27.07.2024 12:45
Geneva, CERN
Mikhael was sipping his coffee nervously.
Black and without sugar, the coffee from the CERN canteen was not the best, but it was the only option currently available to him. At least it beat the lab coffee they had endured for almost two weeks by an order of magnitude, and that says everything about how bad that swill was.
He was not a tall man, nor was he well-built. Years in the science field, sitting slouched over the computer, had left traces on his body; he had to force himself not to slouch during any official business. That was just one of the reasons he hated meetings like this one.
Give him numbers, theoretical concepts, and a room full of students or scientists who spoke the same language as he did, and he was in his element: confident, articulate, giving directions, and debating exotic concepts that only twenty people worldwide had a full understanding of—like some people discuss their favorite movies, bands, or sports teams.
But this…
This meeting was one of the necessary evils of applied sciences: the need for funding.
Before Zyphron emerged, his startup, which had made leaps in electric propulsion solutions, was one of the few topics often discussed among venture capitalists and private equity investors. There was no doubt that they would get the 20 million euros in funding they needed to finance the next eighteen months of work.
But with the emergence of Zyphron, it felt like the investment world was standing still.
Missed meetings, no replies to his emails, and outright statements from investors who, just weeks prior, had given their word that they would join a financing round—at this moment, they didn’t consider investing in anything unless it was Zyphron-related.
Zyphron shook the world, and it shook it hard.
So it didn’t come as a small surprise when just last week he received an email from Tomas Knez, a startup founder who was better known for his alcohol-induced escapades than for his love of investments. Based on everything Mikhael knew, the only thing Tomas had invested in so far was real estate; he had never touched risky prospects like startups.
But beggars can’t be choosers, and as far as Mikhael was concerned, money didn’t stink nor grow on trees. If someone was willing to invest a substantial amount required to lead the investment round, then he would take the time to meet the person if that was Tomas’s explicit wish.
So here he was, beard trimmed, his salt-and-pepper hair freshly cut, sitting in his best suit, drinking coffee with Sofia, his co-founder, who was fidgeting with her phone as if nothing significant were happening.
Only young people could be so careless, he thought. At fifty-five, he was counting the chances he had left for anything significant to happen, and the most significant discovery he’d made was also the one he felt most conflicted about.
“Please stop fidgeting with your pants, Mikhael,” Sofia said, her face still glued to her phone as she typed furiously, likely engaged in yet another online argument with “haters,” as she called them, on her throwaway Reddit account. She’d been at it for weeks now, as if a few choice words could change the minds of the masses.
“I’m not fidgeting! I swear these pant legs are riding up on their own, just to annoy me,” he said, standing up and straightening the fabric for what felt like the hundredth time. “I’ll just stand,” he muttered, glancing at his watch and picking up his coffee cup as he moved closer to the window.
“He should be here soon. Can you please put the phone away for a moment and focus? I need you sharp and present in this meeting. People will always blame others for anything wrong in their lives, and right now, we’re the scapegoats,” he said, his voice warm, almost fatherly.
“You know it; I know it. We didn’t do anything wrong, yet people died. No one could have anticipated the results our experiment would have. And we’ve barely scratched the surface of the changes the world is still experiencing.”
He paused, resignation etched on his face as he looked at Sofia. “People need someone to vent at, so they choose us, hiding behind the anonymity of their Reddit and social media accounts.”
Sofia looked up, an angry scowl darkening her face.
“Yes, but it was not our fault, Mikhael! Why can’t they get it through their thick skulls that we’ve been doing everything in our power to understand what’s happening and communicate it in time? We did everything right! What happened was tragic, but it wasn’t our fault. So why do they have to slander the only people who worked with urgency?” Her voice shook with frustration.
“Why was it communicated to the world so late? These people could have been informed; curfews could have been enforced earlier. You insisted on it, but they waved you off because they didn’t want public panic… and now we have a global tragedy on our hands, and somehow it’s our fault. God, if I didn’t know I’d end up in jail or worse for saying what actually happened, I’d be on every late-night show, podcast, and YouTube channel telling the whole world the truth.”
She put her face in her hands, letting out a sigh of defeat.
Mikhael came close to her and, in a barely audible whisper, said, “Sofia, don’t even joke about that, especially not here. Your security clearance is half your career; it’s not worth risking that—and your credibility—over some people online. George Carlin put it beautifully: ‘Imagine how dumb the average person is, and now realize that more than half are even dumber.’ You can’t understand them because you’re not on the same level, and don’t even try; it’s not worth it.”
He stood silently, watching his youngest friend and business partner grapple with her frustrations until a knock broke the silence.
“Doctor Petrovich, Mr. Tomas Knez is here for your scheduled meeting,” his assistant announced.
“Please let him in, and if you don’t mind, bring us some water for the meeting,” Mikhael requested.
From outside, Tomas’s voice could be heard: “I’d prefer a beer, Dr. Petrovich, but let’s focus on business first. Afterward, we can have a drink if you’re so inclined.”
He entered with a smile and extended his hand, first to Sofia, then to Mikhael. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both—the youngest doctor of computational physics and the most accomplished particle physicist in Europe. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting for days.”
“And are you a fan of our work, Mr. Knez?” Sofia asked, a doubtful look on her face.
“I can’t lie—not exactly. I am a fan of the potential your electric propulsion system brings to the aerospace industry,” Tomas said, a broad grin spreading across his face.
“But I also tried to form my own opinion of you two before this meeting, without relying on public opinion—positive or negative. What I saw were two dedicated, highly intelligent, and ambitious people I’d love to connect with and explore any common interests,” he continued sincerely.
“Please take a seat, Mr. Knez,”
Mikhael said with a smile. Tomas's candid statement was refreshing, something he wasn’t used to in his usual investor meetings. A glance at Sofia revealed a smile on her face as well, the first he had seen in days.
“We have prepared a presentation about the electric propulsion system and the performance data we managed to generate in lab settings, which you might find interesting.”
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Mikhael moved toward his chair, turning on the projector and dimming the lights.
“Please call me Tomas. Mr. Knez was my late father, and even he didn’t like to be called that. Before we start the presentation, just out of curiosity: Is the data you’d like to present from before the Zyphron emissions started or after?” Tomas asked, leaning forward, his elbows on the table and his chin resting on his fists.
Sofia and Mikhael exchanged a meaningful look.
“The data was taken before we discovered the exotic particles, but based on everything we have seen so far, it should still be accurate even in an atmosphere containing Zyphron particles,”
Sofia responded almost defensively, clenching her fists below the table.
“Please don’t misunderstand my question; I don’t want to discredit your data. However, as you discovered, Zyphron particles emit low-frequency energy waves similar to a part of the sensitive electronics in your electric propulsion system. I was just curious if the performance has changed in any way from the data measured before—nothing else,”
Tomas clarified, his voice carrying an air of curiosity without any of his usual smugness.
“But please continue with the presentation. I’m no physicist, but I would love to understand as much as possible, so don’t mind if I ask questions where I feel completely out of my depth.”
“You are actually quite right, Mr…. pardon, Tomas. We will retake the tests and update our performance data accordingly. If there is any discrepancy, it might be relevant for all future developments,”
Mikhael interjected, surprised by how easily Tomas made the connection—one they hadn’t even considered. But given what they had been through in the past weeks, their focus had shifted away from the electric propulsion system and toward navigating the crisis the world was experiencing.
xxxxxXXXXxxxx
The presentation, originally expected to last no more than 40 minutes, extended into a two-hour deep dive. Tomas posed numerous questions, eager to grasp the intricacies of what Mikhael and Sofia were attempting to achieve. Although he had initially come merely to feign interest, the vision presented, along with the projected savings in fuel consumption and maintenance costs, painted an enticing picture: an estimated 40% reduction in maintenance costs for airlines—a truly significant figure. The potential environmental benefits were an added bonus.
What impressed him most was that the startup was just two years away from market readiness. According to Mikhael, they could be fielding orders from Boeing within 12 months, especially since the company had recently suffered a significant reputational setback and needed a transformative change.
If this initiative proves successful and scalable, and if the emergence of Zyphron doesn't complicate matters, he could foresee any investment yielding returns hundreds of times over in the next decade. As a known gambler, he felt an undeniable urge to take the bet.
“Thank you for your patience in answering my questions, Dr. Petrovic and Dr. Chen. What you’ve created is truly astonishing. To be frank, if your experiments in a Zyphron-saturated environment yield results close to what you achieved before, I’m willing to finance the entire 20 million euros you require to bring the product to market, for a 15% equity stake in the company.”
He said, watching Mikhael's and Sofia's faces transform into a blend of apprehensive joy.
They liked Tomas; he was candid and intelligent, and he felt like a good fit as a partner moving forward. However, many had made similar promises in the past few months, only to back down once the Zyphron crisis hit, leaving them cautious and unable to relax fully.
Tomas understood that in the business world, the only real security comes from a signed contract. He noticed the hesitance in Mikhael's and Sofia's expressions—they had been through a lot recently and didn’t fully trust him to keep his word, especially given his less-than-stellar reputation. To alleviate their doubts, he decided to go all in.
“If you can have a letter of interest drafted today, I’m willing to sign it today. I’ll stay in Geneva until we finalize the preliminary contracts. Afterwards we can go teough due diligence, but that should be no issue I guess. I want you both to understand that I believe in what you’re building, and I hope we can establish a fruitful business relationship moving forward.”
He watched them turn wide-eyed, not believing what they were hearing. They expected more back and forth, demands for a higher equity stake, pressure for more, but here he was committing to solve one of the burning problems they were facing, and Tomas chuckled.
“I have to be honest with you, I did not come today to invest, and I apologize for the initial deception, I needed to meet you both to show you something, but what you have shown me is a no-brainer to invest in, so I am willing to take the risk with you two.”
Their faces morphed from joy to confusion, while Michael said only in Tomas ear:
“You want to include Sofia too?”
He nodded.
“That was quite an elaborate deception just to schedule a meeting with the two of us. It could have been done without the charade,” Mikhael replied, his apprehension evident in his tone.
“No, I couldn’t… I tried in every imaginable way, but your email and social media are probably flooded with messages. Your publicly available phone numbers had most likely to be changed, and your assistant deserves a raise for not passing calls without all the relevant information, which I couldn’t provide over the phone, to be honest.”
Tomas’s voice was marked by exhaustion, making it clear how much effort he had expended in trying to connect with them.
“So what is it that you wanted to tell or show us that couldn’t have been conveyed any other way but face-to-face?”
Sofia asked, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised.
“Dr. Petrovic—”
“Just call me Mikhael,” he replied, a hint of dejection in his voice.
“Okay, Mikhael. Can you please give me your hand for a moment?” Tomas stood up, stretching out his arm.
When they shook hands, Mikhaels eyes suddenly glassed over looking at something infront of him only he could see and moving as if he was reading something.
He nodded twice and said “Sofia, please give your hand to Tomas as well. Do not ask any questions for now”
Surprised, she stood up, watching Mikhael carefully measure Tomas with a slack-jawed expression, as if he were seeing him for the first time.
She approached Tomas, who was towering over her by a good 25 cm, and stretched out her arm for a handshake.
Just a couple of seconds after he took her hand, she noticed a blinking light from her peripheral vision. Just as she was about to focus on it, a notification popped up—one she had never seen before and likely the same one Mikhael was observing.
New Task received
Assist Tomas Knez in spreading knowledge regarding the implications Zyphron will bring to the world and help prepare humanity for the worst to come. Maintain the confidentiality of his identity at all costs. Nod twice and focus on "Yes" to accept the task
Warning: There is a high risk of possible involvement from extraterrestrial entities. .
Reward: Minor Achievement - "The Silent Guardian". All rewards and accolades credited to Dr. Mikhael Petrov and Dr. Sofia Chen for discoveries resulting from the received knowledge.
Accept: Yes / No.
“Tomas, you mentioned something about a drink when we first met. I could use a few Zyphron Specials right about now, and I think Sofia could too,” Mikhael said, trying to shake off the shock as he glanced at Sofia, who nodded twice.
“Yeah, Zyphron Specials sound really really good right now” muttered Sofia trying to come to terms with the sudden revelation.