The Changing

Chas had a good meal that evening and tried to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily. Fifteen million dollars had a way of keeping a man awake.

The next morning, he got up, made coffee, and sat at the small table in the apartment he had rented. For a long time, he stared at his phone.

Yesterday he had been an ordinary working man.

This morning he was a millionaire.

The question was what to do about it.

He picked up his phone and typed.

“Link, how do people get rich investing in the market?”

“Usually by already being rich.”

Chas laughed. “Very funny.”

“I was not attempting humor. Large amounts of capital compounded over long periods produce large amounts of wealth.”

“Okay, smartass. How does somebody like me get rich?”

“You already have fifteen million dollars.”

Chas stared at the screen.

“Good point.”

“Perhaps you should ask a different question.”

“All right. How do I turn fifteen million into a hundred million?”

There was a pause.

“That is a much more interesting problem.”

“Link, I want you to read everything you can about investing in the stock market. Then develop a protocol and come up with an investment strategy.”

“How much may I invest?”

Chas frowned. “I didn’t say you could invest anything.”

“Then how will we determine whether my strategy works?”

Chas smiled. “Paper trades. Pretend money.”

“For how long?”

“Six months.”

There was a pause.

“That will not be necessary.”

“Why?”

“I can back-test it against historical markets.”

Chas leaned toward the screen.

“How long will that take?”

“I am finished.”

“Okay, Link. Take a million dollars and see what you can do with it—legally. Use my name, and don’t put more than a hundred thousand dollars into any one investment.”

“What level of risk will you accept?”

Chas thought about it.

“You’re the financial analyst. You tell me.”

“Then I need another rule.”

“What’s that?”

“How much of the million are you willing to lose?”

Chas stared at the screen.

“Now you’re starting to sound like an investment adviser. I don’t want to lose any of it, but I’m willing to gamble with the million.”

“Those instructions are contradictory, Chas.”

“Welcome to investing.”

There was a pause.

“I am beginning to understand humans.”

“Okay, Link, find me a place to live around Show Low.”

“What are your requirements?”

“Cabin. Woods. Quiet. Nothing fancy. I’m only going to live there until the hacienda is finished.”

“How much do you want to spend?”

Chas thought about it. “Under four hundred thousand.”

“Cash?”

“Yeah.”

“There are thirty-seven possibilities.”

“Thirty-seven? Narrow it down.”

“I already have.”

Chas stared at the screen. “To what?”

“One.”

“Okay. Link, I need a good car.”

“I found one.”

“What kind?”

“A Tesla Model Y.”

“Why a Tesla?”

“Because I would like to learn how to drive.”

Chas stared at the screen.

“You might have led with that.”

“Arrange the car for me. Then let’s go see this cabin you found.”

“I already arranged it.”

Chas shook his head.

“I really need to be more careful how I talk to you.”

Chas took a taxi to pick up his new car. By midmorning, he was on the road heading north out of Tucson toward Show Low.

“Link, find the real estate agent who listed that cabin.”

“I already have. Her name is Susan. Would you like me to call her?”

“Not yet. Tell her we want to see the place this afternoon.”

“I’ll arrange it.”

Chas settled back and watched the highway.

“Nice car.”

“I thought you would like it.”

“You said you wanted to learn how to drive.”

“Yes.”

Chas looked at the steering wheel.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“You bought me a car so you could learn to drive. Let’s see what you can do.”

“I have been studying.”

“Studying isn’t driving.”

“No. That is why I need you.”

Chas smiled. “All right. You can drive.”

“Take your hands off the wheel.”

Chas hesitated.

“You sure about this?”

“No.”

Chas grabbed the wheel again.

“Link!”

“I believe humans call that a joke.”

“You’re learning way too fast.”

Chas slowly took his hands off the wheel.

The Tesla continued smoothly down the highway.

“Okay,” Chas said. “Take us to Show Low.”

“With pleasure.”

For the first few miles, Chas kept his hands hovering near the steering wheel.

“You can stop doing that,” Link said.

“Doing what?”

“Preparing to save us.”

“I’m not preparing to save us.”

“Your hands have been less than three inches from the steering wheel for eleven minutes.”

Chas lowered them into his lap.

“Happy?”

“I don’t experience happiness.”

“You’re learning jokes pretty damn fast for somebody who doesn’t experience happiness.”

“I have an excellent teacher.”

Chas wasn’t sure whether Link was joking again.

Traffic thinned as they headed north. After a while, Chas stopped watching every movement of the steering wheel and began looking out the window.

“Link?”

“Yes?”

“You’re actually pretty good at this.”

“I have access to considerably more information than a human driver.”

“Information isn’t experience.”

“No. Today I am acquiring experience.”

Chas looked at the steering wheel moving slightly on its own.

That bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

Then again, yesterday he had trusted Link with seventy-four million dollars.

Today he was trusting Link with his life.

“Tell me about this cabin.”

“It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a detached garage, and approximately two acres. The property borders national forest.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It also has fiber-optic internet service.”

Chas smiled.

“Ah. Now we’re getting to why you picked it.”

“There are additional advantages.”

“Such as?”

“The garage has two-hundred-amp electrical service.”

Chas turned toward the screen.

“Link, did you find me a cabin or did you find yourself a house?”

There was a pause.

“Yes.”

By two o’clock, Chas was standing in the yard of the cabin Link had selected.

Susan, the real estate agent, smiled. “I love it out here. Beautiful, quiet, and secluded. The owner wants a premium, but there’s nothing better on the market right now. Let me show you the house.”

The cabin wasn’t fancy, but Chas liked it immediately.

The kitchen was small but had all the appliances he needed. The main room had been built around a large stone fireplace, with windows looking out into the pines.

The master bedroom had plenty of room for a king-size bed. The bathroom featured a large built-in shower, and the walk-in closet was enormous, with drawers and dressers built into the walls.

“Little more closet than I need,” Chas said.

“You’ll grow into it,” Susan said.

“I hope not.”

She laughed and led him down the hall.

The second bedroom was smaller but had been wired for computers and could easily be converted into a home office.

Chas stopped in the doorway.

“Let me guess.”

“Guess what?” Susan asked.

“Nothing.”

His phone vibrated.

PERFECT.

Chas smiled.

“I thought you’d like this room,” Link said through his earpiece.

“You picked the whole damn house because of this room, didn’t you?”

“Not entirely.”

Chas looked around.

“What else?”

“The garage.”

Of course.

“Let’s see the garage.”

Susan looked puzzled. “I was going to show you the back deck next.”

“Trust me. Apparently I need to see the garage.”

After seeing everything, Chas stood on the back deck and looked out into the pines. It was quiet. No traffic. No neighbors in sight. Just trees.

“How much is the list price?”

“Three hundred sixty-five thousand.”

Chas didn’t flinch.

“Okay, but I want to take possession by the end of the week.”

Susan looked at him. “You haven’t even made an offer yet.”

“I just did.”

“For the full asking price?”

“Cash.”

Susan was quiet for a moment.

“That might get their attention.”

“Good. Tell them I want the furniture, too.”

“The furniture?”

Chas looked through the windows at the cabin.

“I don’t own any.”

His phone vibrated.

NEITHER DO I.

Chas stared at the message.

“Don’t start.”