Times Square, Manhattan.
A summer thunderstorm had just passed. The air still hung heavy with mist, and sultry humidity rose from the pavement. It mixed with car exhaust and the greasy smoke from hot dog stands, turning the street into a sweltering, irritable haze.
A black, extended bulletproof sedan rolled to a stop at the curb, flanked by heavy black SUVs at the front and rear. The convoy took up nearly an entire lane.
A dozen security personnel in black suits fanned out along the sidewalk and around the vehicles. They stood in silence with their hands folded in front of them. Their broad frames and cold stares created an invisible barrier.
As the noisy crowd approached, people instinctively veered to either side, leaving a vacuum of empty space several meters wide in the middle of the chaotic square.
At the center of that empty zone sat a mobile cart selling tourist souvenirs. It was piled with cheap postcards, plastic snow globes, and mass-produced metal pendants.
Satsuki, dressed in a beige sleeveless dress, crouched in front of the cart. She carefully sifted through the crude handicrafts, her fingertips turning over a pile of metal keychains while she murmured to herself.
"Hmm, no. This one isn't ugly enough… What does 'ugly-cute' even mean? Where's the cute part supposed to be?"
The vendor was a middle-aged white man. He stood stiffly behind the cart with his hands gripping the edge of his stained apron.
He never imagined someone of her stature would actually stop at his stall. He had only seen this kind of scene in movies.
In films, NPCs like him were usually plot devices. If a gunman suddenly attacked, regardless of the target, a small vendor standing dead center would be the first to go.
He did his best to control his expression and forced an attentive smile, his eyes tracking the young girl crouched in front of his cart.
"Found it."
Satsuki's fingers paused, and she picked out two Statue of Liberty keychains. The paint had bled past the metal edges, and the statue's eyes were mismatched — one large, one small — giving them a comically ugly look.
Do Japanese people actually like this kind of thing? She was half-Japanese, after all.
Satsuki stood and clutched the keychains in her palm.
Fujita Tsuyoshi immediately stepped forward, pulled a crisp new hundred-dollar bill from his suit's inner pocket, and handed it over with both hands.
Satsuki took the bill from him and set it on the cart's counter.
"Ah… Miss, you—"
"Keep the change."
She spoke in fluent English, tucked the keychains into her handbag, and walked away, leaving the bewildered vendor behind. No plot had been triggered for him today.
Fujita Tsuyoshi fell into step beside her and bowed slightly, keeping his voice low.
"Eldest Miss, the flight plan and airspace clearance to Houston, Texas, have been confirmed. We can depart at any time."
Satsuki nodded and started toward the bulletproof sedan waiting by the road.
Just then, a burst of coarse shouting and cursing broke out at the edge of the security perimeter.
A stockbroker in a pinstripe suit was yelling into an enormous Motorola brick phone. Lower Manhattan's AMPS base stations were severely congested, and the electromagnetic interference from the recent rain made it worse. The call cut out in a burst of harsh static.
"Damn analog channels! Busy again!" The broker smacked the phone and complained loudly to a colleague. "When is the FCC finally going to roll out the TDMA digital network? This thing is useless in Lower Manhattan!"
Satsuki stopped walking.
Her gaze slipped through the gaps between her security team and landed on the bulky phone with its terrible reception.
When she heard the word TDMA, her eyes flickered with interest.
Analog networks had hit their physical limit. Right now, the entire United States was betting on TDMA as the future.
Right. That company… it should still be in its startup phase, shouldn't it?
A smile curved the corners of Satsuki's mouth.
Looks like there's dessert to be had after all. Might as well see if my acting skills have gone rusty.
"Cancel the Texas trip," she said. "Have Frank go instead. He can sign the contract in Houston on my behalf. At the same time, have S.A. Investment's New York headquarters send an official letter of inquiry to Qualcomm in San Diego, California. Request a business meeting at the highest level."
Fujita Tsuyoshi pulled a notebook from his pocket and jotted down the instructions quickly.
"Set the agenda as: 'The commercial implementation of CDMA technology in the Japanese market.'"
---
San Diego, California.
The June sun beat down relentlessly on the low-rise R&D buildings of Sorrento Valley's tech park, bleaching the off-white walls until they glared.
This place was nothing like Silicon Valley's bustle. Rents were low, and the area had attracted a cluster of startups that had yet to prove themselves to investors. Qualcomm's office was tucked away on the second floor of one such building.
To prepare for this hard-won meeting, the conference room had been hastily tidied. Oscilloscopes and coils of coaxial cable that usually crowded the corners were shoved onto iron racks against the wall, barely clearing enough space for a long walnut conference table. The air conditioner hummed quietly, struggling to hold back the summer heat seeping in from outside.
Founder Irwin Jacobs, wearing a crisp light blue shirt, sat at the head of the table.
Beside him were Dr. Andrew Viterbi and Harvey White, who handled business operations.
Although Jacobs and Viterbi had recently sold their first company, Linkabit, for a substantial sum, this group of theoretical multimillionaires had chosen not to retire.
Instead of enjoying financial freedom, they had crammed themselves into a rented industrial park and staked their entire fortunes on what the rest of the world called "a madman's technology." They were even worried about making next month's R&D payroll.
This was Qualcomm in 1990. It bore no resemblance to the global semiconductor and wireless communications giant it would become. It hadn't even gone public yet. It was still an infant.
The conference room door opened gently.
Satsuki walked in, with Fujita Tsuyoshi half a step behind her.
Jacobs and the other two stood almost in unison.
When they saw their visitor, all three paused. They had imagined many possibilities, but none of them expected S.A. Investment's representative to be such a young Asian girl. Her face looked almost unreasonably youthful, and it clashed sharply with the massive investment proposal they had received by fax.
But Jacobs recovered quickly. His decades of academic training, combined with his current desperate need for capital, didn't allow him to let even a flicker of hesitation show.
"Miss Saionji. Welcome to Qualcomm."
Jacobs extended his right hand.
Satsuki stepped forward and shook hands with the three founders in turn.
"Mr. Jacobs, Dr. Viterbi, Mr. White. It's an honor to meet you," Satsuki replied in fluent, gentle English.
They all took their seats.
Satsuki sat upright in the chair across the long table. She didn't open with pleasantries or empty bargaining. Her gaze swept calmly over the three men.
These core figures of the communications world looked exhausted. Their eyes were bloodshot, and their expressions carried a fatigue and defensiveness they couldn't quite hide.
"Gentlemen," Satsuki said, folding her hands on the table. Her voice cut clearly through the quiet conference room.
"I canceled my trip to Texas to sign an oil field agreement today and made a special detour to San Diego because the Saionji Family fully recognizes the underlying potential of CDMA technology."
She met the founders' eyes.
"I'm also aware that Qualcomm's current finances are tight. Rather than waste precious time on empty pleasantries, I'd prefer to show you the sincerity the Saionji Family is bringing to the table."
She nodded slightly to Fujita Tsuyoshi.
He stepped forward and opened a black briefcase. From it, he removed a copy of a massive cashier's check bearing the seal of Chase Manhattan Bank, along with an official Japanese 'Type II Telecommunications License' issued by Saionji Information System, or SIS.
He laid both documents on the conference table.
"S.A. Investment can immediately provide tens of millions of dollars in pure cash bridge funding," Satsuki said, looking at them. "This funding will be enough to support Qualcomm through the physical R&D phase for the next-generation communication standard. At the same time, the Saionji Family is willing to open the Shinjuku and Shibuya districts of Tokyo to provide the world's first large-scale commercial testbed for CDMA base stations."
What Qualcomm lacked most right now wasn't theoretical work. It was a real-world testing ground where that theory could be deployed and proven.
Without base stations, everything was just paper.
And now, massive funding and the long-dreamed-of physical testing ground were sitting in front of them.
White's gaze darted between the cashier's check and the telecommunications license. His Adam's apple bobbed. He tried to maintain his composure, but his hand had already clenched into a fist under the table.
Capital plus a real network. These were exactly the two missing pieces Qualcomm needed most.
Jacobs and Viterbi, sitting on either side of White, reacted more cautiously. The two scholars didn't rush to respond. Viterbi narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the young girl across from him the way he would scrutinize a PhD candidate defending a thesis.
When capital showed up at your door with terms this generous, their experience told them the other party usually wanted far more than what appeared on the surface.