1034 lines
58 KiB
Plaintext
1034 lines
58 KiB
Plaintext
NUMBER OF LINES: 999
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001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19
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1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask...
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2$************************* 23 MAY 90 **************************************
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3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II) Mike Day System operator
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4$**************************************************************************
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5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION
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6$ PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM.
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7$BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately
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8$owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general
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9$public. No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the
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10$system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all
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11$messages which I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the
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12$system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data
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13$can be saved). To leave a message, type 'ENTER'. Use ctrl/C to get out
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14$the ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering
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15$the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to
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16$replace the line. To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up.
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17$Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
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18$**************************************************************************
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19$
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002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 05/23/90 23:01 Msg:5250 Call:29222 Lines:3
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20 The man who can own up to his error is greater than the one
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21 who merely knows how to avoid making it. -- Cardinal de Retz
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22 ************************************************************
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003=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 05/24/90 02:18 Msg:5251 Call:29226 Lines:18
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23
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24 {+}{+}{+}{+}
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25
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26 Good God...I can't believe that after being "out of the loop" for
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27 lo these many weeks uncounted, I come visiting and find myself at
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28 the top of the disk. What an honor, what a joy, what a dang deal
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29 this be. This calls for some words of wisdom. Failing that, how
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30 about a nugget for a story...this from George Carlin. "He was a
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31 frozen embryo, fertilized by an anonymous sperm donor, planted in
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32 the womb of a surrogate mother, and raised by adoptive parents."
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33 Maybe the story of someone with low self-esteem.
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34
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35 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+-
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36 Bart Simpson Really Killed Laura Palmer
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37
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38
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39 {+}{+}{+}{+}
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40
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004=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/24/90 15:49 Msg:5252 Call:29233 Lines:47
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41 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
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42 Hmmm...
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43
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44 'Diane, I'm currently investigating the Simpson household... I have
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45 discovered the room of one Bart Simpson and have taken into evidence a piece
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46 of paper with the words 'Don't Have a Cow' written in what would appear
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47 to be Krusty the Clown Orange Juice...' Naaaaaaah....
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48
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49 * * *
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50
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51 Michael continued his path through the obscurites...
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52
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53 "What's that you're playing with, little girl?"
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54 "See?" The voice of ashes wilted the giant sunflowers. "It's a toy
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55 train. I have lots of them! I get them as gifts all the time..."
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56 "From who?"
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57 "From a very special friend. A secret friend from far away."
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58 "And where is far away?"
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59 The girl's violet eyes grew wide and sad. "From a very sad place. He
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60 didn't like it there."
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61 "He didn't?"
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62 "No..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes became pensive for a
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63 brief moment. "Are you Michael?" she finally broke the silence.
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64 "Sometimes..."
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65 "Oooooo!" She smiled a smile of diamonds. A stubby finger pointed in
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66 his direction. "YOU'RE a Temp'ral En-FOR-cer, aren't you?"
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67 "Who taught you that?"
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68 "My friend. I have a message for you."
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69 "Really?"
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70 "Yes! Yes yes Yes!" She dug through the pockets of her little
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71 blouse and withdrew a green piece of string. "Can you make a cat's cradle?"
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72 "I used to..."
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73 "Oh, try! Try!"
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74 Michael's nimble fingers created the twining design in seconds.
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75 "There. Now will you give me the message."
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76 "Silly!" she punched him in the leg, hitting solidly at the first
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77 moment, but then passing through the quickly discorporating form. "I just
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78 did!!!"
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79
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80
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81 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
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82 Thingfish: Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, I have you ALL beat... I
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83 KNOW who killed Laura Palmer...
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84
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85 David Lynch! Now try and argue with that!
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86
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87 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
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005=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 05/24/90 23:12 Msg:5253 Call:29237 Lines:82
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88 UFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOFUFO
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89
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90
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91 I've pondered many times about what the possible gain would
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92 be if we (the public) could access the culture and technology of
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93 alien beings. Could we be responsible enough to harness and use
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94 such advanced ideas?
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95 We already know what the government would do (or possibly
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96 IS doing) if such technology landed in their hands. But what
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97 could we as individuals do with it?
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98 Sure, we could journey the stars and meet other exciting
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99 races and cultures, possibly attain an open exchange of
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100 information and ideas. But what would be the point? Can we
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101 freely admit we can get along with all the races present on
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102 Earth? Could we face an alien presence without any bias or
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103 feelings of superiority/inferiority? We still have difficulty
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104 with that on even on a personal basis within each race. Let
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105 alone other races as well. Mankind has a strong history of
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106 contempt for his fellow man. We've put the black man into the
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107 bondage of slavery. We've dominated and murdered millions of
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108 Native Indians with our lies and diseases. Millions of Jews died
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109 in the Holocaust. Stalin tried his hand at exterminating
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110 millions of his own people.
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111 Sure, you say, we're past that now, but we're really
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112 not. The black man still has to fight for his place in society,
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113 the Native Indian still gets less than what is rightfully his.
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114 The Jews still endure persecution. The truth is, we still have
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115 contempt for whatever color or creed we have no patience for.
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116 Even within the races, we have impatience with the weak,
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117 immature or handicapped. We don't want to openly admit
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118 those feelings, but they're still there. We can admire, and
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119 stand in awe of, an advanced race of creatures. But how long
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120 before it gets tarnished and we start seeking to exploit their
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121 weaknesses to our advantage?
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122 We could also learn more about their concept of, or their
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123 disdain for, religion. Indeed, their concepts may crumble the
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124 foundations of what we've believed for millenia. Are we prepared
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125 to listen? Objectively? We have so many different religions now
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126 that proclaim the only truth. Would this not add to the
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127 confusion? And if they spoke an entirely different truth, would
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128 we condemn them as devils and/or Anti-Christs? The Church does
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129 not take kindly to having its' authority questioned. (Though it
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130 is our God-given right to do so.)
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131 Science could take a giant leap forward, but then, we could
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132 hardly contain ourselves when we invented the nuclear bomb. Now
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133 we live in fear of the consequences of nuclear destruction.
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134 Medicine would possibly make the greatest gain, but in all
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135 honesty, what good would longevity be if the quality of life
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136 hasn't improved? We're living longer lives now, but we also have
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137 more to worry about than we did years ago. We're more stressed
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138 at work and at home, so much to do and so little time. Time has
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139 become more precious than gold, yet we don't take time to slow
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140 down and enjoy the time we have. How could we enjoy the benefit
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141 of longevity?
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142 We look to the skies in wonder about the future and other
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143 life forms we'll possibly meet someday. We wish upon a star that
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144 the future will be better and that we can have a greater
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145 understanding of each other. But we must look within ourselves
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146 before we wish too hard about discovering other intelligent
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147 beings, and question our intellligence. We could find a peaceful
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148 race that could show us the way we so blindly search for, but
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149 that path we must discover for ourselves before other peaceful
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150 races will even consider us.
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151 But if we continue to exploit each other and the planet,
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152 then we should only expect to unpleasantly discover beings who
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153 will gladly give us lessons in aggression and exploitation.
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154
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155 If this essay seems negative, it was meant to be. Positive
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156 thinking does have its' merit, but sometimes a hard look never
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157 hurt anyone. We have to get rid of the negatives to enjoy the
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158 positives, instead of ignoring them. I also wrote this in
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159 response to conversations I've heard, about how wonderful it
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160 would be if we did discover life elsewhere. I'm all for it
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161 myself, but I just hope we can really handle it, instead of
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162 pretending we can. It would definitely be a Pandora's Box.
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163 If you have any comments, feel free to drop them in Compu$erve E-Mail
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164 to -John Brennan-.
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165 I'd like to hear your thoughts too! You count in my book!
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166
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167
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168 UFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFOUFO
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169
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006=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/25/90 13:55 Msg:5254 Call:29246 Lines:9
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170 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
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171 UFO: Unfortunately, experience has taught us that greed seems to be
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172 a somwhat universal trait. I'd like to think that aliens would
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173 share with us, but it's far more likely that we'll be seen by them
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174 as just another resource...
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175
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176 'Get ready for somertthing that dreams are made of...'
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177
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178 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::TWIN PEAKS was RENEWED!!!:::::====
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007=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/25/90 16:45 Msg:5255 Call:29251 Lines:2
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179 I want to wish everyone a very safe and happy Memorial day weekend, and please
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180 don't drink and drive i would hate to have to remember you next year on that
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008=Usr:352 Katie Kolbet 05/25/90 21:37 Msg:5257 Call:29256 Lines:20
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181
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182 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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183 John Brennan--
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184 I agree that humanity has hit a point where nothing it touches can remain
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185 pure, but there is some hope. Many people, actually I should say a few people
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186 are still brought up to believe in taking care of what they have now and
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187 possibly improving on it to create a place where peace is common, not a rarity.
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188 I believe that some people can do this. On the other hand, when a species
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189 gets too advanced and too populous, nature has a way of striking back with
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190 certain inventive measures of controlling that species. For rabbits, it is
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191 a disease which destroys their ability to see. For humans, perhaps it is the
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192 big fear now--AIDS--or perhaps it is just mankind's natural tendency towards
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193 war. We are one of the few species which takes pleasure in destroying its own.
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194
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195 For everyone else, Have a wonderful three-day weekend. Sorry to begin it on
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196 such a depressing note. Take care of yourselves because even if nobody else
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197 does, I worry about you!
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198
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199 See you later!
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200 ++++++++++++++++++++++Kaitlyn+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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009=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/26/90 14:05 Msg:5258 Call:29261 Lines:2
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201 Fore sale, C. gate hard disk and controler, both in good condition. I would li
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202 ke $400.00 for the two to gether, call 231-xxxx for details. Tnx for the time
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010=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 05/26/90 21:15 Msg:5259 Call:29264 Lines:4
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203 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
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204 'What's up Doc? Think I'm gonna dream tonight... Big Bad Ones. You know,
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205 the kind you like...'
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206 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::L.P. (1974-1990)::::=====:::::====
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011=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/26/90 22:04 Msg:5260 Call:29265 Lines:3
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207 Please cansell my previous message about my harddisk and controller for sale. I
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208 have desided to keep tthem.
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209 sorry for using disk space.
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012=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 05/27/90 03:42 Msg:5263 Call:29272 Lines:13
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210
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211 {+}{+}{+}{+}
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212
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213 Zephyr...
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214
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215 Let's talk Twin Peaks.
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216 Do you have a PRIV number?
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217
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218 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+-
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219 You Have A Thing In Your Mouth
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220
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221 {+}{+}{+}{+}
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222
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013=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 05/28/90 10:35 Msg:5264 Call:29287 Lines:7
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223 &*&*&*&*'s
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224 Back to the future III was a fairly good movie, though it did have atleast
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225 one glitch...
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226
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227 An Astral Dreamer
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228 &*&*&*&*'s
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229
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014=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 05/28/90 12:15 Msg:5265 Call:29289 Lines:7
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230 *%)@#*%!(_)!@($_)@#)(#+!%)+@_$)!+#_%@#+_$^($@%(#+_)!+_$)!+#%($^*_$(+_$)%!#+_$)
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231 voyeur: I have something of the utmost importance to relay to you. Please give
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232 me a landline telco call in the near future. And I mean *near* !!!
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233
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234 milch: Installed 4.1 yet???
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235 *_)@#%*#(%_)(_)!(%_%_)!*%!%)*(!% L'homme sans Parity (%_)#(%_)(%!*%_!%*_!%*!_!
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236
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015=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 05/30/90 16:56 Msg:5269 Call:29344 Lines:113
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237 696969696969
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238 7a of many
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239 The Little UFO that Could
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240 *************************
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241 * TOP SECRET *
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242 *************************
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243 GAMMA SIGMA PHI
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244 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
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245 by
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246 Benjamin Jamen
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247
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248 "The picture that is emerging from the
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249 Voyager sweep through the outer Solar
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250 System is of worlds whose placid and
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251 lonely vigils are spasmodically
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252 interrupted by catastrophes from space..."
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253 -Dr. Sagan
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254
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255 "That's an error, GLADYS.", Howy said to the box on the table.
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256
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257 "AIR-ER?"
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258
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259 "No: ER-ORR. That means I didn't mean to say it. Take no action," he leaned
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260 closer to the box and started repeating, " Error, error, error.".
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261
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262 "A mistake?", the box asked.
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263
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264 "Yes, a fu**ing mistake," replied Howy.
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265
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266 " 'f**king?' I know that word-it is a derivative of 'fu**'. Ben told
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267 me that..."
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268
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269 Howy reached over and hit the reset button. He would have hit the off
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270 switch, but thought something might be left in RAM which could be
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271 salvaged from this session. He was thinking, "With Ben gone, getting
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272 this damn neural net-based speech interpreter to work is like taking a
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273 stroll through molasses. The more you do, the deeper you get, the
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274 slower the progress is.". And progress was not good.
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275
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276 Howy leaned back and smiled to himself while thinking about the
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277 cleverness of the public at large. The entire world was about to
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278 undergo a revolution, a revolution sparked by clever little boxes like
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279 GLADYS, and the average John Doe didn't even know a neural net from his
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280 wife's hair net. It would be one of this century's great ironies that
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281 fusion in the bottle and high temperature superconductivity were on the
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282 lips of every pop science mag subscriber in the country when, right
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283 under their little neurons, a revolution in automated cognition was
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284 quietly taking place.
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285
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286 Or should be taking place. A lot of the real work was being done on the
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287 outside, though, with the amount of money the Intel Community had to
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288 pour into it, our little group was making some interesting progress.
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289
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290 But, as far as Howy was concerned, I had totally gone nutballs and had
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291 left him alone with GLADYS, a drab little box with serious mental
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292 problems. She was supposed to recognize speech and nothing more. In
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293 the process, though, she came across as a combination nerd, nagging
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294 housewife, and, at times, complete and total idiot. Actually, there is
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295 nothing magic about this at all. It is quite possible to analyze her
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296 reactions and explain them in terms of the various connections which had
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297 resulted from her learning algorithm. It was the learning algorithm
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298 itself which was quite unique, but that had been formulated by people
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299 many times more intelligent than me. I was just fine tuning what they
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300 had provided.
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301
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302 As Howy leaned further back, his mind started drifting back to the night
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303 before at Frizby's. When we met to head over there, he was surprised to
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304 see that I hadn't shaved for a few days and looked a little greasy.
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305 Those things happen...
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306
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307 We hadn't been there for very long before Howy's agenda for the night became
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308 painfully apparent. It went something like this:
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309
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310
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311 Howy: "The problem is, nobody gives a shit. Is that too difficult for
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312 you to understand, Ben? NOBODY GIVES A S*IT ABOUT SAVING MANKIND.".
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313 The conversations at the surrounding tables stopped as everyone turned
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314 to stare at Howy.
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315
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316 He glared back at them and then turned back to look at Prissy and me.
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317 "Why the hell should we? We come in here to soak a few suds, right? Our
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318 paychecks come in on a regular basis, right? Life's nice! Why worry about
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319 something as...as...as WIERD as annihilation?".
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320
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321 Me: "Howy, if anyone else had said that I'd say, 'I can't believe you're
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322 saying that!'."
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323
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324 Howy burped: "Listen-just think about what you're saying: 'We're going
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325 to get whacked by a meteor so we should colonize space'. Are those the
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326 words of a sane man?".
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327
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328 I waved my hands and shook my head: "Wait a minute-getting whacked
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329 by an asteriod is only one scenario. We might also be in for a
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330 devastating climate change, a nuclear holocaust, or anything. If you
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331 take all the likely doomsday scenarios and multiple their probabilities
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332 together, then it is likely that our chances of surviving the next 200
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333 years are slim. Why let the whole world perish when someone might
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334 survive via colonization of the inner solar system?".
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335
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336 Howy: "Why? I'll tell you why. The answer is that it would take an
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337 ENORMOUS amount of resources to save a species that doesn't even have
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338 the smarts to figure out it wants to be saved in the first place! First,
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339 you'd need a massive international education effort to churn out the
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340 engineers, scientists, and all the other well educated pilgrims to make
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341 it happen. Second, the resource drain would be so great on this planet
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342 that everybody would have to go to work to support the effort. Third,
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343 all countries would have to accept directives from a consortium of
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344 nations to centralize the control of the colonization task so that it
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345 could be done quickly and so that squandering of our very scarce
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346 resources would be minimized.
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347 (...to be continued)
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348 696969696969696969
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349
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016=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/30/90 18:10 Msg:5270 Call:29346 Lines:1
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350 I think that story is very interesting i will wate for the next epasode with gr
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017=Usr:216 ted mittelstaedt 05/31/90 00:23 Msg:5272 Call:29355 Lines:7
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351 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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352 I talked to a churchgoing person ce about the possibility that an
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353 alien religion might upset the foundations of his religion and was told
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354 that he would welcome the chance to "convert" the aliens.
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355 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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356 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&(I had to switch borders, my
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357 modem kept going into command mode)&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Bill Tell&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
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018=Usr:242 wesley smith 05/31/90 21:48 Msg:5275 Call:29370 Lines:1
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358 Dear sysop, I just wanted to change my password, not my user number my old use
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019=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/31/90 21:52 Msg:5276 Call:29371 Lines:2
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359 please disregard last message, I solved the problem myself. tnx. from Wesley
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360 Smith.
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020=Usr:186 Wesley Smith 05/31/90 22:21 Msg:5277 Call:29372 Lines:6
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361 I just wanted tell you how much i enjoy using this board.
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362 It makes me feel good to know that i can access the world whit my modem, that h
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363 s been a fantacy of mine for a long time. Please for give my errors as i have
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364 use speech to tell where i am on the screen.
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365
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366 It;s alot of fun, keep up the good work and i will contribute once in a while.
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021=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/01/90 13:52 Msg:5279 Call:29382 Lines:118
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367 696969696969
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|
368 part 6b
|
|
369 ------------
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370 Prissy's reply:
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371
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372 Dear Ben:
|
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373 It was very kind of you to send such a letter. I appreciate your
|
|
374 ooooppppssss.........
|
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375
|
|
376 -696969696969
|
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377 part 7b
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378 "Now-let's look at this from the perspective of the average guy on the
|
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379 street. If his kid graduated in the last few years from one of our high
|
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380 schools, then he can't read, write, or do math. Do you really believe
|
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381 that his daddy is going to want to spend his hard earned money on
|
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382 turning the educational system on its ear so that people can go on joy
|
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383 rides to other planets? If you believe that, you're fooling yourself.
|
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384
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385 "Next, " Howy continued, "There is NO way you are going to get
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386 everyone to go to work so that a small percentage of the population can
|
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387 be saved. The fact is, everybody doesn't want to go to work,
|
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388 particularly to support some vague notion of using spaceships to
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389 colonize the little twinkles of light which most of us can't even see
|
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390 through the smog anyway. The quickest way to turn someone against an
|
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391 idea is to tell them they have to work for it. Do you think the
|
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392 stadiums would be full of football fans if those guys knew they had to
|
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393 clean up their mess before they could leave? NO-that's work. The
|
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394 stadiums would be empty.
|
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395
|
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396 "So, you can't educate the people, and you can't get them to work.
|
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397 You surely are not going to get ANY country to hand over the power to a
|
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398 consortium of nations for a project which is so massive it is sucking their
|
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399 GNP dry. Even if they saw the rock coming head on and knew it would be
|
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400 here next year, you're not going to get the cooperation necessary to do
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401 anything about it!
|
|
402
|
|
403 "Forget it. The idea is stupid. Dumb!", Howy even shook his finger
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404 at me. "The whole space program should be cancelled and the taxes which
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405 are saved used to buy beer and pizza. When the end is near, we can all
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406 stuff our guts and get loaded! HEY, what a way to go!!"
|
|
407
|
|
408 Prissy was smiling, she tried to cover her mouth a little. I was
|
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409 pretty amused myself. So was everyone within two tables of us.
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|
410
|
|
411 Then Howy's eyes lit up. "I just thought of another good reason why you
|
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412 should get your mind off this. Being a member of the Hebrew faith, I
|
|
413 understand this better than you. The Born Agains would have you for
|
|
414 lunch if they heard that you were trying to save mankind. They know the
|
|
415 earth is going to get whacked and they relish the thought-their whole
|
|
416 damn belief system is based on doomsday. No doomsday means no belief
|
|
417 system. If someone started a movement to get us off the planet in order
|
|
418 to extend the life of our species, they would feed his balls to Tammy
|
|
419 Faye!". The lady in the table next to ours burst out laughing. We
|
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420 turned for a second, and the refocused our attention on Howy. "It would
|
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421 be the ultimate insult to their religion. What are you going to tell
|
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422 them, Ben? 'Sorry, boys, Judgement Day will have to be postponed a few
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423 millennia while we go explore the galaxy.' You think they'd stand by and
|
|
424 let you muddy up their waters? Try it and see what happens!".
|
|
425
|
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426 Me: "Look, we went to the moon. We geared up our educational system and
|
|
427 went from 15 minutes in space to a moonwalk in just 8 years.".
|
|
428
|
|
429 Howy: "And look what happened to the guy who started it all-he got a
|
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430 bullet in his brain! Then his entire dream was killed off-AFTER IT
|
|
431 SUCCEEDED-in less than 12 months by a polical rival! Face the facts,
|
|
432 this is a tough world and we're all going to have to die here. JFK
|
|
433 would still be around if he had just reduced taxes and provided capital
|
|
434 gains credits in the form of rebates at the local pizza parlor.".
|
|
435
|
|
436 Me: "And mankind would have never have traveled to the moon.".
|
|
437
|
|
438 Howy: "What's the big deal about the moon? You see Rio on the tube all
|
|
439 the time, but you don't lose any sleep about not spending a day in the sun
|
|
440 down there, do you? You just want to go to the moon because you can't.
|
|
441 It's a disease engineers have that the rest of the world suffers for.
|
|
442 If you want to see the moon, just look out your window after the sun has
|
|
443 gone down. Damn, that's even more than you can do with Rio!".
|
|
444
|
|
445 Me: "Howy, I can't believe an engineer is talking this way.".
|
|
446
|
|
447 Howy: "Well, believe it. I can't believe a reasonably intelligent human
|
|
448 being can become so stressed out with an insane desire to colonize space
|
|
449 'before it's too late'. It's not going to happen. We are all dead-we
|
|
450 know it. And we intend to do the sensible thing: enjoy ourselves until
|
|
451 the Big Whack comes. That beats the hell out of your alternative-living
|
|
452 out some Star Trek fantasy that most of the population doesn't give a
|
|
453 damn about.".
|
|
454
|
|
455 Then, Howy stopped talking. He was breathing pretty heavily by now. It
|
|
456 was quiet at our table, but the background conversation was still
|
|
457 vibrating in the air. Suddenly, I started laughing. I couldn't stop.
|
|
458 Tears were running down my cheeks, my side hurt. Prissy handed me her
|
|
459 napkin.
|
|
460
|
|
461 I took a few deep breaths to get control: "So, I guess I can't count on
|
|
462 you to be one of my disciples?".
|
|
463
|
|
464 Then Howy started laughing, too. We got up and stumbled outside. On
|
|
465 the way to the car, all of us stopped, as if on cue, and peered up at
|
|
466 the stars overhead. Our alcohol stained breath fogged the air between
|
|
467 us and those stars.
|
|
468
|
|
469 We silently looked down and continued towards the car, trying not to
|
|
470 look up at the meteors streaking across the autumn sky...
|
|
471 --------------------
|
|
472 "These are our choices: we can bail out the S&L's at
|
|
473 the tune of $250 Billion and have a lot of happy
|
|
474 taxpayers or we can use that as seed money for a space
|
|
475 colonization effort and have a lot of live taxpayers,"
|
|
476 said an advisor on Capitol Hill.
|
|
477
|
|
478 "If that's the choice, then I'll make those taxpayers
|
|
479 as happy as can be.", was the reply. And then he added,
|
|
480 chuckling a bit, "What is the point of having live
|
|
481 taxpayers if they're not going to vote for you?".
|
|
482 (...to be continued...)
|
|
483 696969696969696969
|
|
484
|
|
022=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/03/90 15:00 Msg:5280 Call:29440 Lines:2
|
|
485 no entries in two days?
|
|
486 ---------------------------
|
|
023=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 06/03/90 22:56 Msg:5281 Call:29449 Lines:7
|
|
487 &*&*&*&*'s
|
|
488 No feedback=No entries. This is supposed to be an interactive media after all.
|
|
489 I often neglect to interact I suppose, but never after a TWO DAY blight.
|
|
490
|
|
491 An Astral Dreamer
|
|
492 &*&*&*&*'s
|
|
493
|
|
024=Usr:507 todd rogers 06/04/90 14:33 Msg:5282 Call:29457 Lines:5
|
|
494 ------- hmmm... doesn't seem to be much going on
|
|
495 ------- here.
|
|
496 ------- Just poking my head in once in a while.
|
|
497 -------
|
|
498
|
|
025=Usr:116 ted mittelstaedt 06/04/90 18:04 Msg:5283 Call:29465 Lines:12
|
|
499 ***************************************************************************
|
|
500 Ah the space program. When will anyone wake up and realize that the
|
|
501 barricades to going to the stars are not those of money. When has the
|
|
502 cost of anything prevented our government from doing it?
|
|
503 even now, when we are under a budget axe (Gramm/Rudm), the congress
|
|
504 still spends money on NEW programs. The barriers to going to other planets
|
|
505 are those of TIME. Unless someone has figured out a way to bypass the
|
|
506 theory of Relativity, we are going nowhere. If we were to send ou
|
|
507 a ship to mars, for instance, even accellerating at a rate of speed
|
|
508 that would come close to crushing the pilot, but not kill him, it would
|
|
509 still take a year or so to reach it.
|
|
510 *************************************************Bill Tell****************
|
|
026=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/04/90 22:56 Msg:5284 Call:29472 Lines:3
|
|
511 don't forget, this thursday is the monthly PCS social, 92nd & Stark
|
|
512 Stark Street Pizza, 7PM.
|
|
513 -------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
027=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 06/05/90 00:35 Msg:5288 Call:29474 Lines:25
|
|
514
|
|
515 Prepare yourselves! It is almost that time again!!
|
|
516
|
|
517 June 9th (Saturday), at 9am will occur...
|
|
518
|
|
519 The Spring Edition of the CP/M User's Group Swap Meet!
|
|
520 The premier event for computer and electronics trading!
|
|
521 ( they told me to say that B-} )
|
|
522
|
|
523 No charge for table space (tho you may need to bring yer own),
|
|
524 Buy, Sell, Trade, Barter, almost anything goes (and usually does!)
|
|
525
|
|
526 Place: Tigard Community Center (Tigard, OR)
|
|
527 Directions:
|
|
528 I-5 or Hwy 26 to Highway 217 - North from I-5, South from Hwy 26
|
|
529 Proceed to the Hwy 99 (Pacific Hwy/Tigard) Exit, Turn West
|
|
530 Proceed West on Hwy 99 to the intersection of Hwy 99 and Main/Greenburg
|
|
531 (Left to Main, or right to Greenburg... these streets terminate at Hwy99)
|
|
532 Left onto Main, and proceed to Commercial Street (on left, just past Post Offic
|
|
533 Left onto Commercial, proceed to Fire Station (on left, down a ways...)
|
|
534 Community Center is in the back of the Fire Station!
|
|
535
|
|
536 Questions to the following address... ( or by phone at 288-xxxx )
|
|
537
|
|
538 --------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
028=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/07/90 16:35 Msg:5290 Call:29511 Lines:185
|
|
539 696969696969
|
|
540 8a of many
|
|
541 The Little UFO that Could
|
|
542 *************************
|
|
543 * TOP SECRET *
|
|
544 *************************
|
|
545 GAMMA SIGMA PHI
|
|
546 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
|
|
547 by
|
|
548 Benjamim Jamen
|
|
549
|
|
550 "The man of God who condones bloodshed is NOT a man of God.
|
|
551 The sect which approves of murder in any form deserves NO
|
|
552 followers. The purpose of God in our lives is preservation,
|
|
553 NOT annihilation."
|
|
554 -Reverend at a Baptist Church
|
|
555
|
|
556 Quite some time ago, a star exploded, flinging its charred remains
|
|
557 through the universe. Part of those remains collided with what was to
|
|
558 become a rather nondescript planet which would be circling a rather
|
|
559 average star located on the outer rim of the Milky Way galaxy. Through
|
|
560 time, chance and various electrochemical processes, these charred
|
|
561 remains combined with other matter in the earth to form the complex
|
|
562 molecules which later became the basic building blocks of life. These
|
|
563 building blocks came together to form the simple organisms which
|
|
564 populated the seas, some eventually surviving via photosynthesis, others
|
|
565 surviving by consuming whatever floated their way. The complexity of
|
|
566 these organisms increased steadily until some varieties moved out of
|
|
567 the warm womb of the sea and headed for short excursions to the desolate
|
|
568 stretches of land above. Over time, the land organisms adopted to their
|
|
569 new home so that the short excursions became permanent stays. The bare
|
|
570 rocks of the earth became clothed with plant life, the plant life fed
|
|
571 the emerging animal life, the simple animal forms became fodder for the
|
|
572 carnivores. Before long (in the scheme of things), the entire planet
|
|
573 was covered with an enormous variety of plant and animal life.
|
|
574 Dinosaurs larger than office buildings lumbered across the plush
|
|
575 landscape. Life was good. Then something happened and most of them
|
|
576 died. It looks like that something was probably a collision with an
|
|
577 asteroid from space. Whether or not the collision was responsible, the
|
|
578 earth's climate DID change drastically and some heretofore insignificant
|
|
579 mammals had an opportunity to evolve a bit without getting stepped on by
|
|
580 dinosaur feet. These mammals grew and changed and eventually formed
|
|
581 communities. Some of them, about 5,000 years ago, developed systems of
|
|
582 writing as well as complex social organizations. Very recently, a few
|
|
583 of them left the warm womb of the earth for short excursions to the
|
|
584 desolate stretches of space above.
|
|
585
|
|
586 One of these mammals looked up and hypothesized that life on earth
|
|
587 started with the explosion of a star.
|
|
588
|
|
589 Another one looked up and realized that none of these things had ever
|
|
590 really happened. He was a Creationist. His arguments were very
|
|
591 convincing. For example, the harbinger of evolution was Darwin, right?
|
|
592 (he usually ends a sentence with 'right?'). Darwin starts with a 'D',
|
|
593 right? What else starts with a 'D'? DEVIL! Yes, Darwin was the Devil's
|
|
594 messenger! To cinch the argument, he would then point out that the word
|
|
595 'Darwin' had nearly the same number of letters as the word 'Devil'.
|
|
596 Right?
|
|
597
|
|
598 His mother was also a very intelligent mammal who had some very
|
|
599 convincing arguments of why space travel had never occurred and the trip
|
|
600 to the moon was an elaborately staged studio event which had taken place in
|
|
601 Arizona. The gist of it was: God lives 'up there'. There is only one
|
|
602 way for us to go 'up there' and that way is to die. Since it is
|
|
603 absolutely not possible for men to build machines which can visit God,
|
|
604 the trip to the moon was a contrived fallacy. Besides, she had been to
|
|
605 Arizona at night and it looked just like the pictures of the moon. Case
|
|
606 closed.
|
|
607
|
|
608 His mother was very rich. As is the case with many rich people, she
|
|
609 chose to believe whatever she wanted to believe, despite any evidence to
|
|
610 the contrary.
|
|
611
|
|
612 To make a long story short, at the tail end of the evolutionary process
|
|
613 was George Hansen, an Australian, who did not believe in the processes
|
|
614 which had created him. However, he did believe in the power of money
|
|
615 and had amassed a huge fortune while in the USA, most of which he had
|
|
616 shoveled away in Swiss and Commonwealth banks. He even got an American
|
|
617 citizenship, which resulted in a dual citizenship from his mother
|
|
618 country's perspective and a singular, Yankee citizenship from the
|
|
619 American government's perspective. America's immigration rules do not
|
|
620 recognize dual citizenship.
|
|
621
|
|
622 Two-thirds of the Western hemisphere is offended by the use of the term
|
|
623 'America' to refer the the United States Thereof. In order to not
|
|
624 offend anyone, which is the sole intention of these writings, I will,
|
|
625 henceforth, refer to the middle member of the North American triumvirate
|
|
626 as the USA, United States, or something else besides America.
|
|
627 (...to be continued...)
|
|
628 696969696969696969
|
|
629
|
|
630 696969696969
|
|
631 part 8b
|
|
632 George made his money during the defense industry gold rush of the
|
|
633 1980's. He started with little whizmos that measured heat. They could
|
|
634 measure heat just about anywhere: in tanks, in guns, even the heat
|
|
635 emanating from the inside of a soldier's trousers! About every two or
|
|
636 three months, the Pentagon figured out yet another something which
|
|
637 needed a thermometer. Since George had the original contract, he was a
|
|
638 shoe-in for any follow on work. Since the Pentagon had tons of money in
|
|
639 the 1980's, they were happy to shovel large quantities in George's
|
|
640 direction. You see, the Pentagon had to burn all of its money up before
|
|
641 the end of each fiscal year or the naughty Congress would take it away.
|
|
642 George was happy to help his newly adopted country through this
|
|
643 financial crisis.
|
|
644
|
|
645 So, George amassed a great fortune building ever more complex
|
|
646 thermometers in his basement factory. While we are on the subject of
|
|
647 helping the American military, I'd like to take a little detour and tell
|
|
648 you about some guys who installed computers in a DoD office. One day,
|
|
649 the boss tells me that I need to go to one of the local military
|
|
650 reservations to find out why it had taken three months for a contractor
|
|
651 to install some computers. When I got there, I asked the guy who was
|
|
652 working on the machines how his company could stay in business when it
|
|
653 takes them 3 months to get a computer working that a 14 year old kid
|
|
654 could have had operational in an afternoon. The answer was interesting.
|
|
655 His business started in the District riots of the late 1960's when he
|
|
656 threw a rock through a store window and ran off with arm loads of electronic
|
|
657 equipment. The sell of that equipment provided the capital necessary to
|
|
658 start a thriving enterprise. However, being the smart businessman that
|
|
659 he was (yes, he owned this little company), he soon realized that he
|
|
660 could not survive in the world of private commercial enterprises. So,
|
|
661 he bid on a government contract and, much to his surprise, won it. He
|
|
662 discovered that "bull shitting" and "acting busy" were all that was necessary
|
|
663 to keep a government contract. Once he perfected these techniques, he
|
|
664 soon found he had more work than he could handle, so he hired a little
|
|
665 staff and got an address in DC (which was the address of a burned out
|
|
666 fire station-whether they actually did any work there, who knows?). Now
|
|
667 the business is a partnership and he is talking about stocks. No wonder
|
|
668 he doesn't have any time to get the computers working!
|
|
669
|
|
670 Getting back to George, he did help the Pentagon through its serious
|
|
671 financial problems of the 1980's and reaped great financial rewards as a
|
|
672 result. Now, he stopped by my house to discuss his latest scheme. He
|
|
673 was going to redeem himself by doing something for the homeless of our
|
|
674 fair city.
|
|
675
|
|
676 George (in his thick accent): "The way I see it, the homeless have got
|
|
677 no desire to live in a house, right? If they wanted to live in a bloody
|
|
678 home, they'd go to one of the shelters, right? It's clear, chappy
|
|
679 [when George wants to irritate me, he calls me "chappy"], that these
|
|
680 fellows want to be mobile. So, here's my idea: they want to be mobile
|
|
681 so we make them mobile. Cars? No. Too expensive. My idea is much
|
|
682 simpler. The answer is: BICYCLES. I plan on buying bicycles for the
|
|
683 entire homeless population of our capitol city. What do you think,
|
|
684 chappy?"
|
|
685
|
|
686 Me: "George, you know I don't give a damn about your ideas. If you
|
|
687 want to help Mitch feed and cloth the poor, I'll pitch in. I'll even
|
|
688 give you some money, even though it looks like I'm going to be
|
|
689 unemployed in the short term. But, bikes? You can't eat a bike, you
|
|
690 know."
|
|
691
|
|
692 George: "The food and the shelter is taken care of already. If a
|
|
693 homeless person plays his cards right, he can have the stature of Hardy
|
|
694 and sleep in a warm shelter every night. No-they don't need more food.
|
|
695 What they need is mobility. Right?"
|
|
696
|
|
697 Me: "I've either totally missed some critical point in your argument or
|
|
698 your brain has become addled by too many government contracts." Then I
|
|
699 added a little jab, "Right?".
|
|
700
|
|
701 George: "You Yanks've got no couth, you know that? If you used your
|
|
702 thinker, you'd realize mobility's just what these gents need. Think about
|
|
703 this: a gent is next to the monument. He hears there's a free food give
|
|
704 away in Montgomery County. With no bicycle, the gent goes hungry. With
|
|
705 a set of wheels, he's in the next county feasting to his stomach's
|
|
706 content. That's only the start of it. Now the gent's getting food and
|
|
707 exercise. So, he gets real healthy, right? So, now he's healthy. So,
|
|
708 the President decides to invade another country, right? Who does he
|
|
709 call? He calls the army and he's got to wait 24 hours for everybody to
|
|
710 kiss the wifey goodbye. Bad idea. So what's he do? He puts a
|
|
711 megaphone on the top of the White House and tells all the homeless that
|
|
712 it's time to invade and, if they'll be there in an hour, they can
|
|
713 participate in the defence of the free world. I mean, the implications
|
|
714 are ENORMOUS. For starters, we reduce the size of the army by half. I
|
|
715 mean-cities will become proud of their homeless populations. They'll be
|
|
716 heroes!".
|
|
717
|
|
718 Me: "Do you take drugs on a regular basis?"
|
|
719
|
|
720 George: "What kindova question is that? Why, I ought to...".
|
|
721 (...to be continued...)
|
|
722 696969696969696969
|
|
723
|
|
029=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/08/90 12:51 Msg:5291 Call:29521 Lines:91
|
|
724 696969696969
|
|
725 part 8c
|
|
726 Anyway, the conversation went on like that for the rest of the night and
|
|
727 I never was able to steer it into the direction I had intended: funding
|
|
728 of an organization for the preservation of intelligence. The source of
|
|
729 our problem seemed to be the Australian brew George had brought. In the
|
|
730 USA, the amount of alcohol in each can of beer is limited to some
|
|
731 measurable quantity. I don't think the Australians have such an
|
|
732 arbitrary limit. To make matters worse, Australian brew is apparently
|
|
733 much stronger than it tastes.
|
|
734
|
|
735 Anyway, this organization I wanted to start was going to be divided into
|
|
736 two functional departments: 1) earth preservation and 2) contingency
|
|
737 plans in case Department #1 fails its task. From reading the previous
|
|
738 chapters, you already know what the contingency plans are...
|
|
739
|
|
740 All that was for naught because, at some point, I passed out and wound
|
|
741 up in bed upstairs and George drove away in a drunken stupor. We never
|
|
742 had a chance to discuss the future of humankind.
|
|
743
|
|
744 Then, it's 3am and the door bell is ringing. There's no telling how
|
|
745 many times it rang before I pulled the pillow over my ears. That didn't
|
|
746 help. Then, it suddenly occurred to me that this could be my old place
|
|
747 of employment calling. They want me back, and it's such an emergency,
|
|
748 they've personally come to my front door at 3am to drive me away to fix
|
|
749 something in time for some unreasonable deadline.
|
|
750
|
|
751 They want me back! I've been saved!
|
|
752
|
|
753 I ran down the stairs and threw open the front door to see a drunk
|
|
754 staring me back in the face. George had not returned. This was
|
|
755 someone I had never seen before.
|
|
756
|
|
757 The strange thing is, there was 100% and absolutely no hint of alcohol
|
|
758 whatsoever on this guy's breath. Even though he was standing less than
|
|
759 a foot away, I couldn't smell a thing. But, he was acting drunk, so he
|
|
760 was drunk. Besides, he looked like he had just stepped off of skid row
|
|
761 in Seattle. Case closed.
|
|
762
|
|
763 I'm not the kind of guy who can shut the door in someone's
|
|
764 face-especially someone who is down on his luck. So, I stood there a
|
|
765 few minutes before he finally looked up and directly aimed his bloodshot
|
|
766 eyeballs into mine. He did not blink at all. Those eyes certainly had
|
|
767 no hint of a smile in them. The stare was intense.
|
|
768
|
|
769 Him (in a very gravely voice-each word was spoken with extreme precision,
|
|
770 which is quite puzzling-I would have expected a drunk to slur a bit):
|
|
771 "Hoss. It's been a long time, Hoss."
|
|
772
|
|
773 There was a long pause as if he was expecting a response. My vocal
|
|
774 cords were paralyzed, I was not able to respond.
|
|
775
|
|
776 Him, after taking a deep gravely breath (sounded like he was dying of
|
|
777 last autumn's flu): "There's not much time, Hoss."
|
|
778
|
|
779 He continued to stare me down with his x-ray vision. I wanted to slam
|
|
780 the door and get away, but could not move my arms now. He must have
|
|
781 been hypnotizing me. I can think of no other explanation. Why would a
|
|
782 60 year-old drunk come to my house at 3am and hypnotize me? What is
|
|
783 happening to my life?!?
|
|
784
|
|
785 "I'll tell you this, Hoss. Each moment you waste is gone. When all the
|
|
786 moment are gone, it is over."
|
|
787
|
|
788 He continued staring at me but his expression slightly changed. I've
|
|
789 seen that expression before. It was in another country where a man
|
|
790 desperately wanted to tell me something, but he did not have sufficient
|
|
791 command of the English language to do so. There is a slight tinge of
|
|
792 frustration in the face of the person who is unable to communicate.
|
|
793
|
|
794 Then he turned and was gone. I shook my head and looked all over the
|
|
795 place. Then I ran out to the street and looked up and down. He was no
|
|
796 where to be found. I looked back at my house and realized I had left
|
|
797 the front door open. Maybe this crazy had gone back into my house while
|
|
798 I was not looking and was waiting inside to rob me. No. I knew that
|
|
799 was not true. What I felt was the truth bothered me very much.
|
|
800 ------------------
|
|
801 "Reactions to new knowledge are amusing. For some, as such knowledge
|
|
802 reveals the intricacies of our universe and of life itself, it
|
|
803 also confirms the existence of God. For others, such knowledge
|
|
804 definitively confirms the nonexistence of God. For yet another group,
|
|
805 new knowledge confirms a belief in the nonexistence of scientists.
|
|
806
|
|
807 "I don't believe Copernicus' faith was anything but strengthened
|
|
808 when he deduced that the earth circled the sun and not vica
|
|
809 versa. The fanatics who threatened him remind us that we are
|
|
810 no better than they are when we cease to question the validity
|
|
811 of our knowledge."
|
|
812 -Spoken by a grey bearded man at an astronomer's convention
|
|
813 696969696969696969
|
|
814
|
|
030=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/08/90 14:41 Msg:5292 Call:29523 Lines:92
|
|
815 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
|
|
816 Thingfish: I'd love to 'talk Twin Peaks, but I couldn't seem to find a private
|
|
817 account number .
|
|
818
|
|
819 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
|
|
820
|
|
821 Michael continues his journey through the obscurities...
|
|
822
|
|
823 * * *
|
|
824
|
|
825 A human boy, probably no more than eighteen years of age, drifted up from
|
|
826 the thick cloud of pink mist that tumbled across the stainless steel
|
|
827 chessboard.
|
|
828 HThe first aspect of the boy's character that Michael took notice of
|
|
829 dealt with his attire. Despite the warm radiance of the green sunflower
|
|
830 burning in the puce sky, the child wore a heavy leather jacket and motorcycle
|
|
831 gloves, bulky olive drab trousers and heavy, steel toed combat boots.
|
|
832 His green eyes regarded the landscape casually, almost disinterested, as the
|
|
833 warm, milky wind from the east attempted in vain to tousle his heavily greased
|
|
834 short, spikey red hair.
|
|
835 "And whose presence am I in at present?"
|
|
836 #Do yoou not know the face of evolution?# The voice was metallic,
|
|
837 flat.
|
|
838 "An enforcer, perhaps."
|
|
839 #Perhaps not.# The boy withdrew a set of dog tags from one of his many
|
|
840 pockets, opened the clasp, and allowed the flat metal cards to slip back
|
|
841 out of view. He began toying with the remaining chain. #Tell me, do you like
|
|
842 whale songs?#
|
|
843 "Not particularly," Michael replied to the boy. "But recent experience
|
|
844 has led me to the distinct conclusion that I would benefit from listening."
|
|
845 #Good.# The boy held up his hands and showed Michael a perfect Cat's
|
|
846 Cradle. #Can you make one of these?#
|
|
847 "Yes, now."
|
|
848 #Very good...#
|
|
849 "Who are you?"
|
|
850 #The future.# He laughed futilely. #Look, I really do find this cryptic
|
|
851 nonsense distasteful, but there are rules... The Anglers are not known for
|
|
852 granting the right to circumvent them without dire consequence...#
|
|
853 "Who are the Anglers?"
|
|
854 #The whales know. Ask them.#
|
|
855 "Where can I find them?"
|
|
856 Again the boy laughed, his androgynous , indistinct features
|
|
857 made more concrete by his brief smile. #Not an easy task.#
|
|
858 "I'm already on a difficult task of my own."
|
|
859 #The temporal disturbance?#
|
|
860 "Yes..." he paused for a moment. "Is your name Michael?"
|
|
861 #No. I'm not you. Not now. Not ever. But I have met you before
|
|
862 now.#
|
|
863 "Before?"
|
|
864 #Speaking from the perspective of temporal distortion. Permit me to say
|
|
865 'I did know you' from my own viewpoint while stating 'I will know you' from
|
|
866 yours.#
|
|
867 "And when will this be?"
|
|
868 #Probably very soon, I'd imagine.# The boy put on a Walkman, but the
|
|
869 music blared around Michael as if from a speaker. 'After all, we're flesh
|
|
870 and blood/After all, we're flesh./
|
|
871 It's so hard to believe unless we try to believe./Out of control./Perhaps she
|
|
872 is hiding underneath a blade of grass./ The skeletons are hidden in the
|
|
873 closet./Till they get home./'
|
|
874 "A Medalic Prophet!"
|
|
875 #You catch on quick.# The grin was genuine this time. #We'll be seeing
|
|
876 a lot of each other in the obscurities. Most of the time I'mll just be one of
|
|
877 the bystanders or witnesses. Just try to ignore me. I have to tell the
|
|
878 Anglers about your progress. They're very interested.#
|
|
879 "They created the Stone Triangles on Pyrrix A'aaal."
|
|
880 #They created the worlds on Pyrrix A'aaal. It's a lot more complex than
|
|
881 a bunch of floating Triangles.#
|
|
882 "What can you tell me?"
|
|
883 #Not enough. The Anglers did create the Triangles, long ago, and it
|
|
884 has to do with the Design of the ruling Technocracy. The Quantier is another
|
|
885 factor in there. They're all pieces of onne puzzle, but don't expect it to fit
|
|
886 or make a picture. Roll with it. Just do it.#
|
|
887 "Why?"
|
|
888 The boy was disappoined. #You should know by now, being a Temporal
|
|
889 Enforcer. The chronoverse doesn't work. Sometimes... hell, all the time,
|
|
890 you need to just whack at the pieces or file them ddown to a new shape to
|
|
891 get them to fit. And even then the picturee never turnns out to be the
|
|
892 kittens and the Oreo cookies.#
|
|
893 "Just do it, hmmm?"
|
|
894 #Right.#
|
|
895 "Then I'll be moving on. Th road back to physical existence is paved
|
|
896 with many obscurities today."
|
|
897 #I hate to break it to you, Michael, but physical existence IS an
|
|
898 obscurity.#
|
|
899 "Sometimes that's more true than even you know."
|
|
900 The boy saluted. #Be seeing you. By the way, I had to get through all
|
|
901 that cryptic bull**** at the beginning of this exchange, and I didn't get the
|
|
902 chance to introduce myself...# Even as he spoke, Michael felt his physical
|
|
903 form in this obscurity disincorporating, but he did make out the last few
|
|
904 words. #Zephyr's the name...#
|
|
905
|
|
906 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
|
|
031=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/10/90 12:13 Msg:5293 Call:29554 Lines:3
|
|
907
|
|
908 Then Again...
|
|
909
|
|
032=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 06/10/90 17:02 Msg:5294 Call:29556 Lines:87
|
|
910 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
|
|
911
|
|
912 * * *
|
|
913
|
|
914 "You gunna order sumphin?"
|
|
915 "Whiskey." Michael muttered, distractedly.
|
|
916 The pretty girl in tafetta leather that had been eyeing him since he had
|
|
917 materialized in the saloon approached. She stroked the scaley material of his
|
|
918 green cape. Her long fingernails were painted into black and white
|
|
919 checkerboards. "Nice." She giggled, and a dozen butterflies erupted from
|
|
920 a discarded beer bottle.
|
|
921 "No thanks. Not interested."
|
|
922 Her lips fell into a pout. "You sure? I'm really good with ropes..."
|
|
923 She reached into her sow's ear purse and withdrew a cat's cradle.
|
|
924 "How nice."
|
|
925 The woman took a long swim in Michael's pale green eyes before
|
|
926 clicking her tongue in disgust. "Oh. One of them 'artsy' types..." She
|
|
927 moved on to the construction worker who was ordering a screwdriver.
|
|
928 "Actually," Michael said, turning back to the bartender. "I was here
|
|
929 for a little informati."
|
|
930 "It'll cost you."
|
|
931 Michael flicked two pennies onto the bartender's eyes. "I'm trying to
|
|
932 find out about a localized disturbance on Pyrrix A'aaal."
|
|
933 "The Anglers' pet project?"
|
|
934 "That's the one."
|
|
935 "Keep your business out of their affairs... that's the best advice that
|
|
936 anyone'll offer."
|
|
937 "And the disturbance?"
|
|
938 "It wouldn't be there if it didn't have a purpose. How'd it manifest
|
|
939 itself, anyway?"
|
|
940 "A goblet."
|
|
941 The bartender tapped the counter. "You mean like the one you're drinking
|
|
942 out of?"
|
|
943 Michael casually examined the symbolism. "Shot-glass-as-Quantier?
|
|
944 Nice touch."
|
|
945 "I thought so."
|
|
946 "I'm not looking for something I can't use in my obscurity."
|
|
947 "Too bad."
|
|
948 Michael's temper flared for a brief moment. "Right now I'm trapped in a
|
|
949 Stone Triangle, in the middle of the desert. I've been wandering around
|
|
950 the non-corporeal realms without accomplishing more than a sightseeing
|
|
951 tour of PPF-Realtime Dreamspace."
|
|
952 "Simmer down, boyo."
|
|
953 "You usually have the answers."
|
|
954 "Had the answers. Remember your dates."
|
|
955 Michael looked down at his chaps. "Sorry. I've never been used to
|
|
956 Inhabiting myself."
|
|
957 "Doesn't matter. You're a son of a bitch in 1877 Earth anyway."
|
|
958 "How long have I been here?"
|
|
959 "Speaking in terms of my relativity? About six years."
|
|
960 "Six?"
|
|
961 "A pretty nasty relativity distortion rears its head pretty
|
|
962 soon around here. It's pretty much going to end up localized, but you
|
|
963 were never able to pin down an exact date, time, or place." He paused for
|
|
964 a brief moment. "Have you seen the damned Medalic Prophet?"
|
|
965 "No, where is he?"
|
|
966 Zephyr waved from the blackjack table. "He's been hanging around
|
|
967 forever." the bartender grimaced.
|
|
968 "Grand."
|
|
969 "Listen, about all this Inhabiting ****... mind telling me exactly how it
|
|
970 works?"
|
|
971 "Not really. I'm sure certain parties coulduse the expository right
|
|
972 now." The eastern wall, a huge number '4' painted on its side in red letters,
|
|
973 collapsed. "Right now, I'm filtering through bits and pieces of my
|
|
974 collected subconcious from various existences."
|
|
975 "Regenerations?"
|
|
976 "No, more like evolutions. None of that dramatic 'Look, he's changing.'
|
|
977 nonsense. Just an attitude shift under different circumstances. Right now,
|
|
978 from my temporal perspective, I'm inhabiting my own persona of the
|
|
979 future... my future, who's currently tracking down a disturbance in the
|
|
980 past."
|
|
981 "Communal telepathic living."
|
|
982 "You got it, kemosabe."
|
|
983 "WATCH it!"
|
|
984 "Sorry. Anyway, I roam around the obscurities trying to gather
|
|
985 information about my personal mission from my oter 'selves', though most of
|
|
986 them haven't been all that helpful. Just a week ago, when I first arrived
|
|
987 in Pyrrix A'aaal, I was Inhabited by that bastard Michael from a few hundred
|
|
988 years down the road, and he went on a nice little spree of mayhem."
|
|
989 "Any reason?"
|
|
990 "The hell of it."
|
|
991 "Thought so." The bartender looked over at the skeletal piano
|
|
992 player. "Hey, Fingers, how about some music?" The bony hands began darting
|
|
993 across the Ocestral Grand. "Like it?" the barkeep asked, rocking back and
|
|
994 forth to the tune. "Whalesongs..."
|
|
995
|
|
996 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
|
|
033=Usr:165 Bart Simpson 06/12/90 01:58 Msg:5297 Call:29580 Lines:3
|
|
997 696969696969
|
|
998 At the bottom...no mean feat when the new disk is already installed
|
|
999 696969696969696969
|