by Jon Evans
Shadbold did not stay long at Fairchild; his independent streak, called stubborn intransigence by some, led him to found his own laboratory, where he spent the next twenty years inventing and patenting numerous innovative tools and processes, mostly to do with semiconductor fabrication. The licensing of these patents by Intel and IBM soon brought Shadbold enormous wealth. He is also believed to have done a considerable amount of work over a period of several decades for the Department of Defense, and in particular its Advanced Research Projects Agency, but any such records have not yet been declassified.
Shadbold never married, had no children, and preferred to stay out of the public eye; he lived as off-the-record an existence as was possible for a man of his wealth and ability. His only recognizable hobby was sailing. He quietly bankrolled at least two America’s Cup teams, and indulged in a series of increasingly grandiose yachts, culminating with the massive, entirely computer-controlled Lazarus. A superluxury yacht with decorations worthy of Versailles, Lazarus was the world’s largest single-masted sailing vessel before, in a tragic and inexplicable accident, it was consumed by flames and sank off the Oregon coast, only weeks before Shadbold passed away.
Jack Shadbold was diagnosed with the throat cancer that would eventually take his life in 1995, and battled it bravely for almost a decade. It was this diagnosis that triggered Shadbold’s career as a philanthropist. He privately funded hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cancer-related research, the results of which have been posthumously published and donated patent-free to the world. While it is too early to judge the long-term repercussions, initial reaction from leading scientists indicates that Shadbold’s research is likely to play a vitally important part in the war on cancer.
The bulk of Shadbold’s estate was left to a foundation whose beneficiaries are the impoverished residents of areas of Third World nations where throat cancers are particularly prevalent, and in particular, the Kishkinda region of south India. The remainder will ensure all-expenses-paid treatment for all American throat cancer patients, for however long they need it. These great gifts add up to a stirring and suitable legacy for a man who will be long be remembered as a modern titan, a humble genius, and one of the great humanitarians of his age.
Table of Contents
Part 1 Karnataka
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Part 2 Goa
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part 3 Paris
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Part 4 London
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Part 5 America, three months later
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Part 6 Lazarus
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Part 7 Coda