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Operation: OHR Presents:

Behind the Epic

The Wandering Hamster Story

By Pepsi Ranger

 

FADE IN THEME MUSIC:

Every legend has its beginning. Every beginning has its story. Every story has its hero. And every hero has his legacy. One such legacy began with a hamster. His name is Bob.

BEGIN CIRCUS MUSIC:

The legacy of Bob the Hamster began with a dream. Unlike most children who were conceived by two parents, Bob’s life began with the conception of an idea. This idea was to help others give birth to their dreams, and hence give Bob about four hundred playmates to fellowship with. The dream was perfect, and for Bob, it was a fantasy come true.

Bob’s future was set before he himself knew what was ahead. But, he knew that whatever was coming was going to be great. For Bob, the future was something to brag over.

The future would make him into a computer star.

Bob: Yeah, I’ll admit that the beginning was great. I was a new phenomenon. I was like Pinocchio, with a big nose and everything. But I wasn’t a liar. Nosiree, Bob. Whoops, I didn’t mean to refer to myself in the third person. Bob still has a bad habit of doing that. Whoops, I did it again

Once his existence started, Bob quickly rose through the ranks of his talents. Soon, he was no longer the infant hamster that everyone wanted to pinch in the cheeks. He was no longer just a name in the archives for hapless wanderers to stumble across. His legacy was no longer limited to a small website in the back alleys of the information highway. Bob had made the jump to the big time. And this was his dream come true. His republic had been born.

Vlad the Impaler: The rest of us birthed into the Hamster Republic universe became quite jealous of his immediate rise. I myself was eager to carve out a really pointy stick to communicate how I felt. Maybe that’s selfish, but we all wanted to be the favorite.

BEGIN ROCK MUSIC:

Bob’s popularity went from potential to kinetic virtually overnight. Soon after, his place in the world shifted. The life that he immediately embarked on included stints as an explorer, a philosopher, and a role model. His legacy would be monitored by many. His fame took off like a rocket.

Bob: Bob became Mickey Mouse. Um…I just did it again, didn’t I?

Pretty soon, Bob’s fame escalated him to the point of pop culture mega star. The once humble hamster was no longer just a figment of the imagination. His spokesmanship for the Hamster Republic was no longer just a job. He had become the king of the website one-liners. But, his creator and long time travel companion had some opinions about his new on-line standings.

James: I’ll admit that it was overwhelming at first to be showed-up by my own creation, but then I remembered that Bob was a hamster, so I was supportive of his fame from that day forward. To this day my favorite Bob the Hamster quote is "My hamsterwheel is equipped with seat-belts and a drivers-side airbag." Ah, that’s good.

But, as Bob soon discovered, all beginnings are merely foundations. For Bob, the Hamster Republic website was just a foundation.

BEGIN PARTY MUSIC:

What followed became Bob’s greatest dream. He had become his own main character in a game called "Wandering Hamster." This was the game that defined him as a hero.

James: In all honesty, I still have a hard time classifying him as a hero. I mean, look at me. I throw Spam and blow bubbles as my special attacks. Bob uses a mallet. What’s so heroic about using a mallet? Try fending off evil with a can of Spam. You’ll see the difference in no time flat.

But Bob knew that he had something special going on. His heroism was about more than fighting evil. His position as a wanderer and explorer meant something more than just wandering and exploring. To him, such a development in character growth meant bigger praise and bigger fame. To Bob, his tower could not be toppled.

Bob: I was a full-blown rock star. I no longer drove my own hamster wheel. I paid a chauffeur to do it for me. And the lady hamsters? Let’s just say if it weren’t for my immortality, I’d have a really big litter to eat.

BEGIN DRAMATIC MUSIC:

But fame did not come without its price. The bigger that his name got, the bigger came his need to escape from it all.

Dusty: Let’s see, I met Bob when he and his creator James came to release me from a prison in Broaste Castle. I can’t say I had a high opinion of him right away, even though I certainly admired him for breaking me out of that hole. But, from what I was able to gather from him on a personal level, I seriously thought something was wrong. It was as if he was hiding a really big secret.

Bob was in fact hiding a huge secret. His need to escape from reality transformed into an addiction that rocked his pedestal to catastrophic levels. Even though he wouldn’t admit it at first, he soon realized his addictions were heading out of control. Bob in fact had a problem with plip-bashing.

Plip Tamer: I don’t know why you’re interviewing me. It’s not my fault that the dirty little hamster can’t control himself. Is that my problem? No. Besides, they’re my plips that he keeps attacking with that mallet of his. How do you think that makes me feel? Here I am trying to nurture them within a healthy environment, when all of a sudden this madman with fur breaks into my house and starts beating my plips all to heck. It’s insulting to me if you want to know the truth. I think he’s a jerk for ruining my way of life.

The problem first began with an expectation to fight any and all creatures that stood in his way. According to Bob, the desire to attack something that threatened to attack back was too great to ignore. And this was the vicious cycle that caught him. He had found after many consecutive plip beatings that he actually enjoyed it.

Bob: I knew I had a problem from the moment I first lusted after the blood of those irritating little green things. But you have to admit that they were begging for it. All little blob creatures are begging for it. That’s just what they do. I mean, who was I to say that they didn’t deserve it? They needed to be bashed. It was tattooed right above their eyes.

BEGIN HORRIFYING MUSIC:

His addiction to plip-bashing grew worse and worse over the duration of his stardom. Pretty soon he started lashing out on stuffed cat heads and innocent little mountain trolls. His love to dish out pain became frowned upon by his travel companions.

Dusty: I invited him to take out his pent-up aggression on my stress cat, which is a little invention of mine, but he took it out too far. Once he started pounding on it, he couldn’t stop. He literally knocked the stuffing right out of it. I didn’t want to travel with him anymore after that. Last thing I needed was for him to turn against me.

James: I’ll admit that I started to fear for my hat when that little hamster and I made our way into this town called Ixnekolan. The citizens weren’t very friendly toward either of us, but it was no reason to do what he did. I mean…he just took out his mallet, set it on fire, and…I can’t begin to describe what happened after that. That was the one day I regretted having introduced him to the world.

And that was only the beginning. His travel companions didn’t know how to talk to him. All they could do was drop little hints that something was wrong. But nothing seemed to register. Bob had fallen into a pit of his own madness.

Lord Broaste: Bob the Hamster? Yeah, I know the little runt. Some say that it’s my fault that he’s addicted to plip-bashing. They say if it weren’t for my maniacal plan to take over the kingdom, then there would be no reason for him to go on a quest and get violent. Well, all I can do is laugh at that. You see if the hamster has a problem, it’s his own fault. Here’s why. Any kind of addiction shows a weakness or inadequacy. If Bob has an addiction to beating the slime out of these little green creatures with his mallet, then that’s because he’s inadequate as a fighter and a hero. He attacks them because he knows he can win. That’s what’s safe to him. Pit him up against a real opponent, like me for example, then you’ll see just how badly this addiction has carried him. He’ll find that he’s no longer safe in his own realm. And that’s just the way I like it.

BEGIN DEPRESSING MUSIC:

Bob had nowhere left to go but up. His quest had led him through many places, but all he really wanted was to go back to being a website role model.

Bob: I never really enjoyed being a hero. Too many people depended on me to do things I wasn’t ready to do. For example, James wanted me to eat some Spam. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I prefer hamster food, not human food. And let’s be realistic. Is Spam really human food?

And so his adventure was cut short in favor of a much-needed healing process. He therefore returned to his place as the head spokesperson for the Hamster Republic.

James: Well, the truth is that Bob never left the Hamster Republic. He’s been welcoming visitors since day one and is still going strong. We seem to think that’s what’s best for him at the moment. But, he still thinks about plip-bashing a lot. It’s definitely going to be a long road to recovery for him.

BEGIN HOPEFUL MUSIC:

Bob the Hamster still wonders what his life could’ve been like had he not had such a heavy weight of fame fall against him. But for now he is happy to be out of the quest and back into the world of the living.

James: Actually, he’s not really out of the quest. It’s just that I only update the game when a new OHRRPGCE update comes out. He hasn’t had a lot of time to value the quest for what it really is. It’s something that’s just gonna take some time.

But time is something that Bob has always had. It’s his legacy that ticks day after day and his adventure that so many want to see him finish. For Bob, fame is a desire, but it’s also something that’s just been handed to him.

Bob: I think what’s best for me now is to give up on the adventure, and live my life as a real boy. After all, fame hasn’t been what it’s cracked up to be. I guess time will tell.

Havoc: Fame, yeah right. I’ll tell you something about fame. First of all, do you know who I am? No, probably not. I’ve been waiting my turn for three straight years to get in on the Wandering Hamster adventure, but where am I now? I’m just a name and nothing more. Let’s be real here, Bob complains about what his fame has done to him. He thinks it made him into a disaster. Well, at least he had a shot in the spotlight. You hear me, Bob? You had your time in the sun. So, quit your complaining. Some of us would like our hand in the glory too, bubba. If you give up now, those of us who are depending on your coattails to ride upon will never have our chance, and then you’ll have a big problem. And plip-bashing? What kind of problem is that? I can’t wait to unload a flurry of ammo into one of those little sniveling blobs…

The future of Bob the Hamster is a work-in-progress indeed, but Bob is optimistic. He has since announced the consecutive releases of new game construction engine updates, as well as serve as the figurehead for his own help-me message board. Even though his recovery from plip-bashing has been a slow road, he knows that one day he will be clean and sober completely, and will eventually become the spokesperson for such organizations as Plip-Bashers Anonymous and Hamsters Against Plip-Bashing and Driving (H.A.PB.D). But, until that future arrives, Bob vows to stay faithful to his duties as a Hamster Republic mega star.

James: I like Bob. I’m glad I brought him into the public eye. Although, I’m starting to think it would be funny if I deleted him. That would certainly give him a new perspective of life.

Whatever perspectives Bob may carry from this day forward, he will still dream, and he will still do what he can to give the public what they want. To him, this is a rush that’s greater than fame. This is his hamster legacy.

Bob: If I had just one more dream to live out, I think I’d taunt a cat. I always wanted to do that.

BEGIN END THEME MUSIC:

END CREDITS:

Behind the Epic

Operation: OHR Staff

Cody Watts

Tarot Master

Moogle1

Head Writer (Behind the Epic)

Jeremy Bursey (Pepsi Ranger)

Music

Philippe Marchand (Specplosive)

Editor

Elwood Walker

Researcher

Manjoman Bobbinski

Director of Photography

National Geographic Wannabe

Gaffer

Zed Edward Zimbabwe

Key Grip

Jim

Inspiration

VH1’s Behind the Music

 

Wandering Hamster

Game Designers

James Paige

Brian Fisher

Idea Contributor

Matt Boggs (the real-life Havoc)

Original Hamster Republic Staff

James Paige

Brian Fisher

Julie Paige

Andrew "Troll" Fisher

The Cheap Jerk Who Still Owes James Paige Money

The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse

Cast of Characters

Bob the Hamster

James

Dusty

Plip Tamer

Lord Broaste

Havoc

Vlad the Impaler

Special Thanks

Elvis Presley

Vlad the Impaler

Nikolai Tessla

G.A. Hormel

Tomas de Torquemada

Queen Victoria

The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse

And a very special thanks goes out to all members of the OHR Community. This couldn’t have been done without you. Or at least it wouldn’t have been as fun.

All plip action was monitored by the National Humane Organization. No plips were harmed in the making of this documentary. Except for the ones that Bob got a hold of.

Next Episode:

"The Monterey Penguin Story"

©2001

O:OHR’s Behind the Epic

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Page design © Cody Watts, 2000.
Operation: OHR is owned and maintained by Kevin W. (Aethereal)