Chapter 2: Ethan Jones

The concept of traversing time and space feels almost like a dream, something out of a fantasy.

Ethan himself couldn't quite comprehend it. Just two months ago, he had been living as a Chinese man in New York in 2023, scraping by. And now, inexplicably, he had been thrust into America of 1975, occupying the body of a man named Ethan Jones.

The last thing Ethan remembered from that fateful day was walking on his usual route to work.

Suddenly, a loud commotion broke out: a bank had collapsed, people couldn't withdraw their money, and someone was threatening to jump off a building.

This juicy piece of news thrilled Ethan. He couldn't wait to find out which unfortunate soul had stashed their money in the Silicon Valley Bank that only served institutional clients.

But...

Just as he turned towards the source of the commotion, a dark shadow began to descend, growing larger and larger.

And then, in an instant, everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was here.

Experiencing such a bizarre phenomenon—where in the blink of an eye, a lifetime seemed to pass—left Ethan a little excited.

After all, who wouldn't be? It was like hitting the reset button on life, the ultimate dream for so many people.

But once he merged with the memories of the body's original owner, that excitement quickly faded.

Why, you ask? Well, the story of this boy's life was nothing short of tragic.

Ethan Jones, born in 1955 in Santa Clara County, California. His mother, a tenured university professor. His father, a career soldier.

By all accounts, this should have been an idyllic family—secure, stable, filled with the promise of a bright future.

But fate had other plans. When Ethan was nine, his father was sent to the jungles of Vietnam due to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. A year later, his father died in the Battle of Ia Drang while covering the retreat of his comrades. His mother, stricken with grief upon hearing the news, fell into a deep depression and passed away shortly after.

Yet, as tragic as that was, the most infuriating part came with the compensation.

Ethan's father hadn't died on the battlefield. Instead, he succumbed to an infection while being treated for his injuries, disqualifying him from being listed among the honored dead—the 58,315 soldiers recognized for their ultimate sacrifice. As a result, the Jones family was denied the highest level of compensation.

For those confirmed fallen soldiers, families received a burial allowance of nearly $1,000, a one-time payment of around $30,000 in death gratuity, and a life insurance payout of $80,000 to $90,000. On top of that, they were granted various benefits, such as annual allowances of $1,000 per minor child and monthly stipends distributed according to national income standards.

But for the Jones family, without official recognition, the compensation was only a few thousand dollars—mere crumbs compared to what other families received. Even the life insurance payment was significantly reduced due to the nature of his father's death.

Despite losing both parents and receiving meager compensation, the original Ethan Jones didn't spiral into despair or join some anti-war hippie movement. He persevered, completing middle school and high school, eventually securing a marketing job at the California branch of the up-and-coming company, Magnavox.

His first task? Under the guidance of his superiors, he was to send out invitations to industry peers for the upcoming launch of Magnavox's groundbreaking new product: the world's first commercial home video game console, the Odyssey.

Yet fate would deal him another cruel blow. While drafting the invitations, Ethan sent one to a man named Nolan Bushnell. After attending Magnavox's launch, Bushnell shamelessly copied the console's table tennis game and created an arcade machine called Pong.

Not stopping there, Bushnell went on to found a company that would revolutionize the gaming industry: Atari.

Within just two years, Atari was raking in millions of dollars. Confronted with the devastating realization that his actions had indirectly enabled this, the original Ethan Jones, terrified of being held responsible, fell into a deep depression and eventually died.

Now, Ethan—having crossed into this life—was left to pick up the pieces.

Why do I say he got off easy?

It's simple. Ethan had lived through the age of the internet.

Having survived the information explosion of modern times, he knew the pressures that weighed on the original Ethan were nothing more than the manipulative tactics of capitalists. Facing consequences for sending out a mere invitation? Attributing Atari's success to a single legal misstep?

Ridiculous!

If that's how things worked, anyone declaring themselves an aircraft carrier would actually become one. America wouldn't have bothered building the USS Ford—they could've just declared it into existence, and voilà, a nuclear-powered money-printing machine would appear!

Tch.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Ethan located his Chevrolet in the Magnavox parking lot. He drove his $500 second-hand car to Wells Fargo, the most prominent bank in the area, and deposited the $2,320 he had recently received.

Though this money was compensation, it still had to be declared for taxes. Fortunately, in America, such punitive damages weren't subject to Social Security taxes, though they were still taxed as income.

However, the tax filing process didn't happen until April 15th of the following year, and the original owner had already filed for the previous year, so Ethan could worry about that later.

Climbing back into the car, he reversed out of the lot and, while passing the largest supermarket chain in America, Kroger, he decided to stop in.

He picked up four dozen eggs at 77 cents a dozen, five pounds of bread at 28 cents a pound, six pounds of beef at $1.39 a pound, and two two-gallon jugs of milk at $1.57 per gallon.

With California's 6.5% sales tax, his total came to 17 dollars.

After loading his groceries into the car, Ethan sped off towards Los Gatos.

Because that's where home was.

Magnavox's California branch, located in Fremont, Alameda County, was just thirty miles from Los Gatos in Santa Clara County. It was a short drive, no more than forty minutes via Highway 880.

Around noon, Ethan Jones's Chevrolet came to a halt in this small town of only twenty thousand residents. He carried his purchases into a two-story country house, and the moment he stepped inside, the rich aroma of buttery steak greeted his senses.

"Oh! Aunt Linda! Are you cooking steak?"

Following the enticing scent, Ethan made his way into the kitchen.

The noise behind him made a middle-aged woman at the stove turn around. She grinned and waved the steak tongs.

"Indeed, Ethan! Your nose is quite sharp—I'm preparing steak! Today I managed to get a new kind of beef, a hybrid of Wagyu and Angus, currently only in the experimental stage. I can't vouch for its authenticity, but the marbling was stunning when I picked it out. Of course, the price was just as breathtaking—five pounds of filet cost me fifteen dollars! Fifteen dollars! My goodness! Why aren't they robbing banks instead?"

Ethan chuckled at her melodious manner of speaking. He held up his bags and said regretfully, "Aunt Linda, had I known you'd procure such fine beef, I wouldn't have bothered going to Kroger."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Aunt Linda shot him a mock stern look but took the bags with a tender care.

"Beef is always a good thing, no matter how much you get! Given the current oil crisis, prices everywhere are soaring, so buying it earlier is like getting a bargain! What's this? You bought eggs and milk too? Oh, you're truly wonderful at managing the household, my dear!"

She packed the items into the refrigerator and moved in for a hug.

Before she could reach out, a booming voice called out, "Ethan, what on earth did you do today to make Linda so happy? I haven't even parked the car yet and already heard the excitement from inside. You know what that feels like? It's like Henry Fonda finding gold!"

The two turned to see a middle-aged man in a linen shirt and jeans with a prominent nose and a classic middle-aged paunch, strutting as he spoke.

"Oh, darling, you're back," Linda said, opening her arms.

"Yes, I'm done with work," the man replied, embracing her.

"Good afternoon, Uncle Thomas."

Ethan greeted as expected.

"Good afternoon, Ethan."

Uncle Thomas gave his nephew a friendly pat on the back.

After exchanging pleasantries, Thomas learned the reason for Ethan's cheer from his wife. Meanwhile, his perceptive mind noticed something.

"Ethan, didn't you work this morning? How come you had time to shop so early?"

"Well, didn't I tell you that situation I mentioned would come true?" Ethan replied nonchalantly, shrugging. "I was fired. I got the notice as soon as I showed up for work."

Thomas was initially stunned by this revelation but quickly recovered with a chuckle. "Ah, so that's what happened! No wonder you're home by noon. You're usually out early and back late."

As he spoke, Thomas pulled out a Winston cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Ethan. When Ethan declined, Thomas reluctantly lit it himself.

"It's good not to smoke," he mumbled.

Puffing away, he continued, "Ethan, don't be disheartened. Being fired can be a blessing in disguise. Magnavox might be a fine company, but its management is a disgrace! You followed the list provided by your superiors, didn't invite any outsiders, and didn't omit any important figures. Yet, when something went awry, they blamed you? Damn! Such scoundrels deserve to rot in hell!"

"But now, you're free from that dreadful place! Even without compensation, you can seek better opportunities. This is truly a blessing from above!"

Thomas made a gesture of crossing himself.

"But I did get compensation," Ethan said.

"What?" Thomas was taken aback. "You received compensation?"

"Yes, I got the 2N+1 compensation plus this week's salary," Ethan said with a smile, pointing to his temple. "Just used a bit of brainpower and some 'magic must defeat magic' tactics."

"Oh! That's fantastic!" Thomas exclaimed, giving Ethan a hearty pat on the shoulder. He then shouted towards his wife, "Linda! Do we still have that white wine from Gallo?"

"Yes, why?" Linda replied immediately.

"I want to share a few glasses with Ethan! To celebrate his departure from that damned company!" Thomas exclaimed, embracing Ethan with a laugh. "I believe this marks a new beginning for him! Those ignorant fools at Magnavox will surely regret their decision today!"