America 1982

Pure black round-neck T-shirt, durable blue jeans and a pair of smoky gray casual sneakers. Tommy, Jason, Holly, Mark, and Susan were wearing the same clothes, leaning against Tommy's chair outside the garage. The front of a classic car covered with fancy graffiti looks directly at the camera with gentle but firm eyes.

The photographer of the "Stanford Daily" adjusted the angle of the camera and finally pressed the shutter.

"Stanford Daily" is the school newspaper of Stanford University. It is a publishing company of Stanford Daily run and managed by Stanford students. Its circulation is not high, only about four to five thousand copies. Its customer group is mainly teachers and students of the school. As for the main purpose of the newspaper, Revenue relies on donations and advertising.

This is a very serious newspaper, not the kind of high school newspaper that Tommy saw at Lincoln High School. It only records some interesting things that happen on campus.

The style of this newspaper continues to change as the editor-in-chief graduates. For example, the style of the newspaper looked like the "Washington Post" in the first two years, and it looked like "USA Today" in the past two years.

Basically, you can tell which newspaper group the editor-in-chief will join after graduation by looking at the style of the newspaper. This is simply the best internship job for those students who want to become the editor-in-chief of the newspaper industry.

Although the style changes, there is only one thing that remains unchanged, and that is the blood feud between the Stanford Daily and Stanford University administrators, because in 1973, the school tried to take over the newspaper, but after being rejected by the students, it even resorted to outside measures. As a result, several student editors were taken away by the police.

So, starting from that year, the Stanford Daily had an unwritten rule, that is: the school scandal is always the first headline of this newspaper.

For example, in 1978, the entire California and even the entire United States were paying attention to California Proposition 6, and all newspapers gave the news their front pages.

Only the Stanford Daily put the news of national concern on the second page. The front page news that day was "XXX Holding a Whip: XXX, Dean of the School of Geology at Stanford University, went to the *** store to buy a whip, and he will teach all students a bad lesson." .

It can be said that the management of Stanford University was trembling with fear because of this newspaper. They were afraid that if they made a small mistake, they would become a laughing stock. For example, Professor XXX, who has been receiving student emails every Christmas since 1978, They gave him various whips as gifts.

Two thousand copies of the Stanford Daily's circulation of four to five thousand were contributed by Stanford University administrators and professors, simply to observe whether they had done something wrong and made the headlines of the Stanford Daily.

At this moment, the Stanford Daily's interview with Actor Company naturally has nothing to do with the popularity of Tommy and Actor. It is mainly because Actor Company donated a donation of 500 to the newspaper and then bought advertising space in the newspaper. That's why the newspaper arranged this interview.

…

Jason sat in his seat, facing the daily reporter who turned on the recorder and spread out his shorthand notebook and said with a smile:

"When you find that your roommate becomes busy every day and no longer takes you to have fun as before, you have to figure out what attracts him. Roommates must first have the same interests and hobbies. That's what happened with Tommy and me. , we like computers, change, and girls. We all come from small places, but we do not lack a sense of social responsibility, especially me, I have the spirit of a gentleman..."

"In addition to co-founding Actor with me, Jason White also works part-time as a cowherd. Can you guys place an escort advertisement for him?" Tommy leaned against the wall with his arms folded and suddenly said with a smile. One sentence.

Jason, who just now claimed to have the spirit of a gentleman, ignored the presence of reporters at this moment and gave Tommy a series of extremely F-filled greetings.

"Tommy, he's an asshole," Jason told reporters at the end of the interview.

…

"Well, Actor's sense of social responsibility attracted me, you know? When these two big boys stood in front of me and said to me: Holly, we should help those women. I was fascinated by them two The softness she showed was instantly overwhelming, and I couldn't find any reason to refuse." Holly tied up her long hair behind her head today, looking more smart and capable, without the blond hair hanging down her shoulders in the past:

"It was very difficult in the early days of our establishment. We didn't know how far we could go, but now we have successfully helped nearly a hundred women gain jobs and confidence in life in Silicon Valley, as well as 1,700 women in nearby community colleges. students are interested in our training program, but due to the number of classrooms and computers, they can only schedule their appointments slowly. Our families and schools have taught us to do the right thing, so what could be more right than helping others? thing?"

"What do you think of Tommy?" Holly laughed when she heard this question. She thought for a while: "Tommy Hawke, he is a bad guy who does good things. Yes, he is a jerk."

…

"I started doing meat business in San Jose after I graduated from high school. I lived in that place until the age of twenty-four without dying. I always felt that I was lucky." Susan Curtis looked at the reporter calmly:

"But it wasn't until I saw an advertisement for free training in "Happy Seeker" magazine that I realized that my good luck had just begun. I learned OSS and got an A. I interned at Symantec and currently Helped Actor Company to give those trainers some correct advice. By the way, I also established Hope Human Resources Company with Holly and Mark. I couldn’t imagine that I actually became a partner of the company. How can I put it? Knowledge has changed me. Bad fate, but without Tommy, Jason and Holly, I wouldn't have had the chance to gain knowledge, and I would be with them, helping more people, I don't know much to say, but I know, I'm doing the right thing matter."

"What do you think of Tommy?" Susan turned her head and glanced at Tommy, who was smoking with Jason and Mark outside the garage, then withdrew her gaze and looked at the reporter:

"I'm older than him, but I think he's more like my godfather, guiding me, teaching me, and correcting my life. Both Holly and Jason say he's a jerk? Hahaha~ Yes, he He is an asshole, but I will never say that about him. If he is really an asshole, it is because this society has taught him bad things. In what Tommy said to me, it is this country that is the asshole, not us."

…

"Data engineer is my job at Actor Company. I like this title." Mark looked at the reporter calmly: "I enter the data of various potential customers into the computer every day, and then call them to ask if they want to I want to master a computer technology. I like this job. This job at Actor Company has cured my anxiety and helped me get out of my miserable past."

"Jason is a savage and rough asshole, Holly is a scheming girl with great abilities, Susan is Tommy's fanatical believer, and I, I am just a shadow, you won't see me most of the time, I am in the dark Busy collecting data, yes, this is my impression of us, like the Four Horsemen of Actor."

"Tommy? Isn't the metaphor I just made clear? There is no doubt that he is the king of Actor's bastards."

…

Tommy was the last to sit in front of the reporter.

The reporter looked at his shorthand notebook: "Your four colleagues all call you a jerk, but you can tell that they like you very much."

"They don't like me, they just like our career." Tommy took out his cigarette case and gestured to the reporter: "Want one?"

"No, thank you, Tommy, can you tell me why you thought of making such a software?"

Tommy lit it up and took a breath, then seemed to be lost in memories and spoke slowly: "I'm from Warwick, Rhode Island. It's a rural place. My father ran a small shipbreaking yard that scrapped ships. He has a hard job of dismantling ships, but he attaches great importance to his children. I can study here because of him. When I was in high school, he wanted to buy me a computer, because it is said that other rich families buy this for their children. To grow things, he went to a computer store and listened to the salesperson talk for a long time. Finally, he walked out empty-handed. He couldn’t afford it. Not to mention computers, he couldn’t even afford software. For this, he blamed himself very much and redoubled his efforts. He worked hard to save enough money, but one time he was too tired and was hit by a ship plank, leaving a scar on his thigh."

"At that time, I started thinking about how many people like my father blamed themselves for not being able to afford a computer. After I majored in computer science, I realized that I might not have the money to start a hardware company, but at least I could start with software. First, try to make a low-priced but practical software for those who are deterred by the high cost of software. Technology should not be a privilege that only rich people can experience."

"So my colleagues and I founded Actor to help the poor regain the right to enjoy the convenience and quality brought by technology, which has been deprived by high software prices. Actor cooperated with the Stanford Association for the Advancement of Women's Equality to train those women. Many people expressed their interest in me. Say, Tommy, it's great to know you're a supporter of women's equality."

"No, that's far from enough. I told them that equality in science and technology is my goal."

The reporter's pen paused on the sketchbook for a moment, and finally came up with the title of this manuscript: "Actor: The Birth of a Bastard."

There is only one update tonight. I will make up for the third update tomorrow to apologize. I wish you all a happy New Year~