Free Man with a past by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

handsome, he seemed to have life in the palm of his hand. He also had a number of women there, too.
    Kelsey, for reasons she had never really stopped to analyze, had politely refused the one or two suggestions Walt had made that she join those women. Her lack of interest hadn’t concerned Gladwin. He’d cheerfully gone on to the next flower, and Kelsey’s relationship with him had remained strictly professional.
    „Wouldn’t be a bad idea,“ he mused pleasantly as he turned the Ferrari in the direction of Kelsey’s apartment complex.
    „You’re kidding!“ she said, laughing. „Are those reports that valuable?“
    „Oh, they’re valuable. To the right people, that is. Most folks probably wouldn’t have any notion of the real worth, even if they did happen to see them. This artificial intelligence stuff is right out there on the edge of current technology. There are only a handful of people in the world who have any idea of what it’s all about.“
    „They say that when we can teach computers to think like a human and actually make judgments that are based on human-type logic we’ll have a whole new generation of machines,“ Kelsey noted.
    „It’ll be called the fifth generation. That’s what Valentine is working toward.“ Walt nodded. „But it’s a long way off. The small slice of the future we’re working on at Flex-Glad is highly theoretical at this point.“
    „And Valentine is capable of understanding these reporters?“
    „Valentine created the basic theory on which these analysis sheets and reports are based. He doesn’t have access to the kind of computer equipment he needs to test his ideas and theories, so Rex-Glad and Valentine have made a mutually beneficial bargain. We pay him to think and he allows us to test what he dreams up. If and when we hit the jackpot he’ll get a share of the profits.“
    „If he needs access to sophisticated computers in order to verify his work, why does he live on that island?“
    „He’s a nut,“ Walt said with a shrug. „A certified eccentric. Who knows how he thinks? If he did his thinking in a normal way he wouldn’t be very useful to us.“
    „I suppose you’ve got a point. He is expecting me, isn’t he?“
    „Yes, don’t worry. He’s made arrangements to meet you at the small landing strip that serves the island.“
    „Does anyone else live on that island?“
    „A few people. Mostly fishermen and their families. From what I understand, Valentine ignores them and they return the favor. It’s one of the least developed islands in the Caribbean, and that’s saying something. The whole area isn’t exactly rich.“
    „Do I just hand these papers over to him? I mean, should I get him to sign a receipt, or something? How will I know I’m dealing with the right man?“ Kelsey asked curiously.
    Gladwin chuckled. „There’s only one Valentine. I met him a year ago. He’s a huge bear of a man with long hair and a beard that falls halfway down his chest. He wears a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and he has an attitude about him that makes you think you’re taking up his valuable time. You won’t be encouraged to stay. All Valentine wants is to be left alone with his brain and the small computer he’s rigged up on that island. Lucky for us he can’t install the kind of hardware he needs to test his programs and theories. Otherwise he wouldn’t need Flex-Glad. But there’s no way he could put the highly sophisticated monsters into his shack. Nor could he afford them.“
    „He hasn’t made a lot of money yet with his theories?“
    „Just between you and me, the man’s not much of a businessman,“ Walt confided. „Is this where I turn?“
    „Yes, the next street. You can pull into the parking lot and I’ll hop out.“
    Walt looked comically astonished. „What? No bon-voyage drink?“
    Kelsey blinked. „Oh. Well, if you’d like to share one with me…“
    „Sure. After all, I’m sending you off with a portion of Hex-Glad’s future.