- Struggling writer Richard Hagstrom receives an upgraded computer from his computer-whiz nephew Jonathan right before Jonathan dies in an accident. Thanks to Jonathan, this word processor has the power to grant any wish that Richard desires.—Octavian P. Quell
- Richard Hagstrom is a failed writer with an unhappy marriage with Lina and a loser teenage son, Seth Robert. His brother is an alcoholic that married Richard's passion, Belinda. Richard also loves his nephew Jonathan, who is a computer expert. When Richard's brother is driving his car with his family, he falls off a cliff and kills them all. Richard inherits the computer with word processor that Jonathan was developing and uses it in his basement. Soon Richard learns that the device grants any wish that he writes on the screen. What will be his desires?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- A word processor takes center stage as Richard Hagstrom and his friendly neighbor, Mr. Nordhoff, bring this motley group of slightly-related parts into Richard's home as a gift from his tech-savvy nephew, Jonathan, who was recently killed as Richard's overbearing brother, Roger, recklessly plunged his vehicle off a cliff in a fireball killing himself, his wife, Belinda, and their fifteen-year old son, Jonathan. Belinda was Richard's true love before Roger bullied him out of the relationship. Instead, Richard settled for a non-romantic endeavor with an obnoxious nag of a wife, Lina, and their sole, self-ingratiating son, Seth, who was absorbed totally in making appalling guitar music and hanging out with equally dreadful friends. During Richard's time checking out this makeshift conglomeration of seemingly random electrical parts assembled with no clear attempt to be unified logically, his sole interest was in determining if the any of this processor mechanism really worked better than his antiquated electric typewriter. Jonathan had jokingly implied that rather than allow his uncle to spend thousands of dollars he did not have, he would build him one. He said it rather in jest, but here it was - Jonathan's creation, humming and buzzing with the first surprise message on the screen: Happy Birthday, Uncle Richard! Jon. Richard was touched and continued to be amazed as the word processor hummed and smoked ominously. It didn't seem to be a finished product. After all, Jonathan's time building it was cut all too short by the irresponsibility of his inebriated, worthless father. Richard's desire to write more, faster, and better was incessantly interrupted by his acerbic relationship with both spouse and son, and his refuge was in his study where his freedom to discern what could have been as opposed to what is remained his solitary solace. It was during these hours of reflection that his awareness of a strange phenomenon revealed itself about the word processor. Whatever commands he typed and executed became reality, and delete not only removed the object from the screen but also from all existence as if it and anything associated with it had never been. Richard toyed with pictures on the wall and conjured doubloons until he heard the voice of his son and his friends in their own denigrating way. In one desperate moment after all due consideration, he hit delete. The quiet was deafening as Seth and his noisy friends disappeared from ever having existed, including the scrawled initials carved into new furniture. Nothing remained of what they ever were. Richard felt somewhat panicked when he heard Lina - a much bigger Lina than the one who left to go to bingo - returning with turkeys for him to put in the Amana freezer he did not know he would own in this totally different world with no children on this different track set by fate and a magic-like word processor. But it was humming, smoking, and shaking itself apart as quickly as Lina's insults flowed uninhibitedly from her lips dripping with sarcasm. There was little time to waste for him to gather whatever he wanted of life to insert and execute and increasingly less time remaining to delete anything unsavory left in life. The flood of options raced before his fingers could touch any of the now loosely vibrating keys. Thoughts of Lina, Belinda, and Jonathan interspersed themselves with fantasies of novel ideas and untold wealth at the same instant Richard made his last entry and the processor blew itself to data heaven. When the smoke cleared, Richard's life was the way he had wished it would be before the Word Processor of the Gods intervened.
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