Hi Steve,

> does anyone know of any software (other than illustrator) that
> will open ai files form MoI?

There are quite a few... Most 2D illustration programs will do it, Inkscape just happens to kind of be an exception.

For example, Corel Draw, Xara, Deneba Canvas, ... Xara is probably a good one to try: http://www.xara.com/us/products/xtreme/buy/ - a lot of people like it and it is pretty inexpensive at $89.

Also there is a very inexpensive ($39) shareware program called Mayura Draw (http://www.mayura.com/) which if I remember right can do it. That would probably also work as a converter since it can save to SVG.

Also another possibility - it looks like it may still be possible to get a free copy of Creature House Expression 3 from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/expression-design/CreatureHouse.aspx?key=download

- Michael