From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Andy Robertson [andywrobertson@clara.co.uk] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 12:12 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Re: On the banks of the Skuld ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Layne" > > Well, the Color Out of Space wasn't a valid heraldic tincture, and thus > couldn't have shown up at Pennsic, or in the real Middle Ages!:) Oooh. A touch! > >Perhaps the warriors find they are using harder and harder weapons, getting > >hurt but unable to stop. The Wicca types find the real Old Gods are > >turning up and insisting on being taken seriously. The games start to > >involve blood. > > Were you figuring on something like that little luminous entity in the > Classic ST episode "Day of the Dove", healing the injured warriors so that > the fighting can actually go on forever? I was thinking about a rather interesting piece of fiction, which I rejected for INTERZONE, basically because it was not SF. But it was good. It was set in Valhalla, and it took it straight: this is the after-life of people for whom fighting is the main point of life. They can kill and kill and go back and do it again. So, they do. >From their point of view, they are in paradise. From the point of view of someone who doesn't share that value-system, it's hell. Now the viewpoint character in this story was a viking warrior who welcomes his son to the feast only to discover that the young man is a follower of the White Christ, a celibate, a monk, who has entered Valhalla by mistake. Others discover it: and naturally enough the battlefeast turns into a long repeated torture and slaughter of the unkillable, unfighting, Christian. His father has to fight back to *humanity* - from the sort of post-human condition he has drifted into - to rediscover pity and concern for pain, and finally to request that Odin free his son and send him away. This he does. It's not an absolutely great story, but it does contain a very acute and well drawn picture of people who have become *different* - posthuman, in a sense. Cut and tripped and trained into shapes no longer human. There is no explanation offered in the story, but a possible SF/DG take on it might be to think of "Odin" as some sort of alien trying to create a body of warrior spirits through the legendry he spreads, and some sort of nanotech, hoping to produce intelligences that will fight and fight with great energy and cleverness but without fear or any thought of self-preservation. Presumably at some point the feasting warriors will be harvested, braincased, and sent on mysterious alien missions. Something like that might be a fitting way of treating the SCA in a DG context. Something from Outside comes in, takes over, and proceeds to warp the revel into a true battle-feast for its own purposes. (I like the SCA, but this is Delta Green, you know. It's all grist to the bloody mill) The Glove Cleaner _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Dirk R. Festus Festerling [festusdirk@yahoo.de] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 12:41 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] du armour and ammo (was: buying Kevlar ) > I've also got one of those penetrator darts which > are the core of an APFSDS > round for a tank's cannon, and they're made from > spent uranium. It doesn't > show up on the Geiger counter in the basement, so > it's pretty safe, too. > There are those who attribute Gulf War syndrome to > radiation from the > depeleted uranium penetrator cores from armor > piercing rounds, iirc the danger of used uranium ammo (not pure uranium, but containing traces of higher transuranes like plutonium too)is that maybe (inhalated) dust from splattered cores still contaminating hard targets might be toxic, causing leukaemia or lymph gland cancer. there was a discussion in germany and other nato countries around january and as usual by now there is no settled discussion. festus __________________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Gesendet von Yahoo! Mail - http://mail.yahoo.de _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Jon Capps [jon@monster-net.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 12:44 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] osirs.net Gatten, Marshall wrote: >At first blush it seems to be very, very cool. But I think it may be a victim of >"feature creep" - so many good features that it's become difficult to use. At the >same time it seems to be missing a couple key elements, or perhaps I'm just not >seeing them. Considering that it's free, it's a very impressive go. Has anybody >on-list used it to good effect? Any anecdotes you'd like to share so the rest of >us can see how it does in action? I agree it could be better documented, and it has some bugs tied to web-browser caching/refresh. The site admin seems to be continuing work on it, to add more features, work out the caching/refresh bug, and increase useability. It takes a while to get used to, and to set up for your group. I'm preparing to start a campaign with 5 players, and it took some time to add them in, add the half-dozen npc emails, personnel files for all, and some initial case reports, but I think the added level of immersion will be worth it, at least for my group. My players know I'm up to something, but I haven't fully sprung osirs.net on them just yet. I sent an email to Gil Treviso about how to use it. I tried to be in-depth, but it's just a quick write up, really. If anyone else has questions about osirs.net usage, email me offlist, and I'll forward it to you, and improve the how-to as I get feedback. Then I'll probly email the site admin, and talk to him about problems we're having. I think the site is a cool and workable concept, and I'd hate to see it crumble due to poor useability/documentation. Jon Capps. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Mr. Zero [mrzero@twilite.org] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 1:02 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] ANDREA the thoughtfrom entity On Fri, 24 Aug 2001, Khorne wrote: } the TV series Remington Steel, although he was a real guy. He just showed } up one day and assumed Remington Steel's life. This is all very cool stuff but what it really leaves me wanting to do is to watch Remingtin Steele, I've never seen the show and always thought it was just a Magnum PI rip off, so have avoided it...now it sounds cool! oh..that and read COUNTDOWN. sean [going to camp the mailbox] -- mrzero@twilite.org Homepage: http://www.twilite.org/~mrzero ICQ: 121817936 DG-DarkTide: http://brsp.net/~mrzero "Scotch, straight up, no xeno-linguistic virus. Please." _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of USFORREC1@aol.com Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 1:22 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Son of Sam] Terry's book and some of his listed source material formed the inspirational template for one of the long running villains in my DG campaign, the Church of the Four Cornerstones of the Universe (aka the 4 Cornerstones Church or Cornerstoners). They are a nationwide network of cult cells that tied back to a shadowy hierarchy. They essentially existed on three levels. The first level was the outer front of being a quiet New Age religion that seemed to hold a bit of power in various regions; nothing MJ-like but city councilmen, police officials and the like around the nation. Behind that is the "satanic cult" aspect of the group. The cult uses Satanism as a recruitment, blackmail and weeding-out tool. With the more understandable and "acceptable" Satanism, they bring recruits deeper into a hedonistic lifestyle. Many are just dabblers or looking for an excuse for sex/violence/non-conformity/etc. and stay at this level with the cult using their involvement as both a reward and threat for continued involvement. Those with any real potential are brought full-fledged into the inner core of the cult that worships a convoluted interpretation of the mythos. They maintain cult hit squads to keep order, more just thugs than professional assassins and engage in a fair amount of mid-level crime (pornography, prostitution, drugs) to finance their activities. They feature in a piece of list fiction based on one of my players' ops that is nearing completion so anyone interested in them can see that very soon. The Ultimate Evil (sorry, no ISBN handy) is a pretty good read regardless of where you stand on the conspiracy theory. It gives a pretty good look at modern satanic cults and an investigation into them. Well worth checking out. -Dave K. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 1:36 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Uranium > just for shits and giggles. Its called depleted or spent uranium because > its not readioactive anymore. I normally sleep through physics, but I would swear that I remember being awake when we were informed that everything's 'radioactive', it's a question of scale. Maybe I'm thinking halflifes. Okay, back to sleep... _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of david wienecke [dwienecke@usa.net] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 1:55 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [Re: [DG] The Delta Green Toolkit, v.1.0] >time on figuring out the weight (and maybe the mass) so that the player >could add up each and every little item thrown it, but as it's CoC I >thought we could simply leave to Keeper's discretion. >Gil There is a president set by the early Rune Quest game (another wonderful chaosium product) for a max on the number of items carried (Encumbrance points). You could carry as many "items" as an average of your size and strength. A agent of a mass (size+strength/2) of 12 could carry 12 encumbrance points of material (beyond standard clothing) A standard rifle would probably sit at about a 2 enc. points allowing the agent to carry 6 rifles if he wanted but nothing else without excessive fatigue. Again encumbrance is a mass figure so a 20' Pole, due to awkwardness as well as weight, could be set at a 4 or higher. If you are really feeling masochistic you could inflict rules for fatigue but I would not recommend it. ....Oh great a new thread "encumbrance fondling" ... Dave W. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David Rodemaker [dar@horusinc.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 2:13 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] The Delta Green Toolkit, v.1.0 Gil said: > If this was GURPS, I could spend a > lot more > time on figuring out the weight (and maybe the mass) so that the player > could add up each and every little item thrown it, but as it's CoC I > thought we could simply leave to Keeper's discretion. Don't you know that this leads to the Keeper having TOO MUCH POWER! Actually you need to define it not only to weight and mass but also volume, thus allowing the Keeper to *exactly* define what is able and not able to be carried within said Rubbermaid container. Of course if the players complain too much than the Keeper can take The Next Step... Assign everything an Official Point Value(tm) and do away with the concept of reality in gaming! Abstract everything! Then... start building allowed equipment lists for each type of PC and NPC found. You can then also build standard TOE charts (aka Cell/Cult Lists) for each group that a PC or NPC could fall into and match the equipment list to the Cell/Cult List. Now since this isn't a miniatures game, the PC's should be allowed to special equipment and special abilities beyond the range of a 'normal' member of their organization. While this may result in the Characters being somewhat more powerful than the standard it is of no actual consequence as because with the advent of Official Point Values (tm) the Keeper can build balanced scenarios! NOTE: Powerful NPC's should also be considered 'Characters' for the purpose of getting special equipment and abilities. CAUTION: It is very, very important that there be NO deviation from said lists by either Player or Keeper. This leads to unspeakable munchkin-style gaming and overall demonstrates a poor sense of gamesmanship. In addition, it leaves you open to lawsuits. ADDITION NOTE: In fact, due to the overall balanced system of play that this enforces it is suggested that 'Keepers' be disallowed and be replaced with a some form of random scenario generator such as "Objective Cards" God forbid we run CoC/DG like a role-playing game and not a roll-playing game, David _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Gatten, Marshall [marshall@fusionone.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 2:19 PM To: 'deltagreen@revolutionsf.com' Subject: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts Another ANDREA thought hit me last night. We already know that the name ANDREA is a code name applied to the person who holds the job. But what if it's not a particular person? Air Force One is the designation of the airplane carrying the President of the United States. There happens to be a particular aircraft built to for the purpose of being Air Force One, but if he happens to board some other plane then the designation switches to that new plane for as long as the President is aboard. It's simply a designation meaning "Hey, look everybody! I've got the President on board!" What if the code name ANDREA is the same way? When a person in DG gives orders to a subordinate to whack another agent, his report will show that ANDREA carried out that order. This provides an additional layer of plausible denial, and also gives the illusion to anybody snooping through the reports that activities like this are carried out by those on the highest levels, making it more difficult to figure out what really happened. It would also give rise to the urban legends within the DG ranks. "Yeah man, I saw a pile of reports where this Andrea chick off'd like, everybody, man! She must be incredible!" Marshall From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Shannon [darklord@pophost.alaska.net] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 9:20 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] re: Son of Sam Book by Maury Terry > The Ultimate Evil (sorry, no ISBN handy) Not an ISBN, but this is what I have (the info, not the book itself): Terry, Maury: The Ultimate Evil, Garden City, NY Dolphin 1987 512 pgs. Photos. 'An Investigation of America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult with New Evidence Linking Charlie Manson to the Son of Sam'. DarkLord _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of david wienecke [dwienecke@usa.net] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 2:43 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] DG T-Shirts Has anyone heard any new information on the DG T-shirts? Have they made it to the printer yet? Its been a month or so and I have not seen an update. Dave W. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of CelticHound [celtichound@foobox.net] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 2:48 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] The Delta Green Toolkit, v.1.0 "David Rodemaker" makes a modest proposal: > Assign everything an Official Point Value(tm) and do away with the concept > of reality in gaming! > > Abstract everything! [snip] > God forbid we run CoC/DG like a role-playing game and not a roll-playing > game, Wouldn't it be easier just to run things by the out of context quotes I've snipped above? Give every PC and NPC a point value. Whenever there is a conflict, sum the point values for both sides and the largest total wins. That way we can get rid of that messy randomization stuff. This is a great improvement - it makes DG much more like Stratego. So how many points is Cthulu worth, and how many Elder Signs do I get to place on the board at the beginning of the game? -- CH _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 3:17 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts > What if the code name ANDREA is the same way? When a person in DG gives > orders to a subordinate to whack another agent, his report will show that > ANDREA carried out that order. This provides an additional layer of > plausible denial, and also gives the illusion to anybody snooping through > the reports that activities like this are carried out by those on the > highest levels, making it more difficult to figure out what really happened. > It would also give rise to the urban legends within the DG ranks. "Yeah man, > I saw a pile of reports where this Andrea chick off'd like, everybody, man! > She must be incredible!" This scenario I like the most. If there's an actual agent Andrea -in addition- (their role being potentially completely independent of this) all the more gravy. I might like to amend the circumstances.... maybe something more like, "He was about to compromise the mission, so ANDREA showed up and whacked him." is said, but what is meant is, "He was wigging out on us, so I emptied one magazine into him -- for the mission." Agent initiative, not orders from on high. It should be emphasized that Andrea should only show up on case files when there's reason to -believe- one agent offed another for the better of the mission. Better to just use a "he hit his head falling down some stairs." type set up for that. Tradition, if you will. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David Rodemaker [dar@horusinc.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 4:14 PM To: Delta-Green Mailing List Subject: RE: [DG] The Delta Green Toolkit, v.1.0 > > God forbid we run CoC/DG like a role-playing game and not a > > roll-playing game, > Wouldn't it be easier just to run things by the out of context quotes > I've snipped above? Give every PC and NPC a point value. Whenever > there is a conflict, sum the point values for both sides and the > largest total wins. That way we can get rid of that messy > randomization stuff. This is a great improvement - it makes DG much > more like Stratego. > > So how many points is Cthulu worth, and how many Elder Signs do I get > to place on the board at the beginning of the game? > > -- CH A BOARD! Nonsense! Well just use cards! Sell them in little foil packs! Make the really cool stuff hard to get and we'll make a killing... Wait a minute. How about a board AND cards, like an official play surface for the scenario along with little metal miniatures to represent where your character... A SERIES of boards... Wonder if we could make them collectable also... Make the scenarios interconnectable... I *told* you, the Keeper is an anachronism. Players of the World Untie! Err... Unite! Throw OFF the shackles of the Keeper! Do NOT let the MAN put you *down*! TAKE *your* destiny into your *OWN* hands and --URRKK--- David (Who could not resist but will now drop this before getting wacked...) _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Charles Ripper [yeroshka7@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 4:37 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts >From: "talaphid" >Reply-To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com >To: >Subject: Re: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts >Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 16:16:37 -0400 > > > What if the code name ANDREA is the same way? When a person in DG gives > > orders to a subordinate to whack another agent, his report will show >that > > ANDREA carried out that order. > >This scenario I like the most. If there's an actual agent Andrea -in >addition- (their role being potentially completely independent of this) all >the more gravy. Or, of course, ANDREA could be the token Shan working for Delta Green, like Jean Qualls is the token ghoul. Yes, DG is an equal opportunity employer, for all you aliens who have to know! Charles _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Charles Ripper [yeroshka7@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 4:38 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] re: Son of Sam Book by Maury Terry >From: Shannon > > > The Ultimate Evil (sorry, no ISBN handy) >Not an ISBN, but this is what I have (the info, not the book itself): > Terry, Maury: The Ultimate Evil, Garden City, NY Dolphin 1987 512 >pgs. Photos. 'An Investigation of America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult >with >New Evidence Linking Charlie Manson to the Son of Sam'. ISBN: 0-553-27601-8 for the paperback. Charles _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of g m [sneezythesquid@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 5:04 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG T-Shirts --- david wienecke wrote: > Has anyone heard any new information on the DG > T-shirts? Have they made it to > the printer yet? Its been a month or so and I have > not seen an update. > > Dave W. Wow, when I went off list last year, they were still being planned. That's almost a Pagan timetable for delivery. :) So, is this a new shirt, and is it still possible to order one? Sneezy the Squid __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of g m [sneezythesquid@yahoo.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 5:07 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Greetings and Questions --- The Man in Black wrote: Hot damn! Ye-haaa! ::Cavorts about in glee, much like an End Time person:: Glad to have you back, MiB! Sneezy the Squid __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Michael Layne [theherald@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 8:32 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Greetings and Questions On 23 August 2001, Ethan Butterfield writes: >On Thu, Aug 23, 2001 at 09:09:11AM -1000, The Man in Black wrote: > > > Should you fail to do so, you may be used as reactor shielding. That is > > all. Thank You for your Cooperation. > >Lock up the severed heads, the MiB is back in town! > >(and there was much rejoicing) Note that, during the time we thought the MiB had gone over Reichenbach Falls with Herr Gault, numerous newbies have reported to the DGML from the Delta Green Repple Depple. As being insulted by the Man in Black is part of the DG rite of passage (soldiers talk about "seeing the elephant", but DGML talks about "being insulted by the MiB), a question arises of in what order the MiB shall insult them? In order of appearance? Or shall the MiB take his cue from a certain character in Adams' "Hitchikers" series, and insult each, in turn, in alphabetical order?:) Michael Layne DGGF#688 theherald@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Michael Layne [theherald@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 8:37 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Greetings and Questions On 23 August 2001, "Jussi Marttila" wrote, re the MiB's resurfacing in "The Adventure of the Empty Computer": >I second that emotion. The list has been way too tame without you. And the >Gerbils have been restless. > >Jussi And the Gerbils are no fun when they're restless! But now the MiB has returned, so cry "Hamster!" and let slip the Gerbils of War! Michael Layne DGGF#688 theherald@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David A. Farnell [1639556911@jcom.home.ne.jp] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 8:41 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG T-Shirts From: "g m" > Wow, when I went off list last year, they were still > being planned. That's almost a Pagan timetable for > delivery. :) > > So, is this a new shirt, and is it still possible to > order one? PLEASE order one! I think Rob Thomas is waiting until enough people have sent him their money for their shirts before he gets them printed up, and I've already paid for mine...about 2 months ago. Can't blame him though--apparently a lot of people requested a shirt and then went silent when he asked for their payment. But the old DGML T-Shirt Project started wayyyyy back when the MiB's head exploded, which would be about three years ago, I think. Hey, if we ever receive our shirts, that would make it the *second* List Project to be completed. We'd be on a roll! Dave _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Michael Layne [theherald@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 9:03 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] buying Kevlar (Warning: crossbow fondling) On 23 August 2001, Glove Cleaner "Andy Robertson" wrote: >Interesting. You remark about sweat. I've worn full plate armour and mail >(in my SCA days) and I can testify that mail has a tremendous advantage >when >it comes to sweat. I.e you can sweat. Yes, while I don't personally wear armor (Heralds almost never did, except for a few historical cases in which they were said to wear chain shirts beneath their tabards), I know people who do... While mail doesn't really offer much of a weight advantage over plate (a good suit of either, with helm and shield, is in the 55-65 lb range, as it was historically), some of the SCA fighters who have worn both insist that the mail is slightly cooler in the Pennsic sun. Note that in both cases, you would be wearing a padded gambeson beneath the armor, and you might be wearing a fighting tabard -- with your own or your unit's armory -- over the armor. Chain, by its construction, was somewhat more vulnerable to arrows than plate, although Agincourt helped prove that not even plate armor was impervious to massed archery. Those curious about SCA armor standards can check the martial-activities links at the main Society for Creative Anachronism site (http://www.sca.org). > >Hmmm. I'd love to try my crossbow (Excaliber Exomag - >http://archery1.com/exomag.htm ) on some of that Kevlar stuff. Some of the "lower-tech" crossbows (wooden stock, iron or steel bow, wound up by a crannequin or simply cocked through use of a stirrup and a belt spanning hook, no pulleys ("no training wheels", as we SCA archers used to joke):)) used by the Genoese mercenaries were putting bolts through field plate well before the 1400s. While a good longbowman could have three or so arrows in the air in the time it took the crossbowman to get off one shot, the crossbow allegedly had more of a close-range punch, and it was easier to train troops to use. It got to where, if you expected to be facing armored men-at-arms, hiring these Genoese was one of the first things you did when you planned a war with your neighboring Lord or Prince! A (12th Century?) Pope tried to ban the crossbow, as it made it too easy for such mercs to shoot important Knights off their horses, but the ban didn't work... > >If a knife can penetrate it, would a hunting point (razor sharp) do as >well? >Only one way to find out. It would probably go through a Class IIA vest... If a hunting point doesn't, try a bodkin point -- those were designed to defeat plate armor! (It will be slowed down a bit -- even if not optimized to protect against such weapons, the multiple plies of ballistic cloth will still afford some mechanical protection, much like a leather jacket...) Michael Layne DGGF#688 theherald@hotmail.com who remembers having to wear the "Awful Purple Thing" -- a heavy, multiply lined (and very hot) East Kingdom Court Herald's Tabard, which those of us Heralds unfortunate enough to wear it while running Court swore would stop a crossbow bolt...:) _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Michael Layne [theherald@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 10:11 PM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] buying Kevlar (Warning: crossbow fondling) On 24 August 2001, "Khorne" wrote: >As I'm sure you can attest, the old story about a fully armored knight >being >too heavy and cumbersome to stand up after falling is pure bollocks. This >was apparently true for a short time when both plate armor and the >chainmail >hauerbark were worn together. The way I heard it, the super-heavy armor (fall down and you can't get up, and you must be hoisted into the saddle before the battle, as in the Lawrence Olivier version of Henry V) was actually very rare indeed, limited to a few suits of specially made tourney armor which were never worn on the battlefield. Apparently, a few historians did insufficient research, and took the surviving examples of these sorts of specialty harness as typical, hence the myth of the super-heavy armor! >After armorers perfected the suit of plate >armor, they could be balanced and have the weight distributed in such a way >that the wearer would experience only minimal encumberance, and could >actually be quite nimble. The weight of a suit of armor, counting helm and shield, tended to remain surprisingly constant during the medieval era, even as the armor type shifted from mail to plate. You could expect to wear 55-65 lbs, but it was well distributed over your body, and the normal years of training as a Squire accustomed you to moving and fighting in it. In many Kingdoms, a belted Knight was expected to be able to vault into the saddle of his charger, while armed and armored. If he got unhorsed, he could indeed get back up, though there was a real danger of being trampled before he could get back on his feet. Some vain Knights insisted they could _dance_ while armored (which must have really been interesting for their Lady), while others claimed to be able to sleep while armored (though that can't have been comfortable)! > >The idea of some smart ass having a competent armorer (thanks to historical >re-enactments and the SCA, there have to be some still alive) fashion plate >mail from kick ass materials like titanium, osmium, or even spent uranium >has just occurred to me. There are more than a few competent armorers still making harness both in and out of the SCA. A SCAdian fighter can buy a suit of plate armor from such a craftsman, if he or she is willing to wait a few months, and pay as much as they might for a good used car... Each Pennsic will find several of them set up in the Merchants' Area, selling armor components (vambraces, knee cops, helms, etc.) or offering to build custom harnesses... Titanium, carbon fiber, etc. are specifically forbidden for SCA legal armor, though an armorer with access to these materials and the right facilities (working titanium is no fun...) could probably build a 60 lb suit of plate that could turn Magnum revolver rounds! Osmium would probably not be something to actually build a suit of armor from -- at (IIRC) about 1440 lbs/cf, it is the densest metal around, and is extremely hard to hammer to shape or to machine. DU would offer few advantages for the cost of the material -- what would be helpful in composite armor intended to resist tank rounds is not going to be worth the trouble when you are armoring against melee weapons and possibly small-arms. > We then spiral nicely into active armor blocks and >liquid crystal interface layers for quickie camouflage. At that point, you're no longer building an advanced version of medieval armor, but are getting into MI power armor as worn by the bug-zapping Starship Troopers of the Mobile Infantry! IIRC, the Star League, in the BattleTech universe, had deployed, in limited quantities, a one-ton battlesuit, powered by a small fusion reactor, with active armor segments that could be set off by the wearer's command, for a Claymore-like effect on lightly armored troops attempting an overrun attack. Haldeman's troopers, in his "Forever War" stories, wore a battlesuit with the sort of rapid camo capability you're talking about, and some Imperial Marine armor in "Traveller" also had such capabilities. >But it doesn't matter a pinch of piss in the wind to a shoggoth. Oh, I don't know.... A battlesuited Mythos Trooper could easily kill a shoggoth! Let him engulf you, then activate all your active armor segments at once, blasting him apart from the inside! (If that doesn't work, trigger your suit's self-destruct system -- if it detonates the power supply, the explosion of all of your ammo will probably go unnoticed in the huge blast that vaporizes the shoggoth! Pity you can't do it more than once, but your next of kin will appreciate the posthumous medal the nice General hands to them...):) Michael Layne DGGF#688 theherald@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Gil Trevizo [furrylogic@mindspring.com] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 12:51 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] DG Communications http://www.geocities.com/furrylogic2/communications.html DG COMMUNICATIONS Much of the following information was taken from the Delta Green and Project Rainbow sourcebooks, as well as from discussions on the Delta Green Mailing List, in particular the posts of Bruce Harada, Edward Lipsett, Mark McFadden, and David Wienecke. EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS Email is the primary means of communications between agents and friendlies in Delta Green. When an agent needs to contact agents outside their cell, they send an email with the code name of that agent in the address of the message. The email is routed through multiple anonymous computer servers and automatically encrypted with PGP, which is currently unbreakable against known human methods (although this may soon change after recent advances in quantum computing). A PGP key is required to be kept on the computer involved, so all email communication is done over DELTA GREEN-enabled notebook computers that are rigged to efficiently destroy both the key and all records of email communication should the computer be compromised. The other danger is that the servers themselves will be physically compromised, so the locations of these servers are a closely-guarded secret of A-Cell and no one agent or friendly knows the locations of all the servers. This means that the system can still operate even if some of the servers are compromised. PHONE COMMUNICATIONS While email is used for most communications between cells, the telephone is still the most common means of intercell communication. Telephone communications are not as secure as Delta Green's email system, as they are more susceptible to surveillance devices. Still, telephone contact is more practical for coordinating operations and is sometimes the only contact possible in remote locations, where internet access is impossible but satellite phones like those used in the Globalstar. Each Delta Green agent and friendly are issued at least one pre-paid phone card with unlimited calling time. These cards come in a variety of different brands like GetInTouch, WizardPhone, StepItService, and FullCall; but, in fact, all the cards are issued by a single company, Remote Data Incorporated. The cards are sold through non-franchise convenience stores to immigrant populations on the east and west coast of the United States. Remote Data deals with other companies to manufacture and distribute the cards, and they have no contact with these companies except by phone. Based in the Cayman Islands, Remote Data is outside the jurisdiction of American law enforcement, and its financial and ownership information is not available the public. All attempts to access the records of Remote Data are rebuffed with the utmost courtesy, and even if their offices were compromised in some way, the company keeps no records of its telephone transactions. To the outside world, Remote Data is simply another company dealing in the sale of pre-paid phone cards to immigrants, and that does account 99% of their business. The other 1% are phone communications between Delta Green personnel. Along with their phone card, every agent and friendly are given a phone number for the primary contact in their cell and another number with which to contact A-Cell in an emergency. The primary contacts in each cell also have numbers for the primary contact of the cells above and below them (ie. Agent FRED has phone numbers for Agents ERNIE and GERTRUDE). Every individual has a different set of numbers, and they will only work when used with that individual's card(s). Agents dial the 1-800 number of their card, type in the card's code number, type in a non-existent area code, and dial either the local number for communicating with friendlies or type the code name of the desired agent into the telephone keypad. The connection is then sent through an automated central telephone router where it is automatically encrypted and swept for most types of listening devices. Any irregularity results in the standard recorded error message that states the call cannot be completed as dialed. Records of the user's call only show the 1-800 number to Remote Data. The telephone routers exist in a rented warehouse in New Jersey, owned and operated by a local organized crime family that has a vested interest in keeping the warehouse secure. Law enforcement has come close to raiding the location of the routers before due to criminal activity taking place there unrelated to Remote Data operations, but A-Cell's contacts in the FBI Organized Crime Task Force has consistently tipped them off and the routers have always been moved in time. MAIL COMMUNICATIONS While email and phone communications suffice for most situations, there are times physical data and evidence has to be shared between Delta Green cells. It should also be remembered that even satellite phones with global coverage still lack connection in certain regions like sub-Saharan Africa, the Arctic, and Antarctica. The mail is sometimes the only alternative. The most common use for mail communications is the distribution of Green Box keys. The procedure is to inform the primary contact in a cell of the location of the Green Box through email or phone communications, and either FedEx them the key or leave the key in an airport or railway locker with a combination lock. This way, even if the mail is intercepted, it will still be difficult if not impossible to determine the location of the Green Box. Files, evidence, and other physical information can also be distributed through the mail between cells, but this is extremely dangerous, as the mail can always be intercepted and the information lost. Whenever possible, such items are either delivered in person by a Delta Green agent acting as courier or left in a Green Box as a form of dead letter drop. WEB COMMUNICATIONS Delta Green has also set up a system to pass information over the web (here defined as WWW or FTP), but at the moment it is strictly used when other channels will not suffice. The system is mostly used to distribute advisories to all cell members (such as the one in the front of Countdown). It is also sometimes used to invite a cell to a Night at the Opera, giving them directions where they can access more information on the case. Very rarely will the system be used to send files to agents and only in those situations where mail interception cannot be risked. Attempts have been made to scan tomes into electronic files and temporarily put them on a Delta Green web server for retrieval by approved agents, with middling results. Most of the web servers hosting the Delta Green network used to be physically located in Scandinavia (Finland in particular), but due to recent crackdowns, the servers are now distributed worldwide. No one server is used for very long by Delta Green, and though the general access system remains in place, virtually all files located on the network are one-use, that is available to be downloaded only once, hopefully by the agent intended to retrieve the files. Even the indefinite advisories uploaded to a server are wiped clean after a month of use, which is usually when Delta Green moves the network to another server. All servers are completely destroyed after one year in service, to prevent any remnant of data from lingering. Most of the servers are either manned by Delta Green agents in computer security occupations (ie. NSA)or are members of Delta Green "Tiger Teams" (p.60, Delta Green) who routinely test the security of non-operational servers in the network (filled with dummy files) and the encryption of the files (none of the Tiger Teams has access to view the files themselves). So far, none of the "Tiger Teams" have been able to break the security of either the servers or the files, though they bear eternal hope. Access to the Delta Green network is granted passively through newsgroup downloads made by the newsreader program on a DELTA GREEN-enabled notebook computer. On at least a weekly basis, the principal contact of a cell routinely downloads the headers of a newsgroup in the alt.binaries.pictures.erotica range based on the month in reverse alphabetical order (for example, a.b.p.e.lesbians for September, a.b.p.e.legs for October, a.b.p.e.latino for November, and so on). Any posts made by a user with initial DG (ie. Dan Greer, Darlene Gonzalez, etc.) are automatically retrieved by the newsreader and scanned for PGP-encrypted text stenographically inserted into the pornographic images (which are authentic). The PGP key is the same one used by the agent to read their email, so it is particular to them and can only be decrypted using their DG-enabled notebook computer. The text gives the address and password required to log onto the Delta Green network and retrieve whatever files are waiting for them. The passwords are almost always one-use, requiring the agent to download and decrypt another password for each access. The DG-enabled notebook computer is not required to retrieve the stenographically-inserted text from the pornographic images and can be done from any newsgroup reader. The software on the DG-enabled computer does make the process easier and quicker, especially for the layman. It also does not require the user to actually view the pornographic images, a feature implemented after the complaints of several female Delta Green personnel. There are standing passwords on each DG-enabled notebook computer that are required to gain access to the Delta Green network, so actually accessing the network does require a DG-enabled computer. Each of these passwords is particular to every agent (or rather to each DG-enabled notebook computer assigned to that agent, as it is easy for another agent in a cell to take control of the computer if the principal contact agent is neutralized), so any attempt to access the Delta Green network from a non-DG-enabled computer initiates defensive countermeasures (see below), even if the network password is correct. DELTA GREEN-Enabled Notebook Computer Within each cell, the agent assigned as the primary contact is supplied with a DELTA GREEN-enabled notebook computer. These computers are regularly destroyed and replaced with a new model, so the computers remain current with recent technology and have the highest amounts of memory and processor speed available in consumer electronics. The latest model has two PCMCIA card slots, a DVD-ROM (to be replaced with DVD-RW when available), an internal modem, Ethernet card, a 100MB zip disk drive, and an IR port. The computers are supplied with two extra batteries. The computers are built on IBM, Dell, and Compaq chassis, but are ultimately similar in appearance and function. Within the computer, there exists two hard drives and two BIOS chips. One hard drive is used to run Windows 98 (new models are being developed to run Windows XP), because the vast majority of Delta Green agents are only casual computer users and are most familiar with the Windows environment. The software package includes office, graphic, and antivirus programs, as well as whatever law enforcement software the agent may be privy to in their regular job. The other drive runs what has come to be known as the Delta Green Operating System (DGOS), though there is no permanent documentation within the system that provides a name or references "Delta Green" in anyway. The only purpose of DGOS at this time is to provide a connection to the Delta Green Network (see Web Communications). This does not require a great deal of system resources, so very little is devoted to DGOS. FDISK reports the second hard drive as unformatted, which is useless if someone knows there is data on the disk but can avert attention during a cursory search. To initiate DGOS, the user inserts a flash memory card into one of PCMCIA slots (the agent is encouraged to keep this card in a protective liner in their wallet). They then boot the second drive by hitting the CTRL-ALT command during startup, and be prompted with a password. Rather than a password, the user must type in at least six characters (any six characters) and hit Enter in the next five seconds or the computer will initiate the self-destruct sequence. This sequence will also be initiated if the computer is not shut down properly or the case is opened in any way. The computer self-destructs through a powerful electromagnet with its own battery fitted over the DGOS hard drive. When security is compromised, the magnet is activated, wiping the DGOS hard drive. Older models had a thermite charge fitted to the DGOS hard drive until an incident where an agent was nearly compromised and indicted with terrorism during a routine airport security check. The Windows 98 drive, which is sealed from the magnet, continues to function properly even after security is compromised. Besides its security system, the DGOS consists of an email program and web browser for maintaining DG communications. The peripheral devices (disk drives, IR port) will not function within DGOS, nor will any serial or parallel port connection besides the modem and Ethernet card. A record of all emails sent is transmitted automatically to Tiger Teams, who monitor email traffic from DG-enabled notebook computers to addresses outside the Delta Green network. A similar record of web browsing is also sent, so users cannot cut-&-paste material into web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail without the Tiger Team alerting A-Cell about this. Agents are firmly instructed to limit their email and web browsing on DGOS to the Delta Green network. Files downloaded from the Delta Green network are tagged as either save or read-only files. Files that can be saved are allowed to be stored on the hard drive, while read-only files remain on the flash memory card, which is wiped with the end of every DGOS session. This information is further protected through the use of TEMPEST standard components. Gil _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Nerva Vels [nerva.ramos@verizon.net] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 1:02 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: [DG] Lizardman http://bmeworld.com/amago/ this... this really takes the prize... but if there are tails for the having, I WANT ONE!!!! got this off of the latest issue of the Fortean Times. Interesting mag. nana nervy _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 1:41 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Even more ANDREA thoughts "When a person in DG gives >> orders to a subordinate to whack another agent, his report will show that >> ANDREA carried out that order." Why would there be a report in the first place? Would a member of, say, the IRS or FBI document illegal activities, which simple membership in DG would constitute? Does Delta Green as an organization maintain a bank of files all its own, or do the high muckamucks like Alphonse and Gen. Fairfield keep their own files. I get the impression its the latter. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 1:44 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Uranium ">I normally sleep through physics, but I would swear that I remember being >awake when we were informed that everything's 'radioactive', it's a question >of scale. Maybe I'm thinking halflifes. Okay, back to sleep..." I tried that once, but the prof actually allowed us to play baseball in class, so its hard to do when your desk is first base. As far as i know...and I'm expecting a smiting from the physics heads on-list any moment...everything is radioactive, to some small degree, but the DU they use in penetrator darts and they want to use as tank armor is radioactive to such a small degree that it can be termed "safe". Remember, this is the Pentagon, who nuked their own soldiers just to see what happened. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of David Rodemaker [dar@horusinc.com] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 1:41 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: RE: [DG] Lizardman > Nerva wrote: > http://bmeworld.com/amago/ > > this... this really takes the prize... Ok. I have to agree. This man has managed to push the boundaries of what I consider ...sane. What's even more amazing is the fact that he has found two Dr.'s to help him perform some of the procedures! Hey the piercing don't bother me, tattoo's don't bother me... Teflon implants and the rest of it (You can only read/see to believe...), that is just... I don't know... David _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 2:00 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] buying Kevlar (Warning: crossbow fondling) ">>If a knife can penetrate it, would a hunting point (razor sharp) do as >>well? >>Only one way to find out. > > It would probably go through a Class IIA vest... If a hunting point >doesn't, try a bodkin point -- those were designed to defeat plate armor! >(It will be slowed down a bit -- even if not optimized to protect against >such weapons, the multiple plies of ballistic cloth will still afford some >mechanical protection, much like a leather jacket...)" Let's not forget that the spear point on the back of the head of a fireman's axe will punch through a Kevlar vest pretty efficiently (a sharp, thick point on the back of a fifteen pound axe head will go through pretty much anything, though). I've heard stories that the point on the back of the head of a Vietnamese tomahawk would punch through Vietnam-era ballistic vest with aplomb. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of Khorne [khorne@cyberlink.bc.ca] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 1:56 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] buying Kevlar (Warning: crossbow fondling) "> The weight of a suit of armor, counting helm and shield, tended to >remain surprisingly constant during the medieval era, even as the armor type >shifted from mail to plate. You could expect to wear 55-65 lbs, but it was >well distributed over your body, and the normal years of training as a >Squire accustomed you to moving and fighting in it." Considering that some modern soldiers go into battle with close to a hundred pounds of "useful" stuff, those 55 pounds of steel that would keep you alive look better and better all the time. "Some vain Knights insisted they could >_dance_ while armored (which must have really been interesting for their >Lady), while others claimed to be able to sleep while armored (though that >can't have been comfortable)!" I fell asleep on a pile of logging chain one day, and it sure wasn't comfortable. "> Titanium, carbon fiber, etc. are specifically forbidden for SCA legal >armor," I should hope so! Geez, re-enactments without any live weapons, why the hell would you want armor made from that sort of stuff? "though an armorer with access to these materials and the right >facilities (working titanium is no fun...) could probably build a 60 lb suit >of plate that could turn Magnum revolver rounds!" I have it on good authority that 3/4 inch steel plate will stop .30-06 rifle bullets, so a suit of plate constructed from like materials would probably be a good investment if you lived somewhere interesting like Beirut. "> Osmium would probably not be something to actually build a suit of armor >from -- at (IIRC) about 1440 lbs/cf, it is the densest metal around, and is >extremely hard to hammer to shape or to machine." I thought uranium was denser. "> IIRC, the Star League, in the BattleTech universe, had deployed, in >limited quantities, a one-ton battlesuit, powered by a small fusion reactor, >with active armor segments that could be set off by the wearer's command, >for a Claymore-like effect on lightly armored troops attempting an overrun >attack." I don't know about the Star League, but this sure sounds like the elementals of the invading Clans. "(If that doesn't work, trigger >your suit's self-destruct system -- if it detonates the power supply, the >explosion of all of your ammo will probably go unnoticed in the huge blast >that vaporizes the shoggoth! Pity you can't do it more than once, but your >next of kin will appreciate the posthumous medal the nice General hands to >them...):)" The space orks from Games Workshop's "Warhammer 40 000" game wore suits of powered battle armor that ran off diesel engines and coal fired boilers. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 3:33 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications > EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS > Email is the primary means of communications between agents and friendlies > in Delta Green. When an agent needs to contact agents outside their cell, > they send an email with the code name of that agent in the address of the > message. The email is routed through multiple anonymous computer servers > and automatically encrypted with PGP, which is currently unbreakable > against known human methods (although this may soon change after recent > advances in quantum computing). A PGP key is required to be kept on the I may have woken up at the wrong times in my cryptography classes, but I was of the impression that the only thing secure online is that which has been turned off. PGP plaintext isn't so much indecipherable as requiring far too much work to be worthwhile, or achieveable in one's lifetime, depending upon which week I will be cited on this. Go with ordinary plaintext to friends, families, or institutions, consisting of perfectly ordinary things that may even be an article of busiiness, but let's say the fifth letter on the fourth line of a every email between agents that know each other... if it is a typo, it corresponds to one of twenty-five messages. or message types. Simple embedded ciphers that have unique cell meanings for the sharing of data. Also, anonymity online is a bit of a myth for the by and large part, even using BNCs er... 'anonymous computer servers', even expressly set up for the purpose. Your best bet is to more or less go with the flow, hide in plain internet sight, and open proxy through brazil, because there's either a communication issue or a lack of care issue protecting you from human agents of persuit. Okay, I promise, no more writing at 3am. So. Anyway. This section needs serious revising. I like simple dummy ciphers, it fits in with the whole spirit of You have been coordially invited... > computer involved, so all email communication is done over DELTA > GREEN-enabled notebook computers that are rigged to efficiently destroy > both the key and all records of email communication should the computer be They all use touchpads as mice (ouch) -- so they can have thumbprint scanners for verifying (as a first level defense) the user's identity. unauthorized thumbprint ticks off a virus to garbage up all the data and set up a timer for a flashexplosion... not really dangerous to anyone, just enough to render the fancy hardware scrap iron. > compromised. The other danger is that the servers themselves will be > physically compromised, so the locations of these servers are a > closely-guarded secret of A-Cell and no one agent or friendly knows the > locations of all the servers. This means that the system can still operate > even if some of the servers are compromised. But a network of DG servers.. or rather, lots of servers that are maintained by DG friendlies / agents, who let out one of their farm into a greater collective DG server farm, that's bueno. but online.. everything's traceable, everything's logged, everything's no bueno para operations. > Each Delta Green agent and friendly are issued at least one pre-paid phone > card with unlimited calling time. These cards come in a variety of > Remote Data deals with other companies to manufacture and distribute the > cards, and they have no contact with these companies except by phone. Based > in the Cayman Islands, Remote Data is outside the jurisdiction of American > compromised in some way, the company keeps no records of its telephone > transactions. To the outside world, Remote Data is simply another company > dealing in the sale of pre-paid phone cards to immigrants, and that does > account 99% of their business. Again, you are putting all your hens in one basket (that is the metaphor, right?) unnecessarily... even unwisely. throw in a hundred unlimited cards in the middle of AT+T, and noone will ever find them. But here you have.. dun dun dun, RDI. the migrant thing, too, it just doesn't rub me right. > The other 1% are phone communications between Delta Green personnel. Along > with their phone card, every agent and friendly are given a phone number > for the primary contact in their cell and another number with which to > contact A-Cell in an emergency. The primary contacts in each cell also have Mommy, mommy, I have a booboo. Mother, Dunwich should be nuked until it glows. It's just too much connectivity, this is a cell, not a franchise. > Agents dial the 1-800 number of their card, type in the card's code number, > type in a non-existent area code, and dial either the local number for at the very least, go the whole nine yards. all DG ops always have the 555 area code. That exchange, too. > communicating with friendlies or type the code name of the desired agent > into the telephone keypad. The connection is then sent through an automated > central telephone router where it is automatically encrypted and swept for > most types of listening devices. Any irregularity results in the standard > recorded error message that states the call cannot be completed as dialed. > Records of the user's call only show the 1-800 number to Remote Data. This really is James Bonding the universe. A little box agents keep on hand when they have a cell to sweep for listening devices (pitch/tone irregularity when the sound is heard back) is plausible. A central facility? > Organized Crime Task Force has consistently tipped them off and the routers > have always been moved in time. Now, if you're going for this scale, GO THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. They're really using a disused sub-subway system underneath new york, so anytime anyone comes looking (yeah, right, like the giant insects wouldn't eat them on the way anyway), they just rail away, rail away, the whole facility. > Most of the web servers hosting the Delta Green network used to be > physically located in Scandinavia (Finland in particular), but due to > recent crackdowns, the servers are now distributed worldwide. No one server > is used for very long by Delta Green, and though the general access system > remains in place, virtually all files located on the network are one-use, > that is available to be downloaded only once, hopefully by the agent > intended to retrieve the files. Even the indefinite advisories uploaded to Little nerd bois and girls run their own private FTPs and engage in the quasilegal swappage of files, or so my alarm clock radio tells me. Popular are mp3s. Well, hello. new compression format, the [let's pretend fictional] mp4, achieves better quality and requires less dataspace. and each mp4 is a distributed archive file for DG. hiding in plain sight. required logins, passes, and requisite palm grease (in this case, albums) are kept in wide DG circulation, perhaps even on a public front for all to peekat. Agent wants files in circulation? He satisfies a request for an album, and imbedded amoung the files in the album are portions of a file. another agent d/l's the file and can reassemlbe the file. looks like a part of the compressed gibberish for music to anyone else. you could even use this as a hook for recruiting computer prodigies (unfortunately). no need for the expensive maintaince of facilities. and this is cooler, anyway, because you can have DG agents walk into a hole in the wall music store looking for vintage shtuff for good reasons, and there's not an ounce of mythos anywhere. > a server are wiped clean after a month of use, which is usually when Delta considering the nature of DG data, they'd want to be thorough. so let's go with thorough as best I recall. first the entire drive writes to every bit on it a 0. then a 1. then a 0. then a 1. then a 0. then a 1. the entire disk is written to, in entirety, six times. then it is blasted (figuratively speaking -- anyone without machines maintaining their life can be in a foot of the process, no worries) with a deguasser. and the data is still retrieveable. However the above process is considered good enough for classified and secret data storeage media... at least, the stuff that anyone concerned would deploy. For some reason I am unaware of what is good enough for top secret data storeage media. guess I slept through the wrong class. I would probably start with disassembling the drive, taking a hammer to the platters, then slagging them -- in random piles. Ship them to random places to be reslagged for good measure. This gives you fair chance that noone will happen upon your secure data. i just wanted to illuminate that 'wiped clean' may be uh... the wrong phrase there. at the least, indescript. > Teams" (p.60, Delta Green) who routinely test the security of > non-operational servers in the network (filled with dummy files) and the keeping military intelligence files on hand for security tests is a little excessive, don't you think? *ducks* it's 3am. i'm allowed. actually, 4. > Access to the Delta Green network is granted passively through newsgroup > downloads made by the newsreader program on a DELTA GREEN-enabled notebook > computer. On at least a weekly basis, the principal contact of a cell principle? > routinely downloads the headers of a newsgroup in the > alt.binaries.pictures.erotica range based on the month in reverse > alphabetical order (for example, a.b.p.e.lesbians for September, > a.b.p.e.legs for October, a.b.p.e.latino for November, and so on). Any Always with the pr0n. Leave little fish alone. > posts made by a user with initial DG (ie. Dan Greer, Darlene Gonzalez, > etc.) are automatically retrieved by the newsreader and scanned for > PGP-encrypted text stenographically inserted into the pornographic images > (which are authentic). The PGP key is the same one used by the agent to Wow, nice that we had similar ideas, except mine didn't involve 'porn' and questions of the authenticity of it. "ooo, look at the eyes on that Grey..." "Mm, she's got quite the Look." > The DG-enabled notebook computer is not required to retrieve the > stenographically-inserted text from the pornographic images and can be done > from any newsgroup reader. The software on the DG-enabled computer does That's what they say, but they're just staring at the pron. I tell you, this will so cut DG productivity... > make the process easier and quicker, especially for the layman. It also > does not require the user to actually view the pornographic images, a "But they still can if they want to." > internal modem, Ethernet card, a 100MB zip disk drive, and an IR port. The > computers are supplied with two extra batteries. The computers are built on > IBM, Dell, and Compaq chassis, but are ultimately similar in appearance and > function. Compaq? I thought you were going all state of the art. That's just gross. > Within the computer, there exists two hard drives and two BIOS chips. One > hard drive is used to run Windows 98 (new models are being developed to run > Windows XP), because the vast majority of Delta Green agents are only ..freeBSD with a Windows2000P skin on the GUI....one ring/os to rule them all... > Network (see Web Communications). This does not require a great deal of > system resources, so very little is devoted to DGOS. FDISK reports the > second hard drive as unformatted, which is useless if someone knows there > is data on the disk but can avert attention during a cursory search. just have the last gig of the one drive mispartitioned, questions dodged by "Oh, my stupid brother was fiddling around..." click in some passwords, and you have the device drivers loaded to read the partition with DG only data. click again, and it's gone. snug as a bug. actually, i just thought of something else. smart chips. those stupid things that will store your favorite painting, so when you walk in the room, you see that, song, hear that, et cet. go a step further by using the whole of the human body as essentially a conductor for the signal, and all you need is a DG proprietary USB device.. plug, thumbpress, and suddenly any laptop is the agent's secured DG laptop with data. thumbpress, it's saved and relevent data scrambled. overtech as with most of the portions of the text, but at least subtly so. Sorry, Gil, I really love your lists, and I'm probably less useful than ever writing at this hour, but there was something that I felt needed amending, the rest just sort of burped up. Forgiveness? _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of talaphid [isa@zerg.com] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 3:36 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] Uranium > ">I normally sleep through physics, but I would swear that I remember being > >awake when we were informed that everything's 'radioactive', it's a > question > >of scale. Maybe I'm thinking halflifes. Okay, back to sleep..." > As far as i know...and I'm expecting a smiting from the physics heads > on-list any moment...everything is radioactive, to some small degree, but > the DU they use in penetrator darts and they want to use as tank armor is > radioactive to such a small degree that it can be termed "safe". Remember, This is what I said. Not in as many words, but. > this is the Pentagon, who nuked their own soldiers just to see what > happened. Ah, DDT, free and clear. Yes sir, Yes sir, three bags full. One for myself, one for my mistress, one for all the kids in the pool. _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of CelticHound [celtichound@foobox.net] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 4:27 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications On moving the telephone routers. Um, I was under the impression that you need something like a trunk line - some mondo fiber optic cable, perhaps - coming into the building to plug the routers into. Are the wires hidden? When the routers have been whisked away, does DG have no phone service for an unspecified amount of time? (Make a virtue of necessity - it's not a bug it's a plot hook.) Tiger teams! (a phrase I'm only familiar with through Dilbert) Hackers writing an OS and comm apps. Lotsa people scattered about the globe bringing up and putting down servers. Notebooks that need to be set up custom. Notebooks that semi-self-destruct when looked at cross-eyed! Do we have next day field repair? How many IT people will all this require? Will the tech(s) be able to figure out the entire DG roster? (Gawd! They're as bad as secretaries and messaging specialists.) Will they outnumber the entire DG roster? -- CH _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/ From: owner-deltagreen@revolutionsf.com on behalf of The Lizard King [lizardrex@charter.net] Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 5:05 AM To: deltagreen@revolutionsf.com Subject: Re: [DG] DG Communications Gil, good article. Enough techie eyewash to be plausible to 90%+ gamers and it has a good feel. For those of you that don't have Project: RAINBOW, the phone card scheme and the offshore company are from there. What I liked about it is the no-nonsense approach. You want secure communications, do it out in the open and make a profit if you can. The use of newsgroups from the alt.binaries.erotica world was for psychological camo. When conspiring never ever ever try to be innocent. People who investigate people don't believe in innocence and they will not stop searching until they find something. Make sure they find something incriminating that has nothing to do with anything important. The concept of putting communications in embarrassing newsgroups is to leave a sticky trail in browsers and cache files to explain furtive behavior. When someone comes up behind you as you (like an amateur or a movie character) look at your DG messages at work they will see you goofing off in a porn forum. For embarrassing fetishes, maybe even with hints of illegality. I suggested kiddy porn, but gay is enough to lose a security clearance. I like the stuff about the bogus unformatted partition and the PCMCIA card. It isn't fool-proof and certainly isn't unbreakable, but it's an ANSWER and it *looks* like it would work. It's like movie explanations with a gifted technical consultant who won't allow bullshit. So, if MJ-12 captures you they can read your hard drive. They can also send you to OUTLOOK and peel your mind like an orange. The protocols for wiping the disk are good enough to foil most people who might want to inspect an agent's laptop. The sheriff looking through the effects of an agent being held for questioning concerning the fire last night will be stymied by the system described. The best way to avoid the MJ-12 scenario is to avoid MJ-12. Which brings up my philosophy of guerrilla tradecraft. When confronted with superior technology and resources do not compete with technology. Always play as if ECHELON is listening and CARNIVORE is reading everything you send. The steganography is not the security of the newsgroup tactic. The security is that no one is looking there for messages. Pretend that any and all encryption can be beat, so don't depend on it. Hide within the ocean of data among the schools of little fish, don't swim around like a big encrypted game fish. Looking at *all* the email travelling about isn't possible, so make all your messages join the vast hordes filtered out of the queue for consideration. This is accomplished by not using an ID that is being scrutinized, and not sending anything that looks like it's got an encrypted message. So, sending a picture to someone directly with an encrypted message embedded is not a good idea. That's the reason for the newsgroup; it's a public dead drop. That same picture will end up on hundreds of computers. I would figure that large files would be picked up via FTP, with a password and the latest IP address for the FTP server in the porn message. Don't think of the data destruction system as protection for DG from MJ-12, but protecting innocent bystanders from looking at SAN blasting files. There is no way that anything that would dismantle DG is on anyone's laptop, because it wouldn't be sent or made available. Although I agree with the reasons for eliminating the thermite (those airport people have no sense of humor about explosives), but the magnetic system rings false. This magnet is running off of a laptop battery after all. I was thinking about acid, but I don't think that would get by an airport scan either. There should be as few hardware modifications as possible. Trying to pretend you are just a harmless pervert gets difficult when you have to explain your TEMPEST laptop. You have to figure that if you are being surveilled by means that would take advantage of your unTEMPESTed state, the game is over. What does the DG-specific data card pretend to be when it isn't facilitating communications? Give it a cover. Have you considered the use of a dongle for access security? A plug fitting on a serial or parallel port is just wire going to pins and could pass for a converter (9-to-25) or a test plug. Perhaps the data card could camoflage as an old modem or NIC card. Mark McFadden _______________________________________ The Delta Green Mailing List http://www.delta-green.com/comint/dgml/