My Ultimate Sign-in System Made Me Invincible Chapter 704 A Wave Of Terrestrial Partnership (2)

At the global headquarters of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, the emergency C-suite conference room was gripped by a tense, suffocating silence.

It was 2:30 AM local time. Sitting around the long obsidian table were the Chief Executive Officer, the Head of the MX (Mobile eXperience) Business Division, the Chief Technology Officer, and the Lead Legal Counsel.

On the massive wall display before them sat an official email that had bypassed months of unanswered corporate outreach, landing directly into their highest-level enterprise inboxes.

"Has the IT security division confirmed the cryptographic routing?" the CEO asked, his voice low and tight.

"Verified multiple times," the CTO answered, his eyes fixed on his laptop. "The PGP signatures match the official public keys Nova Technologies used for the space station launch document."

The CEO leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. "Read the text. Every single word."

Subject: Partnership Invitation — Nova Technologies Space Station Retail

To the Office of Samsung Electronics,

Nova Technologies is opening the retail environment of the Nova Technologies Space Station, and writes to invite Samsung to participate as an authorized partner.

The station's Electronics and Accessories Store will serve the station's research population, its resident staff, and its civilian visitors — a community present nowhere else, in an environment that exists nowhere else. Devices sold there will be the first of their kind carried, used, and owned beyond Earth. We would like Samsung's products to be among them.

Scope of Partnership

The partnership covers Samsung's current Galaxy product lines in full: the Galaxy S series and Z series smartphones, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Tab, and Galaxy Book. Samsung supplies these lines through Nova Technologies' logistics network. Nova Technologies handles all transport, authentication, retail operation, and after-sale service aboard the station.

Terms

Every device supplied is verified for authenticity and composition before it reaches the retail floor. No device enters the store that has not been confirmed genuine.

Every device sold carries a station provenance record, imprinted directly onto the device rather than applied as a label, confirming station origin, registered owner, and warranty status. This record is permanent and cannot be transferred or falsified.

Every Samsung device purchased aboard the station carries a warranty term of three years, extending Samsung's standard coverage for the life of the station partnership. This coverage runs in addition to the station's own warranty program, which covers accidental damage occurring after return to Earth is repaired through Samsung's authorized service centers at a fixed fee of $300. Manufacturing defects are covered in full, at no charge, in either location, for the full three-year term.

Station Edition

Samsung may issue a Space Station Edition across any or all of its supplied product lines. The design, finish, and configuration of any such edition are Samsung's alone to determine. Nova Technologies provides the distinction of the edition and its exclusive availability aboard the station; Samsung provides the product it wishes to carry that distinction. No station edition is required, and its scope is entirely at Samsung's discretion.

Conditions

Nova Technologies asks two things of a partner. That every product supplied is genuine and current. And that Samsung honors the three-year station warranty at its authorized service centers on Earth, so that station coverage is seamless wherever the owner returns.

Standard of Partnership

Nova Technologies operates this partnership on a single standard, applied equally to every participating manufacturer. There are no exclusive tiers, no preferential placement, and no negotiated advantage between partners. Each is offered the same terms. Each is held to the same conditions. Samsung stands on identical footing with every other partner aboard the station.

The commercial terms are set out in the accompanying document.

Should Samsung wish to proceed, confirmation may be returned through the Institutional Terminal credentials provided with this correspondence. Nova Technologies will manage every step from that point forward.

We would be glad to have Samsung aboard.

— Nova Technologies.

*****

When the reading concluded, the Head of Mobile eXperience was the first to speak, leaning toward the display with sharp interest.

"They aren't demanding custom OS forks or proprietary hardware modifications," he observed, pointing at the screen. "They are asking for our existing consumer Galaxy lines—phones, watches, tablets, and laptops—supplied through their Nova Express freight network. They handle all off-world transport and retail management."

"Where is the catch?" the CEO demanded, turning to the legal counsel. "Where is the margin cut? Where is the platform fee?"

"There isn't one in the invitation," the Lead Legal Counsel replied, scanning her tablet. "Nova purchases the inventory wholesale through our standard commercial channels. They handle the off-world markup and retail execution on their own terms. Their only conditions are that every unit is genuine, and that our terrestrial service centers honor the three-year station warranty for returning travelers, capped at a $300 flat fee for accidental repairs."

"Look at the provenance clause," the CTO chimed in, a faint smile touching his lips. "A permanent, un-falsifiable station origin mark imprinted directly onto the chassis of every device sold in orbit. In terms of brand prestige, that is an absolute goldmine. Owning a Galaxy S-series or Z-Fold with an authentic, laser-imprinted off-world provenance mark will turn those devices into instant collector items on Earth. Second-hand markets will trade them at triple retail value."

"And the Station Edition?" the CEO asked. "They are inviting us to design exclusive off-world hardware variants."

"We can launch a titanium-clad Galaxy Z Fold: Space Station Edition," the Head of Mobile said immediately. "Minimalist packaging, custom off-world aesthetics, sold exclusively at Lagrange 5. It cements Samsung as a pioneer in off-world consumer technology."

"What happens if we hesitate?" the CEO pressed. "What if Apple or Xiaomi responds first?"

"Read the 'Standard of Partnership' clause," the Legal Counsel warned. "There are no exclusive deals or preferential placements. Apple, Google, Xiaomi, and Sony received this exact same proposal. But if we decline or delay, our rivals populate the station's retail floors while Samsung stays grounded on Earth. In the eyes of six billion people watching LucidNet, we become the legacy brand that missed the flight."

The CEO didn't hesitate. "Access the Institutional Terminal and accept the terms immediately. Tell the supply chain division to prepare the first shipment batches of our flagship Galaxy lines for Nova Express pickup. And get R&D working on the Station Edition blueprints before sunrise."

Within minutes, Samsung's acceptance was logged into the portal.

****

Seven time zones away, inside the elegant corporate headquarters of the L'Oréal Group in Paris, a nearly identical scene was unfolding under far more intense scrutiny.

Julien Mercier, the Chief Executive Officer, sat at the head of a glass boardroom table alongside Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Camille Laurent and Lead Legal Counsel Henri Bastien. The room was dead silent as the executive team stared at the projection wall.

"The routing is authentic," Henri confirmed quietly. "The PGP keys originate from the station mainframe at Lagrange 5. It's an official proposal from Nova Technologies."

"Read the text," Julien commanded softly. "Let's see what terms an off-world entity expects from a cosmetic house."

Subject: Partnership Invitation — Nova Technologies Space Station Retail

To the Office of L'Oréal Group,

Nova Technologies is opening the retail environment of the Nova Technologies Space Station, and writes to invite L'Oréal to participate as an authorized partner.

The station's Personal Care and Wellness Retail store will serve the station's research population, its resident staff, and its civilian visitors — a community present nowhere else, in an environment that exists nowhere else. Products sold there will be among the first of their kind carried, used, and owned beyond Earth. We would like L'Oréal's products to be among them.

Scope of Partnership

The partnership covers L'Oréal's current product lines in full, across the brands and categories L'Oréal elects to supply. L'Oréal supplies these lines through Nova Technologies' logistics network. Nova Technologies handles all transport, authentication, retail operation, and presentation aboard the station.

Verification

Every product supplied is verified before it reaches the retail floor. Nova Technologies performs a molecular scan of every item at origin, confirming three things: that the product is genuine; that its composition matches the ingredients and formulation L'Oréal has declared for it, without deviation; and that it contains nothing Nova Technologies assesses as harmful to the person who uses it.

Nova Technologies applies a single safety standard to every product sold aboard the station, held above the standard of any individual jurisdiction. A product that is permitted for sale on Earth is not, for that reason alone, cleared for the station. Where a formulation does not meet the station standard, Nova Technologies will identify the specific point of concern to L'Oréal in confidence, and the product may be supplied in a form that meets it or withheld from the station only. No conclusion is drawn, published, or applied beyond the station.

This verification exists for one purpose: to protect the person who buys the product. It is not a commercial review and carries no commercial consequence beyond eligibility for sale aboard the station.

Protection of Formulation Data

The molecular scan is used solely to verify authenticity, composition, and safety. The data it produces is never retained beyond the moment of verification, never analyzed for any other purpose, and never used to inform, develop, or improve any Nova Technologies product. Nova Technologies holds no interest in L'Oréal's formulations and takes none. What the scan reads, it reads only to confirm, and then discards.

Freshness and Provenance

Every product supplied is confirmed within its shelf life and stored under conditions that preserve it for the whole of its time aboard the station. Nothing expired, degraded, or compromised reaches a guest.

Every product sold carries a station provenance record, imprinted at point of sale, confirming station origin, the verified authenticity of the item, and its confirmed composition. This record is permanent and cannot be transferred or falsified. A guest who purchases aboard the station holds proof, on the product itself, that what they carry is exactly what L'Oréal made — genuine, unaltered, and uncounterfeited. In a market where imitation is constant, the station is a place where it is impossible.

Station Edition

L'Oréal may issue a Space Station Edition across any or all of its supplied lines. The formulation, packaging, and presentation of any such edition are L'Oréal's alone to determine. Nova Technologies provides the distinction of the edition and its exclusive availability aboard the station; L'Oréal provides the product it wishes to carry that distinction. No station edition is required, and its scope is entirely at L'Oréal's discretion.

Nova Technologies operates its own personal care line aboard the station, produced from the station's own botanical cultivation. This line is separate in every respect from the partnership described here. It does not compete with, draw from, reference, or derive from L'Oréal's products in any way. L'Oréal's lines are presented as L'Oréal's own, in full.

Conditions

Nova Technologies asks two things of a partner. That every product supplied is genuine and current. And that L'Oréal's declared ingredients are complete and accurate, so that verification confirms rather than corrects. A product that is truthful to what L'Oréal has stated, and clean, passes without issue.

Standard of Partnership

Nova Technologies operates this partnership on a single standard, applied equally to every participating manufacturer. There are no exclusive tiers, no preferential placement, and no negotiated advantage between partners. Each is offered the same terms. Each is held to the same conditions. L'Oréal stands on identical footing with every other partner aboard the station.

The commercial terms are set out in the accompanying document.

Should L'Oréal wish to proceed, confirmation may be returned through the Institutional Terminal credentials provided with this correspondence. Nova Technologies will manage every step from that point forward.

We would be glad to have L'Oréal aboard.

— Nova Technologies.

****

The moment the reading finished, Dr. Camille Laurent stood up, tapping her finger against the table.

"The molecular scan is a massive vulnerability, Julien," she argued passionately. "They are demanding to scan every shipment at origin to match the ingredients against our declared formulations. Our patented anti-aging peptides and active botanical compounds represent a century of proprietary research. If an AGI maps our products at the atomic level, our trade secrets are exposed."

"Read the Protection of Formulation Data section again, Camille," Henri countered smoothly. "The terms state clearly that the scan data is discarded instantly upon verification. It is never stored, never analyzed for development, and never used to create competing products."

"And we simply trust an off-world entity to delete it?" Camille scoffed.

"With all due respect, Camille," Julien interjected calmly, rubbing his temples, "Nova Technologies built a fifty-five-kilometer megastructure in thirty days and possesses medical nanites capable of curing terminal paralysis. If they wanted to reverse-engineer our face creams, they wouldn't need our permission or an invitation email to do it. They are operating with post-scarcity technology—they don't care about stealing our trade formulas."

Julien stood up and walked toward the window overlooking Paris. "Look at what they are actually offering us. In a global cosmetics industry plagued by billion-dollar counterfeit markets and gray-market knockoffs, Nova is providing an environment where imitation is physically impossible. Every bottle sold aboard the station carries a permanent, un-falsifiable provenance record proving it is 100% genuine L'Oréal creation."

"And the safety clause?" Henri added. "They are applying an off-world safety standard higher than the FDA or EMA. If a formulation fails, they inform us in confidence without publishing the result. But if our products pass, it acts as an absolute, unassailable seal of purity. In terms of brand authority, no terrestrial advertising campaign could ever match it."

"What about their internal botanical line?" Camille asked, her tone softening slightly. "They mention operating their own personal care line."

"They explicitly state it is separate, derived from station cultivation, and does not compete with or reference ours," Julien answered. "They aren't trying to squeeze us out. They are opening a luxury retail floor in space and offering us equal footing with every other manufacturer."

Julien turned back to face the room. "What happens if we refuse out of fear?"

"If we refuse," Henri said dryly, "they send the exact same proposal to Estée Lauder, Shiseido, or Coty. Nova fills their retail shelves with our direct competitors, and L'Oréal becomes the legacy brand that was too terrified to let an off-world system check its ingredients list. Our stock valuation would suffer the moment the public realized we were absent from Lagrange 5."

The logic was absolute. In the face of an entity offering zero-friction logistics, un-falsifiable brand authentication, and complete global prestige, refusal was corporate suicide.

"Authorize the Institutional Terminal," Julien ordered firmly. "Compile our formulation declarations for our flagship skincare, luxury fragrance, and cosmetics lines. Ensure every single declared ingredient is complete and transparent so the verification passes without a single flag. L'Oréal is going to orbit."

Within ten minutes, L'Oréal's acceptance was transmitted through the portal. Across the globe—in Silicon Valley, Seoul, Tokyo, Geneva, and New York—the old world was signing the papers, deeply grateful for the invitation to exist in the shadow of the new one. Even publishing companies and art galleries weren't left out.