Lord Rational rubbed his hands in glee as his newest plan to end all frivolity and remove all fun from the universe was put into motion. Dr Sane smirked as he informed Lord Rational of the planned effect of this new plan.

'Yes, your lordship, limiting music choices will wear down their morale,' said Dr Sane to his mentor.

'I can feel the joy leaving as we speak,' answered Lord Rational as he moved to flip the switch that would discontinue music downloads.

John handed the mp3 player to Keith as he sat down on the bed in Keith's room. Paul grinned as he read the song list on the computer over Keith's shoulder. Keith set up the mp3 player.

'What?' exclaimed Keith as the screen blanked.

An error message appeared. 'Page cannot be displayed. If your network administrator has enabled the 'better luck next time' option, click here while whistling 'Dixie'. If not, click here to inform network support.'

The first option did not work. The second option yielded a phone number which Keith called, leaving a voicemail explaining the problem. The young men then settled around the television for the evening.

Halfway through the first movie, there was a knock on the front door. Keith got up to answer the door. A woman just a few years older than Keith was standing on the doormat with a tool kit in her hand.

'Hello!' said Keith in surprise.

'Hello, I am Marie from Rational Networking Services. I am here about the computer problem you reported,' answered the woman.

'Oh, that,' said Keith, stepping aside so she could enter the house.

'Please, show me the computer that is being difficult,' requested Marie.

Keith complied and led her through the house to the network server. Then he joined his friends around the television. Keith wondered why the computer was acting so strangely.

Paul pulled Keith aside and whispered to him, 'Keith, that techie... I think she works for the evil lord that is trying to take over the universe.'

'Hmmm,' said Keith, as he thought about what to do to resolve this situation.

Keith ran upstairs to his room. He rummaged around in the closet for a few minutes. Paul and John kept Marie busy with questions and idle chat until Keith returned.

'You should consider that as a career,' said Marie to John and Paul, as Keith entered the room. 'What about you? Any particular career interests?' Marie inquired of Keith.

'Chemistry and criminal justice,' answered Keith.

'That's an odd combination,' Marie commented from under the computer desk.

Marie was beginning to feel guilty about working on the computer to make it fit the Rational Code. She did not hear what the boys were saying, nor did she notice the wrestling match that involved a large amount of talcum powder like dust literally cover the room and its contents. Suddenly, in a moment of clarity, Marie realized what the Rational Code would do and how much unhappiness would result. She fixed the computer properly and crawled out from under the desk.

'I'm done. And that will be no charge,' Marie said to Keith as she gathered her tools and left in a hurry.

'That was weird,' said all three young men at the same time as Keith locked the door.

'Quick, get the duster and Hoover before my mother gets home,' said Keith while leading his friends to the dust-covered room.

Hours later, while Keith was getting ready for dinner, he heard his mother talking to someone downstairs. He was surprised when his mother called him to the living room. He was shocked to see Marie standing there, looking very uncomfortable. Mrs Art went back to the kitchen.

'I have to tell you this,' Marie said, looking a bit embarassed. 'I've quit my job. That company is really trying to sabotage computers. I didn't realise until this afternoon, or I never would have accepted the job in the first place.'

'It's okay,' said Keith. 'Would you be willing to help me and my friends undo some of that sabotage and prevent more from happening?'

'Yes, I really would like to help,' Marie answered.

The next morning, Keith, Paul and John went to Marie's house to work out a plan of action. Marie had made copies of the Rational Code for each of them. She also showed them her notebook of service calls. Marie explained how the Rational Code had only been instituted the week before.

That afternoon, they retraced all of the service calls that would have caused sabotage. The Rational Networking customers were told that it was a follow-up service call to ensure quality networking.

Dr Sane was quietly sitting in his office working through a crossword puzzle, when his phone rang.

'What is going on? Why is music still being downloaded, even more than before?' yelled Lord Rational through the phone.

'I don't know,' stammered Dr Sane. 'Something must have gone wrong.'

'FIX IT!' yelled the Dark Lord.

Keith and his friends returned to his house. They were tired from traipsing all over town and undoing the damage of the Rational Code.

'They won't stop at that, you know,' said Paul to his friends. 'I think it's time we go for a visit to my home planet to get some help.'

The Caped Confuzzler Archive

Evangeline and
Cal Fortuneswell

21.09.06 Front Page

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