Loving The Game. Pete Hines

a computer that was programmed to think on its own. Ralph was programmed to be able to learn just like children when they are continually exposed to new learning environments. Ralph would learn more when Ted would input additional information. For now, he was happy listening to the Mamas and the Papas with Charles and finding out details about police officers.

      Ted’s life was simple. He received military disability benefits after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in the Army from 1967-71 during the Vietnam War. Even though he was a genius at the computer, like his hero Turing, he had trouble holding down a job and taking care of his basic necessities. It was a struggle to pay the rent on time and have enough money in his checking account to pay other bills.

      Charles checked on Ted from time to time, making sure he had food in the cupboards, was eating properly, and paying the rent. Several times, he had called the utility company when Ted’s electricity was turned off. Finally, Charles had talked with the landlord and the utility company to have Ted’s monthly bills forwarded to Charles’ office to make sure they got paid.

      At night, Ted would stay up well into the early morning hours, viewing the stars through a refractor telescope. He even had made an impressive map of the constellations with specific stars marked on it. In school, he had excelled in math, science, and chemistry, and now he continued to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

      Ted couldn’t ask for any better friend than Charles. Ted, in turn, gave Ralph to Charles to use for research in his law practice and picking stocks that ended up making nice returns. Ralph had an uncanny knack for knowing when a stock was going to increase in value.

      Charles knew a little about computers – after all, he used one in his law office – but he wasn’t knowledgeable on the intricacies of Ralph because Ralph was always learning new information. Ralph seemed to have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. No subject matter was too trivial or boring for Ralph – history, archeology, the solar system, all of this was fodder for Ralph’s curiosity. Ralph was probably the world’s greatest trivia expert. He had more knowledge than 10 law office computers put together. Sometimes Ralph could be annoying, like when he quizzed Charles on the most insignificant things. But Charles had to admit Ralph could put together a stock market analysis like nobody’s business or quote case law after case law. Charles realized even with his law degree he was no match for Ralph, who kept learning and never tired of the intricacies or details of things that interested him.

      Of all his passions, however, Ralph’s main interest was chess. He loved to play chess and would play with anyone. Charles kidded that he would try to line up a match with a world champion chess player or maybe Deep Blue, the IBM computer. No person or machine was too much of a challenge for Ralph.

      Modesty was not one of Ralph’s strong attributes. He wasn’t exactly arrogant, but he was like a boxer who was going into a match with superior technique and skills. Ted had designed Ralph so he could communicate through several different methods.

      The video camera and headset would work for Ralph’s eyes and ears. Ralph also was set up with a video camera attached in Charles’ Porsche. Ted made sure Ralph could be taken anywhere through the use of a modified video camera. This made him portable. Any device that could communicate with the mainframe computer, which was at Charles’ apartment, would work. Another way Ralph would communicate with other electronic devices was with electronic waves transmitted to a satellite much the same way a cell phone works today. “So, how’s Ralph been?” asked Ted, who still liked to check in on his creation. Ralph found it insulting that Ted had asked Charles how he was doing, “I’m doing very well, thank you,” Ralph said.

      Charles and Ted both laughed. “Yes, he’s doing excellent,” Charles said.

      “That would be excellently,” corrected Ralph.

      “He keeps me on my toes,” commented Charles. “By the way, do you need anything?”

      “I don’t think so,” answered Ted. “Maybe I could play chess with Ralph.”

      While Ralph and Ted exchanged moves – Ralph was winning as usual – Charles’ mind drifted to things other than pawns, bishops, kings, and queens. He began reflecting on his meeting at the diner with Samuel Jacobsen and his legal problem. In short, Jacobsen had done some major work for a firm called Cybertex and never got paid. Then Cybertex filed for bankruptcy and Samuel never saw a dime.

      Samuel had about 200 people working for his contracting business. Because Cybertex never paid Samuel, he was having problems paying his employees. In turn, many of them were facing financial hardships. Building rental payments and utility bills were past due and Samuel had invested a lot in supplies. All of this put his contracting business in jeopardy. Samuel asked Charles to check on Cybertex and let him know if there was anything Charles could do to get any money from the bankrupt firm.

      “Your turn,” said Ralph to Ted. Charles knew Ted was close to losing, but Ted wouldn’t care. He would simply ask for a rematch. Besides his concern for Samuel’s business, Charles had another legal issue he was working on. Several investors had called him looking for something they could use for a tax shelter. Charles checked some of the tax codes and found one that dealt with improving property in a community. The structure needed to be one that had previously housed a business but also had stood empty for at least 20 years. Charles had looked into several buildings – an old milk factory, a shoe warehouse, and even a four-story apartment complex. Nothing had panned out. Now he thought that maybe the old gym would qualify.

      He could remodel the old gym and turn it into a community center. That would definitely improve the neighborhood and also give his clients a tax break. Charles felt he needed some clarification from the IRS before he proceeded. He knew just the man to call. Joe Bartling had been a practicing attorney before going to work with the IRS about five years ago. Tax codes were his expertise, and Joe could definitely give Charles some good advice.

      Charles walked to the kitchen to use Ted’s phone to call Joe just as Ralph announced “checkmate” for the second time. The conversation with Joe was short, and he assured Charles it wouldn’t take long to check on the specific codes and see if they applied for the old gym. He would call Charles in a couple of days.

      Walking back from the kitchen, Charles said, “Well, Ted, we need to be going. I guess Ralph got the best of you again.”

      Ted just shrugged. He was used to losing to Ralph. Besides, Ralph was his creation.

      Meeting the Boys

      The idea of renovating the gym that included a community center was starting to take shape in Charles’ mind. He was so focused on it that he had neglected calling Julie. They didn’t really have a serious relationship, but they enjoyed each other’s company. Charles would call Julie for a show or for dinner, usually on weekends. She was a stockbroker and worked long hours. Julie enjoyed her independence, but she also liked to do things with Charles on the spur of the moment.

      Julie was adventurous and Charles appreciated that. She worked many evenings, but on weekends she looked forward to getting away from work and having fun. Charles now called Julie at work and asked if she would like to go to DiAngelo’s on Saturday. DiAngelo’s was one of those upscale restaurants that had valet parking. Charles had done some tax work for DiAngelo’s and the owner reciprocated with exceptionally good service.

      Charles checked his watch and saw that it was getting close to 5 p.m. He wanted to play some tennis at The Racquet Club. There was a group of eight businessmen who played doubles and each week switched partners. Charles grabbed his suit coat and headed out the door for the two-mile drive. At The Racquet Club, he got dressed and played a five-set match during the next hour and a half.

      After showering, five of the eight men met at Capri, a nice sports bar. It was routine to meet for a beer or two after the tennis matches were completed. Usually, anywhere from three to seven showed up. After talking sports and politics and enjoying a couple rounds of beer, Charles excused himself and said it was time for him to head home.

      Settling in after the 45-minute drive home, Ralph told Charles he had the financial report on the Cybertex company. Charles thanked Ralph and asked