Free Troy Rising 2 - Citadel by John Ringo

he was more motivated in his position, he is a net asset.”
    “So you're saying get rid of Allen, who's a damned good kid, for a jackass like Gursy?”
    “Not saying that,” the manager said. “If I was at BAE, and God save me from another such assignment, the answer would be yes. If I was still at Shell the answer would be yes. But there's a reason I work for Apollo. Here's the thing. When you sit at this desk, there are two things you have to think about: What's going to make the company money and what's going to do it in the future. That's all.”
    “Then I don't want to sit at that desk,” Price said.
    “Don't be so quick to judge,” Purcell said, smiling. “The work is physically much easier than spending all your time in the Black and the pay is generally better and always steadier. And it's not quite the selling your soul you're thinking. You ever met Tyler Vernon?”
    “No,” Price said, furrowing his brow. “And hell no. I don't got nothing against him, seems like a straight up guy and I think he runs a good company. Seems to care about his people. But I never come near meeting him. I mean, see his ship in the bay from time to time, but . . .”
    “He, rarely, teaches a class on business ethics for Apollo managers,” Purcell said. “Fascinating guy. I mean, you know the history. But I mean personally he's a fascinating guy. The course is titled ‘Capitalism Clothed' and it's a mandatory class for management at Apollo. The title's a take on Naked Capitalism. You get it?”
    “Got it,” Price said, smiling a bit.
    “You think you get it,” Purcell said, crossing his arms. “The first point of the class is to point out that every economy is at some level naked capitalism. We just put various clothes on it. Unions are naked capitalism clothed in the rhetoric of organized labor.”
    “You said the U word,” Price said.
    “I know,” Purcell said, grinning. Apollo was death on organized labor. “I'm pretty sure only Paris is listening and he doesn't talk. But one of the things he talks about, once he's gotten everyone understanding the lingo, is Apollo clothing.”
    “Heard that,” Price said, frowning. “I thought it was those shirts you all wear.”
    “He's . . . inspirational when he talks,” the manager said, rubbing the Apollo symbol on his golf shirt. “ ‘Apollo was the Greek god of the sun, of philosophy and art and as his burning chariot was the light that brought philosophy and art to the barbarian West, Apollo's first mission is to carry the light of civilization into the Dark. The light of the sun is the clothing of Apollo and it is the clothing of this corporation.' I can't do it. He's got the knack, I don't.”
    “That's our boss?” the team lead said, chuckling. “Huh.”
    “The thing is, he's got a different vision from most other corporate heads,” Purcell said. “He even admits it's a vision that probably won't last. But the vision extends beyond the next quarter, beyond the next year. ‘Think not of the profit of the moment save to cover the necessary expenses of the corporation. Apollo will be leading the way to the stars long after we are dust. Think, rather, of the next generation. And make me a megacredit in the meantime.' Enlightened self-interest, the importance of safety to the bottom-line . . . He does go on.”
    “Sounds like it,” Price said.
    “If I transfer Allen, he's going to have to reestablish himself with a crew and the rate of second term failure on probationary transfers is so high he's unlikely to make the cut,” Purcell said. “But Gursy's the type who is going to figure out who did it eventually and up the ante. Which means he'll probably do something that's critically unsafe. I know the type of old. On the other hand, he's already had not one but two transfers. Which means if I request a transfer for incompatibility, he's going to get grounded.”
    “And then he owes Apollo for the rest of his life,” Price said. “I'm not shedding