I am firmly of the opinion that every computer has its own gremlin. (Not just computers, of course - just about every piece of human technology probably has one, but I'm most familiar with the computer since it's my life support…)
Way back in May, on my blog, The Zone, I commented that my own computer gremlin was called Butch - and he immediately demanded that I draw him. (Click here to see and read about him.) And then he wanted a tale written about him… With him as the hero, of course. And I was not going to argue, not after he corrupted several .dlls leaving me bereft of one of my favourite illustrated stories. (Yes, I was able to retrieve it from the 'net, but it took time I didn't have...)
To cut a long story short, I asked friends to get in touch with their own gremlins, send me descriptions, and I'd draw them and include them in the tale. And once the question was asked, the gremlins made themselves known to their humans!
Some were shy - Lutra's Carli took a lot of persuading - some reluctant - Talon's Sazuki fought me until I had her hair right, after which she allowed me to finish her picture - some, like Bakayaro onna's Murphy, simply plonked themselves down in the way and refused to move. [Evil smirk] And one person - who insisted gremlins wouldn't dare infest her computer - got a rude awakening when Dixie introduced itself… (Dixie isn't in this story. Maybe the next one…
But before you go onto the story, you ought to read the following words of advice…
Gremlins is very graphic-intensive. I've animated the background tile, and there are nine high resolution images, three of them animated. The page takes a while to fully load, but you should be able to start reading the text while waiting.
There's not an awful lot I can do about this, I'm afraid; Gremlins is a highly visual project, and although I probably could reduce the size of the images, I'd rather leave them at high quality…
You'll need to have javascript enabled for those two mouseover animations, but that's all - no Flash or any other intrusive software is required.
I would rate the story PG, for language (not much) and a little (non-pornographic) nudity… come to think of it, calling it 'little' isn't going to make me popular with Murphy… Hn… Ken thinks it should be rated higher. Hn. He could be right. Perhaps you'd better check… I'm happy to let my 8-year old son read/view it - but then again he's been watching me draw the gremlins (and loves the Murphy animation)…
All text and graphics in this Gremlins subdirectory of the WordWrights site is copyright and may not be used elsewhere without the express permission of the owners.
You should also bear in mind that these gremlins might look cute - some of them anyway - but they are quite powerful wee beasts, and can cause absolute chaos and/or destruction to your system. They are also fiercely protective of and lethally loyal to their individual chosen humans ('fleshies'). I would recommend that you do not try to kidnap them or even invite them into your own computer (except when reading the page, that is). I disclaim all responsibility for any of the damage that will inevitably ensue should you do something so… unwise…
Onwards - and inwards...
A wonderful Gremlins story by Sylverthorne. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid...
I'd like to thank the people who have helped this project come to fruition - Lutra, onna (and ratling), Talon, Valkyrie, LittleSaru, and Sylverthorne, whose home is positively brimming with gremlins…
