The Abacus Equation

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  Karum drove at a high speed to the airport. He encountered more of the white tour busses, proof that more planes had landed with passengers. By tonight the population would have reached three thousand seven hundred twenty eight. Unless one of the bio-engineers delivered her second child this afternoon. Than there would be one more. Karum held a close account of the statistics of the project. Later on it would no longer be necessary to measure everything continuously, but for now it was important to have a good count of the available skill sets.

  He took the last exit to the airport and stopped at exactly the same place where he had parked the car to pick up Ian and Iveta. The airplane was ready to leave immediately so he sped, two steps at a time, on the short stairs. Although the cabin was a modern wide body, he had to double-fold not to hit his head all the time.

  Karum took a seat in one of the wide couches and stretched his long legs. The pilot entered after he had completed his outside checks. He greeted Karum who had already extended the transparent screen from the small table in front of him in order to read Ian's briefing documents. From experience all of Ian's employees knew that after a long flight he would overwhelm his team with questions, suggestions, remarks. Enough to keep an army busy for a couple of weeks.

  The stewardess asked him to fasten his safety belt as the first part of the flight could be a bit rough, but the rest should be fine once they reached their cruising altitude. Karum nodded friendly and although he did not net know everyone to address them with a personal touch, he adapted the same attitude as his manager and mentor, Ian.

  Karum had lifted his eyebrows when he read their final destination. He visualized the pictures of the people he should bring back with him and memorized their names. Some of them he already knew. He looked around in the cabin providing space for a dozen people. He counted the people he had to pick up: eleven. He was not surprised that also this detail matched. Ian hated to waste time and space. The fact that the corporate jet was run like an airline did only confirm the efficiency of the firm.

  The whisky-cola served by the stewardess vibrated slightly as the plane gained quickly speed. Without even looking outside, he concentrated on his reading materials.