Chapter 40: Sway

“That’s right, William Jefferson Clinton?” Adrian nodded to confirm Claude’s answer.

“Is there a problem with him?” Claude was still confused.

“There’s nothing wrong with him, but something’s up with Albert Gore, the person whom he wants to nominate to be his partner.” Adrian pieced his thoughts together, then continued, “You know, Uncle Anderson is quite close to Cliff Babcock, the Democrats’ former president, and I happened to…”

“Wow, you happened to.” Claude whistled.

“Okay, okay, I did it on purpose—happy?” Adrian glared at him, then went on, “I didn’t hear much, and most of them aren’t valuable, other than one thing, which is information highway!”

“Information highway?” It sparked Claude’s interest.

“How should I put this… Although it’s mere talk, it seemed to have opened a window for me, and I saw many things that I’ve never seen before!” Adrian raised his voice and appeared to be excited.

“If you can, can you describe it in detail?” Claude asked.

“Alright, let me think where I should start.” Adrian tapped his fingers on the desk. “Claw, do you remember the World Wide Web? Do you remember the few fellas we played a trick on because they wanted to join our fraternity? One of them often surfed the World Wide Web, and he even made introductions for us before.”

“Honestly, I can’t remember, although I know what the World Wide Web is.” Claude shook his head after he pondered.

“It’s okay.” Adrian was not disappointed at all. “Then I’ll talk about this briefly. The World Wide Web five years ago was very simple and crude, and if I were to use a specific metaphor, it’s a building with nothing else but its foundation. But five years later, houses appeared on its foundation.”

“Keep going, I’m listening.” Claude adjusted himself in his seat as he listened.

“I won’t talk much about the technical stuff, because I don’t understand it very well. I’m going to talk about its worth.” Adrian drank some water before he continued, “We all know where they are, the ones who like and are obsessed with the World Wide Web. Whether it’s website navigation or sending emails, they can communicate with the whole of Stanford or even Silicon Valley from their room. It’s fast and convenient, unlike messages that require time, and unlike phones that are expensive and have limits. Okay, now let’s think if the whole world is in the same network, they’ll have gapless communication like the students at Stanford. What will that look like?!”

“Media?!” Claude’s eyes sparkled. Since he was not a fool, he naturally understood what Adrian meant.

“That’s right, media!” Adrian clenched his fists together. “Think about it. If the people from Rome have access to a website server in Canada at any time, and the people from Shanghai and Brasilia can communicate with each other, what does it mean for the media industry? Yes, for now, we can only upload and download some texts and images from the network, but who knows if we can upload and download music in a few years’ time? Can we upload and download shows, films? Or even watch them on the network? It’s not impossible, and it’s only the technical part that needs to be solved, which lies within the hardware. As for the hardware, don’t forget about Moore’s Law!”

Upon hearing the uplifting speech, Claude subconsciously pulled his collar. Undeniably, Adrian’s words moved him as he was also a young man with a pioneering spirit.

Nevertheless, after taking a deep breath, he smiled as if it was nothing. “Your speech was amazing. You know, I’ve always missed your speeches from the time you were in the fraternity. That being said, a speech is a speech, you can’t prove that what you said will definitely come true…”

“But it can’t be falsified too!” Adrian quickly cut him off. He was extremely confident. “No matter which professional you inquire, they can’t prove that it’ll definitely come true, they also can’t prove that it won’t!”

Subsequently, he stood up and placed his hands on the table. “Now, let’s talk about the information highway again. Although it’s just pure talk, I believe that once Gore becomes Clinton’s partner, they’ll raise this topic as their manifesto. Alright, let’s look at our previous question. Why do we both think that the Democrats have the upper hand?”

A few seconds later, they answered at the same time, “Economy!”

They laughed for a while before Adrian continued, “That’s right. Bush might have won the first local war outside America after the ’50s, but he neglected America’s main problem. The medias’ outcries back when the Japanese bought the Rockefeller Center were the best proof, and although the Plaza Accord settled the Japanese, it didn’t solve the underlying problem, so if I were Clinton, I’ll definitely make a fuss about the economy.”

Adrian shrugged. Unfortunately, the general election was in 1991. If it were a year later, China’s disintegration would be an extra card for Bush Senior, then it would be hard to tell who would win the election. Nonetheless, it did not mean that Clinton was definitely going to take over the White House. After all, who knew if Adrian’s presence would change anything, but he was not concerned.

“I know what you want to say.” Adrian looked at Claude who was hesitant. “Yes, Clinton might not exactly defeat Bush, but as long as he raises the issue during the election, someone would push it on even if the government doesn’t support it. This is a general trend, and it would at most progress slower than expected. Moreover, Bush probably isn’t that dumb. If he’s really going to continue in politics, he’ll surely shift the political goal to the economy.

“This is a brand new area. If everything I mentioned will be realized in the near future, can you imagine how it’ll change the media industry? We both know that anything that involves a brand new area is very risky, but the profit gained if it succeeds is unsurpassed by other industries.”

Claude exercised his fingers without saying a word, then exhaled after a few minutes. “Once again, you convinced me. I think you should run for president.”

“Come on, if I’m the president, I’ll lead America to Hell without any hesitation, I guarantee.” Adrian waved his hand. “Let’s talk about what’s important.”

“Okay, a risk investment company. What else?” Claude asked.

“We’ll buy a small-scaled publishing company.” Adrian went back to his seat.

“A publishing company?” Claude rubbed his chin.

“Yes, since we’re establishing a media company, we must involve what’s related. Films, TV series, records, newspapers, publishing, games…” Adrian listed. “All in all, all industries that are related to information.”

Right then, he retrieved a floppy disk and handed it to Claude, then pointed at the computer in the study. “These are a few novels that I wrote—popular fiction. You can take a look at them now. Although they’re incomplete, I believe that you can tell their worth. I don’t have much time to spend on novels, and I’m not a professional writer, so you might need to find someone to revise them. I don’t mind having that person as a co-writer too.”

“Ha!” Claude shook the floppy disk. “Clearly, you came well-prepared.”

“Of course, I put in a lot of effort to persuade you,” Adrian replied.

“Tsk, tsk, how touching,” Claude exclaimed, then turned on his computer before he inserted the disk.

Tens of minutes later, he was done skimming Adrian’s novels.

“Virus and zombie, a female version of Indiana Jones, and cyberpunk. You’re really full of ideas, Eddy.” Claude clicked his tongue as he looked at Adrian. “But the first two ideas are only second-rate pop novels, whereas the cyberpunk approach and concept is pretty good. That being said, some work needs to be done to upgrade it to a first-rate novel.”

“I’ll hand everything to you.” Adrian shrugged. “Don’t forget, you’re the CEO.”

“Okay, is there anything else you want to say? Tell me, I’ve heard a lot tonight anyway.” Claude leaned against his chair.

Adrian rolled his eyes at him. “After that, we’ll purchase a small-scaled agency, shareholding theatre chains, prepare a dummy for a foreign trade company, and… Pay attention to the Quantum Fund’s trends.”

Claude furrowed his brows. “I understand that we need to purchase a small-scaled agency since it’ll benefit in resource arrangements in the future; I have no opinion on shareholding theatre chains, as long as we don’t own a controlling number of shares, the government won’t give us trouble. A dummy for a foreign trade company though, and paying attention to the Quantum Fund’s trends, why?”

“You know, I just returned from Germany… the Germany that has reunited,” Adrian replied. “I purposely looked around East Berlin, and I have a feeling that the red giant in Europe is going to fall.”

“This isn’t new, Eddy, we all know. It might be fearsome before the Persian Gulf War, but now, everyone can tell that it’s weak, and it’s only a matter of time before it collapses.” Claude was not impressed.

“Yes, you’re right.” Adrian did not deny. “But what if it falls at the end of this year?”

Claude’s eyelids twitched.

“Think about it, Claw, think about what the Soviet Union has been doing since the later phase of the ’80s. Once the giant that’s full of loopholes disintegrates, and if we’re well-prepared, do you know how much we’ll profit?!” Adrian stared at Claude without blinking.