Near noon, Emmanuel Brandt left Scobol's headquarters, located in the leased section of the Westeros Tech Park's eastern side. Driving across Egret Avenue, she headed toward Egret Park's western side, specifically the second section of Egret's headquarters near a green park. The first section had barely been completed when Egret began construction on this second zone, collectively covering 60 hectares.
The sheer scale of Egret's headquarters reflected the massive scope of the company.
In contrast, on the east side of Egret Avenue, Tinkerbell's 30-hectare headquarters was under construction alongside a 60-hectare leased office area. Over a hundred tech companies, including temporary tenants like Tinkerbell, Instagram, eBay, Scobol, and the newly acquired Broadcast, had set up operations here.
Following the address given by A-girl, Emmanuel parked outside one of Egret Headquarters' buildings. She didn't step out immediately. Instead, she took out a compact mirror from her bag to check her makeup carefully. She rarely paid much attention to her appearance, often prioritizing work over grooming, but today was different. She was about to have lunch with him.
Looking at her flawless, pale face in the mirror, Emmanuel felt a mix of frustration and self-pity. At six feet tall, with fair skin and an exceptional intellect, she perfectly matched his aesthetic—or so she believed. From the moment she met him, she had harbored certain feelings, but nothing had come of it.
Was it because of her red hair?
No, he wouldn't be swayed by such outdated notions.
Still, the thought crossed her mind to try dyeing her hair blonde, just to see if it made a difference.
As lunchtime approached, more people appeared in the area.
Three young men in matching shirts and trousers—obviously Egret employees—passed by her car and noticed her checking herself in the mirror. One of them couldn't help but stop and stare.
When Emmanuel finally stepped out in a sleek black business suit, her high heels accentuating her already towering height, one of the men walked over. Despite being shorter than her, he grinned confidently and extended his hand.
"Hi there, miss. Are you here for an interview?"
Emmanuel gave him a slightly bemused look. "Do I look like I'm here for an interview?"
The man didn't seem deterred by her tone and persisted with a smile. "I'm Jason. And well, it's lunchtime. How about joining us for a meal?"
Without acknowledging the outstretched hand, Emmanuel turned and walked away.
She couldn't help but mentally scoff.
Having been based in the Bay Area for over a year, Emmanuel had grown accustomed to the growing chaos of the tech industry. The new wave of tech wealth had inflated egos and created a culture of extravagance, attracting everything from call girls to drug dealers.
For example, the three men just now—despite Egret providing high-quality meals at its internal cafeterias—seemed ready to splurge elsewhere. Such behaviors grated on someone like Emmanuel, who came from a privileged background with refined values.
Inside the executive dining hall of Egret Headquarters, Emmanuel ran into Simon and Egret's senior leadership. She immediately switched gears, warmly greeting the boss with a hug and exchanging handshakes with the likes of Tim Berners-Lee.
Her evident favoritism earned a few teasing remarks, which she parried with a smile.
They didn't dine together. Simon chose a four-person table and gestured for Emmanuel to sit across from him, while A-girl joined him on the other side. "C will join us shortly," Simon said as he browsed the menu.
Emmanuel nodded.
As busy as Simon was, this lunch wasn't merely a social occasion; there was business to discuss.
After they placed their orders, C-girl arrived and took the only available seat diagonally across from Simon.
Once C-girl settled in, Simon got straight to the point. "You've reviewed the technical materials on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, right?"
Emmanuel nodded. These technologies had been on Simon's radar for years, and he had strategically secured them early on.
Egret's Australian division had discovered a professor at Sydney University developing wireless transmission technology three years ago, and Simon had promptly funded the project. As a result, Wi-Fi's patents fell under the Westeros System's control.
Similarly, Bluetooth standards had been spearheaded by Nokia, with support from Ericsson, Sony, and Toshiba, ensuring a unified framework. These moves gave the Westeros System a dominant position in both technologies.
"So," Simon continued, "you see where Scobol fits into this, right? Wireless communication chips."
Emmanuel immediately grasped his intent. "You want Scobol to pivot toward developing chips for wireless communication?"
"Exactly," Simon replied. "I've also reviewed the acquisition of Broadcom. Your approach makes sense, but there are some adjustments we need to make. That's what today is about—clarifying Scobol's next steps."
Scobol, whose value had skyrocketed past $20 billion due to the VCD boom and tech bubble, was worth far more than its intrinsic value. While the company had begun developing DVD decoding chips, it was clear that in the future, Scobol would lose its dominant position in the VCD market and be relegated to a minor player in the DVD industry.
To ensure its survival, Scobol needed to transform.
Simon had devised a strategy reminiscent of AOL's acquisition of Time Warner, using Scobol's inflated stock as currency to drive acquisitions in other sectors. Under Emmanuel's leadership, the company had already acquired three startups, including Broadcom.
Though Broadcom's current focus was on cable TV set-top box chips, Simon saw its potential to expand into wireless communication.
To emphasize the point, Simon pulled out an Apple Newton tablet from A-girl's bag and handed it to Emmanuel. "Take this. You're familiar with it, right? Apple's PDA product. Its positioning as a business assistant was a mistake. But we're not here to discuss that failure. After acquiring Apple, Tinkerbell will embark on a broader mobile connectivity initiative."
Emmanuel powered on the Newton and nodded. While she found the device interesting, it was undeniably overpriced at $900, with limited functionality and poor battery life.
"Mobile connectivity?" she asked. "How does this relate to the Newton?"
"Tablets will be the centerpiece," Simon explained. "Or more accurately, the ultimate form of mobile connectivity. I want Tinkerbell to consolidate its key products into a compact tablet."
C-girl interjected, "But won't that cannibalize our existing products, like the iPlayer and iCam?"
Simon smiled. "Cannibalizing your own market is better than letting someone else do it. Besides, these products won't disappear overnight."
Turning back to Emmanuel, Simon continued, "Scobol's role is to develop Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips to enable these devices to connect wirelessly to PCs and the internet."
The vision clicked for Emmanuel. Tinkerbell's current products had already reached massive global sales, and Scobol could secure its future by supplying the chips for this ecosystem.
Emmanuel's blue eyes sparkled with understanding. "If that's the case, shouldn't Scobol consider building its own wafer fab?"
"No," Simon said firmly. "The semiconductor industry evolves too quickly. Most companies will find it increasingly impractical to maintain their own fabs. Focus on design and let others handle manufacturing."
Simon hinted at his plans to invest in semiconductor manufacturing, particularly in Asia, where the upcoming financial crisis would create opportunities.
The discussion turned to more specifics over lunch. Tinkerbell's mobile connectivity plan would unfold in two phases.
By fall 1997, they would launch the iPad-10 as an e-book reader and music player. By 1998, with Scobol's chips ready, they would introduce Wi-Fi-enabled home routers and a micro-drive version of the iPad, heralding the mobile internet era.
By the end of the meal, Emmanuel fully grasped Simon's vision. For her, it was nothing short of genius, a decade-spanning strategy that only someone like Simon could conceive.
As they finished, Emmanuel hesitated before asking, "By the way, are you visiting FusionTimes soon?"
"Tomorrow afternoon," Simon replied. "I'll also check in on SolarCity."
Rising to leave, Simon declined Emmanuel's dinner invitation for the evening, explaining he had plans with Alice.
Outside, C-girl teased, "You could try visiting Alice tonight—maybe borrow a juicer?"
Emmanuel rolled her eyes. "And get thrown out? No thanks."
Walking back to her car, Emmanuel mulled over the whirlwind of ideas from lunch, amazed yet again by Simon's boundless foresight.
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