What a calm day.  It's actually nice outside.  Everything seems to be running ok.  Hey, this is a good day!

<ring>

"IT Client Services Helpdesk, this is Axel."

"Oh, uh... hey, Axel, it's Paul from... uh.. Operations."

"Oh, hey Paul! How's the wife?"

"Good, good..."

"You sound a little shaken up, Paul, what's going on?"

"Well, we have a little.. uhh.. problem..."

I quickly glanced at the call queue and noticed 2 callers waiting.  Then there were 3....4...6...8...

"What happened, Paul!"

"I..uh..."

"Tell me, NOW!"

"I spilled my coffee on the exchange server.  I was just trying to reheat it again.  It puts out such a nice heat on the back vent, plus it blows the coffee smell around the machine room and it's nice.  Anyway, the coffee blew the mainboard and shorted out the power supply.  It also ate away on the leads on the motherboard so its pretty toast.  It also arc'ed to the next rack over and killed the backup server..."

"Paul, listen to me!  What about the other backup server??"

"Well that one overheated last week when we tried to heat the whole pot of coffee on it.  You may not have noticed because of that new switch we put in.  Pretty ingenious stuff, you see..."

"Paul!  What about the backup tapes??"

"Well the backup machine has actually been busy copying every album released in the '70's for me and Frank.  It's been doing that for a few months now... I can't wait for the Moody Blues B-sides..."

The call queue was up to 212 now.  The phone system was drawing so much power that the lights flickered and lowered.

"Paul, you've killed us."

"I know.  I'm sorry.  I feel for you guys.  I'm really sorry."

"I understand, Paul.  Tell my wife I love her, and yours too.  It's been a dang honor serving with you joes.  Jones out."

I jerked the phone cord out of the wall.  The sparks landed on the carpet but were quickly snuffed out. 

"Jim!  This is the big one!  Lock the doors and grab some ammo.  It's them versus us!"

I raced around the office, jerking out file cabinets and pulling cables.  I used the power cords from our file server to tie a door, then Jon and I threw a table against it.  We kicked the phones off their cradles as they began to melt.  Fires broke out in the ACD closet.  I shut the door and locked it.  No time.  It's time to save ourselves.  This isn't the defining moment in man.  This is survival.  This is war.  I could hear the clients pounding on the doors.  It made my heart skip a beat when I first heard the saw.  They'll never take me alive.

"FRRREEEEEEDOOOOOMM!!!"

.......