The bugle has sounded...

The Death of The Loyalist

The following is The Loyalist's last email to Overmind the Great, before his body collapsed and his spirit departed the Tashman Universe.

March 20th, 2001

6:27 A.M. -- Getting ready for work.  Played "The Final Countdown" by Europe.  A rather ironic selection, it turned out.

7:10 A.M. -- Met Overmind for breakfast.  We never do this -- but I sense something.  So does he.  We talk about various possibilities over bagels.  Captain Fascist was in town, and we suspect he has something up his sleeve -- but what?

8:30 A.M. -- Walk into the office.  Check my emails.  Say my hellos to J. Hustle, Flower Girl, and Z.E.  This was my last morning ... and I didn't even know it.

9:55 A.M. -- The morning meeting has ended.  Ramalani didn't pick on me once, which I'm happy about.  I wasn't in the mood for his criticism this morning.  As I got up to leave, Ramalani asked me to stay.

"Yes, Rama?"

Ramalani closed the office doors.  For the first time, I notice that CEO is not in his office.

"Well, we had a meeting yesterday, and I didn't agree with this, but as a group, we've decided to let you go."

It's true what they say -- when you're about to die, a certain kind of peace comes over you.

"Well," I replied, "I'm shocked, but I'm not surprised."

I went on to explain that I knew the risks when I took the job of manager.  I knew that there was always a danger of being fired.  And I was very proud of the job I had done.

Ramalani shed some tears.  We shook hands and hugged. 

And I left.

"And now I move on from this life, grateful for the experiences I've had, knowing that I will go on...."

-- The final words of the Loyalist

***

Introduction to the Tashman Universe

 by Anthony DeCarvalho

1

Once upon a time, there were 7 founders.  They were the owners of Tashman Technologies, a teleportation messenger service.  Business thrived.  Tashman Technologies quickly grew into the largest messenger service in the city.

Tashman Technologies had a competitive advantage:  They were the first to deliver messages and packages using teleportation devices.  No one else in the industry could provide the level of service that Tashman provided, and with patents on the technology, the future was looking great at Tashman Technologies.

Their leader also helped the business.   He was known as CEO.  CEO was a charismatic, ingratiating salesman.  His connections around the country were invaluable.  CEO built the customer base needed for the business to thrive.

CEO had final say in all decisions at Tashman Technologies.  The founders believed it was important to have one person with veto power, instead of trying to reach consensus as a group.  They were also afraid that, without a true, majority leader, they would end up fighting and splitting apart.

The other Founders, in order of power, were as follows:

Arse:  The mischievous Vice President of Marketing.  CEO depended on Arse for advise.  Arse loved giving CEO information that would rile him up.

Ramalani:  The strict Vice President of Production.  His job was to keep the workers in line, so that the other Founders wouldn't have to. He focused on details ad nauseam.  He was also the focus of the Founder’s wrath if anything went wrong with the company, even if it wasn’t his fault.

Character Assassin:  Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.  He held every managerial position in the company at one time or another, and still couldn't find his niche.

Captain Hardware:  Network Administrator.  The man who kept the machines running, he was a magician at coaxing broken systems to life.

Captain Software:  Programmer.  He wasn't the mastermind behind the teleportation program, but he helped improve the software Tashman Technologies used, albeit in fits and starts.

There was a seventh person who, although not an original founder, became part of the group later on:

Captain Fascist:  Vice President of I.T.  He became as powerful as Arse.  CEO loved the image Captain Fascist presented.  Captain F. was leading the company into the future with his Internet reality scheme.  Investors felt confident that Captain Fascist’s plans would work.

2

The founders knew no love; only a desire to acquire more wealth.  They were each tired of working under oppressive conditions, and wanted to have secure financial futures for themselves and their families.  So, when an opportunity to invest in Tashman Technologies came, each of the original six took what little they had and bought in.

The first days were heady:  Each of the partners worked long hours.  They were the owners and the workers of their fledgling company.  They made sure that packages and messages arrived on time.  They worked hard to acquire more business. They underbid the competition.  They starved and lost sleep.  In the end, their business began to take off, and the need for additional employees grew.

First, Ramalani needed workers to increase production capacity.  The Loyalist, The Unknown Hero, and others were hired to meet the growing needs of Tashman Technologies.

Second, Arse needed an assistant for his Marketing gambits.  He hired the Viper Queen to fill that role.

Third, Captain Hardware needed assistance maintaining the many teleporting devices the company had acquired to increase production.  Son of Thorbjorn was hired to assist Captain H.

Fourth, Captain Software needed a junior programmer because there was so much to code, and so little time.  Overmind the Great was hired to fill this roll.

Finally, CEO needed someone to watch the financial books and answer phone calls.  Empress Air was brought in to meet this need.

Character Assassin, being a deadly assassin, could not coexist with an assistant for extended periods of time.