One afternoon Margaret Wilson met a woman in a supermarket aisle. Both were looking for the same bottle of pills but for different reasons. Margaret was searching the shelves for the immortality pill so she could have all bottles removed due to their "fraudulent" and "dangerous" nature. The other lady heard about the immortality pill and was interested in buying a bottle.

When the shopper and Margaret met in the aisle near the immortality pills, they casually greeted each other. The shopper then said, "I heard about this new immortality treatment; I think it’s a pill. I can’t wait to try it. My neighbor said she took one and it was the best thing she ever did for her health. Now she feels twenty years younger!"

Margaret Wilson’s face turned red with envy. Margaret tried to conceal her malevolence by saying, "Oh?"

The shopper continued, "Yes, I’m going to get a bottle for my whole family. I figure that my husband and I can take these pills and benefit the most. But if I give them to my kids while they’re still young, they’ll never experience the terrible effects of…"

Margaret cut off the shopper’s words. She asserted, "I’ve heard some very bad things about this pill!"

The shopper asked, "What did you hear?"

Margaret did not know what to say at first. To stall for time, she picked up a bottle from the shelf and pretended to read the label. Then she held the bottle in front of the shopper and said, "These pills are dangerous! I’ve heard reports of people having severe side effects from taking these pills. Word has it that someone died after taking one."

"Really? I never heard anything like that." said the bewildered shopper.

"Oh yes, I’ve done significant research on the creator of this product. Do you know what I discovered?" asked Margaret.

"What?" replied the shopper.

"He never got authorization by the government to produce or sell these pills. Technically, these unapproved pills are illegal; they shouldn’t be on the market." Margaret said with authority.

"My goodness…I had no idea…" said the shopper.

"I know; most people don’t know about the dark side of this pill or the man behind it. But I’m here to stop this menace before anyone else gets hurt. In fact, I feel it’s my duty to protect the public against such a reckless, unapproved product. I’m working to have this calamity stopped once and for all!" Margaret proudly asserted.

"Thank you miss. You not only saved me some money; you saved my life. What’s your name? I want to remember you as the benefactor of my family!" said the shopper.

"My name is Margaret Wilson. Here’s my card; call me if you ever want to discuss this issue. I’d be happy to show you my research." Margaret said.

The shopper put the bottle of pills back on the shelf, took Margaret’s card, and thanked her again. Then the shopper pushed her cart down the aisle and disappeared around a corner. Margaret Wilson felt a surge of power rush through her body. She felt it was just a matter of time before Brian Storm would be completely ruined.

While driving her car away from the supermarket, she grabbed her cellular phone and called Ben Warren. Margaret said, "Ben, what are you doing to stop the immortality pill?"

Ben answered, "Hi Margaret. About that pill: I really haven’t had time to do anything because…"

"What? You creep! You led me to believe that you were making this a top priority. Now you say you haven’t got the time? How dare you!" Margaret said in a hostile tone.

"Calm down dear. I’ll have things moving along as soon as I can…" said Ben.

"You’d better cripple Brian Storm soon if you still want me. I’m giving you one week to produce results or else!" yelled Margaret.

"Or else what?" Ben asked meekly.

"Or else you’ll never touch my body again. I will not even let you see me anymore." Margaret said furiously.

"Honey, don’t be so quick to cut things off between us. You know how we feel about each other…" Ben said when he realized Margaret hung up the phone. He thought, "Shit, this woman is serious. I’d better act now if I want to keep her in my life."

___________________

Meanwhile, the immortality pill was becoming popular in America. It was also spreading to Canada, Mexico, Japan, and parts of Europe. This pill looked like it was going to be a worldwide success. Journalists wrote about it in popular magazines and newspapers. Business analysts wrote about it from the standpoint of its investment potential. Customers were giving unpaid testimonials on radio and television to express their gratitude. All this attention infuriated Margaret Wilson.

One morning while sitting at her desk, Margaret called some old friends. She had good connections in the popular media and began contacting them. Her plan was to create a commercial that would expose the dark side of the immortality pill. She also planned to appear on talk shows to reveal the dark side of Brian Storm. She hired a publicist to smear Brian Storm and a ghostwriter to write a book about the evils of physical immortality.

Margaret spent her afternoons creating a commercial that would turn the public against the immortality pill. After meeting with Ben Warren and other government officials, Margaret learned that she could work with the Federal Drug Institution producing and airing her commercial around the country. Taxpayer dollars would finance the commercial. Margaret was even offered a salary for her work, which she gladly accepted.

After completing the commercial, it aired during primetime when most people watched television. The commercial played several times each weeknight and Saturday afternoons during sporting events. After seeing the commercial on television, Margaret felt ecstatic. The power she developed to ruin Brian Storm was intoxicating. She felt addicted to the power of destruction.

In order to save his relationship with Margaret Wilson—and to cleverly boost his chances of becoming President of the United States—Ben Warren moved into action. He and other conservative politicians formulated laws to outlaw physical immortality research and products. In record time, Ben got laws passed that not only made the immortality pill illegal, but also made immortality research illegal. And to seal Brian Storm’s fate, Ben Warren made his laws retroactive for three years—just at the time Brian Storm, Dr. Richard Masters, and April Donovan were conducting immortality research.

Once these proposed bills became laws and the immortality pill was illegal, Ben called Margaret. He said, "Margaret, you’re going to love me for this!"

Margaret said, "Why? What did you do?"

"Well, my congressional associates and I have convened to discuss the issue of physical immortality. And do you know what the outcome was?" Ben said cheerfully.

"No, tell me." Margaret said in suspense.

"We’ve passed a law that makes the immortality pill illegal."

"Oh honey, you’re going to get a special treat from me…" Margaret said.

"But that’s only part of the good news. Want to hear the rest?" Ben asked.

"You mean there’s more?" asked Margaret.

"Sure. You’ll love this: our new laws forbid immortality research and products," Ben said while laughing, "But the killer is that these laws are retroactive for three years. That means your menace Mr. Storm is in violation of the law on multiple counts. Now he can be tried for crimes against the government, society, and humanity!"

"Oh, I do love you Ben. Can we please get together this weekend? I want to see all the legal documents and discuss them with you. Will you fly to Chicago and spend the weekend with me? I promise I’ll make it worth your trip." Margaret said in her little-girl voice.

Ben Warren could hardly conceal his excitement. He said, "Sure baby, I’ll come to see you this weekend. And if you’re really good to me, I’ll let you pick Mr. Storm’s trial date."

The two finished talking and hung up the phone. In just a few days they would meet to set the trial date to criminally prosecute Brian Storm.

___________________

Margaret was at a party with friends the night before her meeting with Ben Warren. She felt so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She thought that life was so great now that she had seemingly unlimited power to carry out her desires. She thought to herself, "I love life!"

She was at a friend’s house and was surrounded by several of her girlfriends and their husbands. After engaging in small talk with friends, Margaret spoke loudly. She said, "Listen up everyone. I have an announcement to make."

The crowd quieted down. Standing in the center of her friends, Margaret spoke. She said, "My guess is that you’ve heard about the immortality pill. I’ll bet you’ve heard only good things about it, right?"

Some heads in the crowd nodded yes.

Margaret continued, "I thought so. There’s a reason for this: the makers of the immortality pill want you to see only the good side of this pill. They want the public to believe this is a beneficial product. Well, I’m here to tell you something different. I know the dark side of this pill and its creator."

Some people said, "Ooh."

"Yes, it’s my responsibility to reveal the truth about this issue before it’s too late. So please, give me your undivided attention. It might save your life." Margaret said.

The crowd grew silent. Everyone stared at Margaret like she was on television.

"Thank you. I’ve done a lot of research on the immortality pill and its maker. What you don’t know is that the maker is a criminal and this pill is dangerous. That’s right: Brian Storm—the creator of the immortality pill—has violated at least three United States federal laws and will be prosecuted accordingly. Also, there is talk that a person died after taking this pill." Margaret said seriously.

"Oh my God!" cried a girl from the crowd.

"Please bear with me. This weekend I’ll have copies of legal documents that verify Brian Storm has violated several laws. You can contact me next week to see them. I’m seeking the whereabouts of the man who supposedly died after taking the immortality pill. If I can locate his body, I’ll have Brian Storm prosecuted for manslaughter, too." Margaret said.

A man from the crowd spoke up. He said, "Hey wait a minute. You mean to tell us the maker of the immortality pill is a criminal and a murderer?"

"Think what you want, but Mr. Storm will be on trial soon. I’ll make sure the trial is televised so you can see for yourself if he’s a criminal or not," said Margaret.

"Sounds like you have a vendetta against this guy. What has he done to you? Why are you out to get him? He’s probably just a good guy who wants to help his fellow man. And from what I’ve heard, this immortality pill is more valuable than the electric light bulb," said the man in the crowd.

"You heard wrong, damn it! This man is a threat to society and an enemy of the human race. If left alone, he’ll ruin hoards of industries and destroy tons of jobs that are based on our current concept of humanity. He must be stopped and I’m the one who’ll stop him," exhorted Margaret Wilson, "But I can’t do it alone. I’ll need volunteers and supporters. Do I have any supporters in this room who’ll work with me to stop this dangerous quest for immortality?"

"Yes!" roared the crowd. Everyone at the party cheered and vowed to support Margaret Wilson…except one man.