Page 115 - Psychoceramics and the Test of Fire

Arbor Vitae Cortex

spell of a cobra. I dared not disenchant him; I had to keep on going
with my spiel.
“Now I don’t want to tie you down to an elaborate distributorship
contract like some would do. My goal is to get your product out there
ahead of everyone else—hitch my wagon to your star, as it were. Of
course, I have other innovative products lined up, but yours could be
the crown jewel.”
Despite himself he was caught up in my enthusiasm. He blinked,
returning to the land of the sighted with new eyes. They shone. They
glittered like those priceless gems of which I’d spoken. The pent-up
confession and justification was welling up, released by the more than
sympathetic ears now flaring out from my head like microphones
hooked up to a coast-to-coast broadcast of the Second Coming.
“Now, Mr. Wise, I don’t know how familiar you are with Tree of
Life Tonic. I’ve been developing it for about three years, and during
that time I’ve tried to get some outside interest in it so I could scale
up the manufacturing to make it commercially viable. Not much luck,
but opportunity’s a door that won’t open unless you pound on it. The
formula remains my own, and it would take a chemist several months
to duplicate it. I haven’t consulted a patent attorney about proprietary
rights, because I’m well aware that the review for a natural product is
fraught with difficulties. I refer to the unfair advantage the giant
pharmaceutical companies enjoy with respect to their synthetic
concoctions: not only could a person like me never afford the
required testing and filing expenses, but there is no way I can sell a
natural product as anything but a food. As such, I would have no
rights at all.”
I nodded. This was common knowledge, a pet peeve of the
naturopathic industry. I supposed that what he wanted was simply to
be first to profit from his discovery, and simultaneously be
recognized as an innovator, if not an inventor. And this required an
investment he had been unable to attract. Until now.
“My main concern right now is not the efficacy or safety of the
tonic—I have tested it on myself with the expected results—but in
how to present it to the public. Let me tell you how I would do it,
particularly in an online context where one can presume the viewer
already has an open mind about herbals.”
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