62 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
62 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
"Land Ho! Four miles at starboard! Land-Ho!"
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The tired old Captain shrugged his shoulders. 'Finally,' he thought, 'so
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close and yet so far...'
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Actually, he didn't know why he said that. It just sounded right.
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He wrinkled an eyebrow and plucked a clove D'Jarum from his coat pocket. He
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produced the trademark skull sculpture lighter and proceeded to waste some
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more of his lungs.
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The vessel ported safely into Westside, greeted by the cheers of an
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assembled crowd of wives, lovers, family, friends, and debt collectors. The
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crowd waved merrily as the Town Courier and his escorts climb up the dock and
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into the ship. This Town Courier was an opulently dressed bureacrat, well
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paid for his meager -some would say trivial- duties. He identified the
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captain at once (Cap'n Ollie sported a seasalt's beard, impossible to miss)
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and handed him a form. "Fill it out immediately." he ordered. The Cap'n
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didn't like his manner, but he didn't like keeping the crew waiting either,
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not when they'd been out at sea as long as they had. Swallowing his pride for
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the moment, he looked at the form.
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::: APPLICATION FOR ADMITTANCE INTO THE DOMAIN OF WESTSIDE :::
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*============================================================*
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=[ All Questions must be answered Truthfully, under pain of
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Death or Castration, whichever is the Greater Loss. ]=
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*==========================================================*
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1. Are you bringing any known VIRUS(ES) into our fair town?
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NOTE: He Who Answers YES will be thanked for his honesty,
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looked upon with awe, rewarded 1,000 silver coins for his
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integrity, and exiled; He who BELIEVES such a thing will
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then be surprised to find a noose around His Neck....
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2. Are you an ACTIVE CITIZEN or merely a wandering vagrant
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who journeys from town to town, wasting other's time and
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making no contribution to the General Message Area?
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3. Do you come here to TRADE? If so, you must detail your
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trading wares and become a REGISTERED MERCHANT. UNLOAD all
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wares from your ship, then UPLOAD it to WESTSIDE, that other
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citizens may DOWNLOAD it.
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------------------------------------------------------
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Cap'n Ollie dutifully filled in the answer sheet.
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1. "None of the magnetic variety, but I can't speak for anything else."
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2. "Both. But all of us -my crew and I- make a contribution.
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No, we're certainly not silent types -"Drones", I think you call
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them. No, sir."
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3. "Yes. I would like to apply for registration. Have quite a few
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things in our cargohold that might be of interest."
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Signed, Capt. Oliver North Roger.
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-----------------------------------------------------
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He handed the completed form back to the Courier. "Yes. Now a, yes, a
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small, considerate token of your appreciation would, certainly, work to ensure
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that things are handled as expediantly as possible- " The Cap'n fished out a
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small, beautiful garnet and handed it over to the greedy hand of the Courier.
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"Very good, Captain Roger, I'll be seeing you." One of his escorts tooted a
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cermonial horn, and the procession left. The Cap'n and his crew were free to
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leave, and that they did, swiftly exploring the city of Westside and all its
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mysteries... |