From f2c84a5826fd0731cafa8814b4b96d2404fdaa30 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lars Wirzenius Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2018 19:18:27 +0300 Subject: Add: chapter on ambush meeting --- ambush.mdwn | 501 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 501 insertions(+) create mode 100644 ambush.mdwn diff --git a/ambush.mdwn b/ambush.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ae2655 --- /dev/null +++ b/ambush.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,501 @@ +# Ambush meeting + +"Hmmm." Anna is at her desktop computer and stares at one its 30" +screens for several minutes. When the screen starts to dim to indicate +that the screen saver is about to take over, she taps the control key +to stop it, then Alt-TABs to the IRC window. "everyone, we've some +news from SH, seems they've been sold and Lasse is being replaced, we +should ponder and discuss this". She presses Enter to send the +message, then continues to type. "I'll bounce the mail I just got from +Sam, please ack you got it, and I'll poke anyone who didn't, since +this is important. Let's meet in the kitchen in half an hour to +discuss. I'll order pizza for everyone." + +The Team starts saying "got it, reading now", one by one. Good, +everyone's awake and she doesn't need to rouse anyone from hack mode. + +She orders pizza from their usual place, the usual selection, with +drinks. After about half an hour the delivery arrives, and she carries +it to the kitchen. Everyone else starts gathering there. + +Nina grabs a slice. "So, we read the email. On the surface it doesn't +seem like it should affect us. Does it?" She opens a large bottle of +soda, with a loud hiss, and pours some into a cup. + +"You're right. On the surface it doesn't affect us directly or +immediately." Robin takes a couple of slice on her plate. "But who +knows what the real effects are. So far the SmartHome upper management +has not convinced me of being wise, and now anything might happen." + +Andy isn't eating, having had a curry lunch elsewhere earlier. "I'm in +a Matrix room with some of the SmartHome devs, and they're gossiping. +They don't really know what's going to happen either, which is really +great for morale and everyone couldn't be happier if they got a +thousand bitcoin dumped on them." + +Bert chuckles. "Careful there, mate, you sarcasm is showing." + +"He's not wrong, though." Robin is shovelling pizza into her mouth and +speaks between bits. "This is sure to inject a lot of uncertainty and +that's not good for productivity." + +Andy shrugs. "Scuttlebutt has it that Lasse is going to be kicked out, +and they're hiring a replacement from the outside. Not officially +announced, however." + +Anna picks up her phone, and fiddles for it a bit. "I've another +message from Sam. Andy's right, Lasse's out, and the new guy is +starting today. His name is Antero, some kind of management +consultant. Antero wants to have an all-hands meeting in about three +weeks, so he can be briefed on the project. Exact time and place and +agenda to be decided later on. I suggest we're going to participate, +we don't really have a choice." + +There's nodding and mumbled agreement around the room, and more pizza +is taken out of the pizza boxes. Another large bottle of soda is +opened with a hiss. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Three weeks pass. + +"Sam, thanks for confirming the date for the all-hands. It's Thursday, +and the meeting is on Tuesday, is there an agenda yet?" Anna is on the +phone, not visibly agitated. + +"Sorry, we've not had an agenda either. I'll poke around and see if we +can't get one soon." + +"Thanks. Meetings without a clear agenda do tend to be useless." + +That afternoon the agenda arrives by email. Anna vents on internal +IRC. "I just got the agenda for Tuesday. Forwarded it. Not happy, but +it's what we have." + +"Fails to have a goal for the meeting, or to say what each participant +should do at the meeting, if anything. Or to spell our names right. +Great start, Antero." Robin does not like badly run meetings and is +feeling uncharitable. "I count a total of 17 typos in a screenful of +text, and that's ignoring bad grammar, logical inconsistencies, and +other errors. This is standard fare for management consultants, but +I'm not having a great feeling about this." + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Team and all the SmartHome developers, and some new people are all +gathered in the large meeting room at SmartHome offices. + +"Welcome, everyone. I am Antero Virtanen. I'm the new CEO of +SmartHome. I suggest we start this meeting with introductions. I'll +go first, and then we go around the room, and everyone can say their +name and very briefly what they do. But do keep it brief, there's a +lot of us here." + +He opens his laptop, and starts connecting it to the video wall in the +meeting room. After a minute, he gives up, and another new face gets +up and takes over. + +"While Paul gets my laptop to work, I'll start. My background is a +management consultant, and I don't really know much about the +technology this company uses." Antero giggles briefly. + +"I started at SmartHome three weeks ago and have been getting up to +speed on things. Today is all about me getting up to speed with the +technology side of the company, and getting all of you working well +together." + +Robin and Anna look at each other. Both raise their eyebrows a little, +then turn back to look at Antero. + +"I would also like to introduce Paul, who seems to have gotten my +laptop connected. He's the new chief of IT and technology. We go back +a long way with Paul. I brought him with me to SmartHome. Some of you +remember Martina. Paul replaces her." + +Paul waves. "Hi, I'm Paul Piper. I do computer things for Antero. This +is now my third company where I work for him. I tend to prefer Macs, +and we'll have to discuss if the plethora of Windows and Linux +machines I see around the room is the best way to organise things. But +that's not on topic for today." + +Robin and Anna share another eyebrow moment. This time, the rest of +the Team joins in. They've heard this before, someone wanting to +mandate what developers run on their development machines. It's never +a good sign. + +The round of introductions start. Everyone is clearly doing their +best to be brief. The Team members stand up when it's their turn, +briefly say who they are, and sit down again. + +Antero rubs his hands together. "Good, good, that went well. Let's get +started for real. First order of business, who would like to explain +what the SmartHome product really is?" + +Sam stands up, walks to the podium with his laptop, detaches Antero's, +connects his own, and starts a presentation. While the slides are +clearly re-used from company marketing material, it's also clear he's +prepared the presentation for the meeting. + +Another eyebrow moment for the Team, boosted by small shrugs. + +"Thank you, Sam." Antero rubs his hands together again. "Now, I +understand we have hired a company to help us improve our products for +a new generation. I believe that's you guys, Anna. I'd like to +understand what that's all about. Could you walk all of us through +that?" + +Anna gives Robin a glace, and stands up. "Robin would be better for +going through the technical stuff than I am, but I'll give a brief +overview. I've not prepared a presentation, since one wasn't indicated +in the agenda, so this will be brief and ad libbed." + +"Don't worry, Anna. This is not an audit or any kind of attack on you +and your people." Antero keeps rubbing his hands together. + +"Very well. What we in the Team have is a customisable software +platform for building the kinds of IoT systems that SmartHome's +products are. We've provided it to other customers, too. It's kind of +generic, but requires some customisation for each hardware platform, +which we've done for SmartHome. Our platform makes it simpler to write +reliable distributed IoT applications. We're currently---" + +Antero has stopped rubbing, and interrupts in a gentle tone. "But +SmartHome already had working products. Why do we need your platform?" + +Anna looks at him for a moment, entirely motionless and +expressionless. Without taking her eyes off Antero, or moving, she +speaks slowly. "You may want to ask that of Sam, or the others who +came to us. He can tell you in exactly what shape SmartHome products +are and why you need to fix them in order not to go bankrupt." + +Sam clears his throat. "Anna is correct. We approached them to help us +update our entire product line. Our current product line is in +trouble. We have serious problems with security, for example, and are +taking a lot of heat about it in the market." + +Antero sighs. "Very well. Let's continue. I've asked various +engineers, SmartHome engineers that is, to prepare a presentation on +the Teams' new platform. I understand there's some concerns about +stability. Anders, if you wouldn't mind?" + +Anders stands up, smiling tightly. He brings his laptop to the end of +the conference table, attaches it to the projector, and waits for his +first slide to show up. The title is "Issues with the Team platform." +The Team members shift position in their chairs. Their faces are +carefully expressionless. They don't say anything. + +"I've been part of the group at SmartHome helping get the Team's new +platform into place. I must say I'm not convinced of their +professionalism or competence. The platform is slow and riddled with +bugs, which I think are due to the excessive complexity of the +software." + +He changes slides. The new slide is titled "Known bugs" and lists, in +a small font, a very large number of issues, with scary titles. "I'm +sure bugs can be fixed. Creating and fixing bugs is what software +developers are all about, after all. Heh Heh." + +The Team looks at Anna, who looks back, concentrating on Nina, and +shakes her head minutely. + +Anders continues. "I'm more worried about performance. I did some +benchmarks, and the devices can barely handle a few thousand HTTP +requests per second now. With our production version, we can handle at +least ten times that." + +Antero nods. "That seems like a big problem." + +"Yeah. At the same time I agree that we do need to fix our products. I +did a quick proof of concept replacement, which I think we could use +as a base of a new platform that we develop in-house. It's only a few +hundred lines of PHP. For speed, I've dropped some of the things the +Team does in the name of security, which I don't think we actually +need." + +Antero nods. "No point in paying in performance for things we don't +need. What have you dropped?" + +Anders smirks quickly. "I don't think we need HTTPS, plain old HTTP is +much faster and nobody's really going to eavesdrop inside a home +anyway. Also, plain HTTP basic authentication is fine, we don't need +the elaborate OAuth2 signed JWT token nonsense that the Team is fond +of. All the crypto requires CPU cycles we can't afford." + +Antero nods again. "That seems sensible. Anna, would you like to +comment?" Anders sniggers quietly. + +Anna is silent and motionless, but it's clear she's suppressing strong +emotions. After a few seconds, she looks at Robin, who nods. "I'm +afraid I don't want to comment. This is now a hostile situation. +You've ambushed us, and expect us to defend ourselves against an +attack. We're not prepared to work with a client that does this. Our +contract has a clause for this eventuality, and it means we terminate +our involvement in the project as of this moment. We'll be sending you +our final invoice soon." + +Anna stands up. The rest of the Team stands up. "We're leaving now. +Have a good day." + +In unison, the Team step away from the table and march towards the +exit. The room is quiet. Anders looks triumphant, Antero looks +surprised, but neither moves or says anything. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The Team is gathered in their own kitchen. They are subdued. Bert is +the first to speak. "Well, that was fun. What do we now?" + +Andy's head snaps toward Bert. "What do you think? We lost our only +client, we panic and go bankrupt." + +Nina grunts. "Maybe we can find something else, quickly enough." + +Robin sighs deeply, and holds her mug in both hands, but says +nothing. Anna knocks her knuckles on the table. "OK, everyone. I would +like to tell us all to be calm, but we're clearly upset, and we should +vent. So for a while everyone can say what they want, and be as nasty +as they want, but not to each other. Only towards our former client." + +Andy nods. "I'm the one with the most fragile personal financial +situation here. The one with a mortgage and family to support. Just +observing. I can't take personal risks for long. If the Team can't pay +my salary, I'm going to have to find other employment. I can't afford +to miss a single month, I'm afraid." + +Bert shakes his head. "I hear you, although I'm able to be more +flexible myself. RUDE WORD this is not fun. I wonder if we should've +been more humble and not cut our ties to SmartHome." + +Robin lifts her head. "I don't think it's about humility. It's about +having a working relationship with a client that doesn't hurt us, +emotionally, physically, or financially. What Antero did killed that." + +Everyone nods. Bert nods, too. "Yeah, I guess. I just fear what will +happen to us now." + +Robin nods. "We'll have to find other income. But make no mistake, if +we'd caved under, things would have gotten worse. I've seen that +happen enough times. Giving in to bullies only gets you beat up." + +The room goes quiet. Anna clears her throat. "I agree with Robin. Does +anyone want to say anything else?" She waits for a moment. "Very well. +If you think of something to say later, don't hesitate to say it. This +isn't over. I suggest we finish the work day now, and come back to the +office tomorrow, and start beating the bushes to see if we can't find +a new client quickly." + +There's nods and murmurs of agreement. Everyone gets up quietly, puts +their mugs away, and starts leaving. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +"Hi. Shitty things today. Lunch?" Nina checks her phone after it's +bleeped at her. She taps a response to Nick. "Food court at Forum in +half an hour?" + +Nina and Nick get their portions of food and sit at a table. "That was +s shitty thing my employer did to you." Nick looks at his plate. + +Nina shrugs. "There wasn't anything you could've done. It is what it +is. We'll just have to find a new client and move on. But I'm done +with work for today. Do you have time to sit and chat? I could do with +a friendly ear." + +The two sit in the food court all afternoon. After they finish their +food, they keep talking. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Nick gets back to his employer's office, and Antero sees him in the +corridor. "Nick, my office, stat." Antero is clearly upset, but keeps +his voice low. Nick walks briskly to Antero's office. + +"A SmartHome employee saw you at the food court this afternoon. You +seem to have very friendly with that young woman from the Team. What +do you have to say for yourself?" + +Nick tilts his head. "Nothing? What's the problem?" + +Antero is standing, and makes fists of his hands, and leans them on +his desk. "That's unacceptable. You're clearly fraternising with the +enemy. You either break up with the girl, or you resign. I'm not +having any of my employees collude with the enemy like that." + +Nick takes a step back. "Are you serious?" + +Antero leans forward, putting more weight on his fists. His volume is +rising. "I'm deadly serious. You're fired. Leave at once." + +Nick takes another step back. "You can't fire me like that. It's not +legal. That's why we have unions and legal protections for employees, +to protects us from employers being arbitrary. If you want to fire me, +put it in writing, and I'll take it to a lawyer. Otherwise I'm going +to my cubicle and continue working." + +Antero takes a stapler from his desk, and looks like he's going to +throw it. Nick leaves the office, and closes the door behind him. + +Antero puts the stapler back on his desk, and picks up his phone, and +makes a call. "It's me. Are you up for some work? Tonight. Just you, +it's only a small woman." + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Nina is walking home from the bus stop nearest to her home. It's been +a long day. She's tired. Every step feels almost too heavy. She's +going to just collapse into bed and be dead for the world until the +morning. Her phone bleeps. It's a message from Nick, who tells what +Antero did. Nina puts her phone away, and continues walking. She's no +longer slouching, and there's an energetic vibe to her steps. + +She rounds a corner, and almost walks into a man. A very large, +muscular man, who for some reason is wearing a purple ski mask. The +man hits her in the stomach with his fist, then shoves her against the +wall, roughly. Nina's head hits the wall, and she sees stars. + +"Stay away from Nick, you bitch. And his employer. If they see you +again, I'll come back and hurt you." + +The main lifts Nina up and holds he against the wall. Nina's feet +don't touch the ground. + +"Do you understand, bitch? You stay away. Say you understand." + +Nina is feeling nauseous. "You hurt me..." + +The man shakes Nina. "You stay away. Say you understand, or I'll hurt +you more." + +"OK. I understand." Nina speaks quietly, sounding like a small girl on +the verge of crying. + +The man throws her the side. She falls to the ground, and cries out in +pain. The man leaves. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Nina is at home, sitting on the floor, leaning towards a wall. She +throws a rubber ball into the air, almost hitting the ceiling, and +catches it. She repeats this, over and over again, with nearly no +variation. After a while she puts the ball aside, picks up her phone, +and taps a message to Nick. "Thanks for telling me. Best if we don't +meet in public for a while. Going to have to process this. Your +employer is now officially a RUDE WORD poophead." She taps "send" and +puts the phone away again. She picks up the ball and starts throwing +and catching it again. + +The room goes darker, as the sun sets. Nina gets up and goes rummage +in her bedroom closet. She throws some clothing onto the bed: a pair +of black cargo pants, black socks, a black t-shirt with no printing, a +black army sweater, and some other things, all black. She goes into +another room and rummages in a cupboard. She pulls out a black +military style backpack, and puts a multi-tool, some cables, and a +roll of duct tape into the backpack. She takes out a black, unmarked +laptop, not her usual one, and checks that its' battery is fully +charged. She puts it into the backpack. + +She goes into her living room, and starts a program on her desktop +computer. Suddenly a somewhat loud discussion between two different +people starts playing from her stereo. She opens her living room +ventilation window. + +She goes back into the bedroom, and changes clothes. She puts on a +black bomber jacket, and black baseball cap. She puts her keys into a +jacket pocket. She dons the backpack, and leaves. + +Outside, she goes into a nearby park, and goes to where a forest +starts. She looks around for a bit, and finds a rock the size of a gym +ball. She wrestles it aside, revealing a small box with a combination +lock. She opens the box, which seems to contain some USB drives, some +cash, various credit card sized items, and what looks like a passport. +She takes a USB drive and several credit cards that are all green with +concentric rings as decoration, and puts her home keys into the box. +She closes the box, locking it, and puts back. She wrestles the rock +back into place, hiding the lock-box. + +She pulls her cap lower onto her eyes, and starts walking through the +park, via a little-used path through the forest. Some distance away +there are teenagers being noisy, and someone walking a barking dog, +but she doesn't meet anyone. After a long walk she exits the park on +the opposite side of her home. She's walked several kilometers, not +her usual route when leaving home, and it's getting quite dark. + +She comes to a bus station. Soon a bus arrives, and she boards it. She +shows the green credit card to the travel card reader to pay for the +bus ride. She looks down on the floor, hiding her face from the +driver. The bus is almost empty so she picks a seat near the exit +door. + +After a while, she exits the bus, and walks another kilometer, to +another bus stop. She boards the next bus, and uses another pre-paid, +green travel card to pay for the trip. She changes buses a few more +times, until she arrives, and starts walking. She's about two +kilometers away from the SmartHome office. + +She arrives at the SmartHome office. The building is dark. It's +clearly past the office hours, and nobody is staying late. The +building is going to be locked, but Nina walks around it, in the +forest surrounding the building. She leaves the forest and walks next +to the side of the building, and sits on the ground, leaning against +the wall, legs crossed. It's a side of the building that's not visible +to the road that goes past the building. There's some artificial +lighting, and possibly a security camera, but she's not doing anything +visibly illegal. She takes out her laptop from the bag, opens it up on +her knees and thighs. + +She stares at the screen, opens up a terminal window, types some +commands, and reads the output. She's at this for a while, an hour. +After she's done, she puts the laptop back in the bag, puts the bag in +her bag, and leaves via the forest. She walks to another bus stop +than the one she used to arrive, and uses yet another travel card. On +her way back home, via a different route than when she left, she makes +a stop at a mall. She takes her laptop and dismantles it, putting the +pieces in the WEEE containers of several different electronics stores +behind the mall. + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +It is late morning. Antero comes to work, whistling as he enters the +office building lobby. It's going to be a good day. + +Three uniformed police officers meet him. They're carrying a laptop, +and a thick sheaf of papers. "Antero Virtanen?" He nods in assent. +"How can I help you?" + +"You're under arrest on suspicion of corporate espionage and sabotage. +Turn around, we'll be putting handcuffs on you. There's a car waiting +outside to take you to the police station." + +"What? That's outrageous." Antero protests loudly, but turns around. +He's handcuffed. "What proof do you have?" + +"We can discuss that at the station. Just come along quietly, please." + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Anna's phone makes a noise. She's at home, and is woken up by the +phone. "Uh, Anna here?" + +"It's Sam. There's been a development. Big changes this morning." + +"What's up? It's too early for me. I didn't get to bed until late." + +"This will cheer you up, I think. Antero's been arrested, and I'm the +acting CEO for the time being." + +"Arrested? What? Why? And what does this mean for the Team?" + +"Look, I was really unhappy at the stunt Antero and Anders pulled +yesterday. It was an ambush, and I need you to believe it was as much +a surprise to me as it was to you. Do you trust me enough to believe me +on that? Please?" + +Anna coughs. "Ah, yeah, I guess." + +"Good, thanks. I'd like to undo everything that happened yesterday. +I'd like to bring the Team back on the project. Can we pretend +yesterday didn't happen?" + +Anna coughs some more. She takes a breath. "Look, you woke me up. I +need to wake up and connect with my people and talk it over. Can I +call back to you in an hour or two?" -- cgit v1.2.1