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Chapter 127 – Old Clichés
🕑 Added 2025-08-19 16:36:34 +0000 UTC
The saying “a man is innocent, but harboring jade makes him guilty”—our ancestors figured that out over two thousand years ago. Did anyone really think the so-called “beacon of freedom and democracy” would be any different?
On paper, patent rights are there to protect inventors. In practice, they’re just legal weapons wielded by corporations to build barriers and secure profits.
Look at the “War of Currents,” Edison vs. Tesla—DC vs. AC.
Look at Jiang Wanming, who invented the VCD player. He saw a global feast laid out before him, yet could only stare, hungry and powerless.
Look at Japan’s Masahiro Hara, inventor of the QR code. Only after his patent expired did it become popular worldwide.
Hell, if Henry registered patents today for both DVD+R and DVD-R specifications, tomorrow Philips and Toshiba would immediately unite to push an entirely new DVD/R format.
It’s the same story as Japan’s “hydrogen fuel cell war.” They registered nearly every core patent, built a massive barrier… and the world collectively shrugged and moved on. The excuse? “Hydrogen fuel cells are too dangerous.” As if lithium batteries don’t catch fire just as violently.
So yeah, anyone dreaming of “file a couple core patents and retire rich” is delusional. That’d be a whole different novel—Marvel Kryptonian: Empire Builder. Where the protagonist spends all day punching rivals into bankruptcy.
Get real. The American Dream isn’t that easy. Ever heard of “survivorship bias”?
The stories we celebrate are the ones where people won. The ones where people lost—those tragedies vanish without a trace, swallowed up by the gutter.
For Henry, this was obvious. For Tony Stark, it was earth-shattering.
Vision determines altitude. Some MCU fans joke Rocket Raccoon outclasses Iron Man—because Tony never saw alien tech firsthand. But the truth was simpler: Tony’s world had insulated him.
He’d never questioned patents, because no one ever explained the dark side to him. To him, lawyers were like sunlight, air, water—just there, invisible and free.
Once Henry pierced that illusion, Tony’s genius brain quickly sorted truth from fiction. But emotions don’t obey logic. Sometimes the correct answer just pisses you off more.
And right now, Tony Stark was pissed.
He glared at the assistant wolfing down hors d’oeuvres. “So what you’re saying is everything I have comes from the name Stark?”
Henry grinned. “What else, young master? Don’t tell me you think the only kind of ‘family money’ is a monthly allowance. When you inherit Stark Industries, when you sit in the CEO’s chair—what is that, charity from strangers?
“And don’t forget: you once borrowed an actual battleship from the Navy just to impress a Hollywood date. You really think that was your personal charm, not your father’s connections?”
Tony refused to play semantic games. He cut straight to the chase. “Then what? You think I should strip naked, walk into the street, and start from begging if I want to be ‘self-made’?”
“Of course not. But thinking like that is pretty dumb. Why don’t you just deposit your IQ in a bank and really start from zero?”
Tony bristled. “If you want to call a genius mind stupid, you’d better have a good argument.”
Henry countered smoothly. “Carl Lewis never thought his athletic talent was a mistake. But without training, he wouldn’t have shattered world records on the international stage.
“President Franklin D. Roosevelt didn’t win WWII because of his polio. He did it because of how he wielded power and people.
“My point is—having a gift is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s how you use it that determines whether it brings you honor… or disgrace.”
Tony’s expression didn’t change, but his voice dripped disdain. “Ha. What a pile of clichés.”
He eyed Henry like he was something stuck to his shoe. “And you? Hiding back here as some glorified assistant? That’s fun for you?”
Henry chuckled awkwardly. “Honestly, doing nothing wouldn’t be so bad in your case. Burn your dad’s money, race cars, chase women—fine. At least that’s not evil.
“And you’ve heard of the theory of economic circulation, right? Money has to flow to be money. Keep it locked in a vault, it’s just numbers. Spend it—even on luxuries—and it still fuels the economy. So go ahead and spend.
“As for me? Money enough to live is enough. I’m not looking to marry four wives and raise eighteen kids. I don’t need an empire to make sure they don’t starve after I die.”
A deep voice cut in: “If you’re born extraordinary, why settle for ordinary?”
Howard Stark. Maria Stark trailed behind him.
Tony’s face immediately soured, but Maria pinned him neatly into the role of “walking tray stand,” piling sweets onto the plate in his unwilling hands.
Henry straightened politely at Howard’s approach. After a quick greeting, he answered evenly:
“Mr. Stark, someone born extraordinary first has to learn restraint. Learn not to abuse power. Only then can you talk about achieving the extraordinary. And if someone spends all their effort just surviving stage one? Then maybe a little ordinariness isn’t so bad.”
Howard chuckled. “I’d like to argue, but you’re not wrong. So this is why you’d rather be an assistant?”
Henry blinked in surprise. Howard tapped his own ear. “This little gadget of yours is clever. But I take it you won’t accept my offer?”
Henry smiled. “I’m a huge fan of Miss Hepburn. Being able to help her makes me happy. What job could be better?”
Howard studied him. “Hepburn’s current project is extraordinary. If you’re lending a hand, doesn’t that contradict your ‘content with ordinary’ philosophy?”
“I’m just helping a woman I admire and respect. If it’s what she wants, then I’ll help. Simple as that.”
Howard nodded slowly. “Clear goals, then. Better than my boy, who doesn’t even know what he wants.”
Henry realized, with horror, that he’d just been turned into “someone else’s perfect child.” He forced a laugh.
Tony, meanwhile, smacked his lips irritably, muttering under his breath. If Maria hadn’t held him hostage by the wrist, he would’ve bolted long ago.
Comments
Isaac Roldan
It's like reading a guy who only looks at the bad. He's not wrong but ignores any benefits things like patents bring. Nintendo being the bad with their bull crap of randomly making patents to sue people, while things like inventors getting income when their property is used being a benefit. It's relative, and his disregard feels a bit malicious the way he speaks to Tony.
Kaine
Honestly these last few chapters are making Henry come across as a smug Asshole, what if the Patent system didn’t exist? People would get steamrolled 100% of the time and they couldn’t do anything about it.
