IV.101
SANCTUARY has disappeared in a transporter beam, but there remains a
whiff of ozone in the air. "By the way," TRAVELER says to SYLVAR, "I see your
point about capturing the spirit of the VVC in a web site. That's why I don't
think we should reduce the Cafe to that dimension only. 'Row_H-I' has inspired
me to contemplate a Cafe listserv, perhaps when MBBS goes down for good."
Jon Vallee nods. "Well, all this planning requires some caffeine. Want
an espresso?" The proprietor assents, and the coffee man pulls two shots of
dark liquid from the elaborate machine at the Red Room's coffee bar.
"Hey, can I get me one of those doses of super-java?" GRAHAM says,
walking up. She is smoking a cigarette, but neither of the two non-smokers
minds, since in the VVC, people can smoke all they want; the fumes are quickly
wafted away by a computer-controlled system of air vents and electrostatic
force-fields.
"I guess people are leaning in favor of taking the trip," Trav says, as
he, Jon and Graham sip the bitter brew. "I've already asked CADO to check the
tide tables, so we'll know when the best time to pull up anchor is. And I've
got this." He holds up an enormous, gleaming steel wrench, perhaps two feet in
length, with a mean-looking adjustable clamp.
"Wha--?" ECSTASY inquires, sidling in from the White Room bar.
"For undoing the virtual anchors. They're supposed to be screwed into the
floor, down in the cellar. But this should get them out." He grins, pulls out
a copy of the VVC blueprints, and begins scrutinizing them.
* * * *
Meanwhile, in a glass-walled office tower in the heart of the City, a
shadowy figure picks up the handset of a sleek black phone sitting on an
enormous mahogany desk, and punches in a series of numbers. Other phones ring
simultaneously a moment later, in three different rooms across the City.
They are picked up, and the caller speaks two terse sentences.
"Ich habe boesen Nachrichten. Jemand hat die AW Akten gestehlen."
The three recipients of the call reply quickly, in low voices, and hang
up. The last to reply speaks in English: "I understand. It's already taken
care of." He replaces the receiver, and looks across a conference table in
the dimly lit room where he sits. "Gentlemen, that was the phone call I hoped
I'd never get..."
User: Traveler sez, "What you gonna do when they come for you?"
Date: 25-Oct 08:05 PM 814651577
IV.102
Er, a slight technical consideration or two...
1) I pulled two shots of espresso. That's enough for you, but I'd have pulled
another four for myself. =)
2) NO! Don't go fooling with things in the basement -- there's one sailor we
don't want help from...
User: SYLVAR
Date: 26-Oct 10:02 AM 814701754
IV.103
"my! What a big ... wrench you have!"
User: ECSTASY
Date: 26-Oct 10:04 AM 814701849
IV.104
"my! what an attentive wench you have employed"
:)
User: GRAHAM
Date: 26-Oct 10:11 PM 814745474
IV.105
*snicker*
Anyway...
It is a dark and stormy night...
Lights burn at the Cafe, as those inside make plans for the upcoming trip.
A white car pulls into the parking lot, wipers vainly trying to thrust aside
sheets of dirty rain. The car wheels into a space near the door, and its
headlights die. A figure jumps out, and dashes for the entrance.
Inside, the driver--tallish, and hidden in a dripping trench coat and
low-pulled hat--hurries toward the back of the building. In the Black Room,
a bank of Intellibeams and a solitary strobe illuminate the half-empty dance
floor. Orpheus the DJ is spinning the Pet Shop Boys' "Some Speculation," and
Neil Tennant's reverbed falsetto echoes over chilling synthesizers.
/there's been some speculation/
/about a recent invitation/
/there's been some speculation/
/about a recent invitation/
/what's your game?/
/what's his name?/
The trench-coated figure takes a seat at the bar. ECSTASY, in full leather,
sidles over. "What's your poison, stranger?"
"Vodka on ice," comes the hoarse reply.
/is it your inclination/
/to accept his invitation?/
/is it your inclination/
/to accept his invitation?/
/what's your game?/
As Ecstasy fixes the drink, she notices the stranger set a rain-splattered
manila envelope on the bar. The letters "AW" are scrawled on it, in
waterstained black marker. She delivers the glass of vodka, and remarks, "Bad
night for traveling. Are you in town on business?"
The man--is it a man?--snatches up the envelope, and secrets it in a fold
of his coat. "It's not a pleasure trip," he whispers, and gulps down the cold
alcohol in quick, breathless swallows.
/going away with someone new/
/yesterday i went there too/
/going away with someone new/
/yesterday i went there too/
Coins rattle on to the countertop from a gloved hand. The stranger
stands, looks around, and heads toward the north entrance of the room. X
notices him summoning the elevator at the northwest inside corner of the
building, and disappearing into its gleaming cabin when it arrives. _Hmm...
why would he be going upstairs? Guilt Addictions is closed--so is Zoro's
officer and the Atlantis Room. Maybe GRAHAM is showing a late movie..._
She promptly forgets about the unknown visitor, but a sense of uneasiness
lingers at the edge of her mind.
User: Traveler
Date: 27-Oct 05:42 PM 814815748
IV.106
I got yer mornin' right here... :)
The sun is creeping up over a cool, crisp day. At the VVC, TRAVELER
and CADO are sitting on the north terrace, on the roof of the second floor,
with the Ivory Tower at their backs. A waiter has brought English muffins
and a jar of lemon curd (recently introduced at the Cafe by GRAHAM). Trav
crunches into a muffin, trying not to spill crumbs on to the papers spread
across the white-painted wrought iron table. "Mmmph...this is all I'm going
to eat for breakfast for the next month. That omelet yesterday was too much."
"Right," Cado says. "But what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh. Well, I've settled most of what needs to be settled before our
trip--paying bills, that sort of thing. All that's left is the technical
matter of _doing_ it." He points to the blueprints. "These are from the
file of Cafe-related materials I keep in my office. Here in the cellar, you
can see the virtual anchors located under the paving stones, at the corners.
All we have to do is pull up the stones and undo the anchors."
"I'm a little wary of excavations in the cellar..."
"Don't worry, a whole group of us will go down there, in just a few
minutes." And so they do--Traveler, Cado, SYLVAR and DARICELL, armed with
crowbars and that infamous big wrench. The paving stones in question are
easily located, and almost as easily pried up. Beneath them are the giant
hexagonal heads of the anchor-screws. "Who wants to give it a try?" the
proprietor asks.
"Here." Cado fits the wrench into place and twists with all the strength
in both arms--but nothing budges. He tries again, throwing his whole weight
into it, and this time the screw-head grates just a few degrees from its
position. Jon Vallee throws his weight behind Cado's, and finally the anchor
starts really loosening.
"Cool! We're a quarter of the way there," says Daricell after a foot of
gleaming thread has been exposed on the screw shaft. "If we loosen the other
three this much, we should be free-floating--right?"
"Looks like it," Traveler says, consulting his plans. "But let's not do
more than one more at this point. I need to go upstairs and make sure
everything is secure, and that everyone is here who wants to be here for the
trip, and vice versa."
Traveler spreads the word through every room of the Cafe: they will be
casting off soon. He is about to return to the cellar, when he notices an
all-too-familiar car pulling up outside. "The police?" he says, frowning.
Sure enough, Captain Peugeot walks in a moment later. "Monsieur Traveler,
I sincerely regret that I must trouble you again...believe me, I'd love to
stay away from zis place. But there is a matter we must discuss."
"Very well. My office is upstairs..."
Sitting across the proprietor's desk from him, the Captain gets to the
point. "We have reason to know that a...stranger...came in to the Cafe last
night."
"Guess what, Peugeot? Strangers come in here every night."
"But zis one was carrying certain information--a folder or envelope marked
'AW'. Now, I have word that you are planning some kind of trip? I'd advise
you
not to leave town until you help us find this man and his information..."
Traveler groans.
User: (that's me)
Date: 30-Oct 01:16 AM 815015843
IV.107
uh oh...
how will we ever get this thing off the ground now?
User: GRAHAM
Date: 30-Oct 12:20 PM 815055601
IV.108
"Look, Peugeot, I have no connection to this stranger and his
information. I'm just a saloonkeeper--"
"Merde! You've used zat excuse many times, TRAVELER. Always, denying
everything--"
"There's nothing to deny. I never saw that man, and I don't know who he
was, or what he was carrying." Trav leans back in his office chair, annoyed.
"Only one of my employees saw him. ECSTASY, the bartender."
"Bring her in."
The proprietor dutifully punches the call button on his intercom. "CADO,
is X around?"
"Around? No. She left town after her shift last night. She was going
to Board Fi--" Cado's reply is interrupted by Traveler's quick hand on the
intercom switch. _Damn, he almost spilled the beans about our voyage..._
"What was he saying? Why did you cut him off?" the policeman demands.
"He was saying that she was going to board a flight...to Key West.
Relax, she'll only be spending a couple days there." _Of course she's heading
from there to Board 5, to prepare a welcome for us--but I won't mention that._
"I will check that with the airlines."
"You do that. Now look, I've got things to do."
"Busy, eh? Making preparations--perhaps to leave town?"
"Captain Peugeot. I pledge that I won't be setting foot outside this
Cafe, for any points north, south, east or west of here, for the forseeable
future." _Which is true...I'll be dropping off the map entirely, but I won't
be leaving the Cafe to do it._
Peugeot glares at him for a long moment, then rises. "Rest assured, I
will be back. Zese documents are of ze very highest importance. If you have
any involvement in their theft, you will not find a single City official, from
top to bottom, who will have mercy on you. Many lives hang in the balance."
"I don't play with people's lives. If these documents are that
important, believe me--I wouldn't be playing around with them."
"I hope zat is true." Peugeot scowls, and heads for the door.
User: Traveler
Date: 31-Oct 06:03 PM 815162624
IV.109
yay!!!!
User: this is not an ecstasy post
Date: 31-Oct 07:20 PM 815167254
IV.110
Somewhere in the City's dark heart, men meet in a smoky room, on All
Hallow's Eve.
"As I said, the situation is under control," one says in a watery
American voice. He blows smoke from his cigarette past one of the green-shaded
brass lamps on the dark-wooded conference table.
"Prove it. Show us results," a tight German voice says from the shadows.
"The results? They're en route at this point in time. I assure you,
steps have been taken--"
"Spare us your jargon, Frost. Tell us _what_ steps haf been taken, eh?
The Hierarchy is not interested in words, hot air, or appearances. We seek
concrete things, real power."
"I have influence with the police," the cigarette-smoking man says. "I've
gotten Peugeot himself dispatched on this. That's power." The ring of a cell
phone discreetly interrupts. A manservant answers the call in hushed tones,
then hands the unit to the smoking man. "Yes? ...I see. ...No, it is not.
Very well. We can escalate." He hands the phone back, and takes a drag.
"Vell?"
"Peugeot was...unable to locate the AW files."
"The _polizei_ aren't the power in this City. No one is. But we could
be. The AW files have been taken...if _we_ take them back, we prove our
power." He stands, partly revealed: a lean man in an austere single-breasted
suit of dark wool. Steel-rimmed glasses glint as he walks around the table.
"My people are no strangers to power. We can use it without sentiment. We
did it, once in this century. We--all of us here in the Hierarchy--could do
it again, if we open ourselves to the purity of power..."
"Look, you're not running this group, as much as we know you'd like to,"
says a pompous, mildly irritated English voice. "And the fact is, we're not
running the City--there's the government, not to mention the resistance."
"The government is impotent! And the resistance merely smolders at the
fringes, as they have for years. We could stamp them out in an instant, if we
seized the chance--"
"And made the City the 'exclusive walled community' you dream of? No,
old boy, better to move slowly. The government may yet collapse on its own.
And the resistance has been dying for a long time--most people, even those
eccentrics at the Virtual Vax Cafe, don't even remember that they exist."
Frost speaks, looking toward the one standing. "What would you do?
Short of closing the gates, how would you have us recover the AW files?"
The other stops pacing. "I haf heard of a man...as pure as the power I
spoke of. It was--his essence--that guided my people in their glory. Submit
this matter to him, and I assure you, it shall be done..."
User: Traveler
Date: 1-Nov 07:23 PM 815253817
IV.111
With a gritty scraping noise, another of the giant bolts in the VVC
cellar comes loose, as TRAVELER, GRAHAM and DARICELL throw their weight
against the wrench fitted to it. After a few minutes of turning, it, like the
one across the room, is sticking up a full two feet above the floor. "Two
down, two to go," Graham says.
"Yep," Trav says. "But before we go further, let me check on the ropes."
He goes upstairs, and outside. Under a chill grey sky, CADO and Jon are tying
ropes to the short concrete posts in front of the building, then tying the
other ends to posts across the parking lot. The wind flusters a set of
blueprints lying in a vacant parking space, held down by a rock. "Going okay?"
"This one'll make eight," Jon says. "We did it just as you marked on the
plans. Cado used his best sailor's knots. These lines'll hold like steel
after the anchors are up, but a quick tug at the right spot will loosen 'em."
"Excellent! How about that steering system for the Cafe, when we're
adrift in cyberspace? What principle does it work on, anyway?"
"It's basically ready...but you'll have to wait till later if you want a
full explanation." (SYLVAR: Got any ideas? :) --Op)
"I understand. Sorry to rush our departure, but I'm afraid Peugeot or
his people could return any time. I don't know what this secret document
business is about, but I'd like to leave before they drag us all into it.
Say--how about that satellite data hookup, for when the fiberoptics are cut?"
"Hey, do I look like a Hindu deity? I've only got two arms, you know. I
may not get the data link up till after we're afloat."
"Sorry--didn't mean to push."
"Hey, boss," Cado says, "don't you think there'll be an unfriendly
welcome for us when we return, if we skip out during this documents mess?"
"Well, I've left word with ZOROASTER, P.I., asking him to look into this
business, and see if he can clear the VVC's name. Not sure if he'll take our
case, but it would help to have him working on our behalf.
"Anyway, we won't have to worry about an unfriendly welcome, if we never
return at all." Sylvar and Cado look surprised. "Yes, I should have said
something earlier...but we may not even come back to Board 6 before The Big
Crunch--we may head directly to e-mail, do not pass go, do not collect $200."
"Geez," the coffee man says. "I'm gonna miss this place."
Traveler sighs. "I would have liked more time for goodbyes. If only
Peugeot hadn't forced us to rush things..."
User: T r a v e l e r
Date: 2-Nov 07:42 PM 815341450
IV.112
DARICELL stared through the murk of a poor telnet program into the VVC. "We're
-- going somewhere? okay... wait... let me pack...."
Actually, Daricell had been busy the entire time helping Zoro PI, er, ah, take
care of some clerical work in his office. :) But she promises to pay more
attention in the future.
User: Editrixa, ready for a trip!
Date: 2-Nov 10:26 PM 815351202
IV.113
Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 06:37:34 EDT
From: Ben Ostrowsky
To: traveler@afn.org
Subject: VVC: Principles of Cybernavigation
Hi Max --
It's kind of like a hot-air ballon, only we use flamage. It's in
much greater supply. When necessary, we can be pushed around randomly
by the Winds of Change (and, after all, isn't that why we're making
this whole looney voyage?)
Ben
User: Sylvar (via Traveler)
Date: 3-Nov 02:24 PM 815408655
IV.114
Out of breath, with clothes askew, LOUCH runs in the door...
"oh, thank heavens I'm not too late!!!" she pants while trying to catch her
breath.
"What can I do to help with the trip? I was thinking about it and though I was
opposed to the idea at first, I decided it's a great idea...so let me know what
I can do..."
She stands just inside the doorway hoping that she will be forgiven and
desperately needing a cuban coffee or 6...
User: Louch...
Date: 7-Nov 09:18 AM 815735945
IV.115
with clothes askew ?
User: SIREN
Date: 7-Nov 04:45 PM 815762718
IV.116
I was running... they got messed up...
don't get any funny ideas...
:)
User: Louch is a good girl...
Date: 7-Nov 06:14 PM 815768053
IV.117
Oh, bosh. You're not a Good Girl. You haven't been for years. =)
User: Jon Vallee presses the Red Button and 12 cafes cubanos brew for Louch!
Date: 8-Nov 06:18 AM 815811515
IV.118
TRAVELER smiles at the recently arrived LOUCH. "Head on in to the Red
Room...I'm sure Jon will fix you up with some caffeine. Glad you could join
us. We'll be departing shortly..."
CADO walks up as LOUCH departs. "What's the holdup, anyway?"
"Well, we had to get SYLVAR's balloon put together and installed. But at
last it's ready." He points out a window. Visible outside is a crane,
hoisting a large shapeless fabric bag, trailing many ropes, on to the roof.
"Also, I confess I've been distracted by some other business. I went out
to find those people in the glass spider, and have learned much from them.
They call themselves Masters of the Web, and say they are weaving a net that
will crisscross the world. But they seek not to dominate, but to connect all
people."
"Hmmm..."
"There are thousands of those spiders laying their webs all over the
planet. Some fearful people in the City government want to control the Great
Web, believing it will bring only subversive and forbidden ideas and images.
But I see brighter possibilities. I've been working with the Web Masters, to
connect the VVC to their network."
Trav seems ready to continue this rhapsodic monologue for some time, but
CADO holds up a hand. "This sounds neat...but what about our trip?
Everyone's ready to go."
"True. I get carried away sometimes...absent-minded. But I promise,
we'll leave soon. Just one more new project I wanted to announce to everyone.
Come on." Cado follows him into the Red Room, where the proprietor takes the
stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, staff and patrons, there's been something this Cafe
has been lacking for some time now. Know what that is? Don't answer that
question, it's rhetorical. Anyway, the answer I was looking for was...SUSHI!"
"The old VAXer?" Joe Java asks.
"No, the seaweed-rice-raw fish stuff! Anyway, I was thinking today about
how the Atlantis Room has a menu specializing in seafood...and how that room
doesn't have a distinctive bar associated with it. Then something clicked--"
GRAHAM walks in the room at that point, muttering to herself. "I know
it's late, but I want some sushi. Where can I go?"
Trav beams. "Try the VVC's new sushi bar, upstairs in the Atlantis Room.
It opens tonight!"
User: Traveler: The Raw and The Cooked Remix
Date: 10-Nov 10:46 PM 816043625
IV.119
hey! I had sushi for the first time the other night!
LOUCH heads on up to the sushi bar looking for some raw fish, dragging a jumbo
sized cuban coffee with her...
User: Louch...
Date: 13-Nov 11:00 AM 816260445
IV.120
Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose...
User: Louch...
Date: 14-Nov 07:18 PM 816376693
IV.121
And on that note, let's get this show on the road.
I think it's time for a jump-start. Yes, the coffee is always
flowing around here, but the punch line to this next post should
wake EVERYONE up in a hurry...
Fasten your seatbelts.
*evil grin*
User: Traveler: One Minute Warning Mix
Date: 14-Nov 07:43 PM 816378234
IV.122
The valley of the shadow...
===========================
TRAVELER, SVLVAR and CADO stand outside the Cafe under cold white clouds,
inspecting the recent transformations. A large, wrinkled cloth is draped over
the top floor of the VVC like a collapsed tent. The ropes which Sylvar and Cado
previously tied across the parking lot are still there. "These'll hold us in
place when the anchors are all finally pulled," Trav says. "Then we just untie
them, and we're free."
"Sounds good," says Cado. "And you want to leave in the morning?"
Suddnnely a siren (not Gayle) howls across the beachfront. To the south,
at the far bend of the bayshore road, a black police car is visible.
"DAMNATION!" Traveler runs to the door of the VVC and shouts inside: "Somebody
get down to the cellar! Get the rest of those bolts out now!"
Cado groans. "It's gonna take a few minutes to get these ropes undone--
I'm afraid I was exaggerating when I told Jon it'd just take a quick tug."
"Well, let's get to it!" Traveler says. They are still working on
undoing the first rope when the police car pulls into the lot, and Captain
Peugeot jumps out. Before he can speak, Trav shouts, "No time to explain,
Captain, but you'd better stay on that side of the lot!"
"What? I am not here to arrest you, I am here to warn you! All of you
are in terrible danger..."
"In danger? From what?"
"I have learned...awful things. They are ruthless, the men at the higher
levels. Finally, the Hierarchy has gone too far!"
"The Hierarchy?" TRAVELER breathes. "You mean the rumors are true? A
shadowy group trying to infiltrate the City government?"
"I could not speak out before, but now I must. Those stolen documents
I came here looking for--the documents belonged to them--it was--a contigency
plan. For the most terrible of contingencies. I have only just learned the
truth..."
"Learned what?" SYLVAR grunts, not looking up from the knot he's undoing.
"Mon dieu, they are capable of anything!," Peugeot babbles. "And merely
to get the documents back--ah, tres terrible! L'homme! L'homme en negro!"
"Great, he's slipping into Franglish," says Traveler. "DARICELL!" he
yells toward the Cafe. "Can you come interpret?" The ground rumbles, shivers.
A crack zigzags across the parking lot, splitting the asphalt beneath the five
remaining mooring ropes. "All right, the anchors must all be up!"
"Forgive me, monsieur, I have been une pawn!" the captain says, standing
across the widening crack from the others. "L'Hierarchie est diabolique, I
see zis now! They have called upon HIM!" CADO undoes another rope, but the
other four are stretched taut, as the entire promontory on which the VVC sits
shears away from the shore. Peugeot is struck silent for a moment, his face
showing amazement at what is happening. But then his frantic tirade resumes.
Daricell runs out of the Cafe. "Can you tell what he's yammering about?"
Trav asks. "It's some kind of warning." For some reason, he feels a chill.
"He's saying...something about the Hierarchy...and a man, they've called
upon a man," the Dark Lady says, struggling to make out Peugeot's now almost
completely French ranting. "A terrible, dark man...a man of darkness...no,
in darkness, in blackness...a man..." She gasps. "A man in black..."
User: Traveler: Beach Sequence Mix
Date: 14-Nov 07:53 PM 816378878
IV.123
u know, by the time the VVC ever gets anywhere VAX is gonna disappear..
don't all accounts expire Feb 1st?
User: GHOST
Date: 16-Nov 10:38 AM 816518303
IV.124
but we have coffee and a sushi bar....
what else is there?
User: GRAHAM
Date: 16-Nov 05:55 PM 816544522
IV.125
Well, the accounts that are already on Vax will probably be allowed to stay.
Unless we start charging for accounts, which could change things considerably.
User: OVERDOSE
Date: 16-Nov 06:42 PM 816547337
IV.126
Daricell clears her throat.
"Ahem...perhaps I'm not getting through to you all.
Actually, what Peugeot said was...[5m[6m THE Man in Black. [0m
The Hierarchy has summoned him. He's on his way here. Now."
User: Traveler spells it out for you
Date: 16-Nov 07:00 PM 816548491
IV.127
Something causes Jon's head to turn and look down the beach. At the far
bend of the road, he sees a lone figure, walking with the slow, patient stride
of Death. _Tall, wearing a black trench coat..._
User: Traveler emphasizes the point further
Date: 16-Nov 08:48 PM 816554940
IV.128
Jon shivers involuntarily. "Uh, B-b-b-boss? We need to get moving. *Now*."
"You're telling me?" Traveler asks.
"So what are we waiting for?"
User: SYLVAR
Date: 17-Nov 11:57 AM 816609445
IV.129
"It's him," whispers TRAVELER.
One by one, they turn. The man is far off, perhaps half a mile; though
his features cannot be made out--though most of them have never seen him before
--they know, instinctually, who he is. "Fuck," several murmur in unison.
Then Daricell, Traveler, Cado and Sylvar attack the ropes in a frenzy of
terror...
Tight ropes and fear-stricken fingers make the process slow and fumbled.
Only the drumbeats of their hearts, and the imagined footsteps of the oncoming
figure, break the afternoon's quiet. Another line is flung loose; the Cafe's
outcrop has sheared almost completely away from the mainland, and bay-water
begins to flow into the chasm. Suddenly DARICELL looks up from the rope she's
working on. "What about Zoro? Trav, you asked Zoro to investigate!?"
"Yes! But I didn't know--God, maybe you can call him. Warn him away!
Hurry, before the phone link is--" No sooner has Daricell turned for the door
than a thick, dark braid of underground cable, stretched across the widening
gap, splits open. The frayed ends of a thousand glittering optic fibers burst
into view. "Cut. Too late."
CADO and SYLVAR each fling a rope free--there are two left. Across the
gap, Peugeot is standing by his car, clumsily loading a spare revolver. Trav
glances down the road--the Man has disappeared for a moment, behind a bend.
"Wait! We can't go!" Daricell cries out. "I've got to stay--I've got to
find Zoro, to warn him away!"
"We can't--we've broken loose. I don't know how to stop this thing!"
Trav says, gesturing to the Cafe-island on which they now stand. "The only
thing to do is go forward!"
The two remaining ropes creak and strain. "Dammit, these are too tight to
untie!" Cado says in despair. At that moment, the Cafe doors swing open and
GRAHAM comes stalking out, wielding a large carving knife.
"No, you don't understand," says Daricell, shaking with fear. "That won't
help. You can't kill him--he _is_ Death! Zoro fought him, but he--"
"I'm just here to help with those ropes," Graham says in a tough voice,
flicking the stub of her cigarette into the newly opened channel between the
VVC and the mainland. She strides over to the taut lines, and with two swift
strokes, cuts them. The new island, now completely free, surges back suddenly.
Only Traveler's grip keeps Graham from tumbling forward into the water.
Before anyone can speak, the VVC is moving rapidly away from the shore,
amid rushing water. Cado shouts to Peugeot: "Captain! What will you do?"
"I will fight as long as I can! Perhaps today is a good day to die..."
His voice fades across the waves. All see the man in the black coat, drawing
near the lone policeman, and that place on the road that was once the turnoff
for the Virtual Vax Cafe.
Graham reaches for Daricell's hand, as the Copper-Pot stares forlornly
at the receding mainland. "Zoro'll be all right, DL. We'll call him as soon
as we get the satellite link up..."
"Yes, you're right," Daricell says with a sniffle. "I hope...
A cloud of dense fog blows over them from out of nowhere, cutting off
their view. Slowly, the group begins to wander inside. Traveler is making
plans. "Let's find that satellite, ASAP, before inter-board interference
kicks in. Then we'll get the balloon up. Can we post someone in the Ivory
Tower, as a lookout?"
The Cafe surges on through the mist, toward what adventures, its
occupants know not...
..----..
|@| @@ |@|
|_|____|_|
\ \ / /
,-----~~~~~~~~~~~~---| ||
__/ /~~--.___,---~~~\ `\ ||
|| `\ /__|__|__|__|__|__|/' ||
.---------|| |`| | | | | | | | ||----------.
.'-----====-''-.'-|--|--|--|--|--|--|-`.``-----------`.
::::::::::|______________|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|______________|:::::::::::::
..........| | | | | _ _ |..............
.. .. .. | | | [5m \/ \/[0m | | |_| |_| |.. ..
.... ..
. . . .. |______________| | [1m CAFE[0m | |______________|.. ..
. . .
. .. .. | |~~|-----------------|~~| . . |________ . .
. . /| O O O |o| | ..... | |o| :.: :.: |\ `\ .
. .. /' |____________|_| | |x|x| | |_|____________|`\=======,| .
.. .|`------------_-.__`--ooooo__|x|x|__ooooo--'__.---------------' ~ |
. . :| _.- .- |_OOOOOOO_______OOOOOOO_| \ @ - @ - @ \ :~ \ .
/ /:| __.- _.- |_______| |_______| \ - @ - @ - \ _/' | |
\ `\_ ~~~~~/ / : | | ------------_: | \ |
`\__ _ |_ / / ~~--__ / \ ________----~~~~~~ | ~~\.`\-'
:\____ .\ /'/' | | |--------___---___-----~~~| | | __ ~~\___\~ /
: /: / |__ / / | /' | | | \ \ /~~~\ \ \__--~~ . ././
.: . \. \_ . \_ / / /~~~--__ / | | | | \ __/~ /~~~~~ /'
.
: : `\.: \__. ~~---.-/ \ | | |_____----~~~~ .___/' /~~~~ .
: :`\ __. \_____ ~~~-------~~~~~~---~~~~~~~ ____: ---~~~.___/'. . .:.
. `\____ `\ ________ /~~~ ----- ~~~~~~ ____/~~~~~~~~ . .
. . . ... . . ~~~ ------~~~ . . . .
User: Traveler
Date: 17-Nov 08:28 PM 816640142
IV.130
<>
It's a cloudy night all over Board Seven...
But above the overcast, the cloud tops are touched by the dim sheen of the
moon. And on the horizon, another light drifts in the sky. As it sails
closer, its nature becomes apparent: an entire three-story building, suspended
from a large hot-air balloon. The cross-shaped building turns very slowly as
it drifts, and before long, a flashing sign--two neon "V"s--comes into view.
The VVC has arrived!
Above the sign, figures are visible within the glass walls of the Greenhouse.
Let's see...looks like CADO, SYLVAR, and TRAVELER, surveying the cloudscape
from on high, and having a conversation...
"So is this it?" Trav asks.
Cado looks at his wristwatch. It appears to have extra dials and buttons
arranged concentrically around the time dial. On one of the dials, an indigo
numeral "7" is flashing. "Yep...as navigator, I officially certify that we've
reached Board Seven," Cado says.
"My compliments on your navigation--and on your piloting, Jon--for getting us
this far. How's the balloon doing?"
The coffee man glances at his laptop, sitting on the edge of a long planter
full of coffee plants, and taps a few keys. "The cables are secure... the
burner is at optimum temperature...the flameage tanks are still mostly full.
Green lights across the board."
"Excellent!"
"Yes. Still, we should probably land soon--that fuel is going to have to last
us through thirteen more boards. Cado, can you find us a landing site?"
"Well, there's no telling where we are with all that cloud cover. Another
problem is, we had to leave in such a hurry, I didn't have time to pack my MBBS
Atlas..."
His reference to their departure from Board Six sends Traveler's mind back to
those frightening last moments--Peugeot's warning, and the Man in Black's
appearance. "Say, Syl, did you finally manage to link up with the comm
satellite so DARICELL could call and warn ZOROASTER?"
"We got a partial link, but there was a lot of static--we were already entering
the zone of interference between boards. Daricell said she got through to
Zoro's apartment in the City, but he wasn't there--she left a message on his
machine."
"Hmm." The cafe proprietor frowns. "We must make it a priority at every place
we stop to contact Zoroaster. I got him into this mess..."
"You didn't know the Man in Black was involved when you called Zoro," Cado
says.
"True...but I'm responsible nonetheless. Anyway--shall we see what's below
these clouds?"
"Good idea."
"All right then. Take her down, Mr. Vallee. I'll go downstairs and inform the
staff and customers--or should I say crew and passengers?-- of our landing..."
User: Traveler: Lighter Than Air Mix
Date: 19-Nov 00:15 AM 816740224
IV.131
The blocky white Cafe building (still attached to the rocky outcrop forming its
foundation) descends out of the clouds, and touches down gently in the middle
of a low, barren plain. The neon sign over the front door blinks on and off,
but its light doesn't carry far in the dark, fogbound landscape of Board
Seven.
"A very soft landing. Thank you," TRAVELER says to SYLVAR. The two of them,
along with several other VVC folks, have spent the last part of the descent in
the Greenhouse.
"You're welcome," the coffee man replies. "Hmm...if it's always this dark
here, these plants aren't going to get the light they need Maybe we can rig up
some UV tubes--it would be appropriate, here on GHOST's board."
Trav smiles. "I'm sure we can find some spares in his lighting booth in the
Black Room."
"Seems kinda cold out there, too," Jon says, touching one of the glass walls.
"I'd better crank up the heat--these coffee beans'll need it."
"Where do you think the man himself is?" GRAHAM says, peering out through
another pane. "I can't see anything outside."
"Let's send out an exploration team," CADO says. "We'll have to do a little
surveying, since my MBBS Atlas is missing. Funny, I thought I'd left it
somewhere around the Cafe last week."
"Doesn't look like there's much to survey--just fog and rocks," Trav says.
"Well, we'll need warm coats, that's for sure. Who wants to go?"
User: Trav sez "anyone who's in, meet me downstairs in five..."
Date: 22-Nov 00:42 AM 817001023
IV.132
GRAHAM, TRAVELER, LOUCH and CADO (and anyone else who wishes to include
themselves :) ) meet in the foyer of the White Room a few minutes later.
Everyone is busy putting on coats, gloves, hats, and mufflers against the
chill; the wind whistles just outside the doors. At last, TRAVELER asks, "Are
we all suited up?" The others nod. Louch closes the inner doors to the White
Room, shutting them into the small antechamber, then eases open the Cafe's
outer doors.
The cold is sharp, even through their heavy clothes. The group finds that the
VVC has landed right next to a road--not much more than a rocky path, really.
"This way?" Trav says, pointing randomly to the right.
"Why not?" says Cado. "It all looks pretty much the same." The two of them
switch on flashlights, to pick out the course of the road as the group moves
along it. The beams cut through spirals of fog, casting a faint backscattered
glow around the walkers; soon, though, the small party is invisible from the
Cafe--and the Cafe is lost to their sight, too.
"Boy, not too much out here," remarks Graham.
"Nope...basically just fog," says Louch.
"And rocks," says Cado.
"Yeah...fog and rocks," Graham agrees.
They hike on, and the conversation dies away as the chill seeps deeper into
their bones. At last the winding road seems to be climbing up a slow rise.
Traveler scans ahead with his flashlight--a stony crest looms at the top of the
slope. "Wonder what's on the other side?" he says to no one in particular.
"As long as there's something other than just more fog and rocks," Louch says.
In a few moments they are coming to the high point of the rise. Cado casts his
beam ahead and peers after it. "Hmm...I don't see much. Except--"
"What?" says Trav.
"More fog...and, uh, rocks..."
User: Traveler welcomes you to Fog and Rock Playhouse :)
Date: 22-Nov 00:52 AM 817001586
IV.133
And one more installment before the holiday...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This is getting ridiculous," LOUCH says. "Fog and rocks...rocks and fog..."
"And it just keeps getting colder," GRAHAM adds.
"Well, if we don't see something else soon, shall we turn back?" TRAVELER says.
"Yes, I th--what's that?" says CADO. "Up ahead--it looks like...somebody
sitting by the roadside!"
The group quickens their pace, encouraged by the sight of something new. As
they move along the road, Cado's sighting is confirmed: in fact, it's not just
one, but two somebodies sitting by the roadside. "If I'm not mistaken,"
Graham says, "the one on the right...is GHOST!"
And it is. The VVC's erstwhile lighting technician is sitting on a plain
wooden chair, next to a scraggly-looking dead tree. In front of the tree is a
small table, just large enough to hold an old-fashioned black telephone. On
the other side of the tree from Ghost, another man sits in a similar chair.
"Who's the other guy?" Trav whispers.
"He looks like Robert Smith," Louch says.
"No, I mean the _other_ guy."
"He looks like Robert Smith."
"No, I mean the _other_ other guy!"
"He looks like the _other_ Robert Smith!" Sure enough, Ghost's companion has
the long, wild hair and pale, made-up face of The Cure's lead singer. He is
even dressed in the appropriately black and stylish clothes (but then so is
Ghost).
Trav approaches Ghost. "Hi. What are you guys doing out here, anyway?"
"Oh, we're waiting."
"Waiting?"
"Waiting," Ghost repeats patiently. "Waiting for _him_..."
User: Traveler says "Take it away, Rob!"
Date: 22-Nov 01:00 AM 817002086
IV.134
*chuckle*
Thanks for letting me go along... *grin*
I'll have to try writing some when I get a chance...
User: Louch...
Date: 22-Nov 08:06 AM 817027595
IV.135
oh no.....
;>
User: the other other ecstasy
Date: 22-Nov 09:18 PM 817075137
IV.136
The group from the VVC stands around in the foggy dark near the two Robert
Smiths. So far, neither one has explained much about what they're doing here,
sitting on a couple chairs with only a telephone between them. It's apparently
got something to do with waiting for somebody...
"Wellll...this is...very interesting," TRAVELER says. "But...we were hoping to
do a little more sightseeing while visiting your board. We couldn't find our
MBBS Atlas back at the Cafe, to look at the map of Board Seven. Could you
maybe supply us with one?"
"Oh--the atlas. Sorry, I forgot to tell you," GHOST says. "I borrowed that.
There have been some changes since that atlas was printed, so the map of my
board's not accurate anyway. But if you want to look at it, it's in the
lighting booth somewhere, in the Black Room. Other than that...I don't really
keep any maps around."
"That's better than nothing, I guess," LOUCH says.
"Hey, Goth-Boy," GRAHAM says, "aren't you cold out here?"
"Ehh...a little. But what can I do? The coldest place on earth is right
here."
"Couldn't you move somewhere else?" CADO says.
"No--you don't understand--THIS is the coldest place on earth," Ghost repeats,
pointing to his chest. "Rob's heart." :)
"Well, before the VVC moves on, we'll come back and bring you a thermos of hot
coffee," Graham says. "Mmm...hot coffee..."
"I could use some myself," Trav sighs. "Let's return to the Cafe, folx."
The group sets off. Eventually (after a distance that seems longer going back
than it was coming out) the familiar lights of the Cafe come into view through
the fog...
User: Traveler
Date: 27-Nov 08:53 PM 817505616
IV.137
Back at the Cafe, heavy garments are shed, and coffee, tea and hot chocolate
are eagerly sipped around one of the White Room fireplaces (both of which are
in use against the cold). As LOUCH, GRAHAM, CADO and TRAVELER warm up, Jon
Vallee approaches.
"While you were gone, we found some ultraviolet bulbs in the Black Room, to use
in the Greenhouse," he reports.
"Oh, good," the proprietor says. "Do you think they'll do the trick?"
"I was upstairs just now, rigging them up. I think they'll work fine.
Oh--while we were poking around in the lighting booth, we found this book."
"My missing MBBS Atlas!" CADO says. "Yes, GHOST told us it'd be there. Let's
have a look." The large, flat volume is opened on a table. "Let's see...here
we go: Board Seven."
"What's that dotted line going across the map, a little ways down?" Graham
points.
"It says '24-Line Limit--Do Not Cross'," Jon reads. "Then over here is 'Rob's
Fortress of Solitude'."
"What I want to know is, if this is Board Seven, where's the Pregnant Yak?"
Traveler says. "Not to mention her twin children, by Dan. Their birth was a
big event a couple years ago, at one of the Overworld parties."
"They must be down here, in the area marked 'Yak Grazing Grounds'."
"Nice map," Cado says, "but we didn't see any of this stuff out there!"
"Here's why," Graham says, pointing to some writing at the bottom of the map.
She reads it aloud: "'Reminder to self: this place is getting crowded. Take
all this stuff out. Replace with fog and rocks.'"
:)
User: Traveler
Date: 28-Nov 10:33 PM 817598032
IV.138
just fog and rocks...
good stuff.
User: graham
Date: 2-Dec 08:08 AM 817891737
IV.139
DARICELL and GRAHAM are standing behind the Red Room bar, as Graham fills an
enormous thermos with coffee for GHOST. "I thought we might send him some
food, too," the Food Services Manager (no longer mere Chef! :) ) says. "But I
don't know what sort of foods he likes...and whatever they are, chances are the
Krishnas couldn't make 'em anyway."
"Well, he seems to be doing as well as ever," Graham says. "Besides, maybe
he's probably fasting to cultivate that gothic look."
"True. Or maybe just studying for Nuclear Engineering, which could also induce
a gaunt, pale appearance..."
"Heh. Well, do you want to come with? It's pretty dark and cold out there."
"Sure. Let's get bundled up."
"Don't take too long," TRAVELER says in passing. "We'll be leaving soon..."
* * * *
This time the walk seems even longer than before. When they reach Ghost, he
explains that it actually _is_. "The space-time fabric of Board 7 is expanding
constantly--everything's getting farther apart from everything else. Gives it
this nice empty look."
"So we'll have a _really_ long walk back, huh? Brrrr!" says Daricell.
"Anyway,
here's some coffee for you. Sure you want to stay here?"
"Oh, yes. We're still waiting. We have to keep waiting till _he_ gets here."
"Till who gets here?" asks Graham.
"Godot, of course."
Suddenly the phone sitting between the two Roberts rings. Robert Smith of the
Cure picks it up. "Yes?" he says in a quavering voice. Then, handing it to
Ghost: "It's for you."
Ghost takes the phone. "Listen, I have to take this call. It's been good to
see you, though..." Graham and Daricell make their goodbyes to Ghost, and,
somewhat awkwardly, to the Cure's lead singer, then turn and head back into
the fog (and rocks).
As they fade from view, Ghost puts the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He listens
for a moment, then sighs and shrugs. "Ehh...okay. Bye." He hangs up.
"Well?" asks his companion.
"Uh, that was Godot. He's not coming..."
:)
* * * *
Back at the Cafe, the big balloon atop the building is already swelling from
the hot gases pouring into it. There is much bustling about as Graham and
Daricell enter the White Room. "Oh, you're back," says LOUCH at her post just
inside the door. She picks up a microphone from her host/ess stand and speaks,
her voice echoed throughout the building: "All passengers are now aboard. We
will commence liftoff procedures shortly."
And so they do. In a few minutes the building pulls away from the ground with
a slight creaking and swaying...and they are aloft again. The grey landscape
blurs out of sight quickly; the view outside gets foggier and foggier...until
suddenly, they burst through the cloud cover, into a clear sky glowing deep
indigo. It is just before dawn. As the VVC turns slowly beneath its balloon,
all can see the bands of orange, purple and blue on the eastern horizon. It's
been a long night, but morning is on its way...
User: Traveler
Date: 2-Dec 11:30 AM 817903871
IV.140
(Author's note: the Godot storyline was actually GHOST's idea. :) )
User: Traveler
Date: 2-Dec 11:32 AM 817903934
IV.141
thanks for writing it..
the flu does not seem conductive to creative thinking..
User: GHOST
Date: 3-Dec 02:37 PM 818001438
IV.142
<>
The rest is not quite silence.
The Virtual Vax Cafe is away on its Farewell Tour of MBBS... but Board 6 will
not remain vacant. Instead, we feature a special story co-authored by a
longtime MBBS/VVC veteran, returning for one last adventure.
The ZoroTrav Alliance is proud to present:
T H E R E T U R N O F T H E M A N I N B L A C K !
Stay tuned...
IV.143
(We begin the day _before_ the VVC's departure. The power cartel calling
themselves "The Hierarchy" waits to see if their representative inside the City
government, Frost, can deliver on his promises and help begin their takeover of
the City.)
COMING
------
Frost sat alone in his office, a gleaming modern affair on the second floor
of a new office building. He stared out the window at the main drag,
sparkling in the sunshine he did not feel.
Frost was worried. He had lied, and lied liberally, to the representatives
of the Hierarchy. He'd been terrified from the moment they'd informed him
that they'd no longer simply be using him as their agent in the City:
terrified that they would discover how little power he possessed, terrified
that they would discover how easy it would be to make the City their
possession. Either way he was finished unless he could deliver the City
to them.
"Ah, folly...fostering delusions of my grandeur in others," he thought,
allowing himself an atypical moment of reflection. Frost was not given to
philosophic thought; he was a man who has spent his life grasping at the
straws of security and real power.
His phone rang, making him half jump from his chair, but he knew it was
not *them*, not so soon. He lifted the receiver and barked a guttural
greeting. "Yeah?"
"I got your message, boss- what are we going to do?"
"Do? We're going to arrange the takeover of the City by agents of a
foreign power. What did you think we were going to do?"
"Yeah, but how?"
"Not on the phone- the walls have ears."
[*laugh* you can see what a good spy Frost is --Walter]
* * *
Hours later, in a dank cellar off Third Street, Mangardo fingered his gun
as he waited for Frost. Frost was never late, but he was late now.
"Nice place you run here, Mangardo," Frost said from the shadows, "but if
you let people sneak up on you like I just did, you won't run it long."
"Yes, boss. What you got for me?"
"What I have got for *me* is the answer to all our problems." Frost
allowed himself half a smile as he lit another cigarette.
"Don't leave me in suspense here!" pleaded Mangardo. Frost, in reply, held
up a slim, dusty volume.
"Whatcha showing me a book for? What's some old book going to do for us?"
"Not some old book, THE book, you simpleton. I have spent my adult life
searching for this fragment of wisdom. I finally found it- its purpose
forgotten, its pages rotting among wine bottles so old they had turned to
vinegar."
"Uh-- I'm not so sure about this, boss.. What do I do? You know I don't
read so good."
"Mangardo, you are useful to me because you are stupid. Take this list of
names. Find me these people and bring them to 1313 Dumbkopfstrasse before
midnight tonight. Let no one know what you are doing, and don't let any of
these weasels tell you no."
"Uh ok, boss-"
"Shut up! I will see you at midnight." Frost tossed his still lit
cigarette into the dusty shadows and stalked away....
User: ZOROASTER
Date: 27-Nov 08:30 PM 817504249
IV.144
Well, Walter, either we've got them spellbound, or they're fast asleep. :/
User: Traveler
Date: 28-Nov 11:02 PM 817599736
IV.145
Midnight:
The clouds had moved in over the City from the eastern desert at dusk,
shrouding the world in yellow-grey. Their accompaniment was the bitter breeze
which would soon bear the VVC out to sea. Frost found himself at a window
again, this time in his Victorian-Gothic parlor, a high-arched affair of
wrought iron which cast pale moon-shadows of semi-circles and lines that
shifted with the cloudy sky. All the rest was dark, for Frost had not bothered
with lights. This was no time for lights.
Distantly he heard the double doors from the hallway swing open. Silhouetted in
the weak yellow light of the hall was Mangardo.
"They're all here now, boss."
"Then get them in here and get out," Frost said. Mangardo nodded and backed
out. Frost heard the voices of confused angry men echoing from the hall. One
by one they filed in: bankers from uptown's financial district, writers and
scientists from the University, even a longshoreman who worked the docks not
far south from the VVC. When the last was in, the doors were shut and barred
from the outside. Frost smiled around his cigarette long enough for the echo
of the locking mechanism to die away.
"Gentlemen," he began, walking forward into the light, "You must have a wealth
of questions about your abduction. They will be answered in due time. All of
you here have made a deal with me. A deal which, I'm sure you'll agree, has
brought you all power and success. In return, you all owe me a debt of
gratitude, a debt you will repay tonight." Their faces, lit softly by the
moonlight flickering in and out behind him, showed a little less concern.
"What's this about, Frost? Come on, we have families! Can't this wait till
tomorrow?" one of the chosen asked. A banker, Frost believed.
"No, it can't. Today is a special, indeed, a holy day."
"Holy?!" someone interjected.
"That's what I said. Beyond this useful debt you owe, you each possess
something else I value. We all share an interest in a certain arcane subject,
of interest to any real scholar in search of knowledge and power. I assume you
all now know exactly why you are here?" Heads shook. Frost allowed himself
another sigh of frustration as he crushed his cigarette. He took his battered
old book from the table and held it up in the light.
"I am speaking of the only true power. That of summoning the elder gods from
beyond the portal of our world. Summoning and controlling power, men, that is
what this is about. This time tommorrow, anything you can conceive of will be
yours."
"Summoning--what cockeyed kind of idea is that?" sputtered Dr. Fishburne, an
elderly antiquarian who supported his collection with Frost's funds. "Are you
so daft as to make us lose sleep over ridiculous old myths?!" Several others
muttered agreement. Frost chuckled dryly.
"Fishburne, you are a blind old man. But enough of this discussion. Very soon
we will see for ourselves! Each of you was handed a package that contains an
item from your own collection." He crossed the room to the light switches and
swung them all to ON. They could see now that the room's dry Victorian arches
and heavy wood were offset by a large pentagram in the center of the floor.
"Gentlemen, this is the book from which we will perform the summoning. You are
here to play roles in that summons; you must each perform your part in the
ritual exactly as described. You must; or we will all die horribly." Now many
faces were pale and confused. But he had chosen well; they were already
starting to examine the seemingly meaningless pieces of the puzzle they each
possessed, their interests piqued.
"Tell me," Fishburne snorted, "what silly legend are we to summon? Some crazy
tentacled god, one of the Indian myths? You are the blind one, Frost."
Frost chuckled again. "No, Fishburne. You know full well what is the only
true evil we may possess. In an hour's time I will have the Man in Black to do
my bidding." Fishburne's amused composure vanished, his face turning comical
with fear. "You are not as stupid as you look, Doctor. Most men of science
blind themselves to the evidence which comes to them; the great record of the
Man which reads like a litany of the world's great wars and conquests. The
will-o-whisp trail in this city, the bodies, the chance accounts. Oh, he's
real, Doctor, he's real."
"You're mad! I will never assist you! We will all die!"
"You think you have a choice?" Frost said, his voice low and serious.
Fishburne looked down and noticed Frost's gun pointed at his waist. "I think
you had better get to work."
"No! No, I won't!" swore Fishburne, backing toward the door. He rattled the
handle desperately. Frost did not hesitate, but fired twice. The doctor cried
out, and then his body lay without life on the hardwood floor.
"I must remember to make sure that's cleaned properly -- at least it wasn't the
Aubusson," muttered Frost. He saw all eyes turn toward him, wide with fear.
Frost addressed them confidently. "He was unnecessary. Let's get to work!"
User: Zoroaster (via Traveler)
Date: 28-Nov 11:03 PM 817599859
IV.146
.. or it's just strange to see a ZOROASTER handle...
User: SIREN
Date: 29-Nov 00:54 AM 817606473
IV.147
I vote for the fast asleep option....
User: VENKMAN
Date: 30-Nov 08:17 AM 817719426
IV.148
I second the motion. All in favor of having John put to sleep?
User: SYLVAR
Date: 1-Dec 06:28 AM 817799300
IV.149
that was good stuff.
i liked (in Max's bit) where GRAHAM got to flick the cig & cut the ropes.
and Walter's bit was cool. the days of Walter posting are almost before my
time.
User: graham
Date: 2-Dec 08:04 AM 817891608
IV.150
All was in readiness. The surviving abductees had put everything in its place.
Frost extinguished his last cigarette, ready for the moment of truth. He
assumed his place at the head of the choir, on a pedestal he had prepared for
the occasion. All eyes were on him.
"Light our candles, turn out the electric lights, and we shall begin." Someone
cut the lights, and the bulk of the room descended into flickering shadow.
"BEGIN!"
The chants rose from Frost's followers, their doubts suddenly converted to
fervour. Frost threw his head back and felt words he had barely begun to
memorize suddenly seize his throat and speak of their own accord. The light of
the candles turned the color of blood as incense was thrown on the flames again
and again, and he felt almost trapped in place, as if there were no longer any
option but to scream and dance. In the corners of his eyes he saw his
followers likely taken by the same emotion, twisting madly about and uttering
strange and horrible sounds.
All at once there was a feeling of *presence*, and a deep dread took them all.
The screams turned more desperate, till Frost knew that the time for silence
had come. The word rushed from his lips as if from another's.
"ENOUGH!"
Suddenly all were still and silent. All heads turned to the center of the
circle. For a long space nothing happened, and Frost a tiny fear which felt
almost like hope, a certainty that nothing would appear in that circle.
Then the room swam as if rippling in the surface of a pond. The light dimmed
almost all away, the candles paying respect to HE that makes them burn. A
certain light moved in the magic lines they had drawn, shaking the ancient
totems which stood at each intersection.
And then he was there.
There the Man stood, a normal enough looking man dressed in a simple black
overcoat. Frost studied him for a moment, unable to imagine that this was the
source of his hopes. Then he looked into the eyes, and knew his doom.
"Hello," said the Man in a low voice. The word, so normal, seemed absurd
coming from his lips. "What have we here class? A slow learner?"
The Man turned to Frost and stared at him. This was the one who had chosen to
draw his attention. He saw into him and through him, and took but a moment to
dismiss his cruelty as a petty and boring kind.
"Who volunteers to die first?"
Frost clapped his hands together slowly. Chancing a grin to hide his fear, he
took up the ancient book from the pedestal. He stepped forward to the edge of
the circle.
"I think you will find that we will pick the volunteers."
"How do you figure?" asked the Man, his voice rich and raspy with amusement.
"I think you will find that we have done everything here as ritual demands. The
circle is drawn, and you are inside. The totems of power are in their places.
I have you."
"You have me?" The Man laughed, "You are correct. You have Death." The Man
stepped forward slowly, so slowly, his foot coming down over the line of the
pentagram. Frost looked down, his widening. He flipped the book open,
desperately reading the spell of control from a rotted page.
The Man walked slowly across the room, turning to smile at the group as he
crossed each line of power, kicking down totems as he went. Frost stumbled
across the words as the rusted-steel smell of the Man overpowered his senses.
He looked up into the eyes of the Man.
"I command you, by the unspeakable Names of the seven Beasts of the Pit, y-you
will s-s-serve...me! You-you will find the AW files, and assist the Hierarchy
in taking control of the Ci--"
"You are a sad little man, Frost. Have you heard the expression 'live by the
sword, die by the sword'?" Frost nodded assent, too paralyzed to speak. The
Man took the book from him, gently, and shut it.
"You," he chuckled, "thought to live, well, by the book." Frost's eyes
widened, and then the man was on him, gripping his neck like a vise, savagely
jamming the book into his mouth over and over. The others were treated to an
extended, syncopated, gurgling scream, and then it was over.
"Not one of my best," mused the man, "but it will do for a start." Then he
turned to finish the evening's work.
User: Zoroaster (via Traveler)
Date: 2-Dec 11:46 AM 817904840