Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

August 17, 2001

Duh de duh uh, Duh de duh uh, Duh de duh uh, Duh de duh uh,

"I'm stressed But you're Free style, I'm overworked but I'm undersexed

You must be made of concrete, I sign my name across your chest."

I wake up and take a look at the alarm clock on my bed's headboard-6:20 am. Last day of my summer job at Jacob's Computer Emporium. It would've been nice to have my last summer of high school summer vacation be a normal "summer vacation" of rest and relaxation without the headache of a summer job; then again, I am going off to college after I graduate this school year and my mom expects me to put some money in the bank towards schooling. She's going to help me with college expenses, but expects me to make as much money on my own as possible. She believes that even though one may get help in an endeavor, it is still best to do as much for yourself as you can. Besides, it is nice to listen to Shirley Manson in the morning rather than a BEEP, BEEP, BEEP of a clock radio alarm. The radio/clock/cd player was the most expensive thing I bought with the money from my summer job ($60 at a Sears in the local mall), and perhaps the most satisfying purchase I could have ever made.

So, looking forward to the last known weekend without homework for next ten or so months, I click the alarm off and get out of bed.

After a quick breakfast and running a brush through my hair a couple times, I go out the door and make my way to the bus stop. I've been reading Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman's "Deathgate Cycle" during the summer and it has been a riot. The bus comes and I put the last book in the series back up in my backpack and get on.

I've been riding the bus all summer and I have gotten into a habit of watching the people. Some because they are attractive, some because just because they seem interesting. I eyeball the crowd on the bus for one in particular that is in the former category. She's been riding on the same bus at the same time as my morning commute to work (damn that sounds so grownup) since I started my job. Finding her, I sit in a seat where I can watch her without noticing my gaze. She's a college student and gets off the bus at the local college 3 stops before I get off. Most of the time I see her with a book open and a highlighter in hand. This morning is no exception. She's wearing blue jeans and one of those cute little t-shirts that show off the midriff.

At the regular stop, she gets up to get off the bus, showing off how tight her blue jeans really are, and goes on out the bus door. I get off the bus at the customery fifteen minutes before the bossman opens the store, and I get a medium Café mocha at the coffeehouse that is in the same shopping center as the computer store.

So Tim (the other employee), the bossman (Jacob Peterson), and I go through the morning routine-receiving in inventory into the store's computer from yesterday's shipment, helping customers, and repairing computers.

Jacob takes me out to lunch for my last day as his employee.

Once seated at the restaurant, Jacob says, "You know Jack, it's been great having you as an employee. I'm going to miss having you around. If you want, you can come back next summer-there'll be a place for you."

"Jacob, I'd really like to say that I'd definitely take you up on your offer, but I'll be busy touring the in-state colleges, and I'm not sure which one I'll be going to yet. I'll also be busy with moving. It has been great working for you though."

"Well, if you ever need anything, drop by the store and let me know. I'll get you anything at my cost."

"Thanks Jacob."

At the end of the day Jacob gives me my final check and a hearty handshake.

I catch the bus for the ride home and call up Anna to set up a date for Saturday. Nothing too fancy-just dinner and a movie. Although I do ask her to wear that blue shirt-the one that shows off her midriff...

Genie in the Bottle

I've been meaning to pick up the latest "Scientific American" at the local grocery store for a bit now and weirdest thing happened. I was riding my bike past the street I normally take to go to the grocery store on my way home from school. I figured I would just pick it tomorrow; watch some Farscape and read the latest scientific breakthroughs and theories-what more could a scifi nut want?

Anyway, I was two blocks past the street I normally turn onto to get to the grocery store, when I felt a twinge that I just had to get that magazine. I turned my bike around and headed towards the store. I locked my bike up at the shopping center's bike rack and headed towards Albertsons. I walking past what used to be an empty store space (at least it was 5 weeks ago when I picked up the previous issue of Scientific American), but what had recently been fitted to be an antique store.

The urgent twinge somehow knotted itself into intense curiosity and I entered the store. The man behind the counter looked up from his newspaper and smiled knowingly at me.

"Jack Hanson, your destiny awaits," said the man.

I must have been grimacing again while trying to make sense of this (I've been told I do that when I think real hard but I never notice) because the man behind counter told me not to worry and all will be made clear.

"OK, so what's happening?"

"A long time ago, a man saw a his homeland ravaged by war. His only wish was to see an end to his people's suffering. Then one day he came across a lamp in a mountain range while he was hunting. He wasn't sure if it was worth anything because it was covered in dirt. He started to rub off the dirt to better assess the lamp's value when a genie came out from the lamp. The genie offered him 3 wishes. His first wish was for the warring to end. His second was for a good ruler to take lordship of the land. And his third wish was for this lamp to only come into the hands of other righteous men who would do good for mankind. The genie granted all three wishes. The man was to become a general who decimated the armies of the evil ruler. Once that occurred, the general then became the ruler of his beloved homeland and ruled it with love and wisdom so that the land flourished and prospered. Then the genie and his lamp disappeared only to come into the hands of other men who would do good works."

The man behind the counter went quiet, smiled gently, and waited for the information to sink in. My eyes went wide.

"Then you're..."

"Indeed."

"3 wishes huh?"

The man nodded.

"To be honest, I don't think I know what to wish for. I mean, the man's wish was for men who would do good works for the betterment of mankind to receive the lamp. I don't suppose you would've come before me if I was the kind of guy who wished for money, booze, and women."

"Some advice. Not all the men who I have granted wishes for saw the immediate perils of mankind around him when I appeared before them. They wished for things that they judged to be a way for short-term gratification. They later found these things to be tools to be used when the perils DID become apparent. Very EFFECTIVE tools."

I took a pause to think.

"Are there limits on the wishes? Like, can I wish for more wishes?"

"You wouldn't believe how many times I hear that one. About the only two wishes that mortals have dreamt of that I cannot grant is 1) wishing for more wishes and 2)Wishing someone direct harm. Pretty much any wish that effects the wisher alone or is a boon to someone else can be granted. Any wish that I cannot grant won't be deducted from your allotment and I will endeavor to make it clear why the wish cannot be granted."

"Wow. Uh, can I like take a day or two to decide on what to wish for?"

"No. Part of the General's third wish has something to do with this. The power of his third wish places me in the hands of a righteous man, like I told you. This much is easy to grasp. However, beneath the surface of this simple fact lies another dynamic. His third wish also places me in the hands of the righteous man when he would wish for the boons that would give him the most effective tools to do good works for the betterment of mankind."

"Uh, OK. So can you maybe tell me the 6 most popular wishes?"

"No, that which comes from the wisher's own heart is what allows the wisher to best ply his good works. Again, the third wish may sound like a simple one, but it is indeed rife with subtleties that even the General could not have imagined."