Googol had not shone during the initial dotcom boom, but it became the biggest beneficiary when the dotcom bubble broke and companies collapsed one after another. That was how they had secured the outstanding developers who lost their jobs in Silicon Valley and became the world’s largest firm.

The recent situation on Wall Street was similar because there were hedge funds and investment institutions that were on the verge of bankruptcy in the aftermath of the Russian financial war, leaving a number of elite managers on the streets. Jonathan had not only scooped up the best of the talented managers, funds and support staff, but also their money and systems for the New York firm. As a result, the New York company emerged the victor in the takeover battle.

***

In the winter of 1998, there was a Christmas tree in front of the headquarters to celebrate the upcoming holiday, and I couldn't take my eyes off it. The glittering star at the top and the lamps surrounding the tree seemed to symbolize our success in acquiring everything. We had advanced this much in just a year and a half.

“What about school?” Jonathan asked.

“I’m on vacation,” I replied.

Jonathan seemed to have changed appearance-wise as he greeted me with a smile without trying to read my mind. If his office was in Korea, it would’ve been filled with standing wreaths that congratulated our success. Instead, stacks of documents were placed on his desk, resembling a law firm. Jonathan took one out of the untidy pile.

“Check this out first.”

It was a list of board members of the New York firm, and it was filled with names that could host a global financial conference. There were founders and partners of global hedge funds, a former CEO of a major energy company, a former president of one of the four major banks, and even a German who served as IMF chief in the 1980s. On the other hand, Jonathan looked to have aged the past few months as completing this list was taxing. However, his eyes glowed with fire as I had anticipated.

“We decided to keep the name, so it’ll be Jonathan Investment Finance Group. These losers were flattering us. Shame on them,” Jonathan said.

“We’re on the same boat now,” I responded.

“No, they got on our boat. These guys…They’re just failures.”

I could feel Jonathan’s stress through his words. These guys on the list managed to survive the war. Some were still in their own hedge funds, and others were by themselves as they had escaped from the bankrupt investment institutions. These board members were losers and must have been stress factors during the negotiations, but they didn’t collapse with Russia in my past life. They were able to maintain their reputation for a long time and retired successfully.

“This firm is now bigger and needs as many good sailors as we can get to become the center of the world’s economy,” I said.

“I’m like this only in front of you. Why don’t we go out? Look, it’s snowing. It’s getting awfully cold,” he suggested.

In a short period of time, it began to snow on the street. We deliberately left Wall Street to avoid people and went to a small whiskey bar in an alley that didn’t look like New York. There were a few customers and jazz music filled the air. This was better than whiskey or wine that cost ten thousand dollars a bottle.

“You’re not going to act like a minor at this point, right Ethan?”

Jonathan tipped the bottle while mentioning one of my aliases.

“Gillian doesn’t know anything, right?” he asked, and I nodded.

“And you’re not planning to tell him?”

“Never,” I answered.

He said, “Well, let’s drink first. It’s our first time doing this.”

We both drank a strong whiskey, and it looked like Jonathan’s stress was melting away. His eyes became relaxed after a drink and he said with a faint smile as he had suddenly remembered something, “Bringing the Connecticut Retiree Teachers’ Pension was a smart choice. Don’t you think so?”

We had made 7.7 billion dollars with the original fund of two billion, excluding the thirty percent performance fee. Therefore, the relevant departments in the U.S. government would’ve looked upon us quite favorably. Officials from all over the world including the U.S., Japan, Canada and Norway had been contacting us while keeping a close eye on the New York firm’s merger and acquisition process. When the company finished establishing a group system, the offers to manage their pension funds came in. The total was four hundred billion dollars so far.

“There’ll be no Christmas or holidays in their lives.”

Jonathan’s smile was bitter as he also knew that giving them work for the rest of their lives was also a form of success. The funds operated by the New York firm alone could determine a country’s economic fate and significantly impact the flow and distribution of global assets. Jonathan Investment Finance Group had entered the world stage and this whiskey was a small celebration for that fact. By the time we finished half of the whiskey bottle, we were looking over the next investment proposal.

“Will the hedge funds under us move?” Jonathan asked.

I replied, “No, just leave them. They’ll be pounding on internet startups soon by themselves anyway.”

“You’re right,” he said.

There were signs already as people had dreamed of it since 1995. Soon, everyone would bet insane amounts of money on Internet Startups, and more money was going to flock to the New York stock market’s IT category.

“We won’t intervene in the management of pension funds as well as hedge funds. All they have to do is just follow our orders when the time comes,” I said.

The elites would always do better than the layperson as their only fault in all of this was not going back in time and having knowledge of the future.

“They’ll need to make up for their losses. Our rich clients are gone, right?” I asked.

“Yea, at first. But they are coming back these days after the mergers. They can smell the money,” Jonathan answered.

“That’s better, but…” I said.

“But?”

I took a piece of paper out of my bag.

“Buy the stocks of the companies listed on the list with our own funds.”

I said while handing it to Jonathan.

“Weren’t you busy? When did you prepare this?” he questioned.

Most of them were famous firms that anyone would know, and Jonathan tucked it deep into his wallet after folding it.

“It’s time for us to become fans of the new century,” he spoke in a drunk voice.

“Who wouldn’t? But be prepared to get out before the bubble bursts,” I responded.

“I’ll check that. Well, my employee is going to do it, but it doesn’t matter,” he mumbled.

“Make sure you send monthly reports every month from the moment we enter,” I said.

“So, we are done talking about work, right?” He smiled.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then let’s get drunk,” he said.

“No, we should stop here.”

“What? We just started,” he whined.

I responded, “I have a meeting tomorrow.”

“Again? Where?” he asked.

“I came because of it, so come with me tomorrow,” I said.

“Are we meeting the Secretary of the Treasury Department? Is this like how Russia began to fall?” He raised his voice.

“Is it in the morning or afternoon?” I asked.

“Afternoon, so I can drink more,” he replied.

“Let’s call it a day. There’s something only you can do,” I said.

“Tell me,” he responded.

“You need to convince two Stanford University students.”

***

I pondered on how to minimize the impact I would have on their two companies. When they first decided to sell PageRank technology, their intent was to concentrate on studying for a doctorate after selling their skills. However, no one purchased it, and they continued to work at their firm until they hit it big with the dotcom rush. They didn’t receive major funding until their IPO. They must’ve planned to run the business with their own capital. As they ignored the traditional methods of Wall Street and gave opportunities to public investors, I needed to obtain as many shares as possible beforehand.

The irony was that if I intervened hastily, the two founders would return to their studies. However, if I didn’t, then I would lose the golden geese. Jonathan looked at me in confusion.

“Just buy it if it’s only a million dollars,” Jonathan said.

“What would they do with that money? They would just continue their doctorate programs,” I replied.

He asked, “If their technology is great, why aren’t people buying it?”

“They’re all idiots,” I answered.

In fact, the search engines up until this time had only focused on marketing as they learned it increased the number of users more than their search technology. Therefore, they had integrated various contents so that users could do everything within their site at once.

“You need to be careful. You can’t just buy it out of the blue, okay?” I emphasized.

If I failed, I had no choice but to buy their technology and replicate what they had done in the past. That was the worst-case scenario.

“I hope my story works for these two,” Jonathan said.

“It will,” I replied.

“Yes, there’s nothing more effective than my story for those who don’t know the truth. So, tomorrow morning at Stanford?” He looked at me.

“Actually, you know what? I changed my mind. It will be at our New York headquarters, and I’ll let them know,” I responded.

“Wow, you want it that much?” He asked.

I nodded, and Jonathan became quiet with a thoughtful look on his face. Then, his gaze changed after sipping the last drop of the whiskey.

“Make sure you prepare and take notes. We should treat them well. So the word ‘Googol’ means ten to the hundredth power?” Jonathan questioned.

“Yes,” I answered.

“You are talented at naming. If you put a dollar sign at the end of the number…”

Jonathan glanced at me while clipping his wings.