His hard disk whirred for a few seconds. He chose the Dial option and entered the phone number from the keyboard and then asked the computer to remember it for future use. He omitted the area code. Why had he been given an area code if he was dialing from the same one? George didn't pursue the question; if he had he would have realized he wasn't alone. The modem dialed the number for him. His screen went momentarily blank and then suddenly came to life again. <<<<<<CONNECT 2400 BAUD>>>>>> DO YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO ALEX? (Y/N?) George entered a "Y" PASSWORD: George entered AGORA. The letters did not echo to the screen. He hoped he had typed then correctly. Apparently he did, for the screen then prompted him for his RESPONSE. He copied the 8 characters from the PRG into the computer. There was a pause and then the screen filled. SIR GEORGE, WELCOME TO ALEX. IT IS SO GOOD TO SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS YOU WILL BE GIVEN NAMES AND NUMBERS TO CALL. THERE ARE VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS TO BE MADE TO EACH PERSON YOU CALL. THERE IS TO BE NO DEVIATION WHAT- SOEVER. I REPEAT, NO DEVIATION WHATSOEVER. IF THERE IS, YOUR SERVICES WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED. WE HOPE THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. EACH MORNING YOU ARE TO DIAL ALEX AND REQUEST THE FILE CALLED SG.DAT. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ACCESS OR DOWNLOAD ANY OTHER FILES, OR YOU WILL BE TERMINATED AT ONCE. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN EACH FILE, EXACTLY. KEEP AN EXACT LOG OF THE EVENTS AS THEY TRANSPIRE ON EACH CALL. <<PUSH SPACE BAR FOR MORE>> George pushed the space bar. The screen was again filled. ALEX REQUIRES PRECISE INFORMATION. WHATEVER YOU ARE TOLD BY THE PEOPLE YOU CALL MUST BE RELAYED , TO THE LETTER. AT THE END OF EACH DAY, YOU ARE TO UPLOAD YOUR FILE, CALLED SG.TOD. YOUR COMPUTER WILL AUTOMATICALLY PUT A DATE AND TIME STAMP ON IT. THEN, USING NORTON UTILITY, ERASE THE SG.DAT FILE FROM THAT DAY. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO REACH ANYONE ON THE LISTS, JUST INDICATE THAT IN YOUR DAILY REPORTS. DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT TRY TO CALL THE SAME PERSON THE NEXT DAY. IS THAT CLEAR? The screen was awaiting a response. George typed in "Y". GOOD. THIS IS QUITE SIMPLE, IS IT NOT? Y DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE THE JOB? Y WHAT KIND OF PRINTER DO YOU HAVE? None ARE YOU SURE? Y WILL YOU BUY ONE? N GOOD. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN MONEY? Finally, thought Sir George, the reason for my existence. Y AN ACCOUNT HAS BEEN OPENED IN YOUR NAME AT THE BANK OF AMERICA, REDMOND BRANCH 3 BLOCKS FROM YOU. THERE IS $25,000 IN IT. EACH MONTH OF SUCCESSFUL WORK FOR ALEX WILL BE REWARDED WITH ANOTHER PAYMENT. U.S. TAXES ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IS THAT A PROBLEM? N WILL YOU DISCUSS YOUR JOB OR ITS NATURE WITH ANYONE? ANYONE AT ALL? N EVEN UNDER FORCE? Force, what the hell does that mean? I guess the answer is No, thought George. N