185 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
185 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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******* EPISODE # 5 *******
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***** THE ADVENTURES OF MOLLY MODEM *****
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In our last adventure we left Molly in a real cliff hanger.
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A four knot ebb current was sweeping our heroine out the Juan de
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Fuca strait!
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Will she be rescued before hypothermia takes it's toll? Read on!
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Molly would soon have been crossing the River Styx if the
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strong arms of Mark Shippes had not pulled her from a briny
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grave. Mark was heading off on the start of a voyage many years
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in the planning. In his early twenties Mark had bought a small
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sail boat and spent many tranquil days cruising the Gulf Islands
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and Georgia Strait. In those days the South Pacific was but a far
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away dream. Seven years and a broken marriage later Mark had at
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last sailed away from port. Now he was captain and owner of a
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good sized ocean cruising vessel. The SEA MOSS as he had named
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her was forty feet long from transom to tip of bowsprit and
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the product of his own hands. Mark had been beating back and
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forth directly into the strong westerly blowing in from the
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Pacific when he spotted the strange looking object in the
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water. At the time it had looked like a long stranded yacht
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mop some unfortunate sailor had lost. Upon getting closer Mark
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had a shock upon finding the mop was really a person with long
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blond hair! Mark who was a very skilled mariner quickly hove
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to and allowed the current to bring the SEA MOSS alongside the
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person in the water. In moments he had dragged the young woman
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over the rail into the cockpit.
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Molly started gaining consciousness as she felt herself
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being grabbed and pulled over a hard surface. She could not
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speak but felt better when she saw the smiling yellow clad
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figure standing above her. In a few moments Mark had the jib
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and staysail sheeted in on the other tack and the cutter was
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gaining speed away from the rocks. The self steering vane
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insured they held a steady course towards the distant Olympic
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Mountains. Mark now turned his attention to a very soggy Molly
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Modem. He helped support her as they half climbed half fell
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down the companionway ladder. Molly was soon out of most of her
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wet things and wrapped in a warm woolen blanket. After throwing
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Molly a pile of dry towels from one of the lockers Mark
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proceeded to light the galley stove. In no more than a few
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minutes the kettle was singing and strong tea was brewing. Mark
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filled two large cups, adding a heaping spoon of honey to each.
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One he thrust into Molly's chilled fingers the other he took
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himself. "What happened did you fall off a boat? You were
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almost a goner back there! Is there someone I should contact on
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the VHF radio? The Coast Guard perhaps?"
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"No please don't call anyone or take me back to shore" Molly
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pleaded. The hot tea was beginning to take effect, Molly
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was hardly shivering at all now. Trying to remain as calm
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as possible Molly explained to the captain of the SEA MOSS
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that she had jumped from the breakwater to avoid being
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murdered. For safety sake it would be best if Baud Job and
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Doctor Node assumed that Molly had perished, and the 80666
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was in Davey Jone's locker!
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Mark Shippes assured Molly that there would be no
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problem staying onboard the SEA MOSS until it was safe to
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return to Victoria. Mark explained that his plans were to
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sail out the straits past Tatoosh rocks then turn left for
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San Francisco. Seven or eight days later the SEA MOSS would
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be tied up at one of the marinas in Sasalito. After
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checking in and replenishing supplies a leisurely cruise
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south to Mexico would be the order of the day. Molly
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quickly signed on as crew member for the trip to
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California. Mark found some dry things and an old pair of
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sea boots that Molly could use for the next few days. He
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then excused himself and climbed up to the cockpit to check
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for the possible presence of any shipping on a collision
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course. Molly found that with an extra pair of socks the
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sea boots were not too bad a fit. An hour later Molly
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emerged from the warm cabin. her baggy clothes were not
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attractive but she was ready to help sail the boat. Mark
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called "READY ABOUT!" and put the helm down. As the boat
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came through the eye of the wind Molly got ready to handle
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the starboard sheets. In a moment they were on port tack
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heading back towards the Canadian shore. Although she had
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never done any open ocean sailing Molly was not unskilled
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aboard small craft. She soon found that she was experienced
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enough to handle SEA MOSS for hours at a time while Mark
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was below checking charts or napping. The next morning the
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SEA MOSS cleared the straits and took a more Southerly
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course. They were now broad reaching with a fifteen knot
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breeze, ideal sailing conditions. Now that her own safety
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seemed more certain Molly's thoughts returned to the
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problem of VonCriptic. If only she could get a confidential
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message through to Farwest! That afternoon Molly mentioned
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that what she really needed was a way to phone Farwest and
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leave a message. Mark's reply of "Oh are you one of those
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computer nuts!" made her raise her eyebrows! With a laugh
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Mark took her below and opened a teak panel beside the
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chart table. Inside was a collection of very exotic looking
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ham radio gear. What immediately caught Molly's eye was
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the small laptop computer with twin disk drives. Mark then
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explained how he had in the past often used Farwest to pass
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messages and search for new software. He went on to tell
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how it was possible to relay messages using packet radio
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transmission, just like over the phone lines! Mark searched
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in a drawer for a blank floppy . Soon Molly was typing away
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on a message to Ren of Farwest. She filled him in on what
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had happened with Doctor Node and Baud Job and that the
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80666 was safe. She also passed on the location of her
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spare apartment key and when they expected to reach San
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Francisco.
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That evening Mark switched on the radio gear and the
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computer. He tapped a few keys and slowly tuned around the bottom
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of the twenty meter band. Suddenly a strange sound came from the
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speaker. Brrrrap Brrrrap......Brap! After throwing a few switches
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a message started scrolling across the display screen. "HELLO
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MARK, HOW IS THE BOAT GOING TONIGHT? YOUR SIGNAL 5&9 NOT MUCH
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QRM. VE0TSR DE VE7GCT K."
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Molly could hardly believe her eyes, this was just like chat
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mode back on Farwest bulletin board. Mark quickly typed in a
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few lines to send back to the other ham radio operator. "GOOD
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EVENING GLENN. WINDS PERFECT, MAKING 7 KNOTS COURSE 194 TRUE.
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QTH 46.23N 126.40W. HAVE CREW MEMBER WHO HAS TRAFFIC FOR
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FARWEST BBS. CAN YOU RELAY MESSAGE? VE7GCT DE VE0TSR K."
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In a moment an affirmative reply came back and Molly's
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message was sent on it's way. A schedule was arranged for the
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next evening so that any message from Ren could be transmitted
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back to the SEA MOSS. The next evening Ren's reply was zapping
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over the radio. "GOOD TO HEAR YOU ARE OK. YOUR APARTMENT TORN
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APART BUT BEAST STILL THERE. DR.NODE AND BAUD JOB REPORTED TO
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HAVE CAUGHT FLIGHT FOR HONG KONG. VONCRIPTIC STILL A PROBLEM!
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REGARDS REN."
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Molly heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank God that pair from
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Macau had left Victoria!" She had a feeling that she had not seen
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the last of those two.
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The next few days passed quickly by. The two sailors took
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their turns standing watches and cooking meals. Molly learned how
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to use a sextant and plot lines of position. Before they knew it
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the miles had added up and they were off Point Reyes heading for
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the Golden Gate bridge. The SEA MOSS raced under the sweeping
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arch into San Francisco Bay. In a short time the sails were
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neatly furled and they were motoring up to the customs dock in
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Sausalito. An hour later after filling many forms they were free
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to wander ashore. The first thing the two sailors did was to find
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hot showers and wash away the weeks accumulation of salt. Later
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after a huge sea food lunch Molly called the air line office to
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book a flight back to Victoria. It was going to be very difficult
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saying good bye to Mark Shippes and the SEA MOSS!
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The next morning found Molly with a tear in her eye as she
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wished Mark "smooth seas and fair winds", and caught a cab to the
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airport. An hour later at thirty thousand feet Molly was mulling
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over the events of the last two weeks. Has Farwest been been
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attacked by VonCriptic? Would Doctor Node and Baud Job return to
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Victoria? Would the 80666 still operate? Would Mark Shippes
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invite her to cruise the South seas?????????????
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"Fasten your seat belts please!!!" Molly's flight was now
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making it's final approach to Victoria International Airport.
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..........To be continued.
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Will the big battle with VonCriptic come in the next
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episode? And if so who will win? Will Ren get all the door
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time-outs fixed? For the answers to these and many more
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questions stay tuned for episode #6 of the ADVENTURES OF
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MOLLY MODEM.
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845
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Rat Head Ratsnatcher 510-524-3649
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 415-567-7043
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 415-583-4102
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