America 1982-Chapter 605 - 134: The Rise of Stanford_3

"The openness and freedom of the Internet should not be like this, Tommy. The definition of internet freedom is not about allowing capital to amass wealth freely and without regulation,"

"People can find out where to buy discounted goods through those emails, which is a good thing." Tommy defended his actions with a smile.

Quinn walked in with coffee from outside, placed it next to Seraph, then blatantly stayed close by, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Winton Sev, too indolent to look at Tommy again, picked up the coffee and inhaled the fragrance, "Politicians will also know how to use email, as well as future internet interactions, to increase their propaganda channels. The battlefield of public opinion was once newspapers, now it’s television, and it will be the internet in the future. So, what are you doing back here? There’s not much left here for you to squeeze dry. Any information technology you find exploitable, you’ve already got a foot in."

"Do you want me to throw him out, Professor?" Quinn asked with a stern face.

Winton Sev, hearing Quinn, smiled and shook his head, "Let it be. At least half of the dozens of internet research projects in these buildings have received his donations. Just like the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School is always open to MCI’s chairman of the board, McGowan, this place is the same for Tommy Hawk—his donations are hefty enough."

"It’s not the same. McGowan did it for a suitable heart, the university medical center performed more than one heart transplant surgery for him," Tommy argued. "I’m different, I donate for the free development of the internet industry."

The McGowan they were talking about is the boss of the American telecommunications service provider MCI Corporation, sixty-two years old this year, smokes three packs of cigarettes a day, drinks over twenty cups of coffee, works fifteen hours, and isn’t afraid of sudden death because his wealth allows him to get a new heart when the old one fails. Moreover, to ensure he always has a suitable organ source, he’s directly funded a regenerative medicine research institute at the University of Pittsburgh with a fortune.

MCI is now the second-largest telecommunications fiber network service provider in the United States, covering forty-six thousand miles and holding 16% of the market share, offering paid voice calls, faxes, data transfer, and email services in nearly a hundred countries. The John Kruger family owns 20% of MCI’s shares.

As for why the mentor and protégé are so familiar with these insider details about MCI, it’s because Tommy’s own WinStar Corporation holds 9% of MCI’s shares, while Winton Sev serves as MCI Corporation’s vice-president in charge of digital information technology. As early as 1984, he helped design and launch MCI’s commercial email service, MCI-Mail, making him a father of commercial email.

"Why not meet with Jason and learn about the current state of your businesses, instead of coming here?" Winton Sev took a sip of his coffee and asked Tommy, "Don’t tell me it’s because you miss me, I won’t believe that."

Tommy shrugged his shoulders, revealing his purpose, "Actually, I wanted to ask you to help me design an advertisement. I’ve always felt that even if you weren’t involved in internet research work, you’d still make a genius advertising designer. The MCI commercial you led and aired on television was ranked among the top fifty best American business advertisements of all time by a magazine, comparing it to the classic advertisement works during the Pepsi and Coca-Cola wars, allowing MCI to snatch a 6% market share from AT&T’s hands and become the third-largest telecom service provider in the nation."

Seeing the old man at first surprised and then showing a glint of excitement in his eyes, Quinn rubbed his forehead and whispered to Tommy, "Can’t you find a different way to milk the professor? From video game consoles now to shooting ads?"

"If it works, it’s fine," Tommy replied. "And if you can get the professor to finally agree to help me, I have no problem giving you Susan, Sophia, and Jason’s girlfriend Susy to sleep with."

"Deal." Quinn said emotionlessly, then, visibly annoyed, moved slightly away from Tommy and loud enough to show his dissatisfaction, accused, "The professor doesn’t have the time to think up those messy ideas for you! Do you know how important his work is right now? He has just represented the United States and won the internet protocol war against Europe, and he’s currently busy perfecting the internet protocol suite..."

"Which advertising magazine categorized the ad I designed back then as a classic?" Winton Sev interrupted her before Quinn could finish, asking Tommy curiously.

"The latest issue of ’Banner’ magazine by Teed News Corporation in Washington. Do you want to have a look? I bought a copy on purpose," Tommy quickly walked out of the office, rifled through Sophia’s bag for the already-prepared magazine, ran back, flipped to the page of the rankings, and handed it to Winton Sev.

The classic advertisement ranking was a fake contest that he had asked Ted to arrange, knowing that the magazine’s sales were average at best and that professionals were probably too lazy to question the credibility of such rankings. However, it should be sufficient to fool his own naïve professor.

"Professor, let me remind you not to fall for this rascal’s tricks. He merely wants to use you to achieve some unspeakable, dark goals. Tommy is like a fly chasing stench, drawn by the smell of money. The best way to deal with people like him is to grab a big bottle of insecticide and spray it directly at his head..." Quinn continued trying to dissuade forcefully. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Winton Sev, glancing at his own advertisement ranking in the high position of twenty-first, laughed happily. He had won countless awards for being first in computer-related rankings, but none of them gave him the joy that this unexpected twenty-first did.

"Changing things up occasionally isn’t bad, Quinn, go back to your work. Tommy isn’t as bad as you describe; he’s a good student. You’ve gone too far, you should apologize to him." He kept his eyes on the magazine, saying this to Quinn, who was still berating Tommy.

As Quinn headed out, he lowered his voice and said into Tommy’s ear, "Make sure they’re ready, and if you try to get out of this..."

"Being honest and trustworthy is the most valuable virtue I possess. What I say, I do. If any of them refuses, I’ll lie down in bed myself," Tommy said earnestly.