Chapter 120: Chapter 120: The Launch Event – Part 1

LAUNCH DAY, 6:00 PM – AURORA CONVENTION CENTER

The Aurora Convention Center’s Innovation Hall was designed to impress. Twenty-meter-high ceilings. Holographic projection systems built into every surface. Five thousand seats arranged in a gentle amphitheater facing the main stage. Every seat had a perfect view.

Tonight, every single seat was filled.

Mark Webb, a tech journalist for New Eden Tech Review, arrived ninety minutes early and still barely found a seat. He’d covered product launches for fifteen years. Apple, Tesla, QuantumOS, NexCore—he’d seen them all.

This felt different.

The energy in the hall was electric. People weren’t just curious—they were excited. Conversations buzzed around him.

“—downloaded Aether OS last week and my 10 year old laptop runs better than when I had it brand new—”

“—my daughter was selected as a demo user for something called the scientific module. She used it for her biology homework. She designed a protein structure in ten minutes that would’ve taken her professors days—”

“—I’m just here to see if the CEO is really that handsome in person—”

Mark pulled out his tablet and started a live stream. His channel had 10,800,000 subscribers. Tonight would probably double or triple that.

“Good evening, everyone. Mark Webb here at the Aurora Convention Center for what might be the biggest product launch of the decade. Starr Technologies—formerly Innovatia—has taken the tech world by storm. Their Aether OS hit 5.8 billion downloads in under two weeks. That’s not a typo. Billion. With a freaking B, That’s more than half the worlds population.”

He panned the camera across the packed hall. “Five thousand people here in person. The virtual attendance stream shows over 3.2 million people watching worldwide. Major news networks are carrying this live. Why? Because Starr Technologies has been producing impossible technology at an impossible pace. And their CEO, Orion Starr, has become an internet phenomenon.”

Someone behind him laughed. “Phenomenon is an understatement. Did you see those videos? The man looks photoshopped.”

Mark smiled and continued. “For those who haven’t seen them, Orion Starr went viral last week when videos of him at a salon and clothing store hit the internet. People are calling him the ’Handsome God.’ #HandsomeGod has over 100 million posts. But here’s what’s really interesting—later that day, employees at Starr HQ posted more videos. That’s when people realized: the viral sensation was the same person who created Aether OS.”

The lights in the hall dimmed slightly. The crowd noise dropped.

“Looks like we’re about to start,” Mark whispered into his camera. “Stay tuned.”

BACKSTAGE

Cassia Starr stood behind the curtain, taking a deep breath. She’d given presentations before—countless corporate meetings, investor pitches, budget reviews. But never to five thousand people in person and millions watching live.

“Nervous?” Orion asked, standing beside her.

“A little. This is bigger than anything I’ve done.”

“You’ll be great. Just be yourself.”

Cassia smiled. She was wearing the Starr AR BCI Earbuds—sleek black devices that looked like premium wireless earbuds. Nobody in the audience would know they were actually reading her brain activity.

“Rene, you there?” she thought.

“Always,” Rene’s voice came through the bone conduction speakers. “I have all presentation materials ready. If you forget anything or need information, just think the question. I’ll provide answers instantly.”

“Thank you.”

Orion squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll be watching from the control room. You’ve got this, Mom.”

He walked away, heading toward the backstage technical area.

Cassia heard the stage manager’s voice through her earpiece. “Mrs. Starr, you’re on in thirty seconds.”

She straightened her blazer. Smiled. Walked toward the stage entrance.

ON STAGE – 6:30 PM

The lights came up on the main stage. A massive holographic display floated behind the podium, currently showing the Starr Technologies logo—a stylized star with circuit-like patterns.

Cassia walked out. The crowd applauded politely.

She reached the podium and smiled warmly. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming. I’m Cassia Starr, CEO of Starr Technologies.”

The applause continued. She waited for it to die down.

“Now, I know what many of you are thinking. ’Where’s the handsome god? Where’s Orion? We didn’t come here to see his mom.’”

Laughter rippled through the audience. Some people looked embarrassed at being called out.

Cassia grinned. “It’s okay. I’ve seen the hashtags. I’ve seen the videos. My son is absurdly good-looking. I can’t explain it—good genes, I guess? But here’s the thing about Orion: he’s not one for public appearances. Right now, he’s either in a laboratory or on his computer designing something impossible. That’s just who he is.”

More laughter. People were relaxing.

“So you’re stuck with me tonight. But I promise, what we’re about to show you is worth it.”

The holographic display changed. The Aether OS logo appeared.

“Most of you have already downloaded Aether OS. You’ve experienced the speed, the efficiency, the integrated AI assistants. You’ve seen how it transforms productivity. But what you might not have explored fully is a feature we included specifically for researchers, students, scientists, and engineers.”

The display shifted to show the Scientific Module interface.

“This is the Starr Scientific Simulator. And it’s going to change how research is conducted worldwide.”

A murmur went through the crowd. Scientists and engineers leaned forward.

Cassia continued. “The Simulator allows you to run laboratory-quality experiments virtually. No physical setup required. No expensive equipment. No waiting for materials. You design your experiment in software, and the Simulator runs physics-accurate simulations. Chemistry, biology, materials science, engineering—all disciplines are supported.”

She demonstrated on the screen. A molecular structure appeared. “Let’s say you want to test a new pharmaceutical compound. Traditionally, you’d need to synthesize it, run trials, analyze results. Takes months. Costs millions.”

The molecule transformed, showing interactions with cellular structures. “With the Simulator, you input your compound design. The system models how it interacts with human cells. You see binding affinities, metabolic pathways, potential side effects—all in minutes.”

Impressed whispers.

“But that’s just the beginning. The Simulator includes an AI assistant that doesn’t just run your experiments—it helps you design them. It suggests hypotheses, identifies research directions you might not have considered, and provides real-time feedback on your methodology.”

An older man in the front row raised his hand. Cassia nodded. “Yes, sir?”

“Dr. James Morrison, MIT. That sounds impressive, but simulations are only as good as their underlying models. How accurate are your physics engines?”

“Excellent question. Rene?”

Instantly, data appeared on the screen—validation studies, benchmark comparisons, error margins.

Rene’s voice came through the speakers, warm and professional. “Dr. Morrison, the Simulator uses quantum-accurate molecular dynamics for chemistry simulations, finite element analysis for materials testing, and computational fluid dynamics for engineering applications. Our accuracy has been validated against real-world experimental data across hundreds of test cases. Typical error margins are less than 0.2%.”

Everyone was surprised at the sudden voice and who RENE was.

But other scientist were more surprised at the statement she made.

Dr. Morrison’s eyebrows went up. “Less than 0.2%? Are you sure? That’s years ahead better than most scientific simulation packages.”

“Significantly better. And it runs faster—typical simulations complete in minutes rather than hours or days.”

Another hand went up. A woman in her forties. “Dr. Sully Sue, TSMC. I work in semiconductor design. Can your Simulator handle nanoscale quantum effects in transistor modeling?”

“Yes,” Rene replied. Information appeared on screen. “The Simulator includes full quantum mechanical modeling down to the atomic level. You can design and test transistor architectures at 1 nanometer scale or below, accounting for quantum tunneling, electron interference, and thermal effects.”

Dr. Chen looked skeptical but intrigued.

Cassia smiled. “I can see you’re not entirely convinced. That’s fair. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. So let’s do a live demonstration.”

The crowd’s attention sharpened.

“I’ve invited several distinguished scientists and engineers to join me on stage. We’re going to use the Simulator to design something challenging. Something that normally takes years of research and millions in funding. And we’re going to do it in about an hour.”

She gestured toward the side of the stage. “Please welcome Dr. Terry Zhao, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford. Dr. Yuki Tanaka, Chief Materials Scientist at Samsung. Dr. Sully sue from TSMC, whom we just heard from. Dr. Morr Din from Intel’s Advanced Technology Group. And Dr. Amara Okafor, who actually works at our Starr Labs facility but was previously a fusion researcher at ITER.”

Five people walked onto the stage. The audience applauded. These were recognized names in their fields—serious researchers with impressive credentials.

They arranged themselves behind a long table that had been set up on stage. Five workstations, each with a large monitor and input devices.

Dr. Zhao looked at Cassia. “Thank you for inviting us. Though I admit, when Starr Technologies calls with an interesting proposition, you don’t exactly say no.”

Cassia laughed. “I appreciate you coming. Now, here’s the challenge I’m giving you: I want you to work together to design a new transistor architecture. Something better than current state-of-the-art. Better performance, lower power consumption, better heat dissipation. And you have about an hour.”

Dr. Sully from TSMC shook her head. “Mrs. Starr, with all respect, that’s not realistic. Developing a new transistor architecture takes years. Teams of researchers. Extensive testing. We can’t—”

“I know it seems impossible,” Cassia interrupted gently. “But I want you to trust the tools I’m about to give you. Humor me for an hour. If the Simulator doesn’t deliver what I’m promising, you can tell the world I was wrong.”

The scientists exchanged glances. Dr. Tanaka shrugged. “Well, we’re here. Might as well try.”

“Excellent.” Cassia walked to the table. “Before we start, I need to give you something.”

She opened a sleek black case sitting on the table. Inside were five pairs of Starr AR BCI Earbuds and five smartwatches.

The audience leaned forward.

“These,” Cassia said, holding up a pair of earbuds, “are Starr AR Brain-Computer Interface devices. They allow you to control your computer with your thoughts.”

Silence. Then murmurs of disbelief.

Dr. Zhao picked up a pair skeptically. “Brain-computer interfaces are experimental medical devices. They require surgery, calibration, extensive training—”

“Not anymore, a breakthrough has been made here at Starr labs.” Cassia said. “These are completely non-invasive. You wear them like normal earbuds. The sensors detect electrical activity in your brain through your skin. The smartwatch processes the signals. Within a few minutes, the system learns your individual neural patterns and can translate your thoughts into commands.”

She showed her pair that she was already wearing to the audience. “Let me demonstrate.”

The monitor behind her lit up. A cursor appeared on the screen.

Cassia didn’t touch anything. Didn’t speak. Just thought.

The cursor moved. Opened a folder. Selected a file. Brought up a document.

All without her hands moving.

The audience gasped.

“I’m thinking the commands,” Cassia explained. “The BCI reads my neural activity and translates it into computer actions. Watch.”

Text began appearing on the document. Hello everyone. This is me typing with my thoughts. No keyboard. No voice recognition. Just pure thought-to-text translation.

The hall erupted. People stood up. Cameras flashed. Reporters started talking rapidly into their microphones.

Mark Webb’s hands were shaking as he filmed. “This is… this is impossible. This is science fiction.”

On stage, the five scientists stared at Cassia with identical expressions of shock.

Dr. Okafor recovered first. “Can I try?”

“Please.” Cassia handed her a set.

Dr. Okafor put on the earbuds and the watch. “Now what?”

“Just think about moving the cursor on your screen,” Rene’s voice said through the speakers. “The system is calibrating to your neural patterns right now. Give it about thirty seconds.”

They waited. Dr. Okafor stared at her monitor, concentrating.

Suddenly, the cursor jumped. Moved erratically at first, then smoother. Started drawing shapes and then imagining complex images and structures on the screen.

“Oh my god,” Dr. Okafor whispered. “It’s working. I’m controlling it with my mind.”

“Try typing,” Cassia suggested.

Dr. Okafor thought. Text appeared: This is incredible.

The other four scientists immediately put on their BCI sets. Within minutes, all five were controlling their computers with thought alone.

The audience watched, mesmerized.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep