Chimpanzee Caesar

A silver Chrysler drove into the State University of New York. Sean and Harry both attended Stony Brook, located on suburban Long Island. It was a renowned public research university in the United States, enjoying a high academic reputation worldwide and known as a "Public Ivy."

The car entered the campus, followed a lush tree-lined road, and finally stopped before a rather old cluster of white buildings. This had originally been a laboratory established by the university. Many prominent figures in the scientific community, even several Nobel Prize winners, had come from here. It was later purchased with funding from Norman Osborn and handed over to Dr. Connors as a research site.

It had changed hands again recently, bought outright by a businessman from Hell's Kitchen. It now belonged to Curt Connors.

Naturally, Harry had no idea about any of that as he stepped out of the car. He took a deep breath, unable to suppress his unease. After his conversation with Sean a few days ago, he had carefully reviewed the research data that had been sent over, then submitted it to Osborn Industries' R&D department for evaluation. Their conclusion was that this new drug had an extremely promising profit outlook.

Still somewhat doubtful, Harry had decided to make the trip himself. If the final results satisfied him, then saving Osborn Industries from its crisis would no longer be a hopeless prospect.

"Harry, you came earlier than I expected." Sean and Dr. Connors stood on the steps, clearly pleased by their guest's arrival. "Would you like a look around first, or should we go see Caesar right away?"

"Take me for a walk. I've never been here before." Harry smiled, unwilling to seem too impatient.

Sean nodded and said to Dr. Connors beside him, "Then I'll show Harry around first. Doctor, go bring Caesar out. Be careful, that little guy hasn't been in a good mood lately."

The taciturn one-armed middle-aged man nodded in agreement. He was not skilled at socializing to begin with, and Osborn Industries had decisively abandoned Connors when he had needed help most. Thus, he had little goodwill toward the massive corporation now facing trouble.

In any case, he could leave everything to Sean. This student always delivered satisfactory results, and Sean had developed this new drug for brain degeneration as well. Connors had merely participated in some of the improvement work.

That was what Connors thought as he turned away. He was a pure scientist, and he had always been grateful to Sean for pulling him out of a difficult period in his life.

"At present, the laboratory's core project remains Dr. Connors' cross-species genetics research. Limb regeneration also holds vast potential in the medical industry, so I imagine we'll have plenty of opportunities to cooperate with Osborn Industries."

Sean walked ahead, speaking fluently, while Harry followed behind and silently observed the somewhat aging laboratory. Osborn Industries had its own research division and invested huge sums every year into projects across various fields. The previous glider and human enhancement programs, for example, had been projects accepted to curry favor with the Department of Defense.

Technological research and development was an industry that demanded enormous investment, and it did not yield returns every time. As the new president of Osborn Industries, Harry naturally knew that many research projects that seemed highly promising at first glance were actually fantasies that could never be realized. Even enormous funding might bring no return at all.

If Sean really is a scientific genius...

Harry looked at the young man introducing the laboratory. Sean was about the same age as him, yet every gesture carried a steady presence that made people instinctively trust him.

Perhaps his friend truly was a genius like Tony Stark or Reed Richards. Otherwise, why would Dr. Connors heed his every word?

"Hey, Harry, why are you here?"

Gwen, carrying a stack of files, asked in surprise. She had heard about Osborn Industries' recent situation too. This classmate who had inherited his father's business had already taken a leave of absence, so why was he at Dr. Connors' laboratory?

"Sean has a great product, so I came to take a look. Maybe it can bring the company back from the brink." Harry winked at Sean beside him. As the experienced Young Master Osborn, he could naturally tell that Gwen had quite a crush on his friend.

Sean laughed speechlessly. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Gwen, he led Harry to the center of the laboratory, where Dr. Connors had already completed the preparations and was waiting for them.

"This is Caesar, a chimpanzee from the South African Rainforest." Through the transparent glass window, Sean introduced the young chimpanzee sitting in the room. "Apes and humans have very similar DNA. Chimpanzee DNA differs from human DNA by less than one percent, so I chose a chimpanzee as the subject for a live experiment."

"What is it doing?" Harry stood before the glass, confused.

The young chimpanzee named Caesar sat obediently in a chair like a well-behaved student. On the table stood a rack and several metal discs of varying sizes. A researcher walked in carrying a plate of fruit.

"The Tower of Hanoi. It involves moving those discs from one peg to another, without ever placing a larger disc on top of a smaller one. The perfect answer is fifteen moves. Caesar can do it in twenty, and over the past few days, he's improved to sixteen."

Harry could hardly believe it. The chimpanzee expertly moved the metal discs, swiftly completed the game, and then received the plate of fruit from the researcher.

"This... is unbelievable!"

Sean was not surprised by Harry's reaction. Dr. Connors had worn the same stunned expression when he first saw it. "At first, Caesar couldn't complete this game. No matter how we trained him, he couldn't form thinking memories. Later, I injected him with a drug called ALZ-112. It's a genetic drug that allows the brain to create cells and repair itself. In biology, this is called neurogenesis."

"Of course, more simply put, you can think of it as a miracle drug for Alzheimer's disease—senile dementia!"

Harry looked at the chimpanzee in the room, which was learning simple pictures and words, and felt an irrepressible surge of excitement. This was an unprecedented new drug, enough to bring Osborn Industries massive returns!

"Are there any side effects?" In his excitement, Harry seemed to remember something and suddenly asked.

He naturally had not forgotten that the human enhancement program which had dragged Osborn Industries into the abyss had been abandoned by the Department of Defense precisely because they could not resolve the side effects caused by the injections.

"There is one." Sean looked at the tense Harry and smiled faintly. "So far, Drug 112 has displayed only one side effect. For some reason, green spots have appeared on the chimpanzee's irises, but that probably won't manifest in humans."

"So, what do you think? Shall we work together, Harry?" Sean calmly held the other man's gaze. The moment for a final decision had arrived. "This drug isn't limited to Alzheimer's disease. It's equally applicable to different kinds of neurological disorders. Its potential is limitless, and it can bring us enormous profits!"

Harry fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting to the chimpanzee in the room, which seemed no different from a human. He made his decision. With Osborn Industries' power and connections, ALZ-112 could enter production and reach the market in the shortest possible time.

"One human trial is still needed, Sean. If the results continue to satisfy everyone, Osborn Industries will become your partner!"

Sean raised an eyebrow, patted Harry on the shoulder, and smiled. "Of course. Do you remember what I told you?"

"The future belongs to you and me!" The young man's eyes shone with fierce confidence.