Portfolio: Rayari Inc.

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.6.
“Promote growth”
This simple adage has been the mantra of a company that has stayed on the forefront of agricultural technology for almost two hundred years. This mantra has been the motivation behind all the company’s pursuits and has driven their cutting-edge research. Although many know Rayari for their multiple initiatives and charities committed to ending hunger, and as the administrators of Reza’s Landing arcology on Vosca, not many know the origins of the company itself, particularly that its founders met while working for Imperator Messer XI.

A Dark Origin
The year was 2778. Ulysses Messer X was currently fixated on what he hoped would be his legacy: the Khanos Stadium on Angeli. The Imperator had been steadily implementing an Empire-wide ‘renaissance of architecture’ that was intended to exalt Humanity and his family line for millennia to come. Something had changed in the public, though. After centuries of oppression, the seeds of rebellion were taking root. With the death of Anthony Tanaka in 2757, the population was beginning to pull against the chains of its imprisonment.

During this time, Ulysses Messer may have been obsessed with his buildings, but he wasn’t completely ignorant of the growing dissatisfaction in the public. Though he ultimately believed that the completion of the Khanos Stadium would inspire and unify the populace, he wasn’t averse to throwing the people a bone or two to pacify them in the meantime.

The Imperator drafted a challenge throughout the various Imperial departments, looking for public projects entirely intended to act as morale boosters until the stadium could be completed. Selected proposals would receive full funding under the condition that they could be implemented quickly and cheaply. Messer X didn’t care where the ideas came from, he just wanted them fast.

Meanwhile, deep in a research lab on Persei, Edward Kesamyn, Clara Douglas, and Asif Reader had hit a wall. The three young scientists, all fresh graduates of UPARQ, had been hired by the Agriculture Department and tasked with developing a new fermentation compound that could act as a preservative. Edward’s specialty was biochemistry, Clara focused on agricultural biotechnology, and Asif’s degree was in genetics. They were six months into the project and had little to show for it when the Imperator’s proposition arrived.

The three initially disregarded the contest, but found themselves brainstorming ideas while having drinks one night in the neighborhood bar. The conversation became more and more intense as they ordered more rounds; by the end of the night, they had an idea.

Clara had grown up in a very poor family on Hyperion. Her father had always attempted to farm the windswept property outside their modest home in the hopes of producing their own food. And he had always said, “it doesn’t need to be anything special, just a basic vegetable we can cook.” Unfortunately, if the soil didn’t reject the plant outright, the desert’s consistent windstorms would finish the job.

The three started discussing the Revenant Tree (altrucia lacus) and how that was able to quickly adapt to Hyperion’s wind patterns and dry soil. Inspired by the wine they were drinking, Edward recounted the ancient Phylloxera aphid plague that threatened Earth’s vineyards. Entomologists figured out that they could graft aphid-resistant rootstock to the bottom of the susceptible vines to avoid the deadly bug. They wondered if a similar solution could be used for her family on Hyperion. In fact, figuring out a way to graft roots of indigenous plants to common crops could open up numerous agricultural opportunities to the entire Empire. They knew that the larger companies could pull off this kind of procedure, but not independent farmers, so they decided to see if they could come up with a simple, affordable way to put this technology in the public’s hands.

The bar closed and the three went straight back to the lab. For the next month, they spent every waking moment examining the feasibility of the idea and constructed a pitch to submit to the Imperator’s office.

To their surprise, they were one of sixteen projects selected to receive funding. The three happily bid farewell to the fermentation project to which they’d been consigned and set up a new facility and team to realize their idea.

Three years later, however, the Empire took a turn. Linton Messer instigated a coup against his father on the night the Khanos Stadium was set to open, and was empowered as Messer XI. The new Imperator was considerably more vicious and petty than his father, so many in the government simply tried to keep their heads down and go unnoticed. To that end, Edward, Clara, and Asif hoped that they would be allowed to quietly continue on their work.

When sentient life was discovered on Garron II, their 20 project came to a swift end. Asif was selected to join Dr. Michael Shiherlis and the team tasked with studying the planet, thanks to his expertise with xenogenetics. When Edward tried to respectfully protest the dissolution of their agricultural project, the Imperator’s office suspended their funding. Edward was sent to a research station on Yar and Clara was tasked to Bremen where she would ultimately enter the private sector to work for Terra Mills.

The separation wouldn’t last long, because in 2792 a revolution finally came.

A New Venture
In the wake of the uprising, Asif decided the time had come for him to leave working for the government. He reached out to his old colleagues to reconnect. Even though they didn’t have access to their original UEE project, their experience working together had been a singularly unique one, a dynamic that none of them had experienced in any of their labs since. Clara left her position at Terra Mills to join the team and Edward was all too eager to get off the barren rock he’d been consigned to. They formed Rayari as a private agrochemical thinktank and got back to work. The three scientists quickly found that, having spent so many years apart and developing as independent scientists, they clashed a lot more often than they did in their youth, but their desire to innovate was just as strong. The bright side, however, was that they challenged each other in ways that they hadn’t before, which opened up their thinking.

Adopting the motto ‘promote growth,’ the team wanted to explore everything. No area of science was off-limits if it could lead to innovation that could help Humanity. Although many of the initial employees cited the combative environment between the three founders, none could deny the exciting scientific atmosphere that allowed them to try and fail.

Garron would intervene once again though. The Senate announced its intention to restore Garron II to its original form. Although Dr. Shiherlis’ team had kept extremely detailed notes, the planetwide devastation caused by the terraformers was going to be a monumental task to reverse, so they put the word out for scientists to lead the charge.

Asif proposed returning to Garron II. As detailed in his memoirs, even though he was just a researcher on Dr. Shiherlis’ team, being even remotely associated with the Massacre of Garron II haunted him. He saw this as an opportunity to undo some of the damage that Humanity had wrought on the planet.

Edward and Clara quickly agreed, as they knew that by signing on, they would be able to regain access to their old project files and potentially apply that research to Garron II. In 2803, Rayari was catapulted into the public consciousness when they unveiled a complete line of indigenous plants, painstakingly reconstructed from the original planet’s genetic code, but grafted to heartier flora that could withstand the changes in the soil composition. The experiment was a success and a concerted effort to reseed the planet was launched.

Promoting Growth
After their success in Garron, funding for the company began to pour in to examine other agricultural issues around the Empire. Rayari incorporated to handle the influx of new opportunities. What was fascinating is that although the three founders remained as Board Members, they were all unwilling to walk away from “front line research,” so they hired a CEO to run the administrative aspect of the company.

For the next fifty years, the company steadily expanded. Although they built labs around the Empire, their commitment to exploring riskier scientific ventures prevented the company from truly flourishing. Edward, Clara, and Asif never saw each other socially and continue to attack each other over their work while in the office. It was always about ‘the work.’ That was the ‘Rayari experience,’ as one former employee put it. The company did well enough to slightly grow, but never thrive.

When Clara died in 2863, the last of the original founders had passed away and Michael Vicar, the current CEO, decided it was time to transition the company to focus more on increasing their profit while diminishing their wasteful spending. Provisions in the original corporate charter prevented him from downsizing their research department, but Vicar was a savvy enough businessman to direct more of the funding towards the more commercially viable ventures.

Today, Rayari, Inc. has maintained its place at the forefront of agricultural technology and development. Despite the more commercial direction the company has taken in the past eighty years, Edward, Clara, and Asif’s original vision remains intact as Rayari labs can be found all around the universe, performing a wide variety of groundbreaking experiments in space and on planets, all in the hopes of finding the next breakthrough that propels Humanity further into the future.

Dieses Portfolio erschien ursprünglich in Jump Point 5.6.
" Wachstum fördern"
Dieses einfache Sprichwort ist das Mantra eines Unternehmens, das seit fast zweihundert Jahren an der Spitze der Landtechnik steht. Dieses Mantra war die Motivation für alle Aktivitäten des Unternehmens und hat seine Spitzenforschung vorangetrieben. Obwohl viele Rayari für ihre zahlreichen Initiativen und Wohltätigkeitsorganisationen kennen, die sich für die Beendigung des Hungers einsetzen, und als die Verwalter von Rezas Landungsarchologie auf Vosca, kennen nicht viele die Ursprünge des Unternehmens selbst, insbesondere weil sich seine Gründer während ihrer Arbeit für Imperator Messer XI getroffen haben.

Ein dunkler Ursprung
Das Jahr war 2778. Ulysses Messer X war derzeit auf das fixiert, was er sich erhofft hatte: das Khanos-Stadion auf Angeli. Der Imperator hatte kontinuierlich eine empireweite "Renaissance der Architektur" umgesetzt, die die Menschheit und ihre Familienlinie für die kommenden Jahrtausende hervorheben sollte. In der Öffentlichkeit hatte sich jedoch etwas geändert. Nach Jahrhunderten der Unterdrückung nahmen die Samen der Rebellion Wurzeln. Mit dem Tod von Anthony Tanaka im Jahr 2757 begann die Bevölkerung, gegen die Ketten ihrer Gefangenschaft zu ziehen.

Während dieser Zeit war Ulysses Messer vielleicht von seinen Gebäuden besessen, aber er wusste nicht ganz um die wachsende Unzufriedenheit in der Öffentlichkeit. Obwohl er schließlich glaubte, dass die Fertigstellung des Khanos-Stadions die Bevölkerung inspirieren und vereinen würde, war er nicht abgeneigt, den Menschen ein oder zwei Knochen zu werfen, um sie in der Zwischenzeit zu befrieden.

Der Imperator entwarf eine Herausforderung für die verschiedenen kaiserlichen Abteilungen und suchte nach öffentlichen Projekten, die ausschließlich als Moralschub bis zur Fertigstellung des Stadions dienen sollten. Ausgewählte Vorschläge würden unter der Bedingung, dass sie schnell und kostengünstig umgesetzt werden können, voll finanziert. Messer X war es egal, woher die Ideen kamen, er wollte sie nur schnell haben.

Unterdessen hatten Edward Kesamyn, Clara Douglas und Asif Reader tief in einem Forschungslabor über Persei eine Wand getroffen. Die drei jungen Wissenschaftler, allesamt Absolventen von UPARQ, waren vom Landwirtschaftsministerium eingestellt worden und hatten die Aufgabe, eine neue Fermentationsmischung zu entwickeln, die als Konservierungsmittel dienen konnte. Edwards Spezialgebiet war die Biochemie, Clara konzentrierte sich auf die landwirtschaftliche Biotechnologie und Asif's Abschluss war in Genetik. Sie waren sechs Monate im Projekt und hatten wenig vorzuweisen, als der Vorschlag des Imperators eintraf.

Die drei ließen den Wettbewerb zunächst außer Acht, fanden sich aber bei einem Drink in der Nachbarschaftsbar wieder, um Ideen zu sammeln. Das Gespräch wurde immer intensiver, je mehr Runden sie bestellten; am Ende der Nacht hatten sie eine Idee.

Clara war in einer sehr armen Familie auf Hyperion aufgewachsen. Ihr Vater hatte immer versucht, das windgepeitschte Grundstück außerhalb ihres bescheidenen Hauses zu bewirtschaften, in der Hoffnung, eigene Lebensmittel herzustellen. Und er hatte immer gesagt: "Es muss nichts Besonderes sein, nur ein einfaches Gemüse, das wir kochen können." Leider, wenn der Boden die Pflanze nicht vollständig ablehnt, würden die konstanten Stürme der Wüste die Arbeit beenden.

Die drei begannen, den Revenant Tree (altrucia lacus) zu diskutieren und wie dieser sich schnell an Hyperions Windmuster und trockenen Boden anpassen konnte. Inspiriert von dem Wein, den sie tranken, erzählte Edward von der alten Blattlausplage der Reblaus, die die Weinberge der Erde bedrohte. Entomologen fanden heraus, dass sie Blattlaus-resistente Unterlagen auf den Boden der empfindlichen Reben verpflanzen könnten, um den tödlichen Käfer zu vermeiden. Sie fragten sich, ob eine ähnliche Lösung für ihre Familie auf Hyperion verwendet werden könnte. Tatsächlich könnte die Suche nach einem Weg, Wurzeln einheimischer Pflanzen zu gemeinsamen Nutzpflanzen zu veredeln, dem gesamten Imperium zahlreiche landwirtschaftliche Möglichkeiten eröffnen. Sie wussten, dass die größeren Unternehmen diese Art von Verfahren durchsetzen konnten, aber keine unabhängigen Landwirte, und so beschlossen sie zu prüfen, ob sie einen einfachen, erschwinglichen Weg finden konnten, diese Technologie in die Hände der Öffentlichkeit zu legen.

Die Bar schloss sich und die drei gingen direkt zurück ins Labor. Für den nächsten Monat verbrachten sie jeden wachen Moment damit, die Machbarkeit der Idee zu prüfen und bauten einen Pitch, den sie dem Büro des Imperators vorlegten.

Zu ihrer Überraschung waren sie eines von sechzehn Projekten, die für eine Förderung ausgewählt wurden. Die drei verabschiedeten sich gerne von dem Fermentationsprojekt, für das sie beauftragt worden waren, und bauten eine neue Anlage und ein neues Team auf, um ihre Idee zu verwirklichen.

Drei Jahre später nahm das Imperium jedoch eine Wendung. Linton Messer leitete in der Nacht, in der das Khanos-Stadion eröffnet werden sollte, einen Putsch gegen seinen Vater ein und wurde als Messer XI ermächtigt. Der neue Imperator war wesentlich bösartiger und kleiner als sein Vater, so viele in der Regierung versuchten einfach, den Kopf unten zu halten und unbemerkt zu bleiben. Zu diesem Zweck hofften Edward, Clara und Asif, dass sie ihre Arbeit ruhig fortsetzen können.

Als auf Garron II empfindliches Leben entdeckt wurde, ging ihr 20. Projekt schnell zu Ende. Asif wurde ausgewählt, um Dr. Michael Shiherlis und das Team, das mit der Erforschung des Planeten beauftragt ist, dank seiner Expertise in der Xenogenetik zu unterstützen. Als Edward versuchte, respektvoll gegen die Auflösung ihres landwirtschaftlichen Projekts zu protestieren, setzte das Büro des Imperators ihre Finanzierung aus. Edward wurde an eine Forschungsstation auf Yar geschickt und Clara wurde nach Bremen geschickt, wo sie schließlich in die Privatwirtschaft eintrat, um für Terra Mills zu arbeiten.

Die Trennung würde nicht lange dauern, denn 2792 kam schließlich eine Revolution.

Ein neues Unternehmen
Nach dem Aufstand entschied Asif, dass es für ihn an der Zeit sei, die Arbeit für die Regierung aufzugeben. Er wandte sich an seine alten Kollegen, um sich wieder zu verbinden. Obwohl sie keinen Zugang zu ihrem ursprünglichen UEE-Projekt hatten, war ihre Erfahrung in der Zusammenarbeit einzigartig, eine Dynamik, die keiner von ihnen seitdem in keinem ihrer Labore erlebt hatte. Clara verließ ihre Position bei Terra Mills, um sich dem Team anzuschließen, und Edward war nur allzu begierig darauf, von dem kargen Felsen zu kommen, in den er versetzt worden war. Sie gründeten Rayari als privaten agrochemischen Think-Tank und machten sich wieder an die Arbeit. Die drei Wissenschaftler stellten schnell fest, dass sie, nachdem sie so viele Jahre getrennt waren und sich als unabhängige Wissenschaftler entwickelt hatten, viel häufiger aufeinander trafen als in ihrer Jugend, aber ihr Wunsch nach Innovation war genauso stark. Das Gute daran war jedoch, dass sie sich gegenseitig auf eine Weise herausforderten, die sie vorher nicht hatten, was ihr Denken öffnete.

Unter dem Motto "Wachstum fördern" wollte das Team alles erforschen. Kein Bereich der Wissenschaft war tabu, wenn er zu Innovationen führen könnte, die der Menschheit helfen könnten. Obwohl viele der anfänglichen Mitarbeiter das kämpferische Umfeld zwischen den drei Gründern anführten, konnte niemand die spannende wissenschaftliche Atmosphäre leugnen, die es ihnen ermöglichte, zu versuchen, zu scheitern.

Garron würde jedoch wieder eingreifen. Der Senat kündigte seine Absicht an, Garron II wieder in seine ursprüngliche Form zu bringen. Obwohl das Team von Dr. Shiherlis äußerst detaillierte Notizen gemacht hatte, sollte die weltweite Verwüstung durch die Terraformer eine monumentale Aufgabe sein, die rückgängig gemacht werden sollte, und so gaben sie den Wissenschaftlern die Möglichkeit, die Anklage zu leiten.

Asif schlug vor, zu Garron II zurückzukehren. Wie in seinen Memoiren ausgeführt, obwohl er nur ein Forscher im Team von Dr. Shiherlis war, wurde er auch nur entfernt mit dem Massaker von Garron II in Verbindung gebracht. Er betrachtete dies als eine Gelegenheit, einen Teil des Schadens, den die Menschheit auf dem Planeten angerichtet hatte, wieder gut zu machen.

Edward und Clara waren sich schnell einig, denn sie wussten, dass sie durch die Unterzeichnung den Zugang zu ihren alten Projektdateien wiedererlangen und diese Forschung möglicherweise auf Garron II anwenden könnten. 2803 wurde Rayari in das öffentliche Bewusstsein katapultiert, als sie eine komplette Reihe einheimischer Pflanzen enthüllten, die sorgfältig aus dem genetischen Code des ursprünglichen Planeten rekonstruiert, aber auf eine herzhaftere Flora veredelt wurden, die den Veränderungen in der Bodenzusammensetzung standhalten konnte. Das Experiment war ein Erfolg und es wurde eine konzertierte Aktion zur Wiederherstellung des Planeten gestartet.

Wachstumsförderung
Nach ihrem Erfolg in Garron begannen die Mittel für das Unternehmen zu fließen, um andere landwirtschaftliche Themen rund um das Reich zu untersuchen. Rayari wurde integriert, um dem Zustrom neuer Möglichkeiten zu begegnen. Faszinierend war, dass die drei Gründer, obwohl sie weiterhin als Vorstandsmitglieder fungierten, nicht bereit waren, sich von der "Frontforschung" zu verabschieden, weshalb sie einen CEO anheuerten, der den administrativen Teil des Unternehmens leiten sollte.

In den nächsten fünfzig Jahren expandierte das Unternehmen stetig. Obwohl sie Labore rund um das Imperium bauten, verhinderte ihr Engagement für die Erforschung riskanterer wissenschaftlicher Projekte, dass das Unternehmen wirklich florierte. Edward, Clara und Asif sahen sich nie sozial und greifen sich weiterhin wegen ihrer Arbeit im Büro an. Es ging immer um "die Arbeit". Das war die "Rayari-Erfahrung", wie es ein ehemaliger Mitarbeiter ausdrückte. Das Unternehmen tat gut genug, um leicht zu wachsen, aber nie zu gedeihen.

Als Clara 2863 starb, war der letzte der ursprünglichen Gründer verstorben und Michael Vicar, der jetzige CEO, entschied, dass es an der Zeit sei, das Unternehmen umzustellen, um sich mehr auf die Steigerung ihres Gewinns zu konzentrieren und gleichzeitig ihre verschwenderischen Ausgaben zu reduzieren. Bestimmungen in der ursprünglichen Unternehmenscharta hinderten ihn daran, ihre Forschungsabteilung zu verkleinern, aber Vicar war ein kluger Könner genug, um mehr von der Finanzierung auf die kommerziell rentableren Unternehmen zu konzentrieren.

Heute hat Rayari, Inc. seinen Platz an der Spitze der Agrartechnologie und -entwicklung behauptet. Trotz der kommerzielleren Ausrichtung, die das Unternehmen in den letzten achtzig Jahren genommen hat, bleibt die ursprüngliche Vision von Edward, Clara und Asif intakt, da Rayari-Labore überall im Universum zu finden sind, die eine Vielzahl bahnbrechender Experimente im Weltraum und auf Planeten durchführen, in der Hoffnung, den nächsten Durchbruch zu finden, der die Menschheit weiter in die Zukunft treibt.

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.6.
“Promote growth”
This simple adage has been the mantra of a company that has stayed on the forefront of agricultural technology for almost two hundred years. This mantra has been the motivation behind all the company’s pursuits and has driven their cutting-edge research. Although many know Rayari for their multiple initiatives and charities committed to ending hunger, and as the administrators of Reza’s Landing arcology on Vosca, not many know the origins of the company itself, particularly that its founders met while working for Imperator Messer XI.

A Dark Origin
The year was 2778. Ulysses Messer X was currently fixated on what he hoped would be his legacy: the Khanos Stadium on Angeli. The Imperator had been steadily implementing an Empire-wide ‘renaissance of architecture’ that was intended to exalt Humanity and his family line for millennia to come. Something had changed in the public, though. After centuries of oppression, the seeds of rebellion were taking root. With the death of Anthony Tanaka in 2757, the population was beginning to pull against the chains of its imprisonment.

During this time, Ulysses Messer may have been obsessed with his buildings, but he wasn’t completely ignorant of the growing dissatisfaction in the public. Though he ultimately believed that the completion of the Khanos Stadium would inspire and unify the populace, he wasn’t averse to throwing the people a bone or two to pacify them in the meantime.

The Imperator drafted a challenge throughout the various Imperial departments, looking for public projects entirely intended to act as morale boosters until the stadium could be completed. Selected proposals would receive full funding under the condition that they could be implemented quickly and cheaply. Messer X didn’t care where the ideas came from, he just wanted them fast.

Meanwhile, deep in a research lab on Persei, Edward Kesamyn, Clara Douglas, and Asif Reader had hit a wall. The three young scientists, all fresh graduates of UPARQ, had been hired by the Agriculture Department and tasked with developing a new fermentation compound that could act as a preservative. Edward’s specialty was biochemistry, Clara focused on agricultural biotechnology, and Asif’s degree was in genetics. They were six months into the project and had little to show for it when the Imperator’s proposition arrived.

The three initially disregarded the contest, but found themselves brainstorming ideas while having drinks one night in the neighborhood bar. The conversation became more and more intense as they ordered more rounds; by the end of the night, they had an idea.

Clara had grown up in a very poor family on Hyperion. Her father had always attempted to farm the windswept property outside their modest home in the hopes of producing their own food. And he had always said, “it doesn’t need to be anything special, just a basic vegetable we can cook.” Unfortunately, if the soil didn’t reject the plant outright, the desert’s consistent windstorms would finish the job.

The three started discussing the Revenant Tree (altrucia lacus) and how that was able to quickly adapt to Hyperion’s wind patterns and dry soil. Inspired by the wine they were drinking, Edward recounted the ancient Phylloxera aphid plague that threatened Earth’s vineyards. Entomologists figured out that they could graft aphid-resistant rootstock to the bottom of the susceptible vines to avoid the deadly bug. They wondered if a similar solution could be used for her family on Hyperion. In fact, figuring out a way to graft roots of indigenous plants to common crops could open up numerous agricultural opportunities to the entire Empire. They knew that the larger companies could pull off this kind of procedure, but not independent farmers, so they decided to see if they could come up with a simple, affordable way to put this technology in the public’s hands.

The bar closed and the three went straight back to the lab. For the next month, they spent every waking moment examining the feasibility of the idea and constructed a pitch to submit to the Imperator’s office.

To their surprise, they were one of sixteen projects selected to receive funding. The three happily bid farewell to the fermentation project to which they’d been consigned and set up a new facility and team to realize their idea.

Three years later, however, the Empire took a turn. Linton Messer instigated a coup against his father on the night the Khanos Stadium was set to open, and was empowered as Messer XI. The new Imperator was considerably more vicious and petty than his father, so many in the government simply tried to keep their heads down and go unnoticed. To that end, Edward, Clara, and Asif hoped that they would be allowed to quietly continue on their work.

When sentient life was discovered on Garron II, their 20 project came to a swift end. Asif was selected to join Dr. Michael Shiherlis and the team tasked with studying the planet, thanks to his expertise with xenogenetics. When Edward tried to respectfully protest the dissolution of their agricultural project, the Imperator’s office suspended their funding. Edward was sent to a research station on Yar and Clara was tasked to Bremen where she would ultimately enter the private sector to work for Terra Mills.

The separation wouldn’t last long, because in 2792 a revolution finally came.

A New Venture
In the wake of the uprising, Asif decided the time had come for him to leave working for the government. He reached out to his old colleagues to reconnect. Even though they didn’t have access to their original UEE project, their experience working together had been a singularly unique one, a dynamic that none of them had experienced in any of their labs since. Clara left her position at Terra Mills to join the team and Edward was all too eager to get off the barren rock he’d been consigned to. They formed Rayari as a private agrochemical thinktank and got back to work. The three scientists quickly found that, having spent so many years apart and developing as independent scientists, they clashed a lot more often than they did in their youth, but their desire to innovate was just as strong. The bright side, however, was that they challenged each other in ways that they hadn’t before, which opened up their thinking.

Adopting the motto ‘promote growth,’ the team wanted to explore everything. No area of science was off-limits if it could lead to innovation that could help Humanity. Although many of the initial employees cited the combative environment between the three founders, none could deny the exciting scientific atmosphere that allowed them to try and fail.

Garron would intervene once again though. The Senate announced its intention to restore Garron II to its original form. Although Dr. Shiherlis’ team had kept extremely detailed notes, the planetwide devastation caused by the terraformers was going to be a monumental task to reverse, so they put the word out for scientists to lead the charge.

Asif proposed returning to Garron II. As detailed in his memoirs, even though he was just a researcher on Dr. Shiherlis’ team, being even remotely associated with the Massacre of Garron II haunted him. He saw this as an opportunity to undo some of the damage that Humanity had wrought on the planet.

Edward and Clara quickly agreed, as they knew that by signing on, they would be able to regain access to their old project files and potentially apply that research to Garron II. In 2803, Rayari was catapulted into the public consciousness when they unveiled a complete line of indigenous plants, painstakingly reconstructed from the original planet’s genetic code, but grafted to heartier flora that could withstand the changes in the soil composition. The experiment was a success and a concerted effort to reseed the planet was launched.

Promoting Growth
After their success in Garron, funding for the company began to pour in to examine other agricultural issues around the Empire. Rayari incorporated to handle the influx of new opportunities. What was fascinating is that although the three founders remained as Board Members, they were all unwilling to walk away from “front line research,” so they hired a CEO to run the administrative aspect of the company.

For the next fifty years, the company steadily expanded. Although they built labs around the Empire, their commitment to exploring riskier scientific ventures prevented the company from truly flourishing. Edward, Clara, and Asif never saw each other socially and continue to attack each other over their work while in the office. It was always about ‘the work.’ That was the ‘Rayari experience,’ as one former employee put it. The company did well enough to slightly grow, but never thrive.

When Clara died in 2863, the last of the original founders had passed away and Michael Vicar, the current CEO, decided it was time to transition the company to focus more on increasing their profit while diminishing their wasteful spending. Provisions in the original corporate charter prevented him from downsizing their research department, but Vicar was a savvy enough businessman to direct more of the funding towards the more commercially viable ventures.

Today, Rayari, Inc. has maintained its place at the forefront of agricultural technology and development. Despite the more commercial direction the company has taken in the past eighty years, Edward, Clara, and Asif’s original vision remains intact as Rayari labs can be found all around the universe, performing a wide variety of groundbreaking experiments in space and on planets, all in the hopes of finding the next breakthrough that propels Humanity further into the future.