CH139 - Election

"Making games?"

Ethan's question left Damian Dean slightly bewildered.

"Boss, I'm not quite sure what you mean."

After pondering for a moment, he voiced his confusion.

Ethan couldn't help but smile.

"I mean it exactly as it sounds. I'm asking if you're interested in game development."

"If you are, you could try making some games."

"When you feel your skills are up to par for developing games like 'Pac-Man,' let me know. Based on the situation then, I'll try to arrange some R&D work for you."

"Of course, if you're not interested, just forget I mentioned it."

"The position of production manager will always be yours."

Indeed!

When Ethan learned that Damian Dean had been vigilantly overseeing the factory's operations day and night, his esteem for the young man surged.

At the same time, he felt that employing a Stanford graduate as a production manager was somewhat underutilizing his talents.

Previously, Ethan had placed Damian in that role out of necessity, as he couldn't entrust the position of production manager to those hippies with criminal records.

Now, however, with the arrival of Michael Blanco, who had a life-and-death bond with Ethan's father, letting them first acclimate to the factory environment and learn the entire production process before gradually taking over the factory's production and freeing Damian from his current role was precisely what Ethan wanted to do.

During the development of 'Pac-Man,' Ethan had already deeply understood the differences between circuit board games and processor games. The former could be managed solo, but the latter required teamwork.

Otherwise, his sister would be overwhelmed.

Wozniak, the hefty fellow, couldn't be called upon frequently. After all, he was a founder of Apple and is currently its sole developer. As Jobs eagerly awaited new products from Wozniak, forming his own team became an unavoidable task.

Under these circumstances, the somewhat naive Damian Dean was an ideal candidate to invite.

More importantly, wasn't he a Stanford Engineering School graduate?

Of course, there was no rush.

"You have plenty of time to think about it."

"If you make a decision, teach Michael the electronic arcade production process sooner rather than later."

Ethan smiled warmly at the young man before turning on his heel and leaving the factory.

Although the incident with the hippies causing trouble had passed, Ethan remained vigilant, aware that the instigating dealers had yet to be apprehended.

In Ethan's view, since these individuals had shown up once, they would undoubtedly return. Their greed wouldn't simply vanish with the departure of the hippie staff.

Unfortunately, Ethan waited several days without hearing any disturbances at the factory. Moreover, after the Milpitas police learned that Ethan had efficiently resolved the hippie disturbance, they made a special trip to the Stanford Industrial Park to express their gratitude. During their conversation, they also expressed their astonishment, as even they had failed to locate the dealers.

How odd, right?

As the middle-aged officer put it, "Those dealers seemed to have vanished. They appeared and disappeared suddenly, which is very strange."

"And according to the intelligence we've received, your people previously mentioned that ever since those hippies were dismissed, the dealers have not shown up again."

"This behaviour is entirely illogical because if they came to sell, they must have been prepared for a standoff. Not to mention, when those dismissed hippies decided to cause trouble, they would have surely joined in, attempting to seize any advantage."

"If they can't even manage that, why did they show up at the factory in the first place?"

"If they're truly that scared, they wouldn't have provoked you to begin with."

Ethan agreed with the officer's remarks, finding the entire situation peculiar.

Could dealers conduct their business civilly?

Oh—please!

If they could be civil, then who in the world wouldn't be?

Alas, before Ethan could ponder further, an invitation on September 21st temporarily diverted his attention from the dealers.

"Barbara invites us to her home on Thursday afternoon?

"Why?"

Ethan, dining, looked up in confusion.

Evelyn, conveying the message, appeared just as puzzled, remarking, "Oh, Ethan, have you been too busy lately? The elections are just a few months away! And it's September now!"

'!'

Evelyn's reminder sparked a realization in Ethan.

Every four years, as the American presidential election approaches, candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties choose a day in late September or early October for the televised election debate.

The first of these debates took place in 1960, a landmark event that proved crucial for Kennedy's ascent to the presidency, elevating him from a relatively unknown junior senator from Massachusetts to a national figure, witnessed by 65 million Americans through television.

Kennedy's youthful and vigorous appearance contrasted sharply with Nixon's pallid and feverish demeanour, fresh from knee surgery, tipping the scales in

 Kennedy's favour after three debates.

Perhaps due to television debates not being particularly favourable to seasoned politicians, such confrontations have been rare since then.

However, this year was different.

With the Democratic candidate, a relatively unknown governor from Georgia, and the Republican incumbent seeking re-election without prior electoral experience, both parties saw the televised debate as an opportunity to present their governing philosophies to the public. The debate was scheduled for September 23rd.

Truthfully, Ethan hadn't paid much attention to this matter, considering his previous life's disengagement from such rights and knowing the outcome beforehand. However, after embracing Thomas's employment theory, his perspective shifted, recognizing the election's proximity.

So, when Evelyn expressed her confusion, Ethan, with a laugh, brushed it off as being too busy, curious about Barbara's professor's formal invitation to watch the debate. Was it because she had a favoured candidate?

Upon inquiring, Evelyn confirmed, "Of course! Barbara supports the governor of Georgia for his moderate and progressive policies."

'The governor of Georgia?'

'That would be Carter, wouldn't it?'

'Barbara supports him?'

'Oh—then he's bound to win—'

Ethan chuckled internally, responding, "Okay, I'll be free that day."

"I'll join you."