The midday light in New York pierced through the gently floating curtains, illuminating the slightly narrow but not overcrowded living room of an ordinary house in Queens District. With its two-story building and a small yard, it wouldn't pass for a villa compared to the houses in the wealthier districts, but it does scrape the threshold of a typical middle-class residence.
A turn signal light from a car blinked once. The man in the driver's seat, Ben Parker, had a touch of grey at his temples. He was a middle-aged man of average height and build, always fond of wearing plaid shirts with jackets, or overalls of various colors. He always had a small tool bag attached to his waist, prepared to perform emergency repairs at any given moment.
In New York, being an electrical engineer isn't an extremely lucrative job, but it's decent and pays well enough to support a family. Although occasionally stretched thin, most other residents in this community are in a similar situation.
These individuals weren't impoverished. They were nowhere near the state of being unable to afford food. That's because they caught the tail end of America's Golden Age in their youth, when a single blue-collar worker's income could support an entire family. Ben Parker was one of these people.
In his youth, he left home early to study and skilfully worked in electrical engineering. Before he was 20, he had independently secured a pretty good-paying job, got married, and the parents of both sides contributed a small sum of money which, as a capital for newlyweds, was used to buy a house and a car, with some additional purchases of financial products for long-term income.
However, this situation only lasted a short while. Ever since the US economy began to decline, with its ability to capitalise globally becoming weaker and weaker, the Golden Age ended and blue-collar workers were no longer as privileged as before. Their income wasn't as high as it once was, but prices had gotten more expensive.
Most residents in this community were in the same predicament: although their incomes were still decent, they had to bear high real estate taxes and insurance, making ends meet required pinching pennies, and by the end of the year, there was still no savings.
Ben Parker removed his hand from the steering wheel, opened the car door and got out, looking back at his Cadillac with a satisfied expression.
This satisfaction wasn't over any bragging rights, despite the achievements of Peter Parker pleasing him greatly, this car had in fact been purchased with his own salary, not Peter's.
Ben Parker had always wanted a Cadillac, but throughout these years, the Parker family's financial situation had left them with no spare capacity to buy a new car. Even the Ford they later bought had been acquired on the secondhand market - as long as it could run, they couldn't care less about the brand or its features.
Standing in front of the car, Ben Parker stared blankly at the Cadillac's emblem. Aunt May, from her vantage point at the second floor window, disapprovingly tapped the balcony rail with a feather duster, noticing this.
Awakened by the sound, Ben Parker looked up at Aunt May, waved, pocketed his keys and quickly walked towards the house entrance.
But just then, Aunt May stopped him, she gestured something at him, and he instantly understood Stephanie's - Peter's girlfriend - must have arrived.
At that moment, the sunlight was just right as it shone on the armrest of the Parker family's couch. Gwen was leaning her arm on it, looking somewhat distressed as she said to Peter, "Great, not only do you have to create an alibi, I have to create one too. I should never have agreed to her when I was going soft!"
Sitting next to her, Peter, who was unwrapping a box of cookies, gave a mirthful smile, "What could be more terrifying than Chief George finding out his daughter's boyfriend is Spider Man? Its him finding out his daughter is also Spider Man!"
Gwen pushed him slightly, glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching, then said in a slightly annoyed tone, "Stop laughing, you have experience in this, start thinking of a way to help me. My dad'll figure it out sooner or later!"
Shaking his head, Peter said, "I realised that before you did, so I've given up. The truth that there are over 200 Spider Man in New York can't be hidden; you'd better prepare some blood pressure medicine."
Dressed in a floral dress, Gwen slumped to one side of the armrest, propping her head with her hand, and said weakly, "My dad'll go crazy, he really will. I mean, over 200 Spider Man, he'd be overwhelmed!"
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, Gwen turned to Peter and asked, "Weren't you planning on buying a new house for your aunt and uncle? Have you chosen a location yet?"
"It's not me buying, my uncle is considering moving." Peter took a cookie from a box of treats from another cosmos and handed it to Gwen, then said, "Ever since he changed jobs, his income has increased by a lot and his benefits have improved. First he bought a new car, and now he plans to move to a more spacious house."
"Uncle Ben got a new job?" Gwen asked, mildly surprised, "Wasn't he working at the New York Power Management Bureau before? I think he was doing emergency repairs for municipal facilities?"
"Yes, but that job is tiring, dangerous, and doesn't pay much." Peter made a face and added: "If it weren't for the subsidies in winter and summer, he wouldn't have wanted to do it. After all, he used to be an electrical engineer at a big company, it was only when the company went bankrupt during the economic crisis and he unexpectedly lost his job. Then, in great haste in order to provide for me and Aunt May, he had to quickly find another job."Peter broke off a piece of biscuit and popped it into his mouth, recalling, "It must have been when I was still in elementary school. Uncle Ben stayed with us for a while. Those were lean times and we were utterly broke. Left with no choice, he found a job to get us through the difficult period."
"But when the hard times were over, he had aged more. Despite his expansive experience, he lacked professional qualifications, and many private companies were reluctant to employ such a worker. Hence, he settled for a job as a power grid repairman."
"So why is he thinking of changing his job now?" Gwen enquired.
"He didn't initially want to change jobs." Peter sighed, "Ever since many interstellar transport routes were established, due to their advanced technology which doesn't align with New York's slightly outmoded electrical grid, power outages started occurring frequently."
"Although the implementation of new energy sources has been placed on the agenda, unfortunately, replacing the grid for an entire city isn't that simple. So now, we can only make do with what we have."
"But when something breaks, it can't just be left broken; it still has to be repaired. Stark had installed alarm bells in the New York Power Management Bureau, but there's not a moment in the 24 hour day when the bells aren't ringing. Problems are springing up everywhere, and that includes the company my uncle works at."
"Their team consists of over 60 electricians and apprentices, yet even when every one of them is mobilized, it's still not enough. The problem lies in the fact that during each repair, they've already fixed half of the breakdowns and can quickly complete those. But the other half of the malfunctions involve more advanced technology, which no one understands. All they can do is wait for Stark Group to send a technician."
"Wait!" Gwen interrupted Peter, "Why not just have Stark send technicians? Isn't it true that anti-monopoly laws have made exceptions for companies like Stark?"
Peter shook his head, "Didn't we all work for Stark Group? Don't you know? Those so-called 'technicians' from Stark Group are really researchers. It's straightforward for them to design circuit diagrams and explain principles, but hands-on repairing is hard for them; they could literally electrocute themselves."
"Now, the biggest problem with power failures in New York is that experienced electricians don't understand the new technology, and young researchers who understand these technologies don't know how to repair them. Both sides have to struggle together for hours just to fix a minor problem."
Gwen sighed, nodded, and said, "If that's the case, it really is a big problem. You still haven't explained the relevance of any of this with Uncle Ben's new job."
"I was just about to," Peter said, but Aunt May, beaming, came over with two cups of tea. Placing the cups in front of them, she gently clapped her hands, "Biscuits should be eaten with tea, as the British say."
Peter picked up the tea cup and gulped down the contents, Aunt May gently tapped his shoulder, giving Peter a glance hinting that he shouldn't be so uncouth in front of his girlfriend.
Peter wiped his mouth and said, "My uncle simply couldn't stand the situation any longer. He felt it was entirely a waste of time. As a result, he picked a researcher at random and made him explain all the details about the technology used at the shuttle platforms."
"In fact, the circuit technology used at the shuttle platforms isn't complicated and hasn't fundamentally changed from the previous principles. It only presents different characteristics because some critical technologies adopt new materials for conductors and lines. Experienced electricians could understand it after getting their hands on it a few times."
"Uncle Ben would grab onto the young Stark Group technicians whenever he met them and have them explain things to him. Before long, he became the most efficient repairman in their power management bureau, even becoming an expert in the repair of shuttle platforms."
"As time went on, Uncle Ben got better and better. Other personnel of the Power Management Bureau were already at the point where they'd call him whenever they encountered operational problems."
"With such skills, it would be difficult not to get a promotion. Nowadays, my uncle is a senior technical consultant in the Interstellar Transport Technology Power Service Department of the New York Power Management Bureau. This was a job traditionally held by electrical engineering professors. It's respectable and well-paying without being very exhausting; all he has to do is help answer difficult technical questions."
Peter chuckled, "Right now, my uncle is in charge of training nine apprentices. They keep running back and forth among all the interstellar transport route stations throughout New York to rapidly accumulate technical experience for these apprentices, so they can graduate sooner. The Power Management Bureau keeps pressing this matter. They're so desperate for workers they'd do anything!"
Gwen initially started asking questions out of concern for Peter's relatives. But the more she heard, the more engrossed she became. When the conversation reached this point, she couldn't help asking somewhat doubtfully, "Is the Power Management Bureau really short-staffed?"
"Absolutely. And not just the Power Management Bureau." Uncle Ben's voice echoed from the door. He hung up his coat, placed his tool bag on the ground, and said, "I just returned from the Shuttle Boarding Center in the Queens District. Old Pence from the Transportation Management Bureau has complained to me for the eighth time about the lack of platform security officers and has asked me if I have any relatives or friends to recommend."
Gwen slowly furrowed her brows, as if she had thought of something. She asked, "Since there's such a shortage of staff everywhere, why are there constant protests in the Bronx because of unemployment issues?"