[Chapter 469: The Honest Truth]
The day after the Los Angeles riots, despite the fact that Claudia Schiffer and Tina Fey exited Eric's bedroom one after the other early in the morning, none of the women left the mansion. They were all very much aware of the ongoing turmoil in the downtown area, and though they directed some disapproving glares at Eric, he mostly ignored them. After all, it wasn't like they could punch a hole in him.
That morning, a helicopter from the estate made a trip back to Beverly Hills to pick up a little one. Having Emma scampering around the villa like a mouse helped lighten the atmosphere there.
To protect her privacy, Julia didn't bring the nanny along, possibly trying to showcase her maternal side to Eric. All five women busied themselves caring for the little one; however, it was clear that none of them were skilled in child-rearing. Just think of Julia, and how her level of parenting might've reflected on her counterpart in their original timeline, Emma Roberts, who had a similarly youthful demeanor.
Even though Eric had planned to leave Los Angeles, the events continued for three days without impacting Malibu. With nothing better to do at the mansion, he spent all day on the phone with Chris, discussing the preparations for three companies.
...
At that time, Chris was at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recruiting staff for the three companies. At the start of the '90s, those two universities represented the forefront of computer technology in the United States. One was Stanford University, the alma mater of many founders of famous internet companies like Yahoo and Google. The other was MIT, where the renowned father of the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee, taught.
Chris informed Eric that he had reached out to Tim Berners-Lee himself, who was the proponent of the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web was essentially the predecessor of the Internet, and websites starting with "www" were members of the Web Consortium.
Chris said over the phone that Tim was very interested in graphical interface browsers but simultaneously harbored concerns about the project. Several years earlier, Tim and others had developed a non-graphical web browser, but once he realized that commercializing browser software could lead to fragmented internet standards, he abandoned that idea.
Eric quickly understood Tim's significance. As the chair of the World Wide Web Consortium, he had a hand in defining critical early internet technology standards. If they could build a rapport with him or even bring him onto their team, it would significantly boost Eric's position in the high-tech internet industry.
Through Chris's introduction, Eric connected with Tim by phone. Faced with a MIT professor, Eric's scant computer knowledge felt inadequate, but thankfully, he had foresight and a clear grasp of the internet's development trends. The conversation flowed smoothly, and Tim appreciated many of Eric's ideas about the internet's future.
After talking for over an hour, Eric extended an invitation for Tim to visit Los Angeles that weekend, hoping to discuss his thoughts on the Internet Explorer company in more detail. To Eric's surprise, Tim readily agreed to come, even with the riots still ongoing in Los Angeles.
Seeing Tim so eager, Eric certainly wouldn't oppose and even sent a private jet from Firefly Films to pick him up in Massachusetts.
...
The situation in Los Angeles was still escalating. It was an election year, and Eric figured that George Bush Sr. was likely feeling the heat. The Gulf War victory had positioned him well, but everyone knew that the Los Angeles riots, regardless of the outcome, would surely impact his approval ratings. Eric couldn't shake the thought that in his original timeline, Bill Clinton had won the election by a slim margin, possibly influenced by these very riots.
On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, unrest spread to major cities on both coasts. Race had always been a sensitive issue for American lawmakers, so George Bush could only make vague comments on television, avoiding specifics about the racial conflict while declaring "anarchism is intolerable."
It wasn't until the third day that many citizens of Los Angeles took to the streets, demanding the federal government quell the unrest. California Governor Pete Wilson also sought federal assistance, prompting Bush to order the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles.
Although the media criticized the federal government for its delayed response, many understood this was a last resort for President Bush. The initial public outcry was boiling, and misrepresentations from footage misleadingly indicated that 90 percent of citizens believed the four officers who assaulted Rodney King were guilty. Deploying troops at that moment would only exacerbate tensions. Waiting a few days allowed the public to realize that the chaos would only harm their own interests before unrest could be curtailed effectively.
...
As National Guard took to the streets, Tim Berners-Lee arrived in Los Angeles. To avoid giving this MIT professor the impression of a playboy (though that was somewhat accurate), Eric sent the other women away and kept only Julia behind. This turned out to be because little Emma had formed a fondness for the property and cried inconsolably when it was time to leave.
When a helicopter landed on the property, Eric was still cradling tearful little Emma. A disheveled man in his thirties with deep-set eyes exited the helicopter and smiled as he approached Eric, followed by Chris, who was curiously eyeing the child in Eric's arms.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Lee. The little one just had a meltdown and only just calmed down," Eric said, holding Emma with one arm while extending his hand for a shake with Tim.
"That's perfectly alright," Tim replied with a smile. "Eric, I didn't realize you had a child."
"No, this isn't my child, actually..." Eric gestured toward Julia who happened to speak up, just as Emma, still sucking her thumb, gurgled out "Daddy."
Although her baby voice was somewhat muddled, everyone present heard her loud and clear, leaving Eric with a perplexed expression. Emma, unfurling her fingers toward Julia, added, "Mama."
It had to be Drew -- that little rascal must have been behind this. Eric vividly remembered how she had been sneaking around with a frame, teaching Emma words over the past couple of days.
Even though it was the '90s, many in the West still considered being a love child embarrassing, as evidenced by people like Steve Jobs never acknowledging theirs; the atmosphere grew quite awkward.
Feeling a wave of helplessness wash over him, Eric gazed at a snickering Julia and Tim's somewhat judgmental expression. He surrendered helplessly, "Alright, I guess I'm her dad."
"What in the world is going on?" Chris asked, turning up just then.
Rocking Emma in his arms, Julia sensed the confusion on Tim's and Chris's faces, and so she stepped in to clarify for Eric. "Mr. Lee, actually, this is my brother's daughter. He and his girlfriend didn't want to raise her, so I took her in."
Chris chimed in, "Oh! I remember reading about this in the paper last year. Your brother's name is Eric Roberts, right?"
Julia nodded.
Tim certainly recognized Julia and, hearing her and Chris's explanation, realized he had misunderstood Eric's situation.
"Well then, let's not just stand around here. Let's head inside," Eric said, gesturing politely while mentally plotting how to address the little troublemaker.
...
By noon, after having lunch, Eric led Chris and Tim to the glass wall overlooking the sea to discuss the graphical interface browser project. While Eric presented three plans, Chris only detailed the browser project with Tim.
Although Tim expressed initial shock at the view of the limitless blue sky and sea, he soon got into the rhythm of discussing the browser. "Eric, my concern is that once the graphical interface browser operates commercially and succeeds, more software companies are likely to compete. Each will create its own network protocol rules, and websites won't adapt to all browsers, leading to a fragmented internet. The reason why I didn't let our browser software be commercialized is due to these worries. I hope to build a global, unified information exchange network, not one divided by varying protocols."
Eric listened intently to Tim's words but thought he was being overly idealistic. In a capitalist society, if there was a hundred percent profit to be made, the machinery of capital could commit any wrongdoing. In the future, the internet's value could reach trillions of dollars; that piece of pie couldn't be controlled by merely idealism.
While Tim dedicated himself to promoting the Web for free, the browser war between Netscape and IE had erupted in the mid-'90s. Netscape fell by the wayside, but soon after, the emergence of browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox followed. Though a free strategy gained traction later on, IE never managed to dominate the market completely.
Once Tim finished speaking, Eric asked, "Mr. Lee, after all this, do you actually want our graphical interface browser to remain free for users?"
"Yes, making the graphical interface browser free for users will undoubtedly accelerate the World Wide Web's promotion," Tim replied, gesturing around. "Look, Eric, you're already wealthy -- why not do something even more meaningful?"
Eric chuckled as he poured more coffee for Tim from the pot on the table. "Mr. Lee, I'm in the movie business, so let's talk about film. After Thomas Edison invented the film camera in the late 1880s, the first video, La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon, didn't surface until around 1895. And it wasn't until 1906, that a full-length feature film is made, The Story of the Kelly Gang, an Australian film."
Tim looked puzzled. "Eric, I'm not quite following how this relates to our discussion."
With a calming gesture, Eric continued, "Many years passed before feature-length silent films emerged and quickly formed an industry. By the 1920s, sound films appeared, and color films by the '40s followed, leading to 3D films in the '60s, family VHS tapes in the '80s, and now we know that DVD technology exists. What do you think drove all these advancements?"
Tim was not some out-of-touch bookworm; he understood Eric's implicit meaning.
Eric smiled, adding, "It's profit. The drive for profit has always propelled innovations and developments in film technology. Without this incentive, we might still be watching something resembling a silent black-and-white film playing at 16 frames per second."
"Eric, I'm not against companies making profits; I just wish for fewer disagreements and for a unified platform for information exchange to be built."
Eric nodded. "Mr. Lee, our goals actually align. I also wish for a unified platform, but our methods differ. You hope for free sharing, while I want to monopolize!"
Tim chuckled, responding, "Eric, your candor surprises me."
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.