U N O F F I C I A L
H O M E P A G E
Please direct all comments about the story to the author at Deborah.Kluge@asu.edu.
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all characters,
logos, and likenesses therein, are trademarks of and copyrighted
by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons,
Inc., a Turner company. No copyright infringement is intended by
their use on this page. I and this page are in no way
affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna Barbera or
Turner Productions. This page is created by a fan for other fans
out of love and respect for the show, and is strictly a
non-profit endeavor.
Back to JQ:TRA Home Page
This is one that just goes to show that some days it simply doesn't pay
to be a girl . . .
"Some Days You Just Can't Win"
by Debbie Kluge
Jonny Quest erupted in the front door of his house, yelling at the top
of his lungs.
"Jessie! . . . Hadji! . . . hey, guys, where are you!?" His father
winced and Race said,
"Hey! Hold it down." Jessie and Hadji came running from their
respective bedrooms, looks of anticipation on their faces.
"I got it!!! He only had one, and I got it!" All three of them were
bouncing in excitement, trying to look at the box that Jonny was waving
in front of them.
"Will it run . . . ?"
"What kind of modifications will we have to make . . .?"
"Will it interface with QuestWorld . . . ?"
"Let's go load it . . . !" Benton Quest raised his voice,
"Hey, slow down. What's going on? And do I get the impression you are
planning on loading something *else* to QuestWorld?" That statement
sounded ominous. "We just got your *last* load fixed . . ."
"No, Dad, this one's OK. It's the hottest new role-playing game on the
market! It's been hyped for months. And *Game Masters* only had one
copy and we got it!!! It's got all the right requirements and plug-ins
to migrate right into QuestWorld. We shouldn't have to do *anything*
other than load it and play." Benton Quest took the game from his son
and inspected it carefully.
"Masters of Lord's World?"
"It's a fantasy, role-playing game. Kind of like Dungeons and Dragons
only way better. The graphics are so good that once we load it into
QuestWorld it should all but *real*. Come on, Dad . . . We've been
waiting for ages . . ." Benton handed it to Race who looked at it and
asked,
"What's so special about it?" Jonny grinned at Jessie.
"You tell him." She took the box back from her father and hugged it.
"Aside from all but perfect graphics and really great games scenerios,
*this* game has a warrior GIRL in it. For the first time I don't have
to play a guy, or a damsel in distress, or a princess who sits on the
sidelines and has to be defended, or anything else. This one has a girl
who uses a sword and fights bad guys and doesn't spend all her time
fainting. It's so cool . . . ." Race started to laugh.
"OK. Go on. Have fun."
"One thing, though . . ." Benton stopped them. "No modifying the game.
If it doesn't run, you don't monkey with it. You don't reprogram the
modules. You don't enhance the scenerios. Nothing. Do you
understand?"
"But, Dad . . ."
"No, you heard me. You were the one who was complaining to me the other
day how much you hate it when people alter your programming. Now you
have to show the same courtesy to others. Clear?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Yes, Dr. Quest."
"OK. Go on. And guys . . ." They all turned questioning looks on him.
"Try not to blow up QuestWorld this time." They grinned and ran out.
***
"Well, Iris?"
"The game is installed and all modules appear functional. No errors
have been detected on interface. The game is now set for play mode.
Please specify number of players and chosen roles."
"YES!!!!!!" High fives all around. A coin is tossed and Jessie and
Jonny win first try at the game.
"Iris, set play mode for two players . . . roles: knight defender and
warrior princess."
"Working. Play mode is set. You may begin when ready." Jessie and
Jonny scrambled into their respective chairs and put on the virtual
headsets. Jonny signaled Hadji and he typed in a set of commands."
"Logging into QuestWold. Subjects Jonny Quest and Jessie Bannon.
Countdown . . .
5 4 3 2 1 Going hot!"
Bright lights flash and the surroundings dissolve to reform into an
entirely new scenery. Jonny looks around, enraptured.
"Oh, man, this is great! This is more realistic than anything we've
gotten so far. Nothing looks vectorized. The QuestWorld virtual
reality modules are interfacing perfectly. The castle walls look real
and you can even touch them and they feel real! Hey, Hadj, can you
*see* this?" There is a *very* long pause before Hadji answers.
"Yes, my friend, I can see it. And I can hardly believe it . . . Maybe
Dr. Quest will rethink letting us do some modifications on the program
after all. Altering the costume program *might* not be a bad idea . . ."
"Huh? What's wrong with the costume program? It looks pretty good.
Hey, Jess, what do you think . . ." Jonny turns to Jessie who is
inspecting her surroundings; and stops mid-sentence, his mouth falling
open.
"This is terrific!" She lifts a large, flat-bladed broadsword and takes
a few swipes. Then she looks at him. "What . . . ?" Even in virtual
reality he turns a little red. He waves a hand at her costume and
stutters,
"I . . . uh . . . I'm not sure . . . well, I don't think your Dad will .
. . uh . . . " Jessie looks down at herself and utters and indignant
shriek.
"Where's the rest of it!!!!!"
"Jonny . . ."
"What!"
"I am looking at the credits on the box."
"Yeah?
"Boris Vallejo did the costumes."
"This isn't *fair*!" Jonny grins.
"Oh, I don't know. It's kinda growing on me . . ."
The last sight he saw was the warrior princess swinging her sword . . .
THE END
© 1997 Debbie Kluge
Disclaimer
Your comments on this page are appreciated.
Created February 2, 1997
