"006 The Mutant Corps" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

No one was thing of closing the exchange now! Everyone was frantically trying to sell, at whatever loss. Even the most hardboiled brokers lost their nerve and sold at any price they could get. Within fifteen minutes huge concerns and trusts changed hands. Nobody seemed to wonder that there were still some people risking their money to acquire such worthless enterprises, when the end of the world was coming closer and closer.

The stock market closed. It had experienced the biggest crash in history. The whole world market appeared to have come to a total standstill.

Homer G. Adams sat in his office at G.C.C. in complete silence. He had long since cut off his connection with his middlemen at the stock exchange. He did not want to run the risk of anyoneТs listening in. He was now enjoying the calm after the storm. He was thinking and waiting.Toward four oТclock in the afternoon his phone rang. It was Mr. Weiss."Hello, Mr. Weiss. How are you?"

"What is your opinion about the situation, Mr. Adams?"

"ItТs nothing but a joke. Tomorrow everything will have blown over."

"Well I must say, you are the last optimist in the world."

"ThatТs what I would like to be-the last optimist, the one who laughs last. But I am sure I am not alone. There must be more of my kind. Why are you calling, Mr. Weiss? You wouldnТt be interested in my offer?"

"Does the offer still stand?"

"Why, of course. Life goes on, as far as I am concerned ."

"Very well, then. IТd like to get together with you tomorrow. I could charter a plane."

"That wonТt be necessary. We can take mime. It isnТt any slower than the fastest plane you could get anywhere in the world."

"Okay, Mr. Adams. Thank you. IТll see you then tomorrow at-"

"Hold it. Have you thought about my terms for our deal?"

"Yes, Mr. Adams. Fifty-one percent for you, as you suggested."

They arranged a meeting for six A.M. the following day.

The only thing that surprised Homer G. Adams about the next business discussion was that he had expected to speak with Mr. Andre Gillette on the phone. Instead the wiry little man called in person at his office.

"Mr. Adams, we have been seriously considering your offer. The Minneapolis Mining Co. agrees to your proposals. We would like you to demonstrate your machines tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Gillette. I already have an appointment for the morning in the Midwest. But after lunch I will be able to fly over to Sacramento. Will that suit you?"

"Excellent. This will leave, us enough time to clean out the tunnel, so that you can carry out your demonstration without any danger."

"Fine. And you know our terms. I would like to show you the draft of our contract, since you are here, in the office already. Then you will need only to sign it tomorrow we will have it ready for you by then."

Gillette read the agreement attentively. Then he declared, "I agree to all points, except for the percentage of your participation in our enterprise. My partners have authorized me to present this counter offer to you. They feel it would be too great a disadvantage for us if you had the majority. Therefore they, suggest to forty-five percent."

AdamsТs face displayed a sweet, fatherly smile, "You act as you did in the good old days, Mr. Gillette. Does it really matter now who controls the majority? HavenТt you lost your shirt in todayТs market crash like everyone else?"

"Not at all, Mr. Adams. You know that our stock has dropped by more than fifty percent. But I am sure that you must still think highly of our company, especially since shares have fallen far more heavily than ours. You still get a splendid deal by entering our firm, even if you donТt control the majority."

"I was, called the last optimist an Earth barely half an ago. Now I, realize that I am not alone in this respect."

The short dark haired man bowed elegantly and replied, "We understand each other, Mr. Adams. If the Minneapolis Mining co. can bore tunnels through mountains, then she will become the leading firm for the construction of air raid shelters within the next three days. After that catastrophe in the Timor Sea Down Under, the only money that anyone is willing to spend will be for building underground bunkers. You see how well we are aware of our potentialities in that case. And you will profit from this emergency the same way we will. Of course, it is quite possible that there is a real basis to the current general mood of expecting the end of the world. But if that should be the case, we would have lost everything anyhow. We just prepare for the eventuality that life must go on and why shouldnТt we? Mankind has always managed to muddle along and will continue to do so as long as any human being is alive."Homer G. Adams seemed impressed by such a high opinion of humanityТs potential for survival, "All right, then. IТll have the contracts typed out and will bring them along with me when we meet tomorrow. G.C.C. will be satisfied under the circumstances with forty-five percent. We will get along with each other."