The Homework Machine

By Anon1

            Once upon a time there was a boy named Peter.  Peter was a smart young adult and was just about to graduate from college.  He was graduating with a degree in Economics from Santa Clara University but he was not too sure what he was going to do after college.  Peter had hoped that by the time he graduated, he would have a job lined up so that he would not have to worry about money.  However, that was not the case.  Peter had no job offers, despite the numerous job fairs that he had attended.  His grades were never that great, nor did he ever really apply himself.  Peter knew that he would have to step it up in the last two quarters at college if he was going to do anything with his life.

            Then, he had the perfect idea.  He was going to invent something.  Being the Economics major that he was, he joined up with an engineer friend of his, Thomas, and they built a machine that did homework for the owner, in any subject.  This took a very long time for the two to build and program, but by the time that they had graduated the machine was made.  Peter knew that in order for them to patent this invention, it would take time and a lot of paperwork.  He also knew that if he did not do everything by the book and correctly, someone could come along and take their idea.  With this in mind, Peter did everything that he should in order to patent Thomas and his product.  This ensured that that nobody would be able to copy them, as they had worked very hard on to make their machine work.

            Once the patent was in place and the business was getting off the ground, Peter and Thomas were starting to make a lot of money.  Students from around the world were interested in buying their product, as it was proven to work on any problem for any subject.  They knew that they were going to make a lot of money because so many students wanted the machine and they were the only ones that could make it.  Peter knew that getting the patent for the machine was one of the best business decisions that he could have ever made.  Peter and Thomas were making the machines as quickly as they could and they were always back ordered.  Their customers did not even care that the waitlist was almost six months after the order date.  Peter and Thomas were so happy that they were making so much money and it was all legal.

            Over time, Peter and Thomas came out with more programs that would make the machine work better.  Without the programs, the machine would not be as useful as it could be.  Many people have tried to build similar products but because their programs were only for their machine, it did not work on the other machines.  The makers of the competition did not like the fact that the programs would not be universal and that they were needed.  They decided to let the government know and have them look into Peter and Thomas’s business.

            One day, a government agent came to Peter’s door and handed him a letter.  It was from the Federal Trade Commission saying that they had to make their programs universal for all the homework doing machines.  They said that it made competition unbiased and it would give the competitors more of a chance.  Peter and Thomas were not happy with this.  They went to court in order to fight this.  They did not believe that because the programs only worked on their machines, they should be penalized.  They felt that they worked hard on their machine and they were the ones that made the programs so it should be whatever they want it to be.  Peter and Thomas also did not want to share the profit of programs and their machines with any other company.  They both knew that they were making loads of money and they did not want to lose any of it.

            The government claimed that they were a monopoly and the government should take action against them.  They were not allowing for competition to occur and their company was hindering the growth of others.  However, Peter and Thomas claimed that they were working harder than the competitors, hence their larger market segment.  They said that they were only product that was good for their company and did not hurt anyone else.  Peter and Thomas told the court that they were doing nothing wrong.

            In the end, the court had nothing against them.  They were only working hard to improve their product and they were not directly hurting the other companies.  Peter and Thomas were allowed to continue with the manufacturing and selling of their machines and programs.  They made so much money that they could retire at the age of 35.  Peter and Thomas lived happily ever after.