Chapter
1
Dozens of waiters dressed in tuxedos
walked between the small tables in the dimly lighted room. Workers transformed
the company cafeteria into a surreal scene for the event. Black lights bathed
the white walls with a purple glow. Symphony music played from speakers while
fog machines covered the floor with a white mist. The waiters served drinks and
appetizers to the five hundred seated guests. A single white candle on each
table lighted the guest's faces while they watched the activity on a huge
plasma monitor. They were silent, intrigued, while watching scientists working
in a laboratory.
Reporters and film crews
lined the back wall of the room. Reporters documented the activity, while their
crews recorded the action in the laboratory.
Peter Samulson,
the president of Endeavor BioEngineering stood near a
podium at the front of the room. He motioned to Raymond Jacobs, the company
Vice-President of Research and Development. "I'm going to make history today
with my announcement."
"I'd have to agree." Ray
smiled. "You're about to describe a great achievement."
Peter gestured toward his
guests. "I flew these bankers in from around the world. They represent billions
in investment opportunities. I need them to invest their money in my company so
I can expand."
"Present the details of
Osiris. When they see it in action, they'll know it's a money maker."
Peter pointed at the
monitor. "I need my brother to run that demonstration without any problems."
"I read the text of his
presentation. It's first rate. He'll impress these bankers."
"They know we're onto
something big. They need me to save their banks, and their jobs. Bankers are
the bad guys today." Peter laughed hysterically. "How things change in just a
few years."
Ray was confused by the
statement and Peter's reaction. "Why do you say that?"
He greeted several bankers
by name. "Some of these so called executives refused to give me funding when I
started this company eight years ago.
They're all neophytes compared to me."
"Maybe they were concerned
you were asking for millions based only on theoretical ideas."
"They told me I was too
young at thirty. They didn't like my strategy to market bio-engineered products
developed by superior researchers."
"This company is best in
class today. They were wrong about you."
"They're sheep, following
the leader. Our sales are in the billions. I'm a multi-millionaire. They're
here to get a piece of my action." He made a fist. "It's going to cost them to
be part of history."
Peter's anger was becoming
uncontrollable again. Ray changed the subject. He pointed at the monitor. "Our
preparations for the demo are right on schedule."
"They better be. I want
this demonstration to portray my company as a world class organization."
The guests watched the
scientists pull on rubber gloves and safety goggles. They moved around a long
and tall clear glass trough to dump hundreds of empty plastic bottles in it.
Others dropped plastic forks, spoons, knives, and cups on the plastic bottles.
Then they placed a layer of clean diapers on the bottles, followed by a large
number of Styrofoam cups and plates.
An overhead spotlight
lighted Peter. The long bleached blonde ponytail dangling on his custom
tailored suit was a stark contrast to his shoulder length black hair. "Good
afternoon everyone. You're watching activity taking place in a laboratory sixty
feet beneath our feet. You're about to see a demonstration of the Model 276
bacteria, otherwise known as Osiris. It has the potential to help solve the
world's need for oil."
The bankers were
immediately skeptical. Many loudly expressed their concerns. One banker said,
shouting. "Don't tell us you're converting grass into a fuel additive. That's
an outdate concept and will not make money!"
"I'm wasting my time here,"
a banker told his colleges. "We all are."
Peter walked between the
tables to be closer to his audience. "I invited you here to share the details
of a new product that will change the world. It will produce millions in revenue.
If you're not interested, leave."
The banker appeared
embarrassed in the candle light. "Maybe we spoke too soon. Continue."
"I'm sure you did." Peter
concealed his contempt. "My bacteria will make millions for you, keep your
shareholders happy, and save your plush jobs!"
"Let's give him a chance,"
someone said. "Explain your fuel making process." Others agreed.
Peter calmed himself. "When
we created Osiris, we considered the largest untapped resource in the world."
Overhead projectors began displaying videos of towering piles of trash in
landfills onto the walls around the room. "That resource is the plastic and
foam materials created from oil."
"I'm not investing in a
trash to energy plant," complained a woman. Many others vehemently agreed.
"History has shown, they're not profitable, and we lose tens of millions of
dollars each year."
"Trash to energy is old
news. Converting that trash to fuel is the answer!" Peter nodded to the group.
"Nature will take thousands of years to biodegrade plastic and foam trash.
Every piece of plastic and foam discarded by man is still buried in a landfill
somewhere on this planet. That almost unlimited supply of resources, and my
bacteria, is what the world needs to fuel its cars."
"Fuel from plastic?
Absurd!" Someone shouted. Everyone loudly agreed.
"I want to hear more."
Another bank was intrigued. "Tell us how this process works."
"Simply put, Osiris
converts ordinary plastic and foam waste into synthetic fuel."
Everyone appeared shocked.
They began talking, expressing their views. Someone eventually said, "Where
will you get that much plastic?"
"My bacteria will
facilitate the need to recycle. Everyone will understand their efforts to save
our planet will also produce a cheap fuel for their vehicles."
"Can you get the buried
plastic trash out of landfills?" A woman said. Others shouted questions.
"I'm working with a major
equipment producer. We're developing machines to burrow through landfills to
retrieve plastic. So yes, it can be done."
"Hum, that is a marvelous
idea," one man said. Others agreed in conversations with colleagues.
"The demand for my bacteria
will outperform expectations when governments realize it will solve another
problem. Removing the plastic from landfills will make space available for more
trash.
"Waste disposal is the next
global crisis, because we're running out of landfills" remarked a woman. Others
agreed loudly. "I'm investing in compacting equipment."
Peter laughed. "My company
has the only solution that will make you money. Remove bulky plastic waste to
make more space. I can reopen closed landfills, and extend the life of active
landfills."
Conversations were heard
around the room. "Do you have the marketing strategy we can review?" Someone
said. Others shouted requests for more details of the bacteria.
"I'll share that
information with all of you. My financial projections show Model 276 will make
my company the most profitable in the world, even during this time of economic
crisis."
A banker rested his chin on
his hand, contemplating. "Helping the environment, while producing fuel, is an
intriguing concept." The others loudly agreed, showing their growing
enthusiasm.
A video of whales in the
ocean flashed onto the walls. The scene
changed to show miles of trash floating on the water. Music appropriate for a
funeral accompanied the video. "This is a lesser known problem." Peter took a
glass of water from waiter. He sipped it, intentionally pausing to give the
bankers time to view the vast array of plastic trash on the water.
"Is that garbage in the
ocean?" A frowning banker said. Everyone began shouting questions.
Peter continued,
"Two-hundred billion pounds of plastic products are produced each year. Ten
percent ends up in the ocean, creating what's known as the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch. One patch floats between California and Hawaii. It's twice the
size of Texas. The second patch is west of Hawaii."
"That's appalling," a
banker said while eating. Others were outraged. "We're destroying our oceans."
"Imagine how the price of
my company's stock price, after I announce Osiris will clean up the oceans,
while creating fuel."
Like others, a banker was
writing notes on napkins. "How will you retrieve that plastic?"
"Shipbuilders are designing
vessels to harvest the plastic. Osiris will convert it to fuel at sea. Each
time a ship docks, it will carry millions of gallons of cheaply produced fuel."
"Let's get back to basics,"
someone said. "How do you grow your bacteria?"
"In nothing more than a
cheap nutrient solution." Peter displayed a graphic on the walls.
The bankers studied the
numbers. "No costs, other than storage and application. This bacteria has great
potential." Skepticism in the room quick turned to loud enthusiasm.
"Is environmentally safe?"
Another banker said. Others shouted similar questions.
"Completely." Peter noticed
his technicians on the monitor were ready. "My brother Roger, the project's
lead scientist is ready to demonstrate Osiris."
Roger lifted a microphone
inside the laboratory. He stepped to the trough. "This area represents the
trash found in landfills. You'll now see how Osiris will biodegrade the
materials into a high flammable liquid which can be used as an alternative fuel
source."
"What happens to the
bacteria when it's done biodegrading?" A banker blared out. Everyone became
quiet.
Roger smiled after the
interruption. He was two years younger than his brother, but was more
charismatic. "After Osiris completes the biodegrading process, it dies from a
lack of nourishment. The cells remain in the created fuel, and are burned away
harmlessly in an internal combustion engine."
Another scientist stepped
to a control panel. "I'm Paul Jackson, one of the primary Osiris designers.
I'll apply Model 276 bacteria to the test items." A bluish green liquid began
spraying onto items in the trough from the small overhead tubes. The bacteria
coated the plastic and foam products.
"Now you'll see my bacteria
in action." Peter and his guests silently watched the monitor.
"I see something
happening," shouted one man, "The plastic bottles are collapsing."
"They're turning into a
liquid," said another excitedly. In her excitement she knocked over several
nearby champagne glasses. "It's working! I can see it working!"
"The entire pile of trash
is collapsing," remarked an amazed woman. "It's turning to liquid."
Thirty seconds later the
last of the trash seemed to disappear. Roger explained, "Thomas Goldberg will
now demonstrate the combustible characteristics the fuel Osiris created while
biodegrading the plastic."
A short and overweight man
removed a container filled with a bluish green liquid from under the trough.
"You could put this fuel into your car right now, and use it to get home." He
poured the liquid into a shallow plastic container. Then he placed an
electronic igniter into it. A large blue flame suddenly erupted from the
container, when the fuel ignited explosively.
Peter raised his hands,
symbolically calming everyone. "You are in no danger. That concludes our
demonstration of Osiris. A revolutionary bacterium that will help solve the
world's energy and trash problems. The latest product from Endeavor BioEngineering."
"This might be the most
important discovery in the past one hundred years," remarked one man.