<meta name="LineWrap" content="true"><TITLE>SR_Bk1 0126</TITLE><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0127.txt">Next (Page 127)</A><BR> We can't just keep drifting. I mean, I like that my life is getting some direction. Silly crap like strapping myself to the Toys'R'Us ceiling, I mean, it's cool and everything, but all these random experiences... they get tiresome, y'know? I want some direction in my life."<P><P>"Yeah, okay."<P><P>"Alright? So come on. This ski lodge has the coolest arcade ever. Let's just go and blow a few twenties of dollars on games. Come on man!" Pacer said.<P><P>* * *<P><P>A crummy little office.<P><P>"Pacer," Carne said, "come on in. Come on in. You're not going to believe this, but your cousin Clawe just called."<P><P>"Yeah?" Pacer said, sitting down in a messed-up office chair.<P><P>"Yes indeed. And the news is unbelievable--he just got back from a meeting with Pime's people, and somehow, not only did we get our money, but they gave Clawe full oversight control!"<P><P>"And what does that mean, exactly?"<P><P>"It means, Pacer, that Lemon Darkider Industries now has one billion dollars in the bank. And the only person we have to answer to is your cousin!"<P><P>"Uh-huh. So what does Pime get out of the deal?"<P><P>"It's a sweetheart deal for us. All he wanted was for us to pay him back the billion dollars, plus a little interest, a minimum of 25 percent of our net profits per quarter."<P><P>"And that's good?"<P><P>Carne stood up.<P><P>"Pacer, come on, wake up! We got it! We--our company--has a billion dollars in the bank. We have all the money we need to build Darkider! And we have full control!"<P><P>Pacer shook his head slowly.<P><P>"Wow... wow, Carne. I mean, I was just expecting this to be another fucked-up little episode, another of our failed ventures we can look back at and laugh at. I mean, where the hell do we begin, building something like this?"<P><P>"First," Carne said, "we get a better office. Then, we start hiring people."<P><P>"Yeah, man! A new office! It's gotta be awesome! It's gotta rule! Indoor waterfalls and rivers! Fake windows with cool animatronic shit behind them! Fiber optics!"<P><P>Carne held up his hand and shook his head.<P><P>"No, no, wait. I don't wanna start getting all irresponsible. I don't want to let this money ruin our sanity. We'll get a decent office, but none of the fancy stuff, yet. I mean, eventually, our offices will be inside of Darkider--I mean, that's my plan--so then we can have an office like that, with waterfalls and stuff."<P><P>"Okay, man. Okay. Whatever."<P><P>"But we do have one more issue to deal with today."<P><P>"Yeah? What?"<P><P>"Remember I told you about the guy who was making that movie? Well, he called me today. He's a really nice guy. His name is Nurship. He was very upset--Pime's people aren't returning his calls, and he can't find any alternate funding. He says the movie, 'Feriend Expandling', is a very personal work, and traditional movie studios wouldn't understand it."<P><P>"So what does he want us to do about it?"<P><P>"The thing is, Pacer, I told him that if we got the money, that we'd fund the completion of the film."<P><P>"What?"<P><P>"Ah, come on. All he needs is like 10 or 15 million dollars. And I figured it was good luck for us to offer it to him. And as it turned out, it was good luck, right?"<P><P>"But Carne man, that's 15 million dollars less cool shit in Darkider!"<P><P>"Now come on--we have a billion dollars! That's a thousand million dollars. Do you understand what I'm talking about? Say you had a thousand dollars, all in one dollar bills. Now, imagine that each dollar bill becomes a million dollar bill. That's what we're dealing with here."<P><P>"Yeah--hey man, I just realized stuff. Now that I'm a billionaire, I can get hot chicks!"<P><P>"Look, just don't get into that frame of mind, okay? You are not a billionaire. Or even a millionaire. It's the company's money. We'll draw a salary, but it's not going to be astronomical.<BR><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0127.txt">Next (Page 127)</A>