II.251
...In the Blue Room, a girl sits huddled, arms clasped about her knees,
chin almost resting on her knuckles...she stares out the bay window in which
she sits, eyes unfocused, off-violet hair falling limply down her back. Her
dress hangs as wilted gossamer about her in waves, and her peep forth from the
folds bare and delicate. Her features are chiselled porcelain, though her
expression be pallid wax. She stares out toward the sea, and rocks back and
forth, singing in a soft, tinkling voice...
"Glow, little glow worm,.. glimmer,.. glimmer,..
I know a girl who could be slimmer,..
She has buck teeth, hair's peroxide,..
In the moonlight, she looks cross-eyed,..
I don't care what my friends all say,..
...I like my self anyway.."
...and behind her eyes, ghosts flicker back and forth to mirror her rocking...
User: Fireflyte... ...not all splinters remain whole...
Date: 25-Apr 07:01 PM 767300506
II.252
Just make sure you don't throw a red t-shirt in the washing machine with your
white towels, or you'll be the Pink Ranger.... ;)
Meanwhile, in the VPD Prison....
Daricell Copperpot sat quietly on the edge of her cot. The prison was
unnaturally silent, as she waited for the death that she knew would come to her
soon... Was she ready? Are any of us ready to die?
She had requested a priest for Extreme Unction. Once a Catholic, always a
Catholic, she thought, and a tiny smile curved her mouth for just a moment.
She was prepared for the anointing, and the rebirth of the spirit, if not for
the death of the body that would soon follow. She would be nothing but a
memory soon...would anyone remember her? It seemed as though everyone she'd
ever known had forgotten her, except Ben, who had so ably defended her, and
Maharet. But Maharet was missing now, too, and time was running out...
Would Zoro live to miss her? Above all, she wished she could see him once
more, before she entered the gas chambers.
Footsteps echoed in the hall, and Daricell stood up, smoothing the blue prison
fabric of her pants with trembling hands. The door to her cell swung open, and
in walked Cardinal Ximinez.
"You requested a priest?" he asked.
"I didn't expect them to send you," she replied, relieved to see a familiar
face.
"Well, of course! No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! So, Last Rites,
huh? Now, let me see if I remembered to bring that anointing oil... Do you
think tanning oil would do? No, that's not right... ah, here it is..."
User: Daricell -- "The anointed one?"
Date: 26-Apr 03:08 PM 767372943
II.253
Next @ the VVC: Prepare to meet thy DOOM[tm]...
===============================================================================
=
"Great!" RECYCLER whines. "Now we're finished for sure! Thanks a lot,
CADO, I really _wanted_ to die a premature death..."
"We'll miss you..." DRAKEHART says, sarcastically. Cado just stares at
the zombies...
"Cado, I think there may be a way out from here," says ROMANTIC, "but it's
...Cado! What are you doing??!!" Cado, completely oblivious to the shoutings
of his friends, continues to stare at the zombies, who have mysteriously
stopped in their tracks.
"Oh, great!" Recycler continues to gripe. "Now he's gone nutso! We're
never going to get out of here, I tell you! This is a death trap! This is..."
Suddenly Cado stretches out his arms toward the zombies...and a hurricane-
force wind howls through the tunnel, sending them flying back till their bodies
smash into a rock wall.
Recycler shuts up...
The wind dies down. Everyone stares at Cado in disbelief. "Come on," he
says finally. "Let's get out of here. I can't keep that kind of thing up too
long."
No one moves. Cado sighs. "I told you there was a lot to this that you
wouldn't understand. Now come on...we have to get out of here!"
The party moves back through the tunnel, retracing their steps and
recalculating the paths. Some time later, they draw near the temple they
originally came into. "Ahannos is not far behind," says Cado. "He'll be here
any minute. We've got to work fast." He removes the key from around his neck
...and hands it to Rom.
Rom looks up at Cado quizzically. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
Cado looks into her eyes and lays a hand on her shoulder. "You'll know,"
he says softly. "You've been here longer than I have--the magic flows in you
as it does in me." Rom looks at the key, swallows, and nods slowly. Cado
turns and begins walking toward the outside exit.
"Hey, wait!" DELIRIUM exclaims. "Where are you going?"
Cado turns around. "I have some unfinished business here..." he says.
"When you get back to the Cafe, tell Traveler...tell him I'm sorry." With
that, he walks back towards the stairs that lead down, to the outside of the
temple, by the rocky shore... The party stands around uncertainly for a
moment. Then Romantic steps forward and speaks.
"Okay then...I guess we have to go on. The temple is just ahead, right?"
She looks at the map in SANCTUARY's hand. But before another word can be
spoken, another contingent of undead appears ahead of them, pale and silent.
They whirl around--to find the opposite end of the corridor also blocked.
"That's it...it's time to go for the high score," says Drakehart. "I
brought a few things I didn't tell Cado about--I figured we probably wouldn't
need 'em. But we need 'em now." He opens his backpack, and removes:
A large handgun, which he tosses to Delirium;
A shotgun, which he throws to Sanctuary;
A chainsaw, which he keeps for himself.
"I don't think I need that kind of weapon," Rom says with a small smile.
"What about ME?" says Recycler.
"Improvise," replies Drakehart, yanking the saw's ignition cord. As it
roars to life, the zombies advance, and he shouts...
"LET'S PLAY US SOME DOOM!!!"
User: Cado + Traveler
Date: 26-Apr 04:58 PM 767379564
II.254
Next @ the VVC: Who ya gonna call? Ghost...
===============================================================================
Morning...
The White Room has opened again. The scents of eggs, bacon, coffee and
fresh pastries mingle in the air, as breakfast sizzles on the grills in the
Kitchen. It is rave day at last, and TRAVELER walks around the Cafe with
anticipation as well as dread. There is still no sign of the rescue party,
or of GHOST; he's tried calling and e-mailing SYLVAR about the status of
DARICELL's trial (almost everyone missed the coffee man's brief stop at the
VVC to brew some java and pick up XIMINEZ), but the info-lines all seem to be
backed up.
He has been able to get through to the airport, and confirm that several
internationally renowned DJs--the special guests at "Divine Rebirth"--are
flying in on schedule. He's arranged for taxis to meet them, and accomodations
for them during their stay; right now he's paging through a printout containing
information on the various DJs which Orpheus was kind enough to extract from
the Net.
"Hmmm...`M.C. Basic Boy--famous Berlin techno artist, known for his
melodic, minimalist keyboard compositions that show influences from Erik Satie
to Kraftwerk. B.Y.O.M.--stage name of the American DJ known as much for his
vegetarianism and Christianity as for his sample-heavy music. Tex Hapwin--
eccentric 23-year-old loner from Cornwall who dropped out of electronics school
to make dream-inspired ambient soundscapes with his studio of completely home-
built synthesizers.' These guys should put on quite a show between them
tonight...but nothing's gonna happen unless Ghost shows up and gets the whole
damn setup working!"
Speak of the devil. There is a sqeal of tires out front, and then the
front doors slam open to reveal VBI Agent (and erstwhile busboy) STEFAN, and
prodigal lighting technician Ghost. "Time to get to work!" he says.
"It's about time!" Trav says with relief.
"First of all, I'm going to need some black curtains, a UV light, and a
string of Christmas lights..."
"Uh, we've got much more advanced stuff than that already--"
"That's just for my temporary Fortress of Solitude in the Blue Room, where
I'm going to program the routines which will control the whole rave lighting
system," Ghost says, striding towards the Blue Room with manic speed. "Now, for
the rave itself, I'll need some more exotic stuff. For starters, a big vat of
chocolate pudding...say, about a hundred gallons. It's a good conductor, under
...certain unusual conditions." He smiles weirdly. "And these will be very
unsual. Then I need someone to drive towards town and pick up a few cows.
They'll be standing in a field at this address..." He hands Trav a scribbled
piece of paper. "You'll know them 'cause of the orange X's spray-painted on
their sides. Don't worry, they said it was ok."
"Who said it was ok? The cows' owners?"
"OWNERS? What do you mean? They're COWS! Do YOU have an owner? Just
have them brought here by this afternoon. You can list them on the bill as...
special project consultants..."
Traveler shakes his head as Ghost, mumbling to himself, walks off. "At
least he's here...in body if not in mind..."
"Trust him, Trav," says Stefan. "He's only explained a little of his plan
to me...but believe it or not, I think he knows what he's doing..."
User: Traveler
Date: 26-Apr 07:15 PM 767387717
II.255
Next @ the VVC: Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...
===============================================================================
"I hope GHOST cooks up something interesting with all this stuff,"
TRAVELER says to himself. "But speaking of strange recipes...that reminds
me..." He returns to his office and shuffles through the dossier of historical
documents related to the Cafe that still sits on his desk. He pulls out a
sheaf of several yellowed sheets, and looks at it with a smile. Then he turns
and goes back downstairs...
To the kitchen, where he finds the ever-industrious DIQMAN rolling out
some dough. "Here's something you might want to see," he tells the baker, who
wipes his floury hands on his apron and takes the proffered papers from Trav.
"You said you wished you had a magic potion to cook up--well, here are some
recipes."
"`Ye Do-It-Thyself Grimoire: Being A Collection Of Divers Potions,
Remedyes, & Concoctions...'" Diqman reads the aged sheets with interest and
amusement. "Well, some of these ingredients may be pretty hard to
find...mandrake root? Athelas blossom?"
"But look, this one is a mixture for dispelling `Evyll Humours &
Atmospheres'...and this one is guaranteed to work `Against Ye Vyle Spells Of
Sorcerers & Necromancers'...exactly what we need! If you can work on some of
the more conventional ingredients, I think I know where I can get some of the
more unconventional ones. We may have some kind of defense against Ahannos
after all..."
Leaving the magical recipes with Diq, Traveler heads to the now-quiet
Black Room to make a phone call. He pulls from his shirt pocket a small
business card made of thick, expensive card stock, and bearing only a name
and phone number printed in old-fashioned script. He dials the number at the
bar phone, and a moment later, a man's German-accented voice answers.
"Schuller here--how can I help you?"
"I'd like to speak to LYDIA, please."
"I'm afraid that's impossible. This number is reserved for important
clients--"
"I know. She gave it to me. Tell her it's Traveler."
There is a brief silence. Then, "Very well. One moment, please..."
User: Traveler
Date: 27-Apr 09:32 AM 767439159
II.256
*awhile beforehand*
...a thin, mousey-looking girl with plain brown hair cut page-boy style slowly
climbs the stairs to the Ivory Tower. Clad in a plain white button-up shirt,
and black slacks, she looks oddly out-of-place amidst the gothic
atmosphere...she is stopped at the door by a bored-looking male attendant.
"Halt. By whose invitation do you enter?"
Deadpan, the girl lies, "Traveler, you fool. Stand aside."
The doorman flips to a page in his roster, nonplussed, and asks,
"Name?"
Coldly, she replies, "It's not on there, I just asked him five minutes
ago. If you want me to go drag him away from his rave preparations to prove it,
you'll have to deal with the consequences."
A trifle startled, albeit reassured by the abrupt tone, the guard
blinks a moment, and then lets her pass. She thinks to herself, "Fool.
Fascinating, how easy it seems to be to take whatever you wish, if you portray
the proper attitude." Entering the virtually vacant sitting room, (ECSTASY
having gone 'hunting' earlier) she crosses directly to the bookshelf, selects a
particularly arcane tome about the Kabbalah, and sits in a dark corner to read.
Her glasses seem enormous in the dim light, glinting like something out of
Madeleine L'Engle's _Wrinkle In Time_, and the girl herself seems to almost
fade to intangibility behind them as she becomes absorbed in reading...
User: Fireflyte... ...gee, what would the Kabbalah help with?...:P ;)
Date: 27-Apr 10:17 AM 767441896
II.257
*outside the VVC, by the edge of the rave clearing*
...a crackle of static mingles with giggling, as a glowing, winged figure ducks
behind a tree. She peeks out, like a pre-schooler, at the builders and
technicians... she sees the people wiring together lighting equipment, and
giggles again, ducking behind the tree, to be sure she isn't seen. An idle
dragonfly buzzes near, vaguely perplexed by this strange, translucent figure.
She looks at him, cocks her head sideways, and questions it,
"Hellobuggyfriend,...neverseena'flytebefore?theraveisreallycomin'longihopethey
don'tforgetsometoysweallneedtoysneedtoysdon'tyouthink? Goodbuggyfriend, niceta
meetcha--haveyouseenmyfriendstheylooklikemebutnotquiteyousee'nithinkibug'em
causeineversleepandrarelybreatheandithinktheymustbedependantonthisoxygenthing
causetheyjustseemtomakefaceswheniaskthemthingsandtheyalwaysusedtoteaseaboutitbu
t
nowthey'reallovertheplace,andidon'tknowwhereandwereallyshouldbegettingbackthoug
h
i'dreallyliketogototherave,thoughidon'tthinkMs.Spockwouldwannagoshe'ssuchastudy
hound,andfury'salwaysbitter,buti'msurethey'dlikeitiftheytried,nowwouldn'tthey??
"
...the dragonfly ponders this, flits up a foot vertically, ponders it again,
and then idly rests on a leaf, perplexed. The Flyte is nonplussed, and shortly
becomes distracted by a random selection of leaves, which fascinates her for a
few hours...until a vehicle arrives with a small group of cows, at which point
she becomes immediately absorbed with watching them, occasionally stopping to
babble at the dragonfly still perched on the leaf, pondering the first thing
she said. Dragonflies are not known for their grasp of logic, which was
probably helping, in this instance...
User: Fireflyte... ...isonlysometimeshyperbutneedsmoretoysmoretoys,yesyesyes???
Date: 27-Apr 10:38 AM 767443124
II.258
...On the newly-constructed stairwell at the corner joining the Red and Black
Rooms, a figure stands with eyes narrowed, listening to the approach of the
gendarme's car. She sniffs the air uneasily, as her fur blows back briskly in
the sea breeze off the Bay. By her feet, a sturdily-built tan-and-white patched
cat looks up at her questioningly. She replies with a soft purrling noise in
her throat, and absently stoops to scratch the kit behind the left ear. He
nuzzles her hand briefly, then trots off toward the gardens...she hears the
front doors of the Cafe' faintly, and creeps up the stairs to the patio off of
Traveler's offices. She flattens herself in the curve of the building where
Trav's offices meet his private quarters, and peeks in the window, to observe
the conversation between he and the gendarme. Her catlike ears flatten as she
hears the gutteral tones of the policeman, and a barely-audible growl rumbles
low in her throat. As he leaves, she pulls back from the window, and suddenly
turns at a sound above her...there, perched on the edge of the roof above her,
a wiry figure grins down at her,...short, blonde hair curling partly over one
pale grey eye. She speaks quietly, with a vaguely amused tone...
"My, my,...the people you meet on rooftops..."
"Gypsy! What the Hell happened? Why are we *here*? I've been keeping
out of sight, once I found out I was tangible,...individual..."
The blond girl chuckles..."My dear, it seems that Time could use a
joint..." she jumps nimbly down to the feline zoomorph's side, and winks.
"Seems we cracked. Literally."
"But how?"
"Ahannos is screwing around with the astral plane. Lotsa magic, heavy
vibes. The barriers between the spiritual and the physical plane have been
"fuzzing out", so when someone is at low ebb, and "in tune" to that plane,
they are vulnerable to crossing it. InleRah split. We split. Some who haven't
split have 'crossed' in other ways." She licks her lips uncomfortably, and
glances at the Ivory Tower...
"So what do we do?"
"Get back to Inle. She may need us. I've been 'listening' to the rest
of us. Ms. Spock's looking into finding anything that might help from old
arcana,...Fury's gone..hunting. Flyte's all static, and Dreamchilde's useless.
Can't find Salome. Looks like it's you and me." She shrugs.
Songdancer swishes her tail irritably, and then nods. She follows the
blond girl up onto the roof, and inside through a repair duct. "Yay, building
codes..." she mutters, chafing at the confines and the acrid smell of the
metal. The two make their way to Trav's office shortly after he goes to check
on things, running into Ghost downstairs...they replace the grid covering the
duct carefully, and cautiously enter the room where Inle sits, in struggle. She
looks up upon their entering, and blinks in alarm...
"...the HELL?" she blurts out. Squinting, she recognizes faint
commonalities in the features..."Uh,...Shauneen? ...what?..."
Gypsy shrugs, and grins wryly..."It seems to be all the rage
lately,...you trend-setter, you... ...no, seriously, we're here to help.
We're just not all here. What can we do?"
User: Fireflyte... ...hail, hail, the gang's all...where? who?
Date: 27-Apr 11:29 AM 767446176
II.259
"Did I ever mention," Drakehart says off-handidly, "that I'm one of the few
people who can play DOOM with my eyes closed?"
He smiles and an image of a scorpion under a sun-heated rock flickers through
your mind.
User: I gotta show Electric Boogaloo "Brain Dead"
Date: 27-Apr 01:39 PM 767454014
II.260
Next @ the VVC: And then there were five...
===============================================================================
Having concluded his conversation with the mysterious LYDIA, TRAVELER
walks into the Kitchen, and over to the cellar door. "I know it won't hasten
things...but I'm going to go down again and see if they've showed up," he says
to himself.
The lights seem to have failed in the cellar, so he takes a flashlight from
beside the door. His footsteps echo amidst the wine racks. Suddenly there is
a flare of blinding light from the west wall. Trav reflexively crouches down,
throwing up an arm against the glare. From nowhere a wind pours through the
chamber...and now the light forms a brilliant doorway. The silhouette of a
human figure forms in the radiance, and emerges. He watches as another one
follows...and another...and two more. "Five?" he says under his breath, as the
light begins to fade. "Only five? But that means..."
One of the new arrivals steps forward, but Traveler's eyes are too dazzled
to identify him, even in the beam of his flashlight. "Wh-what happened?"
"We lost one," a low, male voice says quietly.
"How? Who??"
"It was like this..."
User: Traveler
Date: 27-Apr 04:24 PM 767463858
II.261
Cado walks out of the temple...out to the water's edge again. He climbs
up onto a steep rock and stares out over the water. The clouds are still
swirling rapidly in the sky, black and gray from the strange energy that
circles the temple. The water is restless and choppy...mostly grey with many
white peaks...rolling and turning...
_I've got to concentrate_ he thinks. _I don't know how I'm going to
stand up to him...I can barely keep myself up._
Cado tries to relax his mind, but it is a difficult feat for all the
tension he feels knowing that Ahannos will be upon him any minute. He lets the
sounds of the wind and the crashing waves fill his head. Softly, as if from
very far away, he hears the song again...It builds slowly...quietly...until it
becomes solid in his mind. Almost without his awareness, the wind wraps around
him...and before he realizes it, he is out over the water once again, with a
swirling pool of foam below him...The song continues to flow through him...he
swoops and sways with each note, the wind moving with him...
Suddenly the seas become turbulent with a fury like never before.
Cado whirls around to see the old man hovering above the water about 100 yards
away. <> Cado hears the words of the old man in his mind.
<>
The music becomes strained...distorted...Cado's mind begins to cloud...
_Oh, no you don't, old man!_ Cado concentrates to rid himself of the spell
Ahannos is casting. Slowly, painstakingly, calmness returns to him. <>
With that, a large gusher of water spouts up directly under Cado...
Cado dodges it just in time to avoid being completely engulfed...only to crash
into the second spout that Ahannos raised directly behind him. Completely
soaked and lost for all concentration, he begins to fall out of the sky, to the
water below. As he falls, he hears the laughter of the old man in his mind...
Completely enraged, he musters every bit of concentration he can and
catches himself just above the water. He swoops up and jets straight for
Ahannos, pulling with him a large wave intended to roll Ahannos into the rocky
shore.
Ahannos stays steadfast where he is, just chuckling to himself.
<>
The wave disperses into thin air, sending Cado tumbling head over
heels above the temple. He tries to regain himself, but is so exhausted he can
barely concentrate... <>
Cado finds himself flying through the air on a straight collision
course with the temple spire...faster and faster...he can see the tip of the
spire homing straight in on his heart...
Suddenly, he feels himself shoot straight up, away from the temple...
_What? Did he spare me?_ He looks down at the old man. Ahannos is tumbling
over the water, doubled up like he took a punch in the stomach...
_the HELL?_
"Howdy stranger..." Cado whirls around to see Romantic hovering in the
air behind him, the portal key dangling from her neck. He suddenly feels
strong again, and regains control...
"You didn't expect to survive fighting him alone, did you?" She says,
scoldingly...
Cado is at a loss for words. "I...I had to...I knew...You know--"
"--I know," she interrupts. "I swear, you're the greatest attempted
martyr I've ever seen. Let's get out of here."
With that, Romantic takes hold of his hand, and together they dart down
toward the balcony entrance to the altar, where the portal awaits them...
The old man's voice comes through clear and strong in their minds...
<> he bellows. <> With that, Ahannos sends a crushing wind with forces beyond any known
hurricane toward the fleeing pair.
Rom tenses up, frightened. "Relax!" says Cado quickly... "It will go
through you."
Cado and Rom turn to face Ahannos and his wind, blocking out everything
in their minds except the sea and them. They join hands and link their
forces...
The wind crashes upon them...but barrels completely through them, as if
they were not there! Finally, the nightmare gale passes, and they remain
untouched. Ahannos looks quite worse for the wear, and quite infuriated. He
goes after them instead.
"How did you know it would go through us?" Rom queries.
"I didn't," Cado replies guiltily. Rom glares at him for a second.
"Well, let's get out of here...we made it, but I don't think the temple was so
lucky..."
And certainly, the temple has taken the brunt of the wind, and is now
beginning to shake and crumble on it's foundation. Cado and Rom dart into the
balcony window with Ahannos following close behind...
User: Cado
Date: 28-Apr 10:44 PM 767573064
II.262
Next @ the VVC: How RECYCLER saved the day...
===============================================================================
"It was like this," says Drakehart, as he stands in the Cafe cellar, and
begins the story...
...CADO has just run off to find Ahannos, and presumably engage him in a
one-on-one battle. Seconds later, two parties of zombies have cornered the
rest
of them in a corridor, and an all-out fight for life has begun. Luckily,
Drakehart had a few special items: a handgun, a shotgun, and a chainsaw. Those
went to DELIRIUM, SANCTUARY, and himself, respectively. ROMANTIC has picked up
some understanding of the magic forces that the place was awash in, and is
able to use them to generate winds, fireballs, and other diversions. And
RECYCLER? He appears to have nothing except his towel...
"Fall back!" shouts Sanctuary, as he blasts a couple of the undead to
smithereens, and crouches to reload. The party has mostly incapacitated the
guards in the group behind them, but those ahead of them are still numerous,
and advancing. Drakehart darts briefly from the front to the rear, in order
to run his chainsaw through one of the enemy. Meanwhile, Delirium covers the
front, plugging away at the zombies with her Walther PPK.
"We should be able to backtrack and take another route!" shouts Romantic
over the melee. Unable to stop the advance of the zombies blocking the way
ahead, the party gradually retreats, cutting down the last of those behind
them. When the path is clear, they take off running. Recycler trails behind,
whipping his rolled-up towel at the pursuing undead. "Hey, look, guys, I'm
holding 'em off! Ha ha ha!"
"Will you SHUT UP!?!?" shouts Drakehart. Recycler complies quickly.
At the next intersection, Romantic, in the lead, turns to Delirium,
carrying the map. "Which way?" Delirium points right...and sure enough, at
the end of the corridor in that direction, they see a staircase to the temple
level. "Let's go!"
As they reach the stairs, Sanctuary glances back and says, "That's strange
...they're not following us." Troubled, they make their way upstairs, and
finally emerge into the large temple chamber...
...Only to find that the guards have gotten there before them, by some
other route. Over a dozen hissing zombies now block their path. "This is
worse than being a tree at a loggers' convention!" Recycler whines.
"Do you realize how stupid a joke that was?" says Sanctuary. But
something odd has happened...the zombies have reeled back a bit, and some are
holding their heads.
"Gee, they've headaches this big, and they've got Ex-Dead-rin written
all over 'em! Get it? Ex-Dead-rin? They're zombies..." The rescue party
groans...but the zombies groan louder, and stagger around in actual pain.
"Your jokes are affecting them!" says Delirium. "I hate to say this...
but...but...TELL MORE!" A smile lights up Recycler's face--he's found an
audience.
"Hey, guys, great to be here tonight. Did you hear the one about the guy
who threw a watch out the window? He wanted to see time fly!" A couple of
the undead actually fall down and writhe on the floor...
User: Traveler
Date: 28-Apr 11:33 PM 767576019
II.263
Next @ the VVC: The last laugh...
===============================================================================
Suddenly Romantic senses Cado--in trouble. "I've got to go," she says
quietly, and runs toward a side door leading to a balcony. The others look
after her quizzically, but then return their attention to Recycler.
"Thirty days hath Septober, April, June and no wonder. All the rest have
peanut butter, except for my grandmother. She rides a little red tricycle!
Ha! I love that, especially the part about the tricycle..." Now over half the
guards have collapsed, twitching in pain.
"I don't believe it," says Drakehart. "He has a use after all."
"You all go ahead upstairs to the portal," says Recycler. "I'll talk to
these guys till Rom and Cado get back." The other three nod mutely, and head
for the stairs leading to the portal chamber. Delirium turns back briefly.
"Hey, Recycler...knock 'em dead."
He grins. "Live long and perspire!"
She winces, and heads up the stairs.
As Sanc, Drake and Delirium reach the stone dais, they find Cado and Rom
are already there. "We just flew in...long story," says Cado. The floor
beneath them suddenly trembles, and peering over the edge, they can see that
parts of the fortress' facade are crumbling and collapsing. "This place isn't
going to hold together much longer...we've got to open the portal and go.
Where's Recycler?"
"He's the reason we got through! He's holding off the zombies with bad
jokes," says Sanctuary. "Someone better go downstairs and get him--I'll do
it."
"Cover your ears," Romantic says with a wink. "I'm going to begin opening
the doorway, so make it fast...we have to run." Sanc nods, and darts down the
stairs. Rom holds the key out in front of her, and begins concentrating...
Downstairs in the temple, more zombies have come in, and now Recycler has
to direct his jokes to his front and rear. The undead audience is still
reacting fatally to his humor, but those who haven't yet been taken down by it
are slowly advancing. Sanctuary raises his shotgun and lets a couple shells
fly, almost clearing a path through to Recycler. "Come on!" he shouts. "We
have to go!"
But then the curtain over the doorway to the balcony is ripped in half
by a blast of wind...and Ahannos, looking angrier than ever, strides in. "YOU!
YOU SHALL SERVE! PREPARE TO BECOME THE SECOND SACRIFICE!" he screams at the
bewildered would-be comic. Recycler opens his mouth to speak--but Ahannos
has cast a shimmering bubble around him that renders him inaudible. The
stricken zombies, protected from his jokes, begin to rise again.
Quickly, Sanctuary sticks a couple more shells into his gun, raises it,
and fires straight at Ahannos--but the sorcerer's right arm comes up with
supernatural speed and deflects the blast. He turns towards Sanc. "Or would
YOU like to be the second sacrifice?" Ahannos makes a weird gesture with his
hands, as if about to cast a spell in Sanctuary's direction. Sanc leaps for
the stairs to the roof, as the wall behind where he'd been standing
disintegrates.
He runs upstairs to see the shining doorway already open, and Rom and
Cado the only two figures still on this side of it. "Come on! We've got to go
now! Where's Recycler?" Rom says.
"Ahannos has him! And he's coming after us! I tried to shoot him--"
"That gun is useless against him. And so are we, now. We have to go,"
Cado says grimly. "Come on, Sanc, Rom, through the portal!"
Sanctuary complies, but as Romantic is about to step in, she turns back.
"Can't we do something??"
Cado sighs. "I'll try." But as he turns toward the stairs, Ahannos
emerges, roaring. The old man hits Cado with a blast of wind, throwing him
into Romantic...and the two of them fall through the door of light...
The harbor vanishes behind them as they float through a brief, brilliant
tunnel...
...till they find their feet again in the cellar of the VVC...
User: Traveler
Date: 28-Apr 11:36 PM 767576240
II.264
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The choice of who would be Ahannos' second sacrifice--DRAKEHART,
DELIRIUM, SANCTUARY or RECYCLER--was, believe it or not, totally random. I
flipped two coins yesterday, and Dramagoatbopler's number came up. Perhaps
audience research would have led me to the same conclusion...but there it is...
:)
User: Traveler
Date: 28-Apr 11:39 PM 767576388
II.265
AUTHOR'S FURTHER NOTE: There's no way everything's gonna get wrapped up
tomorrow...so the conclusion to the story will have to be done after next
week's break. BUT I'll write enough tomorrow to leave y'all with some nice
juicy cliffhangers!
User: Trav sez "The Final Chapter of the Ahannos/Rave/Daricell Saga--in 2 wks"
Date: 28-Apr 11:42 PM 767576596
II.266
Maharet slipped into the elevator, past hurrying surgeons and nurses. She
wrinkled her nose at the many hospital smells. The doors shut behind her with
a metallic shunk.
Now the hard part. She sat down on the matt plastic floor, wondering again how
it was that elevators worked. She had ridden in a couple, a tortuous,
disorienting effect. She scanned the bare white walls for some device to
control it. There. A series of round buttons. Maharet let out a worried meow
at this predicament, then lept at the buttons. The elevator lurched into life,
stopping a few seconds later. Was this the floor?
She concentrated hard on her feelings from Zoroaster. The dark cloud was
hanging still.. above her. She leapt at the buttons again, and it moved.
There! The doors opened again, and zipped into the hallway. She darted from
room to room.. there! master!
She jumps to the bed, staring at Zoroaster's motionless face.
"Wake up, human." she says... "You are needed."
Zoroaster lay motionless, the hiss and moan of the iron lung the only sound.
Maharet sat upon his chest, musing. The dark cloud was deep in his mind. She
calmed herself, slipping into his mind. She felt memories they had experienced
together, trails of emotions and thoughts littering the conscious. There! A
great rip, rending from the top the cloud, a trail of darkness. She goes in.
A coldness familier to her clamps her heart. This evil, this evil is the same
evil seh had felt from the man in black. Wake wake up wherever you are, Zoro.
Wake up wake up.
Zoroaster still moved not. Maharet sniffs his face, mewling with concern. She
licks at his face, then, sadly, curls up beside him.
User: Maharet as rendered by Zoroaster
Date: 29-Apr 10:56 AM 767616981
II.267
SANCTUARY, DELIRIUM, CADO, ROMANTIC, DRAKEHART and TRAVELER sit at the bar
in the otherwise empty Black Room, away from the hustle and bustle of the rest
of the Cafe. They are sharing a quiet bottle from the wine cellar in honor of
RECYCLER. "Do you suppose the afterlife has clubs for bad comics to perform
in?" Rom speculates softly.
"Which afterlife?" Trav asks. "No, don't answer that. Who knows what
eternity holds?" He looks down into this glass reflectively.
"I wanted to save him...I tried..." Cado mumbles gloomily.
"So did I, man...but there was nothing we could do," Sanctuary says.
"Ahannos wasn't even nicked by two barrels from my shotgun."
"But I could have done more! I could have gotten to him--distracted
him--"
"Cado, you've done more than enough," Drakehart says. "Don't be so hard
on yourself."
"Maybe I did a lot...but he's still dead."
"You didn't kill him!! Anyway, Rom said Ahannos practically blasted you
two into the portal--you didn't have a chance to confront him." Cado shrugs,
and pours himself another drink.
After a moment, Traveler stands. "Guys...we can't sit around moping all
day. There are some things that need to be done--"
"How can you talk about the rave at a time like this!?" Cado bursts out.
"I wasn't talking about the rave! I'm talking about preparing for
Ahannos. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that he's going to come here?
He still needs the Cafe for his ritual to raise Atlantis, right? And tonight's
a full moon...a good time for magic. That's why I scheduled the rave for this
date. Look, I'm going to talk to Diq and Inle, and see if I can find Fireflyte
--she's missing or something. We'll have a meeting in this room later this
afternoon to brainstorm about the situation." He swigs the rest of his wine,
then walks over to Romantic. "Oh...if you didn't figure it out already...I'm
awfully glad to have you back safe and sound." She smiles, and they embrace.
Then he walks out towards the Red Room.
User: Traveler
Date: 29-Apr 11:21 AM 767618515
II.268
Next @ the VVC: Death sails a black ship...
===============================================================================
Ahannos stands over his altar, on which lies the lifeless corpse of
RECYCLER--after TREKKER, the second of the three deaths that he needs for the
working out of his great ritual. The old man, clad now in a black robe, raises
his hands, one of which holds a bloody dagger, and speaks clanging, ancient
words, as shocks and shudders from the collapse of the fortress rattle the
temple room.
He turns and walks out to the balcony overlooking the harbor. The ever-
grey sky above is churning now, as are the steel-colored waters below. The
magic that has held this place together for milennia is reaching a climax, and
the cycle is changing from preservation to destruction. It is time to leave.
Ahannos goes back inside and summons a couple zombies. At his command,
they walk around behind the altar to where a large, clouded-crystal hemisphere
is set in the wall. Faint lights seem to swim and pulse within the orb,
whose outer surface has the trident sigil of Atlantis etched in it. This is
the repository of magical energy that the sorcerer has been accumulating for
centuries in his voyages around the world. Now, finally, comes the time when
it is ready to be used...
The undead take hold of the sphere, and suddenly it comes free from its
niche in the wall. They bear it carefully out into the center of the room.
Ahannos points to the door and speaks, and they begin walking; he gathers a few
implements from around the room, then runs out to catch up with them.
Some moments later, the three figures emerge from a doorway at the bottom
of the cliffside fortress. Already, the upper stories that they have just
vacated are collapsing; with the removal of the magic orb, the decay is
accelerating. They must navigate their way through small piles of rubble, and
Ahannos looks up fearfully as dust and small bits of stone rain down on them.
They manage to reach the pier without being hit by any major rubble. The few
other zombies who remain accompany them out to the sleek form of Ahannos' ship,
now rigged for sailing, and help load the orb and stow it in a special wooden
stand set up on the raised foredeck.
Ahannos strides on board, and orders the zombies off on to the dock. He
quickly casts off, and the wind that ripples through the black sails pushes the
ship toward the narrow slit in the cliffs opposite the now nearly ruined
fortress. The group of undead standing on the dock watch blindly and
mindlessly as the ship retreats and their master abandons them.
The ancient sailor guides his vessel skilfully through the tight passage
leading out to the ocean. The very cliffs are crumbling now, and he barely
clears them before the entire passage is sealed by their collapse. The
mysterious islet is wreathed in fog as always, but as Ahannos moves away from
it, the mist clears for the first time in thirty centuries. The sun briefly
shines down upon the small piece of land; emptied of magic, it begins to
crumble into the sea, with only a cloud of dust to mark its passing.
"Now I ride the wind of Armageddon," Ahannos shouts, looking forward
across the sea. "Make peace with your gods, mortals...for I will give you
no peace, not until Atalani rises again from the ocean. I am on my way..."
Miles away in the Cafe, every patron and employee feels a brief chill,
despite the bright noon sunlight...
User: Traveler: Apocalypse Now Edit
Date: 29-Apr 11:56 AM 767620582
II.269
Upon hearing at the loss of some of his beloved Towels at the death of
Recycler, Perigrine can bear his passive role no longer. He calls upon the
Ancient masters of Towel-Fu to guide him in the way of the Cotton Warrior. As
the scene shifts back to a younger Perigrine at the feet of his master...
Lil' Peri: Oh, Master. I have stayed at the Laundromat since I was a boy, am
I now ready to enter the world as a Softener Priest?
The Fluffy One: As I told you years ago, Clothesdrier, when you can snatch
this
quarter from my hand, then you will be ready to leave the Laundromat and
pay for your own Spin-Cycle.
Lil' Peri: I remember, Sensei... *SNATCH* I got it, I got it!!!! :)
Fluffy: Excellent, Clotheshamper, but since you have been here, the price of
the Laundromat has gone up, it now costs 50 cents to wash your Towels!
Lil' Peri: :(
Deep within Perigrine, the torments of his training will serve him well
as he goes off to face the horrible Ahannos, the one who dirtied his towels
with
Recycler's Blood! Nothing can stop him until...
User: Perigrine runs into Max Again and decides to go back to the Towel Room.
Date: 29-Apr 01:53 PM 767627781
II.270
Between DARICELL and Cardinal XIMINEZ there falls a shadow. She looks
up. A guard has walked up outside the jail cell, and says, "Hurry up, please,
it's time."
"Let us go then, you and I," she says, in a very small voice, and stands.
The Cardinal, who has actually been gazing out the window, turns and
notices the guard now. "Wha-?"
"Oh, do not ask what is it," Daricell says. "Let us go and make
our visit."
_And human voices wake us...and we drown_, she thinks as the steel
door is rolled back with a slam...
User: The Love Song Of J. Alfred Traveler
Date: 29-Apr 03:37 PM 767634035
II.271
Next @ the VVC: Albatross picks some strange herbs...
===============================================================================
In the Ivory Tower, ECSTASY peers out from behind thick velvet curtains.
The sunlight burns, and she quickly closes the drapes. Something is making her
restless, disturbing her midday sleep. But what? She paces back and forth on
the Persian carpet. Finally, she starts to grasp what it is...something small
...something missing, or misplaced...why can't she remember?
She goes around behind the small bar, and rummages through the junk
there. Ah! That's it! The weird coin that the old sailor used to pay for his
drink way back when. She picks it up...and immediately drops it. It is hot to
the touch, and seems to radiate an unbearable glow, at least to her sensitive
eyes. Somehow it is this old thing that's making her mind itch. She just
wants to get back to sleep, and in a fit of annoyance, picks the coin up, opens
the north window of the Tower, and pitches it out...
In the Blue Room, ALBATROSS and ROARK are sitting at a couple terminals,
Birkenstock-clad feet resting on the carrels. Then Roark swings her legs to
the floor and stands. "Well, TRAVELER wanted me to take a look at the decor
for the rave site...I guess I'll go do that now. Wanna come?"
"Mmm...no...I think I'll just do a little work in the gardens," Albatross
replies. "See you later." He drifts out to the decorative garden north of the
Red Room. Wandering around the Zen rock garden, he notices something
disturbing the perfect simplicity of its raked gravel--something glinting and
metallic. He steps out to pick it up, marring the swirly patterns with his
footprints. It is the old coin...and the moment he touches it, the old power
floods back. Everything seems to go dim, or rather, to appear in a different
light; suddenly a sense of purpose returns.
He looks back at the Cafe, then begins walking. He climbs the new outside
staircase at the corner where the Red and White Rooms meet, and unlocks the
side door to the Greenhouse with his personal key. Inside, he goes to the
small ceramic pot where grows the tiny blossom that Ahannos gave him during
his visit to the sorcerer's temple. It has put out a number of leaves now,
and he begins picking them off carefully. Dimly, he can see what he must do:
extract a drug from the leaves, which he will give to the Cafe patrons tonight
at the rave. He is not sure exactly what it will do...only that this is his
mission, and he must not fail...
User: Traveler
Date: 29-Apr 04:15 PM 767636131
II.272
And that is where we leave you, for the next week...
* Will ALBATROSS send the whole raving Cafe on the biggest trip of them all?
* Will DARICELL meet her fate in the gas chamber, as the Man in Black has
arranged?
* Will ZOROASTER ever recover from his coma?
* Will INLERAH defeat her dark half Richard, or be defeated by him?
* Will anyone ever put FIREFLYTE back together again?
* Will PERIGRINE, Towel Boy Extraordinaire, find a mission for his talents?
* Will ECSTASY venture forth again to feed on the blood of the living?
* Will TRAVELER's long-awaited rave be a success?
* Or will the entire Cafe--perhaps the entire world--be destroyed by Ahannos in
his mad bid to restore Atlantis?
Find out the answers to all these questions and more, when the Virtual Vax Cafe
returns, in just over one week... :)
User: Traveler: Super Ultra Cliffhanger Version
Date: 29-Apr 04:41 PM 767637747
II.273
#6 A n n o u n c e m e n t
#6 -----------------------
The most recent issue of WIRED Magazine features an ad calling for entries
for a contest called "New Voices New Visions." They are interested in any
kind of artwork created on and for computers; the only entry requirements are
that the pieces be "digital works, ANY LENGTH ANY FORMAT ANY SUBJECT." The
dealine is (postmark) June 30, 1994.
Well, as you might have guessed after reading this far, I'm thinking about
entering our own VVC. :) Due credit would go to everyone involved...in fact
I think I'll be making an official list (after consulting the archives) of
everyone in the "VVC Creative Group." Also, I'm going to write an essay on
the significance of works like the VVC, their precedents, their implications,
etc. Any input is welcome. I'll keep y'all posted on this...
Oh, one of the things that convinced me to do this was seeing who's going to be
judging the entries. Quite a panel!...including Laurie Anderson, William
Gibson, Terry Gilliam, and a bunch of others...
User: Traveler sez "p.s. they're giving 3 $5000 awards of merit!"
Date: 5-May 01:18 AM 768100746
II.274
Uh-oh... :(
I've been trying to get the most recent sections of the Cafe Archives (in
my UNIX account) organized. While doing so, I discovered that some sections
are MISSING. Namely, these are:
Any posts made AFTER April 6, 3:22 pm, and BEFORE April 11, 5:34 pm
(including the sections where Traveler and Cado are in the stone circle
in the woods near the Cafe)
Any posts made AFTER April 20, 11:22 pm, and BEFORE April 26, 4:58 pm
(including the sections in which the rescuers find Romantic in Ahannos'
dungeon).
I know a couple people (Fireflyte, Bullwinkle?) were keeping their own
extracted copies of the VVC story at some point. Has anyone got these
posts? I hope they aren't lost forever. Somehow they apparently disappeared
in mail, between my VAX and UNIX accounts. >:< I'm pissed...I will not trust
mail any more, and from now own will FTP the stuff right from VAX to a
diskette.
User: Traveler
Date: 6-May 11:53 PM 768268417
II.275
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
Da Da Da Da,
Da Da Da Da,
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
Their villains are infernal,
The writers, quite nocturnal,
Their storylines eternal,
V V V V V C!
The Cafe's full of antics,
And Traveler's rave is frantic,
Ahannos has Romantic
V V V V V C!
The Man in Black is killing,
And Zoro's blood he's spilling
And no one's ever billing (at)
V V V V V C!
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
Da Da Da Da,
Da Da Da Da,
Da Da Da Da!
**snap!** **snap!**
User: Dark Lady/Daricell Copperpot, bored in jail...
Date: 9-May 01:33 PM 768490429
II.276
DL: heheh...
And now...we continue with the Virtual Vax Cafe...featuring the debut of a new
writer... :)
===============================================================================
Ahannos' ship cuts throught the water, with seeming disregard for any
mortal winds or currents. The wizard stares across the ocean, yet even his
enhanced vision cannot yet pick out the shoreline where the Cafe sits yet.
The glowing globe has been placed in a temporary frame by the two zombies
whose sole job is to watch over it. Ahannos abruptly turns away from his
watching and makes a small notion to the undead pair, then heads inside.
The zombies carefully pick up the globe and follow their master inside the
ship.
Down below, most of the inside of the ship is taken up by a single,
elaborate room. Strange sigils stain the floor, unholy tapestries hang from the
sides, and strange devices litter the room. The other zombies are here,
awaiting a further command. Ahannos glances at them, and his brow furrows.
Surely not that many were lost in the fight with those mortals? A quick count
seems to spur him into decision, and he starts ordering the zombies to assemble
something in the middle of the room....
Back at the Cafe, news of the death of RECYCLER has reached almost
everyone now, and the mood has become even blacker than it has been lately.
The survivors of the expedition are still gathered around a table, trying
to come to terms with what happened. A knock is heard at the door to the Cafe.
Some of the patrons glance towards the door...no-one ever knocks! The man in
the blue moose cap, being closest to the door, answers it. LYDIA stands in the
doorway, colorful as ever, the black trenchcoat muting any features. Her face
seems more worried than last time she visited.
"Hi. I came to see TRAVELER. My name's Lydia," she cheerfully declaims
and extends her hand to the man. He seems to size her up for a moment, and she
feels a momentary (imagined?) twinge of nervousness as his eyes bore into her.
Then his face breaks into a semblance of a smile.
"Some call me...ROLAND," the man states, "I'm rather new here myself,
but I'll help you look for him. Haven't seen him recently, though. Come on in."
Lydia sweeps past Roland into the Cafe, and Roland closes the door
behind her. He throws a momentary sharp look at her back, as if trying to
divine something about her. They head towards the other rooms, to see if they
can find Traveler.
They enter the red room. Few patrons are here now, despite the skill of
the piano player. Roland walks up to the lady playing and introduces her to
Lydia.
"TATOOINE, may I present Lydia. I'm trying to help her find Traveler."
"A pleasure to meet you," Tatooine says, "I'm afraid I haven't seen him
lately either."
"Nice to meet you too. Pardon for asking, but is it always this...slow
here?" Lydia asks as her eyes take in the nearly deserted room.
"That's the funny thing," Tattoine replies, "I'm new here myself, and
it seems like there are some strange things going on here that are keeping
people away from the finer things in life--like music!" She starts to play a
happy little tune on the piano. "I'll tell you what, though," she says over
the
music, "why don't I help you find Traveler? Maybe he can tell me what's on
everyone's mind here."
"Alright," agrees Lydia, "I think he's upstairs."
Tattoine lets the song fade, stands up, and the three of them head
upstairs to find Traveler...
Outside the cafe, all the equipment for the rave seems to be in place.
GHOST is surveying the maze of scaffolding supporting the laser and sound
equipment. PERIGRINE, the towel-boy, wanders up to him. Ghost notices a strange
gleam in his eye, but knows better than to ask.
"I thought you were..." Peregrine begins, then hesistantly finishes,
"somewhere else..."
Ghost gives him a strange look and says, "Never underestimate the power
of a cow. Besides, the rave is very important to me. You see that laser up
there?"
Perigrine looks up and sees a laser mounted at the top of the highest
scaffolding. It is at least forty feet long, and appears to have many scratches
on it, where something that was written on it was rubbed out. Hundreds of
cables emerge from the end of it, some snake down the scaffolding to nearby
generators, some run back to the Cafe, and some appear to run into the ground
itself.
"Er....what is it?," Perigrine asks as he studies the giant object.
"It's for a very special effect I'll be doing later on in the rave...I
got it from some...sources of mine in the government. I don't think they
realized what they had," Ghost mumbles as his eyes trace the outlines of the
laser greedily.
Perigrine shakes his head, and heads back to the relative normalacy of
his beloved towel-room. Maybe I'll just stay there for a while, he thinks to
himself. Ghost continues his final adjustments, mumbling to himself...
Aboard Ahannos' dark vessel, the interior has changed to the point
where the room in no way resembles the inside a great ship. A fire has
been lit in the middle of the room, and the shadows seem to blend the edges of
the room, making it appear much bigger than it is. At Ahannos' order, a large,
rag-encovered, bundle is brought before him. Ahannos carefully arranges it, and
starts sprinkling odd herbs and powders over the shape. The globe, set in a
corner, begins to glow with an eerie light as the wizard's mumbled inconations
grow in speed and strength. Strange lights begin to swirl from the orb into the
bundle at Ahannos' feet. Even the zombies start to shrink back as the dark
forces swell in intensity, casting the room in strange colors that start to
drown out the light of the fire. The Atlantian's hands begin tomove in a blur
as
the spell reaches its climax...
User: Some call him...Bullwinkle!
Date: 9-May 01:50 PM 768491455
II.277
Suddenly, God's hard drive has a head crash.
*grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnndddddddddd*
"Shit!" God exclaims, hitting the reset button as he pops in a rescue disk.
The machine slowly, painfully reboots from floppy. A simple utility menu
pops up. God, muttering to himself angerily, selects the "Diagnose HardDrive"
option.
There's a lot of whirring and clicking and humming as the computer checks out
its hard drive. Red check marks begin to dominate the list of items being
checked.
"Aw hell," God sighs. "I just lost Earth! Damnit, my last backup is over a
week old too..." He sighs again, exits the utility menu and goes straight to
the DOS prompt.
C:UNIVERSE\SOLSYS\EARTH> FDISK C:
User: Psychosis Paradigm
Date: 9-May 02:07 PM 768492475
II.278
That could explain a lot of things... :)
Next @ the VVC: Countdown to rave time...
===============================================================================
ROARK strides around the rave site, sketchbook in hand, critiquing the
decor with the head of the set-up crew. "All right, I see the idea, a nice
open ring surrounded by the lighting and sound scaffolds. But...but it's so
minimalist, so Pompidou Center! Exposed pipes and cables are not tres chic
any more, I'm afraid. Form follows function, sure, but I've got some nice
fabrics we could dress the place up with. Oh, and this is Divine Rebirth,
right? The return of the gods? So let's see some gods! I've got a handle on
some reproductions of classical statuary left over from an old Broadway
show...I can have it flown in by tonight..." She takes out a small cellular
phone and punches a number.
Meanwhile, a scruffy-looking young man with long blond hair wanders around
wearing headphones and holding some odd-looking sound equipment. Periodically
he sets one piece--a small speaker--down on the ground, and fiddles with some
knobs built into the back of it, until it begins producing odd synthesized
warbles, bleeps, arppeggios, and bursts of white noise. As the speaker shoots
sound in a given direction, he holds up a microphone, and walks around to
sample the sound from different points.
"Who's that?" one of the technicians asks another.
"Tex Hapwin...he's one of the rave DJs. Builds all his own electronics,
and also likes to do an `acoustic survey' of every site beforehand. I hear
the effects he can get are amazing...directional sound that you can only
hear from certain places, subsonics that you can't even hear, just feel,
ultrasonics that'll break glass..."
"As long as he doesn't damage any of our equipment," the other tech says,
shaking his head.
Back in the Blue Room, GHOST has returned to his mini-Fortress-of-
Solitude: a computer terminal walled off from the rest of the room by a black
curtain. Inside the jury-rigged cubicle, colored and ultraviolet lights cast a
weird glow over the pale face of Ghost, who types feverishly at the console,
working on the master control program for the rave's lighting system.
"Dammit!" he says. "The code the cows gave me is incomplete--it doesn't take
into account the power flow through the big laser's emission chamber. How
am I going to do the math for a reconfiguration by tonight? Even networking
all the computers in this room together wouldn't be enough..."
User: Traveler
Date: 9-May 02:43 PM 768494631
II.279
VVC: Skippy Podar strikes again...
===============================================================================
There is a crackling, sputtering sound, and a pale, shimmering figure
appears behind Ghost. "Greetings and salivations!" the person says, adjusting
the pair of goofy-looking springy antennae on his head.
Ghost whirls around. "ENTERPRISE! I heard you showed up some days ago...
but then you beamed out and left only a can of Spam[tm] potted meat product!"
"Yeah, 'fraid so. Durn polar orbits don't give me a very big transporter
window, so I could only stop by for a sec. I woulda taken the Spam up with me,
but the stuff just won't go through a matter beam, for some reason. Probably
the biofilter identifies it as a toxic substance." He giggles.
"But...but what are you doing here now? Wait...you're NOT here!" Ghost
says, and waves his hand _through_ Enterprise's midsection.
"Hey, d'you mind? Yeah, I'm a hologram, but please respect my personal
space! I'm projecting this image of myself because..." He concentrates for
a moment, then his clothing suddenly changes to a white robe. "Help me,
Obi-Wan Ghost, you're my only hope!"
"Quit playing around, will ya? What's going on?"
"Well, I'm having a little problem with my inertial stabilizers. The
long and short of it is...I'm not sure I can make it tonight," Enterprise says
reluctantly.
"Not sure you can make it! But it's going to be the highlight of the
rave! Plus I've got a VBI man breathing down my back...he expects to see some
action!"
"Wellllll...we MIGHT be able to arrange something. But you'll have to
guide me in from the ground...can you send up a navigation beam of some kind?"
"I've got just the thing," Ghost says. "Some surplus from the S.D.I.
project. I was gonna try and draw my initials on the moon with it, but I
guess it would make a decent navigation beam too. Oh, but I need a favor from
you in return."
"What's that? Hurry up, my signal's degrading," Enterprise says, and sure
enough, he begins to flicker.
"The equations for the lighting set-up are just too complex! I don't
know if I can get the master control program to run them...that is, if I can
even finish working them out."
"Let me see," Enterprise says, leaning over Ghost's shoulder to look at
his computer screen. "Oh, there's your problem...just carry the two! Whoa...
I think I'm going out of range...Jane, stop this crazy thinnngggg..." And as
Enterprise's signal fades, his image dissolves and vanishes.
User: Traveler
Date: 9-May 02:45 PM 768494763
II.280
Umm... Bullwinkle?
> Back at the Cafe, news of the death of RECYCLER has reached almost
>everyone now, and the mood has become even blacker than it has been lately.
Why?
User: SYLVAR
Date: 9-May 07:17 PM 768511030
II.281
In an effort to stop the evil Martial Arts Army of Darkness forming at the
Evil Dr. Static "Ahannos" Kling, the Virtual British Secret service seeks out
a Master of Towel Fu to destroy the legions of Zombie Ninjas. This time...
it's Bruce Towelee in....
** E N T E R T H E T O W E L B O Y **
Agent Cottington: My government is prepared to offer you 50,000 pounds to join
Kling's army as our agent.
Bruce Towelee: I'm afwaid you undewestimate me... your people and mine have a
differwent set of values.
Cottington: True. You must understand the survival of the free world is at
stake.
Master Towelee: You must understwand, Cottington... geogwaphical boundwies are
of no signifigance to me. I owe my awigiance to a higher source...
Cottington: Ah, but you'll have a chance to kill 50.. maybe 60 people!
User: Perigrine thinks he's been watching the Kentucky Fried Cafe too much.
Date: 10-May 00:56 AM 768531453
II.282
LEEZA GIBBONS: "What a ROUSING performance, Mr. Podar! How did you do it?"
SKIPPY: "Well, I have to thank my actors on that one. They really help to
bring out the glamour of the role."
LEEZE GIBBONS: "Is there anyone else you'd like to thank?"
SKIPPY: "Yes, two people. One, TRAVELER for bringing my character back from
the dead, and Two...Madame Crustacea Fong, without whom, I would
have nothing." 8)
LEEZA GIBBONS: "Thank you, Mr. Podar. This is Leeza Gibbons for Entertainment
Tonight. Back to you John..."
SKIPPY: "Oh wait! Can I thank the girls down at the lodge. They helped out
too. Oh! And those wonderful people down at the Free Clinic.
There saints I tell's ya! Oh...and of course, my pet scorpion
Gilgamesh. He's been off his feed lately, but were hoping he'll
snap out of it after his body stops trying to reject those silicone
stinger implants." 8)
LEEZE GIBBONS: "Uh...yeah." *whispers to the camera crew* "Call security."
User: Skippy..."Ahannos: Fashion Plate, or just an icky guy? You decide!"...8)
Date: 10-May 07:41 AM 768555771
II.283
Traveler suddenly notices a strange smell of brimstone in the air.
"What the hell?" he exclaims.
"Er, well," Dr. Drakehart says, looking a bit embarassed.
"What is it man?!" Traveler nearly yells.
"Well, like, you know there's all this stuff with the magic and thinning walls
of reality and all... And I was listening to Slayer's "Decade Of Aggression"
double album set and... well... er..."
Traveler sighs and shakes his head. "Great, just great," he mutters. He looks
around and notices several imps that weren't there before. He yells.
"Don't worry though!" Dr. Drakehart says, hauling out his chainsaw. "I'll
take care of it!" He grins and a nearby patron faints.
User: Psychosis Paradigm (DOOMCad!)
Date: 10-May 01:14 PM 768575709
II.284
...shortly before the return of Ecstacy from her hunting, the thin, mannish
girl looks up from the tome she has been reading in the dim light of the Ivory
Tower's study...slowly, deliberately, she crosses to return the book to its
place among the collected knowledge in the Tower's library. She descends the
stairs without a glance to the doorman, and passes through the Red Room to the
Black Room, seemingly mellow, in contrast to the slowly-rising energy and
anticipation before the Rave...
Glasses glowing faintly in the blacklights, the girl crosses deliberately to a
far corner of the room, and takes a seat at a small table, until then occupied
by one shadowed figure. She begins speaking without ceremony.
"You've been dodging the rest of us. I won't go into why right now, I
frankly don't care. But I will warn you that if you hinder our reintegration,
you'll die, too. Songdancer tells me the storm is coming fast. I've looked
among some of the old texts, and hopefully we will be able to help buffer the
key players in this wonderful little battle, unravelled though we are. Do as
you will, but remember there are larger songs being sung here. Fury's 'with'
Richard right now, whether he wants it or not, but he's not the only ragged
edge. If you want to help, help those who need healing."
...that said, the stiff young woman rises, and crosses to the Blue
Room. In the shadows, a figure sighs...
User: Fireflyte... ...if we shadows have offended...
Date: 11-May 02:15 AM 768622625
II.285
VVC: Last council before the storm...
===============================================================================
In TRAVELER's office, CADO, ROMANTIC, INLERAH, TRAVELER, DIQMAN, and a
couple "fragments" of FIREFLYTE are gathered for a midday meeting. "Thanks
for the doughnuts, Diqman," Trav says. "Now let's get down to business. Is
everyone agreed that Ahannos is probably coming to the Cafe via ship?"
"No question," says Cado. "The key that I took is the only way he
had to open the gateway between his fortress and the Cafe. Anyway, when we
left, his fortress was starting to fall apart--partly from our conflict, and
partly from the incredible buildup of magic. I would think he would have
evacuated shortly afterward."
"Yep," agrees Romantic. "He's made the second sacrifice by now, I'm sure
--you-know-who--but he told me that there have to be three for the spell to
work. And from other things he said, I'm sure that he's going to use the Cafe
as the location for the final part of the ritual."
"Forces like he's trying to unleash, though, would probably destroy this
place, and all of us. And if he's willing to destroy his own fortress, I
don't think he'll mind wiping the Cafe out too," says Traveler.
"I have endeavoured to analyze the dynamics of his magicks," contributes
one of the avatars of Fireflyte, a thin, cold-looking young woman. "This
affair will follow the universal law of karma."
"How do you mean?" Trav asks with a frown.
"Atlantis fell despite its great use of magic--except that I do not
believe that it was despite, but because of. Their dependence on magic doomed
them, and the vast energies which they worked with appear to have fed back on
themselves. It may also be the case that the uses to which they put their
magic, namely oppressive ones, affected its quality, and that somehow the
cataclysm that overtook them was a kind of rebalancing of the scales."
"Payback," says Traveler. Cado and Rom look at each other and nod, both
intuitively grasping that this must be what happened.
"But don't you see?" says Inlerah. "He's going for some kind of polarity
shift. All the force he's accumulated through the centuries--a fraction of
which was enough to turn our lives upside down--is going to be used to flip
things around. Atlantis sunk under the weight of its own sins; if he's going
to raise it up again, all that weight has got to go somewhere."
"Out into the world," says Cado darkly. "He's going to spew all the
ancient blackness and evil of Atlantis out into the world..."
"That wouldn't just destroy the Cafe," adds Rom. "That would destroy...
everything."
Trav looks at his watch. "And we have...probably less than twelve hours
to figure out how to stop him. I do have one or two ideas, though. Inle,
Fireflyte, both of you--er, all of you--have a kind of sensitivity that goes
beyond what most of the rest of us have. I realize that you have your own
problems to work out...but, in the process of that, if you could keep a kind of
psychic lookout for anything unusual, and report to me as soon as you sense
something, we'd have an early warning system. Cado, Romantic, you two have
experience with Ahannos, and you've developed some sensitivity too, so you
need to stay alert as well. Plus you might know some of his weak spots."
He turns to the baker. "Diq, I have something special in mind for you.
Take a look at these." He passes over a sheaf of yellowed parchments. "Think
you can whip up a couple of these recipes?"
"Welllll, it's not anything like what I learned at Publix..." He smiles.
"But if you can supply me with some of these exotic ingredients, I'll try..."
User: Traveler
Date: 11-May 04:20 PM 768673235
II.286
VVC: Meet me at the back of the Rave Bus [tm]...
===============================================================================
In the parking lot across the street, NORM! is busy with some cans of
paint. SANCTUARY strolls over to talk. "Hey, Taco Bus man, are you making any
more runs into town today?"
"Yeah, unfortunately." He gestures at the side of the bus, where the
words TACO BUS are being transformed by his paintbrush into RAVE BUS.
"Traveler wants me to pick up ravers and bring them back here. I just know I'm
gonna hate it...these people are going to be weird. Those new folks--AQUA22
and ROLAND--were telling me about how these raves are. Sounds like exactly the
kind of thing I'd hate."
"Yeah, these kids have sucky taste in music. Techno took a wrong turn
when it diverged from industrial. Anyway, let me know when you're leaving; I
need a lift into the City. I don't think I wanna be here tonight either. I
get the feeling some real strange stuff is going down..."
User: Traveler
Date: 11-May 04:32 PM 768673979
II.287
*perks her ears and diverts her attention from hunting*
Did someone mention industrial??????
*conjures a walkman and starts listening to Front 242*
User: ECSTASY
Date: 12-May 00:05 AM 768701117
II.288
*way, wa-a-a-a-ay back a day or two, before the rescue party to Ahannos'
Island*
...the gaunt, pale figure descended the stairs into the darkness of the
cellar..."Hello Baby Bunting,...Fury's come a-hunting..." ...the darkness
envelops her as she follows the scent she caught in the Black Room. The very
air feels thick and dark, a faint smell of sour spilled wine rising muskily
from the stone floor where Albatross had last struck Cado with a wine bottle...
A near-inaudible scrape of her boots carries to Richard's ears, as his
head swirls with dark conflicts and the voice of his other self. He half rises
from sitting, a snarl escaping as he spies the movement of the silent huntress.
"Who...? Oh, you." his words drop like vinegar from cold lips...a low, dark
laugh echoes from her, as she speaks,...
"Hello, dearie..." her eyes narrow as she strides nearer, all pretense
and lurking gone. She licks her lips, looking the shadowy figure up and down
appraisingly..."I must admit, I'm getting to appreciate the fringe benefits of
incarnation...what say you and I go and..uh...breed a little contempt...?"
Richard growls a thick curse and squares off with the woman, circling
left...she gives a bored sigh, and replies laconically, "No, I suppose not,...
pity, that." With a sudden movement she holds a slender knife in her left hand.
Richard leaps to the rack nearest him, and with lightning quickness secures a
Johnny Walker cudgel for himself, flinging a bottle of B&B at her. It wings her
right shoulder as she dodges, and he takes advantage of this window to fly past
her and up the steps. His mind surges clear with the copper taste of battle,
and his lips curl into a cruel grin as he ducks through the side door, and
under the counter of the Red Room bar, deserted after closing for the evening,
...finally!!! the freedom to strike, tear, claw, beat, maim... ...and some
entertainment, too--too many bloody sheep around, too easy to kill, to weak or
clueless to enjoy... Now, he can play.
...Fury bursts through the door a splitsecond later, barely ducking in
time to avoid the bottle/club as he swings. She dives back over the bar, and
leaps back up onto it seven or eight feet down. Richard flings the bottle,
diving forward to grab her ankle as she ducks. Teeth meet bootleather as she
tries to kick off with her other foot, and he sweeps her off the counter,
landing her into one of the small round tables dotting the area. A sickly
hollow thud pulls a grunt and another hissing curse as she scrambles back, eyes
flaming coals of hatred and anger. It is Richard's turn to grin as he notes her
favoring her right side slightly.
"Mmmmm,...nice night for a barbeque,--what say we have ribs tonight?"
He lunges forward, and she falls over two chairs with a frantic kick. Grabbing
a third, she manages to smash it against him before he closes the distance.
"BITCH!!" he spits out, along with half a bloody tooth.
Scrambling over and past three tables, she turns with a sneer,
"What'samatter, old man...? 'Fraid you'll have to gum me to death?" She
ducks as a heavy ceramic centerpiece flies by her right ear. She laughs
viciously, eyes wide and wild, "Little Richard Rabbit, Hopping thru the forest,
scooping up the field mice, and bashing in their heads! Hop hop to it,
babycakes,..."
Growling, Richard flings another centerpiece as he half-circles to the
left to flank her, "Words are cheap, Flytingale, ...you gonna squeak all day,
or do I haveta go get the duct tape and grease?" The sarcasm washes through
Richard like a balm of blood and aloe. The anger in his mind blocking the
irritating presence of Inlerah, he revels in the refreshing wash of dark
energies, swirling through his head like a heavy mead... ...he deflects
another chair as Fury dashes to the outside door, kicking it solidly above the
lock to burst it open. As she bolts outside, he follows, feeling freer than he
has in days. The dark energies give him no barrier to this quarry, probably
since she isn't an entire life anyway, and this means he can vent the pent up
frustration that has been building and building and building...
Weaving through the gardens, Fury takes off for the trees, slowed
partly by the cracked ribs in her right side, but just fast enough that Richard
cannot seem to close the gap easily. As the two disappear into the fringe of
the
forest, a tan-and-white patched tomcat silently follows the chase with solemn
eyes, and then turns toward the stairs to the roof, footfalls silent in the
nighttime darkness...
User: Fireflyte... ...in case you wondered how we got out of the cellar...
Date: 12-May 02:12 AM 768708792
II.289
ECSTASY slithers into the bar area after hearing the sounds of a life-and-death
struggle. She looks around with hunter's eyes at the mess that ensued after
the brawl. "Looks like my leather clad minions will be busy tonight cleaning.
Mmmm...I'm feeling satiated after this evening's hunt." With that, she heads
for the stairs that lead to her Ivory Tower.
User: ECSTASY
Date: 12-May 07:30 AM 768727812
II.290
When suddenly...out of the darkness jumps Vampira_The_Disco_Queen!
VAMPIRA: "BACK! BACK YOU KNAVE! Lest I thrash you with my cat-o-nine tails!"
X: "But this is MY Ivory Tower!"
VAMPIRA: "Ivory Tower? Oh dear...I thought this was a Stuckee's My mistake."
User: Enterprise..."Ahannos spelled backwards means 'Munch-Muffin'!"...8)
Date: 12-May 09:15 AM 768734142
II.291
VVC: Violence in the Greenhouse...
===============================================================================
Meanwhile(tm), Lydia, Tatoione, and Roland have found a haggard-looking
Traveler in his office. The meeting has already ended. He admits it has been
a very rough day, and tells them a little bit of what has been happening. They
are quiet for a moment as Traveler ends his tale by telling them of the death
of Recycler at the hands of Ahannos.
"How can I help you?" Lydia asks.
"I need some very...esoteric supplies. Here's a list ", Traveler
replies as his digs a tattered sheet from his pocket. He hands the list to
Lydia
and she glances at it.
"These shouldn't be a problem, " Lydia says, "but some of these things
need to be fresh. Very fresh. I don't suppose you have a garden or something
here?"
"As a matter of fact, we do! Our resident gardener, ALBATROSS, has been
acting a bit odd lately, but I'm sure we can find him. He grows some things on
the balcony." Traveler says.
"We could find him for you, couldn't we Roland?", Tatooine exclaims.
Roland nods, and the two head towards the garden while Lydia and Traveler pour
over the list.
Albatross is hunched over his plant, mumbling to himself, when he hears
footsteps behind him. He whirls around, and Roland and Tatooine stop dead in
their tracks, the greetings dead in their mouths as they see the look in
Albatross' eye. Before either can react, he springs at both of them, knocking
them over. With inhuman strength, he knocks Tatooine back ten feet with a
powerful swipe, then focuses his attention on Roland. The two struggle, but
Roland is no match for Albatross' unnnatural fury. Roland ends up on his back,
while Albatross sits atop him and begins to throttle him. Just as his vision
goes dim, Tatooine brings a large potted plant down on Albatross' head
violently. Clutching his head, Albatross swipes a hand at Tattoine, scratching
her arm badly. He has forgoten about Roland, who groggily picks up a nearby
rake and hits Albatross on the back. With a suprised roar, he staggers forward
from the blow, and falls through the skylight to the room below!
Traveler and Lydia arrive just in time to see Albatross crash through
the window, and quickly rush over to the pair.
"Tried to kill us.....no reason...just..", Roland tries to gasp out as
he tries and catch his breath.
"Don't try to talk now, " Traveler says, "just rest there a while."
Roland complies and lays back down. "How is Tatooine? " he asks Lydia.
"Not so good, I'm afraid. " Lydia answers, " She doesn't appear to be
physically hurt, but ....hmmmm, " she breaks off as she sniffs Tatooine's wound
and asks Traveler, "Do you see a strange looking plant around here, by chance?"
Traveler looks around, and spots the plant that Albatross had been
nurturing. He shows it to Lydia, who studies it intently, with a frown on her
face.
"What is it?" Traveler asks anxiously.
"I thought these were extinct and long forgotten!" Lydia exclaims in
a combination of fear and awe. "This plant is very, very deadly, if it gets
into the bloodstream. I can't guess where he got this from. It appears that
Tattoione got some in her from that scratch."
Traveler looks at Tattoine--she is breathing very rapidly, eyes closed,
her dark skin gone a very strange shade, almost grey. He looks towards Lydia
and
asks, "Is there anything you can do? If one little scratch can do that.."
Lydia answers, "I can give her some temporary remedies right now, but
I'll need to take her back to my castle for a real cure, if it's possible. I
don't know, Traveler, this stuff is not supposed to even exist anymore!"
"Well, do what you can. Are you all right, Roland? " Traveler asks as
he sees Roland sit up and peer down through the smashed skylight.
"Yeah, I think so. And so is Albatross, apparently...but he may be out
for a while. You want some help with Tatooine? " Roland asks Lydia.
"No, I'll manage " she replies, and hoists Tatooine on her shoulders
with apparent ease. The three of them walk downstairs, and cross towards the
door. Traveler begs off all the questions from the people, and stops just long
enought to make sure Albatross is truly okay, then opens the door for Lydia,
who is still carrying the unconscious form of Tatooine on her shoulders.
"I'll take care of her, Traveler. And I'll be sending those supplies
you need back, too " Lydia says as she exits the Cafe. Turning in the doorway,
she frowns and tells Traveler, "I still wonder where he go that plant. I've
read that it was used by an ancient race, and had very powerful but potentially
deadly powers."
"Good luck, Lydia, and thank you for everything. " Traveler says as
Lydia turns and heads towards her castle. He turns around and sees everyone
is gathered around Albatross' inert form, looking at him expectantly. This is
going to be fun, he sighs to himself, and tries to explain....
User: alt.Stand.Bullwinkle :)
Date: 12-May 03:42 PM 768757385
II.292
VVC: Fleur de mal...
===============================================================================
"I hope she's all right," says ROLAND, standing next to TRAVELER in the
White Room and watching as LYDIA takes TATOOINE away. "I just met her, but she
seemed like a cool person."
"Yeah...after I hired her, she was telling me that she loved this place
because it seemed like such a mad house. Little did she know," says TRAVELER.
Then he turns to the agitated crowd, which already includes a number of people
in "rave"-type clothes: baggy pants, platform sneakers, strange oversized hats,
and small backpacks.
Trav raises his voice. "It's all right, folks, everything's going to be
fine," says TRAVELER, calming the murmuring a little. "Just...uh...a routine
gardening accident." ALBATROSS sits groggily in the middle of the floor, amidst
pieces of chair, table, and skylight; LOUCH and PALLAS are tending to his
injuries, which miraculously appear to be quite minor. Trav steps over, and
says in a low, angry voice, "I want to talk to YOU outside, now!"
Albatross is helped to the side door by the hostess and the waiter; he is
able to walk under his own power out to the produce garden with Traveler.
The lengthening late afternoon shadow of the Ivory Tower falls across them as
they stand next to the rows of growing vegetables. "All right, I want an
explanation. Why the hell did you attack Roland and Tatooine?"
"Wh-? Hold on, man, I'm a little out of it still. I just fell through a
skylight, you know." The gardener rubs his head. "All I know is, two strange
people rushed into the Greenhouse while I was working. With everything that's
been going on lately, I guess I thought they were going to attack me. I mean,
that place is off-limits to everyone except staff--what am I supposed to think
when I see strangers run in?"
"They said you hit first."
"I wasn't going to let one of them get in the first blow! Look, if they
were there on official business, I'm sorry. But they didn't have to knock me
through the skylight...geez." He takes off one of his Birkenstocks and pulls a
few glass slivers out of it.
"Also, a...friend of mine...said that plant you were working on was quite
unusual. Apparently it's very old, and dangerous--our new piano player got
exposed to some through a scratch you gave her, and she's in serious medical
trouble."
"Hey, it's just something I found, er, bought, actually, from this old
Chinese guy. It was some little store I was at in the City a few weeks ago,
I don't recall the address. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt by it...I'll
even pull it up and burn it if it makes you happy."
Trav looks somewhat happier. "Well, all right, that sounds good. Look,
this doesn't have anything to do with that Ahannos business, does it?"
Albatross shakes his head. "No, of course not. I'm staying clear of the
cellar, just like you asked."
"Okay. Well, I'll have someone replace that skylight. And if you don't
mind, I'd like to go up with you right now and destroy that plant."
The gardener shrugs. "It may be a valuable specimen. But if you say
so." They go back inside.
User: Traveler: Audrey2 Mix :)
Date: 12-May 04:25 PM 768760004
II.293
VVC: The ultimate in recycling...
===============================================================================
The spell that Ahannos has been working in the bowels of his ship has
been completed. The glow from the orb no longer outshines the fire in the
middle of the room. Ahannos studies the bundle by his feet carefully, then
gives a snort of approval, and turns towards the globe. Now the true
preparations can begin, he thinks to himself, and prepares for the
confrontation with the Cafe. The orb glows bright once again, as the wizard
places his hands upon it, an evil smile growing on his wrinkled visage. Behind
him, the bundle begins to twich of its own accord, and writhes on the floor.
The bundle rises, revealing a human form beneath. Ahannos senses the change,
and without turning around, speaks to the figure.
"Welcome back, mortal. Yer new life as a zombie may be different than
the one ye are used to, but your friends will be surprised to see you again,
won't they, RECYCLER?" Ahannos says as he bursts into a wicked laugh.
User: Bullwinkle
Date: 12-May 04:28 PM 768760140
II.294
VVC: The tribes gather...
===============================================================================
As afternoon slides into early evening, NORM! makes his rounds in the
newly rechristened Rave Bus[tm]. At record stores, dance clubs, and coffee
shops around the City, small crowds of oddly-garbed young people have gathered,
clutching colorful DIVINE REBIRTH flyers. They eagerly board the Bus, and
soon the seats are almost filled. Someone turns on a boom box, and loud,
agitated "breakbeat" techno spills out, stacattoing along at 180 beats per
minute. "D'OH!" Norm! says under his breath.
But he is not the only one who objects. "Hey, man, that stuff is fine
for later," says one raver to the owner of the box. "But how about something
more ambient right now?" Others agree, and various tapes are passed around.
Soon, a mellow, electro-organic wave of sound, with just the faintest hint of
a rhythm, filters through the Bus. In minutes, Norm! brings the first batch
of passengers to the parking lot across from the VVC, and opens the doors so
they can disembark.
"Have fun," he says wryly. "If that's your idea of fun. *sigh* Maybe I
can listen to one of my Mozart tapes before I pick up the next group." He
pulls back on to the Bay Road, and heads back to the City, as the sun sinks
towards the bay on his right...
User: T. Raveler: Waiting For The Night Mix
Date: 12-May 04:54 PM 768761699
II.295
ECSTASY climbs up the stairs to the Ivory Tower cautiously.
"Things feel different around here."
She looks out the window and sees a crow fly by.
User: ECSTASY
Date: 13-May 06:44 PM 768854691
II.296
VVC: Mmm...Jiffy Pop [tm]...
===============================================================================
ROLAND wanders out to the site of the rave, studying the intricate
layout of the sound and light equipment. He spots GHOST working on something
near the base of the giant laser. Hmmm, he ponders to himself, could he be one
of the Few?....
Roland wanders up and gives GHOST the sign, saying
"_The_Princess_Bride_ has no unabridged version," and waits for the response.
Ghost looks at Roland slightly surprised, then from his past he
responds with the answer, "Prunes help us play. You grab the spread..."
"You grab the plasma," Roland finishes.
There is a momentary silence, broken by Roland asking, "Have you left
the Order? "
"There are cows everywhere."
This answer seems to suit Roland, who grins and says, "The name is
Roland. What are you building here? " He gestures upwards towards the laser.
"It's for the end of the rave. People call me Ghost. Perhaps you can
help me with a very special surprise." Ghost says as he leads Roland back
towards the VVVC. As they approach the building, Ghost tells him of the rave
and what he has planned.
Inside the VVVC, TRAVELER has just come out of the kitchen, checking on
the preparations. He looks inside the White Room, then moves to the Red Room:
all is quiet. The Black Room is empty, but he hears to voices coming from the
Blue Room.
"So then, as the cows are aligned correctly, the laser will fire
and..." Ghost breaks off as Traveler comes into the room. Ghost and Roland are
standing around what appears to be a large, silvery hemispherical object
nearly twelve feet in diameter. They nonchantly try to move in front of it as
Ghost says to Traveler:
"Oh! Hi, Traveler. We were just discussing the preparations for the
finale of the rave and...." He breaks off as Traveler interrups.
"_What_ is that?"
"Oh, nothing. Just a little...treat for the patrons of the cafe. "
Traveler looks at it closer, and notices the writing on the side that
the two are trying to cover up. He leans in closer and makes out the letters
J - I - F - F.....
"JIFFY POP?!?!??" he exclaims. "No! Forget it!! I've seen that movie!
Don't even _think_ about it!! Get that out of here!"
Roland sighs and says, "Well, ok. I'll guess we'll have to find
someplace else for it, Ghost. Let's go." The pair grapple with the sides of the
container and somehow manage to move off with it between them.
Traveler shakes his head. "Why me?" he asks.
Ghost turns his head around to answer, but Traveler interrupts, "Don't
answer that! Just go!!"
User: Bullwinkle
Date: 13-May 07:07 PM 768856034
II.297
VVC: Everything is in place...
===============================================================================
The sky over the Bay is a vast fiery panorama as the sun sets. At the
huge ring of scaffolds that is the rave site, sodium lights flicker on to
replace the day's illumination. Parts of the scaffolding towers have been
draped in white cloth; huge busts of ancient deities--Dionysus, Aphrodite,
Athena, Hermes, and others--adorn the tops of other towers. At the western
side of the ring, sillhouetted against the blazing sky, is the main stage
where the DJs and musicians will work from; right now, it is still off-limits
to the gathering crowds that mill around the site. Vendors selling jewelry,
clothes, incense, food and drink set up their booths to the east of the ring,
between it and the parking area along the Bay Road north of the Cafe. A
steady stream of rave-goers walks along the wooded path, now strung with
lights, between the site and the VVC itself.
"Looking good," says TRAVELER, adjusting a small round hat he has just
bought from one of the vendors. Despite his anxieties about the eventual
arrival of Ahannos, his voice shows the excitement that the rave evokes in
him.
"But this is not the most important thing," says CADO, walking next to
him. "We have to stay focused on being prepared for our ancient mariner
friend. He will show up--it's just a question of when."
"Of course. INLERAH, DIQMAN, everyone on our team is prepared; we've
talked over the plans a hundred times. I just think that being prepared is
not incompatible with being, you know, relaxed, happy, alive. Can't you feel
the life throbbing around us? This gathering here, of light and music and
people, this is a good thing. And though we have to fight the darkness to
assure that life continues, it's times like these that make life worth living.
I for one intend to get a little dancing in tonight--if I get the chance."
Cado shrugs. "If you say so. Just remember to keep in touch. Your
radio working?"
Trav takes a small, palm-size two-way radio out of his pocket, presses
a key on the side, and speaks into it. "Roger wilco," comes his voice from
a similar unit in Cado's hand. The cafe owner smiles and puts the radio away.
"I'm going to talk to the DJs. I'll meet you inside soon, I promise." The
bouncer nods, and walks toward the path through the woods.
Traveler doesn't have to flash a pass at the stage--the security guards
let him by with a wave. Mounting the steps at the side, he walks around behind
the vast, semicircular bank of equipment that dominates the stage. At front
and center is the heart of any rave--a pair of linked Technics 1200 turntables.
But left and right of them are two more pairs of turntables, allowing up to
three DJs to mix up to six records at once. Crates of vinyl are stacked on
the floor beneath. On either side of the outside turntables are an assortment
of keyboards, drumpads, sequencers, and PCs, for the live music sets. Trav
chuckles to see that a few very low-tech instruments are also present: tall,
cylindrical, tribal-looking drums; various shakers, tambourines, rattles and
gourds; and a couple racks of gongs and hanging chimes. At the outermost
edges of the semicircle, close to the back of the stage, are a couple of huge
mixing consoles controlling the sound.
"So where are the lights running from?" he mutters to himself. Then he
looks across at the opposite side of the rave ring and sees the answer: a
small booth high up on the scaffolding just beneath GHOST's large laser.
"This is gonna be some show..."
User: Traveler
Date: 13-May 07:38 PM 768857938
II.298
Roger Wilco?!?!?
*sigh*
User: Evilgreg....see ya in two weeks+ !! :)
Date: 13-May 10:55 PM 768869749
II.299
Max, I should really shoot you...you just blasphemed my military specialty.
User: CADO..."Roger...I read you Lumpy Chicken, over..."
Date: 14-May 00:03 AM 768873852
II.300
Yeah, yeah...
Over AND out.
:p
:)
User: Traveler says "go ahead, goodbye"
Date: 14-May 02:09 AM 768881383