
1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask....
2 ************************* INSTALLED: 22 NOV 86 ***********************
3 Welcome to BWMS (BackWater Message System)  Mike Day System operator
4 ************************************************************
5 GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION
6                     PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM.
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17 Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
18  ****************************************************************
19 
20 UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI UI
21 Well, at the top where I, the Ultimate Intelligence, belong! What sort of wisdomn should I leave for you poor beknighte
22 mortals today. The secret of immortality? Blueprints for a working time machine?
23 No, I'll give you something REALLY important. A recipe for great egg salad.
24 Take 6 hard boiled eggs, mash them into
25 small pieces and mix in a bowl with
26 half a cup of Bunkos Herb Mayonnaise.
27 Add to this a tablespoon of sweet picklerelish, and some finely chopped sweet
28 onion, mix until done and spread over
29 slices of Wheatberry bread.
30 Worthy fodder for an immortal.
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 WHO CARES?
36 <o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o>   
37      There use to be a house here,  a bit worn and ragged in places, but 
38 comfortable.   The  sort that grows on you in time.   A friend lived  in 
39 that house,  a very good friend.  The sort of friend you can talk to and 
40 not be afraid of what you say.   A friend who knows you and  understands 
41 you.  
42      I  felt safe and comfortable in that home,  it was as if it was  my 
43 own home.   Oh, it wasn't always that way of course.  At first there was 
44 uncertainty and fear.   But in time that went away,  and was replaced by 
45 the certainty of our friendship.  I knew that I was always welcome.  And 
46 I knew that I could say the things I couldn't talk about without fear of 
47 being hurt. 
48      That doesn't mean things were always perfect,  far from it.  By the 
49 very  nature  of our friendship I found I could say things that I  would 
50 never  be  able  to say to anyone else  under  the  same  circumstances.  
51 Things  from deep in my heart and soul.   Things I normally keep  hidden 
52 behind locked and barred doors.  
53      I wasn't always able to talk of such things,  but in time the trust 
54 and  security  grew  until I knew that we could talk about  such  things 
55 without destroying the friendship we had.   And my friend could speak to 
56 me in the same way with the same feeling of trust and security.  Knowing 
57 that things could always be talked out.
58      But today when I went there the house was gone.  The lot was  empty 
59 with  weeds  growing as if the house had never been  there.   My  friend 
60 gone.  The safe secure house no longer there to make me feel comfortable 
61 and at home.  Nothing but an empty lot mocking me.  
62      Life  goes  on,  but it will never be the same how can it when  the 
63 best friend you've ever known is gone.
64 <o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o><o>   
65 ____11/22/86__________________JD 2446757.6497_________19:35:39_PST_________
66 Well UI, I tried your egg salad recipe.
67 It was really quite good. I had to go
68 to Value Giant to get some Bunko's 
69 herb Mayonnaiise, but it was worth the
70 trip. I added some celery to your recipe. It was verrrrry goooood.
71                     CHRIS OLSEN
72 
73 
74 
75 
76 
77 
78 oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.
79 
80 assorted western family products:
81 
82 spot welders
83 plastic wraps
84 weiner wraps
85 rapper raps
86 all-new Tolstoy in a bottle
87 and a new concert-for-a-cause:
88 golfer aid
89 aqua-fresh ads are really dum.
90 
91 i am garlic
92 
93 we all are
94 oh.
95 timeout for wonderbread
96 
97                                                 -wax
98 
99 oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.oh.
100 doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut
101 
102  stonehead: call 1800 usa 2525 for drug probs and mellow yourself.
103  all else, whoah, whats new? any recipes for soma or lysergic acid diethylate?
104  little of the ole cid helps one to relax, or kill, nicht wahr?
105 das ist alles, guten tag!
106  later from the doughnutman,
107 and hey,
108  if youre not wasted......
109                         ......the day is!
110                     doughnutman
111 doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut-doughnut
112 o\=<([v2v])>=/o
113 WHO CARES?
114 
115 ---------------------
116                                 The Return
117 
118 It had been a long time since he had last been here.  The tree, the sky,
119 and that familiar and yet unfamiliar building brought back memories of the
120 past.  A different time, a different place, and the different but similar
121 person he had been.
122      He walked towards the building, looking here and there.  He saw that
123 the building looked as it always had, but sensed that there had been some
124 unharmonious occurrences here in his absence.  He frowned, wondering what
125 might have happened to disturb the aura.
126      Soon he reached the door of the Inn.  He stood and listened for the
127 sounds of conversation.  They were there, maybe softer than they had been,
128 maybe not.  After collecting his thoughts, he pulled opon the door,
129 entered, and closed the door softly behind him.
130      He stood in the doorway and took in the ambiance of the place.  A
131 place that he had visited frequently before but could seldom get to now.
132 It had the same feel of comfort and comradery.
133      He looked about for a table.  Being unsure of how he would be
134 received, he chose an empty table near the back.  Setting his robes on the
135 back of the chair, he sat down and let slip a contented sigh.  It felt
136 good to be back, even if it was for a short time.
137      He wondered if anyone still remembered him, and if any of those he
138 remembered were here.  Feeling it was time for a drink, he signaled the
139 Innkeeper.  As the Innkeeper was nearing his table, he wondered if
140 Dragon's Breath was served here and if it was not, what he would order
141 instead.
142 
143                             Max the Philosopher
144                              November 23, 1986
145 
146 
147 -------------------
148 Post Script: Errors corrected on November 28th, 1986.  Thanks Phantom!
149 -------------------
150 =+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+=
151 
152 WE BE THRASHIN!!!
153 
154 
155 			*************
156 			*Triple Five*
157 			* Was Here! *
158 			*************
159 
160 =+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+==+-+=
161 
162               *      
163               *
164               *
165               *
166           *********
167               *
168                 *
169                 *
170             *
171 
172 
173 
174 
175 
176 
177 
178 
179 
180 
181 
182 
183 WHO CARES?
184 ____11/23/86__________________JD 2446758.4298_________14:19:27_PST_________
185 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
186 I raised my head slowly, a little bit groggy from sleep.  I noticed that the 
187 door was uncovered again.  That damnable door.  All of the magic, wishing
188 and praying we could use on it had come to naught.  I noticed someone trying
189 that upstart new magic called 'Scientific Methodology' on the door.  Wait!
190 It was Bard!  I sat quietly as he failed, as we all had.  
191 I saw the innkeeper coming to the table next to me.  Another familiar face.
192 "Innkeeper," I said quietly, "he really doesn't want dragons breath.  Bring
193 him a large snifter of B&B, and bring me the same.  As a matter of fact, 
194 bring one for all of my friends.  And do not forget to place one by the fire 
195 for Piper, who we saw in the fire so many evenings ago."
196 I turned back to Max, and asked if he would like to join me.  "What would
197 you like to discuss ?  The dementia of Phaedra ?  The madness of MAD ?  The
198 high price of a fine apperetif ?  Do tell us what fortuitous circumstance
199 brings you back to taunt us ?" 
200 Max moved over to my table as the Innkeeper brought the last of the large 
201 group of snifters, placed three on the table, being careful not to disturb
202 the Go board in front of us, and sat down as well.  I looked expectantly at
203 my old friends, and asked "How are the ankles, Innkeeper ?", while handing him
204 the gold to pay for the large round.
205 
206 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]   Friar   [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
207 Llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
208 Zippy:   I do hope that I did not offend. I was refering to a sucessfull
209          experiment in the art of 'flow of concussesness(SP) Known as
210          Zippy the Pinhead. Where I come from, he is quite a favorite in 
211          underground newspapers.(Oh, if only the freep was still alive!)
212              If i have judged the sourse of your name mistakenly, then
213          I apologise, but do understand that no offence was intended.
214 StormCrow: I would love a gome. But, I must warn you that I am a bit rusty
215            myselfe. Last game I played was with my (GO)Master.(accoucly
216           he was just an SCA'er named Cornielieous Hwawkson wh0 had a thing
217           for stratigy games. He was quite good. At lease, the only thing
218           that I ever beat him in was chess, and that was anout 1 game out of 
219           4.)I beleave that I rember all the rules and such though,
220            and I have a set.
221                Which hollidays were you refering to?(keep in mind, not knowing 
222            your deonomanation it could be one of several..)
223    
224 	Luther
225 P.S. All:
226       Am I going to be the only one out their at the crack of evening to 
227 	see the first showing of StarTrek IV?? It sounds as if this w
228         a good one. 
229 P.P.S] 
230          By the way, Who is the Kraftwork fan on drive B??????????????
231 Llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
232 
233 Well actually, Zippy the Pinhead wears
234 a yellow robe with red polka dots and not a white robe. His strip can be seen 
235 in the A and E section of each Fridays
236 Oregonian, and can be found daily in
237 the San Fransisco Chronicle. Talk about
238 selling out...
239 
240 
241 
242 WHO CARES?
243 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzippy
244 Luther, no offense taken, and that is not the origin of my name. That is a 
245 long tale indeed, and somewhat inappropriate. Ask me again later...
246 
247      "The rain today got in my way" -- Robert Frost
248 It got in my way, too Bob, ever reschedule a cross country FIVE TIMES due to
249 weather?
250 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzippy
251 
252 No, never. And by the way, do you see a deep kinetic meaning in that quote
253 above? If you do, oh.
254 
255 									Off.
256 DIE SCUM SLUTS OF BACKWATER
257 
258  
259 36	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945
260 	Washington was silent and cold that night. Orange air raid sirens
261 were strung to the trees with electrical cable and wires. Artillery
262 fortifications on the inland shores of the river were left at a constant
263 state of preparation, and the noises of the soldiers and their mechanisms
264 usually kept me awake but not that night.
265 	I slept in the warm comfort of the linen of the house. Father and my
266 sister were asleep in the rooms nearby. While my brother and his fellow
267 soldiers were at the town down the road drinking, we stayed within the
268 fragile walls of the house. As were the artillery crews that protected the
269 river inlet and the people who lived around there.
270 	Aside from the carousing squad down at the diner, there were a few
271 pilots and gunners awake. Japanese fighters had been launched from carriers
272 in the Aleutian Islands and used spare fuel tanks to get down to this part
273 of the West Coast. Their fingers were about to bring on the destrucion and
274 desolation of wartime.
275 	First, they dropped their fuel tanks on the woods and the houses
276 near the emplacements. Whatever fuel was left from the flight down the
277 coast, it was ignited and set the timbers on fire. Our house was spared this
278 first attack. And the family awoke in time to escape the strafing of our
279 house in the following minutes.
280 	Father and sister had surely awakened at that point. I can just see
281 father putting his cap on and trying to pull his gaitered pants about him,
282 so that he could go direct the men under his command. And sister's eyes
283 opening so wide it would have looked as if she had seen my Jim and I
284 indulging ourselves.
285 	Myself, I dove underneath the writing desk and gathered my bedcovers
286 around me in my kneeling postition. When the bullets started to go through
287 the fragile timbers of the house, I knew everyone in the house would need
288 luck and the grace of God to survive the attack.
289 	What of it? A Japanese attack had been predicted and prepared
290 against for at least eight months. Ever since the Russians invaded the
291 Germans in Austria, the Innocent Powers had allied against the combined
292 strength of the Soviet Union and Imperial Japan.
293 	When Australia was lost to the Nips, and Los Angeles was fire
294 bombed, artillery emplacements were built on the coasts of the Allies so
295 that full attention could be given to the preparation for war. Nicknamed
296 `Nellies' after their proponent, Admiral Nelson, they were the first and
297 only line of defense for the poorly prepared Allies.
298 	Japan was making their first strike against one. From the sounds of
299 the machine guns and the strafing of the emplacement, the Japanese were
300 destroying the emplacement with ease. As two crashes and the falls of timber
301 were heard, it was clear that they were losing fighters in the attack.
302 	Dawn came and the sounds of gunfired ended. I walked out of the
303 front door and let the screen door swing shut behind me. The normalcy of the
304 creaking sound was a sharp contradiction to the waste I saw in front of me.
305 A fighter had cashed on the long driveway which came up to the house.
306 Machinery and scorched debris was spread along the length of it. Fires still
307 leapt upwards from the wreckage. I guessed there was a pilot and a gunner
308 inside, but I did not want to know for sure.
309 	There was a ship in the river, apparently it would have sunk if
310 their had been the depth for it in the river inlet. Navies all have gray
311 ships, so I could not tell whose it was right away. Then it occured to me
312 that it had tried to slip inland during the attack. It was a Nip. It had to
313 have been the survivor of a fleet that destroyed the ships at Astoria Habor,
314 just up the river four miles.
315 	Father came out from behind me. The door shut as he placed his hand
316 on my shoulder. He said that my sister was making breakfast in the kitchen.
317 Scrambled eggs. It occured to me that our kitchen was a fatal place during
318 the attack. If the strafing had left bullets in there, they would have
319 richocheted off the cast iron stove. I was proud that our family survived,
320 and that we held off the Japanese assault. Only one fear kept at me. It was
321 that the outcome of the war would leave even more of the people I cared for,
322 dead.
323 	Like the pilot and the gunner in the fighter. Or like Jim probably
324 was, in the scorched gun emplacement.
325 1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945
326  
327 ANARCHY IN THE U.K.!
328 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
329 WKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWK
330 Zippy: (repeet)  Yo Z! We did it again, we realy have to put a
331 stop to this you know.  Well I'll still try to get in touch
332 with you soon.  Need to catch up on old times, eh?  Maby
333 over a glass of somthing???  Well take care Zippy De Lurker.
334 
335 WKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWK KNIGHT
336 o\=<([v2v])>=/o
337 .
338 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
339  
340 A wood near Prague
341 March 23
342  
343 Sokorsky put the car at a rest. Reaching across the seat and grasping a
344 simple automatic pistol, he noticed the figure of a man in the woods across
345 the clearing. It was Lipton, to be sure.
346  
347 When the door to the automobile swung shut, Lipton noticed the source of the
348 noise at the other end of the field. It was obviously Sokorsky that walked
349 over the grass. A gray and woolen suit contrasts against grass. And slate
350 metal of a pistol does also.
351  
352 Lipton saw that the weapon in the limp grasp of the approaching officer was
353 to be put to use in his death. He quickly put his sketches and the implements
354 of his trade into his satchel. Of which, the jar which held the butterfly as
355 the cyanide put it to death, gave Lipton an idea.
356  
357 As soon as he was gathered, he tore off across the forest. He soon had a lead
358 over the racing officer. He took a swab of cotton out from the wad he carried
359 for his work. Slowly he poured a portion of the cyanide into it. When he
360 heard the sounds of the officer approaching him from the distance, Lipton hid
361 upon a rock over the path.
362  
363 Sokorsky was breathing quickly. His aging heart was not in the shape it once
364 was. Each time his feet instinctively struck the path below him, he tried to
365 push it farther. He had to catch this spy. He had to, simple as that.
366  
367 Sokorsky ran straight underneath the ledge of stone that Lipton was on. He
368 sprung from his crouching position and leapt straight down on the running man
369 below. After a short struggle, Lipton had placed the swab of cotton over the
370 mouth and nose of Sokorsky, and held it there.
371  
372 Long enough.
373  
374 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
375  
376 I saw the same method of killing some
377 one and almost the same plotline in
378 The Dr Who episode "The 2 Doctors."
379 
380 
381 
382 
383 
384 
385 
386 ____11/24/86__________________JD 2446759.6264_________19:02:06_PST_________
387 WHO CARES?
388 o\=<([v2v])>=/o
389 ____11/25/86__________________JD 2446760.5894_________18:08:47_PST_________
390 Hello Luther,  The holidays I ment are this week in particular, (lots of family
391 here) anad usually pretty busy the rest of the time. Perhaps we came meet
392 across a GO board some time mid Dec.  I'd prefer to use your set as mine is 
393 made of poster board and painted penneys(cheep huh). I'll check back with you
394 after Thanksgiving. Have a happy one.
395 Stormcrow.
396 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
397 WHO CARES?
398 PsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSi
399     "Don't worry about it Bard." Cragmore said laughingly. "We all felt
400 discouraged at first too. But now that mysterious door stands as a monument
401 to the finite limits of our powers."
402     Bard rolled his eyes before responding. "You always were the philosophic
403 one, Cragmore. What I can't understand is that none of my instruments even
404 came close to penetrating that crazy door. A thousand worlds and I have never
405 seen anything quite like it!"
406      "If everything were known," Milchar said on draining yes another mug,
407 "our lives would be rather regular. Perhaps we should try a different tact."
408      Bard looked up, his interest in Milchar's last statement piqued. "What
409 do you mean, 'a different tact' ?"
410      "I think I might know." Cragmore smiled across at Milchar. "It's a good
411 idea too."
412      "Enough with the mind link you two big-heads. How about some verbal
413 communications!" Bard glared at his companions.
414      "If you wish." Cragmore answered. "What we propose is this. We have been
415 given a mystery to solve. We have been given a few meager clues. It is our
416 problem to use the clues, and our brains, to solve the mystery to our
417 satisfaction. Let us assume we have all the physical evidence we are going
418 to be given."
419       "And let us assume that the door is a solvable mystery." continued
420 Milchar. "We all know that all mysteries are solvable, right Bard? Anyway,
421 we must lay down what we know, and using our collective intelligence, formulate
422 all possible hypotheses. Between all of us, we should be able to come up
423 with quite a number. Then, we will test each hypothesis as best we can,
424 discarding those that we can positively disprove, and keeping those we can't.
425 When we have finished, we will have a list, a possibly long list, but a list
426 nonetheless of what this door could mean and/or be."
427       "But that could take us forever! All possible hypotheses?" Bard protested
428 with a slammed tankard, it's contents splashing onto the worn wooden table.
429       "Careful Bard, and no, it won't take forever. Besides, do you have
430 anything better to do this fine day?" Cragmore said, wiping the table with
431 his kerchief.
432        Bard remembered the weather outside the inn. Cold, rainy, foggy, and
433 generally rotten. "I guess you are right. OK, now where do we begin?"
434        "How about a song, Bard? A little cheering up before we really start
435 our mind work. You know, a really uplifting little ditty." Milchar asked
436 expectantly.
437        Bard rubbed his hairy chin. "Hmmm, let me ponder that for just one
438 moment. Mayhaps I can think of something."
439        "We'll wait, Bard. We aren't going anywhere either." Cragmore saw
440 the memory of foul weather through Bard's eyes.
441 PsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSi CRAGMORE PsIpSiPsIpSiPsIpSiPsI
442 I CARE!
443 *%@*_))*%)!+%*###!%*%@^#($+_(^+_#^+*^&+*(^_@(%(@^*^&@%(%@#^*$^**_|(*^**@+(%!^*$^&+!__*%|~*%!^*+#+(!+%(+!%*!_%*!+%*^+&+
444 bwdt: check for mail boxes for important information.
445 War Years: Nice story. It made me think of Philip K. Dick's 'Man in the High
446 Castle' a bit. It is a book I enjoyed very much, as I did your story.
447 Dr Who comment: I don't care if the story is similar to a television episode.
448 I didn't see the show, and I want to find out what happens to the characters
449 in *this* story. Will the snappy remarks every end?
450 (#@%_)#(%_(%_!#%)_^&)!_%)*!_%^&_)%%*@* L'homme sans Parity %*&_))%*!%**_)%&)~&~%&)^&_)*!#^_!_^!_^*!_)&!_)*!+$*(+!^&!_^&!
451 
452 FAT CHANCE!
453 up youpyours}
454 
455 
456 
457 
458 
459 
460 
461 }
462 
463  
464 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
465  
466 A clearing near Prague
467 March 25
468  
469 Lipton stood on the platform of the stairs that lead inside the airplane.
470 Sirens approached from across the field. No doubt they were personnel
471 carriers and squads of soldiers, dispatched to arrest them.
472  
473 "We heard that Sokorsky had driven to the forest to arrest you,"
474 Wind drained the warmth from behind the scarf that Lipton had over his face.
475 Drips of rain pelted down, their path in the air according to the winds. When
476 the propellers started to spin, their noise amplified over and over again, so
477 the answer that Lipton gave to his companion was a simple whisper.
478  
479 "I am afraid the fellow has been moth-balled,"
480  
481 And still the personnel carriers accelerated toward the airplane. Whether it
482 would take off with enough distance to insure their safety against the
483 weapons the soldiers carried, there was doubt.
484 Not for long after Lipton sat down in the aircraft though. For within forty
485 minutes, Dresden was underneath the windows of the aging craft. Then
486 underneath the landing gear.
487  
488 Lipton had escaped Prague.
489  
490 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
491  
492 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
493 many months, yet somehow I always come back to the Inn.  I have been to the gleainy citys, the tall pylons of the
494 Fido exchanges, the squat solidity of the Punter networks. I have walked through the long corridors of the vax, the
495 rooms of the PDP's and the hall of the 	IBM's. I have flown through the streets at 2400, and hummed down the highways 
496 of 19.2k. Yet, I have never found the comfort and stability of the Inn. Perhaps, those with their heads full of newer,
497 faster, and better have scorned the small portal, never bothering to slow down to take the nearly hidden exit of the 
498 Inn. If so, I pity them for although the Inn is sometimes attacked by the stupid, and saturated with their drivel, it's 
499 residents have always banded together and expelled the intruders. Here, one can rest and let the mind relax in the 
500 atmosphere of creativity. I have been gone a long time, and this, I need.
501 +++++++++++++++++++++++++000000001TED++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
502 As I have now gained full upper and lower case, I shall kill my name. 000000001TED is dead.
503 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++??????????????????(wouldn't you like to know)??????????????????????????????
504 o\=<([v2v])>=/o
505 WHO CARES?
506  
507 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
508  
509 Please, pardon my use of a cliche in the story. I simply wanted to include it
510 in a story which I was about to share here, and never meant to take credit
511 for having developed it. And some people here are probably pleased that I did
512 include it after all.
513  
514 Now for the end of the story.
515  
516 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
517  
518 Dresden
519 March 26
520  
521 Lipton stood in front of a marble desk. He and an Asian were on a conference
522 telephone call. Each of them spoke in natural American accents. It was a
523 distinct accent from southern Connecticut that came from the speakers, and
524 across a transatlantic cable.
525  
526 "Yes, sir. It was two months acting as an entomologist. Sketching these
527 diagrams here,"
528 He put his sketches in front of the video camera and waited for the response
529 from Stateside to come across the wire.
530  
531 "Elaborate, what are they?"
532 "Yes, what sort of diagrams are these, Lipton?
533  
534 "If you will see the detail on the wings, sir. It closely resembles the
535 topography of the forests near Prague. Or as closely as I could render. Each
536 of these sketches is a representation of the movements of armored and
537 infantry units under Warsaw Pact tactics,"
538  
539 "These triangles here, Lipton, what are they?"
540 "Ammunition depots, sir. I have a key drawn up. Here it is,"
541  
542 He slid the pictures of the details on the wings, and a paragraph of
543 description, under the camera. He waited for the congratulations to arrive
544 from Langley.
545  
546 PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE  PRAGUE
547  
548 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
549 I've always wondered what all the designs on butterfly and moth wings
550   were!  Bravo!
551 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.Emu
552 o\=<([v2v])>=/o
553 WHO CARES?
554 *************************************************************************
555 Bard: probably it was the magic of the Inn that prevented your instruments
556 from working. Remember, there is a local law prohibiting "high-tech" 
557 stuff from the vicinity of the Inn. Everytime someone has tried to bring
558 some in it always ends up going wrong. And the spell around the door 
559 seems to be rather powerful since it has held off the best efforts of
560 some of the more adept madges around. 
561 ************************** CISTOP MIKEY *********************************
562 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
563 ANARCHY IN THE U.S.A.
564 I AM THE ANTI-CHRIST
565 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
566 ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````~~````````````````````````````````````````````````
567 As technology continued to advance through the twenty first century, for the first time man had within his grasp the
568 ability to move backward through time. The first attempts were made haltingly, the accumulated hundreds of years of 
569 science fiction limiting exploration. the scientists developing the first time machines were scared, and sometimes with good 
570 reason.  Occassionally, volunteers did not return, or returned with a different version of history than what was supposto be 
571 true. The obvious conclusion was made, that changes made by time travelers visiting the past were already incorporated in the 
572 future. The problem was that a person who visited ancient Rome believing that the common housecat only came with one tail, 
573 might return to find a two tailed breed had been developed during the middle ages. Other 'alterations' were not so funny, 
574 though. Historians were now viciously debating the actual length of WWII, based on the testomony of one time traveler
575 who claimed when he left, the Japanese had surrendered the same time as the Germans. 
576    So, inevitably, the government stepped in to regulate time travel. Unauthorized time travel was forbidden, and any travel
577 had to be cleared through the central government agency I.T.T.A., Internal Time Travel Agency.  It usually took a very good 
578 reason to get permission from ITTA.  Preventing accidental deaths usually were not accepted, as were innumerable requests to 
579 solve 'Unsolveable' crimes.  Attempts to go around ITTA never worked, as ITTA'S Time Tracers could detect any space time warp 
580 generated by a time machine. It was then a simple matter to 'backtrack' and arrest the offender at the point before his machine
581 activated. The few people who had tried in the early days of the agency had been subjected to such terrible penalties that most 582 people had concluded that it was easier to work with ITTA than aginst.  Besides, if ITTA decided that you had a valid reason, 
583 their time technicians would take care of the entire operation, and it would be done free of charge as a governmental service.
584    The public's reaction had been predictable.  At first, cries of 'power mongers' and fears of repirations had nearly 
585 destabilized the government. After a few years had passed, and no dictator had suddenly appeared to kill your spouse before 
586 birth, the public had gradually forgotten the uproar. Eventually, time travel came to regarded as a fundamental public right, 
587 with good reasons. ITTA became just another public agency.
588   
589    Still, there were those with knowledge who realized how vital ITTA had become.
590 ````````````````````````````````````````````````Mr. Interceptor````````````````````````````````````````````
591 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
592 	"I'm sure the instruments are working. After all, it was high tech
593 weapons that were proscribed. And it's not that the readings don't make
594 sense. They make perfect sense...." muttered Bard.
595 	"The readings make sense? Then why did you look like they'd tried to
596 bite you?" asked Milchar.
597 	"Oh, they make sense. They're perfectly consistent. Only trouble is
598 that they say the door isn't there! Same wood, paint, and everything as the
599 rest of the wall." Bard got up from the table, picking up his glass as he 
600 did so. He walked over to the door.
601 	He stood looking at it for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and 
602 ran his hand over it. "Feels like metal..." Then he stepped back, drained
603 his glass and threw it at the door.
604 	THUD! The glass struck the door and fell to the floor. Not with
605 the ringing sound of glass on metal, but with the unmistakable sound of
606 glass on *wood*!
607 	"We can see it. It even feels like metal. But my instruments say it
608 isn't there. So does the glass. Well?"
609 	"Are you trying to say it's a mass hallucination?" asked Cragmore.
610 	"No. Just pointing out more evidence. While you people debate what
611 it means, I'll try to find an appropriate song."
612 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
613 the score:
614 "normal" sensory perception (sight, touch, sound, etc): it's there.
615 "ESP", various spells to augment senses: it's there
616 instruments: it's *not* there...
617 hmmm... looks like direct examination says yes, indirect says no.
618 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
619 WHO CARES?
620 #######################################################################
621 The Innkeeper looked up at the sound of a glass smashing against the
622 wall. "That'll be an extra charge gentlemen."  
623 While I find it interesting that the door may or maynot be there, the
624 sounds eminating from behind it still make themselves known. The last
625 time I heard sounds such as that was when I took a trip to the city in
626 the south to pick up a case of saurian wine. I remember that there was 
627 a place next to the warehouse that had sounds comeing from it just like 
628 those that we hear behind whatever that thing is.
629 ####################### The Innkeeper #################################

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