Deanna had replied to the email that night. Every day after work, she would check for a package, or a delivery notice. None came. After over two weeks of waiting, she began to doubt the camera would ever arrive. Eventually, it faded completely from her mind. The camera never arrived, and months later she was FINALLY contacted by a pharmaceuticals company and offered a REAL job. Within a few years' time she was happily married and had forgotten all about the mysterious email from that night.
THE END
WHOA, WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!!! That is NO way to end a story! You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. Just wanted to make sure you were all paying attention. So, without further ado, let's back everything up to the moment she replied to the email, shall we?
She typed "Yes" in the header, and clicked the reply button. She got the usual "Your Message Has Been Sent" screen, and went back to her browsing. She did a search on "SW" because it kept popping up in her mind, but all she came up with was a bunch of Star Wars sites. She knew the camera couldn't be related to THAT, so she finally gave up and logged off. She turned in for the night and fell asleep almost immediately.
While she slept she had a strange dream. She couldn't remember all the details when she woke up the next day, but it had something to do with everything being larger than usual, except her. The dream slowly faded as she got up and got dressed for another day at the fitness center. She hopped into the driver's seat of her car and turned the switch. The engine made noises, but refused to start. She drew in a deep breath and sighed--it was going to be one of those days.
When she arrived home from work, she repeated yesterday's procedure--stagger in, drop onto the couch, and lean back until she had enough energy to make it to the tub. Minutes later, she felt up to making the trip. She peeled off the sweaty clothes again--reflecting on how smart of her it was to put the hamper in the bathroom--and just as she was about to remove the bra and panties...
...the doorbell rang.
"Dammit!" Her robe managed to be absent from its usual place. Probably in the wash. She walked slowly to the door. The bell didn't ring again. She peered out of the small eyehole. Nobody was on her porch, or on her walk, or in her driveway. She eased the door open slightly and looked around. Then she noticed the small package at the base of the door.
Well, THAT'S odd, she thought to herself. She picked up the small box and hefted it. For its size it was fairly heavy. Then she noticed the logo on the side. "CP Technologies. That was fast." She shut the door and locked it, set the box on her counter, and went back into the bathroom to pick up where she left off. She didn't fall asleep this time, though=-the mysterious box was on her mind. Finally, when she felt like her muscles could be moved without screaming in pain, she eased herself out of the tub and drained it. Since her robe was missing, she put on a clean pair of panties, a short-sleeved pink T-shirt, and a pair of loose cutoff jean shorts. She snatched the box on her way up to the computer room.
She opened the box. Inside she found a small slip of paper and something small wrapped in some unusual plastic-like shipping material. She read the paper. "Congratulations, and thank you again for your participation! We hope you enjoy this product!" Below that were the setup instructions. She opened the material and pulled out her new digital toy.
Instead of the camera-shaped object she'd been expecting, what came out was instead a near-perfect sphere. One end was flat, and the lens was recessed into a circular opening in the flat end. Two connectors projected from the back, and the spherical camera was mounted on a flat base. She followed the quick instructions and booted up her machine.
When the camera was turned on, it self-installed. It then told her she would have to connect to the Internet to complete the installation. She did so, and the camera automatically launched to the appropriate site. When it loaded, she was caught completely off-guard. "WARNING!" was the page's header, in bold red letters. "When you are connected to our consumer response lab for the beta testing of our camera's new features, you WILL be on a TWO-WAY connection. This means that you will be able to see and hear whichever research technician is in charge of this camera.==and he or she will be able to see and hear YOU. Proceeding further indicates your acceptance and understanding of the fact that we are not liable for anything that comes as a result of this communication."
She thought long and hard about it. She sat at her desk for over ten minutes, staring blankly at the screen while trying to weigh the pros and cons. Eventually, her need for excitement and new experiences won out, and she clicked OK. The next screen prompted her to enter her User ID and password, as well as the camera's serial number. The prompt said that her ID and password would be found in the box.
But, there was nothing else in the box. Her thoughts were cut off by a sudden dull thump as the box fell off of her desk. As she picked it up, another small slip of paper floated out. An involuntary chill ran down her spine. You're just being paranoid, she told herself. Still, it was a very odd coincidence. Her User ID was, as it happened, her e-mail address, and her password was just a string of seemingly random numbers. She was then forced to wait while it logged in to the lab's digital video communication center.
The login took a long time. She was about to find something else to amuse herself when suddenly a window appeared on her screen.
