LIST FILE ON MARGIN IS 80 STATUS: ENTER ONLY NUMBER OF LINES: 629 1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2 ********************** REMOVED: 14 MAY 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 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 gee whiz.... MADE IT TO THE TOP! (again...) 22 23 MIKE MAXSON (known to the BW as "PHOENIX"): 24 A reply to your questions: 25 a) "I am working on my own BBS hope to finnish it real soon what do you 26 think of this????" [un-caps mine] 27 Well, Mr. Maxson, I can only say that I am overjoyed. With any luck, your 28 duties as SYSOP (such as removing "MASG"'s of the quality you leave here 29 from your system) will keep you sufficiently busy (and entertained) to 30 remove, or at least detain you from OUR system. Good luck. 31 32 b) "Ive been on this board for a few days now, what do you think of 33 PHOENIX??????????????????????" [un-caps mine] 34 As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Maxson, PHOENIX can find another round, warm 35 "PLANT" to take over. With ATARI in hand. Good day. 36 37 An after-thought, Mr. Maxson. "I did not mean to make people hate me. I just 38 wanted to play along with the users??????" I truly feel sorry for you. You 39 have an unpleasant, failure-ridden life ahead; I sincerly hope that you can 40 muster what little intellect you have and attempt to modify your rather 41 warped perspective of what people consider acceptable behavior before you 42 lose whatever chance you have for a reasonable facsimile of a normal life. 43 As to "From now on I will be trying to leave good information about 44 computers, modems, BBS, and world news.", please, Mr. Maxson, leave it on 45 another system. (Preferably PMS) Thank you. 46 Aaron 47 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 48 WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW 49 My, isn't it a little early to be so unpleasant? 50 Say, does anyone out there have an extra copy of "Cowboy Bob's Odes to 51 a Bifurcated Turtle"? 52 Mikey: thanks for correcting 53 privately. 54 Webster 55 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 56 PHOENIX, TRY TO FORGIVE AARON. HE IS VERY UPSET; AND HASN'T HAD HIS NAP.--MOTHER 57 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 58 ************************************************************** 59 Voyeur: You're right. I do have to admit the story lines are 60 rather slow...dreadfully slow. Perhaps you guys should get a 61 conspiracy going to add a little direction. Too bad Mohammed 62 and Contremon Valerius drifted off into the sunset; they 63 seemed to have a knack for keeping things moving. Grand D. 64 ************************************************************* 65 ???>???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 66 Aaron:someplace around here I`have a printout of yours,150+ lines by`which you said,in essence,live`and let live. 67 do NOT in any circumstance follow this,I enjoyed your message to "phoenex" VERY VERY much.any word on the 212A docs?? 68 All:after spending 100+ bucks on little black thingies for my heating unit,I can say this,they are WAY too expensive. 69 Grand D.:Dave Russle(contrimon v and general M) still lives in portland but has no time for the Backwater,maybe he will again 70 someday. 71 Warrior Eserhaudin:are you lurking here?? 72 Hawthorn:did I ever get a Nerd password to you?? as I remember,I was going to mail it because you were in a "555" prefix,LD fro 73 both me and Michael.did I do so? 74 The Man in Gray 75 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 76 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 77 Voyeur was bored. Bored, bored, bored. All his old friends, Bard, Piper, apprentice, Man in Gray, Mad Actor, all seemed 78 to be involved in activities of their own, and didn't visit the Inn much any more. All that was left, it seemed, was a 79 lot of juveniles and their pet gerbils and hamsters. "Well", he thought,"maybe a game of solitaire." He dug into his pack, 80 and pulled out a soggy mass of cardboard. "Drat! I'm going to have to talk to White Stag about their waterproofing." Making 81 enquiries, he discover that no one else in the Inn had a deck they were willing to loan. 'Guess it's time to check out that 82 store down the road.' He strolled down the road for a while, until he came to a building from which hung a sign: 83 'Ye Olde Shoppe of Ye Antiquities and Ye Curiosities'. 84 'Stuff was probably new when they started making that sign' he thought to himself, noting its length. Entering, he had to 85 pause while his eyes adjusted to the dimness, and to wipe the cobwebs from his face. Looking around, he spied a wizened old 86 man with bright eyes, grinning at him from behind a dusty, battered counter. "Don't hurt me pets, now" he cackled as Voyeur 87 pulled a wandering spider from beneath his jerkin. The old man continued "don't git many cust'mers here any more, since the 88 accident." "What accident", Voyeur questioned, when the old man stopped. "Eh? Oh, never mind. My mind was wandering. 89 Getting old, you know. So, is there something I can find for you, or are you just here to see where it happened?". "Where 90 WHAT happened?" The old man didn't answer. "Well, I was wondering if you might have a deck of cards I could buy." The old 91 mans eyes gleamed. "Cards? Why, I do believe I have some here somewheres." He disappeared into the back of the shop for a 92 while, then finally returned, brushing the dust from something in his hand. "I acquired these quite some time ago" he said, 93 handing them to Voyeur. He went on with some story about princes and feuds, Voyeur listening with half an ear while he 94 inspected the cards. 'That old fool! These are Tarot cards!' he thought. 'But what exquisite workmanship!' The covers 95 had a picture of a unicorn facing left, rearing back. He thumbed through the cards, until he came to the Greater Trumps. 96 They were Cold, bearing the images of real-seeming people. He studied one. It was of a man with black hair, green eyes, 97 dressed in silver and black, with a clasp at his neck in the form of a silver rose. The more Voyeur studied the card, the 98 more lifelike the image became. Suddenly it moved and spoke. 99 "Who is it?" Voyeur stood frozen, until the figure reached Out, took his hand, and pulled him through. 100 ::::::::::::::::::::O O::::::::voyeur:::::::::O O::::::::::::::::::: 101 :*************************************************************: 102 Voyeur: Beware of cards 13, 13, 15, & 16. Danger lurks. Grand D 103 :*************************************************************: 104 ************************************************************* 105 HELLO GUYS!GUESS WHO THIS IS?******************************** 106 ******************************IF YOU CAN YOU GET $100 DOLLARS IN FREE CASH.. 107 YOU DON'T ENEN HAVE TO PAY TAX! 108 GIVING YOU ONE CHANCE! 109 HA HA YOU MISSED IT'S ME THE PHANTOM WRITTER!!!!! 110 ************************************************************* 111 Does anyone know my Real name, if so drop me a message on here to the : 112 Phantom Writter 113 ************ 114 Hey!Who wants Fred Smith for president? 115 Do you want Pheonix for President? 116 ********Taking nominations now!******************************** 117 Votes need to be in by Satuarday!****************************** 118 //////////// 119 120 /////////// //// //// //////////////// 121 // //////////// ////// 122 // /// //// ///////////////// 123 *** ** ******** ************** 124 ** ** ** ** ** ** *** 125 ** ** ** ** ** ** *********** 126 ** ** ******** ** ** 127 ** ** ******** **************** 128 sloppy huh? 129 it's suppose to say the MOB!!!! 130 bye everybody! 131 132 MAN IN GREY:NO.AND TO MAKE IT 133 EASIER STILL THE AREA CODE 134 503.HASSAT FER FAST SERVICE? 135 SORRY OVER THE FACT THAT THIS 136 ONE HAS A 32 CHAR COLUMN.WORKIN- 137 G ON FINDING A TERMINAL PROGRAM 138 WITH AT LEAST 85 PER LINE.SO FAR 139 THE ONLY PROBLEMS ARE GETTING TO 140 THE ONE STORE THAT WOULD HAVE 141 ONE.MAYBE TODAY... 142 UNTIL I DO I WILL GO BACK TO 143 TRYING TO DIFFERENCIATE THE NUM. 144 OF CHAR ON THE LINES.SO HERE WE 145 GO. 146 IN FINAL I AWAIT THE NERDOLUX 147 PASS IN THE SAME FEELING THAT I 148 HAD WHILE FIRST DISCOVERING ALL 149 THE SYSTEMS HEREABOUTS.WELL TILL 150 THE NEXT ADVENTURE. 151 HAWTHORNE 152 153 NOT PARTICULARLY FOND OF THE 154 IDEA OF WATCHING MILCHAR WHO BY 155 NOW HAD LOST THE DRINKING MATCH 156 AND PASSED OUT.THE FORMER STOOD 157 AND POUNDED HIS WAY TO THE DOOR 158 .HE MUST HAVE BEEN WONDERING 159 JUST WHEN HE COULD REFORM.BEING 160 8 FOOT 6 AND VERY HEAVY WAS GET- 161 TING TO BE TIRESOME. 162 MAYBE I'LL FOLLOW THE VOYEUR 163 WHEREEVER HE WENT THOUGHT THE 164 FORMER.AS HE CLUTCHED THE TOP OF 165 THE SWINGING DOORS THAT HELD 166 BACK THE SLIGHT CHILLY BREAZE 167 OF INNISFAL.CLUTCHING THEM HE 168 COULD ALMOST SWEAR THAT HIS HAND 169 WAS STICKING TO IT. 170 PEERING WITH A REDICULOUS CUR- 171 IOUS LOOK ABOUT HIM HE SPIED A 172 PEICE OF PARCHMENT STUCK TO THE 173 DOORS BY RIGHT OF A GUM BRUSHED 174 ACROSS THE DOOR.READIN UPSIDE 175 DOWN WAS STRANGE BUT THE FORMER 176 MANAGED. 177 --TO INNKEEPER-- 178 --FROM A NEARBY RETAILER,IT 179 HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THROUGH 180 FREINDS AT ANOTHER REALITY THAT 181 THERE IS A MAN COMING TO THIS 182 OUR REALITY CLAIMING TO BE THE 183 RIGHTFUL OWNER OF THIS INN. 184 --FREINDS ALSO TELL ME OF A 185 CERTAIN BAND OF FOLLOWERS THAT 186 WITH WHICH HE INTENDS TO TAKE 187 BACK THE INN BE FORCE.KNOWING 188 HOW THE FREQUENTORS OF YOUR FINE 189 BUSINESS ARE SOMEWHAT PROTECTIVE 190 OF IT,AND THE,ER UH AHEM,HELP. 191 WELL THEY ALSO TEND TO GET CARR- 192 IED AWAY A BIT AND I QUITE UNDE- 193 RSTANDABLY DONT WANT MY BUSINESS 194 DEMOLISHED BY A STRAY FIRE STORM 195 --I SUGGEST YOU MEET HIM WITH 196 ALL OF HIS CLAIMS OUT ASUNDER,IF 197 INDEED HE DOES NOT LISTEN TO 198 REASON THAN PLEASE TELL YOUR 199 FAITHFUL NEIGHBORS BEFORE HE AND 200 HIS BAND GERT HERE. 201 --HE IS CURRENTLY IN THE EARS- 202 TWHILE REALITY STOPPED ON A PLA- 203 NET MASS DESIGNATED V'LACKOTRE.I 204 AM NOT SURE WHERE. 205 --A LOYAL NEIGHBOR 206 207 208 THE FORMERS BROW WENT UP WITH 209 A START V'LACKOTRE?THE PLACE 210 FROM WHENCE HE JUST LEFT!?!HE 211 MUST FIND THE OTHERS! 212 213 214 FORMER 215 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 216 WHO LEFT THE TV ON? --MOTHER 217 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 218 $@%*($)*%)#$!^*)#*^)*^!)#*^)!*^)!#*^)%*&^)&*)@*&%)$*&)$%*&@)*$@!*)*%$)&*%)&*)&!& 219 Aaron:Watch out for balloon assaults on late night Trimet buses. You never 220 know what kind of board people are after. Regarding floating point accels., 221 let's race. Optimized F77 and Pascal against anything you can muster. And may 222 the 'puter with the most MIPS win! 223 $#*@)%*#$ 224 FORMER:Do you realize how much disk space you waste with those 40 character 225 lines you use? I am with TMA. The bigger the line length the better. Let's 226 at least get it up to 80, if not more. 227 %$#%#@%@% 228 Voyeur: Lovely! Never have I read such a good story line regarding the Tarot 229 since "StarShip Troopers". Now if I could only think of an original way to 230 follow you into your story. I could have myself pulled into the computer 231 screen, but that would sound too much like Tron (listening Aaron?) What about 232 one of the "johns" at PSU actually being a mult-demensional time-space vortex 233 in disguise? Naw... I know... 234 $%%)*#$)%* 235 The drive out to Tek would be a boring one for sure...Except for the 236 mild excitement at the 217 interchange. But wait...what's this guy in the 237 Mazda here next to me trying to do? Maybe this guy wants to race??? Well I'll 238 give this guy a chase that would make Gene Hackman proud. I always loved the 239 sound of 302 inches of hi-pro ported, pollished, balanced, and blueprinted 240 power come to life! The needle on the speedometer rose faster and faster. 241 70...80...90..100! But the guy in the mazda somehow seemed to be keeping up. 242 It was getting difficult to dodge the other cars that seemed to crawl along 243 at 60mph. Faster still...110...120...and still this mysterious mazda seemed 244 to keep up. Past Big Reds we flew...Past the interchange...Murry...Cornell... 245 Ocean Beaches sign...on and on, yet I couldn't shake him. 130 was the speed 246 now...how much longer could he stay at this speed?!? Suddenly, he tore past 247 me as if I was standing still. Visions of Knight Rider danced in my head, 248 but that's a TV show. I saw the face of the other driver...what a strange 249 look...almost a smile, but those eyes...... 250 Those eyes... 251 I am not quite sure what happened next. It might have been a pothole, or maybe 252 a piece of tire from one of the big semi's..but whatever...I seemed to have 253 lost control of my car, but the car wasn't out of control. It was almost as 254 if the car were being influenced by some forces Detroit never dreamed of... 255 The next thing that made any sense was finding myself driving again, but 256 now totally alone, over a strange landscape. The speed was much less, but my 257 speedometer was not registering at all. In fact, the only way I could tell 258 my speed was less was due to the sound of the engine. Even the tach was out. 259 I was moving, no doubt about that, but where was I going. I had a feeling 260 my handy city of portland road map wouldn't get me out of this. I better 261 stop and get some sense of what is going on. And where is that driver in 262 the Mazda??? 263 $*)$#*@)$#@*$@#) L'homme sans parity - Cette fois...je ne sais pas - $#@()$#@( 264 PS I realize this isn't the usual way to get into a story, but voyeur, Milchar, 265 traveller, et all's knowledge of the fantasy story line is far above mine. 266 But I know a good chance to get in on the fun when I see one, so give me a 267 chance. I will try to take part and be a good contributing member to this 268 next story which looks like a good one. I appreciate your patience. 269 $%#*)%$*#%)#*@^)#*^)*#)^*)*^)#*^)!*#)^*)%#@*^)%* Merci! %*$#)%*)#$*%)#$*%)#$%* 270 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. 271 WELL MILCHHAR(?) WHY CAN'T I HAVE SOME ENCAHNTED ARROWS? YOUR LITTLE TID BITS AR 272 E GETTING BETTER BUT KEEP WORKING ON IT.YOU WILL SOME DAY BEAT OUT PAM IN CREATI 273 RESTORE 274 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 275 DEAR CISTOP PLEASE ERASE PAST MESSAGE ONE ABOVE. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT 276 WORKS YOUR HELP SECTION IS HARD FOR A NEW PERSON USING THE MODEM FOR ONLY A FEW 277 WEEKS. I AM SORRY FOR MY STUPIDITY. 278 279 THANK YOU 280 ARCHER 281 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 282 Quizmaster:He is a truuthteller, as no matter wfrom where the other native 283 came from, he would say, "west". So if the messenger also says "west", then 284 he is telling the truth. 285 +Next:That particular cryptogram is my own. I think I have already solved i 286 that one. 287 +++++++++ 288 Traveller:The Ruby Valley is NOT referred to at all in the Amber books, 289 I just decided to use Amber as a means to get there. 290 +++++++++ 291 Voyeur:DonPlease don't tire out my gre!at-grandfather out with talk before I 292 arrive. 293 ++++++++ 294 As Milchar and Traveller were crusing along the skyways toward Amber, a 295 bright flash of blue light below attracted Milchar's attention. "Look! A car! 296 What is that doing here? Pretty soon it won't be able to move, as gasoline 297 doesn't burn in Amber! Traveller, before using the Pattern I must go see my 298 Great-Grandfather, Corwin, and my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Dworkin. 299 must know if Amberite powers decline with the passing of generations. I 300 must also get a set of Trumps, even though none of my relatives like my 301 using the Magical Arts. They don't trust it, somehow..." 302 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar ++++++++++++++++++++ 303 ************************************************************************* 304 TOMMY LOY, THE CABIN BOY 305 THE DIRTY LITTLE NIPPER 306 HE STUFFED HIS ??? WITH BROKEN GLASS 307 AND CIRCUMSIZED THE SKIPPER 308 *********************************************************WHISPER********** 309 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 310 MIG: ok, ok.... 311 PHOENIX: Well, maybe I went just a little (tiny tiny) bit overboard. 312 HAWTHORNE: **PLEASE** set the system margin at 76 with the "MA 76" command, 313 and procede to type until eithier (if you have a bell) the margin beeper 314 beeps, or (if you don't) the system stops echoing your characters. Edit 315 your messages to remove typos. Find some way to make you machine comm in 316 LOWER CASE. 317 ALL: Yes, I know. MiG chides me with a long-forgotten document (my "come 318 on people now, smile on your brother....everybody get together learn to 319 love one another right now" text of a few years back, from one of BW's less 320 savory disks... and times.. I was playing Jesse Jackson) and I can 321 remember (long pause....well, just ONCE......or twice..) when I left mess- 322 ages containing somewhat less than topical or relevant material. (with 323 attendant gramatical and spelling "liberties".....ONCE) 324 I want BW to be a "nice" place to visit. These periods of upheavel 325 always pass, but in their passing take something with them...perhaps 326 someone decides that BW is no longer a worth their time; true, we lose 327 some users and in the same breath another "BOO! I'M NEW" (how PAM intro- 328 duced herself) appears on our disks. This does not change; users come and 329 go; but, like flowers, no two are alike, we are poorer when we lose a rose, 330 even if that day we find a lily. Has anyone seen the Dragon Lady recently? 331 Colonel Batgauno? Mike Bigham? They all still have computers, modems, live 332 in Portland, (well, I havn't talked with Mike for a while) and no longer 333 frequent the BW. We lose every time a potential user decides that "BW 334 is just a bunch of kids playing with modems" upon spying "MOB RULES" 335 splayed across their screen, or when a "premium no-lead" simply can't 336 access the system because the line is tied up by undesireables entering 337 100 lines of "WRITTING", or a Mike or a Denise or a Pamela finds their 338 messages adultrated one too many times...and doesn't call back. We lose. 339 BW has had golden times; everyone can remember when the magic "works" 340 and a disk is a mystical tapestry woven of loveingly spun fibers.. of a 341 different world than p-n junctions and magnetic domains. A world of beauty, 342 of mystery....of magic! Then, of course, are BW's tin times..the system 343 is little more than random bubbles of ego, floating in a sea of self, bursting 344 as if never having been. Our world is reduced to phase hits, 103A, and 345 weather or not someone is using MA 76. 346 I believe we have a choice. I beleive we can prolong our "golden 347 times", and eliminate our tin ones. ("I have a dream....") Individually, 348 we are helpless. Collectivly, we are strong. No one would vandalize a system 349 if they knew it would put an end to their telecomputing days in Portland, 350 that they would be caught, exposed.. Everyone would strive to do their best, 351 be the MOST creative, make the FEWEST spelling errors, if they were using 352 a system that was, unquestionably, THE BEST, MOST RESPECTED system in the 353 state. OUR SYSTEM. 354 Well, I've had my say, vented my spleen at Phoenix (and subjected 355 all of you to my Negative Vibes in the process), and generally wasted a lot 356 of disk space. Comments? 357 358 WHISPER: I am ashamed to admit that I found your "poem" most humorus. Gee, 359 almost as good a the Bard, eh? Hmmmm.... 360 Aaron 361 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 362 )#@$(@)#($)#!($)!($)@#($)@#(%)#$(^)$#(^)@#$(^)!(^)@#(^)(%)@^(@)(^)%$(^)$# 363 Yes indeed Aaron...A diatrib that would make Chris Serling proud. Look... 364 a signpost up ahead...it's the zonette zone.... 365 By the way, are you on the May 15th primary? Surely you are running for 366 some office??? BW comptroller? Secretary of Messages? BW Supreme Court? 367 **$#@)*$^#$^*#)^# L'homme sans parity *)%*#)*%)#*%)%*)@*%)#@$*%)#$*%)#$*% 368 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 369 Aaron--when you are not arguing religion, you can produce some rather 370 nice writing. Why not try your hand at one of the adventures? 371 ???? 372 Well, Milchar, since you are the only one responding to my quizes, I might 373 as well address it to you. You got the last one correct, so here's 374 another one, set on a neighboring island. 375 On this island, the whites get sunburned to the same shade as 376 the natives, so the only way to tell them apart is thus: Islanders 377 always lie (of course) and the 'whites' alway tell the truth. 378 A visitor paddles up to the island, and sees three people on the beach, 379 all the same color. He asks "are you white people burned brown, or are 380 you islanders?" The first oe calls out something that is lost in the sound 381 of the surf, so the man shouts out his question again. This time the 382 second man on the beach calls back, saying "The first person who answered 383 said he is a white man, and he IS a white man, and so am I." The third 384 person on the beach calls out "The first two people here on the beach 385 are islanders and I am a white man burned brown." 386 What is each man really? 387 ??????????????????????????? QUIZMASTER ???????????????????????????????? 388 && && && 389 Grand D.: There is no conspiracy, no group of cronies & insiders plotting to exclude others from the tales. I 390 was making a slightly facetious commenton how the last adventure started. What I was trying to say was "somebody 391 get the ball rolling". I'll agree, the last one was lacking in pace, but taken as segments there were some good 392 things written. Now we need to practice our pacing. Care to show us how? 393 && The Mad Actor && 394 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 395 (I'd still like some info on the Ruby Valley so there can be some coherence, or is it strictly a figment {haven't seen 396 Fig lately, come to think of it}) 397 Voyeur found himself in what appeared to be a library. Books covered the walls, and there was a glass cabinet off 398 to one side containing several decks of cards similar to the one which had brought him here. He was interrupted in his 399 review by the man in silver and black. "I am Corwin, Lord of Amber. Who are you, and where are you from?" Voyeur 400 stammered "I am Voyeur, that is, I am Called Voyeur, because of, well, uh," he felt his face grow hot, which increased 401 his embarrassment. He hurried on "I am from Innisfall, the Backwater Inn, and..." he went on to tell how he arrived 402 in Amber. As he spoke, Corwin grew thoughtful. "Innisfall, eh? From your description, this CISTOP MIKEY sounds like 403 a shadow of a shadow of one of my brothers. Possibly Gerard, probably Random. His powers indicate that he must have 404 a fair amount of the blood of the House of Amber. As must you, Voyeur, to be able to manipulate the Trumps. Your name 405 puts me in mind of Random also. Tell me of your ancestry." As Voyeur began relating his family tree, Corwin suddenly 406 held up his hand, and got a faraway look in his eyes. Then he turned his attention to Voyeur and said "your coming 407 seems to have opened gates which have been closed for some time. Do you know this newcomer?" A picture began forming 408 in Voyeurs mind. He saw a car, a Mustang, floating through the air over a forest, and as the image grew sharper and 409 focused in on the errant vehicle, he recognized a familiar face behind the wheel. "L'homme! L'homme sans parity! 410 What is He doing here?" "That's what I'd like to know" responded Lord Corwin, darkly. 411 :::::::: 412 Actually, L'homme, if we were to get in a race, if I Did get in front of you, you Would be lost. Lost in great clouds 413 of blue smoke from the quart of oil I burn every 120 miles. And Hey! This is Backwater! There is no Right way to 414 get involved. Your method was as good as any and better than most. I certainly enjoyed it. (inside jokes help a bit, 415 of course) 416 ::::::: 417 All: how's my 120 character lines look? I like them, since my 64 character screen makes two proper lines out of it 418 (as opposed to the line + 8 characters I get at 70-80). Consider this-the 26 lines I just entered would 've used 41 @75. 419 ::::::::::::::::::::::O O:::::::::voyeur:::::::::O O::::::::::::::::: 420 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 421 Far from the inn, in a lonely glade by a swiftly running stream, the piper 422 sat upon a large rock. His pipes were dissasembled and laying in the grass 423 before him, his head bent over, and his face wore an intent expression. He held 424 a yellow tube about three inches in diameter and about 4 inches long in one 425 hand and an exceedingly sharp knife in the other. Never faltering in his 426 concentration, he pared a tiny sliver off the tounge of still another bass 427 drone reed. Placing the tube in his mouth, he blew a raucous cawwww, then 428 smiled faintly. Perhaps now he could escape this self-imposed prison and 429 rejoin his old companions at the inn. He straightened and a circle of gold 430 shaped as a serpent biting its own tail swung from his neck. He pressed the 431 newly trimmed reed into the bottom of the drone, assembled the stand of pipes 432 and swung them to his shoulder. With the first few notes, he knew he was in 433 deep trouble. The golden torc pulsed alarm as some force took hold of him and 434 left only a fading impression of a greyish stain laced with scarlet and gold in 435 the air of the deserted glade. 436 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 437 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 438 Quizmaster:The man who wasn't heard was a white burned brown, as the second 439 man (who truthfully said that the first had said "I am a white") did tell the 440 truth. Therefore he is also white. The Third man is an Islander, as he lied 441 about both of the other answers. 442 +++++++++ 443 Wind rushed by the two adventurers as the "Flying Mat" took them to Amber. 444 The great expanse of the city was before them, as they were quite close now. 445 The sparkling city below made Milchar very glad he decided to come, but he 446 also was grieved by events that were soon to come. 447 Milchar steered the mat to hover above the Glen of the Unicorn, as he summoned 448 all of his will to pass to the real one. The pain increased as he fought, 449 and just before Milchar couldn't stand it any olonger, they were through. 450 The area that they were now in seemed almost identical to where they were... 451 but seemed DIFFERENT somehow. Everything was sharper, more real. "If I 452 hadn't have had mental training, I would have never been able to manipulate 453 Shadow so close to Amber. Now to find Dworkin." 454 The mat lazily flew about a quarter of a mile to the seashore, where an 455 enourmous expanse of rock was etched with a strange spiral-like design, which 456 glowed with silverly light as they landed. The mat, in a guesture of exhaustion 457 , promptly disintergrated when they landed. "Poor spell. I hardly ever work 458 wthem that hard." Milchar finds a tunnel dug into solid rock, and gestures 459 Traveller inside. 460 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milchar ++++++++++++++++++++++ 461 *************************************************************** 462 Mad Actor: Good God...I hope I didn't sound that paranoid. I 463 never said I thought there was a conspiracy to exclude anyone. 464 If anything I was expressing my frustration. Mostly it comes 465 down to missing the work of Mike Bigham. 466 467 I've found that certain contributions to the Inn are easier to 468 relate to than others. The great discs are the ones where 469 members really clicked with one anothers styles and 470 contributions. I've found that my style clicks more often with 471 Mikes' than with anyone elses. I really miss Mohammed and 472 Serena. I haven't found any adventure that inspires me like 473 theirs. 474 475 But who knows? Maybe someday someone will hit on something that 476 I can really get my teeth into. It's that hope that causes me 477 to at least remain a lurker when nothing good is going on. 478 479 I'm taking my computer in to get a disc drive installed which 480 means I won't be around for awhile. Don't do anything 481 interesting while I'm gone. Grand D. 482 *************************************************************** 483 Aaron: Greatly enjoyed your BWM editorial. Good work. - GDM 484 *************************************************************** 485 486 ******************************************************* 487 PIPER: CAN YOU WATCH YOUR ENTRY A BIT BETTER? MY TERMINAL 488 DETESTS ESCAPE CHARACTERS, THEY DRIVE IT BATTY. IT DOESN'T 489 CARE FOR CONTROL N EITHER, BUT AT LEAST YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY 490 IN YOUR ENTRY (MILCAHR ON THE OTHER HAND.........) 491 ************************: CISTOP MIKEY ********************* 492 Aaron: I am not Whisper, but I am aquainted with her.... 493 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 494 Before the figure could reply to the apprentice's query, reality {BLINK}ed once 495 more. When the bard glanced around, he discovered that the apprentice & the 496 prairie cat were no longer with him. He decided to worry about that later as 497 he suddenly realized that he KNEW where he was... 498 There ought to be a hidden supply cache in that ruined department store.... 499 ....Later after repairing/replacing much of his equipment, he was ready to 500 start back to the inn. But first, a test of the new scanner. What's this - 501 traces converging on Amber? This bears checking out! 502 He replaced the scanner & took out another device. Any observer must 503 have been very bewildered. This new device did not bear close scrutiny. Imagine, 504 if you will, a cross between a 3-D analogue of a blivit, a Klien flask & a 505 tesseract. This will give you some idea of the kind of mayhem the opener wreaked 506 on normal eyes! 507 He triggered the opener. A hatch opened in mid-air, beyond was visible 508 a service tunnel of some sort, running at right angles to the hatch. Strange 509 boxes, conduits & the like covered the walls and floor. The bard stepped through 510 the hatch. As it closed he muttered, "Shouldn't be more than a million miles or 511 so... God I *HATE* walking!" 512 The hatch vanished. 513 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 514 I'll answer a couple of questions in advance. No, I haven't gotten into a ship. 515 Yes, I am going to WALK a million or so miles. You rembember the "holes" in 516 "Time Bandits"? This is sort of a hi-tech analogue. Inter-universal service 517 passages. Alteco uses 'em, but I never got an answer when I asked who BUILT 518 them..... 519 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 520 The apprentice found himself and Green Eyes standing behind a VERY familar 521 figure. 522 "Art thou Whisper?" 523 .............................the apprentice..................................... 524 ps. Whisper, I believe that Green Eyes has a liking for thee. Mayhap we should 525 all join in this journey to Amber? What sayest thou? 526 ................................................................................ 527 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 528 MOTHER'S DON'T PREFER AQUAFRESH. --MOTHER 529 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 530 Here we are, all converging on Amber. Most of the Innhabitants are as 531 starved for a good m.a. story as I am. It reminds me of the beginning 532 of the Kolumbia Disaster. I hope we have better luck on this one. Does 533 anyone have any real idea what is going on? We need a real live honest 534 to goodness GOAL, else we'll just mill around in Amber for a while until 535 Corwin gets tired of us and invites us to explore Chaos. (I just wish 536 the books were fresher in my mind, but there's no way I'm going to get 537 the 900 or so pages reread in time to be useful. Doesn't really matter, 538 I guess. Not everyone seems to be as interested in following the setting 539 as closely as I tried to. 'Openers' indeed!) 540 ::::::::::::::::::::::::O O:::::::::voyeur:::::::::::O O:::::::::::::: 541 Upon reflection, I realize that my greeting to L'homme is rather at 542 odds with that I tossed in the direction of Bard. The males in my 543 family are notorious for their crabbiness when awakened prematurely. 544 A nuisance phone call did the honors for me a while ago. Sorry. 545 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::O O:::::::::voyeur::::::::::O O::::::::::: 546 (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) 547 Whisper was sitting by herself in the field writing in her book of 548 of curiosities when there was a sudden rush of displaced air and a 549 mild BAMPH. Looking up she spied the apprentice and a large green eyed 550 cat. Is that the kind of cat I think it is. I've only come across them 551 mentioned once and that was in my copy of the BOOK OF SAGES, she said to 552 the apprentice. I do wish that book hadn't had the index torn out of it 553 before I found it. I can never find anything twice in the thing! I'm 554 sure I saw some mention of the Ruby valley in it but i don't remember 555 the page number or what was said. Let me get my armor on and lets go. 556 You do have a spell to get us there don't you? 557 (((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))****************))))))))))(((((((((((( 558 P.S Aaron i'm fond of puns and limericks. the one about Tommy Loy is 559 an old one. The original is much dirtier. I originally came across it 560 in a collection of short science fiction stories called, I think, 561 "FIRST CONTACT", I don't remember the editors name. 562 *****************************************************WHISPER************ 563 PPS: REMEMBER WHEN IT HITS THE FAN IT IS NOT DISTRIBUTED EVENLY! 564 ********** WHISPER******************************************************* 565 ----------------------------------------(<>)------------------------------------ 566 567 Milchar: Thankyou for keeping the adventure going in my absence. (I have not 568 missed anything, but have been unable to enter any messages. I will be 569 absent for the weekend but should be back in force MONDAY, armed with 570 a goal (I hope), somthing related with the instabiltiy of Innisfall. 571 572 Grand D: I do often take into account the older magics. My specialty is in 573 being competant at both magic and tecnology, often where magic is being 574 used technology is overlooked. (Though more often the reverse is true.) 575 Have you ever been in the vicinity of dragonfat, it will drive off anything! 576 577 --------(<>)-------------- 578 579 Following rapidly after Milchar was a bit tiring, but we were getting 580 somewhere. The reality transphaser indicated that there was significant 581 activity converging on Amber, things were going to get interesting. 582 I had my doubts about patterns too, I hope Milchar has the prerequisits 583 for walking it or this expedition would end fast. He has hinted... 584 585 -------------------------(<>)The Traveller(<>)---------------------------------- 586 && && && 587 "Who are you?" The woman had been the Poet's constant companion for several days, and had yet to reveal her name. 588 "I'm your ideal lover." "I know that; lord knows I should by now. But WHO are you? What's your name? Where are you 589 from?" "I'm from the best of all possible worlds, and I've dedicated my life to keeping you happy." 590 The poet could see that getting a straight answer was going to take a long time. Maybe months, constantly in her 591 company. *Sigh* It was a dirty job, but... 592 && The Mad Actor && 593 $('#")'($)"#!*'?$!)"*#+'?$)"#'$!)$<'")#!*<$?")#!*'$"!)#+$'")'%)"$!*'?%=")%=' 594 The mazda was certainly no where in sight, but I had bigger problems to worry 595 about at the moment. My normally fine tuned high output engine was making 596 sounds that would make Carol Shelby turn in his grave! "But I just tuned this 597 beast!" I said to myself. "What could be wrong now???" I was still moving 598 at a relatively high rate of speed, although no where near the speed I had 599 achieved back on the Sunset. Ah yes...the Sunset...was has happned to 600 Portland? What has happened to Tektronix, my original destination? And why the 601 heck am I here??? 602 At first I wasn't sure if it was some distortion due to the heat, or if 603 it was real, but as I drew closer...yes...some kind of city...Well at least 604 there is some kind of civilizaion here. The engine was starting to miss 605 now...I cringed when I thought of the damage all of this might do to those 606 beautiful 13:1 molly pistons I just had put in. Stuck out here with no idea 607 of where I am is not my idea of fun at a Saturday Concourse. If I can just 608 nurse my car into that city...what ever it is, maybe I can get some help 609 with my car. I was getting closer now, but finally the engine just gave up. 610 No amount of manual choke adjustment would help. It was as dead as a flat-6 611 air cooled corvair on a hot summer day. "Well it looks as if I'll have quite 612 a long walk into town". But for some strange reason, beyond my 15 hours of 613 General Physics I had taken my Sophomore year at PSU, my 2600lbs car kept 614 on rolling, as if defying friction, and taking Newton totally to heart! I 615 couldn't explain it, but if it was going to spare me a long walk, I am not 616 going to complain. As I rolled into the outskirts of town, I thought to myself, 617 "I better find a Union 76 station...They're the only ones who sell leaded 618 premium..." 619 $')#$'#")$#"$'#" L'homme sans parity avec problems de voiture ())(%)"#(!#)$()$ 620 621 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 622 623 Having finished the last of my cleaning (not finding too many stray, 624 strange characters), I take my cloak and cape and head towards the door. 625 It is warm outside, but the sky is grey and the air is damp and chilling, so 626 I wrap my cloak tightly. Suddenly, a deeper chill runs across the surface 627 of my mind, and I begin to run; someone is in my home! 628 629 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]PAM.[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] >