1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ****************** INSTALLED: 17 NOV 84 **************************** 3 Welcome to BWMS (BackWater Message System) Mike Day System operator 4 ************************************************************ 5 GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION 6 PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM. 7 BWMS was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS is a privately owned 8 and operated system which is currently open for use by the general public. 9 No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the system is 10 privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all messages which 11 I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the system, it will be 12 periodically purged of messages. (only 629 lines of data can be saved) 13 To leave a message, type 'ENTER' and use ctrl/C or break to get out of the 14 ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering the 15 message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to replace 16 the line. To exit from the system, type 'OFF' then hang up. 17 Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system. 18 ************************************************************ 19 20 Well, I guess that as the first person to sprinkle bits on this disk, I am 21 obligated to do my own little dance. That's right, first. 22 "Death's too good for them." 23 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: P. V. Jeltz :::::::::::::::::: 24 Arrio: Nice! 25 ............................................................................. 26 Congratulations! The 2nd test DID have nulls! (why didn't you just type 27 CC N? then the system will display ctrl chars) 28 The ESC-XON was kinda cute... I don't THINK that it'll goof anybody up... 29 "Remember, no matter where you go - there you are!" 30 ___________________________________Leonard__________________________________ 31 ps: L'homme & voyeur, I think I *FINALLY* have the bugs out of my rarchive 32 editing routine. (of course, now it takes 3 passes....) 33 ____________________________________________________________________________ 34 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 35 Standing a little apart from the others, the piper watched the efforts being 36 made to decrypt the arcane code playing over the face of the machine. He 37 looked again -- nope, just as unintelligible as ever. All the talk of 38 polyalphabetic substitution, letter frequency, one-time pads, and trap-door 39 encryption made him shudder each time it passed by. 40 Looking around, he decided that someone should be on the lookout. The diamond 41 valley was eye-searingly bright, but the day could not last forever. Circling 42 the machine, he could see no trace of a power supply, the hard gravel of the 43 valley floor ruled out an excavation, and the machine's case seemed to be 44 without seams. Walking around the machine, he made his way further into the 45 valley proper. Looking for a vantage point, he climbed a slight rise, and 46 looked back up the little canyon that contained the gateway, the machine, and 47 the rest of the party. 48 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 49 Who says we can't be in two places at once? 50 Back at the inn-- 51 The piper rose from his table in a dark corner of the room where he had been 52 lurking nursing one of the Inn's famous nut-brown ales. Wiping the last trace 53 of foam from his moustache, he shouldered his pipes and called out to the 54 innkeeper and the rest of the patrons, 55 "We have some familiar faces here today. Pam is back with tales of her 56 travels, and isn't that someone familiar that just came in? d -- or would 57 you rather be called Dragon Lady? I remember you from my lurking days. Welcome 58 back. You've been sorely missed. The reality of the inn has sometimes slipped, 59 but we've tried to keeep it alive." 60 With that, the piper stepped forward into a cleared area of the floor, swung 61 his pipes to his shoulder, placed the blowpipe in his mouth and inflated the 62 bag with one mighty breath. A short push in the side started the drones, and 63 he dropped his right hand to join his left on the shaft of the chanter. The 64 sonourous hum of the drones filled the inn, followed by the dancing notes of 65 the chanter as he played, for Pam, "The Rowan Tree," for -d-, "The Piper's 66 Delight," and for all ladies present (you too, Kathy) "The Australian Ladies." 67 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 68 )*%#@_)%*!#_)*%!_)%(!#_*%@#)_%@#)_*!!)_%*@#_)*%_)*%!_)%*_%!+%*)%*@#_)*%_*%@_# 69 L'homme and Bard, who had both solved the code, and now knew the 70 'magic' word, stood separate from the others, still milling about, devoid 71 of definite purpose, looking for leadership, with the absence of Milchar. 72 "What now?", queried L'homme. "What do we do with the word so 73 conveniently left for us? What happends next?" 74 The Bard just shrugged. L'homme thought of despair and wasted effort. 75 His lamenting was interrupted by a sigh. A sigh from Bard. 76 "What now?", asked L'homme again. 77 "It's all so obvious.", replied Bard. And with that Bard reached into 78 his ever-present bag, rummaged around for something contained therein, and 79 hummed a little ditty under his breath. 80 "This is very confusing.", L'homme told him, "But I'm willing to play 81 your little waiting game a bit longer. You have an idea don't you?" 82 Bard didn't look up, but he shook his head up and down, the customary 83 affirmative response. 84 "Wait and see. Wait and see.", thought L'homme. 85 _*$%#_)*%_#)&%@_)%&#_)%&@_)%& L'homme sans parity *%#_)@*%@)_*%#_)%*_)%*_#*%@_# 86 )%#@*% Plus L'homme *%#_)@*% 87 Milch : Don't concern yourself with the fill. I'll give you the low-down next 88 next time we talk. I ran some debug on POINT(x,y), and it seemed to be working. 89 When I say seem, I mean the value returned in `return' was always zero, which 90 was correct. It never got to a non-background color, which would return some- 91 thing other than zero, before the stack ran out. Like I said before, when 92 the C64 had a stack overflow, there were no warning messages, no columns of 93 smoke pouring forth from the air vents, nothing spectacular at all. It 94 simply went back to BASIC. It took quite a bit of work to discover it was the 95 stack overflow and not some other `feature' of the C I was working with. C64 96 strikes again! Yes...PorSFiS is today, but I can't make it out in time to 97 give you a ride. Maybe we can shoot for two weeks from now. Can Tom stand it? 98 Alex : Next time we play Risk, I will bring the books along. So you too have 99 discovered another of the many bugs in Applesoft. At RHC, we had to deal 100 with such things too. We finally just coded around the bugs, rather than 101 spend(waste) time trying to figure some clever way to avoid the problem. 102 Buckaroo Banzai report. We were only laughed aat 2 or 3 times. We did see 103 ONE other person with TEAM BANZAI headbands though. The movie is everything 104 is cracked up to be. Try to go on some economy hour though. It ain't 105 Acadamy Award Quality, as Robert Graham would say. 106 _*$_#@*$_)*%_)@#*%_@)#*%_@)#%* L'homme sans Parity )*%_@)*%#)_*_)!@*%_*%_#*% 107 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ~ ? ? ? ? ? ?  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?'/ 108 Leonard:Theus doesn't *HAVE* a UART to load! 109 Milch:If nobody else gets you the docs on the PIA, I suppose I COULD find mine. 110 Theus:We can discuss the anti-tank weaponry at the debreafing tonight at Sarah's 111 L'homme:How does it compare to "repo-man" ?? 112 Alex:Did someone say RISK? tune up the international,. I havn't rallyed 217 in 113 ages. 114 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  ? ? ? _ ? ? > ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?`? ? ? ? ? ? ?/ 115 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 116 I finished stowing my things and kindly asked Novar which way the Keystone 117 was. "Right outside.", he replied. I thanked him, and hurried off in 118 search of my friends. Novar didn't seem to care about what had happened to 119 them, for he remained behind. 120 He was right. A door exactly the same as the other I had passed through 121 only two days ago stood open. I entered quickly, thinking of the little 122 time we had left to return the necklace to Mariani. The room was the same, 123 but the voice failed to make itself heard. I strode quickly to the Diamond 124 Valley door and threw it open. What I saw amazed me. Myriads of facets of 125 the crystal forms inside reflected the light in a thousand beams of 126 brilliant silver, creating the largest display of the laws of refraction 127 and reflection I had ever seen. Squinting a bit due to the brightness, I 128 passed through the door. A trail of sorts lead onward into the tangle of 129 forms. Throwing caution to the winds, I ran down the path in hopes of 130 finding the others that much sooner. A few close calls involving the very 131 pointy tips of the crystal persuaded me to slow the pace. Time to use my 132 newly-returned magic, I thought. Pulling the Wand from my robes, I again 133 chanted the runes imprinted on one of my many 3 X 5 cards... The end of 134 the wand seemed to catch fire as I spoke, and I began to trace out the 135 bounds of a gateway. Faster and faster I sketched, making the gate widen 136 and solidify, spinning in accordance with my wand... Suddenly, I stopped 137 and lept through the gate an instant before the natural laws of the universe 138 closed it behind me again, sealing off the wound I had created in space. 139 I looked about me, and yes, I did seem to be closer... hmmm, over that hill 140 there I believe I hear voices... and is that Piper on top of it? A little 141 off, I said to myself, perhaps I need practice to get back into the swing 142 of things. I wondered what had happened to everyone during my "illness" as 143 I began to climb the hill toward Piper. 144 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 145 Anyone with 6522 docs, and that includes you Mig; in a 1541 disk drive, 146 which of the 6522 lines are connected to anything of importance? The 147 read/write head, the light on the drive, the door sense, write protect 148 notch sense, anything? 149 Yes, I do know there are two 6522's in the drive, but I now know what the 150 computer is getting from the drive, so I know what some of those lines do... 151 Also, which one of the registers is the timer? Is it set in a similiar 152 manner as the 6526? 153 L'homme; I see what you meant on the phone. I'll try to get the program 154 from Rick (my friend I told you about) and see how it works. As for the 155 PorSFiS meeting in two weeks, I will go, Tom or no Tom. What can he do, 156 fire me? I'm quaking in my boots. All I want to do for him is to finish 157 one more program, and have done with him. Hmm, my weekends again free from 158 him... ahh, the possibility of actually being able to DO something on 159 weekends.... 160 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar, at 01:14 pm on 11/17/84 ++++++++++++++++ 161 tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger 162 My name is Tiger and i'm here to say: That I'm one cool cat in everyway 163 I've read your storyline and i think it's fine. 164 I'd like to step in to your Backwater Inn to knock over tables and drink 165 your gin!(but I'm only 15) So I leap off my seat onto my feet and I'll 166 breakdance all night until it gets light. But don't get too shady cause 167 here comes Dragon Lady. Will you welcome us girls into your group, 168 before we skip off to drink some soup? Well good bye for now we'll 169 enjoy our chow. 170 tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger tiger 171 172 { ^+/* ---------------- ^+/* ---------------- */+^ ---------------- */+^ } 173 "...and it's certainly interesting to note that some people can just 174 believe what they are told and fall in step, while others find themselves 175 obliged to question and inquire into the nature of things. In any case the 176 latter type seems to be part of a vanishing breed. As a friend of mine once 177 answered, when someone quipped 'it takes all kinds to make a world', "If 178 that's the case then where are all these different kinds?" He was noted for 179 twisting the obvious around until it seemed unique. A talent that... 180 As Mez rambled on the other folks at the table noticed that he had 181 raised his head slightly and seemed to be sniffing at the air. Clearly some 182 thing besides the group at the table had captured his attention. 183 "Did any of the rest of you notice that scent? It's certainly enticing, 184 peaches perhaps, no apricots. Now where have I encountered it before?" While 185 Mez spoke a smile began to form on his lips and spread until his entire face 186 reflected an aura of great humor. "Yes, yes it was when I was back in Junior 187 Wizard school. She was the one who could communicate with those creatures of 188 myth and magic. Now she was certainly one to remember, aah such pleasant... 189 is it possible?" 190 Looking around the room it was obvious that the crowd at the Inn had 191 increased considerably. At first he didn't see anyone who might fit the 192 description that was qo clear in his mind. Just as he was turning back to 193 the warmth of the hearth his eyes stopped suddenly. Her head was turned away 194 and in the dim light he couldn't be absolutely sure, but who else could it be 195 in such an elegant costume? Mez knew that calling out would be a mistake, she 196 was not a person one approached abruptly. He reached out with his mind, ever 197 so gently, whispered #creatures who know flight always remember to look up# . 198 { ^+/* --------------- The Mesolithic Mathematician --------------- */+^ } 199 200 cut, to, take, noah, psis, physics, scientist, that 201 for, answer, a, an, down< schroedinger, anthropoligist, won't 202 203 the 16 words above can be re-arranged to form a six-word pun & and a ten 204 word pun. between the two puns all 16 words MUST be used. 205 (this is a contest from this year's ORYCON, I was the first to get 206 the short pun, somebody else beat me to the long one.) 207 ______________________________________Leonard___________________________ 208 FOR SALE: OSCILLATION OVERTHRUSTER, ONLY USED ONCE. 209 CONTACT: JOHN WHARFON 210 YOYODYNE PROPULSION 211 GROVER'S MILL, NEW JERSEY 212 8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 213 Bard withdrew a battered copy of the I Ching from his pack. He 214 opened a tube and cast fortx h some yarrow stalks. 215 After reading the entry for the hexgram, he replaced everything 216 in his pack. Turning to L'homme he said, "Waiting is." 217 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 218 GEE THIS IS NEET! 219 OFF 220 EXIT 221 HELP 222 223 224 ................................................... 225 THE ANSWER YOU HAVE FOUND AT LAST 226 THE WORD REQUIRED OF YOU IS PAST 227 DSN 228 229 THEANSW 230 ERYOUHA 231 VEFOUND 232 ATLASTT 233 HEWORDR 234 EQUIRED 235 OFYOUIS 236 PASTDSN 237 238 (READ DOWN THE COLUMNS) 239 KIBITZERKIBITZERKIBTZERKIBITZER 240 241 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 242 ...ah, yes! A simple block matrix rotation 243 pattern cryptograph, with misc. filler on the 244 end... (A Rose by any other Name...) 245 I haven't seen one of those for a while... 246 and I must say that 2 X 20 matrix of mine 247 certainly fooled quite a few people in my 248 earlier days... 249 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 257 258 259 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 260 261 While waiting for the boarding call I've been having an extremely 262 enjoyable, and occasionally animated, conversation with a retired history 263 professor who was on my previous flight and was also stranded. Politics, 264 literature, morality, and even (urp!) television have been the meat of our 265 verbal meal. Though we mostly disagree, I find his arguments delightful 266 since he debates to find a conclusion and reach a consensus rather than to 267 support a position in which he has an emotional stake. Like myself, he 268 desires to shed light instead of heat, so more often than not we find 269 ourselves meeting in the center after starting at opposting poles. And, 270 since his fund of available facts is so much greater than my own, each 271 subject leaves me feeling informed and invigorated. 272 273 The initial call for seating assignments comes, and we approach the 274 podium together, but the subject of our dialogue has become too dear to us 275 to leave it behind as so often happens to strangers indulging in casual 276 conversation. When we finally reach the front of the line, he places his 277 ticket on the counter at the same time I do, and to my surprise the 278 representative of the airlines picks up both tickes and asks, "You're 279 flying together?" 280 281 Before I can speak, my companion responds, "That's correct." 282 283 Glancing at our tickets, the man behind the counter looks a bit 284 perplexed. "I'm .... I'm sorry, but if you're together, why are you 285 flying first class and she's flying coach?" 286 287 "Um, uh, ur..." I add, ever the height of witty repartee under pressure. 288 289 Suddenly my elderly friend has adopted a tired, wounded, and stricken 290 air. "Well, your airline has managed to ruin nearly everything else in our 291 trip so far, so I'm really not surprised at this final indignity." His 292 mood of weary strength in the face of the massed forces of wicked 293 ineptitude is almost palpable. I'm both stunned and impressed. 294 295 "But..." I start to object, only to receive a quick jab in the ribs 296 from his elbow. 297 298 "Now, now dear, don't worry," he croons soothingly, "we'll still get 299 there. I'll see you in Seattle." He reaches for my ticket. "I'll take 300 the coach seat, you take the comfortable one." 301 302 "No, no please!" The man behind the counter looks stricken. "We're 303 terribly sorry about all the problems that have occurred with your flight. 304 Here, " he takes my ticket, "I'll reassign you to first class." 305 306 "Thank you, sir! Your work to solve our dilemma is greatly 307 appreciated. Believe me, your courtesy will be mentioned to your 308 superiors." 309 310 After we leave the counter I whisper "Don't you think that was just a 311 little dishonest?" 312 313 His wrinkled face turns toward me and he smiles. "Don't you think 314 you're a little young to be acting so old?" 315 316 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 317 318 I pause in my tale as I notice the change in the mood of the room, a 319 subtle lightening that reminds me of other, less complicated times. Or 320 perhaps they only seem less complicated when viewed through the blinders of 321 imperfect memory. Quickly, I begin to look about as if searching for an 322 object too dear to name, too costly to price. But though these well lit 323 areas show no sign, I know that it is in the less frequented tables that 324 she is most likely to be found. I wonder if she brought Daon? 325 326 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM+[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 327 328 329 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 330 The piper shifted uncomfortably on his self-chosen lookout position. His 331 eyes had painfully adapted to the glare, but he feared the length of time it 332 would take to re-adapt to a darker clime. Scanning the surrounding territory 333 in sectors, he had just taken in enough of the view to become sensitized to 334 anything different within his field of view. He was just able to discern the 335 location of the doorway that had led them to this spot, and gave it more than 336 it's due share of attention. Some of the party -- it looked like L'Homme and 337 Bard -- were gathered off to one side of the machine, whilee the others were 338 still working on the puzzle. A motion near the doorway caught his attention-- 339 a flicker of motion, as though a figure were running-- 340 The piper scanned the surrounding area, still no changes. The running figure 341 had stopped now and was performing some intricate actions, but the piper felt 342 no sense of menace. Suddenly, the figure leaped forward and disappeared! 343 The piper loosed his dirk in its sheath, hoping that he had not allowed a 344 danger to creep up on the party and redoubled his vigilance. A motion much 345 nearer, at the base of the hill he had chosen for lookout, caught his attention 346 as a figure made a diving roll out of thin air. There was something familiar 347 about -- the step, the way it moved it's body -- a brief flash of the face and 348 yes-- it was Milchar. He seemed to be moving well, climbing as though he had 349 suffered no ill effects from his bout of unconciousness. The piper waved in 350 welcome, not relaxing his vigilance. When Milchar reached the summit of the 351 hill, the piper welcomed him. 352 "Welcome. You look none the worse for your little nap." Gesturing towards 353 the party, the piper said, "It looks like a few people have made progress on 354 the puzzle. I don't have much patience with puzzles, so thought I'd better 355 keep a watch. I don't like the feel of this place -- something seems to be 356 just on the edge of happening." 357 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 358 359 ######################################################################## 360 The Inn had grown quieter, Pam had stopped telling of her adventure, and 361 was looking around. Finally, she stopped and was looking towards the 362 hearth. The Innkeeper followed her gaze and saw a lovly figure dressed in 363 white warming herself in front of the dying fire. "My goodness! All of my 364 old customers seem to be coming back. Knowing exactly what to entice this 365 lovly lady with, the Innkeeper slips off and draws a mug of hot cider, 366 then returns to the table with the other fine guests and places the mug at 367 an empty chair. The Innkeeper then sits back and smiles waiting for the 368 delicious vapors to do their job. 369 ###################### The Innkeeper ################################### 370 ************************************************************************** 371 It was a pleasure to meet some of the fine backwater people at the scifi 372 meeting sat afternoon.. and now to log off and compose another chapter. 373 ****************************kathy****************************************** 374 ************************************************************************** 375 Ontho had the "pedal to the metal" and the disk was again up to 376 "screaming" speed. Leo looked out over the island and then over the sea 377 wondering if the elders could help explain the strange happinings of the 378 day. She opened her journal for the second time in a day and wrote: 379 380 My brain is quite taxed, I hope a rest period will 381 be allowed when we get back, although Ontho looks like the 382 day has just started and is ready for more. I wonder how 383 the little twerp can do it? We found a child back in iceland 384 who had been somehow brainwashed into carrying somekind of 385 earthshaking device. I made a rash choice and used the trident 386 to stop the vehicle the child was operating. Cooked em good.. 387 Sigh, I guess it couldn't have been avoided, I so underestimate 388 the power I carry. I know the others think I'm gruesome and 389 the elders will wag their fingers.. 390 391 Leo closed the journal, not feeling any better. Ontho announced 392 arrival at headquarters in about 1100 micro's. Leo hoped that Alex would 393 be there to see how the day went. 394 Ontho slowed the craft to land. No welcomming party at all. This 395 whole day should never have happened. Ontho buzzed "nazz rtztz dezz" 396 jumped up and down and waved tenicles. (translated: I'm taking this 397 over to the lab you better check in and get something to eat) 398 how did that little twit know I was hungry? Leo thought to herself. 399 Strange creatures Inmo's, I think the elders have been training Ontho 400 in mind reading, inwhich case I had better change my atitude now.. Or 401 I'll have an ememy instead of a partner. Leo jumped down off the disk 402 and helped Ontho down. Ontho waddled off towards the Lab and Leo went 403 inside the flight deck. STraight to the java machine for a strong brew. 404 The trident seemed to be getting heavier all the time. 405 ** hold it now!!! she said to herself, slapping herself on the face. 406 wack!! why am i feeling so sorry for myself? knock it off!!! Ok Ive 407 gotten ahold of myself now. into the chamber for my report. 408 *****************************kathy***************************************** 409 @@@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ 410 MY WORLD IS OLD, 411 WITH A STRICT CHAOTIC ORDER. 412 SURVIVING ON WHAT I NEED 413 NOT WHAT I WANT. 414 415 THOUGH I MAY SEEM GONE 416 I CAN TELL LEFT FROM RIGHT. 417 AND EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD THE RIGHT 418 I'M TIRED OF BEING LEFT. 419 420 I CARE FOR YOU 421 WITH ALL MY HEART, 422 LOVE, I BELIEVE, 423 IT'S CALLED 424 425 YOUR WORLD WAS FINE, 426 BUT NOW IT SEEMS TO CRUMBLED; 427 IT CAN BE SAVED, 428 PLEASE LET ME HELP. 429 YOU SAY THINGS ARE FINE, 430 BUT I'M NOT EASILY FOOLED. 431 I 432 I'M HERE, 433 IF YOU NEED ME. 434 YOU KNOW THAT I 435 AM JUST SOMEONE 436 THAT YOU CAN TALK TO. 437 I'LL HOLD YOUR HAND, 438 SO FEEL NO FEAR, 439 TOGEE 440 CAN OVERCOME ALL. 441 442 WHEN ALL IS RESTORED, 443 I WILL MOVE ON; 444 FOR I WAS TO LATE, 445 AND YOU WERE TO SOON. 446 447 DON'T LOOK ME IN THE EYE 448 WHEN TH TIME COMES, 449 FOR I WOULDN'T BE ABLE 450 TO LEAVE AT ALL. 451 452 SO WHAT DO YOU THINK??? 453 454 MARK HOLDAHL 455 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 456 457 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 458 HELP THEY 459 HAVE FOUND 460 ME !!!!! 461 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 462 463 464 JOHN BARNHOUSE (NO RELATION TO THE B-D IN WILSONVILLE) 465 CAN I GET A RIDE WITH SOME ONE OF OFF THIS MUD-BALL 466 I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE FOR NEARLY OVER 30 YEARS!!!!! 467 468 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 469 TO ALL, 470 I MADE AN ENTRY,BUT I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I GOT INSPIRED FROM A BOOK. I AM NOT SAYING THAT I COPIED IT 471 WHICH I DID NOT,BUT I MEARLY WISH TO MAKE CLEAR THAT IT WAS NOT COMPLETELY MY 472 OWN INGENUITY. 473 BUT TO ANYONE WHO THOUGHT POSITIVELY ABOUT MY SMALL ENTRY,WHAT DO YOU THINK? 474 475 ARRIO 476 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 477 AHHHOOOPPSS! I JUST NOTICED THERE ARE SOME HITCHHIKERS IN THE AREA.SO THAT 478 THERE IS NO CONFUSION,THE ABOVE ENTRY 479 WAS FOR THE BENIFIT OF ALL STRAGS AND 480 NOT NECESSARILY FOR ALL YOU COOL F-FRUDE 481 HITCHHIKERS OUT THERE.INCIDENTLY,I HAPPEND TO HAVE MISPLACED MY TOWEL(OH,DISGRACE!) ANYONE GOT AN EXTRA?! 482 SONDARGAARD,IN BETWEEN P.G.GB'S ZAPHOD SAID (WITH BLEARY EYES) "HELLO" 483 WAVE YOUR TOWEL IF YOUR A HITCHHIKER!! 484 ARRIO 485 (AGAIN) 486 487 488 --> SLIME PIT UNIVERSES RULE THE MIND <-- 489 ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 490 |||||||||||| 491 I DIDNT WRITE THAT! 492 ARRIO 493 ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 494 |||||||||||| 495 It was a pleasure meeting thee, oh fair maiden! 496 ..................................the apprentice.............................. 497 Bard, realizing that even HE was getting lare spots in his eyes reached 498 once more into his pack. After but a moment of rummaging he extract several 499 pairs of sun goggles. (sunGLASSES fall off too easily!) 500 They were quickly distributed among the party & L'homme volunteered to take 501 a pair to Piper. 502 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 503 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 504 "Yes, it does.", I replied to Piper after I had climbed the hill. From this vantage point I could see for about a 505 quarter-mile in all directions- and yes, I could see the gateway to the north and the machine only a hundered yards to 506 the south. Everyone below was milling about a machine of some sort, about 10 meters high. Wait, someone coming closer. 507 L'homme! He was wearing a pair of sungoggles to ward off the extreme glare, and was holding another pair. He waved 508 to us as he climbed up. Not a bad idea, getting goggles. L'homme finished the climb and handed the goggles to Piper, 509 apologizing for not having another pair. "Quite all right, If my eyes become strained I shall try to summon a pair. 510 What is that thing down there?", I asked. Slowly, and with L'homme and Piper taking turns, I was told the rest of the 511 story. "What have you done with the word you discovered?", I asked. 512 "Nothing yet. We were considering that very question. You wouldn't have an idea, would you?", L'homme asked. 513 "Well, yes, have you tried speaking the word to the machine?" 514 "No...." Abruptly, a loud explosion from below made the crystal sound as if a hundred thousand wind chimes sounded 515 in unison. A wave of energy erupted from the machine... it seemed to seek out our bodies and penetrate... A bright 516 streak flew toward me and merged with the remainder of my necklace. The whole glowed and spat fire, a brilliant torch 517 amid the shaking crystal. The energy passed, the machine below was gone... amazingly, no one seemed to be hurt. 518 "I think someone below just thought of it.", I said. Another deafening boom signaled the arrival of another earth- 519 shaking occurance... 520 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 10:38 on 11/18/84 +++++++++++++++ 521 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 19 Nov 84 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 522 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 01:12 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 523 Enraptured by the flames, curling feebly in their eternal seeking 524 for more, she had not noticed the murmer that had whisked through the 525 crowd suddenly, like an eddy of wind that twisted back contrarily... 526 chin cupped in hand and feet drawn under her, she was lost in thought, 527 though her eyes were alive, reflecting the flicker of the dying fire. 528 But the curious hush that descended finally reached her: she lifted 529 her head, immediately meeting the eyes of the Mesolithic Mathematician. 530 He fairly sparkled with good humour, but there was a curious expectancy 531 about his look that puzzled her; only for a breath of a moment, until 532 she recalled his propensity for thought-projecting from those long-ago 533 days. Such divergent paths they had taken! Her smile lit her face 534 as she uncurled herself to greet her old collegue: "Well-met, Mez!" 535 Jovial and exuberant as ever, he invited her to pull up a rough-hewn 536 bench just as the savoury medly of cinnamon, cherry, apples & cloves 537 drifted near; seeking its source, she espied the Innkeeper and Pam 538 beckoning to an empty chair. Turning back, she caught that expectant 539 look from Mez again--he didn't remember. Tilting her head a mite 540 reproachfully, she said only for his ears: "Touch not the mind, Mez." 541 Suffused with delight, she fairly scampered over to see Pam, dear 542 old friend; she clasped both her hands and implored to hear more tales 543 of adventure, for even by the hearth the talk had ventured. As Pam 544 began, the slight figure gowned in white sipped the steaming mug that 545 the Innkeeper had brought, the Apprentice's special gift: it slipped 546 so comfortably into her hands, ever pleasingly-warm, ever full. 547 Pam was in the midst of another story, when "Ah!" exclaimed the 548 lady of dragons, for she had spotted a hesitant figure just inside the 549 door, a girl sporting blue-green blousy trousers and a black jacket. 550 She'd drawn the attention of several near the door, but they seemed 551 too startled to say anything. "Excuse me for interrupting, but my 552 friend Tiger appears lost. I spoke with such warmth of our Inn; she 553 knows naught of the ways of lost times...Please, welcome her!" 554 As she spoke, she fastened her green eyes on Tiger's black ones until 555 the girls found each other. "Looking relieved, Tiger squirmed through 556 the crowd to their table, and as she came, the Innkeeper inquired if 557 they had supped, indicating his hand toward the kitchen, where he had 558 a cauldren of stew awaiting his guest's appetites. 559 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> d <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 560 { ^+/* ---------------- ^+/* ---------------- */+^ ---------------- */+^ } 561 ing greeted the Lady D. and seen her safely to a table of friends 562 and her favorite refreshment the Mez turned back to the conversation at his 563 table. "Now there's one for the books", he said, chuckling aloud. "Memories 564 are such Mobius strips of the mind.", he continued in a lower voice directed 565 at no one in particular. 566 This was the finest gatherings that had been assembled at the Inn for 567 some time. Perhaps we are in the process of creating one of those times that 568 will one day be thought of as 'the good old days', Mez though to himself. 569 Piper, a tune if you choose, to celebrate the occasion, and the drink 570 of your choice, ale if I remember correctly. I'm paying of course. Mez was 571 in a mood for dancing and he remembered the ole' saying, so he thought to pay 572 in advance. 573 { ^+/* --------------- The Mesolithic Mathematician --------------- */+^ } 574 575 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 576 at the inn-- 577 With a broad smile, the piper made a bow to Mez. "He who pays the piper 578 also gets to call the tune, you know." the piper replied quaffing the lees 579 in his mug. He continued, "but while you are searching for the name of a 580 tune, let's have a medely of dance airs." 581 The piper swung the pipes to his shoulder, the drones spreading out nicely, 582 the left hand holding the chanter. He put the blowpipe in his mouth, took 583 a deep breath and blew it into the bag. The bag was soft and supple, responsive 584 from the playing it had gotten lately. In fact, the piper noted, it was a bit 585 too supple -- he had the pipes winded now, the drones started, the chanter 586 beginning to sound -- he worried slightly that it would soon be time to replace 587 the bag, would it never end? Fingers rippling lightly over the holes in the 588 chanter, the piper swung into "Munlochy Bridge", "The Salmon Leap", "Rose 589 Amongst the Heather", and "The High Road to Linton." 590 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 591 adventure 592 Milchar -- I'm still with you. Continue please. 593 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 594 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 595 596 To the lonely old man before the terminal: remember us! We will always 597 remember you! 598 599 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 600 601 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 602 I MAY BE OLD. BUT LONELY.. NEVER. WITH I, MYSELF AND ME. 603 WHO WILL BE LONELY? 604 605 606 Watch out for bad trash... ---------->Sondargaard 607 608  ^O ^I ^H^, ^G ^I^! 609 Twasn't me, (Hint, I always use there/their in correct context, as well 610 as here/hear.) But, the sentiment holds, and if you were truly directing 611 it at me, I thank you. If not, thank you anyway.  ^!  612 613 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 614 - The statement about eight (8) lines up wasn't 615 pointed in anyone's direction, Friend; I had just 616 placed it there so people using DA & DB, as you 617 and I both obviously do, might be aware of r.d.'s 618 return to the neighborhood. And by the way, 620 the answer is nay, you needn't worry over me... 621 I am not a in the guise of a friendly 622 patron of the Inn. I greatly enjoy the creativity 623 and have shared some of the same. I am too 624 am a FRIEND (oh, and please refrain from using 625 the ctrl `O', it LOCKS my terminal forcing me to 626 hang-up to disconnect and reset [curses & drats]) 627 .....Friend... --->Sondargaard TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 627