Booking Glory-Chapter 29: A Congregation of Geeks

Hi folks...

Belated Dashara and Ayudha Pooja wishes to everyone out there. I have been unable to come online for the past few days. And I have to say that I am gladly surprised to note that the interest in this fic has been upping in a slow and steady manner.

I thank everyone who read this story and even contributed with their power stones sincerely.

And a shout-out is due.

This shout-out is to [Ummmname] and [mila_jones] for contributing their Golden Tickets to this fic.

With that done, I am sure you all will like me to shut my gob up and get on with the story... so, here you go...

*****

Usually, the shows of LWC aired on Wednesdays. Rob had spent the next day in discussion with Mr. Gibson and others regarding booking and the response to the show.

Friday saw him working with the two veteran commentators Dallas and Irvin. And by the time Mr. Gibson offered him the contract, it was Saturday. He had reached out and met with Lawyer Walker immediately.

So, now for the first time since he joined LWC, Rob had some time to spend on Saturday. It was really a novel feeling for him to experience. He hadn’t gone out or hung out with anybody on weekends before this.

When he was unemployed, Rob didn’t exactly have money in his account to go out and enjoy the weekend. He was spending his money frugally at that point and it was not really an option for him.

After he joined LWC, Rob dedicated himself to working around the clock and learning stuff there. So, he had never gone out on a weekend before this. So, for the first time in this new world, Rob was free on a weekend to go out and explore it.

Robb thought for some time before deciding to check out a movie that was playing nearby and have a drink at a local bar. It would be a good way to spend the weekend and also give him an idea of what the nightlife here looked like.

Having made the decision, Rob changed the direction and headed towards a nearby theatre. As he was walking, he also began to realize that he didn’t have any car to drive around with.

The more he thought about it, the more he began to understand that he was beginning to get tunnel vision. His focus had entirely been occupied by wrestling and he seemed to begin to lose himself in that world.

While it was a good thing that he was able to pick up the basics and get enough trust backstage to give him the booking opportunity he yearned for, the drawback was that his real social circle was becoming non-existent.

But, Rob felt like it was worth it. The contract he had in his hands was proof of that. He had started out at LWC with $1000 a week and he was now earning $7,400 just six months into the job.

Rob bought the ticket after lining up in the queue for a bit. The theatre was a bit crowded because of the weekend, but Rob managed to buy a ticket and went in. The film he had chosen to watch was an action film and hence the hall was really crowded when he entered.

[Stellar] was an action movie featuring an up-and-coming action star by the name of Ryan Jacobs. Rob had some impression of this Ryan Jacobs. The previous owner of his body had seen some of his movies and had liked them.

It was one of the reasons he decided to choose this movie. After he found a seat and settled in it, Rob waited for the movie to begin. As he sat there, Rob recalled that it was around the nineties when several great films came out in his previous world.

If the development of the worlds didn’t have much difference, then this would be a good time to be a movie watcher. He hoped that the same trajectory existed in this world as well.

The movie began with an opening fight scene that was still following realistic fighting techniques. Rob watched it with relish as he had always been a fan of action movies.

When the movie ended, Rob walked out of the theatre with a satisfied smile. The film was average if Rob was being honest. But, the important thing for Rob was that it allowed him to wind down and relax for a couple of hours.

This refreshed him more than anything. And the stunts performed in the film were neither over the top nor nauseating for Rob. He felt that the movie would have been a little better if it had a proper story without several plotholes.

As he walked out of the theatre, Rob began to analyze the movie in his mind on his way back to his apartment. Rob realized that the camera technology of this world was a little ahead compared to his previous world.

Their camera resolutions and effects were something akin to the 2000s of his previous world and it kind of explained his doubts regarding mobile phones and QR payments as well.

Rob had also noticed that the storytelling aspect of this world was a little behind in general. The movie he watched didn’t have much suspense or twists in it. The story was linear in its structure and didn’t have much room for surprises.

There were no complicated twists and turns or intricate details that add up to something in the end. It was pretty simple and straightforward. Rob also knew that he couldn’t judge the development of the entire film world by one movie. If he wanted an accurate impression, he needed to see more films.

In that case, maybe it was time for him to buy some amenities and try to set up a video player in his home. Maybe, he could rent some movies and watch them after work when he is a bit free.

Rob was very interested in the storytelling aspect of this world. He needed to know how things stood here so that he could make more changes to his ideas to be more palatable to the general audience in this world.

This was an essential thing as far as Rob was considered. There was no use in trying to book a complicated program if the audience doesn’t follow it. While it may stroke his ego a bit, it would not help much with pushing the wrestlers or generating interest in the program.

Rob decided that he would limit his programs to maybe two or three wrestlers at most for now. This was a safe zone and that would make it more profitable for the company as well.

Rob returned home and refreshed himself a bit before sitting down on the sofa he had bought. As he sat there relaxing, he found himself unable to sleep. He felt as if there was still some energy left in him and it was making it hard for him to sleep at present.

He looked around the house trying to find something to occupy himself with but sadly found that his house was really Spartan in what it offered. He didn’t have a TV or any other entertainment stuff in his home to spend some time on.

This reiterated Rob’s idea of buying some amenities for his home. There was no use in earning if he didn’t spend it to get some much-needed comfort. While he would still save a little of his money, Rob decided that he would still spend some to make it comfortable for him.

It was at that time, Rob remembered making plans to go get a drink at a local bar. He had been so engrossed in figuring out the differences between technological advances in both worlds that he had mistakenly walked back to his home.

Rob looked at the time and found that he still had some time to go and check out the nightlife here in Longham City. Deciding to make the best use of his time, he picked up his jacket and walked out.

*****

"Hi Brent," Rob extended his hand to greet the person who he had come to meet. "My name is Rob. I am one of your uncle’s clients. We spoke yesterday on the phone."

Brent Walker was an awkward young man right around Rob’s age. He was black like his uncle, but that is where the similarities between him and Mr. Walker ended.

While Mr. Walker looked like a bulky brawler kind of person, Brent was tall, skinny, and shy. He had god-awful glasses on him that made him look geekier than he looked normally.

The messed-up hair, sleepy eyes, unkempt look, and everything about Brent pointed out that he was a big shut-in nerd who enjoyed tinkering with stuff in his basement.

Rob kind of understood Mr. Walker’s disapproval at this point. Even a stranger like him felt that Brent needed to get out more. No wonder, Mr. Walker was a little disappointed with his nephew.

Rob stood there awkwardly as Brent looked at him with a dazed expression. His extended hand was hanging there as Brent looked at him with confusion for a few moments before his mind caught up.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Brent awkwardly tried to shake Rob’s hand in a hurry, "I was working late last night. I didn’t expect you to be here this soon."

"It is 11 AM," Rob reminded with an awkward smile of his own.

Brent winced as he looked around wildly to confirm it. The moment he saw the time, Brent swore.

"God damn! Sorry man, I am... I am just... you know, I was working late last night. And I just woke up," Brent said awkwardly waving his hands to express his apologies.

"Don’t sweat it," Rob said comfortingly. "So, are you free now? I would like to pick your brain about this computer stuff."

"Sure, sure, come in," Brent said walking back inside leaving the door wide open for Rob to walk in.

Rob walked in and looked around. The apartment was way too messy. It had dirty clothes lying all around and last night’s food was still drying on the table. There was a stench in the entire apartment that Rob could smell strongly.

Rob’s face wrinkled a little seeing this scene. While he didn’t expect a well-kept apartment out of a bachelor, this was way too dirty for even someone like him. Rob was someone who worked in a place where people walked around with their sweaty bodies in the hallway.

That was enough to tell how bad Brent’s living room was.

"Ah! that, just give me five mins. I will clean this up. I was planning to do it last night, but I got distracted with stuff," Brent said seeing Rob’s expression.

"No hurry, no hurry, just take your time," Rob said trying to find a safe spot to sit.

Brent cleared out the dirty clothes and bundled them into one big dirty heap. He tried to push it into a corner to make some space for Rob to sit, which Rob took graciously.

"So, what do you want to know about computers?" Brent asked as he started cleaning the garbage littered around the room.

"Well, I really don’t know much about them. But, I can see the potential in them though. When I and your uncle were talking about investment, I told I was interested in the computer field. Your uncle recommended you and said that I could talk to you about it," Rob said looking around the room in leisure now.

"Well, then you are at the right place. I love my uncle, but that old man is way too blind to see the potential with computers," Brent said lifting the garbage bag and carrying it to the back.

"Me, I like computers," Brent began to speak passionately as he walked back. "I mean like, I think they are the future you know. I know that the computer field is still developing, but I assure you, within two to three years it will become the next big thing."

"Well, it was the reason your uncle referred you. I too am of the same opinion regarding computers. But, I don’t know much about it," Rob said as he watched Brent wash his hands.

"It is understandable," Brent said drying his hands with a towel he had found, "not many people can say that they understand it. I know all these codes and stuff can be really hard to get your head around. But, let me tell you something big."

"You know Indisoft right?" Brent asked taking his seat. There was an eagerness in his eyes as he spoke, "You don’t know? Don’t worry, I am sure by this time next year, everyone will know about them. Indisoft is launching the first ever UI-OS in three months."

"Once it comes out, operating computers won’t be difficult anymore. Anyone will be able to do it with some practice. And I am telling you, this is big news. Can you imagine? A computer anyone could operate! That’s genius," Brent said excitedly.

Rob’s mind blanked for a bit as he processed this information.

"UI-OS?" Rob mumbled dazedly.

"Yeah, UI-OS! Man, just think, you don’t need to know about codes to operate computers any longer. This is such a genius idea. This will reduce the problems normal people like you face with operating computers. But, obviously, people like us are not that bothered, but it is great news for you guys," Brent said happily.

"You know what? In UI-OS, they have this thing called window and buttons. All you need to do is click them. They even introduced a new device called a mouse for it. With it you can move around easily," Brent started explaining about the UI-OS excitedly.

Rob felt his mind blank hearing what Brent was saying. While he expected the level of computers to be not that great, he was expecting the field to be a bit more advanced than this.

If Rob was reading this right, then the development of computers was a decade behind his original world. While he didn’t know it accurately, he knew that by 90s Microsoft have already come up with their Windows OS.

And this UI-OS sounded a bit too much like Windows for Rob. If that was the case, then investing in this Indisoft would help him become a millionaire in the next few years or so.

This was a piece of great news for Rob. He was expecting some information, but not something that was this big. This was a golden chance for him to invest in one of the companies that could possibly become a pioneer in the computer field in the future.

"... and obviously their research area is a bit out there. I mean, not a lot of people tend to research solving usability. Look, if you are going to spend years researching something, do something worthwhile I say. What will even be the use of this? Sure, it will help common..."

"It will bring computers to the common man. It will, in turn, generate more money," Rob reflexively said hearing Brent’s question.

"What?" Brent stopped his spiel to look at Rob curiously.

"I mean, this will generate more money for them," Rob said looking at Brent now. "Look at it this way, the easier it is to use the computers, the easier it will be to sell them. That will bring a lot of money."

"Not everything is about money," Brent said frowning a little.

"But, you need money so that everything works fine. Say, the money they will earn out of this can be spent on hiring the best computer experts and making them research other kinds of stuff for them," Rob said in explanation.

"Yeah, that sounds kinda ok, but..." Brent was still not totally fine with it.

"Brent," Rob understood Brent’s dilemma easily. In his old world, this was one of the major sticking points a lot of computer experts had with Microsoft. Microsoft was way too commercialized in their opinion and they felt that not everything needed to revolve around making money out of it.

"Brent, I think I can understand your point, but you also need to open up your mind a bit. It is of no use finding out new stuff if it can’t be used by the people. You need people to use and accept it for it to see true success," Rob said patting Brent’s back.

Brent frowned hard hearing that. It was really contrary to the idea he believed in.

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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You can also check out my other book [Demon Immortal] and see if it is to your liking.

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