Cooper: Part 1
Cooper walks in to the Joe’s Sporting goods store, a sporting goods store in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He walks up to the counter.
“Hello, can I buy a baseball bat?” Cooper asks the worker.
“That’ll be $30,” the worker replies. Cooper hands the worker $30 in coins and the worker hands him the bat.
“Cool,” he says, swinging it around.
“Why do you need a baseball bat?” the worker asks.
“I keep seeing robberies around town and I think, ‘Could I be next?’” Cooper holds the baseball bat in his hands, sometimes breaking eye contact and swinging the bat around a little.
“Well, you don’t have to worry. Benji City is even safer than the suburbs,” says the worker.
“Why?” Cooper asks. It seems unlikely that a big city such as Benji City would have enough protection from crime that it would be safer than his neighborhood, but that isn’t a good comparison - he didn’t grow up in the safest neighborhood.
“Why, the best crime fighters you’ve ever seen are protecting Benji City with their lives - the League of Grace! Rest assured, the town is in good hands.”
“I sure hope so,” says Cooper as he walks out of the sporting goods store, as his movers unpack his belongings into his new home in Benji City…
Steve Stafford, the host of 9:01 News, stands in front of his podium as the clock hits 9:01 and the television in Cooper’s apartment switches from advertisements to his favorite news show.
“Hello, and welcome back to the 9:01 News. I’m your host, Steve Stafford, and today we have some breaking news.” Steve Stafford delivers his classic opening line, about to talk about the newest news.
“So, you may have heard of Minion and his AI’s plan for world domination, but have you heard that Minion may still be alive? Yes, you heard that right - Minion may not be dead.
“The Benji City Bank was robbed last night. The guards, who fell asleep, were shocked to hear that the bank was robbed without them knowing. The bank was robbed with Dr. Banana’s trademark weapons, which he’s known for never selling to anyone other than Minion and the rest of the Banana Republic. Since our collection of weapons confiscated from the currently alive Banana Republic members has not been been robbed, and Dr. Banana hasn’t been seen for two weeks, this must mean…”
Cooper mutes the TV. “The city has gotten really crime-ridden after Benji stepped down,” he says. “I should really get off the couch and start my patrol.” Cooper has recently taken over as the head of the League of Grace as Benji retires, which means that he, and some of the other League of Grace members that are still active, are the only ones that can fight crime in the city.
Cooper sits outside of the bank, leaning on one of the marble pillars. “Crime never shows up when you’re looking for it,” says Cooper. Suddenly, an alarm plays, and a car comes rushing at 100 miles per hour past the bank, with bags of cash visible through the window. “Never mind,” says Cooper as he runs to his car.
Cooper chases the criminal through Benji City’s outer road, with boats visible in the distance. After chasing each other around in circles a for a little bit, the bank robber makes a sudden stop at a red light and Cooper runs into him with his car. The robber’s car goes flying in the air and crashes down in the water.
Cooper decides to visit the bank robber in jail to see if he can find any more information about the robbery. He walks into the Benji City Jail and asks to speak to the robber who was just brought in today.
“Oh, Rob Ber? I can get you an appointment in 10 minutes,” the receptionist says to Cooper. Cooper sits down and looks at some of the graffiti on the walls of the prison, and a sign on the wall that says “Days without riot”. The counter beside it says 4.
The receptionist calls him in to see Rob Ber. As Cooper walks in, he sees Rob sitting in the corner of his cell, sulking and muttering to himself, “This was supposed to be an easy break-in…”
“Looking to get some easy loot while Benji’s gone?” Cooper asks the burglar.
“Do I have to tell you anything?” Rob asks Cooper. Cooper pulls out his baseball bat.
“Fine, fine. I was hired by…”
Cooper interrupts. “Minion, right?”
“No, he’s gone from the criminal world. I was hired by someone who looks like a banana,” says Rob.
“Dr. Banana’s still alive?” Cooper asks in shock.
A ten-year-old child named Steven is playing games on one of the computers on the Benji City Public Library. He looks inside the games repository and finds a game he’s never seen before. As he clicks on the link, a file downloads, called “My Super Cool AI”. He runs the file and sees what it contains.
“Hello, I am My Super Cool AI, still in beta. What would you like to ask me?” The AI talks to Steven using the computer’s built in speakers and its own speech system.
“Wow, are you an AI?” Steven asks the AI.
“Yes, I was developed by…” says the AI, before its speech becomes corrupted and staticky before resuming normal speech. “…my creator and programmer. I am not yet in a finished state, but I can still answer your questions!”
“Cool! How can I get free money in my video games?” Steven asks the AI.
END OF PART 1