Elder Goose Finally Taking Flight
The day was December 31st, 1976 and Gavin O'Brian was going to go see Star Wars.
Had word leaked around that the brother of Bruce O'Brian, brother-in-law of Carrie O'Brian had not seen the film they both starred in, the film increasingly hyped as the greatest of all time by everyone who saw it, then Gavin would probably be seen as insulting his family. His parents had been the first to see it outside of the studio and were happy to show the film on repeat at the bar, supposedly making it the most packed its ever been. Cat had organized a reservation of a Dublin theater for the entirety of the O'Brian clan in the Republic who all had a blast seeing their beloved Goose on the screen. Yet Gavin had kept himself from watching the GOAT movie for weeks, how could any O'Brian or stranger see him as anything but uncaring about his little brother's accomplishments?
The truth was, while Gavin truly did leave Hollywood behind and wished his brother all the best success in life, a small part of his heart was saddened whenever he saw Bruce on MASH or pop up, that Bruce got to live every single one of his dreams while Gavin wandered aimlessly from place to place, never even having a dream of his own in the first place. Gavin cowardly wished he could avoid the reminder of Bruce's greatness in comparison to his nothing, but it was hard to do so when everytime he went to work or went out in public, or even acted with another human being really, all they ever talked about was Star Wars, the best movie ever made.
Although, there was one very specific reason that he was going on this date;
"So, you excited to see the movie?" Asked the sweet and heavenly voice of the love of his life, Susan Dreyfuss.
While his Hollywood years had been a terrible scar, one thing that Gavin would be forever grateful to his failed stint as a writer was that it set in motion the series of events that lead him to San Francisco and to Susan. It was a rather comedic first meeting, where Gavin had somehow insulted some of the patrons and nearly had to defend his life before Susan who had been present, managed to intervene thanks to Gavin's near foes being old classmates of hers. He bought her a drink as a way to repay this bold and beautiful angel who came to his rescue, and while conversation was akward at first, somewhere along the way Gavin managed to make her laugh and smile, they both carried on in deep conversation and managed to enjoy themselves. The night ended with the promise of another meeting, which lead to a formal date, and lots of hangouts and romantic ventures, and a couple of years later they lived together and both were set on each other as the love of their life.
Susan was a miracle to Gavin after so many years of striking out and messy relationships where he had been convinced that he would live the rest of his life alone. Susan was beautiful, sweet, fiery, intelligent, adventurous, exciting; she was everything Gavin had hoped he could find in love and more. Perhaps most importantly, she always pushed him to be the best he could be and grow to be so much more than the Gavin who had arrived in San Francisco four years ago as a Hollywood reject. She did so much for him and Gavin did his best everyday to make her smile and be happy, to do what she did in brightening up his life.
"I guess." Gavin said with a shrug as they drove to a theater in Palo Alto to meet up with her parents and watch the show. Despite keeping his eyes on the roll, Gavin could feel the eyeroll emananting from Susan.
"You guess? Everyone and their grandma is hyping it up as the greatest movie in existence and you're just meh about you're brother's big movie?" Susan asked in astonishment.
Gavin shook his head in mirth, "Well I guess I am a bit interested. You know Steve actually said it was better than Star Trek?"
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Susan's jaw drop, "Woz not Jobs right?" She asked to which Gavin nodded, "Wow, that's higher praise than anything Siskel and Ebert could have said, and they were practically worshipping Star Wars." If anyone knew Steve Wozniak, they would be shocked beyond belief as the man lived and breathed Star Trek, his own hardware inventions largely inspired by the show.
"I don't know, I guess it's weird seeing everyone gush about a film starring your baby brother and his wife. Every time I watch MASH I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. All Bruce the Actor means to me is those little school plays he did in elementary. His first one he was Abraham Lincoln and he said 'For Sore and Seventy Days Ago." Gavin shared, with Susan laughing hard at the image of Radar O'Reiley being so awkward.
"It's a shame my movie star boyfriend isn't going to return with another Oscar-worthy performance." Susan playfully teased, mentioning his cameo in American Graffiti where he acted as a waiter in one of the dive-in scenes.
"Yeah." Gavin said absently, smiling even though his heart wasn't into it. He had mostly come to terms with leaving Hollywood, and for the most part was grateful for helping him to find what he was meant to do and meet Susan, Steve and so many others; but it still left its scars.
"You think this is going to be the greatest movie ever? Deborah and the other ladies said it was like seeing Gone with the Wind for the first time." Susan asked.
"Meh, everyone always overhypes a movie when it first comes out and they're probably just gushing over Bruce and Carrie doing a movie together. Probably just something fun like Jaws and then Bruce is going to move onto something else."
......
Holy Shit. Star Wars was the greatest movie of all time.
Gavin knew that Bruce was a damn good actor and he had absolutely shined on MASH and American Graffiti, but both works, masterpieces in their own right were but amateur plays in comparison to the majesty of Star Wars. It was one of the greatest stories ever told, both timeless and original with high quality in worldbuilding and plot. The music was a beautiful symphony that could be said to be equal to the great composers of centuries prior. The characters were fun and engaging, relatable and extraordinary at the same time. The actors all gave Oscar-worthy performances, Bruce managing to shine above them all as he usually did, truly transforming into a scoundrel of a space smuggler who accidentally was thrust into greatness with a farmboy and a princess. It was easy to focus all the love and attention on the actors, but what Gavin was most enthralled by were the special effects. Somehow Industrial Light and Magic managed to create a movie that was years, if not decades ahead of the competition. There was no green screens or crappy costumes and artificial sets, they truly created a galaxy, far, far away with advanced robotics, model sets and lighting techniques that showed the highest limits of the practical and early computers. It was the kind of magic that Gavin believed computers could one day pull off entirely, but everyone at Atari had laughed him off as having a large imagination, something that if it were true, was not possible within their lifetimes.
At the end of the film most of those who watched clapped, those who didn't having likely seen the movie before. All everyone could talk about was the one of a kind experience they just partook in. Of the Force and Jedi, of badass lightsaber fights, of astounding spaceships and hyperspace, of how awesome the O'Brians were. Susan's parents were no exception with David showing more emotion than Gavin had ever seen as he couldn't stop gushing about how great of a movie it was.
It was a kind of reaction that Gavin realized David had never shown when he shared his work, and when he made a playful comment about how lucky they were that perhaps one day they could be related to the O'Brians then Gavin's old anxieties and concerns had been brought back. Before Bruce was just one star of a popular TV show, now he was a co-creator and star of the most fantastic and greatest movie in history, everywhere he went people talked about Star Wars. Gavin no longer even shared the lack of spotlight this time. Cat while not exactly a household name, had taken over libraries and bookstores the world over with her Irish fantasy books. You couldn't walk into a bookstore without a Cu book being front and center in the kids section and Susan had shared before how Catherine Powell books were usually reliable checkouts.
Both O'Brian kids had flown high and far, and then there was the ugly ducking Gavin, still where he was at four years ago and only contributions of note being graphic design and conversion software to the upcoming Atari 2600. Gavin at the very least liked his job and was good at it this time, but he was never going to do great things, never be great. In a long family line of heroes and extraordinary people, Gavin was just the plain unassuming Joe. Was that something he was meant to be? Couldn't he be great?
On the first morning of 1977, Gavin couldn't help but stare blankly at nothing, his heart filled with turmoil which even the gentle and warm touch of Susan in their bed couldn't erase. The night prior in the last hour of '76, Susan had shared with him a series of New Years resolutions. It was multiple instead of the usual one because Susan wanted backups in case she failed so that no matter how she did, she could do at least one thing right, feeling an urge to truly change and be productive.
It was a mindset that got Gavin thinking, to where he made one critical epiphany about his life. Since he was a teenager, Gavin had been wanting to do great and be great, but he had never been motivated to actually try and act upon his desires, instead wallowing in self-deprecation and sadness. Part of this was due to lacking talents in a lot of fields, but it was hardly an excuse considering Bruce could just set his mind on anything and he just did it, even if he had to learn entirely new skills and talents. Gavin finally found something he was great in with computers, but for the past few years he had been too content with just being a cog in the Atari machine, too scared to be ambitious or try to make something of his own so he wouldn't lose the one accomplishment of worth in his life besides his relationship. Bruce faced terrible odds and obstacles, but he overcame all of them, and it all started in the beginning because he tried. Why couldn't Gavin be the same? They shared the same blood, were raised the same, went through many of the same hells of LA, there was no reason Gavin couldn't.
That still left a goal, something that Gavin could actually find purpose in, but avenues were limited in such an infantile industry, the only other option being government work who wouldn't accept Gavin due to his lack of a degree. Then somehow in his search he remembered the offer his good friend Steve had made, one he promised was still an open door. It was a hell of a gamble, leaving stability to go for a trek in the unknown forged from a partnership between a genius and a narcissitic hippie. But if there was one thing about the Steves, was that they were the only ones who were bold in San Fracisco, who saw the future in computers and weren't simply content being the best, they wanted to innovate, to lead. Perhaps Gavin could find a seat at the table, and from there he could truly contribute something of worth to the world.
Still, it was a hell of a gambit, and before he continued forward Gavin wanted some sort of advice or sign from the brother who showed him that anything and everything could be done.
Quietly and carefully moving out of Susan's drowsy hold, Gavin moved to the edge of their bed and picked up the phone on the nightstand. He dialed the number and waited anxiously as it rang multiple times, hoping that Bruce wasn't too hungover from some wild Hollywood party to not reply when Gavin felt that something had to be done.
Instead of his brother however, Gavin's sister-in-law answered, "Hello?" Asked a very exhausted Carrie O'Brian with a loud yawn.
"Hey Carrie....it's Gavin." Gavin meekly responded.
"I'm guessing you want Bruce?" Carrie asked in a dry tone, the voice of Princess Leia without warmth or hostility.
Gavin and Carrie...weren't really close as in-laws. Gavin had probably spoken to her about maybe 10-20 times since the wedding, all of it either from interacting with her when he visited Bruce, or like now where she picked up on the phone when he meant to call Bruce. It wasn't Carrie's fault, and Gavin thought she was a good person and a great wife for Bruce, but they just never had anything in common besides their love for Bruce and didn't have good chemistry like how Cat liked to dote on Carrie and be affectionate as an older sister. Although a lot of the responsibility laid admittedly on Gavin for not reaching out or improving the standing. Talking to Carrie...was hard. She was a daughter of Hollywood royalty, she grew up in the world that treated Gavin and Cat so horribly. It was heavily irrational, but Gavin thought of Carrie and her family, he got flashbacks to the wasted and miserable years in Hollywood.
"Yeah." Gavin simply said.
"He's making breakfast right now, probably going to have to call again later today." Carrie spoke plainly.
Gavin almost hung up, but he remembered a lecture his mother had given him the last time her and Joseph visited about keeping distance from Bruce and Carrie when he was the only O'Brian in California, even if he lived a six hour drive away.
"You know, I saw Star Wars last night for the first time." Gavin broke the ice.
"Really? Didn't go on opening weekend?" Carrie inquired.
"I'm not a fan of crowds so I usually wait a couple of weeks, though it was kind of pointless, all the theaters are packed for Star Wars. Besides, I was waiting to see it with Susan and her family."
"Tell Carrie I said hi." Sleepily requested a nearby Susan, with Gavin being a bit surprised and guilty he hadn't been as subtle as he hoped. Unlike Gavin, Susan was rather close and friendly with Bruce and Carrie
"Susan says hi. Anyways, it was a pretty good time. I know you've probably heard this a million times, but it really was the greatest movie I had ever seen."
Carrie giggled at the statement, "If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I could buy a couple of cars. Glad you liked it though. What was your favorite part?"
"Special effects, never thought a movie could make something like that, certainly a hell of a lot better than anything Atari's making." Gavin answered. He knew a graphics designer within the company who believed that some day within their lifetimes video games could be not only photorealistic, but have cinematic quality in gameplay. Gavin knew one day they'd evolve beyond 8 bit, but he didn't see how any Video Game could top Star Wars in storytelling or visuals.
"Listen Carrie...I hope you don't mind my asking, but do you like acting?" Gavin asked, figuring a second perspective could help with his decision.
There was a brief period of silence before Carrie responded, "Why....why would you ask that?" She asked in apprehension.
Gavin facepalmed as he remembered of the rare trip the two had taken a couple months ago to visit San Francisco. The two spent time with Gavin and Susan when not visiting their Director friend and Bruce revealed in a private conversation how he had taken Carrie to help get her mind off of some horrible stunt her father had pulled. It seemed Gavin was picking apart old wounds.
"I....I don't know, watching Star Wars, you and Bruce were just so amazing, you both are probably going to be set for life in roles, and I was just curious about why you wanted to do it with Bruce. He said you always wanted to do it, and I didn't really know what I was going to do with myself for so long. Just curious, but you don't have to I guess."
Gavin heard a soft sigh on Carrie's end, "I...I think I like acting. I can't stand the town and all the awful people giving Bruce so much grief for nothing, but I like acting in a movie, performing for others, just having fun being someone else like all those little plays I used to do for Mom and Todd. It's something I'm good at and I'm happy just being part of a bigger story. I don't think I'll always be just an actor, I have more fun and love writing and there's always singing, but part of me will always be one. As for how I got in, Mom and Eddie were actors, they kind of just thought I'd be one, and I just went along with it. Of course I could have been anything else, but then I met Bruce, and he was so amazing on MASH that it kind of settled me on the path."
Gavin nodded, "In the future, is there anything specific you want to do or achieve with movies?" He asked.
"Not really." Carrie said nonchalantly, greatly surprising Gavin. "I've got a couple of Oscars, my first two movies made history, there's nothing more I can do and trying to just make only the best is exhausting glory hogging. I don't really worry about what's going to happen years down the line or plan ahead too much, and acting isn't something that I want to take priority. I guess when I do get around to it again, just make good stuff, do a lot of movies with Bruce, and just work and be happy with it."
A very interesting take from the star of Some Nights and Star Wars to say the least, one Gavin didn't expect from the wife of Bruce, but it was almost comforting in a way to know that Carrie had greater hopes and dreams and wasn't some film diva, that she was more focused on personal content than being the best. Not exactly the answers Gavin looked for, but it helped him realize what he wanted more clearly.
It also completely defied his expectations of who Carrie O'Brian was, and made Gavin realize they didn't know each other much.
Gavin then heard Carrie talking to Bruce and informing him that Gavin was on the phone, "Bruce is done, if it's not too long I'll hand the phone off to him."
"Thanks, I guess I'll call in half an hour or so, don't want to keep you guys waiting. And Carrie-"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry we don't talk much and I'm not like Cat. I'm really happy though that Bruce met you. I'm happy that you're my sister-in-law."
"Thanks."
Gavin then hung up and waited for more than half an hour, probably for the best so he could talk with Bruce through the kitchen phone without alerting Susan who still slept in. After one failed attempt at dialing, Gavin was able to reach him.
"Happy New Year Gav!" Bruce greeted cheerfully.
"Happy New Year Bruce."
"Carrie told me that you and Susan saw Star Wars yesterday. You guys liked it?" Bruce asked.
"Yep, loved it a lot. Probably my favorite movie now, but American Graffiti starring the O'Brian brothers will always be better." Gavin joked, getting a small laugh from Bruce.
"Listen Bruce, I wanted to ask you something important." Gavin said. Lord, it felt weird trying to seek advice from his baby brother when Gavin was supposed to be the role model as the eldest, but at the end of the day Bruce was the millionaire and Gavin did get help from Bruce on homework when he was young.
"Okay." Bruce said blankly.
Gavin sighed, "I'm thinking about changing careers. Going to quit Atari to join this new computer company my friend Steve co-founded called Apple. It's not like I'm going to be gambling on something with no future, they're going to be selling a computer model this year with sales projected in the tens of thousands. Still, it's a pretty high leap, I'm giving up my 9 to 5 and 401k for a startup, in a field that barely existed a decade ago."
"Why ask me? I know jack about computers." Bruce asked.
Gavin was puzzled at the statement, "Seriously, you know a dozen languages but you never once bothered to read some books on it?"
"I'm a Liberal Arts guy at heart and hard science and mechanics just bore me. George told me he's going to invest in them, but that's not something I'm going to be personally involved in." Bruce answered.
Gavin doubted it as he believed fully that Bruce could probably learn how to code if he ever got the motivation, but for now he took comfort on having one small thing he could call his own. "Well, I just wanted your input because once upon a time, you made headlines for starting a film studio with a guy who everyone thought was a one hit wonder, and now a couple of years later you guys made a bunch of Oscar-worthy films and made the best film of all time. So...different song, same beats I guess."
"Yeah that's fair." Bruce said with a chuckle, "So you just want to know why I co-founded Lucasfilms?"
"I guess. Just why you made such a big leap when you were already rich and could just star in films or just do MASH?"
"Oh I wanted to burn Hollywood to the ground and make sure those fuckers regretted screwing George over." Bruce said in the most casual manner.
Gavin froze in horror for a couple of seconds at how brazen and relaxed Bruce was about his fury. Growing up, while Gavin was more meek and reserved, Bruce inherited the infamous Irish fury present in O'Brians and was no stranger to standing his ground and getting in a couple of fights. Work, Carrie and faith seemed to temper that, but even still Bruce would just non-chalantly mention blood feuds and vengeance in conversations about Hollywood and regarded it with normalcy, if not lacking in passion, just business.
"Well...I don't really want to screw someone over at Atari. I just want to do some good work on computers with my friend." Gavin said.
"Oh, well that's a good reason. Besides getting revenge and making sure we could make movies without suit scum screwing us over, I just wanted to make really good art with George, tell the kind of stories we wanted to tell and make the best movies we possibly could. A company where I could just be myself and live my dream job. So far it's worked out pretty well."
"What about the risk? You weren't afraid of failing?"
"Until the strike happened and we started filming Star Wars, a little bit. But I had MASH on the side and lots of money saved up, most importantly Carrie's support. So I was okay, but I wanted to make sure George didn't fail his dream, so I worked hard and put in all the work I could so that we couldn't fail, and now here we are. Probably not the best answer, but nothing great is done without some sort of risk. You're smart Gav, I'm sure you'll do great at this fruit company." Bruce said. The two brothers then talked some more about work, and then more about life, with Gavin feeling his stresses wash away by the end.
After some further thinking and reflecting on Bruce's words, Gavin had come to his mind and decided to boldly go forward with a career change. Before that, he made sure to do as he usually did with important decisions in recent years, consult Susan.
"I'm going to quit my job." Gavin said nonchalantly at the dining table as they ate breakfast, causing Susan to nearly choke on a bagel.
"What the hell? Is everything okay? Is Simon being a jackass again?" Susan demanded in a fiery tone.
Gavin laughed and shook his head, "No it's not really anything from Atari. Well...mostly. Remember Steve's offer?" Gavin asked to which Susan nodded, "Well I'm going to go through with it. Right before Christmas he told me it was still open, and I think that's the best path for me moving forward."
Gavin waited anxiously as Susan seemed to be in contemplation over the new information. If she was against the move then he'd stay with Atari, it was how much he trusted her. To his relief, she seemed to be more concerned than outright opposed, "Are you sure? I thought you said Apple was too much of a gamble and you wanted stability? What made you change your mind?"
"Star Wars." Gavin said plainly, to which Susan was confused, "You saw what Bruce and Carrie did, they made the greatest film of all time, just seven years into his Hollywood career Bruce has got his own studio and is set to make the highest grossing film of all time, already lauded as the best."
"Is that what this is about? You're hoping Apple is a ticket to fame and fortune?" Susan asked apprehensively.
Gavin shook his head, "No, I could care less about the money or being a household name like Bruce. I just....Bruce and Cat are doing so many great things, they're making great stories that impact millions through movies and books."
"Didn't you say that video games could someday be equal to a movie as entertainment?" Susan asked.
Gavin nodded, "Yes they can, but it's decades away, and in the meantime I'm never going to be more than a programming grunt while Atari does the most basic game models or tries to find a way to make games tied to whatever's popular. Steve isn't thinking just about meeting quotas and profit margins, he wants to change the way business and home life is done, to let everyone have access to the power of the Apollo program. I can be part of that, I can help change the world and make a difference. Every time you use an Apple product, it'll be from my design or approval. I can...I can make you proud."
Susan wrapped her hand around Gavin's, "I am proud of you Gavin, of what you do, who you are, everything about you." She affirmed, to which Gavin softly softly kissed her hand in gratitude. "I am a bit worried though. Dad always likes to say that men who try to be great often end up being the most terrible." Susan said in concern. Considering her family's history, Gavin more than understood the context and was stunned, though Susan shook her head and tightened her grip, "I'm not saying you'll end up like that. It's just that, being so high tends to change people, and not often for the better. You don't have to be part of Hollywood to be rotten, and not everyone is like Bruce. I just don't want you to change too much, to nearly lose you again."
It was a reference to near a year and a half ago, when Gavin almost proposed, ready to spend the rest of their lives together and inspired by Bruce and Carrie's marital bliss. It was a rushed sentiment that nearly sparked the collapse of their relationship which begun from arguments over who was going to keep their faith and how children would be raised. They came out stronger and more devoted to one another in the end, but the memories were still sore and while progress was slow they both wanted to reach the same destination someday.
"I'm not going to change, I'll always love you and I'm never leaving." Gavin promised. It was not the most dramatic or deep declarations, but the emotions were sincere and it was enough for Susan.
"Is this something you truly want to do, a career where you think you can be happy and do good?" Susan asked, knowing what Gavin was seeking.
"Yes." Gavin said firmly.
Susan then gave him a warm smile, "Well, I guess that settles it Gavin O'Brian, Chief Programmer of Apple."
Being employed by Apple was definitely an interesting experience to say the least. So far in Gavin's working life he had faced different environments with each career change. The Jumping Whale was a literal family bar where his parents where the owners and the employees were like aunts and uncles to him. Hollywood was crappy gig work where you had to bust your ass off and pray just for the slightest chance a studio will take pity on you and hire you. Atari was a very standard American office setting with a regimented structure and production by subdivisons. Apple Inc.? It was a frat house with Steve Jobs as the leader.
Well, perhaps it was a bit mean and it likely wouldn't last, but so far that was Gavin's impression. Apple was the merry band of nerds and computer wizards following the Steve duo, split neatly in half between Woz's hardware boys and Steve's design and marketing. It was all a very personal and relaxed club of free spirits, marching to the beat of their own drum but ultimately to Steve Job's path with Woz content to play the role of the humble engineer.
As chief programmer, Gavin was supposed to report to Woz and be his subordinate but Jobs had a heavy passion for software design even if he had absolutely no idea on how to code and how software functioned beyond their base display. Jobs seemed very intimate and chill with the other guys, chatting a storm and giving them pushes to meet his vision, but when it came to Gavin he liked to hover around and wanted firm updates, as if he was paranoid that the Irishman would sabotage the Apple II in spite of Gavin being involved of most of Atari's game development while Jobs had been the maintenance and console design guy.
Although, the sense of tension existed long before Gavin had joined Apple. Both Gavin and Jobs loved Woz and were heavily comfortable with the bearded genius. But when it was just Gavin and Jobs alone, friction seemed to spark in the air as if they were oil and water. It wasn't as if the two hated each other and Jobs did have his moments that Gavin liked, but he wasn't too fond of Job's rather abrasive personality while Jobs never seemed to completely relax around him.
Tensions were heightened when at the first week of the job, Gavin took one look at the Apple II's software and rather boldly said it was subpar. It was meant to be an insult to either Steve, but it was a truthful statement of the two's conflicting vision and lack of expertise. Woz was first and foremost a hardware guy. He could build machines, run them to have the perfect power and capability, be more advanced than anything that wasn't a NASA or Defense supercomputer, but he was only competent at code, like someone who could make perfect paint oil but lacked creativity in creating an art piece. Jobs had some brilliant ideas on software design that Gavin heavily agreed with and a few even being brilliant in foresight, but he had no idea how to adapt it to the system, some of his suggestions being physically impossible.
The code was a cheeseburger without the bun. By itself a patty and cheese was nice, but it wasn't living up to its full potential.....probably a shit comparison if Gavin was being honest but spending many years working at the family bar tended to drive in the food and liquor puns. Anyways, it was some tough work through weeks of all-nighters and going through multiple textbooks worth of paper to make sure the math was right with plenty of actual trial and error. There had been a few close calls where Gavin almost seemed to be on an impossible mission, but in the end the stars aligned and he got the perfect code.
It was a software program that pushed the Apple II to the absolute limits of the hardware with the only possible method of improvement being adding new programs or expanding the console in customization. He managed to chip in a lot of Job's more out there ideas, and came up with an office/home portfolio which allowed your everyman customer to fulfill a wide range of functions for business and home life such as writing, data-entry, financial upkeep, presentations and more. On its own the Apple II was no match for DARPA or whatever supercomputer the Soviets were cooking up, but it was the absolute best that a normal working American could buy.
And as Gavin showed the full power of the Apple II 2.0 to the team, he knew that his gamble had been an absolute success. No longer was he the upstart from Atari with a famous brother who thought he was better than the Steves, now he was Gavin the Genius who created a software format which they thought would take years to complete.
In regards to the two Steves specifically, Woz looked to Jobs with a happy cheshire grin while the latter was stupefied. "What'd I tell you Steve, when you have to code you gotta go through Gavin or you'll only end up halfway." Woz said triumphantly.
Gavin smiled and nodded in thanks to his best friend and former roommate. Woz had asked a couple of questions and showed an ounce of concern at the start, but once Gavin had explained himself Woz had placed his full faith in him, and Gavin had more than delivered.
"This is still the same Apple II right? We're not going to have to issue a recall?" Jobs asked in concern.
"Same computer, just different code, like a blood transfusion or organ donation. It'll just take a couple of hours to reprogram the units on the line, and for the few who already bought IIs we could offer a free update installation. A bit costly to be sure but we'll keep our first customers happy and prove we didn't pull a scam." Gavin explained.
"Best part is the general public doesn't know just what an Apple is, but when we get to the showcase this is what they'll know." Woz added on.
Jobs looked to be in deep thought, as if he were in one of his Zen meditations. For a few seconds Gavin was afraid that his shot was hollow and he was about to be kicked to the curb, but fortunately it appeared Jobs in spite of his eccentricates, knew when he had talent, and when said talent was right.
"Alright, looks like the Apple II 2, or perhaps the Apple IV" Jobs said which created a small chuckle, "Is a success. This'll definitely increase our sales figures, now we just have to worry about marketing and outreach. Just...this is it for now right?"
"Unless Woz gives me a better computer then I'm going to need some time to think of new programs, three to six months at the earliest for simple add-ons, depends on what we're shooting for." Gavin said.
"Good enough for me." Jobs said, offering what appeared to be one of the few rare smiles he sent towards Gavin.
For once, Gavin did great things with at work. No longer did he simply had a job, he had a career, one he loved, one he would do amazing in.
A/N: So that is the conclusion to the Gavin duology, showing his journey from Hollywood failure to one third of an Apple Trifecta. A bit of a mess and not my best work I know as things didn't pan out, but this came from a personal request from Magoose and I can never say no to the GM of such a great work. I just want you to know that I am a Liberal Arts major with absolute shit knowledge about computers besides a few programs and Office. So the last section is kind of just me BSing to show how Gavin impressed the Steves with his OP rolls.
I just hope we go for a cool take on the classic blue.
