Chapter 62: You Can’t Do Research, You’ll Go Bald

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: You Can’t Do Research, You’ll Go Bald

Rian Sinclair looked at the few people in front of her. The hair on their heads was sparse—this was the result of overusing their brains in scientific research! She took a half-step back and unnaturally reached out to touch the top of her own head. She thought, "Thank goodness. I’m not bald."

The researchers on the first floor were supposed to be conducting experiments in their labs, waiting to be notified before coming to see the boss. However, they genuinely hadn’t the faintest clue about the experiments they were tasked with. Hearing that the boss was arriving, they had hurried out to welcome her. Before this, they had been slacking off, working a strict nine-to-six schedule with weekends off. But their lost hair wasn’t coming back. Even with such a healthy lifestyle, just showing up to the company consumed a wave of brain cells.

"Hello, Ms. Sinclair. My name is Kent Kramer, and I’m in charge of the lithography machine research," the leading man said.

As Rian Sinclair listened to the introductions, she couldn’t help but notice that the key researchers barely had any hair left on their heads.

Upon receiving instructions from Ms. Sinclair, Quentin Sinclair looked at the group of researchers. "Let’s head to the conference room first to discuss the future direction of your research."

Hearing that last sentence, the standing researchers were ready to burst into tears. Finally, they could discuss their research direction! They could fight to save the few remaining hairs on their heads.

In the conference room, Rian Sinclair sat at the head of the table. The only attendees were the ten key personnel responsible for the four main research projects; the rest remained in their respective labs.

"Tell me about the current status of the experiments you have on hand," she demanded.

The ten researchers didn’t know what to say. After all, they hadn’t produced any results whatsoever. But they were employed here—what if they admitted their lack of progress and got fired? Nowadays, research institutes were fully staffed. Even if they managed to get into one, they would only be relegated to menial tasks, the kind where their names would never even appear in published papers.

Kent Kramer felt a bit guilty. "It’s all... more or less there."

The entire conference room fell dead silent.

With a cold expression, Rian Sinclair slammed her teacup onto the table. A dull THUD echoed throughout the room, and a little tea spilled over the rim.

"More or less there? Does that mean you’ve figured out all four hundred thousand components? Do you have a complete industrial system in place? Have you developed the crucial materials or the incredibly difficult high-precision machine tools? Do you have any idea how long Veridia has been working on lithography machines?

"Or do you still think you can create a room-temperature superconductor? If you manage to pull that off, Einstein himself would rise from the grave to give you a thumbs-up. If you make it happen, you’ll be the pioneers driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

"Or perhaps you’ve touched the threshold of controllable nuclear fusion?

"You probably think nuclear fusion is just like solar energy, where the raw material is hydrogen, and hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.

"But what’s the reality? Among hydrogen isotopes, protium is the most abundant, accounting for 99.98 percent. The deuterium content is extremely low, making up about 0.02 percent in nature. As for tritium, it has a half-life of twelve years and cannot exist in nature for long periods, so its content is virtually negligible.

"However, the fusion reaction equation primarily uses deuterium and tritium, and superheavy hydrogen can be produced by bombarding lithium-6 with neutrons.

"But do you know the cost?"

Rian Sinclair glanced around. Everyone had lowered their heads in silence. She continued, "Manufacturing a single kilogram of tritium easily costs hundreds of millions of US Dollars."

The people in the conference room remained speechless. Rian Sinclair felt rather exasperated. She wasn’t saying all this to mock them.

"I’m telling you this because I want you to speak truthfully, not give me ambiguous answers.

"In scientific research, I only want you to be grounded in reality. I know the tasks your previous boss gave you were completely out of reach. I came to this company to have you build a staircase, not to have you instantly reach for the moon."

Kent Kramer looked at the boss seated at the head of the table. His first reaction wasn’t joy over changing their research direction, but shock that their boss could effortlessly rattle off such technical jargon. He stammered, "Ms... Ms. Sinclair, do you also do scientific research?"

"No. Don’t understand it. Don’t ask," Rian Sinclair replied with a direct triple denial. "Send your proposed future research directions to Quentin Sinclair. He will finalize your topics. Don’t bother sending over anything wildly unrealistic."

As the representative of the researchers, Kent Kramer naturally nodded in agreement. "Understood, Ms. Sinclair. It’s just... we’re not sure about the current salary situation." He felt a bit embarrassed bringing this up. Looking at their young big boss, asking a junior for money felt rather shameful.

Rian Sinclair didn’t think much of it. Working for her obviously meant getting paid. "Quentin will communicate with you regarding salaries later. If you produce results, there will be bonuses, and they won’t be small. It all depends on who among you has the capability to earn this money from me."

After the meeting, Rian Sinclair took Quentin Sinclair to the office. It had originally belonged to the manager, but the man had resigned as soon as the boss changed. This worked out perfectly, giving her a place to rest.

"Ms. Sinclair, do you have any specific requirements for their research direction?" Quentin asked.

Rian Sinclair shook her head. "These people don’t have the right qualifications. Only a few of them have ever published an SCI paper, and before joining this company, they didn’t hold high positions elsewhere either. Relying on them for research? That’s just throwing money away for them to play with." Having reviewed their files, she was truly amazed by the previous boss. Trying to pull off something massive with just a handful of mediocre talents? Talk about a fool’s dream.

Quentin Sinclair nodded. "Should we dismiss them, then?"

Rian Sinclair paused for a moment. "Not for now. Have them research artificial intelligence. We’ll weed out the bad and keep the good."

"Understood, Ms. Sinclair." As if suddenly recalling something, Quentin inquired, "Would you like to do some research yourself? I can have someone clear out a lab for you." He was thinking about what she had said in the conference room and Kent’s ensuing confusion, even though her words would have been considered commonplace on his home planet.

Rian Sinclair hesitated briefly. She was slightly tempted, especially after her brain’s secondary evolution had made things much clearer. But the moment she thought about the sparse remaining hair on those researchers’ heads, she temporarily dismissed the idea. She couldn’t afford to bear the overwhelming burden of such immense wealth and success just yet.

"No need. I’m not interested," she said. "I just want to eat, drink, and have fun. Professional matters should be left to the professionals, rather than having a finance major like me dabble in scientific research."

Quentin Sinclair was puzzled. He could see that she was tempted, yet her words completely contradicted her inner thoughts. For a moment, he wondered if he had misread her. Still, he decided to keep a lab reserved for her. After all, there were plenty of empty ones, and saving one for her wouldn’t hinder anyone else’s experiments.

Unaware of Quentin’s thoughts, Rian Sinclair flipped through the documents, letting her mind wander. All she wanted was for Veridia to remain forever prosperous and thriving.

After finishing the documents, Rian Sinclair set them aside. "Quentin, I’m leaving the company’s affairs in your hands."

Quentin Sinclair nodded and neatly organized the files. Having said her piece, Rian stood up and left. By now, the sky outside had grown dark.

Rian Sinclair looked up at the starry night sky. She reached out as if to touch it, but could only feel the gentle breeze brushing past. The total mass of everything visible and tangible amounted to a mere five percent of this universe. The rest lay quietly hidden all around. They were dark matter and dark energy.

Everyone was embraced by this dark matter and dark energy; they formed the world as it was today.

It was time to go home.