The Great Mysteries of Life ----------------------------------------- Prologue to Irritation ----------------------------- Written by: Curtis Wildcat ------------------- I had intended for this fic to be a quickie, but I guess it just can't stay that way. This prologue will deal with Washu's reason for using a "Windows" OS, and the epilogue will deal with how she finally manages to get past the so-called "mystery". ------------------- The gigantic laboratory was darker than a black bear raiding an unlit forest campground at midnight. Washu had been gone for the past hour; after lunch, she had agreed to watch a movie with the others and make sure none of them got out of hand. Almost everything was shut down. Apparently, Washu had been wanting to prevent any rogue viruses from rampaging throughout the systems. If it weren't for one minor detail, it would've been a success---Mihoshi had passed this way an hour ago. After somehow avoiding the half-dozen alarm systems coded to the Policewoman's genetic code (and a few non-electronic traps, such as a trip-wire and a well-concealed trebuchet), Mihoshi had called for Washu to join the others at lunch. Not wanting to leave her latest experiment, the diminutive scientist had given in to hunger cravings and shut everything down. As they left, Mihoshi had brushed up against a control switch on one of the machines and had unknowingly switched it back on. Hence the `almost' in "almost everything". A virus snaked its way into the machine via a subspace Internet connection, promptly making itself at home. First, it knocked some files out of the way so it could sit down. After sitting still for a moment, it took out a baseball bat and started swinging for the fences, much to the chagrin of the file cabinets that were stacked around the house. By the time that the virus decided to rest, the floors were a mess and the walls were decorated with tie-dye. Translation: the system got messed up, and the background colors slowly became warped. -- Washu calmly walked back into her lab, switching on the lights and heading straight towards her favorite floating cushion. "Fine way to kill two hours," she murmured. "I still think that they should've found a different way to cart that piano up those steps, though." * Sitting down, she activated her subspace laptop and started typing away. Something caught her eye. "That's strange. I thought I saved those files before I left," Washu said, confused. She started to try to undelete the files in case she lost them by accident, but no-can-do. There was a brief flash of light, causing Washu to lean back and shield her eyes. "Hey! Who decorated my computer network with clown colors?!" she shouted angrily, returning her gaze to the screen. Her typing speed increased, more than likely setting a new world's record. The snarl on her face became wider. -- The noise came, penetrating the barriers of subspace and disturbing all those who heard it. Quite a number of miles away, a small black cat with a crescent moon on her forehead perked up as a girl's angry scream reached her ears. -- Fifteen minutes went by. A furious Washu rematerialized inside the lab, holding a small laser pistol; she had decided to zap herself into the network and destroy the virus the hard way. The mission was a success, but the virus had done the job it was created to do. 95% of the system files throughout the network were either destroyed or damaged beyond repair, meaning that she couldn't even reinstall the OS that was stored away as backup. Looks like she would have to re-create the system from scratch... As Washu exited the lab, she recalled an ad for a "Windows" operating system that she had seen on TV once. "It's not much, but I guess it'll have to do until I can get my own OS redesigned," she muttered bitterly as she prepared her wallet. "Well, Mihoshi, here's another fine mess you've gotten me into." * ----- * --- References to old "Laurel & Hardy" snippets. That's the prologue. Next is the epilogue.