A Brief History of Computing, Part II

Business just did not want a child. Children are expensive. Not only do they cost money, but also time. He didn't particularly have a shortage of either but tended to be frugal with both. A notable exception is wooing, but that was the least of his problems at the moment. Additionally, anything he did spend, he did so for a reason: to make more money, and even wooing wasn't an exception to that rule. What profit is there in children?

Despite this, Business was still smitten with Technology and really didn't want to deal with the whole child thing. He wasn't trying to be mean or cruel, he just didn't know what to do with one. Mostly he continued on as before, and pretended the child didn't exist.

That got a little harder as Technology got more and more pregnant. The news spread quietly at first, mostly by word of mouth. When they appeared in public together, no one really said anything out loud. The speculation went from "Are they getting married?" to "when are they getting married?" since an upstanding citizen like Business could hardly afford an illegitimate child so obviously visible to the public eye. Pressure mounted.

Their marriage was a quiet one, held in a small town in the northwest. Their relationship changed subtly, but significantly, after the marriage: Technology, radiant in her own right (if still dependent in Business), could no longer go out on her own; for she now fully belonged to Business, and could only go out with a written note, stating exactly what she could do and who she could do it with. All of which had to be preapproved by Business, or those she went out with could be fined or go to jail. But she trusted Business; and besides, she was so looking forward to Business' promises to fulfill her wildest dreams that she hardly noticed the new restrictions on her personal freedom. Besides, few outside Business' closest buddies took the restrictions seriously; who was really going to get in trouble just for talking to her? No one was really paying attention to what she did on her own time anyway.

By and large, Business carried on as usual after the marriage. He was quite happy finding new ways to sell Technology's unique talents to clients. With the marriage firmly in place, they could no longer form their own relationships with Technology. At least not his Technology, for that would threaten his role as the gateway to her; and he focused even more effort on marketing her abilities. It was a very profitable arrangement.

Technology, for her part, busied herself by working on projects for Business, of which there was no shortage, and preparing for motherhood. She went out less (but still often), and didn't mind; she was a little tired of the constant spotlight anyway, and rediscovered the contemplative setting of a workshop, like where she was raised.

The day came when the new child could wait no longer. Technology was ready. Business' clients were ready and they often asked him about it (though he usually brushed them off, changed the subject, or had them speak directly to Technology about it). It was an exciting day: they had a son! Technology, excited by the work she was doing to support her husband, named the child Support, and had visions of how this new child would help people understand the work she was doing for Business.

Business played along with the festivities. Mostly he wanted to get back to work, selling technology's talents. He provided frugally for Support, and found to his dismay that this new child was costing him more than he thought. Business also began to get irritated at Technology who for some reason wasn't producing cool stuff as quickly as she used to. They got into fights every now and then which left Technology crying and Business frustrated and angry. It got worse when his clients started to complain that the solutions he provided weren't working as he promised. Technology bemoaned the demanding schedule Business put her on; Business responded by demanding more projects, more features and more speed.

Despite the problems, Technology's influence on Business' clients, and indeed Business himself, was making itself felt. Much of the buzz they generated together still had a strong grip on the populace at large; Technology had come up with fancy visual devices that used a graphical pointer instead of an ungainly command line interface, and this appealed to many people who didn't like command line interfaces.

With all the goings-on, Support was pretty much left to fend for himself. He was fed, watered, and properly toilet trained; Business' servants saw to his naps, and regular bathings as necessary. But Business never spent much time with Support; he never really made the effort to know who this child was, what made him tick, or what was important to him. Support was a curious one; he took after his mother in that respect. And he loved to please. As a toddler he couldn't do much in that respect except smile real big and get excited when others smiled back. Technology loved to reward his curiosity, and often smiled when he tried new things. And to young Support, everything was new.


...to be continued...