"A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR"

                                   (Lights up on ACTIVIST, holding an anti
                                   pollution placard.)

                                   ACTIVIST
            No more dumping!  It's the Arctic Preserve, not the Chevron
            Reserve!  Make bread, not bombs!  Not one more!

                                   (Lights up on BILL MERRIMACK, well
                                   dressed CEO.  A desk is nearby with a
                                   globe prominently displayed.  ACTIVIST
                                   continues to protest, silently mouthing
                                   words and shaking his fist.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            I'm Bill Merrimack, President and CEO of Petramco Industries. 
            You know, running an enormous, multinational manufacturing
            concern is not as much fun as you might think.  You may
            envision it as one long golf game and champagne lunch.  But,
            in fact, my day is invariably taken up with meetings. 
            Meetings with the board, meetings with potential buyers,
            meetings with associates, and yes, meetings with protesters.

                                   ACTIVIST
            We don't want your Infernal Combustion Engine!

                                   MERRIMACK
            Some people believe that a company like Petramco is good for
            only one thing: the creation of waste and garbage.  But
            nothing could be further from the truth.  Why, Petramco is
            the world's leading manufacturer of extruded plastic winkets. 
            Now, just try operating your microwave oven without your
            winkets in place.  Hope you have your insurance paid up.

                                   ACTIVIST
            You suck!

                                   MERRIMACK
            Now these environmentalists seem to believe that the world
            would be a better place without men like myself and companies
            like Petramco.  They seem to think that there's some magical
            time machine that will whisk them to an enchanted land that
            existed long before a little thing called the Industrial
            Revolution came along.  Of course, this is just romantic
            daydreaming.
            But what would happen if their wish came true?

                                   (ACTIVIST stops protesting and mimes
                                   walking across a beautiful
                                   countryside.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            If our friend were able to travel back to the mythical pre
            industrial world, he would encounter many strange and
            fascinating sights.  The sky would be clearer.

                                   (ACTIVISTS bathes in the sun and sniffs
                                   the fresh air.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            There would be a lot more open space.

                                   (ACTIVIST spins around and around.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            And there would be many more species of animals for him to
            see.

                                   (Two MONKEYS enter and frolic with the
                                   ACTIVIST.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            Looks happy, doesn't he?
            But how long would he stay happy?  How long would it take him
            to realize everything he had abandoned in the modern world? 
            A day?  A month?  A year?  I don't think so.
            Within minutes, he'd notice that without modern medicine he
            would be suddenly more susceptible to disease.

                                   (ACTIVIST coughs.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            And without insecticides and plant treatments there would be
            a lot less food.

                                   (ACTIVIST rubs his empty stomach.)

                                   MERRIMACK
            And if he's hoping for any help from his new animal buddies,
            he's got another thing coming.

                                   (The MONKEYS push the ACTIVIST over and
                                   simulate anal rape.)

                                   ACTIVIST
            Mother of God!