Ever since he could remember, Gaylord Invictus had known he was destined for something…different. His foster parents, kindly folk who strived all their lives to make sure there was a hot, wholesome meal on the table every night, had told him: “Gaylord, we love you dearly. But we know we can’t hold you here at home forever. There’s a plan for you. We don’t know what it is, but we’re sure it’ll reveal itself in its own good time.”
Now, standing at the bus station where he had been deposited and facing the big city for the first time, Gaylord still didn’t know his destiny. He just knew he was being drawn here, as if magnetically.
Now, standing at the bus station where he had been deposited and facing the big city for the first time, Gaylord still didn’t know his destiny. He just knew he was being drawn here, as if magnetically.
He looked at the slip of crumpled paper in his hand. It was the most valuable thing in his world, for it held the name and address of his father’s brother and the company he worked for. With echoey reverberance, he recalled his beloved foster father’s voice:
“Go and see your Uncle Artemis Invictus. He’ll give you a place to stay, a job in the mail room. Just till, you know, you know what to do.”
“Go and see your Uncle Artemis Invictus. He’ll give you a place to stay, a job in the mail room. Just till, you know, you know what to do.”
He strolled through the city, asking people for directions. Most people just looked at him and walked away hurriedly, as if afraid they might catch some ‘country disease’.
Eventually he found the building he was looking for. But even as he was still a block away, he noticed more and more folk walking out of the building ahead carrying cardboard boxes.
A feeling of dread crept over Gaylord as he picked up the pace, his heart starting to beat faster in alarm. He stopped a young woman, grabbing her forearm, asking:
“Artemis! Artemis Invictus! Do you know him? Is he in there?”
She just looked at him, and with infinite sorrow, shook her head and moved along.
With his dread threatening to become outright panic, Gaylord ran into the building, unnecessarily stabbing the elevator button repeatedly. Once on the 38th floor he ran haphazardly from office to office, desperately looking for anyone who might resemble his father. “Artemis? Artemis!’ he shouted. Just then, he arrived at an open doorway. In the office, he saw a man climbing onto the ledge of an open window. Even from behind, he could see the despair of defeat in the man. “Stop! Stop! What are you doing?” The man, startled, looked around. There he was….Artemis Invictus. “Who are you?” demanded Artemis. “I’m Gaylord, Uncle. Gaylord Invictus.” The man’s face lit up. He climbed down from the open window and gave Gaylord a bear hug. “Uncle, what were you doing?” Gaylord asked him, full of emotion. What were you doing on the ledge?” Were you going to…..” “…jump off?” Uncle Artemis finished for him. “Was I going to kill myself?” Gaylord just nodded limply.
Artemis laughed and said “No, Gaylord. Look here. There’s a small balcony out there. I was just going out for a smoke. Although technically”, he chuckled “you could define that as suicide.” Relieved, Gaylord asked his uncle why so many people were leaving. “Well, son. The whole company’s shutting down. Everyone’s out of a job.” Gaylord couldn’t think of his own future, he was feeling too sorry for everyone else. “But why? Who caused this?” Artemis Invictus took a deep breath. “You ask any one of these staff members…” he gestured to his office doorway where people were shuffling past with their boxes, “…and they’ll tell you any number of reasons.” “Like what?” asked Gaylord. “Like being stuck in traffic rather than riding the info superhighway. Like having no way to share our best practices. Like using outdated and redundant storage systems. Like like like….” “Wow, Uncle. Big problems.” “The problem here is not so much big, as just simple. We have no content management systems.
Somewhere, deep inside him, Gaylord was feeling that something significant, deeply significant, was happening here. “But Uncle, why do you have to close down?” Uncle Artemis raised an eyebrow. “They don’t teach you much in the country, do they, boy? We’re in a service industry, and if we can’t service our clients, they go elsewhere. Well, they went elsewhere, son.” “But all these people, Uncle. Out of jobs because they can’t manage content?!? It’s just not right.” Suddenly, Gaylord swung away. Artemis assumed it was to hide his distress from his uncle. But the real reason was that Gaylord started to hear a voice from a long forgotten past. A kindly voice, but an authoritative one. It was his father. His birth father. His real father. “My son” the voice from another era, another frequency intoned. “My son. You have arrived at the threshold of your destiny.” “Father?” Gaylord called. “You have been sent back in time to help humankind take the next step forward. You have been sent to help people manage content. Ever-increasing amounts of content, my beloved son.” “But father, how can I tell them…this company…in time before they shut their doors forever?” “You must assume a new identity, my son. Personally, I’ve never cared for Gaylord, anyway. You must become…” The voice paused, as if drawing strength for what it was about to say. “You must become Content-Man!”
“Content-Man” Gaylord played with the sound, testing it. “I like it. But father, what shall I wear as Content-Man?” “My son…” the voice started to fade. “I must leave you now. As for your new persona, perhaps a pair of goggles or something. But you must find your own path. Your destiny….and the destiny of the free market……..” The voice was almost gone now. “Is in your hands.” And then, there was nothing. Gaylord, soon to become Content-Man, faced Artemis Invictus. “Well, Uncle Artemis. I guess now we know.” Artemis pulled something from his box of belongings. It was a pair of goggles. “Here” he said “I have no use for these now.” Gaylord wanted to ask him what he had used them for in the first place, but kept silent as he was filled with a greater sense of purpose than he could ever have imagined. This was it. He was Content-Man. And whatever scourge, villain or foe threatened humanity with content mismanagement; it would be an action that would unleash a swift and mighty reaction from himself. There would be many challenges ahead.
But he was Content-Man.
And he would succeed.
With his dread threatening to become outright panic, Gaylord ran into the building, unnecessarily stabbing the elevator button repeatedly. Once on the 38th floor he ran haphazardly from office to office, desperately looking for anyone who might resemble his father. “Artemis? Artemis!’ he shouted. Just then, he arrived at an open doorway. In the office, he saw a man climbing onto the ledge of an open window. Even from behind, he could see the despair of defeat in the man. “Stop! Stop! What are you doing?” The man, startled, looked around. There he was….Artemis Invictus. “Who are you?” demanded Artemis. “I’m Gaylord, Uncle. Gaylord Invictus.” The man’s face lit up. He climbed down from the open window and gave Gaylord a bear hug. “Uncle, what were you doing?” Gaylord asked him, full of emotion. What were you doing on the ledge?” Were you going to…..” “…jump off?” Uncle Artemis finished for him. “Was I going to kill myself?” Gaylord just nodded limply.
Artemis laughed and said “No, Gaylord. Look here. There’s a small balcony out there. I was just going out for a smoke. Although technically”, he chuckled “you could define that as suicide.” Relieved, Gaylord asked his uncle why so many people were leaving. “Well, son. The whole company’s shutting down. Everyone’s out of a job.” Gaylord couldn’t think of his own future, he was feeling too sorry for everyone else. “But why? Who caused this?” Artemis Invictus took a deep breath. “You ask any one of these staff members…” he gestured to his office doorway where people were shuffling past with their boxes, “…and they’ll tell you any number of reasons.” “Like what?” asked Gaylord. “Like being stuck in traffic rather than riding the info superhighway. Like having no way to share our best practices. Like using outdated and redundant storage systems. Like like like….” “Wow, Uncle. Big problems.” “The problem here is not so much big, as just simple. We have no content management systems.
Somewhere, deep inside him, Gaylord was feeling that something significant, deeply significant, was happening here. “But Uncle, why do you have to close down?” Uncle Artemis raised an eyebrow. “They don’t teach you much in the country, do they, boy? We’re in a service industry, and if we can’t service our clients, they go elsewhere. Well, they went elsewhere, son.” “But all these people, Uncle. Out of jobs because they can’t manage content?!? It’s just not right.” Suddenly, Gaylord swung away. Artemis assumed it was to hide his distress from his uncle. But the real reason was that Gaylord started to hear a voice from a long forgotten past. A kindly voice, but an authoritative one. It was his father. His birth father. His real father. “My son” the voice from another era, another frequency intoned. “My son. You have arrived at the threshold of your destiny.” “Father?” Gaylord called. “You have been sent back in time to help humankind take the next step forward. You have been sent to help people manage content. Ever-increasing amounts of content, my beloved son.” “But father, how can I tell them…this company…in time before they shut their doors forever?” “You must assume a new identity, my son. Personally, I’ve never cared for Gaylord, anyway. You must become…” The voice paused, as if drawing strength for what it was about to say. “You must become Content-Man!”
“Content-Man” Gaylord played with the sound, testing it. “I like it. But father, what shall I wear as Content-Man?” “My son…” the voice started to fade. “I must leave you now. As for your new persona, perhaps a pair of goggles or something. But you must find your own path. Your destiny….and the destiny of the free market……..” The voice was almost gone now. “Is in your hands.” And then, there was nothing. Gaylord, soon to become Content-Man, faced Artemis Invictus. “Well, Uncle Artemis. I guess now we know.” Artemis pulled something from his box of belongings. It was a pair of goggles. “Here” he said “I have no use for these now.” Gaylord wanted to ask him what he had used them for in the first place, but kept silent as he was filled with a greater sense of purpose than he could ever have imagined. This was it. He was Content-Man. And whatever scourge, villain or foe threatened humanity with content mismanagement; it would be an action that would unleash a swift and mighty reaction from himself. There would be many challenges ahead.
But he was Content-Man.
And he would succeed.
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