Click to Enter - Prologue
www.kendoweb.com\kaoru\news&updates
ENTRY 1 10-20-2032
We'll start this out with a question. How much do you really know about computers? This is the opening question to the thousands of job interviews that I experience weekly. People come to me, ask me to do a job, and then ask me if I really know what I'm doing. I tend to get rather annoyed at the insult, but it's understandable. The beauteous Kaoru Kamiya of Kendoweb Industries is often underestimated.
@`~~~~
"KAMIYA! Get your fingers off that keyboard. I told you no playing around until that security program for PCE is done. We promised them it would be ready by tonight."
"Coming!" Kaoru rolled her chair across the tile floor of her computer room. As she spun past three different monitors she smiled to see them all happily working away at various applications. She came to a stop in front of a wide flat screen monitor with tiny heart stickers placed around the edges. "Ah, my sweet Chammi-chan, how you do beep and sputter." With a few deft flicks of a mouse the flat screen was brought to life from its darkened screen saver to reveal several open windows. Slim fingers began flying over the keyboard causing incomprehensible lines of code to sprint across the screen. Kaoru began humming as she watched her creation begin to form.
"Megumi," she called out as a random thought brought her fingers to a halt. "Did the CEO of PCE seem more like a snake or a lizard to you?" The dark haired programmer snickered as she heard the quick clicking that always preceded her partner in programming into any room.
"What are you talking about?" Megumi Takani clicked into the room on bright red heels. Her business attire was rumpled and her normally perfect hair seemed straggly. "He's an utter cow, that's all he is. If you don't finish this program tonight and cause me to have to speak or meet with that man again... I will." She squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered. "I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I do know it will have something to do with your hair."
"A cow, huh?" Kaoru's eyes glittered as her thoughts began churning. "I can do a cow."
Megumi's eyes opened just enough to peer quizzically at her friend. "Again, what are you talking about?"
"Well, you've seen a completed security program before, right?" Megumi nodded. "To them it just seems like a whole bunch of lines, but I have a couple tricks up my sleeves here." Kaoru returned to her typing as she continued to speak.
"I find that focusing on creating a certain type of animal using lines of code is rather helpful and fun too. They only see the lines since they're looking up close. If PCE actually had a computer that was capable of seeing the entirety of the code all on one screen; they'll be able to see the cow that it's about to become." Kaoru laughed and pressed the ether button with a flourish. Let's see what my artistic skills have created."
The two females stared at the screen as the running lines began to shrink and curve. The numbers and symbols melted together to form what could only be described as a cow butt, swinging tail and all. Megumi's snicker was soft and barely heard as the butt began to shrink until they could see the entirety of the back of a cow. The snicker became an all out guffaw as the camera angle turned to view the head of the cow.
"He never looked that good, Kaoru," Megumi gasped out around her laughter.
"You don't like it?"
"You should make him be chewing something."
"Yeah, cows like to chew, don't they? They also regurgitate. I'm going to have to somehow get that into the program." At the click of a button the cow disappeared and the lines of code began running down Kaoru's screen again. "I should be done by seven or so, Megumi. Will you call out for dinner?"
"Sure thing, Tanuki." Megumi chuckled at her old childish name for Kaoru. Her grin faded as she saw that the girl had ignored her completely to focus on the program. She clicked out of the humming room full of electronics and returned to her cushy office of leather chairs and plants. As she sifted through her rolodex for a good Chinese take-out a call began ringing on the business line.
"Kendoweb programming, how may we assist you?"
The rest of the evening was taken up with new business in and old business being mailed out. PCE's security cow was copied to a single hard drive and messenger delivered to the CEO at his house before the clock turned nine. The two long time friends celebrated with noodles and curry to the tune of several million sliding into their bank account.
Megumi's painted toenails were exposed as she propped her feet up on their living room table found above their business offices. The two were lounging on an overstuffed leather sofa watching a dark TV screen. "We got another offer in today," she mentioned just as Kaoru took a large bite. Full cheeks and a hanging noodle cause Megumi to laugh. Kaoru scowled as she slurped up the noodle and chewed as fast as she could. "When," was all she asked.
"They want to go online one year from now."
Kaoru stirred her noodles around in their bowl. "Do they mean on the web or Online? I don't do websites."
Megumi nodded. "They want Online. It seems they have a perfect 'in' in the Online community and they want to cash in on it."
"What're they selling?"
"It's a game, another world for people to plug into. They want you to help with the programming."
"Who's doing it?"
"JP Enterprises, a small gaming company out of Kyoto. They've done well with several MMO games and are looking to expand."
"Basis? Gameplay? What're we looking at?" Kaoru placed her noodle bowl near Megumi's feet and turned to face her. "What's your take on it?"
The older woman sighed and kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she began pouring out facts about the company, how much, in which market, which consumers. She turned out profit facts, loss facts, how much debt, to who they owed it too. Kaoru's eyebrows raised as Megumi began sketching out a short company history.
"My take is." Megumi turned to Kaoru with a serious expression. "They've got a good product, one that will sell. They want seamless interaction with the Online community. You, the daughter of the man who created the Online world are the only one able to give them what they want." Megumi's eyes sparkled. "You can name your price."
"It's a game, right?"
Megumi nodded.
"One year contract, probable extensions of six months. I'm looking at having my name all over the Online as head programmer of the first MMO specifically for the Online. This might take my serious reputation down a bit."
Megumi nodded.
"But I can name my price and they will pay, oh yes, they will pay." Kaoru stood up with her fist raised. "I'll do it! Set up a meeting two days from now with the head of the company. Let's scope them out a bit more before we tell them yes."
"Already done." Megumi stood up next to her only having to look down slightly due to her stocking clad feet. "We'll meet with the CEO of JPE and his top programmers, who you'll be working closely with, three days from now in their offices downtown. Until then." The two long time friends grinned together.
"PARTY!"
.
.
. . To Be Continued . .
.
.
Disclaimer: I always seem to forget this, but I really don't own them.
Author's notes: Yatta!! Yeah, I'm starting one without finishing Tapestry of Lives, but ToL is a long time story of mine that emerges out of my head whenever it feels like it. This one seems to be jumping out much quicker. Anyway, my boss seems to think I do better when I have three or four different things to do at once, so maybe CtE will be good for ToL. We'll see.
So, leave a review and tell me what you think. Chapter one is already on the making and the storyline is fleshing out nicely in my head. So cheer me one, willya!
Author's second note: This has been edited and redone slightly. If you've read the story before, feel free to read it again. I'm hoping to have it flow a bit smoother this time around. Bumpy chapters don't seem to help my creativity factor.
www.kendoweb.com\kaoru\news&updates
ENTRY 1 10-20-2032
We'll start this out with a question. How much do you really know about computers? This is the opening question to the thousands of job interviews that I experience weekly. People come to me, ask me to do a job, and then ask me if I really know what I'm doing. I tend to get rather annoyed at the insult, but it's understandable. The beauteous Kaoru Kamiya of Kendoweb Industries is often underestimated.
@`~~~~
"KAMIYA! Get your fingers off that keyboard. I told you no playing around until that security program for PCE is done. We promised them it would be ready by tonight."
"Coming!" Kaoru rolled her chair across the tile floor of her computer room. As she spun past three different monitors she smiled to see them all happily working away at various applications. She came to a stop in front of a wide flat screen monitor with tiny heart stickers placed around the edges. "Ah, my sweet Chammi-chan, how you do beep and sputter." With a few deft flicks of a mouse the flat screen was brought to life from its darkened screen saver to reveal several open windows. Slim fingers began flying over the keyboard causing incomprehensible lines of code to sprint across the screen. Kaoru began humming as she watched her creation begin to form.
"Megumi," she called out as a random thought brought her fingers to a halt. "Did the CEO of PCE seem more like a snake or a lizard to you?" The dark haired programmer snickered as she heard the quick clicking that always preceded her partner in programming into any room.
"What are you talking about?" Megumi Takani clicked into the room on bright red heels. Her business attire was rumpled and her normally perfect hair seemed straggly. "He's an utter cow, that's all he is. If you don't finish this program tonight and cause me to have to speak or meet with that man again... I will." She squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered. "I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I do know it will have something to do with your hair."
"A cow, huh?" Kaoru's eyes glittered as her thoughts began churning. "I can do a cow."
Megumi's eyes opened just enough to peer quizzically at her friend. "Again, what are you talking about?"
"Well, you've seen a completed security program before, right?" Megumi nodded. "To them it just seems like a whole bunch of lines, but I have a couple tricks up my sleeves here." Kaoru returned to her typing as she continued to speak.
"I find that focusing on creating a certain type of animal using lines of code is rather helpful and fun too. They only see the lines since they're looking up close. If PCE actually had a computer that was capable of seeing the entirety of the code all on one screen; they'll be able to see the cow that it's about to become." Kaoru laughed and pressed the ether button with a flourish. Let's see what my artistic skills have created."
The two females stared at the screen as the running lines began to shrink and curve. The numbers and symbols melted together to form what could only be described as a cow butt, swinging tail and all. Megumi's snicker was soft and barely heard as the butt began to shrink until they could see the entirety of the back of a cow. The snicker became an all out guffaw as the camera angle turned to view the head of the cow.
"He never looked that good, Kaoru," Megumi gasped out around her laughter.
"You don't like it?"
"You should make him be chewing something."
"Yeah, cows like to chew, don't they? They also regurgitate. I'm going to have to somehow get that into the program." At the click of a button the cow disappeared and the lines of code began running down Kaoru's screen again. "I should be done by seven or so, Megumi. Will you call out for dinner?"
"Sure thing, Tanuki." Megumi chuckled at her old childish name for Kaoru. Her grin faded as she saw that the girl had ignored her completely to focus on the program. She clicked out of the humming room full of electronics and returned to her cushy office of leather chairs and plants. As she sifted through her rolodex for a good Chinese take-out a call began ringing on the business line.
"Kendoweb programming, how may we assist you?"
The rest of the evening was taken up with new business in and old business being mailed out. PCE's security cow was copied to a single hard drive and messenger delivered to the CEO at his house before the clock turned nine. The two long time friends celebrated with noodles and curry to the tune of several million sliding into their bank account.
Megumi's painted toenails were exposed as she propped her feet up on their living room table found above their business offices. The two were lounging on an overstuffed leather sofa watching a dark TV screen. "We got another offer in today," she mentioned just as Kaoru took a large bite. Full cheeks and a hanging noodle cause Megumi to laugh. Kaoru scowled as she slurped up the noodle and chewed as fast as she could. "When," was all she asked.
"They want to go online one year from now."
Kaoru stirred her noodles around in their bowl. "Do they mean on the web or Online? I don't do websites."
Megumi nodded. "They want Online. It seems they have a perfect 'in' in the Online community and they want to cash in on it."
"What're they selling?"
"It's a game, another world for people to plug into. They want you to help with the programming."
"Who's doing it?"
"JP Enterprises, a small gaming company out of Kyoto. They've done well with several MMO games and are looking to expand."
"Basis? Gameplay? What're we looking at?" Kaoru placed her noodle bowl near Megumi's feet and turned to face her. "What's your take on it?"
The older woman sighed and kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling as she began pouring out facts about the company, how much, in which market, which consumers. She turned out profit facts, loss facts, how much debt, to who they owed it too. Kaoru's eyebrows raised as Megumi began sketching out a short company history.
"My take is." Megumi turned to Kaoru with a serious expression. "They've got a good product, one that will sell. They want seamless interaction with the Online community. You, the daughter of the man who created the Online world are the only one able to give them what they want." Megumi's eyes sparkled. "You can name your price."
"It's a game, right?"
Megumi nodded.
"One year contract, probable extensions of six months. I'm looking at having my name all over the Online as head programmer of the first MMO specifically for the Online. This might take my serious reputation down a bit."
Megumi nodded.
"But I can name my price and they will pay, oh yes, they will pay." Kaoru stood up with her fist raised. "I'll do it! Set up a meeting two days from now with the head of the company. Let's scope them out a bit more before we tell them yes."
"Already done." Megumi stood up next to her only having to look down slightly due to her stocking clad feet. "We'll meet with the CEO of JPE and his top programmers, who you'll be working closely with, three days from now in their offices downtown. Until then." The two long time friends grinned together.
"PARTY!"
.
.
. . To Be Continued . .
.
.
Disclaimer: I always seem to forget this, but I really don't own them.
Author's notes: Yatta!! Yeah, I'm starting one without finishing Tapestry of Lives, but ToL is a long time story of mine that emerges out of my head whenever it feels like it. This one seems to be jumping out much quicker. Anyway, my boss seems to think I do better when I have three or four different things to do at once, so maybe CtE will be good for ToL. We'll see.
So, leave a review and tell me what you think. Chapter one is already on the making and the storyline is fleshing out nicely in my head. So cheer me one, willya!
Author's second note: This has been edited and redone slightly. If you've read the story before, feel free to read it again. I'm hoping to have it flow a bit smoother this time around. Bumpy chapters don't seem to help my creativity factor.