Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens was the general manager of Beaver Creek Lanes and a member of the Bar Harbor Bowling League in 2077.

Background
As a member of the staff, he had to deal with the consistent vandalism of the Vim machines on their property. Despite constant vigilance, they were unsuccessful at catching the culprit. However, he did learn from Thomas Davis that Jan at the Bar Harbor Museum was also experiencing the same vandalism.

Despite the recent vandalism, he loved his profession, as he got to work with the game that he loved and with his friends. After he learned of Thomas' imminent deployment, he and the others in their friend group planned a going-away party for him. The surprise, however, was accidentally revealed by his other friend Mark Wilson; Thomas was flattered and helped with the party planning.

After learning of Thomas' injury in the war via Mark (sometime around the end of June 2077, the beginning of July) they took the news hard. One night, Matthew and Mark got to talking while shooting the balls back up the return and checking the machinery when they came up with an idea to help Thomas bowl the perfect game he was so close to. Thomas' arms still worked, so they came up with the idea of a sort of "bowling gun" built out of the ball return and a strong motor attached to a board.

Although their original idea would prove to be a colossal failure - it only achieved sanding off the edges of the balls - they began to discuss the ideal with some of the old-timers. Jacob brought up the idea that they should just get and modify one of the new Fat Man catapults. Determined, they followed this advice, and used connections to find a supplier at an old surplus center out in the "willywacks," and traded a couple of tanks of gasoline for it. It was an illegal act, but they figured that it would be harmless because it was only meant for bowling.

During the development on October 6, they forgot to reduce the tension springs and the first ball they launched flew straight through the wall of the office and stoved-in a table in the dining area, knocking Mr. Clark out of his chair, nearly killing him, but Matthew and Daisy were able to talk him out of suing after coming to an agreement of free games and half-priced beers for life. With a few more tweaks, The Striker was effectively complete, although they never managed to adjust the firing speed.

However, fortune continued to frown upon Beaver Creek Lanes, as a landslide caused massive structural damage to the building, even dropping a truck through the roof. It was not long after this that an insurance adjuster and the structural engineer concluded that the building was unsafe. However, she did not know if it could be repaired or if the whole building had to come down until the debris was cleared out. Matthew talked with the insurance company to see if there was any sort of emergency wages they could get for the employees, but the company was fighting him pretty hard.

With the alleyway closed, Matthew gathered up as much as he could out of their lockers and brought them and their final paychecks to the coffee shop at noon on October 20. He added a little extra to their checks, wishing it could be more, but it was all he had until the insurance paid out. His fate and the fate of his colleagues after the Great War is unknown.

Appearances
Matthew Stevens is mentioned only $$==References==