Chapter 71: The Striking Cell Phone

The name "Daniel" had long become so common it was almost trite—Su Mu had encountered it countless times, even earlier that morning, when one of the two Stanford students sitting behind him on the bus bore that name. By chance, he learned from this Daniel that his cousin was also named Daniel. Su Mu found this odd and started to wonder if the cousin was the very Stanford student he’d met that morning on the Greyhound, but their surnames were different. His cousin was Daniel James, five years older than Daniel Brown.

Now, not long after their acquaintance, Su Mu watched as Daniel Brown pulled a white mobile phone from his backpack—the kind people called a “brick,” with a protruding antenna, no display screen, just rows of buttons. All eyes were immediately drawn to it; even teachers and students passing by couldn’t help but stare, its allure outshining even that of a supercar.

Su Mu’s suspicions were only confirmed: Daniel was undoubtedly from a wealthy family. In this era, mobile phones were a luxury even in America, costing upwards of four thousand dollars, with calling fees that were astronomical. No one but the affluent—those with more money than sense—would choose a device that required ten hours to charge for only half an hour of talk time. Payphones were everywhere. Su Mu couldn’t help but think that Daniel Brown’s family was far wealthier than he’d initially imagined—no, far wealthier, indeed.

In these years, the mobile phone was an undeniable novelty. Back in April 1973, Martin Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola, had made history in New York by placing the world’s first mobile phone call to an executive at AT&T, Motorola’s longtime rival. “Joel, I’m calling you from a cellular phone, a real, handheld, portable cellular phone.” That line had become legendary, remembered by countless people and causing a global sensation. Motorola’s stock soared.

But it took a decade for that “brick” to become a product. In April 1983, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the world’s first commercial mobile phone, was finally released, having just been approved by the FCC last year and launched for sale this April. It had only been on the market for a little over four months, and this was the first time Su Mu had ever seen a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X up close. Most people around him were seeing it for the first time, too—no wonder it drew so much attention. It was the most famous piece of high-tech equipment of its era, arguably more renowned than the computer—true cutting-edge technology.

After dialing, Daniel extended the antenna and pressed the phone to his ear. He whispered to Su Mu, "Leon, are any girls looking at me? To be honest, I’ve never dated before. My brother suggested that I make a call with this in the most crowded place I can find. Do you think it’s working?"

Su Mu raised an eyebrow, immediately sensing the truth and feeling at a loss for words. He glanced around—indeed, many bystanders had paused, eyes fixed on Daniel and the phone pressed ostentatiously to his ear, eager to see how it worked.

With a peculiar tone, Su Mu replied, "Plenty—absolutely plenty. You should probably speak a little louder—girls will definitely be drawn to your phone."

He couldn’t quite understand how someone so wealthy could seem so... ordinary. When they first met, he’d assumed Daniel was as poor as himself. Had they been in Chinatown, matchmakers would have trampled his family’s threshold in a rush to arrange a marriage—finding a girlfriend would be the least of his worries.

But thinking more of Daniel’s personality, Su Mu realized it wasn’t so strange. In every aspect, he was not the type to attract girls’ favor; no wonder he resorted to using a mobile phone as bait. Judging by the reactions, it seemed to be working.

Taking Su Mu’s advice to heart, Daniel shouted into the phone as soon as the call connected, "Cousin! Is there a spare room where you live?!! A friend of mine is looking for a place to stay!!"

"..."

"It's me! Daniel Brown... No, I'm not deaf! I'm calling you on a mobile phone; I was afraid you wouldn't hear me!"

The crowd around them erupted in excitement. Dozens of bright, curious eyes were fixed on Daniel—or more precisely, on the mobile phone in his hand. It looked so advanced, so impressive—it actually worked, and he was really talking to someone!

Su Mu was no exception. He’d never paid much attention to mobile phones before, always assuming they had to be plugged in somewhere. He hadn’t realized you could simply dial a number and talk, just like that.

“This must be the world’s most advanced technology,” Su Mu mused silently. Compared to the computer he’d fiddled with at Du Zhong’s house, the mobile phone was far more fascinating—utterly astonishing.

Daniel spoke to his cousin for a while, his voice loud enough to ensure any nearby girls could hear. Unfortunately, the girls around them showed no interest in him whatsoever. At school, everyone knew him as a bookworm, the type who’d freeze up if a girl so much as looked his way.

Instead, it was Su Mu who drew some attention. Several older girls, giggling, pointed and whispered about him. Though their words were indistinct, Su Mu caught fragments like “boring,” “short,” “young,” and “virgin,” making it easy to imagine the gist of their conversation.

This was America, after all—open and unabashed. Some envied Su Mu, imagining him catching the eye of the most notorious girls at Menlo Park High. They wondered if he’d soon be “swept off his feet” all at once—not because he pursued them, but because they came after him. It was an open secret at Menlo Park Private High, and even other schools, that these girls liked to “hunt in packs.” Several well-liked boys had already fallen prey to their charms—willingly, in most cases. Rumor had it that even a male teacher had resigned after crossing the line with them, though this was unconfirmed, just something overheard from their braggadocio.

Unaware of any of this, Su Mu left the school gates with Daniel, who was still clutching the mobile phone protectively, as though afraid to drop or break it. Su Mu asked, "Can I use it to call home? Directly to my family?"

"Sure, but it’s almost out of battery," Daniel replied, regaining some confidence and smiling broadly, still basking in the afterglow of having been the center of attention. "Go ahead and call your family—just let them know the school doesn’t have dorms."

"...Not yet," Su Mu said. "I’ll wait until I’ve found somewhere to stay, otherwise they’ll just worry—and they might even rush over."

He looked once more at the mobile phone before handing it back to Daniel. "How did your family get this for you?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, we didn’t buy it. My dad works at Motorola—they gave him three for free. This one’s mine; I don’t even have to pay for calls. I just got it yesterday," Daniel replied offhandedly, without a trace of guile.

Su Mu nodded in sudden understanding. It had to be a perk for Motorola’s management—surely they wouldn’t be generous enough to hand these out to ordinary employees...