A_nobody
patreon
Chapter 284: Is the World Fake
🕑 Added 2025-01-31 17:44:20 +0000 UTCEvery year, the Super Bowl is a nationwide celebration in the United States, and it has become a tradition. Not only ordinary spectators but many celebrities from politics, business, and entertainment industries will appear in the stadium on Super Bowl day. The live broadcast always captures the faces of celebrities, which has become a staple of the Super Bowl.
In front of the Super Bowl, forget about the Oscars, NBA Finals, or America's Cup sailing events. For the entire United States, those are just distractions.
When Duke entered the VIP suite, the San Diego County Qualcomm Stadium in California was packed to capacity. The large VIP suite was filled with celebrities, some of whom, though it was their first time meeting him, seemed to know him as if they had known him for years. He had already heard of them, such as Paul Allen, a shareholder of DreamWorks and Microsoft, who would eventually own the famous Seattle Seahawks.
After greeting a few people who approached him, shaking hands or nodding, Duke reached his seat. There were two adjacent spacious armchairs. Tina Fey, who had entered earlier, was sitting in the inside seat. After Duke sat down, she handed him a bottle of sports drink.
"Who did you bet on to win?" she asked.
Duke showed her his betting slip. "Green Bay Packers. The last time Denver Broncos made it to the Super Bowl, they were crushed 55-10 by the San Francisco 49ers. Not much has changed since then, so I don't think they'll be significantly better."
Tina Fey twisted open her Gatorade and took a sip. "Quite the opposite for me. I bet on the Denver Broncos."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind. "Hello, are you Mr. Rosenberg?"
People in the industry usually call him Duke or Director Rosenberg, but this somewhat husky voice sounded unfamiliar. Duke turned around. "Hello."
A tall girl stood up from behind. She had long legs and sun-kissed skin, with a few faint freckles on her face, and an unforgettable figure that was both hot and sexy. Her golden-brown straight hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing a face typical of a Germanic woman—strong and natural.
Though she was much younger, Duke quickly recognized her. After all, she had once been the highest-paid and most business-savvy supermodel of all time.
"Mr. Rosenberg, I'm Giselle Bündchen," she introduced herself immediately. "I'm a model from Brazil, preparing to sign with Victoria's Secret. You will soon be one of my bosses."
Duke shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Bündchen."
"Just call me Giselle," she said with a bright smile that was as radiant as the sun in Rio de Janeiro. Her personality was as bold as most Brazilian women. "Can I call you Duke?"
"Of course," Duke nodded.
The noise in the stadium made it difficult to talk, so they exchanged only a few words. Duke turned back, but Giselle Bündchen handed him a business card. Duke glanced at the numbers hastily scribbled on it with an eyebrow pencil and casually stuffed it into his left jacket pocket.
"Should I change seats with her?" Tina Fey leaned in and whispered.
Duke turned to look at her. "No need."
Tina Fey smartly closed her mouth, pretending she never asked that question.
As with previous Super Bowls, the game itself wasn't particularly exciting. Both teams played cautiously. Contrary to Duke's expectations, the Denver Broncos dominated, quickly scoring with seamless coordination between the quarterback and the wide receiver. On defense, they sacked the opposing quarterback on the first possession and then intercepted a mid-range pass on the second…
"The Green Bay Packers are going to lose," Tina Fey muttered.
"That's likely," Duke replied.
He took a sip of his Gatorade and decided not to focus on the game. It wasn't exciting at all.
Since NBC acquired the broadcasting rights, the Super Bowl has been one of their flagship programs. The halftime commercials have become a major highlight, with ad revenue reaching $135,000 per second. A 30-second ad costs at least $4 million.
The high ad prices and enormous viewership push companies to invest in creative and impactful advertisements to capture attention, making sure their products stand out amid the crowded ad block.
This intense competition leads to the highly anticipated Super Bowl ad slot, and Hollywood's major movie companies have become part of it.
At his desk, Norman Sheeler glanced at the time, briefly logged out of the "Explosion Maniac" chatroom, and quickly walked over to the sofa. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, switching to NBC. The first half of the game between the Denver Broncos and the Green Bay Packers was nearing its end, and the halftime commercials were about to begin.
Norman Sheeler wasn't interested in the flashy product ads. A few months ago, he had discovered a website that was being widely discussed. The site had a cool, mysterious vibe and claimed that the world wasn't real. By following the site's instructions, anyone could become the one true savior.
Like most people, he quickly guessed it was related to a new film by the director. However, every so often, the site revealed a new piece of information, including images and text that drew people in and made them follow the train of thought, eager to see how the world or the movie's world would turn out.
Mother? Real? Savior?
The site had nearly 50,000 visitors per day, and many users had identified these three key words.
From Yahoo's homepage, Norman Sheeler also gathered more information. For example, the film was a sci-fi movie, with a production budget of $80 million, and it was set to be released in the summer, in May.
Given the trend in recent years, big-budget summer films typically run ads during the Super Bowl.
Norman Sheeler was waiting for the advertisement for "The Matrix." He was eager for more details.
His wait didn't disappoint him. After several product ads, it was time for the Hollywood movie commercials. The first ad to appear was prominently marked with bold letters: "A Duke Rosenberg Film!"
The ad was only 30 seconds long, but Norman Sheeler almost widened his eyes.
The first character to appear was a woman, her face stern, dressed in black with tight clothing that highlighted her long legs and slim waist, exuding cold, sensual beauty…
Norman Sheeler almost felt like whistling. This kind of beauty was rare in Hollywood, right?
Before he could even start whistling, his mouth dropped open. The woman leaped into the air, and the camera froze, spinning 360 degrees, showing off her graceful and agile movement…
The woman kicked a police officer to the ground, and Norman Sheeler couldn't help but shout, "COOL!"
The entire trailer seemed to be emphasizing the concept of cool. Keanu Reeves, dressed in a black trench coat and sunglasses, along with the cool action scenes of a black man fighting, and the martial arts-style moves, he recognized as… yes, kung fu.
Then came the moment that made Norman Sheeler jump up. Another cool person shot at Keanu Reeves, with clear bullet trajectories visible in the scene. Though the scene should have been slow, in slow motion, it gave the impression of incredible speed.
An even more bizarre moment happened when Keanu Reeves performed an incredible move to dodge the bullets…
How is this possible? Norman Sheeler murmured. Humans can't dodge bullets like that.
But the next scene only deepened his confusion.
"What is real?"
The black man stood in a white environment, speaking mysteriously, "If you say real means what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste, then this 'real' is nothing more than electronic signals your brain processes. The world you know is just like this…"
"The Matrix, releasing May 14, 1998!"
Thirty seconds flew by, and Norman Sheeler had no interest in watching the rest of the movie ads. Frowning, he stood there, still reflecting on the information revealed in the trailer.
Is the entire world in the movie fake? What is real?
Suddenly, Norman Sheeler recalled the apocalyptic images on the website. Could those images be the real world? How do these two worlds coexist?
With the new information, he was even more puzzled and curious, eager to find out what that world in the film truly looked like.
In just 30 seconds, the trailer sparked more curiosity than just suspense—it also introduced a cyberpunk culture that those who frequently use computers and the internet were familiar with.
Clearly, the director had once again nailed the mindset of the younger generation, creating exactly what they wanted to see: cool actors, action scenes, and the iconic bullet-dodging move. Norman Sheeler could only describe it as "cool beyond measure."
If it were any other director's film, Norman Sheeler might have worried that the trailer would be the best part of the movie, but he trusted that this was just a small glimpse, as every film from Duke was a collection of highlights that even the trailer couldn't capture fully.
Seeing something great, he wanted to share it. Norman Sheeler turned off the TV, returned to his computer, and logged back into the chatroom with his username "Destruction Duke."
"I suggest everyone watch 'The Matrix' right away. The movie is cool…"
