〈Parallel Universes〉 平行時空

7、〈穿梭時空〉

南港這頭滂沱大雨夾著雷鳴，房車進入長隧道，「台北不是我的家…」，羅大佑的歌聲陪伴著旅途中的蔡世男。從後照鏡裡蔡世男驚訝發現，自己的花白頭髮正快速變黑，眉毛變細，臉上的皺紋淡化。儀錶板上的里程表急速後退，皮椅開始散發出皮革味，車內裝潢跟著變新。出了隧道，新店那頭卻無風無雨。
「見鬼了！這怎麼回事？」，蔡世男納悶著喃喃自語。
房車駛近休息站，世男下車走進商店區，瞥見用餐看報紙的老人，報紙頭條竟然是：「中共軍演台海試射飛彈，美急派兩支航母艦隊前來」，世男腦海裡浮現「96台海危機」那些畫面。
「不會吧？這馬是啥款情形？」世男走到報紙櫃拿起一份報紙，快速瞄了一眼：「天啊！現在是1996年？我會不會是在作夢？」
手機響起，世男掏出手機接話：「阿兄，你有沒有帶西裝下來？阿母說如果你沒帶下來，明天陪你去街上西裝店買套現成西裝。」
「阿芬，幹嘛要我帶著西裝回去？」
「阿兄，你真健忘喔，阿母要你去相親啊！」
「相親？」世男想起來了，當時跟他相親的女孩張雅惠，鄉長張志光的女兒，後來嫁給電子業大老闆，變成他現在的老闆娘。
世男心裡嘀咕著：「當時，我真的不該放掉她！否則，現在我也不用看她臉色，一直活得很窩囊……，這趟回去相親，重新跟她交手，我一定要把握機會!」
回到東港，世男看見還是原來的舊街道，那座改建前的舊碼頭，他把車寄放在私人收費停車場，搭渡船回到白沙碼頭。回到老家，果然還是原來的三合院。
相親安排在一家海產餐廳裡，張雅惠由她父母親和妹妹陪著。席間，雅惠的鄉長父親張志光提出，小倆口婚後的頭一胎兒子從母姓，這回蔡世男從善如流，雙方婚事隨即敲定。這時，手機響起，世男從西裝口袋裡掏出手機接聽，新奇的外觀立即吸引鄉長一家子的目光。世男講了幾句，就按掉。
張志光一臉好奇問：「阿男，你這支是電話嗎？」
「是啊，光叔，未來的電話，這叫智慧型手機，很輕便，可以拿在手上，還可以當照相機使用，也能連上網路。」
「未來的電話？照相機？連上網路？」鄉長睜大眼睛瞧著，似乎很感興趣：「你在哪裡買的？」
蔡世男意識到說溜嘴，於是含糊說：「是我自己設計的。」
「借阿叔瞧瞧？」張志光沒等世男同意，就把手機從他手上拿過來。
「這上面怎麼沒按鍵啊？」
「這是觸控式鏡面螢幕，手指頭輕輕點一下上面的不同圖案，就能執行各種功能。」世男稍作解說。
「你這個設計太酷了！肯定有很大的商機，我投資你開工廠來生產。」
「光叔，要生產這種手機，可不是一般的工廠，它機身裡的構造很複雜的。」世男發覺準岳父當真，心想這下可麻煩囉！於是故意說這些話，要讓光叔自己打退堂鼓。
「沒問題的啦！你就放手去做，開辦工廠開設公司，這些事我會去張羅。」張志光眼中神采奕奕，他認定這種新產品肯定具有市場潛力。
蔡世男眼見騎虎難下，只好硬著頭皮接受準岳父的安排。
不到一年，張志光真的就把公司和廠房都搞定，「光男通訊科技公司」地點就在小琉球島上。
可問題來了，那些製造手機的機器設備，當時都還沒被發明出來。張志光鐵了心，邀集幾個商界好友共同出資，備足銀彈從國外延聘設計機器人才，由蔡世男組織起一支設計團隊。
經過兩年低調地研發設計，生產機器陸續被製造出來，並開始生產智慧型手機。
經由新聞媒體大肆報導，「光男通訊科技公司」很快地成為海內外注目的焦點，蔡世男這才深刻感受到，與其當個眾所矚目的總經理，不如做回原來的小職員，因為他成了籠中鳥，完全失去人身自由。唯一沒讓他後悔的，是他的老婆張雅惠，把他當成偶像，一直對他服服貼貼、百依百順。

7. “Traveling Through Time and Space”
Heavy rain and thunder poured down over Nangang as the motor home entered a long tunnel. “Taipei Is Not My Home...” The voice of Luo Dayou accompanied Cai Shinan on his journey.
Looking into the rearview mirror, Cai Shinan was astonished to discover that his graying hair was rapidly turning black. His eyebrows were becoming thinner, and the wrinkles on his face were fading.
The odometer on the dashboard was rapidly counting backward. The leather seats began to give off the distinct smell of new leather, and the interior of the vehicle gradually became newer as well.
When he emerged from the tunnel, however, there was no wind or rain on the Xindian side.
“What the hell is going on?”
Cai Shinan muttered to himself in bewilderment.
As the motor home approached a rest area, Shinan got out and walked into the shopping area. He caught sight of an old man eating and reading a newspaper. The headline read:
“Chinese Military Exercises in the Taiwan Strait: Missiles Test-Fired; U.S. Rushes Two Carrier Strike Groups to the Region.”
Images of the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis suddenly flashed through Shinan’s mind.
“No way. What the heck is going on?”
Shinan walked over to the newspaper rack, picked up a copy, and quickly scanned it.
“Oh my God! It’s 1996? Am I dreaming?”
His cell phone rang.
Shinan pulled out his phone and answered.
“Hey, big brother, did you bring your suit with you? Mom said that if you didn’t, she’ll go with you to a suit store tomorrow and help you buy a ready-made one.”
“A-Fen, why do I need to bring a suit?”
“Big brother, you really have a terrible memory. Mom wants you to go on a blind date!”
“A blind date?”
Shinan suddenly remembered the girl he had been set up with back then, Zhang Yahui, the daughter of township chief Zhang Zhiguang. She had eventually married a tycoon in the electronics industry and become his current boss’s wife.
Shinan muttered to himself:
“I really shouldn’t have let her go back then! If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have to worry about pleasing her now or live such a pathetic life... This time, I’m going back for the blind date. I’ll have another chance to deal with her, and this time I’m definitely going to seize the opportunity!”
When he returned to Donggang, Shinan saw the same old streets as before, including the old harbor that had not yet been renovated.
He left his vehicle at a private paid parking lot and took a ferry back to Baisha Wharf.
When he returned to his family home, it was indeed the same old three-sided courtyard house.
The blind date was arranged at a seafood restaurant. Zhang Yahui arrived accompanied by her parents and younger sister.
During the meal, Yahui’s father, Township Chief Zhang Zhiguang, proposed that their first son after marriage take the mother’s surname.
This time, Cai Shinan readily agreed.
The marriage was immediately settled.
Just then, Shinan’s phone rang.
He pulled it out of his suit pocket to answer it.
Its unusual appearance immediately caught the attention of the entire Zhang family.
Shinan spoke a few words and then hung up.
Zhang Zhiguang looked at him curiously.
“Shinan, is that a telephone?”
“Yes, Uncle Guang. It’s a telephone from the future. It’s called a smartphone. It’s very lightweight and can be held in your hand. It can also be used as a camera and connected to the Internet.”
“A telephone from the future? A camera? The Internet?”
The township chief widened his eyes and examined it with great interest.
“Where did you buy it?”
Cai Shinan realized that he had let something slip.
So he answered vaguely, “I designed it myself.”
“Let me take a look, will you?”
Without waiting for Shinan’s permission, Zhang Zhiguang took the phone from his hand.
“How come there aren’t any buttons on this thing?”
“It has a touchscreen. Just tap the different icons on the screen with your finger, and you can operate all kinds of functions.”
Shinan gave him a brief explanation.
“This design of yours is incredible! There must be a huge business opportunity here. I’ll invest in you and set up a factory to manufacture them.”
“Uncle Guang, manufacturing this kind of phone isn’t something an ordinary factory can handle. The internal components are extremely complicated.”
Shinan realized that his future father-in-law was actually serious.
“This is going to be trouble.”
So he deliberately said those things, hoping Uncle Guang would back down on his own.
“No problem! Just go ahead and do it. Set up the factory and establish the company. I’ll take care of all those matters.”
Zhang Zhiguang’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He was convinced that this new product had enormous market potential.
Seeing that he had put himself in an impossible position, Cai Shinan had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept his future father-in-law’s arrangement.
In less than a year, Zhang Zhiguang really had the company and factory up and running.
The company, Guangnan Communications Technology, was located on Little Liuqiu Island.
But then a problem arose.
The machinery and equipment needed to manufacture smartphones had not yet been invented at that time.
Zhang Zhiguang was determined to see the project through. He invited several friends in the business community to invest together, assembled substantial financial resources, and recruited machinery designers from overseas.
Cai Shinan organized a design team.
After two years of low-profile research and development, the manufacturing machinery was gradually built, and production of smartphones finally began.
With extensive coverage by the news media, Guangnan Communications Technology quickly became the focus of attention both at home and abroad.
Only then did Cai Shinan truly realize that rather than being a high-profile general manager attracting everyone’s attention, he would have been better off returning to his original job as an ordinary employee.
He had become a bird trapped in a cage, completely deprived of his personal freedom.
The only thing that prevented him from regretting everything was his wife, Zhang Yahui.
She regarded him as an idol and remained completely devoted to him, always treating him with absolute obedience and affection.