Chapter 163: Winds and Clouds Surge (3/4 for Subscriptions)

According to Blake, a group of Silicon Valley heavyweights and numerous researchers had practically camped out at Penguin, refusing to leave until they figured out what kind of technology had been developed, which was the very reason Su Mu did not dare to return to Silicon Valley.

Without consulting him, Vice President Bush took matters into his own hands and had the news splashed across the front page of The New York Times. Even when Gates took Microsoft public, he failed to land the front page of America's highest-circulation newspaper, being relegated instead to the business section front page; yet Su Mu achieved it.

Overnight, he became the talk of IT experts worldwide.

It is worth noting that by the afternoon of November 8, 1988, the election results were already out. Vice President Bush's title would soon change to President. Dropping such explosive news on election day—promising three million jobs—carried an obvious and profound significance.

European scholars who received the news made a dozen phone calls to friends, desperately trying to find out what the technology was.

White-haired Japanese old men sat dazed before their telephones, listening to friends recount how America had birthed a new internet technology.

Those with more volatile tempers booked immediate flights to Silicon Valley, determined to get to the bottom of it, otherwise unable to sleep or even stomach a single meal!

Ever since the advent of internet protocols, network information technology had been crawling forward at a snail's pace, becoming the primary bottleneck restricting the growth of internet users. Countless experts had spent years researching and devising countless methods, yet the problem remained unsolved.

Today, hearing that a young Chinese man in America had done it, and had even boldly claimed that anyone who could read could easily use a personal computer to browse various information on the internet—with even U.S. Vice President Bush stepping in to announce it would generate three million jobs for the United States—felt like having their hearts clawed at by cats. They read the newspaper over and over again, yet failed to find the most crucial details.

They made inquiries in every possible direction, only to discover that aside from that young Chinese man, no one knew what the technology actually was. Su Mu's background was swiftly dug up, yet yielded no clues.

In the late 1980s, any technology capable of popularizing the internet was the ultimate treasure. The internet itself was a treasure chest, but people lacked the key to open it. With countless interests intertwined, a storm was brewing!

Though the truth remained unconfirmed, the involvement of the U.S. Vice President lent the claims considerable credibility. On November 8th, while ordinary citizens cared about Bush becoming president, scientific researchers cared far more about one burning question: Where on earth was Su Mu?

At the epicenter of the storm, Su Mu was currently staying at the Hilton Washington DC, having already called James to instruct him to gather a group of internet experts and senior programmers to rush over as quickly as possible.

He had not anticipated that the situation would snowball like this. His mobile phone had long since been bombarded with calls from acquaintances and strangers alike, all demanding to know whether Su Mu truly held the key technology that could popularize the internet and bring it to the civilian market.

With the battery already running low, the phone soon shut itself down automatically, and it would be hours before it could be used again.

He merely told those people that it was entirely feasible in theory, but still needed to be actually realized, and that an official announcement would be made in a few days. An idea of this magnitude was worth a billion, perhaps tens of billions of dollars; he was not foolish enough to spill the beans directly.

Many experts knew about hypertext technology, some even more thoroughly than Su Mu. If he casually dropped a hint, someone might connect it to the internet and seize the initiative.

Realizing the technology was not difficult; the true value lay in the creative concept—the idea of linking hypertext and the internet.

Therefore, until the technology actually materialized and patents were registered, he intended to keep it strictly confidential.

Ultimately, he had underestimated these people's thirst for knowledge. Barely an hour after calling James, a middle-aged man rushed into the Hilton hotel out of breath, telling the front desk he was looking for Su Mu, and giving his name: Vint Cerf!

Many regarded him as one of the "fathers of the internet" and a co-designer of TCP/IP and the internet architecture.

With a peculiar expression, Su Mu agreed to see him, and the moment they met, he asked Dr. Cerf, "Pardon me, how did you know I was here?"

"Didn't you put out the word that you were looking for internet experts? An old friend of mine called me. I count as an expert, don't I?"

"……Of course. I've read your books. Please come in. Tea or coffee?"

"Neither. Just tell me your idea right away! That's why I rushed over here! Young man, don't drag your feet—are you pulling my leg?"

Dr. Cerf's bluntness gave Su Mu a headache. He replied speechlessly, "Please hold on for a moment. I'm a businessman, and I haven't registered the patent for this technology yet. How can I just blurt it out? I'm sorry, I don't mean to single you out, but until a non-disclosure agreement is signed, I can't tell anyone."

In that instant, Su Mu noticed the look in the middle-aged man's eyes turn to one of profound disappointment and sorrow, as if he were gazing at a scoundrel merchant who had fallen into the abyss.

Dr. Cerf's voice rang in his ears: "The internet should be open, allowing everyone to benefit from it. How can you attempt to profit from it?"

"……The bills from telecommunications operators don't say 'free' for me, and isn't the National Science Foundation making money off the network too?"

Left speechless by Su Mu's retort, Dr. Cerf, whose eyes saw only technology, glared at Su Mu for several dozen seconds before finally softening. "Where is the non-disclosure agreement? Once I sign it, you tell me. I absolutely won't tell anyone else. Satisfied?"

"Well, I haven't asked a lawyer to draft one yet."

"……"

Half an hour later, four prominent heavyweights, including the chairman of the National Science Foundation, sat alongside Dr. Cerf, glaring at Su Mu as they waited for the lawyer he summoned to draft the non-disclosure agreement.

Being treated with such casual disregard was practically an insult to them. Yet even feeling insulted, none of these figures were willing to leave, terrified that a moment of temper would cause them to miss the monumental era of internet development.

James had messed up. He was being harassed by a crowd at Spider Company when Su Mu happened to ask him to find experts. And the people blockading Spider and refusing to leave were, for the most part, internet experts, alongside numerous merchants who had caught the scent of money and rushed over in a panic.

Consequently, he asked those people if they were willing to accompany him to Washington, D.C. on the East Coast to jointly research the new technology. Being scientific researchers, their work was inherently tedious anyway, and who didn't have a few friends?

Once the news got out, it spread from ten to a hundred, rapidly flying into the ears of interested parties around the world, unwittingly transforming into an internet conference to "deliberately discuss a momentous event."

Experts from top universities and research institutes in Canada, France, Britain, Germany, and beyond frantically packed their bags and embarked on the journey to Washington, D.C.!

Having stalled before that crucial technological bottleneck for years, clever minds could already foresee the immense utility of the internet and personal computers. Yet, due to the barriers of information transmission, personal computers could only remain household ornaments for the vast majority of families.

Years had passed, and they were still dismissed as mere "typewriters" or "word processors," causing no small amount of depression among experts who had studied the internet for decades.

Today, upon unexpectedly hearing the news, even if it might well be a hoax, they were willing to travel thousands of miles to verify its authenticity!

Because if it were true, the grand era of the internet was about to truly begin...