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1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask....
2 ******************* REMOVED: 21 JAN 84 *********************
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 privatly 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 privatly owned, I retain the right to remove any and all messages which
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13 To leave a message, type 'ENTER' and use ctrl/C or break to get out of the
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17 Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
18 ************************************************************
19
20 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
21 As always, the backroom remains cloaked in darkness, for it seems that
22 the light is not on and the switch is nowhere to be found. Perhaps when
23 the Innkeeper returns he will show me where it is. Or... Maybe PAM ?
24 * Tarn *
25 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
26 Emer? Hello? Anybody there?
27
28 Ouch! Damn table! Crash! Ouch!
29 <sigh> I should have waited I guess.... Darn it! I think I
30 broke a toenail. Gad it hurts!
31 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33 The piper felt the hairs lift on the back of his neck as the tension built.
34 "(EXPLETIVE DELETED), I should have let it pass, but no......."
35 "let's see if we can redirect some of this emotion before it gets out of
36 hand. something light and danceable, i think..."
37
38 Keeping his eye on a rough-looking character in the corner --dusty, did he say
39 his name was? -- the piper inflated his pipes and winded them with a short
40 blow to the bag. A brief **honk** and the drones caught. The bass drone, the
41 longest one that sat on his right shoulder
42 wavered a little, he reached up with his left hand and twisted the top joint
43 minutely. There! The purr of the bass drone now solidly underlay the twin
44 hum of the two tenors. A quick run of the fingers over the chanter to check that
45 the relationship is right. The two 3/4 note steps on the bagpipe scale sound
46 sweet and natural to the pipers ears although he is used to seeing non-pipers
47 wince as his fingers skip to the next note.
48 The piper swung into a set of lively dance airs and felt the tension of the
49 group diminish as feet tapped.
50 He ended his set with a lively jig that even got that drunken fellow who had
51 uttered the forbidden words dancing.
52 To the piper's relief, at one point he stumbled and the dagger that he had
53 loosed in his sheath slid behind the bar
54 Moving quietly, the innkeeper placed the weapon out of the room for safekeeping.
55 Stepping back from his set, the piper stepped close by the apprentice, and said
56 quietly:
57 "Please accept my apologys. I had though that subject was far enough in the
58 past to allow oblique references to it.
59 Unfortunately, it seems not. However, congratulations on your quick thinking."
60 ----------------------------------------the piper-----------------------------
61 ***************************************************************
62 I love peanut butter sandwiches. In poorer times I once lived
63 a week eating nothing else. I learned something from that.
64 Even something as wonderful as peanut butter gets old when its
65 the only thing you consume.
66
67 I've noticed lately that Backwater is taking on some of the
68 characteristics of a peanut butter binge. Same style, same
69 flavor, same personality. Good stuff, in itself, but adding
70 meat to the fare might make for a more balanced diet.
71
72 But where are the meat providers? What happened to their
73 dazzling debates, their scinillating discussions, their
74 pliable platitudes? The table is set, the diners ready, but
75 there is no meat. Drat!
76
77 Does this mean a fantasy freak, a Grand Dragon Master no less,
78 must compensate for their complacancy? Is reality to be left
79 in the hands of the crazy drivel mongers they so verbally
80 depore. Apparently so.
81
82 Let's get some discussion going.
83 ====== TOPIC #1 ======
84 Jonathan Preppie was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He
85 was raised by nurturing parents who gave him every advantage
86 money could buy. He went to the right schools, made the right
87 friends, and became an important tax lawyer.
88
89 Though Jonathan was bright and well educated, the real success
90 of his career was based on his contacts. He knew the right
91 people in the right places and he could get things done with a
92 minimum of actual work. As a result, Jonathan developed a
93 lifestyle that was undemanding, self absorbing, and highly
94 respectable. He was a model of success.
95
96 Randal Dreggs, on the other hand, was born into a poor family,
97 had a deformed foot that made him walk funny, and was
98 mildly retarded. His deformed foot and dumb sounding
99 comments caused people to laugh at him, which made him with-
100 drawn and self consious.
101
102 Randal was determined to make what he could of himself.
103 Through vocational training he landed a job sorting electrical
104 components. He created a circle of friends who liked him as he
105 was. And he took good care of his dog, who was his best friend.
106
107 His life was a simple one but it met his needs. He was proud
108 to hold a job when others, less handicapped than he, were l
109 living in institutions for the retarded. He didn't contribute
110 much to society, by Randall's standards, but he was honest,
111 never hurt anyone, and he always did his best.
112
113 I ask you - What gives one life more value than another? In
114 your value system is Jonathan better (or more successful) than
115 Randal? Why?
116
117 What determines the value of a human life? Is it how much the
118 person produced, their status, their social position? Or do
119 you measure how far they've gone against where they started
120 from?
121 ====== TOPIC #2 ======
122 About a mile from Lake Oswego, overlooking the Willamette, is
123 an institution for the incarceration and treatment of severely
124 emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children.
125
126 It is a modern building, quite attractive, that is
127 specifically designed to be indestructable. It has inch and a
128 half thick electronically controlled steel doors, shatter-
129 proof glass throughout, and the entire building is treated
130 to make it fireproof.
131
132 Furnature is heavy and tough, beds are attached to the walls,
133 and no sharp objects or blunt instruments are found on the
134 unit. It is a closed system. Children eat, sleep, and go to
135 school on the premises.
136
137 At the center of all this is the QUIET ROOM. The quiet room
138 is the modern day equivalent of the padded cell, except that
139 modern fire regulations prohibit the padding.
140
141 The quiet room is ten foot square, has an inch and a half
142 thick steel door, built in ceiling light, and a floor that
143 gradually slopes to a drain in the middle. The room is
144 painted a hideous shade of pink psychological researchers
145 have determined has a calming effect. Or so they say.
146
147 Realizing that I haven't given you much to go on I'd like
148 to pose some really tough questions.
149
150 My questions: Is it ever morally justified to throw a child
151 into a quiet room? If not, why? If so, under what
152 circumstances?
153 ================
154 OK, folks, those are my offerings. I know they're tough
155 questions; I planned it that way. The easy questions draw
156 easy answers. We've had enough of those.
157
158 Do you find either topic interesting enough to spark
159 discussion? If not, what are you going to offer instead?
160 Gary Olson
161 *********************************************************
162 Mr:. Olson: as to your first topic, I see no reason to try and determine which
163 of the two is "better". Though I am not a cChristian (or a member of ANY
164 organized religion), I believe Christ made an applicable comment. "Judge not,
165 lest ye be judged." I
166 #2: I'm not sure what the "right" answer to that one is. I do feel a
167 that all such decisions (any need to be made on a case by case basis. I have
168 insufficient data for coming up with a set of "guidelines". There MAY be
169 circumstances that would justify putting a cxhild in a quiet room. Also,
170 HOW LONG are we talking about? I can see little harm (to a "normal" child
171 (whatever the hell, that is!) in being placed in one for 10-15 minutes. That
172 is not to say that it is "right" to do so.
173 By the way, have you seen what the "cells" used for juvenile offenders in
174 some areas are like? About the same size as your "quiet room". Similar door,
175 with a viewslot (with bolting cover) just large enough for a meal tray.
176 Bunk is metal shelf that is part of wall. Light (ALWAYS on) is in corner near
177 cieling. One piece sink-toilet. Oh, yes, the room is NOT square. The door is
178 in one corner, the adjacent corner of that wall i"isn't there". IInstead there
179 is a short wall section (imagine someone took a knife and cut off the corner).
180 This is where the sink, etc are. This is so that you are ALWAYS visible thru
181 the door (unless you are directly under the slot). The whole is painted what
182 I think of as "hospital green" (like scrubs, if that helps). I spent a couple
183 of days in one of these when I was 17 (loooong story, don't ask!) You are
184 forbidden writing implements/materials. You can get reading materials only
185 if you can talk them into letting you have some comic books (they grab a
186 handful from a stack, I read the same 5 comics 12 times!). You are in the cell
187 except at meals, an hour or so for anti-drug or other "health" films or talks.
188 And about an hour of free time after dinner. (summer schedule, I presume they
189 had some sort of attempt at school the rest of the year). Why dio I go on about
190 this? Because they had kids as young as EIGHT in there!
191 _________________________Leonard_______________________________________________
192
193 The Last Rhyme of True Thomas
194 (by Gwendolyn of Caer Cerdinnen; O.L., m.k.a. Susan Oldham)
195
196 The King has caleled for priest and cup,
197 The King has taken spur and blade
198 To dub True Thomas a belted knight
199 And all for the sake of the songs he made.
200
201 They have sought him high, they have sought him low
202 They have sought him over down and lea.
203 They have found him by the milk-white thorn
204 That guards the gate of Faerie.
205
206 "Now cease your song," the King he said,
207 "Oh, cease your song and get you dight
208 To vow your vows and watch your arms,
209 For I will dub you a belted knight.
210
211 "For I will give you a horse o' pride,
212 Wi' blazon and spur and page and squire;
213 And land to hold at your desire."
214
215 "I ha' vowed my vow in another place,
216 And bitter oath it was on me.
217 I ha' watched my arms the lee-long night,
218 Where five-score fighting men would flee.
219
220 "My lance is tipped o' the hammered flame,
221 My sheield is beat o' the moonlight cold;
222 And I won my spurs in the Middle world,
223 A thousand fathom beneath the mold.
224
225 "And what should I make wi' a horse o' pride,
226 And what should I make wi' a sword so brown,
227 But spill the rings of the Gentle Folk
228 And flyte my kin in the Faerie Town?
229
230 "And what should I make wi' blazon and belt,
231 Wi' keep and tail and seizin' and fee,
232 And what should I do wi' page and squire
233 That am a king in my own countrie?"
234
235 The kKing he bit his nether lip,
236 And smote his hand upon his knee:
237 "By the faith of my soul, True Thomas," he said,
238 "Ye waste no wit in courtesie!"
239
240 The king cast down a gsilver groat,
241 A silver groat o' Scots money;
242 "If I come wi' a poor man's dole," he said,
243 "True Thomas, will ye harp to me?"
244
245 "Whenas I harp to then children small,
246 They press me close on either hand,
247 And who are you," True Thomas said,
248 "That you should ride while they must stand?
249
250 "Light down, light down from your horse o' pride,
251 I trow ye talk to loud and hie,
252 And I will make you a triple word,
253 And syne, if ye dare, ye shall 'noble me."
254
255 True Thomas played upon his harp,
256 The faerie harp that couldna lee,
257 And the first least word the proud king heard,
258 It harpit the salt tear out o' his e'e.
259
260 "Oh, I see the love that I lost long syne,
261 I touch the hope that I may not see,
262 And all that I did of hidden shame,
263 Like little snakes they hiss at me.
264
265 "The sun is lost at noon -- at noon!
266 The dread of doom has grippit me.
267 True Thomas, hide me under your cloak,
268 God wot, I'm little fit to dee!"
269
270 True Thomas played upon his harp,
271 That birled and brattled to his hand,
272 And the next least word True Thomas made,
273 It garred the King take horse and brand.
274
275 "Oh, I hear the tread o' the fighting-men,
276 I see the sun on splent and spear.
277 I mark the arrow outen the fern
278 That flies so low and sings so clear!
279
280 "Advance my standards to that field,
281 And bid my good knights prick and ride;
282 The gled shall watch as fierce a fight
283 As e'er was fought on the Border-side!"
284
285 True Thomas sighed above his harp,
286 And turned the song on the midmost string;
287 And txe last least word True Thomas made,
288 He harpit his dead youth back to the king.
289
290 "Now I am prince, and I do well
291 To love my love withouten fear;
292 To walk with man in fellowship,
293 And breathe my horse behind the deer.
294
295 "My hounds they bay unto the death,'
296 The buck has couched beyond the burn,
297 My love she waits at her window
298 To wash my hands when I return."
299
300 True Thomas laid his harp away,
301 And louted low at the saddle-side;
302 He has taken stirrup and hauden rein,
303 And set the King on his horse o' pride.
304
305 "Sleep ye or wake," True Thomas said,
306 "That sit so still, that muse so long?
307 Sleep ye or wake?--Till the laLatter Sleep
308 I trow ye'll not forget my song.
309
310 "I ha' harpit a shadow out o' the sun
311 To stand before your face and cry;
312 I ha' armed the earth beneath your heel,
313 And o'er your head I ha' dusked the sky.
314
315 "I ha' harpit ye up to the Throne o' God,
316 I ha' harpit your midmost soul in three;
317 I ha' harpit ye down to the Hinges o' Hrell,
318 And ye would make a knight o' me!"
319 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
320 I apologize for going on so long, but I felt we needed a "quiet, listening"
321 song after the piper's dance. When I began the tune I forgot how long it was!
322 ~~~~~~~~~~~
323 Piper: I can't understand why anyone would dislike the sound o' the pipes!
324 Is there any chance that we ha' met elsewhere? I am from Stromgard. I'm not
325 sure whether the inn is in Three Mountains or in Dragon's Mist? (Milord
326 innkeeper, where be this in? Portland, Washington County, or elsewhere?)
327
328 d: the apprentice told me somewhat of you. I do na' recall whether or not ye
329 were interested in the SCA? (You live, appropriately enough, in Dragon's Mist!)
330 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
331 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< *.* >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
332 ...Some of the patrons were gathered at a table in the corner laughing
333 and talking with a strange looking newcomer to the Inn.
334 ...One was heard to say, "Perhaps you could engage us with a story of
335 these adventures of yours, but I warn you this crowd is not easily
336 pleased and can turn on you at a moment's notice.
337 ...He scratched his beard, took a deep breath and said, "Yes, perhaps
338 I do know one that is at least appropriate for such a gathering.
339 I believe it's called---
340
The Place Where East Begins
341
342 Once upon a time there was a princess named Nila. She was
343 everything a princess should be. She was beautiful and
344 intelligent, much loved by everyone in the kingdom. Still,
345 Nila was discontent for she did not seem to know that thing
346 everyone else seemed to know, that thing called Truth. So
347 she went to her father the King and said, "Father am I the
348 only person who doesn't know the truth?" Now the King was a
349 very wise man so he did not answer immediately. "My child",
350 he said, "that is a very deep question and I must ponder it
351 carefully, come back tomorrow." When Nila returned to the
352 throne room the next day, she found that her father had
353 cancelled all his kingly activities and had gathered around
354 him all the wisest men in the kingdom. "Beautiful One", the
355 King said, "You have asked the most important question it
356 is possible to ask. I have been waiting for this moment for
357 many years. Princess, when you were born a strange and
358 ragged man from the hills appeared at court and prophesied
359 that you would be one who would knew Truth. He said, and I
360 quote: "Her knowing can begin only when the question arises
361 from deep within her. This will happen in the natural course
362 of events." Then he sang a this little song playing on an
363 instrument that sounded like distant bees.
364
365 Sone travel to the East, ho!
366 And some go to the West.
367 But the fartherest truth of all, Oh!
368 Is neither East nor West.
369
370 ("You'll have to forgive my not singing dear."), the King
371 said parenthetically, "as you know I am not artistically
372 inclined, second verse."
373
374 The answers' in the question, ho!
375 The taste is in the thirst.
376 Which of these truth seekers, Oh!
377 Will reach truth first?
378
379 "I'm sorry father", Nila said, "but I don't understand it
380 at all I'm afraid.
381 "Don't be sorry and afraid at the same time, my child.",
382 the King said, "Sorry is for the past and afraid is for
383 the future, it isn't princess like to mix them up so. But,
384 in any case I don't understand the song either. I simply
385 memorized it because I believed it to contain information
386 I might need at some future time, which is now. It is one
387 of my better habits, I think."
388
389 Nila nodded patiently, being used to her father's expla-
390 nations. It was his kingly practice to take everything
391 apart and make a judgement on it, including himself. It
392 made him a very good King and a poor conversationalist.
393
394 "Now my child", the King continued, "the time has come
395 and your knowing has begun. Do you feel any different?
396 No, I though not. In any case... Now, here are the wisest
397 men in all the kingdom. They are instructed to answer any
398 question no matter which or what you may put to them.
399 With that the king departed with swirling robes, carried
400 along by that natural course of events appropriate to Kings.
401 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< to be continued... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
402 -----------------------------------------------
403 Walking through the broad oaken door of the Inn, I wonder if Tarn
404 will be here today. Surely, he is a moody one, surly and full of woe
405 one moment, happy and friendly the next. He has spoken to me much of
406 the past, but not of his own past, or how he came to be here at the
407 Inn. Ah, well, his friendship is good, even if he is slow to his
408 changepurse when the bill arrives!
409 A loud report, as of falling furniture and a breaking stein,
410 reaches my ears, and then a muttered curse! It comes from the back
411 room, where last I supped and exchanged pleasantries with Tarn. I see
412 Pam rushing through the old tattered curtain into that room, but there
413 is no look of concern on her face; in truth she seems quite happy, and
414 a wide smile of amusement plays across her mien. It seems that I've
415 found Tarn.
416 - Emer -
417 -----------------------------------------------------
418
419 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
420
421 THE FAIRY THORN
422 Sir Samuel Ferguson
423
424 "Get up, our Anna dear, from the weary spinning-wheel;
425 For your father's on the hill, and your mother is asleep;
426 Come up above the crags, and we'll dance the highland-reel
427 Around the fairy thorn on the steep."
428
429 At Anna Grace's door 'twas thus the maidens cried,
430 Three merry maidens fair in kirtles of the green;
431 And Anna laid the rock and the weary wheel aside,
432 The fairest of the four, I ween.
433
434 They're glancing through the glimmer of the quiet eve,
435 Away in milky wavings of neck and ankle bare;
436 The heavy-sliding stream in its sleepy song they leave,
437 And the crags in the ghostly air:
438
439 And linking hand in hand, and singing as they go,
440 The maids along the hill-side have ta'en their fearless way,
441 Till they come to where the rowan trees in lonely beauty grow
442 Beside the Fairy Hawthorn grey.
443
444 The Hawthorn stands between the ashes tall and slim,
445 Like matron with her twin grand-daughters at her knee;
446 The rowan berries cluster o'er her low head grey and dim
447 In ruddy kisses sweet to see.
448
449 The merry maidens four have ranged them in a row,
450 Between each lovely couple a stately rowan stem,
451 And away in mazes wavy, like skimming birds they go,
452 Oh, never caroll'd bird like them!
453
454 But solemn is the silence of the silvery haze
455 That drinks away their voices in echoless repose,
456 And dreamily the evening has still'd the haunted braes,
457 And dreamier the gloaming grows.
458
459 And sinking one by one, like lark-notes from the sky
460 When the falcon's shadow saileth across the open shaw,
461 Are hush'd the maiden's voices, as cowering down they lie
462 In the flutter of their sudden awe.
463
464 For, from the air above, the grassy ground beneath,
465 And from the mountain-ashes and the old Whitethorn between,
466 A Power of faint enchantment doth through their beings breathe,
467 And they sink down together on the green.
468
469 They sink together silent, and stealing side by side,
470 They fling their lovely arms o'er their drooping necks so fair,
471 Then vainly strive again their naked arms to hide,
472 For their shrinking necks again are bare.
473
474 Thus clasp'd and prostrate all, with their heads together bow'd,
475 Soft o'er their bosom's beating-the only human sound-
476 They hear the silky footsteps of the silent fairy crowd,
477 Like a river in the air, gliding round.
478
479 No scream can any raise, no prayer can any say,
480 But wild, wild, the terror of the speechless three-
481 For they feel fair Anna Grace drawn silently away,
482 By whom they dare not look to see.
483
484 They feel their tresses twine with her parting locks of gold
485 And the curls elastic falling as her head withdraws;
486 They feel her sliding arms from their tranced arms unfold,
487 But they may not look to see the cause:
488
489 For heavy on their senses the faint enchantment lies
490 Through all that night of anguish and perilous amaze;
491 And neither fear nor wonder can ope their quivering eyes,
492 Or their limbs from the cold ground raise,
493
494 Till out of night the earth has roll'd her dewy side,
495 With every haunted mountain and streamy vale below;
496 When, as the mist dissolves in the yellow morning tide,
497 The maidens' trance dissolveth so.
498
499 Then fly the ghastly three as swiftly as they may,
500 And tell their tale of sorrow to anxious friends in vain-
501 They pined away and died within the year and day,
502 And ne'er was Anna Grace seen again.
503
504 (written sometime in the 15th century)
505
506 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM.[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
507
508 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
509 FIRST A GENERAL COMMENT (NO PUN INTENDED): I LOVE THE SONGS AND POEMS,
510 I really DO, BUT THIS SYSTEM IS SO LIMITED IN MEMORY, COULD WE TRY TO
511 KEEP THEM SHORT OR BREAK THEM UP? GIVE EVERYONE SOME ROOM. OK, NUFF SAID,
512 I'M A JERK.
513 GENERAL MACAIBO....................................................
514 ....
515 GARY ET AL:
516 OK, I'll bite. For your first thrust, I judge others (when I must)
517 not by how much they have accomplished, but by what they have done
518 with with what talents they have. Every human is gifted; some gifts
519 may be for useful than others. How would you like to have a talent
520 for painting bowling balls? Not too useful, perhaps, or lucrative,
521 but it may give some personal pleasure not known to insurance
522 salesmen. Those who know what their gifts are are fortunate, indeed.
523 Most never find them. So, by your description, Johnathan took the
524 easy route, and never needed to stretch himself. A waste of good
525 protoplasm, while Randall, if he was performing to the best of his
526 abilities, gets my vote. Secondly, to parry, my internal value
527 system depends merely on whether I have paid the price for my dreams.
528 I happen to know my gifts, and indulge myself in them, and set goals
529 for myself which few mortals would dare. If I fail them having tried
530 my best, I feel I have stretched my potential enough and may fail with
531 honor. Letting a dream die without giving everything I can to achieve
532 it, however, is a mortal crime against myself. I have never failed to
533 date.
534 For your second question, I defer to Ursela K. Leguin's "Those who
535 walk away from Omelas".
536 .............................GENERAL MACAIBO.....................{
537 ********************************************************************
538 The next moment he was blind. it required only the space of
539 a heartbeat that he couldn't feel for the ripping panic of
540 sensory deprivation to take hold. He began flailing at the air
541 with hands he could no longer sense at the end of nonexistant arms.
542 With no sight, no sound, no feeling, the panic quickly became an
543 all devouring force threatening to blot out any memory that he had
544 ever existed at all. But in that panic, Marc again reached out as he
545 had in the Garden, stretching out his consciousness as he'd
546 practiced time and time again against the landragon, to try to sense
547 something, anything in the abysmal nothing that surrounded him.
548 Then for an instant he thought he saw Ben's face. Not as he
549 remembered it, but in the room with him now. He fought to force
550 open the crack he'd found and realized that it was a door. Suddenly
551 he could see! He let his vision travel across the room, then focused
552 again on Ben. He could see the triunphant look on his face. Ben nodded
553 once, and with a wrenching feeling like that of being dropped
554 suddenly down an elevator shaft, his senses were returned to him. It
555 had taken only the space of a heartbeat, but an entire lifetime had
556 passed for the child. He looked around himself, correlating his
557 new senses with what he saw. It was less than telepathy, but more
558 reliable. Not clairevoiance, but a growing sense of knowledge
559 behind the obvious.
560 Ben picked him up, still lying on the platform where he'd fallen
561 and carried him out of the room. Marc could sense now that those
562 behind him were not cold or silent. He did not stop to make sense
563 of the words spoken to him by his companion, nor could he understand
564 the significance of the excited bedlam in the room he was leaving
565 begind.
566 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
567 I pause in my story for a sip of cider, and note that the fair
568 lady 'd' is glancing my way. I smile, but she has turned aside.
569 A shy one that. Perhaps now would be a good time to introduce
570 myself. But no, there's dear Pam, suddenly radient after her long
571 gloom, settling into the table, perhaps for a long awaited and
572 deserved moment of relaxation.
573 Instead, I motion to our good Innkeeper, and pull a gold coin
574 from my vest. As I place it in his callused palm, I note his eyebrows
575 raise slightly wondering where a simple storymonger comes by such
576 wealth. Let him guess. I say, "Allow Pam her evening's rest, and
577 fetch your finest ale, for they will be in need of refreshment."
578 As he turns to go, I add "And get a plate of scraps for yon fire
579 lizard, and a vial of oil. The creature will also need tending."
580 He turns, and heads for the cellars where Henry, our good Innkeeper,
581 keeps his private reserve.
582 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^daver^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
583 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
584 VALINOR: CHEER UP GOOD FRIEND, THERE ARE GOING TO BE ENOUGH
585 CRAZIES AT THE INNCOUNTER TO KEEP IT GOING UNTIL YOU'RE OFF.
586 BUT KEEP ME INFORMED OF YOUR PROGRESS, FEAR NOT.
587 CONTREMON
588 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
589 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
590
591 NO, GENERAL, NOT A JERK, MERELY TOO WORRIED ABOUT SOMETHING THAT REALLY
592 DOESN'T MATTER! THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM HERE, SINCE YOU HAD ROOM TO ENTER YOUR
593 MESSAGE, AND FOR ME TO RESPOND. AND BY LATE TONIGHT, MIKEY WILL UNDOUBTEDLY
594 PROVIDE US WITH 629 MORE LINES! I USED TO WORRY ABOUT THE SPACE HERE BEING
595 USED UP TOO QUICKLY, UNTIL DEAR CISTOP REMINDED ME THAT THE SPACE IS LIMITED
596 ONLY BY THE TIME IT TAKES HIM TO CHANGE DISKS. SO DON'T PERSPIRE TOO MUCH, IT
597 COULD BE MUCH WORSE (THOUGH YOU PROBABLY CAN'T IMAGINE HOW, RIGHT?). I'LL
598 FILL THIS DISK UP TO LINE 629 NOW, BUT WHEN MIKEY'S DONE, THERE'LL BE SPACE!
599 (If I may interject, 629 lines is too short when every time I call the damne thing is FULL!.....the Phantom Glitch)
600 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM+[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
601
602 replaced with this by an innocent bystander, afeter~~~~ter someone replaced
603 WON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR INTERJECTING INTO MY LAST MESSAGE, SINCE IT WAS A
604 SPACE LINE YOU TOOK, THOUGH OTHERS MIGHT THINK IT THE HEIGHT OF.... WELL, I
605 THINK I'LL JUST IGNORE IT.
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