Phoenix Industries announces medical breakthrough

Technological achievement

Dr. Jean-Claude Gironde, who has spent the past ten years unable to stand or walk after an attempted assassination, publicly returns from an overseas trip on crutches; a single press release states that he has undergone an experimental treatment developed by one of his privately-owned international firms, a research-based biotechnic lab, and will be applying for FDA approval to offer the new cybernetic chip to U.S. candidates as soon as in-house legal staff are satisfied that the patent was irrefutably established. He cannot really run, but he can now walk for reasonable amounts of time.

This massively increases attempts by other business interests to make long-term business deals with Phoenix Industries. Or to try to find a way to force Phoenix Industries to become a publicly-held corporation, which might be bought out. Or to try to hire away anyone who works in any capacity even remotely associated with the cybernetic and medical divisions. Or to get their own project to a similar stage of viability.