Levy_S-Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution

now I just spend my time skiing the slopes of Lake Tahoe, watching my videorecorder, driving my new car and living quite comfortably in my new threebedroomhouse. I strongly suggest you do the same."Yet not long after Ken's return from Las Vegas, Bob Davis could not be reached atthe ski slopes, behind the wheel of his car, or in his new home. He was receivingvisitors only at the Fresno County jail. Davis wore a scuffed red prison jumpsuitand a haunted look. He had long, bright red hair, an unkempt red beard, and worrylines in his face that made him seem older than his twenty-eight years. Since theglass between prisoner and visitor was thick, his discussions were conductedthrough telephone receivers at either side of the glass.Bob Davis had not received many visitors in his few weeks in jail. He had beentrying to get Ken Williams to bail him out, so far unsuccessfully. He had gonefrom alcoholic to software superstar to drug-addicted convict, all in months. Hehad thought the computer would deliver him. But the computer had not beenenough.For a high school dropout turned boozer who secretly liked logic puzzles,programming had been a revelation. Davis found that he could get so deeply into itthat he didn't need to drink any more. His fortunes in the company rose as heheaded the Time Zone project, co-wrote his adventure game, and began to leamassembly language for the confounding VCS machine. But just as suddenly as hislife had changed for the better, it began to fall apart."I have a little bit of trouble handling success," he said. The heady feeling he gotfrom a being a bestselling software author made him think he could handle thekinds of drugs that had previously made his life miserable.There had been drugs around On-Line, but Bob Davis could not indulge with themoderation that others managed. It affected his work. Trying to leam VCS codewas hard enough. But Davis' quick success with Ulysses, written in Ken Williams'relatively simple Adventure Development Language, had geared him to instantprogramming gratification, and he became frustrated. "I tried to make up excuses,"Davis later said. "[I said] On-Line was becoming too corporate for me." He quit,figuring he'd write games on his own and live on royalties.He had been working on a VCS game, but despite hours of trying to get somemovement on the screen, he couldn't. Though Ken Williams realized that Bob wasthe kind of person who got his breakthroughs only when someone guided him "Ifsomeone's there, he'll be there [working] till 4 A.M.," Ken once commented Kencould not take the time to help his friend. Davis would try to reach Ken and tell