Freedom Club (22 page)

Sumeet made no response. He just shrugged with embarrassment. Bijal’s fiery scowl beamed back with contempt.

“Now you listen to me, young man,” she scolded. “I’ll tell you exactly what to do. You march back there on Monday and tell that boss to undo it! I can’t believe...”

“Amma!” Sumeet forcefully cut her off. “I want to make my own decision. Teeke? We’ll talk when I get back. Things are going to work themselves out somehow.”

Bijal shook her head and waved a finger. “Oh, you talk like everything is just fine. Don’t you forget the com-plex, and your marriage! Huh!”

Sumeet maneuvered himself into position, ready to kill the phone. “I will talk with Hiral about those issues when I’m home.”

“But Sumeet!”

Bijal protested widely as Sumeet hung up. Taking off his filters, he rubbed his temples in a circular motion. His head ached and he wondered when all of this would go away. The thought of arguing his jobless state with Hiral and family loomed over him like black clouds.

No more, he thought to himself. He would call the outplacement agent and push for something. Perhaps the market would simply re-absorb him. Any position would do. Yes, he thought to himself optimistically. That certainly would take care of the big issue. Life would go back to normal.

Adjusting his filters, he found the links provided by Pamela the day before. Even though he resented her attitude, he was happy to find her emails. With his hand about to dial out, he stopped to notice an incoming call. Who was it this time? Hiral again, he figured. Or maybe Shasta.

He paused.

A single name stood out: S. Friemann. He didn’t recognize it. Odd, too, was the lack of company affiliation or ID tags embedded in the header. Normally an unidentified call wouldn’t get through his filter. Still, without spam tags he had little reason to disregard it. Maybe it was a headhunter, he thought. That certainly would be welcome, given the circumstances.

He slowly pressed the call pickup, and Shinzou appeared before him, casually dressed in a cotton jacket and simple white tee shirt. They stared at each other, unsure who should go first.

“Who is this?” Sumeet asked guardedly.

“My name is Shinzou. I am calling about the audit at Shinkei-Kenkyu?”

“Oh, I see.” Sumeet fumbled. “I didn’t get very far. Sorry, where exactly do you work at Shinkei?”

“I was an external consultant on the project. I’ve got some other projects there, but I heard you were investigating the fab job for Sri-Ooti years back. I thought I’d offer some help. Assuming you need any.”

“That’s...very nice of you, Mr....”

“Friemann, but you can call me Shinzou. Everyone does”.

Sumeet eyed Shinzou warily. “I’m not the person you should be helping. My friend Ganesh in Bengaluru just asked me to assist him. You see, I happen to be in Tokyo for other business. And Ganesh had no other way to access the database from the outside.”

“I see,” Shinzou said. “Your team at Sri-Ooti covers other parts of the system, I assume?”

“Me?” Sumeet laughed slightly. “Sorry, no, I don’t actually work for Sri-Ooti at all. I work for...Chindo Securities. I’m in finance but was doing the audit as a personal favor for Ganesh. He works for them.”

Shinzou nodded with disbelief. “Oh, now I get it. Fascinating! You’re auditing in a completely different field? You’re pretty brave.”

Sumeet smiled. “Thanks, but you’re mistaken. The work is by the numbers, and without result so far. I’ve been going in circles, to be quite honest.”

“No, it’s really impressive. I didn’t imagine a finance guy would even try it. Tell me, are you familiar with the DNA encoding sequences used on those artificial non-stop boards?”

“Not really. However, I minored in biotech at IIM. There was a time when the medical field was my target in life. I’m able to read the documents and gauge them a little. Honestly, my goal was more on the project management issues, looking for operational anomalies. From that point of view, a business and finance background is applicable.”

“I see your point,” Shinzou said, nodding. “Well, I have a strong background in cross technology. I’m also fairly knowledgeable with the wet side of this, and happy to assist you if you like. For fun!”

“That is...very kind of you,” Sumeet replied unconvincingly. “Though I am not sure if I can invest more time. It was only a favor. I really have a lot of issues to deal with at Chindo.”

Shinzou looked back inquisitively. He noticed Sumeet’s uncomfortable body language, and decided to pursue the conversation in a more personal direction.

“Yeah, I worked at a few big companies years ago. I know what you mean. They can be brutal at times, especially during shake-ups.”

Sumeet sat up with interest. “Oh? Which firms?”

“Well...,” Shinzou began. “ASPAU Goldman before they got bought out by the Chinese, then Tata Nano Technologies in Bengaluru.”

“You worked for both?” Sumeet said, duly impressed. “That’s incredible. Where are you now?”

“Now? I’m independent. And to be quite honest I have never been happier. The pressure was unbearable. And the constant threat of layoffs took its toll on me. Honestly? The last one was a godsend.”

Sumeet was thoroughly intrigued. Was it because Shinzou spoke about things which seemed to matter? His words were precise bullets, hitting invisible psychological targets from miles away. Was it mere happenstance? There was a nagging within Sumeet, urging him to learn more. Cautiously, his natural mistrust ebbed as he further explored Shinzou’s line of thought.

“You know, that’s an interesting coincidence. You see...” Sumeet paused momentarily for thought. “It’s a little hard to admit this, but it would seem that Chindo is going through that too.”

Shinzou raised his eyebrows perceptively. “Oh, I see. Then maybe you’re more interested in my experiences on that topic?”

“To be quite frank...that is, if you don’t mind,” Sumeet asked sheepishly.

“Of course I don’t mind,” Shinzou exclaimed. “I wish more people who enter the corporate world were trained up front for such eventualities. It’s almost unavoidable and nothing that’ll kill you in the long run. Let’s see, my first downsizing happened over twenty five years ago. Sadly, I was too emotional, and it made me feel like...well, how would one put it?”

“Worthless?” Sumeet offered cautiously.

Shinzou aimed pistol-like with his index finger. “Exactly! Even if you’re the employee of the year, it’s all for nothing. Oh, there may be excuses concocted by human resources, like a need to reengineer business processes and all the rest of their malarkey.”

Sumeet nodded with enthusiasm. “Or that it’s not performance related.”

Shinzou laughed. “What imbeciles! I suppose your boss gave you a template answer, about how he fought tooth and nail to keep you.”

“A little, but mainly he claimed a Sentient made the call.”

“Really? No!”

“Yes, that’s how it is now.”

“And no possibility for works-council intervention?”

“They rubber stamped it.”

“Incredible! That’s not how the system used to work.”

“Times change.”

“Is that so?” Shinzou said. “So, how are you handling it? Looking for something new? May I suggest you take time off to think about all this? Reflection and contemplation are important.”

Sumeet sighed. “I wish I could, but the timing is awful. I have plans. My upcoming marriage, you see. And I’m buying a com-plex on Monday.”

Shinzou looked disappointed. “Marriage, huh? I suppose it’s a matter of the heart, so there’s no point discussing its sanity. But a com-plex? Where’s the wisdom in that?”

“It’s funny you should say that. It worried me too. I wanted to put it off, but the broker convinced me to go ahead. That’s because...”

Shinzou finished the sentence. “Because the bank is lending to you, and not your employer. I know the story. The bank assumes you’ll slave away for them the rest of your life.”

Yes! Wasn’t that the truth? Sumeet couldn’t believe how quickly Shinzou read into his life, ferreting out self-denial from seemingly intractable conditions. Finally, he’d found someone who understood precisely what was going on. Sumeet glanced down in the water and noticed some of the multi-colored Koi that swam about. The smell of cherry blossoms also became apparent for some reason. It felt good, and he could hardly believe his good fortune.

Sumeet chortled happily. “She didn’t put it that way. And...well, I don’t think it’s quite so bad.”

“Sure!” Shinzou said, quite amused. “The broker will never say it that way. But that doesn’t mean such isn’t the case. Tell me, have you ever read anything by Thoreau?”

“Who?”

“Henry David Thoreau. He was a nineteenth-century American author. Quite famous for his ideas on materialism.”

Sumeet shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him. But I have read Gandhi’s thoughts on the very same topic.”

“That’s not surprising,” Shinzou said, nodding. “Gandhi was influenced by Thoreau’s writing on materialism. But even more so regarding a person’s right of disobedience toward the state.”

Sumeet looked surprised. “Well, I read that Gandhi felt materialism was used like a tool to enslave India to an imposed economic system.”

“Thoreau proposed similar ideas one hundred years before,” Shinzou explained. “But that fact is often overlooked even though we still suffer from chronic materialism. We see it now and in the past. It plagues throughout all human timeframes.”

Sumeet thought about that. Economic enslavement that plagued man throughout time? Not impossible to imagine. But he wasn’t sure if it really applied to him.

“So...how does this relate to my com-plex?” Sumeet said. “Are you saying it’s an expression of materialism?”

Shinzou leaned back in his chair and looked at Sumeet compassionately. Tapping on his table in contemplation, he spoke to Sumeet like an old friend.

“Well, only you can really say. But let me ask you a simple question. Do you really need it?”

“We all need shelter,” Sumeet replied coolly.

Shinzou jumped out of his seat and laughed hard. “Please! We’re not talking about four walls and running water. How big is this place you’re buying? Fifty floors?”

“Forty.”

“Oh, well now, that’s modest,” Shinzou joked. “Look, I think it’s fine to have a mortgage. The question is the level to which it meets our needs. For the most part, wants are imposed upon us by society. That includes family and friends.”

“So what do you suggest? A small hut and live like a tribesman?” Sumeet hit back candidly. “It makes no sense to me. I can’t live like that. They’ll think I’m insane!”

Shinzou changed his tone to be more conciliatory. “I know. For your information, Thoreau lived in a small shed over two years to prove his point. But his message was not for us to copy him. He wanted everyone to simply challenge society. Live life showing greater fiscal restraint, without the possessions other people say you must have.”

Sumeet looked back somberly. The words began to strike him like invisible lightning. Could this be the answer he searched for?

Shinzou sighed softly. “Are you really happy with yourself in that respect?

Sumeet remained silent.

“This probably isn’t feeling like much help. But let’s do this.” Looking down, Shinzou hit some keys. “I’m forwarding you links on Thoreau, and attaching a copy of Walden.”

Sumeet looked askance at the new information. “What’s Walden?” he asked inquisitively.

“One of Thoreau’s books. His most influential. After you read a little, we can speak again. You also have my contact information bundled in there. Feel free to call me any time. I really enjoy talking about all this.”

Sumeet watched as the links appeared in his inbox. He didn’t have much time, though. His com-plex deal was closing soon. Still, he felt compelled to look at this new information before Monday. Based on Shinzou’s advice, the answers he sought could be within its virtual pages.

Sumeet smiled. “You know, I didn’t quite know what to expect when you called. But our talk has been very helpful. Somehow, I feel better. Almost upbeat.”

“That’s good,” Shinzou said, beaming. “You’ve just taken your first steps into a new world. Let’s see how far we can take you.”

Walden Pond Connecticut: 1846

S
ummer’s apex, and beans grew tall over Henry David Thoreau’s feral backyard. Having lunched on several handfuls, he sat restfully against the shady side of his small home. The rustling of lofty pine and oak trees filled the warm summer air, as Henry took out his notebook and contemplated something to transcribe.

Recalling his efforts to finish a manuscript about his river adventures, he considered whether he would find a publisher and interested readers. His close friend Ralph had convinced him that it would. But garnering accolades was not Henry’s primary concern. Any such advice appeared suspect. Was it not better to live an interior life, one of solitude and profound contemplation? Surely men should not be gauged by any particular success, but rather the average of their abilities.

With pencil, he jotted down an idea that quickly took shape.