Chapter 11 - THE ULTIMATE MEASURE
The final truth of wealth,
is that it doesn't give you a new life.
It only gives you the freedom to protect the one you already have.
I sat in my office,
now the CEO of a global conglomerate,
and looked at the final blueprints for our satellite network.
The goal was universal access.
Information for everyone,
regardless of the cars they drove,
or the watches they wore.
I looked at the watch on my wrist,
the Gerald Klein "Celestial Meridian."
It had been five years since the dinner in Connecticut.
The leather band was even more worn now,
the patina a map of the journey I had taken.
The valuation of Aethelgard was now fifty billion dollars.
I had given away half of my shares to a global education fund.
My family still lived in their mansion,
but the Ferrari was gone.
Blake had actually started a small business of his own,
a landscaping company.
He was working with his hands.
He was learning the value of the dirt.
My father had sent me a telescope for my birthday.
We spent our weekends on the phone,
looking at the same sky,
from two different worlds.
He had finally realized that the constellations were the same,
whether you viewed them from a balcony in New York,
or a lawn in Connecticut.
I walked out of my office,
closing the door on the billion-dollar decisions.
I walked to the elevator,
the descent smooth and silent.
I stepped out onto the street,
the city of New York breathing all around me.
I didn't call for a car.
I didn't look for an Uber.
I walked to the bus stop.
The bus arrived,
a giant,
rumbling beast of blue and white.
I climbed the steps,
swiped my card,
and found a seat in the back.
I looked out the window at the people on the sidewalk.
I saw the strivers.
I saw the dreamers.
I saw the people who were still measuring their lives by the wrong yardstick.
I looked at my watch.
The tourbillon was still dancing.
The stars were still shifting.
The mechanical heart was still beating.
I realized that I was finally,
truly,
invisible.
And as the bus pulled away from the curb,
merging with the flow of the city,
I knew that I was the wealthiest person in the world.
Not because of the billions.
But because I knew exactly where I was going.
And I didn't need a Ferrari to get there.
I leaned my head against the glass,
and watched the world go by.
It was a beautiful world.
May you like
And it was all mine.
The end.
