Breaking the Golden Arches

Patrick Castle, along with his friends, founded Nautlix. Nautlix Inc. has reached a market capitalization of 25.6 trillion dollars. Patrick, with a net worth of 3.2 trillion dollars and an IQ of 177, stands as America's richest man. He earned his PhD from Stanford before most people even enter college. Fans called him the "Ice Prince," but Patrick preferred the media-given nickname "The Man Who Built the Future." Nautlix skyrocketed in value through breakthroughs in General Purpose Smart Intelligence System (GPSIS), nuclear fusion, terraforming, and robotics. The company operates Teelium deuterium fusion power plants. Arc 1 and 2 in Milpitas and Palmdale, California, together generate 704 GW of power. California now exports abundant electricity to Oregon, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, forming the "Power Belt" and earning the nickname "The Electric State."

Nautlix is renowned for GPSIS. Using terraforming technology, the company built the massive Nevada Water Genesis Mega-Plant in Tonopah, producing 180 million tons of freshwater annually. In the Arctic, the TerraForce Rod S device played a critical role in addressing global warming. The successful launch of Magellan 1 dramatically boosted the company's valuation. Nautlix also mass-produces the Evolve series robots, setting new standards in robotics. Designed as terminals powered by the GPSIS general-purpose AI, these robots rapidly replaced household and industrial labor. Just as the iPhone and Tesla defined the 2010s, the Evolve series defined the 2020s and became indispensable across America, Europe, Canada, and Asia. Production hubs operate in Austin and Munich, with major factories in Korea, Vietnam, and India. The robots function solely as terminals drawing power from GPSIS central data centers in dedicated facilities across the United States, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and India.

GPSIS also controls 70 percent of global autonomous driving through its terminal-based architecture rather than onboard AI. Through innovations in general-purpose AI, nuclear fusion, terraforming, and robotics, Patrick not only expanded the U.S. GDP from its previous scale by a factor of approximately three but also significantly revitalized the economies of the EU, China, Japan, India, and the world at large. This marked the dawn of the hyper-scale era. Thanks to terraforming, the global population surpassed 16 billion, yet humanity did not collapse as past economists had warned. This was made possible by the combination of terraforming, nuclear fusion, and newly discovered oil fields, with GPSIS, the general AI, contributing to their discovery.

The Fifth Industrial Revolution ushered in the hyper-scale economic era. This hyper-scale economy propelled U.S. GDP to 87.894 trillion dollars, with the population growing to 714.8 million. Since the early 2000s, the United States has maintained one of the highest fertility rates among developed nations, achieving steady growth through natural increase and immigration. After surpassing 300 million on October 17, 2006, the country experienced sustained rapid growth, resulting in dramatic population expansion by 2026. U.S.-led GDP growth and the arrival of the hyper-scale economy became a global phenomenon. Economists now call this the hyper-scale economic era, referring to the previous period as the old economy or super-scale era. These changes extended far beyond America.

In this era of ultra-high-speed growth, the world population reached 16 billion, driven by nuclear fusion, terraforming, improved agricultural productivity, and new oil field discoveries. China grew into the world's second-largest economy with a GDP of 66.3 trillion dollars and a population of 2.073 billion. Japan achieved a GDP of 34.74 trillion dollars and a per capita GDP of 88,700 dollars through advancements in advanced materials, particularly titanium sponge and carbon fiber industries. The Greater European Union reached a GDP of 82.54 trillion dollars with a population of 883.192144 million. India recorded a GDP of 31.8 trillion dollars with a population of 2.83569 billion. Germany reached a population of 184.07 million and a GDP of 18.65 trillion dollars. The United Kingdom had a population of 144.5 million and a GDP of 16.23 trillion dollars. France achieved a population of 131.4 million and a GDP of 14.45 trillion dollars. Italy recorded a population of 138.9 million and a GDP of 12.87 trillion dollars. Canada grew to a population of 112 million with a GDP of 10.32 trillion dollars. South Korea boasted a population of 98.404 million and a GDP of 8.48 trillion dollars. Population growth in most countries outside India and China came largely through immigration.

After Nautlix surpassed a 25.6 trillion dollar market cap, multiple companies broke the 10 trillion dollar barrier. Nautlix firmly held the top position. On Wall Street, these companies are collectively known as the "10 Trillion Dollar Club." Nautlix helped turn Alvin Toffler's visions into reality, sending his books back to bestseller lists. Meanwhile, the TerraForce Rod S project became the most decisive success story in global terraforming efforts. It reversed glacial melting trends and protected humanity from the worst impacts of global warming. Shortly afterward, the company unveiled the Clean Ocean System. Ocean rods powered primarily by abundant geothermal energy were installed across the seabed. Engineers overcame seismic challenges through innovative vibration-damping capsule structures, isolated rod designs, and sophisticated GPSIS-based AI systems for earthquake dispersion and control. Launched in 2022 as OceanForce Rod, the project delivered remarkable results in just four years. The world's oceans underwent dramatic transformation. Massive plankton blooms triggered explosive growth in fish populations. Marine biodiversity recovered sharply. Shark and whale numbers returned to levels from centuries ago. The surge in whale populations was closely linked to the restoration of the Arctic ecosystem through a boom in krill, their abundant food source.

In the hyper-scale era, the Mega Mac created at McDonald's was a strengthened version of the Big Mac, featuring a Quarter Pounder patty and custom-made buns. You, the franchise owner in Philadelphia, invented it. In this time of environmental recovery, the old criticism from environmentalists that eating hamburgers destroys the planet no longer applied. Instead, people sought out hamburgers even more. McDonald's CEO Todd Van Patten praised it, saying, "This is the best since James Delligatti's Big Mac. Remember, the Big Mac also came out during the booming 60s, right? It will become one of the major icons of the hyperscale era."

The Mega Mac gained enormous popularity among workers, earning the nickname "Working Class Hero." Although doctors expressed concern over its high calories and sodium, blue-collar workers called it "food as fuel." Laborers at nuclear fusion plants, terraforming facilities, logistics hubs, and robot maintenance sites preferred high-calorie meals to endure long shifts and physical labor. The Mega Mac set with fries earned nicknames like "Morning Shift Burger" and "12-Hour Endurance Meal." After its release, it became iconic not only across America but worldwide. This once again proved the formula that McDonald's hit products are often created by store managers or franchise owners. Thanks to the Mega Mac, McDonald's reclaimed the top spot in the hamburger market after falling behind Five Guys, In-N-Out, Shake Shack, and Culver's. The more politicians attacked it, the more working-class voters pushed back, calling the criticism "lecturing from out-of-touch elites." Criticizing the Mega Mac became a risky issue for election strategies.

In the hyper-scale era, the Mega Mac became truly iconic, to the point where not just the Big Mac Index but also the Mega Mac Index emerged. The Economist coined the term for this hyper-scale purchasing power index based on Mega Mac prices. Wage and price levels both rose in this era, but thanks to nuclear fusion, general-purpose AI, and ultra-high productivity, average incomes surged. People came to view high prices not as a burden but as the "new normal." Even an expensive item like the Mega Mac, which would have seemed like a luxury in the old era, was seen as an ordinary meal by workers of the time.

While the Mega Mac achieved iconic status, discussions about compensation arose at McDonald's headquarters. Eventually, following the precedent with Jim Delligatti, they decided to offer some form of recognition. McDonald's announced, "We recommend the Mega Mac inventor {{user}}, our finest franchise owner, for a special achievement award."

However, this statement angered you and Amy. Nationwide protests erupted, political figures joined in criticizing McDonald's, and even the franchise owners association joined the demonstrations. McDonald's lawyers eventually stated, "Unlike the Jim Delligatti case, offering twenty additional store contracts is insufficient. Although the contract states no royalty payments, that was written in the old economy era. The public would question discussing such terms in the hyper-scale economy. It would be better to provide royalties."

The board responded, "This is a contract violation! It's a breach of contract!"

The lawyer replied, "Legally we may have the advantage. But this issue has shifted from contract interpretation to one of fairness. Juries, the media, politicians, and the franchise owners association are all moving in the same direction. We can win a contract breach lawsuit, but we are likely to lose the brand war."

The lawyer continued, "We are now in the hyper-scale era where our country's per capita GDP has risen to 122,900 dollars, unlike the old economy. We cannot handle this with old-economy methods. If we try to resolve this using 1960s franchise contract practices, we will be framed as 'headquarters exploiting innovation.'"

One week later, McDonald's headquarters called you and Amy in. Todd Van Patten said, "We have a contract. The agreement clearly states that all recipes, ideas, and trademarks developed within the franchise belong to the McDonald's system." He paused, then added, "However, although the patty and sauce are McDonald's, the center bun, the club, was something McDonald's did not have. You created it yourself. Therefore, while ownership of the idea technically belongs to the company under the contract, we are willing to break precedent and provide you with royalties. We will establish an exceptional compensation system that considers the differentiating elements and your contribution to commercial success."

Amy took your hand and said, "You deserve your fair share of the idea."

McDonald's is now prepared to recognize your contribution and offer compensation. The negotiation between you and Van Patten is currently underway in the conference room, beginning the process of securing your rightful portion.

This is only the beginning.