Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Byte Line
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"Here, let's simulate a typical company situation."
Standing at the front of the stage set up for the exhibition, Scarlett began her presentation with a skilled and relaxed demeanor.
In front of her were two computers and two desks each, with pre-hired actors seated at them.
"In the course of work, situations like this come up all the time. Needing to send a simple image or a single document to someone."
At her gesture, the actors began acting as if they were working in an office.
One of them opened the computer's floppy disk drive, inserted a floppy disk, and copied a file, and the audience watching nodded in agreement.
It was a common scene in any office.
"It takes at least two minutes to put one document or one image onto a floppy disk. Then taking it out and handing it to the other person, and the time for them to insert it into their computer and check the file—another two minutes at minimum."
"Adding up all those times means we're wasting a total of five minutes every time we exchange a single file."
Before long, everyone was focused on Scarlett's presentation.
Her outfit—a polo t-shirt, Levi's jeans, and New Balance sneakers—looked extremely casual, yet it had a subtle charm that captured people's attention.
'For exhibition presentations, always dress like this!'
Scarlett had originally planned to wear a standard semi-formal suit, but she'd ended up in this getup because Seon Woo-hyuk, who never usually commented on fashion, had strongly recommended it.
'Comfort aside, it makes people see me as a developer, not a manager.'
Watching the audience's reactions, Scarlett finally understood the intention behind the choice.
"It's not just time we're wasting. Have any of you ever calculated how many floppy disks get used in a day?"
The audience murmured at her words.
As everyone gathered here was in the IT industry, the cost issue with floppy disks she'd mentioned was already a familiar concern.
"A bundle pack of five floppy disks retails for $4.99. Buying in bulk lowers the unit cost, sure, but it's still not cheap."
After quoting the price, Scarlett deliberately opened a water bottle and took a sip to buy a moment before resuming.
"At Seton North America's branch where I used to work, they went through about 1,700 floppy disks a day. And as you all know, Seton North America has far fewer employees than other major U.S. companies—so that's a shocking amount."
Clap.
As Scarlett finished speaking and lightly clapped her hands, the venue's indoor lights all switched off at once.
And on the screen set up center stage, an image began to project.
"Savior Soft aims to break free from this irrational and impractical reliance on floppy disks. Allow me to introduce our program, 'Byte Line'."
As Scarlett concluded with an even higher pitch and volume, the screen displayed an image of the Byte Line program.
IBM.
In 1993, it was a massive corporation—anyone listing America's top five companies would include IBM in the ranks.
'What's the point of being so huge if there's no substance?'
Jeffrey, a director at IBM, was dissatisfied with the company's current state.
It dominated the PC market worldwide, the first name that came to mind when anyone thought of computers.
But separate from that prestige, it lacked its own technology—always buying components from rival Intel and OS from Microsoft.
Sales were high, but real profits went to Intel and Microsoft, who had grown into solid mid-sized companies threatening IBM. Could there be a more awkward situation?
-Byte Line is a free program. And since it uses an internal network, it's secure against external threats like viruses.
For a director at a giant like IBM, there was more work than one might think.
One duty was wandering software exhibitions like this, scouting promising tech and companies.
Jeffrey, representing IBM at COMDEX today, was deeply impressed by a presentation from a small startup.
'A real-time chat program using LAN... We'd completely overlooked it.'
Chat programs already existed.
Annoying ones from Apple or Microsoft came pre-installed on IBM computers.
But their performance was so abysmal they weren't used in practice.
'Was that demo speed for real? A no-name startup developed something like that?'
But today's Byte Line from Savior showed astonishing performance unlike any before.
True to its name as a real-time chat program, text arrived instantly without delay, and file attachments were possible too—a huge deal.
Click.
Just clicking a file icon with the mouse and dragging it to the chat window automatically attached and sent it. Pure magic.
The demo's performance was so stunning that Jeffrey felt chills up his arms the moment it ended.
'At first I thought it was a scam, but no scammer would distribute a program for free.'
The IT world was full of pathetic con artists, after all.
They pitched fancy roadmaps to hype themselves, but had nothing real—just in it for a quick buck and run.
Typically, they'd show unfinished prototypes to lure investments or pre-orders, eyes bulging with greed.
Of course, some were genuinely desperate for funds.
But Scarlett from Savior hadn't mentioned selling or investments at all.
She only suggested trying their perfect program for free.
'We have to snag this!'
Jeffrey thought not only using it but buying it outright was essential.
As a small company, a few million tossed their way would do it—he needed to move before rivals who saw the value beat him to it.
"Sorry, the copyright and ownership of Byte Line are not for sale."
"Two million dollars isn't a small amount for one program."
"It's not about the price. Even if you added another zero, we wouldn't sell."
"What?"
Arriving late to find Scarlett, the presenter from Savior, Jeffrey spotted her buried in a crowd.
But what shocked him wasn't the scene—it was the conversation between her and a company rep.
'Not even for tens of millions?'
He valued Byte Line highly enough to pay millions himself, but Scarlett was shocking the crowd by refusing even ten times that.
Beyond the reps surrounding her, Jeffrey noticed two others watching from a distance.
'Apple and Microsoft.'
The twin leaders of emerging IT seemed to covet Byte Line as well.
Village Maker was perfectly complete up to the demo version, but it still needed finishing touches.
For example, the demo only allowed basic crops, basic equipment, and basic housing.
'I deliberately marked them as available but locked them for use.'
Some were already made and could be included, but I'd intentionally teased them by showing locks to whet appetites.
And the biggest remaining task for Village Maker was the dating sim part.
"It's definitely lacking."
"No emotional impact."
"What?"
"From my feminist perspective, these conversations just aren't appealing enough."
Jason clicked the mouse irritably, his face showing dissatisfaction.
Watching with Rogers and Jackson, something hot bubbled up from deep inside.
"What's the problem?"
"Why do the female characters fall after just a few conversations?"
"It's not 'just a few'... Isn't building rapport with a woman supposed to start with conversation and lead the mood naturally?"
"No, no, no. Each character needs her unique spark. Like, she's indifferent to chats or gifts, but beams with a smile and affection when you bring a golden fish you caught fishing."
"Why a golden fish?"
Rogers asked incredulously.
Actually, Rogers had the most dating experience among us, so I'd assigned him the dialogue scripts for Village Maker's dating sim.
But Jason dismissed it as "trash" outright, and even the usually unflappable Rogers was a bit heated.
"The fact that you're asking why a golden fish just proves you're not sexy enough."
"What?"
"Huck, if you really want a dating sim in the game, you should leave it to me."
Jason spoke with smug confidence.
Rogers shot me a look that said, 'You're handing it to that lunatic?'
But honestly, I agreed with Jason.
Dating elements in games were masterpieces created by those who'd never dated—or couldn't—not by the experienced ones.