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Pastimes : Muffy's Story: A Short Story Game for Would Be Authors -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hoatzin who wrote (324)	12/17/1998 11:11:00 AM
From: TEDennis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 766

As he browsed through the 30 or so pages of the legal document, his eagle eye picked out various phrases: "party of the second party", "untenable", "lacking ethical conscience", "intentionally misinformed", "marketing hijinks" The company names that were scattered throughout the document included almost every software company he had ever encountered in his earlier years as a software sleuth. Those were the years when there was resistance to the ever increasing pressure from the political powers to combine those software companies into one all encompassing mega-company. A company that would provide every tool and application needed by the woefully technically inept civilians. The mega-company would finally put an end to the disgraceful actions of those companies that preyed on the unsuspecting public. No more misleading press releases. No more inflated claims of non-existent product features. He smiled faintly, remembering the awards ceremony when President Gates draped the "Software Sleuth Medal of Honor" around his neck. It was a dirty job, but that medal made it all seem worthwhile. Until the insurrection, that is. He frowned as he recalled the name-calling and the death threats, instigated by those dastardly rebels who spent their days doing nothing but monitoring the SI threads. Those people were reckless. They had no respect for the work he had done. They were intent on destroying the goodness that surrounded the world. They wanted "Free Enterprise". Even though not all the bugs had been worked out of the mega-company's processes, he thought it had so much more to offer than Free Enterprise. Free Enterprise, with all the evil happenings that accompany it. Evil Canadians, vicious shorting cartels, and, of course, those evil M&M's. He recalled his life beginning to fall apart. His marriage was on the rocks. The stress was too much for his wife's fragile self esteem. She moved out to stay with her sister until he could get his life back together. Then, the final indignity ... the burning of the cross on his front yard. His neighbors used to be his friends. But now, they all stood around and cheered as the fire spread from the cross to the tree, then from the tree to the rooftop. His entire home burned as they watched. The fire crew that responded to his phone call couldn't break through the crowd to fight the fire. He lost it all. All was gone. His wife, his friends, his Medal of Honor. Then, there she was. A vision he'll never forget. She broke through the crowds, pushed the firemen out of the way, walked confidently over to him, and said, "Hi. I'm Muffy. I know your brother Bill, who flies a news helicopter out in Nevada. Looks like you could use a friend". That's how it all started. Their lives were forever changed. "But, what's all this?", he muttered to himself as he returned to today's crisis. "Who would want me to be a witness after all these years?" He slowly read the cover letter that accompanied the legal document. It told him what he wanted to know. And he was overjoyed. The plethora of software companies that sprang up out of nowhere to fix the Year 2000 bug had become a major power in those days. His work uncovering the fraudulent claims is where he got his start in software sleuthing. He declared himself an expert witness, and afterwards was in demand across the country. His career was making great strides, and he was sure he'd retire rich by the time he was 30. Life was good. He and his wife were rolling in the dough. They had their first child, his beloved daughter. But, the many lawsuits that were filed on behalf of shareholders back then were dismissed when the mega-company was formed. There was no need to tie up the courts system with nonsense about itty-bitty software companies ripping off the public. They no longer existed. His appearances in court were no longer needed. His income stream dried up. It was over. Lacking any other marketable skills, he slowly depleted his fortune that had been gained attacking the fraudulent firms. Now, in his hands, was a document that could change all that. If he could play this right, he could restore his former glory. He could get his life back together. His family could be reunited. All he had to do was testify that the Year 2000 problem never existed. He would claim that it was a fraud. A hoax, perpetrated by those greedy stock manipulators. And, he'd do it for a huge expert witness fee. As he leafed through the document, he lost interest in the legal terminology. His thoughts wandered back to the stories that Muffy had confided to him. How fortunate for him that his brother had met Muffy those many years ago. Bill, unfortunately, lost his job due to some erotic film clips of him and Muffy that got into the wrong hands. Despondent and embarrassed, Bill fled to Argentina, where he was last seen herding sheep, and telling anybody who would listen about this incredible young lady he had fallen in love with. The document he was reading got heavier and heavier. He realized how tired he was. He sat back down in his chair and dozed off to sleep. A deep, restful sleep. He began dreaming. He dreamed of the time he and Muffy ...