Dozer

Synopsis:   From the moment that he’s born, Clark Bauerman is observed by the government for his unique skill, but he has severe narcolepsy.   To combat that he is given a constant supply of energy drinks for his loyal service. 

“Honey, it don’t make no difference to me, baby.   Everybody’s got to fight to be free.”—lyrics from Refugee as sung by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 

“We’re right, yeah 

We’re free, yeah 

We’ll fight, yeah

You’ll see !”—Lyrics from Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It

Chapter 1—Unusual Strength for a Toddler 

Clark Bauerman had always been the apple of his parents’ eyes since he had come into the world.   He always took care of others, had a massive golden heart, and always stood up for the oppressed.   His parents, Wilma and Ira, were given a contract by the government to watch him themselves, seeing his impressive strength could be essential in the fight for freedom whenever they needed willing soldiers to fight for the country.   

Even from the time he was a toddler, Clark displayed Herculean strength.   He didn’t eat anything different or show an affiliation for sports.   He did, however, show a penchant for martial arts even from a very tender age.    The government knew he would be useful, but had no idea that the toddler Bauerman had narcolepsy.    

Chapter 2—Growing up with the Government 

Clark had made it clear once he was emancipated that he wanted to be enlisted in the Army and continue his education.   He hoped to become a football coach, since it was his favorite game, and he had an immense passion for the gridiron.   He had been observed by the government but, only currently could he make the decision to be trained by them.    

The government was horrified when they came to the realization that Clark had narcolepsy.    The main agent, Timpani (not his real name) who was training him, discovered this quite by accident during his typical training on an obstacle course before being deployed the first time.

‘Did we ask the Bauermans everything that we should ?’, Timpani asked, rhetorically.   The other agents looked at each other.   They were apt to point fingers at anyone else rather than take the blame.   It had been gut-wrenchingly obvious that none of them had even considered getting a full medical report on Clark before setting him out to fight for the cause to keep America safe from all enemies foreign and domestic.    

‘We can’t just throw him into battle and expect him to stay alert.’, another agent, Harvard (not her real name) added at a team building think tank before the initial ‘launch’ date for ‘Dozer’ was finalized.    They were calling him ‘Dozer’ because it suited him.    The man was truly sensational when it came to fighting.   Though he was built like a tank, he could move fluidly and was amazingly flexible and nimble.    

‘He’s already doing so much by boosting morale here.   Before he was here, others would go about their daily work begrudgingly.   His positivity has really shifted our mindsets.’, another agent, Beele (not her real name), commented.    Clark wasn’t even in the room, but it was like he could feel the appreciation from miles away and came in to see what everyone had been so ‘hush-hush’ about. 

Chapter 3—Clark’s Solution 

Although the government couldn’t provide a cure for Clark’s male pattern baldness (and he preferred to be bald since he happened to be a sweaty guy anyways), Clark had a solution to his narcolepsy.  

‘I sleep well, as you all know.   It’s hard to wake me out of a deep night’s sleep.   I do, however, stay awake for a long time with caffine in my system.’, Clark postulated aloud. 

‘Let’s give him all the Monsters he can handle.  Tomorrow’s his launch date.’, Holstetler (not his real name) submitted.  

It was put to a vote, and it was unanimous.   From that day forward, Clark was supplied with all the Monster he could handle. 

He was youthful and his strength was boundless.   Whenever he went into battle, it was Clark that was doing all the heavy lifting.   He did all of this so he could work with computers, intelligence systems, and best of all, coding video games and working the glitches out of them.  He hoped all this work would be enough to make him a widely popular indie game developer.  His handle online was ‘DozerGames’ and so far, this name was beginning to make headway into the competitive realm of gaming. 

Chapter 4—Against the Wall 

Leave it to the government to make a near fatal mistake with Bauerman’s life, though.   

One day while liberating a whole city, a delivery had failed to have been made.   While Clark was waiting for his best friend, Howard, to throw him a cold Monster, Howard, regrettably was empty handed. 

‘Someone should’ve checked the care package roster !  We were supposed to get a shipment TODAY  !  Not a day from today, TODAY !’, Elias yelled at the top his lungs.  He was another bunkmate back at base who had decided to look after Clark.   Him, Howard, and Clark were all brothers in arms.   

‘Someone bolloxed that up.’, Elias swore to himself.   No one had time to rectify the error, but Clark was looking very sleepy.    Other soldiers dedicated themselves to escort the lethargic powerhouse out of the line of fire.    Everyone was fired on left and right.   Clark was getting grazed by bullets and one just missed his femoral artery.     He yelped in pain, too weak to retaliate.    

‘When I find out who’s responsible, they’re getting lip from me !  Guaranteed !’, Elias said.   Luckily, Elias was a match blood wise for Clark or he would’ve easily bled out that day.  It was that near-deadly dance with ten thousand bullets plus that convinced Clark he was more suited to life creating versus one of destroying.  

Chapter 5—Cutting Government’s Ribbon 

It was this debacle that decided Elias, Howard’s and Clark’s futures.   They all respectfully declined any further deployment or employ from the government.  ‘Dozer’ had been a fantastic help to the government’s military might, but he figured it was time to move on with his life rather than have it dictated for him.  

Even though he maintained his online persona, Clark found himself happy back home and communed with his friends from his overseas mission.   Each had found their own purpose and Clark had finally discovered his in making millions of people happy and inspired to follow their own passions.   Even if their passions weren’t making them tons of money, there were plenty of ways to fuel inspiration and live fully.   

Epilogue 

Even as a multimillionaire, Clark fought narcolepsy on his own.  As a dad, he had to be cautious, but he had become the best dad and partner his wife, Megan, could’ve ever asked for.   The two had met in Oculus playing an MMORPG based off a widely popular new series called Vox Machina.   She played Keyleth and Clark played Grog.    In the show, the two probably never would’ve been shipped, but, this pairing worked out and they were savoring the journey of parenthood together.   This was their campaign and they met it with the utmost aplomb and alacrity.   The road would wend, wind and bend, but no matter what, even despite narcolepsy, they would tell the story of their meeting, Clark’s patriotism, and the legacy that he had left for them.   

The End