Because what happened to my 14 reports cannot happen to the next person who sees something that needs to be seen." Nobody interrupted. Second, the original authorship of the RS7 system is corrected in every document, every filing, every public record, and every internal record where it has been attributed incorrectly, not quietly, publicly with a formal correction notice that goes to the same places the wrong information went. Evelyn Cross was writing something down. Third, Daniel paused. This one is not about me.
There are three engineers on the RS7 team who stayed until 7:00 last night to complete a repair. They weren't asked to stay for on a system they didn't build in a crisis they didn't create. Dr. Sarah Wyn has been with this company 11 years and has been passed over for senior positions twice. Patterson Marcus Patterson is 26 years old and is the most naturally gifted systems analyst I have worked with in 15 years of this industry.
If this company wants me to trust that it values people based on what they actually contribute and not on what their title says they contribute, it will do right by them. He stopped. The room held the silence for a moment. Then Marcus Webb from London said, "I've heard enough." He looked directly at the camera, directly at the room at Victoria, at Daniel. I'm voting yes on all three recommendations.
I'd also like to add a fourth, which is that the board commission an independent HR audit of the promotion and recognition practices in the engineering department over the last 5 years to determine whether what happened to Daniel Brooks was an isolated incident or a pattern. He paused because if it was a pattern, I want to know what we missed. Evelyn Cross said seconded. The vote took 4 minutes. It was unanimous.
Marcus Webb from London. Six board members around the table. Seven votes, all the same direction. Victoria looked at Daniel. She said, "The offer is formally on the table.
Director of system integrity and safety architecture. I'd like your answer when you're ready." Daniel looked at her. He said, "I'll need to review the terms." She said, "Of course." He said, "And I want Patterson on my team, not borrowed, assigned." Done. And Dr. When's senior promotion goes through this quarter, not next review cycle.
This quarter. Victoria said, "I'll personally sponsor it." Daniel nodded. He picked up his composition notebook from the table in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, this worn, unremarkable thing that had been the only record of 3 years of work that nobody wanted to acknowledge. He set it down again.
He said, "Then yes, I accept." The board meeting ended at 9:47 in the morning. What happened in the following 72 hours moved faster than anything that had ever moved in Blackwood Robotics's 40-year history. And it moved that fast because when a truth that has been compressed for a long time finally gets room to expand. It expands with a force that is directly proportional to how long it was held down. Richard Cole's termination was finalized by noon.