America 1982-Chapter 121 - 35: Bait
"Mitch, Debbie mentioned that you’re pondering the future development of the company. Can I join in?" Jim pushed open the door to Mitch Kapor’s office, the CEO of Lotus, and as he was opening the door, he already asked loudly.
Mitch Kapor stood at a large desk, drawing something attentively on a piece of paper with a ruler and pencil. He laughed with a hint of helplessness in his voice, "Jim, could you contact my secretary and have her confirm whether I have time before you come to see me next time?"
Jim walked over and saw that the paper in front of Mitch was covered in straight, precise lines. Clearly, this was a circuit diagram.
It seemed that any computer programmer who liked computers could draw a decent circuit diagram, and also have enough hands-on skills to assemble some strange computers based on various schematics they created.
He sat down opposite the desk, his upper body slumping onto the tabletop, looking utterly exhausted. He called out to the secretary by the door in an exaggerated tone, laughing, "Debbie, could I have a drink that can perk me up? You know my preference~ California is dreadful because they don’t have the special drink you prepare for me."
"Of course, Mr. Manz," the secretary said with a light laugh and turned to leave the office while thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Jim slowly sat up straight, softly tapping his back with his hand, his voice gradually becoming calm and deep, "The long flight did a number on my back muscles."
"It might also be from prolonged pleasurable activities. Birch from Information World once called the company, swearing at you loudly, demanding that the administration must remember to play the recording of the call to you, you made him lose over three thousand dollars." Mitch kept his eyes on the diagram, one hand steadying the ruler, the other hand’s pencil drawing new extension lines with the ruler, his focused expression making it seem like he wasn’t just drawing but as if he were the creator giving life to something new.
Jim looked at Mitch Kapor, "So, can you spare me a small part of your time now to think about how the company could transition to a hardware company?"
"Of course, of course..." Mitch replied nonchalantly, but only after he had finished the line did he put down the pencil and looked at Jim, giving a small smile, "I have time now, Jim. You can say whatever you want to say."
Jim stared into Mitch’s eyes and nodded, "I called you and Jonathan in California, remember? I also had the secretary bring the software back. Actor Corporation—I’ve heard you say that you wanted Jonathan to fly there to talk to them, to see if there was a chance to acquire them, right?"
"That’s right, I did say that," Mitch confirmed with a nod.
"So, when I called you in California, when I called Jonathan, hoping you guys would fly over to meet up with me or authorize me, you never replied. You like that company; you like that software. Now you can have them under your command," Jim Manz asked, spreading his hands in confusion, looking into Mitch’s eyes.
"But why no response? I waited in California like an idiot for two days, then I could only fly back to check if the company’s phone was broken, or if California was no longer part of Earth because our communication was ridiculously delayed. Why?"
Mitch didn’t rush to answer Jim Manz’s question. Instead, he walked over to his desk and pressed the intercom, "Ask Jonathan to come to my office, thank you."
After finishing the call, Mitch sat back at his desk, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Jim, who was somewhat irritated, "Jonathan and I discussed it. We don’t want to have further contact with Actor."
"At least you could’ve given me a response," Jim said, staring at Mitch. "Instead of leaving me hanging in California, making me look like a homeless kid."
Mitch lowered his head with a wry smile and shook his head, "No, Jim, it’s not about you. In fact, Jonathan and I didn’t contact you for two days because we were together, constantly discussing one issue: how to explain to Jim and persuade him not to make us contact Actor."
"It sounds like you’re not talking about me, but about Bluebeard from ’Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ who terrorized two young girls. Am I that scary?" Jim turned away, grumbling unhappily,
"Why can’t you just pull me into the discussion? Why is it always just the two of you, and I’m like a whore who is always eager for a threesome, waiting for your call!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"You’re too assertive, Jim, to be honest, both Jonathan and I are a bit afraid of you. I’m not joking; we actually fear you. We think whether what you do is right or wrong, we might have our own judgment, but the final response is always, ’Screw it, let Jim do it his way.’ After all, if we don’t agree, you will definitely persuade us to agree and no other outcome will occur." Mitch’s smile faded as he spoke candidly to Jim Manz,
"We trust you, and we’re a bit afraid to discuss any issue you’re adamant about."
Jim exhaled deeply, "Alright, so what’s the explanation you figured out after discussing for two days?"
"Because they’re plagiarizing fraudsters, not dream-chasing creators. The version you brought back has no difference in interface from the first version, but if you compare them, you’ll find out that the version we received was carefully prepared by them, shaping themselves as our admirers, adding some tributes to us hoping to scratch our itch, and then naturally expecting to be acquired and make a fortune from a few small features. Obviously, we ignored them, and then they sold another version. There’s nothing in it that refers to the Lotus prototype source code published by Mitch and me on the phone line community; they just copied our functionalities and interface and, without authorization, made it compatible with our files. I’ve asked a lawyer; copying the interface is also a form of infringement, so listening to you, Mitch and I decided to teach these little tricksters a lesson," Jonathan walked in from outside and said earnestly to Jim:
