstanding of the issues in this matter.      The text of the advertisement continued:      This was a matter of principle, and pride. Too many people sacrifice their principles because it's cheaper to do so. I discovered many years ago that if you keep your promises, act fairly and honestly, and expect no less from everyone you do business with, it will make things better for you in the long run. Several years ago I started the policy of never cutting corners, always keeping my promises, and never breaking my word. After a while I was making much more money than I had ever imagined I would. I have become very wealthy as a result of doing so. I have earned everything I have accomplished, and I am proud of my ability to have done so.      It is for this reason I have published this advertisement, so I may proudly tell the world that which I was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt, a fact that the Highest Court of the Land has now confirmed. I may finally say to the man who has been publicly and irrefutably shown to be the one true and only inventor of the Multiprocessor Matrix, Dr. Hugo Sign, my personal thanks to you, Hugo my friend, for all that you have done for myself, for the computing industry, and for all the people whose lives have been improved, through use of the computers that I and others have made from your work. My only regret is that you did not receive the financial rewards that John Brown got by putting his name to your design. I offer you my deepest gratitude.                Sincerely Yours,                (Signature)                Tansin A. Darcos                General Manager                Arizona Computer Company, Inc.      I was really amazed. I wasn't the only one who deeply admired what this man had done. I now started to see even more clearly why Speedy had almost fallen for him.      I had never thought about the fact that when someone makes money by selling something like this, it not only benefits the people who sell it, but the people who use it, too. It's something we probably take for granted when we turn on a light switch, but grumble about the bill every month.      I had found out what I wanted to know, and I went to find Lynn. As I was afraid of, she had found something to amuse herself with. Books describing new positions and ways to make love. I had this suspicion we were going to be very busy tonight. This time, I thought, I wouldn't mind.      I had Lynn stop by Dr. Sign's house, and I put the two tapes in the mail slot, probably committing a federal offense that would get me 5 years in jail and a $100,000 fine if the Postal Service found out, same as probably fifty million other people had done. We stopped at a drug store and picked up a few things we needed.      When we got back to our room, I found out I was right, both that we would be busy and I wouldn't mind. I enjoyed it immensely. And as usual, her trademark "cat that ate the canary" smug satisfied look, that had first irritated me when she was killing me in backgammon, was now something I looked forward to seeing. As long as I could make her happy, I was happy too. And the sex just made it better. In fact, I now understood that I could still be happy with her even if I didn't get to have sex with her sometimes. Just giving her that backrub was nice. I would never have believed that before. And that, I think, made me very content to be with her, and glad that she was with me. [/quote]