‘You’re saying that five billion dollars of stuff just happens, Mr Koss?’ said the senator.
‘That’s not what Fishbowl’s about. Honestly, if I could do it without the money …’ There was more laughter. ‘Look, Fishbowl is about Deep Connectedness, whether you think so or not. It’s about finding people you never would have found, making those connections, cutting across barriers of geography and language and culture and class and any other barriers that come between the essential things that we share. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? The world needs that, and the more it has of it, the better. And with the IAP, we’ll be able to do even more of that, in whole new ways. And that’s not a commercial thing. It never was. It’s about making the world more connected.’
‘And earning five billion as you do it.’
‘No!’ Andrei paused, breathing heavily. ‘That’s just …’ He stopped in frustration. ‘Look, it takes a lot of money to keep the infrastructure going and to reward the incredibly talented people who keep Fishbowl going. There’s a cost to that.’
‘Then presumably you made no profit on this five point six billion.’ O’Brien made a show of turning the pages in the prospectus. ‘No, actually, you did. Around three point eight billion. That’s three point eight billion more than you needed to keep the infrastructure going, as you describe it, and to keep the incredibly talented people together.’
Andrei stared at the senator, who stared right back at him, the eyes in his gaunt face burning with a kind of fierce energy.
Suddenly Andrei felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. He couldn’t get out of this. He knew he was being painted as a hypocrite and a liar, and searched frantically for a way to extricate himself, and he knew the only line he could take was the line the bankers had been pressing on him.
He hesitated, not wanting to have to say it.
‘Fishbowl is a business,’ he said at last, his voice muted.
‘What was that, Mr Koss?’
He looked up at the senator. ‘You’re right. Fishbowl is a business, sir.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m a businessman.’
‘You’ve changed your tune.’
‘I’m not ashamed of making three point eight billion dollars last year.’ The bankers had told him to be forthright and confident. ‘That’s the American dream, isn’t it, Senator? To start a business, to be successful. The shareholders in my company, when we do our IPO in six weeks’ time, are not going to be ashamed of me making three point eight billion for them. Perhaps you’ll be one of those shareholders, too.’
‘It looks like you’ll stop at nothing to make that money.’
‘No, that’s not so. Everything we do is legal. We have a motto at Fishbowl. In fact, two of them. First, don’t make the world a worse place. Second, tell no lies. In everything we do, we stick to those mottoes and we manage to make three point eight billion a year. I don’t think that’s a bad record. I think it’s pretty good.’
‘So it’s not about Deep Connectedness, then? All that stuff before was so much hokum.’
‘No, it is about Deep Connectedness. That’s what we’re offering.’
‘Selling.’
‘All right, selling. We’re a business, if you insist. We sell Deep Connectedness. People want that and it’s a good thing. It’s a very good thing for our world. And because people want it, advertisers come to us and say, “Can we talk to people through Fishbowl?” And we say yes. And that’s another form of Deep Connectedness, and they pay us for that.’
‘No, Mr Koss, you were right the first time. What you’re offering is Deep Connectedness. What you’re selling is your customers.’
Andrei stared at him, his heart thumping.
‘And you dupe your customers into thinking that the people who are buying them are their friends.’
‘I have one and half billion users.’ Andrei tried to control the quaver of anger in his voice. ‘That’s a quarter of the planet. Approximately nine hundred and fifty million of those people are on the site every day. If they didn’t like what we’re doing, Senator, they wouldn’t be there.’
‘So anything goes as long as people don’t object?’
‘Senator, I don’t set myself up to tell the world what it can and can’t do. I break no laws, and tell no lies. I’m not sure that everyone could say the same.’
The senator stared at him. ‘Have you ever come across a conflict, Mr Koss, between the needs of your business