Reborn in America, this is my era.

Chapter 101 A Mind-Blowing Experience During Vacation

Ethan was unaware of Mirova and Atari's schemes; after all, he wasn't Professor X and didn't have the ability to read minds.

At this moment, he is at the company arranging work.

"Julis Noble".

"I'm here." The philosophy girl whose name was called stepped forward.

"You will be fully responsible for all matters related to the company's orders during the coming period."

"No problem, Mr. Jones." The girl nodded readily. "I'm very familiar with this process."

"Okay." Ethan smiled in satisfaction, then called out another name, "Damio Dean."

"I'm here," the young man whose name was called replied quickly.

"For the time being, you will be in charge of all production and distribution at the factory. You can directly liaise with Frank at the San Francisco electronics company regarding the procurement of raw materials, and submit the previous week's report to Allen Massey every Tuesday for reconciliation. Any questions?"

"No problem," the young man replied readily. "Don't worry, Mr. Jones, I won't let you down."

"Hmm~" Ethan admired his confidence, then turned his gaze to the company's oldest financial manager.

"After I leave, you will be in charge of all the company's affairs. Whether it's receiving orders, production, delivery, or receiving payments, these things will ultimately be handled by your finance department for verification and accounting. So you will be very busy in the coming period."

"Oh, Boss, I'm used to it."

Alan Massey puffed out his corny belly and said with a chuckle, "When it comes to work, there's never a quiet day."

"Besides, isn't all this busy work ultimately for our year-end bonus?"

"Since tomorrow is a bright future that is clearly visible to the naked eye, then the busyness we are doing now is acceptable."

"Oh—you're absolutely right—" Ethan laughed at these words. "I'll give you all your year-end bonuses!"

At the same time, he also thought to himself that there is a real difference between a seasoned veteran who has been in the workforce for many years and a young person who has just graduated from school!

The word "dream" can no longer bind him.

But that's fine too. One should be realistic when it comes to life.

If you work hard all year round, but in the end you only have a pitiful 300 days left, what's the point of all that hard work?

He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to get back to work, and then turned to look at the big boss in the boss's chair.

"Chairman, are you satisfied with my work?" Ethan looked at his sister with a smile.

Yes, all the work arrangements were just completed under Evelyn's watchful eye.

Although Evelyn doesn't usually participate in the company's daily operations, she is, after all, the company's chairman.

Putting aside the issue of shareholding, she is indeed the highest-ranking official in the company.

Therefore, when assigning tasks, Ethan showed no intention of avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

When Ethan asked her questions, Evelyn, who had listened to the whole story, smiled and her eyes crinkled.

"Oh, Ethan—I'm very pleased with your work—you did a fantastic job—"

"Thank you." Ethan nodded repeatedly, very pleased.

However, before he could even gloat a few times, Evelyn added, "But I'm very dissatisfied with the job setup."

"As the company president, his entire job is simply to assign each subordinate a specific task?"

"So, anyone can be the CEO? If we just let a dog in, we could save a lot of money!"

"So, you're fired."

'???'

These words stunned Ethan.

But the next second he realized that his sister was joking, so he nodded happily.

"Okay, okay, I'll pack my things and leave the company right away."

Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to please him, Evelyn, with her sharp eyes, caught his fleeting moment of bewilderment.

Upon seeing Ethan's unconsciously blank expression, the girl burst into laughter. "Hehehe... Ethan... I really want to take a picture of your expression just now and frame it!"

"Because your silly look is just too cute!"

"..."

These words made Ethan's face darken.

He never expected his sister to describe him like that.

It's not that he dislikes the word "cute," but rather that he feels the word doesn't suit him.

So he pursed his lips, shook his head, and pretended to be angry, saying, "Oh, my dear sister, you can't describe me as cute."

"I hate that word."

Evelyn was puzzled by this question. "Why?"

She thought Ethan was angry. "Oh, don't be like that, Ethan. You know I was just joking with you."

"I know you're joking with me, but I don't like this joke," Ethan said seriously.

However, just as Evelyn frowned slightly, thinking she had truly offended Ethan, Ethan added, "Because in this world, there are only three words to describe me: handsome, very handsome, and super handsome!"

!!!

Evelyn was shocked.

She never imagined that there could be such shameless people in the world.

Does he dislike the adjective "cute" because he thinks he's handsome?

Oh...it really is...

"Okay, okay, you're so handsome..."

Evelyn stood up with a smile, took Ethan's arm as if coaxing a child, and pushed him out of the office.

"Oh, Ethan—I admit you're handsome—you're the most handsome man in the world—"

"So let's not waste time on this established fact, okay?"

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Let's go to Los Angeles!"

"Let's go to Hollywood!"

"We're going on vacation!"

That's right, the reason Ethan assigned responsibilities for various tasks in the company to specific individuals was because he was going on vacation for the next period of time.

Since the lawsuit began, he hadn't had a proper rest for almost a year. So when Pac-Man was a success and the game of fate was on track, Ethan, who had been running for so long, wanted to stop and take a break in the lovely summer.

It just so happens that Spielberg is filming in Los Angeles, so Ethan decides to go visit him. When he tells Evelyn about his idea, the girl, who has also been busy for a long time, decides to join him.

That's why Evelyn sat in the chairman's seat for the first time after the company was founded.

And this was the first time she exercised her power...

That means firing the company's president.

(laugh~

Neither of them took their playful banter seriously, and their joyful departure drew a wave of envy.

Some people in the company think that this kind of spontaneous behavior is too carefree, while others think that making money and enjoying life at the same time is the true way of life.

But no matter what, none of this mattered to Ethan anymore. He stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel sharply. With a roar, the two arrived in Los Angeles.

To be honest, after being thoroughly outmaneuvered by Steve Jobs last time, Ethan was armed to the teeth this time.

Floral shirt, sunglasses, and even his hair was redone, with a side-parted long fringe similar to Leonardo DiCaprio's.

With the top down, its main selling point is its striking good looks!

Unfortunately, whether it was the straight highway from Palo Alto to Los Angeles, the spiderweb-like roads from Los Angeles to Hollywood, or the confusing road that kept wandering around Hollywood, he didn't attract much attention along the way.

This situation greatly surprised Ethan.

Because he felt that he was much more handsome than Steve Jobs!

Why were there so many girls looking at him all the way before, but no one looking at him this time?

He doesn't understand!

But when he made a right turn, he subconsciously saw his sister in the passenger seat...

That figure in a pure white dress with flowing blonde hair instantly revealed the crux of the problem to him!

Damn! I should have brought two cars!

Ethan felt like an idiot for spending so much time in the sun for no reason!

parking!

Close the shed!

Let's start again, defiantly!

Evelyn couldn't stop laughing at his puffed-up face, which she witnessed firsthand.

In fact, when Ethan wanted to go for a convertible drive in California in June, the girl already knew what he was up to.

But she didn't warn her.

Because Ethan's silly appearance is really cute.

Compared to when she's serious, it's a stark contrast.

When Ethan, with a stern face, drove to Warner Bros. Studios, Spielberg, who had already received the news before they set off, had the crew waiting at the entrance. Led by them, Ethan arrived at Studios 15 and 16 of Warner Bros. Studios. Upon his arrival, Spielberg, who was busy at work, graciously put down his work and welcomed him with open arms.

"Oh, Ethan! We meet again. I'm so glad you could come visit me while I'm at work."

"Oh Evelyn! You look so beautiful today, it's so nice to see you."

Although Ethan came to visit Spielberg, he wouldn't do anything to disturb someone's work.

After a brief greeting, Ethan urged the guy to hurry back to his post, saying they could talk about other things after work.

Spielberg knew that every minute and second the production started was burning money, so he naturally accepted Ethan's concern, had his assistant accompany Ethan, and then picked up the director's chair again.

Once he got into work mode, Ethan had achieved his goal for the trip.

He came here today specifically to watch Spielberg film a movie.

As for the movie's title...

It's called "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

Ethan had seen this movie in his past life. The plot revolves around a group of Earthlings who encounter UFOs in different locations and are drawn to Devil's Tower in Wyoming, America, by the same mysterious force. Simultaneously, the US government and scientists receive signals from extraterrestrials and decide to establish a base at Devil's Tower to communicate with them. The entire process goes smoothly; Earthlings and extraterrestrials communicate using music and light, achieving a peaceful and friendly relationship. Finally, the alien spaceship lands at Devil's Tower, revealing its true form to humanity for the first time. It releases some Earthlings who mysteriously disappeared years ago and also takes away a person who voluntarily left Earth to make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

If Ethan remembers correctly, he was an electrician.

Ethan admitted that he initially found the movie incredibly boring when he first watched it.

In his view, the film's narrative is problematic. It doesn't explain the plot at the beginning, but instead uses three different perspectives, or three different storylines, to construct a theme together.

If it weren't for the fact that the director was Steven Spielberg, he didn't even think he would have been able to finish watching the movie.

But when he finally endured it all, the alien spaceship appeared.

His astonishing imagination forced him to admit that visuals were indeed more impactful than words.

Back when he watched the movie, he really wanted to know how the alien mothership in the movie was made.

And now...

When he saw a huge model forty feet in diameter in Warner's studio, he realized that it was actually a real model. When he went closer to take a closer look, the tiny light bulbs and black optical cables shattered his childhood illusions.

"Oh, is the light on the spaceship produced by you using individual light bulbs?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Yes." Before he could finish speaking, an approving voice appeared, "Because Steven needed different parts of the spaceship to light up at specific frequencies, we installed more than ten thousand light bulbs on the spaceship."

"Because only in this way can we create a sense of rhythm, similar to a musical beat, when they light up."

"We spent about three and a half million US dollars to build this spaceship."

These words made Ethan turn his head away.

When he discovered that the person speaking was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, he extended his hand in a friendly manner and introduced himself.

"Hello sir, thank you for your help. I am Ethan Jones."

"Ethan Jones? Oh, I know you—Steven spends every day after get off work in front of the Pac-Man arcade machine you invented."

He said it gave him inspiration.

The middle-aged man smiled and extended his hand, giving Ethan a brief handshake.

He then introduced himself, saying, "I'm Douglas Trumbull, the visual effects artist on the set. You might not know me, but that's okay, because you definitely know my work. I did the visual effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey."

Oh, this is a big shot too.

Ethan shook his hand vigorously a few times.

With the other party's explanation, Ethan gradually understood how Spielberg presented the visual effects in the film.

To put it simply, it's about achieving miracles through sheer force.

Use models to bring your imagination to life, and then use the most basic physical principles to enhance it.

The process...

"Why does this feel a bit like a circuit board arcade game?" Ethan muttered to himself.

"They're essentially the same," Evelyn agreed, adding, "The only difference is in cost."

Since Ethan was brought by Spielberg, the crew had professionals to answer whatever they were curious about.

After watching for a while and receiving various answers, Ethan lost interest in making the film.

The reason is simple: the complicated behind-the-scenes work makes the filming process seem uninteresting.

For example, cameras in this era did not have autofocus, so the crew had to use a ruler to measure the optimal distance between the camera and the actors, and then mark the distance on the ground with tape. During filming, the actors had to stand in a fixed position to ensure that the final product would not be out of focus.

For example, surveillance cameras haven't been developed yet. Therefore, during filming, you can only see the actors' on-set performances. As for the live footage? Only the cinematographer can see that. Even the director has to wait until the film is developed to know if the footage from that day is what they want. It's precisely because even the director isn't sure that the term "reshoot" exists.

When the boring situation of pre-production work exceeding actual shooting time emerged, Ethan's curiosity about filmmaking plummeted like a person falling into a valley. Even if the old man came to his rescue at this time, he estimated that he would not rekindle his curiosity.

Evelyn also found it boring.

The girl thought Hollywood film sets would be fun, but...

That's it?

Out of politeness, the two did not leave immediately. After Spielberg finished work, he, who had been busy all day, offered to treat the two who had come from afar to a meal. He had already chosen the place: the MK restaurant, which he had mentioned to Ethan last time, a favorite of Chaplin.

Although watching the film shoot wasn't a great experience, Ethan and Evelyn did overhear some gossip at the dinner table.

"Oh, Ethan, you're asking me where the inspiration for the movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' came from?"

"The inspiration for this film actually comes from a real-life prototype."

"Are you familiar with the Roswell incident?"

"It's that UFO crash that happened in 1947."

"There's actually a sequel to that story. I don't know if it's true or not, but I found it interesting, so I decided to make it into a movie."

"The rest of the story should have happened more than a decade ago. We in America finally made contact with the alien civilization from the Roswell incident. They came to our Earth in a spaceship, and after some communication, we found that they were very kind."

"Because the aliens were so friendly, we wanted to learn more. The then-President directly signed a secret exchange plan. The plan was to send a small team of U.S. troops to follow the aliens back to their home planet to gather intelligence. In order to obtain the intelligence, they also made an agreement with the aliens to send them back after a certain number of years."

"The story is that simple. I don't actually know the ending either, because I haven't heard of any humans returning. But that's not important, right? Because just what we know is enough for me to make a movie..."

Good guy!

Ethan was stunned!

So, the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is actually a sequel to the Roswell incident?

This is too ridiculous!

As for the reasons?

Very simple!

Because Ethan had heard about the Roswell incident!

Or perhaps, in the era when he grew up in his previous life, even newspapers were reporting on this matter!

From the highest-ranking newspapers like **** to the lowest-ranking ones like Legal Evening News, there isn't a single newspaper that isn't discussing it!

The incident was quite simple: in 1947, a thunderstorm struck Roswell, New Mexico, and a rancher heard a loud bang. The next day, he found numerous pieces of metal debris around his ranch. This prompted an investigation by the U.S. military.

A few days later, another Roswell resident claimed to have found the wreckage of an unidentified flying object, along with several small corpses. Subsequently, the U.S. government intervened forcefully and sealed off the scene.

From then on, rumors of extraterrestrials coming to Earth became rampant.

In his past life, Ethan only listened to this story as gossip.

As of 2023, no aliens as known to the public have appeared in the world.

But now...

Is "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" a sequel to the Roswell incident?

OK……

Steven Spielberg is a truly damn awesome director!

Even the smallest rumors can be made into a movie!

Ethan thought Spielberg's source of inspiration was a bit far-fetched.

Evelyn also found the story rather far-fetched.

After dinner and saying goodbye to Spielberg, on the way to the hotel, the girl in the passenger seat complained about the movie's boring plot, saying, "If this story is related to the Roswell incident, I think it should have been made much darker!"

"Because that's what makes it interesting!"

"For example, the background of aliens coming to Earth and having friendly contact with humans is inconvenient. The background can be slightly modified. These aliens are advanced beings in the universe. They come to Earth to observe whether humans, a low-level civilization, can threaten them. If they are threatened, they will directly attack them. If they are not threatened, they will obtain genetic data and inhibit their development."

"That's why they took a group of humans with them when they left, to conduct special research on them. They promised to send them back afterward, because the aliens planned to send spies disguised as humans to carry out a secret invasion of Earth after they had figured out human DNA."

"This revelation is made after humanity is taken away by aliens, meaning that only those on the spaceship can discover this fact. The film ends with them gazing at the Earth, which is getting further and further away, from the spaceship, watching it slowly turn black."

"This foreshadows a future crisis for the Earth."

"How about that? Doesn't this story sound much more interesting now?"

Evelyn winked at Ethan.

They practically had it written all over my face, praising me.

Her wild imagination amazed Ethan. "Oh! Fxxk! With your plot changes, it instantly transforms from a sci-fi movie into an action movie, or even a sci-fi action movie! This film could definitely have a sequel; the plot would be about aliens infiltrating Earth!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ethan realized something was amiss.

If the movie were to be adapted according to my sister's ideas, wouldn't it become a Marvel secret invasion event?

This idea is truly...

That's outrageous!

However, just as Ethan was about to marvel at how incredibly coincidental this connection across time and space was...

A sudden flash of inspiration made him realize that something was even more wrong.

He frowned slightly and said, "Evelyn."

"Um?"

"Did Steven just say that at the end of the story, the aliens promised humanity that they would return the humans they had taken away after a period of time?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Evelyn answered instinctively.

She didn't understand why Ethan would ask that question.

But at this moment, Ethan felt his mind was suddenly sparking with a wild idea!

Spielberg's version of the story is that aliens came to Earth, took away an electrician, and sent him back many years later.

Evelyn's version of the story is: aliens harbor ill intentions towards humanity and plot to overthrow all human civilization.

Combining these two stories, it becomes that aliens came to Earth, took away an electrician, and years later sent a disguised human to Earth. Because the human electrician had already discovered the aliens' plot on the spaceship, after arriving on the alien planet, he actively sought out the aliens who were about to travel to Earth, hoping to turn them against their cause.

Because this alien was a kind-hearted being who opposed its own civilization's plans to subvert other civilizations, it decided to help after the human electrician found it, warning Earthlings of an alien crisis.

Since the aliens initially made contact with America, in order to avoid the failure of their subversion plan, they chose to descend in the opposite direction when they reappeared. Furthermore, because the kind alien had diligently learned a lot of human knowledge, including electrical engineering knowledge, during his contact with the human electrician, he gradually became an electrician after arriving on Earth.

But this identity couldn't allow it to warn humanity of the existence of extraterrestrial threats. So, after racking its brains, it decided to spread its warnings through writing. After many practice sessions, it wrote the following sentence based on its own experience—

"The universe is a dark forest, and every civilization is a hunter with an gun..."

That's right!

Big Liu, the electrician with thick eyebrows and big eyes, is actually an alien!

The logic code is now closed!

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Thinking of this, Ethan burst out laughing.

His strange laughter puzzled Evelyn. "Ethan, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine... hahaha... I just... hahaha... I just thought of some funny things..."

Ethan was absolutely delighted.

At this moment, he finally found his happiness for the day!

Although this idea is hard to explain to others, it doesn't matter!

His happiness is enough!

Ha ha ha ha--

He tried his best not to laugh out loud.

While laughing foolishly, Ethan remembered another question.

Evelyn believes that after a third kind of contact, aliens will attack Earth.

Isn't this just the story of Space Invaders?

hiss……

So that's where the inspiration for this game came from!

At that moment, Ethan felt that no one understood Space Invaders better than himself!

Thank you to [Baidu Family Bucket] for the 5000 Qidian Coins reward, and thank you to [Book Friend 20221128004343399] for the 400 Qidian Coins reward.

Note: ① The Roswell incident has been discussed on C-site (a Chinese video-sharing website). Those interested can search it on Baidu; the various interpretations are more numerous than the graffiti on telephone poles. A book called *The Roswell Truth* was later published, but even if you're interested, don't buy it. Its content is basically the same as what's circulating online, just with added details—a complete waste of money. ② Whether *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* is based on the popular American concept of "Operation Zeta" is something Spielberg hasn't directly addressed, but the film did become popular because of the aftermath of the Roswell incident. Extraterrestrials were a hot topic in the US at that time, so while *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* might seem dry now, back then it was like a documentary, reflecting the fantasies and expectations of Americans at the time—a benefit of its era. ③ *Space Invaders* is indeed a reverse interpretation of "Operation Zeta," suggesting that extraterrestrials aren't as wonderful as they seem.

PS1, the fever has subsided, but I'm still coughing, and more importantly, I still have diarrhea. I'll post one chapter every two days, and resume double updates on the weekend.

PS2, that idea of ​​Liu Cixin came to me by chance while I was writing, I don't know if it was because I was delirious or just a coincidence, just take it as a joke, it's not part of the outline.

(End of this chapter)