The engines of the Boeing 767 roared to life as it taxied down the runway at San Francisco International Airport. James leaned back in his seat, fastening his seatbelt, while his sister Lilian settled in next to him, adjusting a small pillow behind her back.
Outside the window, the early morning sun streaked across the tarmac, painting the world in gold and orange. It was a perfect day to fly — and an even better day to change his future.
"Six hours," Lilian murmured, glancing at her watch. "You better sleep, James. Tomorrow's a big day."
James didn't answer. Instead, he reached down into his leather carry-on bag and pulled out a thick, heavy hardcover book:"Security Analysis" by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd.
Lilian raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna read that brick? On a plane?"
James smiled faintly. "Not gonna. Am reading."
And with that, he cracked open the book — and began flipping through the pages at a speed that made Lilian blink.
She stared at him. For a few minutes, she said nothing, waiting for him to slow down. He didn't.Page after page, his eyes moved fast but steady, like a machine processing an endless stream of information.
Finally, Lilian couldn't hold it in anymore. "James," she whispered, poking his arm. "What are you doing?"
He turned a page, his thumb smooth and methodical. "Reading."
She frowned. "Reading? Seriously? At that speed? Come on. No one reads that fast."
James finally looked up, amused. "Photographic memory."
Lilian blinked at him like he had grown a second head. "What?! Since when?!"
James chuckled. "Always. You never asked."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, then snatched the book from his hands, flipping it open randomly."Okay genius," she said, pointing to a line midway down a page. "Page 267, second paragraph, first sentence. What is it?"
Without missing a beat, James said,
"The chief margin of safety for a bond lies in the issuer's ability to weather adverse business developments."
Lilian's mouth dropped open.
"No way," she muttered. "That could be a fluke."She flipped to another page. "Page 89, third paragraph, last sentence."
James leaned back lazily and said,
"The market is not a weighing machine, but a voting machine in the short term."
Lilian dropped the book into her lap, staring at him like he was an alien 👽.
"You're not real," she said flatly.
James smirked, snatching the book back. "Real enough to fly across the country and ring the Nasdaq bell tomorrow."
Still reeling, Lilian watched as he finished Security Analysis within the next hour, then without pause, pulled out the next one:"The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham.
Again, the pages turned rapidly under his fingers, a steady, relentless rhythm.By the time they crossed the Rockies, he had finished that too.
"You're insane," Lilian muttered, shaking her head.
"Focused," James corrected without looking up.
As they soared over the Midwest, he dove into "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel, absorbing its theories on market efficiency, behavioral economics, and long-term investing like he was downloading data into his brain.
Next came "Market Wizards" — interviews with top traders, packed with insights about risk, discipline, and psychology.He read about Paul Tudor Jones, Ed Seykota, and Bruce Kovner as if they were old friends.
And finally, as the plane began its slow descent into New York airspace, James cracked open the last one:"Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" by Edwin Lefèvre, the semi-fictionalized life story of legendary trader Jesse Livermore.
Each line he read wasn't just knowledge — it was confirmation.Confirmation of what he had lived through once already in another life.Confirmation of the storm he was about to ride.
Meanwhile, Lilian just stared at him, her mouth slightly open, giving occasional glances to other passengers to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
When the captain announced their descent into JFK, she leaned over and whispered, "Seriously... you're like... not even human."
James closed his final book, tucked it away neatly, and looked at her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"You'll be glad I'm on your team."
The plane touched down with a heavy rumble, tires screeching lightly against the runway.The late afternoon light of New York flooded into the cabin.
James and Lilian gathered their things and exited quickly, hailing a cab outside the terminal.The air smelled different here — heavier, electric, like the city itself was buzzing with unseen energy.
Inside the yellow cab, James leaned his head back against the seat, watching the city skyline rise in the distance as they crossed the bridge into Manhattan.
Tomorrow, history would be made.
Tomorrow, Netscape would go public — the first true Internet company to list — and the world would never be the same.
They checked into a hotel just off Times Square — nothing fancy, but clean, business-like, efficient.
In the quiet of their respective rooms, James and Lilian prepared for the day ahead in their own ways.She stretched out on her bed, scrolling through her phone, watching the news nervously.He sat by the window, staring out at the city, letting the magnitude of the moment settle into him.
The stakes were enormous.DoubleClick's future was intertwined with Netscape now, through the ad contract.If James played it right tomorrow, he wouldn't just ride the IPO wave — he could secure the funding, reputation, and firepower to make DoubleClick a tech giant.
Lose… and he could burn through the 200K Lilian had so carefully set up in Aurora Capital.A hole would blow through DoubleClick's budget.Outside investors might smell blood in the water — and he'd lose control of everything he'd fought for.
There was no safety net.
No second chances.
No turning back.
James stood up, stretched, and cracked open his laptop. He reviewed the Netscape numbers one more time, every figure burned into his mind already.
$28 a share.
First trade expected around $70.
Target close between $58 and $65.
But James knew something the others didn't.Knew, because in his past life, he had watched it happen:
Netscape wasn't just a browser company.It had found a second, hidden gold mine: selling online ad space.Through their partnership with DoubleClick — his company — they had an entirely new revenue stream no one had correctly valued yet.
Tomorrow, the world would wake up.
James smiled grimly.
He would be ready.