>>>>>[The Spirits laugh at those who claim to master great power,
who threaten and bellow with rage at foes imagined and
insignificant. The mark of one who has truly mastered great power
is his silence, his humility in the knowledge that with great power
comes great responsibility, the one force in the universe that can
intimidate us all. Luminous beings are we, capable of flying with
the wind and swimming with the sea. Let the power declarations end
so that the spirits can respect us all.]<<<<< 
     --Tearchild <19:19:31/6-7-54>

>>>>>>>>>[Yeah, Tearchild is on the money. I don't go in for his(?)
mystical communion with nature s%&t but boastin' don't do yer rep
any. Actions speak louder than words. Speaking of which, anyone know
what the Renraku goons are looking for in Dockside
Seattle?]<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 
     --Ratty <DATE/TIME SIGNAL DISRUPTED>

>>>>>[So do you want us to look for him or not, Tearchild? Sorry
about this but your mode of langauge is a bit beyond me
chummer.]<<<<< 
        --Jobby <11:37:51/6-8-54>

>>>>>[Tearchild:  Ho.]<<<<<
        -- Law'N'Order <19:24:28/06-07-54>

>>>>>[Once again I must thank all who have shown an interest in
tracking Brave. I apologize for not being completely clear-this
matter greatly troubles me, and I'm afraid emotion has ruled my mind
for the past 48 hours. Those of you who find Brave, please do not
attack him or let him know he is being watched, but do report his
activities to myself. I would appreciate your leaving messages on
this BBS rather than contacting the tribal system, as we are trying
to keep this secret and personal between Brave, Colonel Smith, and
myself. 

To better explain the search and satiate the curiosity of those of
you who are suspicious as to my motives, I offer the following
information. 

Brave is a member of the Cherokee army, in a sniper squad under the
indirect command of Colonel Smith, an old friend of mine. Brave is
known to be magically active, in your hermetic terms. He is
classified as an adept. To guide him along a responsible path, I
have been his mentor for some years now. Great Spirit follows him
closely; the boy is gifted with athletic prowess and a sharp mind,
as well as the will to resist the powers of evil spirits. He is an
excellent shot with bow as well as firearms, and his training with
the traditional weapons of knife and spear, as well as the sword,
are excellent. 

Last year I felt that I had done as much as I could alone, and
contacted a group of gifted warriors (in your terms, adepts) to ask
them about allowing another to join them. They are dedicated to
protecting nature and the will of the Great Spirit who guides us
all. Brave has performed several quest and gone through a number of
ordeals in fulfilling his loyalty to the group. After discussing
the matter with their leader, I have determined that Brave is
likely on a VisionQuest. I am not sure but I believe he may be
headed for Tulsa, Oklahoma, in your Confederation. I must go now.
Thank you again for all of your help.]<<<<< 
     Tearchild <19:21:52/6-7-54>

>>>>>[Me 'n' my chummer'll be headin' back down toward Gatlinburg in
the near future, Tearchild; you want I should keep an eye out?  I
can't guarantee we'll see anything; we're gonna be movin' kinda
fast, y'know?  But my chummer, he's a shaman hisself, Cat totem, and
he might pick somethin' up like he did last time we were down that
way.  One question, though -- what do we do if he bolts outa the
woods in front of us, and maybe levels a weapon?  I dunno if I can
hold back m'reflexes on the trigger, y'know?}<<<<<
        -- Delta-Vee <19:34:08/06-07-54>

>>>>>[Ahh, Cerise, lassie?  Could you look at something for me?  I
was hired to acquire the contents of a safe deposit box, which I did,
and to give said contents to my employer which  I did--sort of.  I
thought I had put everything in the the briefcase I was to drop off,
but it turns out I...missed something. 

When I got back from the drop, money safely in my pocket, I decided
to lose whoops, I decided to crash for a few hours, and then go out
for a night on the town.  I didn't sleep all that well; I had some
bad dreams or something, I can't remember.  I woke up a few hours
later, not feeling very rested, but I decided to go out anyway.  I
put on my trench coat and hat, and went out to my car.

I reached into my pocket for my car keys, and felt something else
resting on top of them.  I pulled the object out, and then nearly
dropped it: it was a ring, onyx I think, of a perfectly formed
spider.  I looked the whole thing over, and also discovered a ruby,
in the shape of an hourglass, underneath the body, where it would
rest against the wearers skin.  There was something about the ruby
that was almost mesmerizing...I found that I could see more and
more deeply into the gem, and could almost perceive a pattern.  For
a few minutes, that was all I was conscious of, the pattern.  I
wasn't even seeing it any more, it was in my head, rushing around
and around. 

I finally snaped out of it, to find myself still standing next to my
car.  A few minutes had passed.  Feeling kind of foolish, I looked
back down at the ring, only to find it somehow on my right ring
finger.  Feeling kind of nauseated at having the thing on my hand, I
tried to pull it off.  I couldn't. Believe me, I tried everything.

So, lassie, I'm sure this is nothing, ha ha, just some sort of joke
or anti-theft spell, hee hee, but I'd really like to get  the BLOODY
THING OFF!!! Sorry.  Give me a call, all right?]<<<<<
        -- Highlander (16:21:42/6-7-54)

>>>>>[Um, lassie, I don't suppose you've changed your clothing
style, dyed your hair, or anything like that, have you?  Some lass
has been asking about me at some of my normal hangouts, and once
even stopped by my apartment while I was out.  She's been described
as being stunningly beautiful, dressed in black, with a red
hourglass pendant.  One chummer mentioned the fact that her eyes
seemed cybered: they were normal looking, but the pupil was black,
and the iris a red shape he couldn't quite make out.  Get back to
me as soon as possible, okay?  Thanks.]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (17:16:12/6-7-54)

>>>>>[Hoi, Tearchild. Sorry chummer but I'm stuck in Seattle for the
next couple of weeks, and the only thing likely to motivate me is
nuyen. This is how I earn my living. Oh, and Delta-Vee, my personal
opinion says that if he points the gun first you can open fire.]<<<<<
        -- Jobby <12:51>49/6-8-54>

>>>>>[My friends, I share your concern for your safety. I rather
doubt that he will kill you, unless such an action is part of his
quest, which I doubt.

My latest information comes from a OHP dispatch. It seems a rancher
near Catoosa was found dead, with a large-calibre bullet in his head.
The ballistics team is still checking, but it is inevitable that they
will match it to either an explosive Ruger round or a sniper rifle.
In the latter case, complications will arise with the Cherokee
nation. If any teams in the area wish to earn a favor from myself or
Colonel Smith, removal of the evidence, both real and digital, would
greatly benefit our cause. Our resources, while not vast, are enough
to equip a small group with a moderate level of equipment.]<<<<<
     Tearchild<20:00:21/6-7-54>

>>>>>[Hey, Highlander Dude, I hope that wench on your tail isn't
walking around in a 70-ton robot warrior with particle canons. I ran
across a whole file on some outfit like that, the Black Widows
Company, fightin' in the Inner Sphere or something.  Can't remeber if
it was entertainment or docu. Never can tell, these days.]<<<<<
     --RAMboy <20:04:21/6-7-54>

>>>>>[Hi Everybody! Sorry I haven't logged on in a while, but I've
been very busy. Did I tell you that I talked with my old friend Ford
Harrison at the hotel I work at? Well, he, Stephanie Spielberg, and
Ms. Erin Spelling are putting together a new TV show, called
"ICbreakers". Ford's going to be a secret leader of deckers (maybe
runners), all recruited from a posh luxury high school. It'll combine
action, adventure, and corporate intrigue with teen angst, dating,
the prom, etc. And guess what! They're thinking of hiring ME as a
technical consultant. Of course,  I'd rather act, but I've still got
to talk to Tori about who gets the lead female role. Anyway, I just
thought I'd say Hi to everybody again.

PS. What does a Cherokee Army outfit look like?]<<<<<
     --Jaez <20:10:53/6-7-54>

>>>>>[Real nice RAMboy, make Highlander paranoid. Hold on, I do seem
to remeber something about that, or maybe I was just imagining it
:-)]<<<<< 
        -- The Positronic Shade <13:09:16/6-8-54>

>>>>>[Ragman, 

Now that the flames of battle have died down, I feel it safe to come
out from licking my wounds. You wanted my opinion on the magicker you
dusted? Please, ask away. Though I am no "mage of the 6th house, heir
to the mighty rings of Betazed," I may be able to answer your
questions. Let us meet at *****location encrypt ragman1*****. I shall
also scan a bit to see if I can discern anything about the exact
date/time of the Katana arrival. Nightstalker, might you be of help
to us here? It seems to me that their "schedule" must be in someones
network somewhere ... ]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <20:12:34/08-Jun-54>

>>>>>[Ahem, so back to the weather! We have finally found the cause
of the change, we think! Quick question anyone ever seen two dragons
mate??? Well that is where the answer lies. I have been talking to
some of the closest Dragons in the Tir, and they say when the time
comes and the feelings are there, the skies join in the passion...I
am not always quick to believe, but dragon magic is still a
questionable gray area....So My bet goes on the Dragons, Of course I
am still looking for the glowing object that made the crator...Any
blood out there seen anything...?]<<<<< 
        --  Moonscyer<22:00:01/06-07-54>

>>>>>[Your 30 foot tall armour may be myth, but I HAVE heard rumours
that some Tech company is playing with a similar idea.  Some hybrid
technology mixing cyberjoint engineering with Vehicle Control Rigs. I
don't know how much of it is chip truth, but my usual sources of info
haven't turned up anything on it yet.]<<<<<
        -- Death <01:10:23/6-8-54>

<<<<<[This is still sounding a LOT like Throwing Stone.  I mean...  A
LOT. 
 
I wish I knew where he'd gotten to.  And yes, the guy was an adept.
Brandy told me so.  That was just a few weeks ago.  Look, I'd like to
help.  Can you tell me more?  I'd probably be able to get a hold of
Brandy, if it becomes necessary.]>>>>>
        -DOA- <3:14:23/6-8-54>

>>>>>[Millhaus, after my battle with the Coyote mage I found what I
think is a fetish or power focus wrapped around his arm like a
bandage, but it wase made out of a base of barbed-wire.  Very S&Mish.
He was also cutting his arm with it while he was casting a couple of
spells at me. His demise was a strange one also: I made insects start
to pour from all of his orifices, and after about 1 minute of this he
actually exploded! In all my experience I have never witnessed such
an adverse reaction to this somewhat benign spell. I didn't even get
a chance to do the coup de' gras.

I would like your assistance in discovering what is behind this
barbed-wire focus, and to also compare notes on styles used by
these mages. 

I shall meet you at the specified locale with much food in
hand.]<<<<< 
        -- The Ragman <10:33:48GMT/6-8-54>

>>>>>[Quickie Q. guys, any Magickal Theorists out there know if
Adepts have Totems, and if so which is the one for our wandering
warrior? (I deal with results, not theory, and my Mana Bolt's as good
as yer's)]<<<<< 
        --Ratty <Date/Time signal corrupt>

>>>>>[ Hey, don't knock smart frames. For true finesse in data
recovery and "acquisition", they can't be beaten. One of my fav
tricks is to leave a smart frame with a heavy cloak around it,
hooked up to a simple browse/evaluate routine in the datastores of
a company I've cracked. Odds are the cloak will prevent it from
being detected, and when you come back, all the good stuff is
highlighted for you. 
       
They can make good combat help as well, but usually a standard deck
(especially my c-squared) can't handle the load of that, and your own
programs. But I ran for a corp one time, and they let me play with
their mainframe. That was sweet... While 3 or 4 corp jockeys usually
can't do much more than delay you, add a few smart frames (remember,
these guys can ignore the rating of the node), AND the ice, AND the
fact that if you don't hurry it up, the trace program will eventually
beat your guard-dog frame back home, and you've got problems enough
to want to jack and run. 

Oh, and Ratty, I talked to a wiz friend of mine (Professor Shiela
McGregor, Ph.D from UNSW), and she said that adepts, while normally
not worring about totems, can have them. Adepts from tribal cultures,
such as the NAN nations, or our own Aboriginal enclaves, frequently
do. It's an open question wether or not the totem relationship makes
them more powerful. (Of course these shamanic physads think it does).

Well, I gotta go and check out one of my frames. See ya round]<<<<<

        -- Rising Storm (10:01:13 GMT/08-JUN-54)
 
>>>>>[Paladin:  Okay, I dug up the specs on the Crimson Avenger,
what I could find, anyway; this is the Mark I version, not the
current Mark II release. There's no construction times given, but
hey, you're a decker, you can figure it out.  There's a recognition
module built in that apparently locks onto the deck ID code that's
buried in the icon.  Even a home-built deck has to have an ID
squirt -- it's just not a registered number.  Also, if you check
your manual, you'll find that redoing your icon requires rebuilding
your MPCP, so nobody's going to be changing their icon overnight to
dodge this thing. 

Program Rating  Mp
Armor   4       48      Crimson Avenger
Mirrors 5       75
Analyze 5       75
Scanner 5       75
Attack  8       128
Shield  4       64
Relocate        4       32
Sleaze  7       147
Auto Exec       6       36

Totals
Mp      680
Base Load       6.80
Frame Load      7.48
Smart Load      8.98

The guy who wrote this must have viddied way too many Cavalier
movies, 'cause this thing's icon is a Frenchman done up in one of
those Elven-looking outfits with all the lace and the big feather
in the hat, all in red.  He walks up to you and challenges you to a
duel.  Funny thing is, he'll fight fair; it's like there's an honor
code built into the frame.  Weird.]<<<<< 
        -- Karbon Komposite <06:08:07/06-08-54>

>>>>>[Hey, Paladin, check this out.  No, I ain't tellin' you what
catalog I mooched this out of; let's just say I was in a stack that
ain't normally Matrix-accessible.

IC Constructs:
Vicious Attack Poodle:
A 3 stage construct that becomes steadily more obnoxious the longer
the decker sticks around, this IC initially manifests as a small
white poodle with large red bows on its ears that bounces around
frantically, yipping at the top of its lungs.  In the next phase, if
the decker does not succeed in eliminating the IC, the poodle will
pee on his leg.  In the third phase, if the IC is not eliminated or
suppressed, the poodle will bite the decker on the ankle and refuse
to let go.  The IC breakdown is as follows: 

Round 1:  Reveal-5
Round 2:  Marker-5
Round 3:  Binder-5, Blaster-5

Load: 19
Rating: 5
VAP 2175
Price: 365,000
Designer: Henry the Head

Now, I ask you, is this sick or what?]<<<<<
        -- Phaze Loop <06:14:44/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ Ah, KK, I can understand that all decks do need to do SOME
sort of ID squirt. Otherwise they can't even interact with the
Matrix. But why on earth would any decker worth his salt bother
making it hardware encoded? I run around with a "soft chip", if you
like. When the MPCP is asked it's ID, it gets said id from the soft
chip (it's just a little subroutine, that supplies the answer in
the correct format. Only takes up a couple of hundred Kpulses...
that's right, not even into the megapulses. After all, it only
selects from a bunch of answers.) 
       
The thing is, this set-up allows me to change on the fly, by
flicking a switch. Of course it's got problems, like I have to run
my Sleaze again, and for some reason it seems to give a flash in
the Matrix visible for a few nodes. So, that "Crimson Crusher"
wouldn't really do much good, would it? Thanks for the desc,
though. I know how to beat it if I see it. 
       
I've got this set-up on both my C-squared and my Terra Australis
Wallaby (it's kinda like a Fuchi-10, but I've made my own mods to the
design which bumps it up a bit). Only diff is the "switch" on the
C-squared is in the software. I didn't use it on the Wallaby, cause I
didn't like the idea that a IC attack might be able to change it.
       
I don't really know why I put it in. It comes in handy a couple of
times, but the only time so far it's saved my butt was when I did a
raid on a 'raku base. Only problem was they knew I was coming (me,
specifically. A street snitch I'd bought some info off had sold me
out.), so they had all their IC looking for a certain ID code. After
they chased me out once, I swapped over the code to a new one, and
wandered in again, without setting off any alarms. 
       
Can anyone else think up some good uses for this? I love the idea,
but it seems a bit excessive to me, somehow.]<<<<<
        -- Rising Storm (The Thunder/From Down Under)

>>>>>[I know for a fact that the Vatican is using rigged armor --
they call the guys Acers, for Armor Control Rig.  Takes a cyber rig
similar to a VCR but built a bit differently, and whacks your
aura/spirit/whatever down really hard.  Check out the Swiss guards at
the Vatican next time you're in Rome -- armor about the size of a
Troll, powered and protected with Quickened spells from Vatican
mages.  Fraggin' impressive, these big suits of white armor with the
gold cross on the chestplate.  And the guns that pop out at a
thought.]<<<<< 
        -- Pharelyte <07:56:27/06-08-54>

>>>>>[Yeah, we had some Acers from the Vatican in Davidsford
recently, a dozen of them came over for the raid on Phillips
Pharmaceuticals.  Papers had Don't-Frag-With seals all over to get'em
past Customs, they came in, did their job and left, but I got a look
at the paperwork -- if I can find the file, I'll post it.  I remember
they were carrying Det-Webs, extremely nasty gun like a net gun
except the web's made out of detcord.  Takes things apart better than
a Panther cannon.  Must be nice to have that kind of authority and
funding.  When I left Mickey Metro, I was packing my own sidearm (a
Predator II with reactive trigger, smartlink and ultrasoundd sight,
chambered for Firepower ammo, if you really wanna know).  The sidearm
Metro wanted to supply was a little Fichetti popgun that would get
you laughed at up in Orktown.]<<<<<
        -- Law'N'Order <08:01:34/06-08-54>

>>>>>[Physical Adepts can indeed have totems, although it is not
required. Phoenix, the American Indian (Cherokee) adept who is
currently making lots of nuyen with his simchip releases, is Coyote
totem.  In my experience, the totem will assist the adept to some
extent, but is more of a spirit guide than a power focus.  As far as
Brave goes, I would hesitate to speculate without more
information.]<<<<< 
        -- Lotus Mage <08:06:12/06-08-54>

>>>>>[New place gettin' a decent rep in Orktown here in Davidsford,
Jack's Bar and Grill.  Yeah, the name's pretty mundane, but the place
is chill.  Jack Shade is a truly massive troll with some sort of
wetware; he's all the time jittering and scarfing down the munchies.
Seems he came into some mondo bux not too long ago, went out to the
Tir and came back married to a real stunner of an Ork woman, Beth
Smithson, now Beth Barlow.  Shade bought out the old Cork'n'Bottle
before he left for the Tir, and when he came back with Beth, she had
a kitchen put in.  The place is open 24 hours, short order available
around the clock, booze served during legal hours.  Shade's makin'
money hand over fist on this -- it's the only place in Orktown you
can get a decent size burger at 3 in the morning.  Rumor has it he's
got a couple of secured back rooms -- haven't asked him directly,
since I figure he'd have no patience for idle questions.  Buzz is
though that so far there's been a few meets there with no problems.
Considerin' Shade's got a Panther cannon in a rack over the bar, and
tends the bar hisself, I don't wonder.  No idea if the cannon's for
real or not, nobody I know's seen him take it down.  The cops ain't
givin' him no hassle, but that don't mean much; I saw a tatto on
Jack's left arm that indicated a chrysanthemum connection.]<<<<<
        -- Phaze Loop <08:38:29/06-08-54>

%%%% Encryption Level Alpha-3: Decode Time 3mins 28.214s %%%%%
>>>>>[Hey Guys, BAD THOUGHT! (Hence the Encryption level. Sorry
about the delay for Decrypt).

If these big-armor brigade succeed in getting a battlesuit thicker
than about 1 foot, the their fraggin' AURA can't be seen thru it,
an' Mana-spell-targetting would have to rely on seeing thru
Faceplates or the like... (for the Mundanes out there, if ya can't
see an aura, all those lovely Mana Bolt/Blast/Ball spells just
CAN'T HIT!) And, even THAT won't work if they use Camera Feeds!

(Equally nasty street-thought: TROLLS IN THICK ARMOR! Fraggin' tough
to take down using Physical attacks, and Invulnerable to Mana
attacks! Time to do a lot of hard thinking....)]<<<<<
        --Ratty <Date/Time code corrupt>

>>>>>[ Putting a cloaked smart frame in a datastore to monitor
incoming info for anything interesting - nice idea, Storm, but one
problem.  Wouldn't the CPU notice the increased processing load from
running the cloak and browse? According to my mentor, one of the
reasons you can get away with decking is that load on a node varies
significantly even during normal (legitimate) use, so when you insert
your MPCP (or any other mobile construct), the CPU assumes it's legit
traffic unless otherwise informed (either by IC or by the node going
into overload - legit users normally don't try to use more processing
power than the node is rated for).  Drop a frame in there, and
somebody (whether the CPU or the sysadmin) is gonna start wondering
why the node's workload is up 20% across the board.  If you're
dealing with a system that's serious about security, I'd guess you've
got a couple hours, tops, before your frame gets noticed.  If it's
around longer than that, I'd be real careful in the node - the frame
may have been corrupted and left to frag you when you check on it,
false data may have been planted, there could be another cloaked
construct watching to see who left the frame there, etc.

Besides, why bother unless you're going to have the frame send the
good data to you elsewhere?  (Realtime would work, but burst-mode
would be safer, though it could be traced easily enough either
way...)  Scanning it yourself isn't going to take significant time
compared to downloading it. ]<<<<< 
          -- Dancer (10:59:30/6-8-54)
 
>>>>>[Well, being in the Davidsford area, a quick drive to Catoosa
isn't a big problem. But what kind of compensation are we talking
about here? I don't do favors for free, you know...]<<<<<
        -- Paladin [13:45:00|06-08-54]

>>>>>[ Cyberbrains, are you stupid or just dumb?  Of course I
haven't changed my style of dress!  Besides, I would never get
cybereyes.  Sit still while I send a Watcher to find you.  Silly,
Scotsman. ]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <11:31:31/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ Cerise, Highlander:  I don't like the sound of what happened
with that ring.  Let me know if there's something strange about
it.]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <11:33:05/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ RAMboy: I don't know how you organize data in that mind of
yours but a quick scan through the Issac Asamov (drek, I can't spell)
Memorial Science Fiction Data Base says that the Black Widow Company,
Inner Sphere, and 70-ton robots indicates a supplement for a late
20th Century RPG call BattleTech. Stupid statements like this make
you sound like a newbie. ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <11:40:33/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ As for the rest of you robot jocks, I seriously doubt the
Vatican has any since it lacks the tech or money and some friends
of mine have a prototype that the Fuchi U.K. division was working
on earily this year.  Thier names are Lister and Kickanski.  Of
course their out of the loop right now. ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <11:43:27/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ I really shouldn't do this for free, but... ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <11:47:34/06-08-54>

>>>>>[ The Katana will be docking on June 11, 2054 at approximently
18:00:00 at the Seattle Shipyards. ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <12:01:08/06-08-54>
 
>>>>>[ That's great Jaez!  I hope they choose you for both technical
consultant and at least one of the female roles.  You'd do a great
job and they couldn't find a more knowledgable actress in all of
North America.  I'm so excited for you. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <11:45:56/06-08-54>
 
>>>>>[ Paladin, thanks for the info, You were right, the bar is
cheezey. Gotta go for now, have some mop-up work to do.]<<<<<
        Moon Dancer <06:23:46 AST/ 6-8-54>
   
>>>>>[ Rising Sun,  Now that I have a little time free, I'd like to
buy you a beer for helping me out when the Intrepid was after me.
We'll be inSidney this afternoon. Let me where we can meet.]<<<<<
        Moon Dancer <7:23:00 AST/ 6-8-54>

>>>>>[First of all, thanks to Nightstalker for getting the date/time
of the Katana docking. I know, my friend, that you normally extract a
fee for such services, but I'm sure the next time you need an
additional mage, I'll be there to help you, Raven, and Cerise (can't
forget Cerise! :) when you need me. You may henceforth reach me at
*****encrypt millhaus.contact.ltg*****]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <15:10:00CST/08-Jun-54>

>>>>>[Hey, Tearguy, thought you might be interested -- Phillips
Pharmaceuticals, Atlanta Branch,m has a recon team in the Smokies
right now, and they're carrying heavy-duty stunguns, netguns and
other bring'em-back-alive type gear.  Now, you and I both know PPharm
has its fingers in lots of pies besides drugs, mainly bioware and
high-level magic, and just between you and me and the rest of the
Net, they're looking for somethign really big to spring on the
market, ever since their R&D unit in Davidsford got blitzed. Rumor
has it their top mages got geeked in that one.  I've tied in the IR
image from the UCAS spysat over the Cherokee lands <image insert:
212 Mp> so you can follow'em live.  No, I'm not asking for anything
right now.  In my book, it's a good thing to keep on friendly terms
with the magic types and the Cherokee.]<<<<<
    --    Captain Quantum <15:25:21/06-08-54>

>>>>>[I feel kinda stupid for asking this, but what is VAP? This
one's for Karbon. I got the deck ID understood, but I thought it was
easy to modify your persona. I've never actually tried it (I've spent
too much time getting my armor to look JUST right), but I've heard
buddies brag about doing it on the fly. Any comments?]<<<<<
        -- Paladin [17:44:45|06-08-54]

>>>>>[Just a thought about that persona switch, RS. Might it beat
Trace programs? From my somewhat limited knowledge of traces, they
track the ID back to the deck. If the ID was changed... Perhaps this
is how Relocate programs work? Like I said, I can build 'em; I just
can't program 'em!]<<<<<
        -- Paladin [17:48:03|06-08-54]

>>>>>[Whoa. . .   
Sorry, I'm a little dizzy right now. A massive storm swept through
here around two in the morning, scared the hell out of me. I'm told
that it's pretty normal for the region, though that doesn't mean it
was by any means safe. But despite the fact that as storms go, the
magnitude was typical, I know that it was not natural.

You see, The storm knocked out power to the hotel (I've been
sleeping there since I get a discount and the whole ICbreakers crew
is there anyway). This was strange because we're on the circuit
that feeds to the airport, we come BEFORE the airport, and they
were still on main AC. I checked their records; they did not lose
power or have to use emergency power in any way. 

The winds picked up in intensity. The guests stayed in their rooms.
They all wanted room service, and guess who got to deliver? Well,
anyway, I was walking down the 12th floor when this huge blast of
fire erupted from the wall in front of me, knocking me down. I've
only seen one other explosion like that, when Spectre got nailed with
a Hellblast. As soon as I recovered, I took in my surroundings and
saw a guy with a sword taking on some huge, disgusting beast out of a
Lovecraft database. I tried to move but found my leg pinned by a
large beam. I strugghled but to no avail.  Swordguy swung and swung,
leaping around unnaturally. Finally, the thing he was fighting
disappeared, and everythnig was quiet. 

Then he started swinging again, at the air. Wildly, back and forth.
Blood erupted from his temples. He fell over the remains of a desk,
then kicked it free, only to have it hurled at him by some unseen
force. He BLOCKED it, no dodge, it hit but he didn't seem harmed. He
then swung the sword three times and waylaid the air before him. The
air shook and I heard a popping sound, and the guy rested.

Now at this point there was a gaping hole in the wall and roof and
we were exposed to the elements. I made a noise and swordguy came
over. He was Indian and was wearing a blue armor jacket without
sleeves. I swar I have never seen such rippling muscles before.
Anyway, he freed me and took me downstairs. And then I realized who
it was. 

Now, it wasn't easy getting him to log on to this board. This guy
really hates technology. But he's not afraid to use it. I think he
can handle computers since they don't directly affect the
environment. At any rate, I'm known to be a rather persuasive young
lady at times, and you should see a message from Brave soon, as
soon as he's done translating it.]<<<<< from Brave soon, as soon as
he's done translating it.]<<<<< 

>>>>>[Whoa, power surge.]<<<<<
     --Jaez <16:54:26/6-8-54>
 
>>>>>[So you can't use Mana spells against them. Nevermind, just
start using fireballs and my personal fav, Urban Renewal]<<<<<
        -- Gabriel the avenging arch-angel <00:03:10/6-9-54>

>>>>>[Highlander:  I'm coming to take a look at that ring myself.  It
reminds me of an old employer I have a continuing grudge against.
And be very careful of the Widow, if that's who the person looking
for you is.  Not a nice person.  Oh, yeah, it's nice to see you
haven't forgotten your roots Jaez. Enjoy the brilliant fame of
licking those star's boots.]<<<<< 
                __Spectre (15:24:45/06-08-54)

>>>>>[Hey, 'Stalker, are you really sure the Vatican can't have
super-armor? Sure your Fuchi friends had the prototype corp models
a few months back, but it's a bankable fact that the Seelie Court
in Ireland has had drek-all power armor for years, magically
powered, the whole shebang.  Vatican's got some real heavy
hermetics on their side too.  No reason they couldn't repeat the
feat.  That Fuchi stuff was tech anyway, no telling what magic
could do.  BTW, what happened to Blindside and Reg?  Haven't seen
'em in weeks.]<<<<< 
                --Lucky (15:45:21/06-08-54)
 
>>>>>Whoaaaa, like, wild dude.  Just zipping over to check the biz
and I see these great tech discussions on magic affecting armor and
new programs.  I thought all that stuff was one node over (yeh,
where Highlander keeps misposting his business stuff) at
shadowRN%[hearn bitnet] at [cunyvm.cuny.edu.] There's some interesting
comments going on here and we might get more discussion over at
that other node.  I know it's weird, but some people don't like to
run, they just like to compare info.  Cool stuff though.  Be seeing
you.]<<<<< 
        --Quick-Draw McGraw (Goofy sucks)

>>>>>[Sure, Spectre, come on over.  You and Cerise can study the
bloody thing all you want, just get it off me.

All right, Cerise, it isn't you; I was afraid of that.  I've seen
her myself, now.  She was across the street from Basil's when I
left last night, just watching the front door.  When she saw me,
she smiled, and beckoned.  I've never been more terrified--or
more...excited.  Part of me wanted to go over to this woman, and
the rest wanted to get as far from her as possible.  The feet won:
I've never run so fast, and I drove my Americar so recklessly, it's
a miracle that I didn't get hurt.  Anyway, I'll hang around here
until you get over here. 

She was so beautiful....]<<<<<
        -- Highlander (17:20:43/6-8-54)

>>>>>[Nightstalker: I don't think it was Fuchi that I heard the
rumours about, but I'll look into those too.  I also didn't think
that the "giant robots" were out of the planning stage, but different
companies don't have to follow the same agenda. If Fuchi UK is
working on such a large suit, I wouldn't be surprised to see other
companies conducting similar research.  The rumours I heard involved
battlesuits more than giant robots, although the distinction may be
only a matter of small height differences.  I'll let you know if I
find anything out.]>>>>> 
        -- Death <22:03:34/6-8-54>

>>>>>[ I've never had any problems with the CPU noticing increased
load ratings due to my cloak/browse frames. After all, compare the
load on a frame like that to IC or a decker. Hell, even a guying
turtling to earn his paycheck generates more load than a simple smart
frame. What makes frames so load heavy is that they keep talking to
your MPCP. Also, the cloak program is designed to hide right? Maybe
it gives false load ratings back? Or says the loads in a different
place. I dunno, I'm using a design I lifted a year or so back.
       
I have it just highlight stuff for me when I go in personal, cause I
used to have it burst-transmit it to a data chace, until I came there
one day and found a small Matrix army waiting for me. They'd traced
the burst signals. So now I go in personally to get it. Also, I leave
these frames running for up to a month at a time. The idea is that
they look for stuff of interest so that I don't have to. Sitting down
and browsing can be boring, you know.
       
As for the Trace, I don't know what you're using State side, but here
and in the South East Asia regions, Trace IC doesn't use your id, it
actually follows the data pulse going back and forth. It doesn't look
for your ID in the pulses, it looks for the id of the corp, and sorts
out the legit stuff so it doesn't clutter. That's why sat links tend
to stop it (the corp tag changes to that of the satellite).
       
Thanks for the offer of the beer, Moon Dancer, but I'm in the middle
of nowhere at the moment, and getting out is kinda akward. Have one
for me anyway.]<<<<<
        -- Rising Storm (06:33:07 GMT/9-JUN-54)

>>>>>[ Actually, this Brave of yours sounds a lot like me.  I'm Thomas
Keeyamer, one of the last remaining Omaha indians around.  I was also
a sniper, but for CAS, and I'm a physad besides.  Funny how the idea
kinda spreads.... ]<<<<<
        -- GOD ON HIGH <03:07:21/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ And before anyone flames me for my handle, it wasn't chosen
by me... If you're a sniper in the CAS Marines, they tend to give
you names like that.  I like my own name, Keeyamer. ]<<<<<
        -- GOD ON HIGH <03:07:54/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Detcord?  What in the maker's name is detcord? ]<<<<<
        -- Cross <03:09:43/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Those armor suits you guys fought sound an awful lot like the
things MONICA.2 was controlling.  It's possible they're not armor
suits but actual robot drones, controlled by a human or an expert
system. But, let's not get technical here, shall we?  If they are
robot drones, I know at least three companies inside Seattle who'd
love to get their hands on them (perfect for off-road security work,
ya know?).  If you know where you can get a hold of these things,
contact Larry at LTG#4456-1124 and he'll forward the message. ]<<<<<
        -- Stone <03:10:17/06-09-54>

>>>>>[Paladin, VAP is the order code for (V)icious (A)ttack
(P)oodle.  Don't you feel vat-grown now?  <chuckle>  Modifying your
deck's squirt on the fly can be done, theoretically; I've just never
seen anybody actually do it, and I guess I'm one of those people
that's got to see the code run for myself before I believe it.  Hey,
I've got a few more entries from that corporate IC catalog, and
there's some nasty stuff.  If the Shadowland BBS head sysadmin
doesn't get irked about it, I could put'em up here for
perusal...]<<<<< 
        -- Karbon Komposite <06:38:42/06-09-54>

>>>>>[Gabriel, sorry, but the Vatican acers had Antispell barriers
Quickened on their armor.  Now, granted, that's an extreme case, but
wouldn't you think that if a corp was going to spend a couple million
nuyen on a suit of powered armor that they would protect it from a
street mage with an Urban Renewal spell?]<<<<<
        -- Law'N'Order <06:39:43/06-09-54>
 
>>>>>[Death, the Vatican acers were human (non-meta), but the suits
themselves were about the size of a large Troll.  Rumor has it
they're a lot stronger.  I'd like to get a look at the man-amp
systems they must be using; seems to me Mickey Metro could use
something similar for policing the bars up in Trolltown.  You ever
tried to deal with a drunk ticked-off Troll?  You really need
something like those suits.]<<<<< 
        -- Law'N'Order <08:01:39/06-09-54>

>>>>>[Cross, look it up or ask your local arms dealer.  Detcord is
high explosive in the form of cordage.  You'll see it frequently used
to open doors the quick way, or to make a door where there wasn't
one.  We used to use it in Vice to crack open drug havens -- screw
going in the front way, use it in Vice to crack open drug havens --
screw going in the front way, you'd need Trolls in heavy armor to
survive the firestorm.  We'd go around to the side, lay a strip of
detcord up the wall in a rectangle, then step back and touch it off.
Nice big section of the wall suddenly falls in and we storm through
the opening.  Think of shaped charge in a spool.  A detweb wraps
around the target and then touches off, making precision explosive
cuts in a web pattern.  The cyber squad's been looking at these
weapons for dealing with chromeboys in serious cyberpsychosis.  If
you can't calm them down, take them out in the quickest, most
effective way.]<<<<< 
        -- Law'N'Order <08:12:42/06-09-54>

>>>>>[I have a message for all of you on this board, especially my
mentor Tearchild. I wish to account for my actions and assure you all
that I am not a menace to the invasive Anglo society and his
sprawling web of lifeless technology.

Tearchild, you were correct in your assumption that I was on a
VisionQuest. Great Spirit came to me showed me the face of an evil
spirit, one who had taken place in the White Man's world and was
using his powers to pervert our lands. He had taken the name of
Andrew Parsons and had established a power base of wealth funded by
computer technology and his own powers. It seems that he coveted
some of our burial grounds; somehow they enhance his powers. He was
staying at a hotel in Tulsa, and it was into this den of savage
barbarism that I descended. 

Along the way I was forced to acquire a horse for quick
transportation. Once again, the Great Spirit directed me to a
location, a ranch operated by an arrogant rancher whose grandfather
had once owned significant portions of what are rightfully Cherokee
lands. He had threatened innocent lives in the past, including the
horse whom I liberated. The horse and I traveled to the Oil Pot of
Tulsa; upon reaching the outskirts, the horse and I departed
company, and he returned to the lands of his father. 

Great Spirit guided me to the tower of evil whence I could find the
evil spirit. I approached by night, sword in hand. Climbing the
outer wall with rope, I smashed in through the roof and engaged to
foe with the speed of Rabbit and the strength of Buffalo. With the
cries of my ancestors behind me, I defeated the trickster, the
imposter, the one who shames Coyote. 

Upon fulfilling the quest given me by Great Spirit, I rescued an
innocent from the debris strewn by the evil one. Although she is
white and red of hair, I have found her too knowledgable in the
ways of hiding in these "Shadows" as you call them, allowing me to
continue my service to the Great Spirit. Colonel Smith, I am sorry,
but I must request a Form T94-50 discharge, to leave the service
for spiritual reasons. That's all for now. I must go.]<<<<< 
     --Brave <12:27:37/6-9-54>
 
>>>>>[Gah, I should have known that one. Thanks for the info,
though, KK. I would like to see the stats on those IC programs,
especially the price. I just love finding out that corporations
would spend 8 gazillion Nuyen to kill me! It makes me feel so...
special!]<<<<< 
        -- Paladin [13:57:20|06-09-54]

>>>>>[ It would be possible, Lucky, but I just don't buy the Vatican
having the technical knowledge or production facilities to build such
stuff.  The Irish have it all on the Island, so it's not such a big
problem for them.  As for the Fuchi stuff being tech and this stuff
being magic, if it was magic there would be not need for the
armor.]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <13:09:16/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Besides, it's not The Church's style to build weapons of war.
They might buy them, but producing them is out of the
question.]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <13:10:39/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Of course they might have gotton some from the Seelie Court.
Ireland and the Vactican have been pretty chummy for
centuries.]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <13:11:47/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Cyberbrains, I don't like this.  I've sent five watchers to
find you and none of them have come back.  There is something
seriously wrong here.  Sit tight til I find you.  And stay away from
that woman! ]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <13:16:16/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Do I hear a tint of jealously, Cerise? ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <13:17:05/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ That's not like you, Raven. ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <13:17:40/06-09-54>

>>>>>[ Call it revenge.  I've been waiting for a chance to get her
for a very long time. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <13:18:20/06-09-54>

>>>>>[Ragman, Legion, KHANx, Nightstalker, Raven TM, Cerise,
IronClaw, et. al.: The power focus Ragman took from his
now-deceased mage is most interesting. I've never seen anything
like it, and neither has my talismonger contact. It appears to have
some sort of "humanoid energy" bound up within it. My first
impression is that it might have been designed by a very powerful
mage, and given to a lesser mage as a "gift," but, unbeknownst to
the recipient, gives the donor control over the other mage. Powers
Above, could that be true? Could one design a power focus which
would give him/her control over another, allowing him/her to use
the other mage as a "tool"? I certainly would hope not, but I
suppose anything is possible. The recipient must have been in a
state of mental instability when he chose to don the item, but
OverDrive would have that effect. I've taken the liberty of showing
this item to a colleague of mine, Fraternay, who may have more to
impart regarding the specifics of the item. Until we hear from her,
we must try to avoid these Coyote mages if at all possible. Who can
say what they might be capable of doing with such items. KHANx, as
I am unwilling to challenge anything Nightstalker uncovers, we have
only two days until the Katana docks. Shouldn't we be moving on our
Underground quest, like YESTERDAY??! I'm as ready as I'm likely to
get. Let's get this over with before my supply of Dramamine runs
dry, and my viscera do likewise ...]<<<<< 
        -- Millhaus <17:42:30/9-Jun-54>

>>>>>|Sorry I haven't been on guys, NightShade and I did a little
recon work, ya scan. We wen't UnderGround and found out some much
needed info. It seems we're lucky - The stockpile of arms and
OverDrive production facilities are not in the official Troll/Ork
controlled underground. The Coyotes are exploiting the Old Seattle
tunnel networks west of the The Boiler section of the UnderGrou nd.
So we don't have to worry about Ork/Troll guards covering the
Coyotes asses . Still you know how The Council feels about people
bringing in weapons. We're going to have to use a secret access
tunnel that my friend Thunder will open for us - it will allow us
to bypass official UnderGround entry points (i.e. checkpoints). 
We'll meet at the secret access {DATA ENCRYPT _$XIR.*^}. NightShade
and I didn't go exploring toofar into the Coyotes territory - but
we did get a map from LoneStar Records. The tunnels are half-full
of water, and we spotted several "Nasty" beasties doing watch. I
hate to overexagerate the monstrocity of these things . . . but it
can't really be done. Also, we'll need bypass electronics to get
past their rather heavy sensor precations. Remember how bothered I
was about how easily we captured Rojo, how he seemed like just a
regular, although especially vicious, streetpunk. We couldn't
figure out how such a stupid animal could organize, train, lead,
such a well thought out action? Well, I'm afraid we got our answer.
The Coyotes don't even seem to have noticed that their "Leader" is
gone - everything is still working smoothly down there --- somebody
is still giving orders -- and whoever it is really scares the
!?$#@! out of the gang. Now we know Rojo wasn't a mage - and yet
they have magic beasties as guards. Milhaus tells us we're dealing
with some major bad magic after confronting the THING and the
associated mage at our raid. I think the real power/leader is
whoever was passing out power focuses like Christmas presents. The
Coyotes are now totally in the hands of this person. We will have
to deal with him - so you mages get prepared. On other fronts, all
us muscleboyz should be ready for a Hit-and-Cover action, I'm talk-
ing MAX FORCE strike. So get out ole' betsy and start polishing.
NightStalker, excel info chummer. We owe ya. Anybody who's going on
this run should be at the place at the time. See ya there. 

      Heres the map we got:

                   ========?\     ?
    |------\                 \    \
    |        \               X====:\
    |  Target |            /        \
    |         |===========?          \X====:===X==:=====--*
    |  ????   |                            /
    |         /                          X==========
    | -------/                          /
                           ============?

          *-entry point
          X-hostlie assets
          ?- unknown assets
          :- Known sensor/alarm system


   I need recommendations at entry site.|<<<<<
          -- KHANx (17:30:15/6.9.54)
 
>>>>>[MILLHAUS: This is certainly an interesting piece of
archeological lore you have sent me.  I know I owed you a favor,
but why did you have to wait to redeem it by dragging out of my
meditation into this mess !!! Yes, I do know something of this
trinket dear, I am suprised you don't. Perhaps more time with the
books and less time chasing boys would be the prescricption for
you.  I know the story behind this little item, but until I had
lain my own hands upon it I thought it was just another
smokescreen. The tale is this:  In the year 2022, Aztechnology's
most powerful mage suddenly disappeared without trace.  A little
less than a year later there were reports of his presence in Old
Asia.  It seems he had gone to seek out a point on the earth which
was the most immense power focus he had encountered.  It is at that
spot that he created this little trinket for purposes only
limitedly about to be described.  This mage (i don't remember his
name) was supposed to have invoked an intelligence whose poser was
focused at that spot.  After his 'initiation' unto this
intelligence, he changed his name to "Arago T' Hoth"  Arago had
created a small band of followers who worshipped him devoutly.  In
March, 2023, it is said he performed a ceremony in which he bled
himself to death, infusing this trinket with both his blood and
life essence over a period of thirteen hours.  His followers hid
the item away and no one has heard anything of it again until now
(or recently???).  The barbed wire on it was allegedly what he used
to bleed himself.  The object is supposed to hold both the life
force and intelligence of Arago T' Hoth, as well as a direct link
to the power of the intelligence he contacted before his
transformation.  I am quickly sending this back to you.  I have no
interest in maintaining any contact with it.  BEWARE. The trinket's
power is well masked. In assensing it I can only feel the force
containing what seems to be the unlimited power within.  It seems
as if it is ready to explode at any moment.]<<<<< 
        -- FraterNay <20:18:55/6-9-54>

>>>>>[Looks like you picked the hardest way to get into the fraggin'
target. OK, so the tunnel doesn't have any unknown assets (I prefer
the word threat), but it's still pretty nasty. If I had the
resources, I'd start out in that tunnel near the top of the map,
northeast of the target area. Getting by the security, well, that's a
problem. You did mention the water was deep, correct? Might you go
underwater the entire way? Air tanks are running about 800 Y now...
Of course, that still might not get you past the sensors. Being a
decker, I'd say just go muck up the system. I guess what I'm trying
to say is that I have no idea how you're going to get past the
checkpoints and sensors without announcing your presence to the
entire underground... Keep me informed, though.]<<<<<
        -- Paladin [21:41:19|06-09-54]

>>>>>[FraterNay, you little witch: 

"... more time with the books and less chasing boys" indeed! Someone
has to do it, love, as you won't.  Two can play at this Sapphic
revelation game, dearie.  As for the power focus, I can only say
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" I'm appalled. How could you suggest that a
trusted employee of Aztechnology could be the founder of such a vile
implement? We can only hope that it's the only one. Perhaps I'll
arrange to be noticably absent when the courier arrives to return the
"trinket" as you so non-chalantly call it. If it has an aura anywhere
close in magnitude to the power you suggest, it'll bring down every
damned wage mage in the area, and I'm quite simply _NOT_ in the mood
to be entertaining right now.

(But you know I still love you, don't you, hon?)

Raven TM, Ragman: HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(aside: Jason, pass the Gin.)]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <20:40:00/9-Jun-54> (I think)

>>>>>[Millhaus: WITCH??? You know I don't dabble in such 'base'
arts. As for the Aztechnology link, sounds like your burden to bear
dear, I only gave you what you asked for.  As I stated, Arago T'
Hoth, as legend has it, infused his essence into this focus.  Think
for a minute, do you really beleive he could have resurrected
himself and done it again????  Yes, it should be the only one. But
I must Warn you, THE LAST THING I WOULD DO IS TRY TO DESTROY IT. 
It certainly can't be destroyed by physical means. The Courrier has
already left.  I told you I would waste no time sending it back. 
And he is a trusted confidant under my protection while delivering
it.  IT WILL ARRIVE BACK INTO YOUR HANDS.  I'll let you know if I
learn anything new. I have made some contacts within a certain
circle of friends to see if anyone has heard rumor of it's
presence. Oh. By the way, I put a bottle of gin in with the
'trinket'.  I expect you will need it.]<<<<< 
        --FraterNay <21:11:00/6-9-54>

>>>>>[ I%A get off the keyboard kj$#%kjg ... stop it ..  hey ... stop
tickling me .jaosj}  ...  look I still haven't finished reading the
logs yet ... PUT my sword down !!!*******
        -- LINK TERMINATED

>>>>[ Ah'm in, Ah'll meet y'all Underground.  Need me to bring
anything special?  Ah also have a wide variety of Maglock
passkeys.]<<<<< 

        Commander  X2
SIGNALINTERRUPT***
Source Trace.......
<Squelch> BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
SIGNALRESUMED***
                      <13:12:12 MST/ 6-10-54>

>>>>>|{Voice Signal Program Alpha-Z9 ENGAGED/Parameter:MV-*7}

Slick, its up and running.  Well, I'm here at the tunnel waiting for
the rest o' the runners to show. Chummer of mine linked my Tac Comm
transmit er to a pirate bandwith he hijacked from Seattle Sanitation
Services . . . .  I'm ready to jam, got my cyber jazzed and my guns
loaded. I'm weari a UCAS Naval black ops suit just in case the
Coyotes are sending SONAR currents through the water. The MyoRubber
should act as an absorbent to any sound . . . hope it works.[Signal
Interrupt - Standby >SCAN>SCAN> SCAN> SIGNAL FOUND] Sorry 'bout that
chummers, a corp AV passed overhead must've been jamming. Any case,
more runners should be showin' up any tick now.  I'll be transmitting
as stuff happens. So will everybody else . . .  got special
transmitter Tac Comms for them too. Hope this run goes well. Be back
in touch when I have anything to report. Out.[SIGNAL OFF] |<<<<<--
        -- KHANx (16:00:00?6.10.54)SEND

>>>>>[Let the games begin! I have arrived and will rendezvous with
KHANx within minutes. Ragman, I assume we're to run astral cover, but
will wait for instructions from those who know about such plannings.
And by the way, I think I forgot to mention this before. I don't know
how to use a firearm of any kind. Anyone think that will be a
problem?]<<<<< 
        -- Millhaus <19:20:20/10-Jun-54>


>>>>>[*****ENCRYPT shadowsnake***** 

IMPORTANT, ALL OVERDRIVE RUNNERS 

finally got 'hold of one of the engineered snakes / no time to
explain / they're not, repeat NOT, immune to their own venom /
repeat, the snakes WILL SUCCUMB TO OVERDRIVE / use this to your
advantage / no antidote as yet / not much hope for one, either / end
transmission]<<<<<
        -- Gryphon k'Shay <19:29:12/10-JUN-54>

>>>>>[My God, Cyberbrains!  I don't know what you've gotten yourself
into, but you're in big trouble.  You see, Spectre and myself got to
his apartment at the same time to find him walking out the front door
and going to his car.  So naturally we asked him what the hell he
thought he was doing.  He kind of mumbled something incoherent so we
took him back inside and made him sit down so we could examine this
ring.]<<<<< 
        --Cerise <17:01:01/06-10-54>

>>>>>[It was as I feared.  That same damn ring!  Last time I saw it
alot of people ended up dead.  Although I knew it wouldn't work, I
tried to yank the fraggin thing OFF.  Sorry about the bruise
Highlander.  Anyway, I was busy with a trip down memory lane when
Cerise mentioned something about checking its astral aura.  Next
thing I knew she went flying halfway across the room, big purple
blotch appearing on her face.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <17:02:52/06-10-54>

>>>>>[I only got one quick glance at the ring before I realized I
wasn't alone. I turned my head around and saw a drek-ugly Spider
spirit charging me.  I tried my best to get out of the way, but I
ended up flying anyway.  It didn't hurt much, so I called in a
couple of my elemental friends and went after the fragger.  It
turns out he was one tough SOB.  Killed two of my elementals before
we even injured him, and wasted two more before we took him out.  I
do not want to fight one of those again.]<<<<< 
        --Cerise <17:03:03/06-10-54>

>>>>>[Cerise came out of astral space screaming and cursing about
over twenty hours of summoning down the drain on one fragging
spirit.  When she'd calmed down a bit she healed herself right back
to normal.  She sat down and started examining the ring again,
whistling at how much magic was on it.  She said she was going to
try and break the bond holding it to Highlander.  I told them it
wasn't going to work.  Anyway, she reached out and grabbed the
ring, and started chanting.  Then she and Highlander were covered
in this sick green light, which pulsed out over their bodies.  They
both screamed.  The light stopped when Cerise stopped chanting,
ashen faced.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <17:04:21/06-10-54>

>>>>>[I got to tell you guys, this is the wierdest magic I've ever
had to deal with.  The spells are so powerful I can barely tell
waht classification they are, yet alone have any idea what they can
do.  Raven come over and give me a hand.  You always did say Magic
Theory was your line of work.  Anybody else have any ideas about
this thing?  It's just too strange for me.]<<<<< 
        --Cerise <17:05:05/06-10-54>

>>>>>[As to what I know:  A few years ago an associate of mine came
back from a job wearing that ring.  Couldn't get it off then either.
We started investigating.  Some friends joined us.  This lady was
asking around about my associate.  We set up a trap, we thought.
Instead, we got jumped by spider spirits.  Some of us died, which
really torqued us.  So we kept on looking.  One by one, we started to
disappear or die.  The bodies we found were all stiffly frozen in
unnatural positions, with these gruesome smiles and wide-staring
eyes.  There was always a black widow spider left behind with the
body--that's why we started calling her the Widowmaker.  Corny joke,
at first, then a nightmare.  Finally, we thought we had her zeroed.
Lock n'load time, all that drek.  15 of us blasted into her
"hideout."  Nothing.  Until the spider spirits manifested and the
real black widow spiders started crawling out of the walls.  I was
rear guard with a chummer named Kegger.  He suddenly got this wild
grin on his face and stabbed me, laughing and screaming.  I FELT a
couple of spiders land on back.  I just leapt backward, slamming my
back against a wall.  When I turned and saw Kegger, covered in
spiders and grinning like he enjoyed it, I just ran.  I looked back
once.  And there was this lady, smiling benignly, and very very
beautiful.  Just watching the carnage.  She looked at me, and I
almost turned back.  To this day I don't know if I fought off her
spell, or was too terrified to go back even if I wanted to.  Haven't
heard a thing about her in since then.  I wasn't looking though.  I
guess I hoped she'd just moved on to a new city.  Hell, maybe she
did, only now she's back.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <17:08:34/06-10-54>

>>>>> Yo, Dave I'm on the scene to help I'm a wiz decker with a wiz ,
new cranial cyberdeck and cyberware up the butt. I have an Ares
Predator][ and a Lvl. 8 weapon soft. I am magephobic though . See
ya<<<<< 
        --Silicon Avatar<20:21/06-10-53> 


>>>>>[Damn it all. Cerise, sorry to hear about your incident. If you
need a good place to cool, contact Gryphon at ***encrypt grycer1***.
My flat is yours - obviously I'm a bit unavailable, but am most
interested in that ring. Keep us posted.  RTM, I don't envy you. Now
both Cerise and I have asked for your help regarding extremely
powerful items. I completely understand your bond to Cerise - stay
with her. Perhaps you'd like to see the wire focus some other time?
(perhaps NOT) KHANx and Legion: Let's MOVE! You guys who don't see
the astral don't know just how on edge the rest of us are. First we
see possible blood magic, then possible insect/spider magic. This is
too bloody creepy for me (yes, the bad puns were intentional!). Is
anyone else reminded of a 20th century novel by Manuel Puig? I
certainly am. And I don't like it. Not at all.]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <21:40:34/10-JUN-93>

>>>>>[Hey, any of you chummers heard of Oxaco gettin' into cloning?
I mean full human cloning, not just an arm or foot or even a devil
rat for that matter.  A couple of my chummers and I ran a little
'errand' for a guy who had been used as a blueprint for one of these
clone jobs.  Needless to say, Oxaco wasn't too pleased, but a few of
the guys and a couple of orks (one of 'em into that spooky voodoo
drek) ended doin' a favor for Oxaco. Kinda like, "You do a favor for
us and we'll forget what you did."  Anyways, that one wasn't that big
a deal, just bustin' some dude outta prison on some Euro-trash
island.  I just wanted to see if any o' you runners knew anything
about Oxaco that I don't.]<<<<< 
              --Capt. Midnight <12:17:59/06-11-54>

>>>>>[Brave, my son, I am pleased to here from you once again. But
are you certain you must leave service to continue your duties? The
Modernists in council have been pushing to end, or at least tighten
up the discharge path you have asked for. I will fax the appropriate
paperwork to Tearchild, but I must ask that you think of your request
a bit more. You are the pride of the company, and losing you is like
losing my own child.]<<<<< 
     --Colonel Smith <11:19:42/6-11-54>

>>>>>[I have spoken with the spirits, and I know now that what I
have forseen has come to pass. The Great Spirit has chosen Brave to
serve as his warrior, an example with which to fight those who hear
only the swinging of swords and the firing of guns. As Brave's
mentor, I can attest fully to the call of the spirits to this most
sacred duty. May the Spirits continue to guide you, my son, and may
your arm never lose the strength of Justice.]<<<<< 
     --Tearchild <11:23:27/6-11-54>

>>>>>[While I do not condone the backstabbing society that created
it, I have found that this "Matrix" is by far too efficient and
collecting data for me to continue to ignore it. I must remember to
thank the young lady who showed it to me. What was her name?]<<<<<
     --Brave <11:26:36/6-11-54>

>>>>>[Criminy! Someone just blew up the Arcology! Or rather, a large
explosive just went off in the parking garage. Fortunately, the
reinforced roof and floor didn't breach, though there are cracks.
Unfortunately, that channeled the entireblast throughout the garage
floor, destroying several cars and killing an unknown number of
people. I just got back from astral reconnisiance and there are some
survivors, but almost as many bodies. I've a feeling that I'll have
new case soon. Time for mocha.]<<<<< 
     --Cooper <11:32:12/6-11-54>

>>>>>[Gee, I hope mom and dad are alright. . .]<<<<<
     --Jaez <11:33:56/6-11-54>

<<<<<[Someone find out NOW if Oxaco has anything to do with Fuchi or
Precision.  I doubt it.  I mean...  cloning's going to be done.  But
dammit.  I don't want any more of us out there.]>>>>>
        -DOA- <11:31:01/6-11-54>

>>>>>[Hey, Nightstalker-did you come across any Oxaco references
when you and Dark Elf were investigating Magnatech etc? Do you
suppose that they were able to regroup this quickly, or did someone
else get a hold of the technology? Maybe ther was more than one
group working on clones. I think we should all move to nip this in
the bud, or we may wind up with another Tommy Harad. Don't get me
wrong, I like the guy, but there's too big a chance that another
one would turn out "bad"!]<<<<< 
     --Jaez <11:38:32/6-11-54>

<<<<<[Brave...  is that you, Throwing Stone?]>>>>>
        -DOA- <11:35:32/6-11-54>

>>>>>[Um, you wouldn't be talkking about the Renraku Arcology, would
you? Fraggit, if the parking gargae there is blitzed, they'll put in
new security systems, and that's going to frag with the load I'm
supposed to pick up...]<<<<<
        -- Delta-Vee <11:33:05/06-11-54>

>>>>>[I have received many request as to who I am, if I am this
"Throwing Stone". I am Brave. I always have been, and always shall
be. The Great Spirit comes to me and tells me where I am needed, and
I go where he directs. I do not recall ever being known as other than
myself.]<<<<< 
     --Brave <11:50:36/6-11-54>

>>>>>[ Jaez, DOA:  I found absolutely no mentioning of Oxaco in any
of the work I did around MagnaTech.  Assume than it is a seperate
clone technology working group because there are more than a few
around. ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <11:49:24/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ Hi, everyone.  We've got Cyberbrains at a safe location, but I
don't know how long that will keep that damn Widowmaker from finding
him.  I gave a try to follow the astral link back to the source and
it ran right to the Metaplane of Spiders!  I HATE SPIDERS! ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <11:54:54/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ Gee, Cerise, I never thought you for the squemish type.  Life
is just full of surprises. ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <11:56:02/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ Will you two get the lead out and join us.  I need some time
to conjure some more elementals and I can't do that while I'm
guarding Cyberbrains. Besides their is a nasty looking latex of
web-like astral energy creeping up his arm.  I don't like this. 
We're at Safe House #2.  And spiders didn't bother me until that 8
foot tall Spider Spirit jumped me. ]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <11:58:58/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ Milhaus: I'd love to help you with that wierd power focus you
found, but Highlander has to take precedence over you guys.  I'll get
to it as soon as I have the time. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <12:22:27/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ I took a close look at the ring, and it must have at least
six different spells anchored on it.  So far I can see one
detection, three manipulation, and one I just can't classify. 
There are more than that, but I just can't see them very well
through all the other spells.  I think one of them must be some
form of Astral Beacon because another Spider Spirit showed up while
I was looking at it.  Luckily my weapon focus makes me a little
more effective against these guys than Cerise. ]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <12:26:57/06-11-54>

>>>>>[ Go ahead.  Rub it in.  All I know is we're going to need an
astral ward to keep Cyberbrains under or those damn spiders will
keep showing up. ]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <12:28:28/06-11-54>

>>>>>[Cersie, Raven,  If you would allow, I would like to help.  When
I was a kid in Pueblo, my grandfather would tell me stories.  One was
how The Spider tricked the Great Spirit and took from him a brave
warrior that had earned the Great Spirit's favor.  The Spider made
this brave into a conduit to the material world so that the Spider
could spread his web among mankind.  When The Eagle told the Great
Spirit what was happening, the Great Spirit was angry and bound the
Spider to his plane.  Unfortunately for  the brave warrior who was
now tainted with Spider he could not be freed unless he found another
to take his place.  Rather than have another suffer as he had, the
warrior threw himself off of a cliff and ended his life.  The Eagle
was impressed with his sacrifice and forced the conduit into a ring
and took the warrior to reside with him on his plane. Stories say
that oneday The Spiu 
<SYSTEM INTERRUPT>
PRIORITY MESSAGE: Commander X2
<SYSTEM OVERIDE>
sorry, Cersie, Raven TM, the offer still stands I'm willing to help.
Contact Me, I'll be available  this afternoon.]<<<<<
        Moon Dancer <13:47:01 MST/ 6-11-54>

>>>>>|{VOCAL TRANSCRIPT PROGRAM ON: RECEIVING FROM CITYSAT/BANDWITH
FDX-U6} /noise/ Alright we're all loaded up . . .  . Everybody who
going on this run is here. We're making final checks on equipment
before heading into the tunnels. HEY! MILHAUS, PUT ON THE KEVLAREX
JACKET AND NEOLEX BOOTS. ITS GOIN" TO GET MESSY DOWN THERE. No! I
DON"T CARE THAT THEY CLASH . . . . . 
     
(SECOND VOICE PICKUP: WELL KHAN, YA' READY TO RUN?) 

FARTHER AND FASTER, NIGHTSHADE.  

Sorry, about that - a little pre-run anxiety here. We're gonna be
heading down soon . . . I don't think these transmitters have enough
power to send from the underground tunnels so whoever gets back will
have to post the final results of the run.  NIGHTSTALKER, YOU GOT THE
EQUIPMENT WE TALKED ABOUT ? . . YA THE ANTI-SENSOR STUFF?.  GOOD.
ARE THE DECKERS ON LINE YET? . . . WELL TELL THEM WE"RE READY. . .
THATS A CHECK. 

IS RAGMAN READY? . . . . . NO, I DON"T WANNA KNOW WHAT THAT STUFF IS
- I GOT ENOUGH PROBLEMS TO WORRY ABOUT.  ONE LAST THING CREW -- I WANT
EVERYBODY GOIN ON THIS RUN TO TO DO A TAC COMM CHECK . . . I NEED TO
BE SURE THE TAC COMMS ARE TRANSMITTING VOICE AND POSITION ACCURATELY
. . . AND IF YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY TO OUR HOME AUDIENCE NOW IS
THE TIME.|<<<<<
      -- KHANx (*****)

>>>>>|{VOICE TRANSCRPIT COLLECTING CONTINUED} 
SILICON AVATAR, NICE TO HAVE YOU ABOARD. WE GOT YOU ON LINE HERE. SEE
IF YOU CAN DISABLE THEIR SENSORS AND TRACE WHERE THE ALARMS HOOK UP
TO . . . I WANT TO ISOLATE ANY OUTSIDE HELP THESE FRAGGERS MIGHT BE
GETTING, AND WHO THEY REPORT TO INSIDE. BE CAREFUL, THESE GUYS ARE
BACKED BY FUJITSAMA IDUSTRIAL.  OK FOLKS, SEE YOU IN THE SHADOWS.
WE GOT T MINUS /NOISE . . . . >SCANNING>  SCANNING> 
 
LINK DISCONNECT ====>|<<<<<
 -- KHANx

>>>>>[ <SSSHHHKT> Commander X2, channel good, reading you two by two.
Area is clear, over <SSSHHHHKT>]<<<<<
        Commander X2 <15:07:34 MST/ 6-11-54>
 
>>>>>[Arrgh!  I'm going out to the nearest store and buying some
RaidKill right now!  I hate spiders!  Ugh, gross, yech!  And I had
a spider spirit hovering over my shoulder all that time?  Bloody
hell!]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (16:46:43/6-11-54)

>>>>>[On second thought, considering the looks Spectre and Cerise
gave me when I got up to leave, I think I'll just stay here.  I'll
just stomp any spiders that I find.

Moon Dancer: Great story.  I'm so glad you told me.  It would be
just my luck if that "simple run" I went on resulted in my
unearthing that one, unique ring. Spectre, just out of curiousity,
not that I want to try it or anything, but didn't the Yakuza
consider chopping the guys finger off?  What happened to the poor
lad, anyway?  Was he a part of that last attack? 

Gah, I can't get that spider lassie out of my head!  You'd think I'd
be repelled by someone like her, but I find myself drawn to her.
She's in my dreams--when I remember them.  I want to see her
again....]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (16:54:12/6-11-54)

>>>>>[{link enabled}-{TAP}- Test, test, test... Loud and clear. I'll
bring up the rear (since I got here last). The Ragman is up on astral
overwatch and hasn't reported in anything unusual yet. Gimme a sec
and I'll patch his freq onto the main... -{beep}- ok, we're all
set.]<<<<< 
        -- Legion <10:51:11GMT/6-12-54>

>>>>>[Slipped outta the astral for a quick update: nothing out of the
ordinary at your current location, except for some exceptional auras.
Impressive. Millhaus, a kind word of warning; if you havn't seen my
astral self yet let me warn you: you ain't seen nothin yet. Updates
may follow...]<<<<< 
        -- The Ragman <10:56:19GMT/6-12-54>

>>>>>[Does anyone out there have any info on ConnerSec?  Supposedly
they are some banging new security agency run by a Micah Conner.  I
know that new security agencies come and go but this one has a twist:
They hire out to RUNNERS!!!  That's right boyo.  They are liscensed
to protect their customers and if you decide to go into some
unfriendly territory (read: your neighbourhood corp office, fixer
meets, Redmond) they get to protect yoou with their LISCENSED
weaponry.  Yes they have access to all of those armaments that we as
lowly SINless cannot obtain easily (read:APDS, Panther Assault
Cannons, Ares MP Lasers, Permits for Class B Bioware/Cyberware and
Class D Matrix Tech, etc.).  A little way to even the odds, I'd
say]<<<<< 
        --  Doc X  <11:51:35/12-06-54>

>>>>>[A little way to even the odds, Doc?  I dare say, and a little
way to flatline your cred-balance.  I'm certain that those weapons
permits are pricey beaucoups.  No doubt that ConnerSec covers
expenses by charging ENORMOUS rates (and I recommend that you keep up
with your payment schedule--I shudder to think what sorts of goodies
their collection team packs).  Still, if you can't afford to field a
private army, this just might be the next best thing.]<<<<<
        --  Gargoyle  <13:29:22/12-06-54>

>>>>>[Actually I have never had a problem with their rates.  I must
confess, that I am a friend of the good Mr. Conner from way back....
well let's just say way back.  He gives me a break on items and I
give him some free advertising and help HIM when he needs info.  I get
a look at his field tests of the Ares beta-releases he gets and he
saves time in his recon of the local inhabitants and their doings.

****Encrypt HFIDS,44.6****
Plus his secretary (For some reason he insists on calling her
Jeannine even though her real name is Kathy....I think it has some
relation to a movie circa 1980s) is brilliant at making ammo and
other commodities look like they have been "Expended in accordance
with operation parameters" i.e. It gets officially lost.  I don't
think Micah would like his side operation to be exposed to the
local politicos.  Not like it would matter. 
 
I am sure Jeannine would make the paperwork (Hope I am not dating
myself) shine like the arclights in this horrid lab.  Jeannine and
Angel (The designated decker) are more than enough to clean up any
'paperwork errors' that might occur.

If anyone needs to get in touch with Micah contact me at LTG#
16536(42-9618) and I'll see what I can do.  
****ENCRYPT DISABLE****]<<<<<
        -- Doc X (22:19:36/12-06-54)

>>>>>[TAC COM CHECK: H... Hello. Yes, I guess this damned thing is
on. I can hear myself in it anyway. KHANx, no offense taken. (Yes
they clash, and I would have preferred pink, but anything to preserve
a Y100 pedicure ...) The cyberheads are on board. Ragman and I are up
here, nothing to report as yet, though I've got an eerie feeling
about all this. Legion, you're the shaman. We might need your advice
here. There's something about, but not yet close, and not a mage or
an elemental so far as I can tell. Millhaus out.]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <21:40:00/11-JUN-54>

>>>>>[ Geez, that was some hairy drek down there! That's one
meat-grinder I'm not lookin' forward to stickin' my you-know-what
into again anytime soon! I'm still a little shook up from that
Hell-hound trying to chew my arm off, but Nitro (gotta love her)
says I should be fine with about a weeks rest. I'm just now
realizing how fragile your system can be when you mix cyber and
magic. It's a bitch typing with one hand tho. 

Well, I for one, don't know how these guys got control over so many
para-naturals. After I geeked the first three hounds on the north
tunnel the other one jumped on me from some kind of overhang.  Damn
thing had barbed wire wrapped around it's neck like it was comin'
into style! Maybe it has something to do with that focus The Ragman
got off of that guy. I did asense a little aura from the hounds, but
it was probably just their nature and not the collars.  I *am* still
learning the tricks of the trade, ya know.

KHANx, and everyone else still breathin' normal, clue me in on
anything new if it turns up. I'll be here in the oh-so-loving hands
of my Nitro. (Glad she's on my side!) ]<<<<<
        -- Legion <15:37:02GMT/6-13-54>

>>>>>[ No, Millhaus, none of that blood was mine... That
bile-green/yellow you were wearing went well with the matte black,
though; good urban camoflauge.

The power levels we witnessed underground were indeed quite
impressive. I have not seen such determined foes since I was last
in the New Orleans underground.

Indeed, Legion, the collars, as you put it, that the Hell-hounds
were wearing were emitting an aura of some power. But since none
were recovered I could not make an exact match or comparison. I'm
curious to find out what the others encountered in the
depths.]<<<<< 
        -- The Ragman <15:45:39GMT/6-13-54>
 
>>>>>[Ho boy.  Just got back from a run on Oxaco, and let me tell
you, chummers, I was wondering at the level of IC they had until I
hit the R&D datastores. They're working on some =nasty= bioware.  I
lost the file when I got dumped by the IC, but it went something
like this:  They're developing something called a 'burrower'.  It's
a small, hard-shelled critter that you load in a shotgun shell like
a slug.  When you fire it at something living, the conical shell
penetrates the skin and then shatters.  The critter inside throws
out tendrils all over the place.  Basically, it's like firing a
cancer tumor into the target -- it starts metastasizing.  There was
a ref to some viral agent that'd kill it but I couldn't find the
file.  Oh, and yeah, they were doing work with human cloning as
well.  Didn't see any refs to the Omega Project, and I didn't get
to their Accounting stack to look for links to MagnaTech or DDI. 
Sorry. Blew out half my surge suppressors and lost a storage chip
as it was.  Maybe we could get together on this, if there's some
other deckers here that want the info?  I've got a partial system
map; it's got some corrupt spots in the file, but I'm running a
recovery algorithm on the file on my tabletop as I type this. 
Lemme know if y'all want to coordinate a run.]<<<<< 
        -- Pharelyte <11:58:16/06-13-54>

>>>>>[Greets, chummer-peeps.  And how are we this fine day? Hey, Hey
Hey!  All the news that's fit to ignore!  Explosive Decompression are
rumoured to be putting out some new *real* *loud* music very very
soon!  Ooooh, I'm happy, very very happy....]<<<<<
        --  Da Wombat <11:47:45 / 6-13-54>

>>>>>[ Explosive Decompression's latest is out!  It's called `The
Pain, The Pain!', and it's *loud*!  It's *fast*!  It has *words*!!

Da Wombat is very very very very very very happy!  ]<<<<<
        -- Da Wombat <22:39:37 / 06-13-54>

>>>>>[I have returned to the net. After a run like that, I'm glad
just to slip into something comfortable and lay low for a few days.
While so doing, I uncovered the following information from both my
library, and that of a friend of mine (a Druid in the Old Isles).
   
Ragman (by the way, your astral form is MOST impressive), you are
indeed correct. The collars the hounds had on did have a most
peculiar twist. I believe they were being used as devices of
control, and commanded by quite the "shaman" - though I hesitate to
describe our nemesis using that ancient word meaning "healer."
Legion, dear, you must learn to trust yourself more. Strengthen
your art. You've got quite a knack for it. 
   
I believe the man at the heart of this entire enterprise was no less
than a so-called shaman, using a totem very reminiscent of Set,
represented in one form as a snake-God. He did manage to escape
before I could get a good look at either him or his aura, but he is
no doubt most capable with his art, and very much alive.  I shouldn't
be surprised to see him again, though I'd prefer not to. I believe
we're lucky to be alive. 
   
Never again shall I dismiss those of you without magickal ability.
KHANx, Nightshade: if not for you, none of us would be here now.
(This brings up an interesting aside. Is there anyone tall, dark, and
handsome who would entertain the thought of teaching me to use a
firearm?) 
   
I have returned at least two specimins of the reptiles to Gryphon for
further study. Anyone interested in those findings should contact him
directly. 
   
And it seems to me there are two loose ends here:
   
1. Is the Katana's arrival now unimportant? and
2. WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS GODS-DAMNED BARBED WIRE POWER FOCUS I
STILL HAVE IN MY LIVING ROOM?
   
If I continue to associate with you guys, I'm going to have to begin
to purchase something easily laundered. My cleaning bill is
ridiculous. Speaking of that, KHANx, aren't there some pretty
little credsticks you'd like to hand out?
   
Well that's about it for now. If you require further details, or need
me for anything, just give a jingle. Until then, it's just me, a nice
bath, a bottle of gin, and Jericho (or is it Jason ...   ]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <20:45:43/13-JUN-54>

>>>>>[ Alright, who's using my handle?  I've been with Highlander
and the B-Team for the last few days and have had nothing to do
with this Overdrive run. ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <10:54:58/06-13-54>
 
>>>>>[ Hi again !! Shadowland, after a long abscence I have returned
and what a mess I find on returning.  A new drug called OVERDRIVE,
our resident Scottie being harrassed by Spider spirits (nasty), a
report of a new critter that can be fired in a shotgun and enough
magically happenings to make even the sanest cringe.  Well I suppose
thats what happens when your not here to keep an eye on things the
city goes to the dogs.  Or in this case the coyotes (hope Noname
isn't reading this). 
       
Well it will probably take me a few days to check the word on the
streets but after that I think it's time for some more action.
Whaddya say I.B.A ? ]<<<<<
        -The Powerhouse (12:03:46/13.7.54)

>>>>>[ Uhhhh ... Whaaat ? <yawn> Whadya have to wake me up for, I
was having that dream about the bachelor night party again.  What's
that ? Action ? Sure, things have been pretty quite recently scince
we dropped Marie off and went to the wedding.
        
He he ... <evil grin> are you gonna tell Cerise about that gal in
Florida or shall I ? ]<<<<<
        -I.B.A. (**:**:**/**.**.**)

>>>>>[ Ahem ... yes well ... you weren't supposed to mention that.
Don't forget you're still supposed to have a date with Jaez, though
after reading Steel Stringers transcript of the bachelors party
you'll be lucky if she even spits in your direction. ]<<<<<
        -The Powerhouse (12:10:35/13.7.54)

>>>>>[ Oh ... yeah ... and your so cool with the gals eh ?
*****Encrypt BAR-Female-MPCP-&-Powerhouse-MPCP
Lets face it old PH went to Florida spending the entire time trying
to get off with different women.  But he just doesn't have the
technique, in the end he met a tourist from England who jumped every
time an American spoke to her but allowed herself to be 'shown
around' by our very cavalier PH (he hopes).  Now let me tell ya how
to pull the chicks. 

Step 1) Find a nice looking bit of flesh.  If nones available then
take anything in a skirt (check mind that it is a female, this can
be easily done by squeezing their backside and watching the
reaction). 

Step 2)The approach.  A nice swaggering walk will impress the chick,
make sure you've brushed your teeth in the last week and don't forget
the old underarm spray (you can get away with it though if it's a
couple of days old). 

Step 3)The line.  When you're after a woman, you don't wanna mess
about with ones that are gonna take all O ya money then not give
you the key to their room.  So be blunt, but be tactful as well. 
Ie. Open with something like, Hi.... I really like your
tits/body/ass.  Then after the opening line (check she's smiling
first) go straight in for the kill with something like.  Well how
about it then ?  My room in 10 mins ? 

Step 4)If you haven't been smacked in the face (happens sometimes
but then they were the girls who you would have been wasting your
time with) then it's a simple case of performing and boys nobody
can tell you how to do that.  It's pure practice thats all.
**** End Encrypt  ]<<<<<
        -I.B.A. (**:**:**/**.**.**)

>>>>>[ I don't claim to be so cool with the girls, as you put.  I
prefer a much more gentlemanly approach.  Something you would do
well to learn IBA. 
       
Well one last thing before I sign off, Noname has been acting
strangely ever scince we got back into Seattle (he is a Coyote shaman
I suppose, so that explains some of his strangeness :> ), all he's
said so far is that the background count for the whole city seems to
have risen a fraction scince he was last here.  He said himself that
he wouldn't have noticed the rise if he hadn't have been out of the
city.  Anyway it may be nothing as I understand that alot of coyote
shamans are running around casuing trouble and it may have
inadvertantly affected the totem as a whole.  But then who am I to
say I'm only a grade 1 initiate who can't see the astral at
all.]<<<<< 
        -The Powerhouse (12:32:24/13.7.54)

>>>>[ Lo' Chummers! I guess you could kinda new in this meat market
called Seatle.  I used to be a soldier, but have since found out it
was more profitable to put my talents to hire.  So, what's the call
in this area?  Anyone I should stay away from? ]<<<<<
                -- Lambchop <10:40:25/14 Jun 54>

>>>>> Yo, KHANx, that was some fragg'n serious drek I ran into in the
Matrix. I have no fragg'n idea what type of ICE they had runn'n, but
I copied a subroutine of it, and my is it impressive.  Hopefully, if
we try again, I can concoct a defense program.  Oh, and my credstick
needs a refill(HINT). <<<<<
                 ---<Silicon Avatar/6-16-54>

>>>>>[ Lambchop: The list of people to stay away from in Seattle is
endless but be very careful of anything to do with the major corps
(esp Mitsuhama). Keep outta the barrens at night (unless you have a
heavily armoured vehicle or a small army at your disposal), and most
of all don't step on the toes of established runners casue they've
had the time and cash to make themselves 10 times better than what
the army produces.  You would also do well to leave anything remotely
magically unless you your self are active, or unless you have some
active friends. ]<<<<< 
        -The Powerhouse (16:04:07/14.7.54)

>>>>>|Fragg! I wish we could've nailed the SOB on the run -- really
don't want him coming back for revenge. . . . By the way don't worry
about the Katana/Fujitsama Invasion thing anymore -- remember that
fiery explosion followed by the earthquake ???? Well lets just say it
wasn't an earthquake. We discovered the munitions warehouse under the
production lab. After adding a little CZ plastique and a timer we
ditched outta there ASAP. That was when we ran past yelling those
immortal words "BACK! GET THE FRAGG BACK!".  I don't think Fujitsama
is goin' to be invading anything without arms. So we're alright
there. 
     
By the way NightStalker (the runner), noone was using your name. The
Night- Stalker I was refering to in my posts was an electronic
security specialist who got us the equipment and brought along the
knowhow to get past their sensors. Ya Scan.
       
As for that most welcome of 'runners pastimes - the collection of the
Nuyen. I got half in AAA megacorp executtive bearer scrip, half
electronic credsticks. We'll meet at <DATA ENCRYPT CLUBMEET> and I'll
pass out the goodies any way you like it.
          
By the way, I'll post my end of the run soon. Some weird stuff! I saw
some way nasty magistuff -- and I'm talking worse than Hellhounds.
Post the full story soon.|<<<<<
     -- KHANx (10:30:08/6.14.54)
 
>>>>>[ If any of you chummers need a street samurai, send me a line
or 20. I've got heavy weapons, as well as small arms
experience.]<<<<< 
                                     --Sevnara [13:03:48 / 14.6.54]

>>>>>[ How annoying.  Now I know how the two Raven's feel.  But
remember, I'm Nightstalker not NightStalker.  ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <11:27/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Powerhouse:  What's this stuff about you girl chasing? ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <11:30:30/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Nightstalker, Cerise!  We have more important things to worry
about right now than your bruised egos.

BTW:  IBA, slimly guys like you are why I avoided dates.  Dream on
about ever collecting that date with Jaez. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <11:32:44/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Raven!  You promised not to say anything if I let you read
that!  Now I'm going to miss out on all the good stuff. ]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <11:33:34/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Sounds to me like Nightstalker is whipped. ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <11:34:34/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Interesting story Moon Dancer.  It's possible, but I don't
think this ring could be that conduit.  It's really hard to analyze,
but the magic seems to be mostly normal magic. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <11:39:22/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Normal magic my ass!  We tried to put up a ward in the room
Cyberbrains was in and the ring sent out a blast of astral energy
that completely ruined the ward.  Damn near knocked us unconcious
too.  This thing is just way too weird to be real. ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <11:41:41/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ Well, despite that I've been able to identify some of the
spells on this ring.  One is a Poison Aura spell.  That's the one
that attacked Cerise and Highlander when she tried to take the ring
off his hand.  Another is a powerful Binding spell that keeps the
ring from coming off his finger.  The third that I have any
information on I can not name and have no idea how to classify. 
This spell is entertwined with all the other spells anchored to the
ring so that if any of them are attacked they will all defend it. 
This makes it one giant spell for purposes of dispelling or astral
combat.  It's pretty scary and should be just plain
impossible.]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <11:46:14/06-14-54>

>>>>>[ We've go to do something about that web structure that's
infesting Cyberbrains aura.  It's covering half his body now.  I
bet its what's making him want to do stupid things and is cause
those dreams about that spider bitch. She's dead when I see
her.]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <11:48:48/06-14-54>
 
>>>>>[Might I make a suggestion?  Instead of attacking the spells,
attack the focus with physical means.  A small drop of nitric acid
might be able to weaken the ring sufficiently to disrupt the
physical medium and thus possibly the Binding spell.  Beyond that,
perhaps I could be of assistance in the actual astral working.  I
will be in Seattle tonight on business, and could be available in
the morning for an assessment and perhaps more direct action.
Contact me at <encrypt> after 6:00AM local time tomorrow if you
feel the need for my services.  No charge; the challenge alone will
be sufficient.]<<<<< 
        -- Lotus Mage <14:46:23/06-14-54>