Ethan's Holiday

Chapter 77 Ethan's Holiday

"Dog Day Afternoon" is a film based on a true story. The main plot is very simple: it tells the story of how a robber becomes the unluckiest bank robber in American history.

The story goes like this: Mike Corleone and his best friend Fredo Corleone rob a bank on a hot afternoon. Because a large amount of cash has just been moved from the bank, they are stunned when they open the safe—there's only $1,100 inside. Perhaps misfortune never comes singly, because before they can even leave with the money, their crime is discovered by the police. Thus, what should have been a ten-minute robbery turns into a protracted battle lasting over ten hours. In the end, the Godfather is arrested, and Fredo Corleone is shot dead on the spot by Fredo.

Although the plot is not complicated, there are still many jokes and references in it.

For example, Al Pacino plays a character named Sonny who openly criticizes the Sony company behind the script.

Not only that, he is also an LGBTQIA+ person, directly riding the wave of a social hot topic;

His main purpose in robbing the bank was to raise money for his partner's gender reassignment surgery, which was an incredibly clever motive.

What's even more impressive is that during the standoff with the police, Al Pacino in the movie became a people's hero.

When Al Pacino released a black hostage as requested by the police, the officers blocking the bank entrance mistook the hostage for his accomplice and swarmed him, handcuffing him. This situation enraged Al Pacino, who defended the hostage as a white man while shouting the word "Attica".

This scene delighted Ethan, because he imagined the future Floyd case in his mind. When this connection across time appeared, he was immediately amazed that Hollywood in the 1970s had already been playing such elaborate games.

At this point, they're already emphasizing Black Lives Matter?

But after he asked Evelyn what Al Pacino meant by shouting "Attica," he realized it was a meme.

"Oh, Ethan, don't you remember this?"

In the dimly lit movie theater, Evelyn glanced at Ethan and said curiously, "This happened several years ago?"

"At the time, a riot broke out at Attica prison. Inmates took control of the prison, took 42 staff members hostage, and demanded that New York local officials and prison authorities improve conditions and treatment within the prison."

"The two sides talked for several days without reaching an agreement, so the then governor of New York State sent armed police and troops into the prison to quell the riot. In this firefight, dozens of people from the prison died, many of whom were hostages. Most importantly, these people were shot, and at that time, the only armed personnel were the police and troops who were quelling the riot."

"Holy crap!"

"Is that even possible?"

Ethan had always known that sending Russians to rescue hostages was a highly unreliable endeavor, but he never imagined that the American police could be so incompetent. They managed to kill a bunch of hostages while suppressing a prison?

What are these people doing? Are they using a CosT-800 and a Gatling gun to rescue hostages?

Ethan couldn't understand it.

"Shouldn't the New York governor who was in charge at the time have been in trouble?" Ethan asked curiously.

At that moment, he was like a badger in a melon patch.

His face contorted, as if he wanted to hear some gossip.

Evelyn rolled her eyes at him. "Unlucky? Why would I be unlucky?"

"Because dozens of hostages died!" Ethan said matter-of-factly.

"But in that guy's eyes, these dead hostages weren't even human beings," Evelyn said.

"Don't you know? That governor of New York back then is now the vice president!"

"That's Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller."

"Oh, so it's this gentleman!"

"That's basic capitalist practice!"

"Got it, got it!"

Ethan was quite satisfied with what he'd heard.

Although "Dog Day Afternoon" isn't a big action movie, Ethan still enjoyed it quite a bit because it was full of hidden references.

I walked into the movie theater happily and drove home with a grin on my face.

However, this good mood did not last long. When Evelyn told him the following evening that Vinton Cerf said he did not know Professor Ralph Bell, Ethan became somewhat depressed.

"Don't you recognize it? In that case, we'll have to find it ourselves."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Evelyn thought it was better to wait a little longer. "Although Vinton said he didn't know Ralph Bell, he also said he could ask around for me, but it will take some time because he won't be going to DARPA anytime soon. Probably around the end of the year, around Christmas, when he visits an old friend in Virginia, he'll ask around for us."

"End of the year?"

"So it'll only be three months?"

Ethan was okay with this timeframe. "I'll wait a bit longer and treat it as a vacation."

He stretched.

Evelyn, however, felt that something was amiss with this explanation.

Because in her mind, Ethan seemed to be on vacation every day!

He was only busy for a week while making "Snake Game", and busy for a month while selling "Snake Game". He was only anxious for a few days when he was sued. Otherwise... it seems like he didn't do anything!

"hiss……"

How can this person be so lazy?

If Ethan knew Evelyn's thoughts, he would definitely gloat, because his comfort came entirely from the power of the times.

When you are in the midst of a wave, the impetus brought about by change will naturally allow you to easily glimpse the pinnacle of the era.

Although Ethan kept saying he needed to rest, he didn't actually take a break.

On October 7th, he handed over the company name he had been thinking about for several days to Evelyn.

When Evelyn saw the words on the paper, she was speechless.

"Kismet (destiny)?"

"You want to use this word as the company name?"

"Yeah~" Ethan nodded and said, "It's destiny! It means that the establishment of our company is ordained by heaven!"

Evelyn's face tightened at this explanation.

Because she felt that using this word as a company name... was a bit strange!

Why don't you use Destiny, Fate, or Chosen?

"If you want to convey a sense of imperial approval, then I think these three words are more accurate, right?"

good question!

Ethan almost applauded Evelyn because she had asked the crucial question.

In fact, Ethan almost scratched his head off while thinking of a name. He wanted a name that was powerful but not cliché, but unfortunately, he couldn't come up with one after thinking for a long time.

So, in a very childish way, he linked the company's name with his own time travel. He felt that since such a fantastical thing as time travel had already happened, wasn't he the chosen one?

But when he thought of using the word 'Chosen,' which has religious connotations of divine choice, as the company name, he suddenly remembered that someone in the future would have this word tattooed on their back!

Although the chosen one has not yet been born, no one can guarantee that he won't get a tattoo in the future, right?

To avoid being scammed, Ethan immediately ruled out "Chosen".

Then they turned their attention to 'Destiny' and 'Fate'.

To be honest, Ethan didn't really want to choose either of those two words.

Because in his memory, the former represents the Microsoft game "Destiny," while the latter represents the well-known Holy Grail War.

When these two words carry specific meanings, Ethan, who finds it emotionally difficult to avoid them, simply cannot choose the one he wants.

So he had no choice but to reluctantly discard all those words and choose 'Kismet'.

As for why he didn't choose 'luck,' which has both good luck and the meaning of fate?

Very simple!

Adding 'in' after 'luck' will solve the problem.

You can choose.

But he himself felt embarrassed watching it.

Of course, Ethan couldn't tell Evelyn these little stories, so he ended the conversation by saying "I like it."

After entrusting the company registration to Evelyn, Ethan began to inspect his own businesses.

He first went to Mountain View to visit Chuck Patol's company to find out about the sales of MOS 6502.

Because the release date of MOS 6502 at the Western Electronics Show coincided with the infringement lawsuit, Ethan had no energy to pay attention to the chip. When he finished everything and came back today, the manager here reported the results to him with a happy face.

"Mr. Jones, the MOS 6502 caused quite a stir at the exhibition a few weeks ago!"

"When Mr. Chuck Patel introduced the MOS 6502 to the public, saying it could be sold for $42 while offering performance comparable to the Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800, everyone present was stunned!"

"They simply couldn't believe their ears!"

"Of course, many people are also wondering if we are scammers."

"However, when Motorola announced that they would adjust the price of the 6800 to $68, everyone stopped being skeptical!"

"On the day of the press conference, many companies inquired about the MOS 6502 product. To date, we have sold 10,000 6502 units. If all goes well, our shipments will exceed 50,000, or even 100,000 by the end of this year!"

The general manager of Chuck Patol is a middle-aged man in his forties. He had worked as a sales manager at Texas Instruments for ten years and had extensive experience in the industry, but when talking about chip orders, he still waved his arms excitedly and his eyes lit up.

This is a heartfelt joy, and a manifestation of finally realizing a dream.

As for the seemingly low production volume?

Judging from today's perspective, an order of 10,000 is clearly insufficient, but it was at the very beginning of the personal microcomputer era...

An order of 10,000 is already an insane number.

And the sales revenue of 420,000...

It can even bring in a guaranteed net profit of 300,000!

"I didn't do anything and got 60,000 yuan for nothing?"

"That's great!"

Ethan loves the feeling of getting something for free.

While laughing, he also asked, "Can you tell me which companies placed orders with us?"

"Of course!" the general manager replied readily.

Because he knew Ethan was the company's savior.

"Ohio Scientific Instruments ordered 1,000 from us, Commodore ordered 5,000 from us, STM Systems ordered 3,000 from us, and a few other companies ordered 1,000 from us."

"..."

Fine.

These three companies silenced Ethan.

Because he couldn't recall the names of these companies from his memory.

"Sigh! Perhaps this is because I transmigrated too early?"

Aside from established companies that have been active for decades, I haven't heard of many others.

However, Ethan didn't care about such things. Anyway, he was now at the top of the industry and wasn't afraid of anyone.

After a brief stroll around, Ethan, satisfied with his current performance, prepared to slip away.

Just before he left, the slightly overweight general manager suddenly handed him a business card.

"This is?"

"Motorola CEO Robert Galvin's business card."

'???'

Ethan was puzzled by the business card. "Where did you get this?"

The next second he realized something was wrong, "For me?"

"Yeah!"

The slightly chubby general manager nodded and said, "Actually, on the very day we released the MOS 6502, Motorola had already received the news. They had a booth at the electronics exhibition and were furious. They contacted us and demanded that we stop infringing on their patents."

"But after Mr. Chuck Patel and Mr. Robert Galvin made a phone call, their attitude changed, and they publicly announced at the show that they would lower the price by 6800 within a few months."

"I don't know what happened, but afterwards, Chuck Patel asked me to give this business card to you."

"He said that Motorola's CEO, Robert Galvin, wants to talk to you."

"As for whether or not to accept it?"

"You decide for yourself."

"Is this some kind of threat they're trying to make?"

Ethan felt he understood.

But after he mentally prepared himself and dialed the number with great curiosity, he was met with a gentle voice on the other end of the line.

"Ethan Jones? The inventor of the Snake Game? Good afternoon."

"Yeah~ Mr. Galvin, I'm Ethan. What brings you here?" Since they didn't know each other, and Ethan had essentially stolen Motorola's business, he spoke bluntly, "If you want to condemn me, then you can start now."

"Oh, Ethan, you think I'm contacting you because I want to yell at you?"

"Mr. Galvin, I don't think I can find a second reason."

"Haha~ It seems Motorola doesn't have a good reputation. I just wanted to have a simple phone call with you, but I didn't expect you to think like this." Robert Galvin chuckled on the other end of the line, then said, "Ethan, don't be nervous. I don't mean anything by it. I just want to get to know you and see what kind of young man is helping Chuck."

Seemingly aware that his words lacked credibility, he added, "Don't worry, Motorola concedes defeat on the 6502 issue. Since Stanford stepped in to resolve the problem, this market should belong to you."

Ethan was puzzled by this question. "Mr. Galvin, I don't understand what you mean."

"Don't understand? Oh—then you probably don't know who I am. I'm the trustee of the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the school's library is even named after my father. Our school has a deep partnership with Stanford, and we know what kind of people Professor Barbara Babcock and Professor Vinton Cerf are, so you don't need to worry. I'm not as stupid as Atari."

Robert Galvin's words made Ethan laugh.

He understood what the other person meant.

To put it simply, it means I know you inside and out, we're the same kind of people, there's no need to fight to the death over trivial matters.

The trustee role that Robert Galvin mentioned is actually a position of honorary leadership. They would provide financial, strategic and moral support to the school to help it develop better, and at the same time, they would have priority access to some of the latest inventions.

To put it simply, this identity is actually the corporate identity in Fred Terman's university-enterprise cooperation program. When companies draw on a continuous stream of patents from American universities, they understand better than ordinary people that high technology is the foundation of development.

For Motorola, the chip market, which currently offers no clear prospects, is of no importance.

Ethan Jones can take it if he wants.

What truly matters are the future research achievements of universities.

The reason Robert Galvin and Ethan Jones communicated was quite simple.

Once Ethan secured a foothold with Vinton Cerf, he had already obtained his ticket to a top-tier company. The remaining question was whether he could secure commercially viable research results from Stanford. Anyone willing to go to such lengths to wrest market share from Motorola must have ambitions to climb the corporate ladder. Therefore, even if Robert Galvin didn't know if Ethan would succeed, but—

"If you need a partner in the future, you can give Motorola your first choice."

"Whether it's electronics manufacturing or attracting investment, Motorola excels at both."

"Oh, Mr. Galvin, thank you," Ethan replied with a smile.

Although Ethan behaved very gentlemanly, he did not believe Robert Galvin's words at all.

In his opinion, this guy must have some ulterior motive.

After the Atari incident, he has remained vigilant.

Only those researchers who are passionate about technology can treat each other with sincerity. As for businessmen?

Get them out of here!

After inspecting Chuck Patel's company, Ethan then drove to the garage of his loyal Steve Jobs family.

Cough cough cough...

This sounds a bit strange, but there's nothing we can do about it; after all, Steve Jobs chose this location for Apple's manufacturing plant.

Ethan's original intention was to check on the sales of Apple Unit 1.

But when he knocked on Steve Jobs' door, the words that greeted him took him by surprise.

"Oh, Ethan! We meet again!"

Jobs first gave Ethan a big hug.

Then, the next second, this guy stood on tiptoe and started jumping around.

Their gaze drifted to what was behind Ethan.

Then, a question arose: "Ethan? Weren't you here to deliver the machine today?"

"Huh? What machine?" Ethan looked bewildered.

"A signed arcade machine of 'Snake Game'!" Jobs, who had been holding Ethan, loosened his arms, leaned back, and carefully observed Ethan's expression. "You haven't forgotten about this, have you?"

"Didn't you ask me last time to inquire why MCA acquired Atari at such a high price?"

"Didn't I tell you back then that my friend likes your games and wants a signed Snake Game arcade machine?"

"..."

Oh my god! I forgot!

When Jobs brought it up, Ethan was immediately stunned.

But the next second, he acted as if nothing had happened and said, "A signed arcade machine from 'Snake Game'?"

"Of course I remember that!"

"But I can't buy a Snake Game arcade machine now because I've terminated my contract with Atari, and no company is producing it anymore..."

Ethan thinks he's a genius!

Such perfect reasons can be come up with effortlessly!

Just when he thought his words were flawless, Jobs blinked and said, "Then how was the world's first Snake Game created? Did it spring from a stone like the monkey in Eastern mythology?"

"! 』

Ethan was taken aback; he hadn't expected Jobs to ask that question.

After staring at the other person for a long time, he finally gave in, "Okay, okay, I really forgot."

"I'll go buy the ingredients when I get home later—oh wait, I'll call Frank right now and have him deliver them to me, so I can try to make it for your friend tonight!"

Ethan felt that he was indeed in the wrong.

Steve Jobs' friend did him such a big favor, but he forgot what the friend wanted?

This is absolutely wrong.

His defeated look made Steve Jobs chuckle and punch him in the arm with his right fist.

"Oh bro, look how scared you are! Just forget about it, he's changed his requirements anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ethan didn't understand.

"It's very simple. My friend's initial goal was to meet you and get to know you. He wanted to know what kind of person developed 'Snake Game'. However, because MCA wanted to acquire Atari, and you have a conflict with Atari, he couldn't meet with you."

"But now, MCA has abandoned Atari, and Atari has been acquired by Warner Bros., so..."

"He wants to meet with you."

Jobs shrugged and said, "It's that simple."

"Warner Bros. acquired Atari on September 28th, right?"

He called me on September 28th.

"He said that when you have time, he'll let me take you to Los Angeles to visit him."

"So? Are you going or not?"

"Oh, I see?" Ethan understood and laughed. "Go, why not go?"

"Oaky, let's go now." Jobs immediately pushed Ethan out, "Just drive your car there."

"So urgent?" Ethan exclaimed in surprise. "And does he even have time today? Can we even see him if we just go like this?"

"Of course!" Jobs said. "He's a director, so his work comes in waves. When he's busy, you can't find him, but when he's not busy, he's just like you, wandering around all day."

"So he's a director?" Ethan realized.

The next second he complained, "Steve, who are you calling wandering around?"

"Dude! I'm not idle! I need to work!"

Steve Jobs laughed at such shameless words.

"Yeah~Yeah~Yeah~"

"You need to work~"

"But your main job is watching other people work~"

Before he finished speaking, he braced himself against the Ferrari door and climbed into the sports car.

He touched the steering wheel and said, "Where are the keys? Can I borrow them?"

"I've never driven a Ferrari before!"

Note: ① In reality, the reason the MOS 6502 was accepted was due to the price reductions of the Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800. Before their price cuts, nobody believed CPUs could be that cheap. ② Motorola didn't initially take the CPU market seriously. Chuck Patol and others said they left Motorola, but before their departure, Motorola had plans for layoffs, using factory relocation as a pretext for layoffs. Robert Galvin felt that the CPU market was just something to try, not a promising one. At that time, they had already invented the mobile phone (1973) and obtained mobile phone patents. From this perspective, Motorola's judgment was actually correct; the mobile phone market was indeed larger than the CPU market. Of course, their chip business only stagnated for two years before they regretted it. Back then, to make mobile phones, they even sold their television business to Panasonic. ③ The relationship between the Illinois Institute of Technology and Stanford University has been mentioned earlier; they almost established the Stanford Research Institute.

(End of this chapter)