Leonidas Fabroa

**Leonidas Fabroa** was an Ube-Filipino inventor, CEO, and political leader. He was the founder and first council member of the Commonwealth of Ubeland, the UBE Corporation, and Ube City. With an estimated net worth of Ū8,984,535,000 (Ū248,269,927,913 in today's money) upon his death, he was exceedingly rich, living in the neighborhood of Ube Heights.

Born in Manila on October 22, 1837, Leonidas grew up in the Paco district with his father, mother, and 5 siblings. He is credited for discovering the energy intensity in ube, or purple yams, leading to a global breakthrough in energy production. He founded the UBE Corporation in 1855, Ube City in 1861, and the Commonwealth of Ubeland in 1863. He died on September 10, 1921 in Ube City.

## Early life and education

Leonidas Preciado Fabroa was born in Manila, Philippines on October 22, 1837. His parents were both of Filipino origin. When Fabroa was born, the Philippines were experiencing a time of intense political upheaval. Philippine ports were opening to world trade and shifts started occurring within Filipino society. The Latin American wars of independence and renewed immigration led to shifts in social identity. His family lead a working class lifestyle, subjugated under the rule of the Spanish crown. He began looking for work at age 15, trying to assist his family with daily costs.

## Discoveries, foundations, and career

### Discovery of ube energy

In 1854, at the age of 17, Leonidas was harvesting purple yams for a Spanish noble when he came upon a revolutionary discovery. The yams that had been fertilized and were now sitting in the sun were very warm. He took some fertilizer and two yams home with him, seeing if he could replicate the result. He fertilized one yam, left the other alone, and set them next to a window. When he woke up the next morning, the fertilized yam was very hot, causing Fabroa to mildly burn his fingers. He quickly realized that something within the fertilizer had caused the yam to absorb larger amounts of solar energy than usual. He took the fertilizer, isolating each of the ingredients and testing them with more yams. He discovered traces of methane and helium. Combining these with separated hydrogen and oxygen from water, an intense reaction took place. Less than two hours after he had combined the elements and placed the yam inside, it exploded due to the sheer amount of energy. Calculating the results, Fabroa realized that the yam had yielded an energy more efficient than coal.

### The founding of the UBE Corporation

After his discovery of ube energy, Leonidas consolidated his research and began to look for investors. He approached many affluent Spanish businessmen, proposing his new ideas. All of them turned him down, so on his 18th birthday, he packed his bags and immigrated to the United States. He founded the Ube Corporation for Energy Production and Sales and moved his research to Ironshire, Maryland. There he spent the last of his saved funds to build a basic laboratory. There he worked for the next 2 years, perfecting his research and amplifying his techniques. Finally, on May 28, 1857, he completed a prototype ube fusion reactor. He purchased wire, lightbulbs, and a large electric fan. He attached all of the components, and when he finally closed the circuit, an immense amount of power was created. The residents of nearby Berlin, Maryland claimed that people fell to their knees in the street, mistaking the light from the fusion reactor for a theological event. Indeed, a brightness with the equivalent of 2 million modern LED lightbulbs emanated from Fabroa's laboratory. The force caused him to fall unconscious, though he was miraculously left with is vision intact. When government officials came to investigate the blast, Leonidas explained his breakthrough. His work was quickly studied by scientists from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and other prestigious institutions. They all offered millions for his design, but he declined, instead patenting his work. He sold his reactors to governments, cities, universities, and companies, causing his own company to skyrocket into massive success. Fabroa decided to diversify, shortening his company's name to simply the UBE Corporation.

### Founding of Ube City

After six years of resounding economic success, Leonidas was a millionaire. He used this money to invest in the communities nearby his new home. Eventually, they all grew to such a size that they began to merge. Borders between towns were becoming hazy, and people were unsure of what to call their new shared home. Fabroa stepped in and got 97% of the residents in the area to sign a petition to form a new, much larger town. On July 13, 1861, Ube City was incorporated with 8 districts. The majority of the populace moved to Downtown or South Ube to be close to the quay. Leonidas, however, settled in Ube Heights, on the northernmost edge of the city. This would grow to become the most affluent neighborhood in the city, with the exception of the years directly after the Purple Winter of 1972.

### Founding of the Commonwealth of Ubeland

The final and greatest impact that Leonidas left on the world was the creation of a new nation. Deciding to establish a new democracy, on December 24, 1863, he purchased 823 square miles of land from the United States, cutting into parts of southern Delaware and northeast Maryland. He paid the US government $78,151,110 ($2,159,552,000 in modern money), and the Pelican Harbour Purchase was completed. Fabroa quickly developed the land, turning it from a few towns and fields to the great Commonwealth of Ubeland, a free nation where people from all over the world emigrated to pursue economic prosperity.

## Personal life and legacy

After settling down in Ube Heights, Leonidas spent the rest of his life developing his new home. He brought his family to the new country, drastically improving their standard of living. He was the third richest person in the world in modern history, and remains so to this day, accounting for inflation. He invented numerous new technologies, speeding up the Industrial Revolution. He also developed green technologies, starting the transition to renewables much faster than it would have been had he not intervened. His relations with his family were tense at first, but grew increasingly stable and were largely positive by the end of his life. He remained unmarried and had no children for the duration of his life. Some suspect that he had an unrequited love for a man, implying Fabroa to be homosexual. It has never been clear what his sexuality was, though he did write about both men and women in his personal journal. He died peacefully in his sleep on September 10, 1921, leaving his immense fortune to his family, the UBE Corporation, and the citizens of Ubeland. He is seen as one of the most influential persons to ever have lived, earning his place in history.

## Trivia

* He bears a striking resemblance to Izzy, an auditor for modern-day UBE Corp.
* His favorite color was royal purple.
* His zodiac sign was Libra, though he was a Libra-Scorpio cusp.
* He enjoyed sketching, with many portraits and images found in his belongings.
* His last name, Fabroa, is Filipino for "lucky", which Leonidas indeed was.
* He usually wore a bowler hat, suit, glasses, and slacks, though he wore a lab coat and tinted glasses when working on his reactor.