1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ************************* INSTALLED: 21 NOV 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 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 22 23 A soft scraping came from the hatch above. Slowly, it opened, two 24 shadows began to descend.... 25 The narrow beam of a penlight moved around the room. One of the shadow 26 figures stumbled, then regained his balance. "Damn Guido," a voice 27 whispered. "Watch it, they'll hear you." 28 "Never fear, Johann, knowing the Albanian he's probably dead drunk or 29 fooling around with his Bolivian playmate," Guido said. 30 A deep voice came from the darkness, "Nice of you gentlemen to drop by, 31 but haven't you heard? Albanians never drink on duty." 32 A bright light illuminated the room. In the center were two men clad 33 in black leisure suits and orange ski masks. Both were armed with pistols, 34 and one carried a stout rope. Startled by the light, the men stood confused 35 for a moment, then look around. Mohammed Wassir stood in one corner of the 36 lounge, Maria in the other next to a lamp. Their weapons were trained on 37 the intruders. Johann and Guido lowered their pistols. 38 "Guido," Johann said, "This is all your fault. You were too noisy in 39 taking out the sentry." 40 "Hey, he just moved at the wrong moment." 41 "Pardon me for interrupting," Mohammed said, "but can I assume that 42 Jocko is no longer with us?" 43 "Er..... well," Guido said, "accidents do happen." 44 Wassir scowled. "Yes, they do. Now tell me, who do you work for." 45 "We can't tell you that," Guido said, "but if you come with us.... 46 we'll be happy to introduce you. The boss is anxious to meet you." 47 "Many people are anxious to meet me, but judging from your methods the 48 meeting wouldn't be in my best interests. Enough idle chit-chat, tell me 49 what this is all about." 50 "Oh no, we can't talk. The Boss would rip our lungs out." Guido said 51 "Haven't you heard," Wassir said. "Albanians always get their way." 52 He smiled wolfishly at Maria. She laughed softly. 53 Suddenly, Guido spun and fired. The lamp next to Maria exploded, 54 plunging the room into darkness. Gunfire echoed. Figures moved jerkily in 55 the strobe of muzzle flashes. The sharp crack of Maria's 9mm punctuated the 56 throaty roar of Wassir's shotgun. In a moment it was over, silence returned 57 "Mohammed, are you all right?" Maria whispered. 58 "Yes, turn on a light. I think we got 'em>" 59 Maria turned on another lamp. Guido and Johann lay on the carpet. 60 Wassir walked cautiously to the bodies and began to examine them. "Damn," 61 he said. "I wanted them alive. Kismet," he shurgged. 62 "Mohammed who do you think sent them and why?" 63 "It could have been anyone... McKane, Delta 5, the NET, the Under- 64 ground... who knows for sure?" 65 "How about Salazar?" Maria asked. "You and he didn't part on good 66 terms." 67 "Oh, this isn't Salazar's style. He would come after me himself. The 68 last I heard, Salazar was lost in the Amazon basin, lovesick over some legal 69 secretary. He always has had overactive glands." Wassir chuckled as he 70 searched Guido's pockets. "Wait, I think I found something." 71 "What is it?" 72 "Hmmm.... very interesting." Wassir held up a matchbook. On the cover 73 was the inscription: "The Bogart Arms; Lake Geneva's Finest Hotel; 74 Luasanne, Switzerland". 75 "What does it mean, Mohammed?" 76 "It means you'd better get packed. It's time for a Swiss holiday." 77 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Valinor *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 78 79 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80 LUASANNE, SWITZERLAND (AP) -- Local Swiss canton police today reported 81 the abduction of noted cybernetics expert, Professor Hugo Stuffit. Professor 82 Stuffit had been scheduled as the keynote speaker for the International 83 Conference on Cybernetic Research. The topic of his speech was to be 84 "Cybernetics in Modern Warfare". 85 Police officials revealed that Professor Stuffit was kidnapped while 86 having breakfast with Boom Boom LaVerne, noted local entertainer. Ms. 87 LaVerne described the kidnappers as wearing orange ski masks and tacky 88 polyester black leisure suits. Also taken was the Professor's latest 89 invention, the Helix 8. Sources close to the investigation claim the police 90 are actively pursuing several leads, and arrests are imminent. 91 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92 93 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\22 94 The light from the first sun was just beginning to stain the sky to the west. James was crouched down in some 95 bushes, studying the castle. 96 At least he thought it was a castle. The darkness hindered his vision not at all. It was a huge building, made 97 entirely of stone. It stood a couple hundred yards from where the forest ended, the path that they had been following 98 running right up to its door. There was no moat, but the door was a drawbridge and, of course, it was up. The place 99 looked deserted but supersharp eyes picked out armored guards patrolling the upper levels. There was absolutely no 100 vegetation between the forest and the castle so sneaking up was pretty much out of the question. 101 Several times he had sent his mind out, trying to pick up some trace of Tariya, but an incredible amount of psychic 102 static surrounded the castle, making telepathic surveillance impossible. The whole place carried an aura of power and 103 evil that might have frightened or sickened another man. James had faced such places before, and was unaffected. In 104 fact, the evil struck a resonant chord within himself, one that he had learned to live with rather than fight. Tariya, 105 though, must be withering in such a place. If she was still alive. 106 The pain in his stomach flared up for a brief second, and then he forced it down. It would be back later with a 107 vengance, crippling him. Maybe even killing him. He just hoped it would stay down until he was finished. Just a little 108 while longer. 109 He wasn't worried about resistance within the castle. Anything powerful enough to threaten him he could sense from 110 here, even through the interferance. Hell, two years ago he had shattered a planet! There was nothing in this stone 111 and morter compost heap that could even slow him down. Of course, two years ago he had been in a little better 112 shape... 113 Enough wasting time. Who knew what they were doing to her in there? James had enough of an imagination. He held the 114 sword out before him. 115 The sword, of course, didn't really exist. It was only an image, brought to life by his own incredible power. A 116 sword traditionally stood for death and violence and as such served as a convenient focus for his destructive energy. 117 It did so now, as its everpresent glow concentrated at its tip. Then he drew it back, as if to slash an invisible foe 118 before him. 119 He whipped it across in a wide arc. A spray of intangible blue bubbles trailed behind the tip, like water from a 120 garden hose. Only instead of falling to the ground, the bubbles continued to fly outward at a constant rate. Steadily, 121 deliberately, they floated towards the castle. When they made contact with the castle wall, however, they did not seem 122 so ephermal. 123 James threw his arm up to shield himself from the glare. The entire area whited out for several seconds, followed 124 by a roar that seemed to shake the planet to its very core. By first appearances, he had just leveled the 125 place. 126 James knew better, though. He had already guaged the spells protecting the place and his attack was only powerful 127 enough to just break through them. When the glow faded he saw that the wall facing him now had a dozen large holes in 128 it but the rest of the place was relatively intact. Now he had his pick of front doors. There were a few bodies in the 129 rubble and everybody else was running around in obvious panic. This, too, was to his advantage. If he wanted to get 130 Tariya out alive he would need all the advantages he could get. 131 And if she wasn't alive, well, he saw little point in going on. And he just might take a second planet with 132 him. 133 Keeping low, he sprang from his cover and ran towards the castle at top speed. 134 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 135 BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB 136 BBBBBBBBB Between Brothers BBBBBBBBB 137 138 Oct. 28, 1975 139 140 Dear Steve, 141 Well, I haven't heard from you yet, so I figured it was time to sit down and have a little chat. Since this is a letter, 142 I just want you to check off the comment that comes closest to your own, and then you can read my replies below them. Okay? 143 Here goes: 144 Dave (me): Why haven't you written back Steve? I poured out my guts to you in that first letter, and all I get is 145 silence. Please, Steve, my brother, please answer me! 146 147 Steve (you): 148 ----- (1) I haven't received the first letter yet. 149 ----- (2) I got your letter but I've been too busy to waste my time on you. 150 ----- (3) I hate you. I always hated you. I always will hate you. 151 ----- (4) I always hated Mom. 152 ----- (5) Who the hell are you anyway? 153 154 Dave's reply: 155 (1) Sure, sure, and the Pope wears lacy underwear. 156 (2) At least you're honest. Think you're a big businessman now, huh? Just wait, when I graduate I'll buy and sell you 157 so fast it'll make your head spin. 158 (3) I always hated you too. Slime bucket. 159 (4) I told Mom that you hated her, and she was quite upset. I hope you realize that this means you're out of their will 160 now. And Dad was pissed off because you didn't even mention him. 161 (5) Just because you're four years older doesn't mean you can forget about me. But that's fine... as someone with a strong 162 sense of family, I will continue to send you letters, keeping you posted on my progress in college. If you choose to ignore 163 them, that's okay too. This is required classwork, so I will write regardless. But if an elephant walks up to you and sticks 164 its trunk up your nose and pulls your liver out... remember why it happened. 165 166 Love, 167 Your Forgotten Brother. 168 Dave. 169 170 BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB 171 172 TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT 173 "Yoo hoo, Fellows, are you in there?" It was the forever-cheery voice 174 of Linda Samples, assistant to the secretary of the head of the organization. 175 Fellows knew Linda's presence meant trouble, so he hurried his thronely duties, 176 and over the sound of the hot air hand drier, informed Linda that he would 177 be with her in a moment. 178 Opening the lavatory door and stepping out into the florescent-lit hall, 179 Fellows spied Linda at the other end of the hall, waiting. And smiling, as 180 she always did. A regular PollyAnna, thought Fellows, but still the most 181 attractive woman on the whole 7th floor of NET's world headquarters. 182 "Well Linda, what can I do for you?" asked Fellows with mock amusement. 183 "Mr. Big, I mean Ian wants to see you, right away in his office. I 184 think something important has come up. He has called in all the agents-at- 185 large for a big meeting. You should go up right now." 186 "Aren't you coming Linda?" 187 "Oh no, I'm off to look up Mr. Parity. I think he is down in the 188 coffee shop, making eyes at that stupid waitress again." 189 "OK, and thank-you Linda." 190 "Sure Fellows, anytime." 191 Sure Fellows, anytime. Easy for you to say Miss Samples. Fellows knew 192 how fruitless it was to even consider, but still. Now Ian. What does that 193 man have up his sleeve this time? 194 195 "Have a seat, I'm glad Linda found you so quickly. Her abilities continue 196 to surprise and amaze me. After all, she's only a woman... right?" 197 Fellows knew better than to disagree with Ian. Besides, this time 198 Ian was right. 199 "Yes indeed. Linda is talented. I'm sure she will continue to adapt to 200 our system of conducting business. Anyway, what's up?" 201 "I am calling all of our agents not currently assigned in for special 202 one-on-one conferences. The other members of The Committee and myself have 203 been discussing some new protocols for NET..." 204 The Committee! The name stung Fellows like the sting of a bee. They only 205 involve themselves in day to day operations if something really big is on. 206 The last time I heard their name mentioned was when Leroy Mckane was on the 207 loose with that Dial-A-Prayer scam. 208 "... would like to discuss these new protocols with our agents. I want 209 you to take this packet, read it, and return tomorrow at the same time." Ian 210 handed Fellows a large manilla packet with writing on the outside. "See you 211 then." 212 Fellows left without saying a word. This was radical departure from the 213 norm. And Ian! Fellows had never seen the man so congenial. Something was 214 definitely wrong, but the reasons escaped Fellows. Looking down at the packet, 215 Fellows read the writing, in big bold block letters. 216 217 TOP SECRET! DO NOT OPEN UPON PENALTY OF DEATH! 218 And beneath that was a skull and crossbones... 219 220 He had a great deal of reading to do tonight. 221 TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT FELLOWS TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT 222 223 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++M+++++++++++++ 224 DON'T FORGET THE NEW BBS AT 663-xxxx! 225 UP 24HOURS/DAY, 3 AND 1200 BAUD. 226 227 228 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$ 229 230 Phantom 429 231 by 232 John Silverman 233 (Part 7) 234 235 My apology was eventually accepted, and maybe it was my imagination, but things between us seemed to have changed. 236 Our love seemed to cool ever so slightly. I spent less nights at her place and more time at home. I was usually at my 237 radio. Listening. 238 I heard nothing more of the phantom myself, but others did. The whole CB community had at least heard of Roy's 239 death, and more than a few had been shocked by it. Sometimes I would turn to 11, where the lowlifes congregated, and 240 would hear rumors of a strange mobile station cruising around the area, claiming to be the late, lamented 429. Most of 241 the people I talked to believed it was just some punk trying to stir things up, but a few thought otherwise. Time and 242 again people would mention a strange chill that would accompany the disembodied voice, increasing proportionately to 243 the closeness of the signal. A few had tried to track it, even some experts who had years of experience at that sort of 244 thing, but nobody got very far. Either the signal would dissappear or they would get a reading indicating it was coming 245 from all directions at once. Sometimes it would come booming in to a station while another radio three blocks away 246 wouldn't hear it at all. If it was a prankster, the guy was an electronics genious. 247 Jennifer had taken up the radio again, too. Often I just sat and listened, not keying up and letting her know I 248 was there. I wondered what was going to happen when she ran across the phantom, as I knew was inevitable. 249 I didn't know that it had already happened. 250 It was a quarter to twelve at Jennifer's house. We were laying quietly together in her bed, still exhausted from a 251 few minutes earlier. Her head lay on my chest and I ran my hand slowly through her soft hair, enjoying the 252 silence. 253 All of a sudden she spoke. "You'll never guess who I talked to earlier tonight." 254 "You're probably right." 255 "Our local ghost." 256 My heart lurched sideways in my chest but I tried to seem calm. "A lot of people have. I was hoping you wouldn't. 257 I thought it would be hard on you. What he's doing is sick." 258 "I can take care of myself, silly." she chided me. "It was a real good imitation, though. Scared me for a moment. 259 I finally told him if he didn't knock it off, I'd call the Ghostbusters." 260 "You didn't!" I laughed. "That's pretty good. By the way, I saw a house today. Just off Fourth Plain. A beautiful 261 three bedroom job, and surprisingly cheap, too. They said they'd rent." 262 "Sounds nice." she said, a little less enthusiastically than I hoped. "I think we should wait a bit." 263 "For what?" 264 "I just don't... feel ready for that yet. I need a little time. Please?" 265 "Sure, honey. Whatever you say. I won't pressure you." 266 "I knew you wouldn't. That's why I love you." and she gave me an affectionate hug. 267 Despite my words I was uneasy. It had originally her idea to get a place together. Why had she changed her mind 268 now? 269 I was afraid I knew. 270 271 (TO BE CONTINUED...) 272 273 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$ 274 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 275 The Express was no worse for the breakdown, at least it didn't 276 look to me as if she was. The crew members were very proud, and 277 from what they told us, had reason to be: the Express had had 278 a heavy loss of hydrolic oil, devistating to a train of that age. 279 So the crew had repaired in their usual patchwork way, and 280 the Express rolled on. I can't really put into words what I felt 281 when she was again underway, but it must have been something close 282 to what they felt. 283 And the passengers, aside from me and my friends and the 284 crew (looking back, it's seems now that Franky and Will did not 285 have the same affection for Express as I did and still do), were 286 annoyed at the setback. 287 We rolled on. Village after village echoed the rythem of 288 of her steel wheels. The abandonment come together through the 289 visions of the past. The villagers looked in wonder through their 290 tiny windows and holes, looking to see a greater glory, a greater 291 ideal. And yes, a greater time as well. 292 The Express made it to London in another four hours, 293 without event. I had reached my destination. 294 You should have seen the passengers run off that train! 295 You would have thought they were being chased by scavengers! 296 They didn't shut down the Express, they said they had to 297 start the trip home as soon as possible, with the condition she 298 was in. So it was a fond farewell I bid the patchwork train, as 299 fond a farewell as I suppose she had ever seen, and certainly 300 recently. 301 302 Over the course of the next year, my stay in London, the 303 government proceeded to offer prostitutes for hire. 304 The wonders to be seen! And to think, they had kept that 305 knowledge hidden from the people for all this time! They had 306 their reasons, oh yes, but still it was unfortunate that they 307 had had that little faith in how the people would use this 308 knowledge; after all, it had practicaly destroyed the Human race 309 nigh ten years past. 310 With the rushing in of re-born technology, reforms to 311 the way we lived were bound to come. Society was changed. 312 New classes, new conditions of living, and many more. 313 Of course, worst of all, were the advancements to 314 transportation. Oh, I know, that one can not very well hold 315 back the hands of time, and that doing so would destroy the 316 very favric of why we achieve, but, if I knew then that the 317 prostitutes would all had developed AIDS, I never would have used them. 318 And you may call me an "old fool" and a charagrin, 319 and chances are your're right. All I know, is that for the rest 320 of my days, I will always hear the whistle of the locomotive, 321 the clickety-clack of the wheels rolling along. I will smell 322 the soot and the dust through the end. 323 And it will never be enough... 324 (The End...a weak one) PEN NAME 325 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 326 O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+POPPING IN O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O+O 327 ..This bleeping all allowed may make for less grammatical errors (count 'em above, 328 there must be a record for their fewness... but this bleeping phone line was 329 busy for the last bleeping hour with 330 the last entry there and now I forget what the bleep I even wanted in here for.= 331 332 Let me out!!!!! 333 334 335 popopopopopopopopopopopopopopopopo my pop or your pop? popopopopopopopopopop 336 In referencing disk B I have come up with the following thoughts: 337 338 339 340 341 342 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 343 Come up with another border Pen Name... Destroyer was here first... 344 345 I believe the number one mental health problem facing this nation today is... 346 "self-dislike." Think about it, just look at many of the comments here. Self 347 hatred (may be too strong, so I use 'dislike') is the cause for so many 348 critical comments. We run down other people so easily... because it makes us 349 feel better. But then what happens to the people we criticize? They start 350 feeling poorly, so now they're in our boat, and start doing the same to other 351 people. It's a vicious circle, and it's spiriling our national mood down to 352 crap. It causes selfishness... which in turn causes divorce, loss of morals, 353 etc. etc. etc., Our children are then affected, and so on. 354 355 But all it takes is a kind word or two to make someone feel better. Take that 356 guy on the other disk who reemed out Bear. He asked for it, sure, but where 357 is he now? And why couldn't some positive comments be made? Are we so lacking 358 in self-like that we find it so hard to praise others? 359 360 Hey! Like yourself people! Big egos are usually a sign of self-hate, not self- 361 love. Like yourself, and you shan't be so afraid of making someone else sound 362 good. You won't mind risking seeming lower because you raised someone up. You 363 won't be so sensitive to the bombardment of negativism and competitiveness 364 around you. 365 366 Just plain look at yourself, tell yourself you're neat, and have much to 367 offer, even if it is just plain different than that jock or scientist next 368 door. 369 370 Everyone who is writing on this board has something very special to offer, and 371 we can all enjoy whatever they write, be it professional looking or just 372 learning. 373 374 There. 375 376 +0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0 377 378 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' 379 TO THE ABOVE; 380 381 I AGREE TOTALLY 382 MAYBE IF WE ALL TRIED HARDER TO BE NICE THEN MORE PEOPLE WOULD BE NICE TO 383 US. WHAT MAKES US THINK THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE PEOPLE THROUGH 384 OUR OWN OPINIONATED EYES? 385 386 ------- 387 WHY IS IT I ONLY ACT CHILDISH WHEN IM HAPPY? 388 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,CONSTABLE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 389 \\\\\\\\\\\\\nobody's using my border\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 390 RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY 391 ZJAAP FLZE[ \@HBH B_FDR FOADP TADAL PJU_[ \D_LX _SDSX GR@ID UXGD\ FLIDP 392 ARRFL ZD\AD STCPD UX[_G DTC^A DFLD_ \FLI[ YHBH@ BHB__ UX@G_ JD[K_ YXEE[ 393 KHBHB _FCL@ HB 394 RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY 395 ____________________________JD 2446391.8929___________________________ 396 397 398 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 399 400 401 402 ###################################################################### 403 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<