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1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask....
2 ************************ INSTALLED: 6 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 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
21 Well, well, well... Here I am at the top...
22
23 :- | Max |-:
24 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
25 -=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>
26 Micronauts
27 -=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>
28 Close but no oil change.....
29
30 Racked up a 200000 point score on The Flying Floppy Discs of TRON and STILL couldn't get my reactors to
31 say the what fate awaits in
32
33
34 Tventy Tree Days!
35 Piper, LIVE ON!!!
36 Hope awaits!!!!!!
37 -=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>zooooommmmm-=+>
38 another game of dis--
39 -=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>-=+>
40 -=+>--now set to Hope Mode...
41 lnhq.................................................................lnhq
42 kathyd: yes, I am back, enjoying it. Nice to know I was missed. Will
43 fix your problem real soon. -so
44 lnhq.................................................................lnhq
45 | --- Hello Earthling !! --- |
46 | |
47 | I am a vistor from outerspace. I have transformed myself into this |
48 | image you are seeing on the CRT. Right now I am having sex with you |
49 | through your eyeballs while you are looking at me. I know you are |
50 | enjoying it, because you are smiling. Please send me to someone else |
51 | to share our love. |
52 | Thank you, |
53 | The Alien |
54
55 __________________________________________________________________________
56 THE PHONEBOOTH
57 By- Cravenhaw Coercri
58 __________________________________________________________________________
59 The mall was fairly empty in the hours of opening business. A few
60 people wandered around at 10 o'clock, but most decided to take advantage
61 of the warm weather outside. The stores were just opening as Gary sought
62 the shelter of the shopping center's air conditioning; the air beginning
63 to get stiflingly hot. Gary always had a low tolerance for those things.
64 The sweat stuck his t-shirt and blue jeans to his skin as he hit
65 the cool, refreshing breeze created by the ceiling fans and blowers.
66 Gary stepped into the video arcade and took in the sights and
67 sounds of games trying to attract the attention of passersby. It took
68 only a few tones to get Gary's curiosity up and he walked slowly through
69 the banks of electronic wonders.
70 Being six feet four inches he towered over most machines and could
71 easily locate new games simply by standing on his toes. He spotted one
72 and ambled his way over to it.
73 Too easy, he thought to himself. It was a new laser-disc type
74 sporting cartoon-like graphics of World War I dog fighters. He plugged in
75 a quarter, tripled high score, and walked away.
76 "Too easy," he confirmed.
77 Gary stepped back out to the brightly lit corridors and froze. He
78 didn't remember seeing it before, at least not when he came in.
79 He checked it out closer.
80 Its shiny, clear glass reflected the florescent lights so
81 brightly, he had to shield his eyes to approach it. It was a glass box,
82 one side open and inside hung a plastic hand receiver on a chrome cradle.
83 No touch tone numbers, no "operator assisted" directions, just an
84 ordinary receiver hanging from a stainless steel casing by a simple
85 chrome hook.
86 Walking around to its open side, Gary noticed how simple, yet how
87 complex it was. He stepped inside and didn't notice another sheet of
88 glass had materialized behind him. He turned to leave, but found no exit,
89 as if being spun around in a hall of mirrors and trying to find the way
90 out. Except there were only four walls and a top; all were solid.
91 Oh, well, he thought. I've got a pocketful of quarters and a
92 phone. I should be able to get out of this by lunch; his stomach growled.
93 He dug for a quarter and reached for the coin slot. There wasn't
94 any. Good, it wasn't going to cost him a cent. He picked up the receiver
95 and cradled it on his shoulder. He was greeted by a few silent clicks and
96 then a very beautiful feminine voice.
97 "What year please?"
98 "Uh..." was Gary's reply.
99 "Excuse me?" the voice asked.
100 "Excuse me! Did you ask 'what year'?"
101 "Yes, I did. What year please?"
102 Gary didn't understand. Usually it was "operator", or "what
103 city", but this was definitely an unusual request.
104 "Uh, 1985, of course."
105 "I have 365 dates under that listing."
106 Gary thought. "Let me change that." He could be just as off the
107 wall as she could. "1995."
108 "I have 365..."
109 "Yes, I know, I know. November Fifth."
110 A click an hum followed. Gary waited for a second thinking this
111 practical joking woman had hung up on him, but then a rather robust man's
112 voice answered. He sounded like Orson Wells, Gary thought humorously.
113 "November Fifth, 1995. May I help you?"
114 "Sure, uh..."
115 "What department please," the man asked without emotion.
116 "Entertainment," Gary suggested. It was the only thing that came
117 to his mind.
118 "Entertainment, let's see... Ah, here we are. Do you want stage
119 or motion pictures?"
120 "Let's try motion pictures." This was a kick!
121 "Okay," and then as if reading from a headline, "Jane Fonda
122 returns from retirement to direct."
123 Not interesting enough, Gary thought to himself. "Any more?"
124 "Yeah. Lucas announces seventh Star Wars epic, Spielberg to
125 direct." Then as an afterthought, "Sounds intriguing. You want to hear
126 it?"
127 "What, the movie?" Gary asked in confusion.
128 "No, no, no. The article."
129 "Sure."
130 "George Lucas announced today in a press conference that Steven
131 Speilberg will direct the seventh chapter of the Star Wars Saga,
132 tentatively titled 'It's a Boy's Life'."
133 "Whoa, that's enough. I have a feeling I know what the rest of
134 the article's about."
135 He was about to hang up when he heard the man say, "What about
136 this? Chuck Norris..."
137 "No thanks," and Gary hangs up.
138 Well, that was interesting, he thought. Now to only get out of
139 here. He picked the phone up again. There was the same answer.
140 "What year please?"
141 "Look lady, I'm stuck in this..."
142 "Sorry, I can only help you with dates."
143 "July Fourth, Seventeen Seventy-six!"
144 "We're sorry, that date has been disconnected."
145 He paused, Gary was good old 'D&C' as he called it -- dazed and
146 confused. "What?
147 "It is obvious from your present time frame that that has occurred
148 in your past. We are only able to connect you with the future. If you
149 would like to make a past call, please use the phone booth located
150 directly next to the one you are in."
151 Gary looked to his right and saw the other booth, empty.
152 "Look lady, I've got a job interview tomorrow and I can't get out
153 of this damn phonebooth!"
154 The woman sounded confused. "Tomorrow?"
155 "August Twelfth, 1985!"
156 "Let me connect you..."
157 "No, wait!" and there was a click.
158 After a moment a young man's voice answered. "1985, August
159 Twelfth. May I help you?"
160 "Maybe so," he said, trying to keep his cool. "I'm stuck in this
161 phonebooth, right? And I need to get out because I have an interview
162 soon, and because I an very hungry. So see who can get me out and..."
163 "Hold on a sec," came the youthful voice. "Is your name
164 Gary M. Haskell?"
165 "Yeah, why?"
166 "Congratulations! You made front page!"
167 "What?"
168 "Yeah, it says 'Man Suffocates in Phonebooth'."
169 Gary could feel the air get suddenly warmer. Maybe he noticed it
170 earlier. His mind was starting to get foggy.
171 "It says here that you were found by a janitor around 11 p.m. and
172 were pronounced dead on the scene."
173 "No, it can't be!"
174 "Sorry, you can't change the future, it's already in print."
175 Gary was starting to get lightheaded and managed to blurt out
176 "But I have an appointment tomorrow!" before passing out.
177 "Tomorrow? Let me connect you..."
178
179 -fin-
180 __________________________________________________________________________
181
182 |\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\
183 ??? + + ???
184 kathyd: Sorry, did not realize.
185 piper: MORE
186 The Advocate
187 |\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\
188 Future-phone - it reads so well, it must be another CompuServe download. Oh well.
189
190 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (another slow night, eh?)
191 Did someone dare say "CompuServe"? Gee folks, I don't know how to take
192 that one... Actually, what I forgot to do when I was on-line was to put on a
193 teeny little disclaimer on it... It was *NOT* a CompuSlave article, but one
194 written (and subseqently typed in by me... groan...) by a another "guardian
195 of the 'light'" that asked me to place his writings here for comment. And
196 like I said, I don't know how to take that CompuS. remark. (In other words,
197 No, that wasn't __Leonard__.) 'nuff said.
198 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ --->the Guardian -115:02
199
200 blue: thanks for dinner
201
202 [\] [\] [\] [\] [\]
203 that's all the border you get, this darn terminal has it fixed so that you
204 have to use the shift key to enter it. takes forever.
205 i thought *i* was blue. harumph.
206 kathyd, i called those numbers you suggested. i'm having trouble when they
207 call me back though. then they forget that we ever talked. i've *almost*
208 got the letters memorized. this could be fun.
209 [\] [\] [\] [\] [\]
210 THE TIN MAN sat in the back of the bazaar craft, trying to figure out what,
211 if anything, was going on. using a pencil he was trying to get some rubbings
212 off the designs on the walls. so far he had created some things that would
213 be band in boston. the humans of the group were sitting in a circle in some
214 sort of trance. they had been there a long time, and he was getting a little
215 worried about them. once a little while ago he had gone over to trainor and
216 held his hand inches from his face. the slight fog of breath on metal was the
217 only sign that life was still with him.
218 TIN felt a little left out. machines don't have much psysic powers, so his
219 only purpose right now was to keep the dog away from the open panel that
220 serviced the grav unit. he hadn't had time to button it up before everyone sat
221 down.
222 he watched them for a little while before one of his indecators grumbled at
223 him. quickly he checked his read-outs. food convertor a bit low. he wandered
224 toward the galley, the dog following at his heels. there was still a bit of
225 paper stuck to TIN's shoe and it made a small russeling sound. he didn't
226 notice, he was mumbling something about chicken and pork rinds.
227 [\] [\] [\] [\] [\] THE TIN MAN [\] [\] [\]
228 :::::=====:::::=====
229 There. It seems to have gone away. I will try to repeat what I said before,
230 and hope that it comes through without the line noise...
231 :::::=====
232 Piper? If you will look in your pocket you will note a small pair of truffles.
233 While their effects on a human is not something I am familiar with, this
234 type of truffle is very beneficial to a rabbit. The Truffle provides healing,
235 and can heal a wound as severe as a knife to the side...Strength: The
236 Truffle can cause strenggth increase up to two times your normal strength.
237 Intelligence: The Truffle can speed up the mind's computation, allowing you to
238 solve problems easier. And finally, the Truffle can, but only o*once* in your
239 lifetime, allow you to mentally "talk" to friends and family, no matter WHAT
240 sort of interferance is present, and no matter wWHAT the distance.
241 As I said, the Truffle is not the sort of truffle the pigs dig up. It
242 is a magical type created by the Great Hall of the Platypus Mages. Also, as
243 I said, I am not sure what effect they wold have on you, but you could at
244 least try. Perhaps eating the first
245 truffle and wishing for INTELLIGENCE would speed your mind up so that a
246 solution would be found, and then eating the second truffle and wishing for
247 communication with your friends. I am curious as t~ wxat they will do for a
248 human, and am eager to csee.
249 Emu or whoever said they were hungry: I also put some truffles in YOUR pockets,
250 so you can eat them...
251 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====
252 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
253 Tin Man: Having an identity crisis? From all caps to lower case, and
254 no digging up old graves. The new life seems hardly like the old. Or could
255 you allow it to form again?
256 ch no/now
257 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-
258 good stuff folks really appreciate
259 mi bob
260 ========================================
261
262 HOW DO I LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR A SPECIFIC PERSON?
263 CALL THE BIT BUCKET, FOOL.
264 --------------------------
265 ALL YOU ROLE-PLAYING RABBITS:
266 ROLE-PLAYING (ALA DUNGEONS &
267 DRAGONS) IS SUPPOSED TO CAUSE
268 PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO COMMIT
269 SUICIDE... KEEP PLAYING, OK?
270 ----------------------------
271 THE TERRIBLE TWO
272 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
273 I love watching pigs dig for trufles, then chewing at a leather muzle
274 in vain...
275 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
276 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/]
277 all the border you get again. different terminal, same problem.....
278 [/] [/] [/]
279 THE TIN MAN poked around the galley for a little while, but in vain. every-
280 thing there comprised a culinary orgy with tantalizing appetizers full of
281 grease and carcinogens in an obvious attempt to poison the travelers with
282 preservatives and feasts of doom for their entire cardiovascular systems.
283 there was even an entire bowl of pig torture devices, which he disposed of
284 before the dog could eat them and make himself sick.
285 there was a full container of Cool Whip, but that hardly seemed proper for a
286 main course, more of a garnish.
287 [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN [/] [/]
288
289 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
290
291 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
292 Zephyr -- unfortunately I don't have any pockets -- kilts don't. The
293 sporran serves the same function, but is nearly impossible to sneak
294 anything into or out of (that's why it's worn in front -- only attractive
295 young ladies are allowed to inspect a scotsman's sporran. In answer to
296 the question that's always asked (what's worn under a kilt?) the
297 answer is: nothing -- it's all in perfect working order).
298 All -- I'm biding my time for a day or two (trying to think of a way out
299 of this fix). Suggestions are welcome, but may be unrecognizable after
300 these characters get through with them!
301 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
302 :::::=====:::::
303 Oops....Sorry, Piper.
304 :::::=====:::::
305 Terrible Two: I *don't* role-play...
306 :::::=====Zephyr
307
308 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
309 "...ardalti minuden pefeltimar!" I finished, hoping beyond hope that the
310 Argentium on hand would suffice.
311
312 A pale golden glow emanated from the silvery mineral, something quite unlike
313 what one would expect. It shrank slowly, as the gauges and readouts upon the
314 TARDIS turned first this way, then that, finally resting at a peculiar
315 combination: zero, zero, zero.
316 "Er, Milch," the Doctor began, "There's a black hole at 0-0-0. Perfect
317 landmark, but not great for sightseeing. Also not healthy. Could you PLEASE
318 direct us to some other spot?"
319 "Yes, a black hole in your home plane, Doctor, but a place of energy and light
320 in mine. Do you remember what I told you about the Ruby Valley adventure?"
321 "Yes...why? I don't recall you saying anything about an energy source there."
322 "Do you remember what I said about the dampening field placed about me? And
323 how it was broken, at last?"
324 "Didn't this Novar fellow do that? He...hummm, went to the Diamond Valley
325 to get some sort of cure."
326 "Yes. It was Argentium, a source of energy for me to draw upon to break the
327 bubble. We're going back there to see if the deposits are large enough for our
328 purpose. If not, then I haven't any idea where we'll get two kilos in a
329 reasonable time." I shifted my attention. "Grann?"
330 "He's sleeping. I take it gnomes aren't terribly noted for endurance."
331 "Actually, some are. It varies widely, individual to individual." I yawned.
332 "Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some rest. The spell will spin for
333 some time yet."
334 "All right." The Doctor examined his machine (which still looked, for all the
335 world, like several dozen car dashboards pieced together) and emitted a small
336 grunt. "Distance to near end of Convolution not changing measurably. Does it
337 follow us?"
338 "I don't believe it can, through the Vortex and several other extra-dimensional
339 passages we've travelled. Let's not let it bother us when we're tired.
340 Problems will mount one upon the other soon enough as it is."
341 +++++++++++++++++++ Milchar ++++++++++++++++ 08 Sept 85, 2:08pm ++++++++++++++
342 ... Both Strangepork & dufus!!!
343 ... A consumer comment!!!
344 Hello all you fellow space cases!!!
345 How can I get a few new BBS numbers?
346 HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!!
347 hello.....
348 d
349 end
350 'end'
351
352 Try gaining access to Bit Bucket and then taking a look at information file
353 number four. The number of the Bit Bucket is 254-0458. Good luck.
354
355 PLEASE START, THEN.
356 TERRIBLE TWO + 1
357 Lurk, lurk, lurk... I really should enter more poems... Darbon
358 ********************************************************************
359 hmmm, twisted day today folks. I was given a bridle shower at
360 Waverly Country Club, The food was excellent, teeny tiny bites
361 of food but good. The atmosphere was stifling, these stuffy ole
362 broads all made up in their finest jewels and gold, <flash><flash>
363 talking about worthless drival, no good conversation at all, no
364 politics, no computers, no buisness, no nothing. blah. call me
365 a ingrate, I don't live through other people lives! All I heard
366 was "my daughter does this" or "did you see morgan on tv?" gawd,
367 how can people live like that? complain-complain-compalin.
368 ****************20moredays*****kathyd*******************************
369
370 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
371
372 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
373 Kathy - I'm not trying to be picky, just to share...
374 English is full of these funny words that sound the same but are spelled
375 differently (and have vastly different meanings). I have a very visual
376 imagination. Brid_al_ shower is what you were given. Since a bridle
377 is what a horse wears, the Waverly Country Club seemed like a good place
378 for the function my overheated imagination insisted took place!
379 aplologies....
380 pppppppppppppppppppppppppp
381 The piper's knees were beginning to resent his long kneeling on the
382 hard, smooth surface. He held the sleeping form cradled in his arms,
383 feeling the warmth of another living thing in this seemingly endless plain.
384 Over and over his mind turned the dilemma of his existence.
385 "Damn it! I want to live!" he must have spoken aloud, as the sleeping
386 woman muttered and twisted against his arms. Her eyes opened and searched
387 his face for a long moment, then she relaxed and melted against him, her
388 arms returning his embrace. After an endless moment she pulled away and
389 turned her eyes to him.
390 "What troubles you so?" she asked.
391 "Our existence here," he replied. "Our every movement begets death and
392 destruction in at least one of the reality bands, perhaps both."
393 Tears clouded her eyes, dry at last from the sleep she had taken.
394 "I know," tears traced their tracks down her face. "I cannot justify my
395 continued life at this price to others." She twisted in his arms and
396 turned to face him; the flare brought by her movements carried images of
397 a peacful village burned and destroyed in a volcanic eruption.
398 "I cannot live alone with the knowlege of what my life brings to others,"
399 she began to sob. "I cannot face living at that cost. I have tried to die,
400 but I cannot." She clutched at him, like a drowning person clutching at
401 a would-be rescuer, desparately hoping for an answer.
402 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
403 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
404 19 days, but who's counting... 2 days for me, I don't count either so would
405 not be sure if it is 33 or 34 hours.
406 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
407 Will the suffix remain " D " or will the trailing character be replaced ?..............??
408
409 *%)_@*%_!@)&*%_)&!#)_$^*&#)_$^&)_#!^*#$+)_^*)_#&^_)%^&*)_!&^_)!#*^#$_)&^_#)&*_!)#&*_)*&!_)&*!)_%&*!_)$%&*!*&!_)&*^*
410 Mikey: I have returned to blue skies and sunshine, or should I say grey skies and gloom? The trip was a success with
411 qualifiers. I gave away 11 disks to various clubs and PD libraries. One library already has over 350 disks in it and
412 AdventureWare will be going in the next catalogue. One club member is a teacher at San Jose state and he said he would
413 include the programs in his computer class. I got plenty of "thank-you's" and the like. Did voyeur get the archive
414 disks on Thursday? I have a few flyers to return to you. I took down far more than I needed.
415 *_)@#*%@_)#*)_#*^%_#^&_#)^&*#_)&^ L'homme sans Parity %*@#_%*_#)%*_#@&%@_%&@#_)&%@)_#&%)_&^)_&^_){body}amp;^@&^_@&^_@&^&^@#_
416 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/]
417 piper: i'm sure that kathyd's choice of words was intentional. having just
418 recently slipped the bit myself, i know what she means...
419 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN [/] [/]
420 :::::=====:::::=====
421 *sniff*
422 Kathyd: When your 20 or so days is over, and the wonderful event has happened,
423 will we see you at all, or will you fade off into the (pardon the unoriginality)
424 proverbial sunset? If so, I'd like you
425 to have a truffle as a wedding gift...it isn't much, but it's the best I can
426 offer...
427 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====
428
429 So this is a BBS??????
430 xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
431 EVEN A RODENT WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE KINDLY CISTOP RETURN US TO
432 ALL ALLOWED MODE. WHY, I COULDN'T EVEN GENERATE MY BORDER LAST
433 MESSAGE. DIDN'T SEE THE ENTER ONLY TILL IT WAS TOO LATE...
434 WOULD SOMEBODY SLIP ME SAUCER OF THAT RED ALE???
435 HH
436 xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
437 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
438 While the others stared, bard picked up the pipes. He held them as
439 he tried to remember his brief (and long ago) exposure to the use of such.
440 Though it felt like using someone else's toothbrush he put the mouthpiece
441 to his lips and blew, inflating the bag. Then he tried to play....
442 It was a poor attempt at duplicating piper's music, but it had some
443 effect. There was a shimmering in the air and the control room was overlain
444 by an image of ... something... but piper was there! And someone else...
445 Piper looked up. Bard faltered, and the control room started to come back
446 as the other scene faded. He increased his efforts as piper (and the others
447 in the control room) winced.
448 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
449 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
450 Dreams are the gateways of our minds. Through a dream, we see visions of the
451 future, of other places far away, of loved ones, and of momentous events.
452 The full powers of dreaming are not appreciated by the masses; only a select
453 few know the full extent the human mind can stretch. Milchar is not such a
454 person. His knowledge of dreaming is only slightly greater than that of the
455 average traveller on the road, and that only because his mind has been touched
456 by others twice before while he slept. Perhaps, then, his current dream is
457 a sending from some greater being. Perhaps some freak pulse of a neuron
458 sparked a temporary capacity for psychic reception. Surely *SOMETHING* had
459 caused his dream to turn from its normal paths between well-marked boundries
460 into a zone where few, if any, had gone. Impressions of old friends in
461 trouble- no, the multiverse itself in danger- and more. Fleeting glimpses of
462 hundreds upon thousands of deaths, the horror thereof compressed into an
463 instant. Yes, the hand of a higher authority touched Milchar lightly as he
464 slept upon the soft cushions of his room in the TARDIS.
465 Yet the only outward sign of any of it was the brief, low mumble that
466 could be heard by anyone nearby as Milchar turned uneasily.
467 "..ummmphgmm...love answers all, my friend....answers all...."
468 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar +++++++++++++++++ 09 Sept 85, 11:23pm +++
469
470 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
471
472 *****************************************************************************
473 lurk-modious spelling? whoops...
474 ********************19moredays****ithink***kathyd***************
475 [/]
476 you think?
477 [/] TIN [/]
478 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$
479 Somebody here thinks?
480 What will they think of next?
481 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$
482
483 ************************************************************************
484 how about that... I think, therefore I am. or I computer therefore IBM.
485 tin: how did you know? compute
486 ************************************************************************
487 Tony spotted Tina after a brief time and set out after her,
488 why was she running? he said to himself. This is so confusing!
489 He thought of the day they found his buddy jack's body and had whisked
490 it away to some research center. He thought of sweet Marci and a smoldering
491 gun, his imagination ran wild. Tina turned a corner and was gone, she
492 had dropped something. He stopped to pick it up, hmmm, it was a card
493 with a hair appointment on it. A lead... if he wanted to follow. Life
494 was not bad for Tony, he had a nice flat and a good car and security.
495 No looking for jobs or wearing a suit, just total freedom. Did he really
496 want to see the others again? He remembered why Jack was snuffed and
497 the question answered itself. No, he said.. Ill just stay away. He dropped
498 the card and walked on.
499 Tina had been watching tony from a distance while trying to catch her
500 breath. she watched his facial expressions and when he dropped the appointment
501 card and walked away, she sighed in relief. She had always kinda liked
502 the former thug and put the safety back on her handgun.
503 *****************the*end***************************kathyd***********************
504 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
505 The human mind has been described as "a man riding a monkey riding a
506 lizard." Our rationality -- that which makes us "us" is a thin layer over
507 a powerful set of emotions. But beneath it all is the basic reptile of
508 being, pumping blood, forcing air in and out of lungs, driving us toward
509 food and sex. The primeval instincts that push us toward personal and
510 racial survival. Perhaps it is the "subconcious" of psychological
511 theory, perhaps it is something else, but it is ponderous, powerful, and
512 can, like some great lizard, slap aside its rider with a brief swing of
513 its powerful tail.
514 The piper has been through an emotional and intellectual upset, as has
515 the woman known to him only as ZEB. Forced into the ethical and emotional
516 position that his life is no longer justifiable, hearing the same
517 conclusion from her, deep within the piper's brain the lizard stirs.
518 "We have reached the same conclusion," the piper continued as she settled
519 herself more comfortably in his arms. "You have tried suicide?"
520 "Yes. I was unsucessful. I could not force myself to bite or scratch
521 open my veins. I could only strangle myself into unconciousness. I know
522 that I must end my existence here, but lack the ability to carry out that
523 resolve."
524 "I have a tool that can solve that problem." The piper reached down into
525 his stocking top and slid out the skean dubh. Displaying it, he said, "This
526 small blade is extremely sharp. The pain should not be too much."
527 Reaching out one slim hand, she tested the blade with her thumb, startled
528 at the thin red line that appeared with a soft touch. After soothing the
529 injury for a moment in her mouth, (an entire civilization had been overrun
530 and destroyed in the flare of the sudden movement) she whispered, "It should
531 be enough. It should end our lives."
532 The lizard is within us all. It listens, acting only when it feels threatened
533 responding only when necessary, and in the most simplistic ways. Perhaps it
534 is the distributed intellegence of our body without the influence of our
535 conciousness. Perhaps. The piper's body had been carrying on a long
536 communication with the body of the woman he held. In a subtle language of
537 pressure, movement, and flow of phenomerones, offers had been made and
538 accepted far from the conciousness of the two humans. In a near simultaneous
539 movement, two lizards moved without the volition of their riders.
540 Neither knew nor cared what agonies their movement was inflicting on the
541 helpless population of the multiplex realities of these bands. Only
542 afterwards did the terrible guilt strike the two disheveled figures.
543 Unable to meet the pipers gaze, the woman reached for the skean dubh where
544 it lay forgotten in the heat of the moment (in the flare of the movement a
545 primitive tribe invaded the village of their ancient foes. They would feast
546 this night.). Gazing for a moment on the thin steel, she raised it to
547 plunge it into her naked breast. (On a quiet world somewhere, a man
548 laughing quietly set fire to a locked house containing the entire family
549 of his enemy, and laughed with glee at the ensuing screams until quiet
550 fell over the smoking ruin.)
551 Watching, the piper felt an incredible sadness as the woman he knew only
552 as ZEB prepared to end her existence. Free of her enveloping gray robe,
553 she was a slight, almost girlish figure about to atone for her existence
554 in the only way she could find possible.
555 Stunned by the upcoming loss, and his own forthcoming suicide, the piper
556 could not move fast enough to completely stop the fall of the knife.
557 Blood welled from the cut beneath her left breast and mingled with that
558 that the piper recieved on his forearm when he stopped her blade.
559 Unnoticed, the mingled blood downward while she looked at him in puzzlement.
560 "But why?..."
561 "Listen," he replied.
562 From somewhere, very very faintly, came the sound of bagpipes -- only the
563 drones could be heard, slightly out of tune, but bagpipes. The commingled
564 blood from the wound on her breast and the piper's forearm tricked down the
565 woman's body, down one thigh, and from the knee dropped onto the black
566 surface on which they knelt. Where their combined blood touched the surface,
567 a great white cloud arose with almost explosive violence. Deep within this
568 fog, they could barely discern shadowy figures, but the sound of the pipes
569 was suddenly louder.
570 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
571 L'HOMME: No, I still have the disks. Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip.
572 Kathy: Congrates!
573 ****************************** CISTOP MIKEY ******************************
574 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/]
575 kathyd: we TIN types know much that we don't speak of.
576 [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] [/] THE TIN MAN
577 LIZard TAYLOR
TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 577