Chapter 44 – Foundations of a Digital Empire
Three weeks. That's how long it had been since Jake Harper secured the $2 billion deal that would change everything. In those three weeks, the world hadn't yet noticed—but the pieces were falling into place.
He was still going to Caltech, still technically just a kid. But the people around him were beginning to realize that Jake wasn't like anyone else.
Not even close.
The mornings started early. Jake would wake up before the sun, jog around the quiet Brentwood neighborhood, then review production reports over breakfast while Judith fretted about whether he was getting enough sleep. After that, it was straight to Caltech—quantum physics on Mondays and Wednesdays, machine learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and independent study every afternoon.
FaceWorld was still growing—85 million users and counting.
Jake had installed a small "war room" at Judith's house, equipped with whiteboards, market maps, and a rotating schedule of remote meetings with developers, analysts, and manufacturers. Every afternoon, he'd come home, sit down in that room, and switch hats: CEO, strategist, engineer.
And now? He was about to become a tech acquirer.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen. YouTube's backend metrics were still public enough to monitor with some digging. Upload rates were climbing fast. Jake estimated they'd hit a critical inflection point within sixty days.
He picked up his phone and dialed Nolan Pierce.
"It's time," Jake said. "I want to meet the YouTube founders."
"I'll reach out," Nolan replied. "Quietly."
While Nolan worked his network, Jake turned back to the FacePhone.
Prototype production had ramped up—ten units now existed, with five more in final assembly. Each one was built by hand, each tested by Jake himself. He carried one with him to Caltech every day, tweaking FaceOS, fixing bugs, and logging user feedback.
He'd even handed one off to Haley, under strict instruction not to lose it or show it to anyone. "Beta test it," he told her. "Be honest." She spent most of her time texting Jake on it and changing the background wallpaper every few hours.
Howard Wolowitz had become something like a mad scientist. He was overseeing hardware testing full time now—conducting durability drops, screen scratch tests, and even microwave radiation shielding experiments. Jake had hired two electrical engineers to assist him, and another four to begin testing component substitutions in case of supply chain issues.
Everything was moving. But it still needed direction.
Jake sat down in a private meeting with a former Apple logistics manager—now freelancing out of Palo Alto—and started outlining the scale-up plan.
"I want full vertical control. Distribution, packaging, warehousing. I don't want to be dependent on retail carriers."
"You want to ship direct?"
"Exactly."
The man nodded. "You're going to need warehousing space and third-party distribution contracts in every state."
Jake smiled. "I've got $1.1 billion. Make it happen."
They shook hands.
Jake carved out a few hours every week to meet with a hand-picked team of coders, audio engineers, and UI designers. Their mission: build the first modern music streaming platform.
He called it "SoundStack" for now—just a codename.
> "No downloads. No storage. Stream everything," Jake explained to the team. "Think curated playlists, social sharing, artist dashboards. FaceWorld integration from day one."
The developers were skeptical at first, but after seeing his designs, and hearing how Jake planned to license music through indie channels and smaller labels first, they got on board. By the end of the week, the first prototype app was under construction.
---
Meanwhile, daily life didn't stop.
Jake still had physics assignments. He still had to dodge nosy neighbors. Judith, to her credit, had started giving him more space, though she hovered whenever she felt things were moving too fast. She insisted he take Sundays off.
Haley kept texting him every night.
"What are you doing?"
"Coding."
"Can I come over?"
"My mom says I need social supervision."
"I'm social."
"My mom disagrees."
Jake smiled every time. Somehow, between billion-dollar deals and revolutionary tech, he was still just a kid with a crush.
---
One Friday night, he and Haley sat in the living room, sharing a bowl of popcorn, FacePhone prototypes charging on the table.
"This thing," Haley said, holding hers up. "It's going to change the world."
Jake nodded. "Yeah. But not without the people who believe in it."
Haley bumped his shoulder with hers. "That better be a romantic line or a product pitch."
He laughed. "Both."
By the end of the third week, Jake's team had secured five distributor contracts—three regional logistics companies, one national e-tailer, and a small up-and-coming phone reseller with international connections.
The FacePhone was becoming more than a prototype.
Jake had even begun testing small-scale batch assembly in Nevada, where one of the leased warehouses had converted into a semi-automated line. It was slower than he wanted, but the results were promising.
"You're going to need press coverage," Nolan told him over the phone one night.
"I don't want to do press yet."
"You're launching a new phone. You're acquiring the fastest-growing video platform in the world. You're twelve. The press is coming whether you like it or not."
Jake sighed. "Set something up. But make it controlled."
---
Two weeks later, Jake appeared on a major talk show, sitting beside the host in a blazer and jeans. The crowd gasped when his age was revealed, and gasped again when he pulled the FacePhone out of his pocket.
> "This is the next big thing," the host said.
Jake nodded. "It's not about what it does. It's about how people feel using it."
The segment aired nationwide.
By the time Jake woke up the next morning, FaceWorld had jumped another 6 million users overnight.