Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Ethan's Vacation - Part 1
"The Hot Afternoon" is a movie adapted from a true story. The main plot is quite simple, revolving around how a robber becomes the unluckiest bank robber in American history.
The story goes like this: Protagonist Mike Corleone and his good brother Fredo Corleone rob a bank on a hot afternoon. However, upon opening the vault, they are dumbfounded to find only $1,100 inside, as most of the cash had been moved. To make matters worse, before they can leave, the police discover their crime, turning what should have been a ten-minute heist into a tense standoff lasting over a dozen hours. In the end, the Godfather is arrested, and Fredo Corleone is shot dead on the spot by the police.
Although the plot is not complex, there are many interesting elements.
For instance, the protagonist played by Al Pacino is named Sonny, openly mocking Sony; he is also an LGBTQIA+ individual, capitalizing on societal issues. The main reason for robbing the bank is to raise money for his partner's gender reassignment surgery, a bold and unconventional motive. Moreover, in a standoff with the police, Al Pacino's character becomes a hero when, following police instructions, he releases a black hostage, only to have the police mistake the hostage as his accomplice and violently apprehend him. This scene amuses Ethan because it reminds him of future events, specifically the Floyd case, making him reflect on how Hollywood was already playing with such concepts in the 1970s.
At this point, the emphasis on Black Lives Matter becomes apparent. However, when Ethan asks Evelyn about the meaning of Al Pacino shouting 'Attica,' he learns it's a reference.
"Oh, Ethan, don't you remember this? It happened a few years ago."
In the dimly lit cinema, Evelyn looks at Ethan strangely and says, "This was a few years back, you know?"
"At that time, there was a riot at Attica Prison. Inmates took control, holding forty-two staff members hostage, demanding improvements in prison conditions. After several days of unsuccessful negotiations, the Governor of New York at the time sent armed police and the military to quell the riot. In the confrontation, dozens of people, many of them hostages, were killed. What's more, those killed were all shot, and the only ones with guns were the police and the military suppressing the riot."
"Oh, damn!"
"There's such a thing?"
Ethan used to think sending Russians to rescue hostages was unreliable, but he never imagined American police could be so treacherous. Suppressing a prison riot resulted in killing numerous hostages? What were they doing, playing Terminator, rescuing hostages with Gatling guns? Ethan couldn't comprehend.
"Shouldn't the Governor in charge at the time be in trouble?" Ethan curiously asked.
At this moment, he looked like a kid in a melon patch, eagerly awaiting gossip.
However, Evelyn gave him a disdainful look. "Trouble? Why would he be in trouble?"
"Because dozens of hostages died!" Ethan stated the obvious.
"But in that guy's eyes, those dead hostages weren't even considered human," Evelyn explained.
"Don't you know? The Governor at that time is the current Vice President~"
"It's Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller."
"Oh~ So it's this guy!"
"Basic move for a capitalist!"
"Got it, got it!"
Satisfied with the gossip, Ethan moved on.
Although "The Hot Afternoon" isn't an action-packed blockbuster, Ethan enjoys it due to the embedded references.
Entering the cinema with a cheerful mood, he drives back home with a happy face.
However, the good mood doesn't last long. The next evening, Evelyn tells him that Wendon Cerf claims not to know Professor Ralph Bell after Ethan had been brooding over it.
"Doesn't know him? In that case, we'll have to find him ourselves."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Evelyn suggests waiting. "While Wendon says he doesn't know Ralph Bell, he also mentioned he could ask around. It will take some time, though, as he won't be at DARPA until the end of the year, probably around Christmas when he visits old friends in Virginia."
"End of the year?"
"Just three months?"
Ethan can accept this timeframe. "Then I'll wait a bit longer, consider it a break for myself."
He stretches lazily.
However, Evelyn feels something is off about his words.
In her impression, Ethan seems to be on break every day!
Except for the busy week making "Snake Game" and the month of selling it, he was only anxious for a few days when sued. Other times... it seems like he did nothing!
"Hmm..."
"How can someone be so lazy?"
If Ethan knew Evelyn's thoughts, he would secretly be proud because all his comfort comes from the power of the times.
When you are in the midst of a wave, the push brought about by change allows you to easily peer into the pinnacle of the era.
Although Ethan repeatedly claims to take a break, he hasn't truly relaxed.
On October 7th, he gives Evelyn the company name he had been thinking about for several days.
When Evelyn sees the word on the paper, black lines appear on her forehead.
"Destiny?"
"You want to use this word as the company name?"
"Yeah," Ethan nods. "Destiny! It means our company's establishment is fated!"
"..." Evelyn frowns at this explanation.
Because she finds it strange to use this word as a company name!
"Why not use Fate, or The Chosen I think these words would be more accurate."
Good question!
Ethan almost applauded Evelyn because she touched upon the key point.
Actually, when Ethan was thinking of a name, he almost scratched his head bald. He wanted a name that was assertive but not cliché. Unfortunately, after thinking for half a day, he couldn't come up with one.
So, he somewhat melodramatically linked the name of the company to his time-travel experience. He thought, since fantastical things like time travel had already happened, wasn't he the chosen one?
But when he thought of using the word 'Chosen,' imbued with religious connotations, as the company name, he suddenly remembered that in the future, someone had a tattoo of that word on their back!
Although, so far, the chosen one hadn't been born yet, who could guarantee he wouldn't get a tattoo in the future?
To avoid potential trouble, Ethan immediately ruled out 'Chosen.'
He then turned his attention to 'Destiny' and 'Fate.'
Honestly, Ethan didn't want either of these words.
The former, in his memory, represented the game "Destiny" produced by Microsoft, while the latter was strongly associated with the well-known Holy Grail War.
When these two words carried specific meanings, emotionally entangled Ethan couldn't bring himself to choose either.
So, he reluctantly discarded these words and settled on 'Destiny.'
As for why he didn't choose 'luck,' which had both positive connotations and the meaning of destiny? Simple! Just add 'in' after 'luck,' and the problem disappears.
It could have been chosen, but he found it awkward.
Of course, Ethan couldn't share these little stories with Evelyn, so he ended the topic with a simple "I like it."
After entrusting the task of registering the company to Evelyn, Ethan began inspecting his industries.
He first visited Mountain View City, went to Chuck Peddle's company to learn about the sales of the MOS 6502 chip.
Due to the chip's release coinciding with a copyright infringement lawsuit at a Western electronics exhibition, Ethan had no energy to inquire about the chip's status. But now, when he visited again, the manager here happily reported the results.
"Mr. Jones, the MOS 6502 caused a huge sensation at the exhibition a few weeks ago!"
"When Chuck Peddle introduced that the MOS 6502 could be sold at $42, with performance comparable to Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800, everyone at the scene was stunned!"
"They couldn't believe their ears!"
"Of course, more people started to suspect if we were frauds."
"But when Motorola announced they would adjust the price of the 6800 to $68, everyone dropped their suspicions!"
"On the day of the conference, many companies inquired about our MOS 6502, and as of today, we've sold ten thousand units. If everything goes well, our shipments by the end of this year could exceed fifty thousand, maybe even a hundred thousand!"
Chuck Peddle's company's general manager was a middle-aged man in his forties. He had rich experience as a sales manager at Texas Instruments for ten years. When talking about chip orders, he waved his arms excitedly, eyes shining.
This was genuine joy and the realization of a long-held dream.
As for the seemingly low production volume?
From a future perspective, ten thousand orders might not be impressive, but at the dawn of personal microcomputers...
Ten thousand orders were already a crazy success.
And the revenue of four hundred and twenty thousand...
Could bring a guaranteed net profit of three hundred thousand!
"I did nothing and got sixty thousand for free?"
"What a stroke of luck!"
Ethan loved this feeling of getting something for free.
While laughing, he asked, "Can you tell me which companies placed orders with us?"
"Of course!" the general manager answered readily.
Because he knew Ethan was the savior of the company.
"Ohio Scientific Instruments ordered a thousand units, Commodore ordered five thousand units, STM Systems ordered three thousand units, and some miscellaneous companies ordered a thousand units."
'...'
Alright.
These three companies left Ethan in silence.
Because he couldn't find the names of these companies in his memory.
'Ah! Maybe it's because I time-traveled too early?'
'Other than the well-established companies active for decades, I haven't heard much about the rest.'
But Ethan didn't care about such things. After all, he was at the forefront of the industry now, and he had nothing to fear.
After a brief inspection, satisfied with the current results, Ethan was ready to leave.
Just before he left, the slightly chubby general manager handed him a business card.
"What's this?"
"Motorola CEO Robert Galvin's business card."
'???'
This business card puzzled Ethan, "Where did you get it from?"
The next second, he felt something was off, "For me?"
"Yeah!"
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