I was working with Helmut Sr at this exact time, and met with him and Woody as the transition of nanotronics into Patriot was happening. I was offered a senior position at Patriot as a result but for family reasons at the time I just couldn't accept it. I wish I had, but I had valid reasons and Helmut understood. Not long after this I was alone with Helmut, with whom I had worked in Europe for several years, and he quietly told me he was ill and "the future isn't looking good." Helmut had always been a healthy and fit man but this was a very different Helmut. It was the last time I saw him.

I believe it was Gloria Felcyn who reimbursed me for my expenses with Nanotronics. Helmut trusted Gloria completely (I don't know how they met) and she handled his businesses as well as his personal wealth to best of my knowledge. I wasn't on the payroll and in fact was working with Helmut for free, out of friendship and trust, as we planned the roll-out for ShBoom (e.g. Developer kits, documentation, regulatory approvals etc etc) while the engineers in the house in the hills continued simulations and prototyping. One of the line items was patenting the technology and Helmut told me several patents had been applied for and that he had bought out the technology. So I was very surprised years later when Chuck Moore ended up with 50%. Maybe I misunderstood Helmut. maybe he said was going to buy them out. Maybe his illness got in the way.

To my mind, there is only one person who really knows what transactions Helmut did or did not complete before his untimely death, and that is Gloria Felcyn.