“Ok, Howie, you’ve had almost two months to figure this stuff out. It can’t be much harder to find than the mining software or the exosuit.”
“I’ve had the information for weeks, Abby. I just don’t like the options available and there’s nothing I’d feel comfortable recommending for you to buy. I’ve assessed each of the simulated surgery companies and what you’re looking for doesn’t exist. Parts of it are there, but not in a way that would be useful to you. For example, there are some decent mannequins on the market, but they’re all very limited in the number of procedures you can practice on them, and those procedures are fairly basic. Some of them are geared towards specific specialties and others are only partial body mannequins. You’d be much better off renting some time at the local simulation center in Charlotte. They have week long courses that you can take. You’d get a feel for some of the better mannequins on the market and understand why I won’t recommend that you buy any of them. Honestly though, if you’ve worked with cadavers, I’m not sure what working with these systems can help you with.”
“On the virtual reality side of things, you encounter the same problem. Most systems have only a few of the things that you’re looking for. There are dozens of systems, each specialized to one body part or one type of surgery. The interfaces are often confusing and unnatural. The visual effects are either unrealistic or they’re too realistic with no functionality to them. I think that if you want a real simulator, then you’ll have to build it yourself.”
“I don’t know anything about programming or creating something so sophisticated.” Although I think I succeeded in hiding it, I felt depressed. This was the first time that Howie couldn’t come up with an amazing solution for me.
“I didn’t mean for you to do the work yourself. You just need to buy a few existing smaller companies and have them work on making what you want for you. That’s what I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. I’ve found one company in Florida that’s not in the simulated surgery market at all, but their program core could easily be modified to handle a surgical environment. My computer guys were very impressed with their system. Got into quite a frenzy about their compression algorithm and AI integration. It’s a bunch of kids who struck out on their own after college, trying and failing to make it big. Two guys and a girl. They have three programs that they license: Darts, fishing, and hunting.”
“People don’t want those games?”
“I’m sure that there’s a market for all three. Only most of the year, a person can just go out and do those things in real life. Also, the market for VR is still in its infancy and the installed user base isn’t as big as they’d probably expected it to be. Using it for medical education though is a whole other ball game. It’s something that every hospital could use, every medical student, every doctor. It’s also much cheaper to buy a VR machine and pay some yearly user fees than it is to buy a mannequin and to pay for all the associated costs every year.”
“There’s still a major problem. It will take them years to replicate a human body and all of it’s functionality. Waiting that long isn’t an option.”
“Has the amazing Howie ever let you down? Nope. I’ve got you covered there too. I found another company that has an already built VR human body. They went bust three months ago. Spent all their money trying to create a fully functional human body that would look and act exactly like a human body would in real life. My computer guys say that the graphics are incredibly realistic and the functionality is superb. When you cut into the body, which looks like a real person and not a CGI creation, it bleeds like a person would and that the internal organs aren’t simple representations or outlines. The heart is created from actual video files of a heart and pumps blood through the VR body. Even the skin has all the proper dermal layers.”
“Who would I be buying the VR body from?”
“Gary Wilders, the founder. He’s agreed to sell you the program for a surprisingly reasonable amount. Basically, he’s looking to pay back his parents and a few other key investors who bet on him. He can’t sleep at night knowing that he lost all their money. You’d be spending about twice on him as you did on the prepper warehouse. If you’re interested, his only other request is that you consider hiring him and some of his ex-employees.”
“Ok. You seem to have this deal well in hand. When can you set up a time for me to meet with the Gary and the Florida company?”
__________________
A week later, I was sitting in the conference room of ProSport VR Systems in West Palm Beach Florida. That was the official title used by Mia Gearson, Game Designer and Coordinator, when I was invited to come in and sit. In reality, I was sitting in the living room of modest suburban house that ProSport VR Systems was renting as both their working and living quarters. Mia had dressed up for the meeting in tan slacks and a light pink blouse. One of her co-founders, Chase Marner, Programmer, was sitting across from me at the table. He hadn’t bothered dressing up, but at least the jeans and t-shirt were clean. I had the distinct feeling that this ‘conference’ room had presided over many more pizza parties than business meetings and I was glad that I hadn’t gone to the trouble of dressing up too much myself. Beige capri pants, a light blue polo shirt and tan sandals.
“Will Mr. Gearson be joining us as well? I’d been hoping to speak with all of you together.”
“Matt hasn’t been feeling well this past week. I didn’t want to wake him. His cold is really taking a lot out of him.”
“Oh. I hope he gets better soon.” Mia and Chase just nodded and I wasn’t sure where to go from there, so I just plowed ahead with the reason for my being there.
“I’d like to make an offer on buying your company and all of it’s IP (Intellectual Property). The offer would be conditional on all of you continuing to work for the company and using your knowledge of the system to design a new virtual reality program. The payment for the company would be spread out over three years, with one third being paid for every year of your service to the company. Should you leave before that, the payment would be forfeit. However, the payment would be independent of your individual salaries, which would include having the company pay for your rental of apartments in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“You’d want us to move?” Mia inquired. I noticed that she didn’t object or say that the company wasn’t for sale. Nor did she seem to have issues with continuing to work for the company.
“Yes. My base of operations is just outside of Charlotte. I have access to a lot of resources there that could help us in building the new program.”
“What program would that be?” Chase was interested. As the company programmer, this was probably more important to him than the salary or company payout.
“I want the new company to build a fully interactive medical and surgical VR simulation program.”
Chase started asking a long question in technobabble that I didn’t understand at all.
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“I can’t answer or even understand any of that. If you could rephrase it for someone who isn’t technical, I’d appreciate it.”
Mia interjected, “Never mind, Chase. I’ll ask her. Abby, could you please explain what you’d like this program to do?”
“Sure. I’m currently undergoing medical training and I was trying to find a way to practice my surgical skills. I’ve done tons of practice on cadavers, but they’re not always available or fresh. There’s also no blood and or movement. I tried using some of the medical simulation mannequins but they’re way too basic. Most of the medical VR systems use 3D figures or CGI style people and they don’t react properly. They’re great for keeping simpler skills honed, but there’s not much to them if you’ve passed that point. I’m looking for a system that can challenge me with problems that might crop up during surgery or where I can try out different techniques and see which ones work best. Being able to practice at home would also be a time saver in terms of travel.”
Chase leaned forward as I was talking and his eyes were alive with excitement. “Finally! A challenge. I’m in.”
A voice came from upstairs, “Hold on, Chase. We need to discuss this.” The voice belonged to Matt and he did look sick. Aside from the messy hair and unshaven face, Matt wore a bathrobe that covered his shorts and t-shirt. He looked tired and worn out. He coughed as he made his way down the stairs and I could see that he was having difficulty swallowing. I scanned him quickly and found his problem immediately. He didn’t have a cold.
“We don’t need to sell the company. We’re doing ok.” Matt made it to the end of the table and sat down heavily in the chair farthest from everyone.
Chase’s expression was a mixture of sadness and determination. “No, we’re not. The revenue from the games aren’t enough to keep us going. The market just isn’t there yet.”
“We just need a few more months and the new game will be ready. We can ride it out until then.”
“No, Matt. Mia’s been trying to tell you that we’re not going to make it for awhile now. You just don’t want to hear it. We’re more than six months from getting the game to market and we’re out of money now. We’re behind three months in our rent and we haven’t paid ourselves in just as long. We’re living on fumes, Matt. Time to face the music. Ms. Smith is offering us a lifeline. We need to take it. She’s our only chance.”
Matt’s face took on a pained expression as Chase spoke. “You’re not supposed to say those things in front of her. You’ve just killed any chance of negotiating a better deal. Also, how do you know that she can deliver?”
“Because I did my homework and looked her up online. She started her own charitable foundation at sixteen and funded it herself, with money that she make by selling one of the largest set of rubies ever found in North Carolina. Two of the board members for her foundation are Harry Kronin, a dean at a university near Charlotte and Jake McKenzie, Chairman of McKenzie Resources, one of the largest mining companies in the world. If they’re ok being associated with her, I am too. Somehow, she also managed to be awarded the Order of Merit from the government of Germany. That’s one of their highest civilian awards. I’m don’t know what she did to earn it, but they don’t give those away like candy, especially to non-German citizens. Finally, there’s an unbelievable video online of her saving someone life by carrying him out of a burning building.”
Matt quietly took this all in and seemed to deflate further, all the fight having gone out of him. He shook his head in resignation.
“If it makes you feel any better, Matt, my offer isn’t changing because of your circumstances. I believe that it’s a fair deal. I want to work with you and your team and starting off that relationship by taking advantage of you guys is wrong way to do it.”
“Can you tell us more about what you want to game to do?” Matt straightened up his posture and shifted his position to show his interest.
“Better still, I’ll show you. Come on over to the couch.”
Matt slowly got up and walked over. “Great. Now take off your robe and lie down.”
When Matt hesitated, Mia said, “Since when do you have a problem taking off your clothes and lying down when a girl tells you to?” Matt turned all sorts of red and Chase laughed at him. “She’s not going to bite you. Go on.”
Matt lay down and I pulled out my stethoscope from my bag. I’d brought it to illustrate a point about the need to get the dimensions of all the equipment perfectly in line with reality, but it had a better purpose now and it gave me the idea that I should probably start keeping a doctor backpack with me at all times. I started giving Matt a doctor’s exam, skipping over a few of the more personal parts, as his sister and friend were watching, and asking him about his medical history. I kept it brief and was done in around five minutes.
“I’m guessing that you didn’t go see a doctor because you don’t have any medical insurance?”
“Yeah, but this is just a cold. I wouldn’t have gone anyways.”
“Well, it’s not a cold. I think that you have a condition called hyperthyroidism. Your thyroid gland, which regulates a lot of your body’s functions, is overactive and causing your symptoms of excessive sweating, fatigue, irritability, irregular heartbeat and sleep loss. The real clincher, though, is your enlarged thyroid gland at the base of your neck. A regular check-up would have brought that up in an instant. You need to go see a doctor today and have some blood tests done to confirm what I’m saying. There are other thyroid issues that could cause all those symptoms. If I’m right, the doctor will prescribe some medication and as long as you take it every day, you’ll be fine.”
I took out a thousand dollars from my wallet and handed it to Mia. “Please make sure that he goes to see a doctor today. If this doesn’t cover the costs, call me and I’ll send you some more.” Mia accepted the money with tears in her eyes.
Turning back to Matt, I explained, “That’s part of what I want the program to do. Although initially I want the program to focus on the surgical side of medicine, eventually I want it to be programmed with hundreds of interactions like the one we just had. Those are called clinical interactions and they’re comprised of regular doctor visits that happen millions of times, every day across the planet. The patient comes in to see the doctor with a problem and the doctor tries to figure out what’s causing it. Knowledge is the key, but experience plays a big role as well. Practicing with a VR system can sharpen a doctor’s ability to recognize the clues needed to make a proper diagnosis. Think of it like bringing your car in to a mechanic when it makes a funny noise. You know there’s a problem, but you need the mechanic to find out what’s causing it and fix it. Medicine is the same, yet even more complex because you’re dealing with people and people don’t always tell you all of their symptoms. It forces the doctor to hunt for clues and it’s very easy to miss important ones. A program like this will help train doctors to look for those clues as a matter of habit.”
“That’s for later though. For now, I’m looking to start with one fully equipped surgical suite and one patient that I’ll be able to program in with certain medical problems and then correct those problems surgically. Over time, we’ll add in more techniques, patients of varying ages and health, a full surgical team including an anesthesiologist and nurses, differing levels for students and doctors, and a ranking system.”
Chase was suddenly looking worried. “I can’t program a fully functional body in VR. I don’t have the medical knowledge to do that.”
“I took care of that yesterday. I bought the assets of a company that recently closed down. They had a very advanced VR human body already completed. The owner of that company, Gary, is coming on board, along with several members of his team. If you guys say yes, we can start the hiring process and I can get you in touch with Gary to start integrating their VR files into your system. I’ll warn you now that one of your biggest challenges in working with their VR body is the size of the files required. I’m told that they’re huge. You’ll probably need much more powerful computers to handle working with them.”
Chase rubbed his hands gleefully and Matt looked thoughtful. “Just how realistic are you wanting these scenarios to be?”, Matt asked.
“If you’re doing VR surgery and you make a mistake and kill the patient, I want the guy’s pregnant wife and seven-year-old daughter to come in and I want the little girl asking, “Where’s my daddy? Is he going to be ok?”
“That’s going to ruffle a few feathers.” Mia was smiling at the thought of it.
“The students are practicing for real life situations. They need to see that there are consequences to their mistakes. Nothing about our scenarios should be easy or routine for them. When they reach a certain level of proficiency, which can be inferred by how quickly they finish the surgery or from their score, then the system should increase the difficulty on their next try. By the time the medical student performs surgery on his or her first live patient, I want them coming out of that surgery thinking about how much easier it was than our program.”