::Sparky the lab rat comes out on stage. He’s in a nice tux, but seems a bit confused by it::

Sparky: Now why am I wearing this…

Dr. Indy (stage left): You’re presenting an award!

Sparky: I am? Then I’d better get to the podium!

::The audience laughs, and Sparky goes to the mic::

Sparky: I’m here to present the award for…for…

Dr. Indy: Best Original Male Character!

Sparky: Oh right, what he said. Original characters are often offshoots of characters from a story or show we like, and more often represent parts of ourselves. Just like protons, neutrons and electrons orbit a nucleus, these characters orbit in fanfiction stories, creating new challenges for the original characters. And now, the nominees…

Crisscross, “Gadget Until Proven Innocent”, Morgan K.

Theo, “Theo’s Origin”, Indy and Chris Silva

The Owl, “Lost Rangers”, UrthQuake

::Sparky begins looking for something, and Dr. Indy walks out with an envelope::

Dr. Indy: What’s wrong?

Sparky: I seem to remember needing an envelope at this point. Oh, there it is! Why’d you take it?

::The audience laughs, and Indy hands it over and watches as Sparky burns through the edge of it with his electrical abilities::

Sparky: Now, the winner of the Best Original Male Character award is…Indy and Chris Silva, for Theo!

::Dr. Indy looks surprised, and is quickly joined by Chris Silva. Once at the podium, the two writers' faces show that they are very appreciative for this particular win::

Chris: This is an award well deserved

Dr. Indy: Not that we're modest or anything :-)

::The crowd laughs in approval, and Chris speaks again::

Chris: Theo was fun to write and develop through his various incarnations until we found his ideal form.

Dr. Indy: Yes, and in this first story he was able to touch us as writers and hopefully you as readers on a wonderful emotional level. That ability stayed with us, and when we needed a character to help better Chip's life he came to mind right off. We feel we're like Theo's godfathers in a way, guiding him through his early years and into adulthood.

Theo transcended the narrow limits we had placed on him and grew to a leading character seemingly with little or effort on our part. His material just flowed out of us.

Dr. Indy: And we're not quite done with him, either. We've got another Theo story in the planning stage, so keep your eyes open. Thanks, everybody!

::The orchestra strikes up again as Indy and Chris leave the stage to an appreciative audience. Sparky heads off as well—in the wrong direction. In a minute, he about-faces and heads off the right way::