Too Shy

by

Bill Snodgrass

Jeff Rogers lived a double life.

By day, he was a project manager for DynaServe, a Memphis, Tennessee based Fortune 500 Company that provided global logistics services. He led the International Integration team responsible for setting up satellite offices around the world and finding ways to get them looped into the company database without compromising security. It was a high-tech job, which suited Jeff just fine. At the core, he was a technophile.

That, however, was a fact that, to look at him, would never be guessed. He was handsome, tall, and fit. He was picked to manage the project, not so much for the technical expertise that he certainly had, but more for his ability to interact with people. The integration process meant talking to people in all walks of life--not just the hyper-geek programmers, but also packers and movers and everyone in between. Jeff's charisma and exceptional people skills made him the perfect choice to lead the team.

The others on his I-I team agreed. Seven others in all--five men and two women--and to the person, they loved working for Jeff. The I-I team's experience in the intramural co-ed four-on- four basketball league pretty much summed it up. Jeff was the unanimous pick as team captain, not so much because he led the team in both scoring and assists, but because the others liked him.

"Here's to a great season," Doug, one of the others on the team, said at a dinner to mark the end of the season. "Second place is pretty good for us, considering not one of us was ever picked in PE class before dead last!"

"And then only when the gym teacher made them take us," added Meredith.

When the laughter subsided, Tom added, "Hey, for a bunch of geeks, we did pretty good. The only team to beat us was the cable crew, and look at them... All a bunch of ex-jocks. Thanks to Jeff, we had a great season!"

But in his ever-humble way, Jeff waved off the compliment citing the whole team's effort instead of his singular contribution. Yet, when the I-I team looked proudly at the trophy sitting on top of "Gandalf," their team's primary file server, everyone knew it was Jeff who put it there.

By night, however, Jeff was a RPGer. A multi-user Role Playing Gamer. Not just any RPG, but Sword Dynasty, the latest massive RPG to hit the 750,000-user mark, averaging 10,000 simultaneous users most every hour of every day and 15,000 on the weekends. Players worldwide logged in to test their mousing skills against the designs of the game.

By most standards, Jeff would have been considered an avid player. Although he had never been to a convention, didn't wear glasses--much less horn rimmed ones--and didn't own a pocket protector, his four or five hours of playing every night and usually more on weekends certainly qualified his playing habits as high.

His RPG character name was Igor and his best on-line buddy was Hack-master. They were both nightly players, but neither would use the "A" word to describe their own playing habits.

Igor: Hey man, how are you?

Hack-master: Me good, m8. What are U up 2?

Igor: Passing time, as always. Got the cable on watching the Braves.

Hack-master: U love your baseball.

Igor: Yea, that's why I got into this game in the first place. Had to find

Igor: something to do to kill time while I watch the games.

Hack-master: How U like that MLB On Demand thing?

Igor: Love it. Never miss a game.

Hack-master: :-)

Hack-master: Ever go see any live?

Igor: Some. Triple A team in my town.

Hack-master: I had Yankee v Sox tickets last week. Behind 3rd base.

Igor: No way!

Hack-master: I swear.

Igor: How was it?

Hack-master: LOL. I gave them away.

Igor: No.

Hack-master: I did. I had to meet IceQueenie to do the Broken Arrow quest.

Igor: Man, now I KNOW you are addicted! Yanks v Sox! Dude!

Jeff a.k.a. Igor told himself that he would never have passed up a chance to see such a prime baseball game to play Sword Dynasty. In truth, Sword Dynasty was really pretty boring, but it was the people he met around the world that kept him coming back. The people who played Sword Dynasty helped him pass his solitary nights.

The few people at DynaServe who knew him were surprised that he was so solitary, but it was a calculated decision--as was most things Jeff did. He had taken the DynaServe job thinking his girlfriend of three years would also move to Memphis. They had talked about getting married a number of times over the last year, and the nuptials were tentatively planned for some undetermined date after the move. She had interviewed with a prestigious private school to teach math and been offered a contract, so Jeff assumed their plans were on track.

Out of the blue, however, she declared that she was not moving.

"I don't think I am ready for that," she said.

We date for three years and you're not sure? Jeff had thought. What would it take?

"I see," he said, trying to sound understanding.

A week after settling in Memphis, his old roommate called him to tell him the bad news.

"Jeff, she's already dating someone else."

"Is it Tom?"

"Yeah, man. I am really sorry."