Prologue: The Ambitious Schoolboy

Some years ago, in a classroom near Redmond, Washington, students were drawing in Art Class. The Teacher was walking around the room, viewing the different pictures.

"That's a good house, Jonny. I like that Cat, Julie. Oh, lovely car Angie!" She then approached the little young boy in the corner of the room.

This student was drawing furiously on his page. When the teacher approached, he covered his page and looked up. The lenses on his glasses magnified his eyes about Twelve times.

"Bill, will you show me what you're drawing?" the teacher asked. Bill thought to himself for a minute, then showed her his page. When the teacher looked at the page, she raised her eyebrow. It showed a person with glasses, holding the world in his hand, and had him laughing. "Mr. Gates, what is this?" she asked.

Bill looked up. "This is me in the future. I see myself creating a vast empire and ruling the world," he said confidently. The rest of the class laughed.

Bill stood up and shouted, "I'll show you! When I rule the world! I'll show you all!" He then held up another sheet to the class. The sheet contained a symbol on it. At the time, the symbol meant nothing, but in the future it would become feared by millions. He threw his head back and laughed with all his soul. The kids in the class began to become afraid. They all stared at the symbol as Bill Gates laughed.

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