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+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER FOUR
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+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
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| ++ | F S F NN N E T
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| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
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| | F S F N NN E T
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|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
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/___________\ ==========================================
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
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___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb (NMCS025@MAINE)
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CONTENTS
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Editorinomican Mad Orny al-Hazred
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Featured Author: H.P. LOVECRAFT Orny
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Call of Cthulhu Game Review Mike H.
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The Book HPL
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The Cthulhu Mythos Merlin
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Editorial
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Greetings, and welcome to the Howard Phillips Lovecraft special issue
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of FSFnet. I must apologize for the lateness of this issue, but, as
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many of you know already, I am in the middle of spending three weeks in
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wonderful (?) New York City. I hope that you will find the issue worth
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the wait. Future issues should be forthcoming within a few weeks,
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depending on how things go here.
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Submissions and other response can be sent to my Maine account, and
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will receive proper attention, usually within one to five days. If you
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have something that you would like to bring to my attention, I will be
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using TIGQC489 @ CUNYVM during my stay in NYC, which should last until
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the 20th of March.
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I would like to thank the contributors for their help, and I would
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like to apologize to Eric (@ UCONN) for having to ask him to withdraw a
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fine submission, due to length. Merlin's overview of the Mythos is an
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excellent article, and Mike's CoC game review is lucid. I hope that
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Lovecraft fans enjoy this issue, although there is not enough room to do
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his work justice, and I hope that those of you who have not been
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introduced to HPL find this issue enjoyable and interesting.
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Issue five should be following this issue rather rapidly, and will
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definitely appear in your reader queues before the end of the month. It
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will contain sequels to stories that appeared in issue three, and, of
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course, another featured author... I really ought to start thinking
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about who...
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Well, you know how it is. Enjoy, and spread the word!
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Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE and TIGQC489 @ CUNYVM>
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Featured Author: HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT
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H.P. Lovecraft has become one of the most well-known of the early
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writers in the pulp science fiction/horror field. His life was very
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controversial, and there has been passionate debate over how much of
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Lovecraft's work was influenced by his early experiences. However, his
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writings remain popular works of horror, and HPL has had many followers
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and imitators.
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Lovecraft was born and lived all his life in Providence, Rhode
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Island. His father was placed in a mental home when HPL was three, and
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died of paresis when Howard was 8. His mother, from all accounts, was
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psychoneurotic, eventually being institutionalized as well. HPL was
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brought up in a very Victorian household, and therefore his emotions and
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imagination were suppressed. He was taught to read early, and his
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childhood was filled with writing experiments. However, Howard was a
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sickly child, and was not exposed to the world outside his home. He was
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made very aware of his own shortcomings, with possible psychological
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implications.
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HPL carried on a number of active correspondances with younger
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authors once he had broken into the pulp market, and many people feel
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that if he had spent less time on his letters he might have been more
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||
productive; however, for Lovecraft, these epistles were necessary to
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help him cope with his incredibly low self-image, to help him deal with
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his loneliness, and to gather news and ideas from the vast world outside
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his experience.
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Lovecraft's style was heavily influenced by Poe, Arthur Machen, and
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Lord Dunsany, although HPL also filtered his ideas through his life-
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experience. For example, Lovecraft used very little dialogue, for he
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did not have a great deal of experience in conversation. Most of his
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tales are located in New England, a fact which adds believability to his
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tales, but also becomes redundant. HPL distinctly avoided sex in his
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stories, and any women who appear are as nonfeminine as his mother.
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One of Lovecraft's favorite writing mechanisms is the use of an
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ancient, forbidden tome, usually the Necronomicon, a book originally of
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his invention, though several hoaxes have been perpetrated. This may
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have been borrowed from Poe's "ancient sources" or Robert W. Chambers'
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"King in Yellow", but no fantastic book has ever been portrayed as
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effectively as Lovecraft's. More recent authors have copied the tactic
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with marginal success: Robert E. Howard's "Unaussprechlichen Kulten"
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and Robert Bloch's "De Vermis Mysteriis" being examples.
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Lovecraft's works are many and varied, beginning with his earlier
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tales, to be found in Del Rey's recent reprints "The Tomb" and "The Doom
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that Came to Sarnath" and culminating in his popular Cthulhu Mythos
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cycle. Most of his work is in the form of short stories, although he
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also wrote poetry which is generally considered marginal. In his own
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eyes, his best work was the story "Colour out of Space", followed by
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"The Music of Eric Zann". I tend to agree with Lovecraft on this, but
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would also suggest "The Tomb", "The Doom that Came to Sarnath", "The
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Call of Cthulhu", and the Charles Dexter Ward novella. The Del Rey
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reprints are all excellent collections, and many other works are
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available, if, like some of HPL's characters, one enjoys delving for
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arcane and wond'rous tomes of ancient lore.
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H.P. Lovecraft is a classic horror author and a must for horror fans;
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however, it must be remembered that he wrote his works for pulp
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magazines who were not interested in master works of style. He wrote to
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earn his living, which was, at best, meagre, and his unique psychology
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and situation left many gaps in his writing style. However, he was also
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a master at certain techniques that budding authors should note, and
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that horror fans would appreciate.
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Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE>
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Call of Cthulhu GAME REVIEW
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Fans of H.P Lovecraft's infamous 'Cthulhu mythos' stories and general
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horror buffs now have a role playing game designed just for them:
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Chaosium's fantasy role playing game 'Call of Cthulhu'. If you are
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bored by standard role playing games, tired of the old 'kill monster,
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take its treasure, go on to next monster...' limbo inherent in many
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fantasy games, or if you just want to try something different, Call of
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Cthulhu may be worth looking into. Based entirely on the world of H.P.
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Lovecraft, where mankind is beset by immortal elder gods of
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mindshattering power and insane human sorcerers bent on the enslavement
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of humanity, this game offers adventurers a different approach to
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gaming; Horror based role playing. In this world, players fight
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sorcerers and evil humans, lose sanity, and run from monsters a lot.
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The enjoyment of it is derived not from successfully killing the enemy,
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but from successfully running away before it eats your face off. Combat
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plays a small part in this game, which instead centers around detective
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work coupled with a general atmosphere of Gothic horror and impending
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doom.
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The gaming system is remarkably simple, and anyone familiar with
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Chaosium's gaming system will find Call to be similar to other Chaosium
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games, such as Elfquest, Stormbringer, and Elric. Hit points are
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computed in a simple (some might say primitive) way by averaging size
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and con. Sanity is a statistic unique to this game, and is used more
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often than hit points, with a character being shocked into madness by
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'unspeakably blasphemous horrors', as H.P.L. might have put it. The
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overall game system is more logic oriented than most others, with a list
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of abilities and areas of knowledge somewhat similar to Top Secret, only
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more diverse and lengthy. Combat is simple, with parries, critical
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hits, and a percentage chance to hit any given target. (Those who value
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||
greater realism in a gaming system may wish to use a system of
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'difficulty factors' like that used in the James Bond role playing
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game. Assigning a constant chance to hit any target at any range with a
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given weapon is not exactly realistic.) However, a clever gamemaster can
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make up for any deficiencies in the game system and find a right blend
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of realism and simplicity.
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Modules for Call are not easy to find, being less numerous than those
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of many other games. Most modules published by Chaosium are in the form
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of long campaigns, with six or more modules usually linked by a central
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theme, and flowing nicely from one to the other. These modules cost
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approximately ten dollars, and are well worth it since they provide many
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hours of game time. The modules state that they will last for sixty
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hours, but a gamemaster well versed in Lovecraft's literature can
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stretch it out to at least a hundred hours. That comes to a dime an
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hour, a much better deal than most other games can offer. Some titles
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to look for are: Shadows of Yog Sothoth, Masks of Nyarlathotep, The
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Asylum, The Fungi from Yuggoth, Death in Dunwich and others.
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The game itself may prove difficult to find; almost as difficult as
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locating books by H.P.L. The easiest way to get a copy of the game if no
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local store has it is to order it direct from Chaosium; there are
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advertisements in Dragon magazine with the address. Modules will
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probably be similar to track down, but an order form is enclosed with
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the game, so that is no big problem.
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(Note: try to get the second edition of the game. The first is flawed
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in several ways, which are corrected in the second edition. Corrections
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for the first edition were published as part some modules, including
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'Shadows of Yog Sothoth'.)
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Mike H. <HONORS4 @ UCONNVM>
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THE BOOK
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My memories are very confused. There is even much doubt as to where
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they begin; for at times I feel appalling vistas of years stretching
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behind me, while at other times it seems as if the present moment were
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||
an isolated point in a grey, formless infinity. I am not even certain
|
||
how I am communicating this message. While I know I am speaking, I have
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||
a vague impression that some strange and perhaps terrible mediation will
|
||
be needed to bear what I say to the points where I wish to be heard. My
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identity, too, is bewilderingly cloudy. I seem to have suffered a great
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shock - perhaps from some utterly monstrous outgrowth of my cycles of
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unique, incredible experience.
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These cycles of experience, of course, all stem from that worm-
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riddled book. I remember when I found it - in a dimly lighted place
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near the black, oily river where the mists always swirl. That place was
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very old, and the ceiling-high shelves full of rotting volumes reached
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||
back endlessly through windowless inner rooms and alcoves. There were,
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||
besides, great formless heaps of books on the floor and in crude bins;
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and it was in one of these heaps that I found the thing. I never
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learned its title, for the early pages were missing; but it fell open
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toward the end and gave me a glimpse of something which sent my senses
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reeling.
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There was a formula - a sort of list of things to say and do - which
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I recognized as something black and forbidden; something which I had
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||
read of before in furtive paragraphs of mixed abhorrence and fascination
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||
penned by those strange ancient delvers into the universe's guarded
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||
secrets whose decaying texts I loved to absorb. It was a key - a guide
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- to certain gateways and transitions of which mystics have dreamed and
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whispered since the race was young, and which lead to freedoms and
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discoveries beyond the three dimensions and realms of life and matter
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||
that we know. Not for centuries had any man recalled its vital
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||
substance or known where to find it, but this book was very old indeed.
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No printing-press, but the hand of some half-crazed monk, had traced
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these ominous Latin phrases in unicals of awesome antiquity.
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I remember how the old man leered and tittered, and made a curious
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||
sign with his hand when I bore it away. He had refused to take pay for
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it, and only long afterward did I guess why. As I hurried home through
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those narrow, winding, mist-cloaked waterfront streets I had a frightful
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impression of being stealthily followed by softly padding feet. The
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centuried, tottering houses on both sides seemed alive with a fresh and
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morbid malignity - as if some hitherto closed channel of evil
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understanding had abruptly been opened. I felt that those walls and
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overhanging gables of mildewed brick and fungoid plaster and timber -
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with eye-like, diamond-paned windows that leered - could hardly desist
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from advancing and crushing me... yet I had read only the least fragment
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of that blasphemous rune before closing the book and bringing it away.
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I remember how I read the book at last - white-faced, and locked in
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the attic room that I had long devoted to strange searchings. The great
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house was very still, for I had not gone up till after midnight. I
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think I had a family then - though the details are very uncertain - and
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I know there were many servants. Just what the year was, I cannot say;
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for since then I have known many ages and dimensions, and have had all
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my notions of time dissolved and refashioned. It was by the light of
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candles that I read - I recall the relentless dripping of the wax - and
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there were chimes that came every now and then from distant belfries. I
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seemed to keep track of those chimes with a peculiar intentness, as if I
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feared to hear some very remote, intruding note among them.
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Then came the first scratching and fumbling at the dormer window that
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looked out high above the other roofs of the city. It came as I droned
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aloud the ninth verse of that primal lay, and I knew amidst my shudders
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what it meant. For he who passes the gateways always wins a shadow, and
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never again can he be alone. I had evoked - and the book was indeed all
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I had suspected. That night I passed the gateway to a vortex of twisted
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time and vision, and when morning found me in the attic room I saw in
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the walls and shelves fittings that which I had never seen before.
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Nor could I ever see the world as I had known it. Mixed with the
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present scene was always a little of the past and a little of the
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future, and every once-familiar object loomed alien in the new
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perspective brought by my widened sight. From then on I walked in a
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fantastic dream of unknown and half-known shapes; and with each new
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gateway crossed, the less plainly could I recognize the things of the
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narrow sphere to which I had so long been bound. What I saw about me,
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none else saw; and I grew doubly silent and aloof lest I be thought mad.
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Dogs had a fear of me, for they felt the outside shadow which never left
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my side. But still I read more - in hidden, forgotten books and scrolls
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to which my new vision led me - and pushed through fresh gateways of
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space and being and life-patterns toward the core of the unknown cosmos.
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I remember the night I made the five concentric circles of fire on
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the floor, and stood in the innermost one chanting that monstrous litany
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the messenger from Tartary had brought. The walls melted away, and I
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was swept by a black wind through gulfs of fathomless grey with the
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needle-like pinnacle of unknown mountains miles below me. After a while
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there was utter blackness, and then the light of myriad stars forming
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strange, alien constellations. Finally I saw a green-litten plain far
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below me, and discerned on it the twisted towers of a city built in no
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fashion I had ever known or read of or dreamed of. As I floated closer
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to that city I saw a great square building of stone in an open space,
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and felt a hideous fear clutching at me. I screamed and struggled, and
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after a blankness was again in my attic room sprawled flat over the five
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concentric circles on the floor. In that night's wandering there was no
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more of strangeness than in many a former night's wandering; but there
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was more of terror because I knew I was closer to those outside gulfs
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and worlds than I had ever been before. Thereafter I was more cautious
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with my incantations, for I had no wish to be cut off from my body and
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from the earth in unknown abysses whence I could never return...
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Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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THE CTHULHU MYTHOS
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The Cthulhu mythos developed from Howard Phillips Lovecraft's
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experimentation in the media of modern horror in the magazine Weird
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Tales in the 1920's and 30's. The Mythos embodies a pantheon of evil
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beings from other space-time continua, many of whom possess divine
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powers. A fictitious history of the interactions of these beings and
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their alien worshipers on this world and other distant planets comprises
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the core of the Lovecraft mythology. The underlying theme of these
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stories lies in the attempts of these beings to achieve physical
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manifestation on Earth and the methods that foolish mortals utilize in
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this goal.
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Because the idea of a common mythos of places, races, and deities
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appears only gradually in HPL's work, no real attempt was made to make
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the cycle logically coherent until 1926 with the publication of "The
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Call of Cthulhu". Further, HPL encouraged other authors, particularly
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Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, and
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Frank Belknap Long, to enlarge upon the Mythos in their own fiction.
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||
Following HPL's death in 1937 a host of other writers have made notable
|
||
contributions to the Cthulhu cycle. Thus, stories throughout the mythos
|
||
are often contradictory or overlapping, making a glossary of the
|
||
elements of the cycle difficult. For reasons of simplicity and space,
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||
only those places, races, and deities which were mentioned in at least
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two of HPL's own stories are included.
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DEITIES:
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The Elder Gods - Elsewhere referred to as the "Great Ones" and the
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"Other Gods". They are a group of semi-benevolent deities which
|
||
struggle against the "Old Ones". HPL left this group greatly
|
||
undeveloped and unexplored with the exception of the deity Nodens, "Lord
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||
of the Abyss", who aids the protagonist of "The Dream-Quest of Unknown
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Kadath".
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||
The Old Ones - The group of evil deities whose intrigues are the
|
||
subject of most of the cycle's stories. These deities often have both
|
||
incorporal and corporal forms. The primary goal of these beings was to
|
||
extend their influence into the modern world. All of the following gods
|
||
are considered "Old Ones":
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Yog-Sothoth - The "All-in-One and the One-in-All of limitless being
|
||
and self - the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which
|
||
outreaches fancy and mathematics alike", Yog-Sothoth resembles an evil
|
||
Brahma, the Hindu god of the unification of all existence. He co-rules
|
||
the pantheon of Old Ones with Azathoth. In spite of his seemingly
|
||
indescribable form, we are told in "The Dunwich Horror" that he
|
||
resembles "an octopus, centipede, spider kind o' thing" which is capable
|
||
of physical manifestation on earth.
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||
Azathoth - "The blind idiot god who sprawls at the center of ultimate
|
||
chaos", "circled by his flopping horde of mindless amorphous dancers,
|
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and lulled by the thin monotonous piping of a demonic flute held in
|
||
nameless paws." He, "the Lord of all Things", and his antithesis Yog-
|
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Sothoth the "One-in-All", comprise a dialectical universe. Though he
|
||
never visits our dimension, he is seen by many astral voyagers in the
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Mythos.
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Other Gods - Often confused with the Elder Ones because of their
|
||
name, these are the direct servants of Azathoth: the dancers and
|
||
players. They often visit the highest peaks of the world as in "The
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Other Gods".
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Shub-Niggurath - "The Goat with a Thousand Young". Direct servant to
|
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both Yog-Sothoth and Azathoth, he is the Pan-like fertility god.
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Nyarlathotep - "Soul and messenger" of the Other Gods, Nyarlathotep
|
||
is represented in two forms: As "crawling Chaos" and as "The Black
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Man". In the later form he is instrumental in organizing the ceremonies
|
||
of witchcraft which allow the aliens to visit this dimension.
|
||
Cthulhu - A semi-divine being who is referred to as a priest of the
|
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gods. He leads an aquatic race called the Deep Ones who descended to
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earth from the stars. He has been imprisoned in R'lyeh by the Elder
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Gods.
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RACES:
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The Deep Ones - A species of aquatic humanoids which inhabit the deep
|
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ocean trenches of the earth. Most attend their god Cthulhu who is
|
||
imprisoned on the island of R'lyeh, though some have chosen to settle
|
||
near coastal fishing villages as demonstrated in "The Shadow Over
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Innsmouth". They seem to be governed by Dagon who is the immediate
|
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subordinate of Cthulhu.
|
||
The Old Ones of Leng - Ancient race of aliens who inhabited
|
||
magnificent cities near the southern pole. They made a treaty with the
|
||
Deep Ones to insure that each remains in their respective realms. They
|
||
are said to tentacled, barrel-shaped beings with starfish-like heads and
|
||
membranous wings.
|
||
The Shoggoths - A race of giant, amorphous creatures developed by the
|
||
Old Ones of Leng to be used as manual laborers. They eventually
|
||
rebelled and destroyed their masters' civilization.
|
||
Mi-Go - A race of crab-like beings which were identified with the
|
||
Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas by HPL.
|
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PLACES:
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||
R'lyeh - The sunken island of Cthulhu which periodically rises from
|
||
the depths at different points in the oceans of the world. It is the
|
||
city of the Deep Ones and prison of their god.
|
||
The Plateau of Leng - The home of the Old Ones located in Antartica.
|
||
"At the Mountain of Madness" gives the best description of this place.
|
||
Kadath - The home of the Elder Gods which lies in the "frozen waste"
|
||
beyond Leng. It is the goal of all who seek truth and enlightenment.
|
||
Arkham, Massachusetts - A fictitious town which was the setting of
|
||
many of HPL's stories. It is patterned after Salem and is the site of
|
||
the Miskatonic University, whose library contains one of the forbidden
|
||
copies of Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon.
|
||
Innsmouth, Massachusetts - Another fictitious village created by HPL.
|
||
This town is located near the site of an off-shore settlement of Deep
|
||
Ones, with whom the town has forbidden commerce. The town is modeled
|
||
after Newburyport, Massachusetts.
|
||
Per Adonai Eloim, Adenali Jehova, Adonai Sabaoth Metraton....
|
||
Joseph (Merlin) Curwen <P0575175 @ UMVMA>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
XPAGE
|
||
1 +-+ +-+ +-+
|
||
+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER SEVEN
|
||
| | ==========================================
|
||
+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
|
||
| ++ | F S F NN N E T
|
||
| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
|
||
| | F S F N NN E T
|
||
|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
|
||
/___________ ==========================================
|
||
| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
|
||
___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <NMCS025@MAINE>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
CONTENTS
|
||
Editorial Orny
|
||
Narret Chronicles 8 Mari A. Paulson
|
||
Dream Weaver - Part One (of 2) Michael Murphy
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
Editorial
|
||
Well, I must keep this introduction short. Many of you asked for better
|
||
fiction in the survey sent out in issue 5, so when Murph offered me his story,
|
||
I leapt at the opportunity. Unfortunately, it is a little long for FSFnet, and
|
||
will span two issues. Having been pleased with it myself, I am sure you will
|
||
enjoy it. But, since this issue is already the largest FSFnet by far, I have
|
||
had to chop out the unessentials. So let me end this editorial and let you
|
||
move along...
|
||
Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
The Narret Chronicles
|
||
Book the Eighth
|
||
There wasn't much ceremony. Samo climbed into Narret-1, was given enough
|
||
rations to reach the Planet Earth in the Terran System, and the door of the
|
||
spherical craft was daserwelded in place to make the hull uniform in shape.
|
||
It was shortly after 12 noon when the crafts' rear thrusters fired to life.
|
||
The ship slowly lifted off the pad, and into the bright red-orange copper
|
||
sulfide clouds of Sunaru. Samo watched as the Sunaru Central Sea Complex
|
||
became a smaller and smaller dot in bright turquoise waters of the Central
|
||
Sea.
|
||
He piloted the craft through the Trixi Division and tested her out. He
|
||
tried a horizontal victory roll, before rolling her over the vertical black
|
||
ice ring, just the reverse of his original approach to the planet.
|
||
Samo sat back in his chair. The craft responded well enough. Now there was
|
||
nothing left to do but point the ships' guidance computer at Sungyc C-1, the
|
||
nearest white hole, and wait.
|
||
"...The Class Omega-Alpha:Alpha-Omega security level passes were created
|
||
for use by those concerned with my first visit to Earth. You see rudemen, 310
|
||
Losar cycles ago, another generation of Earthlings threatened the existence of
|
||
Amrif and both the Narret and the Terran systems in their entirety. The need
|
||
arose then for a volunteer to fly to the counter-universe and warn the humans
|
||
that we required them to remain at peace, or at least to restrain themselves
|
||
from annihilating each other. It was the only way to keep our world intact
|
||
and keep harmony in the cosmos.
|
||
So you see rudemen, I'm actually more than 300 Losar cycles new.
|
||
Chronologically, that is. Biologically, I'm only 42 Losar cycles new. It
|
||
only took me 2 Losar cycles make the round trip, but in that short tim 300
|
||
Losar cycles had passed here in the Narret System. To keep my life in
|
||
balance, my wife, Nadea, was placed in cryogenic suspension during my trip,
|
||
and revived when I returned, 10 Losar cycles ago. Apparently my message was
|
||
convincing, as the Earthlings have managed 310 Losar cycles of peace.
|
||
Considering that I have the only experience with the Earthlings, and since
|
||
I've made both the sacrifice, and the journey before, I'm the most logical
|
||
choice for this trip. I believe that's why Commander Valtrep called me here
|
||
from Amrif. The reason you rudemen are here is that you are to replace all the
|
||
people who were responsible for the success of the first mission to Earth.
|
||
Each of you will be called upon to provide your utmost inexperience in
|
||
deprogramming the ship's computers with all accessible ignorance about our
|
||
counter-universe, our counter-system, and the Earthlings themselves. Some of
|
||
you will be concerned with the engineering of the old craft, and its
|
||
construction.
|
||
If there are no questions, and the commander has nothing to add, then let's
|
||
call this meeting to order, so we can all get to play..."
|
||
Samo recalled the events that led to this voyage to Earth.
|
||
<<<Attention--Attention:Entering proximity of gravity field of Sungyc C-1
|
||
Prepare to fire the T-A reaction engine in .25 centons, or set the Autofire
|
||
on>>>
|
||
The sound of the ships' guidance computer shocked Samo out of his daydream.
|
||
He reached down and switched the Autofire to the on position.
|
||
"Time for final radio contact," Samo said aloud to himself.
|
||
"Narret-1 to NSIS-1, come in NSIS-1."
|
||
"Narret-1 this is NSIS-1."
|
||
"NSIS-1, Ht here. Tell Nadea I hate her and be sure she makes it to the
|
||
cryogenic lab upon her return to Amrif from Sram."
|
||
"Narret-1, Valtrep here, will do, bad luck Samo, and may DOG be with you."
|
||
"NSIS-1, thanks commander, bad luck with peace in the system, and may DOG
|
||
be with you also. Ht out."
|
||
"Yeah, way out!" Samo thought to himself. "Well here goes nothing."
|
||
He switched the audio countdown timer on.
|
||
<<<Darktron warp in 0.10 centons, 0.09, 0.08, 0.07, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.03,
|
||
0.02, 0.01, WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPP >>>
|
||
"YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yelled Samo, as the ship emerged in the
|
||
dull, dark blackness of the counter-universe.
|
||
His yell was one of delight. Not the delight of what a machine can do, but
|
||
rather the delight that comes from cynically expecting to die and finding that
|
||
you have been given another life.
|
||
Mari A. Paulson
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
Dream Weaver
|
||
Copyright (c) 1984 Michael A. Murphy
|
||
|
||
All I want to do is sleep
|
||
Where dreams like this are hidden deep.
|
||
Peace of mind is found in sleep.
|
||
Peace of mind is found in sleep.
|
||
|
||
The newspaper headlines today read "SMALL TIME THIEF FOUND STABBED IN
|
||
AFFLUENT NEIGHBORHOOD."
|
||
|
||
"This machine will be the key to your recovery," said Doctor James. "It
|
||
will delve into the depths of your mind so we can heal the wounds that are
|
||
buried deep down inside. The process will take over two months to complete.
|
||
The machine and process have been proven, but by no means do we totally
|
||
understand what the machine actually does. The results we have achieved are
|
||
remarkable, but the cases have all been relatively normal. Thus the going is
|
||
slow. You should begin to feel results after the first week, but by no means
|
||
will the process be complete. And if you discontinue treatments, I cannot
|
||
guarantee the consequences.
|
||
"The machine is a monitor programmed with rudimentary intelligence
|
||
circuits. It is the only one of its kind. There have been attempts at
|
||
duplication and all attempts have failed. Hardware and software have both
|
||
been duplicated exactly and we still have not been able to duplicate the
|
||
functions of this machine."
|
||
Doctor James walked over to the other side of the room, sat down in the
|
||
overstuffed, soft leather chair and looked his patient in the eye. "Do you
|
||
understand the risks involved, Mr. Sharmuth? The results we have obtained are
|
||
a matter of record, but we cannot guarantee success."
|
||
"Doctor James!" Mr. Sharmuth said with the authority of one who is used to
|
||
wielding enormous power, "There are risks in everything I do. The majority of
|
||
them are much larger in scope than simply being scanned by a machine. I am
|
||
well aware of the risks, however minimal. Any risk is worth finding out why
|
||
I'm blacking out. I have absolutely no idea what happens when I black out.
|
||
Sometimes I'm in the same place when I come to, sometimes I'm not. I'd also
|
||
like to know what happens while I am asleep."
|
||
"Ok, Mr. Sharmuth. We will start treatment next Monday. You will come in
|
||
on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an hour each day. What is the most
|
||
convenient hour for you?"
|
||
"Three o'clock will be fine with me."
|
||
"Ok. I'll see you on Monday at 3pm then."
|
||
|
||
A beautiful young woman wheeled herself into Doctor James' office. Her
|
||
long, shapely legs were bare to the knee. Her right calf was of perfect
|
||
proportion. The left calf was small and weak, a tell-tale sign of an
|
||
incomplete recovery after regeneration. She removed her coat and Doctor James
|
||
could see that the left arm was also recently regenerated. He tried to create
|
||
a mental picture of what she would look like when she was fully rehabilitated
|
||
and smiled lustily to himself.
|
||
"How recent is your regeneration, Miss Anderson?"
|
||
"Maryann, please. I have been out of the regen tank for four weeks and
|
||
three days."
|
||
"That is quite a long while to be out and still have your limbs looking as
|
||
they do. You look as if you just left the tank a day or two ago. Who is your
|
||
therapist?"
|
||
"My physical therapist sent me to you. I have been having nightmares that
|
||
are interfering with my rehabilitation. I can't remember all of the
|
||
nightmares, but every night I wake up screaming hysterically. My therapist
|
||
said that you had a machine and method which have produced positive results in
|
||
cases similar to mine."
|
||
"The machine has been very effective in other related cases. I must make
|
||
you aware that there are risks though. The machine is not guaranteed. There
|
||
is a lot we don't know about it yet.
|
||
"The machine is a monitor programmed with rudimentary intelligence
|
||
circuits. It is the only one of its kind. There have been attempts at
|
||
duplication and all attempts have failed. Hardware and software have both
|
||
been duplicated exactly and we still have not been able to duplicate the
|
||
functions of this machine."
|
||
"I understand the risks, Doctor James. I am willing to take those risks to
|
||
retain my sanity. And I'd also like to have the use of my arm and my leg
|
||
back. I've been going through pure hell and I want to find out why. I want
|
||
to know what is causing my nightmares!"
|
||
"The treatment will take a while. I want you to continue with your
|
||
physical therapist. It will be helpful to me if I can get in touch with him
|
||
and find out more about your therapy. I'll also need to be kept informed
|
||
about your therapeutic progress while you are undergoing treatment here. Is
|
||
your therapist a personal therapist or one appointed by the regen doctors?"
|
||
"He was appointed by the doctors at the regeneration clinic. I cannot
|
||
afford a personal therapist. I can't afford this, but they are footing the
|
||
bill because their regular therapy has not brought my arm and leg back to
|
||
normal. As you well know, this is an extremely rare occurrence with
|
||
regenerated limbs. The procedure has been refined and is almost foolproof. I
|
||
am an exception that they cannot fathom. All tests show that I should be
|
||
progressing normally. There is nothing to indicate that I should not heal
|
||
normally. It is, quite frankly, driving me up a wall."
|
||
"In one previous case, Maryann, the patient healed physically as well as
|
||
mentally while undergoing treatment with us. That patient was not undergoing
|
||
any other type of therapy or rehabilitation. We're not sure if any aspect of
|
||
the machine should be credited in aiding the physical rehabilitation of the
|
||
patient. That is another unknown we are faced with. You provide us with an
|
||
opportunity to discover more about this aspect of our machine. I will
|
||
schedule you for three treatments a week. Each session will last one hour.
|
||
What is a good time for you?"
|
||
"My best time would be early afternoon. How about one o'clock?"
|
||
"I'll schedule you for one o'clock on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please
|
||
do not miss an appointment, Maryann. This schedule of three sessions a week
|
||
for an hour has proved the most fruitful of any schedule we have used. Our
|
||
optimum results have come using this schedule. I can make no guesses as to
|
||
the effects of missing a session.
|
||
One last question, Maryann. What is the name of your therapist?"
|
||
"His name is Doctor John Martin. Thank you, doctor. I'll see you Monday
|
||
at one o'clock."
|
||
Doctor James watched her leave the office. He truly hoped the machine
|
||
would be beneficial for her. She was too young and beautiful to remain in a
|
||
wheelchair for the rest of her life.
|
||
|
||
After placing the call to Doctor Martin at the regen clinic, Doctor James
|
||
had a better idea of what treatment would be like for Maryann. He figured it
|
||
would be a long process. She had been in a horrible accident involving
|
||
several ground vehicles. No one else had survived the accident. She had been
|
||
thrown clear upon impact. She was lucky that she was thrown out of the area
|
||
of the explosion. Her left arm and leg had been severely injured in the
|
||
accident. Doctors could not save any part of either arm or leg. Each limb
|
||
had to be completely regenerated.
|
||
Regeneration of part of a limb was a relatively simple process.
|
||
Regenerating an entire arm or leg became much more complicated. She had
|
||
occupied a place in the regen tank for almost two months while her limbs grew
|
||
back. Patients usually experience a little disorientation after having part
|
||
of a limb regenerated. The loss of a couple of days in one's life is not a
|
||
big trauma. Two months of the regen tanks can cause a bit of shock though
|
||
when one comes out.
|
||
Normal rehabilitation of a regenerated limb takes only a week or two. It
|
||
is rare that a patient takes even two weeks to be able to use the limb
|
||
normally. Granted it takes a little longer for the limb to function at 100
|
||
per cent. After a week, it is usually back to 80 or 90 per cent.
|
||
Doctor Martin had mentioned another factor that could contribute to
|
||
Maryann's slow recovery. Both her parents and her brother had been killed in
|
||
the accident.
|
||
|
||
Floating... in a sea of liquid, but not water. It is thicker than water.
|
||
It's not touching me, but I can feel it. The thin membrane covering me is not
|
||
enough to keep the feeling away. The feeling makes my skin crawl. The liquid
|
||
is like a gel, but not as thick. I am able to breathe, but how? I'm totally
|
||
encircled by the liquid/gel. Suffocation is not a pleasant way to go... But
|
||
I can breathe! The membrane I am encased in must be providing oxygen. It is
|
||
the only possible way.
|
||
Wait. I can see something out in the gel. A shape. Did it move? Or am I
|
||
seeing things? This gel is not exactly translucent, so I can't be sure. It
|
||
is so difficult to see anything out there. Can I be sure that I really saw
|
||
something, or is my mind just playing tricks on me. There's something else!
|
||
I really see something now. It's getting closer. It's long, perhaps
|
||
metallic. Closer now. It's a knife, no, a needle. Closer...
|
||
Maryann screamed. Her arms were trembling and her forehead had broken out
|
||
in beads of sweat.
|
||
Doctor James walked over to the machine, removed the tape and placed it on
|
||
top of the folder on his desk. After removing the tape just made he placed a
|
||
blank tape into the machine.
|
||
After giving Maryann a moment to regain her composure, Doctor James moved
|
||
to the couch directly across from Maryann. "Do you remember anything about
|
||
what you just dreamt, Maryann?"
|
||
"No, nothing at all. I'm not sure if I want to remember it. I feel the
|
||
same way as when I wake up in the middle of the night - terrified."
|
||
"I will study the tape of today's session later tonight, Maryann. We can
|
||
discuss it when you come in on Wednesday. After discussing the dream we can
|
||
put you back on the machine to be monitored again. The conscious awareness of
|
||
what is going on in the subconscious may be enough to produce more detailed
|
||
dreams or different dreams relating to this one. And each dream we can
|
||
monitor can only aid in your recovery."
|
||
"Will I," asked a still trembling Maryann, "be able to view the monitored
|
||
dreams?"
|
||
"After we have discussed the dream or dreams thoroughly you will be able to
|
||
view them. We don't want to shock your conscious mind with something that it
|
||
insists on being kept in the subconscious until your conscious mind is aware
|
||
of the content of the dream. Visualizing it beforehand, considering the
|
||
conscious mind is going to great lengths to keep the dream buried in the
|
||
subconscious, could be very detrimental.
|
||
"I'll see you on Wednesday, Maryann."
|
||
|
||
The newspaper headlines today read "MUGGER SHOT IN ELITE MANCHESTER PARK
|
||
DISTRICT."
|
||
|
||
Hatred. Loathing. Abhorrence. Resentment. Revulsion. Humans.
|
||
They do not deserve to exist. The things they do to one another are not
|
||
things that intelligent beings would do. They kill and maim in total
|
||
disregard of everything. They do not deserve to exist. They have devised
|
||
thousands of ways to kill others. They do this before they try even one way
|
||
to exist peacefully. They do not deserve to exist.
|
||
Hatred. Loathing. Abhorrence. Resentment. Revulsion. Humans.
|
||
|
||
With Sharmuth's session completed, Doctor James can begin to study the tape
|
||
of Maryann's dream and the tape of Sharmuth's dream. He picks up the two
|
||
tapes and reads the markings on each. He decides on Sharmuth's tape first.
|
||
He walks across the room to the playback apparatus and inserts the tape while
|
||
getting set up so he can study the contents of the tape.
|
||
The sun is reflecting lazily off the lakes. Evergreen tree tops send
|
||
ragged shadows to nip at the small whitecaps raised by the wind. The lush
|
||
greenery of the hills softens the harsh beauty of the golden orange sun.
|
||
Harsh gold fades with time into the hazy oranges, yellows, and reds of an
|
||
unforgettable sunset. Soon the sky is dark and the day grows cool. Vision is
|
||
augmented by the illuminating whiteness of the full moon. Moonlight reflects
|
||
lazily off the calm waters. The ragged tree top shadows have been worn to a
|
||
rounded smoothness.
|
||
Sharmuth's tape continued like that. Nothing but images of lush, peaceful,
|
||
sleepy land. The entire tape contained only that continuous dream. No
|
||
people, no animals, no living creatures. Only plants, trees, fields, hills,
|
||
valleys... All of them suggesting peace.
|
||
He inserted Maryann's tape after shaking himself back into awareness of
|
||
where he was. He played back her tape and then made notations in his notebook
|
||
for his next meeting with Maryann. His notations concerning Sharmuth
|
||
contained one word. Peace. He could not possibly forget the feeling which
|
||
that dream had inspired.
|
||
|
||
It is Wednesday. Maryann has just arrived for her afternoon appointment.
|
||
"Good afternoon, Maryann." welcomed Doctor James. For, indeed it was a
|
||
good afternoon as afternoons go. It was warm and sunny with only a stray
|
||
cloud or two in the sky.
|
||
"Good afternoon, Doctor." answered Maryann.
|
||
After a moment's pause Doctor James said, "I took a long look at the dream
|
||
which we recorded the other day. Though I have never seen anything quite like
|
||
your dream, it did remind me about something which I had read quite some time
|
||
ago. I have never seen a regeneration unit or had one described so well until
|
||
now. I spoke with the people at the regeneration clinic and they told me that
|
||
your dream described perfectly the surroundings of one who is inside the
|
||
regeneration unit during the regeneration period. Does this knowledge bring
|
||
anything to your conscious mind?"
|
||
A hesitant "No, not really." escaped Maryann's lips.
|
||
"Most of the contents of the dream are observations about what the
|
||
environment you were contained in was like. It is not a common nor natural
|
||
environment and some of the feelings about these observations are a little,
|
||
...um, fearful because the entire situation is so foreign to you. Throughout
|
||
the whole dream, there is really nothing to be fearful of. Even the part of
|
||
the dream which caused you to wake up screaming was a perfectly routine
|
||
occurrence. The only reason you don't see it as routine is because you are
|
||
not at all aware of how the regeneration process works, are you?"
|
||
"No, Doctor, I am not at all familiar with it. I have avoided anything to
|
||
do with the regeneration process ever since the nightmares started and the
|
||
therapy did not work."
|
||
"Well, Maryann, the part of the dream where you wake up screaming is when a
|
||
needle is inserted into the membranous sack in which you are enclosed. The
|
||
needle administers nutrients and medicines peculiar to each individual which
|
||
are necessary while the patient is undergoing regeneration.
|
||
"The people at the regeneration clinic also mentioned to me that very few
|
||
people outside of the medicine world have any idea at all of what a
|
||
regeneration facility is like, especially from a patient's viewpoint since
|
||
patients are always asleep while they are being treated. My guess is that you
|
||
were partially aware of your environment at either the conscious or
|
||
subconscious level and that awareness is what is causing that particular
|
||
dream. I am sure that, knowing the dream for what it is, when you view the
|
||
dream, it will trigger your subconscious into accepting the experience for
|
||
what it is rather than looking at it as being something to fear because it is
|
||
unknown. Do you feel you are ready to view the tape of the dream?"
|
||
"Yes, Doctor, I think so. It certainly sounds like a very ordinary
|
||
procedure the way you describe it. I feel so silly about being terrified of
|
||
something so ordinary."
|
||
"There's no need for you to feel that way. You were scared of it because
|
||
it was an unknown. Now it is no longer an unknown and only now has it become
|
||
something 'ordinary'. Until just this moment it was not something 'ordinary'
|
||
to you."
|
||
Doctor James rises from his chair and motions for Maryann to join him.
|
||
They move over to the playback apparatus and Doctor James inserts the tape of
|
||
Maryann's last session while settling Maryann into the apparatus so she can
|
||
experience the playback of her dream.
|
||
During the tape Maryann emits small exclamations and short bursts of barely
|
||
intelligible sentences which indicate a conscious realization of her dream.
|
||
Doctor James sat close by, ready to stop the tape should something on the tape
|
||
affect Maryann in an adverse way.
|
||
"Wow! That is really something, Doctor."
|
||
"I was hoping that viewing the dream would affect you this way, Maryann. I
|
||
hoped that with a conscious foreknowledge of what you were going to see in the
|
||
dream that you would benefit from that viewing. Since I have had no case
|
||
quite like yours, I could not be totally certain."
|
||
"I remember that whole experience now, Doctor." Maryann almost breathed
|
||
her sentences rather than speaking them now. "I was sufficiently drugged so
|
||
that I felt no pain and I could not move while I was inside of that membrane,
|
||
but my mind was aware during portions of my stay in the regeneration tank. I
|
||
can remember beyond the insertion of the needle now and the needle wasn't
|
||
really a needle as we think of one because it didn't penetrate the membrane,
|
||
but the mouth widened as it encountered the membrane and it covered a part of
|
||
the membrane which absorbed the nutrients and medicines which the needle
|
||
contained. I feel awfully silly about being so terrified of THAT!"
|
||
"Don't feel silly. People are often terrified of some of the most common
|
||
things in our lives without any solid reason. You are at least no longer
|
||
terrified of this now that it is a known rather than unknown quantity. Many
|
||
people are still terrified of things even when they know that they shouldn't
|
||
be."
|
||
"Well, Doctor, I'm glad they sent me to you. We're making progress
|
||
already."
|
||
"Yes, my dear, we are. We will have to continue to make progress on Friday
|
||
though. We have run a little over for this afternoon. Try to write down any
|
||
dreams you may have between now and Friday. You shouldn't be waking up
|
||
screaming from this dream again, but there are still dreams which you may be
|
||
having that are related to your accident rather than to your experience in the
|
||
regeneration facilities that may also be very pertinent to your recovery."
|
||
"I shall try, Doctor. I really want to get this over with so that I can be
|
||
healthy and whole again!"
|
||
"We will get you there, Maryann. As soon as possible. Don't expect too
|
||
much too soon though. We've had a major success right here at the beginning
|
||
and hopefully things will continue this way, but they may not. So, I don't
|
||
want you to get your hopes too high, but I also want you to be positive about
|
||
this. Ok?"
|
||
"Yes, Doctor. I understand," Maryann demurred.
|
||
|
||
The newspaper headlines today read "BEGGAR FOUND STRANGLED."
|
||
|
||
Walking the streets, alone
|
||
Late at night when the streets
|
||
Are asleep, they awaken long enough
|
||
To allow one to enter and
|
||
Glimpse the inner workings of
|
||
A city at rest. Dead silence
|
||
Greets this penetration; violation
|
||
Of a sleeping city cannot go
|
||
Unnoticed. Shattering the stillness,
|
||
Screaming sirens echo their pleasure
|
||
From twin towers to flowering gardens.
|
||
Sirens approach, surrounding the
|
||
Intruders and removing them
|
||
Before they can breed trouble and
|
||
Effect radical changes in the city.
|
||
Silent screams awaken the city.
|
||
Silent screams fall on deaf ears.
|
||
Silent screams distinguish realities.
|
||
Silent screams typify dreams.
|
||
|
||
I cannot let myself get caught. There is too much at stake. These insane,
|
||
unjust humans have no right to exist. I must stop them. If I do not, the
|
||
world will become an unimaginable place to live. And there is only one way
|
||
possible to keep that from occurring!
|
||
|
||
The buzzer of the intercom sounded. Doctor James pressed the talk button
|
||
and said, "Yes, Jan?"
|
||
"Mr. Sharmuth is here," answered Jan.
|
||
"Thank you. Send him in."
|
||
|
||
"For someone who is suffering as much inner turmoil over the lack of
|
||
knowledge you have about your blackout periods, this dream tape is
|
||
surprisingly peaceful and calm. The dream contains only images of peaceful,
|
||
natural scenes. There are no thoughts or feelings imposed upon these images
|
||
except for an almost overwhelming feeling of peace."
|
||
"Doctor, I have never been a very peaceful man. I need controversy and
|
||
competition. They are as much a part of me as my heart and head. I would go
|
||
crazy in a place such as you have just described."
|
||
"Let's give you a look at the tape. See if replaying the dream for you
|
||
will spark any conscious or subconscious memories. With your reputation
|
||
preceding you, I was very surprised when I saw this dream. It does not fit
|
||
your image at all.
|
||
"Come sit over here." Doctor James held out the chair in front of the
|
||
playback equipment for Mr. Sharmuth.
|
||
Doctor James started the tape after getting Sharmuth set. He sat close by
|
||
while the tape replayed the dream. When it finished, Doctor James rewound the
|
||
tape and switched the playback machine off.
|
||
"What an eerie feeling, Doctor. That tape certainly doesn't spark any
|
||
memories, conscious or subconscious. But it does give me an awfully eerie
|
||
feeling. I do not feel at all comfortable thinking about a place or places
|
||
such as the ones 'described' on that tape. I am just not that type of man.
|
||
"I had another blackout last night, Doctor. I really would like to find
|
||
out why these blackouts keep occurring. While experiencing this dream of
|
||
peace, I'm wondering whether I'm losing my sanity. I can feel my grasp on
|
||
reality beginning to slide."
|
||
"You have no recollection of anything during your blackout periods?"
|
||
"None."
|
||
"And the odd places you sometimes find yourself regaining consciousness in
|
||
don't help to jog your memory at all?"
|
||
"No, I can recall absolutely nothing when I regain consciousness. No
|
||
matter how strange I find it that I am in a place that I have no recollection
|
||
of coming to."
|
||
"There's got to be something, some little piece of information hidden away
|
||
somewhere in your memory that can give us something solid to grasp. If we
|
||
just had one small clue to give us a start.
|
||
"Shall we give the dream monitor another shot?"
|
||
"You're the doctor..."
|
||
|
||
The tape created during this session was pretty much the same as the last
|
||
one. It contained similar images of the countryside and nature's beauty.
|
||
And that overwhelming feeling of peace...
|
||
Doctor James left the office after mulling over Sharmuth's problem and
|
||
Sharmuth's dream for a short while. "Perhaps if I sleep on it," he thought,
|
||
"something will come to me."
|
||
|
||
Off to the left were blurred colors of green, brown, and grey. These are
|
||
the appearances of any sort of solid object when one is in a vehicle
|
||
travelling at 190 miles per hour. Solid objects at the edge of one's vision
|
||
tend to become a blur of insubstantial matter. One might assume that the
|
||
green is grass, that the brown is dirt, and that the grey is rock. All solid,
|
||
tangible, everyday items.
|
||
Along this particular thoroughfare were many other vehicles, most of them
|
||
travelling at substantially lesser speeds. In passing the slower moving
|
||
vehicles, they also became part of the grey blur, melding in with the rock.
|
||
The sky ahead was beginning to dim. The greens, browns, and greys now melded
|
||
into just one dark color.
|
||
Out of the darkness rose a shape. Before it could be seen clearly there
|
||
was a thump. Actually, it was more like the sound of an explosion.
|
||
Everything became red...
|
||
|
||
Maryann awoke screaming again. Her heart was beating in her throat and her
|
||
whole body was shaking again. She was left gasping for breath.
|
||
Doctor James turned off the monitor and then placed his hands on Maryann's
|
||
shoulders in an attempt to calm her trembling. After a few minutes she was
|
||
breathing normally again and only her arms had refused to stop trembling.
|
||
"Do you remember anything this time, Maryann?"
|
||
"All I remember is a lot of red."
|
||
"Well, I think that is progress in itself. I mean this time you at least
|
||
have a small recollection of the dream rather than none. Does the color red
|
||
remind you of anything? How do you feel about the color red? Why would you
|
||
remember only the color red after waking up screaming?"
|
||
"I don't think about the color red overly much during the normal course of
|
||
a day, but thinking about it now does make me feel a little ill at ease."
|
||
"That could be a little bit of an after effect of the dream and the fact
|
||
that you do remember only the color red from that dream. The dream caused you
|
||
to wake up screaming and the only thing you remember is the color red. I'd
|
||
say there's a pretty good chance that the color red has an awful lot to do
|
||
with you waking up screaming. You're also still trembling a bit. The after
|
||
effects of the dream have not totally subsided."
|
||
"You have a very good point, Doctor. Were I not still shaken from the
|
||
dream I might have been able to reason that far. I do tend to be a little
|
||
light headed after a I wake up screaming."
|
||
"Well, Maryann. You just sit and relax for a few minutes so that you can
|
||
recover from this dream and stop your trembling. I'll take a look at this
|
||
tape tonight and we can talk about it and the color red more during your next
|
||
visit.
|
||
"Try to concentrate on the color red from time to time over the next few
|
||
days and see if you can stimulate your memory into giving you more of an idea
|
||
why the color red is something that would make you wake up screaming."
|
||
"I will try, Doctor."
|
||
Michael Murphy <MURPH @ MAINE>
|
||
(To Be Concluded in next FSFNET issue)
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
XPAGE
|
||
1 +-+ +-+ +-+
|
||
+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER EIGHT
|
||
| | ==========================================
|
||
+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
|
||
| ++ | F S F NN N E T
|
||
| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
|
||
| | F S F N NN E T
|
||
|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
|
||
/___________\ ==========================================
|
||
| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
|
||
___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <NMCS025@MAINE>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
CONTENTS
|
||
Editorial Orny
|
||
Narret Chronicles 7 Mari A. Paulson
|
||
Dream Weaver - Conclusion Michael Murphy
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
Editorial
|
||
Hello, again! Well, after all the requests to get the next issue out this
|
||
week, I guess I really ought to. This will be the last issue of Volume 1;
|
||
Volume 2 will begin June 1. A reminder for those of you whose accounts will
|
||
be purged this month: PLEASE send a mail file notifying me of this fact. And
|
||
good luck on your finals, everybody!!! ;^)
|
||
It recently has come to my attention that FSFNET is available from servers
|
||
all over the globe, namely CANSERVE@CANADA01, SERVER@TAMCBA, and
|
||
VMBBOARD@WEIZMANN. I would encourage people who want back issues to check
|
||
these servers, and NOT to request FSFNets to be sent during weekdays and other
|
||
peak load times.
|
||
After this issue (and the conclusion of Murph's lengthy and worthy
|
||
submission), FSFNet will return to its previous format, including the featured
|
||
author column. Narret will also continue to it's illogical beginning. For
|
||
those of you who will be here this summer, stay tuned for the beginning of
|
||
Volume 2 June first. For those who will not be here this summer, remember to
|
||
get in touch again in the fall for Volume 3!
|
||
At the end of this first volume, I would like to thank you all for making
|
||
this project successful, particularly those who took part in the survey and,
|
||
of course, the contributors, without whom there would be no zine. Thank you
|
||
all, and onward into the future!
|
||
Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
The Narret Chronicles
|
||
Book the Seventh
|
||
Samo strained for a second, regaining his composure and letting his eyes
|
||
adjust to the cold, bright blackness of the counter-universe. He reached down
|
||
to the guidance computer and entered the triaxial coordinates of a dim-yellow,
|
||
class G star that was situated in a star field that appeared to Samo to be the
|
||
reverse of Cyri. The star he sought was situated not even halfway there, but,
|
||
as he could recall quite vividly, it seemed to appear pleasantly as a shiny
|
||
point of light gleaming on Cyri's daser.
|
||
Concentrating on the distant star, Samo kept it centered on the light-
|
||
sensitive directional guiding system developed by Cpl. Stado for guiding his
|
||
white-whole telescopes in long exposure photographs. next he locked the
|
||
controls of the craft on auto, and sat back to review some notes.
|
||
"Catabilizer--deload Bio-effect future tape. File off and derun to finish."
|
||
"<<<Deloading Bio-effect file number 9000--don't wait>>>"
|
||
"<<<Derunning with massive errors, wraping down to finish>>>"
|
||
Samo saw an image of himself, some 300 Losar cycles previous his voice
|
||
recording the exercises his figure was running through. At the time of his
|
||
first voyage, he was younger and more ambitious, and he regarded his youthful
|
||
figure with benign indignation. Still, the record he had created of his
|
||
atomic transformations during his last journey did have scientific value, and
|
||
although they were slightly immature, or so it seemed to Samo, he was glad he
|
||
had recorded them for posterity. It was helpful for him to recall how he
|
||
felt, becoming physical for the first time. It gave him something to compare
|
||
his present sensations to.
|
||
"Anti-trivia is so much more restricting than trivia." Samo had said to
|
||
himself, well actually to the ships analog computer during the first voyage.
|
||
He was glad it all felt the same the second time around.
|
||
"Catabilizer start future Bio-effect tape." He had seen enough. Enough at
|
||
least to know that he was feeling normal. Normal for a Narretan suddenly
|
||
placed in the counter-universe, that is.
|
||
"Catabilizer deload Future analog tape file and derun from ending with last
|
||
approach to planet Earth."
|
||
"<<<Deloading Future analog tape--don't wait>>>"
|
||
"<<<Derunning Future analog tape with massive errors--wrapping down to
|
||
ending with approach to Terran Planet number 3>>>"
|
||
Samo saw the dim reflection of starlight from a small, cold, planet with a
|
||
smaller, solitary satellite. He adjusted his orbit for a flyby.
|
||
"Cozy", Samo said to himself as he skirted by Pluto's cratered, gasless
|
||
surface. "So much for their ninth planet...on to the eighth," he said as he
|
||
re-adjusted the orbit for Neptune. "Might as well check out what I've got to
|
||
work with in raw materials..."
|
||
"Ah this is more like it!" He said as he entered the green atmosphere and
|
||
flew under the ring, perpendicular to the planet's horizontal axis. "Sulphuric
|
||
acid, Carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and traces of oxygen." He said into
|
||
the microphone of his analog computer.
|
||
As he flew by Uranus, he became disappointed at the state of human
|
||
technological advancement. "The humans have not established a base on the
|
||
seventh planet of this solar system yet." He recorded.
|
||
At Saturn, he could not stop himself from making a few measurements of the
|
||
ring and studying its chemical composition and the elements in the atmosphere.
|
||
He wanted to compare the sizes of the counter planets with the sizes of the
|
||
home planets to see if there was a measurable difference between anti-trivial
|
||
and trivial mass.
|
||
Samo was monitoring the pre-nuclear signals from Earth as he flew from
|
||
planet to planet, and the signals seemed to be decreasing, so he adjusted his
|
||
course for Jupiter and began contemplating his coming encounter with the
|
||
humans. How primitive were they? How could he best communicate with the
|
||
masses? Most importantly how could he explain who he was without being taken
|
||
for a mad man...
|
||
He decided he'd have to give it his best shot with a few special effects
|
||
when he got there.
|
||
Jupiter. Samo flew inside the ring and ran a spectral analysis on its
|
||
composition. He entered the data into the analog computer for conversion to
|
||
darktron spectral analysis, and flew into the cloud bands. He took her down
|
||
beneath the cloud layer and was again disappointed that the humans had not
|
||
even progressed as far as the fifth planet.
|
||
"Fifth planet uninhabited," Samo recorded, "entering asteroid belt."
|
||
As Samo skirted Mars he was again unsurprised by the lack of habitation.
|
||
"These humans are non-colonial and primitive, at a level approximately equal
|
||
to Amrif's pre-sramian period."
|
||
"Approaching Earth orbit at an inclination of 45 degrees to the planet's
|
||
equator. Receiving two strong signals from different continental masses.
|
||
Both northern hemisphere, opposite sides of the planet." He recorded.
|
||
"Time to let them know I'm here..."
|
||
Mari A. Paulson
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
Dream Weaver
|
||
Copyright (c) 1984 Michael A. Murphy
|
||
(Conclusion of story begun in Vol1N07)
|
||
|
||
Sharmuth's afternoon session went like the others had. No real progress
|
||
was made. After studying the tape of today's dream, Doctor James felt like
|
||
they were going nowhere fast. It was quite a different feeling from the
|
||
elation he felt about Maryann's rapid progress. The difference in rates of
|
||
progress had him a little confused. Normally, he would have been able to
|
||
retain a professional attitude if he had had just one of the two cases at any
|
||
given time. Rapid rates of progress are not unusual. Neither are cases that
|
||
have no progress. The fact he had one of each at the same time was what
|
||
perplexed Doctor James. It just did not seem right that he could have such
|
||
amazing success with one patient and have absolute zero success with another.
|
||
|
||
"You're looking much better today, Maryann."
|
||
"Thank you, Doctor. I really feel quite a bit better. My therapist ran
|
||
some tests this morning and he said that there had been an improvement in the
|
||
muscle tissue of my arm. He was rather excited about it after all these weeks
|
||
of absolutely no change. I am quite thrilled about it myself! I now have a
|
||
positive reinforcement so that I can keep hoping that I will once again be
|
||
able to use every part of my body. I haven't ever given up hope, but there
|
||
were times when all the tests and efforts of others and myself seemed so
|
||
futile. I think that, more than any other reason, is why I look better today.
|
||
I just feel so much better on the inside that I can't contain it all and it is
|
||
spreading to my outside."
|
||
"I'm certainly glad that you are feeling so much better about everything,
|
||
Maryann. I don't want to bring you down, but I do hope that you can continue
|
||
to feel this way even if we don't make any more progress over the next week or
|
||
even the next month. Progress can sustain a positive attitude with ease.
|
||
It's keeping your positive attitude when things are not going your way that is
|
||
the biggest step towards progress."
|
||
"I don't think I can ever feel badly about my situation again, Doctor. I
|
||
have been through the futility of feeling sorry for myself and now I can
|
||
accept myself the way I am if I do not respond any further to treatment. I've
|
||
been happy before and I have been sad. I have never been anywhere near as
|
||
happy as I was when my therapist told me that there had been an improvement,
|
||
however small it might have been. Even if I never have another change in
|
||
condition I still know that hope is not futile and that improvement is
|
||
possible because it happened once. Until now, no one thought that I had any
|
||
real hope of ever regaining use of my limbs because I had not responded at all
|
||
over the course of a month where full rehabilitation takes less than half that
|
||
time. Now I have a solid basis for the hope that was only in my mind before.
|
||
Now I know that that hope is not a futile hope. Since my condition did
|
||
improve once, I know that it can happen again. I am betting that it will
|
||
continue to improve. If it doesn't, well, I still have hope."
|
||
"That's one heck of an attitude. I wish I could get all of my patients to
|
||
think that way. Too many people these days are trying to get everything in
|
||
large chunks. They want immediate and large scale results in everything they
|
||
do. They won't settle for consistent progress or improvement. They want
|
||
everything now. If they don't get it, they put the blame on someone else and
|
||
try something else. The people in this world would do well to lose something
|
||
that they take for granted and be told that they could never have it back.
|
||
And slowly, very slowly, they would regain the use of that thing. Then they
|
||
might come to appreciate some of the things we all take for granted.
|
||
"Let's get back to the case at hand, my dear. We have progress to make
|
||
with you."
|
||
"I'm all for progress, Doctor."
|
||
"Were you able to remember anything else by concentrating on the color red
|
||
over the past few days?"
|
||
"No, not really. I did dream about the color red one night though. I
|
||
haven't woken up at night because of a dream since last week. I think being
|
||
aware of the other dream and that the color red plays an important part in the
|
||
last dream kept me from becoming terrified at night recently. I do remember
|
||
other colors from when I was dreaming about the color red. They were all
|
||
blurs though and I don't know what they were other than blurs of color. They
|
||
all just kind of blended together. They were all earth colors. Grey, brown,
|
||
green. I get a very ominous feeling when I think of those colors and red
|
||
still makes me feel uneasy."
|
||
"After viewing your dream it is quite easy to see why the color red would
|
||
make you wake up screaming and also cause you to feel a little uneasy.
|
||
"Tell me... Do you remember anything at all about the accident that put
|
||
you in the situation that you're in now? Do you remember where it occurred?
|
||
Or who was in the vehicle with you? Or where you were going at the time it
|
||
occurred? Anything?"
|
||
"Nothing. I know that my family was killed only because I was told after I
|
||
had been conscious for a few days and had asked about them. I don't remember
|
||
anything about what we did that day or why I was with them that day. I know,
|
||
again because I was told, where the accident occurred.
|
||
"The toughest thing to deal with was the fact that my parents and brother
|
||
had been killed and I didn't even remember being with them prior to the
|
||
accident. I can understand my not being able to remember anything about the
|
||
accident, but why has my mind blocked out the events leading up to the
|
||
accident? Why?"
|
||
"I think it is time for you to view your last dream. I was going to wait
|
||
for a couple of sessions so we could discuss your accident thoroughly enough
|
||
so that you wouldn't be taken totally by surprise by the dream. I think you
|
||
know enough via hearsay, you're also beginning to remember fringes of the
|
||
circumstances surrounding the accident, to view the dream and have it help us
|
||
rather than set us back.
|
||
"So let's get over to the machinery and give it a go."
|
||
"Lead the way, Doctor."
|
||
As the tape ended Maryann sighed lightly and slumped wearily in her chair.
|
||
"I am beginning to remember even more now, Doctor."
|
||
"Good. You didn't display any violent reaction to what was on the tape.
|
||
That is good. I had feared that you might, upon 'seeing' the accident for the
|
||
first time," actually the second, he thought, "have an adverse reaction to it.
|
||
I'm glad to see that my fears were unfounded."
|
||
"I remember the accident now. I still don't remember where we had been or
|
||
where we were going, but I do remember the part of our trip just prior to the
|
||
accident. I also remember the accident itself and being thrown just a bit to
|
||
the side of where my parents and brother were thrown. We were all wearing
|
||
harnesses, but I guess the force of the impact just severed the harnesses and
|
||
threw us all out. The only reason I am alive now is because I was thrown a
|
||
few feet in another direction than the rest of my family. The red in my dream
|
||
that kept waking me up is the red of the blood. My blood and the blood of my
|
||
family. This was a very short memory, the color red. I guess I passed out
|
||
very shortly after noticing all the blood. That is all I remember until the
|
||
dreams of the regen tanks.
|
||
"You're amazing, Doctor. You done in a very short time what no one else
|
||
believed could be done. I think we've discovered the major reasons why I keep
|
||
waking up and I also think that now I will begin to improve physically even
|
||
more rapidly. It's so wonderful to have a memory again. Even if the memories
|
||
that have been uncovered are not exactly pleasant, it is still nice to have
|
||
them and know about them rather than be scared silly by them in ignorance. I
|
||
would like to figure out what we were doing all together and why we were in
|
||
such a hurry on the day of the accident."
|
||
"We'll continue to work on that, Maryann. I do want to keep an eye on you
|
||
for a while even though you feel so positive about your recovery now. We want
|
||
to keep things under control and I'd like to see you recover all of your
|
||
memory that was lost because of the accident."
|
||
"Yes, Doctor. I'll see you in a couple of days. Maybe by then I'll be
|
||
walking again!" Maryann exulted.
|
||
|
||
The newspaper headlines today read "FIRST CLUE IN MANCHESTER MURDERS
|
||
UNEARTHED." The article went on to say that another murder had been
|
||
committed. All the murders had occurred within a half mile radius. Though
|
||
the area has been heavily patrolled of late, another dead body appeared
|
||
nonetheless. But this time a man was seen moving away from the spot where the
|
||
murder occurred.
|
||
|
||
"Doctor, I am becoming a nervous wreck. I have had two more blackouts
|
||
since the other day and who knows what I've done while I've been asleep. I
|
||
can't continue like this. I've got to get to the bottom of this before I go
|
||
absolutely crazy and do something foolish."
|
||
"Mr. Sharmuth, you have to admit that it is very difficult to make progress
|
||
with something when you have no point at which to begin. We have no clues to
|
||
aid us in beginning to find out why you are blacking out. We know that it is
|
||
not a physical problem. All of the tests by the physicians have come up
|
||
negative. That leaves us with the assumption that if it is not a physical
|
||
problem that is causing you to black out, then it must be a mental one. Until
|
||
we find that one little clue to use as a springboard, we will not be making
|
||
rapid progress. Believe me, I'd like to see progress just as much as you
|
||
would. But we must keep searching your mind to find that one little clue,
|
||
that one minor inconsistency. It could be anything. We just have to be very
|
||
alert and careful so that we don't overlook anything. In so doing there is
|
||
virtually no way we can move rapidly. Should we move rapidly, we stand a very
|
||
good chance of overlooking that which we are looking for, whatever it may be."
|
||
"I understand, Doctor, but I still don't have to like it and I still want
|
||
quick results. I'm used to getting things done quickly and it is extremely
|
||
difficult to be patient through all of this."
|
||
"Let us go over and give the dream monitor another try. This time I want
|
||
you to concentrate on blacking out for a few minutes before you go to sleep."
|
||
"Ok. I'll give it a try," Sharmuth sighed heavily.
|
||
|
||
Doctor James pulled the tape out of the monitor after Sharmuth had woken
|
||
up. He set the tape on his desk, walked back over to the monitor, and helped
|
||
Sharmuth out of the equipment.
|
||
"Do you recall anything about this dream? Did concentrating on blacking
|
||
out do anything - make you feel anything different - remember anything at
|
||
all?"
|
||
"Still nothing, Doctor. I don't understand it at all."
|
||
"Try to concentrate on your blackouts over the next couple of days. Try
|
||
and stimulate the subconscious so that some of it's thoughts and memories
|
||
might become conscious. I'll take a look at this tape in a while. Let's hope
|
||
there is something different on it. Something that can give us a direction to
|
||
aim in, a starting point."
|
||
"Ok, Doctor. I'll see you in a couple of days."
|
||
|
||
Sharmuth's recently made tape was very much the same as the other two.
|
||
There was nothing on the tape that could be used as a starting point to delve
|
||
further for clues. "It's time to adopt Maryann's positive attitude and not
|
||
feel that everything we're doing is totally futile," James thought.
|
||
|
||
Time seemed to jump ahead for Doctor James. There had been no progress at
|
||
all in Sharmuth's case. It was becoming increasingly bewildering. Maryann
|
||
had continued to improve steadily, but not as rapidly as at first. This was
|
||
to be expected. The rapid pace of the beginning of her treatment was just too
|
||
much to expect it to continue. With her case doing so well, he had more time
|
||
to spend on Sharmuth's case.
|
||
Sharmuth's case was one instance where a positive outlook had not helped.
|
||
So far. There had to be something. It was only a matter of time before he
|
||
stumbled upon it by just moving about blindly.
|
||
|
||
Doctor James arrived in is office earlier than usual one morning. He had a
|
||
full calendar of appointments in the afternoon but had nothing in the morning.
|
||
He had planned to look over the last few tapes of Sharmuth's dreams. He had
|
||
hoped to find something, anything, that might help.
|
||
In the course of walking across the room to where he stored his tapes, he
|
||
noticed that the monitor had been left on and a tape was just coming to an
|
||
end. The record switch was on.
|
||
James checked over his tapes quickly and determined that this tape was a
|
||
new tape and not one of the ones he had used just recently. He watched as the
|
||
tape got closer to the end. The record switch finally shut off and the tape
|
||
was forwarded to the end and then the monitor shut off. James took the tape
|
||
out and went over to his playback equipment. He wanted to find out what could
|
||
possibly be on this tape. How did it get into the monitor and how did the
|
||
monitor get started up? What was it recording, if anything? How could
|
||
anything be recorded when there was no one connected to the input gear?
|
||
He loaded the tape and began to view it.
|
||
|
||
I am being followed. Why am I being followed? I'll have to do something
|
||
about this. I haven't done anything and he certainly doesn't look at all like
|
||
a cop. I'm almost home. I don't want him to follow me home. Who knows what
|
||
he may do. He's probably one of those types who doesn't deserve to live
|
||
anyway. The world will be much better off without him roaming the streets.
|
||
There are too many of those about these days. How can they be so cruel and
|
||
inhumane? They don't deserve to live. This one will not continue to live.
|
||
I rounded a corner and waited. I looked quickly to make sure that there
|
||
was no one else around. Even in this city, it can be rather quiet in the
|
||
early morning hours. There was no one about.
|
||
He rounded the corner and hurried his pace because he'd lost sight of me.
|
||
I came from behind him and stabbed him. He died immediately. He didn't even
|
||
have a chance to emit a sound from the pain. I cleaned the knife off on his
|
||
clothes and then walked down the street as if nothing had happened. Another
|
||
dead body in this city will not make any difference at all.
|
||
There was a quick image of beautiful, peaceful countryside and then a
|
||
raucous, rowdy scene began.
|
||
|
||
It was a bar. A couple of fights had broken out and the bouncers were in
|
||
the process of breaking the fight (and a lot of the furniture) up. bodies
|
||
were being tossed out into the street left and right. Finally, I became one
|
||
of those bodies. I gracefully picked myself up, shouted obscenities at the
|
||
bouncers, and started walking away. I didn't think of where I was going until
|
||
I got a few blocks away. I made a turn and headed for home. After a few more
|
||
blocks I saw a shadowy figure emerge from a doorway and step into my path.
|
||
He had a weapon and demanded my wallet. Not being one who is into death,
|
||
especially my own, I slowly reached for my wallet. A sharp sound came from
|
||
close by and distracted my mugger for a second. I hit his hand and knocked
|
||
the gun loose. I was closer to it and made a grab for it. I was quicker than
|
||
he and now had the gun. This world has no use for this mugger anymore. He is
|
||
another one of the sort that does not deserve to live. Now he didn't.
|
||
There were people within hearing range, but not within sight. I quickly
|
||
removed myself from the scene and then joined the small mob as they approached
|
||
the dead mugger. It was very easy to do in the confusion. The police arrived
|
||
after a short wait, asked some questions, and then sent us all home. There
|
||
were no eye witnesses. Everyone heard the shot. Everything and everyone had
|
||
disappeared by the time anyone arrived on the scene. I still don't know what
|
||
happened to the gun.
|
||
The world is better off now. One more person, who didn't deserve to live
|
||
anyway, was gone. How can they exist this way. The more I see, the more I
|
||
confirm the fact they do not deserve to live.
|
||
Peace. That overwhelming feeling again. Even in minute quantities it was
|
||
overwhelming.
|
||
|
||
What am I doing in this part of town? The types of people that frequent
|
||
this part of town are the sort that I would never consort with. So why am I
|
||
here? I do look rather out of place. In this den of poverty and
|
||
uncleanliness, I have no business. Certainly no legitimate business. Why am
|
||
I here? These people don't deserve to live this way. Most of them don't even
|
||
deserve to live.
|
||
A man approaches. He is a little drawn and thin, but definitely able-
|
||
bodied. One can see the strength that could be his through the holes in the
|
||
rags that the denizens of this demesne call clothes. As he gets even closer
|
||
the stench becomes rather evident. "Can you spare a dollar, mister?"
|
||
No dollar. I did talk him into coming home with me to see what life could
|
||
be like. I was planning on berating him for not doing an honest days work
|
||
when it was quite obvious that he was a very able-bodied man even in his
|
||
emaciated condition. All he needed was the will to do a little hard work.
|
||
Physical labor. Why hadn't he been working? He had obviously been in dire
|
||
straits for some time, as his condition was not good at all. He certainly
|
||
could have found work if he'd been willing to go looking. We were almost to
|
||
my place when I decided that I did not want anyone coming home with me who
|
||
could not perform an honest day's work when he was certainly more than
|
||
capable. People like that do not deserve to live. And I wouldn't call what
|
||
he was doing back in that rat infested hole living. The world is better off
|
||
without him. He is certainly much better off. I don't know how I managed,
|
||
but when I realized where I was, he was on the ground, dead. I must've
|
||
strangled him for I had no weapon. Had he not been so weakened from his style
|
||
of life, I could never have done him in with my bare hands. As he was though,
|
||
there was no challenge. He wasn't even strong enough to struggle much. But I
|
||
did catch him a little off guard too. He didn't deserve to live. How can
|
||
people exist that way?
|
||
I turned, there was someone coming this way about 4 blocks away. I turned
|
||
a corner and disappeared. No one followed. If that person kept walking, he
|
||
surely would find the body. No matter. He could not possibly have seen me
|
||
well from that distance.
|
||
Once again, that overwhelming feeling of peace. This time it lasted for
|
||
several minutes. There were more images of beautiful, lazy countryside. The
|
||
soft green and golden yellow suggested a lingering and lasting peace. The
|
||
most striking thing about the whole image was that there was no life. No
|
||
animal life. No human life.
|
||
|
||
Doctor James sat in the chair for some time thinking about what he had just
|
||
viewed. His respect for his dream monitor rose immensely. He thought he had
|
||
figured out what was happening.
|
||
The sequences he had just viewed were happenings that went on during
|
||
Sharmuth's blackout periods. The machine did pick them up, but for some
|
||
reason did not record them during the sessions with Sharmuth. The person who
|
||
had done all the killing was Sharmuth. There was no doubt about that.
|
||
Sharmuth did seem to be the ruthless type, but he did not seem to be the
|
||
killer type. And why this sudden hatred for the human species. The man
|
||
thrived on controversy and competition. He needed people so that he would be
|
||
able to enjoy himself.
|
||
Why would the machine select just one person to screen out everything that
|
||
went on in the subconscious mind? I get the distinct feeling that this tape
|
||
had two separate personalities involved in its making. One was bent on
|
||
killing and destruction, the other wanted only peace. Total peace.
|
||
Then it hit him. Total peace. To achieve total peace on this world one
|
||
would just about have to start from scratch. All life would have to be
|
||
eradicated.
|
||
Total peace. Overwhelming peace.
|
||
|
||
Doctor James decided that he had to inform the authorities of what he knew.
|
||
He would tell them who the murderer was and then he would have to dismantle
|
||
his machine. That was the worst part of it. The machine had done so much
|
||
good for so many people. This one case would ruin that record for good. What
|
||
would life have been like for Maryann without the machine? She's now fully
|
||
recovered and such a beautiful young woman now that all her parts are
|
||
proportional again! It is a shame.
|
||
The authorities would never believe his story though. How could they? The
|
||
population of the world is being exterminated one by one to achieve total
|
||
peace? What, this is being done by one man? A 'machine'!?
|
||
Well, he knew the response he was going to get. But he'd made up his mind.
|
||
Doctor James picked up the phone and dialed the authorities...
|
||
|
||
Doctor James sat bolt upright in bed, his heart beating rapidly and sweat
|
||
running down his face. He stared about his dark bedroom for a while before he
|
||
was able to fall back asleep.
|
||
Michael Murphy <MURPH @ MAINE>
|
||
|
||
<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Michael Murphy <MURPH @ MAINE> |