America 1982-Chapter 601 - 132: I’m Home_2
"That bastard, although he discriminates against women just like our old-school mentor, also gave me the urge to strangle the whole team with a power cord on multiple occasions. But I have to admit they’re damn good. Before I kill them, I have to absorb all the nutrients from them as much as possible."
Sophia couldn’t help but lean forward and turn her face to size up this cool chick, "You could switch advisors. Why would you put up with their discrimination? Why not lodge a complaint with the school about gender bias? They wouldn’t condone it, and law students would stand up for us."
"Because they are strong, strong enough that I force myself to hypnotize myself to ignore that discrimination. The school would also indulge them for being strong. If I complained, I’d be transferred, or worse, given some money to go to another university. They’ll still be kept on by Stanford University. And I even think Stanford would shut down the Law School if they made trouble over something minor," Quinn said, looking at the fork in the road ahead, and asking Tommy:
"Should we go straight to the old guy or to ONE to see the other still-developing ’Tommy Little Fruits’? Just a heads up, the old guy’s throwing a fit, ripping a new one into some poor sucker on a long-distance call."
"Is the SSD doing okay? If it is, I’d like to grab a drink there first. Maybe by the time I’m done, the professor will have cooled off." Tommy, hearing that his professor was in a foul mood, quickly asked about the situation at the SSD.
Quinn pulled out a cigarette and put it between her lips, then grabbed a Zippo and struck it against the pale thigh peeking through her denim hot shorts, igniting a flame to light her cigarette before continuing:
"They probably don’t have time to entertain you today. They’re busy with a charity fundraising competition partnered with the BDP Blonde Society. They’re seeing who can raise the most money, and a few SSD members working at the supercomputing center took off to join in. I think you might be more interested in the Blonde Society, as I heard the SSD guys say their fundraising method involved titties galore."
"The Blonde Society hasn’t grown a bit, always using the same sleazy, flesh-selling tricks to cheat, luring men into donating with the promise of getting a peek at tits... After so many years, men must be sick of it already," Tommy commented disdainfully after hearing Quinn.
A few seconds later, he said to Sophia, "Remind me to go to the BDP before six o’clock tonight. Not that I want to see young girls vamp it up, I just simply intend to donate ten bucks to make a difference for the veterans."
"You could donate to the SSD," Sophia glanced at Tommy, pointedly reminding him. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Tommy turned his head to look out at the Stanford campus scenery. "Wouldn’t that be a waste of ten bucks? At the Blonde Society, at least ten bucks will get me lots of warm hospitality from young girls. What do I get with my ten bucks at the SSD? A bunch of idiots handing over a beer to me, a fellow alumnus, and jotting down my name in a register with thanks? They wouldn’t spare me an extra word during this competition period. No matter how much I donate, being an alumnus, I’ll still just be credited for ten bucks. Do you expect those assholes to give me a smile for ten bucks?"
"So, are you going to ONE or not? Some of the first-generation Stanford students should remember you, maybe still look up to you a bit," Quinn teased.
"Forget it, let’s wait until Susan gets back with the dirt on those actors, when there’s time. ONE was her creation, not mine," Tommy shook his head:
"Let’s head to the Stanford National Supercomputing Application Center to see the professor directly. Last time I saw him was last year when Jason and I were invited to the American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dinner, where he was awarded fellowship and lifetime membership."
"Stanford National Supercomputing Application Center? What’s that?" Sophia asked in surprise upon hearing the lengthy name.
As a Stanford graduate, she had no recollection of this seemingly enormous facility, and she had only graduated five or six years ago.
"How long has it been since you’ve been back to Stanford?" Quinn asked, cigarette in mouth.
Sophia replied, "Six years? I went to New York and Los Angeles to work as Tommy’s stand-in after my graduate studies at the Law School, ensuring he could continue his education at Stanford."
"Five or six years might not mean much change for other universities, but for Stanford, especially in computer science, the changes have been staggering. The National Supercomputing Application Center was initiated by the national science foundation with funding grants in 1987, to support outstanding universities in their respective fields. It’s a national research institution devised for undertaking foundational research in wide-area networking and the creation of the World Wide Web, to advance and guide the future development of computing systems. There are only five of such centers across America, with California home to two—one at USC and the other right here at Stanford," Quinn explained while driving.
"Tommy never told you about these things?"
Sophia shook her head: "After graduating, he got busy renovating his house, setting up TV networks, and seldom talked about his previous life at Stanford."
"Before he graduated in 1987, or rather during his four years at Stanford, he was involved in many computing and internet-related research projects at Stanford University. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the privilege of being picked up by me," Quinn said with a smirk.
