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I was mitigating some risk just the other day when my office door burst open. In strode Bruce Delo, and if it weren’t for the briefcase in his hand, I’d have berated him for not making an appointment. I casually checked my suit for animal blood before standing up to shake his hand.

“Bruce,” I said, measuring my words. “Hello.”

“Christian,” he said, rolling my name around his mouth like fine scotch. “Do I have business for you.” He set his briefcase down on my desk, accidentally crushing a post-it-note crane I’d folded. Behind me, the impressive HALIFAX_1 skyline blocked my view of the harbour. I need a better office.

“Business I can handle,” I said, hoping he wasn’t about to redefine my definition of ‘business.’ That’s what my business cards say that I do.

He popped open the case, and from underneath a fold of white silk he removed a pair of GyreTech K-Vision 65i’s, diodes blinking hypnotically.

“Lancaster,” I said, addressing the office, “close the door.”

Bruce didn’t even flinch as the door slammed shut behind him.

“Where did you get those?” I asked him, folding another crane.

“GyreTech’s just giving them away, if you happen to have access to their DB of coupon codes.”

“With the IR expansions, I see,” I said.

“Don’t need K-Visions to see that.”

We stood in silence for a few seconds. The glasses chirped pleasantly, harmonizing on the major scale.

“So you’re interested?” said Bruce finally.

“In the codes, or the glasses?”

“Oh, just the glasses,” said Bruce.

I could do a lot of business with those, access more of the GRIDD than ever before – even the 64-bit areas.

“Business,” I said in the affirmative, and shook his hand.

“Good,” he said, and snapped the case shut, then slid it further across the desk. It knocked into a paperclip sculpture I had been working on, but the sculpture was sturdy enough that it wasn’t damaged.

He turned around and walked towards the door, which I wordlessly instructed that Lancaster re-open. Before he left, though, Bruce turned around.

“I’ll expect dividends,” he said.

“Consider them guaranteed,” I said, hoping he did not ask for a written, legal guarantee.

He knocked over a stack of my books before walking out. I sighed – I’d just finished balancing those.

- Christian