^* Fairchild Semiconductor occupies a legendary place is US tech history. Founded by William Shockley, a Nobel laureate and the inventor of that central artifact of our electronic age, the transistor, Fairchild is known for having recruited and then antagonized the team that eventually became Intel. Shockley ended his career embroiled in polemics about scientific racism and eugenics. He rather famously contributed his seed to a sperm bank of recognized geniuses and Olympians. By the time of his death, he was a bitter, broken man of ruined reputation, estranged from all family and colleagues; his children learned of his death via newspaper obituaries. Don’t come to Silicon Valley looking for sanity, dear reader.