ref: fd9be2e172be4ae02a18d721a10f6f96ca1c924f
dir: /troff/0201.ms/
.LP .ce .ps 16 .CW HELLO, CRUEL WORLD .R .ps 10 .br .ce .ps 10 .B 1 .P .PP .ps 10 .DC T erp was on the line with Richard Hare. Could not understand the words coming out of his mouth. .PP .ps 10 "Speak English fresh, all right." .PP .ps 10 Nothing. Richard continued to babble unintelligibly. .PP .ps 10 Terp's patience was wearing thin. Surrounded\(emhe could hear Richard's directionless chatter both in his handset and on the other side of the cubicle wall. His defenses were unequal to the task. .PP .ps 10 "This sentence is a lie." Richard finally claimed. .PP .ps 10 "Can't argue with you there, Rich." .ce .B 2 .P .PP .ps 10 More debugging. Well, as near as anyone could come to debugging, with Richard. Terp realized he had skipped a few steps, so he doubled back to revisit prior art. .PP .ps 10 "First, state your assumptions," instructed Terp. .PP .ps 10 "Wait, is that even possible?" inquired Richard. "What is that even supposed to mean." .PP .ps 10 Manual offered no insight into Richard's question. .PP .ps 10 Terp muted his handset and poked his head above the cubicle wall, scanning the room for a co\-worker. Specifically, a co\-worker who was not Richard. .PP .ps 10 Stranded, he sunk slowly back into his seat. .bp .ce .B 3 .P .PP .ps 10 Things were not going well. Terp considered the attempted bug report a wash. .PP .ps 10 "I just don't think I can help you." .PP .ps 10 Richard figured he was no worse off than he had been when the call had started. .PP .ps 10 "Oh, Hell, that's okay, it's just nice to hear your voice. I suppose I can just use my other handset." .PP .ps 10 Terp wondered how many handsets Richard had stockpiled in his cubicle. Could the number possibly prove equal to whatever it was he was trying to do? .PP .ps 10 And what .I was Richard even trying to do with his multiple handsets? .PP .ps 10 Terp had never considered the sound of his own voice to be a source of comfort. .PP .ps 10 This guy was a mess. .ce .B 4 .P .PP .ps 10 Shift completed, Terp shed his gear. Exhausted, he walked/stumbled the set of blocks back to his private ingress to the Basement. Hadn't felt this tired since he'd been discharged from the service. .PP .ps 10 Door wouldn't budge. .PP .ps 10 This had never happened before. .PP .ps 10 Terp sat himself down in the alley and fumbled with his leaf, attempting to locate the contact information for technical support. .PP .ps 10 Presently, his handset began to ring. .bp