The End

My name is Richard Cortman, and I work for a major pharmaceutical company that, at this time, shall remain nameless. As you may have guessed, we are currently in clinical trials for a new drug. A drug that stimulates the learning centers of the brain. We've been planning to call this drug, "Porphredo."

A little over a week ago, I was involved in a standard trademark search. I do this about once a month for a number of brand names. Last week, I searched for Porphredo and for the first time I got some hits that didn't involve Greek mythology. I found our partners, Bayes and Ellis, involved in a conflict with a bunch of college kids. I wasn't sure if it was some kind of bizarre game the kids had cooked up, or if it was something else. I began to play the "game" almost immediately. I tried to antagonize anyone and everyone. Most of all, I tried to get into contact with the Cor Tech employee posing under the pseudonym "Porphredo."

I wasn't, and am not, the villain. I am merely an outsider.

You see, B&E had independently used our research in stimulating the learning centers of the brain to develop a drug which would depress those same centers. They were testing it at a small college in Worcester, and somehow the students had caught on. I approached our staff scientist, Alexander (yes, that was his real name), to ask what the effect Porphredo would have on people who had been infected with the Deino virus and who had then had their brain chemistry altered with the Enyo drug. He theorized that it would simply return them to normal.

But as in any corporation, I couldn't just send samples of a prototypical, unapproved drug to Worcester. I had to get approval from the higher ups, specifically my boss, Joy C***, who I was calling Cyrus (I've been addicted to Civilization IV since Christmas, and it was the first name I could think of). It was at that point that she disappeared. Meanwhile I continued to try to contact Porphredo, in order to advise her of the state of the Porphredo prototype, and offer help (as soon as I could get approval).

On Sunday, with the help of a number of intrepid college students, Kent Archer, and the absent yet everpresent Simon Carver, I finally learned Porphredo's identity and attempted to contact her. I waited, and stepped back from the "game." My boss was still missing.

In the world of pharmaceutical companies nothing happens quickly. My boss finally returned from her three day weekend yesterday-- she had flown to Disneyworld for a quick vacation with her new husband. Sometimes you see conspiracies where there are none. She even brought back pictures:

She agreed to release the drug as long it could never be traced back to our company. I worked with Kelly on the distribution angle, but Simon (Jacob) Chu had encrypted a number of contracts and files linking us to both Cor Tech and B&E. Those files had to be destroyed. Kelly, with greater access to the Cor Tech fileservers could remove most of them from the inside. I knew my ip address was being logged, so any real intrusions on Cor Tech's network could be linked right back to my company. If the college students could find and destroy the last file by 5pm tonight, Kelly and I could release the drug in time to save the campus.

At 4:51pm the server was finally cracked and the file removed (thanks Jadecat, Tigress, Jonathan Dark, and Jeanie). Kenneth Archer assisted on-site with a daring incursion into the B&E offices themselves. By the time I finish writing this, Porphredo, the wonder learning drug, should be distributed to those who need it.

There is one catch. Because the learning centers of Cor Tech's victims have been depressed, the super learning properties of Porphredo simply won't work. They'll be returned to normal, but in order to learn Spanish, Engineering, or Kung Fu, they'll have to do it the old fashioned way, by reading, taking classes, and studying.

So it's all over, right?

Well, today I ran across this. It seems the Israelis have developed their own Porphredo. They say it's for intelligent drug delivery, but I've been doing some further research and I can read between the lines. God knows what they're going to implant in people with this stuff.

So I'm leaving the country. I've been authorized to investigate by the higher ups. I'll be checking in from time to time, but if you want me, look for me in the Ryugyong Hotel.