Solar Corona

"Dear Lisa, what... no, no, no... you actually believe the tabloid reports? Just a few days ago, they were saying that Obama was preparing to invade Spain... can you believe it? Gal and I are just friends, you really shouldn't jump to conclusions. I'll be back in New York soon, by the way, how is Aunt Maria doing...?"

In this era of highly developed information technology, news travels faster than light. Practically overnight, the media, both big and small, were ablaze with the news of a budding romance between "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot and the up-and-coming wealthy, young genius scientist Bruce Lee. The news didn't even need time to ferment; even Lisa Marcos in distant Michigan couldn't resist calling to probe indirectly.

Bruce, with a sweet-talking offensive, managed to appease this young lady. At that moment, he was holding the day's issue of the "Los Angeles Times."

"Wonder Woman and genius scientist Bruce rumored to be in a hot romance!"

The accompanying photo was of him and Gal Gadot, intimately chatting and rubbing shoulders at a celebration. These mainstream media outlets were relatively modest, adding a "rumored" to the headline to give it a newsy spin.

The gossip magazines, however, were blatantly sensational, their headlines as thrilling and explosive as possible. Now, paparazzi were camped day and night outside his and Gal's residence, with high prices reportedly being offered for intimate photos of the pair, going as high as ten thousand dollars a piece.

While the outside world was keenly interested in his ambiguous relationship with Gal Gadot, his new company had been quietly established.

"Solar Corona, that's the name of the new company.

The company's offices in Los Angeles and New York had been confirmed. The Los Angeles branch was located near Venice Beach, renting a three-story office building covering over 40,000 square meters, not far from a cluster of high-tech companies including Google's Los Angeles office housed in the Binoculars Building.

"Gentlemen, what you have in your hands are the new research and development plans for each of your labs, starting from now. Please read them carefully. Detailed information will soon be distributed to each lab. As for the previous research projects, regardless of their progress — all will be archived."

At the company's first major meeting, Bruce announced this decision, which many found hard to accept. He had long prepared multiple research and development plans, just waiting for these labs to join his agenda.

The heads of the major labs and their key researchers were very puzzled by this decision. They felt that their teams had been working hard, investing countless time, money, effort, and dedication. Each project was precious and promising, with some even achieving significant breakthroughs. Now, they were suddenly asked to abandon these and switch to new projects, a move they saw as misguided.

This sentiment was understandable; it's like every parent thinking their child is the best. Some researchers, unable to contain their emotions in front of Bruce, the big boss, raised their concerns.

"Mr. Lee, our experimental drug Neratinib successfully blocked the recurrence of early-stage breast cancer in female patients during clinical trials. In a study involving 521 early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer patients, this novel drug increased the disease-free survival rate by over 13% compared to the placebo group in the control. It's a very promising research project! I don't understand why we have to shelf it?!"

The speaker was Dr. Robert Scott Trivers, head of the Spruill Lab in Los Angeles, and he was the most agitated. To Robert, this decision felt like taking away his precious baby, completely unacceptable.

"Calm down, Dr. Trivers, please take a seat," Bruce wasn't surprised by the reaction; it was all within his expectations. He wasn't angry, instead, he smiled and made a calming gesture, signaling the doctor to relax. "I appreciate the contributions your lab has made to the company and I admire your lab's standard and research achievements. The projects I've prepared will definitely be to your liking, why don't you take a look at the plan first?"

"What?" Dr. Robert Scott Trivers paused, seemingly realizing he had been too impulsive, and sat down resentfully, opening the plan on his desk. Initially, skepticism and reluctance were written all over his face, but after a few seconds, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Is this real? Are you sure this can be achieved?"

Robert's reaction was understandable given the shocking prospects outlined in the plan. His curiosity prompted the others to also eagerly open their copies, keen to see what had surprised Robert so much.

"Gentlemen, with your professional expertise, you should be able to see that these plans are not pie in the sky but have undergone professional preliminary verification. Would I joke about my own company?" Bruce waited patiently as the experts reviewed the information. When they all put down their folders and the meeting room filled with an irrepressible buzz of discussion, he spoke again with satisfaction.

"Now that everyone's doubts are cleared, please, continue listening." Bruce observed the astonishment, excitement, and confusion in the eyes of everyone in the room and clapped his hands.

"All research personnel must sign a new confidentiality agreement with the company. Additionally, the HR department will implement a new grading system, combining employees' past performance and experience to assign ranks. The security system and team will also be fully in place by this week.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Congratulations on becoming members of the glorious Solar Corona company. Soon, you will realize this is a splendid beginning. And you — will all be witnesses and practitioners of this brilliance. The first lab to achieve results will receive an additional ten million dollars in prize money from me personally."

Bruce smiled as he looked around the conference room, raising his glass first.

Thus, a total of five and a half labs, including the original CoBIS Gene, Spruill, and Incyte, were fully integrated into the new company.

The half referred to the collaborative project with New York University's Ochsner Laboratory, likely to be the fastest progressing given the millions already invested in it.