Allison Mellon stared at the screen, wrapped up in her soap opera.

Sitting next to her, Charles (The Bug) put on his bug-like reflecting shades. He did not feel at all well. He felt as though he were fading in and out of two places: 1) his seat beside her, right there in the conference room, and 2) a fantasy that took him right into the TV, and seemed to change him into a character in the show, at a seaside cafe.

The Bug lived by a dictum: show nothing. The more you show, the more weakness you show. He put on his shades to hide his discomfort.

Outside the conference room at Roman, Wise, & Pecunia, the breeze rustled the leaves and blew in through the open window. Allison's hair moved ever so slightly, and The Bug, sweating, welcomed the breeze. Yet it provided no relief.

"She needs you," it seemed to whisper to him. But who was 'she?' Was it Allison? Or was The Bug back in the soap opera, playing the role of a waiter? Or was he now the muscular Arnold? He was utterly disoriented.

This, dear reader, is entirely understandable, for that was no ordinary breeze. That was The Whisper. The Whisper has no discernible shape or form. The Whisper travels on the breeze, and requires an open window if its target is indoors. The Whisper's specialty is confusion, followed by a state of panic.

The state of confusion, then, in which Charles's troubled mind found itself was to be but one of many that would be experienced by ordinary people such as you or I, or anyone you know. No one would be immune. No one.

In the soap opera, Rhonda and Arnold studied their menus. On their menus, however, one found not the grilled fish of the day, and whether the choice of appetizer was Mussels or Crudites; instead, one found the stockholders' equity sections of two companies:

Iron Machinery, Inc. [Nasdaq: RUST ]             

Common stock, $10 par value      $1,000,000      
Capital in excess of par value      500,000
Retained earnings                   600,000
                               ----------------
 Total stockholders' equity      $2,100,000
                                             

Tumbleweed Garden Supply, Inc. [Nasdaq:  TUMB]

Common stock, $10 par value        $500,000      
Capital in excess of par value    2,500,000
Retained earnings                 1,200,000
                               -----------------
  Total stockholders' equity     $4,200,000

"I see that stockholders' equity includes the par value of the common stock, an

amount called 'Capital in excess of par value,' and 'Retained earnings,'" said Rhonda, secretly running her foot along Arnold's shin under the table. "RUST Company has higher par value than TUMB. Is that good?"

Par value is:

1) The current market price of the stock.

2) The amount that stockholders originally paid for their shares.

3) An arbitrary amount that the company assigned to the shares.

4) None of the above.

The Answer is 3) an arbitrary amount that the company assigned to the shares.

Par value has no economic significance, though it does have legal import. Companies need not even assign a par value to common shares. Many companies issue no-par value stock. The legal significance of par value is, roughly, that if shares are issued below par value, the holders of those shares might be assessed the difference between par value and the issue price. Most stock certificates state that the shares are "fully paid and non-assessable" to indicate that holders are not on the hook for additional contributions because the shares were issued at a price greater than par value.

Companies usually assign a very low par value to common stock. The par value of Reebok's common shares is $0.01 each, that of Bristol-Myers Squibb $0.10.

This is all well and good, but it does not explain the fact that, just after assisting with the order at the restaurant, Charles Deatherage found himself back in the brokerage, struggling to get out of the window. And Allison, his dear, sweet Allison, the love of his life, the woman to whom he wished to show nothing but calm, and cool, and control, was hanging on to his knees for dear life, shrieking her lungs out, trying to keep him from plunging to his death.

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