He remembered. Of course he remembered. Remembering was what kept him going. It reminded him what he was fighting for, what he was trying to do. It made the voices grow weak and distant. It gave brief, fleeting moments of clarity to his mind. It was all he had, and getting it back was his life's mission.
He remembered 1994. The beginning. A clean storefront, a bright future, big plans. A row of finely polished automobiles, gleaming under the lights of the showroom. Walls of auto parts and car care products. Tires, windshield wipers, car batteries, fuses, gas caps, rear-view-mirrors, snow brushes, squeegees. Air fresheners shaped like pine trees. The stench of fresh rubber and plastic. It was all very American, which seemed odd on the surface, as the mall they were set up in was located in Mongolia, but the area was under heavy development from an international crowd. One day, the executives in charge of the project had said, this city would fly. And a flying city would be a worldwide envy, a mecca for tourism and spectacle. They'd been smart to come here, he knew. This was where the money would be made, by far-thinking businessfolk with a keen eye for the future and the promise of the technology in development.
He'd worked hard to get the business off the ground. It hadn't been easy, but he knew that hard work equaled great rewards. If you just put in the effort, you would earn yourself a return on investment that was worth the elbow grease you contributed to the cause. So he worked hard. He was in every advertisement, on every poster, all over the show floor. His gleaming smile and clever quips caught the eye of the locals, and slowly but surely Big Shot Autos began to build up steam.
He remembered 1997. The big time. His favorite year. Business was booming, and what was once a small outlet in the mall was now turning to grander plans. In the works was the impending launch of a new website. Big Shot Autos would harness the power of the information superhighway, and he was there every step of the way once again. He adorned pop-ups and banner ads, letting his personality and charm do the work for him. Promotional items with his grinning face were produced by the thousand. Investors were eager to dump money on this humble little mall tenant as they promised incredible things with the power of technology. He was on top of the world, and the view was dizzying.
