Alongside his participation in the research with Dr. Connors, Rilley continued advancing another project he had already been developing for quite some time: «Project I.M.S.», an acronym for «Intelligent Management System».
Although until then he had not treated it under a formal name, the idea had been clear for much longer. His objective was to take the foundation of «A.R.C.E.», the artificial intelligence developed by his father, and push it beyond a simple virtual assistant. Rilley wanted to turn it into a system capable of protecting, organizing, and optimizing the internal management of the «Glass Industrial Group».
To achieve that, he carefully studied all the technical material Relly Glass had given him. The keys, internal structures, and fragments of source code allowed him not only to understand the logic behind «A.R.C.E.», but also to visualize just how far that technology could go if it were developed with greater ambition.
The creation of his own artificial intelligence was a natural consequence of that process. Rilley did not start from zero, nor did he intend to surpass his father in a field he did not fully master. At first, his intention was more practical: simply to study the code, understand its architecture, and create a version adapted to his own needs.
During the early stages, Rilley kept the code almost unchanged. He needed to understand it before modifying it. But as time passed, he began integrating adjustments, optimizations, and new functions that gradually altered its structure. Thus, the AI stopped being a simple functional copy and became a true fork, with its own characteristics and an evolution shaped by the standards of its creator.
Rilley's ambition was evident, and Relly Glass could perceive it in each of his actions. This was not mere youthful curiosity or a passing whim. His son possessed a firm determination, accompanied by a strange obsession with scientific research and technological advancement.
To Relly, that was as admirable as it was unsettling. Rilley did not merely involve himself in complex projects; he carried them to their final consequences. Every advance, every result, and every new application ended up benefiting the corporation in one way or another. Even those investigations that at first seemed too personal or far removed from the immediate interests of the «Glass Industrial Group» sooner or later found a way to integrate themselves into the company's structure.
That was one of the reasons Relly had begun to see him as something more than his son. He also saw him as a worthy successor. Someone to whom he could begin delegating tasks, responsibilities, and important decisions, allowing him to gradually take greater control within the company.
However, that same determination also stirred a certain concern within him. Relly knew the value of ambition, but he also knew how easily it could become a burden when someone began living only for his projects.
Mr. Glass sighed before speaking.
"Rilley, I truly appreciate that you care about the company. That is the legacy your mother and I hope to leave you, and it is certainly no small thing. We have invested our dreams, our time, our effort, and an important part of our lives into it… But I want you to understand something: none of that stands above our family. If necessary, we could leave everything behind in order to protect it. So take it calmly. Don't carry more weight than necessary, and learn to enjoy your life as well."
Mr. Glass knew how much Rilley worried about different matters, not only those related to the company, but also the recent problems and dangers that, in an increasingly evident way, were beginning to emerge throughout the world.
Hearing those words from his father made Rilley disconnect from reality for a moment. For a brief instant, he remained silent, as though he had just received confirmation of something he already knew deep down. Then he simply showed a sincere smile.
"There's no need for you to worry about that. I'm doing what I like to do, and if by doing so I can also contribute to everything you and Mom built, then that makes me very happy."
Since the age of ten, Rilley had spent much of his life devoted to his research. Day and night, sometimes without rest, he moved from one project to another while almost completely neglecting his social life. In the most exclusive business circles, very few people knew that Relly Glass had a son. And among those who did know, the general impression was even more peculiar: he was an eccentric child genius, someone as brilliant as he was distant.
As far as his parents knew, Rilley had never had close friends, much less a romantic relationship.
Mr. Glass remained silent for a brief moment as he observed his son's sincere smile. With an inward sigh, he understood once again that he could not persuade him. Rilley was like that. He had always been like that. And if he could not pull him away from that path, then he could only do what he had always done: stand by his side.
Even if the sky were to fall upon him, Relly Glass would be there to help hold it up.
Throughout their conversation, both of them had reached the university exit. Mr. Glass's car was waiting in front of the main entrance, with the driver standing beside it, patiently waiting for his boss.
"I'll see you at home, son," Mr. Glass said as the driver opened the car door for him.
Rilley only nodded. He remained there, watching the back of the vehicle as it started moving.
…
Meanwhile, Dr. Connors had already set to work. In the laboratory, he prepared with absolute precision the dose of serum he would soon apply to himself. He made the final adjustments to each of the machine's parameters, checked the condition of the chamber, and verified the stability of the catalytic emitter panels.
Excitement and intense anticipation shone in his eyes. Suddenly, he thought of his family: his wife and son, who were waiting for him at home. Once he recovered his arm, he felt that an enormous weight would finally be lifted from his shoulders.
He was determined to surprise his wife, embrace his son, and finally rest. For a long time, he had maintained a certain distance from them, convinced that he had to avoid any distractions in order to continue his research. But now, after reaching that long-desired goal, he intended to request a long vacation and give his family the time he had denied them.
When Rilley returned to the laboratory after seeing his father off, he found Dr. Connors making the final preparations. The machinery had already been adjusted for the next application of the serum, but this time the test subject would be Connors himself. Relly Glass had kept his promise and authorized the procedure, allowing Connors to take the step he had waited for so many years: undergoing the process that would finally return his lost arm.
Rilley knew that Connors carried a deep emotional wound from the time he had lost his arm during the war, when he had been sent as a military doctor. Before that, his future as a surgeon had seemed promising. He had the talent, discipline, and precision needed to stand out in a field where every movement could mean the difference between saving a life and losing one.
However, the loss of his arm completely changed the course of his life. It did not only take away a part of his body; it also closed the path toward the future that had once seemed within his reach. Since then, his desire to recover it had not been a simple personal obsession, but a need deeply tied to his identity, his vocation, and everything the war had taken from him.
Even so, Connors had not entered the environment of the «Glass Industrial Group» because of that project. In the beginning, Relly Glass hired him for a different purpose: to make him Rilley's mentor. His father was looking for someone with enough experience, judgment, and academic authority to guide him within a field as delicate as advanced biology.
Before that, Relly and Dr. Connors had not maintained a close relationship. It was Rilley, indirectly, who became the reason that scientist ended up working for his father. Relly intervened before Connors formally entered «Oscorp Industries», offering him a position at Empire State University and, later, the leadership of the department of biochemistry and applied genetics.
Over time, his value became impossible to ignore. Connors was not only a suitable mentor for Rilley, but also a brilliant researcher with years of work dedicated to cellular regeneration. His personal investigations naturally aligned with the interests of GIG's pharmaceutical branch, so the corporation decided to formally back him.
From that point forward, Connors obtained funding, high-tech equipment, support staff, and a proper space to continue his work. For any scientist, that would have been an opportunity difficult to refuse. For him, it was much more than that: it was the real possibility of recovering the future the war had taken from him.
When Dr. Connors saw Rilley enter, he quickly gave him instructions.
"Rilley, help me verify the settings of the special chamber. Start with the calibration of the injectors and the catalytic panels. Meanwhile, I'll prepare a new mixture of the serum. In addition to the standard unit prepared for me, I'll make three more reinforced variants."
The four units mentioned by Connors corresponded to previously assigned doses: one for him and three for the members of the Glass family. In his case, the standard concentration was more than enough. Connors was not seeking additional benefits; he only wanted to recover his lost arm.
For the Glass family, on the other hand, he had prepared three units of the reinforced variant, consisting of a triple dose with slight stabilization adjustments. It was a more powerful version, whose effects went beyond the mere regeneration of limbs.
During the tests performed, it had been confirmed that a standard dose was capable of regenerating lost limbs. The reinforced variant, however, offered much broader benefits: it rejuvenated the body, slowed aging, and corrected certain alterations of genetic origin. That last point was what mattered most to the Glass family. More than a simple physical improvement, they sought a true tool for genetic repair.
The serum, in its final version, did not necessarily depend on the «Ultra Plus Rays» in order to act. The latter functioned as an accelerator after application. Without that exposure, the regeneration of a limb could take several months to complete. With the «Ultra Plus Rays», however, the process was reduced to only a few seconds.
However, reaching that point had not been simple. In its early stages, Dr. Connors' formula had shown dangerous instability during genetic integration. Without a proper catalyst, there was a risk that the reptilian factors would alter the human genome in an aggressive and uncontrolled manner.
That was where Rilley's technology proved decisive. The «Ultra Plus Rays», properly modulated through the control system developed from the «Omnicron Generator», acted as a stabilizing agent during genetic sequencing. Thanks to them, the formula was able to correct its main flaws and reach a level of safety that had previously seemed impossible.
For that reason, the special chamber remained useful during Connors' application. Not because the serum depended on it to function, but because controlled exposure to the «Ultra Plus Rays» would accelerate the regenerative process and keep it within precise parameters. For him, after waiting years to recover his arm, that difference was far from minor.
In the case of the Glass family, the reinforced variant doses did not require that immediate intervention. It was enough to administer them intravenously for their effects to begin acting progressively throughout the entire body.