The Wizard of Blogs - Part 3

Some wizards are known to be such pompous megalomaniacs, but our Wizard is not one of them. This one is as kind and gentle as he is wise and powerful. He welcomes his visitors most graciously, seeing to their comfort.

"I hope my gatekeeper didn't give you much trouble." says Wizard.
"Well, he was kind of an ass." says Scarecrow.
"Um, yes, well, sorry about that. You see, my people are always careful about who they open the door to."
It is not until after his guests have assured him they are good with their offered refreshments that our Wizard opens with his presentation.

"You are here because I need your help. The Internet is in danger. As we speak, malicious software runs unchecked throughout cyberspace.
The Internet was created as a service to humanity, as an instrument of peace, to unite the people of the world by providing a medium in which to communicate freely with one another.
But predators of every description have found their foothold, and the Internet is not safe anymore. They must be removed, or at least, held in check."

"The leader of all these evil forces is the Triple W Witch. I wish to see her defeated once and for all. This, my friends, is where you come in."

Dorothy and her friends look to each other in astonishment.
"What can we do?" they all ask.
"Yeah, how can people like us defeat the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"It's quite simple really, although it will require every bit of courage you've got, and more than a little bit of sacrifice. You must enter her Domain without firewall protection. There you will be immediately captured by the flying monkeys, who will bring you to Witch's castle. Once inside, you can gain access to her master computer."

"If she doesn't decide to kill us!" says C-Lion.
"Not likely," says Wizard. " I understand she lives in a dark and gloomy castle, and spends most of her time scanning the Net. That means she probably doesn't keep up with her housekeeping very well. So it is more likely she will keep you as slaves to clean her castle. I doubt her flying monkeys can do a good job of that."

Our friends spend the next hour or so discussing the risks involved, the inevitable discomfort they must suffer, and the slim possibility of success.
But Dorothy had succeeded before in inspiring confidence in Scarecrow, Tinman, and C-Lion, and in the end, was able to do so again. Besides, they all agreed, it was for the good of all humanity.

"Bring me the hard drive of Witch's master computer," declares Wizard, " and I promise you, you will all be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!"

Our brave and determined friends set out for the Witch's Domain, where, just as they had planned, they are captured by the flying monkeys, brought to Witch's castle, and put to work on cleaning her awful mess. Witch cackled and shrieked with sheer delight, thinking victory was hers.

The dark and gloomy castle had been sadly neglected in it's upkeep for years, and their enslavement was anything but pleasant. But our friends were encouraged by the fact that they had access to plenty of water, as was necessary for mopping floors, washing dishes, and cleaning most everything else in there.
All they needed was to find a way to channel water from the kitchen to the master computer, and for Witch to leave the castle long enough to give them a chance.

Sure enough, the time had come when Witch had found that she had run out of cookies. So she got out her broom to head to Munchie Land to replenish her supply, as her sister was doing on that fateful day when a house fell on her.

Our friends worked fast, hooking up a hose to the kitchen faucet that they had made during their stay. Then they ran down the hall with it to the computer room. The flying monkey guarding the door hissed and snarled as they approached. C-Lion distracted him by giving him a cookie, the last of which he had carefully hidden until that time. Scarecrow and C-Lion held the hose, aiming it at the master computer, while Tinman ran down the hall to tell Dorothy to turn on the water.

As the water let loose from the hose, there were sparks flying everywhere, popping and zapping in a cloud of steam, while the monitors blew out, along with all the lights on the control panel. Witch returned just in time to see what they had done. And then, to everyone's surprise, she began to melt. It seemed she was a product of her own creation, and couldn't exist without her instruments of evil.

The flying monkeys, seeing their leader melted into a puddle on the floor, with their little brains unable to think for themselves, took off as fast as they could, each one through the nearest window. Their dark wings filled the sky, before scattering in all directions.

Tinman, who always carried an ax, walked along the wreckage to determine where the hard drive must be housed. Then he swung his ax. Reaching into the hole he had made, he then deftly extracted the hard drive from its housing.

With no one there to stop them, our friends left the castle. Stepping outside, the world looked brighter and more beautiful than it did before.

to be continued...