Wednesday, 20 November, 1438; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle
At four-and-a-half minutes, Mr. Lee returned. He had another man with him. Also apparently Korean. Large. Mr. Lee introduced him as Mr. Guk. Mr. Lee sat behind the desk. Mr. Guk stood beside him. Mr. Lee smiled. Mr. Guk did not.
"Very very sorry about the wait, Mr. Preston. Naturally a transaction of this sort had to be cleared with our home office in Seoul. Our people there have prepared the projections you requested. He nodded, and a rather complex spreadsheet opened itself to John's view. There were estimates of the various costs of maintaining an adult entertainer - publicity, heatlh checks, wardrobe, insurance, security, and so forth, along with amortization figures and forecast earnings based on a popularity prediction algorithm that accounted for her physical proportions, facial characteristics, age, and various psychological measures, all quantified in black and white. The main number, which apparently included a relatively modest surcharge for the company's trouble, came to fifty-three thousand nuyen.
Once John had had a chance to look the sheet over, Mr. Lee said, "As you can see, we have done our best to keep the estimates conservative without incurring too much of a loss ourselves. I assure you, the projections are highly accurate. We have been in this business for some time, and have built up an impressive marketing database. So, once your firm releases the funds, we shall be happy to help you reunite the young woman with her loving family. Unfortunately, studio time is money, and you've caught us just at the start of the production day. As a courtesy, we can delay for, say, another fifteen minutes to allow you time to make the final arrangements."