Chương 34: Book 2 - Chapter 7 B

"Johnny, why do you pull your computer apart every month?" Mom asked at dinner the day the EGA card arrived. I paused eating my lasagna and swallowed to answer.

"The technology is getting better all the time. When new hardware comes out, I have to buy it so I can update my software to use it."

"I saw the receipt. You bought that computer thing you put in and a brand new monitor from Mr Gordon. You spent over a thousand dollars!"

"He gave me a discount and took back the old monitor."

"Still, where are you getting the money for this?" she asked, looking at Grandpa.

"Don't look at me, Mary. I didn't pay for it."

"I'll show you Mom," I said hopping up from the table.

"I'll be right back." I handed her the letters and magazine article Jennifer had forwarded and sat back down to eat another piece of lasagna.

"Why did IBM send you so much money?" she asked, reading the first letter.

"I fixed their hard drive problem for them. It saved the company that made the drives too."

"What is Heartland Software, and why is the amount so big?"

"They publish the games I make. I get a cut of the profit from every sale."

"It's selling that much?" she said, not understanding.

"Look at the magazine," I said as I opened it to the page. She read aloud from Macworld Magazine, "Civilization is the undisputed game of the year. Available for both Macs and the PC. Built with Object Pascal, which is currently the best way to create software for the Macintosh, or the Apple II." She looked up.

"Isn't that your stuff?"

"It is. That new video card and monitor will let me update the software. Just like I needed an Apple and a Mac to write software for both. I'll add the improved graphics to Civilization so it's even better."

"Well, I don't see what the fuss is about, but since you are using your own money," she said, and looked at Grandpa again for confirmation.

"I guess it's okay."

"Can I see?" Dad asked, reaching for the letters. Mom handed them over and Dad quickly looked through them. He set them down and looked at me seriously.

"Johnny, that's a lot of money." I nodded back.

"I know, but Grandpa loaned me money so I need to pay him back. I'm just spending enough to keep the income stream going strong."

"How much did he borrow, Joe?" he asked my Grandpa.

"One hundred seventeen thousand dollars," he answered firmly.

"How much!?" Mom asked with a gasp, her pitch rising rapidly. Dad set a hand on hers and she paused.

"What did he buy?" he asked curiously.

"Twenty five percent of the company that's sending him money for all his computer software. He gets not only thirty percent of the retail sales but twenty five percent of the net income of the company. This year they are going to gross several million dollars thanks to his software," Grandpa said casually.

"It sounds I might need to hit my kid up for a loan," Dad joked.

"Not until after I get paid back," Grandpa jokingly warned.

"When will that be?" Mom asked him.

"Probably before the year is out. That Civilization game is fantastic, but the game Mattie loves playing. The typing game? That's outselling it by a wide margin," Grandpa told them with a hint of pride. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Back in my room for the evening, the door locked to keep Mattie out. I settled behind the IBM 286. I took the time to update the graphics package for Object Pascal to fully utilize the EGA card before going to bed.

The following Thursday on my day off at home I updated Civilization, and played a quick round to test it. Mom walked in to see me playing video games.

"I thought you were working on school work but you're playing games."

"Come look Mom," I said ignoring the criticism.

"I just updated Civilization to work with the new hardware. Isn't it beautiful?" She sat down in front of the screen carefully examining the images.

"Here, you can't see the difference. Let me show you what the original version looks like on the Mac." I turned it on and inserted the disk for Civilization in the external drive. She turned around to look, then compared the two.

"Are you sure it's the same game?" she asked.

"Exact same game, just the screen and hardware are different."

"This is the new version?" she asked, pointing at the brightly colored screen.

"Yup. I was just testing it before mailing it to Heartland. This new version lets you pick the kind of graphics you have so it will work best for your computer."

"So because it works on the newest computers you can keep selling copies."

"That's right. $29. 99 at every RadioShack and most computer dealers around the country. It'll be in the Sears computer section too before Christmas. Heartland gets half of that and pays me thirty percent of what they get. It's about five bucks a game. I'm expecting five hundred thousand games sold before the end of the year."

"Do you know how incredible that is?" she asked.

"Do you remember how excited I was to have both an Apple and a Mac on my birthday?"

"If you knew you could do something like this, I could see why. Do you need a computer room of your own, or do you plan on keeping all this in your bedroom upstairs?"

"Bedroom is fine. I'll create a couple more games for the Apple for Mattie, then I'll give that one to her. I won't need it for program development for too much longer."

"That will be good. She's been asking why she can't have her own computer when you have three."

"Do you understand the time and expense I put into it now?" I asked her.

"I understand the 2. 5 million in earnings you are projecting for the year. Do you have someone to do your taxes, or will that be considered our income?" she asked, instantly doing the math.

"I was going to let Jennifer decide that."

"Jennifer? Who's that?"

"She's the one who sent me those letters and that magazine. Jennifer Parz is my lawyer."

"You have a lawyer?" she asked.

"Sure. She handled the negotiation and contract stuff for Heartland. She still works for me, managing that stuff so I can concentrate on school."

"But Tuesdays and Thursdays you spend writing computer programs."

"I do. But not for much longer. Once I get enough classes done I'll start working in the Chemistry Lab at the University. It's not just the rush to be ready for the Christmas sales, but to get it finished so I can go have fun in the Chemistry Lab." She looked up, as if she could see through the floors.

"What about this Mad Science lab you're building upstairs."

"Ah, that. I wanted to talk to you about that," I told her seriously.

"I plan to spend most of my time up there when the semester ends. I'll be ready to do the project I've been getting prepared for."

"Why is it locked? Are you doing something dangerous?"

"Come on, I'll give you a tour," I told her, knowing that was what she really wanted. I clicked on the lights, and the room filled with a bright light. The work benches from Sears stood against one wall, mechanical parts across the top. The bright white painted plywood made the room look cold and sterile.

"This is the Mad Science lab. I'm going to be building something special in here."

"Really? What?" she asked as she walked into the room.

"I'm keeping it a secret, from everybody."

"Why?" she asked as she walked down the hallway formed by painted lines on the floor.

"It's more fun that way," I replied honestly.

"You promise nothing dangerous?" she asked.

"I promise Mom." She walked the full length of the room and back. Checking everything out. She paused at the four tires laying on their sides butted up to each other forming a square. Sitting on top was a wooden platform built of scraps I had scavenged from the building site.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Seismic and Electrostatic isolation."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the building vibrates from construction, wind, elevators and people moving around. That gives me a still platform to do experiments on. The rubber acts as an insulator as well, so I can control static charge."

"Interesting," she said, and walked out, satisfied that it didn't look too dangerous. The odds and ends I was using for all my parts were serving two purposes. It looked childish and amateur for Mom and anyone else. It also kept me in budget. I locked the door behind me and joined her down the elevator. I went to my room to finish my game, sitting down in front of the beautiful 13 inch IBM Enhanced color display. Mom went to her room to find a dictionary and double check what electrostatic isolation was.