Rebirth of America, this is my time

"Today, Commander Jimmy went to Niagara Falls, where he listened to the latest report on the Love Canal pollution incident from special personnel from the New York State Department of Health..."

“The Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health is convinced that the toxic chemicals in this area will have a major impact on the local ecological environment and the safety of residents. This impact cannot be solved by local departments. He hopes that the federal government can lend a helping hand to save the local environment. Residents and children…”

"After listening to the report from the New York State Department of Health Commissioner, Commander Jimmy gave an emergency speech at the scene, asking New York State to immediately evacuate local residents and resettle them properly. At the same time, he also said that after returning to Washington, he would actively mobilize federal funds, ordering the Federal Disaster Relief Agency to assist New York State in solving the pollution problem, and will work hard to hold Hook Chemical responsible. The entire incident has no time limit. The leader said that as long as he is alive, he will definitely let Hook Chemical provide relief to the affected residents. Be responsible to the end..."

On the evening of August 2, in a hotel in San Jose. Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who were enjoying dinner in the guest room, stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the TV in the living room.

The CBS news broadcast made the two frown slightly. While waiting for the radio host to say that Commander Jimmy would be held accountable to the end, the two shook their heads almost at the same time.

"How many people live there? If I remember correctly, there are at least four or five thousand, right?"

Paul Allen withdrew his gaze, looked at Bill Gates, and said: "If the full compensation is paid, the cost alone will be 70 to 80 million. Adding in the pollution treatment, this matter will not be completed without a few hundred million."

"Fortunately, the responsible party is Hooker Chemical. If it were another small company..."

"Then I guess no one can be found."

When Paul Allen was calculating the compensation, Bill Gates couldn't help but nod in agreement. But when the other person said that the good news in the whole incident was that someone could be held responsible, Bill Gates suddenly smiled. He opened his eyes and shook his head and said: "Hook Chemical sold the company a long time ago, and the shareholders have already sold out. Now they belong to Occidental Petroleum. Do you want those people to lose money?"

"Dream."

"That means Jimmy is willing to take care of this matter."

"You know, his predecessors simply refused to listen to local reports."

In fact, the Love Canal pollution incident in Niagara Falls has been exposed for many years, and the cause of the entire incident can even be traced back to the 1990s of the last century.

In 1890, a guy named William Love wanted to build a community near Niagara Falls, New York. Since there was no local infrastructure and the technology for long-distance power transmission had not yet been developed, he wanted to build a canal mainly for hydroelectric power generation and supplemented by transportation purposes to provide a good infrastructure environment for the communities on the design map. .

At first, financial companies in New York, Chicago and even John Bull were very interested in the project and actively invested funds in it. However, with the advent of the Great Depression in 1893 and the emergence of the Knickerbocker crisis, the project here was Stop them all and auction them all off.

It has been a landfill since the 1920s. In 1942, Hooker Chemical Company began dumping chemical waste there. In 1947, they even bought a 70-foot-wide landfill on both sides of the canal. The road has transformed this place into a garbage town exclusive to the company. Nearly 5.8 million U.S. gallons of highly toxic chemicals, including dioxin, were dumped into it over a ten-year period.

If it was just a normal landfill, it wouldn't matter at all. But when Hook Chemical discovered that there were huge real estate development prospects in the area, they quickly listed the land. This was not because they wanted to make money, but because they were afraid of triggering a local class action lawsuit and fearing that the local government would ask them to dispose of chemical waste that would definitely affect the local ecology and water sources. In the end, the land was sold to a local school.

Although the land was sold for only one dollar, the transaction contract contained seventeen exemption clauses. Hooker Chemical used legal documents to transfer all responsibility for the chemical leakage to the local government and the New York State Government. above my head, and then the nightmare began.

When the schools were located there, the construction of surrounding communities was carried out rapidly. The construction of houses, the laying of sewers, and the establishment of public facilities leaked all the chemical waste that had been hastily treated. Starting in the 1960s, the Niagara River even All have been contaminated.

Since the local people did not know the real situation, they began to look for the cause. Hooker Chemical, which had been paying attention there, knew that the matter was serious, so the shareholders immediately looked for buyers and sold the company. By 1968 , the unknown Occidental Petroleum officially took over, but two years later the incident occurred, and people could already see with the naked eye that the local water source turned black.

The investigation has been officially underway since then, and everything Hooker Chemical has done has been uncovered. But unfortunately, no matter whether it is reported to the state government or to the federal government, all the letters sent out will not get what they deserve. In response, everyone was pretending to be dead until early this year, when a snowstorm swept the East Coast, and the significantly increased groundwater levels flushed out all the buried materials underground.

Then, Commander Jimmy learned of the matter.

Then, he formed an investigation team and dispatched commissioners to start the investigation.

Although his decision to evacuate and his pursuit of accountability were very impressive,...

Bill Gates doesn't believe it can be done.

"Do you think Occidental Petroleum will deny this account?" Paul Allen asked curiously.

"If they were willing to admit their mistakes, their business wouldn't be so big."

Bill Gates nodded and said: "There are former senators on their board of directors. The man from Tennessee named Al Gore is the director of Occidental Petroleum and the general manager of Occidental Petroleum's subsidiary in Tennessee. His son Gore He is the current member of the House of Representatives from Tennessee."

"In addition, they in Houston also maintain a close cooperative relationship with the former CIA director. His son George Jr. seemed to have opened an energy company in Texas last year? Not a single well was drilled in the oil field, and as a result, the income was already It’s millions. Aren’t the sales that appeared out of thin air all paid for by Occidental Petroleum? Occidental Petroleum doesn’t care at all whether they can dig out oil or not. They just need to know that old George will be happy when little George makes money. That’s enough. ”

"Jimmy wants to hold Occidental accountable when they have people on both sides of the aisle?"

"Honestly, it's hard."

"No one dares to really investigate Occidental Petroleum, so the matter will probably continue to drag on."

"And if anyone really dares to investigate..."

"Then the first thing they need to do is to be mentally prepared."

“Mental preparation to meet God.”

Bill Gates spread his hands.

"Hahaha--"

Those realistic words made Paul Allen sigh with emotion.

"Old capitalist Ang?"

He smiled and said: "Compared with Western Petroleum, Wall Street's methods are moderate."

"Hmm." Bill Gates nodded in agreement, "The pressure Ethan Jones is facing right now is not too great. After all, those people don't dare to risk their lives with him."

To the general public, Ethan Jones is just a pig in the limelight. After graduating from high school, he only wasted a few years before his luck skyrocketed.

Even if he does not preach to the outside world, people will think that he is another embodiment of the American dream.

But for the N generation like Bill Gates... you are talking nonsense, right?

Two years ago, Warner and Philips sued Destiny Games for reputational infringement and the case has not yet been heard. Is it possible to cover the mouths of Warner and Philips?

After that, Fred Terman urged other universities to purchase their arcade machines for teaching. Is this kind of behavior that can open up the education market in just a few words, is it something ordinary people dare to think about?

When your ancestors did not endure hardships for your family, do you still want to dream of the United States?

Give birth to a good child in your next life!

It is precisely because he knows all this that after hearing the news about the success of Destiny Game in the past two years, Bill Gates was so relieved that he was not surprised at all. And when Steve Ballmer came to him and told him that Ethan Jones wanted to invest in him...

His first reaction was that Ethan was looking for new allies.

After all, his mother is also a Wall Street person.

And the ordinary people don’t know that Wall Street is eager to eat Ethan Jones alive.

In this case it appears that Bill Gates really does not want investments.

In other words, before coming here, he even thought Ethan Jones was a little ridiculous.

It's obviously you, Ethan Jones, who can't withstand the pressure from Wall Street and wants to find foreign aid!

Turns out you want to invest in my company?

Is this something wrong with your brain, or do I look stupid?

If not they wanted to know what project Ethan would give them...

They won't come!

"But his inspiration is really good, isn't it?"

Now that they were talking about business, Paul Allen had no intention of continuing to eat.

He threw away his knife and fork, folded his hands and leaned on the table with his elbows. He leaned forward slightly and said, "I have always thought that Steven Spielberg's evaluation of Ethan Jones was a bit exaggerated. He said that Ethan Jones To say that you can see the future of video games as soon as you close your eyes sounds like boasting."

"But now I have to admit that what he said makes sense, because once the spreadsheet Ethan mentioned is made, it will definitely be a sensation in the world!"

“Spreadsheets are a tool that helps people solve problems!”

“Spreadsheets are indeed something that can bring convenience to people’s lives!”

“Even though there may be a certain learning cost behind this!”

"But that's not important, right?"

"Compared with the sustainable convenience of the future, learning now is acceptable."

"At least for large companies, government departments, this is an excellent innovation."

When Ethan came up with the idea of ​​a spreadsheet, Paul Allen's first reaction was to be a special girl! Because this thing is not only creating people's demand for computers, but also bringing convenience to mankind.

Paul Allen even felt that as long as they could successfully develop a spreadsheet, they would be able to achieve financial freedom in a very short period of time. This speed may not be comparable to the game of Destiny that soars into the sky on a rocket, but it is faster than Apple Computer. That was an absolute breeze.

More importantly, they don't have to worry about the software being pirated.

Because as long as the software is produced, the first ones to purchase it will definitely be those large companies and government departments. When the purchaser has a legal entity, it is very easy to hold accountable.

"This project will get us out of a situation where the company can't make money, won't it?"

Paul Allen raised his eyebrows and looked at Bill Gates with joy.

Listening to those words full of joy, Bill Gates sighed, "Alas——"

Then he nodded, "Paul, I know this is a good idea, but..."

"Why doesn't it belong to us?"

Bill Gates leaned back, looked directly at his friend and played with the fork in his hand.

At this time, he had already taken off the pretense of excitement when he first met Ethan.

"If the inspiration was ours, we wouldn't have to pay Ethan Jones."

He didn't shy away from looking at his friend.

That's right! When Bill Gates discovered that spreadsheets were explosive, his first reaction was to copy special codes! As for cooperation? Don’t even think about it!

You and Ethan Jones haven't made anything yet, so who knows that this inspiration is yours?

You, Ethan Jones, did show us the inspiration for spreadsheets today, but financial tables are so common! I said that I have been studying this stuff a long time ago, but you can't find a reason to refute it! If you can take it all by just talking, why should you accept investment?

"Is this okay?" Paul Allen's eyes lit up.

"I don't want to split the money." Bill Gates spread his hands.

Such words caused a happy smile to appear on Paul Allen's face, and his eyes under the lenses flashed crazily, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of the idea, but more like weighing the benefits.

After a while——

Paul Allen said: "Now everyone in America knows that Fred Terman will protect them to the death. If we plagiarize, the professors at Stanford Law School will definitely help them litigate."

"I have my dad." Bill Gates shrugged and said, "The Game of Destiny is in California and our company is in Washington State. Both places have the right to govern the case."

"If they file a lawsuit in California, we will definitely lose, but we can defend the delay. As long as our software sells well, the final compensation will be just a little money for us."

"If they file a lawsuit in Washington state, it will be on our home court. With my dad here, even if Stanford takes action, they will not be able to win the lawsuit."

“As for filing a federal lawsuit based on interstate infringement?”

"This doesn't matter anymore, right?"

"As I said before, as long as the time drags on long enough, even if we lose, we will still win."

The confidence of his friend made Paul Allen nod his head, and then he said: "What if you don't sue directly? But use other methods to strangle? Your family has a lot of property. If you really offend Fred... Terman, then he will attack your family's industry in all aspects."

"Although Ethan Jones is not his grandson, he has done these things for HP before."

"Texas Instruments was hammered by him and lost government orders."

"And the reason why he helped Destiny Game block Philips was not only because Philips' previous actions were indeed a bit excessive, but also because Philips has many businesses that overlap with HP. Attacking Philips is actually helping the people around him and helping him. Those two students."

"I have my mother." This question made Bill Gates smile and say: "Forget about HP, what if Thor and Lockheed come together? This is not a threat to us at all."

"If it were old-school capitalists like Occidental Petroleum, then I would still worry about their revenge, but the new capital that was born in the past few decades... they don't have the ability to threaten you!"

The unabashed words made Paul Allen even happier.

He kept nodding and said: "Okay, Okay, Okay..."

"That puts me at ease."

In fact, after coming out of Palo Alto, Paul Allen was thinking about cooperation. Like Bill Gates, he didn't want to pay for the BASIC interpreter as his own.

It’s just that Ethan Jones has a strong background, so he doesn’t know how to mention this matter.

But now, when Bill Gates took the initiative to say that if he copied it, he would copy it, and Ethan Jones could not cause trouble for him at all, and Paul Allen's heart fell.

"Then we refused?"

"Rejected."

However, just when Bill Gates and Paul Allen were about to leave Ethan alone and let this guy their age have a taste of America's top second-generation entrepreneurial methods, at nine o'clock that night, Steve Ballmer came to the hotel and knocked on the door of the guest room where they were staying.

"Steve, why are you here?"

Bill Gates looked at his old classmate with a strange expression.

Although they didn't know each other for a long time, and they only really got along day and night during the two years at Harvard, Steve Ballmer's personal abilities still impressed Bill Gates.

When he was pulled by Paul Allen to leave Harvard and start a company, Bill Gates also said to Steve Ballmer that they must work together if they have the opportunity in the future.

He thought this would come true, but when his friend joined the Destiny Game...

It may be very difficult to get him to change jobs.

When faced with Bill Gates' inquiry, Steve Ballmer smiled, patted his briefcase, and said, "My boss asked me to send you a contract."

"What contract?" Paul Allen frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

"Investment Contract."

Steve Ballmer opened his briefcase, took out a stack of documents and handed it over.

After the two of them read through it, the harsh terms made them shake their heads as they were not prepared to accept the investment.

"One million and thirty percent? This is impossible!" Paul Allen said loudly: "No matter how powerful his inspiration is, it is just inspiration until it has been commercially tested!"

"Yes, if he thinks his inspiration is valuable, then do it himself."

Bill Gates closed the document he had hastily scanned and said: "Since Ethan Jones is confident in his project, he can just recruit programmers to write it himself. Why should he ask us?"

"Steve, to be honest, I discussed it with William after I came back and decided not to accept your boss's investment." Paul Allen handed back the document in his hand.

Bill Gates also nodded and said apologetically: "Sorry, Steve."

"I know our decision will make all your work these days in vain, but we have clear plans for our future, and Ethan Jones's idea is not in our plans."

From the perspective of Bill Gates and Paul Allen, their decision will make Steve Ballmer very unhappy. After all, they made the decision not to accept the inspiration of Ethan Jones after hearing it. It's a decision to invest. If they want to refuse from the beginning, then just don't come.

But for the greater good, they decided to bear the wrath of Steve Ballmer in this moment.

However……

When they cast apologetic looks at Steve Ballmer, Steve Ballmer rubbed his hands in embarrassment and said, "William, Paul, how about you read the contract?"

"Why?" Bill Gates and Paul Allen were a little confused.

"Just watch until the end."

Steve Ballmer didn't explain it and just asked them to do it.

This kind of show-off behavior made the two of them very confused. When they reopened the contract and read it from beginning to end, they suddenly looked up at the investment allocation in the contract.

"Ethan didn't pay a penny and took 20% based on inspiration?" Bill Gates asked loudly.

"Yes." Steve Ballmer nodded.

"Whose is the remaining one million ten percent?" Paul Allen wanted to know the answer.

As soon as this question came up, Steve Ballmer took out another document from his briefcase.

When the two of them looked at the cover, the first line of the title made their pupils shrink suddenly!

[Memorandum of cooperation between Ethan Jones and Lawrence Rockefeller on joint investment in Microsoft]

"He dragged Wenlock in?!!" Paul Allen lost his voice instantly.

"Yes." Steve Ballmer nodded.

"When did it happen?!!" Bill Gates breathed heavily.

"I just found out," Steve Ballmer said, "but according to my boss Ethan Jones, he already contacted Wenlock after he decided to invest in you."

"Because they had a fairly smooth cooperation on Apple's investment before, when Wenlock learned that my boss Ethan Jones found them a project that he would participate in, they reported the matter To Mr. Lawrence Rockefeller, and..."

"It is said that Mr. Lawrence Rockefeller is very interested in this new cooperation..."

"Pap..."

Paul Allen's hand shook and the document fell to the ground.

Such a sound was like the starting gun in a 100-meter race, making Bill Gates turn his head with difficulty.

When he discovered that his childhood friend Paul Allen was also looking at him...

They all saw shock, surprise, horror and helplessness in each other's eyes.

At this moment, they already know that plagiarizing inspiration is no longer possible.

Because when Lawrence Rockefeller knew about this inspiration, even if Bill Gates’ father and mother were awesome, he wouldn’t be able to copy it!

There is no need to file a lawsuit for this thing. As long as Lawrence Rockefeller makes a phone call to the companies that want to buy their software and expresses that their products are infringing, they will not buy it!

Moreover, once Lawrence Rockefeller said that the old Gates family had stolen something from him, their family's face would really be disgraced!

‘Special code! ’

Paul Allen's eyes burst into flames.

'Special code...'

Bill Gates sighed helplessly.

Bill Gates, who picked up the contract again and stared at it for a long time, unwilling to give up his excellent inspiration, finally nodded.

"Fine--"

"we accept."

Note: ① The Love Canal incident led Jimmy to introduce the "Superfund Act" and also allowed Americans to see the traditional entertainment skills of capitalists for the first time. ②Some people said earlier that the donkey and elephant parties invested in something too outrageous, but Occidental Petroleum is the most typical example of two people. Gore in the article is Zipper's deputy, needless to say, the old and young Georges. Before the millennium, it was revealed that Gore's family held a large amount of Occidental Petroleum stocks before he announced his candidacy, and Occidental Petroleum was among George Jr.'s list of major donors. The Millennium case was a decisive factor for Occidental Petroleum. In a mutual fight, it doesn't matter who wins or loses, he will win anyway. ③ Gates' character is based on Microsoft founder Shion. Those who have changed the world are generally inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. Even Walt Disney was inducted for improving the camera. It can only be said that Gates is not an ordinary person.