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1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask...
2 ************************* INSTALLED: 11 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 ALL: Various items for sale: FHR 1200 baud Hayes compatable modem; NEW $225
21 In addition, I have five Shugart SA-400 disk drives. Rebuilt and tested
22 for 24 hours on BW (I can't think of a better test). $25.00 each. 5 available.
23 2 pertec 8" disk drives as is $10 each.
24 Three spare parts SA-400 disk drives. (One won't read - missing IC,
25 two won't write - something on the logic board, a board
26 swap makes em work) $5.00 each. Buy all 5 good shugarts, and I'll throw in
27 the spare parts drives for free. If you're interested, give me a call at
28 654-xxxx (U.S. Digital) Mike Day.
29 ******************************** CISTOP MIKEY *******************************
30
31 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
32
33 "And now, let's check in with our correspondant Bill Boling at the
34 fifteenth annual Dom Fester games.......Bill?"
35 "Thanks Bob. Hi everybody! Weel, we're here at the fifteenth annuaDom Fester games, watching the Ion-Boat
36 race! And what a race! We've already had one exciting moment, when boat numberfifty-four dipped it's jets too close
37 to the water, and when the propulsion and H20 met,.....bleweeeee!.....right
38 out of the water! Now, let's go down to the Pogo event with our reporter,
39 Gil......"
40 "Thanks Jim, we're here talking with the winner of the all-time
41 favorite Jet-Pogo event, Urbane Sheperd. Mr. Sheperd, can I call you Urb?
42 Good, Urb, what was it like during the last ten miles?"
43 "Well Gil, it was pretty rough starting through turn number eight,
44 but I made it okay, my stick performed real well in the qualifying rounds
45 early this morning, you know, so it was just what we expected, winning I
46 mean."
47 "And what was all that towards the end? Could you explain that
48 to our audiance?"
49 "Sure. Well, I was right along side this 'fella on a red and
50 grey stick, we were really goin' at it 'cause it was near the finish,
51 and this guy, number eighty-six I think it was, was just ahead of us.
52 Anyway, this guy on the red and grey was pulling ahead of me to try to take
53 the lead, but could'nt do it because of this guy in front, so here I am
54 lookin' at him, and all of the sudden, he whips out this blaster and kills
55 this guy in front of us!"
56 "And then what happened?"
57 "Well, then the cops come flyin' in and throw their nets over
58 the guy on the red and grey, and haul him away sayin' "Murder's a
59 misdemeanor, ya' know!", so I won the race easy."
60 "Congratulations, Urb, good to see you win it."
61 "Thanks Gil."
62 "And that's the story here, Bill, Urbane Sheperd takes the win by
63 five miles."
64 "Thanks Gil. Now ladies and gentlemen, we'll pause for a station
65 break, and bring and bring you back for the Electric Curling, stay tuned!"
66
67 *Click........*
68
69 PEN NAME
70 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
71 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
72
73 The Wanderer stands up slowly, nods in response to the shape-shifter and
74 company, and raises his hand. There is a shimmer in the room, like heat waves
75 rising up from the desert floor. It would be unsettling to say that time stop-
76 ped, and that a new reallity was over layed the old... and unsettled is the
77 last feeling that anyone has: All is as it was before, all except... one might
78 notice if they looked carefully the Wanderer had three more grey hairs, and
79 there is NO thin man in the back...
80
81 "JoJoe, if I might trouble you for two skins of wine, and may be a loaf of
82 sour bread with sharp cheese, for the passin'. A story needs good food and
83 drink, for the tellin' to be what it may." From a pocket he pulled a coin, gold
84 form its look, thought JoJoe as he got up to get the requested items.
85 "You could buy all the food I gots wit' this... ya want I should maybe put
86 the change on a tab?"
87 "That would be fine, my good man. Thank you, for suren."
88 JoJoe wiped his nose on the back of his sleave as was his habbit, winced up
89 one eye, and thought, "... I don't 'member him a having an accent like that
90 before," but, the thought passed... leaving JoJoe feeling very much at peace.
91
92 NEXT TIME: On with the story.
93
94 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]***RHD inc.***]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
95
96 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[**PS**[[[[[[[[[[[[
97 THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT
98 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
99 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
100 "THIS is a TARDIS?" she asked incredulously.
101 James held up a hand, "Now I didn't say that. This isn't a TARDIS. But it's close. It doesn't travel through time
102 (thank God) but it does nearly everything else a TARDIS can. What you're looking at here is the front door. It works
103 like an airlock which means I can't get into the ship itself until this door is closed. so if you'll please step
104 inside..."
105 Reluctantly she did so. James followed her in and the cylinder slowly closed.
106 Except for the twelve glowing buttons it was totally dark in there and for a moment she had a brief attack of
107 claustrophobia. Shadows covered some of the buttons as James tapped out a security code on them. Then the buttons went
108 out and the side of the cylinder they were on began to open. Instead of splitting and rotating aside like the other
109 half, this half slowly slid down into the floor.
110 She stepped out into a large room. It was dim, lit only by the lights of the electronics that covered the walls.
111 James touched a switch and spotlights mounted into the ceiling came to life. A contoured chair sat in the center,
112 facing a large blank screen and surrounded by banks of equipment. A half dozen other seats were placed behind it. Big
113 as the room was, it was still crowded with equipment. There were so many details that she quickly lost track of them
114 all. It was very utilitarian. And rather depressing.
115 James hung his hat and jacket on an old fashioned coatrack by the door. A multicolored scarf of unbelievable length
116 was loosely draped around the lower hooks ("A small in-joke" he commented.). He went over to the console by the chair
117 and began punching buttons. Hidden machinery hummed to life. The screen lit up with a computer image of the
118 surrounding area.
119 Tariya was quite awed. Looking around, the asked, "Where did you get this thing? The Circle's secret reports never
120 mentioned this."
121 Secret reports? He filed that one away for future reference. It occured to him how little he knew about his
122 travelling companion. "Well, there's this shop, located at the base of the third temporal axis, where you can buy
123 literally anything. And I do mean anything. This was sitting in a rack in its card form. I got it for a song. Traded
124 my Walkman and a bunch of cassettes for it. They trade stuff 'cause there's no universal money system down there.
125 Still, I think I got the better of the deal."
126 "That depends on what a walkman is." She said, walking around and looking at all the gadgetry. Mindful of what
127 happened to her own ship, she was very careful not to touch anything.
128 "Take my word for it, I got a good deal." James hit a switch and Tariya jerked back as a door opened in front of
129 her. It hadn't looked like a door. "Back there's the rest of the ship. Living quarters, storage, maintanance
130 hatchways, all sorts of stuff. The first sixty doors on either side are living spaces. Pick one and take it. After
131 that is the storerooms. You can find just about anything you'd need there. There's an inventory somewhere but I'll be
132 damned if I know where it is."
133 "You don't sound like you know your own ship too well."
134 "I have more important things on my mind. In fact, I'm still learning to fly this sucker. Speaking of which," he
135 looked back at her, "where's our destination?"
136 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
137
138 |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|l|u|r|k|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
139 /=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/me too./=/=/ Piner. /=/
140 (((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*(((*)))(((*)))me three )))((( Ripple )))
141 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#busy night#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$
142 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
143 My goodness! Two disks in record time -- things are looking up around here
144 and the new works look good. And now, back to an old story...
145 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
146 Have you ever had the sensation of saying JUST the wrong thing? Asking
147 JUST the wrong question? Making JUST the wrong move?
148 The wounded woman lay back on the cushions that supported her, relaxing
149 with an almost inaudible sigh as the lady ministering to her needs
150 reacted to the question. An almost forced cheerfulness... a sense of
151 wounds that lay near the surface, a counter question.
152 "Do I fear death?" she pondered the question. "No, should I fear that
153 which is in the past?" The pain of the wound was amplified by the pain
154 of loneliness. "Perhaps it is only a dream that I will return home."
155 The ache of a near-mortal wound is deeper than the physical. The piper's
156 sharp knife had left scars on the psyche of the woman known to the others
157 only as zeb. Filled with self-loathing for the unguessable length of time
158 she had sustained her own life at the expense of others, she answered the
159 questions put to her in a nearly automatic state. Her past? She supressed
160 a small smile, and made a small answer about the inadequacies of language.
161 Why did she feel this distance? Why could she not feel the gratitude due
162 this kind person, so like herself in face and form, whose touch was gentle
163 and healing? The images swirled around in her minde, a mixed melange of
164 recent and less recent past ... the strong arms of the piper, a warm and
165 welcome companion after a near infinity alone... farther back, a cool rainy
166 day on a windswept hill...
167 The grey clouds were scudding through the rain-streaked sky, driven by
168 their nature, emitting playful gusts of wind. Water gathered in small
169 puddles, then broke into drops and lept into the waiting clouds. The small
170 group on the brow of the hill gathered with bowed heads then stood for
171 long moments as their flapping clothes generated a small breeze around
172 them. A tall man embraced her for a moment, then stepped to the side
173 of a disturbed spot of earth, and unsaid the fateful words. With reverent
174 strokes, the diggers unearthed the pitifully small coffin and lifted it
175 from the musty ground.
176 Back at home, they took the small body, a beautiful girl-child who
177 could remain for no more than five or six years, and placed her in the
178 sickbed. It was a long, and agonizing illness, but at last the little
179 girl rested in her arms, and said the fateful words,
180 "Mommy, I don't feel good."...
181 Experinces jolted her. A sense of complete understanding suffused here,
182 giving her the feeling that all the answers lay right at hand.
183 A touch, more subtle than that of a hand ruffled the surface of her
184 thoughts, and she turned to see the look of understanding coming into the
185 lady Tayree's compassionate eyes. A few words, then the comforting touch
186 of a gentle hand on the brow...
187 Suddenly the physical contact between the women broke a mental barrier
188 between them. The mind of the Lady Tayree came flooding through the
189 mind of the woman called zeb, and her mind begain to flow into that of
190 the lady. Outraged by this violation of self, two mouths opened as
191 one and the blended scream of the two women filled the chamber.
192 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
193 Scarlet l -- this particular entry happened without concious volition on
194 my part. It does tie things together a bit, but I don't really know where
195 it's going. Perhaps we need a different board to talk about possibilities
196 for the story? I'm open to suggestions.
197 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
198 ++++++++++++++++lurk+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Milchar++++++++++++++
199 HYPERBOLE. HYPERBOLE. HYPERBOLE
200 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
201 HEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY STORY!
202 ------------KEVIN B.------------------
203
204 TRY DRIVE B, KEVIN. TYPE DB AT THE
205 > PROMPT.
206 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
207 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
208
209 HELLO: RHD inc. here!
210 Congratulations are in order... as my wolf, Natassia just gave birth to
211 twelve pups, of which, ten have survived. I'm a grandpa. Mrs RHD inc. and
212 I are extreemly happy, as does appear Natassia. I realize that this is some
213 what of a waste of space, but I am so proud, you'ld think I was the one who
214 had them! Bye!
215
216 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]***RHD inc.***]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
217 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++Lurk, lurk, lurk++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
218 Ahh, what to type... Tis a pity, I am at a loss for words. Maybe someday
219 I shall again be my former self. I shall have to wait and see what develops.
220
221 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Darbon++++++++++++++++++++++++++
222 [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
223 False info before, 15 pups, 11 made it. More news as it happens.
224 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]***RHD inc.***]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
225 (((*)))
226 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
227 Mud, mud, everywhere, and not a dry haven in sight. Night had fallen some
228 hours before; the rain had started half an hour later. I stopped walking and
229 tried for the dozenth time to activate my passkey by pressing the contact.
230 Crackle. Spark. Nothing happens. I swore.
231 I might be here years, I reflected, or maybe longer. Depends upon the tech
232 level of the planet I'm stranded on. Looking at the apparently abandoned huts
233 that I passed regularly, I decided 'longer' was my fate. Not a place blessed
234 with extradimensional commerce, this.
235 I decided that walking farther would accomplish nothing but a cold. Quickly
236 I stepped from the pounding rain outside to the less painful rain on the
237 inside. I gave the passkey one more try before I sat down.
238 It emitted a low buzz. A weak, wavering circle of light shimmered into being.
239 It seemed my freak luck would help me home! I jumped into the circle
240 recklessly.
241 I regretted it. Pain shot through me. During an instant when the pain was
242 less intense I reasoned that the wavering field was producing uncomfortable
243 spacial changes. Nothing to do for it- 'beggars can't be choosers' applied
244 to the situation. I stuck it out.
245 Just before I thought I would collapse from the strain (and pain), I was
246 through. The Door dumped me on a dirt pathway in a forest, farther away from
247 the mud-planet than any distance measurement could handle. It still wasn't far
248 enough for me.
249 I lay on the ground for awhile, saving my strengh. I got up slowly some
250 minutes later, the soreness having ebbed slightly by then. The forest didn't
251 have that 'techy' look to it either, but at least it was dry.
252 Rain began to fall. I cursed Murphy.
253 I walked down the path, hoping it led to civilization, as it existed here
254 (again, wherever here was). A few minutes later, I found it.
255 A building stood near the path, off to my right. An odd-looking tree (I'd
256 never seen it's like before) stood before it, as if guarding the place from
257 harm. Any port in a storm, I thought, and made my way to the door. A small
258 sign near the door made things plain:
259 The Inn (All Welcome)
260 I couldn't have stumbled upon a nicer arrangement, I thought as I pulled open
261 the large oaken door.
262 %%%%%%%% rebalsa %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 10/12/85
263 .,-=-,.,-=-,.,-=-,.,-=-,.,-=-,.,-=-,.
264 Ever notice how when the weather
265 changes in the real world it often
266 does the same thing in this world...
267 .,-=-,.,-=-,. Star Buck .,-=-,.,-=-,.
268 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
269 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
270 Perhaps that's because your "real world" is merel
271 oops- merely a reflection of true reality -- as are the manifold worlds we
272 explore here...
273 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
274 OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI
275
276 It seemed like the adventurers had been running forever. The hallways
277 of the Pell-mell arched and twisted like a rat's maze. As confusing as the
278 passageways were, Trainor could find his way through them with his eyes
279 closed. Following his lead, Piper, Bard, Emu, and Cragmore soon found them-
280 selves standing, panting, in front of a smooth green door. It's construction
281 so fluent that the only indication a door was present was the difference
282 in color of the surrounding bulkhead.
283 Trainor touched a spot on the door, then drew his hand quickly away
284 as if the green door was made of hot metal.
285 "What's wrong Trainor? Is something wrong with the door?" Bard inquired.
286 "I don't know Bard. When I touched the open-door panel, I felt a
287 strange emanation from the room within. It was hot, cold, acid, and base all
288 at once. It said to me, 'Stay Away!'"
289 "Let me see" said the psi specialist Cragmore. "I felt nothing as we
290 approached." Cragmore neared the door, not touching it, but moving very
291 close. He shut his eyes, and his face showed deep concentration. Suddenly,
292 with a yell he jumped back, nearly tripping except for the efforts of Piper
293 and Emu. Helping Cragmore regain his balance, Emu voiced the question that
294 was on everyone's mind.
295 "What is going on? This is not usual Pell-mell operation is it?"
296 Cragmore looked a bit shaken, but quickly regained his composure. "I...
297 It is Lady Tayree and Zeb. They are inside the room. They don't seem to be
298 aware of our presence, but it appears... they have put up some kind of psi
299 shield around the room. Together we could break the shield, but at what cost?
300 They have protected themselves for some reason. They don't want to be
301 disturbed."
302 "This is crazy!" Trainor spoke in an angry tone. "Locked out of a room
303 in my own ship. What's next?"
304 "I don't know Trainor, but we can do nothing here. We are not wanted,
305 nor do we dare risk finding out what is going on." Cragmore tried to calm his
306 fellow questors, to varying degrees of success.
307 Emu and Bard returned to the control room. There was still the problem
308 of getting the ship out of the convolution. Piper made his way to the common
309 room, hoping to get a chance to tune his pipes. Cragmore and Trainor walked
310 slowly to the control room, joining Bard and Emu in an attempt to get the
311 Pell-mell out of the element they were in and into known time and space.
312 "Cragmore, this is very distressing. This Zeb is an unknown quantity.
313 And Lady Tayree, you said yourself this was a difficult time for her. Does
314 she know what she is doing with her powers."
315 Cragmore's face twitched, but Trainor didn't see it. "Trainor, I don't
316 know what to say. I think all we can do is wait. We are out of the picture
317 now. Let's try to get the ship into more stable space."
318 Cragmore didn't like to lie. In fact the whole idea of lying repulsed
319 him. In this case though, the truth looked far more dangerous than any lie
320 he could concoct. He knew what was going on in the room. His psi talent
321 was more complete than he had led on to the others. But this was a lie, a
322 secret, he must carry alone.
323
324 OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI OMNI
325
326 ch /her powers./her powers?/
327
328 &*%_#@*%_#@&%_)&%)_&%)_!&*%!)&%!)_&%!)_+%!)%&!^%!_)&%*!)_%&!_&%)_@#&%@_)%&@#_%&
329 psu-cs!nelsons: An 8086 assembler? Ha! That is what I had to do during the 1st
330 term of systems (CS485-486) a year and a half ago. The program ended up being
331 somewhere around 4000 lines with debugging and comments, but I did implement
332 floating point numbers in the operand field, which makes the state machine for
333 numbers much more complex but much more useful. I have an 8086 book but I use
334 it constantly because even though I have written the assembler and several
335 assem programs I still do not have the entire instruction set committed to
336 memory (RAM or ROM) and I only have one book. I would advise you to get some
337 primer or similar work. If you need to borrow my book short time, I see no
338 problem with that, but the whole term may be a bit sticky. Call or write if
339 you need more help.
340 Mikey: All the archives have been converted and massaged (haha Leonard) and I
341 can bring the 'extra' disks back next time I get out to USD. How is the
342 adventure business going?
343 *)_%$*#)_%*@_)%*@#_)%*_@)#*%@)#_*^@)#_ L'homme sans Parity *%)_#*%_@#)*%@)_*%*%
344 TJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJ
345 I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public
346 debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our
347 independance, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If
348 we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our
349 necessities and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from
350 wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them,
351 they will be happy.
352 Thomas Jefferson
353 TJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJTJ
354 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
355 The following is reprinted from the Yankee Group newsletter "Yankee Ingenuity.
356
357 The War Between the UNIXes
358 Today we count some 30 active versions of UNIX being mismarketed. Bill Gates
359 was at our seminar last week. We kissed his ring. He talked about how XENIX,
360 The Right Stuff Incarnate, would now be compatible with System V, with
361 Version 7, and with the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
362
363 Some debates are clear. The UNIX debate is one that only Technoids and
364 Jeanyates could love. This isn't a debate over standards; it's a Holy War
365 over who has The Right Stuff. Just as Bell Labs is 9000 Ph.D.s connected by a
366 parking lot, UNIX is almost 70 variations on a theme connected by a PR firm.
367 UNIX is a great idea left up to a committee. ("Every great idea ultimately
368 degenerates into hardware...and software.") We call UNIX the "Revolt of the
369 Nerds." The reason there are so many versions of UNIX is the UNIX people not
370 only can't stand each other, they aren't too fond of themselves. every time
371 two UNIX nerds get together (a needless redundancy) they create three new
372 versions of UNIX. Frankly, UNIX is really the "Revenge of the Programmers,"
373 since programs written in one UNIX Version will probably require lots of
374 rewriting for another.
375
376 Six months ago, IBM got Yankee's Laura Stuart (the Young Goddess of UNIX)
377 to come and hear some proprietary infomation on Blue's UNIX plans.
378
379 YG (Young Goddess): Why, Blue, have you come up with this revisionist
380 UNIX when you have been bad-mouthing the True Believers for years?
381 Blue: Then is then, now is now.
382 YG: Why did you develop this in Germany?
383 Blue: Strong dollar! Labor's cheap! Taiwan was full! The Germans haven't
384 done anything exciting since Warner von Braun! Take your pick.
385
386 AT&T's Plans for Dominating UNIX
387 This is hilarious. It's not IBM vs. AT&T; it's AT&T trying to capture
388 dominance of something it invented.
389
390 1. Throw dollars.
391 In this scenario, AT&T advertising spends $40 million - or $400 for every
392 UNIX System sold - to push System V. Goal: to sell corporate America!
393 No way. To convince no more than '20 key people' to write in System V.
394 Alternate solution: Bribe them! Go direct! Instead of paying Malcolm Forbes
395 $32,000 and change for each ad page, pay a few million to each of those
396 20 people. Obviously too easy. Another plan is needed.
397
398 2. Make Friends.
399 Here AT&T goes to Intel and Motorola and National Semi and Zilog and Mother
400 Goose and asks for their help on UNIX chips. AT&T makes at least two sincere
401 compliments a day. And (the clincher) it promises to put the same AT&Ters
402 in charge of its 256K chips that were in charge of NET 1000. Gordon Moore
403 sleeps better.
404
405 3. Write Books.
406 AT&T is publishing 'System V Interface Definition,' which is about as
407 catchy a title as AT&T can come up with. They will print 1,000,000 copies
408 and be left with only 999,998. (We'll buy the rest, rename the book 'UNIX
409 Lust!,' charge $2,000 a copy, and go into a 14th printing.) Soon to be a
410 mini-series on ABC, starring Paul Newman as AT&T's Mike DeFazio. Jean Yates
411 will play herself. Eat your heart out, Robert Redford.
412
413 4. Co-op the UNIX User Group.
414 /usr/group is comprised of 2300 members, none of whom was invited to join
415 his/her college fraternity. AT&T promises that if /usr/group calls for
416 standard commands, each will become a member of Alpha Tau & Tau. Hell week
417 is going to five consecutive /usr/group meetings.
418
419 5. Get the Sympathy Vote
420 Get the supermicro guys and the fault tolerant guys to demand their fair
421 share. Have Convergent and Pyramid and Sequoia and Masscomp push for a bill
422 in Congress requiring every company to buy at least 5% UNIX-based, or have
423 to pay Tip O'Neil's bar bill.
424
425 6. Arm /usr/group.
426 /usr/ has no authority to enforce standards? Arm them with Stealth missiles
427 (the Pentagon's version of Vaporware).
428
429 7. Buy the Software Companies.
430 Recalcitrant software companies playing wait and see? Buy the suckers
431 (relatively cheap for the stakes) and offer $2 million in venture capital
432 for 'any' new software company if it writes for System V UNIX 'first'.
433 ...And if they don't? Turn off their phones!
434
435 8. Pollute the Landscape!
436 Not enough UNIX machines? Give 'em to everyone who made an AT&T Long distance
437 call last month. Or MCI. Who cares! Just get the iron out there. Leave 'em
438 on doorsteps like the Yellow Pages. Not home? Leave two, three, whatever.
439
440 9. MS-DOS Causes Cancer in Laboratory Animals.
441 Convince America that MS-DOS is hazardous to its health (and UNIX is like
442 inhaling Herbalife).
443 -----------------------------EUNIX--------------------------------------------
444
445 L'homme: I guess you don't want me to run off hardcopy for you on the
446 HP Laserjet that I share my desk with... pity.
447 (you mess up my disks and see what happens)
448 Speaking of disks, when are you going to drop by?
449 ______________________________Leonard______________________________________
450 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.More Soon.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.Emu
451 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
452 I closed the door as quietly as I could behind me (which wasn't very; the
453 entire place resounded with the boom) and scanned the place. Oddly enough, it
454 was busy. Most of the tables were occupied by twos and threes talking to one
455 another. A larger group was huddled about the large fireplace, whose fire
456 redly illuminated their faces. On the whole, a cheery scene.
457 Another odd point struck me. Although my entrance had certainly been noticed,
458 no one paid much attention to me. Finally a third point bobbed to the top of
459 my dimwitted brain- the clothing worn by the patrons of this place wasn't
460 of a consistant type!
461 There were robes, and jeans, and leather armor; boots, sneakers, and sandals;
462 suits, shirts, and things I normally would term bathing suits. Yet no one
463 seemed to care.
464 I moved away from the doorway, just in time. It opened again, and two more
465 walked in. Dry. The rain must have stopped as soon as I had entered. Else
466 I had a private rain cloud that followed me wherever I went.
467 I decided to find the innkeep and to ask some questions. Perhaps I could find
468 some spare parts for the passkey here after all.
469 I found him. "Er, uh, hello. Do you know of anywhere that I might obtain a
470 stabilizer circuit for a Special Issue Passkey?"
471 He looked up, studied me for a bit. "New here? You might try asking that
472 gentleman with the rainbow scarf who just walked in. The Doctor."
473 I thanked him, and made my way to the table the two men had taken. "I'm
474 looking for the Doctor. Are you he?"
475 He gazed up at me, and sipped his drink. "I am. And this is Milchar, my
476 travelling companion. Who are you?"
477 "My name is Rebalsa. Elbert Rebalsa. Usually I'm called Bert. I'm trying to
478 find a stabilizer circuit for a Special Issue Passkey."
479 He frowned a moment. "Never heard of a 'passkey', other than the usual sort.
480 A stabilizer circuit, did you say? Yes, I have a spare. In the TARDIS, mind.
481 What did you have in mind to pay for it?"
482 I shuffled slightly. "I can't pay for it until after I get it."
483 "Well, I don't see what I can do for you, then. Unless..." The gentleman
484 next to him, Milchar, tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something into
485 his ear. "...hum. Can you get a..." he whispered the name of an object in
486 my ear.
487 "Why, er, certainly. As soon as I can. I'll have it point-transmitted to
488 your TARDIS, whatever that is."
489 "It's a deal then."
490 We went to his TARDIS, and he went inside to fetch the part. I never could
491 understand why it took twenty minutes to find something in a phone-booth sized
492 box.
493 The Doctor spoke to Milchar. "He may find that he's off course by more than
494 a few million parsecs, Milch. Spell him back, will you? I'd like that
495 shipment he's promised me."
496 Milchar nodded, and suddenly I was engulfed in a downpour of silver fire. It
497 was over as fast as it started, and I stood in my office on Sirius.
498 I thumbed the contact on my desk. "Supply? Transmit a 100 kilo box of JuJu
499 bears to the energy source at" I calculated a moment, "Alpha fifty-six Rho
500 eleven. Yes, that's right, JuJu bears. Never mind why."
501 I cut contact, and sat down at my desk. Of all the strange requests...
502 %%%%% rebalsa %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 10/13/85
503 :-]M[-:
504 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
505 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*Themnax of Lananara*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
506 Sat listning to Elxtia's quiet snoring. She insisted on staying in the
507 contour seat next to him when he came on watch. On one of the many small
508 keypads devorating the narrow floor console seperating the two seats in his
509 single-ship's instrument crampt command compartment he tapped in a combination.
510 Returning to the book he was reading to stay awaike he glimpsed out of the
511 corner of his eye that she was now awaike.
512 "Guess I'll go back and turn in after all" she said giving him a sleepy hug
513 that was just a tad more than affectionate. "Why not let the automatics take
514 over for a few minihexes?" she asked.
515 "Might just do that" he replied. The floor console pinged softly and a
516 small door opened in its top. Elxtia had already retreated to the living
517 quarters compartment which also doubled as life support. From the recess
518 Themnax withdrew a steaming cup of lubintau elixer and settled back to finish
519 the book. He had only a few pages to go.
520 He almost droped the cup when the hooter started up. Luckily he resqued
521 all but a few scalding drops while droping the book, thus loosing his place
522 while reaching for the alarm systems reset with his other hand.
523 Two of the five main monitors lit up with magnified views of an unfamiliar
524 object while the systems screen displayed the words: "colision eminant".
525 As the figgures below it showed the ship, for ship it was as could now
526 clearly be seen, was no ware near thair plotted cource yet the distortions
527 around it, seeming to fold and tear at the very fabrick of space itself, were
528 pulling him inexorably inward tword it.
529 Typing rapidly on one of three full keyboards in front of him, the giant
530 flashing letter 'E's on the two remaining monitors were replaced with even more
531 detailed views of the unfamiliar ship's exterior. One of these showed a name:
532 "pell-mell".
533 Fingers flying now over several other banks of controls Themnax did two
534 things. The first was to cut in the special auxiliary interdemensional
535 stabelizer he had cluged up using the gem he had received from commander
536 murdoc which had finaly enabled him to lift off safely from tanis under cloak
537 of etherial flip so many months, it seamed like years, before.
538 The second was to initialize a sequence which would attempt to establish
539 communications with vessel ahead.
540 No longer closing on the emense object, his own fly spec of a mechine now
541 locked in stable spatial relationship to it as if they shared a common invis-
542 able base. It occured to the HUB's erstwhile ambassadore at large that the
543 other ship might well be immobelized by the spacial convolutions raging about
544 them. Upon further reflection these seemed to his mind at least, to bear an
545 uncany resemblance to a phenomina described to him by a couple of good friends
546 and occasional traveling companions. One an elf named Dreamtoucher and the
547 other an old galactic known only as person. Thair name for the phenomina had
548 been 'reality storm'.
549 Another ping and the lighting of an indicator told him that a common
550 carrier chanel had been established. He could only hope that they would
551 respond.
552 "pell-mell, pell-mell, this is single-ship H U B alpha two. Do you read?"
553 *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
554 ppppppppppppppppppp shorta time, passin' thru pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
555 :-]M[-:
556 boringboringboringboringboring
557 boringboringboringboringboring
558 boringboringboringboringboring
559 oringboringboringboringborin
560 ringboringboringboringbori
561 ingboringboringboringbor
562 ngboringboringboringbo
563 gboringboringboringb
564 boringboringboring
565 oringboringborin
566 ringboringbori
567 ingboringbor
568 ngboringbo
569 gboringb
570 boring
571 orin
572 ri
573
574
575
576
577
578
579 hi there I
580 new here b
581 ut what th
582 heck is go
583 ing on? Th
584 is the str
585 angest pla
586 ce I've ev
587 er seen! A
588 re you all
589 crazy?????
590 off
591 ctrl-c
592 delete
593
594 scram
595 help
596 deleto
597
598 oops
599 sorry
600 ctrl-s
601 s
602 c
603 poop
604
605
606 uh, bye
607 bye
608 good-bye
609 bye-bye
610 sayonara
611 gootchy
612 goo
613
614 \\\\\\\\\\kinda makes you feel sorry for the mentally underpriveleged\\\\\\\
615 :::::=====:::::
616 I wait, silent, for a certain black cat to move...
617 :::::=====:::::
618 MMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
619 *%_)@#*%_)#@*%_)#&_%)*#@+)%*#$^&#$)_^&#$)_%*^#)_+$*^_)#*^#&^)#$+_*^+)#{body}amp;^)_&^)_#&^_)*&#)_&^)_!$#%&)_$%*&_&)_*&$%_@)*&
620 Leonard: UNIX and YOU! Did you do it again? For shame for shame, 101 for shames. Me thinks thou hast not learned the
621 lesson from before. A learning you seem so intent to ignore. We have tried and tried, we have even implored. But you
622 spite us, evade us, ignore us some more. HP LASTERjet? On your desk? You certainly have come up in the world. Tell me
623 more about this sudden wealth of equipment you so fondly speak of. Where did it all come from? Who died and made you
624 king? Certainly that would be the case? Could that silicon man in the North be such a fool to let a TRS-80 Telehacker
625 attack his precious IBM equipment, LAN and all? A LASERjet, how I would love to own a LASERjet. Only $2000 through
626 University computer specials, but it might as well be ten times that given my budget. But perhaps, no, sirrah would
627 never agree to a deal with such entreaties. I must lust from a distance. Oh, how far have we fallen when our minds in
628 Autumn turn to feelings of electric bombasity. All we can do is survive the cruel winter and behold the golden spring
629 when it doth approaches. To you abode I will appoint myself. Sanctity is a virtue of unhearlded value. I am done *LsP*
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