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“I can relate to that.” As I glance sideways, the earnest expression on Jessica’s face makes me realise I’m in the company of a like-minded soul. We are the same and if anyone can understand why I did it, she will.
“We did the usual things college kids do, parties, drinking, sex.”
She raises her eyes and mumbles, “Speak for yourself.” Causing me to laugh softly. “Anyway, in my defence, I’d been held back and controlled for so long it was like offering candy to a baby for the first time. I couldn’t get enough and I’m not just talking about sex.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Are you?” I throw her a huge grin, causing her to backtrack, “Out of concern for your sexual health, of course. Not that it bothers me if you, well…”
She sighs heavily. “Carry on with your story and you can leave out your sex life. I’ve got the message.”
She raises her eyes and yet the smile we share makes my heart sag in relief. She understands, I’m sure she does and so I carry on in the hope this may purge a few demons.
“Samuel was into the same things I was, and I’m not talking about sex this time.” She pulls a face, which makes me chuckle.
“We were studying media and IT along with a business degree. I was mainly studying for that, but I was interested in the technical side more. Anyway, one day Sam and I were talking, and we wondered why there wasn’t a place to go for discussion online.”
“You mean Twitter.” She says with interest, and I nod. “Sort of, but something where you didn’t have to sign up and form a profile.”
“Like Google?”
“Similar. I thought about it some more and Sam was the person I threw my ideas at, and it began to consume me. I was like a dog chasing a cat and nothing could stop me. Sam soon got bored and began hanging out with some other guy, but I didn’t care. I was so invested in the App, I spent all my spare time developing it. Sam wasn’t happy, which caused many arguments because I had no time for our friendship. The only thing that mattered was achieving success with my App.”
“That’s not so bad. You were there to learn, anyway, not to make friends.”
I knew she’d understand, but like me, she’s missing the point.
“As it turned out, I hit the jackpot. I developed an algorithm along with my App. I named it ‘What do you know?’ and tested it on a few classmates. They used it to bypass the search engine and ask any question at all. It prompted conversation and became quite addictive.”
“Like what?”
“College stuff, mainly. Where was the next party? Gossip even. Like I said, it became addictive and soon the whole campus was on it, asking questions, sharing answers and interacting in a much freer way.”
“It sounds amazing, but hardly ground-breaking.” She is stating a fact, so I don’t jump on the defensive and I shrug. “Yes, it was pretty basic, but it soon ran out of control. People began abusing it, using it to spread vile gossip and damaging people’s reputations and lives.”
“Because they were anonymous.” She looks interested, and I nod. “I went back to the drawing board and tweaked the algorithm to identify hateful words and recognise malicious content. It stored the Ip address of the person responsible and issued a warning that if they continued, they would be shut down and the authorities notified. It had the desired effect, and the App started working as it was intended.”
“And Sam, where does he fit into all this?”
“He didn’t. He moved in with another guy who became his best friend, but I didn’t even notice. I was too invested in my new business, and it became the most important thing in the world to develop its capabilities. By the time I graduated, I had attracted the interest of several big players, not to mention the Home Office.”
“Wow, that’s huge.”
“It was. I finished college as their first billionaire. I sold my algorithm with a percentage of future profits. Although I am not involved in it now, my cut continues to make me millions on the side in royalties.”
“I still don’t understand the problem with Sam?”
“Because you’re like me, driven by ambition and I may be wrong for saying this, but you probably don’t have a huge circle of friends either.”
I know I’ve hit the mark when she glances down and sighs heavily. “Then you’d be right. I don’t.”
“I tried to reconnect with Sam, but he didn’t want to know. In fact, he appeared to have a huge problem with me and one night it came to blows.”
“He hit you. Why?”
“Because he told me I had pushed him out. I’d cut him out of the picture and grabbed all the praise for something that had been as much his idea as mine.”
“But you developed it while he was partying. What a creep.”
