Chapter 49: If you don't agree, then leave

Afterwards, Murphy led everyone on a tour of the entire research institute, introducing them to their future working environment.

The entire institute has nineteen floors. The first floor is the conference room, used for holding regular meetings and showcasing results.

The second through sixth floors are the accommodation areas, with 40 rooms per floor. In addition, there are over twenty ordinary small laboratories where some simple research work can be conducted.

The seventh floor is the magical plant laboratory, the eighth floor is the potion laboratory, the ninth floor is the library, the tenth floor is the restaurant, the eleventh floor is the rest and entertainment area, the twelfth floor is the magical creature laboratory, and the thirteenth floor is the spell laboratory.

The fourteenth through eighteenth floors are also accommodation areas, just like the second through sixth floors. The nineteenth floor is the machine room space.

Looking at the layout, the institute is symmetrical above and below, with the tenth floor as the center. By placing most functional areas in the middle and the accommodation areas on both sides, it reduces travel pressure on the edge floors and facilitates communication among researchers.

Inside the entire institute, besides these researchers, there are over two hundred staff members, including cleaners who maintain the cleanliness of the accommodation and functional areas, chefs in the restaurant, and so on.

Murphy had originally intended to recruit some house-elves to do this work, but he hadn't yet found a suitable channel to buy elves, so he could only let the Muggle staff do it for now.

After introducing the general layout of the institute, Murphy began to explain the work system.

"The first task for everyone upon entering the institute is actually to learn," Murphy said. "In the wizarding world, magic education already has a very mature system. I have prepared a set of textbooks from the wizarding world for each of you, covering all standard courses of the wizarding world."

"I will assign another wizard to act as your mentor to answer any questions you may have during your studies."

"This curriculum usually takes young wizards seven years to complete, but since you are not wizards and cannot perform actual spellcasting, you only need to learn the theoretical knowledge. We will accelerate the process, striving for everyone to possess sufficient magical common sense of the wizarding world within two months."

Reading papers to supplement new knowledge was already a daily routine for researchers, so this intensity of study was actually quite ordinary for them.

"Although this is just to give everyone a general understanding of the magical common sense of the wizarding world, providing a reference for you to better find research directions in future work, we will still arrange several exams to test everyone's learning results."

"In addition, in the library, there is all the knowledge of the magical world that I am currently aware of and have been able to collect. We have subscribed to hundreds of cutting-edge journals and keep them updated at all times. Everyone can go there to study at any time."

"Furthermore, regarding the work system, it has already been stated in the invitation letter: here, you will work for more than a year, and during this period, you cannot leave the institute."

"Except for extremely special circumstances, such as having to go out for medical treatment, you are not allowed to go out. Unless necessary, you also cannot communicate with the outside world. All your letters and other communications will be censored. Once any act of leaking secrets is discovered, you will face a breach of contract penalty of at least 500,000 pounds and at least three years of imprisonment."

"Later, we will sign an agreement to ensure that everyone understands this point."

"I believe that by now, everyone also understands the special nature of this research work and can understand why our confidentiality clauses are so strict. In fact, we will also use magical means to ensure that everyone does not leak secrets. Regarding this, I will also explain it to everyone to ensure that no one will take risks due to ignorance."

"First, when we sign the agreement later, it will be accompanied by a magical oath. This magic will ensure that you keep secrets from outside the institute. Any intentional act of leaking secrets will lead to severe physical discomfort."

"Believe me, you wouldn't want to experience that feeling. If someone resigns, we will lift this magic and, at the same time, cast an Obliviation Charm on the person who resigns, making them forget this research experience."

"What?!" The researchers in the audience immediately exploded.

"How can you do this! The invitation letter didn't say this!"

"Deleting memories! This is too evil!"

"This is a violation of human rights! I don't agree!"

"Quiet!" Murphy suppressed the shouting. "Whoever doesn't agree with this clause can leave. I will delete the memories of the past few hours and send you back."

The sound from the crowd immediately decreased by half.

Someone stood up and asked, "If you can delete our memories, how can we ensure our own safety?"

"I could have not told you this and directly deleted your memories. I think my honesty should explain some things. We won't manipulate everyone's memories at will. In fact, everyone's brains and knowledge are what we value most."

Murphy didn't give any substantial guarantee, but the questioner didn't continue to press. He also understood that when even memories couldn't be guaranteed, any so-called "guarantee" from the other party was actually a lie.

"How is this any different from extortion! Our health and personality are under your control. This is an absolute violation of human rights!" A white woman stood up to protest.

To this, Murphy shrugged. "If you don't agree, then leave. I can stop violating your human rights."

The commotion gradually subsided.

With salary levels several times higher than the market and the opportunity to leave a mark in history, after providing these coveted conditions, it was truly unlikely that the Umbrella Corporation would have no demands or restrictions at all.

Moreover, perhaps if that were the case, it would be even more unsettling.

That might mean the other party didn't want to pay any price at all.

Finally, a physicist stood up. "If leaving the institute means losing our memories, how can we own our research results?"

Murphy: "You cannot own them. All results in the institute belong to the Umbrella Corporation."

"But we respect everyone's intellectual contributions, so in the future, when these results can be made public, everyone's names will be listed alongside the Umbrella Corporation as the first authors of the papers. These terms will all be written in the agreement."

Regarding this point, everyone didn't have much objection. After all, if the Umbrella Corporation hadn't provided the path, they wouldn't have been able to come into contact with magic at all, let alone conduct research on it. Being listed as first authors wasn't a loss.

The problem was, "If our memories are to be deleted, how can we ensure that these agreements will still be effective?"

Murphy: "First, for the material rewards of the research results, everyone can receive them in real-time or send them to your families."

"Second, we will provide a set of passwords to form ciphertext from the titles, keywords, and main contributions of your papers. You can send the ciphertext to your families at any time and intermittently send the secret keys during your work period until you send the final secret key before you resign. This can ensure that your results will not be stolen by others."

"Third, if we have a better confidentiality method in the future, we will consider not erasing everyone's memories."

Murphy's explanation still couldn't completely eliminate the unease, but at least it proved that Murphy didn't want to treat them as consumables.

After making explanations on issues such as confidentiality clauses and ownership of results, seeing that everyone had no other questions, Murphy said: "The last item to explain. It relates to the reward system."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 50 =====