1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************* INSTALLED: 19 OCT 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 #$#$#$#$#$at the top#$#$#$too bad, folks...#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$ 21 " ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 22 Digitalian 23 ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" ^"^" ^"^"^"^"^" 24 Yes, and 9/10s of you know who I am. 25 I'm just gonna 26 27 * * * * * *** 28 * * * * ** * * * 29 *** *** * * * * 30 * * * * * ** * *** 31 * * * * * * *** 32 Around for a 33 bit.. 34 35 I might be starting a multi-author 36 story soon, so I want some people 37 to speak up if they wanna join in 38 OK? 39 40 Neo: Nice going! 41 Zephyr: Told ya! 42 Abbreviator: go find another system 43 to twit up! 44 ^"^"^"^"^"^"^" ^"^" 45 46 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\10 47 "It's just some putzy little ball of ice!" Actually, Amphyrian was a ball of rock covered with ice. It was about 48 2/3 the size of earth's moon and orbited its primary (Rigel) at a distance of seven light weeks. The computer 49 calculated its orbital period at somewhere around 370,000 years. James' ship had popped out of nullspace three 50 planetary diameters away. "Look at this!" James said. "If it ever HAD an atmosphere (which I doubt) it's frozen on the 51 ground. There's nothing here." He turned and fixed her with an accusatory glare. "If you're jerking me 52 around..." 53 Tariya had had quite enough out of him. "Take your sensors," she said, slowly, as if talking to a child, "and focus 54 them on the north pole. Just like the computer said." 55 James fiddled with the controls for a minute. then he sat back with an exclamation. "I don't believe it." 56 Located exactly at the north pole was a dome of air twenty miles across. The sensors showed it was perfectly 57 breathable and heated to room temperature. What was keeping the air from freezing or escaping was another matter. At 58 the bottom of the computer screen were the words "I TOLD YOU SO." Tariya's expression said exactly the same 59 thing. 60 James hated to be wrong. He hated even more to make a fool of himself. "So something's there. I hope you don't 61 expect me to apologize." 62 "The thought never crossed my mind. Like I said, it's a focal point for some very powerful mystic forces. It 63 doesn't pay to make such things easily accessable." 64 "Even though it's an open secret." 65 "Well, it's not really that well known. I was as surprised as you that the computer knew about it. Not that I would 66 have admitted that, of course." 67 "Of course. Hmm. This is a used ship. Maybe its previous owner was Merlin." 68 "Who?" 69 "Never mind." He adjusted the life scanners. "I can't find anybody down there. Who runs the place?" 70 "The Crystal Palace is 'run' by whoever's using it at the time. Otherwise, it's unattended. Nobody's there right 71 now or the scanners would have shown nothing and you would never have believed me. When in use the whole area places 72 itself outside this universe." 73 "That's not very comforting." James commented as he programmed in a normal space landing. 74 Tariya put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. I can handle it." 75 "You're sure about that?" 76 "Trust me." 77 James mumbled something about famous last words as the ship lowered itself towards the planet's 78 surface. 79 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 80 81 |"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"|"|#|"| 82 83 ^"^"^"^""^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 84 Nice border,but WHOSE?!? 85 ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 86 --------------------------------------- 87 Eidolaz, I am here too. 88 -----------------------------B--------- 89 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 90 Several days later, we were stymied. 91 We had one clear advantage over other pioneers- a working model. That still 92 didn't mean that all the work was done for us. Our largest problem was that 93 we had discovered no way to probe the nonexistant interior of the grey IC. 94 At least, we assumed it was an IC. 95 "Only one thing I can think of to do," Stan said after a particularly long, 96 tiring session with the grey thing, "and that's installing it into a Passkey 97 and observing effects. Entirely too dangerous, of course. You might end up 98 anywhere at all- nearby star, distant planet, center of a hypermass-" 99 All of those things were hazards to extradimensional navigation. A standard 100 traveldoor on Sirius that led to, say, Terra required fifteen billion 101 calculations per second to keep it pinpointed to the correct destination; 102 comets, suns, even the rotation of the connected planets had to be taken into 103 consideration. 104 "...Well, it's getting late. We'll start again tomorrow, eh?" I nodded, and 105 Stan let himself out. 106 Install it into a Passkey... 107 Slowly I arose. I'll do it. Stan had a family, I rationalized, and couldn't 108 possibly be called on to take the risk. Yet nothing else could be done. If 109 I could only collect data, we could have some major insights on how the thinng 110 worked. 111 I wrote a long letter to Stan, detailing what I was about to do, and left it 112 on the workbench where he would find it the next morning. I took th 113 stabilizer circuit and installed it into my Passkey, triple-checking all 114 of my work. Next I gathered a standard-issue survival pack, food and water for 115 two weeks, a repair kit, spare parts, and Stan's vesloc. I transferred credit 116 to Stan's account to pay for it, and added a PS to my letter. 117 Finally, all was prepared. I looked about my home and said farewell, then 118 pressed the contact on the Passkey. 119 I told the vesloc to record all the spatial phenomena in the immediate vicinity, 120 then stepped through the shimmering circle of light. 121 %%%%%%%% rebalsa %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 10/19/85 122 ------------------------------------- 123 I'm still here too, talk? 124 ----------------------------------B-- 125 +++++++++++++++l+++u++++r+++++k++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++ 126 127 :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) 128 The door to Innisfal opened. It opened slowly (but not at all 129 dramatically, as there was no breeze) to reveal the wimp trying to 130 get it opened. Nobody noticed his struggle. 131 He was a simple man. About 5'9", 127 lbs, with reddish-blond 132 hair, a red beard, and glasses (you know the kind, with the bottoms 133 of Coke bottles for lenses). If anyone had looked at him, they would 134 have seen the streaks of mud left over from tripping over a root to the 135 "stupid" tree. (He could have sworn that the tree tripped him on 136 purpose.) 137 As he was struggling to close the door, he got slammed between it 138 and the wall as a group of rowdy adventures came stomping in for some 139 romping good stories and beaucoup barrels of beer. He peeled himself 140 off of the wall and sat at a table in the middle of the room, all by 141 himself. 142 Twenty minutes later, the innkeeper noticed him. A simple glass of 143 milk was ordered, along with the 'soup du jour'. Once delivered, it was 144 all consumed quickily (but rather sloppily), and the chin was dabbed 145 by the old shirtsleeve. 146 He considered his next move. "Shall I go on to deliver my message 147 to the council of wizards, or shall I say *#@^&% it and go to sleep?" 148 He didn't like the fact that he had been chosen to deliver the most 149 important message that the Council would ever receive. In fact, he 150 quite resented the delegation, and was reminded of a leper that he read 151 about that kept finding himself in another world, where his white-gold 152 wedding band (from his estranged wife) was The Power to end all powers. 153 "Thomas was stupid for doing all that against his will." He mummbled 154 some simple anglo-saxon curse, laid his head in the bowl in front of him, 155 and went to sleep. 156 :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(argh! 157 158 (((*)))(((*)))lurking around(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))((( Ripple ))) 159 hello 160 hi 161 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*Deamtoucher*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* 162 No one seemed to notice the sausage shaped form of translucent jade ware 163 it floated a few inches below the top of the scared oaken table. Dreamtoucher 164 knew of course of its preasence. Without person's aid he might have remained 165 forever stranded in a parched land. 166 Snowrunner lay full length but upright on the planked floor, her muzzle 167 resting on front paws, eyes open, alert, playful. The rabbet twitched 168 nerviosly, a wary eye cast in her direction. From time to time she would jurk 169 her head upright, first in one direction, than another, as if to give playful 170 chaise. 171 #Stop that!# The ageless elf admonished her. #He is NOT lunch.# 172 #Not lunch indeed# was Zypher's projected thought. 173 A smal sound escaped Snowrunner's closed mouth as she slumped her head 174 lower on her forpaws in mock dejection. 175 Dreamtoucher seated himself and reached out to touch the rabbit's forehead 176 . Around them the Inn's good fealings went on, its many fascinating con- 177 versations, some whispered, some spoken aloud, undisturbed by thair entrance. 178 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* 179 Destroyer and Rebalsa: much enjoyment story lines yours to me are 180 ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 181 Digit 182 ^"^"^"^" " "^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 183 Krakus looked toward the slow moving ocean, and it seemed almost to bow to him. 184 He had awlays admired the sea, and figured it was about time it admired him. 185 A shallow voice came into existance. 186 "Krakus?", it asked. 187 Disturbed from his peace, his response was rasped. 188 "#$%&$% WHAT?!?" he yelled with all his lungs. 189 It was Rasoi, the captive he had taken, and had gradually taken a nice 190 liking to, also.... 191 Attractive was her body, with silky skin, and nice figure. 192 Rasoi looked depressed to this rudeness. 193 "What's wrong, Krakus?"she asked, still trying to be somber and mellow, 194 as not to bring about more harsh feelings. 195 "I- I- I feel dizzy...." And at that, fainted off to the subconscious... 196 Rasoi went back to the land rover, and fetched two larger creatures...one named 197 Po and the other, Mia. 198 The two husky, brown furred Gladinoids dragged him back into the tiny, cramped 199 space vehicle, and proceeded back to 200 headquarters... 201 On the way----- 202 "-Click- F.L.E.X. headquarters to R.A.T.1. Do you read? -Click-" 203 "Yes Sir, we do.... loud & clear." 204 "-Click- Is that YOU, Rasoi? -Click-" 205 She smiled, and looked toward 206 the Gladinoids, who stayed expressionless. 'oh well' she thought.... 207 "M-Hmm-- I Mean YES SIR!" she hastily stated... 208 this break in the silence was the only thing that brought the huge Gladinoids' 209 attention... They growled. 210 "-Click- What the H*** are you doing?!? Where's Captain Jacob?!? -Click-" the 211 voice exclaimed. 212 "Long story, Commander... I'll tellyou at headquarters...over & out..." 213 At that, >Click< 214 ^"^"^" ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^" 215 Digit 216 ^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^"^ 217 218 219 ************************************** 220 ************************************** 221 222 Is the sole purpose of this BBS to 223 exchange works of fiction? 224 225 ************************************** 226 *********** StormBringer ************* 227 ************************************** 228 229 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\mark\\\\\\\\\\\\\er\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 230 Exchanging works of fiction isn't this BBS's sole purpose but it is its 231 most popular one. We like it that way. 232 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\andanothermarker\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 233 234 ********************************* **** 235 236 Since I am not particularly interested 237 in writing works of fiction, perhaps 238 someone could give some numbers to 239 other BBSs in the Portland Metro area. 240 241 It would be greatly appreciated. 242 243 ************ StormBringer ********** * 244 245 TO: STORMBRINGER 246 SUB: BBS #'S 247 248 TRY BITBUCKET @ 254-xxxx 249 USE THE "I" COMMAND TO GET TO THE 250 INFO FILES AND THERE YE SHALL FIND 251 SEVERAL LISTINGS OF BBS's 252 253 addendum to above: you can use the info files on the Bucket if you have 254 been given permission. (It's been a while for me but) I believe that 255 you have to logon as a "Newuser", fill out the questionaire, and wait 256 a couple days. While you're waiting, try CBBS/NW at 284-xxxx or 257 646-xxxx. 258 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>...!psu-cs!nelsons<><><><><><><><><><> 259 **************************************** 260 **************************************** CHEAP SOFTWARE/HARDWARE 261 **************************************** 262 WeLL, I GOT TIRED OF PAYING INFLATED P PRICES FOR ALL MY COMPUTER STUFF, SO 263 I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO SLIP INTO THE 264 WORLD OF RETAIL COMPUTER SUPPLY. ANYWAY,IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ANYTHING, GIVE 265 ME A CALL. OR, IF YOU DON'T SEE SOME- 266 THING YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, I CHECK AND 267 SEE IF I CAN GET IT FOR YOU. HERE'S SOMEPRICES. HAVE FUN. 268 269 **************************************** 270 DESCRIPTION PRICE 271 ---------------------------------------- 272 MAXELL DISKS SSDD (BOX/10) $16.50 273 BONUS DISKS SSDD (BOX/11) $13.00 274 MEMOREX DISKS SSDD (BOX/10) $15.00 275 MAXELL MACINTOSH 3.5" (BOX/10) $29.95 276 MAXELL DSDD 3.5" $39.95 277 MAXORIGINAL FLIP-N-FILE (HOLDS 50) $15.00 278 MEDIA MATER FILE (HOLDS 75) $12.50 279 FLIP-N-FILE 10 $ 4.00 280 PERFECT DATA 5" CLEANING KIT $10.00 281 WICO TRACKBALL (AT, C-64, ETC.) $34.95 282 WICO THE BOSS J-STICK $14.00 283 ________________________________________ 284 MAIL ORDERS TO: S&G COMPUTER SUPPLY 285 286 OREGON CITY, OR 287 97045 288 289 OR CALL: 632-xxxx 290 291 PLEASE ADD $3 SHIPPING CHARGES FOR 292 ORDERS LESS THAN $100. ADD $2 FOR ALL 293 C.O.D. ORDERS. 294 295 **************************************** ORDER TODAY 296 **************************************** 297 .H 298  299 300 S 301 .S 302 /S 303 To: ...!psu-cs!nelsons 304 From: StormBringer 305 Subject: thanx 306 ------- 307 308 Thanx for the number, I'll give it a 309 try. 310 311 Why are you signing messages with a 312 USENET pathname. You surely aren't 313 getting here through USENET...are you? 314 315 ------- 316 317 (((*))) 318 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 319 Hey, Stormbringer... 320 It's me, Laurie (162) 321 Ring a bell? 322 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 323 =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 324 Whoopeee! At the top!!! 325 Need I say more? 326 =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 327 328 329 (Gee, Mikey, in your WELCOME TO BACKWATER message, I think you should 330 included the Bit Bucket's number saying that if others want a number to 331 another bulletin board to use the "I" command there.) 332 Someone let Destroyer on the loose... I am amused at the controversial escapades 333 of that not-too-distant time.It appears that Destroyer stumbled upon an excel- 334 lent method of having his works praised... first do something controversial, 335 have all those nitpickers nit it to death, and then the brave shall rise to the 336 occassion and give it hearty praise to time immemorial. This is not a comment 337 as to the quality of work whatsoever, it's just amusing that one has to be put 338 down to get put up. 339 340 Now, lessee, maybe I'll give it a try: 341 342 343 The Captain wiped his blood-stained sword with a determined pull through his 344 torn pants. At his feet lay two creatures, each with a bloody gash at their 345 throats. Their slimy green exteriors reddened the dark blood which flowed from 346 their necks, the stench was becoming almost unbearable. 347 He wiped his brow, sword still in hand, and then examined the fine Selurian 348 blade for any damage. Satisfied, he placed the glittering length of steel into 349 his jewel-encrusted sheath. 350 He looked back at the glimmering shaft of light in the distance. He had barely 351 made it a hundred yards before these 352 two guarians had accosted him. Fortunately, his sword was quick and his feet 353 nimble; even though the attack was unexpectedly soon, he knew, upon venturing 354 into this cave, that danger would lurk nearby. 355 He paused, took in a breath of air, ignoring the increasingly distasteful 356 smell from the bodies at his feet, and continued on into the tunnel. He knew 357 that this was a miniscule test of his skill, compared to what lay ahead. But 358 still, he had promised her ladyship, and would go on until the deed was finished 359 ... or until he was. 360 361 000000000000000 THE BEAR 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 362 363 @p@p@p@p 364 Boy how dare you use a tu nnel for a story! That goes against everything this 365 BBS stands for! 366 LurkJohn 367 368 Yah! I'll say! No story can start without the INN! Boy, are you some dumb 369 writer, who doesn't deserve the likes of us magnificently gifted talents! 370 371 ppp@p@ppp@p@p@p@p@p@pp@p@p@p@pp@p The Popper-Doodle @@p@p@p@p@p@p@p@p@p@p@p 372 373 Yah, and with a name like "The Bear", you come waltzing in here like some 374 great big gallute, thinking you're such tough stuff. Where do you get off 375 writing such nonsense!!!! 376 377 *************************************************** Hartleess ************* 378 379 && && && 380 The cold October air skittered leaves about the feet of the robed traveller 381 as he pushed open the doors of the Inn. Dark eyes surveyed the room from 382 beneath a worn and sodden hood. 383 I've been moving in faster circles lately, the Poet mused, but circles all 384 the same. Noticing that his favorite table was being used for a pillow by a 385 rather unpreposessing young man, the Mad One quietly circled in the shadows 386 at the fringes of the room, scanning for familiar faces. There was a large 387 gentleman of ursine mein regaling those at nearby tables with a tale of gory 388 daring-do, and several among his audience seemed somewhaat familiar. That's 389 the problem with all of this reality-hopping, he thought, eventually everyone 390 the problem with all of this reality-hopping, he thought, eventually 391 everyone just looks like someone you think you know... 392 everyone looks a little familiar... 393 There was one person in the Inn the Poet was sure he knew, though. Turning 394 his mind and eyes from the other patrons of the evening, he stepped up to the 395 bar. 396 "Innkeeper, I've had a long journey and I'm tired. I'd like you to send 397 seven ales back to me in the bath. Oh, and if a rather crazed looking 398 gentleman by the name of Post comes asking about me, I haven't been here in 399 months." 400 So saying, the poet laid a large multicolored gem in the Innkeeper's palm 401 and slid back to the marbled ecstacy of the Bath. 402 && The Mad Actor && 403 To: Pooper Doodle & Heartless. 404 405 Who are you two to criticise anothjer writer; who appointed you to the top 406 of the twit list? If another person wishes to write a story we should have 407 enough courticy to let them write. If anyone has any say over what we write 408 that person would be Mike D. 409 As it is clear to see by the name you choose and what you have written, you 410 are here for sole purpose of getting attention and being just a pain to 411 other people who have to sit through your garbage. If it's attention you 412 want, the best way is to write a story favorable to everyone here. 413 `,`,`,`to each his own`,`,`,`,`,`,`,` Ma-ku. 414 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 415 416 K.I.S. Net. 417 418 777-xxxx 419 420 24hrs. 421 422 K.I.S. Net is in great need of some 423 writters. I know the writters from 424 TANIS have to be hangin' about some- 425 where, and I guess this is one of the 426 most likely places. 427 There are many calls comming in to 428 K.I.S. Net, but no one is leaving any 429 material. They just log on, look around 430 a bit, and log off. What is needed is 431 some good story writters. 432 433 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 434 If the quality of the material is exemplified by the above message, I'm not 435 surprised there are no stories going. "writters", indeed! 436 \ a part-time writer / 437 438 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.l.u.r.k.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 439 pppppppppppppplurkin' in the early AM ppppppppppp(yawn)pppppppppppppppppppp 440 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\justamarker\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 441 (((*)))(((*)))(((lurk... lurk)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))((( Ripple ))) 442 DOn't worry KIS NEt, I'll help out. for 443 I am the Phantom WRitter, and I used to 444 be famous on bacKWater, and now I can be 445 famos on you're system too. PHANTOM WRIT 446 TER RETURNS!!!!!!HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! 447 448 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++inanotherrush+++++++++++m+++++++++++++++++++++ 449 The cold blue steel of his laser canon reflected the dim light from above. 450 His prey was almost in range. Don't fire until you see their bloodshot eyes 451 Hartleeb remembered. Then all at once, there he was. Lumbering along like he 452 ruled the world, one hand on a jewel encrusted sheath, the other hand busy 453 while several of its fingers were stuck in the long barrel of a gun. His 454 lumbering was not aided by the fact that one foot was firmly implanted in 455 his mouth. The hopping motion made the site almost too funny to blow away, 456 but blow away he must. Into range, just a few seconds more. Hartleeb's 457 finger tensed on the hair-trigger of his death device. With a twitch, an amber 458 field erupted from the mouth of the cave, atomizing everything in its path. 459 As the smoke cleared, and Hartleeb surveyed the scene before him, a metalic 460 voice rang out in the valley, from no apparent source. 461 HARTLEEB ONE, THE BEAR ZERO. THIS CONCLUDES TONIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT. PLEASE 462 TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EXCITING EPISODE OF MUTUAL OF OMAHA'S WILD 463 KINGDOM. 464 465 HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 466 467 (sigh, it looks like twits aren't the only things that are being hunted.) 468 469 ************************************** 470 ************************************** 471 Are you really using USENET or is that 472 just your pathname? 473 Thanx for the bit buxket's number, I 474 have applied for membership and am 475 awaiting my verification. 476 ***************StormBringer*********** 477 ************************************** 478 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 479 :::::=====:::::===== 480 "H-hello, Dreamtoucher?" 481 I wasn't used to this "type of "mind communication.", and it was very 482 discomfortin 483 :::::=====(Maikey, delete the above, ok?? I'll start over. 484 :::::=====:::::===== 485 "H-hello?" 486 Such a strange way to communicate! My mind was "speaking" in my own 487 rabbit tongue, and yet (according to Dreamtoucher) he heard straight English 488 in HIS mind. I only spoke for a short while when last we met, and I still 489 haven't really gotten used to it,. 490 I paused, looking over at Snowrunner, who was eyeing ME as well 491 in a hungry /playful sort of way. Nerve-wracking. 492 "So Dreamtoucher.....where have you been since last we met? I eagerly 493 await you to tell me, for I love the tales you spin of your homeworld, and 494 your grand forests of old. So speak...er..."think", friend Elven Mystic." 495 Dreamtoucher touched my forhead, and a tingle ran up my back. I felt 496 strong magics surrounding both Dreamtoucher, Snowrunner, and some other 497 presence. I guessed that it was just the last of the "storm" befuddling my 498 senses, but I could swear that there was someone else sin the air near the pair. 499 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::===== 500 501 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 502 503 ...As Hartleeb notched his gun with his hardened nail, he mused that there was 504 nothing that could possible touch him and his gun. Sure, a volley had been 505 fired... two of his guardians had been killed. But it was he who had the last 506 laugh. 507 508 He dug the mark deeply into the butt of his gun. He cared not that he had nearly 509 DESTROYED the finish on it. The notches were the important thing. The beauty 510 of the kill overroad the beauty of the fine craftsmanship which had been so 511 delicately labored over by now-unknown craftsmen. 512 513 He sheathed his weapon and sauntered janutily toward the darkness from whence 514 he had come, whistling a happy tune. 515 516 Without sound or warning, his shrill whistle abrubtly haulted. There was 517 deafening silence in the darkness of the tunnel for just a moment. Then the 518 raspy breath of fear searing from his nostrils. The whites of his eyes could be 519 seen in the darkness. 520 521 A stern voice whispered in the back of his ear. He felt the slight push of a 522 sharpened blade at his back. The strong hand covered his mouth completely. 523 524 "Those who use only one sense, often lose all of them." 525 526 His clouded mind could not understand. 527 528 "Your eyes saw my image, which was transferred to the tunnel through my Epyxian 529 image projector. It is one of my many defense mechanisms. 530 531 You see, I am never quite where I seem to be. When you fire at a target, you 532 best be sure you hit it. And kill for good." 533 534 Hartleeb's eyes could only widen further, if that were even possible. No sound 535 came from his face save his strident breathing. The breath of fear. And death. 536 537 And now, you see sir, I shall show you how to KILL, and smell, and touch, and 538 hear the stink of death. That fancy gun tries to explode the body at a safe 539 distance. You see, killing is a personal deed. You miss the mark when you work 540 at a distance." 541 542 Hartleeb's eyes widened even further, seemingly creating new openings in his 543 forehead. The light eminating from his eyes created a warm aura around his head 544 in the gloomy darkness in the tunnel. 545 546 The blade plunged even deeper, reaching for the heart. Hidden inside the 547 clothing of flesh and blood was a palpitating organ, which objected to the 548 sharpness that inhibited its movements. 549 550 So it stopped. And Hartleeb's body slowly relaxed, and fell in a heap into the 551 ground. 552 553 The Bear withdrew his sword, wiping it carefully on Hartleeb's jacket. No use 554 to mess up my clothes with HIS blood, he thought. Sheathing the sword, he 555 clutched the misused gun. Shrugging, and emitting a sound something like the 556 combination of a growl and a giggle, he crushed it in his hands, and threw it 557 to the ground. 558 559 But the Bear did not laugh. He simply shook his head and smiled sadly. 560 561 "One does not laugh at death," he said softly. "And one should never misjudge 562 the abilities of ones enemies. Pride can be a deadly companion." 563 564 He nudged the lifeless body with his well-worn boot, and continued on into the 565 tunnel.... 566 567 568 0000000000000000000000000 THE BEAR 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 569 He and She 570 I'm sure that you can imagine 571 It's as simple as can be 572 The place is rather private 573 The players he and she 574 575 She whispered "Will it hurt?" 576 "Of course not" he replied 577 It's just a simple process 578 lay back and close your eyes 579 580 She says "I'm rather frightened" 581 I've never done it before 582 He wanted to continue 583 It won't hurt much more 584 585 It's getting rather painful 586 Tears came to her eyes 587 It's hurting something awful 588 589 Now calm yourself, my darling 590 This feeling unfolds your sin 591 Now open lightly, so I can let more in 592 593 Suddenly with a jump 594 She gave a little shout 595 Now it's all over, he pulled it out 596 597 Now as you read carefully 598 A dentist you will find 599 It's not what you were thinking 600 It's just your dirty mind 601 .....................gw.............. 602 603 A jewel encrusted sheath? My, sounds quite painful... :) 604 . . Bear: Not actually following much of the ways of Backwater, I can 605 hardly remember what I associated your name with. Anyways, I have a new 606 association. I like your recent entry. . . . 607 Aha! A new entry on DB!!! what happene 608 d.... we are allowed to enter even tho 609 da now stands!!!! 610 611 AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 612 613 well, so what do i do with it? This 614 entry will be the most ephemeral of 615 them all, since da will change to 616 db and this will be lost forever!!! 617 So what do 618 I say wity 619 this littl 620 e room! 621 well, it 622 is the mos 623 t importan 624 t thing yo 625 u will eve 626 r hear! 627 628 you see, t 629 The last line... Tat Tvam Asi TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 629