"A Matter of Pride" by Ron Collins is a hacker story. The main character, Chris, is a programmer for a household appliance company, and a peculiar virus has infected his computer. It seems to be relatively harmless, but it talks back and insults him constantly. To defeat the virus, Chris enlists the help of fellow programmer Gail Francis. I thought the real nature of the virus was an original twist, though the setting was a bit too Dilbertesque for my taste. ... [an] entertaining piece.

On Writing "A Matter of Pride"

Hey, it's a fun little piece.

This one started with the initial scene andjust kind of wrote itself. I'll admit it was easy, primarily because I was making fun of myself through most of it and because the corporate environment is an easy mark. The character of the boss, you see, is how I see myself sometimes. I should also mention that I wrote the piece before I moved from engineering software development and into the IT/Web development arena--otherwise, heck Bob could have been me (except I never sold applainces to the Army ... not that they wouldn't have bought them ... [grin]).