Orion stared at the fusion reactor blueprint on his screen. The design was perfect. Revolutionary. Worth billions—maybe trillions—if someone stole it.
"Rene," he said. "We need to protect this. I want you to file patents for everything. The reactor design, the thermoelectric material composition, the superconductor structure, the magnetic control systems, the laser ignition configuration, the fluid dynamics optimization—everything that can be patented."
"Understood. Shall I prepare comprehensive patent applications?"
"Yeah. And don't just file one patent per invention. Create variations. Different material ratios, alternate configurations, modified designs. I want a patent wall so thick that nobody can copy our work without running into our intellectual property."
"Acknowledged. How many variations per technology?"
"As many as make sense. If there are ten viable ways to build the superconductor with similar performance, patent all ten. Same for everything else."
"This will result in approximately 200-300 individual patents."
"Good. That's what I want. Make it impossible for competitors to work around our IP."
"Understood. I will draft all patent applications with full technical specifications, claims, and supporting documentation. Shall I file with the United Federation Patent Office?"
"Yeah. And pay for expedited processing. Fast-track everything. I don't want to wait years for approval."
"Expedited filing fees for 200-300 patents will be approximately 15 million credits."
Orion didn't hesitate. "Do it. Fifteen million is nothing compared to protecting technology worth trillions."
"Filing now."
Orion watched progress bars appear on his screen. Patent applications streaming to the Federation Patent Office. Fees transferring automatically.
Each application was comprehensive. Detailed technical specifications. Material compositions down to atomic ratios. Manufacturing processes with precise parameters. Performance characteristics with simulation data as supporting evidence.
Rene had done it all in seconds. What would take a team of patent lawyers months to prepare, she'd accomplished instantly.
"All patents filed," Rene reported. "Expedited processing initiated. Expected approval timeline: 3-6 weeks for initial review, 8-12 weeks for final approval."
"Perfect."
Orion stood up. Stretched. His muscles responded smoothly—enhanced by weeks of cultivation practice.
He checked the time. 10:47 AM. Still had a few hours before the Helix meeting.
Time to cultivate.
He sat cross-legged on his bed. Closed his eyes. Began the breathing technique.
Inhale. The air pulled into his lungs. His enhanced perception could feel the oxygen molecules, and mixed within them, microscopic particles of exotic energy. The breathing technique separated them out, drew them into his bloodstream.
Hold. The exotic energy circulated through his body. Flowing through blood vessels, seeping into cells, strengthening molecular bonds. His muscles absorbed the energy. His bones became denser. His organs optimized their function.
Exhale. Dark impurities expelled from his pores. The waste his cells had shed—toxins, damaged proteins, accumulated cellular debris.
He continued for an hour. Each cycle made him fractionally stronger. The improvements were small—maybe 0.1% per session. But they compounded. Day after day, week after week.
His body had already improved by 30% since the system enhancement. Another few months of this and he'd be twice as strong as a normal human. A year? Three times stronger.
And that was just Tier 1 cultivation. The library had information on higher tiers. Tier 2 would make him ten times stronger. Tier 3, a hundred times.
Eventually, he'd be strong enough to punch through steel. Fast enough to dodge bullets. Durable enough to walk through fire.
But that was future Orion's problem. Present Orion needed a shower.
12:30 PM - KITCHEN
Orion came downstairs to find Cassia making lunch. Something with vegetables and rice.
"Good timing," she said. "I was about to call you."
He sat at the table. "What's up?"
"I've been thinking about the company. Innovatia is going to need staff. A lot of staff. I can't run everything alone, especially at the beginning."
"Makes sense. What are you thinking?"
"I want to bring in some people I trust from my old workplace. Former colleagues who are talented and reliable. Build the executive team with people I know can handle it."
Orion nodded. "That's smart. How many people?"
"Maybe five or six to start. VP of Engineering, VP of Marketing, Head of HR, Chief Financial Officer, Head of Operations, Legal Counsel. Between all of us, we can manage the early stages."
"Do it. Hire whoever you think we need."
Cassia slid a plate in front of him. Stir-fried vegetables with rice and some kind of protein substitute. "I also need to finish the procedures for the new office building. Start actual recruitment for the development teams. Set up benefits packages—health insurance, retirement plans, stock options."
"Make the benefits really good. I want Innovatia to be the kind of place where the best talent wants to work."
"That'll be expensive."
"We have thirty-one billion credits. We can afford it." Orion paused, thinking. "Actually, while you're setting things up, you should also look into getting us a proper house. And some decent cars."
Cassia looked up from her plate. "What?"
"We're running a major tech company. Living in a mid-tier apartment doesn't really fit that image anymore. We should get a mansion. Something with space, good security, home offices. And autocars that don't look like we're struggling students."
"Orion, that's a huge expense—"
"Mom, we have thirty-one billion credits. A mansion and some cars is what, thirty or forty million? That's barely one percent of what we have. It's a drop in the bucket."
Cassia set down her fork. "You're serious."
"Yeah. You're going to be CEO of a major corporation. I'm the founder and chief technology officer. We need to look the part. Plus, it'll be more comfortable. Better security. Space to work from home when needed."
She was quiet for a moment. Then smiled. "You know what? You're right. We can afford it. I'll look into properties this afternoon."
"Good. Get something nice. And I'll give you access to my account so you can handle the purchases."
Orion pulled up his phone. Transferred account access permissions to her.
"There. Buy whatever you think we need. Just don't go too crazy."
Cassia laughed. "Thirty-five million credits for a house and cars is crazy by normal standards."
"Good thing we're not normal anymore."
They ate lunch together. Cassia talked about office layouts and recruitment strategies. Benefits packages that would attract top talent. Stock option plans.
Orion listened with half his attention. The other half was already thinking about the next problem.
The BCI.
It worked great for output—thinking commands and having them execute. But it was one-directional. He could send information out through the BCI, but not receive information in.
What if he could reverse that? Make the BCI inject data directly into his brain?
Not instant understanding—he'd still need to study and comprehend the information. But the BCI could upload knowledge into his memory the same way the system library did. Raw data stored perfectly, ready to be studied and understood.
And if the BCI could generate sensory input—visual data, auditory signals—he could experience virtual reality without any headset. The BCI would just trick his brain into seeing and hearing things that weren't there.
"I'm heading back up," Orion said after finishing his food. "Got some work to do before the meeting."
"Alright. I'm going out this afternoon to look at properties. I'll send you listings if I find anything good."
"Sounds good."
ORION'S ROOM - 1:15 PM
Orion put on the earbuds.
"Rene, I have a new task for you. I want to upgrade the BCI. Currently it only handles output—my thoughts going to the computer. I want bidirectional communication. Input from the computer to my brain."
"You want the BCI to inject data into your neural pathways?"
"Exactly. Upload information directly into my memory, like the system library does. And generate sensory data—visual, audio, tactile. Make my brain perceive things that aren't actually there."
"Understood. I already have a complete map of your neural pathways from the initial BCI training. I simply need to simulate the effects of various electrical frequencies, wavelengths, and current intensities on your specific neural architecture to determine optimal injection parameters."
"How long will that take?"
"The simulation is primarily software-based pattern matching. With my current processing capacity, approximately three minutes."
"Three minutes? Do it."
Orion sat back. Three minutes. Rene could simulate billions of neural interactions in the time it took him to grab a drink of water.
He waited. Practiced a quick breathing cycle. Felt the exotic energy flow through his cells.
"Simulation complete," Rene said. "Bidirectional neural interface protocols established. I can now inject visual, auditory, tactile, and direct memory data into your neural pathways with 99.4% accuracy. The uploaded information will be stored in your memory exactly like knowledge from the system library—you will still need to study and comprehend it to achieve true understanding."
"Perfect. That's exactly what I wanted. Generate a simple visual test. Something in my environment."
"Understood. Initiating sensory injection."
Orion's vision shifted.
His room looked the same—desk, bed, computer, walls. But now there was something extra. A holographic display floating in midair, showing data streams and code.
It wasn't real. He knew it wasn't real. But his brain perceived it as if it was actually there. The BCI was generating electrical signals in his visual cortex, creating the illusion of holographic displays.
"Incredible," Orion whispered.
"Shall I demonstrate more complex rendering?"
"Yeah. Show me something bigger."
His room dissolved.
He was standing in a fantasy world. Medieval castle in the distance. Dragons flying overhead. Magical forests with glowing trees. The level of detail was insane—individual leaves on trees, textures on castle stones, scales on dragon wings.
It looked like that old movie Ready Player One, but without the bulky VR headset. Just pure neural injection creating a completely convincing alternate reality.
He reached out to touch a glowing tree. His hand passed through empty air, but his brain perceived the texture—rough bark with warm energy pulsing underneath.
"This is insane," Orion said. "It feels completely real."
"The BCI is generating multimodal sensory data—visual, auditory, and limited tactile feedback. Your brain interprets the electrical signals as genuine sensory input."
"Can you overlay virtual elements onto real environments? Like augmented reality?"
"Affirmative."
The fantasy world faded. His room returned. But now there were floating holographic displays showing reactor designs, material specifications, data streams. All overlaid perfectly on his real environment.
"Perfect." Orion grinned. "This changes everything. We can build interfaces that don't need screens. Just inject the visuals directly into users' brains."
"Agreed. The technology has significant commercial potential."
"Actually..." Orion's mind raced. "Rene, I want you to design a new BCI system. Not just earbuds—a complete package for full-dive virtual reality. Users put on the device and completely immerse themselves in virtual worlds. Design the hardware and software."
"Understood. A full-dive system would require more comprehensive neural coverage than the earbuds provide. I recommend a headband-style device with expanded sensor arrays for complete sensory injection and motor signal interception."
"How long to design it?"
"Complete hardware specifications, software architecture, and manufacturing procedures: four hours."
"Do it. And make sure the software can adapt to new users quickly. How long would it take to map someone else's neural pathways?"
"For new users, the algorithm requires approximately 4-6 hours of monitoring to map individual neural patterns and simulate optimal injection parameters. Most of the computational work occurs in software—pattern recognition and parameter optimization. The processing requirements are minimal compared to my overall capacity."
"So basically, someone buys the headband, wears it for a few hours while it learns their brain, then they're ready for full-dive VR?"
"Correct. The initial calibration period allows the software to build a personalized neural map. After that, the user can access full sensory injection with high accuracy."
"Perfect. We'll market it after Innovatia is established and generating revenue from Aether OS. Full-dive VR will be our next major product launch."
"Understood. Beginning design work now."
Orion checked the time. 1:21 PM. He needed to leave for Helix soon.
"Also, Rene, prepare a USB drive with the experimental procedures for manufacturing the superconductor and thermoelectric materials. Complete step-by-step instructions that the Helix research team can follow."
"Already prepared. USB contains comprehensive manufacturing protocols with precise parameters, equipment specifications, safety procedures, and quality control checkpoints."
"When did you do that?"
"While we were discussing the BCI upgrade. The task required minimal processing capacity."
Orion shook his head. Having an AI that could multitask thousands of operations simultaneously was still surreal.
He grabbed the USB drive from his desk drawer where Rene had already queued it for creation through his 3D printer's companion unit.
Checked his appearance in the mirror. Looked presentable enough for a research meeting.
"Rene, I'm heading to Helix. Keep working on the full-dive VR design. I'll be back in a few hours."
"Acknowledged. The meeting agenda has been transmitted to all Helix staff. They are expecting you at 2 PM."
Orion smiled. He had revolutionary technology, unlimited funding, and the knowledge to change the world.
The researchers at Helix were about to start working on the future.
They just didn't know it yet.
He grabbed his bag and headed downstairs.
Cassia was on her tablet, scrolling through mansion listings. She looked up when he passed.
"Heading to your meeting?"
"Yeah. Should be back by evening."
"Good luck. Oh, and Nyla texted. She'll be home tomorrow."
Orion smiled. "Good. I've missed her."
"I know you have." Cassia gave him a knowing look. "You two need to have that talk soon."
"We will. Tomorrow."
He headed out the door.
Time to build a fusion reactor.