Back At Scrooge example essay topic

Tolling church bells awakens Ebenezer Scrooge, their ring coming clear in the crisp, morning air. Unhurriedly he sits up in bed and glances around his bedroom. All his possessions are left just as they were the previous night. "Humbug. Just a nightmare", Scrooge mumbles to himself.

He groggily tosses his bed covers aside and gets up to wash his sullen face, and then proceeds to change from his night gown into aristocratic, pressed business attire. Not a moment later, the startling, unexpected chime of a large, oak grandfather clock strikes 9 o'clock. The disturbance sends him scurrying down a red-carpeted staircase in the direction of the kitchen. Finding that no breakfast has been made, never-mind his coffee, he bursts into his maid's suite. "What is the meaning of this?" he screams. Being jolted awake by his vicious yelling, she begins to weep, astounded by Ebenezer's cruelty.

"It's Christmas day, sir", she moans through tears, now streaming down her pale face. Without giving time for any more verbal exchange he picks her up and hurls her at a polished dresser in the room. He crouches down and tears through the wooden floorboards and opens the earth. Then, dragging the maid's crumpled body from the corner, he casts her into the depth of Hades, and closes the gaping crevasse. "That " ll teach you for not having breakfast ready for me!" he scoffs. Scrooge storms out of the room and down the corridor to his hall closet.

He selects a snug winter coat and a woolen scarf, throwing them on in a disordered fashion. He bolts out the door into the sparkling white-blanketed street. The still air leaves stray gray clouds hanging like a gigantic mobile. He signals a taxi carriage to take him to the butchery. Upon his arrival, two youngsters run across his path as he is gingerly stepping from the horse drawn sleigh. Enraged with their playful spirit, he pulls two polished revolvers from holsters on each hip.

Cocking the hammers of the lethal devices he aims them at children, sunlight glinting off the barrels. Then in unison: two! Four! Six! Eight! Ten!

Twelve shots penetrate the frosty cold and drive through bundled layers of cloth, ripping through their backs and shattering their bones. Satisfied with his brief killing spree, Scrooge smashes through the frost lined shop window of the butchery sending shards of glass everywhere. A terrified butcher stoops behind the counter. Scrooge takes notice of the shopkeeper's heavy breathing and demands that he stand.

The man slowly gets to his feet and looks shakily back at Scrooge who is now pointing a bony index finger in his direction. "You!" Ebenezer roars. "Where are the virgins?"Wha... wah... what virgins si... sir?" The man replies unsteadily. Giving hardly enough time to respond, Scrooge screams back. "Where are you hiding them?" Then without giving him a moment for thought, Ebenezer pulls a cow pelvis from his utility belt and starts clubbing the poor fellow. After falling unconscious to the coble stone floor, two silver shillings roll from the meat cutter's white apron.

Scrooge dashes for the coins, and tucks them into his own pocket. He stumbles toward the prize turkey in the window, not yet bought because of its outrageous price. Scrooge looks with awe at the size of the bird. He'd never set his eyes on such a massive turkey before.

Forgetting all about the phantom "virgins" that he demanded not minutes before, Scrooge races to the rear of the building. There he finds a bright red wheelbarrow. Wheeling it to the front, he hoists the turkey into it and the maneuvers the load out into the street passing the bodies of the children whose cadavers have by now bloodied the snow, turning it to a deep crimson hue. After a few blocks, Scrooge stops in front of a bakery.

This family-run bread house gladly cooks Christmas turkeys. Scrooge wheels in the bird and with a pleasant voice requests for service at the purchase counter. A pudgy baker rounds the corner, a cheerful smile reflecting his mood. "Good day to you, sir, and a Merry Christmas!

What can I do for you? No, let me guess: cook that enormous bird for you!" He says. "That", Scrooge replies, "and if you stuff it I'll give ten more shillings!"As a matter of fact, I've got some stuffing ready to go now", the plump man states. "Excellent.

I'll be back by 12 o'clock", said Scrooge. On his way out Ebenezer stuffs his pockets with fruitcake and strudels. Munching his tart delicacies, Scrooge strolls down to The Cratchit's home. The gleeful squeals of children and singing of Christmas tunes flow melodically out the house. Sweet aromas drift through the air from out of the kitchen.

Scrooge crosses the Avenue and steals a holly wreath off the door of a neighbor. Then marching to Bob Cratchit's, he places the wreath neatly on his arm and taps the doorknocker twice awaiting an answer. Bob swings the door wide open, and with a surprised look analyzes the scene. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas", Scrooge bellows in a joyous Santa like voice. "Why... why... it's Ebenezer Scrooge!

What a delightful surprise! On Christmas morn too. I suppose I don't have any work today do I?" Bob says in disbelief. "No sir!

We " ll have none of that on such a wonderful day of the year!" Scrooge replies. "Well, who would have guessed: mean old Ebenezer Scrooge, having the time of his life. Enjoying Christmas! Taking a workday off! I am amazed", says Bob, his wife now at his side. Scrooge presents the wreath to Cratchit and then answers, "well, I must be on my way now, but I'll be sure to drop by later".

Scrooge and Cratchit wish each other Merry Christmas then Scrooge leaves, this time in the direction of his nephew's home. On his way there, he decides to drop in at the old blacksmith's shop. The building is well kept even amongst the soot and scraps of metal. The blacksmith is a kind old gentleman, about the age of Scrooge. "Merry Christmas!" Scrooge greets old McCauley, the blacksmith. "Merry Christmas!" McCauley repeats in an equally cheery tone.

"What do you think you could create that would thrill five or so children? Something that they could truly take pleasure in", Scrooge asks. "Well, there's not much a blacksmith can make to entertain children", said McCauley. "I can, however, make some tin soldiers and a ballerina or two."That would be delightful!" Exclaimed Scrooge. "I used to know a little about blacksmithing my self. Maybe I can help."My apprentice isn't here today, so you can use his side of the shop", replies McCauley.

Scrooge saunters over to the workbench and examines the tools. He drops them and walks to the blazing furnace where a cauldron of molten steel sits, fumes shooting up like spirits. Dipping his hand in, scrooge takes a handful of the liquefied metal, squeezing it between his fingers. He quickly sets to work, making a replica of a ship he'd seen at a harbor on the coast. Then taking twine and some fabric snippets, he puts together some rigging and the first toy is complete.

This molding process is carried out three more times with a train, a horse, and a cart. "I've finished 12 soldiers and 4 ballerina... Scrooge! How did you do that? How were you able to hold that steel? It must be a thousand degrees!" McCauley says in astonishment.

Scrooge, now squeezing some steel into pipes, replies, "What? Hold the steel? Yes indeed, my friend, it amazes me too. Why don't you give it a try yourself?" Scrooge lifts a handful of molten steal and tosses it to McCauley. McCauley, not knowing what to do, automatically stretches his hand out to catch it.

Not a moment later the shop is filled with moans of agony. The steel was so hot it severed McCauley's hands off like a razor, leaving poor, old McCauley with two smoldering, charred stubs. Scrooge picks up the toys and his pipes to be delivered and walks out of the shop nonchalantly, leaving a miserable McCauley rolled in ball on the ground. Heading for the woods, Scrooge leaves the toys in a secret storage cache, carrying the slender cylinders over his shoulder.

Seeing a pack of wild boars scrounging for food in the snow, Scrooge darts after them with his scarf, now tied into a lasso. He captures six of the pigs and secures them to separate trees. Then, taking his stack of pipes, he lodges them into the their heads, connecting them all together. After that, he tears his scarf into strips and straps his coat in the middle of the hexagon, creating a makeshift net.

He proceeds to mount and directs the swine back to his storeroom and collects together all of the toys. Riding wildly through the snowy streets of London, it occurs to Scrooge that he needs to pick up his giant Christmas turkey. Ebenezer steers the pigs to the bread house. He crawls off and waltzes into the jolly bakery. "So, you " ve come back I see", says a jovial baker. "I have indeed.

Has my bird finished?" Asks Scrooge. "She's all done!" The baker exclaims "Delightful! Now, you die". Scrooge retorts. "I beg your pardon?" responds the baker with a nervous grin. Scrooge charges at the man and knocks him to the ground.

Then he picks the baker up, takes him out side and launches him through the fogy sky, like a ball of flames, into orbit. Scrooge then loads his turkey onto his boar train and leaves for Bob Cratchit's house. When he arrives, he takes note that Bob has hung the wreath delicately on the front door. Rapping lightly with the doorknocker, Scrooge waits for someone to answer. Bob, almost ripping the door off its hinges, welcomes Scrooge with a deep Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

Scrooge holds the turkey on a platter he cast at the blacksmith's. The turkey is decorated with a holly garland and glazed to perfection. Steam swells and the aroma wafts through the entire home. A satchel stuffed with toys sits at Scrooges feet. "Merry Christmas to you again, Bob! I'm afraid I can't stay for long.

My nephew has invited me to dinner. I wouldn't want to disappoint him". Scrooge exclaims. "I can hardly believe it! The prize turkey!

I would " ve never been able to afford this! How can I ever thank you?" Cratchit remarks. "Oh there's no need for that. Here", says Scrooge, handing Bob the sack of toys. "These are for your children. I made them myself!" With tears welling in his eyes, Bob replies, "this is the best Christmas ever!

I shall never forget it. Come children. Say thank you to 'Uncle's scrooge! Oh dear! Tim isn't here; he's off to get milk. But he'd thank you nonetheless".

The children and wife gather at the entrance, each expressing much gratitude. Turning to hand out toys to his children, Bob utters, "I guess we " ll see each other at work tomorrow then, Scrooge?" When a reply doesn't come he turns to see that Scrooge has already left. Shutting the door behind him, Bob asks his wife where she's hidden the turkey. He dances excitedly into the toasty warm kitchen, eying the turkey on the dining table. A white envelope protrudes from between the bird and the holly garland. Cratchit picks it up, tears it open and reads the message.

Bob Cratchit No, there's no work for you today! You can count this a great blessing if you please. You can have tomorrow off as well. In fact, you can have the whole year off because you " re fired! Ebenezer Scrooge On his way to his nephew's home, he encounters tiny Tim limping down the road with a bottle of milk tucked safely beneath his arm. Scrooge dismounts his pig train and marches toward the boy.

"Merry Chrithmith Mither Thcrooge!" Tim lisps. Ebenezer Scrooge doesn't respond, but instead kicks the boy's good knee and sends him soaring a few yards into a mound of freshly shoveled snow. Then he picks op Timothy's crutch and ferociously snaps it over his knee like a dry twig, sending splinters in all directions. Climbing onto his pig train, Scrooge heads for his nephew's unaware that a police officer had seen the whole incident. He orders Scrooge to halt.

When he doesn't, the officer mounts his brawny horse and pursues Ebenezer. Scrooge advances to the shady woods and makes it as far as the bottom of an abrupt precipice, executing him and his pig's instantly on the jagged boulders below. Then, slowly crawling up from the wreckage of steel pipes and pig corpses, Scrooge gradually makes his way from the bottom of a deep, misty gorge to the forest's edge and there collapses against a massive fir. Examining his once fatal wounds, Scrooge figures he should tend to his inflictions. Taking a spare soldier from his coat pocket, scrooge takes and squeezes it with such immense strength that he's able to make a nonporous steel scalpel. He uses it to make incisions where they " re needed and remove particles from his gashes.

Then he takes the blade and forces it into a needle and uses thread from his stockings to stitch the larger cuts. Once he finishes this he takes a much-needed rest under the bows of the fir. "I am the ghost of Christmas X! Follow me and I will show you every Christmas since the end of time. If you chose not to, I have no choice but to bestow immortality upon you and strap you to the inside of a giant church bell!" Says a quavering voice.

Scrooge rouses and hollers forcefully to the spirit, "leave me alone already! Stop this torment! Go and harass someone else!" Ebenezer rushes out of the forest, leaving imprints wide apart. He arrives in town and eying a caf'e, he opts to go in. An inviting fire cozies the small caf'e and gives it a warm glow. Sitting down at a table near to the fireplace, Scrooge signals for an attendant.

The man saunters over to Scrooge and offers him a selection of coffees and delicacies. Choosing Cappuccino and a cinnamon roll, Scrooge rubs his hands together to warm himself. The waiter comes back a few moments later with a frothy cup and a steamy bun. He looks at Ebenezer questioningly, eying Scrooge's sores.

"What happened to you?" He asks. "Good lad, I've fallen off a cliff!" Scrooge replies. "Oh. Have you?" The waiter retorts skeptically. "Yes indeed! It was quite a drop.

About 200 feet or so!" Scrooge fires back. The waiter scoffs and walks away. Meanwhile, Scrooge ponders about what he should do. His Nephew wouldn't have begun Christmas dinner yet; there would still be enough time to get there. Scrooge pulls out a three pence coin, breaks in half with his teeth and leaves it as a tip before departing. Scrooge trudges through the foot deep snow.

All around him, lanterns and candles light up the dim winter sky. The sun sinks on the horizon as Scrooge makes his way to his nephew's home. He figures it would be rude to not bring something for Christmas dinner. So he casually walks into an unoccupied house, the residents obviously on leave for the season. He spots a stray cat that's found refuge from the cold chill on a windowsill. Scrooge slowly walks up to the cat and begins to gently stroke it.

Then, without the purring cat suspecting anything, Scrooge grabs it by the scruff of the neck and takes it into the kitchen. There he finds a rack of jagged knives. He picks one and shears off the head of the feline. The using a paring knife, he skins the cat and kindles the wood stove. Scrooge then removes the unwanted segments and slides the meat into the oven, leaving it to cook over the hot coals. Scrooge finds a comfortable armchair and a fireplace.

He ignites a small fire to heat the room and then leisurely sinks into the chair. He picks up an old newspaper and reads through it. After an hour or so, he checks his roast cat. Scrooge pulls the door of the oven down, hinges screeching, and finds his cat gone. A hand then reaches out and pulls Scrooge in and begins thrashing and beating him.

Scrooge winds up and delivers a powerful blow to the head of the phantom. The phantom falls unconscious and Scrooge gropes for the cat. He finds it and crawls out of the stove, dragging the heavy body of the phantom behind him. In the light, he sees that it's the police officer that had been pursuing him earlier that day. After tearing the officers clothing off and saturating it in fuel to construct a torch, Scrooge slogs through the streets to his nephew's house with the cat tucked in a package under his arm.

A riving at his nephew's door, scrooge taps lightly on the solid oak door. His nephew's wife immediately swings the door open. "Why Scrooge! Merry Christmas! Won't you come in?" She exclaims". Certainly!

Where's my nephew? Ah... There he is!" Scrooge says. "Uncle Scrooge! Merry Christmas! Just in time for dinner.

What did you bring here? Lamb?" Nephew replies. "Actually it's a stray cat I found. I thought it might be...

". Scrooge is cut off in mid-sentence. "You did WHAT?" Yells his nephew, "get out of here now! "I will!" With that, Scrooge slams the door shut behind him. "Merry Christmas indeed!" Navigating his way back through the streets of London with his torch, Scrooge finally arrives on his doorstep. He unlocks the door and stumbling into the kitchen he remembers that he has no maid.

Scrooge decides to get his maid back. Plunging his hands into the damp earth, he rips open a hole and dives in. Scrooge lands in The Dark Woods of Error. Feeling uneasy about his surroundings, he removes his revolvers from his side and loads them. Fumbling his way through the forest he encounters some people. They call themselves opportunists.

That's all Scrooge gets out of them because all they do is chase through a dark haze. Ebenezer leaves the haze and stands on the banks of a river. A ferry sits at a dock and Scrooge boards it. After Crossing into limbo, scrooge presses on, but comes to a gate. He sees a giant demon that judges the all of the evil spirits. On the gate it reads: I am the way to the city of woe I am the way to a forsaken people I am the way to eternal sorrow Sacred justice moved my architect I was raised here by divine omnipotence Primordial love and ultimate intellect Only those elements time cannot wear Were made before me and beyond time I stand Abandon all hope all ye who enter here "Pardon me, but can I get by?" Scrooge questions.

"Go right ahead. That doesn't apply to you". Replies the demon named Minos. Scrooge continues and passes gluten's, hoarders, wasters, and another demon named Plutus, but comes to the banks of yet another river. There he sees people wading through the ebony, bubbling waters, beating on each other.

Others are trapped under the surface, chanting endlessly and causing the waters to bubble. Ebenezer calls for the boatman and is ferried across to the evil city of Dis. There he wades through boiling blood, gropes through The Forest of Suicide and crosses a desert of burning sand and raining fire. Scrooge yawns to himself, wishing the ghosts had left him to get some rest. When he comes to a cliff he yells out to the demon that seems to be in charge. "Hey there!

I'm just passing through to get my maid! Can you help me get down?"Sure". Says the demon, named Garion. "Looking for your maid?

What'd she do?"She didn't have breakfast ready. Do you know where I might find her?" Asks Scrooge. "You could try Ring nine. The 'Treacherous to their Masters' live there."Thank you kind sir"Here, I'll carry you down to Ring eight. It may take you a while to get through the belgia. After that you " ll be fine".

Scrooge dismounts Garion at the bottom of the cliff and tramps through the ditches of hypocrites, thieves, fortune-tellers, and prostitutes. Finally he arrives at Ring 9. "Ah... There you are!" Scrooge shouts out to his maid. "Not dead either!"No Mister Scrooge.

I've just been visiting. I've actually enjoyed my break down here in Hell". Replies his maid. "Look, I have to go talk with Satan. I'm sure we can negotiate some kind of deal so that you can come back with me". Scrooge leaves and after several hours of chatting, Scrooge comes back and reveals the wonderful news to his maid.

Scrooge and his maid walk toward Satan and wave good-bye. Then, scrooge whips around, yanks his revolver out and pulls the triggers six times. The bullets leave a trail of smoke in the air and then rip through Satan, who turns around and makes a tick on a clipboard. "Check: Attempted murder". Satan laughs wickedly. Then, grasping his maid, Scrooge looks up at his hole in the earth.

Flicking his wrist back he shoots a stream of webbing through the gaping hole. Grabbing firmly onto the rope, Scrooge ascends back to earth. He looses his maid and covers the opening. Then climbing up his red-carpeted stairs to get some relaxation he calls out. "This time have breakfast ready on time!" Scrooge bounds up the final flight of steps, and meanders into his nippy room.

He pulls on his striped blue pajamas and sulks miserably into bed from fatigue. After tossing and turning, unsuccessfully attempting to get some sleep, he struggles from under the covers to his woodpile near the gloomy fireplace. Tossing scraggly pieces of firewood in, Scrooge creates a flickering, orange glow. Then sinking into his armchair, he begins to let his imagination flow out like a river breaking through a water gate. Contemplating the possibilities of traveling forward to the future or absorbing powerful energies, Scrooge sets to work. Utilizing blocks of wood, he constructs a crude time machine and then moseys in.

Closing his eyes, he concentrates on the year 2002. Suddenly a great rumbling shakes the foundation of his luxurious abode. A blinding, white light engulfs the wooden contraption and transmits him through time at warp speed X. His craft lands on the island of Rojkora in the Bikini Atoll. Stepping out he, he explores the surrounding island. He splits a number of fresh, green coconuts on his forehead and gasses up his (TWV) Time Warp Vehicle. Leaving it on the island, he streaks over the water at the speed of thought, creating a tsunami that has tidal waves 100 kilometers high.

Seeing the destructive potential, Scrooge inverts the force and annihilates it. Scrooge swims up onto the shores of Alcatraz in the rapid waters of San Francisco Bay. Flinging the guards aside he walks up to a helicopter and scrambles in. Finding an owner's manual he, holds it up to his brow and absorbs the information inside. He flicks a number of switches, grasps the control sticks and places his feet on the petals lifting it off. Scrooge directs it north.

Leaning back, he depresses the autopilot button. He clambers out of his seat and fumbles through containers and compartments, trying to find some kind of relief for his headache. He stumbles upon a bottle of Tylenol and takes three pills. Then stubbing his toe on an awkward, bulky object, Scrooge stoops down and finds a highly sophisticated Nikita missile launcher.

Scrooge muses to himself, "h. .. This could come in handy", and shoves it into his pocket. He realizes that his fuel is running low and lands in a large, open field at the front of a school. Touching down, Scrooge turns off the rotors and barges into the school, noting the name above the main entrance: Okanagan Adventist Academy. He strolls in and is called after by a secretary.

Becoming conscious of the fact that he's an alien in this environment, he quickly morphs into a teacher called "Sir". He briskly makes his way down the hall to Sir's class. The real Sir looks up to see himself. Falling from his chair, he backs into a corner, fear written all over his face. Scrooge hoists Sir up and dumps him into a small space called the "Superman Room". Sir shrieks out, but Ebenezer leaps in and injects him with a tranquilizer.

Sir quickly passes into unconsciousness and slumps against an empty cupboard. Scrooge hears a bell ring and within a few moments a stream of children flow into the empty class, greeting him. Scrooge, not knowing what to do, commands the students to complete the previous day's assignment. When a boisterous teenager begins to express his opinion about the request, Scrooge becomes enraged. He hurdles through the ceiling and lands back on the student, abolishing him instantly. Scrooge's wrath escalates when other students question his notorious actions.

He absorbs all of the subatomic charges in the universe and self-destructs himself, obliterating all of British Columbia from the face of the planet. The impact of the blast is so intense that it knocks the planet right out of its orbital path. Scrooge morphs back to his old self, and leaps from the center of the smoldering crater into the depths of the universe. He travels to pulsar, seventy thousand light years away and collects a sample of antimatter. Then leaving the neutron star he goes to a quasar near Messier Galaxy 101 and there adds some quasar matter to his collection of space debris. Then propelling himself back to earth he drops a sample of antimatter exactly twelve hours after he blew the earth off of its course.

The force of the explosion of antimatter and matter canceling each other out sends the world back into its correct trajectory. Scrooge, satisfied with his heroic efforts, decides to visit a well known bioengineering laboratory, ATGC Ltd. Finding scientists diligently at work splicing DNA cells to engineer new super genes fascinates Scrooge. Dressing himself in a white lab coat, latex gloves, and protective goggles, he walks in and wrenches the brains of the scientists out of their sculls and places them on the counter. He carefully draws out strings of DNA and concocts a special mix of scientific information that is stored in the DNA and then fills a syringe with the mix. Inserting the needle into his forearm, he injects the colorless "liquid".

This greatly enhances Scrooges thinking capacity, senses, memory, adrenaline, and strength. His heightened traits allow him to develop more biological inoculations before flying off to his time machine. Scrooge leashes himself to a flock of terns, flying south for the winter. He lets go over the Solomon Islands and swims the rest of the way through the shark-infested waters, fighting them off with his cow pelvis. He arrives safely on the tropical Rojkora Island and stumbles wearily into his time machine, popping a few Tylenol tablets into his mouth.

His destination this time is Egypt, around the time of the building of the Great Pyramids in Giza. Stepping from his machine onto the wind swept sands of the arid desert, Scrooge lumbers toward a sandstone wall meticulously inscribed with hieroglyphics. He looks over the script and quickly learns to decipher them. Then he captures an Egyptian scholar and repeats the DNA splicing / injection process and learns to speak Egyptian adequately. He asks a local where to find the pharaoh, who turns and points in the direction of a grand palace surrounded by thriving palm trees and springing pools of clear blue water.

Scrooge is awestruck at the amount of gold that covers the palace. He ascends up the stairs and pushes two burly guards through pillars of stone. Walking up to the pharaoh he proclaims, "I can give you more slaves! Watch this".

Motioning for a servant to come over, he asks him to bring in a Hebrew slave couple. A minute later a man and a woman are prodded in like cattle. They " re caked with gray dust and scars of whip lashes stand out on their tanned backs. "I've revolutionized the science world! With one simple injection, I can produce the finest slaves ever!" Scrooge takes the man to the back and a few moments later returns with a syringe to inseminate the woman. Then he injects his gene mixture and stands back with his arms outstretched.

"Viol'a! Now just watch this". Scrooge exclaims. Seconds later the woman becomes pregnant and the assembly of the palace watch as the woman's stomach grows larger and larger. Scrooge beckons for a physician and an instant later, the woman gives birth to a boy who also grows to be about twenty-five years old within a matter of minutes and then stops growing. "I call it 'Genome Hebrew.

' You " re guaranteed a boy every time: strong and robust, immune to any kind of disease. They grow to be twenty-five years old within a matter of minutes and off to work they go". That's amazing!" The pharaoh finally says. After generating ten thousand more Genome Hebrews, the pharaoh goes out to test their abilities along the river Nile.

"All of you!" The pharaoh shouts, "You have ten seconds to construct a pyramid. You may use only the mud from underneath fingernails to construct bricks, and no straw! You may begin... Now!" They all begin scraping mud from the banks, trying in vain to mold together a brick. A large gong sounds out every second. After ten booms from the metal gong, the pharaoh steps up to the slaves and screams, "You " ve failed!" A division of soldiers with hamster guns come and gun down the exhausted Hebrews.

The pharaoh turns and faces Scrooge. "What do you think this is, a magic show? I do not have this kind of time to waste! You will pay for this.

Guards!" A throng of armored men rushes at Scrooge, but from his pocket, he pulls a speck of quasar matter and drops it a few feet in front of the charging soldiers. Suddenly a huge gorge appears before Ebenezer and separates him from the militia. Moping back to his time machine, Scrooge decides to transmogrify himself into an elephant and then goes back to his home in London, just as he left it that Christmas day. He arrives and having nothing else to do he decides to run through he streets a mach speed, blowing out all the windows of London. But miscalculating an angle, at which he'd need to turn at, sends him smashing into a solid wall of lead, killing him instantaneously. The elephant corpse fades away, leaving the seemingly lifeless body of Scrooge quivering in the damp snow.

"Ouch... That hurt", he moans through clenched teeth. Scrooge struggles up and brushes himself off. Then out of the sky a UFO comes down in front of Ebenezer.

A wide door lowers, creating a ramp for passengers to descend. ET comes ambling down the ramp with a translucent, glowing finger and heals Ebenezer's cuts and bruises and then leaves as abruptly as he came. Ebenezer figures he should do something about all of the broken windows. He empties approximately one mole of sand granules from his pocket over the city and then coats everything (except the sand) and everybody with a protective layer of "antidestruction". Jumping high above the metropolis, he drops about one hundred grams of antimatter on the core of the town. The discharge has force equal to that of a hydrogen bomb and the heat is so intense that is melts all the sand into glass panes.

The with a gait of roughly three kilometers, Scrooge bounds over hills and forests to the gusty wind swept beaches of the coast. Pulling his time machine from the inside of his shoe, he sets it up on the stony seaside. He steps inside and is warped to the year 2002 and steps out on a polluted, murky watered shoreline. Pulling a card out of his wallet, Scrooge begins to unfold it and within an hour, a luxurious, modern cruise ship is anchored in front of him. He swims out a few meters into the frigid water and finds a sturdy rope ladder dangling from the side of the vessel. Scaling it like a snow-covered mountain, Scrooge climbs over the bow and falls on the deck exhausted.

He locates the navigation bridge and plans a route for his liner. Scrooge is able to map out his course on a computer. The computer processes the information and propels and steers the ship to its destination. Radar keeps the ship from colliding with hazardous objects. Once on his way over the blue expanse of seemingly endless sea, Scrooge recons that he ought to amuse himself with the things there were on board. First, because he's hungry, Scrooge visits the grand dining hall.

Sparkling crystal chandeliers illuminate the posh room. Velvet seats and fine China are set at each table. Scrooge chooses food from an exceptional buffet. He devours his plate like a ravenous wolf and then casually dabs the crumbs off his lips. He gets up from the table and descends down a polished brass spiraling staircase and enters a dark theater.

Finding a comfortable seat, Scrooge slumps down and picks up a remote control. Pointing it a screen five stories high, he coasts through a selection of movies, settling on one that he thinks may be entertaining. He stretches out in the chair and watches the movie. After finishing the film, scrooge realizes that he's almost at New York. Clambering up to the bridge, he mans the large oak wheel and finds a place to dock. Scrooge mopes about the streets of Manhattan, brooding to himself about how foolish it was to leave his time machine / transmogrifies on the beaches of England.

Then glancing over his shoulder, notices some workman installing a new phone booth. Scrooge, gears turning rapidly, runs into an electronics / furniture store. Darting around the store with excitement of his brilliant plan, he seizes a Lay-Z Boy, a small end table, and a computer flight stick. Then sprinting with his loot under his arms, he throttles the two workmen and sets up his new, glass paned flying telephone booth with a closet like door. He crams the plush chair and oak table into the stand, and then places the joystick on the table.

He climbs into the chair and seats him self and lifts off to Canada. (NOTE: He's gone back in time, reversing his destruction of BC, so it is intact.) Having had a pleasing trip the last time, he decides to go back to the OKAY. Before stepping out this time, he transmogrifies into one of the substitute teachers. Walking through the heavy blue doors, he greets the secretary with mock friendliness.

Scrooge scurries down the hall and stows away in a locker nearby the class he'd visit. The buzzer sounds and once again children pour out of the classes and to their lockers. Scrooge heedlessly walks from the locker and comes into the classroom. Facing an exact twin, Scrooge anticipates the take of the real substitute, but the man just stands there, blankly staring at Ebenezer. After a moment of waiting scrooge leaps into the air and commences to pounce on the statue, but it comes alive and a heated battle rages on. Both characters display lightning speed martial art techniques, but Scrooge realizes his potential fate.

He vaults through the glass window and into the grassy field. Pulling out a Nikita missile launcher from his pocket, Scrooge lines up the charging man in his sight and the pulls the trigger. The remote controlled missile is guided right towards the rushing man, but he swipes it out of mid-air and heaves it at a terror stricken Scrooge. Scrooge barrel rolls to the right and narrowly escapes death.

Scrooge realizes his powers are faltering. But regaining he confidence, Ebenezer flips over the sub and dashes back into the school. Hopping into a desk, Scrooge takes off from the ground and flies out side. He hovers over a very confused teacher and grasps his collar and then takes him to Afghanistan where he is to forever weave carpets. Scrooge returns the desk and then walks back into his locker hide out. Feeling around the inside, Scrooge notes that there another door.

He opens it and squeezes through, finding a brightly lit tunnel, channeling through the earth. Scrooge follows the passageway and finds a hatch. He scrambles out and looks around. A wavy, semi-transparent Jell-o monastery surrounds him. Strange inscriptions are engraved in the translucent walls. Scrooge creeps through the corridors and arrives at a set of large mahogany doors.

He opens one of the massive doors a crack and peeks in. A voice beckons him to enter. Scrooge gazes down what appears to be a royal court. At the end, a vibrant multicolored zebra sits cross-legged, assuming a meditating position. "It's okay.

You are safe here", the zebra reassures Scrooge. "Who are you and where am I?" Scrooge asks quizzically. "I am the Lhally-Hahma. I've lived here since the Zanzibar riots in 1999. My people suffered much. It was a troubled time".

The zebra speaks with heartache. "A minority ethnic group toppled our government and took Dr. Kio Marv hostage. The group of radicals planned to gain political hegemony over a world suffering under the cruel weight of a world wide energy crisis". The Lhally-Hahma pauses to take a sip of tea.

"Go on, but where am I?" Scrooge asks. "You are in Kilimanjaro. We built this dwelling in the side of the mountain over looking the Serengeti of Kenya, seeking peace. Now, as I was saying, Dr. Kio was the inventor of an oil-refining microbe called OILIX. The terrorists believed they could use the OILIX process to refine oil much faster than the other most advanced methods of that time. This would mean that they would be able to sell it much faster, and in turn make more money and buy out all the oil companies in the world."The new government built a steel wall around us and for a time we were barricaded in, blocked from the world.

Then a Special Forces group called Fox-Hound sent in a man by the code name Solid Snake. He was able to penetrate deep into the interior and recover the OILIX manufacturing process, but not without fighting the legendary Grey Fox or Frank Jaeger. Grey Fox was a former agent of Fox-Hound and held the most honored call name, but was recruited by Big Boss."Big boss was known as the 'Legendary Soldier. ' He worked as a mercenary for a number of countries during the 1960's. His remains were preserved by the US military as a genetic sample of the 'Greatest soldier that ever lived.

' Fox-Hound had sent Grey Fox into South Africa during the Outer Heaven Revolt in 1990 to burn a large-scale mercenary dispatch company and their heavily fortified country, Outer Heaven. They nearly gained supremacy through the development of Metal Gear TX-55, the nuclear equipped, walking battle tank designed by Hal Emmerich for NATO."Big Boss, at that time was the commander of Fox-Hound and after Grey Fox was taken hostage, he deliberately sent in Solid Snake, who was the newest and most inexperienced agent. Big Bosses' reason for doing so was because he was the mastermind behind Outer Heaven, but miscalculated Solid Snake's potential and was defeated after a personal confrontation as Outer Heaven burned around them."After Big Boss left the military, Grey Fox mysteriously disappeared, resurfacing with Big Boss in Zanzibar. Solid Snake was sent in under the direction of the new commander, Roy Campbell who took orders directly from the Secretary of Defense, Jim Housenman. Big Boss was defeated for the final time by Snake in Zanzibar."And now my people are safe.

All thanks to Solid Snake, or as we call him: Dave."That is an incredible story", Scrooge says in awe. "Dave is visiting us this week. You may meet him if you like."That would be a delight!" The zebra trots down the hall with Scrooge and enters a room. A man sits in the corner of the sun lit room reading a book. He lowers it slightly and peers over the top.

"Hey David!" Lhally-Hahma says. "Hey yourself!" Dave replies cheerfully. "Who's this?"This is... Uh...

."Scrooge. Ebenezer Scrooge."Glad to meet you Mister Scrooge."The pleasure is mine!"Why don't you tell Ebenezer about your latest adventures with Fox-Hound?"Well, okay. Do you want to listen?"Indeed, I would."Just recently I was given diplomatic immunity after completing a mission for Fox-Hound at the weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island. It's in the Alaskan Fox Archipelago. Next Generation Special Forces attacked and captured the compound under the command of Liquid Snake, squad leader of Unit Fox-Hound. They had secured hundreds of nuclear warheads, demanding that the government turn over the remains of Big Boss within 24 hours."At the time I was living in Alaska.

I'd already been retired for about a year, training dog sled teams. Fox-Hound agents came to my home and took me away to a secret base. There I was informally introduced the newest members of Fox-Hound: Naomi Hunter, Mei Ling, Natasha Romanenko, and some of the old ones too like Master Miller, and Roy Campbell."Naomi Hunter is Chief of Medical Staff and is in charge of gene therapy. When I was being briefed, she injected me with nanomachines, powerful antibodies, and vitamins. Nanomachines were created using MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.) They are used in ultra small transmitters and medical D DSs. They include a transmitter, Radar, and anti-NBC defense system."After swimming to the compound through icy cold waters, I was able to contact Fox- Hound members using the Codec communications system designed by Mei Ling.

Mei Ling was the operator in charge of communication data processing. I could easily call up Miller for survival tips and Natasha Romanenko, a freelance military analyst who specializes in nuclear technology."My first objective was to rescue the DARPA Chief, Donald Anderson. DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that was formed by the government to research new technologies used in military applications. Taken hostage with Anderson was Kenneth Baker, President of the ArmsTech Inc. ArmsTech is the second largest weapons manufacturer in the world and is most famous for the development of the TX-55, SDI, and the rail gun."Metal Gear TX-55, AKA 'Rex' was designed by ArmsTech employee Hal Emmerich. 'Rex' was actually made for T MDs (Theater Missile Defense) which are able to intercept short-range tactical missiles.

Hal also played a large role in the development of Stealth Camouflage. It can take an object and blend it into its background by performing a real-time optic refraction processing in order to render the object as invisible as possible. The terrorists planned to use 'Rex' to fire a nuclear warhead if their demands were not met. Using the rail gun, which utilizes magnetic force to propel weapons, they'd be able to launch a warhead to anywhere on the planet from the facility."My brother was the mastermind behind this operation.

He and I were engineered genetically from the cells of Big Boss. He attacked the facility with his 'friends' and small militia of Genome Soldiers."Genome soldiers were reserve members of Unit Fox-Hound after being sold off by the government as mercenaries during the Outer Heaven Revolt. They had no battle experience, but were highly capable because they all were trained with the Force XXI, a highly advanced VR simulator, and extensive gene therapy. Their gene therapy was a joint project between the Department of Defense and ATGC Inc. ATGC is a leading company in the field of bioengineering and was highly successful in the development of Next Generation Special Forces."After loosing Anderson and Baker to Fox-Die, I finished infiltrating and proceeded to save Meryl Silverburgh and Hal Emmerich.

I was told that I needed three keys to counteract 'Rex's launch sequence. The only way to stop a launch is to input codes that only Baker and Anderson knew or collect the three keys. I'd already been given the first PAL (Permissive Action Link) key. What I didn't know at that time was that a PAL key is all three of the keys in one. The plastic in the PAL key is able shift into different shapes at different temperatures. Unfortunately, their threats had been a hoax and I was used to begin the launch sequence!"I ended up fighting 'Rex' myself, first by knocking out his SDI sensory / detection system and then fired at the driver, who's protective cockpit had been opened because it is the only way to drive it manually when your SDI is out.

I took out 'Rex's main computer and left like a bat out of Hell!"Housenman commanded the USAF to send in F-117 stealth bombers to destroy the island base, so I left with Meryl Silverburgh just after finding that I'd been diagnosed with Fox-Die. Fox-Die is what Anderson and Baker died of. Mrs. Hunter injected me with it because she was bribed to do so. Fox-Die kills its victim in the same manner as a heart attack. It is designed to target the genes of only certain people and the only way to survive it is pure choice."I retired from Fox-Hound and have established my own Special Forces Unit that counterattacks terrorists with nuclear capabilities.

I've been hearing a lot about a new Metal Gear: Metal Gear 'Ray. ' "Fascinating!" Scrooge exclaims. "Saving the world! Well, it certainly was a pleasure meeting you, but I must be on my way now". After shaking hands with Dave, and thanking the Lhally-Hahma for his hospitality, Scrooge hops into his TWV that he pulls from his pocket and travels to the Shadow Moses Island of Alaska. Scrooge arrives at Shadow Moses and climbs through the smoldering wreckage.

Twisted metal and charred skeletal trees cover the otherwise barren landscape. The hanger in which Rex was stored in is mainly intact. Scrooge slides down the cables of the disfigured elevator. He arrives in the maintenance bay where Rex's machinery lies in a toppled mass of steel. Scrooge climbs on top and surveys the damage. Then, working at light speed, he repairs and equips Metal Gear Rex.

He scrambles into the cockpit and starts the nuclear generated engines. They roar to life and Scrooge closes the cockpit. An arrangement of screens, control panels, and other mechanisms surrounds him. Scrooge picks up an owners manual from under the seat and sweeps the dust off. Thank you for purchasing the TX-55 This vehicle meets all safety standards. Contents Operation of vehicle...

03 Maintenance... 03 Specifications... 03 Notes... 04 "Hmm... ". Scrooge muses to himself, "I think I'll read the vehicle operation section".

Vehicle Operation Find the red ON button and press it. Lights in the cockpit will signify that your vehicle is running. Maintenance You will periodically need to fill your gas tanks of about 2000 gallons in total volume capacity. Use only Octane 91 fuel.

Specifications The TX-55 is big. You will get about 1/8 of a mile to the gallon. TX-55 runs at about 10 mph. Scrooge throws the useless manual aside and then taking photographic pictures with his mind, memorizes where each button, switch, etc is. He fires a number of nuclear warheads through the thick concrete wall to make an exit, and then runs across the Alaskan ice fields, over the prairies, through the oceans and jungles, over mountains, along rivers, down the length of shorelines, across miles of boreal forest, and down congested city streets to the White House in Washington DC where the First Family peacefully sleeps in the early morning. Scrooge, using Rex's SDI system is able to look inside through the walls.

He focuses on the President. Stomping in, Scrooge rips through the ceiling and grabs Mr. Bush from his bed and clutches him with a giant steel claw. Then, while dangling him in front of the cockpit, Scrooge detects F-15 e combat fighter jets flying overhead. He drops the President and releases chaff to send two AGM-65 Maverick ATS missiles off course. Scrooge turns and locks on one of the boogies in his holographic HUD. A ring of smoke drifts around the pylons after four surface-to-air Mk.

84 EO / B missiles are launched from Scrooge's Metal Gear. The target Eagle pulls a snap roll and turns around to riddle Rex with 20 mm shells from his M-61 A 1 Vulcan Cannon. Rex's tough shell deflects the shots like they were beans fired from a peashooter. Then in raging frustration, Scrooge opens the cockpit and hurls a can opener into the jet intake of Eagle one. The common kitchen device savagely mangles the fan blades of the massive Pratt and Whitney F 100 turbofan engine, driving the combat fighter into the ground where it bursts into an enormous ball of flames.

Then Eagle 2 circles back, sighting a GB-10 laser guided bomb on Scrooge and Rex, but scrooge leaps into the air and grabs a hold of the nose and makes his way to the cockpit of the F-15. He tears off the canopy as if it were held on with Scotch tape and climbs in. Then he proceeds to loose a very confused pilot from his seat. Scrooge sees an alternative and reaches forward to pull the black and yellow striped ejection cord. The pilot is shot out of the cabin like a cork from a shaken champagne bottle. Scrooge, using his TWV Lay-Z Boy, settles in and flies for England.

Scrooge touches down on a frost-laced field, just outside of rural London. A terrified flock of sheep trembles as Scrooge climbs from the cockpit. Hoisting his leather recliner out, Scrooge loads it and six AIM-9 Sparrow missiles into his TWV. Scrooge travels back to his London office, leaving the petrified sheep blinded by the extreme light as he enters the time warp tunnel.

Upon arriving, Scrooge notices an office full of anxious employees. Scrooge barges in like a brakeless locomotive on wet tracks. He fills out a number of documents and then demands for his associates to enter his bureau. "I will be leaving on a business trip and will not be back for a number of weeks.

I am entrusting the three of you nimrods to run my business suitably during my absence. Each of you will be issued an adequate sum of money. I want you to invest it wisely. I should be back within the next month. Beam me up, Scotty!" A ray of soft blue light illuminates the dim, cluttered office space and Scrooge is teleport ed to the bustling streets of New York. Scrooge walks briskly down the chaotic streets of Manhattan.

Steam pours out of clogged gutters. Hot dog vendors patiently cook wieners, hoping for a customer. Rushing commuters and offensive taxi drivers fill the canyon of glass, concrete, and steel with a tumultuous hubbub. Aggravated by the pushing and shoving of shoppers and the cries of beggars, Scrooge constructs a new World Trade Center out of vehicles and the like. Fully operating elevators and clear glass windows give the impression that the original WTC never collapsed.

The whole city applauds Scrooge's heroic efforts and soon, his face complete with top hat appears all over newspapers globally. Famous diplomats and superstars call him and perform concerts for him. And then, feeling that he should leave, Scrooge climbs onto the back of Godzilla and heads for home. Sitting at his office, Scrooge sends out a rabbit to summon his apprentices. "So, I see that the building is still standing.

That is a good sign, but what I'm more interested in are those investments you " ve made". Scrooge says. "Sir", a young man replies, "I invested in a new invention that has revolutionized businesses of our kind and earned double of what you gave me."Excellent! Deposit all of it into my account immediately."Sir", another young man replies, "I bought an apartment and when real-estate prices inflated, I sold it instantly and doubled my sum."Very good! You too can deposit that money into my account. And you", Scrooge looks at the last man, "how have you invested my money?"Well Sir", he replies, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered seed.

I was afraid, so I went and hid your money in a hole."Wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Now go! Dig up my money and return it to me and then throw yourself into the hole you " ve made!" And with that, Scrooge turned on his heel and stormed out into the snowy streets. A wisp of bone chilling wind blows Scrooge's hat into a snowdrift. Cursing, he reaches in, groping about the bitter flakes of snow and ice.

Grasping the brim he pulls his gloved hand out, revealing a small brown package. Scrooge tears at the wrapping and twine. A small cardboard box emerges from the mess of paper. He flips the lid off and out comes a man in a flying, uranium canoe. The man and his boat glow vivid green with radiation, but he looks unaffected by it. "Finally!

I've been released from bondage. Come in and I will take you to the island of Macintosh!" The man beams with excitement. Scrooge climbs aboard and is whisked off at light speed to an island with a single palm tree. On the tiny island, sits a corpse in the scorching hot sand. "That is Steve Jobs. He became 'jobless' a few years ago when his computer company, Apple, collapsed.

But I will resurrect him!" The man jumps from the canoe and into the transparent tropical waters. But a famished Tiger Shark readily sinks his white flashing fangs into the flesh of the man, who in vain tries to escape the clamped jaws of the shark that devouring him in seconds. Scrooge, not knowing what to do, pilots the radiating canoe to a small village in Madagascar where he spots an old acquaintance. Scrooge dashes towards the old friend and greets him with an affectionate, welcoming smile. The 'old friend' returns a not so affectionate and welcoming hand gesture. Scrooge immediately recognizes that it is not his friend.

The man is filled with wrath and begins to levitate above Scrooge, eyes glowing a sinister blood-red color. Scrooge takes hold of a stationary rickshaw and swings wildly at the levitating man who dodges the savage blows. The man starts chanting in a tongue foreign to Scrooge. From the edge of the horizon a swell of lowing cattle surge toward the two.

Scrooge hurdles into the blue sky and pulls alongside to a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Slashing his way into the pressurized cabin, Scrooge hears the cattle drawing near. Startled passengers grab hold of each other crying. Others weep hysterically, terrified of Scrooge and his super human capabilities. Scrooge ignores them and seals up the gaping hole, so as to not let the pressure escape, and then bursts into the cockpit. Two stunned pilots whirl around, expecting to see the fanatical face of a crazed Islamic terrorist, but instead observe an equally fearful Scrooge.

"There's ten thousand cows after me, and I cannot escape!" Scrooge screams. "There's what?" The pilots suspiciously ask. "There's ten thousand cows after me, and I cannot escape!" Scrooge screams again. One pilot radios for security while the other pilot reassures Scrooge that there is not a herd of cattle hot on his trail, when all of a sudden, prodding horns and muddy hooves pierce the white aluminum aircraft fuselage. "There's ten thousand cows after me, and I cannot escape!" Scrooge screams and then runs to a row of canvas parachute sacks. Pulling one on, he braces himself for the 30,000-foot dive.

The velocity of his decent causes his scarf and jacket to wave furiously. The flickering stings Scrooge's tender skin and soon he is a bloody mess. Then falling into unconsciousness, Scrooge plummets into the ocean and directly through the core of the earth, coming out through Mato Grosso, in the deep jungles of Brazil. Stumbling out of the pit he created, Scrooge peers through the center of the earth and observes the sea of cows advancing upon him. Rapidly thinking, scrooge pulls the six Sparrow missiles from his time machine and ignites their engines, sending them directly for the mass of livestock. The mighty explosions shakes the earth so severely that the black and white speckled carcasses are impelled into outer space and the whole Asian tectonic plate is broken off.

Scrooge fuels his TWV with bone fragments and organs before leaving to Russia. The cold Siberian front is all but inviting. The bitter cold freezes any liquids without delay. But that is not why Scrooge came to the barren landscape where the only vegetation is tundra, which barely survives in the sub artic temperatures. A deep, underground weapons cache is hidden under the permafrost. Guarded only by the intense freezing, the nuclear warheads deposit nearly impossible to get to through the frozen ground.

Scrooge lies spread-eagle and naked on the ground, just above the covered entrance. The heat emitted from his body slowly melts the icy dirt. Then digging with his bare hands, he reaches the thick, iron door and wrenches it from the hinges. A large room lit with fluorescent lights is filled with missiles, rockets, torpedoes, and the like. Choosing a number of suitable warheads for Rex, Scrooge dashes off with them back to the White House.

Rex, protected by antidestruction paint, still stands outside the ravaged bedroom of President Bush's home. Scrooge loads the deadly rockets and then seats himself in the complex computer operated cabin. Over a loud speaker he bellows, "Where are the virgins?" George Bush, flanked by a force of special agents, surround Rex. SWAT snipers fix their sights on every strategic point possible and C-4 devices are planted all about the base of Rex. Scrooge is worried slightly, but he persists and repeats himself. "Mr. Terrorist, Sir".

The President replies, "We have no virgins to give to you! In fact, the only... ". He is cut off in mid-sentence. Scrooge, annoyed by the President's foolish incompetence, pulls a trigger and within seconds all of Washington lies in burning rubble. Buildings are crippled and cars are twisted and mutilated into skeletal shells.

Scrooge clambers over the devastated wreckage in Rex and boards the applesauce train that runs above expanse of the Atlantic Ocean to London. Clambering through the front door, he tosses his soiled coat aside and tattered scarf into the trash. Then stumbling into the softly lit kitchen, he finds a recently cooked dinner set on the table. Seating himself at the table, Scrooge piles all sorts of delicious cuisine onto his plate and slowly consumes it, absorbing it through his hands. Then struggling up the grand staircase, Scrooge retreats to his room to retire for the night.

He buttons into his silken blue striped pajamas and slips off his fluffy pink bunny slippers, exposing his bare feat to the icy, tiled floor. Groggily he stokes the fading fire and ambles to his king sized bed. He fluffs his down pillows and pulls back the layers of warm covers to get in. Then he died.