I found McMillan admidst his machines, absorbed in a game of Postal, his dirty spectacles reflecting the electronic glow of his 21-inch Hitachi .26-dot-pitch digital SVGA non-interlaced monitor. The tool-free tower cases, draped with ribbon cables and coax, looked like Cambodian jungle temples overgrown in vines. I could hear the beat of The Doors' The End reverberating from his headphones, rendering him oblivious to the video game victims' cries of "Kill me now. Kill me now." emanating from the Altec Lansing Surround Sound system with Dolby Pro-Logic and 18-watt subwoofer.

And oblivious to me.

Trench knife clenched in my teeth, I crept stealthily to the wall plug. All this hardware and no UPS! The horror. I gripped the power cord with both hands.

Hasta la vista, baby.

I pulled the plug.

*

Now in the night, roused from another endless DO-loop dream, I still hear his scream.