>>>>>[Sorry to be out of touch the last few days.  I've been digging
into the past, trying to trace the Widowmaker's movements. 
Highlander: yes we thought about cutting his finger off, but that
was obviously considered a last ditch option.  As to what happened
to him, he was one of the ones who disappeared for a while.  When
we found his body (complete with Black Widow spider) he was very
dead.  Ring was gone though, so I can think of one way to get rid
of it....Lotus Mage:  Good idea about using nitric acid.  Come on,
Highlander, we're going to my chemistry lab.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <16:03:08/06-14-54>

>>>>>[Uh-uh, no way, you stay away from me, Spectre!  Let's look at
the facts, shall we laddie?  Cerise tries to magic the ring off.  We
both experience excruciating agony.  You try to pull the ring off
with brute force.  Not only does it not budge, but I feel a shooting
pain all up and down my arm.  Now you want to pour a wee bit of acid
on the little beastie, and hope that does the trick?!?!  NO FRAGGING
WAY!]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (16:08:31/6-14-54)

>>>>>[Pain builds character.  Besides, I think that shooting pain
was just my pulling too hard, not the ring.  Cerise and Raven are
here with their healing spells anyway.  It MIGHT hurt, but they'll
put you back together again.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <16:11:16/06-14-54>

>>>>>[Sure you'd say pain builds character.  YOU were in the
drekking Yakuza. You lads used to cut off each others' fingers for
fun!  NO!  End of conversation!

The only way we're going to get this ring off is if SHE gets it off.
I say we go find this lady, and ask her, really nicely, to take it
off.  I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding, and she'll be
glad to get her property back.  What have I ever done to deserv{Link
Terminated}]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (16:17:33/6-14-54)

>>>>>[SIT DOWN!!!  And SHUT UP!!!  You are NOT going to see her, and
that's final!]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <16:19:19/06-14-54>

>>>>>[Hmmmm.  Actually, the term "bait" comes to mind....]<<<<<
        __Spectre <16:20:45/06-14-54>

>>>>>[I didn't find out much tracking the Widowmaker.  After the
run-in my associates and I had with her just voer two years ago, she
seems to have left Seattle, destination Atlanta.  Can't track her
there myself.  Someone pick up the trail, if you will.  She seems to
have a MO (at least here in Seattle) of dropping her ring so someone
finds it, then toying with and killing said person.  She might
rotate cities regularly, or maybe she just left Seattle because she
feared the bloodbath in the barrens where so many of my associates
bought it would attract too much attention.  Current location
unknown.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <16:31:19/06-14-54>

>>>>>[...so I'm walking down the street from my local Stuffer Shack
after downing my latest meal of processed carcinogens when all of the
sudden I see about four JacKnifes walking towards me.  I try to act
nonchalant and walk on by but I can tell by the look in their eye
that they have chosen me for their daily game of 'Ruff the feeb'.  I
considered whether or not they were worth my timme when it became
apparent by their flashing butterflies that they were about to make
themselves worthy.  When the closest one was about two metres away he
opened his mouth, probably to utter some macho words of how he was
going to slit my neck from ear to ear and have his way with my women
to show them how a real man does it.  His friends were  amazed when
his head exploded from his nose through skull but not for long as
each in turn found his cranium rapidly exposed to the harsh
environment of the Seattle atmosphere.  The last one, I think, saw
the gun in my hand but he did not have time to react.

I have had three people ask me if I could protect their places of
business for recompensation.  I have also had several other
JacKnifes try to find my domicile and interrupt my privacy.  They
seem intent on revenging themselves on me even though their number
grows smaller and smaller with each attack.  I begin to tire of
these meddlesome rodents but I have heard from the shoppekeepers
that the groupe in question is attempting to acquire outside aid. 
I am posting this as a request:  If this groupe, the JacKnifes
attempt to form an alliance with yourcelf or any others with which
you have contact politelly decline or inform your contacts of this
posting.  I merely wish to have my domicile to not be desecrated by
these calille.  Thank you for your time. 

Also, should your business take you towards the area around Babba O
Louies, I suggest you stop in if you have a desire for 'Ribz' as he
likes to call them. Succulence incarnate is a more appropriate term
but I tire of explaining to Lou that this is in fact a compliment
and not a degradation of his culinary artistry.  Also, if your
business should take you to the area I suggest that your business
be peaceful.  I have decided to hire myself as the local
constabulary since other agencies have shirked their appointed
responsibilities.]<<<<< 
        -- Doc X <18:25:35/14.6.54>

>>>>>[Greetings my Seattle cohorts!  I have a small request.  I get
the feeling that one of my young associates is into it WAY over her
head (...as if that was unusual for people in our line of work...),
and I'm hoping that someone(s) can give me a northwest perspective on
the matter.  Here's the story: My young friend (an alley
crawler/decker who runs under the handle of Check-mate) needed some
information that was being held only in an off-line storage vault in
Renraaku's Seattle arcology.  So, she went to a virtual bar in the
Seattle RTG called Aleutians (I had never heard of the place myself,
but then, I'm from Pittsburgh) and hooked up with this samurai by the
name of 'Sal Paradise.'  The deal they that cut was simple: he and
his cronies would make the datasteal @ Renraku and in return, she
would 'aquire' a certain prototype cyberdeck from an outfit in the
'Burgh called Adillo Technologies. Their respective Fixers would
then make the exchange.  Simple enough, n'est pas?

This is where it gets sick.  She and her chumskis make the run on
Adillo, and it turns out to be a real chamber of horrors (we're
talking stuff that would give  H.P. Lovecraft the willies).  I
later did some checking on Adillo myself.  It's like the  Addams
Family gone high tech (board members committing suicide, employees
frequently going mad... heck, just last year they gave the CEO spot
to a guy that had supposedly been dead for 13years).  Anyway, their
legit business is to refit existing technology for
'high-performance applications.'  To make a long story short(er), 
when Check-mate gets this prototype deck, it turns out to be a
control unit for some sort of Venus lander (with a LIVING HUMAN
BRAIN inside). Check-mate made the exchange (she really needed that
datafile) and forgot about the whole affair, but I can't help but
worry a bit about the big picture.  So, here's the favor that I'm
asking, could anyone tell me what they know about a Seattle Samurai
by the name of 'Sal Paradise' or perhaps speculate on what kind of
market there would be in Seattle for this sort of equipment (i.e.
who would want it/what would they do with it/etc. etc.).
Thanks for the filespace/thanks for the read!]<<<<<
        -- Gargoyle <18:32:13/06-14-54>

>>>>>[Heh. Why don't you just hack it off and get a new one? I could
suggest a couple of street docs or cybertechs who do good work.]>>>>>
        -- Death <16:45:50/06-14-54>

>>>>>[Hey Law, sorry it took so long to get back to you; I've been
spending some time with the good doctor, fixing up the owies I got
from the Fuchi Compound's boys.  You were wrong about Fuchi not
having battle suit technology.  They are past the reseearch stage.
They've got prototypes, I saw 'em.  About troll size, ugly, big,
bulky and well armoured.  I doubt we'll be seeing them on the
streets soon, but they are there.  If I'd known Aztechnology was
going to have problems with their garage, I probably would have
tried to hit them first. Maybe in a few weeks...I like my new arm
better anyways.]>>>>> 
        -- Death <16:46:54/6-14-54>

>>>>>[Here's what happened to me during the Run against the Coyotes.

So I climbed into the basement of the tenement - damp and rat
infested of course. And I see the portal broken into the brick wall
(just like my contact said). Since me and NightShade went on ahead
we only heard you guys bringing up the rear. So after sending
through this tunnel roughly 50 feet we heard water flowing up
ahead. When we got to the end we looked down and saw a sewer tunnel
in disrepair, we jumped down into it. It was knee high with water.
After walkin g several hundred feet we spotted the first of the
sensors - a thermo unit. Usi ng the ITT-Rand CompuPass IV
NightStalker had got us we managed to to remotely control the
scanner into a dead corner until we passed, then left it looking
straight up for 120 secs while you guys got through. Shortly later
we saw a Motion Tracker, so we did the same thing. Finally we got
in sight of the first pair of sentries. We crouched shoulder height
into the water and got within 10 yards before. Two silenced bullets
to the head of each took care of that. We ttok of there jackets and
put them on - figuring any ID code beepers these guys had to get
them past the sensor network must be in the jackets. I guess we
were right because we passed and disabled several sensors with no
prob after th at. We got up to the second pair of sentries when one
of them looked at me too closely - saw I was and Anglo and started
shouting. We hosed both of them, but decided we needed to hurry
now. Then, all of a sudden these huge spiked tentacl es reach out
and grab me - would've been swiss cheese if it wasn't for the
Kevlarex jacket. Needless to say several nasty seconds followed as
this Demon Squid thing starts thrashing around with its razor sharp
spike tentacles at me and NightShade (thats where we got those
nasty cuts from) and we hose the water hoping to hit it -- which I
guess we did because it flounced and then receded, bubbling ooze
all the way. We were about to finish it off when we here splashing
and metallic sounds coming at us, plus some nightmarish
howling/braying/roari ng. So we decide the thing is blown -- and
run to a side tunnel towards target location. Eventually (thank
thermovision) we find our way back to the main tunn el. Avoiding
several patrols by hanging off the roof pipes we closed in to the
target area. We took a left turn, an there before us is a fraggin
monster sized snake. Huge, Really Huge, With one red fiery eye, and
fangs the size of katanas . It spits at NightShade- half his
kevlarex jacket disolves. 

>HOLD>HOLD>HOLD

Wait, I have another VIP call coming. I'll be back with the rest of
the story later]<<<<<
      -- KHANx (23:17:09/6.14.54)

>>>>>[And I thought you couldn't get decent ribs west of the
Mississippi. I'll check out this here Babba O Louies place, Doc X,
and thanx for the tip. Oh, hey, I'm sorta at loose ends right now,
seein' as how my load sorta got fragged.  Not my fault, it was
fragged before I ever got there.  Bad security on the other end. 
Anybody headin' eastbound need a lift?  I can get you through
tribal lands and into the Confederacy in about two and a half days.
Got room for three people, more if they're nats or elves (they take
up less room than us orks) or a coupla good sized packages.  Good
rates, some people think I'm kinda pricey but you gotta pay for the
ammo and the upkeep on the vehicle, and you know, you get whatcha
pay for.  Oh, and Gargoyle, I dunno what Adillo would be doin' with
that rig, but it kinda reminds me of a rigger I knew back in
Davidsford.  Got hisself about three-quarters geeked when a
heat-seeker hit his van.  I told him his baffles were leaking, but
nobody listens to me.  Anyway, his DocWagon contract paid to have a
new body cloned up, but it took a couple months for the process,
and he got antsy bein' off the street.  So he takes this big combat
drone, and puts in a life support tank, loads what's left of
hisself into the tank and goes out on a run.  Wired his deck into
the drone, used the facial nerves to control it.  Man was hell on
treads in a firefight, runnin' his van (the new one he let me do
the baffles on) and his drones at the same time.  Dunno what
happened to him; took a big run and I never heard of him again. 
Geeked, most like.  Drek happens.]<<<<< 
        -- Delta-Vee <02:33:46/06-15-54>

>>>>>[Death, wonder how much they want for one?  Like I said, we
could of used those suits when I was working street patrol up in
Trolltown.  One of the reasons I quit the force was because I got
into it with a drunk Troll and couldn't get backup.  Cost me four
cracked ribs and a sprained wrist. 'Course, the scrot that caused
the problem wound up in Metro General -- funny how resisting arrest
will do that.]<<<<< 
        -- Law'N'Order <02:41:55/06-15-93>

>>>>>[MILLHAUS:  Hold onto that damn barbed wire focus I sent back to
you. To keed it safe, wrap it up in (****ENCRYPT SAFEBARB****).  A
contact of mine just reached me.  I don't know yet who sent him, but
I've trusted him for quite some time.  I have to take a little
journey to meet this person at (****ENCRYPT MEETFOCI****) so you can
see why I will be away for a few days.  My contact is escorting me
and I'm fairly certain it will be safe. At least I hope so.  I should
be out of touch for five days.  If you don't hear from me by
then....HELP!!!!!!.]<<<<< 
        --FraterNay (09:26:00/15-june-54)

>>>>>[Did I remember to say that Oxaco has GNU-IC?  If not, they do.
Any stronger hints at a link to MagnaTech needed?]<<<<<
        -- Pharelyte <11:07:59/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Ahem Cerise I promise you that impropriety took place on my
vaction in Florida.  I merely met a young English girl who was on her
first trip to America whe merely seemed lost and rather overcome by
the size of everything. So all I merely did was to take the young
girl under my wing for the length of the vaction and show her the
sites of Florida. 
        
Oh btw Nightstalker I'd keep a careful eye for strange constructs
next time you're in this node.  I saw IBA typing madly away on his
desktop whilst muttering your name.

Highlander: I've got a realy big sword if you want me to come round
and cut your finger off.  I promise you won't feel a thing as the
blade is razor sharp :> ]<<<<<
        -The Powerhouse (17:19:21/15.6.54)

>>>>>[Greetings my Seattle cohorts!  I have a small request.  I get
the feeling that one of my young associates is into it WAY over her
head (...as if that was unusual for people in our line of work...),
and I'm hoping that someone(s) can give a Yinzer the northwest's
perspective on the matter.  

Here's the story: My young friend (an alley crawler/decker who runs
under the handle of Check-mate) needed some information that was
being held only in an off-line storage vault in Renraaku's Seattle
arcology.  So, she went to a virtual bar in the Seattle RTG called
Aleutians (I had never heard of the place myself, but then, I'm
from Pittsburgh) and hooked up with this samurai by the name of
'Sal Paradise.'  The deal they that cut was simple: he and his
cronies would make the datasteal @ Renraku and in return, she would
'aquire' a certain prototype cyberdeck from an outfit in the 'Burgh
called Adillo Technologies. Their respective Fixers would then make
the exchange.  Simple enough, n'est pas? This is where it gets
sick.  She and her chumskis make the run on Adillo, and it turns
out to be a real chamber of horrors (we're talking stuff that would
give  H.P. Lovecraft the willies).  I later did some checking on
Adillo myself. It's like the  Addams Family gone high tech (board
members committing suicide, employees frequently going mad... heck,
just last year they gave the CEO spot to a guy that had supposedly
been dead for 13years).  Anyway, their legit business is to refit
existing technology for 'high-performance applications.' To make a
long story short(er),  when Check-mate gets this prototype deck, it
turns out to be a control unit for some sort of Venus lander (with
a LIVING HUMAN BRAIN inside). Check-mate made the exchange (she
really needed that datafile) and forgot about the whole affair, but
I can't help but worry a bit about the big picture.  So, here's the
favor that I'm asking, could anyone tell me what they know about a
Seattle Samurai by the name of 'Sal Paradise' or perhaps speculate
on what kind of market there would be in Seattle for this sort of
equipment (i.e. who would want it/what would they do with it/etc.
etc.). Thanks for the filespace/thanks for the read!]<<<<< 
        -- Gargoyle <12:32:13/06-15-54>

>>>>>[Gosh, Powerhouse, you promised that impropriety did indeed
take place?  Wow, what a guy! 

Sorry I haven't been around lately, but late-night consultations on
the final form of "ICbreakers have been keeping me, Ford, Steph and
Erin up busier than a parralel processor.  We've got some time to
kill now, though, while they render the set on a TG64 graphics
machine. Spectre, I'll hop on over to Atlanta's node and see if I
can find any report of the Spider lady-what are the symptons, death
and pre-death, so I can check obits and med reports?  I'll get back
as soon as you let me know. 

Hang in there, Highlander!]<<<<<
     --Jaez <12:28:41:6-15-54>

>>>>>[Glad to see you're feeling better, IBA. We can still go out,
if you like-but watch you hands or you may wish you'd stayed in the
hospital. :) You never know, you might get lucky.]<<<<< 
     --Jaez <12:31:41/6-15-54>

>>>>>[Preliminary reports indicate the bombing of the Renraku
Arcology Parking Garage to have been a botched attempt at terrorism
against the corporation We are still investigating the number of
claimants and likely perpetrators, but we seriously doubt it was an
act of Shadowrunners. Updates every half hour on FNN (Federal News
Network), this is Agent Cooper.]<<<<< 
     --Cooper <12:36:53/6-15-54>

>>>>>[ Oh really, Powerhouse?  Tell me, how does your shoe taste?
And no more cracks about Cyberbrains finger! ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <11:58:58/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Cerise:  Your pretty cruel to lead Powerhouse on like this
considering how your mooning over Highlander.  You should be
ashamed of yourself. ]<<<<< 
        -- Raven the Mage <11:59:44/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Jaez!  Don't go out with IBA!  He's slime.  He's scum. 
Didn't you read how he treated Dirty Angel (not one of my favorite
persons, but still a woman) at the party.  Didn't you read his tips
on picking up women?  Wait you couldn't have read that.  Here's a
copy 

***** Include Slimy IBA File

Just don't do it. ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <12:04:30/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Great!  A year ago she couldn't even log into this mess and
now she's including files mid-message.  I guess I t378367c9e h397
t9274 we,xnvaw ]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <12:06:04/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Very cute, IBA.  If I had the time I'd really fix you.]<<<<<
        -- Nightstalker <12:07:45/06-15-54>

>>>>>[ Acutally, Pharelyte, stronger hints are needed.  MagnaTech
didn't have GNU-IC.  Besides GNU code is a copyright of Yoshida Tech.
This means that either Oxaco has gotten them for Yoshida, licenced
the tech from Yoshida, or produced illegal IC.  I'm sure Joesph
Yoshida will like to hear about this.  I think I'll drop him a
line.]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <12:11:30/06-15-54>

>>>>>[Not to be foolish, but why not just cut his drekkin' finger
off?  It isn't like he can't get it replaced rather easily.  After
all, it IS only ONE digit *GRIN*  Doc X, you by chance, wouldn't be
needing some good muscle would you?  I need to start financing
myself again]<<<<<
                -Lambchop <17:41:02/15 Jun 54>

>>>>>[Thanks for the help Jaez.  Post death symptoms are: Body very
stiff, very difficult to bend limbs, eyes always wide open, mouth
always smiling. Always a Black Widow spider present--sometimes this
spider had bitten the victim but this was NOT the cause of death.
Extreme variation in cause of death: sometimes there was no
discernible cause (this includes autopsies); other times it was
fairly obvious and very gruesome (missing lower torso, etc...).
Pre-death symptoms for a ring-wearer (remember I only knew one)
were irrational behavior and a mental fixation on this Widowmaker. 
There were no unusual pre-death symptoms for the various friends
and associates of the ring-wearer--they just disappeared, their
dead bodies turning up a few hours later.  Oh yeah, only males ever
disappeared and were killed--one reason we dubbed her the
Widowmaker. Don't know if that's because there were notable few
females among my associates at the time, or deliberate.  In the
final assault where the spiders came at us from the walls, females
were involved and killed, but that was a fight we instigated. I
suppose that would be something else to look for. In that final
battle most of my associates were killed by actual black widows--a
sudden rash of such deaths  would be a big hint.]<<<<< 
        __Spectre <14:51:43/06-15-54>

>>>>>[You blood-thirsty haggises can stay back; nobody is cutting off
my finger.  I won't let you hurt my precious ring.  Yes, my precious,
we won't let them hurt you.  My precious, precious ring.....]<<<<<
        -- Highlander (14:58:31/6-15-54)

>>>>>[Just kidding, lads & lasses.  Just a little Tolkien to lighten
the mood. I AM serious about the finger, though: no one cuts it
off!]<<<<< 
        -- Highlander (15:00:00/6-15-54)

<<<<<[Highlander!  You stubborn jackass!  You're in trouble fer god
sake. Look...  if it's the pain you're worried about...  christ.  They
can put you under.  My god.  If it's one thing we've got plenty of,
it's nerve altering drugs.  The business of anestesia has never been
so good.  And for this you need a 10 year old kid to tell you!
Cripes!  Ok.  Jesus.  I just get worried about my friends, is all.
You still owe me a dance!  I want you to pay up on it.]>>>>>
        -DOA- <18:31:54/6-15-54>

>>>>>[I'm back. Here's the second part of the Overdrive run - as
seen by me. 

So like I was sayin' the snake looks at NightShade and half of hs
armor jacket starts melting - at first I thought it was Acid Venom
- but then I see this thi ngs eye start glowing, like its ready to
cast a spell -- So I duck underneath t he water. Good thing too,
the thing threw a firebolt at me . . . which was larg ely
disappatted by the water. I come up spraying both my Uzi IV on full
auto. The bullets bounce of some protective field. Luckily
NightShade brought out the Panther and shot it. The protective
field shattered and the bullet made a fist- sized hole in the
thing. That was all the opening I needed - I grabbed an explo sive
grenade, popped the pin, ran up and stuck my arm into the wound of
the sna ke thing wrist deep, left the grenade there and ducked. The
thing turned around - murder in its demonic eye --- and exploded. 
    
After that it was smooth sailing til we got to the cavern with
building in it. Their were three pairs of sentries out front. Two
at the North corner, Two at the South corner, and two guarding the
door. We walked up casually as if we belonged (we were still
wearing the Coyotes jackets) and tried to enter the squ at concrete
building. But these fraggers had order from "El Diablo" not to let
anyone in. What could we do -- we had to get in. We scragged the
guards, pushin g them into the doorway. Unfortunately, the other
two sentries squads noticed. We ended up shooting it out. We
flatlined them, but not before NightShade took a hit in the ribs -
cracking it. 
     
We quickly entered, and found ourselvles at a T-intersection of
corridors. Thankfully we took the left. After 20 meters we found
ourselves passing their main computer/security room - we casually
lobbed a few frag grenades in there (hoping it would help you guys
out. Meanwhile we started hearing some heavy duty battling going on
outside: guns, explosions, roaring/howling, the works . . . We
decided you guys must've arrived. We kept going down the hall until
we r eached an elevator - with guard standing in front of it. Nil
sheen, as they say -- after punching his ticket we got the passkeys
for the elevator and took it downstairs.
   
A real chamber of horrors. This place was divided into three rooms.
The biol ab where they kept the professor plus formula plus
everything else necessary to geneticly engineer the Overdrive
Snakes. We took care of this place first - you geussed it - lots a
chemicals plus explosives = big bang. Thats were we took out the
prof and got the data disk of the Overdrive formula. The second was
the armoury --- stacks and stacks of goodies. We took some samples
an placed seven timed charges -- 3 minutes. Then we went into the
third room . . . and wished we hadn't. It was a conjuring chamber
or something - dead animals, pickled huma n parts, scarlet
feathers, writhing sigils, and this guy . . .He was painted re d
with stuff written on him, burning eyes, he lifted his hands over
his head -- we ran. and ran. as fast as we could go. The fireball
hurtled us both thirty feet. I remember landing. And starting to
pass out. I was sure we were geeked as soon as he walked out of his
room. Then I remember some voices, shapes pasin g us, a big
fireworks display, then being dragged out, and having a running fir
efight with the remaining Coyotes and Hellhounds. Then we were out.
I guess me and Ole NightShade owe our lives to you guys. Thanx
Legion, Milhaus, Ragman. You really savied our soy back there. 
     
So thats it - everything I saw during the run. Alot of gaps. 
Milhaus, Legion, Ragman. I'd really like to hear what you saw and
encountered on the run. Please post it up. Eagerly Waiting.|<<<<< 
             -- KHANx (23:00:45/6.15.54)

>>>>>[ Spectre, Raven, everybody.  We've got trouble.  Highlander is
gone!  I know Cerise and myself were supposed to be guarding him, but
the Scotsman got past us.  I was looking at the data my InfoDaemon
was pulling in, couldn't have been more than 15 minutes, and when I
came out Cerise was asleep on his bed with a tranq patch on her
back.]<<<<< 
        -- Nightstalker <11:57:52/06-16-54>

>>>>>[ Oh No!  I knew I shouldn't have gone to my library.  I be
back as soon as I can.  Is Cerise alright? ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <11:59:28/06-16-54>

>>>>>[ Everything is fine with me except my ego.  I can't believe he
did that to me! ]<<<<<
        -- Cerise <12:00:00/06-16-54>

>>>>>[ You mean tranq you? ]<<<<<
        -- Raven the Mage <12:01:16/06-16-54>

>>>>>[ No.  Not that specifically, but how he did it.  He's been
trying to get some sleep all night long, but he keeps on having
nightmares that wake him up. Finally he got tired of it an put on
his hat, scarf, and long coat saying he couldn't sleep here.  I
grabbed him and took him back to the bed and tryed to talk him into
relaxing while I took off his hat and scarf. 

He grabbed my arms and told me he was terrified.  That every time he
tried to rest that his thoughts would go to the Widowmaker and that
he was having horrid dreams that always ended with her killing him in
some hideous manner.  He said he didn't want to die, but sitting
around here was driving him insane. 

I grabbed his shoulders and started to tell him that everything
would be fine, but before I finished he wrapped his arms around me
and pulled me close.  He started to kiss and caress me.  Then I
felt him press something onto my back.  I started to pull away, but
my strength just evaporated. 

He stood up and lowered me to the bed.  He kissed me once more and
said, "I'm sorry, lassie, but she's calling and I've got to go to
work."  I tried to hang onto his arm, but he just pulled away, put
on his hat and walked out the door. 

DAMN THAT SLOTTING BITCH!  That was the first time he's made a move
on me and it was a sham!  I'll kill her if it's the last thing I
do.]<<<<< 
        -- Cerise <12:18:18/06-16-54>

>>>>>[If I understand correctly, the fellow you've lost is tall, with
curly hair, wearing a large floppy hat, a frock coat and a truly
amazing scarf. Pardon my intrusion, but I believe I saw someone
matching that description bribe the doorman at the Abyss no more than
five minutes ago.  I was taking tea at a coffeeshop across the way,
when he came up, seemed to be in a dreadful hurry, and passed a large
amount of scrip to the doorman, who then let him in. If you like, I
could keep an eye on him until you -- oh dear.  This is not good.
There is a woman going into the Abyss, with a truly horrid astral
shadoww hanging about her.  I'll post again from within the club.
Perhaps you could hurry?]<<<<< 
        -- Lotus Mage <14:47:47/06-16-54>

>>>>>[Hey everyone, I'm back finally.  Seems that Dad likes to take a
month at the beginning of every summer to travel around the world and
visit the various Yoshida subsidiaries, and he asked me to come
along.  In any case, we're both back in the real world now.]<<<<<
        --  Norman Yoshida <15:15:00 / 06-16-54>

<<<<<[NORM!!!!!]>>>>>
        -DOA- <15:18:09/6-16-54>

>>>>>[SIERRA!!!]<<<<<
        --  Norman Yoshida <15:20:54  / 06-16-54>

<<<<<[Heh.  So...  how's the corp life, ya dork?  *GRIN*  I've missed
you, man...  Geez.  Have I got stories for you.  But right now,
Highlander's missing.  Wandered off, apperently at the behest of a
spider or something. 
 
I don't quite get the magic drek.]>>>>>
        -DOA- <15:39:31/6-16-54>

>>>>>[Hey Norman, welcome back to our little group.  We almost missed
ya.]<<<<<
        --  Ramirez <>

>>>>>[Highlander's missing?  Again?  Someone should just nail his
feet to the floor or something.]<<<<<
        --  Norman Yoshida <15:42:34 / 06-16-54>

>>>>>[The Abyss, how appropriate.  I always knew Highlander would end
up there.  ETA 20 minutes.]<<<<<
        __Spectre <15:18:32/06-16-54>

>>>>>[I say we follow Norm's suggestion after this: nail his feet
down.  Didn't we just do this routine?!?  Ya know, I bet that H set
it up himself!  Yeh, that's it, the dork gets off on people chasing
after him!]<<<<< 
        -- Lucky (15:19:02/06-16-54)

>>>>>[Umm, er, excuse me sirs and madams.  But I would like to offer
my assistance in this matter, if you don't mind that is.  I'm already
in the Abyss, though I don't see this Highlander fellow, or the lady.
I'll keep my eyes open though.  Er, what does this Lotus Mage person
look like?  Perhaps we can join up?]<<<<<
        -- Mask (15:27:12/06-16-54)

>>>>>[Highlander here.  If all has gone according to plan, this
message should post itself sometime after I've left my hiding spot.
I am truly sorry, Cerise, for my actions, but I had no choice.  The
only way that this affair is going to be ended is for me to confront
the lass myself.  I hope I can make you understand when this is all
over.  I can feel her presence through the ring, and I know she means
me know harm.  All she wants is her property back, and believe me,
I'll be more than happy to give it to her.  She can take it off
without amputating the finger (though I'm sure this news disappoints
some of you out there).  Don't worry, Sierra, I'll give you that
dance. 

I must go now.  The lassie calls....]<<<<<
        -- Highlander (16:38:31/6-16-54)
 
>>>>>[I've only got a few seconds ... Highlander is heading
purposefully down the ramps toward the bottom, and that woman is
spiraling in on him like a barracuda.  Her aura assenses horribly,
far too many legs, definitely Spider. I don't see any attendant
spirits; I;ll try to draw her off to the side and confront her
where the public will not be endangered.  For recognition purposes
only: 

** include trid image:  medium height, grey hair, bald on top, beaky
nose, gold wire-rim spectacles, wearing a grey business suit and
carrying a short stave of some sort -- partially out of frame, hard
to make out details ** 

The trid will erase itself four seconds after decompressing, so look
quickly.. They're moving too fast -- must dash -- ]<<<<<
        -- Lotus Mage <20:07:15/06-16-54>
 
<<<<<[Heading down there now.  SHould be there in less than a
minute. Damn fool!]>>>>>
        -DOA- <20:15:24/6-16-54>
 
>>>>>[ Greetings humans and others. I have been on the lookout for
the clansman, as have a number of my contacts. I don't believe he
has left the city as of yet, but I am unable to track the colorful
man down. 

A 'friend' of mine near the Tir Tairngire border has been notified,
to make sure he doesn't do something foolish, like enter the lands
of my racial homeground. 

If I gain any other information, I will pass it along. ]<<<<<
        --Lightfinger <20:20:00 / 6-16-54 >
 
>>>>[ Greetings there.  Sorry I have been underground for so long.  I
just thought I should lay low after what happened.  I don't know how
to bring this up.  I got a strange message yesterday.  All it said
was "Describe the spider."  Now, I have absolutely no idea what this
is supposed to mean.  I think it may be a reference to this
Widowmaker woman.  Then again, it may be nothing.  I just want to
help out Highlander.  He really is a nice guy. Do you think one of
you might be able to drop a description of this "woman" to the list?
Thank you all.  I really am sorry I cannot be of more help. Please
call if you need anything. ]<<<< 
    --Lace <21:51:53 MST><06/16/54>

**VOICE TRANSCRIPTION MODE ACTIVATED** 
>>>>>[Spider... spider... turning light ... into webs of velvet
night...  nnnggghhh....]<<<<< 

**NO ACTIVITY FOR 15 SECONDS.  DISCONNECTING.** 
        -- Lotus Mage <06:29:45/06-17-54>
 
>>>>>[I am sensing a disturding development in my neighbourhood. 
There is an unexpected increase in gang-related activity and I am
at a loss to explain it.  Lambchop, if the trend continues I shall
take you up on your offer of assistance.]<<<<<
        -- Doc X <09:33:59/17-6-54>
 
>>>>>[ Ah Cerise, don't be mad at me, nothing happened, I meant to
say that NO impropriety took place.  How about a date tommorow so
that I can convince you in person that nothing took place ?
<Please?> ]<<<<< 
        -The Powerhouse (15:44:19/17.6.54)

>>>>>[ He he he ... I see PH is whining again to try and impress. 
Cerise, don't believe him, he'll try to smooth talk his way out of
anything ****LINK DOWN 

>>>>>[ Hmm.. I just saw what IBA posted, well I better type quick
while he's recovering from dump shock :>.
       
Cerise nothing happened, honestly, I merely acted as the young lady's
guide and protector for the fortnight.  Have you been to Miami !!
And to think I went on holiday to get away from the violence in the
streets.  I'm gonna have to go IBA is coming round and I don't wanna
be in the same room when he does. ]<<<<<
        -The Powerhouse (15:49:35/17.6.54)

>>>>>[ Damm, blast that short assed adept !!!  He's dead meat when I
get hold of him.  How did you like my little suprise Nightstalker ?
Now I think it's time to fix Powerhouse's terminal for dumping me.
        
Jaez, ok ... so I have a bad rap ... Raven hates my guts and I'm not
too popular with most of the other gals in the matrix but let me take
you out and I promise I'll keep my hands to myself.  Deal ?  I can
pick you up tonight if you want just lemme know when and where.  Now
where's the time/date software got to ? ]<<<<<
        -I.B.A. (**:**:**/**.**.**)
 
>>>>>[Hey Spectre, I think I may have a few leads on the Atlanta
scene. I checked Lonestar-Atlanta's report D-base and  the city
morgue's list of dead, and came up with just under a dozen
correlations. The star was investigating eight of the deaths
because they had the same mysterious symproms.(Oops--chip-induced
spelling areas. My brain must be using only 75% power) 

Anyway, the Star has also tracked similar cases across North
America, from New York to Atlanta to LA to Seattle. They've turned
over most of the investigation over to Intelligence Services;
they're covering the big picture. I'm gonna leave messages on the
coms of various officers on the scene of the crimes that weren't
included in the original report and ask if spiders were
present.]<<<<< 
     --Jaez <11:08:36/6-17-54>

>>>>>[This evil woman has touched upon tribal lands. According to
TribalNet, the network of NAN computers, a mysterious outbreak of a
similar illness was recorded in Navajo lands 8 months ago. About a
dozen people died before a ritual purification by a shaman. I am
now attempting to get a hold of this shaman, in the hopes that he
can enlighten us.]<<<<< 
     --Tearchild <11:12:27/6-17-54>

>>>>>[Well, Spectre and I got to the Abyss and....zippo, zilch, ixnay
on the finding anyone who's anyone important.  No Lotus Mage (and I
don't like that last post), no Mask, no Creepy-Crawly lady or
thingies and no deranged Scotsman (the last I can guarantee to a
radius of several hundred meters of this location--love those
extended range detect spells).  DOA, do you have access to the camera
systems?  I'm no decker.  Which way did dey go, which way did dey go?
Eh?  Spectre just told me he asked around and there was some sort of
minor scuffle a few minutes ago, don't know if it's anything
important or not.  Hasta.]<<<<< 
        -- Lucky (14:34:21/06-17-54)

>>>>>[ Hmmm.  Have you seen what the gangs have been packing lately?
Bizzare pieces, hi-tech but low-quality, like rip-off copies of the
latest R&D designs.  Anyone know what's going on?  I hate it when
gangers are better armed than I am...]<<<<<
        -- Da Wombat <22:33:09 / 06-17-54>
 
<<<<<[Christ.  That is one wierd lookin...  Hell.  Cameras?  Yeah.
But... I'm a little busy here...]>>>>>
        -DOA- <17:53:43/6-17-54>

>>>>>[Well I seem to be the only one not part of the ongoing
Highlander/Spider thing. Not that I mind, I'm still living the
liesure life off of the paYen I made on the OverDrive run . . . So
I'm not complaining . . . Fragg! I'm bored. Anybody out there got
info to trade? 
                    
Speakin' of which -- Somebody asked about Sal Paradise. I scored the
data. Sal Paradise has the street rep of your average BodyJackal. He
is supposedly good at what he does, but a real sleazebum - sell his
mother for a yen. He inevitably works for the nastiest of people:
Seretech, Yamatetsu, the Red Claw gang, etc...  Because of his rep
noone will work with him, so he preys on newbies, naive, or inept. He
gets them to do his dirty work - then fra ggs them. End Report.

Just for fun I compiled a list of all the kinds of Drekheads who
Shadow Runners have to deal with in the shadowworld: Mafia, Yakuza,
Tongs, Triads, Seolpa Rings, NarcoTraffs, Posses, Russian Breetva
(Razor) gangs, Hit Squads, Merc Crews, Assasination Groups, Death
Squads, Thrill Gangs, Poser Gangs, Boost er Gangs, Go-Gangs,
BodyJackals, Smugglers, Asain Neighborhood Societies, and Then theres
the Authority slime: Black Ops, Z-Men, Spies, Companymen, Mr. Johns
on. 
   
Did I miss anyone?]<<<<<
        -- KHANx (23:30:01?6.17.54)

>>>>>[I don't know if Oxaco has anything to do with Fuchi or
Precision. The only name I know is associated with Oxaco is that of
Festus Lemming (you may remember 'ol Festus from his 'Lemmings of the
Lord' crusade a while back.)  I didn't even know who he was exactly
until a buddy of mine here in the sprawl told me about an encounter
he had with him.  It seems that Festus and his followers had
announced my friend and some of his associates as incarnations of the
anti-christ, or some drek like that. I'm not too sure what happened
with the run, but I here that Festus is hangin' around with the
Universal Brotherhood now. 
         
Anyways, when my chummers 'n I hit that Oxaco installation a while
back, we looked through their records and found Festus on the list of
clients.  If all the things I've heard about the U.V.  are true, then
there's no reason to believe that they aren't tied up with Oxaco as
well.]<<<<< 
       --Capt. Midnight <03:47:22/06-18-54>

>>>>>[You wanna know what happened with the run?  I'll tell ya what
happened to the fraggin' run!  It was a complete wash!  First,
Festus' goons try to geek us on a number of occaisions.  Filled me
'n Saeger with enough lead to make radiation barriers out of us. 
That's not to mention the other guys. It all ended up in that big
central park in Seattle; y'know, the one where they have all those
ralleys and festivals and drek?  Well the place was lookin' like a
humanis policlub revival meetin' in there so we were just watchin'
from the tree line.  Saeger put a couple of arrows into some guards
that were nosin' around, so everything was nice and quiet.  Festus
gets up on the stage, having come in on a motorcade of limos and a
swarm of cybered up body guards, and starts givin' his speech about
some neo-xian drek.  All these little aryan-wannabees are gettin'
off on the whole thing. They got little kids laughin', clowns
handin' out balloons, concesion stands, you name it.  All of the
sudden, these bug-things come rushin' right through us from behind,
and dive into the crowd.  I've never seen such a bloodbath. The
bugs attack the people; the bodyguards start shootin' at the bugs;
the clowns pull out SMG's and shoot the bodyguards; the bugs start
killin' the bodyguards and the clowns; the cops come and start
shootin' every body. It was a full scale battle-royale.  To make a
long story short, the bugs grabbed Festus, we went after 'im, we
fought, they got away, we got arestted, we got away, we went home. 
The next day on the vid, we see Festus again announcing that he's
been mistaken and he's now endorsing the U.V.; ain't that a pip? 

Oh, and yes, cap.  All those things you heard were true.]<<<<<
    --Kierkagard <04:15:39/06-18-54>

>>>>>[So, some sort of spider lady is after a fellow 'runner?  It's
not the Brotherhood, but I'll help out anyway.  I always hated
drekking bugs, and that goes double for bug spirits.  I like to do
to the ghosties what I do to the little squirts: squash 'em.  Point
me in the right direction, boys and girls, Da Foot is here.]<<<<<
        -- Da Foot (16:28:31/6-18-54)
 
>>>>>[Not to sound a premature alarm or anything, but isn't it a bit
frightening that Highlander, Lotus Mage, Mask, Spectre, Lucky, Raven
the Mage, Cerise, and DOA all went to The Abyss, and none of them
have posted recently, with both Lotus Mage and DOA going offline in
somewhat suspicious circumstances?  Just curious.  Anybody else spot
ANY of them?]<<<<< 
        -- Anonymous <##:##:##/%%-%%-%%>

>>>>>[ Hello out there humans and others. I am in need of some mild
assistance with a number of goons I have run into recently.  It seems
all of these bozos were in the employ of a company called Eilserv
Enterprises, which has its headquarters out of Omaha, Nebraska, UCAS.
Now, why they are after little ol' me is beyond my comprehension. All
I know of them is that they acquired a company called Berkshire
Hathaway back in '52, and renamed ABC the 'Awakened Broadcasting
Company'. The only thing else I know is that it is run by one of my
own folk - an elf, female as a matter of fact. Any information would
be greatly appreciated. ]<<<<< 
        --Lightfinger < 6-19-54 / 01:22:00>

>>>>>[Lightfinger, if your willing to slot your credstick on this
one, I'd be willing to pay a visit to your friends in Omaha.  We
could call it a social call, a fact finding mission, or I could kick
the drek out of someone.  Interested?]<<<<<
        --  Flittermouse  <11:12:13/19-06-54>

>>>>>[Okay, KHANx, thanks for the precis on Sal Paradise, but if I
may, I'd like to ask a few more questions.  First of all, the term
'BodyJackal,' is that Seattlespeak for a certain type of operator, or
is that the name of some gang? Secondly, does anyone know what he
(i.e. Paradise) has been up to lately or who he's been working for?
I can't imagine what a cutthroat would want with the braindeck that
Check-mate nabbed for him, unless, of course, he had a buyer. I
melted my way into the Renraku system in order to see if I could
sniff up some report on run that Paradise made for Check-mate.
Apparently, he and his cronies walked in like they owned the place,
made a beeline to the datalocker that they needed to pop and grabbed
the file.  Nine Renraku employees were killed (of these, five were
executed/mutilated) and another four injured.  Apparently, the
Renraku exec who was in charge invaded sector (Crane is his name) is
really hot to nail whoever did this.  I'm tempted to tip him off, but
I'm afraid to implicate myself and my friends. I'm working on the
system at Adillo too, but the ICE there is blacker than tar (and
fraggin' spooky too).  Again KHANx, I am in your debt.]<<<<<
        --  Gargoyle  <11:43:13/19-06-93>
 
>>>>>[Um, I think I found Lotus Mage.  He was wanderin' around in
the alley behind the Abyss, I dunno what he thought he was lookin'
for, but that wand of his with all the fancy carvings is fried and
so was the hand he was holdin' it with.  I'm takin' him back to
Davidsford to get him to a Bear shaman owes me a favor, maybe he
can salvage the hand.  The wand is toast. I'll see you chummers
around on the Circuit.]<<<<< 
        -- Delta-Vee <10:53:24/06-19-54>
 
>>>>>[I have an interesting predicament to have found myself in. 
The de facto leader of the assemblage of youths that have been
terrorising the inhabitants of my neighbourhood has challenged me
to a contest.  The stakes of this contest is the uncontested
control of the neighbourhood.  I am not unsure of my abilities nor
of the outcome of this contest but I want to know if this Heckle(I
would change my name to if it were Irvine;it is not necessarily a
bad name but it is not the type of name to strike fear into the
hearts of your enemies and I understand that reputation is very
important in the underground society of felonious juveniles that he
circulates in.) can be trusted to keep his word.  Part of the rules
of the contest state that I may not bring any assistance with me to
the contest.  I wish to find out if the person in question will
keep his promise or if I should take precautions. 

If you have any information on a street waif known as Heckle (1.7
metres tall, 160 kilos, wired reflexes, black iris') please tell
me.  If it the results of my inquiries should turn out to be poorly
reflective on the man in question I would appreciate some
overseeing during the contest, to see that the contest should occur
according to the rules of engagement that have already been agreed
upon.  For such help I will gladly recompensate and provide
equipment to any who should choose help me. 

Please post publicly as I find that posting my LTG number has the
unfortunate problem of haveing some enterprising computer jockey
dencrypting my number and sharing it with the assemblage that Heckle
has gathered.]<<<<<
        -- Doc X <19:35:19/19-6-54>

>>>>>[KHANx,

A thousand apologies for taking so long to post this, but I've been a
bit concerned about that note FraterNay left. I've not heard from
her, but will wait a bit longer before deciding what to do about this
power focus. 

Anyway, here's my version on the happenings during the run.

Ragman and I were the only two roaming in astral space, covering
your backs as you waded through the drek. There wasn't much to do
when you met the first of the guards, but when you hit that large
snake, all 9 Hells broke loose. The thing didn't appear to have
much of an aura until NightShade opened the hole in it, and you
dropped in the explosives. When it's physical body was destroyed,
it turned to face us. Believe you me, I've seen some pretty nasty
astral projections before, but this one had me almost frozen in my
tracks. Good thing The Ragman was there to jolt me back to my
senses. 

As you know, my combat skills are nil, but The Ragman was more than a
match for it in that arena. I'll let him tell his own story.  I only
know that I did my best to distract the thing, throwing illusions
that even I didn't know I was possible of conjuring. I guess I kept
it confused enough to allow Ragman to strike the final blow. (Ragman,
I don't know WHAT that spell was, but remind me to always be on your
side from now on.) 

After that, most of the rest is a blur, not because I don't
remember, but because it happened so fast. The first two rooms you
spoke of were not too important for us. They contained only
mundanes, and we knew you were quite capable of dealing with them
on your own. We had our hands full with the creatures in the third
room. You see, to you they appeared dead. They weren't quite so,
however. It was all I could do to keep fighting them off, hoping
Ragman could get in and do away with them. The strange thing about
it was that the only thing they seemed to respond to was the image
of snakes. So I gave them more than they could handle. There were
images of snakes chasing them, biting at them, etc. Ragman caught
on real quick, and just when one of my illusions was about to hit a
Hellhound, he took it out for real. That's when they started going
beserk. I managed to throw enough confusion into their twisted
little minds that they actually started fighting each other, and we
were able to deal with them accordingly. 

It seems your final strike came about the same time as ours, and the
physical destruction of their surroundings coupled with Ragman's
artistry with their auras was more than they could stand.  The
survivors fled. It was several minutes before I regained my
bearings, but we were able to drag your bodies out of danger and
call a few markers for transport back to the real world. I took the
liberty of searching you guys for Doc Wagon cards, and sent you off
with them, while I limped home to sleep. 

Maybe Ragman can add a bit more insight here. As I said, I don't
remember much. Sometimes I wonder why I left my old job for this
kind of life, but you can't go home again, eh?]<<<<<
        -- Millhaus <19:00:00/19-JUN-54>

>>>>>[Oh gee. . .I hope this works. Folks, I'm a rigger and I was
supposed to pick up this package in Fife, in the parking lot of US
West Cellular. No one was there. From what I understand, though, I
was picking it up from another courier. Some jewelry--I assume it's
magical because it was to be a discrete run. . .no questions, and I
can't think of any jewelry except for single high-end items that
would require such silence. A box of rings, I think it was--spider
shaped. Anyone got a lead?]<<<<< 
        -- Mind Throttle <21:11:38/6-19-54>

>>>>>[ I just got back from The Abyss, after running into some
astral opposition nearby the place.

I was wondering if things were getting resolved, so I decided to
wander astrally into the area, and boy, was I in for a surprise. 
At least three blocks from the place, I got attacked by a fire
elemental that had been set up to watch for any astral intruders
into the area. I engaged the creature in astral combat, and beat it
back pretty well, before I noticed another three elementals moving
towards our confrontation.  I don't dare take on four elementals at
the same time, so I hightailed it out of the area, with a couple of
the elementals in pursuit.  Hopefully, my distraction aided the
group in some way, but since I have not seen anything from them, I
am not too sure of that statement. ]<<<<< 
        --Lightfinger <6-20-54 / 16:27:00>

>>>>>[ 'lo chummers, this is Silicon Avatar here with some fraggin'
bad news. I just got back from a run on Aztecnology, and saw
something that WILL ruin YOUR DAY!!!!! Obviously, some drekhead at
the AZ has been watching the old, late 20th century movie Terminator
2, because I saw a fraggin' intelligent, biological orthoskin
covered, android!!!!! The damn things endoskeletons are made of
homogeneous Titanium-Cobalt alloy, translation, you need an assult
cannon or APDS explosive to drop the thing(APDS Explosive takes
several hits before this thing drops). Anti-Tank weapons anyone? I
obtained some samples of the thing's CPU, Atomic Scale Integration
Electron Tunneling Neural Nets, in sheer processing ability, it makes
a Cray-MSX look like a pocket comp.  I'll post any info that I find
out as soon as possible, if anyone else has run into one of these
bastards, please let me know.  cya l8r ]<<<<<
        - Silicon Avatar <10:51:11 CST><06/21/54>

>>>>>Sorry to hear about Lotus Mage.  I just had the unfortunate
pleasure of seeing Spectre come wandering out of an alley in
Puyallup.  He's a bloody mess--spurs still extended and covered in
gore, duster shredded, what seems like dozens of small wounds, AND
HIS FRAGGING LEFT HAND CUT OFF AT HIS FRAGGIN WRIST!!  I yanked him
off the street and am rushing him to a doc friend of mine.  He
seems to be suffering some sort of mental psychosis.  He isn't
aware of his surroundings, and he's raving in some Oriental
tongue--might be Japanese.  No sign of Lucky or anyone else, except
Spectre is holding what I think is Cerise's watch.  I'll let you
know how he comes out.]<<<<< 
        -- Anonymous (##:##:##/**-**-**)
 
>>>>>[From the observance of an Elemental on duty at the Abyss, we
have two possibilities before us: Either the Elemental belonged to
a mage totally unrelated to the case or the Widowmaker is or is
allied with a practicing hermetic. In the latter case, she is
either not a variation on insect shamans or the magical opposition
is greater than we thought. And yes, we do know about insect
shamans. We're the F-B-I: We know EVERYTHING.]<<<<< 
        -- Cooper <14:45:21/6-21-54>