The Golden Triangle (A Short Story)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION

The Golden Triangle

 

A young woman in her early-30s attempts to reach out to a friend in Minneapolis whom she’d been visiting the week before. She accidentally connects with some old guy in Duluth. For some strange and improbable reason, they keep chatting. 

As it turns out he’s a writer, she’s a high-end, international jewelry dealer from Hong Kong, now living in L.A.

 

As they talk, they discover that each shares a common dream: Is there any possible way that one person alone could solve all the problems in the world? How much can one person accomplish if they have unlimited resources and a half century to do it in?

* * * 

 

Here's one possibility of how it plays out on the silver screen.

The movie opens with the Hong Kong woman, now very old, receiving a Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance speech, or maybe it's a press conference, she acknowledges someone who opened her eyes to the possibilities and responsibilities that come with wealth. 

 

As the movie’s opening credits finish rolliing, she is young again and the story begins.

 

It’s an amazing story because together they rally the human race to work together, to put an end to poverty, hate, violence, etc.  

 

* * * 

 

In an alternate version, he’s the billionaire. He's also a retired secret agent, and she is the creation of an A.I., with intentions initially unclear. As it turns out, the contact wasn't an accident at all but a ruse. He's an avid art collector. The AI's objective is to acquire his two Vermeers and a set of original Da Vinci sketches that no one knows about, but which the AI discovered by deconstructing the details of his life. The Vermeers both turn out to be fakes. The sketches are anatomical studies, both delicate and daring. 

Tension in the story is generated by the AI's quest to carry out the art heist without a body. The backstory question is this: did the AI initiate the heist on its own? 

Should the crime be solved by an AI detective, an AI version of Columbo or an algorithmic Hercule Poirot?