656 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
656 lines
41 KiB
Plaintext
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1 If you are in need of help, you need but ask....
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2 *************************** INSTALLED: 11 NOV 85 **********************
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3 Welcome to BWMS (BackWater Message System) Mike Day System operator
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4 ************************************************************
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5 GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION
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6 PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM.
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7 BWMS was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS is a privately owned
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8 and operated system which is currently open for use by the general public.
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9 No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the system is
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10 privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all messages which
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11 I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the system, it will be
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12 periodically purged of messages. (only 629 lines of data can be saved)
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13 To leave a message, type 'ENTER' and use ctrl/C or break to get out of the
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14 ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering the
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15 message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to replace
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16 the line. To exit from the system, type 'OFF' then hang up.
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17 Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
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18 ****************************************************************
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19
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20 Prometheus: Don't give me facts, you'll spoil my emotion bound argument.
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21 Besides, they ain't facts anyway, just the twisted mumbo-jumbo of scientists.
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22 They use theory that they themselves promote to prove their facts with.
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23 You're just basing it all on a bunch of conjecture about things. I don't
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24 care if it is base on thousands of years of self-proving back patting.
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25 *****************************************************************************
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26 Hee Hee! I like it! JF $$$$$$$$$$$$$
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27 :-]Well, almost at the top... Max[-:
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28 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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29 I blinked, rubbed my eyes, then looked again. "Stan?"
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30 "Yep. Go ahead and sit down. The Doctor and Milchar left early this morning,
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31 told me to say goodbye for them. Have some breakfast."
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32 I sat, but skipped breakfast. "Can you fill me in? How did you get here?"
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33 Stan smiled, amused. He handed a small device to me. It looked almost
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34 exactly like the modified passkey that I had in my pocket, except this one had
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35 my personal identicode on it. "All yours, Bert. Even registered with DS.
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36 They had one hell of a time classifying it, though. That little grey IC is a
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37 clever little gadget. The Wendill Space Turbine, I call it."
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38 My brain stopped, rewound, then played that last sentence back for further
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39 study. "You call it that? Isn't naming the prerogative of the inventor?
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40 Or..." I stopped. "Yours?"
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41 Stan's smile widened to a large grin. "Couldn't have done it without ya,
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42 Bert. After I got your note, I sulked for a few hours, then got mad and
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43 decided to tackle the problem without a model. I used a hell of a lot of the
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44 DS research budget in computer time, too. Finally figured out what made it
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45 tick, then made a few of them."
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46 "If you invented it, how...?"
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47 "...Did the Doctor get it? Just as he said. From Gallifrey. The first test
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48 run we made landed the tester there. We did some technology swapping. Some
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49 of this new stuff will blow your mind. Anyway, they sent a couple to the
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50 Doctor as he seems to be one of their favorite field testers. He sold one to
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51 you (at a bargain, I might add), and you know the rest."
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52 I tried to absorb it all, failed, then decided it was too early in the morning
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53 to try. "Just how does it work, Stan?"
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54 Stan finished off the last of his sausage, then spoke. "Know how we keep a
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55 traveldoor open?"
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56 I shrugged. "Sure. That's part of training. I may not be an engineer, but I
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57 soak up some stuff. Basically you get a computer to punch a series of little
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58 holes in the space fabric, which are positioned in such a way as to let matter
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59 leak through."
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60 "Correct. The Space Turbine is something like that, only it doesn't punch
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61 through the fabric, but dents it. Any way we want. In this application, we
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62 want to form a bubble of space completely cut off from your starting universe,
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63 with passenger and Turbine inside. In this state, shifts in- oh, never mind,
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64 it'll take hours to go through the math. What it amounts to is a space bubble
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65 carrying you from universe to universe. Neat solution, only problem being the
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66 Turbine occupies about sixteen cubic meters."
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67 I drew a blank. "Hold it." I held up my new passkey, and pointed to the
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68 little IC. "That ain't sixteen cubic meters, bub."
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69 "That's the best part. We found out that the interior of a bubble of space
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70 could be any size we wanted, up to power limits. The bubble could have holes
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71 out into regular space, or not. What we did was build two separate Turbines,
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72 then made one encapsulate the other. Lo and behold, sixteen cubic meters
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73 becomes sixteen cubic millimeters. Or whatever. Once encapsulated, a Turbine
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74 can maintain its own bubble."
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75 I shook my foggy head, tried to imagine what this would mean to commerce. And
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76 me. The Dimensional Supervisor's job would increase manyfold-
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77 "Stan, do me a favor. Don't make any more of these things. Don't release
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78 them outside of DS. We've got enough trouble mucking around in our own
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79 universe without messing up our neighbor's. Not that this place minds
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80 visitors. I'm just imagining what would happen if smugglers found out about
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81 this."
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82 Stan considered. "Hmmmm. Eric?"
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83 I only now noticed that Eric was laying next to Stan. "Ready."
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84 "Your evalutation?"
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85 "Computed probability of 83.47% that smugglers would find out about Wendill
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86 Space Turbine within 14 days. Probability increases to 96.11% after one
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87 Terran lunar. After discovery, the Turbine will permit smuggling of any item
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88 with near zero chance of detection."
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89 "Hmmmm again. Gotta be something we can do. It seems so USEFUL to be able to
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90 travel to other universes-"
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91 "Not to mention being able to fit a pleasure dome Kubla Khan would envy into a
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92 closet."
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93
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94 %%%%%% rebalsa %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 11/11/85
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95 %%%%%% Attribute any garbage in the above to line noise during upload. %%% BR
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96 whoowhee|||| What a way to welcome a newcomer to the board||||||
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97
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98 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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99
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100 Leroy McKane? I can say for a certainty he is absolutely honest....
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101 (or at least as honest as I am). As for that funny Frenchman, you know
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102 how worked up the French get over sex.
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103
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104 Hooray Frank! Whoever you are this time.
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105
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106 Mohammed Wassir
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107 <The Albanian Boy Scout>
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108 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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109
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110 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\18
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111 Would that his waking had been as peacful as his sleep. There was a screech in his ear and suddenly he was being
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112 unmercifully pummeled. Danger-trained reflexes had the body moving before the mind was even concious of what was
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113 happening. He did a quick roll to gain a couple yards from whatever was attacking him and got to his feet instantly,
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114 the sword held out before him, ready to start slicing.
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115 The first thing his mind registered was that it was full daylight. The second thing was that the clearing was empty
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116 except for him and Tariya, who was half standing and staring at him indignantly. Seeing nothing else around, he
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117 lowered the blade and demanded, "What the f-"
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118 "YOU!" she snapped, obviously mad about something. "What... what did you think you were doing?!"
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119 "Sleeping!" he yelled back, confused and starting to get a little pissed himself.
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120 "You were doing more than just sleeping! Who do you think you are, crawling over to me in the middle of the night
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121 and taking advantage-"
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122 Oh, for $%&'# sake! Now he knew. He released the sword and it vanished before it touched the ground. Keeping his
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123 voice level so as to sound more rational (and less guilty. What had he done to feel guilty about, anyway?) than he
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124 felt, he said, "I think you're flattering youself, sweetheart. I didn't go to you, you came to me."
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125 "You're lying! I would never do something like that! I woke up and you had your arm around me and... and... Did you
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126 try something!?" she felt to see if her clothes were all there.
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127 James threw his hands up in exasperation, "I was too tired to try anything last night, and I seriously doubt you
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128 were tired enough not to notice if I did." She glared at him, obviously not believing a word of it. He sighed and
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129 said, "Go ahead and believe what you want. You will anyway. But I'll tell you this: getting shocked out of my sleep,
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130 and then being called first a pervert, and then a liar, well, that's a hell of a way to start the day. I'm hurt that
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131 you would even think that about me, after all we been through. If I was the type, I could have joined in with those
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132 creeps back at the inn. I didn't even... oh crap!" he saw that she wasn't buying it so he gave up in disgust. He went
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133 off into the bushes to relieve himself and when he got back he saw that her attitude hadn't changed much. Staying well
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134 away from her, he walked over to the path.
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135 "Where do you think you're going?" she wanted to know.
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136 "Well," he said with more than a trace of sarcasm, "I'm hungry. Molesting sleeping women at midnight always leaves
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137 me hungry. And since I don't see any Minit Marts about, I guess I'm going to have to go find something. You can come
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138 along if you want, but as far as I'm concerned, we can just part company right here. I don't need this grief, and I
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139 certainly don't need you." and without another word he turned and left the clearing.
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140 "Wait!" she hollered, getting up and running after him. "Damn you, wait! You're not leaving me here!"
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141 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\THE DESTROYER\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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142 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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143 French toast: Yes, I have looked over the messages in question, both yours and
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144 mine, and from my view point, I still feel that you have been promoting a
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145 hysterical viewpoint of the AIDS problem. It is a dredful desease, yes, it is
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146 currently not currable yes, but it is not spreading in catastrophic
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147 proportions. Currently it is limited largly to the gay male population. With a
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148 few exceptions elsewhere. Currently the most important means to fight AIDS is
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149 education. Not conjecture, not trying to panic everyone into thinking that it
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150 is a runaway epidemic. (14,000 known cases is an epidemic?) The major problem
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151 currently is that within the male gay community because of the sexual practic
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152 it is reaching epidemic proportions. But, outside of the know transference
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153 methods, AIDS is not known to be easily tranferred. It appears to be damn
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154 difficult to transfer the desease. Yet because of the general hysteria that
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155 the media has generated, people are believing all sorts of horror stories.
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156 Like you can catch it just by being in the same room with someone who has
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157 AIDS. There is absolutely no proof of this, and in fact the information so far
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158 is that even direct contact with a person will not transfer AIDS. It appears
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159 that it MUST be transferred through the body fluids. Why is it that every time
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160 some new desease comes we go through this same hysteria "We're all gonna die!
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161 We're all gonna die!"?
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162 As a side note, I find it very disturbing that people who state that their
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163 basis for their religon is love and concern for their fellow man would use the
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164 problems of the gay male community as justification for upholding their
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165 prejudice for that group. With hypocrisy like that you wonder why I don't
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166 follow your beliefs in a sheep like fashion?
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167 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ fred ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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168 thanks,dave.
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169 exit
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170
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171
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172 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$
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173
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174 Phantom 429
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175 by
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176 John Silverman
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177 (Part 3)
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178
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179 I stayed with Jennifer that night. Nothing sexual, that would have seemed almost incestuous. We spent most of the
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180 night talking about Roy. Finally she dozed off about three. I carried her to her room and grabbed a blanket and crashed
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181 on her couch. Tired as I was, my sleep that night was uneasy at best.
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182 I dreamed I was sitting at my radio, listening. The channel was empty, but buried deep in the background static I
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183 heard... something. It was too faint and distant to make out but it left me with an uneasy feeling. In fact, as time
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184 went by, it terrified me. I hoped and prayed that it would stay in the distance. But I knew it wouldn't. Something bad
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185 was coming. What form it would take my mind couldn't or wouldn't tell me but it was coming all the same. Then I
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186 realized that whatever I was hearing wasn't just on the radio. It was in the wind, blowing outside my window. Something
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187 was coming and the most horrifying thing was that it wasn't coming for me...
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188 I awoke in a cold sweat, Jen's face staring down concernedly at me. Early daylight streamed in through the window.
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189 "Are you okay?" she asked. "Your groaning woke me up."
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190 I sat up, trying to shake the cobwebs. My stomach felt like I'd swallowed a cannonball. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
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191 Just a bad dream. I'm still upset too, you know."
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192 "I know." she said, sitting on the couch next to me. "I dreamed that Roy had somehow managed to come back. For me.
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193 Ididn't want to wake up."
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194 Her subconcious had given her a cheap shot. I looked at my watch, still trying to wake up. "Oh, cripes. I'm late
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195 for work. I hafta go." I fumbled for my jacket.
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196 At the door I stopped, "You want me to come by later?"
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197 "Please." she replied. "I don't want to impose but I really-"
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198 "Say no more. You CAN'T impose on me. And I think we could both use the company. For a little while."
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199 A litle while was more than it took me to get to work. The 205 bridge had been closed for repairs and the traffic
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200 on I-5 was beyind belief. Well, Roy had always said he wanted everybody to know when he was gone. I arrived at work
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201 still disheveled and three hours late. My ass was chewed out royally, of course.
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202
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203 (TO BE CONTINUED...)
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204
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205 #$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$
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206 (((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))(((*)))((( Ripple )))
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207 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
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208 Speaking of cheap shots...
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209 Religion: The spiritual TRUTH as revealed in my culture's sacred traditions.
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210 Superstition: Those erronious practices to which you still adhere after
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211 being shown the TRUTH.
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212 Religious freedom: My freedom to eliminate all vestiges of superstition,
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213 especially those which conflict with the TRUTH.
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214 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
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215 MIKEY: Here's a modest proposal---why not incorporate the phrase "WHOOPEE !!
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216 I'M AT THE TOP AGAIN!!!" in the lower border of system instructions each time
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217 you re-establish DA? That will maybe satisfy the children's need to orient
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218 themselves...and stretch the ca Even some 'regulars' seem to feel SO
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219 SUCCESSFUL, but falsely so, just because they happened to call after your
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220 attention to housekeeping.
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221 ===================WHOOPEE! I'M AT THE TOP AGAIN!!! =========================
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222 **************************************************************************
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223
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Greetings: If it makes any difference, I think being at the top of
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224
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the disk is neat. Not earth shattering, just neat. Why not say
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225
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AT THE TOP? Sort of put's the start of the disk in a up mood. Something
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226
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it never hurts to have more of around her. ok, that's my two cents.
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227
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******************************kathyD******************************************
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228
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229 When Bear had lunged underneath the dragon during its leap, he had done so wit
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230 h an instantaneous decision in mind. He had noted the timing and direction of
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231 the dragon's first leap, and also knew
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232 that the underside of the creature was softer, it's organs unprotected by hard
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233 bone or skin.
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234
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235 After the beast had landed on top of him, the crushing weight had nearly
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236 killed him. But there was enough cushion into the dragon's stomach that it
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237 was more like a big pillow as opposedto a large rock. As it was, he could
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238 barely breath. But his face was just inches from the butt of his sword, which
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239 still protuded from the dragon's belly, dug into the ground.
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240
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241 He pulled his arm from his side as best he could, the dragon's blood and lack
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242 of air combined to make it so he could hardly breath. Finally, he was able to
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243 grip the sword. As he did so, he
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244 thrusted upwards with all the strength left within him. He pushed the sword
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245 into the dragon's belly, his hand disappeared into the black-red muck.
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246
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247 The awful stench of hot blood surrounded him, buried him. He was swimming in
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248 a sea of putrid blood, fed by the evil devouring of hundreds of men.
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249
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250 Still he thrusted upwards, and he felt the dragon shudder. His entire arm was
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251 now inside the dragon, the blood poured out like a waterfall. He held his
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252 breath and tore his blade to the side, making the gaping hole even wider.
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253
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254 He was now able to get on his knees, and still he thrusted up, and over, and
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255 up again. He started cutting in a frenzy. His entire body was drenched in
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256 blood as the dragon's innards fell around him. Still he could not breathe, but
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257 still he cut, slicing higher and higher, smashing through bone, and then skin.
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258
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259 The dragon lay still, its last breath gone. A large pool of bllood grew under-
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260 neath it and sppread out over the entire floor of the cavern. Suddenly, in its
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261 scaly back protruded a sharp point.
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262 The point grew, and came upward.
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263
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264 The sword pierced the skin and then sliced downward. With a final outpouring
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265 of hot black guts the dragon's side was rent with a loud tearing sound. And
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266 the Bear emerged, completely black-red, steam rising from his body. Only his
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267 two bright eyes shown from the awful stuff covering him. But he stood, sword
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268 held high in triumph.
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269
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270 In the other hand, he held a round white object, about the size of a large
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271 rock.
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272
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273 The egg from the dragon of Fendarr.
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274
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275 0000000000000000 THE BEAR 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
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276
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277 This is a test, this is only a test. It is a test designed to test the fie
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hf
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278 not a test for use in
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279 iding 40-column text, or
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280
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indeed for 22 co-
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281 ext. But for 80-column text, nothing more, nothing less. Thank You.
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282 This was only a test.
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283
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(needs some work!)
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284 ............................................................................
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285
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286 her one of those tests. Terrible, I know, but when I
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287
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288 et one ready to work, everything will be pretty well wrapped up
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289 s far as communications goes. Blah, blah, blah-blah!
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290 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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291 Andy: You have asked me to prove evolution. No, make that *prove* evolution.
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292 Hmmmmm.....if someone could lend me their Tardis, I'd be happy to give
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293 it a shot.
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294 But first, let's talk about fairness. It's only fair that you then be
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295 asked to prove, make that *prove*, creationism. Fair, right? But,
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296 there's no way you can. Perhaps you could have someone send me a small
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297 but well placed lightning bolt with a note attached saying: "He's
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298 right, PEN NAME, he's right", then maybe I'd believe you.
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299 But as for the bible's truths, are we then to assume that perhaps
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300 sometime in the future (is there is one to speak of) someone will run
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301 accross some hard copies or diskettes full of various stories about
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302 the INN, collect them, bind them, and then sojourn through the world
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303 saying something like: "Behold! God, our cyber in the sky, has sent
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304 down His lessons on life in a book, and a good one at that, through
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305 his messengers here on Earth!!!" and then start a religion called:
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306 "The Church of BWMS"??? And claim tax-exemptions and the like???
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307 The bible: A collective anthology of fables of obvious worth with
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308 a gimmick to secure them.
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309 And evolution. I think that perhaps, Andy, you should spend as much
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310 time reading up on Biology as you do your bible.
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311
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312 I'm about to disclose a very valuble secret, one that has been hidden
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313 for most of time, and yet a very important one at that. Here goes:
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314
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315 -->Religions have only one purpose: provide hope<--
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316
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317 When a close relative dies, no-one wants to think they are dead, and th
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318 's that. No, we want to think that they have gone to a ~higher~ place,
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319 a ~holy~ place. Not just planted in the ground and marked by marble.
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320 And since we humans, most of us, are not able to find enough of that
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321 hope we need within ourselves, we have to turn to outside sources.
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322 First, we turn to families. Then to friends. The to hobbies. And
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323 then, when all is exhausted, to religion.
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324 Some of us skip all the before and go right to religions.
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325 And when we can generate this hope ourselves, especially that day-to-
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326 day hope we all need, we no longer have a need for relligion.
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327 Religions provide other services; social, economical, etc., but they
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328 only provide one of climactic degree: Hope eternal. And for very
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329 little cost to the reciever. "Believe this, and you are applicable"
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330 And so they do, over and over again.
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331
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332 One final word. As far as this didcussion goes, one thing should be
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333 placed out in the open: No one is trying to change your views, you
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334 have to do that alone.
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335 I am reminded of one of my favorite peoms, by Stephen Crane:
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336 "Think as I Think"
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337
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338 "Think as I think," said a man,
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339 "or you are abominably wicked;
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340 You are a toad."
|
||
341 After I had thought of it,
|
||
342 I said,"I will, then, be a toad."
|
||
343
|
||
344 Yours with warts, PEN NAME
|
||
345 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||
346 No, you could not have gone back and re-read those messages and come to the same conclusion. Something must be
|
||
347 wrong fred, but I find it useless to quibble with you, and I will do no more. Do not confuse me with others who state
|
||
348 AIDS is a form of the wrath of God. I *NEVER* said that. Perhaps someone near my signiture did and you confuse the two.
|
||
349 I say one thing and one thing only. Ignoring a problem will not make it go away. If you sirrah, find that this is the cry
|
||
350 of a hysterical man, then indeed I must be so, no other truth is possible.
|
||
351
|
||
352 Well said PEN NAME. A quote from Crane is a most timely thing now. Next we need Dickens and Twain. For now, St.
|
||
353 Augustine, THE CITY OF GOD, 21.16.
|
||
354 The story of most people, however, is this, that, after they have
|
||
355 become conscious of responsibility to law, they are first overcome by
|
||
356 passion and become violaters of the law, then they have recourse to grace
|
||
357 which helps them to grieve bitterly for the past and to struggle bravely
|
||
358 against passion until, at last, with their will in subjection to God and
|
||
359 their reason in control of the flesh, they conquer themselves.
|
||
360
|
||
361 Temperance in all things...
|
||
362 French Toast
|
||
363 ______________________________________________________________________________
|
||
364 Desole'
|
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365
|
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366 EXCUSE ME...Does anyone here speak English?
|
||
367 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
|
||
368
|
||
369 A steady, sullen drizzle blanketed Santa Cruz, the cocaine capital of
|
||
370 Bolivia. In the center of the city, the Plaza de Alfonso was a collage of
|
||
371 muted greys and browns. The afternoon siesta was at hand, and the streets
|
||
372 were empty save for two armed militia guarding the entrance of the secret
|
||
373 police headquarters. The headquarters was a massive stone building on the
|
||
374 south side of the plaza. Centuries ago, the building had been the residence
|
||
375 of the Spanish governor, now it housed an overlord of a different sort...
|
||
376 perhaps just as corrupt.
|
||
377 On the east side of the plaza, a man squatted beneath the awning of a
|
||
378 fishmonger's stall, almost invisible in the shadows. Dressed in a faded
|
||
379 blue work shirt and tattered dungaries, the man's face was hidden by a
|
||
380 floppy straw hat. Intense brown eyes could be seen peering under the brim
|
||
381 of the hat, their attention focused on a tan Mercedes sedan parked in front
|
||
382 of the headquarter's building. The man was an Albanian known as Mohammed
|
||
383 Wassir.
|
||
384 As Wassir waited, a young woman clad in tight black satin pants and a
|
||
385 low-cut blouse approached the stall. She glanced nervously at the militia-
|
||
386 men across the square. Seeing they paid her no heed, she ducked into the
|
||
387 shadows and seated herself next to Wassir.
|
||
388 "Mohammed," she said. "Why did you have me meet you here? This is
|
||
389 a dangerous place for you with the bounty on your head."
|
||
390 "Colonel Perez and I have some unfinshed business which must be
|
||
391 taken care of this afternoon." Wassir said.
|
||
392 "Important enough to get yourself killed? The Colonel will shoot you
|
||
393 on sight."
|
||
394 "Ah, Maria, you worry too much. Any news?"
|
||
395 "Leroy McKane has been sighted in Zaire. Rumor has it that he is
|
||
396 raising capital for another of his schemes to rule the world." Maria smiled
|
||
397 "It's ridiculous, how can one man rule all of humanity?"
|
||
398 "Don't sell McKane short. He is capable of more than most give him
|
||
399 credit for. If not for his hunger for small, fuzzy animals, his dreams of
|
||
400 world conquest may have succeeded last time," Wassir said.
|
||
401 "You'll oppose him, of course?"
|
||
402 "I haven't decided yet. There is the matter of my toilet plunger
|
||
403 factory that mysteriously burned down. I hated to see that enterprise
|
||
404 flushed down the toilet, and I'm sure Leroy was involved." Mohammed scowled
|
||
405 "Who's to say the sightings in Zaire are accurate? An imposter perhaps, or
|
||
406 McKane may just be toying with us all....with no intention of making a
|
||
407 comeback."
|
||
408 "I will have to meet this Leroy McKane," Maria said. "He sounds like
|
||
409 a most interesting person."
|
||
410 "Yes, he is.....Wait." Mohammed placed his hand on Maria's arm.
|
||
411 Across the plaza, four militiamen walked from the entrance. In their midst
|
||
412 was a stout, dour man in a full-dress uniform draped with gold braid.
|
||
413 Wassir smiled wolfishly, "The Colonel is on time.... a most punctual man."
|
||
414 The Colonel and his bodyguards climbed into the Mercedes. The car
|
||
415 swung into the cobbled street, turned left and neared the fishmonger's stall
|
||
416 Wassir pulled an oversized garage door opener from a small knapsack at his
|
||
417 feet. "But sometimes, punctuality can be a man's downfall," he said.
|
||
418 As the car passed the stall, Wassir pushed the button on the opener.
|
||
419 An orange fireball engulfed the Mercedes. The blast signaled the end of
|
||
420 the afternoon siesta. Armed militia poured from the headquarter's building
|
||
421 and flooded into the plaza. The Mercedes was a twisted sculpture of
|
||
422 blackened steel. The fishmonger's stall was empty. Mohammed Wassir was
|
||
423 gone.
|
||
424
|
||
425 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Valinor *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
|
||
426
|
||
427 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@$#^@)#_@#*)@#&(^#*%@&#@%$#Scu'z this
|
||
428
|
||
429
|
||
|
||
|
||
430 In the flickering light coming from the five or so tallow candls
|
||
|
||
|
||
431 under the fragile tables of rough wood, burned and scarred,ad
|
||
|
||
|
||
432 looked around the cages and crates, full of dead, dying, an
|
||
433 undead animals and others scattered about here and there. He
|
||
434 could spend all day looking, what with the varieties of dusty
|
||
|
||
|
||
435
|
||
|
||
436 life with dancing shadows.
|
||
437 And he found it, what he was looking for. A human sul
|
||
438 brightly polished and grinning forever. It had had the adct
|
||
439 to roll off a high shelf as he was busy working.
|
||
440
|
||
441 "Heads will roll!" he murmured to the moonlight, and ake
|
||
442 as he does so well. Usually he would not have given it a secod
|
||
|
||
|
||
443 could go wrong. Tonight he could not be interrupted.
|
||
444
|
||
445 The old man shuffled over to his lit desk. A ston ol
|
||
446 shallow and dark, rested on a bed of straw there. Though h
|
||
447 bowl was shallow, the bottom could never be seen. He reache
|
||
448 high onto a top shelf that hung precariously on the wall abv
|
||
449 his desk. There, he removed a small vial corked with cloth ht
|
||
|
||
|
||
450 Removing the stopper, he poured the contents of th il
|
||
|
||
451 into the stone bowl in front of him. Steam or smoke rose from
|
||
452
|
||
|
||
453 ^Z
|
||
454 _____________________________JD 2446382.8131_______________________________
|
||
455 :::::=====:::::=====
|
||
456 And I waited. A small rabbit in a large world. And I look to the
|
||
457 elven mystic, still sensing the other presence that I cannot see, and
|
||
458 question him about it.
|
||
459 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====
|
||
460 Hey now, this is THE test. The FINAL test, because me'thinks to
|
||
461 Ah, Wassir, my old friend-up to your old tricks again I see. We have something
|
||
462 to talk about, you and I. And the two men who hang around a Pizza Parlor in Northern
|
||
463 California. What say?
|
||
464 Delta V
|
||
465 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
|
||
466 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
|
||
467 Ahh, the joy of seeing a smiling Albainian face in the mind's eye...
|
||
468 Welcome back, Wassir!
|
||
469 pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
|
||
470 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
||
471
|
||
472 Piper: Thanks for the welcome on my return. Actually, I've been
|
||
473 lurking in the shadows all along, waiting for the right mood. But it's
|
||
474 nice to have one with your talent offer a friendly word.
|
||
475
|
||
476 Delta 5: I'm always willing to talk.... you've hooked my curiosity.
|
||
477 What about the pizza parlor in Northern California?
|
||
478
|
||
479 Mohammed Wassir
|
||
480 <The Friendly Albanian>
|
||
481
|
||
482 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
||
483
|
||
484 Ah, how soon we forget. Remember the last time we wre to meet? It was
|
||
485 at a sleazy little bar in Bizerte, but you didn't show, leaving me to
|
||
486 fight off a horde of androgynous creatures intent on rounding out my
|
||
487 sexual experiences. That was right after the unfortunate 'accident'
|
||
488 in which your yacht was lost, remember? Well, I've been 'retired' for a
|
||
489 year or so, and long to be in 'the field' again. How is your good friend
|
||
490 McKane these days?
|
||
491 Go back, Wassir, and remember. A small town in Northern California. A
|
||
492 place where McKane once had an uh "installation".
|
||
493 Wassir, remember: The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises
|
||
494 to keep, and miles to go before I sleep---Wassir, remember. A V
|
||
495 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]tiredoftapping]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
|
||
496 PenName: After reading your arguments amidst all the friendly letters and
|
||
497 stories it occurs to me, too, that the subject is tedious at best on a pub-
|
||
498 lic board such as this.
|
||
499
|
||
500 Obviously, there is neither time nor room for you to convince me of u
|
||
501 unassisted evolution.
|
||
502 No, I know the mutations and time and gasses forming and tests which have
|
||
503 produced the beginning amino acids of life forms and so on. But it just
|
||
504 could never happen. And I notice that rather than try and argue the point,
|
||
505 you simply take your jabs at religion instead, as if making a harsh state-
|
||
506 ment against religions in general actually proves they cannot be true.
|
||
507
|
||
508 Actually I just feel sorry for you. In your bitterness and "wisdom" you are
|
||
509 living in a very lonely place indeed. You have closed your mind completely,
|
||
510 and would only strike out at any arguments presented about the presence of
|
||
511 God rather than actually hear them and ponder their meaning.
|
||
512
|
||
513 You will know soon enough, my friend, and again, I feel sorry for you. I
|
||
514 don't feel it's my place to be your "converter," but God has said he giv es
|
||
515 everyone a chance at least once. But your eyes have to be open to step
|
||
516 forward. Even God can't talk to closed ears.
|
||
517
|
||
518 Anyway, let's let others proceed with their discources of less bitter spoken
|
||
519 words. There is a right or a wrong. In a shorter time than you may think,
|
||
520 the answer will be regrettably clear. At that time... remember that I tried,
|
||
521 would have liked to have tried further, and feel compassion for your
|
||
522 unfortunate decision.
|
||
523
|
||
524 Best regards,
|
||
525 Andy
|
||
526 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
|
||
527 I NOTICE THAT WITH 'ALL ALLOWED' IT SEEMS THE LINES ARE BUSIER LONGER WITH
|
||
528 PEOPLE PERFECTING THEIR ENTRIES. PERHAPS 'ENTER ONLY' HAS MORE BENEFITS THAN
|
||
529 ORIGINALLY THOUGHT?????
|
||
530 ???????????????????????????????????????????????
|
||
531 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\perhaps so\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
|
||
532 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||
533 Andy: Nay, nay, you need not feel sorry for me. Instead of closing
|
||
534 my mind, I have opened it to other possibilities, and found them to
|
||
535 be more to what I consider the truth.
|
||
536 We spend much of our lives seeking the truth, I'm glad to have found it.
|
||
537 I grew up under two of the most (out of all the) lousy religions around.
|
||
538 Catholic and Mormon.
|
||
539 There is nothing you can tell me about either.
|
||
540 As far as proving my (or at least what you consider to be my) point about
|
||
541 evolution, you would have me banter in Biology and not attack religion?
|
||
542 I would do so, if you could show me two things: 1) That you know even a
|
||
543 shread about the level of Biology needed to comprehend what I say,
|
||
544 2) That there would be any point to my "proving" it, since you would
|
||
545 refute even the most *obvious* of facts.
|
||
546 No, no point to it all, you are brainwashed into one wagon track of
|
||
547 thought, and that, is sad.
|
||
548 But, in any case, don't expect me to go sulking away, just because
|
||
549 you seem to have put yourself in a "there is nothing you can teach me
|
||
550 about" attitude, no indeed, you need not worry about "saving" me, for
|
||
551 I'm saved already, secure in my belief.
|
||
552 Solidly yours, PEN NAME
|
||
553 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||
554 The Lord said unto Noah,"Where is the ark which I have commanded thee to
|
||
555 build?"
|
||
556 And Noah said unto the Lord,"Verily, I have had three carpenters off ill.
|
||
557 The gopherwood supplier hath let me down--yea, even though the wood hath
|
||
558 been on order for nigh unto twelve months. What can I do, O Lord?" And
|
||
559 God said unto Noah,"I want that ark finished even after seven days and
|
||
560 seven nights." And Noah said,"It will be so."
|
||
561 And it was not so. And the Lord said unto Noah,"What seemeth to be the
|
||
562 trouble this time?" And Noah said unto the Lord,"Mine sub-contractors hath
|
||
563 gone bankrupt. The pitch which Thou commandedst me to to put on the outside
|
||
564 of the ark hath not arrived. The plumber hath gone on strike. Shem, mine
|
||
565 own son who helpest me, hath formed a heavy metal group with his brothers
|
||
566 Ham and Japheth. Lord, I am undone. Bring on the rains."
|
||
567 And the Lord grew angry and said,"And what of the animals, the male and
|
||
568 female of every sort, I ordered to come unto thee to keep their seed alive
|
||
569 upon the face of the Earth?" And Noah said,"They have been delivered unto
|
||
570 the wrong address but should arrive Friday." And the Lord said,"How about
|
||
571 the unicorns and the fowls of the air by sevens?"
|
||
572 And Noah wrung his hands and wept, saying,"Lord, unicorns are a discontinued
|
||
573 line; Thou canst not get them for love nor money. And the fowls of the air
|
||
574 are sold only in half-dozen lots. Lord, thou knowest how it is."
|
||
575 And the Lord in his wisdom spake:"Noah, My son, what about insurance in case
|
||
576 thous should run this ark aground atop Mt. Ararat?"
|
||
577 And Noah was downcast, saying,"My independent insurance agent telleth me
|
||
578 there doth exist a market crunch. Companies liketh not writing insurance
|
||
579 for an ark---they fear it will be misused for water skiing. They doubt my
|
||
580 wisdom as Captain. Only one company hath said they would insure my vessel,
|
||
581 and they would charge 70 times seven pieces of silver with a 250-pound
|
||
582 sacrificial lamb deductible. Verily, the tribute is higher than Heaven, and
|
||
583 yet we cannot get delivery of the policy for three months, as the company
|
||
584 hath changed to an abacus and the beads are stuck fast!"
|
||
585 Having spoken thus, Noah wept, and the Lord went forth and did likewise.
|
||
586 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
||
587
|
||
588 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
589 HEY, WHOEVER WROTE THE STORY ON THE TOP OFF THE DISK WHERE THERE WERE
|
||
590 FAR AWAY NOISES ON THE RADIO, HAVE YOU EVER READ "THE STAND" BY
|
||
591 STEPHEN KING? JUST WONDERING......
|
||
592 ALL RELIGION DEBATERS:
|
||
593 LETS DROP IT WHILE WE ARE HAVING A PSEUDO-CEASE-FIRE, AS NO ONE IS
|
||
594 GOING TO CONVINCE ANYONE ELSE OF ANYTHING, AND THIS SPACE COULD BE
|
||
595 USED SOO MUCH MORE PRODUCTIVELY......
|
||
596 JCP1 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
597 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
598
|
||
599
|
||
600 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
601 SO TRUE, FRENCH TOAST, THAT THERE IS NO TRUTH OR DEFINITIVE REALITY,
|
||
602 SO SAD IT IS TO SEE ONLY IN BLACK AND WHITE AND TO MISS THE COLORS.........
|
||
603 JCP1
|
||
604 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
605 >>> It's all in the track of humanity. Science, the footstep that
|
||
606 follows religion, is one more way to guide perception. What next?
|
||
607 <<< I can find no name. Sorry. You try.
|
||
608 ______________________________JD 2446383.7750______________________________
|
||
609 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
610 HOW FOOLISH WE ARE TO THINK THAT WE CAN EVEN COMPREHEND REALITY....OUR
|
||
611 REALITY IS WHATEVER OUR SENSORY INPUT SENSES CHOOSE TO MAKE US AWARE
|
||
612 OF, WHICH IS REALLY SO LITTLE. WE ARE "CONCIOUS" OF SO VERY LITTLE OF
|
||
613 OUR OWN MIND AND BODY, THINK OF IT, TRILLIONS OF CELLS AND NERVES AND
|
||
614 ASSORTED BODY MATTER WORKING IN HARMONY,AND WE FEEL ONLY PLEASURE OR
|
||
615 PAIN FROM THEM, ELSE NOTHING... HOW FOOLISH WE ARE TO THINK THAT WE CAN
|
||
616 UNDERSTAND OURSELVES, MUCH LESS THE WONDERS OF OUR UNIVERSE. WE CAN ONLY
|
||
617 DETECT LIGHT ON THE SCALE OF 0.00038 -
|
||
618 0.00081 CM, AND YET THE ENTIRE WAVELENGHT IS INFINITELY LONG...CONTRAST
|
||
619 OUR VASTLY LIMITED SIGHT WITH THE REST OF OUR SENSES, AND YOU HARDLY
|
||
620 COME UP WITH A CREATURE THAT COULD EVEN HOPE TO COMPREHEND SPACE OR TIME
|
||
621 OR THE UNIVERSE...WE CANNOT EVEN DEFINE TIME OR SPACE OR MATTER, AND
|
||
622 YET WE SEEK TO EXPLAIN THEM AND ARE SMUG IN OUR EXPLANATIONS.....PUT THAT
|
||
623 IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT............
|
||
624 I SHALL PREVAIL......
|
||
625 I SIGN MYSELF: JCP1
|
||
626 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
|
||
627 J.C.Penney 1 ?
|
||
628 **************************************************************
|
||
629 Made it to the BottomNatasha
|
||
|
||
TOTAL NUMBER OF LINES = 629
|