From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V1 #85 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Tuesday, July 28 1998 Volume 01 : Number 085 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 08:41:48 -0700 From: Christian Conkle Subject: DG: RE: RE: First report from T-Cell I chose Austin because the NPC resembles "Stone Cold Steve Austin" the wrestler, purely by accident, I can assure you. See for yourself at http://www.europa.com/~conkle/cthulhu/glass.html - ----------------------------------------------------- Christian Conkle Web Development Specialist Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory work: conklec@nwrel.org home: conkle@europa.com - ----------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: David Farnell [SMTP:daf@iwa.att.ne.jp] > Sent: Monday, July 27, 1998 7:12 PM > To: Delta Green List > Subject: DG: RE: First report from T-Cell > > > -----Original Message----- > 差出人 : Christian Conkle > 宛先 : Delta Green Mailing List (E-mail) > 日時 : 1998年7月28日 2:12 > 件名 : DG: First report from T-Cell > > > Glad to hear your game went so well, Christian! Always a warm fuzzy > feeling > when they go insane, innit? > > Re: A "master list" of cells. Well, a couple months back we had a big > thread > about all this, as it's obvious that the number of cells will get filled > up > very quickly. I think we never came to any "official" decision, but most > people seemed to like the idea of just not worrying about it much and just > having multiple "M-Cells" and "K-Cells" and so on. I run an "L-Cell" and > I've just started an "M-Cell" (controlled by one of the L members), so I > just make sure, when posting cell news, that folks know who I am. There's > at > least one other "L-Cell" out there, I know. > > Only thing is, A-Cell is the absolute, tippy-top guys, and the three of > them > have their code-names already published in the book, so I've decided to > stay > the heck out of that. But I like the name "Austin"--that's my home town. > > Be seeing you, > Luke ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:58:21 +0900 From: ft203004@fsinet.or.jp (Jay and Mikiko Noyes) Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes >How old are your players? If you expect them to stay in on a Friday >night you may be asking a little bit too much;-) Are you kidding? Our group would _kill_ to have weekly games on a weeknight. Friday would be fine. But when you work in Tokyo, the average commute home is about an hour, and Japanese companies think you're a real slacker if you go home before midnight. It's a miracle we've managed to keep our campaigns going at all. Jay - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- Stercus, stercus, stercus, moriturus sum Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times" - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:06:28 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: RE: RE: First report from T-Cell >I chose Austin because the NPC resembles "Stone Cold Steve Austin" the >wrestler, purely by accident, I can assure you. See for yourself at >http://www.europa.com/‾conkle/cthulhu/glass.html And not Steve Austin the Bionic Man? He said digging up 70's TV trivia.... Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:04:42 -0400 From: Tal Meta Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Just to chime in for the early 30-somethings... When I was in the military, my "job" was nuclear war; at least, nuclear war support (I was a KC-135A Inflight Refueler for the B-52 bombers). At the age of 19, I probably knew more about the logistics and real threat of nuclear conflict than I really cared to, but to be honest, most of the time it was just dreary waiting in the Alert Facility. Shortly after I got out of the service, the Berlin Wall went down, folowed by most of the Communist Soviet state; THAT I regarded as a freshening of the threat of war, as most of the USSR's arsenal wound up being fractionalized into several smaller state's hands that could well have wound up fighting off the rest of the nation with those same nukes. It also increased the possibilities of some nutcase stealing a warhead (ala that George Clooney movie whose title escapes me). Today, I watch the whole India-Pakistan-China triad, and hold my breath. - -- talmeta@bellatlantic.net - I *am* one of the Chosen Few! ICQ - 12594453 AIM - talmeta1 TANJ Lives! - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 01:09:43 +0900 From: ft203004@fsinet.or.jp (Jay and Mikiko Noyes) Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror >This evening, I was casting my rather brittle mind back upon the events >of recent years and it occurred to me just what was the biggest change in >our world in the last decade: the near-evaporation of the threat of >nuclear war. Hmm. I think I need some clarification on this comment. The threat of nuclear war has, if anything, increased. It's just a that the participants will likely be Pakistan and India, or North Korea (eventually) and South. Yes, it's more unlikely that the U.S. will get in a full-scale free-for-all, but the likelihood of a small nuclear exchange (yes, kids, you can have a small nuclear exchange) has increased with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, I can remember the attitude toward nuclear war prevalent when I was a kid. We used to ask each other what we'd do _when_ there was a nuclear war. We never doubted that armeggedon (sp?) was on its way. Therefore, I agree with the following comment: >I wonder to what extent that very palpable threat existed within the >minds of the younger members of this list. For the better part of forty >years, most everyone on the planet went to bed each night and arose each >morning with the question, "Is this the day when it will all end?" (much snippage) >It's curious, really, that the likes of the present angel craze and the >epidemic of cults and militias is credited to "pre-millennial tension," >and not to the thick sedimentary layers of nuclear fear that came to >settle in the collective unconscious in the last several decades. I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend to go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. Sorry if I got any on you. Jay - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- Stercus, stercus, stercus, moriturus sum Terry Pratchett, "Interesting Times" - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - --------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:33:41 -0400 From: "Eric Brennan" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror - -----Original Message----- From: Jay and Mikiko Noyes To: Delta Green List Date: Tuesday, July 28, 1998 12:13 PM Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror >I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend to >go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, >here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. > >Sorry if I got any on you. It's okay...I've got handwipes. Anyway, this brings up the happiest moment of my recent life (well, not really...) I got to interrupt "Touched by an Angel" and force my Mother in Law to watch the excellent "Prophecy", with Christopher Walken. Talk about a difference of opinions... A neat take on the difference between angels in the bible and in entertainment today. It's not for everybody, but I really enjoyed it. Sincerely, Agent WALLACE aka Eric Brennan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 17:48:57 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Hello All, I saw the same show it was on Channel 4 / S4C and seem fairly genuine, the General from the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces they interview had just escaped assasination and a journalist he was working with was killed in the attempt (bomb in a case just if anyone was wondering). Anyway the figures for the missing briefcase bombs (which could be set for anytime delay from instant to a couple of days) are accurate as far as I can recall I remember 52 being missing out of around 90-100 made in total. Coincidentally in the same week BBC1 showed 2 documentaries on Bio warfare I've seen the first but have yet to watch the second, if the first was anything to go by missing Nukes are the least of our worries. (Russian scientists increasing the potency of stuff like Ebola one died in the process keeping a scientific journal right up to the end, his colleagues had to cover him from the neck down with a sheet so his wife could visit him) The worst part is they are still not sure that the programme has finished, and if it has as one of the International inspectors said who's going to be employing these scientists with expertise in Bio warfare all you need is a fermening machine and bingo ITEOTWAWKIAIFF. REM song title go on have a guess ;-) Rob. > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 15:07:49 +0100 (BST) > From: Stephen Joseph Ellis > To: Delta Green List > Subject: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Reply-to: Delta Green List > > Lo, > > Funny, this should come up, I was just having a drink the other night with > a friend who was telling me about a recent series on television discussing > nuclear, chemical and germ warfare. > Anyway he told me that the Russians had developed a back pack > nuke, that is an nuclear bomb small enough to fit inside a briefcase or > rucksack. More than this, they had built 80 of them prior to the fall of > the USSR. However, a recent investigation by General Lebed, while he was > still security minister revealed that the Red Army could only find 47 f > them. Shortly therafter he was fired from his job. > As I say, I didnt see the programme so I cant vouch for its > accuracy, but even the possibility that terrorists or fanatics have a > small, and undetectable nuke worries me. Especially with the IRA feeling > desperate and marginalised in N.Ireland. > And anything that makes me shudder in real life is perfect to put > into DG. > > SJE > > > "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!" > > -Monty Python > > On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Matt C wrote: > > > > > While the possibility of full scale nuclear war like the kind that would > > have been seen in the 50s-80s has dried up, it is still interesting to note > > that both the United States and the Soviet Republics have warheads missing. > > And that the Chinese have conducted nuclear testing as recently as a few > > years ago. Not to mention the recent Pakistani/India events. The world is in > > no way safe from nuclear weaponry, just the scale of the potential > > destruction has changed. An intersting DG track could be terrorists or > > cultists with a nuclear weapon for purposes of extorition or some other > > occult use. > > > > Matt C. > > > > > > J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:50:41 -0500 (CDT) From: "G. Wyckoff" Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes Graeme wrote: > Ouch! I though that reducing the size of nukes (below about 500lbs) was > technically unfeasible. As I recall this was unrelated to the critical mass > of plutonium you would need (I'm no physicist and I don't think that the > critical mass needed to initiate a nuke is common knowledge), but something > to do with radiation sheilding... of course, if you're fanatical enough > than little things like tumours, large blisters, no immune system and all > your hair falling out might not matter (viz. the final episode of "Edge of > Darkness"). I suppose it depends on how big your briefcase is! Okay, I'm going out on a limb here, since my physics is pretty damn rusty, but I thought I remembered that the amount of weapons grade plutonium that you needed for critical mass was a little over 14 pounds. Can anyone confirm or deny this?? Or am I not supposed to know this and some MiB's are gonna be knocking on my door tommorow? > > Terrorist access to nuclear materials is of course a big worry (personally > I'm more concerned about biologicals but there you go). Agreed. I am also a heck of a lot more concerned about biologicals. Of course, the last time I had to buy HPLC grade wather (really pure water) from my local Chem Stores person, they had me prove eight ways from Sunday that I was a "certified end-user" for biological "reagents". I'm serious, I had a harder time buying a gallon of water than I ever had buying alcohol from a liquor store. > However, the > technology involved in making an atomic device is reasonably heavy duty > (this is dealt with rather nicely in the Tom Clancy novel "The sum of all > fears"). The big question is why fabricate a bomb with (e.g) stolen > plutonium (getting a warhead off the shelf is another matter) when you > could cause at least as much trouble by grinding it up small and dropping > it in a major reservoir. Maybe more trouble. You could make it look like the government or a company were involved with the plutonium ending up in a reservoir, further eroding people's trust in government and authority in general. How hard would it be to plant evidence that the plutonium came from some US military source after the fact?? All of this makes great fodder for a DG campaign. Nothing like making people hate or mistrust the government to make your DG agents lives that much more difficult. Nothing like giving that cult a nuke to really make them sweat. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:51:09 -0400 From: Afterburner Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror >I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend to >go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, >here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. Just curious, but why does it bother you? AB ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:53:01 EDT From: PaganArt@aol.com Subject: Re: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Anyway.... I think what disturbs me most about nuclear war is not so much the fact that it has "gone away" but that the general public seems to think this is the case. Somehow, the wall coming down and the Soviet Union disintergrating has convinced everyone that things are just hunky dory again. Personally, the Soviet Union collapsing like a house of cards scared the shit out of me and still does. I saw a special on the Russian military and they were using <> seals on door to prevent theft. <> Jesus. In addition, few people had any inkling about the sheer magnitude of overkill which would have been the hallmark of an 80's exchange. All I have read basically said everything we got, we would throw at them and vice versa. New York (my home town) would have been a smouldering crater, no buildings, no survivors, just a big radioactive ditch. Also...And this is just a pet-peeve. People saying "Nuculer". Gahh! I hate that. I saw a special on the History Channel and the commander at SAC was saying "We have the capability to launch a nuculer attack from here, at the...." The commander at SAC DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE NUCLEAR! Spittle, drool, slobber. sorry. Dennis Detwiller ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 17:58:50 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:27:34 -0400 > To: Delta Green List > From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) > Subject: DG: Little Nukes > Reply-to: Delta Green List > Stephen wrote: > > >Anyway he told me that the Russians had developed a back pack > >nuke, that is an nuclear bomb small enough to fit inside a briefcase or > >rucksack. More than this, they had built 80 of them prior to the fall of > >the USSR. However, a recent investigation by General Lebed, while he was > >still security minister revealed that the Red Army could only find 47 f > >them. Shortly therafter he was fired from his job. > > Ouch! I though that reducing the size of nukes (below about 500lbs) was > technically unfeasible. As I recall this was unrelated to the critical mass > of plutonium you would need (I'm no physicist and I don't think that the > critical mass needed to initiate a nuke is common knowledge), but something > to do with radiation sheilding... of course, if you're fanatical enough > than little things like tumours, large blisters, no immune system and all > your hair falling out might not matter (viz. the final episode of "Edge of > Darkness"). I suppose it depends on how big your briefcase is! > > I guess part of the story involved the fabled "Red Mercury" which had > something to do with making atomic bombs smaller (nice plot line here, as > no one has ever proven that Red Mercury exists - although I do remember > seeing a documentary on the beeb a couple of years back about a South > African arms dealer who claimed to have samples of the stuff shortly before > he was assassinated by parties unknown). I did once know how Red Mercury > was supposed to work... unfortunately my memory isn't what it used to be. > > Terrorist access to nuclear materials is of course a big worry (personally > I'm more concerned about biologicals but there you go). However, the > technology involved in making an atomic device is reasonably heavy duty > (this is dealt with rather nicely in the Tom Clancy novel "The sum of all > fears"). The big question is why fabricate a bomb with (e.g) stolen > plutonium (getting a warhead off the shelf is another matter) when you > could cause at least as much trouble by grinding it up small and dropping > it in a major reservoir. > > (Fish?)food for thought? > > Graeme > > graemep@immag.mcg.edu > > > Hello All, Aparently the way around the size requirements re the ammount of Plutonium needed was quite easy. I'm sure everyone knows how the Hiroshima bomb worked: A sphere of uranium / plutonium (can't remember which) surrounded by a spherical network of explosive charges. When the explosives detonate they (providing they are shaped correctly) force the plutonium / uranium in to super criticality and the chain reaction sustains itself. ie Bang. Given the level of technology / explosives development in the 1940s huge (well the bomb was so big it needed a specially converted US bomber) ammounts of explosives and p / u were needed. Given the increase in the effectiveness of explosives, especially plastic explosives, one consequence is that the ammount of p / u needed and the overall size of the bomb comes down. Admittedly these brief / suit case bombs arn't that powerfull about 5 kilotonnes IIRC the programme correctly. But they are only intended as battlefield tactical nukes ie destroy a couple of acres, an airport, marshalling yard or port etc Of course grind up a pound of uranium and you would theoretically I think have enough to kill everyone on the planet if a method to expose everyone via the air could be created. Have fun with that guys. Rob. J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 18:01:48 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:04:42 -0400 > From: Tal Meta > Organization: MonCon '99 RPG Coordinator > To: Delta Green List > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Reply-to: Delta Green List > It also increased the possibilities of some nutcase stealing a warhead > (ala that George Clooney movie whose title escapes me). > > Today, I watch the whole India-Pakistan-China triad, and hold my breath. > > -- > talmeta@bellatlantic.net - I *am* one of the Chosen Few! > ICQ - 12594453 > AIM - talmeta1 > TANJ Lives! - > The film is 'The Peacemaker', anyone know if its any good? I haven't seen it. Rob. J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 10:07:27 -0700 From: Christian Conkle Subject: Angels (was RE: DG: A Forgotten Horror) Angels are another manifestation of contact with supernatural or super-planetary beings. Throughout history, this contact has always been interpreted through whatever folklore/entertainment medium existed at the time. Whether they were Oni, Faeries, Devils, Angels, Aliens, or whatever. I think it's very funny how the myths change with the times. New standards are set according to the era you live in and what the prevailing "story" is at the time. Representations of these contacts are always told through whatever is popular at the time. These contacts usually fall under two categories (possibly more): Benign contact with angelic beings/aliens/faeries who bestow knowledge upon the contactee who thereafter associates pseudo-mystical attributes to the encounter (begin cults, prophecy their coming and a new golden age) or Antagonistic contact in which the contactee is abducted by aliens/demons/kobolds and is experimented upon/raped/probed, etc. I've noticed a lack of the former type of contact case in Delta Green. Benign contacts were most prevalent in the post-psychedelic sixties and seventies. That's when UFO cults like Heaven's Gate began forming. Contactees proclaimed a coming New Age fortold by their "Space Brothers". Things got sour in the Eighties after Communion. Aliens became abductors and experimentors (taking the place of Incubi and Goblins in our collective psyche). Now ANGELS are the benign contactors. Perhaps the secret masters who are initiating the contacts have a rival, or perhaps they're working on two fronts. Read "UFO's: Messengers of Deception" by Jaques Valee, a noted French UFOlogist. Though he examines the UFO folklore thoroughly, he always maintains a skeptical but open mind. - ----------------------------------------------------- Christian Conkle Web Development Specialist Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory work: conklec@nwrel.org home: conkle@europa.com - ----------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Brennan [SMTP:aerainc@erols.com] > Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 1998 9:34 AM > To: Delta Green List > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jay and Mikiko Noyes > To: Delta Green List > Date: Tuesday, July 28, 1998 12:13 PM > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > > >I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend > to > >go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, > >here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. > > > >Sorry if I got any on you. > > > It's okay...I've got handwipes. Anyway, this brings up the happiest > moment of my recent life (well, not really...) I got to interrupt "Touched > by an Angel" and force my Mother in Law to watch the excellent "Prophecy", > with Christopher Walken. Talk about a difference of opinions... A neat > take on the difference between angels in the bible and in entertainment > today. It's not for everybody, but I really enjoyed it. > > Sincerely, > Agent WALLACE > aka Eric Brennan > > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:13:15 +0000 From: "John P. Yuda" Subject: RE: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Yakky, nice man but hate that music. Much of the angst I had in the 80's > was caused by the poor quality of mainstream music such as that > particular piece of tripe. And is listening to pop songs really a good > source of political commentary? At least Billy Bragg might be a bit > better. 2 points: 1) Have you ever listened to the song? I mean, actually comprehended the lyrics. Try it. 2) Sting is about as far from mainstream as you can get without getting into industrial/goth on one end or jazz on the other. He does good work, I'm just guessing you're not a jazz fan, and therefore don't appreciate Sting. Not that there's anything wrong with that, everyone has their own taste in music. Yuda ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 18:29:28 +0100 (BST) From: Stephen Joseph Ellis Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes > > All of this makes great fodder for a DG campaign. Nothing like making > people hate or mistrust the government to make your DG agents lives that > much more difficult. Nothing like giving that cult a nuke to really make > them sweat. > > Jerry > > I can see it now. A bunch of mythos-virgin Feds in the Department of Energy and State, hear about some backpack nukes on the black market. They investigate, traveling to Russia and then the Far East trying to find out who has got them. The Arms dealers hold an auction for the most desirable piece of terrorist hardware ever. The Feds try to bid up the price. The US treasury prints an extra run of a billion dollars to fund them. However, despite their best efforts and ludicrous offers, it goes to a little known syndicate. The only paper trail leads to a company called New World Incorported headquartered in the US. Covert raids and armed seiges on the corporate headquarters come too late- the bomb has gone underground, funnelled to an extremist religious group who worship it as the embodiment of God. They call it the Hand of Azathoth. Those who oppose them will be smote down by the Hand. The Feds come out in force, forgetting their embarassment over Waco and Ruby Ridge, and abuse everyones rights who might know to which city the bombs going to smite. Will they reach it in time, or will they never even see the bright flash as it explodes in the heart of the Capitol. SJE ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:29:33 +0000 From: "John P. Yuda" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > machine and bingo ITEOTWAWKIAIFF. REM song title go on have a guess Do you really feel fine about it, though? Yuda ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:52:55 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Rob wrote: >Coincidentally in the same week BBC1 showed 2 documentaries on Bio >warfare I've seen the first but have yet to watch the second, if the >first was anything to go by missing Nukes are the least of our >worries. (Russian scientists increasing the potency of stuff like >Ebola one died in the process keeping a scientific journal right up >to the end, his colleagues had to cover him from the neck down with a >sheet so his wife could visit him) The worst part is they are still >not sure that the programme has finished, and if it has as one of the >International inspectors said who's going to be employing these >scientists with expertise in Bio warfare all you need is a fermening >machine and bingo ITEOTWAWKIAIFF. REM song title go on have a guess I saw both episodes of the Panorama special on Bioweapons. The first was much scarier - the second basically focussed on South African attempts to build race-specific weapons (thin on details, but melanin [the skin pigment] was involved somehow: possibly by linking melanin promoter structures to virulence genes in a modified virus?? My speculation). The tales about the soviets combining smallpox and ebola are quite frankly (IMHO) bollox. Smallpox is nasty enough and we don't know that much about the pathogenesis of ebola to start messing with it like that (unless you really want to go out on a limb). The rest of the stuff about the Biopreparat facility seemed pretty genuine though. As for needing to be a BW expert with a fermenter to produce bioweapons, that's untrue. All you need is the knowledge equivalent to a bachelor's degree in biology (pref. microbiology) and access to a fermenter to build a crude bioweapon. Perhaps not even that much. Not that this will reassure you (incidentally, in the second episode of Panorama, a South African scientist who was working on toxin delivery systems explained how he almost killed himself whilst demonstrating how to use (IIRC) a modified pen delivery system... if these are people who are supposed to know what they are doing, god alone knows what would happen to people who didn't know what they were up to!). The one saving grace about nukes is that they are tricky to build and deliver, and only go bang once. With bioweapons, once you have released them they can multiply and spread far from the initial delivery site. Sleep well kids. Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:55:14 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: Little Nukes Stephen wrote: >The Feds come out in force, forgetting their embarassment over Waco and >Ruby Ridge, and abuse everyones rights who might know to which city the >bombs going to smite. Will they reach it in time, or will they never even >see the bright flash as it explodes in the heart of the Capitol. Is that before or after said flash burns their retinas out? Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:48:55 -0400 From: Afterburner Subject: Re: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Also...And this is just a pet-peeve. People saying "Nuculer". You can thank Eisenhower for that one. He may not have been the first user of that pronunciation, but he was certainly the most famous. He uttered it frequently in any official pronouncements regarding nuclear issues. AB ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 19:00:24 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > From: "John P. Yuda" > Organization: Omega Financial > To: deltagreen@nocturne.org > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:29:33 +0000 > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > Reply-to: Delta Green List > > > > machine and bingo ITEOTWAWKIAIFF. REM song title go on have a guess > > Do you really feel fine about it, though? > > Yuda > Not really but hey if its all going to end ;-) Rob. J.R.E.Thomas. Science Library PC Room Advisor ext 6135 / 5128. MScII City and Regional Planning Student. ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 14:57:11 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: DG: Red Mercury I've just done a quick search on "Red Mercury" the alleged key to building little atomic bombs (amongst other things). This was about the only useful thing that came up (out of the economist 5 years ago). Several interesting plot hooks come to mind from this article, but I'll leave all that to people's own deranged imaginations. Later Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu _______________________________________________________________________________ Author: Anonymous Publication: Economist v327n7812 | 76 | May 22, 1993 | Word Count: 0000474 TI: Fools' mercury MOSCOW Oleg Saldykov claims to have succeeded where generations of alchemists had failed. He says his company, Promecologia, based in Yekaterinburg, has developed a technique to synthesise 100kg of red mercury a day. This substance can allegedly be used to make a variety of things: fuses for conventional and nuclear bombs; anti-radar coatings; missile-guidance systems; and bank notes which are impossible to forge. A kilo of this miraculous stuff costs up to $350,000. Mr Saldykov insists that he has a contract to sell 84 tonnes of red mercury over the next three years to an American company called API International. He claims that the deal is worth a cool $24.2 billion. But two things have gone wrong with the deal. Alexander Rutskoi, Russia's vice-president, found out about it. On April 16th, he made a speech in parliament accusing associates of Boris Yeltsin of illicit dealings in this "extremely valuable raw material." (Yekaterinburg is Mr Yeltsin's home town.) The second problem is more fundamental. in January, Evgenny Primakov, Russia's chief spy, denied that red mercury existed and claimed that deals involving it "are used by mafia structures as a means of laundering dirty money, including income from the drugs business." America's State Department agrees with him. A cable sent earlier this year to American embassies around the world gave a warning: "Since the late 1970s, there have been at least 25 attempts to sell various quantities of an alleged nuclear material described as 'red mercury' ... After careful consideration of the claimed physical properties of the alleged material, it became apparent that 'red mercury' (as a nuclear substance) does not exist." Those who want to believe in the existence of red mercury are unabashed. Pravda, the leading anti-Yeltsin newspaper in Moscow, has printed excerpts of what it claims is a memo from Mr Primakov, dated March 21st 1992, in which the spook outlined the properties of red mercury, or mercuric salt of antimonous acid as it is also known, in detail. The previous month, Mr Yeltsin signed a secret decree giving Promecologia the right to export red mercury, an order which was rescinded on March 20th 1993. Pravda claims that red mercury was first synthesised in 1968 and has been smuggled out of Russia for many years. It seems that some unwise governments, desperate to build their own atom bombs, have been willing to trust the dealers. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have found documents mentioning red mercury during their searches in Baghdad. That raises the alarming prospect that red mercury may actually be a codename for real substances that are needed to make nuclear bombs. A more devious theory is that the whole red-mercury affair is simply a fantasy dreamt up to make Mr Rutskoi look foolish. That would certainly suit Mr Yeltsin, who is anxious to be rid of his vice-president. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 15:15:39 -0400 From: "Randall L. Orndorff" Subject: Re: DG: RE: Freaking the Mundanes > much snippage going on... > 3. Jack Frost is more likely a diminuation of Ithaqua, much like Pixies are > diminuative mytholizations of the ancient pre-Celtic Picts, or Mother Nature > is of Shub-Niggurath. Is Santa Claus really a sugar-coating of Nyarlothotep > bearing gifts to those who behave a certain way? The Easter Bunny really > Tsathoggua? This should be making me laugh, so why am I getting the screaming heebie-jeebies just reading about it... May be because its really true? Although I would expect Santa to be Cthulhu because he is trapped for most of the year, but when the Stars Come Right, he may8 walk the Earth, and influence children everywhere. Speaking of which, which star was it that the Wise Men were wupposed to have seen? Alderbaran, perhaps? -Randall L. Orndorff Lord of Lies ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 15:23:52 -0400 From: "Randall L. Orndorff" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror (snip, snip, snip) > >It's curious, really, that the likes of the present angel craze and the > >epidemic of cults and militias is credited to "pre-millennial tension," > >and not to the thick sedimentary layers of nuclear fear that came to > >settle in the collective unconscious in the last several decades. > > I don't even want to get into this. It _is_ very interesting; I just tend to > go into a frothing rage whenever I think about the "angel craze." ohshit, > here I go again... froth, froth, drool spit howl. > > Sorry if I got any on you. > > Jay > Easily accessable nuclear weapons and millenial cults. I am not a happy camper. I also agree with you on the "angel craze" issue, if only because it detracts from those of us who have been witness to the Mythos at work:) "Touched by an Old One", anyone? (EWWWWWW!!!!!) -Randall L. Orndorff "Too Slimy for His Shirt" - -- Eat the Rich. The Poor are Tough and Stringy. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 15:45:30 EDT From: Dhl9@aol.com Subject: Re: War crimes tribunal (was DG: A Forgotten Horror) Anyone notice that there is now a permanent war crimes tribunal? There is so little talk about it but I think it will have a major impact on how the world does business. If the UN really uses this tool we could see the budgets of intelligence/ covert ops sections skyrocket. One key word, deniability. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 15:53:02 -0400 From: "Randall L. Orndorff" Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror Robert Thomas wrote: > > > Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 12:04:42 -0400 > > From: Tal Meta > > Organization: MonCon '99 RPG Coordinator > > To: Delta Green List > > Subject: Re: DG: A Forgotten Horror > > Reply-to: Delta Green List > > > It also increased the possibilities of some nutcase stealing a warhead > > (ala that George Clooney movie whose title escapes me). > > > > Today, I watch the whole India-Pakistan-China triad, and hold my breath. > > > > -- > > talmeta@bellatlantic.net - I *am* one of the Chosen Few! > > ICQ - 12594453 > > AIM - talmeta1 > > TANJ Lives! - > > > The film is 'The Peacemaker', anyone know if its any good? I haven't > seen it. I am not a Clooney fan, but I enjoyed this movie. Clooney's character is definately Delta Green material, as he his vindictive and does anything necessary to get the job done. Incidentally, the "bad guy" (who is pretty god damn ordinary) and the car chase in Vienna make the film worthwhile. Randall L. Orndorff If Nyarlathotep is the Messanger... Then I am the Message... Eat the Rich. The Poor are Tough and Stringy. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 23:10:53 +0200 From: "Florian Hanke" Subject: Re: DG: Freaking the Mundanes Lech Von Oxen wrote: > 1. Any particular means to keeping players committed (aside from > blackmail, of course)? I just started Pagan's Walker in the Wastes to > have half my players uncommit. It really pissed me off, as I had done > some pretty extensive preparations. Regardless, anyone got any clues to > keep the plebes we call players from ditching on four Fridays in a row? > Aaaah... Now I feel *really* good with my extremely devoted group!I can't understand these players. "Walker in the Wastes" may be hard, but it's a very tense campaign (especially up in the polar ice and when time's running out) and very rewarding for players and GM alike! I hope you find some other players to finish it! I think you guys already tried this, but agree on a day that everybody can come. If you know many players and you know that you always have at least 3-4 players who want to come over to play, try this: In the campaign "Walker in the Wastes" I did something like that: You start playing the first adventure. At the end, you compile who did what. Then you put that compilation somewhere where everybody can look at it (local gamestore, ...) the next time you play, you ask whether they read the compilation, if not conclude the outcome again (hopefully there are players from the 1st adventure present). Then you play the second adventure - and repeat the steps... As the campaign is going on - the players will exchange information and eventually you will have a nice diary of the campaign (the compilations) - and more and more players who want to be there when eventually the world is saved! Really *grrrreat* fun! If you want to you can give everybody a copy of the "diary" and of course the "I survived" or the "I croaked"-card from the WitW book... They will talk about this for years to come... Has anybody else tried this? Hope you got what I wanted to say with my quirky english... > 2. And speaking of players, I am continually baffled by the postings by > Keepers that warn their players away from certain messages with fear of > eternal pain in the bowels of Hell. I wouldn't let my players ten feet > from this list, or the DG book, or even the episode of the X-Files where > I got my idea for my favorite NPC. Only one of my players has a clue > that Pagan even has a book called Delta Green, and the rest just think > CoC is a role-playing game -- no one actually knows what I do here alone > in preparing for the campaign (hehehehehehe...). That's a very good idea - I did it myself, but someday I just had to show it, they started researching on the Internet! Argh, these players! > Question, then: when > players know about the Mythos already, but are attempting to play > ignorant characters, are there any special preparations Keepers make to > keep their characters ignorant of their players' knowledge. Sure, good > players can make the distinction, but truly good players are as hard to > find as truly good keepers. You could go and try to make many non-mythos games. In fact, of all the 10 CoC-players (5 of which are keepers) I know, have an average of 0.4 % Cthulhu mythos, that's because I granted my Group 1 (one!) CM-Percentile 3 weeks ago. It was a party!! And then, after many/some non-mythos games you could try and make a different approach to the mythos (The Mythos has many faces!), spells looking like "mundane" spells. Keep them guessing whether something is really mythos or not... ("normal" Voodoo is good too) So they won't shoot down those cultists on first sight. After rereading it - doesn't sound very helpful - oh well... Regards Florian Hanke ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V1 #85 *******************************