NO MORE GLITCHES, BITCHES!
Messerschmidt left AlmostReal about a year ago over a dispute.
Unfortunately, it seems Tom Schiller is not the only one with a signed nondisclosure agreement.
There is only speculation about the reasons for the dispute.
But it may have been a #MeToo case, as Der Spiegel reports rumors of Messerschmidt’s sexually assaultive behavior toward female employees.
Other sources claim that it was about the theft of intellectual property in the wake of Google’s takeover.
Either way. Messerschmidt appears to be a barely likable contemporary.
Yet he might be exactly the expert Yasira needs.
A quarter of an hour after Tom Schiller has left Café Bilderbuch, Yasira pays for her coffee.
In cash. The waitress does not accept card payments. Is that perhaps the reason why the paranoid Schiller chose this store?
Yasira leaves the café and heads to the office. Still in the car, she asks Katja Grebe to compile a dossier on Messerschmidt.
All hell has broken loose in the Treptowers.
Almost everyone at the BKA seems to be busy dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s events.
Raids on various right-wing extremist groups are being prepared, coordinated, conducted, and evaluated.
Maybe the police really do have a few diopters less in their right eye, but anyone who blows up a person in uniform can expect to get their ass kicked.
“They’re denying the grenade,” is the first thing Michael says when Yasira enters her office.
“What?” Yasira is confused.
“They’re flatly claiming the grenade never happened. The grenade is a lie. Andreas Müller didn’t die. It was all staged to justify the raids.”
“Who’s saying that?” Yasira still can’t quite follow.
“The assholes,” says Michael. “People from Active Homeland-Protection. But that shit has also been shared by an AfD representative from Thuringia.”
She needs to sit down first. The extent of their denial of reality is hard to believe. The mob won’t believe them, Tom Schiller said, even if they had proof.
“What’s wrong with these people?”
Yasira has no answer.
“The boss wants to see you, by the way,” her partner says. “He wants you to come to his office at one o’clock.”
Yasira nods and sets an alarm on her phone.
“How’s Zara dealing with all this?” asks Michael.
Before she can answer, Katja Grebe knocks on the door.
She has compiled the dossier on Messerschmidt.
Her research revealed that the former CTO of AlmostReal did not leave penniless.
Katja also couldn’t definitively clarify why he had to leave.
But in order to keep the scandal that led to his dismissal under wraps, he was apparently paid a hefty severance package.
Yasira skims through the dossier.
“Why did Google put half a billion on the table for a small start-up from Germany?” she asks when she reads about the astronomical purchase price.
“Well,” says Katja, “the tech giants like to keep quiet about their reasons and goals, but it’s speculated that they’re interested in merging their digital assistant with quick video generation capabilities.”
“Siri is supposed to get a face,” suspects Michael.
“Different company,” corrects Katja. “But yes.”
After leaving AlmostReal, Messerschmidt has kept a low profile.
Only in an obscure, nerdy podcast, did he ramble on about having big comeback plans.
Yasira tortures herself through the entire forty-three minutes.
The most interesting statement is this: “You know, if you ask me, so far AI is not artificial intelligence, it’s artificial imitation at best.”
Messerschmidt claims he’s still active in the field of AI and that he’ll be revealing a major surprise soon. The podcast is already ten months old. So far, no surprise has surfaced. Or maybe it has?
Claus Messerschmidt’s registered address is a residential building in Kreuzberg. Yasira wants to take a look at it on Google Street View, but it’s pixelated. Probably on request from Messerschmidt. Typical tech bro. Stealing everyone’s data but preferring to remain anonymous.
The alarm on her smartphone rings. It’s just before one.
As expected, Steven Gebhardt is in a very bad mood.
Again, he dramatically stares out of the window when Yasira arrives at the office. And on the right, just above the crease in his neck, he has once again missed a small tuft while shaving.
Gebhardt turns to her, but says nothing. He just stares at her. Yasira doubts that this is a strategy recommended in a leadership handbook, but the boss has apparently opted for this noncommunicative way of communicating. That doesn’t mean she has to play along with this stupid game.
“I’d like to make a suggestion,” she says in a calm tone.
“I don’t want any more suggestions!” the boss snaps. “I want results! No matter of which direction! Anything!”
The catastrophic events at the demonstration yesterday are making his life difficult too. Whenever the boss turns his head, Yasira has to stare at the small tuft of hair he missed while shaving. It’s silly. But she can’t help it.
“A police officer was shredded by a grenade in front of the Reichstag!” Gebhardt continues. “What do you think has been going on here all morning? Will you finally give me something to work with?”
Unfortunately, Yasira has nothing new to present except her solidified suspicions. She dares to make an advance: “I know how tense the situation is. Trust me. Becker and I weren’t ten meters away from the explosion.”
“Heard about that.”
“I think,” Yasira says slowly and deliberately. “We need to open a valve. Blow out some steam from the pressure cooker.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“Announce at a press conference that the video is fake.”
The chief snorts. “I’ll be happy to do that as soon as you provide me with a single piece of evidence!”
“An expert from AlmostReal told me off the record that it would be technically possible.”
“That’s not enough for me!”
“I just . . . how should I put it . . . I just feel it!” says Yasira. “My instinct tells me that it’s true.”
Gebhardt laughs bitterly. “Excellent. So I go in front of the assembled press and explain that my investigator has a feeling that the video is a fake. Her instinct tells her that . . .” He shakes his head at Yasira. “How do you think that will play out? They’ll tear us apart!”
“Maybe it’s enough if we just announce that our investigation is going in this direction.”
“What good would that do?”
“Doesn’t it drive you crazy that the whole country is going berserk because of a video that might be a fake? If people doubt the authenticity of the video, it must have an effect! Put a damper on the anger.”
“If we go to the press without evidence, it won’t make the situation any better.”
Whose situation, Yasira wonders. She can’t help suspecting that the boss is willing to let the situation escalate further in fear of losing his position.
“Chief, I really think we should . . .”
“Listen,” says the boss. “I know that you are also personally affected. I know that your daughter is being threatened. And I’m really very sorry about that. But I have bigger worries. And you’re getting sidetracked!”
Yasira just sighs.
“Get me some evidence,” says the boss. “Find me an expert who is beyond all doubt and then we can discuss this again. And find the girl!”