Caleb Jackson POV
Pain.
All I felt was pain.
I could feel the bones sticking out of my body. I felt the blood, and other parts of me, gushing out to paint the asphalt. You can guess what happened.
My body and Truck-Kun enjoyed a heavenly kiss.
Okay, it was technically my fault. I was staring at my phone while crossing the road. But come on—I was on the zebra crossing! The truck veered, crashed into me, and ploughed into the storefront behind me with a sound of shredding metal.
Now, I saw it. The light. It was beckoning me.
I guess I should go.
So, what they say is true. When you die, you see your life in moments.
A normal family in the States. Both parents loved us but worked long hours to keep a roof over our heads—me and my three siblings.
My two older brothers knew college wasn't for them. They joined our dad at his job at the Port. My twin sister and me. We were the "special" ones.
When I was twelve, my oldest brother and my dad lost their lives in a freak shipyard accident. Everything changed. Mom, us… we fell into lean times. Times were hard, but we preserved.
I guess that's what pivoted me to weed. I was a little smart. Knew carrying and selling wasn't such a big crime. My siblings and I supported the family in our own ways. My sister and I were studious, sure. Normal on the surface.
But I had my vices.
Me? Weed from age fourteen. She… well, she was the most normal of us all.
I always felt that if it weren't for my fondness for the green, I could have done something. Been someone. Succeeded.
But I was successful, in a way. I always liked to read, to know about history. After community college, I landed a job as an archivist for a big talent agency right in my city. The pay was above minimum wage. I was happy.
My girlfriend was a librarian at a college near California . We went to cons, cosplayed, did all the stuff couples in love do.
And my sister? She did alright. Got a scholarship to a good university. Built a good life for herself.
I was… content.
The montage of memories faded. The light grew brighter.
Then, I died.
I felt weightless. Warm. There was no sense of my body, no sense of my mind. Just a sluggish, slow consciousness.
And then I felt it—a presence. Vast. Unfathomable.
I saw… something. A powerful force. A ROB—a Random Omnipotent Being.
Its voice wasn't a sound; it was a concept impressed directly onto my soul. "Boredom. An experiment."
"You are a random variable in my universe," it intoned, a cosmic shrug in its non-voice. "Selected for my amusement. A second chance. A system. Some… gifts. Live your life. Do not waste this curiosity.
There was yes or no. No contract.
Just a feeling of being… packed up and mailed away.
I felt weightless and warm again, but different. Constricted. I felt a pressure, then a pushing. I squirmed instinctively. A sudden, shocking breeze. I was yanked from my cozy cocoon into blinding brightness.
My eyes were hazy, swimming, acclimating.
Gradually, the world came into focus. I was shocked.
This was a *very* posh, large hospital room. Stucco walls, ornate mouldings. It looked like a movie set.
"SLAP!"
A stinging pain on my rear. I tried to scream, but all that came out was a pathetic, "Wah! Wah! Wah!"
"It's a boy, madam!" a man's voice declared.
I heard a weak, tired, but elated female voice. "His name… shall be Andrei."
Then, I was lifted. Huge hands, rough but gentle, cradled me. I looked up.
My new father was built like a tank . Broad shoulders, a thick neck, a jaw you could break bricks on. But his eyes… they held a relief so profound it was like a physical weight had been lifted from him.
It was confirmed. I was reborn.
Now, you might be thinking a newborn can't process this. Can't think, can't remember. You'd be right.
Unless you have a Golden Finger.
As the thought finished forming in my infant brain, it manifested. A bluish, translucent screen, hovering in the corner of my vision.
```
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: INITIALIZATION COMPLETE ]
[ Welcome, User. Booting Legacy Archivist Framework... ]
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Andrei Stevens
Age: 1 day
DOB: August 15, 1968
Skills: N/A
Abilities: System Mind (Permanent)
Assets:
▶ Library (Locked)
▶ Organiser (Active)
Text scrolled beneath it, explaining in simple, mechanical terms.
SYSTEM MIND: OPERATIONAL
Cognitive functions stabilized. Memory integration: 100%. Prevents mental degradation from dual-consciousness burden.
ASSET: THE LIBRARY
Status: LOCKED until first birthday (8/15/1969).
Description: Contains perfect archival copies of all books, comics (manga), television series, films, and significant pop culture artifacts you consumed or could reasonably access as of October 2024. All data is in its final, released format.
[ ASSET: THE ORGANISER]
[ Status: ACTIVE. AWAITING INPUT. ]
Function: On each birthday, the system will analyse your declared long-term goal. It will then generate a logical, step-by-step pathway to achieve it.
[ NOTE: This is a foundational system. Statistical improvements are tied to tangible effort and achievement. ]
Then, a final burst of text, the "gifts" the ROB mentioned.
[ RECONSTITUTION PARAMETERS CONFIRMED ]
(a): Neural architecture optimized. IQ elevated to ~173 (above average). Aptitude bias: Numerical reasoning, systemic analysis, pattern recognition.
(b): Annual Library Access Protocol established. Full access to the 2024 World Library granted for a 24-hour period on each birthday, commencing 8/15/1969.
(c): Universe Designation: Earth-783 (Alternate). Temporal setting aligned to late 20th century. Historical skew probability: 8.4%. Deviations from baseline expected. Proceed with caution.
The screen faded to a faint, persistent glow in my perception.
I, Andrei Stevens, formerly Caleb Jackson, lay in my tank-built father's arms, staring at the ornate ceiling of a 1968 Los Angeles hospital room.
A second chance. In Hollywood. On the cusp of the New Hollywood era.
And a system that wasn't about flashy powers, but about 'information' and 'strategy'
I had no skills. I was a one-day-old infant.
But I had a mind geared for systems. I had a library of the future waiting to be unlocked. And I had an organiser that would help me build a path.
My first thought, clear and sharp amidst the baby-brain fog, was not of movie quotes or stock tips.
It was a simple, burning declaration aimed at the empty space where the ROB might be listening:
This time, no weed. No regrets. Just results.
I opened my mouth and let out another deliberate, strategic wail.
"Wah!"
The game was on.
Author's Note:
Welcome to "Hollywood System : Reborn in 1968"This is the story of Andrei Stevens, a man with a second chance and a head full of future knowledge, "trying to build a legacy, starting in the gritty, brilliant New Hollywood of the 1970s and rising to power in the blockbuster era of the 1990s"It's not about copying movies—it's about strategy, connections, and changing things from the ground up.
What era or film are you most excited to see Andrei interact with? Let me know in the comments!