Metafire

Jack typed in "jsmith@gatech.edu." This was the net address that Jack was given earlier. The personnel officer had asked for a fake last name for the Georgia Tech account. Jack figured "Smith."

The next page opened up. Again, there was the fire at the top, but now it said: "We are an Internet Museum. We keep old things. You have to pay to look. It will cost a dollar an hour to investigate. You are an authorized purchaser through Netbill. Do you want to continue? If you say Yes, billing will commence."

Jack did not have authorization to spend money. At least he didn't think he did. He started to get up, but Jill walked in.

He started, "Oh, I wanted to ask. Can I spend Netbill money?"

"Sure, don't even worry about it. Don't be crazy of course. Every month we get a financial report and can sit down with it." She paused and smiled. "I see. Type "Probably" instead of "Yes" to see the blasted cities. But right now, you have to go home. You have to stay home for a week or two while the top secret clearance is completed. Normally it takes months. This time it'll only take a few days. They'll pay you while you are waiting."