Chương 4: New Life

The next day. Alexander woke from his bed with a lighter and fresher feel. The persistent headaches have finally subsided and he could truly move on to live life.

He freshened up, took care of his stenchy body, and admired his look being reflected in the mirror.

Having bathed in your own sweat and having that sweat drying up on you in your sleep was not a good feeling.

"Is this what I had been? Comparing myself to what I would be, my future self should be scolded for being a wasteful person!"

What he was truly admiring was the youth it held. As someone who was persistently thin for most of his future life and having a bloated stomach in his forties, his teeny body held much more potential and polishing than it should have been.

Being a couch potato of a programmer could really take its toll on anybody. One of Alexander's 'new life goals' is to become a healthier person.

He wasn't that narcissistic enough to proclaim himself as incredibly handsome but he did woo and trick a lot of beautiful gals during his teenage and college years.

It was a waste to neglect that for the pursuit of his programming passion.

He had the Creed family genes to surpass and rival charismatic Toms, Canadian Ryans, and a model-dating Leonardo. There was no sense in being a skinny aberration with a bloated beer belly.

"Do I even need to pursue AIs and coding breakthroughs now? I'm pretty sure these binaries in my head are already a pinnacle masterpiece!" He talked to his reflection, hoping to piece out the two personalities that have merged.

It was hopeless though as he was the only true Alexander. There is no past and future personality. Only a single entity living in the present with the golden finger of foresight.

As of the moment, he would only look like a crazy person talking to his reflection to an innocent bystander.

His pursuit and passion for programming also seemed regretful now as he has seen through his self-disillusionment.

"Continuing dad's programming legacy seemed like a cruel joke now. Beautifying the selfishness of a father to make you into a money printer was really delusional on my part."

Alexander grew bitter at the realization of the truth and the doubt that programming was never really his own pursuit in the first place.

If anything, it was as if his father possessed him with the obsession to become the next Gates and Jobs.

His pursuit of programming was a bit purer but these recent enlightenments made it a bit more tainted.

"Also, given the time period and the assimilated skills I have, I'm probably at the grandmaster level in the profession."

Alexander did not doubt that Windows '95 could be taken as his own credit if he made it ahead of time.

"I could even be the true master hacker that movie-making hicks have continuously sold to gullible movie fans." He surmised and shivered at the potential he has, especially with the Internet in its infancy.

Being a foresighted programmer in barren times felt much more stressful than forging ahead with others through the mysterious mist of the cyber world.

He was also used to much more advanced hardware and playing with slow processors would just degrade his skills.

He was a software geek and he wasn't experimental or knowledgeable enough to jumpstart the late 1980s equipment into the 2020s.

Alexander felt complex. Delighted and distraught. Jovial and dismayed. Excited and downcast.

Ultimately, he decided to go with the flow and not wear the mantle of programming revolutionary as of yet.

"It would be best to follow the progressive timeline of technology and whip up an improved version for my own convenience."

He has a newer outlook and a new life ahead of him. There was no sense in bogging himself down with something he had already achieved and improving on it. Only those obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records would do such tasteless things.

Since he has achieved making a program that somehow linked his past and future, it was already the peak of his programming life and there was no sense in trying to surpass that.

If there was any other technical geek to achieve more than that. Then, he would personally pat that person on the back and sincerely congratulate him on a job well done.

"I'm eleven. There must be new obsessions and goals I'll find on the way." He gave one last pep talk to his reflection before his grandpa would see him and label him as a crazy person.

Alexander changed into 80s-appropriate clothing and felt nostalgic as someone with an old soul from the 2020s.

He had now realized why old-school film executives are crazy enough to ruin classic film franchises. Nostalgia is a powerful propaganda tool.

Too bad that it's become overused and wasn't handled pretty well.

Alexander shook his head at the regrets of the future and planned to take care of what is presently in front of him.

His bed was flooded from his torturous session and needed changing, so he went to work on that.

He also had to work on his demeanor and quirks to make him fit into the current state of things.

Alexander Creed is a young boy suffering from the loss of his parents. Not a 44-year-old man from the future who has already moved on from that pain.

"I just need a progressive tinkering of my quirks here and there. Along with a little psychological hinting and strategic deliberation, grandpa would eventually be tricked into believing a personality that I find suiting."

After all, acting as an innocent kid for months is a bit demeaning for someone with a mature soul.

He didn't want his grandfather to suspect him of being possessed by an adult. He just wants the old man to think that his grandson matured quickly from the trauma of losing loved ones.

Granted, the old man wasn't that meticulous and Alexander was just being overly meticulous.

Consequently, this gradual process would also help with his integration into this enlightened persona and the potential-holding era that he could use to his advantage.

Time ticked and Alexander went into action without delay. If there was anything that the people of Silicon Valley knew of efficient Creed, that would be his over-preparedness and lack of procrastination.