Chapter 54. Syd Lucas (2)

Metaverse.

A compound word of "Universe," which means the real world, and "Meta," which means virtual.

A virtual world connected to the real world.

Another reality replicated from the real world.

A space where everything impossible in reality becomes possible.

It's a term known only to a few now, but in a few years, it will be used daily because the world will actually open up.

The person who created it is Syd Lucas, standing right in front of me.

He built Pangea, a massive metaverse platform that will unite the internet world. Not only that, he even created VR devices that can connect directly to the brain.

Pangea has even changed the appearance of the real world.

Just as thousands of employees gather in buildings to work, virtual buildings and offices have been established in the virtual space, and venues for performances and events have appeared.

Once you connect to Pangea, you can enjoy games, work, leisure, travel, performances, and more, transcending spatial constraints.

It might sound unbelievable, but just 30 years ago, few people thought that shopping malls, banks, and government offices would be inside the internet.

Change always happens faster than people's perceptions.

Because of Pangea, virtual reality games could emerge, and the future I know could unfold.

After explaining for a while, Syd then complained about something else.

"Ah! Do you know what's annoying me again?"

"What is it?"

"The company name is too lame. What's with CoolCloud, CoolCloud?"

I chimed in.

"I think so too. It's like, what? Attaching 'cool' makes it feel anything but cool."

Syd clapped his hands.

"That's exactly what I think!"

"Then, what name do you want to give the company?"

"I have one in mind."

"What is it?"

"Snow Crash."

"Is it from a novel?"

Incidentally, this is the first time the term "metaverse" was mentioned.

Syd was delighted.

"Oh! You know it."

Of course, I do.

Because once he became CEO, he changed the company name to that. The abbreviation was SC.

"Good name."

"Right? When I first suggested it, it was rejected."

Snow Crash later grew to become the world's largest company, surpassing NPL, NS, and AMZ. The person who made that possible is the young man standing in front of me.

Syd doesn't realize how great his abilities are. After all, he has only worked under Rolf from the beginning.

"But why do you keep working at CoolCloud? Have you ever thought about joining another company?"

"I've never worked anywhere else. They pay a good salary. Oh! And they gave me stocks."

As a core member who joined Rolf in the early days of the company, Syd received 10 percent initially.

However, a capital increase was carried out for additional investment, significantly reducing his share. The two people took care of his share, and he now holds 5 percent.

That alone amounts to 2 trillion won in Korean currency.

From this, it seems the two people also recognize Syd's importance.

That's why Rolf was angry when I handed him my business card.

However, the CoolCloud shares Syd received come with a non-compete clause for five years. If he leaves the company before that, he has to return all of them.

This is a common practice in Silicon Valley, where employees are voluntarily tied to the company, known as the "golden handcuffs."

"Actually, money isn't a big deal. I don't spend it anyway. But working at CoolCloud is quite fun. Other companies probably don't have a program like Minerva. I've seen other programs, but they're nothing special. I don't think I could recreate Minerva even if I tried. It's really a genius who made it."

"Not Rolf, the idiot?"

"Yes. I'd like to meet him if I knew who he was."

Seeing him talk with bright eyes, it seems he really enjoys working at CoolCloud. I felt a bit envious.

Being passionate about something is a good thing.

Syd, as if something came to mind, said,

"Ah! But what did you say earlier?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said 'Zombie Tornado 2' would resume filming."

"Oh... right..."

Syd looked at me skeptically.

"Are you lying?"

"It's the truth. Because I bought the studio."

Syd's eyes widened at my words.

"Prisoner?"

"Yes. Prisoner is mine now. And as soon as I acquired it, I ordered the resumption of 'Zombie Tornado 2' filming."

"Wow!"

Syd raised his arms in joy, genuinely happy.

"Zombie Tornado 2 is coming out!"

He wouldn't be this happy even if his stock hit the ceiling.

After a moment, he asked as if something came to mind.

"Did you meet Director Peter Boyd?"

"Of course."

"Did he tell you where the zombies in the tornado came from? It's what Zombie Tornado fans are most curious about."

"It would be a spoiler if I told you."

I didn't hear it directly from the director, but I know it from the first run of the series.

Syd pleaded,

"It's okay, please tell me. I can't sleep sometimes because I'm so curious."

David's expression seemed to say, "What, you can't sleep over this?"

Anyway, if he's okay with it, it should be fine.

I told him the setting revealed in the third part.

"There's a dimensional door inside the tornado. Those zombies were from another world."

It's literally a setting from another world.

"Uh..."

David gasped in shock, and Syd clenched his fist and shouted,

"Of course! I knew it! I've always argued that it would be that setting. But there are many people who argue that people who have been sucked into the tornado and died from ancient times to the present have become zombies. I argued with them on the bulletin board for days. Of course, it is!"

"..."

What, are you having keyboard battles over such trivial things?

Anyway, with the setting of a dimensional door inside the tornado, all sorts of things start popping out of the tornado as the series continues.

In the sixth part, a zombie dragon appeared, didn't it? (This is also thanks to the increased budget)

Syd talked at length about the story and his impressions of Zombie Tornado.

The last image I remember of him is as the great genius who created Pangea and the CEO of the world's largest company.

If it were the first run, I wouldn't have dared to even speak to him.

So, I sometimes felt a halo around him, but when I saw him again, he just looked like a younger brother.

Syd looked at me and asked,

"Can I call you 'bro'?"

I leaned back in my chair and said,

"Sure, whatever you like."

* * *

When I thought about my future plans, Syd was a necessary presence. Therefore, I thought it was necessary to build a relationship with him.

I was a bit worried about how to talk to a genius, but we became friends easily.

I never thought I'd be called 'bro' by the greatest genius of the 21st century.

After Syd left, David looked at me and asked,

"What's your plan?"

"What plan?"

"Did you lure the head of CoolCloud's development team without any plan?"

"I just wanted to get back at them for rejecting my investment."

"..."

"I was joking. I still want to invest in CoolCloud. But since they don't want to accept the investment, I want to shake things up a bit."

"You don't mean to take Syd Lucas away from CoolCloud, do you?"

"That won't be easy."

It's true that I've won his heart to some extent, but it's still hard to say he's completely on my side. He has a long history with Rolf, and there's the stock option issue.

Actually, the plan was set from the beginning.

To take over CoolCloud.

CoolCloud, renamed Snow Crash, will dominate as a company surpassing NPL, NS, and AMZ.

But at that point, most of the shares will belong to the initial investors.

So, what about this time?

I'll take it all!

To hold and shake the super-giant company that will dominate the future. It might seem impossible, but this is the only moment I have a chance.

Of course, I don't just have a goal without a plan. CoolCloud has a fatal weakness.

"Didn't Syd say something interesting earlier?"

David thought for a moment and said,

"About the possibility that Rolf didn't create Minerva?"

"Yes."

I nodded and said,

"It's not just because of what Syd said, but I also had some doubts. I did some research on CoolCloud, and from what I've seen of his past businesses, he focused more on publicity and marketing rather than developing programs himself."

"Are you saying he's not a genius?"

"Not exactly."

If he weren't a genius, he wouldn't have created a program at 12 and entered MIT. By my standards, he's definitely a genius.

"Once, I played a famous role-playing game where there was a character that grew faster than others. At the same level, it outperformed other characters, so it was useful in the early stages. But there was one problem."

"What?"

"The experience points needed to level up were much higher compared to other characters. By level 20, it was hard to level up, and in the later stages of the game, I had to use other characters."

David immediately understood what I meant.

"Are you saying Rolf Butch is such a character?"

One misconception people have is that geniuses keep growing. But in reality, there are cases where they regress.

"Have you heard of a child who was called a genius when young but became ordinary as they grew up?"

The reason is that they bloomed earlier than others but had a set limit.

If you look, you'll find many such cases.

"He might have been a unique genius five years ago, but there are probably many geniuses like him now."

"But he has consistently run businesses even after the tinting, and a few of them were quite successful."

"All of them were partnerships. The actual program development could have been done by others. There are many cases where someone with no real talent is highly evaluated. Whether it's a person or a company. Remember Mercedes Watson, who was called an innovator in Silicon Valley until last year?"

David nodded.

"You mean Therapis."