Two Worlds at a Time

(Disclaimer: I have zero ideas of how such deals are made, so don’t take this as God’s words.)

But that will be for the future. Aric would receive part of the money in Google stocks, which he would have full power over and could sell to cash in. Of course, it wouldn’t allow him to have any power positions among Google’s decision-makers and executives.

The other part would be liquid cash, with an account opened in an international bank, providing a credit line of 2 billion dollars accessible to him for his lifetime.

Of course, a part of the money would go to Uncle Kurien too. When he saw the amount he would receive, he had tears in his eyes, and his hands were shaking when the deal was finally made.

He couldn’t believe that a small trip with his friend, which he thought to be a scam, turned out to be real and made him so rich that even his next two generations would be able to live like kings.

"Thank you, Aric, for this amazing software and also the new language. Between me and you, I think we got the better end of the deal. According to the analysts, the new language you created is at least a generation ahead of what we use now. This would enhance our security, speed, and reliability. And those are just the basic things we figured out in one day. Thank you again." Eric was beaming with joy after the deal finished. He really thought he had gained so much on this trip that would help Google take a leap forward. Now he was determined to get him on board at Google.

"That is the least I can do since I want to sell the software. I know I could have made more money out of it since I made the language, but I can’t be too greedy, at least not when you are helping me cover up the whole deal from the media."

"Yeah, I don’t get it. Don’t you want to be famous? If the word gets out, I am sure the government would love to sponsor you and make you their poster child." Eric was surprised that Aric didn’t want any media publicity from this deal, as teenagers his age were prone to fame more than adults. The deal was made in such a way that his name would be used as an alias, and the tax would be paid so that the government wouldn’t ask for details since all his ducks would be in a row. This was what Aric specifically requested, making him and his family as anonymous as possible. Of course, it was not a guarantee that his name wouldn’t come out in the media, but Aric wanted to be out of the spotlight for at least five years before Google could announce to the public what had happened.

This was the same way Jeff Bezos hid from investors about the whole cloud computing AWS until it started generating loads of money.

"No. Being famous means a target on my back. I don’t want it," Aric replied. There were, of course, other reasons for his love of anonymity, but he didn’t say it out loud. Eric also didn’t push for more and was just happy with the deal. He asked for a celebration, to which Aric had to say yes.

Alcohol was offered, which Aric and his father declined. Uncle Kurien couldn’t stop himself when he saw the costly wines and alcohol being served. While celebrating, Aric passed a small piece of paper to Eric, who wasn’t heavily drunk yet.