Instant Investigation

She glanced his way. Man, he's in an unusually chatty mood today. "I like old movies and reruns," she told him. There were no messages on her personal mail page, either. That was a first. Usually she was greeted with at least three tasks per day.

"Well, can't help you there. But you're missing some good games."

"I guess I'll get by," she mumbled.

With no specific job to carry out and no other messages to tend to, Mindy's day was an open book. The thought crossed her mind that she could run down to the local newsstand and get a paper, but somehow it did not seem right. She would not use company time to pursue her own goals. The idea of calling her mom also came up, but she quickly readjusted her thinking there, too. Usually, when there was nothing to do, she went down the hall to the national wire computer to check for interesting area stories-stories that she could expound on. The network computer allowed the user to browse headlines and articles from anywhere in the country. Generally, it was used for research, much like a library microfiche. The main difference lay in the fact that the wire computer was updated nearly every second. The headlines and articles were all current. They were happening now.

Eric continued to babble about the game-a game that apparently kept him up late and made it hard for him to get up that morning. Mindy was not even sure what kind of game he spoke of, and she did not really care. She had developed an ability to tune him out when it came to sports. She knew exactly when to nod and smile, but she was usually thinking of something else.