Page 29 of Sparks Fly
After their gentle teasing, Max was thrown by this genuine question, and he had to think about it.
“In this context, I guess I am,” Max said after a beat. “AIX has grown a lot since we first launched almost a decade ago now. And the AI landscape has changed a lot, too. It’s been nice to be one of the front-runners of the tech, but I’m always worried we’ll be left behind if we don’t keep evolving.”
“Is that why you’re doing this partnership with Yellow Sparks?”
This question completely threw Max off guard, and he pushed himself up from where he was lying down on the couch and repositioned himself so his feet were planted on the floor.
“I thought we weren’t talking about work,” Max said.
“Technically, I think you started it,” Stella replied.
“Touché.”
They both fell quiet until Stella said, “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”
“No, I want to answer. It’s just that I hadn’t realized I was thinking of this opportunity with Yellow Sparks and Miles that way,” Max said. “But yeah, this is an opportunity for our AIX software to expand and improve, and I love that for us. Plus, while I’d never tell him this, I do actually enjoy helping my little brother when I can.”
“What does Miles need help with?” Stella asked.
It was at this point Max became suspicious. Were theyhaving a conversation, or was he being pumped for information?
“What are you really asking, Stella?”
There was a pause, and he could practically feel her hesitation through the phone.
Finally she said, “I’m just wondering why Miles thinks we need Sparky. You talked about how it’ll help us make content quicker, but why do we need to do that? Is the company hurting for money? Do we need more content so we can get more ad revenue? It just feels really random and sudden that Miles is asking us to use this new tech that none of us thinks we need.”
The words seemed to stumble out of Stella as if she’d been holding them in for a while, and maybe she had.
“I’m sorry,” she said, before he could respond. “These are questions that I should ask Miles. Or not me. He doesn’t even know me. But I mean my boss should maybe ask him. Although she seems completely unbothered by all of this, so I doubt she will. Regardless, I know you probably don’t have the answers to any of these questions. I don’t know why I just word-vomited all over you like that.”
“Probably because you’re really concerned about this,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how you were feeling.”
“How could you have?” Stella asked. “We agreed not to talk about it, remember?”
“Right, but still.” Max hesitated as he tried to find the right words. “I’m sure it doesn’t help, but I truly don’t think you or your coworkers have anything to be stressed about. When Miles came to me about this, he wanted a tool to help you all. This isn’t some kind of gotcha or trick. He genuinelybelieves Sparky can help you guys produce better content and at a quicker rate, and I do, too, honestly.”
There was brief pause before she said, “And what if you’re wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Stella let her voice trail off before she finally said, “What if you’re wrong about Miles? What if he didn’t tell you his full plan? What if you’re too close to this because he’s your brother and you can’t believe he’d trick us into using this thing that’ll ultimately replace us? What then?”
Max wasn’t sure what to say to that. In truth, he could understand Stella’s concerns, but he also thought maybe she and her team were so against trying a new way to do things they were letting their fear of change cloud their judgment. While yes, Sparky would learn from their work, that was to make it better for them to use. Sparky wasn’t built to be some machine that could operate on its own. It would always need someone to put in the groundwork, which meant Yellow Sparks would always need writers, no matter how good Sparky got.
Max, however, got the feeling that he wasn’t going to be able to convince Stella of that. At least, not tonight.
“If that happens,” he said, “I’ll talk to Miles and make it clear to him that although Sparky is great tech, it is not a replacement for an entire writing staff. Because I truly believe that. Even if Sparky is one of my greatest creations.”
Stella huffed out a laugh at that, and Max was happy to hear it.
“Would it make you feel better if I wasn’t so involved in this?” he asked her.
“What do you mean?”
Max hadn’t been sure what he meant until he said the words, but now that they were out, he realized it was probably the best call he could make in this situation.
“I can take myself off this project,” he said. “Rashid, the one who was there with me for the training, is fully equipped to continue doing office hours with you all and assist if there are any issues. I also have a few other engineers who could pop in if needed. And I’ll still be involved off-site, but this way you won’t have to worry about seeing me around the office and trying to avoid my charm in front of your coworkers.”
