in. Answer my question.â
âThe situation youâre in, Cameron, is that you donât know what to do with your life. Youâre a smart man. You donât have the luxury of coasting through life on ignorance like a lot of people. Youâre acutely aware of your potential, that you have something meaningful to offer society, but you canât really figure out what that âsomethingâ is.â
I was expecting some kind of financial or career-related discussion. I had no idea Batista was going to try his hand at psychology.
âYouâll just waste away, Cameron. If you donât figure out a way to play the corporate game or get off your ass and open your own firm, if you donât figure out some way to be happy in your work, youâll end up killing yourself. With a heart attack or with a razor blade, it doesnât matter. And if you donât want that, if you donât want to kill yourself, the question you have to ask yourself is this: What
is
going to make me happy?â
Batista smiles as if he has impressed me with his monstrous intellect, but this apparent insight is nothing more than any intelligent human could surmise about the world around him. Most men age quickly, after all, their career and salary arcs flattening around the age of thirty-five, the balance of their days forming a plateau that for better or worse defines their usefulness to society, and any armchair sociologist can recognize this. Anyone with reasonable observation skills can employ the celebrated bell curve to illustrate how the haves and have-nots occupy Americaâs nether regions and leave the vast, flat plain of homogeny for the middle-class majority. This is not what I want from him now.
âWe all need something,â he continues. âWe all have to make a difference somewhere. You donât have any kids. You donât seem to be that much in love with your wifeââ
âWhat the hell are you talking about? You have no idea whatââ
âLook, Cameron. Iâm not going to order Gates to force you into the portal. If you donât want to do it, then Iâll find someone else. But you need to think hardâand quicklyâabout what you want from life. I know it isnât accounting, thatâs pretty obvious, so what do you want? I know youâre really into golf, so maybe you could be a professional. I donât know. But this opportunity for financial freedom will give you the chance to find out what you want and pursue it. How else are you going to do that if not volunteer for this test? At the very least, if you never figure out what turns you on, at least youâll be able to say you helped test transmission technology. At least youâll have contributed that.â
Finally some kernel of adventure, some payoff for my risk besides the money.
âEven if the machine kills you,â he adds, âyouâll be remembered as a pioneer.â
This is what I want to hear, the affirmation I need to solidify my decision.
âDo you think itâs going to kill me?â
âAbsolutely not.â
âDo you think Iâm going to come out on the other side scrambled or insane or permanently blind?â
âIâve shown you the videotapes. Weâve perfected this machine. But we need human tests on record if weâre going to market this idea to the public, and thatâs why Iâm willing to pay you so much money. Because this company will make a thousand times that if people buy into the technology.â
âBut youâre not willing to test it yourself. You wouldnât have to pay yourself five million dollars if you were a test subject.â
âThat would be a conflict of interest, for one thing. And yes, of course there is a risk that something could go wrong. But I donât have to accept this risk. I have enough money to pay someone who needs it more than I do. And I think you make the perfect