The contract itself was a mass of impenetrable legalese, finely printed compact text which filled more than thirty large sheets of paper.
The first page was a summary. This was written in relatively straightforward language, and outlined the intent and effect of the agreement. For most people offered the contract, it was obviously assumed that this would be the
only page they would read. lt explained that in return for payment for full disclosure of
'relevant memorative information' as held by the licensor, the GunHo Corporation of Taipei, Republic of China, the licensee, would have complete and unlimited rights of 'electronic creation, adaptation, development, retrieval and replay'.
Significantly, the most prominent passage occupied the bottom third of the page. lt was printed in large characters and was enclosed in a thick red border. lt said: YOUR RIGHTS. This contract is valid throughout the member states of the European Union as presently constituted, and is written in all official languages of the countries in the Union; this version is in English. Similar validity operates within the U.S.A., but an attorney should be consulted. The contract describes an agreement concerning electronic creative lights to psychoneural memories. All such agreements within the European Union are protected by the protocols of the Treaty of Valencia. Before signing the contract, or accepting payment for your memories, YOU ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO SEEK COMPETENT LEGAL
ADVICE.
Nick was in a state of mild shock: everything in his life was now centred on those thirtyodd pages of closely printed words. The prospect of suddenly receiving a substantial fortune had the capacity to change a life for ever. It was impossible to pretend away such a sum of money; it couldn't be ignored. No matter what, things were about to change.
For Nick, money had always been something that came in and went out at more or less the same rate, leaving him never rich, never poor, but more the latter than the former. Now, within the last thirty minutes, he had been told that he was on the point of becoming a rich man. Seriously rich. For the rest of his life.
There was no hurry: Acie Jensen had advised him to take his time, to read the contract carefully.
This must be how it felt to win a lottery. Or to be left a fortune by a relative you hardly knew.
Possibilities opened up in all directions, dominated by the petty concerns of the immediate present. In the short term he knew he could at last settle hi ' s bills, pay off his overdraft (a strenuously worded demand from the bank had arrived only that morning), clear his creditcard debts. Then the luxuries would become instantly available: a new car, a new house, new clothes, a long holiday. And still there would be millions left over. Investments, dividends, property, endless financial freedom ...
Nick had come up to the bedroom alone, closing the door behind him. His first instinct had been to rejoice, to find Amy and grab her, dance down the street with her and share the incredible news with her. But an inner darkness had loomed.
lt was not that he wanted to keep the money to himself, but within the first few moments he knew that it signalled the end of his relationship with Amy. The windfall was his ticket out of Bulverton, away from the hotel, and inevitably away from Amy. They were held together only by pressure of past events.
The money transformed everything, and it would release them both, a violent throwing open of the gates. He was trying to cope with an onrush of thoughts: it wasn't the money, because he could and would give half of it to her and still be wealthy beyond his dreams, but its impact on them both.
He felt a tremendous dread and misery rise within him, but not predominating, somewhere out on the edge of his consciousness. lt had to be confronted, though, because it was rushing towards the centre. This windfall had come too
suddenly: where he and Amy were headed was no secret to either of them, but he didn't want it precipitated by a sleazy get-rich deal. Which was exactly what this was.
He went down to the bar and poured himself a large Scotch. There was no sign of Amy, who earlier had been working in the kitchen. He returned quietly to the privacy of the bedroom.
He felt he was going mad: his thoughts were whirling around. Plans, relief, excitement, guilt, dreams, freedom, places to go and things to buy and ambitions at last to fulfil. Then the darker side: a raging guilt about Amy, a fear that all this money would evaporate as quickly as it had materialized, that there was some unannounced drawback, some evil catch that Ms Jensen had not warned him about. He looked at the contract lying on the bed beside him, and again read the warning on the first page.
He decided to follow its advice, and after searching around for his address book he put through a call to an old friend of his who practised in London as a solicitor.
john Wellesley was in a meeting when Nick telephoned, but returned his call a few minutes later. By a massive effort of will Nick had still only sipped his whisky once or twice. Every familiar instinct and habit urged him to drink himself into a horizontal position, but a harder centre warned that he needed to keep his wits about him.
He gave Wellesley a brief if slightly hysterical description of what had been offered to him.
Until he began speaking he had no real idea of the effect the news had had on him. He heard the words tumbling out, and he could hear that his voice was pitched several tones higher than normal. lt took a conscious effort to stop himself babbling.
Wellesley listened in silence, then said calmly, 'Is it, a Valencia contract?'
Nick took a breath, feeling giddy. 'I think so, yes. There's something about that on the front.'
'Is it thirtytwo pages in length?'
'Yes,' Nick said, riffling the sheets and looking at the number on the last one.
'I have to be sure about something, Nick. I know it sounds like an irrelevance, but 1 have to know. Are you asking me for informal advice on this contract, or do you want me to negotiate it on your behalf'
'Both, really. Advice first, 1 think.'
'Would you like to go away and calm down before 1 say any more?'
'Do 1 sound that bad, john?'
'I can't say I blame you. I've done several of these deals before, and they always seem to have the same effect.'
'All right. I'll try to stop gibbering.' Nick swigged the rest of his whisky, tried to concentrate on what Wellesley was saying.
'I'll make it easy for you. The bottom line is that it would be safe for you to sign the contract in the form in which they've handed it to you. There are international treaties that govern these deals. Are you prepared to submit to the electronic scanning did they describe that to you?'
'Yes.'
Acie Jensen had told him about it, but Nick had still been reeling from the news about the money. At times like that you tend not to pay close attention to the rest of what someone is saying.
'OK, so long as you know what's involved. 1 gather it's no more unpleasant than having your blood pressure tested, but 1 haven't done it myself so 1 can't be certain. 1 believe there's no physical risk, but the Valencia Treaty allows you to get medical advice without prejudicing the agreement.'
'I'm not too bothered about that.'
'OK. As for the money: which company is it?'
'They say they're Chinese, from Taiwan.
'Not the GunHo Corporation?' said Wellesley.
'Yes.'
'Congratulations. They're one of the biggest virtualreality players. You're home and dry, Nick. Their contract is always the standard one, so far as 1 know. From your description it sounds as if they're still using it. If they are, it's been tested in all the senior courts: the Supreme Court in the USA, the Appeal Court here, the European courts in The Hague and Strasbourg.'
'You seem to know a lot about it,' Nick said, impressed.
'As 1 said, I've worked on several ExEx contracts in the last couple of years. How much are they offering you?'
Nick told him.
'Not bad. In terms of the going rate, that's medium to high. What's it for?'
'The Gerry Grove shootings in Bulverton. My parents were killed.'
'Of course! 1 should have realized. Bulverton is Just about the hottest ticket in town at the moment.'
'I wasn't even here when it happened,' said Nick. 'I keep wondering if they've made a mistake. lt makes me nervous, in case it's all going to fall through when they find out.'