Hi... I'm Joe Mac... was made by Angel on 3/17/2003 at 12:23:15 AM.

While walking the streets of Seattle, I often ponder life and it's meaning... I wonder where life will take me... I wonder if I'm ready....

The name's Joe... Joe Mac. I am about to tell you about an amazing event that brought me to where I am today. Trust me, if it hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe half of it myself. So, I hope you'll sit back and listen how I ended up in this place called... "The Parodyverse".

It all began some time ago. I was chillin' like a villan, when suddenly I felt this jolt, as if I were just hit by electricity. I turned to see what had shocked me and there, on top of the dumpster I was leaning against, was a keyboard for a computer. I looked at it a little puzzled, then I picked it up.

There were no wires on it, no batteries, no nothing... It was just an old keyboard that someone had thrown away. I examined it a little closer to see if there wasn't something I'd missed. As I looked for signs of name brand or anything really, I couldn't find a thing. Just as I was about to abandon it as another piece of garbage though... the word "Parodyverse" appeared on the top left corner of this keyboard in shining silver letters. Something inside me made me stash it under m jacket and head home.

It was a typical rainy day here... not rain like everyone else is used to, but rather a little more than a mist. I felt a couple more shocks from the keyboard under my coat as I trodded home to my apartment on the north side. I just grit my teeth and kept moving. I didn't want to let anyone else see what I had.

I punched the access code in on the keypad at my apartment complex, and with each beep the keyboard made a noise of it's own. I closed the grated door behind me and made my way up the stairs to my apartment. I fumbled for my keys when I got to the door and almost dropped the keybaord. Readjusting my grip, I went into my studio and quickly shut the door behind me.

Despite the spacious living area I rented, I am a minimalist, and so all I have in the lines of belongings is a mattress on the floor, a desk in the corner, a small corner table where I eat, and a chair that I use for both the desk and the table. I have a few drawings on the wall that I'd made years ago and a couple of paintings from my color era. Like I said... a minimalist. Did I mention the studio is about 30 feet by 30 feet with a small loft? Yup. I'm definitely a minimalist.

So, I pulled the chair up to my desk and turned on the overhead light. The silver word was gone. I wondered if I'd just imagined it all... but then I got shocked again. It was enough to make me yell in pain and shake my hand. I knew that this was no ordinary keyboard, and that whatever power it possessed, it could very well change my life forever.

I ran my fingers across the keys and, as I did, the silver lettering came back. The word "Parodyverse" was written in silver letters again... this time though.... the keys I'd pressed were written across the top in silver letters as well. Normally, this probably would have freaked me out, but then again, this is Seattle, home of the weird, and I'd gotten used to the unexpected living here.

I hit the delete key and one by one the letters vanished. I thought, "This is pretty cool." And then, as if prompted to, I began to type away a story I had been meaning to write for some time. I got carried away in writing. It was as if the keyboard was feeding off of my story. It couldn't get enough.

Night came, and I realized that I'd spent all day at my desk just typing. I hadn't even eaten. This was strange, but somehow exciting. I made a sandwich and came back to the keyboard. I found that by using the arrow keys, I could review what I'd written. So, I brought it to the top and read through my story. For some reason, I felt I should call the main city in my story "Paradopolis", and I tailored my story to fit the name; a parody of a superhero, but he was just a normal guy in a superhero world, thus himself became the guy everyone wanted to be. He was rich and had cool 'toys', but otherwise he was normal and did nothing to disguise his identity.

When I finished proofing it, there was something new at the top of the keyboard. Two buttons came out of the top of the right corner of the keyboard. One read "submit story' and the other read "continue writing". Curious, I looked at them with mixed feelings about what to do. And so... I pushed "submit story".

My story disappeared from the top of the keyboard while big bold letters flashed "PROCESSING" right next to the Parodyverse text. This continued for a few minutes, then there was a bright flash. It must have knocked me out because I came to the next morning with my face planted on the keyboard. I pryed my face off of the keyboard and wiped my eyes.

I couldn't believe what happened next, but I hope you'll believe me...

I was at my desk, but my spacious studio was now a huge mansion. I was wearing silk pajamas and the chair I was in was plush leather not hard wood. I shook my head in disbelief. "I've got to be dreaming." I said aloud.

"Doubtful Sir." a voice from behind me gave me a spook, as I was used to living alone. I spun around in my chair and there was this gentle old man in a butler's outfit. He was carrying a breakfast tray and a newspaper, "The Weekly Gould". He set it down on my desk and turned my chair to face my meal, then draped my lap with a linen napkin. "I see you've been busy writing again Sir. Will there be anything else this morning?"

I stammered a little..."N-N-No... that will be fine." I said, feeling as if I'd heard that phrase before. I turned back to the keyboard and read the top of it. I was shocked to read what it said: "Running story... Welcome to the Parodyverse!"

Since then, I've been back several times. I found that Parodopolis is a real city in an alternate dimension, and that this keyboard is some sort of doorway into that reality. Whatever I type though, I become. Somehow, I am able to keep my studio taken care of while I'm there too. All of my bills and mail come to whatever place I'm at in Parodopolis and I pay them and go on with my stories. Lately, I've discovered this site and found that the characters here are exactly the same as in Parodopolis. I've enjoyed watching them in action and I'm hoping to introduce myself some day to them. Amazing Guy and ManMan seem cool. We'll see... Who knows? Maybe next time I'll give myself super powers... Any ideas?

In the mean time... See ya on the flip side of reality!

Joe Mac