From: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org (deltagreen-digest) To: deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Subject: deltagreen-digest V2 #25 Reply-To: Delta Green List Sender: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Errors-To: owner-deltagreen-digest@nocturne.org Precedence: bulk deltagreen-digest Saturday, August 7 1999 Volume 02 : Number 025 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 08:56:12 -0400 From: "Jimmie Bise, Jr." Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun > << Why the hell has this not been mentioned on the list? Actually, I didn't bring it up because of all the occult "harbingers of doom" the eclipse is perhaps the most hackneyed gimmick in fiction. Anytime a writer wanted the world to end, he brought in an impending eclipse as a timer. There definitely have to be better ways to signal the apocalypse than that. Then again, as an amateur astronomor, eclipses are more then kind of neat. Unfortunately, because I'm in North America I really won't get to see anything good, unless I hit a Web Site or watch the news. I will, however, get a really cool view of the Perseid meteor shower, which may just make up for it. As an aside, I've heard a little about the eclipse, but mostly it's from MS-NBC and CNN. I figure that I haven't heard more because the eclipse isn't going to be visible where I am, and the networks would rather tailor the news for the area. In other words, if it doesn't much affect Washington, DC, then I won't hear much about it from my news folks. - -Jimmie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 09:17:04 -0400 From: "Jimmie Bise, Jr." Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun > But there's a question that aready haunts me for quite a while: > Is the typical American citizen unaware of non-American news because the > American TV stations or papers do not cover these things or is it just their > ignorance? I'm going to take a crack at that one also. The answer is a combination of the two, and one other thing you haven't figured in. basically, here's how the news, at least on television, works. In my town, the news begins at 4:30 PM and it comes from the network's local affiliate. The first broadcast is basically a telling of the top news stories and things of specific interest to the people in the local viewing area. Local news gets about 15 minutes worth, weather gets 5, sports gets 5, and that's about it. The 5 PM news runs for roughly 1 hour, but it cut into 2 1/2 hour segments, and the top news stories get retold at the half-hour point. Again, the breakdown is much the same, Local news goes first, then national news, then international news. The thinking here is that local news always gets precedence (unless there's a definite crisis going on somewhere that gets a headline spot), then national, then international. For instance, the area where I live is right smack in the middle of the worst drought this area has had in this century. Crops are dying, livestock is dying and, right now, there's no relief on the horizon. We're two feet below normal water levels and it's getting worse by the day. that story has basically taken the top part of the news every day for the last two weeks, at least, and its related stories have pretty much bumped out international news for that same period of time. Basically, it means that stories about things that happen in other countries get bumped for stories about things closer to home. After the "local news", though, is the network news, and that also runs for either 1/2 hour or 1 hour, depending on the network. It runs national news stories first, then international news. Both get decent coverage within the time allotted. If you want more in-depth information, you have to go to to either CNN or MS-NBC or an outlet like that. They both do a pretty decent job of international news coverage, and have shows specifically dedicated to international news. For the truly hot topics, they run more coverage, and the stories usually get picked up by the Sunday Talk Shows (like Meet the Press or The McLaughlin Group). So the information is out there if it's needed or wanted. So why do Americans seem so isolated from the rest of the world as far as their knowledge of news goes? It's definitely not for lack of ways to get it. I think there are two big reasons. First, a whole lot of people just don't care one bit what happens outside their own little worlds, and that lack of care extends to national news as well. Second, some are just busy enough caring for the problems they have right in front of them and they just don't have time or energy to get involved in stories that happen an ocean away. "Things are busy enough here, in my neighborhood, my state, my country, and I just don't have time for more.", they might say. I can't say whether the attitudes are good or bad, but they are the predominant ones out there. For my own part, I don't pay very close attention to international news beyond skimming the headlines off the Web or by browsing the Washington Post newspaper. If there's a story that catches my eye, I'll read it. If not, it's not a problem. There's plenty of news happening in my backyard to occupy me until the next day. - -Jimmie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 14:35:13 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: DG: Eclipse / Invade the USA? Hello All, I'm in the middle of reading a history of the UK intelligence communities and the following struck a chord: > I'm partially serious about this, though. The last ground > invasion of the US occurred about 100 years ago, when Pancho Villa > and his men rode across the Mexican border. (I heard that a while > ago, so correct me if I'm wrong about the details.) I'm not saying > these other nations couldn't; it's just that they haven't, and, in > my belief, that creates part of America's unusual and often > annoying character. Ah but the last proposed invasion of the US was during the first World War when Germany tried to encourage Mexico to regain its "Lost Territories" to the north. Fortunately the fledgling British Intelligence community had cracked the German diplomatic codes and were able to warn the US by allowing a US Diplomat in the UK access to the decrypts admittedly serving the British national interest by allowing America to enter the First World War with something to confrount its isolationist faction with. I'll dig out the reference when I get home and post it on Monday if anyone wants it? > Still, my previous statement reflects the common attitude in > America, and is not meant to reflect poorly on the Canadian people, > their armed forces, the RCMP, or any other body or organization > representing Canada. After all, if Canada ever DOES invade over > the Falls, I'm right in the path of their army... better have your barrel ready to escape in then Dan :-) re the whole eclipse thing the sheep have started to move to the SW of the UK already to see it. Shame the weather is forecast as being overcast or cloudy on the day :-) Still the tourist industry should make some bucks. Personally I'm staying home and going to get 95% coverage or if not watch it on TV. I liked the idea about what if the Astecs had defeated the Spanish, to take it a step further and incorporate the eclipse and the whole astrological calnder of the Azetecs / Mayans why not have a specific ritual which must be performed at every eclipse to reinforce a prison or a warding spell, and with each eclipse that passes without reinforcing the astrological and gravitational forces resulting from the eclipse weaken the imprisonment of whatever, its final relase coming in 2010? And what about the Diamond Ring effect of the total eclipse what special use could those conditions be used for, a number of syummon spells require darkness what if you cat it during an eclipse? Effects? Benefits? Dangers? Just some ideas off the top of my head on a Saturday guys. And finally to DaveK you git having your copy of Countdown allready! ;-) Later Rob "BBC World Service Addict" Thomas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 10:00:32 -0400 From: Jeff Ewing Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun Jimmie Bise, Jr. wrote: [a very good run-down of how network news works in the US] I must note that NPR, on their #1-rated (among NPR programs, that is) drive time news show "All Things Considered", ran an interview with the head of emergency services in Cornwall detailing the problems and measures they had taken to deal with a large influx of eclipse viewers (he noted that many pagans had tried to get pregnant 9 mos. ago in order to give birth under a total eclipse). But to be honest, I get most of my foreign news from The Economist, from English language broadcasts of Italian and German TV and several British on-line editions of newspapers. It was quite revolting to listen people saying, during the Kossovo war, that in effect no amount of Balkan peoples' lives were worth even the risk of 1 American life. But I'm afraid that's a not uncommon view in middle America. Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 10:09:15 -0400 (EDT) From: John Petherick Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun At 09:44 PM 8/6/99 EDT, you wrote: >In a message dated 8/6/99 5:14:55 PM Central Daylight Time, gable@redrose.net >writes: > ><< > Uh-huh. For example, as far as I'm aware it hasn't even been mentioned in > any of the U.S. media that a few cases of Ebola have now been recorded in > Germany, because everyone knows that we ignorant Americans aren't concerned > about such matters. > > Actually, I'm very surprised that hasn't been mentioned on this list. > >> > > >The US was the first site of an Ebola epidemic outside of Africa. Did you >know that? Reston. Virginia a shipment of experimental monkeys got >myseriously sick and were subsequently diagnosed with Ebola. Through no >deserving of our own, the strain isolated itself only to monkeys. While a >couple of humans tested positive for the virus, they never developed any >symptoms, and the US got off without any after efffects. THe building was >biologically toasted and sealed for several years. > > In fact, Germany may have been the first *recorded* outbreak of an Ebola-like virus within or outside Africa. Whether the Marburg Virus is a variant of Ebola, or Ebola-like, or an altogether different filovirus is a matter of classification. IIRC, the Marburg outbreak occurred before virologists started going into Africa to look for it's origins. There may have been outbreaks of Ebola, or other filoviruses, within Africa before this but there weren't any white people there to record the fact. So these possible outbreaks have disappeared into obscurity. Some writers have speculated that it was the arrival of Western-style medicine that precipitated the large outbreaks of Ebola, since all have had a hospital as the focal point. Transmission (except for below) is by contact with infected body fluids, usually due to poor sterilization techniques for syringes and surgical instruments although there is some evidence that it can be transmitted sexually. Very similar to the spread of HIV, except that filovirus outbreaks are self-limiting due to the virulence of the disease. There were three really scary things about Reston: One - unlike every other outbreak of Ebola or other filoviruses, the Reston virus was transmitted as an aerosol. Some animal-handlers did test positive for the virus, but their symptoms were simply those of a viral infection (fever, aches, etc.). Two - the monkeys did not come directly from Africa, but rather from the Phillipines. As far as I know, there has been no information about whether Ebola or other filoviruses were introduced into the Phillipines along with green monkeys from Africa. Three - it was U.S. Army personnel from the USAMRIID at Fort Detrick who collected samples and decontaminated the building. Sure, they say that they're only researching defenses against biological weapons ... ********************************************************************* John Petherick, CIH jpetheri@cyberbeach.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 10:08:36 EDT From: USFORREC1@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Eclipse / Invade the USA? In a message dated 8/7/99 9:38:14 AM Eastern Daylight Time, ThomasR@cardiff.ac.uk writes: << And finally to DaveK you git having your copy of Countdown allready! ;-) Later Rob "BBC World Service Addict" Thomas >> To be honest, its not really my copy (have to wait for those Pagan guys for that :) ). Just one I have unlimited access until mine arrives. Again, very cool book. - -Dave K ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 10:25:24 -0400 From: "Jimmie Bise, Jr." Subject: DG: Re: Invade the USA? > Ah but the last proposed invasion of the US was during the first > World War when Germany tried to encourage Mexico to regain its "Lost > Territories" to the north. Fortunately the fledgling British > Intelligence community had cracked the German diplomatic codes and > were able to warn the US by allowing a US Diplomat in the UK access > to the decrypts admittedly serving the British national interest by > allowing America to enter the First World War with something to > confrount its isolationist faction with. I'll dig out the reference > when I get home and post it on Monday if anyone wants it? > This is all true. However, were I Mexico or Canada, and considering an invasion, there's an important point that would make me think twice. Eaither country would pretty much have to run the gauntlet of gun-toting, wilderness-living, not-friendly-to-outsiders kind of people. In Canada's case, it'd be Montana and Idaho. In Mexico's, it'd be Texas. Maybe there is something to arming up the population and then making them all furious about illegal immigration... - -Jimmie Whose fiancee is Canadian, and not far from Daniel Harms' neck of the woods. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 10:28:58 -0400 (EDT) From: John Petherick Subject: DG: Possible DG Friendlies? While doing my laundry this morning, I uncovered a possible DG friendly organization. The t-shirts released by Pegasus Publishing (a possible front company) that promote a certain academic institution with historical connections to Mythos investigations are printed on Delta brand shirts. The symbol on the lable - a blue-green triangle. While my mind was still reeling from this revelation, I started up my pathetic computer and happened to navigate to the CTV network (http://www.ctv.ca) page. Somehow, I had previously failed to recognize the significance of the green triangle used as part of the corporate logo. Why would DG feel the need to have a Canadian television network as a friendly? Hmmm. Whatever can it all mean? ********************************************************************* John Petherick, CIH jpetheri@cyberbeach.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 10:44:57 -0400 (EDT) From: John Petherick Subject: DG: Dare to be Challenged! List members may find the following link to be of interest. http://www.dnd.ca/menu/maple/Vol2_14/7%20Talkback.pdf I don't know of any other Special Forces unit that recruits in newspapers and on the WWW, but we do have to be different up here. ********************************************************************* John Petherick, CIH jpetheri@cyberbeach.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 11:25:14 -0400 From: "Jimmie Bise, Jr." Subject: DG: Countdown (Nothing Spoiled Here. Honest!) Well, folks, I got my copy of Countdown last night, courtesy of a friend and fellow list-member in my area (Danke, Eric!) and let me tell you. This book is an amazing publication. My highest kudos go out to the Pagan folks and to all the listmembers who contributed to it's publication. This thing is destined to be an award-winner, if my say counts at all! Having said that, I would like to attach two e-mails concerning the acquisition of Countdown you might find interesting... Message 1 "Recently, whilst perusing the collection at a local antique store run by M._______,I stumbled upon two copies of a book called, simple enough, "Countdown." Knowing of your interest in such matters that the book made comment upon, I made to purchase both copies. I brought both books to the counter, surprised by their weight, which spoke of thick pages and solid binding. Upon resting the books on the counter, the wife of M._______ looked faint and called her husband forth. M.______ , although we have been business acquaintances since the MacDough affair, when he saw the books I had selected (and, no less, two copies of them) begged me not to purchase them; saying first that they were forgeries, and when that didn't work he spoke of having them reserved for another customer. Upon these pleas I almost ceased in my drive to buy the books, but something in me told me that I must, if not for me than for you. When he saw that I would not be stopped in my mission, M._____ overcharged me for the books and, with all due respect, told me that he wished no further custom from me. He then angrily showed me to the door of his store, and when I had stepped past the threshhold he locked the glass portal behind me, the bell attached to the door ringing hatefully for all to hear. The books, both of them, are in my possession, and I wish to rid myself of one of them at the very least. 39.95 should cover my expenses, although the loss of M._____ as a source of rare books is a loss that I find quite dear in price. Yrs, Eric PS: The book is quite remarkable. I find it almost warm to the touch... === And the return message... "My Most Highly Esteemed Sir, I wish to express my undying gratitude for your acquisition of the tome which I have so highly sought. I have waited many months to obtain a copy of this book, and I believe that, once I have acquired it, it will provide the answers to a great many questions. My inquiries into certain matters have reached their logical limits and this particular book will aid me greatly. I do wish, however, to caution you. I fear that your involvement in this particular matter, even to your purchasing a duplicate copy of this book, may have placed you in extreme, even mortal, danger. I am in regular correspondence with a group of individuals who have been making discreet, and in some cases, not so discreet inquiries into several matters, not the least of which may well involve the governments of several large nations. We have taken great pains, though use of alias names and certain code phrases, to keep these inquiries secret. I fear, though, that with the publication of this volume, that these inquiries, and the answers they have brought, has led the enemy to my front door. I understand that such a revelation will seem to you to be shocking, and you may well think me mad, but I ask your forbearance as I explain a recent occurrence that leads me to this conclusion. On Monday last, I sat at my desk, persusing a tome of ancient and forbidden knowledge, written by seers from the Northwestern United States. These men, Mr. T________ , Mr. G______ , and Mr. D________ are also the selfsame authors of the tome you now hold on my behalf. Whilst I perused a certain section of this volume I detected a curious buzzing noise coming from outside the window of my reading room. I had at once thought that this could be attributed to hornets which frequent the eaves of my house, but soon I found myself in gross error. As I listened carefully, the curious buzzing resolved itself into strange, but familiar syllables which, although not entirely English, I understood at once. I shall endeavor to recreate them for you here. "Ia! Ia! Ricky Martin fthagn! Ia la vida loca!" My horror grew in bounds as the buzzing voice was joined by a haunting latin melody which floated in through the open window. I was frozen by fear in an instant, but soon recovered by wits enough to hurriedly close the window and rush outside to confront the strange voice. As I leaped out of my front door, I found nothing but what can only be described as the jewel case to a device known as a Compact Disc. I beg you, my friend, Tell no one else of this purchase. there are strange and eldritch forces at work. I will tell you more when I meet you tomorrow. Yrs, Jimmie" === That's it. Buy the book. 'Nuff said! - -Jimmie Who has entirely too much time on his hands some days... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 17:40:42 GMT0BST From: Robert Thomas Subject: DG: Dreamers Hello All, Having just bought the latest edition of the magazine SFX I have just read a fascinating report in it. A UK based production Company - Bubblehead Productions are in the process of completing a Pilot, a series "based on H.P.Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos set in the present day" They are hoping to have the pilot completed by Christmas and an answer as to whether any major tv company wants to produce it as a series The pilot "An Age of Wonders" was shot in Galway and London, and stars Gerrard McArthur as dark-battling psychiatrist Kenneth Reece Williams, while, get this, Paul Darrow of Blake's 7 fame plays the enigmatic Mr. Moon. Good news or what guys sorry no DG relevence but if it gets made as a series there could be plenty of potential DG use. BCNU Rob "please let the BBC want it" Thomas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 12:55:30 -0400 From: graemep@immagene.mcg.edu (Graeme Price) Subject: Re: DG: Ebola? [ was: Total eclipse of the sun ] >> Anyway, from what I read it *might* be Ebola, they had to do some more >> tests. German newspapers, of course, were following the fine precident >> of the American media in such matters and were shrieking that everyone >> on the plane was likely infected. Stupidity is the one universal human >> trait. > >In fact the hysteria was the reason why I did not mention it on the list. I >simply wanted to wait for the result of the tests. And they say it is not >Ebola >but "only" Yellow fever. The poor fellow died anyway, so this doesn't help him >anymore. > >But what makes me think is the the following: The man claimed to have taken a >vaccine against yellow fever. Sounds like one for me. I first heard this on Tuesday afternoon, when I checked into the WHO outbreaks reported website (professional interest). The guy affected was (as far as I can gather) a wildlife cameraman who had just returned from the Ivory Coast. There was a small outbreak of Ebola (strain Tai, after the Tai national park) there in 1997 which primarily affected wild monkeys, but also a swiss primatologist who carried out an autopsy on a dead monkey (stupid!); she made a full recovery after treatment. The aforementioned chap in this case had returned from the Ivory Coast to Berlin via Zurich, before feeling ill. This means that he probably wasn't infectious during his flight (even if it was ebola - which it wasn't) as there would be no bleeding or vomiting: contact with infected body fluids is the route of transmission. Once he had become ill, he was admitted to hospital in the Virchows isolation wing of (IIRC) Berlin city hospital (but I may be wrong here) and treated by a team using barrier nursing methods - no spacesuits or plastic tents, but just gloves, gowns and facemasks. Samples were sent to the Tropical Disease centre at Freiburg (IIRC), and tested for the full range of haemorrhagic fever viruses (ebola, marburg, hanta, yellow fever etc). The people on the planes with the victim were traced as a precaution by the german and swiss health authorities, but (AFAIK) not contacted so as to avoid panic. Tragically, the patient died - despite having been vaccinated. The standard YF vaccine is supposedly good for 10 years (probably longer), but in some cases (very rare - it is an excellent vaccine, I've had it and handled it in the lab in the past) it doesn't provide complete protection. When you are vaccinated against YF, you should recieve an international certificate to prove that you have had the vaccine - this sits in your passport and must be renewed every 10 years. Some countries require travellers from YF endemic zones to have a valid certificate before letting them into the country. It sounds like the guy was just terribly unlucky. Even under the worst conditions, about 90% of patients make a full recovery from YF. Although a patient would have infectious YF virus in his bloodstream before the symptoms started, there would be no way of passing it on to passengers in the plane unless he started spewing blood from a wound or there was a mosquito on board the aircraft. Thus the risk of infection spreading to other passengers is ludicrously slim.\ Later Graeme graemep@immag.mcg.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 18:18:34 +0100 From: "Paul Radford" Subject: DG: Re: deltagreen-digest V2 #24 Greetings, Sorry to interrupt but I'm trying to locate the e-mail address of list member Stephen Ellis whose old address no longer works. If you're out there Steve, get in touch preferably before Gencon UK. Cheers, Paul ___________________________________________________ "Oh my god! They've summoned Cthulhu! You bastards! Web Pages: http://www.innotts.co.uk/~paulradford/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 15:14:01 EDT From: ScottSaylo@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Ebola? [ was: Total eclipse of the sun ] In a message dated 8/7/99 2:25:00 AM Central Daylight Time, EHuelshoff@t-online.de writes: << But what makes me think is the the following: The man claimed to have taken a vaccine against yellow fever. >> vaccines can backfire and cause the development of the disease. It has happened in the past, most notably when the "live" vaccine for Poliomyelitis was first being tested. A "live" vaccine injects weakened NOT dead virus particles for the body to develop antibodies. Wonder what "live" vaccines our friends in Majestic might be working on? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 15:21:17 EDT From: ScottSaylo@aol.com Subject: Re: DG: Total eclipse of the sun In a message dated 8/7/99 9:06:33 AM Central Daylight Time, jpetheri@cyberbeach.net writes: << One - unlike every other outbreak of Ebola or other filoviruses, the Reston virus was transmitted as an aerosol. Some animal-handlers did test positive for the virus, but their symptoms were simply those of a viral infection (fever, aches, etc.). Two - the monkeys did not come directly from Africa, but rather from the Phillipines. As far as I know, there has been no information about whether Ebola or other filoviruses were introduced into the Phillipines along with green monkeys from Africa. Three - it was U.S. Army personnel from the USAMRIID at Fort Detrick who collected samples and decontaminated the building. Sure, they say that they're only researching defenses against biological weapons ... >> The Mayinga variety of Ebola MAY have some airborne capabilities, but quite right about the Reston variety indeed being aerosol transmitted. All the evidence points at it, but the doctors say "maybe". Yes it was a shipment from the Phillipines but the possibility of an AfricanAfrican green being introduced to the batch is certainly there. Actualy security and quarantining of these animals is pretty damn laughable, and the outright corruption involved in the countries that provide the monkeys for researchers who are willing to drop a little cash "incentive" on getting their test subjects before the next guy is ripe for abuse of what seciurity there is. AS far as USAMRIID being a locale for MJ 12 involvement - weel - yeah; but I bet there are some guys with little green triangles on their dossiers there as well. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 22:13:40 +0200 From: Davide Mana Subject: Re: DG: Ebola? [ was: Total eclipse of the sun ] Cheers. > But what makes me think is the the following: The man claimed to have taken a > vaccine against yellow fever. According to today's papers here in Italy it's been confirmed as Yellow Fever. Now, of course, we can construe a lot of things on the colour of the Fever.... Take care. Davide Mana ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 23:06:53 +0200 From: Davide Mana Subject: DG: [fiction] Chasing the Bride (part 5) Chasing the Bride - pt 5 My head hurt and my mouth felt like sandpaper. The alarms had gone off and fallen silent while I was away. I half-walked on stiff legs to the bathroom, giving my bladder some relief while I opened the shower cold tap. I stepped in the glass box with a suppressed scream and let the water wash over me for long minutes, hands on the slick tiles, eyes shut. I put on an army-issue bathrobe and stared in the mirror. Wasted - some more of this and I'll be looking like a hip MTV personality. My tongue was pale and rough. I brushed my teeth to no avail, then went back and in the kitchen, checking the time on my way. Eighteen hours of sleep. While the water was boiling for the tea, I checked the answering machine. No messages. I opened a window to let some fresh air in and dedicated my full attention to the scrambled eggs and orange juice. It felt better. I put on some rags and went to the mailbox. Two newspapers I examined without too much attention while going through some ultra-bitter chocolate. No interesting news, no other mail. While I was running through the Hlanith underground flaunting fake credentials, the wakeworld had apparently been laying in deep freeze. I wondered what Val might have uncovered while I was sleeping. - Come on in.... She hesitated as usual, standing on tiptoes on my "beware of the cat" doormat, then stepped in and undid her jacket. She was pale and drawn, more than I was. Wakeworlding is hard on dreamers. - They've taken the girl in, - she said, sitting on one of my mismatched chairs. I sat down in front of her. - Stationary? - Like freezed in amber. We shared half a minute of hawkward silence. She fished in her pocket and held out a small plastic bag, sealed, handing it to me. - Spent five hours combing that junkyard of a place, - she said, and shook her head in disbelief - The stuff we did not find... The bag contained a piece of glass straw, some five/eight millimeters around and thin, sealed by melting at one end and irregularly broken at the other, caked on the inside with some unpleasantly yellow-brown substance. - Is this it? A nod. - The Dreamlands Gatecrasher Drug, granted to land any newbie on the preset focus straight away upon the first hit. No Steps, no Hall, no Forest. Far out. A sad grin. - And we don't know what else it does to your sponge. It was among the junk in the room with the writing. I laid the bag on the nearby coffee table. - The Yanks were working on something like this. She shook her head, wild-eyed and grinning. - Oh no, boy. Nowhere like this. She handed me a gascromatographer printout. It looked like a very crowded railway timetable. - - What's this stuff? The Spice from Dune? - - Closer than you think. This is a way out badass loco cocktail, my friend, and believe me... I saw some pretty rough stuff out on the road. She pointed at some of the data, that had been circled with a red felt-tip pen. - - According to the boffins down at the lab, - a sideways glance - that were pretty miffed, incidentally. - A shrug, - According to the kids in white this is basically a highly complex natural molecule, sort of a protein.... - 'Sort of' a protein? - Hush! A natural, large protein-patterned molecule, provenance unknown but possibly animal, tightly wrapped up in a probably synthetic "cloud" of chems to make it more user friendly. Pretty advanced, and at least partly natural, if heavily manipulated... Not like the whole-synth stuff the IDP guys dropped at all. - If just as nasty. She crossed her arms and leaned back. - - Prob'ly more. It will take a few weeks to nail that crap in detail. In the meantime, I've cashed in some old favours and put a few friends on the lookout. With that sort of packaging it's pretty hard to miss. She paused. - - And you? - She asked - Got any luck? I told her about my hunt for the Dark House caretaker, and my final meeting with the Weasel. She shook her head, chuckling. - I should have been there. We both knew that splitting the team was highly irregular and all that, but let the matter rest. I cleared my throat and went on. The Weasel had opened his heart to me in the darkened corner of a nameless tavern where nobody had taken heed of his strange clothing or his histerical trembling and shaky, unconvincing laughs. He had downed two full flagons of the foul-smelling house finest before he started, and imbibed constantly during his monologue. When he finally landed snoring on the chipped tabletop, I knew what I needed. So I left him there, setting my part of the bill. Leaving the fleapit behind, the Weasel's story had led me to the cheap moorings downstream from the doks. Junks and flat-bottomed woods were creaking in the current, and a small wineshop, barely a light reed mat strung over a simple rig and some tables, was enclosed in a sphere of warm light, the only sign of life along the Oukranos. There, off-duty dockhands accepted a skin of wine and had admitted noticing the lean barge that sometimes landed there by night, collecting three or four dark-caped persons and leaving again for destination unknown. - Unknown but northwards. I nodded. The merrier of the company had been positive about that, and the others had mumbled their boozy agreement. - Fucking Kled. I nodded again. - Now we know why they're using Hlanith. Sixteen hours later, while we were going through the books at the Royal Archives, the hare set some of the bells Val had set throughout the town's underground tinkling. She gave an apologetic smile at the herridan keeping an eye on us and silenced her pager, then ran softhly to the hall to use her cell phone out of ear's reach. I stayed there, browsing some of the less known pieces of the old Savoy collection and trying not to breath too loud not to awaken the guardian's fury. The old blackletter paragraphs were convoluted and useless, hard to make sense of and empty of meaning, but Val's smile as she came back somehow improved my mood. - Can we get a few photocopies of this one? - I asked, standing to leave and pointing at the old Tibetan manuscript. The librarian went gray and looked like she was about to scream. When we settled for the two old maps and the floorplans, she was relieved enough to grant our wish, plus photos of five pages. The guy had been nailed while chatting up a girl of sixteen in a well known microbrewery just out of town, a place favoured by Harley and blues fans, with Clapton on the jukebox and a small stage for live acts. A perky brunette, she was with some friends and had been wondering arond the premises while her pals were taking the brewery's courtesy tour. She hated the smell of the brew. He had bought her a pair of thick House Specials and invited her to dance, got her to a quiet corner table afterwards and started rambling about summer in Ireland and other such crap, and at the climax of this number he had produced a small pewter trinket - that had of course belonged to his Irish grandmother none the less - and had affixed the Yellow Sign on her lapel and kissed her on the forehead. How romanthic. By this time, one of the musos manning the entertainment bit of the place, had already informed the bartender that there was a hard drug pusher working an underage chick, giving him a number and a name to call pronto. And as the two sweethearts sat out in the open, holding hands, sharing a joint and admiring the neons along the horizon, a friendly pickup unit had nailed, filed and carried them away. Now she was as scared as hell, pale under the white lights, this being almost four in the morning and her family knowing nothing, and he was waiting in the can for a grilling. I left Val to mess up the kid's memories and went in to stick an apple in the pig's mouth and a branch of rosemary up his backside before lighting up the carbons. He refused to talk for about two and a half minutes. After that, he spilled the beans as soon as we promised some ice for his crippled right hand. Try and roll your own with that, now. But he was a nonetity, the kind that specializes in car stereos and is not so good at it anyway. He was paid small change by a friend of friends to scan the crowds for suitable young girls, accosting them, breaking them and marking "the good ones" with the Sign. After that, his job was done and his money was in. Whoever paid wanted strictly underage virgins. - But I hosed one anyway, - he grinned, the memory of the previous pain already gone from his short-spanned brain. He was gonna show off with the guys. - Standing. God if she squeaked. A rough laugh. The left hand sneaked down to the pelvis, stroking the skin-tight jeans. A hunch. - Describe her. A shrug. - She was a cunt like another. An ass like an airport.... Hitting him was becoming pleasant, which was worrying. He gave a short description. I showed him a sketch. He nodded, watching me, uncertain if a grin would be in order. I felt weary. The third Hlanith body had been localized, the pattern was clear. We would not get much more out of him. I left him to the late crew and went back to the waiting room. The girl had fallen asleep, and somebody had called her father after Val had taken care of her. Now they were carrying there to the ER upstairs. We got out of the hospital. A nurse was telling a man to calm down, that his daughter was all right, if confused. It had been just another after disco car crash, and while the driver was severely injured, his daughter had been given sedation and was now waiting for him. Val lit a fag and shook her head. [end of part 5] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 23:24:34 +0200 From: Davide Mana Subject: DG: Frigging cut and past thingie! Greetings. My cut and paste utility decided to eat-up the last line of the fifth block of "Chasing the Bride", crippling it - well, maybe not, but that's a drag anyway. [curiously enough, there's an old Samuel Delany article dealing exactly with that kind of mishap] Anyway, instead of resending the whole 10k thing with just a hyphen, a single word and an exclamative added, I'm sending the last line here. Just paste it at the very bottom of the fifth chapter and everything will be all right, or as right as it can be (there's no accounting for personal tastes, of course). Here goes. - ------------- Chasing the Bride (part 5 - last line) - - Kids! - ------------- And that's it. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hope you enjoy the reading. Good night. Davide Mana ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 15:54:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Chris Womack Subject: DG: COUNTDOWN Spoilers I originally sent this message out about a month ago, but as the Stars are now Right for you to get your hands on the tome in question, it bears repeating. I'm hereby [...] making it a List Requirement: For a period of not less than three (3) months following its publication, any reference to DG: COUNTDOWN on the list MUST contain a "Keeper Eyes Only" label in the subject line and/or a spoiler warning in the body of the message. The reason for this is twofold--to allow sufficient time for the folks overseas (Dave, Davide, et al.) to get their copies, and to preserve the Secrets contained therein from the prying eyes of players subscribed to the list until such time as their Keepers choose to unleash its SAN-blasting horrors upon them during play. One more time for emphasis: There will be a three-month grace period during which the contents of DG: COUNTDOWN are NOT to be discussed openly on the list. Can ya dig it? I knew that ya could. Chris Womack Keeper of the List oaktree@nocturne.org ------------------------------ End of deltagreen-digest V2 #25 *******************************