1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************* INSTALLED: 9 SEP 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 wow! what an honor. At the top and this is the first time 21 for me to enter something. Sadly this is all i have to say. 22 A Lurker 23 24 25 /S 26 27 HELP 28 29 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 30 Is this as close as I can get to the top? Possibly. But there 31 is always a next time. Someday.... But for now I can only say 32 that I was second and dream of being at the top. 33 34 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Darbon+++++++++++++++++++++++++ 35 :::::=====::::: 36 Third? *ugh*... 37 :::::=====::::: 38 The Inn was not what it used to be. The Fireplace, that once grand stone 39 work that had held the fires of many a night of storytelling and joy, was wnow 40 holding little more txan a smoldering wood...a memory of what had been. The 41 Tables harbored the dust 9 of many a day, since the Innkeeper seemed to have 42 vanished. My table was one of the few 43 that was free of dust, and the oaken surface glistened brightly, a sign of 44 my polishing it every day. A small fleck of dust fluttered onto my nose and 45 I sneezed. 46 '"This WILL not DO!" I said, even though the patrons ignored my words. 47 "We MUST get this place-" 48 The Great Oak Door creaked, the unoiled hinges cthe cause, and a great 49 ray of light pierced the Inn. 50 A second later, everything was happening at once. Tables covered with 51 age-old dust were suddenly made new. The wood in the Fireplace burst into a 52 bright crackling fire. The darkness that had covered the inn was swept away 53 by a hand of firey sunlight. The dank and dark rains that had been pouring on 54 the outside of the Inn suddenly vanished, and the sun shone in the deep 55 blue sky. 'The wxhole Inn was once more 56 the way it should be. 57 The Door's cracked surface seemed to repair itself, the holes vanishing 58 and being replaced by good, solid oak. The winds that xad swept through the 59 Inn was replaced by a wind of warmth, 60 that was pleasant and refreshing. 61 Suddenly, the Innkeeper was there, looking with wonder at the..wonder... 62 that was before him. 63 "Who..what did this?" 64 The answer came with the door opening. 65 The last rays of the Great Light that had flowed through the Inn were 66 just now vanishing back inoto the two items the man was holding. He was about 67 18 years of aoe, with short blonde/brown 68 hair and deep green eyes. He was dressed in la green shirt and leather 69 pants. In his hand was a pencil and a white notebook. On the notebook, I 70 could just make out the words: 71 "And the door was suddenly made new again. The Inkeeper came out from 72 where he had been and asked who had done this to the Inn, and the answer came 73 wxhen the door opened... 74 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::===== 75 76 (((*)))(((*)))(((*))) 77 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 78 Bard thought quickly. Obviously the drones weren't enough. He'd 79 have to play something... he hoped he could do so without mangling it (and 80 without sending them all off to some strange corner of the universe). 81 He had to decide on a tune quickly, his lungs weren't used to the 82 effort of playing. He wasn't sure how long he could continue. Without any 83 concious decision he found his fingers moving into position. He began. 84 The others moved towards the image of piper and his companion as he 85 played (badly) "Amazing Grace".... 86 ~~~~~~~~~~ 87 maybe my subconcious was thinking of the first line... 88 ".... that saved a wrtech like me...." 89 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 90 oops! 'wretch' not 'wrtech' 91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 92 Well? Do you 'bold adventurers' plan to let piper and bard handle the 93 rescue themselves? Unaided? 94 .......................the apprentice...................................... 95 What could we do anyway, prares don't accomplish much except to let the 96 endangered one know we don't care enough to actually do something beyond 97 just thinking of them. 98 (Clearing throat):It's spelled "PraYers." 99 mlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlml L,L,l,lllooking for a printer. 100 ml Im shoping for a printer anybody careml to help out. (If so) Please noti 101 ml -fy me on the K.I.S. net bbs. 102 ml at -----777-0709------leave mess for 103 ml 'Mark Landers' (@) (@) 104 ml : 105 ml THANK YOU! +---+ 106 mlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlmlml 107 108 109 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 110 ^^ Time Travlers # 001 ^^ 111 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 112 The two conpanions walked together thro 113 -gh what seemed to be some sort of primi 114 -tive dwelling untill they came upon wha 115 t they were looking for! The long since 116 obsolete micro computer used for various 117 purposes in the late 20 th. century. 118 119 The reason for their quest began a 120 121 while back while the duo were on the 122 123 planet EUROPA and they discovered a 124 125 strange metal box containg 20 or so 126 127 'Disks' used for magnetic storage in 128 129 'the growing years' and into the 130 131 'inlightened times'. 132 133 So they were sent on a quest to find 134 135 out what was on them. 136 137 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 138 The time traped^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 139 140 &%#&%@#&*%)_&%#_!@&%@_#&^$(@&^@#&^@_#&^%!@_#&^#$_^&#$_^&!#$_*^_)#^)_*^)_#*^ 141 Mikey:OK, I'll pick them up sometime this week. I will also return all 142 those extra flyers. Any ideas why COPYLINK would write random characters 143 to the LNW screen? 144 *%_@*%_@#*%_)@#*%)_&%@)#_&%@#)_%&* L'homme sans Parity %^&*$_^*@_)*^@)_*^@_ 145 ? 146 list 147 148 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 149 150 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#0:05#9/11#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$# 151 I think I been sitting around doing nothing for too long... 152 153 ACT OF MERCY 154 (Part 1 of 3) 155 by John Silverman 156 157 It was a cold, dingy day, latest in a series of cold, dingy days. The grey cloud canopy had fused to the afternoon 158 sky and dime-sized raindrops pounded the window. Tim Corbett paid little attention as he continued sweeping up scraps 159 in the stockroom with the big pushbroom. The weather outside fit his mood perfectly. Depression had become a natural 160 part of his life, as ordinary as waking up in the morning. As he continued chasing debris, he tried to just blank his 161 mind. The last thing he wanted to think about was the small bottle that was sitting in his coat pocket, hanging on a 162 hook in the corner. Every time he saw it, he averted his gaze. If he thought about it too much, he might change his 163 mind. 164 He was concentrating so hard on nothing that he jumped when the lights flickered and thunder rumbled in ttance. 165 Jeez, he thought, get a hold of yourself. He'd managed to slip back into his former quiet state of mind again when 166 somebody laid a hand on his shoulder. His heart skipped three beats in a row and he spun around. The figure almost 167 jumped back, startled. It was Sherrie, one of the checkout girls from up front. Tim saw the look in her eyes and 168 noticed that he was holding the broom like he was about to brain somebody with it. He put it down and sighed. 169 "What's the matter?" she asked, "You're acting like there's somebody after you. Don't tell me the cops finally 170 caught on and you're waiting for them." 171 Tim smiled faintly at that old running gag. "No, not yet, anyway. It's just... I don't know, my migraine's getting 172 to me, I guess." He noticed for the first time that his head really was pounding. 173 "Maybe you just need your head screwed on tighter." She took a quick puff from the cigarette she was holding. "Well, 174 a bunch of us are getting together tonight at Ron's for a party and I was wondering if you'd be interested. Please say 175 yes. You'd be the only guy there who wasn't a total creep and I could use some protection." 176 Tim leaned on the brrom and grinned lecherously, "How do YOU know I'm not a creep? You've never seen me outside of 177 this place." 178 She blushed slightly. "I know, but you're just such a nice guy. I... I like you a lot." She looked almost 179 embarassed when she said this. 180 Tim felt his heart rate jump a little and a world of wonderful possibilities circled through his mind. It had been 181 a long time since a girl had said more than hi to him. And while Sherrie was no beauty queen she was still damn fine 182 looking to him and had a certain indefinable quality to her personality that he liked a lot. "Well..." 183 And then reality rudely interrupted in the form of a rigning phone in the manager's office behind them. Tim knew who 184 was calling even before the old man picked the reciever up. A minute later, Mr. Henderson's voice called out, "Corbett! 185 "Yeah! Right there!" Tim yelled back. He looked apologetically at Sherrie. "I'll be right back." he sighed. 186 He walked into the office and old man Henderson handed him the reciever. 187 "Yeah, Mom." 188 "Dear," the frail, familiar voice floated back to him, "I need to use the bathroom again." 189 "What?" Tim shouted in disbelief, "I helped you not half an hour ago! Look, I got twenty minutes to go and then 190 I'll be home. Can't you wait that long? If I keep taking off Mr. Henderson will fire me." He looked down at Henderson, 191 sitting at his desk, but the old man was shuffling papers and seemed to pay no attention at all. 192 "But dear," the voice whined pitifully, "I can't wait that long. I... oh... oh..." There was a long pause. Then, 193 "Never mind, dear. I'm afraid you're going to have to change the sheets when you get home, though." 194 "Swell." Tim rubbed his temple. The migraine had just kicked into high gear. "Okay, whatever." he sighed. "I have 195 to go." 196 "All right, Timmy, but please hurry home. I don't know how long I can stand this." Me neither, Tim thought. He set 197 the phone back in its cradle and walked out of the office, feeling, as usual, like someone had snuckand let him 198 have it from behind with a large foam rubber mallet. The top of his head was trying to come unlatched and he reached for 199 the bottle of Tylenol he kept on a shelf. Sherrie came up behind him and said, "Well?" 200 "Well, what? Oh." He'd actually forgotten for a second. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I... have to take care of my mother, 201 and I just can't leave her alone for that long. I'm sorry." 202 Her dissapointment was evident. "You always have to go straight home. You can't get away for just one night?" 203 "No, dammit, I wish I could!" He took three tablets and chewed them. The taste made him grimace. 204 "Well, if you can't, I shouldn't try to force you. I would like to know you better, away from this place, though. 205 You seem like a really nice guy." She stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray and said, "Well, I gotta get back to 206 work. Maybe some other time." 207 "Yeah, sure." He watched her as she walked out the doorway. His waning headache suddenly dimmed in comparison to 208 the pain in his knuckles as he slammed his fist into the concrete wall. 209 "Hey! You wanna quit tryin' to knock down the building and get back to work?" Old man Henderson was standing in the 210 office doorway hollering at him. Tim grabbed the broom painfully and angrily went back to work on the floor. 211 212 (To Be Continued...) 213 214 I'm afraid I must agree with the general concensous: Enter only sucks. The syntax reads kinda strange in a couple of 215 places but there is little I can do about it now. I'll just have to be more careful next time. What happened to All 216 allowed, anyway? 217 Piper: Awesome. Your last entry on Drive B was handled very smoothly and well writtedn good job! 218 AGH!! 219 220 Anyway, until the next disk... 221 JOHN SILVERMAN (at least I spelled that right) 222 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#0:57#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$ 223 224 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 225 John S. -- thanx. Looks like you have a (what's the opposite of fan? unfan? 226 infan? oh,oh -- infan + tile = ). 227 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 228 The woman dropped the keen bladed knife in a fold of her grey cloak where 229 it lay on the dark pavement, still carrying the imprint of the bodies that 230 it had cushioned against the hardness below. The piper wasted no time 231 contemplating the barbaric scene she made, poised naked with a rivulet of 232 blood trickling down from the wound in her left breast. Ignoring the pain 233 in his arm, the piper retrieved the slim steel knife, wiped it clean on 234 the kilt he held under his arm, and slid it into its holster. He then 235 picked up his shirt and wadded it against the wound in his arm. He 236 dropped the shirt as he wound the kilt around his waist and quickly buckled 237 the belt of the sporran, but by then the arm was bleeding very little. 238 The woman had taken her grey cloak from the pavement and wrapped it around 239 her shoulders. The piper took his shirt from the pavement and pressed it 240 against her wound to slow the bleeding still more. The hissing roar that 241 had erupted when their pooled blood hit the pavement was decreasing in 242 intensity, the fog seemed to be dissapating into the luminous space. Moving 243 with one mind, the piper and his companion leaped into the center of the 244 disturbance, just as the faint strains of the tune "Amazing Grace" began 245 to fill the timeless space between the planes of reality. 246 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 247 248 --P-- 249 John Silverman - good to see you here. I have not enter anything myself for 250 a long time, but I had to break my silence to say, "Welcome back!". 251 --Patti-- 252 253 UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU 254 Clo, Mar 11 255 Although the going is painfully slow, I have not found the time to write 256 you as I wish. Trudging along at a snail's pace we attempt to ignore 257 the moisture of the soils beneath our feet or the sullen darkness of the 258 sky overhead. In our travels we are bound to meet with some poeple that 259 do not appreciate what it is that we do for them... or their country. 260 I don't know how to tell you this gently so I shall give you the events 261 as they have transpired. 262 As we came upon a small city not too far Moscow, one of its inhabitants 263 came rushing up to us. It was an elderly man with thin grey whiskers 264 and a face filled with fury. He shouted for us to turn back and cursed 265 us as if we were the very enbodiment of Lucifer's minions. 266 Our leader ordered us back to the fringes of the city. We could see for 267 our own protection that this would be a judicious act. We complied with 268 the utmost of haste. 269 Even though we were retreating from the mad man's city, he felt com- 270 pelled to follow us. Most of our comrades made light of the situation 271 even as he had begun to cast rocks and other roadside clutter. 272 We thought his temperment to be a queer thing, and found him to be one 273 that backed his words with action. The man came close enough to hurl 274 his stones into our midst. There were some that felt his deranged 275 wrath. I, for one, took a stone to my arm which is the cause for my 276 lacking penmanship. Others were not as fortunate. 277 Your brother Gustav received a blow to his head and was taken off to be 278 treated for his wound by our friend Klaus. I aided them as best I 279 could. 280 The good doctor told us that even though it did not appear so, the wound 281 was only a minor one. He said that in a few weeks when the bandages 282 could be taken off completely. He then smiled and said that it would 283 leave Gustav with a noble scar to remind all of the times he rendered in 284 service for his country. 285 Klaus and Gustav shared in the good doctor's humor. I just sat in con- 286 tempt for that lunatic's deed. 287 288 How is it that once a man dons a uniform to honor his country's strength 289 and freedom that he is then considered an enemy of his people? All we 290 ever wanted was to make our home a place free from worry, safe from 291 doubt. Were we so wrong? 292 293 I will go off to sleep once I've attended to the needs of your brother, 294 then perhaps I may rid myself of these unpleasant thoughts. I will 295 dream of you, and I will dream of the times we have spent together oh so 296 long ago. 297 I miss you, and wish I could be with you now. 298 Osram 299 UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU diary 300 301 302 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (.......) 303 kathyd: You are more than correct, we are not enemies. 304 (just remember to play the music once in awhile, ok?) 305 John Silverman: You know, I was wondering when you would return... 306 Writers must find their release, whatever the phone number. 307 Donald: I don't suppose that made any sense did it? Naa, I didn't 308 think it would. Remember: This is an open forum, free to 309 be used by any creative talent, such as John, or it may be 310 used by the twits. I won't name names, you know who 311 you^H^H^Hthey are. 312 L'homme: Glad to hear (where ever I heard) of the success of your trip. 313 (I think it is time we re-evaluate a few opinions here...) 314 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian -111:13 315 316 A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A=4 317 318 "Trainor, Lady Tayree, Tin Man, Fencer, Emu! Come quickly. I think Bard has 319 stumbled on to something." Excitement rang in Cragmore's voice as he called 320 to the other adventurers. While his voice carried into the control room where 321 the rest sat in contemplation of the mission, his eyes locked on Bard and 322 the pipes he had taken up. An astonishing version of Amazing Grace was 323 coming from the drones and the chanter, and the area around Bard, indeed 324 the whole Pell-mell, seemed to shimmer and coruscate with each succeeding 325 measure of music. 326 Trainor and the rest tumbled into the commons room at once, nearly tripping 327 over the pillows that only minutes before had cushioned the semi-circle of 328 psi talent, a circle that was still incomplete. 329 "What is all the racket? We heard the music and thought that Bard was just 330 fooling around." Trainor's face still proclaimed his concern for the lost 331 Piper. 332 "Look around you! Don't you feel it? We are moving towards him. The pipes 333 are calling to their owner. I can feel Piper's presence near by. He is so 334 close. Keep playing Bard! Keep playing!" 335 Bard moved his lips from the reed of the chanter to speak. As he did the 336 room dimmed, and all the passengers felt a nauseating vile sensation within 337 their bodies. Bard quickly took the reed in his mouth again, and resumed 338 his hymn. The nausea went away. 339 "Why..." 340 Cragmore interrupted the question. "Yes we are very close. No time to 341 discuss now. Trainor, you and Emu return to the control room. We are about 342 to enter a different zone. My mind tells me this is so. Be wary, carefully 343 watch the gauges and readouts from the Pell-mell. I think, I feel... I know, 344 we are about to enter ZEB!" 345 The faces of those who had color quickly lost it. But hardy adventurers 346 they all were, and they followed Cragmore's direction. Trainor and Emu 347 took firm control of the ship. Fencer and Tin Man buckled down in the Pell- 348 mell's safety seats. Tayree and Cragmore moved closer to Bard and the pipes, 349 and sat on the floor near him. 350 "Take my hands, concentrate. You have skills you are not aware of, but I 351 felt them when we were in the semi-circle. Concentrate on Piper's image. 352 Believe, free you mind of all but Piper. Piper, we are near. Piper, help us 353 return. Pip..." 354 355 No one noticed, no one outside cared. But a small ship containing several 356 people, ceased to exist in one element of realities, only to be born again 357 in some middle ground, some median betwuen two vast highways of entropy and 358 coalescence. No matter was lost, no energy gained. Just a transfer, the likes 359 no man or woman had ever seen before. 360 361 "Cragmore! What's happening? I haven't got readings like this since...Oh, 362 I think I know what's happened!" Cragmore's concentration was broken by 363 Trainor's frantic voice. It didn't matter now though, what they had attempted 364 was completed. He released Lady Tayree's hands. Blood trickled from where 365 her fingernails had dug into the back of Cragmore's hands. 366 "Trainor, move forward slowly. Emu, scan the area for Piper. He is very 367 close, we are almost on top of him now. Bard, you can stop playing now, I 368 am sure we will not feel that sickness we felt before." 369 But Bard ignored Cragmore's words. He played frantically. The shimmer 370 of the room had lessened with the irregularity of Bard's composition, but 371 the shimmer was still present, along with the basic melody of the song. 372 "I guess it doesn't matter. Lady Tayree, are you OK?" 373 "yes", she replied, wiping the thin film of sweat from her brow, "but that 374 was some experience. i have skills you say?" 375 "I will tell you more later. We are very close to Piper. We must act 376 quickly." 377 "Cragmore!" It was Emu again the control room. "I see something ahead. I 378 think, yes I am sure now, its Piper!" 379 At those words Bard ceased his playing, and Fencer and Tin Man emerged from 380 their seats. 381 "Please hurry Trainor. The surface of this place is solid, as far as my 382 seeing can tell. Set the Pell-mell down. I think Piper is in grave danger." 383 Trainor set the ship down near two huddled figures. The figures barely 384 looked up at the huge contraption that had landed near them. The doors of 385 the Pell-mell opened, and the adventures, save Emu at the controls, filed 386 out the portal and onto the black surface their ship now rested on. They 387 did not notice the light that danced as they moved quickly towards the two 388 huddled figures. They did not notice the blood that covered various garments. 389 They stood dumbfounded around piper and the other unidentified person, not 390 knowing what to say or what to do; Piper's reaction to their supposed 391 rescue completely baffled them. 392 Finally piper looked up at the clustered adventurers. He moved his gaze 393 from face to face, looking deeply into each person's eyes. His lips 394 parted, and then, very quietly, he spoke. 395 "You... your coming here, your arrival, has just spelled doom for another 396 planet. By finding me, you have just killed billions of helpless people." 397 No one replied. What could the instigators of genocide say? 398 399 A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A= A=4 400 ch /got/gotten/ ch /Emu again/Emu in/ Sorry 'bout that. Cragmore. 401 402 :::::=====:::: 403 John Silverman: Nice to see you here again. Good work on the entry. Will 404 talk to yo5u via. phonwee. Line Noise 405 present, can no longer tr!an3smit. 406 :::::=====::::: 407 /////////////9-11-85////////////////////for sale 79 elcamin0 s/p $4,000 or best 408 call 503-656-xxxx 409 ////////////?///////////////////////////list 410 off 411 ///////////9-11-85///////////////////////79 camaro berlinetta- t top,am,fm 412 casette stero,305 v8,ps,pb,tilt wheel, 413 sport mags,od good tires,runs great, 414 needs paint [one owner] asking $3,330.000 or best offer call [503] 656-xxxx 415 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeee 416 417 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 418 Emu watched his companions via the visi-screen as they went to get 419 Piper. "What luck it was " thought Emu, "that Bard knew what to do with 420 those bagpipes. Without that ingenuity, we might never have found Piper." 421 As Emu watched, he noticed the blood that stained Piper's garments. 422 Piper seemed to be favoring his right arm ... and who was this comely 423 young woman lying half covered by the bloody robe that she clutched to 424 her busom? This strange scene was made even more so by the horrified look 425 on Piper's face as the adventurers approached him. Then Emu saw what 426 Piper was staring at: the "ground" was dancing with light as the adventurers 427 walked toward the two. Piper was saying something. 428 "Damn!" Emu exclaimed aloud. "Why isn't there a sound circut here!" 429 Emu looked for one, and noticed the strangest of all developments. His 430 tracker, still tuned to Piper's body, showed a zero metabolic rate, as if 431 Piper was dead. Tapping on the meter had no effect. He tried tuning to 432 Trainor's body and still registered no metabolism. In fact, everyone 433 outside of the ship was burning zero energy in their body. When trying it 434 on himself and on Fencer's dog, all readings were normal. 435 After doing physical health scans of all those outside the ship, Emu 436 found that the bodies were making all correct involuntary movements, such 437 as heartbeat and breathing, but those processes were not supplying the 438 energy needed by each cell. Normal oxidation was not taking place. In 439 fact, there was no oxygen what so ever in the surrounding environment. 440 Instead, after checking all energy levels and sources, Emu determined that 441 energy was being channeled from the environment directly into each living 442 cell. Where this ambient energy originated, Emu knew not. 443 Returning his gaze to the visi-screen, Piper seemed to be explaining 444 something. No one moved. "How odd. Why don't they bring Piper and the 445 girl into the Pell-Mell?" Emu began to feel a tugging at the edge of his 446 consciencness. Having felt this uncanny sensation before, he knew to 447 empty his mind, and let a mentalist "speak" to him. 448 Cragmore explained the situation to Emu. The energy came from the 449 violence of mass destruction. Emu let Cragmore read from his mind what 450 had just discovered, that only those outside of the ship were affected. 451 452 Since the ship itself wasn't affected either, a plan was soon formed. 453 Emu was to manouver the ship to the group, getting as close as possible, 454 and pull each person into the ship. Each person was to remain perfectly 455 still and allow Emu to do the work. Once in the ship, they could assist 456 in pulling in the rest. 457 Manouvering the ship in such close quarters was tricky, but soon all 458 were within the Pell-Mell. Emu called out "Okay, Trainor, Bard, help me 459 find a way out of this cloud of nothing!" 460 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.Emu 461 MODEM PROGRAM UPDATE 462 Mikey:Copylink now sends and receives, but once I go to terminal mode, I can't 463 get back out without reseting the whole machine. I have the esc equate set 464 to 1BH, and it appears identical to the equates in AMODEM. AMODEM works fine, 465 but COPYLINK doesn't. Any ideas? Oh, MEX112 still locks up the machine 466 when I go to terminal mode. I am going to try to strip out the baud rate 467 stuff and see if that does any good. If you have any suggestions on the 468 escape key problem, please let me know. Reseting as a means of getting to 469 command mode is not the greatest. 470 MODEM PROGRAM UPDATE 471 *********************************************************************: 472 SEVERAL THINGS, ONE, ON THE APPLE THEY TRAP THE ESCAPE KEY THEMSELVES, 473 SO YOU HAVE TO HIT IT TWICE TO GET ONE ESCAPE. THE OTHER POSSIBILITY 474 IS THAT THE KEY YOU THINK IS AN ESCAPE ISN'T REALLY. TRY THIS, TURN ECHO 475 ON, THEN MONITOR ON, THEN GO TO TERMINAL MODE AND TYPE EACH KEY TWICE, 476 THE ESCAPE KEY SHOULD PUT OUT A SINGLE (1B). IF YOU CAN'T GET THE BEAST TO 477 PUT OUT AN ESCAPE, THEN REDEFINE THE CMDCHAR BYTE TO SOMETHING ELSE. 478 NOTE, IF THE LNW IS TRAPPING THE ESCAPE ITSELF, YOU MAY HAVE TO TYPE IT 479 FOUR TIMES TO SEE THE SINGLE (1B) ON THE SCREEN. IF THIS IS TRUE, THEN 480 ESCAPE ESCAPE X WILL GET YOU BACK TO COMMAND MODE. HOW'S THE SCREEN 481 DOING, STILL GETTING WEIRD CHARS? 482 *************************** CISTOP MIKEY *******************************: 483 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] 484 THE TIN MAN felt awkward in the presence of these two. Much more so than 485 the lady's state of partial undress could account for. This had all the 486 proper ingredients for a rescue, but somehow it felt more like an intrusion. 487 And something felt very odd about this place, very odd indeed. 488 Then came the report from the pell-mell. Something about energy being 489 directly transfered here. Tin looked at his own gauges, everything looked 490 fine... except the stored power reading. Right next to the gauge was a small 491 indecator light. He had never seen this on unless he was undergoing recharge, 492 and all of THAT equipment was back at the INN, several realities away. Even 493 as he watched, the small needle crept a fraction higher. He glanced past the 494 chest read-out to the dark floor, and saw a waning point of light disappear 495 into nothingness. Then a few moments later another point of light flared, 496 and then faded. Almost immediately another, just a few feet away. 497 Suddenly it hit him. The humans used this energy, this breath of death, 498 to survive in this place. It took the place of air and food and water, 499 probably even heat and light. But he didn't just burn energy, he STORED it, 500 in the three Stefansson batteries deep inside his chest. Even as the implica- 501 tions of this hit him, and he whirled towards the pell-mell, three, then four 502 more flares sprang around his feet. Whatever this place was, it learned fast. 503 The power gauge took another step up, this time much larger. The machine 504 looked a long way away, and if the batteries overloaded... He didn't want to 505 think about that. It was already enough to feel the stench of death that 506 flowed from the surface beneath him. In blind panic he ran towards the 507 machine. 508 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN [/] [/] 509 510 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 511 512 ********************************************************************* 513 adventures: why was I hoping for a happy ending for you? The words 514 keep poping into my mind... "another fine mess""" 515 516 ". 517 *******************sorryaboutthat!**kathyd****************************** 518 ______________________________________________________________________________ 519 "AMBUSH" a short story 520 by Cravenhaw Coercri 521 ______________________________________________________________________________ 522 Johnny hid the gun in the small of his back as to not scare any of the 523 shopping mall customers. His assignment was about to end, and this time he 524 would not miss. So many times he had fouled up his mission but this would be 525 different. He would erase Fire-Eyed Jack from existance. 526 There he was, pushing his way through the crowd. Fire-Eyed Jack in 527 his first and last public appearance. Johnny shuffled this way and that try- 528 ing not to be noticed but still trying to approach Jack in his Farmer Bob 529 clothing. 530 Five yards to go now and Johnny would be at point blank range. Coming 531 up behind Jack in complete surprize gave Johnny a feeling of great excitement, 532 and knowing that his mission was soon to end brought on a more comfortable 533 feeling of relaxation. 534 Two yards now and all would be history. Johnny pulled the gun out 535 from under his jacket and felt the Luger grip get warm in his hand. 536 Shoving the barrel of the weapon into Jack's back, Johnny yelled, 537 "You're dead now, Fire-Eyed Jack!" 538 As Farmer Bob whirled his eighty-two year old frame to face the young 539 boy who called him Fire-Eyed Jack, he heard the sound of a load cap going off. 540 The newspaper headline the next day read: "Robert Warren Calicoe, 541 Ohio's oldest resident, died yesterday when Johnny Morgan, age 6, fired a cap 542 gun in Mr. Calicoe's direction. An autopsy has lead doctors to believe the 543 cause of death was cardiac arrest. Calicoe is succeeded by...." 544 Johnny sat back and smiled. 545 ______________________________________________________________________________ 546 547 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 548 Lurking, digesting, thinking... 549 (there's gotta be some more complications here) 550 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 551 %\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\ 552 Piper: More complications to what? 553 %\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%\%%\%\%\%\ 554 555 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 556 Emu spoke up again, "Okay, folks, start thinking. We've got a couple 557 problems on our hands. First and foremost, we neet to find our way out of 558 this ZEBbie. We were compeled in, but I don't think that that will work 559 as easily going out. My only suggestion is to try directly flying out, but 560 by the readings, or lack thereof, I should say, on the nav controls, that's 561 no easy trick either. 562 "Secondly, we still need to figure out how to, if not kill, at least 563 neutralize good ol' ZEBbie. Maybe we can neutralize it as we leave? Maybe 564 neutralizing it first will eliminate the need to find a way out. Any 565 suggestions?" 566 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.Emu 567 :::::=====::::: 568 TRrainor, Emu, Bard, Piper, (et. all): A Question.... 569 I think that after studying all these different styles and Aall the 570 people here, I xavhave learned a great deal. I realize that you all have 571 a somewhat LOW opinion of me, but that was when I was letting my enthusiasm 572 get the best of me. Sure, I did do something bad, but everyone deserves 573 another chance. So, my question is this: Can I get in on your adventure? 574 I have some things planned out, and they might be of some benefit. I solely 575 promise that I won't use your characters 576 unless you allow it, and I won't try to get into the story if yoou say NO. But 577 I think that if you would only give me the slightest cxance at working with you 578 on the adventure, it will be a great 579 be~efit for me, and perhaps you as well. Besides, you can always kick me out 580 again if I start annoying you. I promise not to use my MAGIC TRUFFLES 581 and I promise not to ride on Trainor's 582 shoulder (I planned to get off anyway when the adventure started) so what do 583 you all say? Can I join in? Please? 584 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 585 @^@^@^@^@^@^####################################################^@^@^@^@^ 586 Je suis "CHENOCEUX". Je suis un nouveau auture. C'est tres estrange! 587 Parce que, je n'ai pas jamais "scribbled" sur le BBS apres. Bien, il 588 est temps pour moi a partir maintenant. C'est un amusment journal pour 589 le americain enfants, oui? S'il vous plait, si quelque un besoin a 590 "deposit" un francais "scribble" pour moi, merci. Si non, encoule! 591 Si, vous ne comprend pas, pardon. 592 593 p.s. A les belles madamoiselles - voulez-vous couchez avec moi, quelque 594 nuit? D'accord? 595 596 597  Jusqu'..., 598 599 ^@^@^@^@^################################################CHENOCEUX#####@^@^@^@^ 600 601 602 603 break 604 605 stop 606 lo 607 BREAK 608 609 (((*)))(((*)))(((*)))((( just checking in )))(((*)))(((*)))((( Ripple))) 610 It's okay even if we can't read a word of that.... 611 Too bad these keys can't prodouce the characters for Japanese, We'll have 612 to stick with romagi. konnichiwa! Ogenki desuka? kujihandes, oyasuminasai! 613 `,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,Mf 614 615 {+|+} (0912852155) [621] 616 ++++++++++++++++++er,hum,tooclosetobottomtoenter.lurk,lurk,lurk...+ Milchar +++ 617 .-.-. 618 oui, ecrivez, mais pas couchez, d'ac? merci... 619 .-.-.Emu 620 RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 621 And in the calmness that now surrounds me I wonder. Your thought- 622 ful consideration gives cause to step back and recapture your beauty.... 623 RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 623