Smartystan

Synths and learned machines from Dr. Frampton’s company Supreme Synths combined to form a formidable union. They worked in unison after a few hiccups and stumbles here and there. The two women stood looking at their creations with their arms folded in the office overlooking the plant where the embodiments of their efforts worked.

“I think we’ve got some winners down there,” Belinda announced.

“We just ought to. It’s been over a year since the merger.”

“That’s right.”

“I think we should increase the stock price,” Dr. Frampton said.

“Keij, are you serious?”

“As melanoma.”

Belinda shifted in her stance and walked over to the desk. “I just think we should see how many shareholders will be affected by….”

“They’ll be compensated readily. There will be bonuses as well. We can look forward to that. It’s something that I think will keep everyone happy and on the same plane of thought.”

Belinda sighed. “I would imagine that you’re not far off on this one,” she replied.

“I think that this joint venture will provide more money for the both of us. We launched these multi-billion-dollar firms and expect to be the citizens of our own selfish worlds.”

“Yes, Keija,” Belinda said in mock agreement with a fist in the air.

“Melanoma….”

“Oh.”

“I mean it, Bel’. We can look at all of this and say that we’re akin to all the great American industrialists and the scant amount of women and women of color that fill up those books. This isn’t for them. This isn’t about that. It’s just the coincidence of the might that we carry as entrepreneurs.”

The merger between the two companies had been named MegaSynths. When the two women looked at each other again from scrolling through data, they found that they could keep up with the strong demand of people who wanted to use their products. Dr. Frampton looked at the synths and machines as they did their graceful dance of assembling their own kind. The warehouse/laboratory was abuzz with productive activity. It was like a nest of wasps constructing and building and producing more.

“We’ve gotta be greedy,” Dr. Frampton said finally. “We’ve gotta beat the guys, too. They’re alive. Most of those faces in history books about great financiers and builders are dead. What we have to do is become greater businesswomen in our way of presenting ourselves.”

“Okay, I’m getting mixed messages, Keija. At first you’re trying to not just be names and faces in the annals of business history. Then, you say you want to take down the guys. Where is this going?”

“It’s going onto the stage of greatness and well-being.”

“But our desire shouldn’t be to trounce anyone,” Belinda countered.

“Isn’t it?”

“No.”

“I mean your whole life, you were looked at as the dumb, ditzy, space cadet blond and then you transformed all of that and put your brains to the test and constructed a company virtually all by yourself. I’m not trying to rout anyone to take their money away or their status. Maybe I mean I want to be the greatest, not greater.”

Belinda shook her head slowly in agreement. It was like she had just unraveled a layer of a straitjacket that had bound her. She looked at Dr. Frampton with a mix of wonder and seriousness. Dr. Frampton, however, looked at the workers below and the small number of humans who oversaw the operations of the place.

“We’ve got to be that way, but the only way for us to do that is to realize that they called you a mammy and subservient to the white man. They accused you of only having your company due to the fact that you placated to whites.

We’re on the same page here. Nothing has changed. Read in the webzines. They all talk about how we’re just ‘lucky’ to have this merger…that we’re not really the true businesspeople for making a choice to combine our major companies.”

“I know.”

“If you knew, then why would you go out of your way to try to show up to anyone else?”

“I have to be on guard as you should be, Belinda. We’ve got too many eyes on us. The scrutiny is almost overwhelming. Almost. I’m built for this. I’m standing on business here. There’s nothing more important than to discover your purpose.”

“What’s your purpose, Keija?”

“I’m supposed to be the most rational, productive person I know…besides you and the men at Delaseer, of course.” She smiled a well deserved grin.

Belinda took that little smile and just held onto it. She felt it creep into her soul and she sensed the power of the bond the two women shared.

“It’s all about conquering our own fears and looking forward to the future….”

Dr. Frampton scoffed. “Did you get that out of a help book?”

“No, that was all me,” Belinda admitted.

“It’s not bad. It just rings trite. I guess that’s why clichés often are just the truth well-worn. Anyway, I know what you mean. We both came up through the ranks and achieved top level status. Hell, you don’t even have a high school diploma. That’s the beauty of this whole setup. I can have a doctorate and partner with someone who never walked.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say. We’re a force. We’re what people fear about women. That we can get goals accomplished no matter our skin tone or level of formal education. We can ensure that we both have the power to let little girls know they can grow up in the sciences. Despite the facts of the past, the future extends towards those who toil in the present.”

“Now, that’s gotta be from a help book….” Dr. Frampton replied.

“Nope. All me again.”

“That’s your next mission. You should put forth all these aphorisms and compile a list and sell it for yourself or for Delaseer. Whatever you choose to do, I will wholeheartedly support it.”

“At least we can find some common ground on that. We face many daunting tasks before us. It’s just not a race or gender thing, it’s a mind thing,” Belinda responded.

Dr. Frampton performed a full bow before Belinda and she returned the bow. They both ended up laughing.