1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************* INSTALLED: 16 MAR 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 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] 21 He smiled a smug smile to himself. Just dropping in to visit and he finds a 22 place set for him. 23 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN, AT THE TOP [/] 24 Close this time, oh so close. -=+=-MF-=+=-\ 25 Hello from Zudo 26 27 I think, therefore I am. 28 think I'm a genius, therefore... 29 ********************* * 30 t's OK to shoot from the hip... 31 make sure 32 're standing point blank. 33 ******************** 34 OK to talk to yourself... 35 so to listen... 36 if you start saying, "Huh," 37 the answers, you've got a problem. 38 *********************** 39 isn't necessary to patch all the holes in the ship in a storm... 40 Just don't miss any below the waterline. 41 ************************ 42 t's OK to ask for the moon... 43 Just don't settle for a one-way ticket. 44 ********************** 45 IOff you like that, try the following 46 47 ^_+^++++^++++++++ 48 DECEMBER 1984 49 +++++++++++++ 50 *********************************************************************** 51 ******************************************************************************** 52 is Love? Lately I've been much preoccupied with it. Books abound on the sbetf 53 Sorry, folks--my word processor threw in a few codes this BBS can't handle. 54 I'll try again later. ---Zudo 55 56 bye 57 off 58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Tsilb: How did you come by such a name? My welcome is actually to anyone, 60 even if they don't have those characters somewhere in their border. However, 61 I was addressing that welcome to the person who had previously asked for 62 one. The person was one with that border. Nevertheless, at the time it was 63 addressed to one person, now I extend it to anyone. Either way, you are 64 included. -Tanya 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 67 68 tilean smiled as he rounded the bend... the last curve on the long walk from 69 school and to his home... the last glimpse of all the greenery... at least the 70 greenery set aside from the building of the house... 71 72 the spires of his father's dream were coming into form... the dreams his own 73 father sweated over... they were becoming realizations... and tilean was proud 74 of his father... and himself... for having a father like that... 75 76 he skipped up over the curb... bounded accross the dubious lawn... and tried 77 to open the front door... assuming the look of those trying to listen to a tiny 78 sound... the look of concentration... with a glimmer of hope in the odd grimace 79 assumed... 80 81 the door opened... and swung freely... without noise... tilean bounded inside 82 and looked around... one of the more professional members of the household was 83 sharpening some knives... and loudly proclaimed his presense... 84 85 "the door works... did you know..." said tilean... queried and bid... 86 "yes..." the gardener's hoarse voice creaked "i fixed it mahself..." 87 "oh... that's great... anything else work now..." said tilean... only now 88 beginning to question if things really might be shaping up... 89 with this... the gardener took tilean... and gave him an extended tour of 90 the household... and almost all of it looked as if it might work... some of it 91 even did... some of it might have... never could be sure... 92 93 tilean lifted each foot over the other... flying up the stairwell... the 94 slender metal curves of it betrayed the welding... welding done by his father 95 with his own hand... 96 97 i opened my bedroom door... and looked inside... the room was as i left it... 98 cluttered with all manner of notes and pages... fifty books lie in stacks on 99 the carpeted floor... some of them not even opened yet... 100 101 as i left it... father said he might do some things in here... i guess he 102 didn't get around to it... oh well... tilean sat at the side of his bed... 103 and faced an ominous looking console and screen... timidly turning the key 104 which started the system... 105 106 after two minutes of the computer checking itself... the screen blared into 107 life... blazing phosphor letters of all shapes and distinction... and soon the 108 jumbled mess calmed into a single prompt... and tilean keyed the right word... 109 110 the screen said it was dialing... and i waited for it to go through the check 111 list of systems i called... to download all the messages... that i might read 112 all of them soon... backwater was first... and i did indeed care for it... 113 114 although i deigned never to frighten them of me... and always to rival the 115 best of the stories... all of this was done with a spirit of patterning myself 116 on the best qualities in others... and from what i was hearing... it was now 117 beginning to work... 118 119 even spelling... which the nefarious l'homme checked constantly... everyone 120 seemed to like tilean now... and in fact... they triied to deny what fun they 121 had all had... in insulting who they thought was a twit... but was a younger 122 tilean... 123 124 promethean tilean... may all of you weather the storms... whatever they are 125 or who they might be... 126 127 ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt 128 129 -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- 130 -+- It seemed to be that storms were brewing, and they were being -+- 131 -+-weathered by those that took the precautions that would provide for -+- 132 -+-anescape. So many people... So many avenues... So many altered-+- 133 -+-forms of being able to apply one's self. Although attempting to -+- 134 -+-stand still in the myriad of the daily events, this one could not -+- 135 -+-come to understand that all things must come to an end. A part of -+- 136 -+-this one just gazed out at the auburn sky as the sunset grew into -+- 137 -+-the darker shades of the night... the shades that were this one. -+- 138 -+- As a seperate part of this one made itself move into the direction-+- 139 -+-that was coming soon to be, he realized just what it was that he was -+- 140 -+-becoming. "I'm living out of boxes! I'm becoming another 'Man in a -+- 141 -+-Suitcase! Where am I going to end up if I keep this up?" he thought,-+- 142 -+-the words flowing from his lips silently as they formed within his -+- 143 -+-mind. The options seemed to be just a shade of gray in his future.-+- 144 -+- "I suppose that living out of boxes wouldn't be all that bad..." -+- 145 -+-he said with a painted smile as he packed the odds and ends that lay -+- 146 -+-about his bed into just two spare boxes. "Moving doesn't have to be -+- 147 -+-such a lonely time. I mean, if I just stay in a box, there'll be no -+- 148 -+-for all this unneeded packing and unpacking..." He'd like to believe-+- 149 -+-what it was that he had just said. He finished placing some of the -+- 150 -+-last of loose posessions into one of the boxes. Then his thoughts -+- 151 -+-went back to just how much he didn't want to move- move into a house -+- 152 -+-that wouldn't be in any way a part of him no matter what he did. -+- 153 -+- Another thought went through his mind, an odd thought that made -+- 154 -+-feel that his existance was only a test, a very disconnected thought.-+- 155 -+- "At least I've got friends don't I? Sure I've got friends. -+- 156 -+-Everybody's got friends. Sure I do. Don't I? Yea, I do..." But -+- 157 -+-the thought of it all being a test kept haunting him. "But what -+- 158 -+-about the friends I've sucked in? That one seems to be ruining it's -+- 159 -+-own life just by knowing me, being with me. All those tremendous -+- 160 -+-created just so that one person could hide it's friendship with me, -+-- 161 -+-just so that none of it's friends will know that it knows me..." -+- 162 -+- He then considered remaining the dark figure it was, and just -+_- 163 -+-staying in hiding in the dark, back rooms. "At least when I am alone-+- 164 -+-I won't be able to hurt anyone, noone will be bothered by me. I'll -+_- 165 -+-just do what I'm supposed to do, and everyone will be alright. Them -+- 166 -+-with their friends, the ones that aren't affraid of coming out of -+- 167 -+-and me all by myself just looking at them enjoying themselves..." -+- 168 -+- Strange thoughts indeed... -+- 169 -+- He then threw his clothes across the room in half an attempt to -+- 170 -+-allow then to land in the box intended for them, not caring anymore -+- 171 -+-if they landed short of the mark. "Why should I care? I fell short."-+- 172 -+- He thought awhile longer about the concepts that contained him, -+- 173 -+-tossing them around in his head as a juggler tosses little tiny bags.-+- 174 -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -JUGGLER- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- 175 176 -+- -+- That was supposed to be: "tremendous LIES" I missed it. -+- 177 178 My friends, to some of you this will not mean anything, others know what 179 is going on behind the scenes. It is to the latter that I now speak. 180 Do you of you have suggestions regarding how this outrage may be 181 dealt with? I await your replies. 182 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 183 ps. My thanks to Ian for the help supplied by his organization. 184 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 185 186 tilean - welcome back to the land of the living phospher 187 188 "still looking for a boarder"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 189 off 190 p.s. were you the one who just tied up the line for over an hour? I had 191 to be woken when the connection was finally made. 192 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 193 ALL HAIL THE GREAT AND POWERFUL WIZARD OF OZ 194 ..."Where I come from, there are men who do nothing all day but good 195 deeds. They are called phila...phila...good deed doers. And they have 196 no more heart than you. But, they have one thing you haven't got. So... 197 TIN MAN...By virtue of your unfailing witticisms and encouragement of 198 others, and your prose and poetry that is by no means unfeeling, but 199 expressive of those feelings you have not the courage to express in 200 person, I, therefore, give you this token of our love and appreciation 201 (hand him a heart with a clock in it). 202 203 There. Now I expect to see no more of this "space wasting" hogwash. 204 We all know the slip that gave you your name was a Freudian one, anyway. 205 THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN 206 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 207 isisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisiI'm getting tired. 208 It was eons, and seconds. The first sensation he had was that of 209 time. In the last few moments, he had been conversing with crystals, who 210 spoke with their ever-changing structures. They measured time not in 211 the dusk to dawn cycle, nor in the flight if season, for these were far 212 too quick to be noticed by such ancient creatures. They whispered of 213 cycles of gravity, of eclipses and earthquakes. They spoke in colors 214 and shapes of all kinds. When the time came, they knew, and bid farewell 215 to their friend for what they knew would be moments. 216 He began to sense the beings of decay -- the lichen and fungi. 217 Thses had proud and powerful ancestors of whom they spoke with awe. 218 They welcomed him to their plane, speaking rapidly, or so it seemed after 219 speaking so long with rocks. The lichens laughed at the ancient rocks, 220 whom they thought old-fashioned and stodgy. He could not stay long, as 221 before, but hastened to his tasks and bid them farewell in their turn. 222 When he had progressed to the plane of the ephimeral beings, he began 223 to prepare himself for his sortie. He fashioned a body of the substance 224 of the dust, even borrowing from the dust of the ephimeral that layed at 225 rest beside him. She had been a golden haired beauty -- a quick though 226 faithless diversion for a world weary soul. If he knew then...but he 227 could not. The flash of memory helped him fashion himself in the likeness 228 of a man, drawing on those men he remembered. He caused new-made blood 229 to course through his veins, and remembered what warmth was like. He 230 soon remembered that he must be able to breathe, and so began to rise 231 from his long-time bed of clay. The once and future king had returned. 232 233 isisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisisiisisisisisisisisisisisis 234 Space, the final frontier 235 236 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (marker) 237 Well, since you called, I got in and logged the entries for you. 238 Awaiting your instructions... (hee hee hee) "A hunting we will go..." 239 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian 75:17:29:00 240 241 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 You know that the scarecrow really was intelligent. Even though he 243 ocasionally did some things that appeared dumb. He was the most 244 intelligent. But, what did he want? A brain. And, there's the lion. 245 He really was brave. But, wanted courage. Well, I guess the rest is 246 obvious... -Tanya 247 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 ][ ][] ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ 249 Ah, my flock..but it seems that not all of you are my sheep.. 250 but no matter, as I am sure that the shepherd that watches over you shall 251 soon return, and will not object to another shepherding his flock... 252 Be wary of those poisonous weeds over yonder.. 253 Shepherd.. 254 ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ 255 256 Anatschiton: I take that back, I don't know who you are. I've guessed, 257 but I think it was a mistake. Time will tell I suppose. --->G 258 259 260 nosreporsenosrepersonosrepersonosrepersonosrepersonosrep 261 Gaurdian: did you catch the very bottem of what usedtowas db? 262 I found my way to your corner table by the fire. 263 lazendodnezalazendo 264 'stay away from the lananarans; at least from the old men' was the first thing 265 the prim young receptionest in personel had warned him when glomar drilling had 266 given him a job on Thenalura. 267 'if you listen to them too much, thair fantasies might start to make sense, 268 then youll be stuck in the cloud-cookoo land of that mind thing of thairs' 269 A bunch of half-witted woodland pacifists who sit around contemplating 270 thair navels, when they arn't raping thair daughters was the way Frank, Lazendo's 271 boss had put it. 272 The shafpenz were another matter. Theyh shared the Lananatan aestheticl physical sucinctness, 273 a large touch of the unexpected and form fallowing function, but not too obvios about it. 274 Beyond that they were phusiocaly sucinct themselbesl even more than lananatans. Cuddly, qute, 275 furry - and deadly. While Lananarans were almost universaly pacifists, the shafpenz were 276 never without thair arm lenth blades, the Snikreshnaka. They had little reluctance to use them either. 277 Frank would have called the arcitexture of shafpenz town claustriphobic. To +Laz, it had a feel 278 of coziness. 279 Lazendo's revery was shattered byh a muffled cry of outrage. in a brick and tile alley angling off 280 to his left, a pair of human-like lananatans was surrounded by a press of belligerant teddy-bearsl swords drawn. 281 Thair bappearant leader held one of the Lananarans, an 282 adolescent female, by the hair, his other paw, attempting to clamp shit her mouth. 283 For all of 'western' humanities mistrust of lananarans, there was little reluctance to purchase 284 thair teqnology, whenever and warever possible. No one was permitted to wander unarmed into Vitaroixah, 285 the Shafpenz town. Lazendo, ignoring conventionali9ty, had choosen to arm himself in the Lananaran manor. 286 On each wrist he wore an ultrasonic stun projector. As he inconspicously srt them to noirmal power, continous 287 dutyj, ixuews ro him ro qonswr r rhw culnxvility of 288 that last line looks like an attack of fat tired fingrs. to be continued later... 289 lazendodnezalazendoooooooooooooo!!!!! 290 ****************************************************** 291 above entry: huh? ah ya.. ok too many big words for 292 a dumb bubble head like me... 293 ****lurkmode*************kathyd********************** 294 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 295 Piper: I appreciate your comment. Any words from you are worth savoring. 296 297 Tsilb: Thanks. Hmmm... Your style seems vaguely familiar. The name is 298 not. Please, let us see more. 299 300 Pam: Great day for the Irish... eh? 301 Val 302 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 303 304 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 305 The first few moments of the flight were pure exhilaration. True, the 306 cold air plucked at the piper's kilt, leeching warmth from his body, but the 307 flow of warmth which soon would have ended with the last trickle from the 308 piper's frozen body stopping as the last drops of fluid from a breached 309 reservoir was maintained by the pegasus' body heat. Leaning far over her 310 neck, the piper sheielded his face from the icy night wind by burying his 311 face in her mane. His nostrils were filled with the pegasus' scent, speakin 312 to him in a language older than self-awareness of long golden afternoons and 313 the bright sunlight over wind-tossed expanses of grass. Warmth poured 314 into the piper from his mount's exertions as she climbed higher into the 315 air; warmth that tumbled through his veins, only to be plucked by the wind's 316 icy chill. It was if, the piper mused, he were a small pool in the vast 317 current of warmth -- fed from another, and in turn, the source for someone. 318 A subtle change in the pegasus' exertions told him that she had ceased 319 climbing. The icy bite of the wind moderated as the pegasus found and 320 entered into a warmer layer of air. Slowly the piper straightened up and 321 looked about himself with awe. 322 They were proceeding up a vast moonlit valley. Enourmous mountain ranges 323 reared up both to the left and right of their path. The valley floor was 324 broad beneath them, dotted by small mounds covered with what seemed to be 325 trees or bushes, silvery in the intense moonlight. 326 Sailing with her great wings outstreched to capture the lift in every 327 passing breeze, the pegasus seemed nearly as captivated by the scene as 328 her rider. Only the slight boil on the surface of objects they passed 329 could indicate that this wonderland was fabricated from the aerial mists 330 that the earthbound term clouds. 331 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 332 333 XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX WOULD ANYONE OUT THERE BE KIND ENOUPH TO LIST 334 UP TO DATE LIST OF LOCAL BBS'S FOR ME,PLEASE, THANK YOU. 335 T.W. 336 XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIX 337 338 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 339 T.W.: the best way to obtain a list of local bbs's would be to first apply for 340 a user id on the Bit Bucket(254-xxxx) and after you are registered there, read 341 it's bbs list. It is one of more up to date ones around... 342 --------------Mad Max---------------------------------9:23:30----------------- 343 HELLO I'M A NEW USER AND WOULD LIKE TO NOW MORE ABOUT YOUR GROUP. 344 HELP 345 346 347 HELLO I WOULD LIKE TKNOW IF THERE IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN COMAL. 348 Whatever that might be. 349 New User: Read the drives and watch what the people here do, that is the best 350 way to learn what goes on... Stick around, I think you will like it. 351 (*==marker==*) 352 CONTINUING STORY CONTINUING STORY CONTINUING STORY CONTINUING STORY CONTINUING 353 354 The place was a small cabin on the slopes of Mount Hood, about 10 355 miles South as the crow flies from Timberline Lodge. But more important than 356 the cabin itself was what was happening at the cabin. A small drama was 357 unfolding, the likes of which the flora and fauna of the area had never 358 seen before. The participants of the drama, hardly little to them, the scene 359 had been played out many times before, both in preparation for such an 360 event, and the event itself. 361 Three men in an cabin, straining their senses to know what was 362 happening just outside the door. The three men were of an Elite group; 363 a group known as NET. The history of the organization is not important know, 364 suffice it to say elite is barley sufficient to describe the group; elite, 365 but very very human. Two more people are outside the cabin. A man who was 366 once friend and companion to those inside; his affiliation now is still 367 unknown. The other a women; NET's first and foremost female agent. Her 368 ability to cozen a man who would take advantage of her was well known, but 369 to those who she called friends, their lives were the better because of 370 her. In front of all of them, a man gone mad. Also a NET agent, but his 371 failing only proves the frailty of even the most well trained man. 372 The name of the man is Fleming. His ability to sway the less 373 secure around him was legend in NET. He had used is skills as a con-man 374 to convince several malcontents in the organization to come with him, 375 and bring back the woman, whom he considered enemy. Gaudy Minsky is her 376 name, and playing on Fleming's by-the-book fetish, she has managed to 377 convince Fleming to take her back to NET headquarters. The man at her 378 side, Kosta, the fugitive from NET, is considered icing on the cake. 379 Ian Machinery, NET's highest official in an organization refreshingly 380 brief on hierarchy, knows nothing of the scene being played out at the 381 cabin. NET agents tend to act as independent entities, falling back on 382 the organization only when it becomes necessary. Ian is a complex man, 383 and his reaction to the return of Fleming, Minsky, and Kosta could only 384 be conjecture at best. 385 Parity, Fellows, and Farley, the three NET agents inside the cabin, 386 had only seconds to formulate a plan, and execute it. Gaudy and Kosta were 387 almost to the waiting four-wheel-drive vehicles, and seconds away from an 388 uncertain fate. 389 Parity knew the dilemma. He had no stomach for killing misguided 390 NET employees, regardless of their current alignment, but he couldn't 391 let the madman Fleming have his way either. Parity knew there wasn't much 392 chance of Gaudy and Kosta reaching NET's Portland HQ alive, regardless of 393 what the book said. Fleming was unstable, even his madness could not be 394 counted on. In his mind, a plan developed. If it worked, no... when it 395 worked, they would be safely on their way down the mountain, and Fleming 396 would be seeing the error of his ways. 397 NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY NET STORY 398 ch /know/now/ ch /The/To the/ ch /other errors/correctness/ (sorry.) 399 400 *%)_#@*%_)*%)_@#*%_)%*&#$)_^&*#$)_^*)#_$*^)_#$*^)_#!*^)_#*^_)#$*^#$_+)^*_#)$*^)_!#*$^)_#$*^_)#$*^_)#^*%)_#^%_)$^*#^ 401 Mike : Disk received, files fixed, and all is well on the Westren Front. I'll pop the disk back in the mail ASAP. 402 Piper : Sorry I missed you at work. Things are looking a bit bleak now. I am losing another teacher, and the blokes 403 at BYU are avoiding their phones. Film at Eleven. 404 *%)_#*%_)#*%)_#*%_&*_)#$&^_)&^@#_)$^&@#_^& L'homme sans Parity *%)_@#*%_)%*_)*%_)%*@#)_%*)_%*@_)%*_)%*%_)#%*_)#$*%#$ 405 ********lurkmode***********kathyd*************** 406 hello there this the blsck dragon: i'm looking for anyone interrested in comalno 407 yes 408 Hello there this is the black dragon: I would like to know if anyone is interested in comal. let me know, thank you. 409 ........................................................................... 410 To whom it may concern: I've given up on CBBS/PCS. In the past week I've 411 only managed to get on twice. This is RIDICULOUS! The next time I get on 412 will probably be the last. Leave msgs on Bit Bucket or here if they need 413 IMMEDIATE attention. If they can wait a few days, you can try The Mess- 414 enger. 415 L'homme: 1. Fido #59 doesn't cut it, cause I can't get on! Even with 416 Autodial!. Any more bright ideas? 417 2. I don't own an MS-DOS machine because I cannot afford that much right 418 now. I'm still saving for a 1200 (or 2400?) baud modem & I need a better 419 printer too. Both of those items TOGETHER cost less than a 2000! 420 Voyeur: We will have to discuss alternate COM: routes on Sat... 421 _______________________________Leonard_____________________________________ 422 lasendodnesalazendo.................... 423 To arm himself in the Lananaran manor. On each wroist ;he wore an ultra 424 ultrasonic stun pronector. As he in 425 conspicously awr rhwm to normal power, continous duty, it occured to 426 him to wonder at the vulnerab9ility bog vulnerability of the two in th 427 the alley. Civilized Weapon was to Laz's mind, a most unlikely juxti 428 position of terms, yet the Lananaran power band, which allowed one to 429 quite litteraly shoot first and ask questions later, the invewnyion of 430 of a world of 'pacifists', was precisly that. 431 Most of the shafpenz lay on the pavement, unconcios, before they 432 they realized they had company. 433 Four did not., Three of these hurried a way with the adult male. 434 The fourth stood shaikily, it's snjikreshnaka at the young Lananara 435 n's throat. Impasse! 436 Attempting to emmulatye yhe detatchment he had so often seen excer 437 cised by Lananarans, Laz smiiled and shrugged his shoulders and turned 438 to walk away. 439 Abruptly,, a flkicker of moving shadow caught by the corner of his eye, 440 Lazendo froze. 24"of deadly steel wizzed passed, an inch ahead of wa 441 ware his heart would have been. In one unthinking flow of motion, he 442 turned and felled the remaining shafpenz. 443 n As soon as the young Lananatrans composure was sufficiently recou 444 vered, Laz asked about family and kin. As it developed, her only rela 445 relative on Thenalura wa a co-father nemed Denap, whom she claimed cou 446 could not possibly have been her natural father, yet by humjan reconing 447 reconing, was her legal gaurdian. Of her five co-parents, only Denap 448 had never touched her in an erotic manor; indeed, she could not recal 449 his ever having touched her at all. 450 jHad Laz a better understanding of the cello-op-soco way, this wou 451 would have triggered screaming claxonsin his mind. As it was, he coul 452 could only display his perplexing ignorance. Though to his t6hinking 453 thinking, Reli, was only a child, by Lananaran standards, she was pai 454 painfully attractive. 455 Reli and denap had headed into town that morning... 456 TO BE CONTINUEDED 457 lasendodnesalazendo.................... 458 Spell-Check... Where are you when we need you? 459 460 Do tell... Where are you? And FOG too? 461 tsk tsk, such big mouths these days 462 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 To the Person None as Leonard, I don't know what your problem with Fido 59 464 is since I have had very little trouble logging on there. The system has 465 a 60 minute time limit, but that is rarely ever used in its entirety. Most 466 users have 1200 baud, which helps even more with system throughput. The 467 inability of you to log onto the system must be due to 1) computer problems 468 2) extra busy system 3) short attention span 4) bad luck 5) calling from 469 1:00am to 2:00am when the system is busy with Fido Mail. If you have 470 questions about the system, leave a message to Vic Bachulis on any of the 471 local boards, or better yet, try again a second time. Why wait until 472 three for a charm? 473 Fido's friend 474 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 476 ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ 477 I don't belive I made it through that border...whew... 478 It is times like these that makes one wonder whether or not the 479 sheets on ones bed are made of cement...Breaking a fever does have 480 it's disadvantages, but the period when one is fully delirious does 481 cause one to think things one would never think otherwise... 482 for instance...I speculated on the question of how those bugs that 483 get in ones light shade get in ones light shade...if the world really 484 is round, or if the residents of the so called 'Globe' are in fact 485 living on a cube... 486 Some questions still are very pressing in my mind, like whether or 487 not Cindy Lauper regularly breathes 488 helium...if there is only one visitor to backwater that writes all 489 the entries...what you have when you have nothing... 490 Questions such as these usually can only be asked under conditions 491 such as the ones I am now going through........can any be answered..? 492 493 The Shepherd... 494 ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ 495 (Geez, that border is tough when your fingers feel like they weigh 496 aboul ten pounds..) 497 `][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ forget it. 498 ......................................................................... 499 piper: your prose is anything but prosaic. I anxiously await each 500 installment. 501 guardian: tonight the sun dipped crazily 502 and horizons wavered... 503 tempers flared like sunspots 504 but eclipse cooled the air. 505 things were tough for all of 30 seconds 506 but bliss rears its ugly head again... 507 <> how perfectly unfair for me to be 508 so perversely happy! 509 and how fare you? 510 .................................................Entropy............... 511 **********lurkmode**********kathyd****hmmm************ 512 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~lurkmode~~~~also~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PaPa Smurf 513 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (to two...) 514 Awullsu allowed the ribbon to be tied. It was not a ritule between them, 515 but she felt that it might become one if they remained together for too long. 516 "Wulliso, you must acompany me. I have been sent to greet you on your 517 return with Nianque. It appears you have treated him well. You must come, 518 Meteu is waiting for you now." Her words were spoken as if prepared for. 519 She wanted to return the greeting he had given her, but the lack of interaction 520 would be warning enough for him to know that they were not alone. His mistake. 521 "Yes... If Meteu awaits, I must not delay," were the Guardians words in 522 return. "I have been away for too long... my sences are not as keen as they 523 were when last I visited. Otherwise I would have known that we were not alone," 524 he then thought to himself. He then thought of what might be the need that 525 Meteu would request him. 526 "We may be alone at a later time," she said in an almost unheard breath. 527 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 528 Entropy, as the clock marks another day, 529 I can't say what has made me stay away. 530 The friends I have and the obligations of late 531 have left my mind in a blearied state. 532 A battlefield is not the place for you, 533 but it does help, at times, for the one you choose. 534 And as for me, I think that I am doing well. 535 But things are up in the air. "Only time will tell." 536 Sure, I know. It doesn't keep a beat but it was fun to do... 537 (I suppose I should go and check my mail boxes...) 538 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian 77:01 539 540 Septine: Yes, quite prolific. You don't mind do you? I don't. Et cetrea. --->G 541 542 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 543 I look around the room and see an empty slate, footprints wiped by a passing 544 wave. Laundry is done, a pile near the door, waiting to be folded. Smelling 545 not even of fabric softener. On top is a large red towel. The room smells 546 faintly of turkey, the sent of dinner lingers, but that is all. The bed has 547 been made, the sheets and blankets smoothed by some morning hand, looking 548 almost hard in their tighness, like the skin of a drum. 549 But if I look closely, I can see the soft markings of a lip on a glass, a 550 book out of place I did not touch, and if I wanted, I could hold a small wash- 551 cloth in my hands, and with that I can put footprints in stone, and laugh at th 552 serf. 553 The Harlequin 554 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 555 556 -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- 557 -+- At 3:45 in the morning, the alram at the head of my bed denotes -+- 558 -+-my stupidity. I had decided that absolutely noone would call at this-+- 559 -+-time in the morning. I was wrong. Since I had not intended to wait-+- 560 -+-for the use of this system I was actually set aback when I heard that-+- 561 -+-all too familiar busy signal I had come to know as the BWMS. -+- 562 -+- "No problem." Or so I thought. Having been defeated in such a -+- 563 -+-trivial matter, I chose to go for another system. Upon arriving, I -+- 564 -+-see little and abandon it for the morning. And what should happen on-+- 565 -+-my return to this system? Plenty. 566 -+- I see a narative that tells us all the prsent situation with the -+- 567 -+-coversive Good Guys. I also see quite a few stories, person to -+- 568 -+-person messages and a blinding bottom line. I didn't expect that. -+- 569 -+- Words by you, Harlequin, seem to be put together too easily. If -+- 570 -+-not that then with much pain from personal experiences. -+- 571 -+- Nothing else to say. 572 -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -JUGGLER- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- -+- 573 574 ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( LXIX )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 575 +--------------------------------------------------------------+ 576 | Since the 1940's when C.E. Shannon published his classic | 577 | paper on Information Theory, the powerful concepts it made | 578 | available have been used for all sorts of communication | 579 | analysis. One recent development is a correlation technique | 580 | to analyze the content & style of either spoken or written | 581 | communication, and develop a personality profile, behavior | 582 | pattern and belief structure of the author. One study used | 583 | a computer public message system where everyone used any | 584 | fictitious name they wished. After a few months of use the | 585 | computer developed profile was compared to a survey of the | 586 | participants and their friends. Not only was the accuracy | 587 | of the prediction amazingly high, but the computer matched | 588 | the assumed names to the real people 94% of the time. | 589 | The computer also predicted which people would respond to | 590 | certain messages based on the message contents. | 591 | *FOOD FOR THOUGHT AS ONE LEAVES A MESSAGE ON A PUBLIC BBS* | 592 +--------------------------------------------------------------+ 593 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 594 space is short. going to lurk mode also..***pppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 595 596 -------=Lurk mode? how about Cloak mode?=--------- 597 598 ^^^^^ As I looked around the emptied half of the Inn, I noticed that the 599 ^^^^^ work that was ahead of the one to come had already been all but 600 ^^^^^ completed. Several tables had been cleared, and counters washed down, 601 ^^^^^ but there was missing the gentle touch of the one that cared for those 602 ^^^^^ that visited- even if infrequently... (This is not easy, what 603 ^^^^^ with all the busy-signals and all. Hello!) 604 605 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 606 So often this part of the Inn is left alone, so often it stands unused 607 and gathering dust that has been lifted into the air by the tumultuous and 608 high spirited behavior of the patrons crowded into the cleaner tables near 609 the front. And so rarely do they look back towards this sheltered and 610 poorly lit corner that I know that only a very few will see me as I attempt 611 to relieve the emptyness that remains, only the few with eyes that care to 612 see, hearts to feel, the desire to know. 613 I find that I've repeatedly dealt with companions with the calloused 614 hand of fear, raising the walls at the slightest sign of intimacy or of a 615 closeness that I feel that I'm unable to deal with. While those emotions 616 may indeed be justified through the hard bed of experience, they still cause 617 hurt feelings to those unable to understand through a lack of knowledge of 618 the basic root of the terrors. None of us can truly know what happens in 619 another's deepest and darkest pits of fear, nor can we understand the height 620 that joy can reach in another's soul at what we might think a trifle. 621 622 Looking out through the hazy, smoke filled air to the main hall, I can 623 see many familiar faces gathered together. They trade stories, insults, 624 and cameraderie, and those few that I knew would be aware look back this way 625 and wave a friendly hand. I pause in my work to respond, and paste a happy 626 smile upon my face as befits a good barmaid. I would clean this table more 627 often, I think, were it not that there is usually so much to clean! 628 629 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM![][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 629