Melinda Campbell

Original Text gifted with warm, rich skin, green eyes, and dark hair with wonderful auburn highlights. The family owned their own home with the smallest of yards, but it was theirs and it was really all they needed. Ian’s parents never had any aspirations to be rich or famous; they wanted a simple, happy life. And for a little while, they’d had everything they’d dreamed of. Charlie’s father had never been in the picture, bailing shortly after finding out about the pregnancy. His mother, however, was as doting and protective as they came. She worked tirelessly while they were kids to put herself through nursing school. Being a single parent in any era was tough, but being a single black mother in the 1970s was nearly impossible. The ridiculous prejudice that ran rampant made it trying for the family, but Angelica had handled it with incomparable grace and class. While they might have lived in low-income housing, their apartment was always spotless and ready to entertain guests. Their furniture and clothing might not have been new, but they were always clean and held themselves with more dignity and pride than many of the “rich” folks in town. When they were eleven, Charlie and his mother had finally been able to move into their own apartment; coincidentally right down the street from Ian’s house. It was a small, two-family house, but it was theirs and they had been thrilled. Six months later, just after Charlie had turned twelve, Angelica was killed. Chuck had been spending the weekend at Ian’s, as he often did when his mother worked the overnight rotation at the hospital, when the police had showed up at the door. Angelica had been hit by a truck when a sleeping motorist jumped the curb as she walked home from work, killing her instantly. Charlie had come to live with Ian and his family permanently after that. To this day, they’d still never heard from Charlie’s father; both doubted they ever would. After all the tragedy and heartache they’d suffered as kids, neither one ever dreamed their situations could turn around so completely, or that they’d reach such wealth in their lifetimes. Charlie Daniels, always a computer whiz, had developed a new gaming system that outsold any system prior at the age of twenty-one. The graphics on cdONE were amazing, and it sold out several dozen times in the first six months. No other gaming system had ever flown off the shelves at such a rate. cdONE did just about everything; acting as a modem, a game, and music player. It also had wireless technology to act as a speaker for incoming calls, as well as the capability to perform as a home security and convenience center – that thing could control the lights, heat, a/c, and damn near everything else. The best thing about cdONE in Ian’s opinion, however, was that it had the capability of adapting. As a new form of entertainment media came available, Charlie’s system could easily be upgraded to play it. No more replacing all your movies, music and games. cdONE would not only play all previous versions, but would be adaptable to all new forms. It was truly a brilliant design. One of Charlie’s biggest concerns regarding the system was that the cost of any upgrades stays reasonable. He’d wanted to get rich, but not by robbing hard working folks to get there. Ian couldn’t be more proud of his best friend. Even charging far below what the system was worth, Charlie went from making barely twenty thousand per year, to a millionaire overnight. Now his wealth neared the billion- Original Text dollar range. Thankfully, he remained the same guy Ian had known since before puberty. Though, this new side to his age-old friend was both alluring and alarming for Ian. Ian wondered if he’d have ever met Shannon if Charlie had been able to talk him into his lifestyle when he’d first tried. Would he have always found it so exciting? Or was it his age and stability in life that made something taboo so appealing? Ian wasn’t sure, though he did worry greatly about containing his new desires. Ian McCullough had graduated high school a year early and went on to his pre-med schooling at the age of sixteen. After doing his two years of pre-med at Penn State, Ian graduated from Jefferson Medical College with his MD in a total of six years. While doing his residency in the oncology surgical unit, Ian had developed a new kind of procedure to fight cancer. With his ideas and Charlie’s computer expertise, Ian created a program and the accompanying mechanics to perform far less invasive surgeries on the children he saw suffering. Having lost his baby sister to a brain tumor when she was only two years old, Ian had always planned to be a doctor specializing in the treatment of cancer. Sadly, however, even with all his company’s research they were no closer to finding a cure. But Ian was sure that it was only a matter of time. Perhaps they couldn’t cure all cancer, but even just ridding the world of one form that robbed lives would be amazing. And while patenting and selling his software and surgical equipment had made Ian wealthy, it was the development of a new drug along with his wife that truly made him rich. Together they’d developed a more stable form of chemotherapy that was more lethal to the cancer cells with very limited toxicity to healthy tissue. The trick was all in the delivery system at the molecular level. One of the most frustrating things about cancer treatment was the side effects the patients suffered. Whether it was the nausea and hair loss, or the conditions that developed years later, the treatment was often harder on the patient than the disease itself. The meds were necessary in order to survive, but highly unpleasant to go through. And for pediatrics, most of those treatments resulted in sterility for the patient as well. These were the issues than Ian’s new treatment sought to combat. Treat the cancer without killing the patient. Ian had refused to sell his drug to any pharmaceutical company that intended to gouge those who would depend on the medicine. Granted, Ian could have made far more money being greedy, but he’d have lost the ability to live with himself in the process. One of the reasons Maureen had died was his family’s lack of funds to pay for her treatment. Maureen’s death had been the catalyst that had ultimately driven Ian’s mother to commit suicide. Cancer didn’t just destroy the patient, it destroyed the families as well. Ian never wanted another child to lose its life over money, especially if he had the power to prevent it. The men sat for several hours laughing, drinking, and talking as they munched on appetizer platters. While Ian was nowhere near drunk, he wasn’t sure driving home was a Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Final Text gifted with warm, rich skin, green eyes, and dark hair with wonderful auburn highlights; she would have been a stunning young woman. The family owned their own home with the smallest of yards, but it was theirs and it was really all they needed. Ian’s parents never had any aspirations to be rich or famous; they wanted a simple, happy life. And for a little while, they had everything they’d ever dreamed of. Or at least they had, until his sister died at two and his mother’s resulting depression stole her away from Ian at the age of fourteen. Charlie knew very little about his father other than he was a tall, thin, blonde man that took off shortly after finding out Angelica was pregnant. His mother didn’t like to talk about the man, but was as doting and protective as they come. While they were kids she worked tirelessly to put herself through nursing school. Being a single parent in any era was tough, but being a single, black mother in the 1970s was nearly impossible. The ridiculous prejudice that ran rampant made it trying for the family, but Angelica had handled it with incomparable grace and class. While they might have lived in low-income housing, their apartment was always spotless and ready to entertain guests. Their furniture and clothing might not have been new, but they were always clean and held themselves with more dignity and pride than many of the “rich” folks in town. When the boys were eleven, Charlie and his mother were finally able to move into their own apartment; coincidentally right down the street from Ian’s house. It was a small, slightly run-down house with only two units, but it was theirs and they had been thrilled. Six months later, just after Charlie turned twelve, Angelica was killed. The police showed up at the door while Chuck had been spending the weekend at Ian’s, as he often did when his mother worked the overnight rotation at the hospital. Angelica had been killed instantly when a sleeping motorist jumped the curb in his truck as she was walking home. Charlie came to live with Ian and his family permanently after that. To this day, they’d still never heard from Charlie’s father; both doubted they ever would. After all the tragedy and heartache they suffered as kids, neither one ever dreamed their situations could turn around so completely, or that they’d reach such wealth in their lifetimes. Charlie Daniels, always a computer whiz, developed a new gaming system at the age of twenty-one that outsold any prior system. The graphics on cdONE were amazing, and it sold out several dozen times in the first six months. No other gaming system had ever flown off the shelves at such a rate. cdONE did just about everything, acting as a modem, a game, and music player. It also had wireless technology to act as a speaker for incoming calls, as well as the capability to perform as a home security and convenience center – that thing could control the lights, heat, A/C, and damn near everything else. The best thing about cdONE, in Ian’s opinion however, was that it had the capability of adapting. As a new form of entertainment media became available, Charlie’s system could easily be upgraded to play it. No more replacing all your movies, music and games. cdONE would not only play all previous versions, but would be adaptable to all new forms. It was truly a brilliant design. One of Charlie’s biggest concerns regarding the system was that the cost of any upgrades should stay reasonable. He’d wanted to get rich, but not by robbing hard working folks to get there. Ian couldn’t be more proud of his best friend. Final Text Even charging far below what the system was worth, Charlie went from making barely twenty thousand per year, to a millionaire overnight. Now his wealth neared the billiondollar range. Thankfully, he remained the same guy Ian had known since before puberty. Though, this new side to his age-old friend was both alluring and alarming for him. Ian wondered if he would have ever met Shannon if Charlie had been able to talk him into his lifestyle when he first tried. Would he have always found it so exciting? Or was it his age and stability in life that made something taboo so appealing? Ian wasn’t sure, though he was starting to worry greatly about containing his new desires. Ian McCullough graduated high school a year early and went on to his pre-med schooling at the age of sixteen. After doing two years of pre-med at Penn State, Ian graduated from Jefferson Medical College with his MD in a total of six years. While doing his residency in the oncology surgical unit, Ian developed a new kind of procedure to fight cancer. With his ideas and Charlie’s computer expertise, Ian created a program and the accompanying mechanics to perform far less invasive surgeries on the children he saw suffering. Having lost his baby sister to a brain tumor when she was only two years old, Ian had always planned to be a doctor specializing in the treatment of cancer. Sadly, however, even with all his company’s research they were no closer to finding a cure. But Ian was sure that it was only a matter of time. Perhaps they couldn’t cure all cancer, but even just ridding the world of one form that robbed lives would be amazing. And while patenting and selling his software and surgical equipment had made Ian wealthy, it was developing a new drug with his wife that truly made him rich. The best thing he’d ever done, besides actually meeting his wife, was starting McCullough Industries with her. Together they’d developed a more stable form of chemotherapy that was more lethal to the cancer cells with very limited toxicity to healthy tissue. The trick was all in the delivery system at the molecular level. One of the most frustrating things about cancer treatment were the side effects the patients suffered. Whether it was the nausea and hair loss, or the conditions that developed years later, the treatment was often harder on the patient than the disease itself. The meds were necessary in order to survive, but highly unpleasant to go through. And for pediatrics, most of those treatments resulted in sterility for the patient as well. These were the issues that Ian’s new treatment sought to combat. Treat the cancer without killing the patient. Ian had refused to sell his drug to any pharmaceutical company that intended to gouge those who would depend on the medicine. Granted, Ian could have made far more money being greedy, but he’d have lost the ability to live with himself in the process. One of the reasons Maureen had died was his family’s lack of funds to pay for her treatment. Maureen’s death had been the catalyst that had ultimately driven Ian’s mother to commit suicide. Cancer didn’t just destroy the patient. It destroyed the family as well. Ian never wanted another child to lose its life over money, especially if he had the power to prevent it. The men sat for several hours laughing, drinking, and talking as they munched on appetizer platters. While Ian was nowhere near drunk, he wasn’t sure driving home was a