America 1982

"Sophia, you are his secretary. You have to pay attention to everything he does during this period. I don't care if he pays you or not, but if you just take a nap with him during his trip, I will suggest that Tommy change If I drop you, the young people from the White Shoes Club at Stanford Law School will be happy to take over your job..."

The silver-haired Delia sat in the conference room of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco with great aura. However, she did not look at Tommy, but at Sophia. What she said made Sophia a little overwhelmed.

Tommy was signing some documents brought by Delia when he heard Delia's words and interrupted: "No, just let her be my secretary."

"Perhaps Susan can do better than her." Delia looked at Tommy who was signing.

Tommy closed one signed document, opened the next and read it carefully: "After the Actor loses the case in Boston, I will arrange for Susan to take a long, long vacation, enough for her to study at a community college. Then come to Stanford for further studies, Susan deserves a better life, not just being an ordinary secretary by my side."

"You need to listen to other people's advice, Tommy." Delia emphasized.

Tommy bent over the desk and signed his name, then slid the document against the table in front of Delia:

"I will take advice that I think will help me, Delia, thank you for your advice, but I repeat, Sophia is not going anywhere, just sitting next to me."

Seeing that the temperature of the conference room dropped a lot in the blink of an eye between the two of them, but the person involved in the storm had not yet reacted, why did Delia target her so harshly.

She looked at Delia in confusion: "Ms. Case, did I do something wrong? I mean you can tell me directly, and I will definitely pay attention and not let myself make the same mistake again."

"Who helped him prepare the interview text and topics in Chicago?" Delia took out a video tape from her bag, turned on the TV and video recorder in the conference room, put the tape in, pressed the remote control, and there was a burst of noise on the TV. Afterwards, a video of Tommy's interview on "Good Morning Chicago" began to play.

Sophia glanced at Tommy, who seemed to have nothing to do with him, and said to Delia: "No one helped him prepare. He completed the entire interview without a script, and I think his performance on the scene was very good, better than having a script." His performance was even better, and the audience was deeply impressed by him. Some TV viewers even called to ask what kind of business Tommy was in. The host praised him many times after the interview, and he almost said Move, sign Actor Company to help him sell software."

"You empathized with black people in the show, right? Tommy." Delia did not look at Sophia, but said to Tommy: "You think you are very successful in using emotions to incite the enthusiasm of black people."

Tommy did not deny it, and nodded slightly in affirmation: "Of course, I originally wanted to trick the black host into helping me make money, but the guy refused to be fooled and rejected me directly because I had no industry experience and influence, but I My performance on the show was pretty good, at least the black people present had a good impression on me."

"The better you perform, the greater the trouble. You are a member of SSD. Don't tell me you don't know that SSD is a white elite student organization in the university. The other party can use this trick to teach you a lesson. When they reveal that you were wearing those After the white robes of the Ku Klux Klan, which burned black people to death in history, were sworn in, what do you think the black people who have a good impression of you will think of you? Do you think they will not let the news out? Then you will be in the eyes of black people. You are a hypocrite, a hypocrite. Your mask will be exposed, and it will even shake the foundation you have worked so hard to build up. Maybe Actor Company will still win, but for Lotus Company, simply ruining your reputation is also a victory. , after they publicized your hypocrisy and your racial discrimination, Actor Company will definitely cut off from you due to public pressure, and eventually you will be out. Actor can even reconcile with Lotus without you, right? In the end, even because You have caused SSD to be stigmatized." Delia took out a cigarette and held it in her mouth with some irritation:

"We discussed it at the beginning. Don't talk about the case in detail, don't show favor to everyone, just talk about your dreams and what you are doing. Why can't you prepare a speech as we discussed before."

After speaking to Tommy, Delia looked at Sophia again:

"This is why I am dissatisfied with you, Sophia. When he is too excited, you standing next to him are not only used by him to show off to each other that he has a tall secretary, but also always thinking about every possible link in his mind. If there is a problem, tell him as soon as you realize it. For example, when he is about to finish the manuscript, you should stop him from doing this in time."

"I'm sorry, Delia, I..." After hearing this, Sophia lowered her head and whispered.

Tommy picked up the coffee and took a sip: "No need to say sorry, do you think Sophia can stop what I want to do? Delia, first of all, I have not stigmatized SSD, and I have not worn a white robe. I don't It is denied that the SSD had racist tendencies when it was founded in the last century, but since 1930, there is no information about burning black people to death in the records of the SSD. Over the years, the SSD has lived in peace with the black people and has not absorbed them, but it has also If you don’t hate them, how can it exist today? If you really hate people of color, Stanford would have been forced to disband it long ago. Come on, this is California, and there are people of color everywhere. It’s harder to get a pure-blood white girl than to go to college. Winning the 3S honor is not much less, SSD has always been very friendly to people of color, especially women of color with honey-colored skin, so friendly that I don’t know how many women of color sleep in the same bed with SSD boys and have in-depth exchanges.”

"Whether or not to stigmatize SSD is not important here, but your image. The image you present cannot be inconsistent. The other party will definitely use this to make trouble." Delia stared at Tommy seriously: "You The most important thing is that this kind of problem doesn’t happen.”

"Guess, when I said those words to the black audience, did I ever think about the question you raised?" Tommy asked indifferently.

Delia sighed: "Then tell me how to change your image in the black community if the other party reveals that you are an SSD member who has been suspected of racist tendencies."

"Do your job well, Delia." Tommy took out a cigarette and lit it in his mouth. Then he smiled at Delia and said, "I'm not hypocritical in joining SSD, but it's very real because my father's lineage is from Rhode Island. Our ancestors actually burned black people to death in white robes and did nothing wrong. How do we know to start doing the right thing now?"

Delia's expression gradually relaxed when she saw Tommy's evil smile: "You are sure you have considered this problem and already have a solution."

"If the other party is too high and wants to try to destroy me with this trick, then try it and see who is the clown. I have said many times, don't treat me as a normal gentleman. I am just a rough guy from the countryside. Bastard." Tommy suppressed his smile, looked directly at Delia, and said word for word: "I will kill anyone who helps Lotus."

With an originally serious expression, Tommy suddenly froze for a moment, then patted the table and said excitedly to Delia: "Do you think "I Should Die Immediately: The Story of Tommy Hawke" is a good title for the character draft. , or is the title "In a Mortal Body, * Turning Gods: The Story of Tommy Hawke" better? In a mortal body, * Turning Gods, it makes me excited just thinking about it."

"Sofia, remember to give him medicine, this bastard's narcissism has struck again." Delia packed up documents, video tapes and other items and said:

"Goodbye, I have to go to Stanford Law School to accept their letter of appointment, and then rush back to Boston to wait for the court to declare that we have lost the case, and preside over a series of tasks that will follow. Also, let me tell you, Tommy, after we lose the case, The court will issue an injunction against the development and sale of OSS software by Actor Company. The only way to fight against the injunction is to burn money. The lobbying company will help you lobby and cooperate with the legal team to turn this matter into a success for Actor Company. Suspension of the injunction pending appeal is not a low-intensity expense such as hourly charges, and of course, you can also choose to comply with the injunction so that you do not need to pay this additional fee."

After hearing this, Tommy just asked: "Have you calculated the approximate cost of this expenditure?"

"Seven hundred thousand is just the fee for the suspension of execution during the appeal to the circuit court level. The suspension of execution fee during the appeal to the Supreme Court is additional. However, based on previous cases, it will probably triple." Delia looked at Tommy, The price was quoted.

"What a wonderful country, let's tell the people directly, poor people, if you don't have money, don't fucking sue!" Tommy joked, then looked at Delia and nodded:

"Of course, of course I have to burn money. I have to sell 100,000 units as soon as possible and then declare it free, right? If I comply with the ban, how can I sell 100,000 units as soon as possible? I have to be honest as a person. I would rather burn money and suspend the implementation of the ban. I can’t earn an extra penny from everyone.”

The other party was his employer, and since he was not afraid of burning money, Delia would naturally not object. She quickly picked up her briefcase and stood up, calling for assistant Kane who was waiting outside the door to leave with him.

Tommy and Sophia were the only ones left in the small conference room of the Four Seasons Hotel. Sophia fell into silence after Delia's words. She seemed very guilty at the harsh criticism of her by the industry idol.

"Hey~" Tommy said to Sophia.

Sophia raised her head and looked at Tommy uncomfortably: "What's wrong?"

"Delia shattered your confidence in yourself?" Tommy asked Sophia knowingly.

Sophia nodded and did not deny: "Yes, I feel like a yes-man. It seems that I will only do what you need me to prepare for you. I really didn't expect..."

"Girl, if you can think of it, why do you want me to go to Chicago? If you had my brains, I would have gone back to study and left the Actor in charge of you. Delia is just dissatisfied with me and feels that if I did something wrong If it happens, it will increase her workload, but she doesn't dare to complain to me directly. After all, I pay her fees, so I can only blame you for this unhappiness." Tommy looked directly into Sophia's eyes and said, He said in an enlightening tone:

"Know how to make it so that others can't break your heart so easily?"

"Make your heart stronger."

"No, let's put more meat on your chest to improve your defense." Tommy said with a smirk:

"You've already done a good job. You earn eighty yuan a week, and yet you are required to have Einstein's brain. That's unrealistic. I don't need your brain."

Sophia did not give Tommy a roll of her eyes as usual when she was teased, but said in a depressed tone: "Then what do you need me to do? Just to be teased by you using disrespectful language when you are bored?"

"Just stay with me and do secretarial work. When I see you, I can remind myself that I can't do anything wrong." Tommy exhaled smoke and looked at the blank space in the conference room in an indifferent tone:

"You are the image projected by Jason, Susan, Mark, and Holly around me. When you are around me, you are the concrete symbol of Actor Company, representing their complete trust in me. They are just as stupid as you. They have no idea what I am doing, but they are still doing everything according to my instructions. I have to be responsible for them. The specific manifestation of being responsible for them is to always remind myself not to do the wrong thing, those stupid* can Waiting for me to take them to become rich people together."

Sophia tried to look calm, looked directly at Tommy, and summoned up the courage to say: "You now have a professional lawyer to help you solve your legal problems. I think you no longer need my legal assistance, Tommy. I……"

"Look at this girl's touching words. She wants to leave me. She also pretends that I don't need legal aid. Do you think a person like me doesn't need free legal aid?" But Tommy didn't give it to him at all. When he finished speaking, he directly interrupted Sophia:

"Remember, Sophia, what is free is always more important than what is paid. Imagine the first time we met, I appeared in front of you, like an accidental encounter, but you know how many ugly women I eliminated before Sitting here in front of you, whose only flaw is that your breasts resemble those of a man, I chose you carefully, Sophia, believe me. If Tommy Hawke one day needs to rely on Delia or someone else to teach me how to do this, When the country is dealing with all sorts of troubles, that means it's time for me to retire."

"I insist..." Sophia spoke again, her voice softer than before.

Tommy Hawke stubbed out his cigarette butt: "Your persistence is of no use to me. If you dare to go back to law school, I will immediately ask Delia to send you a lawyer's letter saying that while you were working for me, due to your negligence, , causing great damage to your personal image, I put the responsibility on you. In this way, even if you graduate and pass the judicial examination, those law firms will not give a job to a silly girl like you after seeing your information. Finally, I I also want to force you to come back and earn the eighty yuan weekly salary that I will never pay you. You know I can do such a thing."

"Thank you for your not-so-touching but threatening retention." Sophia sighed and tried to smile: "I'm feeling better now, Tommy."

"I'm just a fucking threat, okay? If Delia says a word to you, you will be able to recall all the mistakes in your previous life with fear. I have said to you a hundred and dozens of times, such as Sophia, you don't Breasts, Miss O'Connor, you need valuable advice such as growing them again, but you have never had breast augmentation." Tommy said angrily:

"Do you have some cash on you right now?"

Sophia nodded and said reluctantly: "Yes, there are some, but I guess they are not enough to cover the cost of breast augmentation surgery."

"Of course I don't know enough. Don't worry. The company can pay for this kind of thing. After we are busy for this period of time, let the company find a reason to update the company's equipment and withdraw a sum of money for you to have breast augmentation." Tommy shouted After draining the last drop of coffee from the cup, he stood up and walked towards the meeting room:

"But now, you go to the front desk of the hotel to pay for the use of the conference room. I guess Delia must not have paid the bill. Why does this silver-haired girl have a special liking for the Four Seasons Hotel and choose such a high-end venue just for a meeting? , without considering at all that my employer is just a poor guy with conscience, morality, and grace but no fucking money."

"I'm just not suitable for secretarial work, right? In fact, I will still become an excellent lawyer." Sophia followed Tommy, trying to adjust her mood, and asked Tommy.

Tommy smiled and shook his head as he walked: "Sofia, when you get the bar exam, the first thing I will do is send you to a rival company so that you can earn two salaries at the same time."

"Do you think I would be a good industrial spy?"

"No, you don't need to be a spy. I believe that you don't need my guidance. You can make that company completely destroyed by just your own normal performance."

…

Stanford University School of Engineering Computer Science Department Campus Technology Fair.

For real computer enthusiasts at Stanford University, this is a grand party twice a year. At the exhibition, there will not only be displays of the school’s real computer research results, but also all kinds of weird software and hardware invented by students. Of course, this is not just A group of computer geeks and nerds are having a carnival. Many potential investors or their assistants will also show up to see if they can find any projects that interest them.

For example, at this moment, Tommy Hawke was in the second longest queue of experiencers in the entire exhibition, waiting to experience a self-service voice touch screen launched by the Stanford University Computer Research Center. In just half an hour, Tommy Hawke After having met and experienced at least a dozen secretaries or assistants of large companies, I turned to the big guys from the engineering school for more detailed technical information.

This touch screen is far less exaggerated than what Tommy saw in the previous life. There are no colorful images and the tactile feel is very bad. The voice recognition is even more terrible. More often, you need to touch to complete the command. Of course, even if the voice recognition is correct, you can only use Give the most basic answers in short sentences, such as telling the other person where the bathroom is, where the library is, etc.

But with such a touch screen and built-in system, Stanford's Computer Research Center has spent an unknown amount of time and money on this.

Although it is not commercially available now, some people will see another future it leads to, that is, if it continues to be developed and eventually put into commercial use, it may mean that many companies no longer need a front desk or a parking lot administrator. , the library does not need redundant administrators...

"Where can I buy Torjan?" When it was Tommy's turn to experience it, he looked at the product in front of him that looked like a TV set with a support, and asked seriously.

The teaching assistant teacher next to him who was responsible for guiding the use was full of pride, because every user made a sound like "Wow" to represent the kind of shock when the technology was intuitively presented in front of them.

But that proud expression was instantly shattered by Tommy Hawke's question. He looked at Tommy with an embarrassed face: "Classmate, you...it can't answer your question. We didn't record this question. You... … Maybe ask some campus-related questions.”

"Isn't Torjan the thing that students consume the most on campus?" Tommy smiled at the bespectacled teaching assistant: "Just kidding, let me change the question, which student apartment at Stanford University has the most beauties? "

This time the teacher ignored him at all and just gave an apologetic smile to the people in line behind him: "Wait a moment, this student's experience time will soon be over."

"This is a great invention, but not interesting enough, Mr. Cohen-Victor." Tommy clicked on the screen several times with his hand, watched the screen's reaction, and said to the teaching assistant next to him: "I mean this screen The technological content is very, very high, but only smart people and investors can understand the greatness of you developers. If I were you, when entering the question bank, I would first conduct a survey among the students on campus and select the most popular If you enter the questions and enter the answers, I guarantee that it will be easier for you to let students from other majors help you gain a reputation and even defeat the booth with the longest queue at the moment. Many users do not care how advanced the technology is. , you have to first attract them by making it interesting or easy to use.”

"Who are you?" Seeing the student speaking in a teaching tone while using the touch screen, the teaching assistant asked somewhat unhappily.

Tommy Hawke pointed to the booth with the EFF logo in the distance: "The booth with the most experiencers. I am the founder of that industry organization, Tommy Hawke, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University."

"If your booth didn't have a computer label..." The teacher named Victor only said half a sentence, and then said to Tommy: "Thank you for your suggestion, classmate, the two-minute experience time should be up..."

Tommy reluctantly touched the touch screen, then turned and walked towards his station. When Tommy walked away, Victor shook his head slightly: "I thought it was Playboy here for the exhibition."

At the same time, Sophia also ran towards Tommy. Seeing Tommy calmly visiting the exhibition, she came up to him and said: "Tommy, someone at the EFF booth called me and wanted to talk to you. chat."

"Just let Susan handle it. Besides, aren't the heads of those small companies on site? If anyone is interested in those software, they will contact Mr. Benjamin Rosen. He is the executive director of EFF. I didn't read it. Am I now depressed because of Actor's defeat?" Tommy talked about his company's first defeat as if it was something that had nothing to do with him.

Indeed, it had nothing to do with him. Not long ago, Actor lost the case in a Massachusetts court without any suspense. The judge and jury relied on the Lanham Act, the Copyright Act of 1976, the United States Copyright Act of 1976, and other related laws in the past. In an infringement case, the judgment found that Actor Company's OSS software constituted plagiarism and infringement of Lotus Company's Lotus1-2-3, requiring Actor Company to stop developing and selling OSS software from the date of the judgment, recall the sold software, and hand over All sales data and software codes of OSS, and compensate Lotus for 35 million yuan in economic losses caused by this infringement.

Actor Company chose to appeal to the Federal First Circuit Court, and due to the operation of the lobbying company and the lawyer group, after the circuit court received the appeal petition, it issued a suspension of execution until the circuit court made a decision and Actor Company still lost the case. Executed file.

Lawyers representing 176 amicus curiae also submitted another amicus brief to the circuit court to apply for intervention on the grounds that the verdict of the local court judge and jury was unclear and would have a serious impact on the organization.

The suspension of the injunction means that Actor can still sell software to the outside world during this period, but if it loses the lawsuit again, the software sold during this period will also be counted in the injunction, and the amount claimed by Lotus will continue to soar as sales volume increases. .

However, Tommy was not present from beginning to end. Only Holly and Jason stayed in Boston to cooperate with Delia in completing related work. It is said that the training work in Massachusetts went smoothly.

"Depressed? But you just borrowed money from me to buy a copy of Penthouse magazine." Sophia was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion.

Tommy sighed: "It's just that I felt sluggish after reading it. Well, who is the other party?"

"He said that his name was Roland Hansen and that he got it through Mr. Rosen..."

"Sugar daddy, I'm here!" Tommy just heard the name, picked up Sophia and ran towards his EFF booth.

Sophia didn't understand what sugar daddy meant. Seeing Tommy's eyes glowing, she finished what she wanted to say: "It's the vice president of product promotion and sales of Microsoft America, but the founders of several member companies at the EFF booth said, Microsoft software is rubbish.”

"It's really rubbish, especially Microsoft's document processing software Multi File, which ranks 17th in sales in the United States and 31st in global sales. It's worse than our OSS." Tommy said that he had already been careful Data collected:

"But they have money, and they know that after the Actor loses the first game, he needs to be cared for by kind colleagues. After all, we are just fireflies."

Seven thousand words, two chapters combined into one, I wish you all a happy Lantern Festival~ I’m not in a good mood today~ Please bear with me~ I got caught up in my child’s homework, damn, I finally understand that I still have the last two days of winter vacation when I was a kid, but Before I did my homework, I felt how my parents felt.