Rebirth in Japan: The Heiress Who Conquered the World

Napa Valley, California. April 1988.

Morning mist covered the slopes of Mount Saint Helena, with the scent of damp earth and fermenting grapes. At 6:00 AM, propane burners activated at the launch site.

Emi stood by the wicker basket, observing the nylon envelope of the hot air balloon as it inflated.

”Saionji-san, this device has no mechanical transmission. Is it safe?”

”This is the most basic form of flight, Emi,” Satsuki said, adjusting her windproof goggles. ”No dashboard, no autopilot. Only wind and fire.”

As the basket ascended, the sound of the burner was replaced by the sound of wind through the cables. Below, the Napa River appeared as a silver line through the vineyards.

”Stand, Emi,” Satsuki said. ”Do not look at your feet. Look at the horizon.”

As the sun rose over the Vaca Mountains, the valley was illuminated. Emi’s apprehension diminished.

”Down there,” Satsuki said, indicating the area below, ”every section of soil represents economic value. Farmers previously grew walnuts here. Now, a bottle of wine sells for hundreds of dollars. They assigned an agricultural product a social value that exceeds the liquid itself. This is a characteristic of the luxury market.”

12:00 PM. Opus One Winery.

The restaurant at Opus One was constructed of limestone and glass. A waiter poured two glasses of the 1984 vintage — deep ruby red.

Emi took a sip and reacted to the taste.

”So astringent. Is this consistent with the price?”

”That is the taste of tannins,” Satsuki replied. ”The general public prefers sweet beverages. Over time, this bitterness develops into a complex aroma. Technology follows a similar pattern.”

An argument occurred at a nearby table. Two middle-aged men in polo shirts were seated before an Apple Macintosh II. It appeared out of place against the winery’s decor.

”No. This will not do. It is unwatchable,” the bearded man said, gesturing at the screen.

Emi observed the device.

”A Mac II. That is the Motorola 68020 model.”

”What are they doing?” Satsuki asked.

”Displaying a photograph,” Emi said. ”But it is slow. There is lag when he moves the mouse. And the edges show pixelation.”

”Do you want to examine it?” Satsuki asked, holding her wine. ”Technical problems are your area.”

Satsuki led Emi to the table.

”Excuse me,” she said. ”My friend noticed your image refresh is slow.”

The men, John Warnock and Charles Geschke, looked up. They appeared frustrated.

”It is the hardware limitations,” Warnock said. ”We are attempting to modify photo-quality images in real-time, but the CPU cannot calculate every pixel quickly enough.”

Emi looked at the screen.

”Is the data transmission the bottleneck?” she asked.

Warnock paused. ”You understand hardware?”

”To some extent,” Emi said. ”Why calculate every point simultaneously? Why not use Interlaced Scanning or a low-resolution preview? Once the user releases the mouse, then calculate the final render.”

Warnock stopped. He struck the table.

”Chuck. Did you hear that? Proxy Mode. While we are moving, we only calculate a portion of the pixels. It will be low-resolution during the move, but smooth.”

Geschke’s expression changed. ”Pyramid Sampling. That addresses the memory bottleneck.”

As the two continued discussing, Satsuki placed her business card on the table.

”I am Saionji Satsuki. I am interested in the software that is limiting your computer.”

Warnock became cautious.

”S.A. Investment? If you are selling office buildings—”

”I am not selling buildings,” Satsuki said, pointing to the screen. ”I want to purchase that.”

”It is only a tool for printing shops,” Warnock said.

”No,” Satsuki said, turning to Emi. ”If you could use this to change the color of your clothes in a photo without taking a new one, would you use it?”

”I could change my uniform to pink,” Emi said. ”That would be useful.”

Satsuki turned back to the founders.

”That is the future. In a screen-based environment, people will not only view text. They will want to edit visual content. I own a retail group and an entertainment company. I can provide capital and models to demonstrate your software functions for general users.”

Warnock adjusted his posture.

”The concept is ambitious. And your friend’s suggestion was accurate. Tomorrow morning, Mountain View. We can discuss details.”

As they left the winery, Emi considered the implications.

”Saionji-san, can that software actually perform those functions?”

”It is complicated now,” Satsuki said, entering the Cadillac. ”That is why we provide them funds — to make the complicated functions simple. In the future, if you use a computer, you will likely use their products.”

As the car departed, Emi wrote in her notebook:

Napa Valley. We met the developers who will enable computers to process images. The software is called Photoshop (proposed).

Opus One: A joint-venture winery between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

Macintosh II: The first professional Mac, released in 1987, supporting color and expansion slots.

Interlaced Scanning: A technique from television technology to reduce bandwidth by displaying half the lines at a time.

Proxy Mode / Pyramid Sampling: A method to increase editing speed by working on a low-resolution version of a photo while the computer processes the high-resolution version in the background.