A Microsoft Story

One of the email lists to which I belong took a decidedly twisted turn when a bunch of us started using Microsoft products in our responses, just be goofy.  Well, a challenge of sorts was laid before me, and after first rejecting the opportunity, I changed my mind.  What follows is a short short story in which Microsoft products are indicated in ALL CAPS. Enjoy!

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The time had come to return to the BASIC building blocks of the situation. 

Jimmy had built his VISUAL STUDIO such that anywhere he looked, WINDOWS surrounded him. He had dreamed of the day when he could leave his OFFICE, take to the SKY, DRIVE his flying car and surf the INFO PATH. 

For now, though, he had no ACCESS to such frivolities  He stared at the ever-changing PHOTO GALLERY playing through the small lcd frame on his DESKTOP. He was the boss, and now he was the MESSENGER of bad news. The company's main PROJECT had failed. He would WRITE one WORD; just ONE NOTE. His MESSENGER had delivered the MAIL. And, just like that, he had let go of his OFFICE ASSISTANT. His ENTOURAGE, whom he considered EMBEDDED, disbanded before he even had a chance to EXCHANGE words with them.  "Oh, why ME," he called out to no one in particular. He spun around in his chair to gaze at the VISTA before him.

Jimmy's mind traveled back to the early days of his life, when was a SERVER in the local pub, a FREELANCER in this MIDTOWN MADNESS that he called home. He often took orders "TO GO," though he never saw these as being the ESSENTIALS to advancing his true passion: to be an AGENT, a DEFENDER wrapped in his POWER SHELL. Sure, he wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, but he couldn't see things clearly through his WORLDWIDE TELESCOPE.  

"I can just PICTURE IT!" he said aloud.

Instead, he became a CREATIVE WRITER.  He knew then that there was no MONEY to be made in that.  So, he packed up his BINDER and his BRIEFCASE, and studied MATHEMATICS.

Years later, he emerged on the FOREFRONT of LIQUID MOTION technology as a MOVIE MAKER.  He could seamlessly travel the STREETS, and TRIPS he could take would be but a mere moment in time away from him. This was the time of big movie houses, the AGE OF EMPIRES, after all, and nothing could stop him from revolting against the RISE OF NATIONS trying to quell the freedom to make movies. He took FLIGHT, grabbed his POWER TOYS, and latched on to a positive OUTLOOK for the road ahead.  Alas, as fate would have it, he made the FRONTPAGE after a failed LYNC between two train cars took away the only FAMILY SAFETY a newborn had ever known. Jimmy retreated into the shadows.

As the years went by, he saw a SILVERLIGHT at the end of his tunnel, and quickly found himself the head of a multi-billion dollar company. He envisioned himself as just a blip, a MAP POINT.  He had started out with a simple NOTEPAD, a WORDPAD if you will. He was a PUBLISHER now. And, his massive success led him to take bigger risks. No matter how hard he tried to expand, to EXCEL, he found that he simply met with failure. "Nothing WORKS!" He shouted into the emptiness that now engulfed him. He had succumbed to the DYNAMICS of double-crossing and corporate espionage. He had failed to ask himself, "Was the SOURCE SAFE?" 

"What about the BUSINESS FINANCIALS," a voice broke Jimmy's thoughts.  It was his partner, BOB.

"I don't even know anymore, man.  I can't even keep my thoughts straight right now," Jimmy said as he slowly turned in his chair to face his partner.

"You'll figure it out, Jim. No matter what you've gone through, you seem to find your center; your STEADY STATE."