John Price
PharmaTek Headquarters, Bay Area California, 2050
“PharmaTek’s proprietary cellular regeneration technologies have their origins as far back as 2010-2015 when academic and industry researchers began to discover and exploit the mechanisms for DNA repair found in some bacteria.
Known then as the CRISPR/Cas system, these early advances were quickly recognized by PharmaTek’s founder Collin Holbart as an important starting point for Man to take control of his own genetic future and the future of all life on Earth. Through his efforts in the following years, and later the efforts of his son and current CEO Tom Holbart, PharmaTek secured the dominant intellectual property position in the industry, acquiring many of the original techniques and most of the advances since then, virtually eliminating commercial competition.
Our aggressive academic recruitment program FAUSTUS, has brought PharmaTek a steady stream of top talent from Universities around the world and has effectively drained the market of potential threats.
We are now finally poised to realize Dr. Holbart’s original vision.
We’re pleased to say that we see a very profitable future for PharmaTek shareholders in the coming decades.
Marketing plans and and Sales projections may be found in the following sections.
An investment term sheet will be hand-delivered to each of you in the following days by secure courier.“
“PharmaTek - What do you want to be?” ®
– Excerpt from PharmaTek Platinum Circle Shareholder Confidential Report, 2049
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Tom Holbart enters the executive board room of the PharmaTek headquarters precisely two minutes late. Seated around the polished table are several board members, two senior military officials flanked by their aides and three, ‘Platinum Circle’ investors. Several attendees have that far away look people get when they are reviewing materials through their interfaces.
Thirty seconds after Tom arrives, one final attendee pops into existence into an empty seat at the head of the table. This attendee is a very high resolution projection of a person of medium height wearing nondescript clothing, with his or her face blurred out.
Tom begins. “Thank you all for coming. I sincerely appreciate the effort made by those of you who managed to physically attend. I realize you are all very busy people and I take this as an encouraging sign that you all understand the importance of the current phase of we are about to undertake.”
Nodding towards the projection he continues, “Of course special circumstances need to be accommodated as well...”
Turning back to the rest of the group he begins,
“The importance of the meeting I’ve set up tomorrow with Johnson can’t be overstated.
The work we’ve done so far with your generous support has been wildly successful and we’ve had breakthrough after breakthrough. That said, if we’re going to really deploy the technology, we’re going to need a massive capital infusion to deal with both the enormous costs associated with the ramp up as well as the expenses required to maintain control over the ‘narrative’ with the government and the press.
We’ve reached a point where we can’t keep the work buried inside PharmaTek’s R&D budget any longer. Drawing in any more money from that source will be a red flag with the less ‘progressive’ members on our board and if we draw their attention it will threaten the entire project.
We need our own budget, free from the usual PharmaTek restrictions and review policies.”
There is a general shifting around the table. Several of the attendees give each other sidelong glances trying to gauge each other’s reaction to the suggestion.
The blurred projection at the head of the table leans forward and every eye swings over.
“On one hand, what you say makes a great deal of sense, Tom. The Organization has determined that we do need additional capital if we are going to continue. Our sources indicate that Johnson certainly has the cash. However, he also has a reputation for being a bit of a ‘Boy Scout’. Are you planning on revealing the entire scope of the project to him?“
Tom pauses before answering,
“No. The plan is to hold back just how far we’ve come but still paint a compelling enough picture for where we could go that it ensures he just has to bite. – A revolution in livestock eugenics, saving endangered species, eliminating disease and so on.
We’ve got a fantastic demo lined up!
There’s no need to reveal the entire extent of our plans.”
One of the military representatives speaks up, “No mention of ‘Eternal Warrior’ then? If that gets out, you’re done, Holbart.”
Tom holds his hands out in front of him facing the man, “No, no, no, no! – Not a word!”
The military man purses his lips and leans back. “Hmm. We’ll see.”
The projection at the end of the table continues,
“You began this discussion with the statement that ‘The importance of this meeting with Johnson cannot be overstated’ I completely agree. I’d add that the importance to you certainly cannot be overstated.
You are proposing, at this late stage, to bring in an outsider and have taken steps to make that happen without fully vetting the idea with the rest of us. – A bold move on your part...
Simply revealing what you say you are going to to Johnson will be a breach, and not a small one. If you can’t close the deal after that, or if anything – and I mean anything – goes wrong afterwards, there will be consequences.”
Tom swallows. “Our sources say that Johnson’s condition is getting worse. Time is of the essence.
I think he’s to the point where he’s starting to think about what kind of legacy he’s going to leave the world. We’re going to play right into that impulse!
– He certainly seems to have little interest in handing everything over to his worthless son.”
‘For your sake, I hope you are right, Tom. ‘Best of luck with the presentation. The Organization will be watching.” With that, the projection disappears.
Everyone around the table is stares at the empty space for a moment and then turns to look at Tom.
After an awkward couple of seconds, Tom claps his hands together. “OK! – Anyone else?
...No?
Then I guess we’re done.
Thanks for coming.”