DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Sims, the neighborhoods mentioned here, or any of the ghost hunting equipment that is mentioned in-game.
Jeff Nagel smacked his clock with his hand. The electronic beeping didn't stop. It took two more smacks before he was able to locate the off button without opening his eyes. With a groan he rolled out of bed. It was Monday morning, and Jeff was determined to go out and look for a job. He ran a comb through his short brown hair, and threw on a clean polo shirt and jeans to get ready for the day. It had been nearly a week since his college graduation, and he wanted to find work as quickly as possible. Since moving out of his dorm, several days before, he had moved back to his hometown of Twinbrook and sleeping in his old room in his mom's house. His mom loved it. Jeff was an only child, and she had been lonely since Jeff's father had passed away several years before. Jeff, on the other hand, was ready to move out on his own and get started with life.
The only problem was that there wasn't much work for someone with a degree in physics. There had been talk that there may be an opening for a physics teacher at the high school. Jeff thought that might be a strong possibility, but he wasn't wild about the thought of dealing with annoying, unappreciative high schoolers 5 days a week. Jeff was really hoping that he could get a job as a researcher at Llama Corp Laboratory. The lab had been in Twinbrook for nearly half a century, and was host to a large variety of scientific research and development. A physicist could easily find a job there. The only problem was that Jeff's uncle Bryan had become infamous at the facility.
Dr. Bryan Nagel was the older brother of Jeff's late father. He was a brilliant research scientist, with PhD's in Physics and Engineering, but he spent most of his time researching the paranormal. He spent weekends in the cemetery trying to make contact with departed spirits, had gone to Barnacle Bay to search for angry pirate poltergeists, and vigorously investigated any report of paranormal activity in Twinbrook. As a result, his colleagues at Llama Corp Laboratory gave him little respect. He was relegated to a dimly-lit office in the basement of the building. He often ate his lunch alone, and the other scientists tended to snicker at him behind his back. They had even given him the derisive nickname "Doctor Creepy."
Despite his eccentricities, Bryan had become something of a surrogate father to Jeff. The two spent a lot of free time together when Jeff was not caught up with college course work and his social life. It was Bryan who had convinced his nephew to study physics. Despite Jeff's fondness for his uncle, he knew that being related to "Doctor Creepy" would hurt his chances of being hired by the lab.
Jeff got into his old clunker of a car and grumbled as the engine failed to start once, twice, and finally turned over on the third try. His dad had surprised him with it on his 16th birthday. Even though the car had been old and full of dents, Jeff had loved it. Now, he was looking to upgrade to something that wouldn't repulse women as soon as they saw it.
He drove the short distance from his mom's house to the lab, entered the building, and made his way down to the basement. Jeff walked down the dimly-lit corridor and found his uncle's office. The other offices in the lab had small plaques on the door with the names of the scientists stenciled onto them. Bryan had a strip of masking tape on his door with his name scribbled on in Magic Marker. Jeff knocked, but the door wasn't fully closed, and creaked open with his fist made contact He walked into the small, cluttered office to see his uncle muttering to himself as he stared at a blackboard full of mathematical figures.
"Hey, Uncle Bryan," Jeff said.
Bryan turned around, startled. "Oh, Jeff! Good morning! Look at this," Bryan said as he gestured toward the board. Even as someone with a physics degree, Jeff couldn't make heads or tails of what was written up there.
"Well, that's great," Jeff replied. "What does it mean, though?"
"It means all the research I've been doing might actually mean very big things. It means that I might actually be able to capture a ghost, and hold it indefinitely to study."
This was one of those instances where Jeff had to remind himself how much he truly loved and looked up to his uncle, despite the man's kookiness.
"How do you plan to catch them?" Jeff asked lightheartedly. "With a net?"
Bryan shook his head. "Not with a net. That would be silly."
Jeff rolled his eyes. Yeah…THAT would be silly.
Bryan grabbed a device off of his desk that looked like a fancy leaf blower. "If the calculations that I've made are correct, it should be possible to catch them using this."
"A leaf blower?"
Bryan chuckled. "Not even close. I call it a banshee banisher. It shoots a modified energy beam that should be able to weaken the spirit's energy and eventually hold it in these special containers that I've built." Bryan pulled a container out of the large rounded area of the banshee banisher and showed it to Jeff.
"Once they're in here, I can hold them indefinitely…Or at least that's my hope."
Despite himself, Jeff was starting to become interested in what his uncle was explaining. "I have to admit that this is all really cool, Uncle Bryan."
"Not just cool. Also profitable."
"Say what, now?"
"Profitable," Bryan repeated. "I've spent the last several years running around Twinbrook, Sunset Valley, Bridgeport, and other cities interviewing people scared out of their pants by ghosts. I want to help those people out now by going into the business of removing pesky ghosts from their homes and offices."
"You want to be a ghost exterminator?" Jeff asked.
"Something like that, but I don't want to be the one to do it. I'm getting too old to run around chasing ghosts. I want to hire someone younger. Someone who can run around and do the dirty work so that I can continue my paranormal research, and develop better ghost hunting weapons. I need someone smart enough, and qualified enough to understand the science behind all of this. Jeff, I need you."
Jeff was flabbergasted. "Me? You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all. You're young, you're smart, with a little explanation you'll be able to understand all of the scientific details behind all of this. You're the perfect candidate to be the world's first professional banshee banisher."
"But…Have you even tested this stuff? Do you know it'll work? What if it's dangerous?"
"You're my brother's kid, Jeff. You're like a son to me. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I thought it was dangerous. I've tested it. As long as you keep the beam away from yourself or anyone else, there won't be any problems."
"Have you caught ghosts with it?"
"Not yet. If it doesn't work, there's no harm. My pride will be hurt, and we may be a little embarrassed, but that's it."
"I'm sorry, Uncle Bryan," Jeff said. "I need a good job. I really can't hunt ghosts with you."
"I'll pay you, even if we don't get any business."
Jeff hesitated for a few seconds. He loved his uncle, and the prospect of hunting ghosts was interesting, to say the least. "What the heck," he thought. "A few weeks from now when this business crashes and burns, I can get back to finding a real job."
"Uncle Bryan, you've got yourself a banshee banisher."