1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************ INSTALLED: 1 JAN 85 **************************** 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 mMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMm 21 Dan followed his benefactor for what seemed like forever. He could not 22 understand just how the rather unimpressive building (sitting in a 23 suburban industrial park) could contain such volume. Hurrying his steps to 24 keep up with his companion, he said as much. 25 The man wearing the inkblot smiled. "Actually, what you see here is a small 26 part of this operation. You may have noticed that this building was built 27 next to a large hill. We have been under that hill for the last five minutes." 28 The man wearing the inkblot stopped at a set of double doors and tapped a 29 complicated sequence on a numeric pad inset in the wall. The doors opened 30 to reveal an elevator. Getting in, Dan looked at his companion inquiringly 31 as instead of the ubiquitous floor buttons, it contained another numeric pad. 32 The man wearing the inkblot smiled reassuringly as he tapped out another 33 code. "Don't worry, it's actually quite easy to learn. The next step is home." 34 mMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmM The Machrioness mMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmMmM 35 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 36 Running again. Just like the other night. Fellows followed his rescuer to 37 a parking lot down the street from the hotel. The man unlocked the doors on 38 his rather dumpy import, and helped Fellows get seated. While sitting, Fellows 39 accidentally brushed one of the car's speakers, which went crashing to the 40 wave pavement. The car's owner muttered an oath, and replaced the speaker 41 precariously on its mount. No way to thank the man who just saved my life, 42 thought Fellows. 43 The man didn't give his name, but he didn't ask Fellows for any ident- 44 ification either. He did tell Fellows they were going to go to his apartment 45 on the other side of town, and get cleaned up and straightened away. The 46 clean up part was quite welcome, the straightened away part worried Fellows. 47 The drive was uneventful, but Fellows couldn't help but notice the man's 48 entire body was shaking. His hands left perspiration marks on the wheel, 49 which reflected the light from the street lamps overhead. He is in bad 50 shape, thought Fellows. Dangerfield must have meant something to him in the 51 past. That explains the remark about coming back. I wonder... 52 Fellows mind was now racing. He was using a derivation on the scientific 53 theory model for expanding facts and producing conclusions taught by the 54 NET. The mystery man drove on, and Fellows was slowly but surely putting 55 the many bizarre pieces together. 56 We are almost there, the man told Fellows. So am I, Fellows said under his 57 breath. The pieces were falling into place. But I need to get a good look at 58 him;too much rush;too dark so far. As the car approached the apartment complex 59 parking structure, a large sodium light gave Fellows the perfect opportunity 60 to play out his little plan. He started violently coughing, and the man 61 turned to see what was the matter. The light from above shown perfectly on 62 his face as he looked. A quick glance. It was! Joshua! He held in check his 63 excitement. He had to play this cool. No telling what mental condition he 64 was in. A small voice inside reminded him he was still in good enough 65 condition to assassinate Dangerfield. 66 But bringing in agents from the field, especially after capture by the 67 enemy, was no easy task. The agents are on the razor's edge. Sometimes 68 they can't separate friend from foe. Like a wounded animal, they can strike 69 out at anything that approaches. 70 Fellows ran through the NET agent retrieval procedures. Joshua parked 71 the car in slot 23. Let's see, a building less than 10 stories, 23 means 72 floor two room three. Fellows had to be ready for anything. He still wasn't 73 even close to recovered, but the recent events had certainly given him a 74 new lease on life. 75 Joshua lead the way to the elevator. His hand seemed to shudder as he reached 76 for the call button, but he remained silent. During the ride up, Fellows was 77 consumed with planning his next steps. Joshua fidgeted nervously. Finally the 78 bell rang, and the doors opened. Apartment 23 was two doors down on the left. 79 Joshua seemed to be looking for something along the door frame. Whatever it 80 was, he didn't find it. He pulled out his gun, and quietly motioned me back 81 behind the wall. He slowly unlocked the door with his key in the other hand. 82 He clicked the 9mm safety to off, and turned the door knob. Here we go again, 83 Fellows fretted. 84 Fellows 85 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 86 87 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 88 The term was bulky, but I didn't mind; it could be purple and yellow polka-dot if it wanted to as long as it spewed 89 forth with the information I wanted... Ah! At last, a connection. 90 >AUTOID:<, It asked. The term replied with a twenty-odd character long string. 91 >ROA Granted to GOVTERM #5693. Awaiting search string.< 92 I carefully tapped out, "O'Hara, John K.". 93 >Searching... O'Hara, John K. Found.< 94 Tap, tap, tap... "Display last orders" 95 >Last orders: No such data< 96 What?, I thought. No orders? This didn't jibe with what I knew of John. I gave it another try: "Display entire file" 97 >O'Hara, John K. Director of UNDOUND, also assigned occasionally to work in government labs. Has PhD in ^C< 98 >Awaiting search string< 99 "UNDOUND" 100 >No such data< 101 This was *VERY* suspicous. Not only was John not what he said he was, he was head of something that didn't exist. 102 Well, enough in that direction. "NET" 103 >Unauthorized access.< 104 So it *DID* exist. This was getting more interesting by the second. NET existed without a doubt now. I wondered if 105 I could get anything more out of this thing. "Request: Grant access to 'NET'" 106 >Enter password:< 107 Arrrgh! I typed in, for the heck of it, "Nuke 'em Ronnie sent me" 108 >Access denied, but nice try.< 109 A smarty-pants, too. I tried again: "Joshua" 110 >Special access granted to subfile 'NET' (Joshua).< 111 Success at last! "Display entire file" 112 >Joshua, agent of NET: Lost. Presumed dead, but recent evidence refutes this. Beleived to be dangerous due to 113 repeated brain-washing and counter-brain-washing. Wanted by NET to keep secure information within his mind and to 114 regain one of their finest agents. All NET agents are to be on the lookout for agent Joshua, and are to see to his 115 return if possible.< 116 >More data waiting.< 117 I typed in, breathlessly, "Continue" 118 >Access denied. Logout 03:03pm.< 119 BEEP! **** No Carrier **** 120 I almost shut the term off when something caught my eye on the screen. The last random characters that occur when the 121 carrier is lost spelled something: 'net'. 122 Was NET responsible for logging me off? Did I get too close to something valuable? 123 I shut the term off. "Farley?", Fred piped up. 124 "Yes, Fred?", I said, wondering what I had done in a previous life to deserve this. 125 "Is something the matter?" 126 "Life, Fred, life- that is the matter." 127 "Why so?" 128 "I feel as if I were playing baseball, at bat. Someone just threw me a curve." 129 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# Farley #$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 01/01/84 - 03:10 (almost put the wrong date down) #$# 130 131 FARLEY - ACTUALLY, YOU DID GET THE WRONG DATE, IT'S 1985 NOT 1984... 132 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 133 The clock in the hall tolled the midnight hour. The New Year began. 134 Victor held Ashley in his arms, gazed into her eyes, and kissed her... a 135 long and lingering kiss. Nikki turned from her guests and saw her husband 136 holding another. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Fade to black... Time 137 for a commercial. 138 Dr. Frankenstupe leaned forward and snapped off the television set. 139 The last episode of the Young and Restless for 1984 was over. Frankenstupe 140 chuckled to himself, "I knew that Victor and Ashley would get together." 141 A man in a white coat entered the room. "Mail call, Doctor." 142 "Thanks." Dr. Frankenstupe took the stack of letter and began to sort 143 through them. The orderly left unnoticed. 144 "Hmmmm... What's this?" Frankenstupe held an aqua-hued envelope 145 scented with sandalwood in his hand. The stamp was unusual bearing the 146 likeness of a bewhiskered man scowling menacingly. The man reminded 147 Frankenstupe of a foul tempered Santa suffering from viral hemorrhoids. The 148 Doctor opened the letter and began to read. 149 Dear Frankie-- 150 Happy Holidays. If you haven't guessed yet, Mohammed and I are 151 in Iran. Mohammed has made peace with Leroy (temporarily) and is helping 152 him import hairless chipmunks into the country. Poor little guys, the 153 Americans are using them for food. Have you ever seen a bar-b-cued chip- 154 munk? Yuk! I still don't think Leroy is wrapped too tight. I don't know 155 if Mohammed is going to double-cross him this time, or visa versa. 156 Salazar has taken a night job as athletic director in the 157 Sunnyvale Rest Home. Nobody wants to play shuffleboard at 3 AM, so he has 158 plenty of time to work on his book. It's about he, Mohammed, and I met. 159 Both Mohammed and I have threatened to sue his boxer shorts off, but 160 Salazar perseveres, the chump. 161 Since you've heard from Pam recently, I'll call off the search. 162 But FRankie, you should realize by now that she comes and goes according 163 to her own design. Enjoy her company when she's there... don't fret when 164 she's gone. 165 Time to close now. The funny guy in the long robes is back to 166 chase me around his palace. Keep healthy and well. Wish all in the Inn a 167 Happy New Year. Hope to return soon. 168 Love, Serena 169 Frankenstupe carefully folded the letter and slipped it into the 170 envelope. Silently he added his wishes for a happy New Year to all those 171 in the Inn. 172 Dr. Frankenstupe 173 +_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_ 174 175 JoshuaJoshuaJoshuaJoshuaJoshua 176 Farley - don't gloat TOO long; one of these days I'm gonna work YOU into 177 my story. Heh heh heh.... 178 And then of course there's Petrov...... (sound of hands rubbing together..) 179 JoshuaJoshuaJoshuaJoshuaJoshua 180 181 -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ 182 a message to tilean: could it be that you are the big Mac? 183 if so, could the hill you mention have something to do with the 184 VIXEN-MONO CORP. that "we" have recently "investigated?" 185 if so, i'm glad to see that i really know who someone around 186 here really is. 187 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- abacab _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 188 189 ~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%%~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%%~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%% 190 The Opening - by the Chela 191 The old man and the boy rested under the big oak tree. The boy asked, 192 "What is Life." The old man thaught first for a minute, and then 193 deciding that the boy could indeed handle the truth, becane to speak. 194 "Life", he said with a long drawn out voice; "Life is many slended 195 hings", recalling some poem from long ago. "Everything is Life", he 196 reflected. "Many people ask for the world to stop, so that they 197 can get off. This is foolish, for everyone of use must live out 198 our experiences here in this plane of existence. If we bypass them, 199 we must just come back to them again, someday, in a future life, until 200 we have learned them all. Then, and only then, can we progress to the 201 higher planes to stay." 202 "So, how do we progress", said the boy with a puzzelled look on his face. 203 "Thru the sound of truth", said the old man. "But how does one find 204 his 'Sound of Truth?'", asked the boy. "One does not find IT, IT finds 205 you", replied the old man. "But that, is another lesson." 206 The old man stood up and started to walk out of the park. "That 207 will spark him", thaught the old man. "Not to much at a time." For 208 the old man knew that to much knowledge, to soon, may crush a young 209 boy (or anyone). He must be careful about that. 210 The young boy watched as the old man walked away. What an 211 interesting thought, I must learn more about what he taught. 212 From down the street, someone was shouting for him. 213 "TILEAN", "TILEAN!!!" 214 He sprang up and ran down the street toward home, still with a puzzled 215 look upon his face. 216 ~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%%~~~~~~~~~~%%%%%%%%%% The Chela 217 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 218 Close to my header but not to close. Well PaPa Smurf has cooled a bit. 219 Have been having a hard time getting on lately. Oh, for school to 220 start again and the young ones to be in it. Ha Ha. 221 The NETstories and their babies are getting very good, my 222 hat is tipped toward the writters. The intreget (sp) plot of the stories 223 is very interesting. I LOVE IT. must head out of the house now. 224 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ever lurking PaPa Smurf 1-1-85 18:50 225 See, I did put 85, not 84. Somebody higher up on the disk had better 226 remember that or all of their checks are going to have problems. 227 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PaPa 228 Hello, I'm Entropy. I'm new to bbs, but from what I've seen this 229 one is great! New Year's CHEERS to you all, and MORE STORIES!!! 230 They're really good. Hope to see more soon... 231 ^.^ Entropy 232 1-1-85 233 _[ 234 235 tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 236 237 at a loss for words... so many things have been said about me... and i only 238 left my name a few days ago... odd... i will try to respond to everything i saw 239 in the last disk... things went by so fast... i am afraid i forgot someone... if 240 i have please forgive me... 241 242 tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 243 244 the chela... 245 i enjoyed your story very much... it was a shock to see my name mentioned in 246 it... i enjoyed the mention... thank you... but what now...? i would love to 247 participate in the line of thought... if i may...? 248 abacab... 249 i am afraid i am not the big mac... iam not pretending to be the machrioness 250 either... i'm afraid... sorry that you don't know anyone personaly on this 251 computer system... many of them go to a science fiction society meeting every 252 other week though... and i went to the last one... it is a lot of fun and most 253 of all... you get to see the faces of people behind all the stories, and entries 254 and everything else... 255 256 speaking of great writing... 257 all of the writing i've seen on these last two disks are terrific... i am glad 258 that these disks in particular are good too... i am getting school credit for 259 using this system... and my communications techer wants to see it... again... 260 especially nice writing... everyone... 261 262 gaudy minsky... 263 when i handed you the note after porsfis... you said you would get back to me 264 soon... and i thought that meant on one of the systems i mentioned... please... 265 contact me there... i only use a few systems and i don't get around to all of 266 them too often... anyway, thank you for reading the note... four pages it may 267 be... 268 269 it seems there were not nearly as many people as i thought... which is bad... 270 actually... this means that i must be forgetting somebody... 271 272 tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 273 274 RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY 275 BEEP BEEP 276 Ian stopped dictating to the terminal as a window appeared on 277 top of the report he was preparing for NET HQ. 278 ********************** 279 * Priority Two Alert * 280 * * 281 ********************** 282 283 Ian muttered, "This had better be good", as he pressed the 284 indicated key. 285 SHOOTING REPORTED IN WESTON-BENSON. POLICE CALL WAS CANCELLED. 286 INFORMANT XZ7 UNCERTAIN AS TO EXACT DETAILS, BUT INDICATES THAT 287 VICTIM APPEARS TO BE IMPORTANT MEMBER OF 'NEESHIES. RUMORS THAT 288 MA PREM DAVIS WAS VICTIM, BUT UNABLE TO CONFIRM. ALSO RUMORS OF 289 ESCAPED PRISONERS. END. 290 The terminal inquired, "ORDERS, SIR?" 291 "Yes, get some of our people in there AT ALL COSTS! We MUST find 292 out who was shot, what condition they're in, and who the prisoners were 293 - if there really were any..." 294 After recieving acknowledgement of the orders from dispatch, 295 Ian resumed the report. 296 "... infiltration of agents into chip design teams progresing 297 according to schedule. Interim goal should be reached..." 298 RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY 299 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* 300 ELIZABETH WANDERED INTO THE OFFICE CLUTCHING THE NEWSPAPER UNDER HER ARM. THE 301 AD READ "ADVENTUROUS PEOPLE WANTED FOR VARIOUS WORK." SHE THOUGHT OF HERSELF 302 AS ADVENTUROUS, AND SHE NEEDED A JOB, SO HERE SHE WAS. THE OFFICE DOOR READ 303 'UNDERGROUND AGENCIES'. "THIS CAN'T BE IT" SHE THOUGHT. ALAS, IT WAS. 304 BEHIND THE DESK SAT THE UGLIEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD. "I CAME ABOUT THE AD 305 IN THE PAPER" STAMMERED ELIZABETH. "SURE YOU DID" SHOT BACK THETHING (WOMAN). 306 "GO ON IN, HE'S NOT DOING ANYTHING." ELIZABETH SLOWLY STARTED FOR THE DOOR 307 AND CAUTIOUSLY TURNED THE KNOB. THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN SLOWLY AS THE MAN IN THE 308 BIG LEATHER CHAIR SWUNG AROUND. "YOU!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" ELIZABETH 309 CRIED.... 310 =*=*=*=*=*=* ELIZABETH RYAN =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* ON AT 11:15 01:01:85 *=*=*=*=* 311 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 312 Elizabeth: Cute, cute... not one of your better efforts, but all right for now. 313 Joshua: Imagine me sitting at my computer, smirking. Then imagine me wiping the smirk off my face, repentant. 314 There, will that get me off the hook for saying your mind resembles scrambled eggs? 315 Above: So I made a mistake... It takes a while to break old habits. Anyway, I don't have a checking account, thus 316 I can't get into trouble with my checks. 317 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 318 Fred was having a hard time believing what I had told him about John. 319 "Listen, Farley, I know John. Why don't you trust him anymore?" 320 "Because he's head of a department that doesn't exist, according to that computer. Did he ever tell you that?" 321 "No... but the computer could be wrong, Farley. Just think back a while... not too long ago I was wrong about the ELT." 322 "Yes, and you could be wrong this time, too." 323 For some reason, Fred shut up after hearing that. 324 For the next five minutes, we drove peacefully. Then- 325 "Farley, there's been a report of two men leaving a hotel. One was covered with what appeared to be blood stains." 326 "It's probably a prank of some sort- those 'blood stains' are most likey just ketchup." 327 "Okay, but how do you explain the gun that one of them carried?" 328 "Gun?" Perhaps this was something, after all. "Get us there, fast." 329 Fred wasted no time and followed as few of the traffic laws as possible, while I made sure that ol' Betsy was loaded. 330 Soon we pulled up to the hotel. 331 "Where are they, Fred? I don't see them.", I said. 332 "Scanning surrounding area... No sign of them. Hmmm, that's peculiar." 333 "What? What are you talking about?" 334 "Oh, nothing. My scanners are unable to penetrate a portion of the traffic ahead. Seems to be centered about four 335 blocks away." 336 "Can't penetrate?" My mind raced. Something purposely blocking the scanners..? "Follow the area you can't penetrate." 337 "How did you know it was moving? Never mind. Engaging engine." 338 We set off in pursuit of the strange null area in Fred's sensor range. I hoped that they wouldn't turn it off, for 339 if they did, then we would lose them......again. 340 "Keep back, Fred. Just keep him within range. I want to know where he's going." 341 Luck was with us, for the moment. The car in question (we could see it now, barely) pulled into the parking area of 342 an apartment complex. 343 "The null area has disappeared, Farley. Two people are getting out of the car... Heading up to an apartment." 344 We pulled in, just in time to see the people get into the elevator... A woman and her child. 345 I parked Fred. Walking nonchalantly towards the other car, I looked about. No one to be seen. 346 A quick search of the car revealed a small disk that had held onto the car magnetically. 347 "Examine this, Fred.", I said as I showed the disk to him. 348 "A jammer, of the type that would generate the field that I sensed, or rather, didn't sense." 349 "In other words, a decoy." My hopes were fine china, falling to the floor- smashed into hundreds of pieces. 350 "I'm afraid so." 351 #$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$##$# Farley #$##$##$# January 1st, NINETEEN-EIGHTY-FIVE (how's that?) #$##$##$##$##$##$##$# 352 -------------------------------------- 353 Back Water is a great way to rid one's 354 self of depression... 355 -------------------------------Mad Max 356 =============== Baa Baa Black Lingerie =============== 357 The day wore on like any other. In the morning, the man fed me the usual food 358 and made those noises which I couldn't understand. His tone was nice. 359 I decided to be friendly. "Baaaa, Baaaa!" ("Good morning nice man!") The end 360 of the man's mouth curved up. He said something I couldn't understand. His 361 tone was real nice. The man left. 362 All went well until the time between when the milk was taken from the big 363 brown animal, and when the man fed the birds which don't fly. It was then that 364 the strange man came. He said something I couldn't understand. His voice 365 sounded different than that of the man who fed me. 366 I went with the strange man. He put me in a small room and sat down next to 367 me. Everything outside the room moved by very quickly. "Baaaa, Baaaa" 368 ("I don't like this very much.") The man ran his hand along my hair and said 369 something I didn't understand. He made me feel better. Everything stopped 370 moving. We got out of the room and went to a new room. There were lots of 371 strange people around here. The man started peeling off his skin. His 372 under-skin was black and flimsy. I couldn't tell if he was a ram or a ewe. 373 He put his hands on me. Suddenly he said something in a very mean tone. 374 ///////////////////////// 375 Petrov burned with rage. "I specifically asked for a FEMALE!" Picking up 376 the animal, Petrov went back down to the street. He noticed that the sheep had 377 a confused expression on his face. "I'm sorry boy. It's not your fault. 378 But if someone saw me with a MALE sheep they'd think I was perverted or 379 something." Petrov thought wistfully of the candle-light dinner with romantic 380 music that wouldn't be. 381 382 387 388 Petrov had made a pet out of his sheep. "Come on Loam, le's get out of 389 here." He thought for a moment. "I don't know why I named you that, maybe 390 you reminded me of someone." It wasn't until Loam was turned around and facing 391 the other direction that the resemblance struck him. "Oh yeah!" 392 While leaving the police station, Petrov's attention was diverted by a report 393 on a nearby desk. He tried to read it inconspicuously. Apparently, a number 394 of green-clad followers of Rajneesh Dangerfield had been hanging around a 395 certain apartment building. People living in the building had been complaining 396 that the cultists were asking a lot of questions and peering in the windows from 397 the fire escapes. Petrov memorized the name and address of the building. 398 Who could the 'neeshies be looking for? Only one answer came to mind. That 399 man who had escaped from the commune and caused the great commotion! Petrov had 400 never met the man, but he was anxious to do so. Though he felt he was grasping 401 at straws, Petrov needed a purpose and he was still very concerned about 402 Rajneesh activity. 403 The trip to the building was uneventful. Once there, however, he knew not 404 where to look. "You'll have to stay in the car, Loam. I promise I'll find a 405 better place for you to stay later." Petrov's sheep had been attracting quite a 406 bit of attention ever since that news story came out. 407 Petrov entered the building. While approaching the front desk, he passed 408 by an elderly woman who was visibly offended by his attire. "Another wierdo 409 like the one in room 23." Contempt was clear in her voice. Petrov decided to 410 check out room 23. 411 The age-old hair trick! Petrov saw the hair strung across the door. It had 412 already been disturbed, though. Carefully opening the door, he peered inside 413 the apartment. Slowly he entered the room. A piercing noise hit Petrov's ears 414 and an even more piercing bullet hit his left arm. Swinging around, Petrov drew 415 his weapon and, in a single reflex action, he gunned down his assailant. 416 Turning on the main lights, Petrov found a green clothed figure crumpled on the floor. 417 "Go ahead, make my day!" A little late, but Petrov had always wanted to 418 say that. After tossing a few firecrackers out the window to explain the noise, 419 he began dressing his wounds and waiting for the room's true occupant to return. 420 Petrov 421 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 422 423 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (small msgs) 424 I'm sorry that I can't enter any more of my Young Master West stories right 425 now, but too many guys with funny little buldges and interesting cars have 426 seemed to have dominated the current scene, excepting the will power of Piper 427 and this 'Chela' person. To the two of you I say - 428 'Thanks for staying on, you deliever good storylines in -this- reality' 429 Joshua- You asked for it so here it is... Your entries- they're excellant! 430 I'm just sorry that I've missed the stories that you (may have) written 431 earlier. Keep a low-profile, and keep up the good work! 432 Chela- Your name stirs me. I know I've heard that word before but can't put the 433 right, or meaningful explaination with it. Doesn't it have something to do 434 with a raised level of consciousness or something? My studies are slipping. 435 Man in Gray- I think that you have your famed data banks out of whack! hee-hee 436 Yes I have been in Germany, in all honesty, and no the photo I gave you of 437 myself posing in front of the aircraft is not a fake. That is my -real- 438 uniform, and I'm standing in front of a -real- F-106 Delta Dart... Maybe 439 you need to update those maps and files that you're using these days. 440 Gee, the twelfth seems sooo far away... 441 Oh well, my mind has just gone blank >gasp< so I will desist for now. 442 See all of You later, I hope. 443 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian 0320 Hrs 01 Jan 85 444 445 -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 446 Well it was really really late and the kid was really 447 getting tired of having to sit all alone on this empty Three- 448 Cities bus in the dead of the morning of what promised to be 449 another one of those miserable days where nothing was probably 450 going to happen and usually did. "Boy, this bus driver sure 451 is a real Jerk!" the kid said to the person that wasn't sitting 452 next to him. "Jerk" in his book meant "any driver that uses 453 the brake too often and gave you the feeling that you were 454 at sea and not on the road" You know the type, don't you? In 455 this case, it was true. Having decided that this driver was 456 TRUELY a real Jerk, the kid decided to watch him a little more 457 carefuly to see if he could figure out just what it was that had 458 made God create more Jerks than Smoothies. Although the kid had 459 just run out of his daily ration of that elixer -COLA- he 460 did not let this bother him, because watching does not mean that 461 you actually have to think about watching, you can just watch. 462 This recursivly incorrect bit of logic is what allowed the kid to 463 get away with as much as he already has in life, and would 464 probably get him into more trouble than we could imagine. 465 Just then the bus driver gave the bus a really good jolt at 466 the next red light and opened the door to get off. "Hey, 467 where are you going, Mr. Bus-Driver?" the kid asked rather 468 stupidly. "Um gunna git me a cola', itz bin a long night," 469 said the driver in reply. Great, just what I need, I'm 470 not going to get Homme at all tonight at this pace, he thought. 471 Just then another bit of recusive thought struck. 472 I won't get into the details of the thought as they would 473 make a madman of any phiposipher and were quite muddy at the 474 time. What the kid did next was to go up to the drivers 475 seat and began to play "she loves me/she loves me not" with 476 the nearest stack of transfers available, waiting for the 477 driver to get back so he could shut the door in his face 478 tell him what a Jerk he really was, and give him the Razzbarry. 479 Well, it took him almost all the way through the second pad of 480 transfers to finaly get noticed by the driver. It worked. Just 481 as he was going to say something like "Jus' wut da ya think yer 482 doin' with ma trans-fers?" the kid closed the door on him and 483 locked him out of his own bus. So far so good. At this time it 484 had struck him as to just how late they really were. With all 485 things not considered, there was only one clear(?) path for 486 the kid to take: Drive himself home. Now. (see what I mean?) 487 At this, he released the brake at the same time that he noticed 488 that the light had just changed to amber. (Another kid daffy- 489 nition: Red:stop; Green:go; Amber:go -very fast- ) 490 "Gee, that was easy" thought the kid after he had so kindly helped 491 remove a fire-hydrant and two newspaperstands for the city. 492 "Now for the fun part. Destination:Gresham Transit Station." 493 If mere mortals didn't believe in warp-driven busses before, there 494 were now about a score of pedestrians that did. 495 After gracefuly parking the bus in the womens restroom of the bus 496 stop, the kid picked up his coat of many pockets, his toy briefcase, 497 and proceeded to leave the bus whilst whisteling Yankee Doodle Dandy. 498 "Now," thought the kid, "what can I do to get NET- er, I mean 499 U.N.I.T. to notice me?" The thirst for cola had returned... 500 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ abacab _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ 501 p.s. I am the one that does MA 7, because that's the smallest it gets. 502 503 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 504 505 My hand touches the worn fence, and tiny flakes of faded paint fall 506 from between my fingers to the weeds and brush that have overgrown the 507 grounds. The evening air is cool and damp, though not as cool as in 508 previous weeks when snow fell specifically to inconvenience the ill 509 humoured of the world. Even so I find that it chills me, and reminds me of 510 how long I've been outdoors. The sky has been overcast all day, dour 511 clouds covering the world in a grey blanket, but my attention is drawn 512 suddenly by a shaft of light piercing through from the western horizon. 513 The clouds have parted there just long enough for the sun to bid me 514 farewell as it continues its daily journey, momentarily overwhelming me 515 with its incredible beauty. Standing transfixed, I watch this lovely 516 display until its end and night finally spreads. I am reminded again that 517 there is so much to see in this world about us, so much in which we can 518 find delight and simple joy, and like so many others I sometimes am in such 519 a rush that I fail to appreciate them. 520 A thought quickly comes to me which causes me to laugh out loud. I 521 wonder if the other Inn-habitants like syrup with their philosophy? In my 522 time I've supplied them with enough to rot their teeth I'm sure! But it's 523 always what I truly feel so I can do nothing else. 524 525 A fire in the hearth, a chair by the window, a book, a blanket, and a 526 steaming mug filled with a holiday drink ("Tom & Jerry", was it named after 527 the charming and rather violent cartoon characters?), and I am warm once 528 again. I think back on my last hurried dash through the Inn, and remember 529 with chagrin my failure to respond to d's message to me. Always rushing to 530 and fro, I'm sometimes in such a great hurry to reach my goals that I fail 531 to consider the feelings that might be trampled in my headlong flight. Oh, 532 my fine friend, your words were heard! Curse me as thoughtless and cruel 533 for such a tardy response! I have written much intended to be brought 534 here, but so often the subjects are dated by changing events before they 535 can be entered. Then my words seem so out of place that they are disgarded 536 and I begin over, only to have events pass me by again. This particular 537 entry seems to fall into that category as well, but I've decided to bring 538 it here anyway since I felt it was needed. I get to the Inn so rarely 539 these days, but everytime I do it is such great fun, and is especially 540 joyful when you've joined the group. 541 542 And the Keeper of the Inn, our patron and host..... I feel the need 543 to express to you that, though I come less often than at one time, I come 544 because I want to. I am here because I *enjoy* the company of the Inn! I 545 may sometimes appear tired, or seem distracted, but this is due to events 546 in the world outside of this land and not happenings within. Some nine 547 months ago I agreed to take a job that required much more of my time, and 548 this has resulted in less energy for those things I enjoy the most. 549 Friends, family, all have suffered a loss of my time since there is so much 550 less of it to be shared, and I sometimes feel as if I were spread much too 551 thin for my own good. But please be assured that it is nothing you have 552 done that has caused my visits to be fewer. On the contrary, you are one 553 of the reasons that I make time to come back! 554 555 Oh! It seems to be growing late (as it always does this time of 556 night!), and I've so much to do! Perhaps I can return to the Inn this 557 weekend, if I can sneak in the door through the crowd that seems to have 558 gathered. Why do I feel like Alice's White Rabbit! So much to do, so much 559 to do....... 560 561 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM+[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 562 563 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 564 Happy new year everyone! I'll be leaving the piper and peg for rest and 565 recuperation in the tropics for a while. In the meantime, here('s something 566 I found in a recent copy of the Mother Earth News. 567 PoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoem 568 REINCARNATION 569 "What is reincarnation?" a cowboy as'd his friend. 570 "Well, it starts," his old pal tells him, "when your life come to an end. 571 They wash your neck an' comb your hair an' clean your fingernails, 572 Then they sticks you in a padded box, away from life's travails. 573 Now the box and you goes in a hole that's been dug in the ground, 574 And reincarnation starts, my friend, when they plant you 'neath that mound. 575 The clods melt down, as does the box, an' you who are inside, 576 That's when your're beginning your transformation ride. 577 And in a while, the grass will grow upon that render'd mound, 578 Until some day, upon that spot, a lonely flower is found. 579 And then a horse might wander by an' brgraze upon that flower 580 Thet once was you an's now become your vegitative bower. 581 Well, the flower that the horse done ate, along with his other feed, 582 Makes bone, an' fat an' muscle essential to this steed. 583 But there's a part that he can't use an' so it passes through, 584 And there it lies upon the ground, this thing that once was you. 585 And if by chance I happen by an' see this on the ground, 586 I'll stop awhile an' ponder on this object I have found. 587 And I'll think about reincarnation, an' life an' death an' such, 588 And I'll go away concludin, 'Heck, you ain't changed that much!'" 589 590 PoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoemPoem 591 IS THIS A COMMODORE 64 BBS ? 592 593 no it isn't... it is run on a nonstandard information storage device... i am 594 not too sure... so you could ask CiCistop Mikey about the restof the information 595 you may want... sincerely... tilean... and i am considering a name change by the way... 596 597 if no one minds really... and since i only first entered it... would anyone 598 mind if i called myself tylian from now on...? thank you for your time... 599 600 *_%@#*%#_@!*_!)#*%_@)*_)*%_)$*%)_$#*_)*^&_#$*^_*^_#$*^_)*_)@*%@_)*%_@*%_@)%*%@_ 601  602 ? link direct to RY 603  604 ? Agent Parity here. Flemming and I are at the Benson, bottom of elevator shaft 605 A1, our old NET office. It seems as if somehow the greenies found out about 606 the place, after we left it, and set up shop for themselves. I can't say much 607 for their interior decorator, but it seems as if they stocked up the place 608 pretty well. Anti-everything mines, small arms, automatic weapons, food, 609 medicine, and colorful beads and trinkets. It was a definite build up for 610 some big operation. 611 The big news is who we found. We managed to persuade the local police that 612 we were 'government' agents, and we got a look at the body. Rajneesh 613 Dangerfield will never turn another convert again. Someone really did the 614 job on him. By the size of the hole in his head, looks like large caliber 615 weapon. Also, five close proximity wounds around the heart. The killer was 616 a marksmen. No sign of the escapees. The entire complex is deserted. Flemming 617 is taking care of the ordinance here. I am going to follow up on the two 618 who were seen fleeing the scene. 619 No sign of Fellows. Also, Minsky seems to be missing too. I was doing my 620 Billy Idol act, she was Joan Jett. I turned around and she was gone. She's 621 up to something. I'll check in at normal comset time.^c 622  623 ? n 624  625 *%_#)$@*%$#)_ 626 I put the comset away and headed for the secret exit. On my way out 627 I spied a bottle of sheep dip. Hmmm....I wonder.... *%$#)L'homme sans Parity *_) 628 *************************************** Pam: I won't be here Sunday, I should be around Saturday and 'late' Friday. 629 Assuming that you might want to talk. Sorry for being such a cretin. ********** CISTOP MIKEY ************ TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 629