>From: beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu
Subject: Exit Life, Enter Night
Date: 26 Aug 91 20:15:23 GMT
Morning. The Chatsubo was filled with the professional drunkards,
many passed out under the tables. Ratz would have to clean them out soon.
The door opened. The bright sun shone in, showing the city outside.
The Chatsubo was located in the Thieves' Market of the Rock, and outside
it was its normal daytime quiet. A few cloaked figures were beating up
a man in an expensive doublet.
But that is not what caught Ratz
' attention. The figure in the door was wearing full combat gear. Who the
Hells did he think he was.
Ratz
' magical arm wiped the bar as the figure stepped into the Chat. The door
closed behind him, shutting out the view of Venus Asteroid by the sun.
The figure was wearing hardened leather armor and a vaguely animal-like
helmet, with cobalt covering the eyes and black hair braids hanging from
the black. He carried weapons on each arm and a black staff.
Latches clicked as the figure approached the bar, removing the helmet.
Under the helmet was the face of an extremely pale half elf, with blond,
dreadlocked hair and red eyes. The elf sat down.
"I hear you accept special requests."
"I do."
"Then get me a pint of O negative."
Ratz balked when he realized the significance of the red slash of
wetware paint across the elf's left eye, but the order was especially
strange.
"Right away."
Ratz brought the blood back and placed on the table. The elf quickly
downed it, then looked into Ratz' eyes.
"Now I need some information. You can help me, yes?"
"No. I respect others' privacy."
"Where is Philippe Rorhaz?"
"I can't tell you."
"[Where is Philippe Rorhaz?]"
Ratz tried to resist, but he could not resist speaking.
"He's hiding out in the Illithid sector. He is using the name Manny
Perez."
"Thank you. You were a great aid."
The elf removed his left glove and put his credit ring into the
receptor in the bar and rang up the cost of the drink. He put the glove
back on and replaced his helmet. Quickly he left the bar.
Ratz was glad to see him go.
Through the hi-psi night streets of the Illithid sector the Beast
walked, helmetless in the soothing dark. To the sides the mind-flayers
were selling their slaves, programmed for less than licit activity.
He entered a building on the left, where he had calculated the highest
probable chance to find Philippe Rorhaz.
He knocked on the door. A dirty drow answered.
"Go away."
"[I need to see Manny Perez.]"
"This way."
The dark elf led the Beast up three flights of stairs into a room.
"Behind that door. He's in a meeting."
"[Thank you. Go away.]"
"Yes, sir."
The Beast listened at the door. Two drow, a dwarf, and Philippe
Rorhaz. He kicked the door in, firing two bolts from his Underdark
Rapid-fire light crossbow on his left arm. The female drow went down
with a bolt in her throat, the dwarf with a punctured lung. The other drow
began to draw his sword, and the Beast commanded the spearheads to
appear on the staff, and thrust it through the drow's midsection.
Philippe stared at the Beast in fear, and Beast smelled urea.
Beast let the red of Corporate Hunter wetware register on Philippe and
drew a scroll sealed with the blank seal of Nameless Incorporated. He
handed it to the man.
Philippe read it, he looked up at Beast pleadingly.
"You have greatly offended your employers. Your treason merits your
immediate execution. Prepare."
"No!"
Beast released the Steel Claw on his right arm and slashed it through
Philippe's neck. He stood and walked out of the building, and out of the
Illithid sector.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
The Beast is mine. Don't use him without my permission.
So, what do you think? I know I can't write well, but it's different.
The room was dark. The table was round. The figures around the table
had no faces, just darkness inside cloaks.
Beast was in the Nameless Building of Nameless Incorporated, before
the Board of Those Who Shall Not Be Named.
An illusion formed above the center of the table. It was of a small
oriental woman, with white skin, black hair, and small horns.
A voice came from the opposite side of the table.
"This is Shir-Lung Benkei, half-devil magical programmer. We have reason
to believe that she has found a way to enhance natural psionic ability of
human and demi-human to give wetwire ability. If this information falls into
the hands of our competitors, our monopoly contract with the Illithid will
become useless. Your mission is to find her and either bring the information
to us or to kill her, if necessary. You may go."
Beast left the room and travelled to the Astral Matrix Center. A black
human was in charge.
"Find me the last known location of Shir-Lung Benkei, half-devil,
magical programmer, the Rock of Bral."
"Yes, sir. Just a moment."
The Beast stood while the man put on his Projection crown, tuned it
into the Astral Projection unit at his desk, and closed his eyes.
12.6 minutes later his eyes opened.
"Her private workshop was on the third floor of 23 Lesser Guild Court.
She closed her lease two days ago."
"Good Bye."
Beast went to the stable and got on his horse and rode to Lesser Guild
Court. He would trace Shir-Lung from there.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
All Characters and Places, except the Rock of Bral, are fully products of
my own imagination.
By now, you've noticed that there is no actual Technology in this cyberpunk
story. Tech is not necessary. Cyberpunk is an attitude.
This is game related fiction. It is set in my Archanopunk cyberpunk fantasy
setting, meant for play with EnGen, my game system. [Both coming soon to
a newsgroup near you! (Of course, 'coming soon' always means coming late.)]
The Beast @ maple.circa.ufl.edu
6 -- The number so nice, you can say it thrice.
Beast was not going to Shir-Lung's workshop. He knew that there would be no
leads there. One does not become a member of the Guild unless she is
intelligent enough to stay alive.
No, the deviltress was probably heading off the Rock. Beast would
only need to go to the Docks and
see who had seen her.
Beast arrived at a large building. Above it the air shined:
SINDIATH: THE NEW HORIZON AWAITS!
SHIPS TO GREATER GREYSPACE DEPART DAILY
*She will not feel hunted yet. Someone here will recognize her.*
Beast walked into the large building, avoided the lines, and walked
directly to the ticket counter.
The man behind the counter looked at Beast's body armor warily.
"May I help you, um, sir?"
"Has this person come through here in the past few days?"
Beast showed him the gem which projected the illusion of Shir-Lung.
"I'm sorry, I would remember someone like that. Maybe she came through
yesterday. Gilda, do you remember her?"
His companion at the desk answered. "Yes. Very strange. She wanted
passage to Ginsel, on the other side of the sphere."
"Thank you very much. May Ptah smile upon you."
Beast went back to where his horse was tied.
*I doubt she ran to Ginsel. She would get no profit on that primitive
planet. I cannot speak to the captain until he returns next week.*
Beast found the nearest public access booth. He sat down before the
crystal ball.
"Show me a map of naval routes from the Rock of Bral to Ginsel,
yesterday."
The ball showed the crystal sphere, the orbits of the planets
shown as white lines on which small lights traveled. A red curve lit
up between Ginsel and the Rock. Right on the line was a small green
dot. The Free Trade Zone, a small asteroid orbiting Raenei. The perfect
place for a sale.
"Call Nameless Incorporated, extension Zero Dev Null."
The ball became dark. "Your progress?"
"I have traced her to the Free Trade Zone. Logical. Arrange
transportation for tomorrow. My lord."
The ball became clear again. Beast went to catch some sleep before
the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
etc. etc. all the standard stuff.
Lots of stuff in here is probably trademarked by those demons at TSR.
I hope you don't mind. (:
Isn't the Chat great? Possibly the first multi-dimensional bar.
I'm going to follow Beast's lead. I'm going to sleep.
Bye.
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
"<Insert catchy saying>."
From amethyst!noao!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wupost!tulane!uflorida!maple.circa.ufl.edu!BEAST Tue Sep 3 14:14:49 MST 1991
Article 579 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo:
Path: amethyst!noao!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!wupost!tulane!uflorida!maple.circa.ufl.edu!BEAST
>From: beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Subject: Exit Life, Enter Night part four
Message-ID: <30851@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
Date: 1 Sep 91 00:09:36 GMT
Sender: news@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU
Reply-To: BEAST%oak.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu
Organization: University of Florida CIRCA VAX Cluster
Lines: 112
Listening to music is a very acceptible method of spending leisure time
on the Rock. It helps one get rid of his work anxiety.
"Ptah, I'm glad to get out of that damned suit."
The Beast walked into The Prince's Folly, his favorite club. People
were flailing about in musical enjoyment. The club was dark and colored
lights floated about. The opening band was playing an flighty melody
with a driving beat.
But they weren't the reason Beast came.
Beast came to see Partners in Tyme, the greatest band in existence.
The driving force behind the band was Megalia, a being from another
universe who brought a new kind of music. The music has driving beats,
loud, harsh playing style, screeching singing and rhythmic speaking.
It was something unheard of, a music which evoked the violence inherent
in men. It was called "rock" music because of its incredible popularity
on the Rock, even more than its popularity on the surface. A new culture
grew from the music.
Beast needed to release his emotions. The killing lust was soon to
come, if he did not do something to delay it. He looked at the clock.
Enough time to have a drink.
"Give me a Zombie," he said at the bar. He was handed a Blue,
smoking drink and put his ring in the bar and paid the Ch'ien the drink
costed. Beast downed the drink in one gulp.
"Awesome!" a bald orc with a green braid shouted, as he punched
Beast in the chest.
"Yeah!" Beast said as he punched him back, knocking him into a
crowd of dancers. He put his drink down on the bar and showed his pass
to the ogre bouncer guarding the Pit. He went down and waited for the
real show to start.
"Hey! That's the show, and we're out of here. Word to your monkey's
uncle!" The opening band left the stage. Five minutes later the club grew
black, even to night vision like his. He felt smoke blow around him. The
people jammed in with him murmurred in anticipation.
The smoke glowed blue, but shed no light on anything else. Through
the air came the opening strains of "Power!", haunting and beautiful,
played on The Synth-Harp.
The people in the audience glowed red, mixing with the blue to form
and evil purple, which only emphasized the void surrounding them. A set of
drums started. The music went minor and increased in volume.
On the stage a tall, elven woman stood, holding a strange combination
between a harpsichord and a guitar. Megalia, with one of the two Synth-Harps
in the universe.
The drummer floated beside her, sitting in almost a full sphere of
drums, cymbals, and other instruments of audio torture.
A deep base line started. Green flashes shot through the void. A
dwarf appeared playing his bass guitar, flat but amplified.
The guitarirsts appeared playing, a human and a halfling, playing the
chords which led to the climax of the opening. Stars shone blackly against
the void, making the darkness itself look like broad daylight.
The dark elf singer appeared crucified in the center of the band.
He shattered the cross into shards. A sun exploded behind him.
"Power!" he cried.
Silence. The world appeared around them. Startlement.
The club was assaulted with noise. The crowd in the pit screamed.
Jzach, the lead singer, rapped over the singing of the band.
The pit thrashed in ecstacy.
Almost the end of the concert. Megalia stepped forward; the band
faded away. She began to play her Harp. An awe-inspiring, complex
melody flowed around the crowd. An empathic connection activated,
taking the emotions of the crowd and returning it, causing a controlled
feedback loop of feeling.
Megalia sang. Everyone in the club was stunned into silence. It felt
like an impossible effort to keep sanity. When she finished, the crowd
remained stunned, frozen.
"Now let me finish with a classic from my own world. It is called
'The Morning After.'"
The bass and the drums started, alone. Then a soft guitar and
the Harp began, letting the bass drive through it.
Awakened by the sunlight
Victimized by last night
Memories flashin through my head
Was I just born or am I dead?
Yesterday's forgotten, the morning after
I can tast you, I can hear your laughter
Fading in the distance
Recollections drifting
Bloodstains on my tattered clothes
Each minute the fear grows
If I could just lay down to rest
I'm tired of searching for myself
If I am dead, how can I feel such love?
If I am dead, why am I dreaming?
If I am dead, where do I go from here?
If I am dead, why does this pain feel so good?
Is this my blood dried upon my face?
Or is it the love of someone else?
It tastes so sweet, just like you used to
So rescue me my love, splice us together
I remember loving you so much
But where are you and where's your fatal touch?
When I closed my eyes, was it my siesta?
Did I encounter a darkness stranger than sleep?
I am thirsty for my sleep
There are no answers anyway
(Faith No More, taken with no permission whatsoever)
*Words to die by.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Etc. etc.
Just a slight interlude. Don't mind.
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
The ship waiting for Beast at the Dock was a Tradesman, with it's familiar
Groundling ship design. The sails were up for travel, and carried the
blank symbol of Nameless Incorporated.
Beast boarded the ship and went into the cabin. There was a great
throne there before the window out. Two men were in the room.
"I am ready."
"Okay. Valda," said the captain. The other man sat in the chair and
closed hiis eyes.
Beast left the room.
"That man scares the shit out of me, Jihm," he heard through the
door.
"Gives me the spooks, too."
It was almost evening when the ship arrived in the port of the Free
Trade Zone. The port was filled with ships from every corp and race.
On the rock, it is rare to see a beholder or Neogi ship, and even more
rare to see an Orcish Nations ship, especially beside a Elven Nations
Man-O-War. There was even a galleon from the Suelise Federation.
Beast got off the ship and moved toward the Tank, where more
'unregulated' goods could be found.
In the wide streets at the center of the Tank people milled about,
each with a different signal. Some had their hands in their cloak pockets,
signalling to any dealer of Ecstasy their wish to buy. Ecstasy was the
latest drug, which made pure pleasure out of any sensation. Pleasure
or pain, the only thing which mattered which was intensity.
Beast held his right forearm with his left hand. Now he only need
wait.
The night dragged on. Beast saw a group of scantily clad female
humans beat up a man in a blue suit. When they were finished, the man
handed them platinum chips in a bloody hand. They took the payment
and went in search of new business.
Large figures surrounded Beast.
"Come with us," one of them said.
They took the Beast to a dark room. Rich paitings hung on the walls
and a plush couch sat before a desk. The men closed the door behind him.
Beast sat down.
The illusion of a man appeared in the chair. The man was a large
Oriental man wearing a grey silk suit and a thin black moustache. His
hair was pulled back into a braid.
"You won't mind my non attendance, Mr. Beast. I know about your
'skills', and it wouldn't be intelligent to meet you face to face."
"And you won't mind if I keep my protection on, Kinangu."
"Not at all. To business. Why are you here?"
"I need to know the whereabouts of a certain person in the Free
Trade Zone. You can find her."
"Yes. But why would I wish to? I have many more important things
to manage, here."
"Let's not fool around. My organization and yours have done frequent
business in the past, Mr. Kinangu. I know you won't refuse."
The figure in the chair flinched slightly.
"Okay. What is this person's name?"
"Shir-Lung Benkei.
She is a half-devil. Here is her image."
Beast showed Kinangu the illusion. Kinangu made a recording with
his eye-spell.
"Okay, Mr. Beast. The regular price. You may leave. We will find
you."
The men opened the door and escorted Beast out. The door closed
on the Yakuza Oyabun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Kent suggested the term 'Magipunk', which is only three, not four,
syllables, so I'm keeping it. Acknowledments to him.
Death. Blood. Violence. Kill. I must kill.
Beast sat in his room at the No One Inn, on the edge of the Tank,
waiting for the call from Kinangu.
*Red. The flow of blood. Warm and wet. Lifegiving*
The little stage played a tune.
*Control. Control. Take a breath.*
The tune played again.
"On."
The air above the stage lit ;up, showing Kinangu.
"Mr. Beast. We have your woman for ;you."
"Yes."
"We traced a cal to Underdark Industries made two days ago. She
asked for an agent to meet her here. She is at Hotel Nine, on Grinell
Street. She is using the name Ranya Nguyen. We checked out the Hotel
for you. It is being run by an elf woman, young with violet hair. She
checks everyone out before they are let in."
"Very well."
"Our bargain is concluded. Till we meet again, Mr. Beast."
"Till we meet again. Off."
The air above the little stage became empty again.
*Control.*
Night time. The streets of the Tank, the low-class sections of the Free
Trade Zone, were filled.
*Hundreds of them. Ripe for the picking. These streets are mine.
No. I must focus on the mission. Nothing else matters.*
Grinell Street. The Hotel Nine was a large building, fortified from
the Trade Wars of 2077, twelve years ago. The walls were tall and thick,
with an old bastilla over the gate. The gate was open into the lobby.
Beast went into the lobby. The only entrance deeper into the Hotel
was a steel reinforced door behind the desk. Also behind the desk sat
a very beautiful Elf woman. She was tall, taller than Beast. Her hair
was dyed violet and she had a tatoo of an Elven Man-O-War covering her
face. She wore standard casual leather plate fatigues.
"May I help you?" she said in a musical voice.
"Yes you may. I am looking for Ranya Nguyen. Can you help me?"
"Well, let me check my books."
She reached down into her desk and pulled out a small book. She thumbed
through it. She paused, closed the book, and put it back in the desk. She
touched a small button as she did so.
"I'm sorry. We have no one here by that name."
"Oh no?" Rage. Redness washing through the eyes. *Control. The
mission.* Beast looked deep into the Elf's eyes, searching out her inner
being. "Are you *quite* sure?"
A pause. A long pause. Her mind was fighting back. She was string.
Kill Her! No! Tell me..., Bitch. Tell me! Those eyes.... She was weakening.
Tell me where she is. Aha! I have you--
*WhaT??*
Suddenly Beast was being kissed. His concentration was gone. What is
this? Beast tried to pull away, but some part of him would not let him.
The kiss was long. And tender. Never before.
The Elf's focus lessened. Her mind was somewhere else, now. Her hand
was moving. Shit!
Beast leaped back, hit by shot from a powder rifle. The left side of
his body was torn up. Beast laughed evilly and aimed his arm-crossbow.
The Elf fired the left barrell, tearing off the right side of his face.
He laughed louder, spraying bits of flesh as he fired at her throat.
She moved faster than he could see, catching the bolt in her left
forearm. The steel door opened suddenly and Shir-Lung Benkei stepped out.
"Arcana! What's going on!"
"Get out of here, stupid. I opened the secret door in the back of the
latrine. Get out of here!"
Beast aimed his crossbow at Shir-Lung. He began to pull the trigger.
Arcana dropped the rifle and drew a sword from behind the desk, in
one move removing Beast's arm. She slashed it at his throat, but he blocked
it with his right-hand blades. She continued the movement, though, taking
out his right leg. Beast couldn't remain standing.
Arcana turned and hustled Shir-Lung through the steel door. Beast
scurried behind them, stopping the door from being closed. They were running
down a hallway, how long he could not tell.
Beast drew his staff, activated the spikes, and hobbled after them.
He was gaining. Shir-Lung opened a door and rushed through. Arcana drew
a glass flask, spoke a word, and threw it at him, diving through the door
as she did so. The flask hit the ground before the Beast and turned into
a blazing explosion. He didn't stand a chance.
The pieces of Beast filled the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
As always, comments are, like, welcome, dude.
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
Awakened by the sunlight
Victimized by last night
Memories flashin' through my head
Was I just born or am I dead? . . . . .
Darkness like light. The light of life. Not of life. Of undeath. The Beast
stood and got out of his cubicle on the Rock. He looked around, disoriented
a bit. The memories returned.
*The Bitch! How dare she try to kill me? I'll kill her!*
{No. You have failed in your mission. You must report to the Board.}
*Fuck if I'm gonna do that! I'll find her. I'll kill her and Shir-
Lung. The mission is Mine.*
{Listen to me. Listen to your programming. This is the bloodlust
speaking. Your time to kill is here and you have not killed yet. Follow
your orders.}
*No! I will kill. But I won't kill till I kill her.*
{Listen. Think what will happen to you if the corp finds out. You
are not programmed to have emotions. You are a good citizen, following
orders to the letter.}
*They'll find out I am victorious. I am the Beast. I have survived
death, twice now. I am the Beast the Vampire the Feared. I am leaving.
There is the door.*
{Listen to me...........}
The Beast walked out of the door. He found another suit of combat armor.
He then walked the streets, thinking.
*Where will they be? How do I find them now?*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
As always, comments are, like, welcome, dude.
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
jeremy
Beast was walking, aimlessly at first, but very soon with a sense of
purpose.
That elf /That elf!/ was an agent of Underdark. They escaped.
They will have cut a deal. She will be bringing the devil to the
Underdark building, on the Rock. I will go to the Docks and find them when
they arrive. I never sleep. That elf /That elf!/ will meet her
fate.
My horse.
Beast pressed the button to call he horse. Spoon his horse
arrived.
Living animals have always been rare on the Rock. So his horse was
really a magically propelled cart, made for only one person,
steered by a rudder in the front, when necessary.
Still, the old terms remain.
Beastt got on his horse and rode toward the Docks.
*Someone will die tonight.*
The room was darkk. It was always dark. The Nameless Ones conducted their
business here, hidden to all eyes. It is good that it is hidden, because
if anyoone knew what went on, he would send himself to an eearly death.
"Number Onel, my lord. Project 2753, 'The Beast' , has activated
his cubicle at his apartment, after his death. He has not reported
his failure. What should I do, my lord?"
The scientist looked very frighened in the spotlight before the
Boeard table. He fidgeted as he awaited the bBoeard's answer.
"Mr. Goyax this is a new development. Let us continue with the
experiment, and see if he meets with success. If the experimetn fails,
we will need to terminate it. Until then keep up surveillance.
on 2753."
"Yes, my lord ."
"That is all."
"Yes, my lord."
The scientist hurried out of the Room of the Unnamed.
"Yes, let us see."
Beast pulled up to the small building that housed the Surveillance MNetwork
for the Docks. Everyone who came and went would be seen, thought the records
would be regularly purged uunder agreement with the Judicial Corporation.
Beast dismounted and opened the door.
"Do you have a permit to come in here?" said the operator.
Beast removed his helmet and showed his fangs. He hissed.
"No. Is that a problem?"
"No. No. I was just leaving."
The man pulled his headset off and ran out of the room
Beast sat down, placed the headset on his head, and began his search.
thoe hours began to pass.
*Kill her. Kill her. The taste of her blood, like the taste of her
lips. Her lips. I saw her soul in that kiss. She is beautiful. HOW DARE
SHE EXPOSER HER INNNER SOUL TO ME! No one dares. She will die. Her lifeblood
will burn as it washes away the path to Hell.*
Still nothing.
Beast
s vision grew red.
Still nothing
It was almost midnight.
Nothing.
The clock in the room beeped.
Midnight.
There!
Immediately the scenee filled Beasts' vision. Shir-Lung and Arcana stepped
off a small cargo ship. They walked away from the ship, moving to the
perfect place for an ambush.
Beast was on his feet running. Silently he moved to the crowd
around a small warehouse. This late at night the amount of people
at the docks was few, but here was a thick enough crowd.
The elf and devil rounded the corner of the warehouse. Beast
slipped deeper into the crowd. The perfect time... now!
Kill the Elf first! Beast launched himself, quicker than the eye
can see, toward Arcana. His claws raked toward her throat--
"Oooof!" Beast cried as she swung around and hit him with both
her arms. Dust floated down on him as he struck the wall of the warehouse.
Dazed, he looked up. His eyes were too unfocused to see through the mineral
of the eyes of his helmet.
He focused on a shape. It was the Elf, with her rifle. Pointed toward
him. He rolled to the side as she fired the shot gun point blank into his
chest.
Fourteen seconds to heal, and Beast leaped to his feet. They were
running to the stables.
Beast reached the stables as they stole a packmule. He ran to his
horse and began the chase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Sorry for the bad state of editing, but editor? Did you say editor?
Backspace? What's backspace?
As always, comments are, like, welcome, dude.
The editor killed the first line of that:
Arcana sped into the night. The hunter was following her on his horse, and
he was gaining....etc
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
From amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorida!maple.circa.ufl.edu!BEAST Fri Oct 4 09:03:16 MST 1991
Article 623 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo:
Path: amethyst!noao!asuvax!cs.utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!uflorida!maple.circa.ufl.edu!BEAST
>From: beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Subject: Exit Life, Enter Night part nine
Message-ID: <31712@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
Date: 4 Oct 91 03:01:39 GMT
Sender: news@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU
Reply-To: BEAST%oak.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu
Organization: University of Florida CIRCA VAX Cluster
Lines: 76
he was gaining. The devil crouched in the back of the packmule, preparing
something. This was not an easy mission. This is the second hunter, and
this one will not die.
Calculate. Yes. Arcana turned the packmule swiftly to the side,
commanding the spirit pushing it to put all its energy into the task.
She began to head for the gate.
*There she is. I can smell her. The urge to kill is almost unbearable.
My hand is twitching! No! Control! The hunt is almost over!*
The Beast was a few hundred feet behind the packmule, but he was
gaining. There she is, going toward the main road. Accelerate.
The Elf suddenly turned off onto a backroad. Beast slowed, turned,
and accelerated. He chuckled. This was going to hurt her, not help her.
The horse can maneuver much better in back streets. Probability of
success: 96.8%.
There were a few other people on the road tonight. Beast dodged
a slow moving oxen. Arcana made a quick turn to the left, sending
splinters from the tires of the mule. She did not lose the Beast.
Dust flew. Beast pulled within crossbow range and aimed. Suddenly
the Elf slowed and pulled left. She aimed her shot gun at Beast.
Whoa! The Beast dodged to the left and forward. Bits of the horse
flew off behind him and it shook. As he regained control the Elf fired
again.
Beast pulled his weight to the right, dropping the horse on its
side, sliding under the blast. Arcana accelerated down a road to the
right, as Beast got back on his horse.
*Follow! Kill!*
She was still in sight. Beast began to regain his position.
She turned to the right, throwing a glass vial behind her.
Beast swerved to the left as the vial exploded, ripping the street
into pieces and sending a young woman on a horse off the side of the bridge.
*That road is goes under this bridge to the left. She's mine.*
Beast drove through the railing on the left side of the bridge.
He pushed off the horse. Both the Beast and the horse hung in air for
a second, then plummeted downward.
The Beast analyzed the late-night travellers below, picked a possible
trajectory, and aimed his fall.
The horse crashed into oncoming traffic, sending carts skidding
accross the road. The Beast landed in the back of a landdragon cargo
hauler. He climed into the cab in the front and showed his fangs.
"Get out."
The driver stared and leapt into oncoming traffic. The smell of
urine filled the cab.
*Locate her. There. Two cars up and to the right. It's time to clear
a path.*
Beast burned the spirit and pushed the cart in front of him off the
road. He bulled his way between the next two carts in the road. There
they were.
They were halfway around the Rock by now, and heading into the
factory district. Arcana turned right and headed toward the huge form
of the Garbage Incineration Plant. Beast followed.
Shir-Lung stood up in the back of the packmule and threw some
dust in the air. The dust whipped around Beast and the landdragon.
The half-devil spoke some words, and Beast sensed something change.
*What is that? I've lost control of the landdragon. How? Shit!*
The cart flipped into the air. Beast jumped out of the opening
in the front of the cab and slid into the road. He looked up and saw
the spirit that moved the landdragon pick it up and throw it through
a workshop two streets away. It then began to lay waste to everything
else in the area.
The Beast ran away, toward the Garbage Incineration Plant. The
packmule was stopped in front. The door closed behind the half-devil.
He dodged a the flying remains of a horse and ran up to the door.
The Beast opened the door and entered silently. He listened for
their sounds. He heard nothing.
*Where are they? How dare anyone thwart me! I must kill!*
Stopping his hands from shaking and his face from twitching, the
Beast walked further into the Plant, looking all around him.
Nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Nothing nifty to say here. Don't be too offended by this drivel.
As always, comments are, like, totally welcome, dude. Like, wow.
>From beast%maple.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu Mon Oct 14 10:37:39 1991
Date: 14 Oct 91 10:39:00 EDT
>From: "MAPLE::BEAST" <beast%maple.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: Exit Life, Enter Night part ten
Nothing.
The plant was empty. Or so it seemed. Beast knew that he was being
hunted . The hunter was good, because there was no physical evidence to prove
the fact , just a feeling.
The Beast stalked throught the Plant, searcing, looking, waiting.
Through the air came a ghostly voice.
"I'm your dream, make you real. I'm your eyes, when you must steal. I'm
your pain when you can't feel. Sad but true."
Beast leaped through the air to the girders on that side of the plant.
He saw nothing. He heard the voice again from behind.
"I'm your truth, telling lies. I'm your favorite alibis. I'm inside,
open your eyes. I'm you. Sad but true."
Beast was about to move back when he heard a noise. It sounded like
typing. He followed the sound till he saw Shir-Lung typing at some buttons
behind a portal. Beast aimed his arm-crossbow.
Long, cold-wrought steel emerged from Beast's chest, as Arcana thrust
her sword through him. His blood dripped down the shining blade.
Shir-Lung looked up and cried, 'The silence spell! Thank you, Arcana.'
The Beast collapsed to the ground. Arcana pulled the sword from Beast,
and he began to heal.
'No problem, kid. It's my job. Now finish opening the gate.'
Arcana moved over to stand by the half-devil. Beast aimed his arm
crossbow at the Elf's back and fired.
The expected result did not take place. Arcana turned, took the bolt
out of her back, threw it down, and drew her sword.
Beast looked at the situation and made his move. He fired at Shir-Lung
as she tried to get away. Faster than lightning, Arcana swung her sword at the
bolt, but she wasn't fast enough. The bolt was only partially deflected, and
tore through the devil's side, and she collapsed.
The Beast turned toward Arcana. She was standing calmly there, holding
her sword ready, waiting for his move.
The Beast, with trembling hands, took off his helmet and dropped it to
the ground. He smiled and showed his fangs.
He drew his staff and commanded the spear heads to appear on the
ends. He was ready.
They stood before one another, their gazes meeting and meshing. Each saw
the others throoughts. Strike!
Beast stabbed at Arcana with one side of the staff, and was blocked. He
brought the other side around, and Arcana moved so that it struck the ground.
Arcana sliced at Beast's arm, and was parried by the staff center. She blocked
a spear slash and countered with a thrust. Beast blocked her thrust and her
followup. Arcana jumped upward, landing on a support girder. She ran along the
girder, followed on the ground by the Beast. His mouth watered with desire.
Arcana pushed a large dumping bucket over Beast. He rolled backward
and barely blocked Arcana's sword strike. He struck at her legs and she leaped
over the blade, coming down on top of him with the sword below her. Beast
rolled to the side and to his feet. He and Arcana faced off, circling, looking
for and opening. Their eyes were one.
*I see myself in you. It will be a shame to kill you.*
*It is not I who will be killed. I know what your are now.*
*Then you know you cannot kill me.*
*The sword is cold wrought steel. I will be more thorough this time.*
*So be it.* Strike!
She drew to the side. Beast knew this to be a trick and struck where
she would least expect it. She barely blocked the strike and was left
unbalanced. Beast went for the killing blow.
And she wasn't there. She moved to the side and cut into Beast's
side. She followed up with a blinding flurry of blows, and it was all Beast
could do to block them all. He was pushed back toward the Fire Pit. He felt the
heat on his back. The attacks came faster, inching Beast back.
He saw an opening. Milliseconds later, there was a cut into Arcana's
left arm. The skin was cut to reveal the glint of metal. Blood dripped around
it and immmediately stopped.
*She's augmented.*
She sped up the attack, cutting at each of Beast's weak points. She
came in under his side, putting a shallow gash. He in turn thrust and was
blocked . Arcana saw where he was left open and took a vicious cut at
the Beast's throat, and he fell back to get away. No ground stopped his fall.
Beast watched the Fire come closer as he approached true death. Arcana
grabbed a chain at the edge of the pit with her legs and pushed off into the
pit. She caught Beast in a hug, stopping his fall, his staff drifting down
into the flame and evaporating.
The nearness of the Elf to Beast caused him to shake with need.
'Don't try anything foolish. The Fire Plane is equivalent to sunlight,
and I would have to drop you.'
Beast got himself under control.
'I will not try anything.'
'Good."
Arcana pulled herself up with her legs and grabbed onto the chain with
one hand. She carried Beast to the floor of the plant.
She stood before him, her sword by her feet. They looked at each other.
Beast glanced at the sword.
Arcana kicked the sword away and dropped into a martial arts stance.
Beast leaped upward and forward, kicking at her head, and was blocked. He
dropped to the ground and did a roundhouse kick, which she also blocked. Arcana
punched, was blocked, and kicked at his leg, which he moved.
Their eyes locked once more. As they fought, their eyes and thougts meshed.
Someone punched three times, while the oher person blocked and threw
that person, who landed and punched backward. Attack and counter attack, the
dancers engaged in the the dance of death. It was a dance of infinite beauty
and infinite horror. Once in a while someone was struck, and fell back, and
pressed the advantage, as the movements in the dance changed.
*I hate her! I lover her! She is me! I need her blood--I can't kill
her. I cannot take her blood. No NO! AAUUGGH!*
The dance went on, twisting and weaving it's way through the Plant. It
became fiercer and fiercer, as it approached its climax. Fiercer. More violent.
Beast gained the upper hand--he moved towards the end the end the...
*NO.*
The dance abruptly ceased. Beast dropped his hands and looked at
Arcana. She never seemed more beautiful.
'I cannot kill you. Leave, please.'
The last came out as a cry. No, he had to kill this woman. He coudn't
control it. The animal need pushed him. His program told him he could'nt let
the Elf leave, with what she new. It was overwhelming.
*I can't. Do it! I can't!*
Beast stepped toward Arcana, his eyes never leaving hers. She looked
back at him, and pragmatism didn't show there. Caring showed in her eyes. A
wave of anger wept him and he reached up to grab her neck, but at the last
moment it was a caress, up to rest under her chin.
*I can't kill her! I can't I can't I'll kill myself! Yes! NOW!*
Arcana spoke. 'I can't let you do that. I can't let you take your life,
as you can. Take mine.'
Arcana brought her hands up around Beast's arm, drawing his arm blade
to her neck. She looked up at him, said 'I love you,' and cut a thin
line along her white skin. A trickle of blood oozed out.
The bloodlust flooded Beast so that he could not control it. His vision
went totally red and his perception flickered. He cut his arm blade through
Arcana's neck, causing her head to fall back and almost off. Blood pulsed
rhythmically from the stump of her neck.
The Beast eagerly fed on the blood of Arcana. He fed until he was
satiatied, then howled in ecstasy and in grief. He screamed and screamed, but
under the screaming he began to hear a repeating tone. He looked to find the
source and saw numbers counting down on a small box at Arcana's waist. The
meaning registered and the Beast ran for the door. He leaped into the street
as the Garbage Incineration plant erupted into flame behind him.
A dark room, where the Nameless Council conducted business.
'Project Beast has just reported in, Number One. He has succeeded in
his mission.'
'Good. It seems that the Project is a success. This is very good.'
'Yes, my lord.'
The scieniist closed the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Lyrics by Metallica are used withought permission. The story of the Beast will
continue.
As always, comments are, like, welcome, dude, you know.
The Beast@maple.circa.ufl.edu.
. . .
END FORWARDED TEXT.
. . .
--
William D. Yang wyang@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Yang.25@osu.edu
"Ray," the semi-demi-quasi-pseudo Lurker and chinese chef on alt.tuesdays...
It's my opinion, but if you really want it, you can have it for a nominal fee.
>From beast%maple.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu Tue Oct 15 15:23:56 1991
Received: from pine.circa.ufl.edu by mathlab.math.ufl.edu (4.1/4.03)
id AA05042; Tue, 15 Oct 91 15:23:43 EDT
Message-Id: <9110151923.AA05042@mathlab.math.ufl.edu>
Date: 15 Oct 91 15:26:00 EDT
>From: "MAPLE::BEAST" <beast%maple.decnet@pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: Exit Life, Enter Night part eleven (short) (repost)
To: "apd" <apd@math.ufl.edu>
Status: R
The news server snagged this one this morning, so here it is again.
Beast walked down the narrow hallway on a routine mission. He needed to kill
a knight who betrayed the corp.
The hallway grew into a rough-hewn tunnel. The tunnel sloped steeply
down. Ahead, he could see the opening to the tunnel.
The tunnel opened into air, with sky above and earth below Beast's feet.
The sun shined down on his bare face and warmed him. He saw the knight
practicing on the grass down the slope. He was a middle-aged human, with
blond hair and a strong body. As he practiced a strange kata, he seemed to
Beast very familiar.
Beast raced down the hill toward the knight, arm blade ready. As he
ran, the knight looked up at him, in greeting. Beast slashed through the
knight's midsection and killed him.
He heard a scream from behind him. He looked back and saw a young half-
elf boy cry out in grief. Behind him the blood of the knight boiled and changed.
The blood became a gaunt, evil looking man with fangs. The blood-man
pounced on the elf boy and bit into his neck. Then they both dissolved into
blood again.
The blood writhed and changed again. It became a beautiful Elf maiden.
'Why did you do this to me?' she accused.
'No! NO! Forgive me!'
The body of the knight spoke: "You are unforgiven."
No! NO! NOOOOOO!
Beast woke from his nightmare. He took a deep breath and got ready to report
for investigation.
'The circumstances of the Beast's success seem suspicious. Outwardly, it is
flawless, but something is not right. Mr. Goyax?'
'I have the results from the wetware test of Beast's personality, my
lord.' He turned. 'Number One, I find nothing amiss. There are no flaws with
his programming and no signs of tampering. His memories seem to be real, my
lord. Everything is just as solid as it was before.'
'Thank you, Scientist. You have done well. Keep me appraised if
anything goes wrong.'
'Yes, my lord.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 1991 Jeremy Lakatos
Remember, nothing is as it seems in my story. There is a great plot, set up
to stop me from posting it. They control my news server. My story is a
frightening one.
The same follows to a lesser extent in the Beast's story.
As always, comments are, like, welcome, bud-DY. Cause I'm the Weeeasel.
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