Fulfillment
Dedicated to Amelia, chief Ed
Bishop Fan, because she’s not feeling well and I’m hoping this will cheer her
up. And to Anny because she’s just a
wonderful person. And of course to Gerry
Anderson, Ed Bishop, the entire cast of UFO,
and to whoever created Ed-Bay.
This isn’t exactly set in the UFO universe, and I hope you will all
please forgive me; I’m bored out of my skull and getting silly.
Oh, and thanks to Angelina
College and Express Personnel Services for paying me to write this.
The pictures used here were
borrowed without permission. If you own
them and object to my using them, please let me know and I’ll remove them
immediately. Please feel free to email
me with comments or suggestions.
California, October 21,
2000, Two-Fifteen am.
She sat at her computer, frantically searching Ebay for those items she could no longer live without. One of the search results stood out this time and her eyes lit up with curiosity. Could it be true?
Bring UFO’s Ed Bishop to Your Home!!!
Auction #499000100.
Barely having the courage to go on, she quickly clicked the link and sat waiting for what seemed an eternity before the page began to load. She was afraid to watch the screen as she sat waiting, so instead she sat staring at the picture on top of her monitor.
Slowly, images began to fill the screen. The item’s title, followed by the item number and auction category appeared. These were followed by the seller’s name, current bid price (in US Dollars) and starting bid price.
Reading quickly, she saw that the seller’s name was Eds_Jane, that they were new to Ebay, and that the starting bid for this auction was $0.50. It was a three-day auction, there were no bids at this time, and the auction ended in four hours.
She pressed the page down key and muttered irritably when nothing happened. The page was still loading. She waited anxiously, watching the bottom of the screen to see when it was completely loaded.
Finally it was done. Slowly, she reached for the keypad and pressed the page down key again. The image shifted to a full-screen picture of Ed Bishop as he appeared in UFO – dressed in that beautiful white jumpsuit and leaning over one of the consoles in SHADO HQ.
Her pulse rising, she stared at the image for a moment, trying to remember if it were included in her vast collection of stills. Eventually giving up on this impossible task, she sighed and again pressed the page down key.
The item description appeared and her breath caught in her throat as she began to read:
NOTE: This auction is for US Residents ONLY.
Are you a fan of the Gerry Anderson’s science fiction drama UFO? Have you spent the last thirty years watching the sky for any sign of Sky One or those nasty aliens?
Do you love Commander Straker? Do all of your dreams include Ed Bishp? Is every surface of your home covered with Ed Bishop pictures, articles, autographs, filmography, audiotapes, etc?
Have you always wanted to meet him, but were unable to visit the UK?
Here’s your chance to become a puddle at his feet! Now, for a limited time, you can buy Ed Bishop! Well, not really, but you can rent him.
Mr. Bishop has always appreciated his fans and can often be found at conventions in the UK and Italy. Realizing he has not been to a convention in the States in years, he has generously come up with an idea to show those poor American fans just how much they mean to him.
Now, you can have Ed Bishop appear at your home for a fan appreciation party!! Invite all your friends to meet this wonderfully talented man.
This is not a hoax. This is a genuine offer, for a limited time only. Ed Bishop will fly to your hometown to stay in your home for two days and one night!
Don’t Miss this Golden Opportunity!!!
Only one lucky person will
win this opportunity -- Make sure it’s you!!
Successful bidder must pay within fourteen days. Payment methods accepted are: International Money Order, Billpoint, Visa/MasterCard, or carefully wrapped US Cash. (Sorry, no Ebay items will be taken in trade!)
Please feel free to email us with questions prior to the end of the auction.
Good Luck!!
It couldn’t be true she scoffed. Why would he do such a thing? This had to be another Ebay hoax, didn’t it? But could she afford to take that chance?
Her hand shaking, she reached out to bid on the auction. Starting bid: $0.50, Minimum Bid: $0.50, the screen said. If this was real, if she wasn’t dreaming, she couldn’t believe her luck. How had she been the only one to see this auction? Why hadn’t the others bid? Quickly, she typed in a maximum bid of $200.00. Confirming her bid, she sat back to wait.
Only three hours and fifty-six minutes to go. She would stay and watch this auction until it was over. She stayed at her computer, researching her latest story and refreshing the Ebay screen every few minutes, daring the other US members of the GRG or TWM to bid, swearing to seek revenge if they did.
As the end of the auction neared, her heart began to race. Thirty-three minutes to go and still no other bids. Mags screamed new story ideas in her head, but was ignored.
Ten minutes to go. She was tired, having not slept well the night before, but she refused to leave the computer until this auction had ended. She focused on the Ebay site, updating the page repeatedly and wondering why the others had not tried to bid on this auction.
Two minutes to go and she couldn’t breathe. Was she going to be this lucky? Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Fifteen seconds. She muttered curses as her computer slowed. The page seemed to take longer to reload each time she refreshed it.
Finally, the auction was over. She’d actually WON. Her winning bid? $0.50! Now she knew this had to be a hoax. But if it wasn’t . . .
Eagerly, she reached out and clicked the email link for the seller. She quickly identified herself as the winner of this auction and requested further details. One hour later she had still not received a reply from the seller. Disappointed and exhausted, she finally went to bed.
She was up again within three hours, still unable to sleep. She went to the computer to check her mail and was surprised to find the following email in her inbox:
From: Eds_Jane@youwish.com
Subject: Ebay
Auction # 499000100 – Bring UFO’s Ed
Bishop to your home.
Hello! Congratulations on winning this auction!
Ed is so pleased that you
won! He can’t wait to meet you. Please respond immediately with your address
so that we can make the arrangements to visit you.
Payment should be mailed to Ed
at the following address:
Ed Bishop
c/o Joan Grey
29 Island Court
Sunbury Upon Thames
Middlesex
TW16 5PP
United Kingdom
Unless these dates are
unacceptable to you, Ed plans to leave England on November seventeenth,
arriving at your home on the morning of the eighteenth. He will stay the night of the eighteenth and
leave the next evening. Please let us
know if you prefer another date.
We hope that you will enjoy
winning this auction. Please let us
know if you have any further questions.
Jane
Unable to believe her eyes, she stared at the screen for a long time. Then she forwarded the email to the GRG, asking for their opinion. Of course, they were skeptical, but several began making plans to visit California, just in case. After all, the address she had been given was the address listed on Marc’s website. Perhaps this was not a dream after all.
She sighed, knowing she would not be able to wait until the seventeenth.
Knowing it probably was a hoax, but since it would only cost her fifty cents, she decided to send payment for the auction.
She hadn’t been able to sleep in four days. She was a wreck and she knew it. She’d received a phone call only twenty-fours hours prior from HIM. She’d nearly screamed and dropped the phone when she recognized that voice on her phone. He’d actually called her to discuss final arrangements for his trip. Now he was due to arrive at her apartment in less than a day and she could hardly sit still.
The others had begun showing up yesterday. Lorraine, Diane, Julie and Cindy, . . . Even Anny had shown up. Now they were all waiting for him to arrive.
She wondered briefly if she would survive the weekend. She wondered with more than a little concern if Ed would. Then she sat back down with the others and continued plotting ways to stop him from returning to England.
That’s all.
Details of that weekend will be up to your imagination unless/until I have a chance to write them up.
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