The difference one man can make

An hour later, after the journalists were done calling their news directors and channel heads, Michael returned to the stage. He had a water bottle with him, which he placed on the side, next to a folder bulging with papers.

Someone had placed the mic in a holder. Michael left it there to play up his fatigue.

"Are you all right now?" Graves put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. He regretted testing his potential disciple. Among everyone present, nobody was clearer about Michael's internal injuries than Graves.

"I'm fine, sir. There's no need to postpone."

"You do look better. Very well, but if you feel discomfort, just give me a signal."

Michael gave the old man a grateful nod and waved at the journalists, "Whenever you're ready!"

They put out their cigarettes and took their seats.

"Hello again. Now that we're done with Alter talk, I have big news that may interest millions of people. I promise, I wouldn't have asked you to stay if all I had to say was which game North Gaming was going to release next. It's Kingdom Rush 2, by the way. Oops!" he slapped himself on the mouth, "That was supposed to be a secret! You won't tell anyone, right?"

The journalists laughed politely, and a quarter of them wrote the reveal down.

"First of all, North Gaming will be under a holding company from now on, together with two more. These other two are North Lingua and North Medical."

Cameras flashed. Michael had gotten used to the pesky distractions, so he kept on, "First, let me tell you about the cancer research I've been funding. We've achieved incredible results already, and North Medical will turn this groundwork into an actual cure for tumorous cancer in two years. That is a promise!" he said, looking straight at the recording devices. With a locked jaw and a slight smile, he looked very confident.

"What about other types of cancer, Mr. North?" someone reacted to the phrasing.

"There are many ways to battle this disease. The approach we chose from the start was to target the tumors. Leukemia, for example, doesn't form tumors, so the medicine will be of little help."

"Why are you so sure you'll develop something in two years?" shouted another reporter.

"I have full faith in my team. They've been on the forefront of my research and don't lose out to any other team or lab in the world. Now please, let me give you the details."

Michael gathered his thoughts and continued, "Over the course of the last few months, we've created a chemical that binds itself to cancerous cells and a method to deliver it to the tumor. The method only works in a controlled environment and needs to be tweaked before we test it on people. This is where newly founded North Medical draws the line and leaves the collaboration with other research hubs."

Michael paused to answer the questions he expected to appear, but the reporters were all too busy furiously writing down after him and taking notes.

After cleanly suppressing a smirk because he was being filmed, the teenager continued.

"We've worked together with almost a hundred research labs, and each and every one of the accomplishments we've made belongs to us all. Therefore, North Medical has agreed to publicize the results of this research. Right now, gigabytes of data are being uploaded to northmedical.com!"

The journalists raised their heads like curious penguins and stared at Michael with bewilderment. Did the boy understand what he was doing? Giving his research results away, wasn't this a business suicide?

But Michael learned from Buddy Earl's shortcomings.

In fact, the research data had been open from the get-go. If he didn't leak it, someone else would take the glory. Behind all of his charitable work, Michael combined open and subtle approaches to building up his image.

"We're issuing a friendly competition! This one goes out to rich moguls and governments! We've done the groundwork, set the right path. Do you dare to fund your own research now? The data we're uploading is real and complete, every lab we've worked with can prove that. North Medical will, of course, continue developing a cure, but its pockets aren't as deep as yours. Just imagine the fame! The profits! The contribution!"

One of the female reporters in the front row couldn't hold it in anymore and exclaimed, "Are you seriously going to race against the whole world?!"

Michael grinned, "Absolutely! If somebody else creates a cure before us, it means we weren't good enough!" The corners of his mouth twitched, and his grin turned into a bitter smile, "Do you know how many die of cancer every day? If some sort of treatment comes one month early, that's at least half a million people saved. Half a million people! That's a population of a city!"

With a cough, another journalist stood up, "My younger colleague thinks your decision is bad for business, but I'm interested in the opposite. What are the rest of the laboratories going to do now? They've wasted months on developing this," he checked his notes, "formula for delivering the chemical to the tumor. Will you leave them now?"

The teenager stayed silent for a while and answered simply, "Yes."

"Why not keep funding them?"

"Because I'm not that rich!" Michael shrugged with his palms open. "I paid them good money for a while. If they want, I'm sure they can fund a project on their own now. Or, and you're making me give advice to my competition, they can be hired by those who accept my challenge!"

Cameras clicked more and more often. The shot of Michael North shrugging helplessly with a careless smile on his lips would become a popular image, and later – a meme.

"I don't understand," the journalist insisted. "Why not keep at least the most successful ones?"

"As I mentioned before, I have faith in my team. If they cannot beat everyone else, there's no point for North Medical to exist! And on a separate note," Michael took a thick folder from the table and shook it, "Here are the names of everyone that took part!" He opened the folder and turned a few pages, showing hundreds of names to the cameras, "Some of them made breakthroughs, and some of them washed beakers. However small, they all made contributions."

The journalist's next retort was stuck in his throat. Arguing with Michael North was impossible. If he opened his mouth again, that would mean he looked down on the laboratories with inferior results.

The man sat down, his face twisted as if he'd eaten a lemon.

"Now that we've gone over the main points, let's move on to my other company, North Lingua. This announcement might interest a lot of people as well. We're launching a platform called Tongue Untwister. It'll be a tool for learning languages, except we've done nothing but outlined a very general lesson plan. The ones to do the work will be native speakers from many countries. And the catch?" Michael brought his face closer to the mic, "We'll pay you for it!"

Despite his first speech ending an hour ago, some of the parents stayed back to watch Michael talk about his companies. They wanted to become closer with the first Alter, to publicize their friendship – he was popular at the moment, and the crafty businessmen knew how to use that to their advantage. But after listening to his exploits and ambitious plans, a fire ignited in their eyes.

This kid was too exciting!

Everything he said was like a goddamn bomb!

"Here's how you can earn real money. Visit our websites, North Lingua or Tongue Untwister, and pass a language level test. If your results are excellent, you can take part in translating sentences from one language to another and add insights into grammar rules and such. If your results aren't perfect but good enough, you can help by checking the translated sentences and insights. We can't pay much, but it's a handy income for students, women on maternity leave and people between jobs."

"Mr. North! Mr. North! How can you trust those who might not have a formal education?"

"Excellent question, miss! Because we're not paying you right away. Several people will translate the same sentence, several more will review them. The best translations will be rewarded."

"Is that enough?" the reporter girl frowned.

"Я считаю, этого достаточно. That's Russian for 'I think that's enough'. See, I'm a school student, and I know Russian well enough to converse with the most highly educated foreigners. When it comes to languages, native speakers will always have an advantage."

"What countries can participate?"

"Any language can. For rare languages with few speakers left alive, the fees will be increased several times. Our goal here is to preserve every language we can get our hands on!"

After those words, there was another applause from the journalists. Michael laughed like a happy child, his teeth whitened by Splendid Glory on display.

"Mr. North, what other goals does this project pursue? What should we expect to happen in the end?"

"North Lingua will turn this data into an app. It'll be a paid service, of course. Designed to develop the most comprehensive set of skills for international communication. With Tongue Untwister, no one will be afraid of traveling!"

Michael spoke those last words with a hint of longing. During ten years of house arrest, he often dreamed about getting away, as far as he could. Even now, he was bound by his family, friends and school. If his parents learned a new language, perhaps they could go on a trip?

More questions followed. The press-conference stretched into its second hour when the young journalist healed by Michael took a turn. He sat through the presentation deep in thought and prepared a single inquiry.

"Mr. North. I wanted to ask… Nobody knew about you until half a year ago. You've made games, funded cancer research, now this. It's like… you're running out of time. Why are you in such a hurry?"

The teenager swallowed. This was deeply personal, but a better chance to make an impression of having a noble character was hard to come across.

Unconsciously, he clutched his chest. The constant Control over Emotions pressed down on him, numbed his feelings. Only the darkness inside him wasn't affected by it for some reason. And this – this thirst for movement, the desire to break the cage around himself.

Michael wanted freedom!

After ten years locked inside, he wanted to act! To run! To feel!

Why else would he attempt to jump off a roof for the second time after he realized LZD1 remained in his body!?

Because he couldn't live again if he wasn't free!

That was why he cultivated every day. Trained in Tai Chi, studied business management and spent time with his family. Doted on Anna and tried to forget Alice. Watched the sunrise often.

That was why he stepped on his own fears and recorded the video that changed the world.

And now, Control over Emotions stopped tears from forming in his eyes. This was neither the time nor the place for losing his head.

Right now, the people needed inspiration. The confidence to meet another day.

He moved closer to the mic.

"Because I want to show everyone the difference one man can make!"