From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c1a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 08:16:25 -0500

Kansas City January 2002
	Bill Potter woke up one day and decided it was time for things to
change. He had just spent the last six months in a state of self-imposed
seclusion, for reasons he could only describe as "therapeutic". His life
before this six month period had been two long years in the fast track
living a fast and hard life of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, defining to
himself what exactly it meant to be a Fag.
	Defining himself. Who he was.
	After being incapacitate due to AIDS for the past six months,
quite long enough as far as he was concerned, one trip to the doctor had
changed everything. He now tested positive to the P-24 Antigen.
	It was the proverbial "Two Minute Warning".
	The world as he knew it up to this point was now about to come to
an end. Testing positive to this one tiny-assed antigen, gave him a new
time frame in which to get his shit together. He had anywhere from six
months to a year left to live.
	There was no denying Death anymore. It was quite real and it was
coming down on him like a freight train. Death was almost a stench in the
air around him he could smell on himself. It was all over.
	Facing mortality is the absolute worst thing that can happen to a
person. Suddenly the realization hits you in the face that no matter how
much time you have left on this Earth, be it a day or a thousand years,
it's never going to be enough time. It just wasn't fair.
	So what to do with his remaining time?
	He wasn't completely disabled, even though he lived off disability
checks from the government as his only source of income. If he rested for
a few days, he would have a few days in a row where he had a fairly easy
time of getting around. Then of course, the exhaustion would return, and
he would be down for a few more days in bed, with little or no strength,
nor even the will to get up and fix himself something to eat. It just
wasn't worth the bother.
	Other than his brothers Norm and Beau, he had no one left in his
life. His Daddy was gone, and his friends had long since abandoned him
after his long stretch of not having bothered to contact them, so he
really didn't have anything to lose.
	Nothing to lose.
	Even his life was over.
	He knew enough about AIDS, through his continuous research, trying
to find some new way that might help him live, or even to survive a little
longer, to know that he didn't stand a snowballs chance.
	He was infected.
	Even if they came up with a vaccine tomorrow, and perhaps even a
partial cure, there was still nothing that could save him now. Nothing.
The virus had already passed the blood/brain barrier.
	Even if they could find a way to stop the progression of the virus
in his bone marrow, or in his body in general, it was still inside eating
away at his central nervous system..
	The best he could hope for would be to live a few more years
(Providing a cure came quickly) and that he would die crazy, unaware of
the horrors taking place in his body. He would still die from it though.
They can't get the retrovirus out of the neurological system. Not even God
can do that.
	The change came upon him one day between Christmas 2001 and New
Years 2002. He had reached the decision that he was going to squeeze as
much out of this world as he possibly could before he left.
	He had lived a good life, he had at one time a great career in the
computer industry, he had lived adequately but not "Well To Do" by any
standards. He got by.
	It was time for that to change. Existing was not enough. Just
getting by was not enough.
	So, this time, when he got his disability check the third of
January, just as he had for the past couple of years, he made his first
move.
	He went through his normal routine of cashing his check and paying
his rent, though this time, instead of his usual routine of getting his
prescriptions and settling back down to wait for the next third of the
month; he took what cash he had left and went to a Straight bar not far
from his home.
	A couple of drinks later, he saw his window of opportunity and
took it.
	Sitting next to a very obnoxious drunk man, whom Bill found
completely intolerable because of the mans attitudes towards Gays, AIDS,
other races, and poor people in general, Bill found the man to be a
staunch conservative, who had no respect for other people, other views,
other races, nor other ways of life. The drunken fool was just another
Middle Class Idiot. A bully who couldn't think for himself. A leftover
from the Regan years.
	Pity. His own arrogance was going to be his downfall. Right Now.
	While the man was paying for drinks for himself and some peroxided
married woman on the other side of him, fumbling around flashing his cash
like a big shot, Bill looked over at the mans billfold.
	In the clear plastic window was a nice, easy-to-read drivers
license containing the assholes Social Security number and date of birth.
As an extra added bonus, the mans Bank card was sticking up with it's name
proudly emblazoned across the top of it, telling Bill what major bank the
man kept all his Republican funds.
	Simple. Like finding money on the sidewalk.
	When the man went to the bathroom, Bill looked around the bar and
saw that what few people were in there during the day were laughing and
talking to each other in their own loud voices. It was perfect. They
wouldn't even remember his being there, much less his face. Even the
bartender was busy flirting with some tart down at the end of the bar.
	Bill got up and walked out the door smiling to himself, picking up
a few major credit card applications from a display sitting on top of the
cigarette machine on his way out.
	He repeated this at three other Straight bars before his
determination gave out. He had hit the jackpot.
	When he got home, it was simply a matter of writing down the four
new identities he had acquired. He wouldn't even have to keep temporary
files. The scraps of paper he had jotted the information down on were no
longer needed.
	He filled out the credit card applications substituting his own
address for theirs, using their names, social security numbers and date of
birth, filling in their major banks names, and simply leaving the account
numbers under the banks blank.
	Into the mailbox..  Kansas City Februrary 2002
	A month later, after getting his February check, he was a rich
man.
	There were a couple of rejections, but for the most part, making
up a profession and annual income was simply one of the more creative
aspects of the endeavor. If the banks rejected the application on the
grounds that they needed more information, or needed the account numbers
filled in, Fuck'em. There were always three to six other banks who would
accept the applications precisely as-is.
	Such is the way of greed in the world. Bill smiled to himself.
	Now that the last of the cards had arrived in the mail, it was
time for him to leave.
	Sorting through his worldly possessions, trying to decided on what
he absolutely could not live without, he ended up selecting a few favorite
clothes, putting them in a large zippered nylon gear bag, and disappeared.
	There was very little of his past life he wanted to keep anymore.
	On his way to the airport, he stopped by BizMart and purchased a
Top-of-the-line Toshiba Laptop. It was the smallest and most powerful
system he could find.
	In addition to DOS 6.0 and Microsoft Windows, it's hardware
included a color LCD screen, a track ball, dual 3.5" floppy disks, and a
CD-ROM utility package containing lots of other programs like an Atlas,
Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and Writers Reference and Word Processor which
were all included with the price of the machine. Great. What a bargain!
	Throwing away the receipts and boxes when he reached the airport
by taxi, he tipped the driver well, feeling in an extra special good mood.
	Sitting in the airport bar, the smell of sweat and exhaustion
permeating the air, having a drink, he sat at a table alone with his
Toshiba LapTop looking through his Atlas, trying to decided on where he
wanted to go.
	Phoenix was as good as any. He liked the hot dry air.
	Buying the ticket would leave an electronic trace that he was all
too aware of, but then, he also knew how fast investigation moved. Hell,
there wouldn't even be a question until he didn't pay the bill on the
credit cards for three months. By then, he would be long gone from Kansas
City.  Phoenix February 2002
	A Four O'clock flight, stopping briefly in Denver, and two hours
later he was relaxing in a Ramada Inn just off Cactus and I-17, not far
from DownTown.
	He picked up a local business paper from the lobby, checking to
make sure there was a BBS listing in the back, putting it back for a
nationwide Personal Computer newspaper. There were always more numbers in
a national paper.
	Having dinner, still on Card One of Identity One, with a credit
limit of $5000 on this one card, and in another thousand it would be
useless.
	Stopping by a bank and a QuikTrip, he pulled a few hundred bucks
off the card using ATM's (his favorite tellers) and headed for Charlies.
	Bill picked up a Gay newspaper, and of course in the back there
was a section in the personals where the Gay BBS's were listed. We live in
The Information Age. One number would lead to ten others, which in turn
each lead to ten others... etc..
	Now all he needed was customers.
	That would be tomorrows job. Tonight, it was time to celebrate his
new found freedom! Taking a bold and totally self centered step was the
best thing he had ever done for himself.
	A couple of quarters of cocaine which he purchased out in the
parking lot, and a few dozen cocktails later, he was celebrating like he
had never done before. To Hell with AZT and DDI. He would perfect his own
body chemistry in his own special way!
	He had forgotten how good life could be in a chemicaled state!
	



From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c1b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 08:17:50 -0500

Later that evening, after closing the bar down, on the way back to the
hotel, he had the cab driver stop by a couple of more banks, (ATM's)
leaving the maxed-out card in the machine, tipped the driver lavishly with
a grin and spent the rest of the night sitting up in his hotel room
drinking Cokes (Coca-Cola) with coke (Cocaine) put back in.
	He had re-invented the original formula Coke! He laughed to
himself.
	He sat up for the next several hours, plugged into the hotel phone
line, calling various Bulletin Board Systems throughout the Greater
Phoenix-Mesa and surrounding areas, leaving his name and a small note
describing his "special electronic services" available to those who didn't
have the know-how or the guts to pull it off for themselves.
	He cleared the long distance calls with the night manager by
slipping the man a fifty, and there was no problem.
	Then he called a couple of the Universities, since there was
always something going on in the computer underworld to keep the students
ahead of their parents.
	Around noon he took a nap, and then got back up to go searching
for a Condominium in one of the better neighborhoods in town, making sure
he would be allowed to add additional phone lines for his future
computers. No problem for the tenants association nor the owner of said
condo, if you're paying cash for the deposit and rent 3 moths in advance.
	Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon he reached the limit on his second
card at a cash machine in a shopping center a couple of blocks from his
condo. Gee, that went fast. Ten grand in 24 hours.
	No problem. He still had a dozen other cards in his billfold,
along side about $900 in cash for expenses.
	He then called the department of Social Security and had his
disability check transferred to his new address, just in case things got
slow and to make sure they knew he was dead yet. The check would pay the
rent anyway...
	His first taker came when a kid in the fifth grade wanted a new
$1200 plasma monitor for his computer, but couldn't afford it.
	Bill laughed to himself, smiled and thought: Hell, you gotta start
somewhere.
	So, in meeting the kid at the ChrisTown Mall, the kid paid Bill a
gram of his Stepfathers cocaine, a credit card number and a phone card
number. There are all kinds of barter available.
	Whipping out his next credit card, Bill purchased a printer for
himself, the new plasma monitor for the kid, and shook his hand. The kid
went home with a new toy and Bill had something even better.
	Numbers on a slip of paper and a start.
	The next few days Bill spent playing around on the boards with
local teens and college kids. Then, as things do get around, one kid told
his brother about the man named Bill and his services. The brother it
seems was a little bit older. A corporate junior executive. And an
ambitious man.
	The guy wanted something really incriminating on his competition
for an upcoming promotion. He knew the guy wasn't as clean as he claimed
to be, but so far, he couldn't find anything out on the guy on his own.
He was absolutely sure however that the man had a past.
	"No problem." Bill smiled.
	The guy gave Bill as much information on the competitor as he
knew, which amounted to little more than his name and address. It was
enough.
	The Arizona power company, "The Salt River Project" computer was
kind enough to give up the guys date of birth, and from there, The Phoenix
Police computers as well as the Arizona Highway Patrol computers were
dumping a file to Bills LapTop that he found quite funny.
	So many secrets can be kept when one has the money...
	The guy paid Bill a thousand dollars cash, and with a smile, Bill
told the guy that if he or any of his friends needed anything else in the
future, he could be reached on most BBS's under the handle "Computer
Queen".
	The man didn't even flinch, and Bill's being Gay didn't seem to
affect him at all from the sparkle in his eyes as Bill handed him the
sheaf of paper.
	The next few days Bill spent busy, building a half a dozen new
identities complete with birth records, social security cards, State ID's
and passports all containing his own picture, when he got his next major
client.
	A fairly well-off college girl seemed to be having a problem at
home. Her mother, who was in the process of her third divorce was having
problems with her latest Ex-Husband who was equally well-to-do, and both
were being harassed by the Ex (mostly the mother) and the girl simply
wanted the man taken out.
	Not killed or anything, but she wanted the man to go through
enough grief that he would forget about them for a while, long enough for
them to get their lives together and get out of the state, where he
couldn't find them. She wanted Bill to keep him busy enough that the man
would stay off their asses.
	Ok.
	Bill agreed that for $5000 (A very reasonable amount considering
the mothers income bracket as a Real Estate Agent) he would take the man
out for Quite a while.
	A certified check made out to one of Bill's new identities
exchanged hands and the very next day the girl left a note on the school
BBS of her gratitude and Thanks.
	In the middle of the night, Bill was able to not only transfer
them back their $5000 from the assholes own bank account, he took a
sizeable portion for himself, transferred $25,000 in bonds into one of his
pseudo-identities, and had the IRS searching for the man on Tax Fraud.
	Right after he notified the IRS, he left a note in the sheriffs
computer to the effect that the man was to be apprehended immediately, was
considered armed and dangerous, and the FBI would be by in the morning to
take him into Federal custody.
	Good Guy / Bad Guy, it's all the same.  Phoenix March 2002
	With his new life in full swing, Bills attention grew wider in its
perspective. No longer was he sitting alone in a studio apartment
concerned over his own health and the rate of it's deterioration. There
were other things going on in the world, besides one Fag dying.
	After Bill set up a discreet Geneva account for his windfalls,
(Using the phone card number from his very first client) he went to work
for other people.
	Bill figured he was currently making about $2500 dollars an hour,
during the times that he worked, and when he wasn't, his money was making
money for him. Still, it wasn't enough.
	It wasn't that he was greedy, he just needed more.
	Bill had been raised as a good Mormon boy (RLDS actually), raised
with that special respect for information gathering that only a Mormon or
a CyberPunk could understand.
	Information was power. Regardless of what hands it was in.
	As he sat in a bar laughing and talking with some of his new
acquaintances, who had no idea as to how or where he made his money, he
remembered what his father John Potter had told him as a young boy.
	"No matter what they do to you, they can't take away what's in your
head."
	True enough Dear Father. Of course, John Potter had meant it at
the time as a guilt-tactic tool to get Bill to go on to college.
(Something he had always wanted to do from the age of twelve.)
	Being raised in a church which understood what modern day prophets
and seers were really all about, genetically breeding for them as it were,
Bill felt more than just a little superior to most people in that his own
memory was very good. Exceptional as a matter of fact.
	Prophets and Seers worked from a "Big Picture" point of view. In
the full understanding of any one thing, it was much easier to take it in
as part of the whole.
	Bill saw a picture looming on the dark horizon that few others on
the planet did. He knew this world was going to change radically in the
next year, and not all of it for the good.
	The Soviets were no longer. The Commonwealth of Independent States
were all capitalists. Despite the change in administrations to a
Democratic President, the Trilateral Commission was continuing to gut the
United States. The New World Order was here. And big changes were coming.
	This was March. He had to move faster.
	There were things he needed done before "The Great Fall".
	Bill called back to Kansas City, to his brother Norm's lover Louis
at a company called Real Share Inc, and left the phone number where he
could be reached in case of emergencies.
	It was for both of their benefits. The man was the absolute best
Hardware Tech Bill had ever known, and Bill was always going to need a
black box builder. Also, if something happened, and the guy suddenly lost
his job, he could come to work for Bill.
	If the fall of The Great Holy Dollar Empire came before he
anticipated it, he wanted his connections to know that he would still want
to be in contact, perhaps even offering them a position if it came to
that.
	You never knew. Besides, Louis was family.




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c8a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:20:14 -0500

Paris European Community November 2006
	The tension in the air was thick these days.
	Bill wondered if perhaps ignorance wasn't bliss after all. To not
know meant one didn't have to worry. Everyone was worried about everything
these days.
	So much had changed in the past five years.
	When The United States of America crashed and burned, everyone
making less than $250,000 a year found themselves quite poor and having to
readjust to a new life. Aerospace Engineers were now raising crops in
hydroponic farms on the tops of their tentatively repossessed home, while
their wives (Once Administrative Assistants and corporate Big Shots) now
took in sewing or washing when it could be found. Child labor again became
a necessity.
	When the banks tried to repossess everything that was bought on
credit, they originally thought themselves luck since the Japanese were
buying everything at ten times it's value, until Japan stopped and pulled
all of their money out of the country. Then the banks either went under or
pulled out of the country.
	Citicorp actually went to the trouble and so far as to repossess
the country of Brazil. It's now been renamed "The Republic of Citicorp."
	Corporate indenture became invaluable. It meant survival. That is,
IF one could get off the North American continent. These massive surges of
people moving from one continent to another in search of work and or food
caused a cultural mix unprecedented before in human history.  One could
easily find a French-speaking oriental with a Spanish name in almost any
country these days.
	Two entirely new languages sprang up from this. "Unispeak" based
it's simple sentences that mixed languages and was written primarily as
universal symbols, then there was "Newspeak" the streets own version of a
multicultural slang mixed by the street and used for it's own ends.
	The work week allowed resting three days out of ten working days.
	During the interim between the federal governments collapse and
the multinational corporations, the "MegaCorps" finally leaving, the
environments around the world were trashed. Sometimes by more than one
company. Eventually, The New World Order got around to forming a haphazard
world government to prevent these sorts of environmental catastrophes from
happening again, but the new government still favored the rich. That made
it a tragedy. Cleaning the planet up was left to the poor and those who
felt they needed to. Not by those who should have done it in the first
place.
	During this same time, discoveries continued to be made, and
exploration probes sent. Man finally realized that he could get MUCH more
done sending several robotic probes, than by sending a single manned
mission. JPL, or Jet Propulsion Laboratories in cooperation with the North
American Space Administration "NASA" found that using their combined
efforts instead of competition, and using the equipment now left abandoned
to them, they could in fact turn a profit by doing work for other
countries. Profits were then usually reinvested in the corporation in the
form of more probes, which discovered the second asteroid belt beyond the
orbit of Pluto and the tenth planet, Persephone as well as the 11th and
12th planets "Xoctil" and "Flower" respectively as well as the companion
star to our own sun, "Nemesis" and it's planets. All of which were of
great interest to MegaCorps looking to expand even further.
	Artificial Intelligence made great leaping strides after the
formation of The Programmers Guild and mankind for the first time could
see his first artificial "child" speak words in the forms of questions.
The next set of children he brought into the world were not as celebrated.
	"Clones" were used as organ banks and kept on ice since they had no
legal soul. "Genotype Designs" were patented lifeforms, designed for a
specific purpose and by definition had no legal soul. "PreSelects" were
people designed from hand picking specific genes, usually claimed as ones
children, though legally, they had no souls. "Androids" were artificial
flesh and blood men, designed with limited thinking abilities, and taught
nothing beyond simple rote labor and they had no souls.  "CyberForms" were
cybernetic life forms given artificial intelligence for minds, and they
too by definition had no souls. Slavery had returned, and was quite
popular in the new age of man.
	Bill looked up from the table he was sitting at in an outdoor cafe
in Paris, to see a poster plastered across the window of a shop showing
The Sierra Club standing up before World Court demanding the rights to the
genetic patterns of endangered species.
	They didn't realize they were going to make MAN an endangered
specie, if they didn't stop bringing so many animals back to life. Sure,
Teradactyls are neat looking, but they ate worse than elephants
	Bill flipped open the thin flat chrome Cray hand computer and
punched in the phone number of the local videodisk library. He preferred
an old movie to watching the New World CyberPunks sitting across from him
who were cyborgs by choice. They were simply unbearable. Why anyone would
choose to have their natural body parts removed and replaced with
cybernetic enhancements was quite beyond him. Holding the Cray as he would
a magazine, kept his eyes politely occupied as he waited.
	"Could I get you anything else Monsieur?" The waiter asked, who
looked as if he was the victim of one of the latest designer plagues
cooked up by terrorists.
	"Another scotch & water would be great. Thank you." Bill smiled
sincerely at the man. At least he was preferable to the emotional monsters
he had seen as of late. The waiter may have been poor, but at least he was
real.
	Bill had no doubt that as soon as the cafe manager could afford
it, the human waiter would be replaced by a humanoid, semi-humanoid, or
CyberForm slave who didn't require wages.
	"Bitch." Morris said sliding into the chair opposite Bill.
	"It's about Goddamned time you got here." Bill said closing the
Cray and abandoning his movie, folding the bright polished chrome case as
one would a book and laying it on the table beside him. "We've got trouble
with the CyberPunks."
	"Get me a drink. What kind of trouble?" Morris asked as the man
delivered Bills scotch. "Aren't you going to ask about my flight?" He
added.
	"Could I trouble you for another? For my friend? I hate to bother."
Bill winced. "Thank you." Bill said from behind his gold mirrorshades,
despite the cloudy overcast day. The humidity and heat felt oppressive as
the air hung heavy and thick on their skin.
	"No problem at all Monsieur. One moment."  The waiter said walking
off in a sincerely good mood. Bill could see that the older waiter with
graying temples enjoyed serving someone from his own era, than from this
new age upon them all. Back 25 years ago, there was simple courtesy. That
was rare these days.
	"They're wanting to splinter. The New Founded League of Gladiators
are up for sale. How was your flight?" Bill asked sipping his cocktail.
	For him and Morris to carry on two separate conversations at the
same time was not unusual, except that most of the time they could carry
on more. Anywhere from thirty to forty was not difficult, now that their
minds had been Metamorphosed, although it did tend to attract attention
and that was not the point of this public meeting in the small street-side
cafe.
	"The NFL Gladiators in combination with their GAMZ line would make
them a MegaCorp. I see the problem now. The flight was NOT fine. I had a
guy sit next to me who threw up all over me during descent." Morris said
wrinkling his nose. "The Bitch."
	"They're wanting to use Guild funds to do it though. I'm worried
that our teen recruitment would be lost to them." Bill explained. "Don't
tell me something like that when I'm drinking. That's disgusting."
	"You asked." Morris shrugged.
	"Your drink Monsieur." The waiter smiled sitting the cocktail in
front of Morris.
	"Thank you." Bill said handing him his own BancoCard. "Double the
price for your tip." Bill whispered quietly to the waiter before releasing
the card.
	"Oui Monsieur!" The waiter hurried away before Bill would change
his mind.
	"They ARE entitled to 5% of resources you know." Morris continued.
"Besides, we would still get the nerds and the Fags." He shrugged his big
wide shoulders. "Since when do you tip that much?"
	"I suppose so. At general Conference I'll give them my go ahead
then." Bill nodded. "I just felt sorry for the guy is all. Do you mind?"
He said in a low voice, to keep it quiet.
	"I'll back you up. Boop will as well." Morris added briefly.
"You're a sucker for a sob story. You know that don't you?"
	Soon the waiter came back and handed Bill his card. The man bowed
deeply to Bill and Morris and then thanked them profusely, gratitude
written all over his face. Bill and Morris glanced at each other for a
micro-instant, until they were sure the waiter was out of hearing range.
	"The fucking Nipponese are teaching that you know." Morris said
with pity and anger in his voice. "You'll notice THEIR bow to the rest of
the world is barely a perceptible nod. The fucking cocky Jap bastards."
	"I know, but for now, it's all these people have Morris. I don't
like it either. Maybe your project can help. Are you taking on the
so-called 'Untalented'?"
	"Everyone is talented at something." Morris insisted. "And yes
Bitch, I'm taking on everyone that wants to go. Everyone. Even if there's
not enough room, I'll just build another ship."
	"Morris, you haven't finished the first one yet. Why do you now
have FIVE in various states of construction?" Bill asked disappointedly.
	"well no if it's any of your business, they're all going to
different StarSystems and funded by different groups. Now aren't they?"
He asked sarcastically. "A lot you know. I haven't seen you in six months.
You're looking old Bill."
	"Well you fucking burned out old whore!" Bill laughed. "You're one
to talk. At least I'm not going gray like you!"
	"It's the radiation up there I'm sure." Morris grinned. "How have
you been doing Bill? I mean REALLY."
	"No complaints. Yourself?" Bill asked reaching across the table,
taking Morris's big hand into his own. "I suppose I have missed you a
little. A letter from you through E-Mail would have cured that though."
	"Slut. I missed you too." Morris smiled squeezing Bills hand.
"Feel like Sydney after the conference?"
	"Yeah. I do. I need to stop by Kansas City though first."
	"Mormon shit?" Morris whined. "Don't you people ever quit?"
	"Yes Mormon shit. And No. We don't." Bill grinned.
	A woman who looked like she had never worked a day in her life,
complete with freshly laser cut deep brown hair, trailing her coat made of
newly cloned mink over the ground as she walked over to them.
	"Do you MIND?" She demanded drawing the attention of the entire
cafe. It was so obvious her shit didn't stink, that Morris couldn't help
but grin.
	Bill looked up at her and laughed. "Mind what?" He asked in the
growing silence as Morris snickered, putting his hand over his face to
prevent anyone from seeing he was grinning at the woman, embarrassed for
her since she didn't have the sense to be embarrassed for herself.
	"SMOKING! I mean it IS drifting over into my area! I don't LIKE
smoke in my face!" She said standing by their table, freshly manicured
nails on a small white hand on her hip, tiny foot in an even tinier black
stiletto heel tapping in impatience.
	Bill and Morris both burst out laughing heartily, laughing loudly
at her expense.
	"PISS OFF BITCH!" Morris said laughing until his eyes began to
water.
	The crowd by this time started moving towards the exits. They did
not want to become involved with a woman who was obviously from a Major
Family and a Man, though no one knew his face, could tell he carried
himself with some dignity. That meant trouble brewing. Very large trouble.
	It was quickly becoming a test of wills between someone who
thought they were a very important person, and someone who actually was.
Bill being the latter.
	




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c8b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:21:52 -0500

Soon, taking in her face and body with an intense scan from his very alert
eyes, Bill had quickly run her bone structure build, and facial features
through vast genetic files in his head, which now rivaled most
conventional computers.
	"You're Family Torriano." Bill said quietly, alerting Morris in his
tone that this was possibly ready to become an incident. "Babe isn't it?"
He quickly added.
	People on the street seemed to pause a moment as the waiter paced
back and forth from behind his bar station, wondering desperately what he
should do to diffuse the situation.
	"Yes!" She said in self satisfaction, thinking she had been
recognized as the VIP she thought she was, and that finally the matter was
settled, and began to turn...
	"DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE CUNT!" Morris said loud enough that the
foot traffic was stopping. Even the people on the other side of the
intersection stopped to look and see what was going on.
	"I do believe you owe my friend and I an apology." Morris said
again quietly, blowing smoke in her face in defiance of her attitude. "If
you'll notice the sign over there, this is an outdoor smoking permitted
area."
	The girl of 20 was clearly shaken from his last Earth shattering
outburst, and had now become flushed with rage. Tendons on her neck
tightened to steel cables as Bill could almost see her blood pressure
readout in numbers on her forehead. He grinned.
	"I don't believe you realize who you are talking to." She said with
threat in her voice and a predator grin on her face.
	"Oh but we do Babe." Bill said quietly. "I don't think you do
however."
	"Who the fuck ARE you?" She demanded.
	"Morris Zwicky and Bill Potter." Morris said never moving from his
chair as he continued to blow smoke in her face. "Gonna remember those
names Babe?"
	For the briefest of moments, a flash in time, Bill and Morris
could see her ready to lunge at Bill, fingernails poised as the surgical
blades beneath snicked out from their casing beneath. Before she acted on
the impulse however, fear overcame her and the blades withdrew.
	"Fuck this place and Fuck both you faggots!" She said whirling
around, mink flying, knocking their glasses over and whipping across Bills
face in the process. Before the enraged woman could take a single step,
thanks to his Metamorphosis and Retroviral Enhancements, Morris and his
jacked up reflexes had grabbed the girl by the hair of her head, and was
holding her head down, with her face squashed against the glass table top.
	"Monsieur?" Morris said calmly, motioning the waiter over with his
free hand, as the other held the screaming woman down in the mess she had
just made. The scene which had escalated just as the crowd which left knew
it would, was now attracting the attention of the entire intersection with
people standing at a distance of 20 feet away from the quaint little white
picket fence which surrounded the small courtyard of the outdoor cafe.
	The waiter, clearly sick over the entire situation, could barely
find the strength to palely drag his feet over to them, stepping slowly
closer to the woman he knew would have his head by this afternoon.
	"Babe here is from a very wealthy family." Bill explained
apologetically. "She really is very sorry for the upset she's caused this
morning and quite regretful for the loss of business she's caused you."
	"Yeah poor little thing. She can't help herself. She's too dumb to
learn any type of manners." Morris said helpfully as he stared down as her
infuriated face pressed against the glass table top. "She would now
however like to apologize sir."
	"FUCK you Faggot!" She was barely able to mouth the words properly.
	"Wrong answer Babe." Bill said quietly nodding at Morris.
	Morris brutally wound her long brown hair around his hand and held
the girl up to the waiters face, lifting her completely off the ground by
her hair. When she finally realized her fighting and screaming (although
it probably DID hurt. Bill though) was not going to get her anywhere
(Which took quite a bit of time) nor that Morris was going to release
either her or his hand from the waiters shoulder holding the pale white
man in place, (and most likely steady) she was finally able to rasp out
through the tears...
	"I'm sorry." with her eyes closed and tears streaming down her
face.
	"Now see Babe. That didn't hurt a bit now did it?" Morris asked
rhetorically as he smoothed her hair down and handed her Mink back to her.
"Being polite always works so much better when dealing with people.  Don't
you agree?"
	Bill watched the tears running down her face with disgust as she
cried silently, not even making a whimper.
	"I think Babe would like to pay you now for the loss of business
she's caused you Monsieur. Isn't that right Babe?" Bill encouraged.
	The girl just nodded as she dug in her hand bag and thrust a wad
of money at the waiter, what looked to be about $700.00 in cash from
Bill's estimation.
	"OH BABE!" Morris whined out loud for the crowd. "You're carrying
CASH! Now what is Daddy going to say about you carrying a highly illegal
form of currency?"
	The girl however had had enough and took off running out the exit
and down the street, hair in a mess and face smeared like an artists
watercolor palate.
	Morris and Bill smiled and continued to chit chat with each other
as if nothing had happened for a few moments until the crowd had moved on.
Bill saw a group of homeless people dressed in rags out of the corner of
his eye cheering and clapping over the scene. For once, they had got
justice.
	"Monsieur?" Bill motioned the waiter over and ordered cocktails for
them both.
	The man, physically trembling as he brought the ordered drinks,
nearly spilled them as people finally started to return to the cafe.
	"Can you make use of the cash sir?" Morris asked the man quietly
and politely. "If not, we can credit you."
	"No Monsieur. The cash is fine. I buy food and clothing at a market
that still handles cash. For a fee." He smiled, explaining to them low
enough not to be overheard as he cleaned their table.
	"Ok." Morris said taking the drink set before him. "Merci!"
	Bill handed the man his BancoCard to pay for the drinks. When the
waiter was about to object and give them their drinks for free, a single
look from Bill was all he needed to understand that was exactly what he
was NOT going to do.
	"Oui Monsieur." He said accepting the card, swallowing hard.
	As Bill sat there and mentally took his adrenalin levels down, he
rewarded himself with a quick burst of endorphin.
	Babe Torriano was the very essence of what they were fighting
against. The rich dominating the poor. Morris had balanced the scales for
one brief moment.
	These people around him had lived their lives in fear of the rich,
their money, and their power. Recently, with the New World Order, the rich
and super rich had become even more monstrous. They completely defied the
words sensibilities. There was no longer anything the poor could do to
fight back.
	The Guild however COULD.
	They walked along the streets of Paris without discussing the
matter since it had taken place. Bill thought perhaps Morris was still
riding his adrenalin high, but that was his own business and no one
else's.
	Finally, they cam to the Arch De Triomphe.
	General Conference was conducted on one channel of the cellular
network, using their Downlink chips. Their mind processed the information
exchanged between each of them in conversation, as business was conducted
as well. So in effect, one could be standing with a glass of wine talking
with someone next to him about anything at all, while simultaneously
processing information and voting on any given issue.
	It wasn't necessary to be AT General Conference, since one could
be anywhere in the world, in orbit, or the moon. The Communications Web
extended wherever there was man. However, it was encouraged that one
attend, and most Programmers enjoyed it, since it renewed their sense of
Family, a unit and helped them all keep their humanity i mind.
	Being so close to the machine, it was all too easy to become one.
	"Good job Bill!" A man with a friend waved to him as he and Morris
made their way through the crowd. He smiled and waved back.
	While the incident with Babe Torriano had been going on, when Bill
kicked in his adrenalin, he also tripped a broadcast soft-witch in his
Downlink chip, so that every Guild member on the communications web would
eventually see what had taken place.
	His hand was shaken more than once for the same thing that day.
	"Girlfriend!" Bill called Boop over as he and Morris went over to
meet their husband. "How was Croatia? Anything exciting going on?"
	"Hello Bill. Morris dear." He said kissing them both. "Oh, business
as usual. Whomever shoved those 1984 computers off on those people should
be shot. I can't explain to an Ape how to fashion tools and I can't
explain to Croats how to use 6502 microprocessors."
	"So how did you handle it?" Morris asked intensely curious.
	"Trashed the system. Ordered state-of-the-art Cray technology for
them and stayed with it until it had been installed and they were trained
in it's use.  (Billed it to?)
	"At least they have a fighting chance to survive now." Bill
commented. "Though I'm not sure if I've seen any projected reports of how
they're to fair the war.
	"Say! Was that your Gotcha program I saw go out over the wire a
while ago?" Boop asked lifting another glass of wine off a waiter and
replacing the empty glass. "You and Morris's signals were so close on the
ComWeb right then."
	"Yes. It was me." Bill admitted. "I couldn't have done it without
Morris though, he distracted her."
	"Her daddy's going to be more than just a little pissed when he
finds out she's given all of her trust fund to feed the starving people in
Central America." Morris smiled. "Hell, she will too when she finds out!"
He laughed.
	"At this point, it won't much matter anyway." Bill said. "This will
be the last General Conference in person until after the war."
	"Perhaps we could meet in orbit?" Boop suggested.
	"Perhaps." Bill conceded. "It depends on how many of us survive."




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c9a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:23:03 -0500

Earth December 2006
	The ICBMs almost took the comet out. Almost.
	They exploded their warheads just above it's surface, vaporizing
the water and gasses shifting it's orbit almost enough. Almost.
	It was a very good plan though. The structure of the comet however
was such that the laws of physics simply couldn't be broken. When it
finally shattered, the chuck that broke off was almost a mile in diameter.
	The world barely had time to realize the plan hadn't worked, as
they watched breathlessly on CNN through cameras at the orbital facilities
and on the weather satellites.
	By the time the video was clear of the after glow from the flash,
there were 14 seconds left. It hit 200 miles south of Sri Lanka at a speed
of 40 miles per second...
	In the midst of the environmental havoc, Pan-Arabia and China
wasted no time at all. Perhaps they thought they could move about
unnoticed. Tsunami's raced around the globe as the worlds oceans sloshed
onto continents and the Far East wanted it's First Strike.
	The Prince of Pan-Arabia marched a million troops into Iran,
Turkey and Egypt and as Catholic Empire ships went without aid, the
Mid-East hit them as well.
	Algeria, which now included Tunisia and Northern Morocco captured
the king of Morocco.
	Israel, without the aid of The United States for four years now,
found it's air force quickly depleted and Pan-Arabia reclaimed Palestine.
In a slaughter.
	Earthquakes and Aftershocks originating beneath central Asia
destroyed a sizeable portion of Greece and Turkey.
	Libya, quickly took the opportunity to begin trouble between
Pan-Arabia and France.
	When Pan-Arabia captured a Cardinal of the Catholic Empire, in a
ship headed for parts unknown, the Catholic Empire quickly took over as
the government of Italy and assumed control of it's army. Eventually they
quit using the Mediterranean as it was now unsafe due to pirates and
terrorists.
	Pan-Arabia walked quickly across the top and down through the
center of Africa. It was gaining in popularity as a champion of the people
and ousted pro western leaders from South Africa.
	Meanwhile, a similar program of unification was underway in Asia.
	The Pan-Arabian (PA) raging conquests began to reach their
boundaries as the desire for more power threatened central and southern
Africa into alliances with the Mid-East. They were by then a force 200
million strong.
	1.5 Billion people will die before this has ended.
	The PA moved on what was left of Turkey and the Greeks moved
against them.
	The Balkan Nation, which included Romaine and Bulgaria also
threatened war against PA when they cut off the Bosphorus straits,
interfering with commerce in the New World Order.
	Drought hit Africa and Southern Asia as world climates changed.
	The Greek Navy suffered great losses against the Turks and Arabs.
A plea for reinforcements fell on deaf ears. When PA openly announced it's
continued aggression, North America became involved and re-supplied the
Greek Navy. After Greek positions on Cypress were overrun, they
surrendered.
	NORAD Corporation stepped in after negotiated contracts with North
American countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
	The Far East reacted nervously.
	Due to MegaCorp involvement, there was a breakdown in peace
negotiations in Geneva. The UN refused to recognize Multinational
Corporations as countries any more.
	People who had any way at all began to evacuate the planet.
	Global War was unavoidable now.
	China did in fact launch it's surprise attack just as the models
had shown.
	The Davis Straits, located between the Baffin Islands and
Greenland became a major lifeline between North American countries and the
CIS across the arctic sea. It also became and ideal target.
	China launched an attack towards the European Community in a
conquering sweep across southern CIS on it's way to Turkey to link up with
Pan-Arabia for a combined attack on allied positions.
	Turkey signed a peace treaty with both attackers but it was broken
when from Tripoli, PA naval forces hit the west coast of Turkey.  In this
same attack, China nuked northeastern Turkey. Having conquered Turkey,
Chinese/Arab attention was turned to Greece, unleashing germ warfare that
lasted 9 months killing all people and vegetation.
	The Chinese satellite nation of Albania invaded Greece with light
armored vehicles, but launched bacterial infections towards Italy.
	Then, from Greece and Albania, Chinese/Arab forces threatened
Bosnia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia with an Amphibious
assault, but this was delayed due to a counter offensive launched from
Portugal.
	The old Yugoslavia was still invaded however and during this time
Italy was suffering from germ warfare. A drought hit Italy and it's food
producing regions were destroyed.
	Severe weather pattern changes were still racing around the world
as the planet tried to recover from both the comet and the nuclear
nightmares.
	Civil war broke out in Italy with the tensions mounting and
everyone and their cousins thought they had a better solution. Catholic
Empire demanded military assistance from North America. Northern Italy
disagreed and broke away from the church.
	The new, Northern Italian Catholics expelled old church leaders
from their region. It was found out that the civil war was secretly backed
by Albanian subversives that had succeeded in penetrating the Catholic
Empire by paying of corrupt officials of the church.
	CNN was there during the investigations and the world watched it
all in High Definition until Albania began to aerial bombard the region.
Rome, weak and corrupt could do nothing as Albania ripped off the Vatican
of it's wealth, and the pope, now head of state, died a prisoner.
	While all eyes were on the capture of the Pope and the destruction
of Rome, the Arab/Chinese were also pushing on towards Venice. The attack
was so immense that evacuation plans were in effect as far as Malta and
the central Mediterranean islands.
	The battle for Venice came at a time of confusion and civil war.
The Italian Air force held them off for quite a while, but eventually the
Eastern forces destroyed it with a nuclear burst over the city that burned
trees and damaged the already rotten face of Venice. The forces penetrated
to the center of the city as Venetians waited in vain for assistance.
Their pleas went unheeded and the city surrendered.
	With the conflict too close to France to be ignored, the French
Fleet joined in, but in enthusiasm over extended itself and was destroyed
in the Adriatic Sea trying to cut off Albania from it's suppliers.
	The French and other western forces were not yet ready to admit
defeat and crossed the Alps and Appennine mountains in an attempt to
forestall complete subjugation of all Italy by Easterners. It ended in
utter failure. The French regrouped after defeat.
	When the comet struck, most of England sank, killing a quarter of
a million people. London was shaken but remained an island city thanks to
the growing technology of Seawall construction brought on by The
Greenhouse Effect and the Dutch skill. In an aftershock, Westminister
Abbey was ripped open by a quake during Easter services.
	The Easterners invaded the west coast of Italy. The papacy was
forced to flee to a new land. While there were still yet more French
defeats.
	Prince Albert of Monaco was captured.
	Then, there were setbacks for the East due to tactical errors.
Once they regained their losses, they nuked Florence. The destruction of
Monaco was accomplished through long starvation, then simply by fire.
	Sea and land attacks were made on the French Riviera in the battle
for Marseilles. Eastern penetration into southern and southwestern France
was done through germ warfare.
	The first phase of the Eastern Offensive against Europe consisted
of a 3-pronged attack against France, Italy and Spain. There was extensive
use of nuclear and germ warfare, and no remedies available for the sick
and dying.
	The Swiss were attacked and Geneva was a specific target.
MegaCorp executives had by now cleared the planet however. Along with
their funds...
	Geneva's indigenous population couldn't leave so easily however.
	Easterners confiscated gold reserves and left the nations people
starving to death. Just as the MegaCorps had done to North America.
	After consuming all of Spain, Chinese/Arabian forces moved north
into France and from the east Switzerland & Italy to penetrate into
northern France. Paris was besieged.
	Notre Dame was already damaged from the comet quakes, but the
invading forces tore the face from the cathedral and the Arch of Triumph
was sliced in two from orbit as a statement. There were reports of
cannibalism among prisoners. Finally Paris surrendered.
	This wasn't good enough however, and the peace of Paris was broken
leaving 300,000 dead. Paris was utterly destroyed, pillaged and raped.
	A British attempt at saving Paris was in vain.
	After the comet, Britains capitol had to be relocated west in
Montreal, where they were able to raise money to purchase ICBM's from the
NORAD Corporation, in an attempt to retake Europe from the Hudson Bay,
despite complications from the weather.
	Britts, and a few French Canadians, united with a few other North
American allies to help the French resistance, but all were slaughtered by
the unthinkable numbers of Eastern troops.
	The Chinese detonated a high yield high altitude nuclear device
destroying a vast area of France, but justly included the destruction of
the commander who ordered the weapon used.
	The island of Scotland was invaded.
	When England sank, and the government had to be moved to North
America, it left Scotland an island. With Easterners controlling western
Europe the British sought to use Scotland as a military base. The Scots
however objected and defied British rights of sovereignty over them. The
Britts sent a force in to occupy Scotland forcing the people back to the
Highlands. Then the Highlanders sought aid from the Easterners. They
attacked, defeating British coastal defenses at Edinburgh.
	London was now surrounded by a shallow ocean and left as an island
city fortress. While the city island was frozen and fighting cold winter
storms, the Easterners surrounded them and through tactical nukes, and
bugs cooked up by their geneticists, spread fire and disease throughout
the city, leaving all of England devoid of life.
	Poland and Non-Corporate Germany allied with the east quickly
enough and then proceeded to invade Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and
northern France.
	Meanwhile, western forces were striking in the Persian Gulf.
	There was the death of a Corporate German Commander. His
replacement turned out to be a traitor and brought about the fall of the
Central European Defense. (CED). The Easterners walked across Holland and
Belgium and the last stand of the western allies in Europe was at Bruges.
	The Far East and Mid-East now owned Europe.
	The turning point in World War III came when Westerners finally
agreed to the contract and the NORAD Corporation took the offensive.
	




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c9b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:24:20 -0500

At first, the East made a lot of nuclear strikes at strategic sites, then
they became intermittent and erratic, without thought or direction.
However, those first strikes caused mass destruction around the Northern
Alliance.
	Nuclear bombardment and radiation affected both North America and
the CIS, leaving entire cities evacuated. Food became in short supply once
again. Lands that were governed by incapable officials, at both local and
national levels were unable to meet the crisis which only compounded the
problems, resulting in further chaos and death.
	Yet another economic crisis hit the North American continent. The
governments unable to control dissidents and rioters that roamed the
streets in search of food clothing and shelter, the hungry and diseased
suffering from radiation and poisons have no further reason to fear
anything and in their quest for money to buy what little food there was
left, stormed the banks again.
	Banks were closed due to the second economic depression in five
years. Battles are fought among the citizens for anything that was left in
the way of food money or treasures.
	New York was nuked by a Cluster Orbital Nuclear Fire-Weapon for
Light Atmosphere Ignition (CONFLAG) device that was detonated where
Vermont meets Canada. An earthquake rocked New York City tumbling
Manhattan skyscrapers into the harbor. Water mains were broken and the
remaining drinking water was polluted. New York sank, even below the
levels where it's new sea wall could save it, and as Long Island
submerged, Manhattan became the "Venice of North America"
	The entire East Coast was reshaped in the great quakes of '07, the
Earths crust unstable since the comet and aggravated by continuous nuclear
bombardment, which destroyed everything from Boston to Baltimore,
Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Nothing was left except the sunken sites where
they once stood. Plate tectonics deformed everything as far south as
Georgia, leaving a great hole now called "The Gulf of Tennessee".
	During the great calamity and destruction caused by the comet, the
Chinese did in fact take advantage of it by launching a surprise invasion
of North America. Their landing attempt failed however. They were much
more successful at infiltrating the Latin American nations.
	The Latins welcomed them at first, but after seeing the treachery
of the Easterners, now bloated with power and self-assuredness, which
resulted in the murder of the president of The Republic of CitiCorp, and
after their threatening the Panama Canal, the Latins cancelled their
planned meeting for alliance.
	The Northern Alliance, made up of North America, the CIS and
European Community, contracting NORAD, found themselves now surrounded
since the East had taken over Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. In
a last desperate attempt at survival, they chose BioChem weapons to attack
the East.
	NORAD took the offensive when China invaded from three directions
and counter attacked with chemicals. The Easterners penetrated into the
Pacific Basin where the NORAD Navy found themselves cut off from supplies
and surrounded.
	The NORAD Corporation broke the stranglehold as well as Eastern
control of the Pacific Basin. The first major defeat of the East came by
sea.
	NORAD made nuke runs over Europe as far as Rome. Seven months
later, they coordinated a nuke attack against the Far East with a barrage
lasting a full week without stop.
	The fall of China had a psychological impact on the Far East
determination to hold Europe since their home base was destroyed and
supply lines cut off.
	Liberation. A Second D-Day. Occupied Europe invaded.
	With the Far East out of the war, the NORAD Corporation
concentrated it efforts on liberating Europe from Mid-East dominance.
	British forces that escaped to Quebec united with NORAD forces to
take back Scotland, defeat naval forces near London, and invade
Scandinavia while NORAD took the offensive in central Europe allied
invasion of southwest France and an allied landing in north France.
	During this time, the Scots had resisted English rule, but failed
in their attempt to remain free and the Mid-East powers of Pan-Arabia had
a new commander in chief who had established his headquarters in Rome.
	Central and southern France was liberated by allied forces of
Dutch, English and French. One of the Pan-Arabian commanders died of a
mysterious suicide and another died in the night, though Guild
Intelligentsia was unable to confirm these remarks.
	The Mid-East was defeated in France and pushed back across the
pyrenees into Italy. Using France as a staging area, Central European
Defense (CED) attempted to liberate Switzerland but with terrible
consequences to the city of Lausanne. It was the target of bacterial
weapons, but the Pan-Arabian forces retreated only after detonating a
nuclear device over it.
	Spain was reconquered.
	Naval battles off the west coast of Italy cause both Pan-Arabian
and CED forces to suffer from weather and germ weapons that blew wildly in
the unpredictable winds.
	CED forces defeat PA armies in North Italy by land and unite with
NORAD Navy at Savona in northwestern Italy. From there to Naples, Ancone
via Perugia and Ravenna. Venice and Rome were bombed.
	A PA commander was defeated at Milan and brought before the
European commander Henry Kaufmann. At the same time, CIS moves into
Hungary.
	The Catholic Empire Church was reestablished in Rome. The Pope
ordered the executions of Italian sympathizers who helped the Pan-Arabians
against the French at the Battle of the Alps. He is still at this time the
leader of the Italian government.
	The war lasted four years.
	With the conquest of Europe almost completed, Central European
Defense turned against the homelands of their enemy Pan-Arabia in rage.
	CED pushed PA forces completely out of Europe, the western
Mediterranean and North Africa as far east as Tunisia. They suffered
disaster in the Adriatic but the PA also suffered serious losses.
	Commander Henry Kaufmann freed the POWS held in Turkey and CNN was
there with it teams of Medias to pick up and transmit every second of it.
	CED penetrated into the eastern Mediterranean and the PA counter
offensive was to recapture Sicily, though it failed, and the liberation of
central Europe was announced to the world via satellite.
	PA was defeated in Crete and Greece but not before 5000 had died.
	A French rebellion in the ranks against Commander Phillip Brant
gives rise to Commander Grisom Cavanaugh and the CED made their assault on
Turkey after all. Grisom attacked Turkey and the PA defenders were driven
out. CED fleet went out to engage the PA fleet off the coast of Turkey but
both were lost in a violent storm.
	Resistance in northern Turkey. The CED invasion attempt failed.
PA saboteurs destroyed a CED base. Then the last of the PA sea forces were
destroyed.
	The Mid-East was invaded.
	The CED marched against Syria, Judea, and Palestine. Within a
month the PA army crumbled. NORAD moved into Israel, Lebanon, Syria and
Jordan. Within a month the last PA forces in Central and South America
surrendered and their Latin governments restored.
	Israel was invaded by NORAD but they found the Christian shrines
desecrated. Though freed from Pan-Arabian control, Israel is uninhabitable
due to lingering radiation, chemical, and biological hazards.
	In preparation for an attack on Iraq, the CED was resisted. With
the end of the conflict near, the empire that included India, Jordan,
France, and Spain was lost. NORAD opened a second front by landing forces
in southwestern Asia and moving against Mid-East positions in India, chase
the retreating PA armies and force them to make a final stand on the banks
of the river Ganges.
	The last battles of the war took place as the PA made a last
attempt to stop CED drives into north Arabia, east Iran and northeast
Turkey.
	The third battle was the most important for it brought the final
collapse of the Pan-Arabian empire.
	The military conflict ended with the PA commander in chief being
killed in his own headquarters. This signaled the end of all Eastern
resistance.
	The end of the war left the Catholic Empire Church at it's wits
end as to what to do about the occupation of NORAD forces throughout
Europe. The Pope found himself at the mercy of the occupying forces, now
in control of a demolished Europe.
	Radiation, Bacterial and Chemical contamination are things YET
left to contend with.
	The last battlefield of World War III was far off in Iran where
upon recognizing their defeat, the last organized Pan-Arabian unit
rebelled against it's commander and forced him to surrender to the NORAD
Corporation forces.
	World War Three is at last ended. 1.5 Billion people are dead.




Article: 5092 of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c10a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:27:01 -0500

Trojan Station EarthSystem June 2085
	"Why do I have to go over this again?" Forest Potter asked his
father for the sixth time this week. "I practically know it by heart."
	"Good! That's what we're shooting for." Bill Potter smiled at his
son. "Can you recite it back to me?"
	"Well no, not verbatim." Forest paused, knowing he had already
lost.
	"Can you tell me all the key players?"
	"Not all of them."
	"Can you tell me what year it was that The City Athena was founded?
Or what year NORAD forces retook Europe?"
	"Shit!" The boy of 12 started walking back towards his room. "But
I'M not a hundred and thirteen years old EITHER! I don't see why I need
it!"
	"Because I said so." Bill said not taking his eyes off the hundreds
of tiny high definition windows being displayed on the wallscreen.
	Once inside his room, the boy slammed the door with all his
strength and in fury threw the remote at the screen, watching the remote
shatter into a hundred pieces. He was on the verge of tears he was so
angry until he realized to himself.
	I'll have to FIX that now. He sighed in frustration.
	Ok. He thought. Calm down. It's just hormones. He's watching
through video so there's no sense making a big deal out of it. You can't
win. Might as well fix the remote and start again. Memorize all that shit
until you can name every stinking little person in the file. Maybe THAT
will get him off your back for a while...
	He only had a couple of hours more of study time to make it
through. That however would now be extended by an hour or more that it
took to fix the remote.
	You can't cheat though. He has a mind like a computer. Forest
thought to himself as he got out his tool kit and gathered the pieces
around the room. He never let's you cheat even a nanosecond. He says six
hours a day and that's exactly what you had to put in. No contest. No
argument.
	He found his mind wandering several times as he rebuilt the remote
since he had done this before enough times that he could put the thing
together in his sleep. Got to keep this puberty thing under control...
	But his mind kept wandering back to the programs he was working
on. He had recently gutted the Artificial Intelligence Program C.H.I.P.
that his father had made famous the world over a few years ago.
	Computer/Human Interface Program. Chip. Forest had learned early
on to write simple programs and now, at 12, he was taking on A.I.'s. They
didn't scare him at all the way they did some people. Especially the
people at The Turing Corporation.
	Talk about paranoid! They were the fools who kept designing harder
and harder tests to verify a programs intelligence and higher and higher
fences to try to keep them in control.
	Forest however knew they were nothing more than smart pets. If one
got out of control (Which sometimes happened in the Potter household
computer due to his experiments) he knew he could just go in and give it a
shot. Put it to sleep. Like this. See?....
	Forest had been a Guild member in good standing since he was
eight. He had access to the worlds information nervous system, ComWeb
which now extended from the VenusSystem satellite of Mercury, clear out to
the star Nemesis and it's planets. Still his father insisted he memorize
what seemed like every trivial bit of knowledge.
	As soon as he was through with the worst of puberty, (His genetic
councillor Ken said roughly age 19 plus or minus three months) he could
begin his injections and he would have photographic memory. Eidetic
memory. That was going to make things MUCH easier he was quite sure.
	It's the Goddamned WAITING though!
	He thought he heard muffled voices coming through his bedroom door
from the living room. Since he had completed most of the circuiting of the
remote, he was able to use his screwdriver to flip on the wallscreen in
his room and see who it was.
	Aunt Abbey and Uncle Beau.
	Shit. I won't get to see them because I have to finish fixing the
remote, and THEN finish my school work. Unless Aunt Abbey...
	"HONEY!" Came the voice of the black drag queen as she burst into
his room kissing him. "Come outside here and see your Auntie Abbey." She
said taking him by the hand and pulling him up from his desk/workbench.
"Damn you've grown boy! At least three inches since the last time I was up
here."
	"Hi Aunt Abbey." Forest smiled hugging the black drag queen. "I
missed you."
	"Oh BABY! Auntie Abbey missed you too." She said wiping at a tear
forming in her carefully massacred eye. "Give Miss Abbey a sugars." She
said kissing him on the lips. "Now you come out here and show your Uncle
Beau how much you've grown!"
	"Bon jour mon Uncle!" Forest smiled as he strode across the room to
hug the big bear of a man. "Je'taime uncle Beau. Are you guys up out of
the well long?"
	"Je'taime." The big dark man said hugging the boy. "Non. Just here
to visit a while. No vacation or anything. Miss Abbey has her fans you
know." He whispered winking at the boy, with a grin.
	"I'm a Goddamned Star!" Miss Abbey said walking over to the bar and
fixing them all cocktails and an Iced Tea for Forest. "You're just jealous
because you're an aging old queer and I am eternally young."
	"Sure you are baby." Beau said smiling. "Remember who does the
crediting to your surgeons account."
	Out of the corner of his eye, Forest saw his dad touch a key on
the remote without looking, not interrupting the flow of the conversation
and the time appeared in the upper right hand corner of the wall in
Day-Glo green numerals.
	He's letting me know he's still keeping track of the elapsed time
at school, and he knows I saw him do it... Damn.
	Please! Everyone sit down." His father said politely waving them
all to the pit group arranged around the living room. "So how was the
flight guys?"
	"Girlfriend! It was TERRIBLE Billy." Miss Abbey began. "This space
sickness stuff is for the birds girl!"
	"I'm sorry Miss Abbey. That's no way for a star to travel. I'll
rebook you first class on the way back down. My card. They have artificial
gravity there."
	"She's just pissed because she three up and had to re-do her
make-up in free fall." Beau chided. "Let me tell you. What a mess!"
	"They don't want to hear anything like that. I QUITE sure." Miss
abbey said cutting him off. "WE want to know how you guys are getting
along up here! How is my Baby?"
	"Just fine Auntie." Forest said settling back against the couch he
and his father were sitting on. "Hormones are hell though."
	"Oh HONEY! Miss Abbey knows what you mean." She said sincerely
sympathetic. "She wouldn't go through it again for all the money in the
world! She REMEMBERS what it was like."
	"Did you ever have an operation Auntie?" Forest asked curiously,
not sure if he did remember hearing it or not.
	His father suddenly burst into laughter with his Uncle Beau and
then thought better of it, seeing a glare from Miss Abbey that would sear
steel, or wilt hundred year old oaks. The two of them then got up and went
over to the bar to sit on stools and talk quietly as they usually did.
Forest could see them fighting back smiles on their faces as he watched
them intently.
	"Honey, don't you pay those two no nevermind. They're Plebeians."
She said turning her back to the two and continued talking with the boy.
"Come over here by your Auntie Abbey and we'll talk." She said patting the
couch beside her.
	Forest sat down beside her blushing, feeling embarrassed for
having asked what seemed to be an inappropriate question. "I'm sorry
Auntie."
	"Miss Abbey knows you are Darlin'. It's ok.." She said straighting
her back, patting him on the arm and speaking to him in a low voice. "No
Darlin'. Miss Abbey never had no operations. She didn't need to. She LIKES
who she is." She nodded at him seriously.
	"Why are they laughing?" Forest whispered back to her.
	"It's like Miss Abbey says. They're Cretins." She spoke seriously
then. "Is it getting better or worse Forest?"
	"I don't know. It seems like worse, but I'm also able to control it
better now that I at least know what I'm up against." Forest sighed.  "You
know? At least it's identified for me."
	"Yes. I do know." She said quietly. ""Puberty was hard on Miss
Abbey as well. I suppose it hits everyone just as hard, though when you're
in the middle of it, it seems like you're quite alone."
	"Yes Auntie! That's exactly how I feel!" Forest felt relieved to
know someone else finally understood what it was he was going through.
"Everything is frustrating, and everything just WORKS my nerves."
	"I understand Forest." She said thinking for a moment. "We'll have
to do something about it." She winked and nodded over at him.  Trojan
Station EarthSystem June 2085
	Forest and Bill Potter sat on the couch together, with the lights
off, watching a standard programmed video simulation of a fireplace
displayed on the wallscreen before them.
	"You know how much I love you Forest." Bill spoke clearly and
softly to his son. "Any time you want to come home, you know that ll you
have to do is get to a phone."
	"I know Pop." Forest said snuggling down closer to his father
sitting beside him. "I'll miss you too. At the same time though, I GOTTA
go."
	His father chuckled quietly a little nodding to himself. He sat
beside Forest with his arm thrown over the back of the couch, talking to
Forest for what seemed like the first time in his life. He would forever
remember this day as smelling of "Old Spice"
	"Forest, do you understand why I make you memorize your school work
instead of just giving you a Downlink?" Bill asked him directly.  Forest
was quickly beginning to enjoy having his father speak to him as a person.
	"No. I don't. I could dump all of it in within just a few hours,
Most of my friends have them." He thought that would help him present his
case again. This was the ideal time for appeal.
	"Your friends are not the son of a charter member." Bill said
sternly. "But that's not it. I need for you to UNDERSTAND the information.
See? Raw data is useless unless we understand it in it's entirety." Bill
said slowly, picking his words carefully. "The only way we humans can
really understand something is to mull it over and over, maybe even
sleeping on it, thinking about it's impacts on the different things we
know, fitting it into the Big Picture."
	"Oh?" Forest asked looking for the flaw in his fathers logic.
	"I want you to remember, that no matter what anyone does to you,
they can't take away what's inside your head." Bill said seriously.
	"Oh." Forest said suddenly feeling guilty, but also changed
somehow. "I'm sorry Pop. I just never thought to ask."
	"Don't feel guilty Forest." Bill smiled and patted his sons
shoulder. "This is going to make a lot more sense in a few weeks, after
you've worked out some of that energy."
	"I love you Pop. You know?" Forest asked. "I don't want you to
think I just abandoning you up here alone."
	"Forest, I understand completely. Really. I've been thinking about
calling Uncle Morris anyway. I thought I would get you through this one
class though first. We can return to it later I suppose."
	They both sat in silence in the darkened room for a long while.
	"Don't worry Pop. I'll be careful. I know the scene." Forest said
trying to console his fathers worries as he could feel the tension from
the man as easily as his body heat.
	"You're a very bright boy Forest. Quite a bit brighter than you
give yourself credit for." Bill explained. "Earth is the best place in the
world to experience a planetary environment. It's our natural beginnings
down there. A HUMAN environment. You'll have to be patient with them
though. It's a farming community down there Forest. It's nothing at all
like Trojan Station."
	"Aren't there any Guild Members down there?" Forest asked confused.
	"Oh yes. You'll be able to find them everywhere. The general public
though is simple. Do you understand?"
	"Yes. I think I see what you're leading up to. I'll keep myself in
check."
	"Good boy. Someday you know, when you leave home and go out on your
own, you will be the only one there to keep a check on yourself. I won't
be there to look over your shoulder. We have a... DUTY to sentient life."
	"I understand sir." Forest said feeling more mature. "I won't let
you down Pop. Besides, I'm sure you'll have monitors on me all the time
anyway."
	Bill laughed for a moment. "Yes, I will." He smiled. "They're not
there just to keep irritating you. They're also there to keep an eye on
you. To protect you."
	"I can always call for Chip." Forest offered, trying to console his
father as he was clearly upset. "And you know as well as I do that I could
get out of almost any trouble that might come up."
	"Yes, you're very bright." Bill shifted his head, staring at the
fire and from another angle, Forest could see that his father was crying.
Silently albeit, but the tears running down is face were quite real
none-the-less. "People down there will interact more closely together.

They don't conduct all their business and affairs over ComWeb as The Guild
does here in Trojan Station."
	"I'll watch my back Pop." He squeezed his father had. "Don't
worry."
	"You know Forest, someday soon I have a file for you. You're
getting old enough now to understand things I think." Bill smiled in the
firelight. "You're certainly a clever chap! You're a very special boy
Forest. Talented."
	"Yes Pop." He said trying to figure his fathers angle this time.
"I'm top programmer in the station."
	"Beyond that even." Bill explained. "There was a lot of time,
study, energy and money that went into bringing you to me as a son. Do you
understand?"
	"I think so Pop. I'm coming home though. Don't worry."
	"I know you will baby." Bill said ruffling his hair.
	Anger flooded over him suddenly and he felt strong enough to speak
his mind quickly.
	"I'm NOT a baby anymore Pop!"
	"I'm sorry Forest. Of course you're not. I just say that to keep
reminding myself that you will always be my little boy. Give an old man
his sentimentality." He smiled taking off his glasses and wiping is face
with his hand. "You'll always have a HOME Forest."
	"I understand Pop." He said, quiet again, now guilty again.
"Besides, you're not THAT old." Forest said poking the man in his tight
muscular stomach. "A hundred and thirteen isn't really that old Pop."
	"Well, that question has become fairly relative as of late. We know
longer KNOW how long we live anymore." Bill said staring at the fire.
"Indefinitely I suppose. As long as we keep getting new infusions of the
retroviruses every few years. To facilitate the regeneration of The
Metamorphosis. The Other Retroviral enhancements we have, for instance,
those that go with the Downlink chip, they are different. They are
permanent. Those are not the same as The Metamorphosis we under go.  You
will have to face that some day as well. However, if I should ever be in
an accident, The Guild will instruct you on your role in things here at
Trojan Station."
	"Ok Pop." He said feeling a lot better.
	About that time, the door chimed and Forest got up to answer it.
	"Good Lord! Never thought it could be so dark so late in the
morning!" Miss Abbey's voice cut through the dark of the room, where
Forest could see her in silhouette standing in the doorway with Uncle
Beau. "What are you doing to my baby? Trying to blind him Billy?"
	




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c10b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:29:27 -0500

"Lights!" Forest told the room and the room light slowly came up to a low
background glow. He smiled at Miss Abbey with her arms stretched out in
front of her feeling around like a blind person. "Good morning Auntie!"
	"BABY! Has he been beatin' you chil'? If he does, you come tell
your Auntie Abbey and she'll take him out for you." She said glancing in
the mirror before entering the living room. "You're keepin' this boy
hostage Billy?"
	"Miss Abbey. Good Morning." Bill said getting up from the couch and
wiping his face. "Good morning Beau."
	The two of them noticed for the first time what Forest had noticed
earlier as his father cried silently in the dark. The room was suddenly
still and silent for a moment that should have been FILLED with the sounds
of Miss Abbey and her endless stream of sounds. It was enough to startle
Forest for a second.
	"Uh, Bill!" Beau began. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He said
indicating the bathroom with a nod of his head.
	Forest went into the living room and sat with Miss Abbey who had
went back to her self obsession and non-stop attention getters. She truly
was a star at heart.
	Forest could see that living with Miss Abbey and Uncle Beau was
going to be interesting to say the least. He always enjoyed it when they
came up out of the gravity well to visit. But then, he enjoyed all of his
family visiting He didn't understand why he and his father never went
down.
	"Auntie?" Forest began.
	"Yes Honey?" She asked fixing herself a morning bloody Mary from
the bar.
	"What are they doing in there that's taking so long?" Forest asked,
testing the waters to see if she would tell him the truth.
	"They're in there doin' them NASTY drugs Honey. You don't worry
yourself about it. Miss Abbey thinks your Daddy is sad about your leaving
is all. A little Ice will help him be happy."
	"Uncle Beau is talking to him?" Forest asked pushing the point.
	"Don't get coy. Relax Little Man. That is ALL they are doing."  She
said in her manly voice, a little angry at the innuendo, paused for a
moment, and then decided to go back into character. She was a drag queen
again.
	Forest himself had to pause in re-gauging Miss Abbey's mood.
	"We talked for along time this morning. Since about five o'clock."
Forest offered changing the subject.
	"Yes. Miss Abbey figured that. But she will make sure you call home
to talk to your Daddy everyday. Miss Abbey has DECIDED you know.  Your
Daddy doesn't need the worry of not knowing if you're ok or not."  She
said nodding to herself in the mirror as she spoke.
	Forest got the feeling that he was heading into an area where
everyone besides him was going to start feeling guilty if he didn't change
course soon.
	"I don't have to go to school while I'm away!" He said whispering
in excitement to her. "I'm FREE!"
	"Good Honey! Miss Abbey told you she would fix it." She winked.
"Billy's a pushover for Miss Abbey. Always has been."
	"How long have you known Pop?" Forest asked sincerely curious.
	"Long enough. Miss Abbey doesn't have an age if THAT'S what you're
getting at." She smiled at him. "She is timeless. You're allowed that when
you're a Star!"
	"What about Uncle Beau?" He asked. "Did you meet him before or
after you met Pop?"
	"Uncle Beau is an OLD OLD man. Zillions of years older than Miss
Abbey. You're not going to get an age out of Miss Abbey though." She said
in mock consternation. "I met them both at roughly the same time though.
When your Daddy was visiting Old Uncle Beau in Montreal."
	"But if he met you at the same time, and Uncle Beau is Old..."
	"Oh NO!" She said throwing up her hands and fixing another
cocktail. "You're NOT going to trick Miss Abbey with none of them LOGICAL
things."
	Forest smiled and hugged the skinny black drag queen as Beau and
his father came out of the bathroom. Both had been crying. Forest could
clearly see that. He could also see that the two of them went to great
lengths to cover up the sorrow with Ice, cocaine, and by washing their
faces. Though there was still a redness about the eyes and nose that
betrayed the anguish and painful scene that must have taken place in the
bathroom as the two of them talked together.
	Forest felt guilty again.
	His father came over to him and hugged him tightly, in the best
spirit he could muster, but Forest could feel the misery in the air.
	"Well! Are you ready to go boy?" His Uncle Beau asked
enthusiastically, even though Forest could see that his smile was false
and strained for his benefit.
	"Ready as ever!" Forest said in the same tone, politely looking
past the sadness in their eyes as they all looked at each other.
	"Well ok then." Beau drawled out feeling around in his pockets as
if he were looking for something.
	"Bye Pop. I love you. I'll call often."" He said hugging his dad.
	"I know you will. I love you baby." He said hugging him back.
	Miss Abbey stood quietly by the door, deliberately not looking at
anything, though she seemed to have something in her eye.
	"Bon voyage mon frere." His father whispered hugging Beau.
	"Je'taime mon frere." Beau whispered, his voice cracking as he
swallowed hard.  Mid Continent International Kansas City June 2085
	"It's nothing at all like I expected!" Forest said excitedly as
they rode the monorail from Mid-Continent International into DownTown
Kansas City. "It's so OPEN!"
	"A bit different from living in Trojan Station. Non?" Beau grinned.
	"Mon Dieu!" Forest sighed. He really did feel free at last as he
watched the wheat and corn fields rush by the window outside.
	Intellectually he knew that by 2046, the planetary ecologists had
reconstructed the ozone layer and after 38 more years he was looking at a
planet that had been repaired of it's past mistakes.
	Emotionally he FELT the Earth around him. It seemed so natural to
him. And beautiful. The pictures of Earth he had seen did not do it
justice even though they were holograms. Everything was SO much BIGGER!
	He also didn't realize how crowded it was from the pictures.
	The fields of grain he had witnessed on the way into the city
seemed to be considered a treasure, once he considered the significance of
the wall that surrounded the city. It was deigned to keep people IN.
	Earlier in the year, when Venus announced it's completion of the
"Mercury Drive" and had moved the planet Mercury into a geo-ecliptic orbit
shading Venus forever in total solar eclipse so that the atmosphere could
have a chance to cool, and the microbes dumped into the atmosphere could
grow and breed and produce oxygen.
	Forest thought it was an awful lot of trouble to go through when
it would have been easier to just build space stations.
	Now he understood why.
	Seeing the contrast of the open fields with the congestion of
Kansas City, he now saw the reason behind the time money and energy spent
in moving comets into trajectories that would not only slow the spin of
the planet Venus, reducing it's gravity and letting it's heavy atmosphere
bleed away, but also add water ice to a planet that was over 600 degrees
Fahrenheit.
	People NEEDED to be outside once in a while. Just as he had.
	They got off at a stop in a huge apartment building some 175
stories high, where Miss Abbey and Uncle Beau lived in an apartment on the
51st floor. Once inside their lavishly decorated apartment, Forest noticed
that across the street below was a convention center. There was currently
a BioProfits convention underway.
	That didn't sound like much fun.
	"Auntie, can I go outside?" Forest asked her from the balcony where
he stood taking in all the sights and sounds of the massive city laid out
before him in panorama.
	"Not alone Baby. NEVER alone. Remember that." She said seriously.
"Beau?" She called as she went into her dressing room where all her gowns
were kept.
	"Sure! We can go out exploring. Miss Abbey has to get ready for her
fans right now." Beau winked. "But that doesn't mean WE can't go out and
have a good time. Eh?"
	"Great!" Forest said running back to the balcony and looking
straight down into the canyon some 51 stories below.
	"Mon Dieu!" Beau shook his head. "Looking over the side like that
would make me want to throw up."
	"It's not that bad." Forest commented. "Like looking up the spokes
of Trojan Station except the gravity is reversed." He grinned enjoying the
new sensations of this world.  DownTown Kansas City June 2085
	Walking down the wide sidewalk, the lights alone were a new
sensation for him. The people were something else. He had never seen so
MANY nor so many different KINDS before. Trojan Station was comprised of
primarily Gay Men. There WERE a few Straight Men and Women, but on Trojan
Station they didn't seem to be as preoccupied with cosmetic beauty as they
were here.
	These people were all the colors of the rainbow. Some kind of
paint they wore. Their hair as well. He had never before imagined a woman
with red skin and green hair in all his life.
	Why? Was all that came to him as he stared at her.
	"A bit different?" His uncle asked him as they strolled casually
his small hand feeling even small now in his uncles huge bear paw as they
wandered the crowds filling the streets.
	"Yeah." Was all he could manage.
	"Hungry for dinner?" Beau asked him. "We can grab some McDonalds."
	Over the next few days he began to understand the layout of the
city, and the skywalk system that seemed so maze-like and confusing before
was now comprehensible.
	Finally the BioProfits Convention in the vast structure across the
street was calling to him.
	He had found a route approved of by Miss Abbey to get around to
SOME places on his own, and he was grateful that she gave in that much.
He didn't want to be kept on a leash! Not in a city this beautiful and
huge!
	Earth was becoming more of an adventure every day. Miss Abbey did
however, give him a Laser Carbine when his Uncle Beau was still asleep and
made him promise not to EVER leave the apartment without it, but he was
also to keep it just THEIR secret. He was NOT to tell Uncle Beau. He
eventually conceded.
	Taking the elevator up to the 60th floor there was a rarely used
skywalk that crossed the vast canyon of the street. By standing in the
middle of it, he could stare down the endless chasm for miles in each
direction. It was utterly amazing.
	The convention center was a bit old, being one of the shorter
buildings, and a great waste of space as far a Forest was concerned, and
there didn't seem to be many people at the convention center that day, so
he could walk from booth to booth examining their advertised wares with
little problem.
	Even the people who manned the booths were uninterested in the
ogling of a 12 year old boy and for the most part ignored him in favor of
their drug circles that occupied their hours sitting.
	He was able to get a good look at the differences in the people
who worked for The Major Families. They seemed to have a family
resemblance that he hadn't noticed before on TV.
	They probably make a gene swap with the corporation when becoming
a part of the family... Or else they're patented...
	Genetics WAS one of the major Trade Circuits. Where IS
everyone?....
	High up on one wall was a long banner that read:
	"The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World."
	Jesus. These people think they can control things through
biology...
	He passed one booth where there were some oriental girls, Korean,
he decided from the bone structure of their faces, which was featuring new
genetic schematics for Negroid people. That was a laugh. He thought it was
ironic since orientals HATED blacks... Then there was that ugly incident
with the Sickle Cell Bait & Swap scandal.
	Just after the war, the Japanese came out with what they said was
a cure for Sickle Cell Anemia, a common Negroid problem. What it was in
fact, was a lethal protein that lay dormant for three months before
activating, killing the patient. Millions died before it was discovered
what they had done...
	The next booth was run by some sort of neo-terrorists.
Mercenaries. They were offering their services as well as armies that
could be quickly whipped up to the specifications of the buyer. Forest
thought them to be nothing more than swashbuckling romantics with no idea
of what war really meant. They couldn't have been more than 20 years
old...
	The next booth he knew had to be run by Californians. Useless
hedonistic offshoots. Their products reflected it in the fact that they
offered life forms as sex toys. Being another human being in order to
enjoy oneself was tasteless if not immoral.
	He found one that offered scanner viruses that would keep
correcting against cancers, rewriting the code when it found it.
Outdated. The orbital facilities had been using them since their
inception.
	The next seemed to be empty except for a man reading a news
paper. Probably just wanted to be alone for a while. Forest decided not
to bother him. The Headlines on his newspaper

The Headlines on his newspaper announced that The Belt was making claim on
Phobos, Deimos, and Icarus and were moving them out to the Asteroid Belt
using the Mercury Drive. He thought he would write a Tracer program when
he got back to the apartment just to find out where that story was
leading...
	The next contained a group of people standing around talking and
laughing, drinking what they were trying to pass off as punch. As he
walked on by he didn't pay attention to their product, but could easily
spot the non-management woman who was the company spy...
	The next advertised their unemployment needs and proudly
advertised the size of their tissue sample banks, and how one could also
become a apart of the company family...
	The next was simply a wallscreen with a man pictured
holographically that was actually nothing more than a high resolution
office response program that some idiot had reprogrammed to be a salesman.
He walked past despite it's beckoning him over...
	Another offered help with BioLaw.
	Another, the revival of corpses.


	




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c13a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:40:05 -0500

Shipyards L-5 point EarthSystem July 2091
	In 2091 Forest could look Sir in the eye.
	Intellectually as well as in height.
	He had helped his fathers on several projects before, and
currently Sir was looking for an Artificial Intelligence program that
could function aboard the Jumpships as astro-navigator. Forest KNEW AI's.
	Jumpspace was an ever-changing dimension. Once a ship dropped into
Jumpspace, it could remain only a few days in transit, else it would be
lost far off course.
	The result was that Jumpships had to drop out of Jumpspace every
two or three days to get recalibration in Einsteinian Space, resulting in
a jagged, almost random path towards the destination.
	After working on the problem several months, he had the answer.
Little did he realize at the time that he was changing the course of human
history forever.
	His answer was a reorganization of JumpNet.
	A single AI that would be kept on a Read-Only basis with the world
at large, but would keep track for them the shifting and changing of the
11 dimensions to time and space. A constant Tachyon signal from JumpNet to
the JumpShip would keep it on course and get it to it's destination within
a few weeks, instead of months in travel, feeling ones way around through
space.
	The Jumpdrive have given man access to the stars. Giving them the
dimensions that would allow them to cross light years in a few days or
weeks. Now Forests JumpNet would stabilize the network between the stars.
	Each stellar gravity well had the capability of holding six jump
points around it stabilized. Each point gave a different destination. The
result was that the old stellar maps could be discarded since they were
useless in JumpSpace and replaced with the grid representing what was now
termed OrganizedSpace. (As opposed to KnownSpace that were only colonies
and not part of the economic world.)
	OrganizedSpace by 2091 was made up of seven solar systems, with
HomeSystem (Sol and Nemesis) at it's center. KnownSpace was three times
this number.
	As Forest sat programming JumpNet, he brought the Starsystem of
"Kuwait" into the network, thereby stabilizing the first system of the
First Tier. The inner 6 surrounding HomeSystem (Proxima, Barnards Star,
Wolf, Lalande, Sirius, and New Rome) were know as The CoreSystems.
	Forest taught JumpNet when and how to incorporate a system from
KnownSpace into OrganizedSpace, and then sealed it. There would be only
one way into the system and Forest was the only one who had that
knowledge. It was necessary. There could be no taking chances with the
data when the lives of millions were at stake. Even it's coordinates in
Einsteinian Space were secret.
	OrganizedSpace grew at a rate of one system per month.
	By the time he was Twenty, Forest had only casually monitored the
work of JumpNet, occasionally answering it's questions, and watched it as
it added the systems of Green Thread, Capella, Geneva, 61-Cygni, Chicago,
Geronimo, Omega, Altair, Argentina, Alexandria (The Programmers Guilds new
colony), and Island One (The first remote outpost) to Kuwait, sealing the
First Tier.
	Tiered Space had begun.  Shipyards L-5 point EarthSystem March
2092
	"Can that machine keep up with all of this?" Sir asked him as they
sat in Sirs Office going over charts and projections. "I mean, there's a
lot of Starshots going out these days."
	"Oh yeah." Forest said confident. "He's pretty smart for an AI. I
thought it best that he be able to make decisions on his own in case
something should happen to me."
	"Good idea Son." Morris nodded thoughtfully.
	For a Hundred and Twenty One years old, there did not appear to be
that much difference between Forest and Morris. (Other than 101 years.)
One would have thought them brothers.
	Forest DID catch up to his father in height, despite his
misgivings and through his puberty, running and working out with weights
to control his frustration and anger, he bulked out considerably. He felt
more confident these days, and had overcome the awkwardness of his long
limbs. He was comfortable.
	Forest sat with Morris in his office at the Shipyards in the L-5
point, looking out at the fleet of ships that were currently under
construction for colonization of the galaxy.
	Since Forest had declined to go in for Retroviral Enhancement to
Eidetic Memory, he couldn't QUITE remember which StarShot was going out
next, but he thought it was something like the forty second.
	After the physicists had opened up the 11 dimensions to time and
space, everyone and their cousins wanted their own colony. Well, almost.
There were always a few who wanted control of EarthSystem and it's
resources.
	Morris had made it quite economical to leave the planet now that
the miners were bringing in metals from all over the solar system. Then
there were the new construction ceramics as well. Miracles of modern
science.
	The result was people breaking off into splinter culture groups.
	Once the original 6 StarShots (Which were the old slower than
light fusion drives) reached their destinations, they would be in for
quite a shock.
	Eastman-Kodak-Polaroid paid for StarShot VIII (The Family Geffin)
which had overtaken StarShot III and was now in control of Barnards Star.
	Leo Genetics Inc (StarShot X, The Family Lancer) was now based on
Wolf 359, changing their name to Wolf LGI.
	Genentech BioLabs (StarShot XI) was in control of Lalande 21185.
	Recombinant Retrovir Inc (StarShot XII, The Family Hilton) had
control of Sirius A & B.
	Packard-Bell-Honeywell (StarShot XIII, The Family Brighten) owned
New Rome and it's companion star Sparta.
	Before Sir would let any of the MegaCorps buy into a Jumpship as a
means of colonization, there was the little detail of over-population that
still had to be handled. He forced a rider on the contract that said for
every person they took of their own, they had to provide space for a
colonist from the voluntary lists. Deep Freeze would be acceptable.
	Everyone wanted off the planet and hell, the ships were cheap
enough that almost any group could raise enough money for one. However,
they each had that same condition in their contracts.
	However, despite Sir's attempt at the homogenization of the
colonies, the result was still a dominant culture in every case. Kuwait
became Pan-Arabian. Green Thread became a food producing giant. Geneva was
a haven for the super-rich. Chicago was, well, Chicago. The same for
Argentina. Alexandria however became an information center. It was run by
The Programmers Guild (Though others were more than free to share the
system.) and there was a unique "Tariff" placed on The First Tier.
	Each ship that passed through the First Tier, either on their way
outward or on their way back in to HomeSystem had to stop at a port, where
their computer banks were copied and then they were sent on their way with
an updated version of The Encyclopedia Universal.
	The information was immediately sent to Alexandria, where it was
incorporated into the libraries, along with Tachyon transmissions from
HomeSystem, and then copied into the next version of The Encyclopedia
Universal. The sum total knowledge of mankind.
	No matter what happen to Earth in the future, it's knowledge would
never be lost.
	Depending on where Starshot XXII (The first Colony Drive colony
ship that went out under the untested Nanotechnology Biocircuitry) ever
decided to stop, If it ever DID decide to stop, that colony too would be
an extension of man and his knowledge.
	After the horrible news release of the rogue minds not following
the original flight plan and heading in the direction of Fornax Galaxy,
there were public hearings that embarrassed not only the
Reorganized-Mormons and The Programmers Guild, but Colony Packages Inc
(Morris's corporation) as well.
	Uncle Louis, Pop and Sir all had to bear the weight of 25,000
souls screaming through HyperSpace under the control of minds gone mad,
who had never been allowed to adjust to the idea of their own deaths
properly.  Sydney Australia EarthSystem June 2102
	Forest felt the worst when the Quorum of the Ten Tribes brought
him to Zion Station, before their assembly (His Uncle Louis being one of
the 10) and formally apologized to him for not listening more closely to
his vision. He knew what it meant for a body of that power to have to
apologize to a mere man of 30, and it hurt him more than it hurt them.
	Forest had helped them correct the problem in future ships by
adding a version of Chip built as Read Only Memory that would act as
Sentry over the three minds.
	He had not yet been able to program an AI that could handle the
mathematics concepts of moving through HyperSpace, and he thought it was
possibly because he couldn't QUITE grasp it himself. However, he COULD
have a Chip watch them, and make them follow the flight plan hard wired
into him.
	The church was faced with a perplexing problem. They had a 30 year
old visionary on their hands and he didn't want to work for the church
just yet at this stage in his career.
	He explained, quite rationally to them, that he had not LIVED yet,
so it would be improper for him to pass prophecy or vision to people who
had more life experience than himself. He would not be making entirely
accurate nor fully formed prophecies when he was aware of all the factors.
	That was one reason.
	The other, the one he didn't care to talk about was that since
puberty, he had found himself given to bouts of manic depression.
	This young man, a genius in his own time, who had helped shape the
future for all mankind could not help the fact that he would go into
phases of withdrawal from the world.
	He could always recognize it once it had begun, though he could
never seem to pinpoint what it was that triggered the episodes.
	He had certainly done enough research on the subject, even going
so far as to enlist the help of Chip when he was emotionally down and out.
	He had adjusted to the down time between manic phases and at times
he even enjoyed them for the periods of reflection they allowed him. The
problem lay in the fact that he could not properly interface with the rest
of the world while in them.
	Being who he was, and the size of his extended family, the demands
of people wanting to know how he was only inflamed the problem.
	It was during one of these episodes, sitting in the dark, mentally
running through his unique gene helix, looking for some answer to the
problem that he might have missed before that his life changed again.
	"BABY!" Miss Abbey said from the wallscreen when he answered the
phone. "What's wrong with you boy?" She said concerned.
	"Nothing. What's up?" Forest asked her, bringing up the lights a
little and lighting a cigarette.
	"Miss Abbey KNEW there was something wrong. Just KNEW she should
call you today. Now are you going to tell her about it or is she going to
have to come down there to that nasty little continent where they eat
people?"
	"Auntie, they don't eat people in Australia, and nothing is wrong.
I was just taking a nap was all. So why did you call?"
	"Well! Miss Abbey can see right now she isn't going to get any
cooperation! She'll just have to go over your head. That's all."
	"Really Aunite, everything is fine." Forest said a bit irritated.
	"Nope! It isn't! Lying to Miss Abbey only makes it go that much
worse on you."
	"Ok. I got a cold. I'm not feeling very good today is all."  Forest
resigned himself to give her SOME kind of answer. "Kinda tired I guess."
	"Yeah. Sure Baby. Miss Abbey HAS your cold. You're looking older
than OLD old Uncle Beau. Miss Abbey says she will call you right back."
She said disconnecting before Forest could object.
	Forest lay back on the bad and sighed. He didn't even feel like
arguing with her today. Perhaps he WAS feeling a bit more out of sorts
than usual...
	Soon, the phone chimed again and when he answered he once again
was looking into the face of the garishly outfitted drag queen.
	"BABY! Miss Abbey says you come up here and let her take care of
	"I'll see if I can't get a flight later in the week Auntie."
Forest lied.
	"Oh no no No! It's either you get on the next flight, or Miss Abbey
comes down there and does the Sydney Thing. It's up to you." She said with
her arms crossed over her false titties with eyebrows arched.
	"I'm on the way." Forest sighed.
	"Miss Abbey KNEW you'd see things her way. Besides, Montclair is
wanting to see you. But let me tell you! If Miss Abbey catches her babies
talking about drug running or some such, she is coming down HARD. Do you
understand?"
	"I'm sure it's nothing like that Auntie." Forest shook his head.
":Last month when I talked with Montclair, he was asking me to do some
models for him in gravitation."
	"Ok now. Miss Abbey believes you. She is just giving you fair
warning. No guns."
	"Ok Auntie. No guns." Forest shook his head in amazement. "Look, I
gotta shower"Look, I gotta shower and get to the airport. I'll see you
in a couple of hours."
	"Ok Baby. You be careful. Them nasty VICAR kids are just
EVERYWHERE." She said disconnecting, leaving Forest in sweet silence
again.



From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c13b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:41:25 -0500

Mid-Continent International Kansas City June 2102
	The Qantas semi-ballistic flight went well, mainly because he had
asked for a KwikShot of Valium before they got off the ground. He had
found that he took the G-Forces much better when he was asleep.
	When he woke up the people next to him were excitedly chatting
about their trip they were making to Jovia System.
	Once landed, he was glad to see his cousin Montclair waiting for
him instead of having to take the monorail into the city alone.
	"Hey Montclair." He smiled shaking his cousins hand. "How's
tricks?"
	"Hey Forest. Dang! Mom was right. You DO look like shit."
Montclair asked peering at him intently examining his pupils. "What's up
with you Forest?"
	"Just a cold I think." Forest said look around for the Monorail
entrance and began heading towards it.
	"I got Moms Chrysler." He said tugging at his cousins sleeve
directing him towards the front doors. "You on downers man?"
	"Valium. From the flight. I'm coming down though." He said
following.
	"Moms on another Crack Crusade." Montclair laughed rolling his
eyes, directing his cousin towards the car in the clean June evening.
Seeing the stars from a different point on the Earth DID make Forest feel
a bit better after all. "She has the church ladies in her philanthropic
circle walking on city hall with signs and stuff. Real Protesting!"
	"God." Forest shook his head.
	"If she even knew half the shit that's out there on those streets I
think the poor old thing would probably shit herself. Maybe that's why
she's back to going to church again. She does this in cycles it seems."
	"Who knows? With Auntie, it could be something as simple as she
wanted people to see her in a new outfit on TV or something." Forest
grinned tossing his carry bag into the back seat as he got into the car.
"A bunch of drag queen church ladies though... I don't know. I can just
picture her in her bright blue new outfit complete with blue pillbox hat
and net discreetly pulled, and a bid wide black paten leather belt cinched
three sizes too small."
	Montclair laughed heartily out loud as they pulled out of the
parking lot. "You don't know how close you've got her pegged!" He laughed.
"It was a pink outfit!"
	They both laughed in derision together as the big Chrysler sped
down the highway towards the city...  DownTown Kansas City June 2102
	They sat together on the living room floor amid deep dark green
plush carpeting going over charts graphs and projections displayed on the
walls all around them as Miss Abbey sang to herself in the kitchen while
fixing dinner (Some "Madonna number about a Virgin losing her cherry.)
	"Montclair! I want all that cleaned up. Take it to your room."  She
said closing the oven door. "It's time for Mamas stories."
	"Oh Mom. The walls aren't as big in there." He said touching the
remote and watching the program fold back in on itself, as Forest got up
stiffly feeling his knees crack and stretched his legs.
	"You can use our room then. Daddy won't be home for a little while
yet." She said bending over and picking up the remote from the coffee
table, careful not to let her freshly polished nails brush against
anything.
	Forest smiled with pleasure at the sight of the peach colored
dress too tight for her, the long painted nails, and skin so black it
reflected blue. The sight of her made him smile. Forest was home again.
Miss Abbey and her almost obscene garishness somehow made everything seem
a little bit better. Maybe that was all he needed. To smile a little.
	"I swear the bitch treats me like a child and I'm twenty fucking
years old." Montclair grumbled as Forest closed the door to the bedroom.
"So what do you think so far?" he asked as they settled down on the floor
again, and began opening the program again by unfolding the menus all
around them.
	"Well, it looks good so far, what I understand of it, but it looks
like you're going to be running up against a time paradox unless you
correct some of the variables first. You can't arrive some place before
you've left some other place. Can you?" Forest asked confused somewhat
from the complexity of his cousins project lay out before him.
	"What do you think the TerraForm probes are doing? They're whipping
the terraforming projects BACK in time and space, THEN releasing them. But
no, that's not what this does. You're way off track."
	"Well shit. Explain it to me again then." Forest said pulling out
his bag of cocaine and offering it to his cousin.
	Montclair sniffed a couple of time and handed it back. "It's
converting you to a one dimensional line. No width or height, just length.
You're both where you start and where you're going at the same time. Then,
it just converts you back at the other end."
	"What are you calling it?" Forest asked sniffing and putting the
bag back in his shirt pocket, lighting a cigarette.
	"I haven't thought of anything yet. It's just a zero spacetime
vortex. It's not REALLY a drive system at all, although I suppose it COULD
be used as such." Montclair said swirling his cocktail around in the
glass. "I don't know. Hell. Let's shower down and go out clubbing tonight.
This shit has turned my brain to clay. How long's it been since you were
last to KC?"
	"I don't know a couple of years I guess. You were 18 then."  Forest
said trying to recall.
	"Dang man! You're gettin' old boy! What are you? Thirty now?"
Montclair asked as they searched through his closet for clothes to wear.
	"Yeah I guess I am." Forest said somewhat melancholy.
	"You found a man yet? Or do you do women?" Montclair asked flipping
through clothes.
	"No, I'm a Fag, but I just trick out. I don't think anyone could
stand to live with me for very long." Forest laughed good naturedly. "You
know, habits and stuff you develop after a while living alone."
	"Yeah, well, tonight you'll get to meet my other half." He said
deciding a particular outfit would look good. "A Japanese Boy. Mom came
UNGLUED when she first heard." Montclair whispered.  DownTown Kansas City
June 2102
	"Montclair, you're BLACK! You of all people should know how you and
Japs get along." Forest whispered after the Japanese man went to the rest
room. "Plus he's CORPORATE. Are you out of your one and only Fag Mind?"
	"His family is. He isn't." Montclair answered simply by drawing
them all lines out on the table top. "He's in the engineering guild"
	"Oh Man! I can tell you right now, this is one relationship that is
NOT going to work. Montclair, you know out-guild relationships don't work.
You're just in heat girl."
	"Well, we've been dating for about three months now. Since he moved
here from Neptune. I think he's nice. A really sweet boy."
	"Girl!" Forest said clicking his tongue. "God. What a queer."
	"It's not like we're moving in together or anything. Calm down
Bitch. We're just dating ok?" Montclair said a bit miffed. "Not that I
wouldn't if he would ask..."
	Forest shook his head as the Japanese man came out of the bathroom
and walked across the crowded dance floor towards their table again.
Forest decided it was as good of a time as any to go get another round of
drinks and walked off just as the Japanese man came up to the table.
	"What's her problem?" Forest heard as he headed towards the bar.
	Once he order the drinks and was heading back to the table, he
decided to stop and make a call.
	"Chip?" Forest asked the clank screen after he got an answer.
	"Yes sir?" Came a perfectly human sounding voice. A little cuteness
he added to the program the last time he was down and out. For the most
part, he preferred his programs to have a machine voice. It helps keep
everything in perspective.
	"Run a make for me.. Bryce Nakashima. From Neptune. His family is
corporate. Waner-Amex-Time-Coke I think. Waiting..." He stood looking at
the table where the two of them were kissing.
	"Done sir. The only incongruity I could find was that he is
currently connected with the engineering guild and his family is
corporate. Is there anything more specific?"
	"Any Catholic or Jew blood in him at ALL?" Forest asked the
program.
	"Not for three generations back. Then only one Catholic in-law.
His line extends back through Kepler Base into Kyoto sir."
	"Thanks." Forest said hanging up. No one could be THAT clean. He
thought suspiciously to himself as he headed to the table smiling
politely.
	They sat chit-chatting a while, until Montclair got up to go use
the rest room. Then the two of them were FORCED to talk.
	"Great club eh?" Forest smiled at the Japanese man tapping his
foot.
	"You don't like me do you Potter?" The man smiled at Forest.
	"Excuse me?" Forest asked taken aback.
	"Well my little spunk dumpling, I don't really give a shit."  Bryce
smiled at Forest. "Montclair and I are GOING to be married, so Girl,
you're just gonna have to get over yourself."
	"Look Queer, I GOT your number. Right? NO ONE is that clean. I
don't care if you want to roll over some other queen, but this is my
COUSIN." Forest said arching an eyebrow at him. "Family. Eh? You hurt is
feelings just ONCE and I know 40 Fags that'll kick the shit out of you
inside two minutes."
	"Agreed." Bryce said evenly to Forest. "Now YOU look Sister. Stay
the fuck out of our private affairs. Agreed?"
	"Fine." Forest said extending his hand to the man. "If it makes him
happy, then I'm all for it. It's when he starts getting unhappy I'm
concerned about. He's upset, then I'm upset."
	"We're in agreement then." Bryce said shaking his hand and
blinking. "So is cocaine and liquor all you guys do?" He asked changing
the subject.
	"Yep. A rather boring family Bryce." Forest smiled at him.
	"That's fine with me." Bryce smiled back. "I came to Earth to get
away from all the drug and wild wild life of the wild wild west."
	"Perhaps we'll get along yet." Forest smiled. Sincerely this time.





From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c13b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:41:25 -0500

Mid-Continent International Kansas City June 2102
	The Qantas semi-ballistic flight went well, mainly because he had
asked for a KwikShot of Valium before they got off the ground. He had
found that he took the G-Forces much better when he was asleep.
	When he woke up the people next to him were excitedly chatting
about their trip they were making to Jovia System.
	Once landed, he was glad to see his cousin Montclair waiting for
him instead of having to take the monorail into the city alone.
	"Hey Montclair." He smiled shaking his cousins hand. "How's
tricks?"
	"Hey Forest. Dang! Mom was right. You DO look like shit."
Montclair asked peering at him intently examining his pupils. "What's up
with you Forest?"
	"Just a cold I think." Forest said look around for the Monorail
entrance and began heading towards it.
	"I got Moms Chrysler." He said tugging at his cousins sleeve
directing him towards the front doors. "You on downers man?"
	"Valium. From the flight. I'm coming down though." He said
following.
	"Moms on another Crack Crusade." Montclair laughed rolling his
eyes, directing his cousin towards the car in the clean June evening.
Seeing the stars from a different point on the Earth DID make Forest feel
a bit better after all. "She has the church ladies in her philanthropic
circle walking on city hall with signs and stuff. Real Protesting!"
	"God." Forest shook his head.
	"If she even knew half the shit that's out there on those streets I
think the poor old thing would probably shit herself. Maybe that's why
she's back to going to church again. She does this in cycles it seems."
	"Who knows? With Auntie, it could be something as simple as she
wanted people to see her in a new outfit on TV or something." Forest
grinned tossing his carry bag into the back seat as he got into the car.
"A bunch of drag queen church ladies though... I don't know. I can just
picture her in her bright blue new outfit complete with blue pillbox hat
and net discreetly pulled, and a bid wide black paten leather belt cinched
three sizes too small."
	Montclair laughed heartily out loud as they pulled out of the
parking lot. "You don't know how close you've got her pegged!" He laughed.
"It was a pink outfit!"
	They both laughed in derision together as the big Chrysler sped
down the highway towards the city...  DownTown Kansas City June 2102
	They sat together on the living room floor amid deep dark green
plush carpeting going over charts graphs and projections displayed on the
walls all around them as Miss Abbey sang to herself in the kitchen while
fixing dinner (Some "Madonna number about a Virgin losing her cherry.)
	"Montclair! I want all that cleaned up. Take it to your room."  She
said closing the oven door. "It's time for Mamas stories."
	"Oh Mom. The walls aren't as big in there." He said touching the
remote and watching the program fold back in on itself, as Forest got up
stiffly feeling his knees crack and stretched his legs.
	"You can use our room then. Daddy won't be home for a little while
yet." She said bending over and picking up the remote from the coffee
table, careful not to let her freshly polished nails brush against
anything.
	Forest smiled with pleasure at the sight of the peach colored
dress too tight for her, the long painted nails, and skin so black it
reflected blue. The sight of her made him smile. Forest was home again.
Miss Abbey and her almost obscene garishness somehow made everything seem
a little bit better. Maybe that was all he needed. To smile a little.
	"I swear the bitch treats me like a child and I'm twenty fucking
years old." Montclair grumbled as Forest closed the door to the bedroom.
"So what do you think so far?" he asked as they settled down on the floor
again, and began opening the program again by unfolding the menus all
around them.
	"Well, it looks good so far, what I understand of it, but it looks
like you're going to be running up against a time paradox unless you
correct some of the variables first. You can't arrive some place before
you've left some other place. Can you?" Forest asked confused somewhat
from the complexity of his cousins project lay out before him.
	"What do you think the TerraForm probes are doing? They're whipping
the terraforming projects BACK in time and space, THEN releasing them. But
no, that's not what this does. You're way off track."
	"Well shit. Explain it to me again then." Forest said pulling out
his bag of cocaine and offering it to his cousin.
	Montclair sniffed a couple of time and handed it back. "It's
converting you to a one dimensional line. No width or height, just length.
You're both where you start and where you're going at the same time. Then,
it just converts you back at the other end."
	"What are you calling it?" Forest asked sniffing and putting the
bag back in his shirt pocket, lighting a cigarette.
	"I haven't thought of anything yet. It's just a zero spacetime
vortex. It's not REALLY a drive system at all, although I suppose it COULD
be used as such." Montclair said swirling his cocktail around in the
glass. "I don't know. Hell. Let's shower down and go out clubbing tonight.
This shit has turned my brain to clay. How long's it been since you were
last to KC?"
	"I don't know a couple of years I guess. You were 18 then."  Forest
said trying to recall.
	"Dang man! You're gettin' old boy! What are you? Thirty now?"
Montclair asked as they searched through his closet for clothes to wear.
	"Yeah I guess I am." Forest said somewhat melancholy.
	"You found a man yet? Or do you do women?" Montclair asked flipping
through clothes.
	"No, I'm a Fag, but I just trick out. I don't think anyone could
stand to live with me for very long." Forest laughed good naturedly. "You
know, habits and stuff you develop after a while living alone."
	"Yeah, well, tonight you'll get to meet my other half." He said
deciding a particular outfit would look good. "A Japanese Boy. Mom came
UNGLUED when she first heard." Montclair whispered.  DownTown Kansas City
June 2102
	"Montclair, you're BLACK! You of all people should know how you and
Japs get along." Forest whispered after the Japanese man went to the rest
room. "Plus he's CORPORATE. Are you out of your one and only Fag Mind?"
	"His family is. He isn't." Montclair answered simply by drawing
them all lines out on the table top. "He's in the engineering guild"
	"Oh Man! I can tell you right now, this is one relationship that is
NOT going to work. Montclair, you know out-guild relationships don't work.
You're just in heat girl."
	"Well, we've been dating for about three months now. Since he moved
here from Neptune. I think he's nice. A really sweet boy."
	"Girl!" Forest said clicking his tongue. "God. What a queer."
	"It's not like we're moving in together or anything. Calm down
Bitch. We're just dating ok?" Montclair said a bit miffed. "Not that I
wouldn't if he would ask..."
	Forest shook his head as the Japanese man came out of the bathroom
and walked across the crowded dance floor towards their table again.
Forest decided it was as good of a time as any to go get another round of
drinks and walked off just as the Japanese man came up to the table.
	"What's her problem?" Forest heard as he headed towards the bar.
	Once he order the drinks and was heading back to the table, he
decided to stop and make a call.
	"Chip?" Forest asked the clank screen after he got an answer.
	"Yes sir?" Came a perfectly human sounding voice. A little cuteness
he added to the program the last time he was down and out. For the most
part, he preferred his programs to have a machine voice. It helps keep
everything in perspective.
	"Run a make for me.. Bryce Nakashima. From Neptune. His family is
corporate. Waner-Amex-Time-Coke I think. Waiting..." He stood looking at
the table where the two of them were kissing.
	"Done sir. The only incongruity I could find was that he is
currently connected with the engineering guild and his family is
corporate. Is there anything more specific?"
	"Any Catholic or Jew blood in him at ALL?" Forest asked the
program.
	"Not for three generations back. Then only one Catholic in-law.
His line extends back through Kepler Base into Kyoto sir."
	"Thanks." Forest said hanging up. No one could be THAT clean. He
thought suspiciously to himself as he headed to the table smiling
politely.
	They sat chit-chatting a while, until Montclair got up to go use
the rest room. Then the two of them were FORCED to talk.
	"Great club eh?" Forest smiled at the Japanese man tapping his
foot.
	"You don't like me do you Potter?" The man smiled at Forest.
	"Excuse me?" Forest asked taken aback.
	"Well my little spunk dumpling, I don't really give a shit."  Bryce
smiled at Forest. "Montclair and I are GOING to be married, so Girl,
you're just gonna have to get over yourself."
	"Look Queer, I GOT your number. Right? NO ONE is that clean. I
don't care if you want to roll over some other queen, but this is my
COUSIN." Forest said arching an eyebrow at him. "Family. Eh? You hurt is
feelings just ONCE and I know 40 Fags that'll kick the shit out of you
inside two minutes."
	"Agreed." Bryce said evenly to Forest. "Now YOU look Sister. Stay
the fuck out of our private affairs. Agreed?"
	"Fine." Forest said extending his hand to the man. "If it makes him
happy, then I'm all for it. It's when he starts getting unhappy I'm
concerned about. He's upset, then I'm upset."
	"We're in agreement then." Bryce said shaking his hand and
blinking. "So is cocaine and liquor all you guys do?" He asked changing
the subject.
	"Yep. A rather boring family Bryce." Forest smiled at him.
	"That's fine with me." Bryce smiled back. "I came to Earth to get
away from all the drug and wild wild life of the wild wild west."
	"Perhaps we'll get along yet." Forest smiled. Sincerely this time.





From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c14a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:43:01 -0500

Trojan Station EarthSystem July 2102
	"You don't understand Pop." Forest explained to his father. "Sir
and I have to physically go out there and implement the program into the
new JumpGates."
	"I don't know Forest, you've never been out of HomeSystem. You've
never even been outside EarthSystem. I'm afraid something may happen." He
said sincerely concerned. "Can't you send a Tech to handle it?"
	"No Pop. Look. Sir is not going to let anything happen to me.
Besides, it's high time I left the cozy little nest of HomeSystem. It's
depressing the hell out of me." Forest explained. "Oh No! Dad! He's giving
us THE LOOK!"
	Across the room sitting at the bar, Boop broke out in derisive
laughter.
	"Oh No! Not THE LOOK!" Boop laughed loudly. "I'm going to DIE if he
doesn't stop it!"
	"Everything will be ok Bill." Morris giggled from the couch. "The
boy says he foresees no problems. I'll bring him back in one piece."
	"Thirty years old Morris." Boop mocked from the bar smiling.  "He's
ONLY thirty." He laughed. "Oh no! Morris, he's giving us THE LOOK again!"
	"YOU shut up Bitch." Bill snapped glaring. "I would prefer that
SOMEONE be on MY side i this."
	"Oh Bill for Christ's sake. You were thirty when we met and you
organized The Guild. Let the boy go." Boop said fixing another drink.
"He's giving us THE LOOK again Morris!"
	"Yeah, well, I did a lot more than that by thirty too. Not all of
which I'm very proud of today." Bill said straight faced. "It was a
different age then. Morris? Am I right?"
	"Yes Bill, you're right. It was a different age then. Still, you
can't keep him a baby forever. The boy is a MAN Bill. He's out fucking you
know."
	"Gee Thanks a lot Sir. That really helps." Forest said
sarcastically looking over at Morris who just winked and smiled, still
fighting back laughter.
	"And Quit giving us THE LOOK!" Morris laughed. "Do you want us to
all just lay down and DIE right here?"
	Soon, after thinking about it for a moment with his back turned,
and unable to keep a straight face amid the snickering and giggles. Bill
too smiled.
	"The look. I got your look." Bill laughed and ruffled Forests hair.
JumpSpace July 2101
	The Jump to Proxima was nothing like anything Forest had ever
experienced before in his life. It was like Ecstasy and a roller coaster
ride all rolled into one.
	Sir tried to sleep as much as he could through the trip as did
most people on the three day flight, though Forest found it so exciting he
could hardly relax long enough to sleep. He spent most of his time staring
out the forward veranda of the hip at the unique visual that JumpSpace
displayed as it distorted Einsteinian Space or TruSpace as they were
calling it aboard the ship.
	"God. How can you look at that?" Morris asked shielding his eyes
from the windows as he walked up to Forest.
	"Isn't it hypnotic?" Forest smiled at his father. "It so beautiful.
I never imagine."
	"It makes me want to throw up. Come on, you've got to come eat
something for breakfast." Morris said deliberately not looking out the
forward windows.
	"Ok Sir." Forest said following his father back to their cabin.
	"So!" Sir said as they sat down at the small table in their room.
"Have you met anyone on board yet?"
	"No, I've spent most of my time up front in the veranda." Forest
explained. "There WAS one Turkish steward that I thought was kinda cute,
but he turned out to be straight.?"
	"Well, at least you're not insane yet." Morris laughed. "How can
you stand looking at that hour after hour?"
	"It's strange. It gives me a different perspective to see things
from. I can tell you though, I understand Montclairs ZSV now though." He
nodded.
	"Really?" Morris asked biting into a sausage. "I never understood
his rambling about that stuff."
	"It will work Sir. I KNOW it now. Does that make any sense?"
Forest asked forking pancake into his mouth. "I also want to talk with
your engineers when we get back. I think Montclair just scraped the
surface of what this thing can do."
	"How's that?" Morris asked sincerely interested.
	"I thought of another way through his Zero Spacetime Vortex. I just
need to sit down with a mathematician and an engineer, maybe a physicist.
I have to explain to them what I see in my minds eye."
	"Try on me." Morris said now curios as to what his child had
thought up this time.
	"I can't really explain it Sir." Forest laughed. "The best I can
say is that it's like trying to squeeze through a crack in space."
	"Well now THAT metaphor threw me." Morris laughed. "Try again."
	"Well, it's like this; It won't fit through THIS way, but it might
fit through THIS way." He said trying to explain with his hands.
	"Like a right angle to time and space?" Morris asked. "Like that?"
	"I guess. I can see it in my mind, I just can't explain it. It's
like knowing theres a room on the other side of a wall. You can go out the
door, down the hall, and into the next room, OR you can 'Thin' yourself
enough that you could slide THROUGH the wall."
	"So it's not like Montclair was saying about dropping down to one
dimension, it's more like taking on more dimensions to bypass time and
space."
	"Yeah!" Forest smiled and went back to eating. "Becoming MORE
universal and less specialized. Less matter and more energy."
	"I get it. Yeah. I think you SHOULD talk to some of our people."
Morris agreed. "Did I tell you they've redefined our terminology on us?"
	"What?"
	"They've now classified StarShots as those colonies headed for Open
Star Clusters to establish bases." He said drinking his orange juice.
"Those that are colonies being sent out to establish bases in the Globular
Clusters are to be know as EarthShot from now on."
	"Who is 'They' and what about shots to the local group?" Forest
asked.
	"The local groups are still considered just plain colonies. "They
are the nit-wits I have working for me on Project Universe." Morris
laughed. ""We don't even have the JumpGate system set up and they're
already back logged on flights out."
	"Well Sir, I think when we're done out here, things should run a
lot faster and smoother. JumpNet will be able to relax and concentrate on
keeping JumpSpace straight, and brining KnownSpace colonies into
OrganizedSpace."
	"It's too bad that each gate has to be programmed manually."Morris
commented. "I'd hate to think you'd be wasting your time on things a
simple tech could handle."
	Forest thought a while on that comment, and decided he WOULD have
to train people to take his place if he was ever going to get anything
else done.
	"You're right Sir. Do you have any people at Proxima I can train?"
	"Sure." Morris said in his tone that meant he had something else on
his mind. "So maybe you wanna tell me about these periods of depression
you've been having?"
	"Oh. That." Forest said quietly. "It's just manic depression. I
COULD control it through drugs, or have it corrected by one of Uncle Harts
bugs, but I don't think I want to just yet."
	"Why is that Forest?" Morris asked sipping at his hot black coffee.
	"I've been able to turn them to my advantage. That's all." Forest
shrugged. "It's not all that big of a deal really. Everyone else makes
more out of it than it is."
	"Ok Forest." Morris nodded at his son. Forest was never sure when
Sir agreed with him in that tone, if he was really agreeing with him or
not. It was one of those 'You'll find out for yourself' tones. "You're
thirty now. Still not going for Retroviral Enhancement? Or giving it any
thought?"
	"I still don't know if it's right for me Sir. I mean, I've done
fine without it so far. Right?" Forest said trying to rationalize his
fears.
	"True enough son." Morris nodded.
	"Ok. I'm scared shitless." Forest said no longer hungry, pushing
his plate back. "I'm afraid of what me be inside me waiting to be
unleashed by Metamorphosis."
	"I see." Morris said building a pause by lighting his pipe... A
process that took several minutes and which, for some reason, no one dared
ever to talk during or interrupt the process... Forest thought he used
that long exaggerated pause to sort his thoughts and formulate his words.
"What may be inside you that would scare you?" He said finally.
	"It's a fear of the unknown Sir. I'm not quite sure I want to
become totally conscious just yet." Forest said weakly trying to reason.
"I hear all the time about how it makes you remember things you've
forgotten."
	"I understand."
	"What happens then? I mean, look at the stuff that comes out of my
head these days? What happens if I change that balance?" Forest asked
doing a quick snort. "Do I lose a careful balance in my mind, thereby
losing second sight? Or will I start pouring out formulas and theories
that supersedes anything heretofore known by man?"
	"What would happen if either of those two things came about?"
	"Well, if I lost the visions, I'd be losing a part of me I've come
to appreciate. The ability to see Pop's Big Picture."
	"I can certainly see why you wouldn't want to lose something that
precious." Morris nodded puffing, the blue cherry scented smoke rising
slowly towards the vent in their tiny cabin.
	"If I get some mental evolutionary leap thing going, I guess I
might not have any friends anymore." He said lighting a cigarette. "Who
wants to hang around with a brain? One that intimidates?"
	"I see. Do you think your fathers and I would love you any less if
you were to change?"
	"No, I know you guys love me. God knows how much you've had to put
up from me over the years." He smiled. "The rest of the family too.  Even
the folks at church. They love me too. But Sir, there is a bigger world
out there than just that. I don't want to cut myself off from future
possibilities. Maybe someday I might want to marry a nice man and settle
down. As a superbright I don't think I could find someone willing to put
up with me."
	"Your current situation with these bouts of depression are
certainly crippling as well don't you think?"
	"Yes.. Do you think they're related?" Forest asked looking at his
father.
	"Possibly. Certainly worth further investigation. Yes?"
	"I suppose Sir." Forest said deflated, knowing he'd lost.
	"You don't want out of this dilemma?" Morris asked thoughtfully.
	"Sir this is a good time in my life. Right here. Right now.
Watching the world wake up from a history of ignorance and fear." Forest
tried explaining. "I've waited for this. There's no other place I'd rather
be."
	"Perhaps too you might be afraid of waking up." Morris observed.
	"I think that's it."  Forest sighed. "Ok. I'll do it."  Proxima
System July 2102
	Forest took a group of five of his fathers project leaders out to
the StarGate of Island One with him as Morris stayed behind in Proxima
System and organized things for when his son would return in a week.
	"Hart, you projections show everything will run smoothly?" Morris
asked.
	"Yeah Morris. Don't worry! I love Forest as I would my own son.
I'm not about to let anything bad happen to him." Hartford Kingship
assured his friend.
	"You're just skittish today Morris." Prometheus Fox remarked.
	"Screw you Fox." Morris said glumly. "At 118 years old, what do you
know of anything? You know shit."
	"Morris, we're only ten years older than that you know." Hart
smiled.
	"Yeah, but I was looking for something to give me an edge over
him." Morris said pointing at Fox. "He's been too damn cocky ever since I
met him."
	"That was about 90 years ago Morris." Fox said simply. "Don't you
think by now you could trust me?"
	There was a long pause in the air as Morris collected himself.
	"God DAMN don't let anything happen to him Fox." Morris said
shaking.
	"We WONT Morris. He's a big investment." Fox said unemotionally.
	"SEE!?" Morris asked raising his voice looking at Hart and pointing
at Fox.. ""That's what I'm talking about."
	"Fox didn't mean it that way Morris." Hart smiled gently trying to
calm Morris down. "He was just trying to..."
	"You little SHIT!" Morris said enraged. "He's MORE than a fucking
investment! He's my Goddamned SON!"






From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c14b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:44:30 -0500

Proxima System August 2102
	The Mind Boggles.
	Forest lay on the couch, with a thick warm blanket gathered about
him, shivering as he felt the sweat beading on his skin, the sick aching
feeling deep in his bones.
	He felt as if he might be slipping from consciousness, as if
everything had stood still for a moment before allowing him to faint,
though he didn't go ahead and faint.
	GENETIC PROPHET streamed through his mind in an endless loop.
	Soon, his father came back in the room and sat beside him again
with another warm wet cloth and wiped at his forehead, smoothing his hair
up away from his face, a dark look of unspoken concern on his face.
	Genetically engineered prophecy.
	Forest mind seemed to split into three entities as he absorbed his
surroundings. He felt "Three Times Present".
	Memory, direct experience, expectation. He could feel the past,
present and future fuse into one mind again and his fever suddenly broke.
	He looked up at Morris with new eyes that saw thing anew, and yet
remembered at the same time.
	The duality of seeing his genetic memories both in himself and in
his father sitting beside him, gave him a brief shift of perception. It
was almost a feeling of deja vu.
	He remembered Sir telling him one time, quoting from some unknown
source: "Time is memory they say; the art however is to revive it and yet
avoid remembering."
	Too true Sir.
	Forest felt the heavy weight of the blankets on him and their
sticky wetness of his perspiration. As his fever broke, the muscles began
relaxing in his body and he was able to breathe much better and he no
longer felt chilled.
	Just relaxed. And a bit warm perhaps.
	"I love you Sir."
	Forest then smiled at Morris and sat up, hugging his father as
tightly as he could, feeling a bond of father and son that none could
deceive or break.
	"I love you too son."
	Forest saw the simplicity of it all. He was almost laughing that
he had not guessed it all before. It was all so simple. He certainly felt
more happy because of it.
	"How could I have been so blind Sir?" Forest smiled.
	"How could any of us son?" Morris returned his smile. "We would
have reached this stage of development sooner or later. We simply decided
it was too much to gamble on being lost, before it was allowed to happen."
	"The straights don't know what they've missed." Forest said sadly.
	"No, and we mustn't let them know. They might get the wrong
impression."
	"I see that now Sir. God! I feel so great! I've got to take a
shower now."
	"You should stop by the Health Enforcement Center and let Hart take
a look at you." Island One August 2102
	Ten days later Forest was flying a specially equipped
SingleShuttle with a Colony Drive installed on it through the Island One
JumpGate.
	He didn't worry about the testing of the craft since he had seen
the engineering plans of it and KNEW it would work fine.
	The four days he spent in HyperSpace he used to read books and
listen to music from his families past. It was one of the most rewarding
experiences of his life. Getting to know his fathers and family as
friends.
	Each of their 128 years of life (Plus or minus a few months)
offered him an entire universe of experience to enjoy. And he did.
	The fourth day, just before he dropped out of HyperSpace, he got a
letter transmitted on a Tachyon beam through Island One via DeepStation
(Which controlled HyperSpace traffic) back from HomeSystem.
	It was the file his pop had told him about. It told him nothing he
didn't already know now. He saw the Big Picture everyone talked about and
tried to paint for him as sloppy as they did with the words available to
them. He knew it all too clearly, and saw his place in that picture now.
	In a response pulse transmission, he repainted the picture for
them.
	After his Uncle Hart and Uncle Fox had gone over him with their
best machines and Techs, and they had approved his state of health,
physically, emotionally and mentally, they turned him loose.
	The world changed in the blink of an eye.
	Forest turned himself loose on the world spinning off a dozen
different projects all at once, making perhaps the greatest technological
leap the world had witnessed to date.
	Creating the very special SingleShuttle, he was now screaming
through HyperSpace in, sending Techs out to DeepStation with
reconfigurements to convert the station to a HyperSpace control center,
sending engineers and equipment to three different points on the edge of
KnownSpace, one of which was where he was currently headed, and a pulse
transmission to Alexandria which contained detailed plans of everything he
was doing.
	Forest wasn't sure if there were many alive who could interpret
the data, but he was confident in the fact that the information would at
least be preserved for future generations. If anything DID happen to him
in the form of an unforeseen accident, it would be his sign post for them,
from him, out of time.
	It felt good to be alive.  Groundstar One KnownSpace August 2102
	Dropping out of HyperSpace, he braced himself for the inevitable
impacts of any rocks, ice, or other stellar matter, clenching his teeth
tightly together, squinting his eyes tightly shut, and bracing himself by
tightening down the safety harness, grabbing the chairs arm rests as he
pushed with his feet against the control board as carefully as possible.
	There would very quickly be a nuclear explosion around him that
would surround him in his ship, when his "near infinite mass" converted
the stellar hydrogen to energy as he materialized in TruSpace.
	The concussion of the blast was bigger than he had imagine,
knocking the wind out of him, while he could feel as well as hear the
stresses on the hull of the ship, silently praying it would not buckle,
releasing his atmosphere to the stars, but he made it through fine. Just
as he had known all along. In fact, there was less overall damage to the
ship and it's instruments than he had at first anticipated.
	He sat back up in the chair, shaking his head against the ringing
in his ears, thinking of ways he could improve on the ships design as he
called the temporary outpost ahead, that was soon to become Groundstar
One.
	His ship had to be towed into dry dock but considering he had just
broke all speed records, it didn't bother him at all. He stepped off his
ship onto the docking bay floor still a little shaken but interested in
the evolution that the uniforms the Engineer Guild members had taken as of
late. They also seemed much younger than most of the Programmers Guild
recruits.
	"Mr. Potter." A man beamed at him offering him a big calloused paw.
"I'm Badge."
	"Mr. Badge." Forest shook the mans firm handed grip. "It's good to
be here."
	"Actually sir, my name is Earl Schickard. I'm General Manger for
this project from The Engineering Guild. Everyone calls me Badge though.
I used to be a sheriff a long time ago." He explained almost
apologetically.
	"Ok Badge. How are things coming along?" Fores asked him politely.
	"Fine Sir. No problems. For a while there, I wasn't sure we would
have the bay in place before you arrived, but we made it." He smiled
genuinely proud of the accomplishments required of him in three days time.
	"A problem in the construction process?" Forest asked.
	"No sir. Transportation. It was just that my people had never been
dispatched to such a remote job site so quickly before. It took us all by
surprise." He said leading them through airlocks until they reached the
mans impromptu office in the general dining hall.
	"Sorry about the mess sir." Badge said embarrassingly gathering
charts from all over the table. "Like I said... " He shrugged.
	"No no. Don't worry about that. I'd like them left out please.
Could you show me where in the design you've progressed?" Forest asked
comforting the man by jumping right into the spirit of the people he could
see and hear around him, all hurrying and busily doing the jobs they had
been trained for.
	Badge relaxed at this prospect and talked quickly, showing off
what his people had accomplished to date, complementing people her and
there.
	Forest saw people who looked from 12 to 120 all in the same basic
bright green uniform and jewelry, rushing about and talking with one then
another a voice over an intercom almost pleading with some other section
for parts or crews.
	He took the uniforms, specialized jewelry and tattooing as some
sort of tribal differences he would look into later.
	He recognized the uniforms of Transportation Guild, Security,
Architects, Entertainment, Medical, Electronics, PseudoLife, etc.
	Once in a while he would spot someone from the Programmers Guild
by their uniform, and from there he could mentally flip through his own
personal files to find out who they were.
	"I've got some of my best people here sir." Badge said finally
sitting down and offering Forest a seat across the table.
	Occasionally as the two of them talked, someone would rush in,
examine the charts, and go back out shouting instructions to someone else.
	"I'm impressed Badge. Don't concern yourself with that. Call me
Forest." He said offering the man his vial of cocaine, showing the man
that he was being honest and making an offering of friendship.
	Forest partook with the man, then lit a cigarette, offering him
one, and settled down to just talk for a while.
	"Ok. Forest." The man nodded.
	"I'm not here to breath down your neck Badge. I'm just here to do
some work on the computer cores." Forest explained.
	"Hard or Soft?" The man asked almost alarmed.
	"Just programming Badge I assure you. If there's any hard wiring I
need changed, I'll be sure and speak with you first. Believe me."Forest
smiled. "Programmers Guild gave YOU people the contract. We're not looking
to step on any toes here. I still may have to face a court battle over the
fact that it was my design."
	Forest was happy to see that people had such a renewed interest in
their professions from the time of his fathers age before him. The Guilds
gave one purpose and a life. They treasured that life and protected it
with their very lives if necessary. More than one Guild War had been
started over one person crossing a very real line that existed between
professions. Doctors did not practice law, banks did not distribute drugs,
and programmers did not do electronic wiring.



	



From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c15a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:46:41 -0500

Groundstar One KnownSpace August 2102
	Forest felt more at ease with people since his "evolution" had
taken place. After it was all over, he felt silly over his fear to begin
with. It really wasn't all that bad.
	He could now talk with people of The Programmers Guild gathered in
the dining hall quickly and easily, not having to pause to explain
complete concepts that were sometimes represented by a mere symbol or
gesture. He was the last in the room that had undergone the evolution.
	Though he was the new kid on this project, no one in The Guild
held it against him for two reasons. One, each of them had faced that same
evolutionary leap and did not chide one another for fearing it. And Two,
it was his design that CREATED this project in the first place.
	So his audience was not only very attentive of the programming
techniques he was explaining concerning the programming representations of
time, space, thought, matter, energy, etc; They were at times almost
enthralled with the presence of a person who could envision these things
in a single human mind.
	Groundstar One was going to control a version of space that only
he and his programmers there understood. Top Secret. Within The Guild
only.
	When he was done, there was not a single question about the
project, since they all understood it completely by the time he was
finished.
	A few politely asked about one or more of his fathers, concerning
where they were, how they were doing, etc. A few congratulated him on his
change and welcomed him to one or more of their off-hours parties.
	One thing he saw that disturbed him somewhat, was the length of
overtime these people would put into a given project. Some, working as
many as 10 hours overtime after a ten hour shift.
	"Jerry Hall?" Forest called to one of the youngest programmers he
had ever met, not more than a boy of 12 who by all rights should have
adopted himself into the Cyberpunx Guild, but for some reason ended up
here.
	After most had filed out of the great dining room, he was left
alone with young boy sitting at the table across from him.
	Forest looked at him for a while, then went through his own
thought collecting routine of doing a line of cocaine, and lighting a
cigarette. When he saw the slight almost imperceptible lick of the boys
lips, he laid both on the table in front of him.
	"Help yourself." Forest said waving a hand towards them, watching
as the boy did a line with all the grace and style of an adult who had
practised the habit for years, though he looked a bit ridiculous with such
small hands and face.
	"Thank you sir." The boy said sitting upright in his seat,
regarding Forest coolly, with all the respect one should have for a
superior.
	"Call me Forest Hall."
	"Yes sir. Forest." The boy blinked and nodded.
	Forest sat thinking for a while about how he was going to broach
the problem, then simply decided honesty would be best.
	"You joined Programmers Guild about 7 years ago with your parents."
	"Yes."
	"Where are they now Hall?" Forest asked sincerely concerned.
	"They were killed on Fomalhaut 2 years ago." He said simply.
"VICAR terrorists. They took out the Fomalhaut central library with a
tactical nuke."
	"Jesus. I'm sorry Hall. I didn't have that update in your file."
Forest apologized, re-shifting variable in his mind. "You chose to stay
with Programmers Guild instead of going with the Cyberpunx?"
	"Yes sir. I appreciate the structure Programmers Guild affords me.
Cyberpunx are too disorganized at the initiate level and I've already got
status here. In fact, not only would I start over at the bottom there, I
don't like the idea that they encourage anarchy. I want more out of life."
	"I see. Are you being paid scale?"
	"Of course. I became a Master Programmer last year. Went through
the evolution the next day. I'm quite happy with where I'm at sir. Is
there some objection you have to my age?"
	"No no. Nothing like that. I'm just wondering who takes care of
you."
	"The Guild sir. I've been treated as a peer, up until now sir."  He
said levelly to Forest, not blinking in the slightest.
	"I don't mean to upset you Hall. I just want to make sure you're
not being abused, or taken advantage of." Forest explained. "You're
Programmers Guild. That makes you my concern. Ok?"
	"I understand sir. Pederasts aside, I'm treated quite well. I enjoy
the adventure of on-site programming, and have every intention of
remaining with The Guild." He smiled for the first time at Forest, and it
nearly broke Forests heart.
	"Well Hell then guy!" Forest blushed laughing, trying to cover up
his unwarranted concern. "I don't know why I'm so shook up by you. Here's
my card though. Just in case."
	"Sir, if I were to have a problem, don't you think I would be in a
better position to correct the situation?" He said slipping the card into
his Red jumpsuit pocket.
	"Go back to work Hall." Forest laughed shaking his head and walking
to the other end of the lunch room.
	"Badge, when do you think my ship will be ready?" Forest asked the
man who had been politely ignoring the two of them, walking up to the mans
desk/office/lunch table feeling beat.
	"Tomorrow morning Forest. If you need it sooner..."
	"No Tomorrow morning is fine. Is there any place I can bunk for the
night? I'm in one helluva time flux right now and I'm about to drop."
Forest said wiping at his eyes, trying to ease the weariness from his
mind.
	"We don't have any visitors quarters set up yet sir, but you can
use my bunk. I've just started my morning shift. It's located in spoke E,
level 9. Room one."
	"Thanks a million Badge. I'll send you a case of scotch for this."
Freeway Station KnownSpace August 2102
	On his way to Freeway Station, Forest did just that.
	In a pulse Tachyon transmission sent through DeepStation to
HomeSystem Forest had Chip, his own personal AI order the best stuff that
could be found where ever he could find it and send it express transport
to the man who had given up his bed for the night with a single white lie.
	Forest had laid in the mans bed for a few minutes before dropping
off completely, looking at the pictures on one wall of the mans family and
his previous home on Earth. Badge mu have lost them all somehow since no
one with a real family or home did on-site remote jobs.
	Badges people had done an excellent retrofit when they rebuilt his
ship.
	When he dropped out of HyperSpace this time, the explosion was
much better muffled though it still made his ears ring and there was less
overall damage to his ship. In fact, this time, he was able to make it to
Freeway Station under his own power. Things were looking up.
	The team at Freeway Station had progressed a little further.  More
than he had anticipated.
	The docking with Freeway Station was smooth and well orchestrated,
as if the technicians in the bay had done it a hundred times before. In
fact, they probably had.
	This time however, there was no friendly handshake when he stepped
off the SingleShuttle. Only very busy workmen.
	Using the computer system already up and running, he was able to
find the control room on his own.
	"Could you tell me where I can find Mr. Hercules?" Forest asked a
rather harried looking programmer, who had stopped outside the door and
leaned with her back up against the hallway wall with her yes closed.
	"Oh! Mr.Potter! I'm sorry." She said smoothing the wisps of hair
off her face that had come loose from her pony tail. "He's right over
there."
	Forest looked through the glass in the direction she pointed to
see a man about his own age with round glasses peering intently at an old
CRT screen like his Uncle Norm used.
	"Thank you." He smiled at her.
	"Yes sir!" She said quickly hurrying away wide-eyed.
	"Mr. Hercules?" Forest asked as he opened the door to the office.
	"WHAT!?" The man snapped without looking around. When no response
was heard, he turned towards the sound with a scowl on his face that
quickly turned to embarrassment as his face fell.
	"I'm Forest Potter."
	"Yes sir." The man said quickly clearing a place for Forest to sit.
"I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to snap at you.."
	"What's up?" Forest as looking at the screen the man was so
engrossed in. "I know someone else who uses a machine like this.
Antique!" He grinned.
	"Yes sir. It was my fathers sir." The man swallowed. "I used my
personal effects mass credits to bring it with me sir. It's strictly
legit."
	"Ok ok." Forest smiled warmly at him. "Calm down guy. I'm not going
to take it away from you Mr.Hercules." He laughed gently.
	"Yes Sir." The man sat in the chair, almost afraid that Forest was
going to touch him. "We've run into a few problems sir."
	"Call me Forest. What kind of problems."
	"Well,... uh... Forest... uh, we're kinda stuck at a spot where we
can't progress any further without more details. I mean, we've finished
everything for the station and well, we're a bit at odds as to what we
should be doing next."
	"With you time? I suggest everyone take a few days off. You've done
record work here man! Relax!" He smiled, which took the programmer off
balance. "Ok?"
	"Relax sir?" The man looked sincerely perplexed at the idea.
	"Yes. Starting now. Send out a broadcast to all terminals, all
programmers that they are to save files where they are and stop. I want to
see everyone in the main dining hall in five minutes." Forest said getting
up and walking away, hearing the mans fingers fly over the keys.
	Once everyone had gathered, Forest spoke to them generally, and
not of anything concerning the project. Some of this was because there
were other guilds present in the hall as he was speaking.
	"You've done great work people. Really. But you're too stressed.  I
can't have programmers fighting fatigue when they're trying to tackle a
job for me."
	"Sir?" A young girl held up her hand.
	"Yes. Kelly isn't it?"
	"Yes Mr. Potter. We were told that this would be an important
project. We're just trying to do a good job and get it done inside the
deadline."
	"And so you have. Correct?" She nodded slightly. "Let it go for a
day. Tomorrow is a day off. Period. Next, my name is NOT Mr. Potter or
Sir."
	He looked at them all.
	"Sir is my father." He smiled at them. "My name is Forest. Just
forest. Ok. Now I'm going to be watching that machine. I don't want to see
ONE person touch it all day tomorrow."
	There was a pause in the air as anxiety rose.
	"You people need to give the poor stupid machine a break. Relax a
little yourselves. I'll brief you on the next stage of the project the day
after tomorrow. Agreed?"
	There were a few mumbles or blank stares, and a couple of sighs.
	"See you then!" Forest smiled and walked out going back to the
computer core.
	While he sat there in front of a terminal at the window, where all
who came near the entrance would see him, he wrote a Telltale program that
would keep track of the little boy Jerry Hall, whom he had met at
Groundstar One.
	Releasing it out onto the ComWeb, he took time to wander about the
station and get a look at things. Though his mind had conceived the place,
it looked different walking through it than it did omnipotently building
it in his mind.
	"Ok people." He said getting their attention. The day off did them
all some good though some faired the time off better than others.  "Here's
what we're gonna do."
	Forest went on to explain to them the Zero Spacetime Vortex that
his cousin Montclair had been working on, how it worked, what it's
potential was, and how they were going to write the software to control
this stations functions of regulation of that Vortex.
	Then he left, taking with him a few memories of a few new friends
he had worked with over the past few days.  Air Traffic Control
OrganizedSpace August 2102
	Arriving at the new Air Traffic Control facility, everyone was
much more relaxed. They had gone as far as they could with the project,
and were waiting for Forest when he arrived.
	Including the engineers at Dry Dock.
	While his ship was being repaired and further retrofitted with
newer improvements in the design of his ship, he went straight to the
dining hall to explain their tasks to them.
	His stay was a total of 6 hours.  Island One OrganizedSpace August
2102
	On the way back to Island One, where Sir waited for him, he
considered the implications of all he had done, and what it might mean to
the HyperCulture of today to have such great technological leaps dropped
in their laps in such a short time.
	He now had Air Traffic Control handling all of TruSpace; the
plasma fusions drives of local ships and the Mercury Drives used to handle
the moving of celestial bodies such as asteroids, comets, moons etc.
	JumpNet handled the ships of Jumpspace where everyday people
traveled from one star system to another cheaply and efficiently.
	DeepStation handled the Intelligent Colony Drives of the Colony
Ships being sent out through HyperSpace which he now traveled out to the
far reaches of KnownSpace.
	Freeway Station handled what was to be The Zero Spacetime Vortex,
as soon as they had completed the few ships that would be used for testing
the AI that was now ready.
	Groundstar One would handle his own Stepping Stones "Non-Space"
that would enable people to literally "walk" from one world to another,
effectively stepping across billions of miles of space. Despite it's
limitations of distance, it increased the efficiency of travel within a
single star system by a thousand percent.









From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c15b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:48:00 -0500

Persephone HomeSystem September 2102
	By the time he arrived all of the new stations were up and running
in one form or another. By the time his father and he reached HomeSystem,
they were already able to use the Stepping Stone technology to travel from
Persephone, down into the gravity well of Sol to end up at Trojan Station.
	Though Forest found the trip exhilarating, Sir fainted upon
arrival.
	Evidently this had happened before in some cases, since there were
MedTeks standing there waiting to catch the tall man as he collapsed.
	Hmm.
	"How often does this happen?" Forest asked the MedTek who was
waving smelling salts under Morris's nose.
	"About one in a hundred. The sudden drop in blood pressure usually
only hits them if they've been drinking or consuming downers, or street
drugs." The MedTek smiled at Forest. "I'm sure Morris ISN'T a junkie
though." He laughed.
	"Well!" Bill said as they came in the door to the apartment, coming
over to kiss them both, quite relieved they made it back.
	Boop looked up from the bar. "It's about Goddamned time!" He got
up and came over to hug them both tightly.
	"What's wrong Morris?" Bill asked concerned.
	"Oh, I just got a taste of YOUR sons Stepping Stone Horse Shit."
He said going over to the bar to fix himself a bloody Mary rubbing his
forehead.
	"I don't use the damn things either!" Boop said laughing. "No
offense Baby, but the things just wont work on my special body chemistry."
He laughed holding up his cocktail in a toast.
	"Well I think you did good Honey." Bill said kissing his son again.
"I use 'em all the time, even if SOME people still have to take a space
plane down."
	"Miss Abbey and Uncle Beau won't have an excuse for not visiting
anymore either." Forest smiled.
	"Oh Bloody Hell. The Goddamned burned out old drag queen was up
here yesterday trying to rearrange my furniture." Boop said flopping down
on the couch next to him. "They only installed the plates three days ago.
Hateful old Niggard Whore."
	"Where did you get the idea Forest?" Bill asked smiling proudly.
	"He Metamorphosed." Morris said from the bar before Forest could
speak.
	There was a deeply prevalent silence as they all stood looking at
him.
	"Whoa." Forest said throwing up his hands. "Back off a second
guys."
	The silence continued until Bill finally spoke.
	"Ok Forest. You've done it. Good. I'm glad. Really." Bill said
fumbling for a way to begin. "We all knew this day would come."
	"Bills trying to say that each time a basic change is made in a
system whose possibilities are endless, it opens up a Pandora Box." Boop
said looking over the top of his scotch. "Do you understand Forest.?"
	"Yes. I do. I thought you guys knew already."
	"That explains your letter from Groundstar One. Your references to
The Big Picture." Bill nodded solemnly looking down at the cocktails
Morris sat in front of he and Forest. "It explains everything."
	"See, we just thought you were on a roll Forest." Boop explained.
"We thought you were working from Montclairs' premise of ZSV."
	"Well I was!" Forest looked amazed at the two of them as Morris
stood behind Bill. "What's wrong?"
	"Nothing is wrong Forest." Morris said coming around the couch o
sit by Bill. "They're just shook up is all. Afraid would be the more
appropriate term."
	"Well, I'm ok." Forest shook his head and sipped at the scotch.  "I
was sick a day or so, but Sir was there."
	"Forest, it's like this." Boop said turning towards him. "You're
the only one of your kind. You're probably the most advanced person alive
today. That means certain responsibilities."
	"It also means you have to learn self government." Bill said speak
clearly and slowly as if to stress the point.
	"I understand Pop. I really do. I've had almost a month to think
this thing over. I understand what has happened to me."
	"He has Bill." Morris spoke up. "We've talked about it a lot on the
way back from Island One. He's got it all under control. I wouldn't have
let him out of my sight if I didn't think everything was cool."
	"You mean to tell me you let him out of your sight after that!"
Bill shrieked. "Sweet Jesus!"
	"Wait a second!" Forest spoke up with a look of growing anger. "I
want to know right now what you're so afraid of Pop."
	The room stood silent for a while after Forest raised his voice.
	"The evolution has been known to drive people mad." Bill explained
painfully. "You're our son. I just wanted to be there to make sure
everything was perfect during the routine."
	"We love you Forest." Boop spoke up. "We couldn't take any chances
with you. You're our son." Boop leaned over and kissed him.
	"Who performed the procedure?" Bill asked Morris
	"Calm down. It was Hart and Fox. They had all his maps and
schematics before they even started. I made sure." Morris explained
patiently in a low voice, trying to calm everyone down. "Ken flew in to do
the psychological examinations before and after. Jones was there to assist
as well as Abbot from Genotypes."
	"Well. Ok." Bill said petulantly. "You should have called first
though."
	"Sir! I think he's getting ready to give us THE LOOK!"
	They all laughed.  DownTown Kansas City September 2102
	Forest knocked on the door to his Aunties apartment.
	Miss Abbey arrived at the door dressed as a very cliche' Aunt
Jemima, complete with over sized boobs hanging over a simple plain dress
and apron, with bandana covering her hair.
	"My Baby! Mama's BABY has come home!" She wailed. "What's wrong
with you boy? Get yourself in here this very minute. You're gonna be
lettin' in all the flies in the country." She said closing the door behind
him. "DADDY?!" She called out loud enough Forest was sure all the
neighbors within three floors could over hear her.
	"Auntie! Your neighbors are going to get upset over your
screaming." Forest said trying to get her to lower her voice. "Besides,
this is a closed climate building." He smiled at her. "There are no bugs
in this place."
	"OH! Gonna pull them Logical Things on Miss Abbey again? She stop
talking!" She warned, to which Forest simply grinned.
	She opened the door again and shouted "As for that trash that
lives outside my door, Fuck 'Em! The Cunts. I'm gonna torch the building
one of these days and I hope they're in it." She said in her
matter-of-fact tone, slamming the door this time.
	"Of Course, Miss Abbey doesn't normally have a potty mouth, except
when she is extremely distressed. Daddy?!"
	"Bon soir." Beau said as he came out of the bedroom with a big
white terrycloth robe wrapped around him, his hair a mess from sleep. He
yawned expansively.
	"Bon soir! Dormez vous mon Uncle?"
	"Oui." He coughed, shaking his head a moment. "Forest! Good to see
you back boy!"
	"It's good to be back." He said hugging his uncle, then Miss Abbey,
who was obviously working up some tears for a scene.
	"My last one and only BABY!" She cried mournfully. "I'm SURE you'll
come see your poor old Aunite in her last dieing days."
	"What's wrong Auntie?" Forest asked unsure of his ill-placed
concerned, until he looked over at his Uncle Beau who just winked and
smiled.
	"What's wrong?! What's wrong?!"  Miss Abbey is here to tell you
that her other baby boy has decided he hates her now and doesn't want her
around. Thrown out of his life like so many dirty dishrags. Now her life
is over. She is unwanted and used up. There's nothing left to do except
find an iceberg to take her far away to die." She said holding her head
down and shaking it woefully.
	"Oh please. The Eskimos haven't done that for decades. What are you
talking about anyway?" He said going over to the bar giggling, to fix
himself a cocktail. "Montclair loves you Auntie."
	"No! He doesn't! Tore my heart out to see him marry that Jap trash.
I guess he just wants to see me dead." She cried.
	"So Monclair married Bryce?" Forest asked his Uncle.
	"Yes." Beau nodded. "I thought the ceremony all went very fine.
Very nice people the Nakashima's. A bit Upper Crust for my taste, but then
I'm not marrying the family. Bryce however seems to be the best out of all
of them. By far."
	"They're cheap Japanese trash! Mama's Babies deserve better! You
won't do anything like that will you Forest? You LOVE your Auntie."
	"Well Auntie, I certainly wouldn't marry Japanese. I don't like
their attitudes towards gajin. I doubt I'll marry at all though. I kinda
like being on my own for now."
	"Forest." She said seriously. "Miss Abbey saw this on Oprah before.
Are you one of those Gay boys who turns straight?"
	"No Auntie." Forest laughed heartily. "I'm just the bachelor type."
	"AH! Afraid of commitment! I KNEW it!" She said walking back into
the kitchen were she got back down on her knees to scrub the kitchen floor
with a pail of soapy water.
	She really WAS working up a scene. The cleaning 'Bots do a better
job than humans ever could. And all you have to do is turn them on.
	"Miss Abbey has been calling up old talk shows again. Last month it
was Sally Jesse. This month it's Oprah. Next month it will be Phil
Donahue. She does this periodically." His uncle laughed. "Her shrink
program tells me it's something to do with being afraid of turning loose
the past Or fear of the future or something."
	"Well I know Bryce comes from a corporate background..." Forest
said talking with his uncle in low tones. "I had Chip run a Telltale on
him. But he couldn't find anything on the guy except one Catholic in-law
three generations back.
	"Too good to be true." His uncle commented. "Well, sooner or later
he'll fuck up. Then I'll burn his ass down to the ground."







From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p1c16a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 15:49:32 -0500

Zion Station EarthSystem June 2103
	On Zion Station, home of The Reorganized-Mormons, in The Great
Hall, a quiet gathering had coalesced.
	Forest sat in the high-backed chair before a body of people that
made him feel more than slightly uncomfortable, despite his rational
interpretation of the events taking place.
	A long table stretching far to either side of him held The Quorum
of the Twelve Tribes. Or, the council of The Twelve Apostles. The Church
Council.
	Behind those, a little higher and further back, sat the three
Patriarchies. The High priests of The First Presidency.
	Sitting alone, in a chair as tall as the one Forest sat in where
his focus was aimed, sat the President of the Church. The Prophet.
	Behind that man sat the Quorum of The Seventy.
	His three fathers occupied the seats of the Patriarchies, and
among the Quorum of The Twelve sat his Uncles Hart, Louis, Norm, and Beau.
	This however was NOT a family reunion.
	Nor was it General Conference.
	This was a special meeting called, just for and/or because of
Forest.
	"Forest." The President and Prophet began slow and low, setting the
tone for the proceedings. "It's come to our attention that you've
undergone Retroviral Enhancement as well as The Metamorphosis."
	"Yes sir." Forest said clearly, wishing dearly that he didn't have
to endure this. It was gonna hurt. He had seen it coming.
	"Then you have been witness to the higher spheres of existence?"
	"Yes sir. A few." Forest said swallowing.
	"I see." The man said steepening his fingers and nodding. "I would
like to congratulate you on your latest technological gifts to the world
too by the way. Sharing some of the Higher Spheres with the gentiles will
be of great importance for the Churches image."
	"Thank you sir." Forest said nervously wishing he could do a line
and smoke. "I set up the contracts so that all the profits would be going
into the church fund sir.
	"Yes. Well. We thank you for that. I would however like to ask you
a few questions concerning your latest vision."
	"Yes sir."
	"You feel Zion is being contaminated."
	"Yes sir. I understand the implications of this, though I feel very
strongly that the visions are correct sir. I'm sorry. I can't change what
I see."
	"Quite frankly Forest, we're at odds as to how to correct the
problem. You're aware of church doctrine that states we follow the laws of
the land."
	"Yes sir."
	"Ye we are also bound to preserve the center place."
	"Yes sir."
	"In this latest of visions, were you given any instruction as to by
what means we should correct the situation?"
	"Forced Evacuation." Forest said flatly and clearly. "Just as I
told you."
	The room was very still as the president thought this over.
	"You seem to have had quite a few visions as of late. Yes?"
	"Yes sir."
	"Why is it, do you think, that God would choose to deliver his
divine instruction to you Forest, rather than his chosen Prophet?"
	There was a heavy stillness in the air as this was certainly
nothing that had ever before been questioned by the church. Everyone had
visions.
	"I have to wonder sir, if the ELECTED President of this body is
even a BELIEVER of God and his divine plans." Forest said so
straightforward and clearly that nearly everyone's heart stopped.
	A few gasped audibly. One of which was his Uncle Hart.  Trojan
Station EarthSystem 2103
	"Oh shit Forest.": Morris said after they got home. "We've got to
get you out of here. Fast. Boop, take him down the well to Earth. Hide him
someplace until all of this blows over." He said moving quickly, going to
a hall closet and grabbing a black canvass duffel bag, throwing a few
items into it for Forest to take along.
	"Just wait a second!" Bill said trying to collect his thoughts as
he paced around the room. As Boop looked at Forest and frowned, shaking
his head. "They've been at deliberations now for over two hours and no one
has made a threat of any kind."
	"An excellent time to get him out of here!" Morris yelled.
	"Christ Bill!" Boop spoke up. "You know Charles! I could see the
adrenalin in his face. He was ready to kill at that moment. If Forest had
been sitting any closer to the man, he would be dead by now."
	"Hello?" Forest waved from his perch on top of a bar stool.  "Could
I say something here?"
	"You don't think you've said enough already?!" Bill asked
incredulously.
	"I'm pretty sure he has." Boop agreed.
	"In a devious world, 'Pretty Sure' just isn't good enough."  Forest
said calmly. "Look. Charles is caught. He's been misdirecting things in
the church for far too long and finally someone has brought it up."
	"Yes!" Morris voice broke. "Why did it have to be you!?"
	Boop spoke up trying to remain clam. "Forest, we all know that
Charles moves the church in directions that are highly profitable to his
own portfolio. We ALL know it. We just didn't bother saying anything
because there was really no big harm in it. Now you've changed all that.
He'll kill you if he can."
	"I saw what I saw. I reported it to the council. Before the
afternoon is out, he'll be excommunicated. The church council will act as
if this is all news, and they be very surprised to hear about the way
Charles has been moving the church towards his own ends. That will then be
the end of it."
	"What about us?!" Boop asked near hysteria. "Don't you think that
perhaps we four may also be on the list of Excommunication?"
	"No." Forest said simply. "They're going to call us in about 2
hours and make me the new president and Prophet." He said simply. "They
still have to correct the contamination of The Center Place."
	All three of his fathers sat stunned, looking at him.
	"I'm going to go lay down for a while and take a nap." He said
getting up and heading towards his bedroom. "It's gonna be a long night."
	The nap would not only help him rest from all that he had been
through, but prepare him for the long night ahead. It was true that
Forests visions had blossomed from an occasional flower here and there
into a prolific garden, since the Retroviral Enhancement, and
Metamorphosis.
	Even he knew that he could not fully disclose everything which he
had learned. It would be leaked at a speed in which the church and The
Guild could process the information and ideals, and adapt to the new modes
of thinking. Until that time, they would be stored on Alexandria until
their decipherment.
	The Reorganized Mormons were going to go through some radical
changes in the next few years, under his guidance and leadership.
	Forest lay in that wavering half dream state when his Dad came
into his room to wake him.
	"Forest. It's time. We're being called back to The Great Hall."  He
said sitting down on the bed, as Forest rolled over and smiled sleepily at
him. "Baby, I hope you know what you're doing."
	"It's going to be ok Dad. Really." Forest said kissing his father
and getting up to comb his hair quickly.
	They walked the quarter mile distance from their apartment to the
Stepping Stone that would flick them into existence thousands of miles
away on Zion Station, walking along in a somber tone, almost as if thy
were heading for their executions.
	"Lighten up guys!" Forest laughed. "Here. Let's do a line." He said
stopping and producing a small vial from his pocket.
	"Forest," Bill sighed. "They're watching us from the security
cameras." He said defeated.
	"Well of course they are." Forest smiled. "I wouldn't have it any
other way."
	"Come on Forest. This is no time for dope." Boop scolded.
	"Oh but it is Dad. This is no execution. It's a celebration. And
THIS." He said holding up the vial of cocaine. "Is an old custom from days
long before the war. I would like to share this moment with you three as
my fathers and my friends."  Zion Station EarthSystem June 2103
	They walked into the Great Hall, side-by-side, swinging open both
huge double doors wide, striding down the long aisle to the place where
Forest had sat earlier in the inquisition. They stood silently
side-by-side fore the council as a family unit.
	The Ex-President was not there.
	"Brothers." Hartford Kingship stood up from the council, acting as
spokesman for the group. "I have been given the joy of conveying this
momentous message." He cleared his throat and shifted a moment.
	"It's been the decision of this highest of councils that the next
President and Prophet for our church will be Forest Potter. Who is to
carry out those duties to the best of his abilities, and who is now
entitled to all privileges available to that rank."
	A clamor of applause sounded throughout the Great Hall until Hart
waved them all down.
	"This decision was not reached easily. As you can see, President
Charles Scheat is no longer with this organization. I would like to stress
that this was a MUTUAL decision and will go down in the records as such."
	Murmurs from around the hall.
	"He has NOT been excommunicated." Hart said staring Forest in the
eye as if to stress the point the entire issue would be covered up.
	Again the murmurs around the room.
	That was ok though. Forest knew it would be a simple matter of
writing a few programs to extract the data again from the archives after
he became President and Prophet. Then he would see to it the truth would
be preserved, no matter WHAT Uncle Hart thought was within the best
interest of the church.
	his decision was reached only after careful debate, presentation
of evidence, which, to my dismay. included the unsealing of the archival
records concerning Forest Potters genetic code."
	Hart looked at the guilty parties all of which Forest carefully
monitored from his stance at attention on the royal purple thick pile
carpeting, his hand behind his back and eyes forward.
	"However, this information is not to be discussed outside the group
currently assembled, and will not be brought up again after tomorrow."
	Hart looked apologetically pained at his fathers. He had broken
his word to them.
	"We have called for an emergency meeting tomorrow a General
Conference, to begin tomorrow at 8am, to inform the Bishopric, the church
leaders, the Elders, Deacons, Priests, all representatives of the
Melchezidik Priesthood and the Aaronic Priesthood to confirm this election
and to vote on the current issues facing the church. Those unable to
attend will conduct conference through FORUM."
	Several nods throughout the crowd.
	"Congratulations Forest." Hart smiled, sincerely happy for him.
	After the congratulations, shaking of hands and kisses from the
crowd, most drifted away, back to their homes, leaving the few sitting the
in various chairs around the President seat (currently unoccupied) looking
at each other.
	Beau was beaming with happiness for Forest and winked at him.
	Forest got up from a seat where the Quorum of Seventy had been
seated and walked directly to the huge central throne.
	"Un morceau la sentinelle-pre'vision?" Beau whispered to him.
	"Non." Forest responded.
	"Kinda gaudy isn't it?" His uncle Louis remarked.
	"Yep." Forest nodded, sighed and sat down. "It's going to be one of
the first things to go. We don't need this kind of pomp to be closer to
God."
	He caught the almost imperceptible nod of his Uncle Norm who
watched the group standing around Forest, standing in the back not
commenting, but the suggestion of a smile on his face as he stared Forest
in the eye.
	"Told ya." Forest smiled as he looked at his fathers.







From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c1a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:16:20 -0500

Sydney Australia EarthSystem August 2116
	Bill Potter went through the Sydney ranch house one last time.
	It would have to be closed up for a while, since he was going to
have to keep Morris on a tight leash up in their apartment in Trojan
Station.
	It was time to heal his family if he could.
	Walking out onto the front porch and locking the front door, he
heard Fox speaking to him in his whiny way, leaned up against the car.
	"Hart is in bad shape." Fox said childishly. "They say he wont get
out of Medical for several days." He commented getting in the car.
	"I'm sure he is Fox. Now why don't you just give it a rest a while
and drive." Bill sighed climbing in the car and sitting down in the
passenger seat, pulling the gull-wing door down, closed. "You can be such
a Bitch at times."
	Bill wished Morris hadn't beat up Hart on Tri-Di like he did, it
was something that could have waited until after the show was over, but
deep down inside, even though he wasn't about to admit it, Bill was just
the slightest bit proud of Morris for standing up against the accusations
the way he did. A good punch in the nose always seems to get the point
across when reasoning wont work.
	"Do you think he deserved that?" Fox demanded pounding his finger
on the little TV screen in the cars dash board. "PHYSICAL ASSAULT!?!"
	"I don't know Fox." Bill said looking out the windows as they
streamed through the clouds heading for Sydney. "Hell."
	As rain began to pelt the window, Bill wished it would rain
forever. Why not ruin everyone's life? Why should some be allowed to go
out and have a good time, when the lives of his family were coming apart.
	Bill recognized himself as becoming a pathetic mess since Forest's
death. He had become introverted, insecure and let too many people walk
all over him.
	Boop had become a regular drug addict. Their friends and family
had always did cocaine recreationally, and lots of it, in addition to
drinking scotch by the gallon. It was their lifestyle. Lately however,
Boop had been resorting to street drugs, and sometimes free-basing, buying
whatever was available, always in search of another reality. Any high that
would take him away from the guilt and pain of Forests death.  He had
become wild and was often putting on a false front of cheerfulness when it
was obvious he was in pain. It was behavior uncharacteristic of Boop.
	Their loss had gone hardest on Morris though. For such a big man
to break down so completely was terrifying to Bill.
	Morris had always been the brave one. The strong one. The sane
one. He was nothing at all like what he used to be.
	Morris would spend days and weeks out on the Sydney Ranch, not
talking with anyone, sending one of the help in town to buy supplies and
scotch, where he would sit at the dining room table for days, drinking,
and not looking at anyone or anything, contemplating his suicidal
thoughts, just staring out the big bay window at some horizon in his mind
that only he could see, leaving the ranch hands to take care of
everything. Sometimes even making out their own pay checks.
	"The church is going to demand a full investigation you know.  "Fox
remarked as they started descending. "A FULL investigation."
	"Yes Fox, I imagine so." Bill said quietly. "It will cost him his
seat in The First Presidency if he raises too much noise too."
	Two days ago, Bill thought that perhaps Morris was coming out of
his stupor, since he had agreed to go on a local talk show with Hart.
	Everything went fine for a while until the interviewer began
asking some rather personal questions, to which Morris simply replied was
none of the mans fucking business.
	Then Hart provoked him by answering the questions, making
innuendos as to who might be to blame for Forests death, and Morris just
snapped.
	In living color, high definition, Live, and in front of 2 billion
viewers. That was just a little over two hours ago.
	When the car landed, as Fox went to return the keys, Bill walked
straight to the Stepping Stone plate to Trojan Station and in a flick was
walking down the corridor. Turning this way and that, he made his way to
the apartment, where once inside he leaned with his back up against the
door, his eyes tightly shut, feeling the security of the magnetic bolts
THUNK into place.
	He stood breathing a while until he heard the door chime.
	Walking towards the bar he told the air "It's Open" where upon the
bolts released and let Fox walk in the room.
	"Why didn't you wait for me?" Fox demanded rhetorically walking
behind the bar and fixing himself a drink. "Where's Boop?"
	"He's flying in from 61-Cygni." Bill sighed as he lay down on the
couch with his arm covering his eyes. "He should be here any time."
	"Are you sure she isn't sluttin' around on Eros? Hittin' the Baths
again?" Fox asked snidely. "I've heard all about what she's been up to you
know. ALL about it."
	"I'm sure you have Fox." Bill said beneath his arm. "I have too.
It's complete trash."
	"How do you know it's trash?" Fox countered. "He'd lie about it you
know. Especially to you and Morris."
	"I know's he's not lying about it Fox, because he hasn't lied to me
in our entire lives together. I asked him about it and he said it was a
lie. I believe him." Bill said sitting up. "Right now he's coming back
from a consulting job for Montclair and Bryce."
	"Sure he is." Fox nodded knowingly. "Montclair. Miss Abbey's thorn
in her side. How's the little Jap boyfriend?"
	"They're married Fox. They have been for a long time. Bill shook
his head. "Don't you have anything you're supposed to be doing?"
	"As a matter of fact I should be getting back to Medical. Hart's
going to kill me for even talking to you." He said setting the cocktail
glass down on the bar. "He will only talk to YOU through Guild Legal."
	"I assumed as much Fox." Bill sighed.
	"Later!" Fox said heading out the door.
	Bill fixed himself a scotch and water and sat down on the couch,
lighting a cigarette from the box on the coffee table by puffing on it
until it lit. He sat with his head leaned back for a moment staring at the
ceiling, watching the blue smoke curl into clouds.
	"Chip?" Bill called out.
	"Yes Sir?" Came the voice from nowhere and everywhere all around.
	"Where is Boop?"
	"His ship dropped out of JumpSpace about 20 minutes ago and is
currently headed for Persephone Station. They should be docking any
moment, and he should be home soon."
	"Did he call or did you just run through the flight plan?"
	"He called sir, once the ship was in TruSpace."
	"Did he leave any message for me?"
	"No sir. He spoke with me, as you were in Sydney at the time."
	"I see." He said laying back down on the couch with his cocktail
balanced on his firm stomach. For 145 years old, Bill Potter didn't look a
day older than he did at 30. Even the sex between he and his husbands was
still good. Still, at times like these, he felt like a thousand years old.
	Flipping his ashes on the carpet and watching them dissolve before
his eyes, the door opened.
	"Hi dear!" Boop said in his manic way, rushing in on an amphetamine
high with three day beard growth, throwing his nylon gear bag in a chair,
taking his suit jacket off and throwing it in the same pile.
	Bill watched with a critical eye as Boop walked quickly over to
the bar and fixed himself a cocktail with such speed it made Bill sigh and
close his eyes again.
	"What's all this then about Morris and Hart?" Boop asked flopping
down on the other couch, looking at Bill with glassy eyes. "I came as soon
as I got your message."
	"Morris beat up Hart on Tri-Di." Bill winced.
	"Why there?" Boop giggled, untying his stained and wrinkled tie,
leaving it hanging around his collar. "How bad was he hurt?"
	"They were on this talk show. Hart spouted some shit looking for
tabloid attention. He's written a book about Forests death you know.
Trying to turn it into some big mystery. Morris just snapped."
	"That fucking Bitch!" Boop said fuming over Hart for a moment,
rolling his sleeves half way up his arms and unbuttoning his collar. "So
where IS Morris right now?"
	"He's still at the station. They took Hart to Medical. He's got a
few broken bones, and some internal organ damage. I've got to go pick up
Morris."
	"Why wont they release him on his own recognizance?" Boop demanded.
"He's probably only the most important man in all of OrganizedSpace!" He
said indignant.
	"Knowing Morris when he's pissed, would you?" Bill half smiled.
	"I guess not." Boop laughed wiping at some unknown stain on his
wrinkled shirt. "Well, let's go get him."  Tri-Di Station The Belt
HomeSystem August 2116
	"You can't hold me against my will! You fucking Nazi Jew Bastard!"
	When Bill and Boop walked into the Tri-Di station office, Morris
was seated in a chair with a CyberForm Enforcer on each side of him making
sure he remained seated. On the other side of the room sat a small balding
man with glasses behind a big glass desk with yet another CyberForm
standing in front of him with his arms crossed, facing Morris.
	Boop was still trying to get his wrinkled jacket on over his
shirt, though the shirt tales were hanging out in the back.
	"You better let me g and I mean NOW!" Morris said in his
quiet/serious voice that alarmed Bill to worry over the fact that Morris
might try something if he didn't get in there fast.
	Boop looked at Bill and smiled.
	"Ok Morris." Bill said walking into the room. "Let's go home."
	The CyberForms flanking Morris nodded at him allowing him to stand
up and move towards Bill. Once he was at the door, Morris turned and
pointed his finger at the little man sitting in the big chair behind the
desk.
	The CyberForm standing in front of the desk put up his hand to let
Morris know he had come close enough.
	"I'm gonna sue you 'til you're fucking dead." He said seriously.
"You got me little man? You just stepped on the wrong Fags toes."
	Morris lowered his hand and began turning slowly. Bill almost
reached out and grabbed his arm, knowing Morris had pulled sucker punches
like that before. However, this time Morris walked calmly out of the
office with Bill following him.
	"Thank you Mr. McLaughlin." The main CyberForm said to Boop.
	"Sure! Anytime." He smiled. "I don't see what everyone is in such a
fuss over." He laughed walking out of the room and catching up with the
other two at the Stepping Stone plate.
	They stepped up onto the plate and in a flick were stepping off
the other side into the L-5 Station where they sat down to have drinks.
	"Fucking Hart." Morris said as they all three sat down at a little
table in a plaza. "Did you hear the things he said?" He asked with a
pleading look, searching Bills face for moral support.
	"Yes. I heard. It's ok Morris. We'll get through this."
	Morris ignored him and looked around the outdoor restaurant,
finally training his eyes on Boop.
	"You look like shit." Morris snarled.
	"Well dear." Boop said standing up. "I've heard you can't dress
trashy 'til you spend a lot of money. I picked up this little number just
for you Darlin'. Got it for a steal at twenty five thousand." He teased,
walking forward, then back with his hands on his hips, thumbs forward,
pretending to model the suit for Morris which looked like he had slept in
it. Bill knew it was a cheap ballistic cloth suit that didn't cost more
than a couple of hundred anywhere in Organized space. Boop was just being
sarcastic.
	"Yeah, I know. I feel the same way." Morris said running a hand
over his own three day beard growth. "Let's just go home. We can eat and
drink there."
	They got up and walked towards the Stepping Stone plates that
would take them on to Trojan Station with their cocktails in their hands.
	"Sir! This is not a designated smoking area!" A woman in a fast
food booth some forty feet away yelled across the plaza.
	"Go fuck yourself." Morris mumbled stepping onto the plate.
	"Hey!" Boop yelled back grabbing his crotch. "Smoke THIS Bitch!"
	Bill herded Boop onto the plate and they flicked away.
	"Since when are you white trash?" Bill asked them both on the way
to their apartment. "We still have reputations you know."
	"Oh lighten up Bitch. Morris grumbled. "It wasn't that bad."
	"Really Bill. I thought it was funny." Boop smiled. "Besides I've
always been white trash!" He laughed. "I was born in a trailer park."
	As they rounded the corner, Beau and Miss Abbey were standing in
front of their apartment, ringing the door chime.
	"There's no one home!" Boop said walking up to them and hugging
them both.
	"Honey." Miss Abbey said speaking to Morris in a low conspiratorial
voice. "Miss Abbey don't go for the rough stuff, but she thinks you
shoulda kicked him in the nuts too."
	"Well, Thanks Miss Abbey." Morris smiled tiredly. "With you on my
side, I can't lose." He said opening the apartment door for them all.
	"BoBo give me a sugars." Boop said kissing Beau. "Thank you. Now I
shall fix us all cocktails."  He announced, walking behind the bar to play
bartender for them all.
	"So Bill, when are you guys coming back into the fold?" Beau asked
conversationally. :Sitting up here is getting you nowhere."
	"Beau." Miss Abbey said quietly in a low scolding voice.
	"No, Beaus Right." The sound of Louis voice came from the front
door. "All three of you have been out of action far too long."
	Norm came in following Louis, silently watching as always.
	"Hi guys." Morris said watching them in the reflection of the
mirror behind the bar, sipping at his scotch.
	"It's been nine years Morris." Beau said quietly.
	"I DON'T want to hear this!" Morris yelled holding up his hands.
"I don't care to cope with ANY of this right now!"
	"Here baby." Boop said dumping some unknown powder into Morris's
drink. "This will help you forget. You don't have to do anything you don't
want to." He said leaning across the bar and kissing Morris lighting on
the lips.
	Morris got up from the bar taking his drink with him and went over
to sit on the couch alone. "Damnit." He said rubbing his temples.
	Norm sat on the other couch silently watching the room.
	"Bill?" Louis asked looking at him expectantly.
	"I don't know Louis.  Yeah, I know it's been nine years." Bill
tried explaining. "I'm just tired. Tired of The Guild, tired of the
church. You know? I mean, what's the point?"
	"Bill, you guys are coming apart at the seams." Beau stated
bluntly, looking at Boop. "ALL of you."
	"Oh please BoBo." Boop said sitting a cocktail in front of Louis.
"Don't get all bent girl. Things seem to be running fine without us."
	"That's not the point." Miss Abbey spoke up. "Miss Abbey says she
MISSES her boyfriends."
	"Well, you know where we live." Morris said calmly.
	"Morris, you never receive visitors when you're sitting drunk in
Sydney, and who knows WHERE Boop will be in ten minutes time." Louis said
accusatively. "Bill has simply dropped out of life altogether."
	At that moment, the door chimed and Boop called out to the room
"It's open."
	In walked Bryce and Montclair.
	"Damn." Miss Abbey hissed between clenched teeth.





From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c1b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:17:43 -0500

	"Montclair!" Boop called out from behind the bar, putting himself
between Montclair and Miss Abbey as quickly as possible. "Come on in the
den guys. I want to go over some of the things I've found out for you."
He said leading them down the hall to another room.
	Beau got up and started to follow them into the den as Morris
called out to him along the way. "You were talking about dysfunctional
families Beau?"
	"Damn." Miss Abbey whispered again, digging in her clutch purse for
her cocaine and heading for the bathroom.
	Bill looked at Louis sitting beside him at the bar.
	"Yet further family secrets of shame." Bill snarled feeling a
little angry now, tipping his cocktail back and finishing it off. "I
suppose it's a matter of resolving those old secrets and coming to terms
with our obsessions."
	"You're right Bill." Louis said seriously. "It's our various
idiosyncrasies that keep us from overcoming our admission to failure of
our dreams."
	"Is it that we're too close to you guys to feel comfortable talking
with us?" Norm asked Morris and Bill both. It startled both of them a
moment.
	"I don't know what it is Norm." Morris said laying down on the
couch he was sitting on. "I don't know what it is at all."
	Norm got up from where he was sitting and sat down on the floor
near Morris's head, talking to him in whispers. For privacy more than
secrecy.
	"Bill, you understand how much revolves around this family."  Louis
said lowering his voice to speak to Bill. "Look at everything you've
started."
	"That's just it Louis. I don't want to be involved any more. I'm
tired." Bill said shrugging, going around behind the bar and fixing
himself another drink. "The world will go on without us I'm quite sure."
	"Bill. Millions, even Billions of people across TieredSpace and
OrganizedSpace depend a great deal on everything you've set into motion."
Louis patiently explained. "Having a bad day is no excuse to just quite
them all."
	"Yeah." Bill said resigned to the fact that he was going to have to
listen whether he wanted to or not.
	"Listen! You've reorganized the fucking MORMONS for Christ's sake!
You brought the RLDS and Mormon Church back together after almost 200
years of separation." Louis pleaded with him.
	"The war did that Louis." Bill excused it all. "Not me."
	"Oh really? And who set it all in motion? Who wrote the charter
that enabled two very different cultures to reunite?"
	"Oh please." Bill sipped ignoring the comment. "Anyone could have
done that."
	"I see. What about The Programmers Guild? Hell man! The entire
Guild system in general that's in widespread use today!  Who was it showed
billions of people another way of life where they COULD survive against
the MegaCorps?"
	"Louis, that's all just a variation on the old Unions. They would
have done it on their own eventually anyway." Bill shrugged it off.
	I have to wonder though how long it would have taken them on their
own." Louis commented. "And what about Forest?"
	Bill snapped his head up startled, staring at Louis. "Don't." was
all he said in warning.
	"Seriously Bill. Who had the insight? Who knew enough about
genetics and the people he lived with and loved to preserve a set of genes
so precious that there are shrines to him all over OrganizedSpace?"
	"Don't do this to me Louis." Bill said with his head down.
	"Forest was a very special person Bill." Louis said quietly. "We
all loved him very much."
	"Don't." Bill whined a little, barely able to get the word out.
	"The librarians on Alexandria are still releasing the amazing
things he coded into their files. The predictions Bill! His philosophies!
The things he taught us all! The inventions that enabled us to leap ahead
into the future! His theories on time, space, matter and thought! The
universal glue that bonds the universe together..."
	"Ok Louis. Stop. I mean it." Bill said with his voice shaking.
"You've made your point. Now quit it Bitch before I have to punch your
fucking lights out."
	"All of that came from you Bill. You and Morris and Boop. All of
that is still there inside you. It always was you know."
	"I guess Louis.... It's just that... It hurts SO MUCH. You know?"
Bill whimpered pathetically.
	"Yeah Bill. I do know. It hurts me too. Maybe not in the same way
as losing your own child, but it did hurt. A lot. Norm is your brother
Bill. Forest was his gene link as well. That makes him my loss too."
	"Oh quit Louis. It's not the same thing and you know it." Bill said
defensively. "He was my CHILD."
	"What about Beau? You and he share the same father. Don't you think
he and Miss Abbey grieved a little as well?" Louis asked quietly.
	"Our father is dead. We don't share him anymore." Bill answered.
	"Bullshit Potter. He's right there in your blood man. Just because
Beau's mother took him to French Canada as a baby doesn't make him any
less of a gene link."
	"What are you driving at Louis? Do you want a another kid out of
us? Is that it? Hell! Why didn't you just have Hart clone Forest!?!" He
asked walking away.
	As Bill walked past the hallway and into the Kitchen, the bathroom
door opened the same time the door to the den opened. Miss Abbey and Beau
stood in the hall looking silently at each other a moment until she went
back to sit at the bar dabbing at her eyes.
	"Call more often! I'll try to get out to see you later in the
week." Beau said kissing his son.
	"Ok Daddy." Montclair smiled as Beau shook Bryces hand.
	"You boys be good."
	After the two men left, silently waving at Bill through the
breakfast bar window, Boop broke the silence permeating the living room.
	"Well! It looks like Montclair and Bryce may have conquered the
singularity!"
	"What's that mean?" Morris asked from the couch where Norm sat
beside him quietly.
	"Gravity." Boop said simply.
	"Yeah? We've got gravity generators already. So?" Louis asked.
	""Not like this. They're expensive and fail too often. With a
singularity, they'll soon be able to drop a mini-Black Hole into the
center of a moon say, or an asteroid, and give it full Earth gravity."
	"I don't get it." Morris commented.
	"Atmosphere Girl! Can you imagine an asteroid with enough gravity
to hold it's own atmosphere? You could walk around on the outside of it!
No more domes!" Boop said excitedly. "And that's just the beginning. The
potential for this is endless."
	"Cool." Morris said nonchalantly. "Fix me another." He said holding
up his rock glass. "I guess that makes him famous for fifteen minutes."
	"More than that." Beau said proudly. "They're going to be able to
work more confidently with Time Travel now. Experimentally anyway."
	"Was it Einstein who said Time equals money?" Louis asked giggling
a little.
	"I think that was Thought equals Space Girl." Morris laughed. "Or
was it Matter equals Energy? I don't know." He sighed. "I can't be
bothered." He said waving a hand limply.
	"Once a development like this hits the HyperCulture of today, there
are no limits." Beau commented. "Archaeology, Paleontology, History, all
will be changed."
	"Perhaps deliberately." Norm said quietly enough that the room
suddenly stood still.
	"Oh shit. Time Paradox." Louis said wide-eyed. "How could we
possibly keep time-track with stuff like that going on? Could they have
Time Wars?"
	"Well, what have they been doing with the colony terraforming
probes all this time?" Boop asked. "That's going back in time."
	""Space is involved though. And we're talking about millions of
years." Norm commented. "Nothing that changes within our current time
frame. I think The Guild should do some studies on this before
experimentation begins."
	"You'll have to call for a General Conference for The Church as
well." Beau suggested. "This could have major impacts."
	"Fucking Japs." Miss Abbey said from her corner of the bar where
she had been silent for far too long. "They've taken my only child from
me."
	"Why do you hate Bryce so much Miss Abbey?" Boop asked. "It was
Montclairs choice to move with him to Charon."
	"Japs can't be trusted." Miss Abbey explained. "They bought the
corporation where my mama worked and fired all the blacks. They hate
blacks and we hate them."
	"Oh that's just because he calls you a Nigger Bitch." Boop laughed.
"Hell, Ya burned out old whore! I call you that all the time and you never
get upset with me!"
	"But he means it." Beau said quietly.




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c2a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:20:13 -0500

Trojan Station EarthSystem September 2116
	Louis weaved in and out of Japanese tourists snapping digital
pictures as he made his way to Bills apartment, shoving them out of his
way, uncaring as to their feelings or that they thought him a total gajin
brute.
	"You won't be able to buy THIS station." He told them in a snotty
voice as he rang Bills door chime, to which the door opened and he stepped
quickly inside.
	"Good Morning Ladies!" Louis called out into the room from the
door. "Where the hell are you?"
	"Hi Louis." Morris said scratching his hairy stomach with one hand,
looking like he had just woke up. "Bill and Boop are out somewhere.
What's up?" He asked bleary eyed, making his way into the kitchen and
pouring a mug of hot black coffee from the drip machine.
	"I got something here I wanted to show Bill." He said holding up
something that looked a lot like an old Sony Diskman. "It's something I
invented a long time ago actually. But the first time we tried marketing
it, it didn't sell more than a couple of million units."
	"What is it?" Morris asked sleepily, yawning expansively.
	"It's called a Mindreader device. If it works out, I'll have
marketing work out a new name for it. I found it under a bunch of junk on
a shelf this morning." He explained. "Come here and try it." He encouraged
Morris.
	"Shit Louis.. Ok." Morris said sitting down on the couch with his
coffee and lighting a cigarette. "What do I do?"
	"Ok Great. First, put this on your head. It fits over the top of
your head just like the old Walkmans." He explained putting on Morris
head. "Ok, what this does is record and play back things you think about.
Thoughts, sights, sounds, etc. Ok?"
	"Sure. Yeah. I guess." Morris said warily.
	"Well, first I'll show you playback. This is a short demo disk Norm
made for me this morning. It won't work for me because I'm a Cyborg.  So I
brought it over for Bill to try. You'll do though."
	"Gee thanks." Morris snorted. "This isn't going to turn my brain to
oatmeal is it?"
	"Nah. Nothing like that. I'm thinking about re-marketing it.
There's a whole new generation of buyers out there now." He explained.
"Ok, the CD fits in here." He said pulling a 3" silver disk out of his
shirt pocket and sliding it into a slot. "Here's where you turn it on.
Ok? Feel anything?"
	"I don't know." Morris said confused. "I think. Kinda like a
buzzing feeling in the center of my brain. Morris said shaking his head.
"Makes me feel a little dizzy."
	"No problem. That's the machine disabling your inner ear functions.
This is the play button. Push that." Louis said watching Morris intently
as he pushed the button.
	Inside Morris' head, his brain went through what he could only
describe as an operating system re-boot. A psychic lurch.
	In less than a second, his own mind and thoughts were shoved back
into a far corner, and he was suddenly looking through eyes that were not
his own.
	The body felt all wrong. Too short. Looking through the glasses
was throwing his balance off, but not as much as the feeling of boredom
sitting in a chair that he had never sat in before.
	He could see Louis sitting in front of him at a work bench,
fiddling with some dials and controls on equipment he recognized from
Louis' workshop out on CF Station. In looking around the room in a very
quick pan, he felt the vocal cords speak words that he wasn't saying but
could hear them as if he were.
	"I don't feel anything Louis." It was Norms voice. "Is that enough?
I've got stuff I have to get done Louis. I don't have time for this right
now."
	Then, suddenly, the scene flickered and vanished, and he was
sitting back in his own living room on Trojan Station, looking at Louis
again, without the workbench or equipment, but siting forward on the other
couch looking intently at Morris, trying to judge his reaction.
	Morris pulled the thing off of his head and looked at it.
	"Motherfuck." Was all he could manage for a few seconds.
	He could feel the linger of Norm in his mind, slowly disbursing as
his own mind crept back in to fill the cracks it had been used to.
	"Motherfuck Louis!" Morris said on the verge of hysteria.
	"Did it work?" Louis asked excitedly.
	"Oh God." Morris said looking at his own hands that were still
trembling from the experience.
	"What was it like?" Louis asked extremely interested. "Like it was
real?"
	"Yeah. Christ yeah." Morris swallowed. "Louis that's SICK." He
accused. "I can see why they never worked out before. Jesus."
	"It's not sick. You're just shook up because you didn't know what
to expect. If you did it again, you'd be ready." Louis explained. "Ok, now
I want to show you another feature of it. What I added to the unit to try
to help them sell a little better this time."
	"No!" Morris said lighting another cigarette and doing a couple of
lines of cocaine before looking at Louis again. "That was horrible Louis."
	"Ok. Look. This won't be anything near that shocking. I'll be able
to tap in with you on this one." He explained. "It's really great.  I've
done this one before myself."
	"What is it?" Morris asked warily curious but afraid after his last
experience. "If it gives me the creeps Louis I swear to God I'll kick your
ass all over this room."
	"Look. We can recall people from Tri-Di. Actors, News people.  See?
These buttons function kinda like a remote. They tap into the computers on
Alexandria."
	Louis called up a screen on the wall, paging through menus that he
had previously set up just for this function. Morris sat watching him,
able to follow his every move since he was only paging through menus.
	"Who should me try? Albert Einstein? Jimmy Carter?" Louis asked
Morris.
	"Anyone?" Morris asked
	"Sure. Well, anyone that there is a picture of on file. It works
off a visual image. Name someone." He said encouraging.
	"Ok. Let's say,,, Beau." Morris said. "I know for a fact he's out
in The Belt right now."
	"It doesn't matter. Like I said, this works from records. It just
needs a single visual recording of some type." Louis explained patiently
paging through screens, occasionally inputting information when the
machine asked for it." Personal files of living people require higher
security." He explained.
	"You're Electronics Guild. Where did you get that kind of Security
for Alexandria?" Morris asked him curiously.
	"Who do you think heads the Electronic Guild now?" Louis smirked.
"Ok, you'll have to put the wire back on. It will pump it all into your
brain through that. I can pick up the signal from the Wallscreen through
my eyes." He winked.
	"What, the signal goes through the box, into the wire, then into my
head?" Morris asked looking at the little box.
	"Yep. Ok. All you have to do is push play again." Louis said
looking at Morris as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pushing
the little stud on the front.
	"Morris, you have to open your eyes to see him." Louis laughed.
	Beau stood in the middle of the room looking at them both.
	"Hi Morris." Beau smiled. "What's up?"
	"Beau?" Morris said getting up and going over to him, holding the
unit in one hand.
	"Well, a good simulation of me I must say." Beau said holding his
arms out in front of himself, looking himself over.
	"How does this work Louis?" Morris asked amazed, walking around
Beau and reaching out his hand to touch the man. "This is amazing!"
	"The computer builds the image inside the unit using all the
available information on the subject called for. What it lacks, it makes
up for by checking your brain for further data. Then, it just produces the
image out in the middle of the room using your own visual center in your
brain."
	"But I can touch him!" Morris objected.
	"And I can touch YOU Morris!" The Beau-simulacrum said punching
Morris lightly on the shoulder.
	"It's neural feedback." Louis explained. "The machine is telling
your brain that something is touching you, so you think you can really
feel it."
	"The cologne? His behavior?" Morris asked.
	"The cologne scent you smell is the way you remember him. The
behavior is a combination of what the computer files know about him AND
your memories of how he acts."
	"This is fucking amazing! You're going to sell a million of these
Louis!" Morris exclaimed staring at Beau.
	"I was hoping to sell Trillions." Louis laughed. "Which is why I
got it back down off the shelf."
	"And you say you've had this thing for years?" Morris asked running
his hand along Beaus shoulder, squeezing it gently.
	"The Mindreader device yes." Louis explained. "Although with the
newer technology available today, I decided I would add a few options and
see if it will sell again." He shrugged.
	"But isn't that an awful lot of bullshit to call up an image?"
Morris asked.
	"You only have to do that once. Just to build the simulacrum."
Louis explained. "The machine itself has incredible storage abilities.
Recall from the unit is much faster of course since you don't have to wait
for an FTL beam to Alexandria."
	Morris was able to talk Louis into leaving the machine there until
Bill and Boop got home, and as soon as Louis left, he started
experimenting.
	Morris talked with Albert Einstein, Jimmy Carter, Ted Turner, Jane
Fonda, Carl Sagan, his College Assembler Programming Teacher, and then he
called up Forest...
	"Hi Sir." Forest smiled, appearing in the middle of the room.
	"Oh God. Forest." Morris said beginning to cry, trying to fight
back the tears that blurred the image of his son standing before him.
	"Don't cry Sir. Everything is ok. Really." The Forest-Simulacrum
said sitting down on the couch next to Morris.
	"I miss you so much Baby." Morris said openly crying. "I'm so sorry
for what happened Forest. There was just no way for me to prevent it."
	"It's ok Sir. I love you too. There's no way anyone could have
prevented it. You and I both knew that. It was something I had accepted
early on."
	"God Forest. This is sick. I shouldn't be doing this to you."
Morris sniffled looking guiltily at the machine, yet not wanting to let go
of the image of his son just yet. It had been so long since he had seen
him. And he missed Forest so much...
	"You're not hurting me Sir. I've already gone on to the Higher
Spheres of Existence. This that you see before you is simply a simulacrum.
An interactive self-programming device. Kinda along the more stupid end of
AI's."
	"How real are you Forest?" Morris asked.
	"I'm as real as you need me to be Sir." Forest smiled. "It's all
feedback from your brain. The machine feeds your nervous system a new
reality is all."
	"Do you know about me hitting Hart?" Morris asked guiltily.
	"I do now that you've brought it up. I understand Sir. I would have
done the same thing defending you or Dad or Pop." The image said reaching
out and touched Morris' arm, comforting him just as the real Forest would
have done.
	Morris sat crying for a long time, working through the emotions he
had shut himself off from for so long, telling the image things he had
always wanted to tell Forest before he had been killed by the terrorists.
	It WAS a very smart device. Within the first few seconds of
calling up the image of Forest, the machine had been processing Morris'
emotional reactions to various movements, vocal responses, and constantly
adjusting the image accordingly.
	Soon, Morris had forgot all about the fact that it was merely a
simulacrum and not the real Forest at all.
	Morris began to enjoy himself and had a great time laughing and
talking about various people, things that had happened in their lives,
etc, all as if Forest were actually there, and catching up on old times,
since the machine knew what reactions Morris expected subconsciously.
	The device was DESIGNED to trick a person into believing the
person they were looking at was really there, and that was just what it
did. And it did an excellent job of it as well.
	"Morris, who are you talking to?" Bill asked coming around the
corner, looking at Morris as if the man had finally flipped.
	Boop sat a sack down on the bar and stood staring at Morris,
concerned, since Morris was still in his underwear, unshaven, his face
tear stained, and a look of shock, embarrassment and shame on his blushing
face.
	"Uh. Forest." Morris said fumbling with the buttons until he got
the machine to store the program, along with the help of the
simulacrum....
	Pulling the headset off, he looked up at Bill and Boop who were
staring at him as if he had been talking with ghosts... or imaginary
playmates.
	"Louis brought this by this morning." Morris said handing the unit
to Bill. "You weren't here, so I played around with it after he left."
	Morris shook his head of the dizziness, and smiling, got up to fix
himself a drink and a few lines of cocaine off the bar. After he got his
bearings back, he looked seriously at Bill.
	"He's going to sell more than a trillion of those." Morris then
picked up the remote and called Louis at his lab.  "Man, you have just
redefined reality." He said in all seriousness.
	"Really? I thought it would just be a toy. Soap-Operas or Porn
maybe." Louis laughed.
	"No Louis. This has impacts that will shake the foundations of how
we live today. I think the church should do a serious study on this."
Morris said walking out of the room to go get cleaned up. He felt as if a
great crushing weight had finally been lifted from his heart. He knew he
could survive now.
	After Louis had explained to Bill and Boop what the machine was
and how to work it, Bill agreed to try it later.
	While he went to go talk to Morris and find out what had shook the
man up so much, Boop went ahead and tried it himself. Using one of the
spare blank disks to record the session, just as Louis had asked them to
do, Boop was quickly moving through the tiny system as if he had
programmed it himself. It was simple enough.
	Programming it for an image was easy enough that anyone could do
it. While paging through the menus, Boop saw that the machine had saved
the programs Morris had been experimenting with.
	That would make access much faster. Boop realized for himself.
One wouldn't have to bother taking the time in calling for another Tachyon
beam for faster than light communications to Alexandria each time.
	When Boop noticed the entry marked: Forest Potter - Morris Zwicky
, then he knew what had Morris so upset.
	He paused only a moment in wondering if he should do the same, and
then decided it could do no harm...
	




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c4b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:31:09 -0500

"You serve the same God?" The red alien asked perplexed.
	"Sure." Herbie nodded. "The Creator of all things. Just as all of
you do."
	"Yet you yourself are considered a God." The red Orion said looking
at Herbie, waiting for an explanation.
	"Well, that's a tough one." Herbie said obviously embarrassed over
having to explain his position as Messiah, probably ashamed of his role
for the very first time in his life. Boop watched humorously as Herbie
physically blushed as he fumbled for words. "Well, my title is The Son of
God. That is because I am descended from what my people refer to as a
Messiah."
	"Yes." The red alien from Orion said thoughtfully. "That Mr.
Left-Pope said the mans name was Jesus. Now he calls you Messiah though."
The man said trying to sort it all out.
	"He is." Boop affirmed. "Herbie is one of the best Messiahs I
know." He said clapping his friend on the back, clearly enjoying the mans
discomfort in a wicked, teasing way.
	"Don't do that Boop." Herbie scolded him, still blushing. "These
people are going to have enough trouble understanding us the way it is,
without them having to try to interpret irony as well."
	Herbie then turned back to the red alien, smiling, as he hunted
for the correct way to explain. Boop sat grinning, waiting for Herbies
answer.
	"I am what they call Messiah to my people. Yes." Herbie said
carefully. "It's because I ended war for our people for all time."
	"Oh Puh-Leeze!" Boop snorted. "Spare me the Horse Shit."
	"I see. Exactly how was this done?" The red Orion asked seriously,
ignoring Boops comment.
	"Well, three of our monotheist religions relied heavily upon the
coming of a Messiah. Jesus. A Nazor. A Son of God. The difference in the
three religions came from a discrepancy in the records of that time as to
whom Jesus actually was, and whether or not he really was the son of God.
This was several hundred years ago, you see, and our record keeping was
not so good back then. There was also a problem with interpretations, and
then a man named Mohammed who was also considered a messiah..." Herbie
tried weakly to explain, to Boops delight. "I am descended from the
bloodline of Jesus, and that of Mary the Magdeline. His wife. I made my
bloodline known to the world after I assumed power in a place called Egypt
and caused the three major religions of the world to quit fighting."
	"Are they not all the Sons of God?" The Orion asked clearly
confused.
	"Yes... It's just that... Well, they need someone to be in charge.
Someone to lead them. To give them guidance..." Herbie smiled quickly. "I
can send you all the information you need."
	"Thank you. That would be very much appreciated Mr. Messiah." The
Orion said getting up, a look of bafflement on his face, leaving the two
humans to stare at each other in silent hostility, each for his own
reasons. Still, it did not interferer with their friendship, even as
fundamentally different as their two positions were.
	"Do you think that was any help?" Herbie winced at Boop, clearly
miserable over his pitiful attempt at explaining his role in their society
to an alien being.
	"I doubt it. They have no concept of what Bullshit is." Boop
scolded the man coldly. "Nor do they seem have any sense of what names
versus titles are. They always use "Miss" or "Mister" but as for the
various names and titles we all go by, they seem to assume they're
interchangeable. I've noticed how they mix and exchange them all the time.
Like they think they have to use them all sooner or later." Boop shook his
head in pity of their ignorance, and how difficult it was going to be
sorting through the bullshit the straights would be giving to the aliens
for political purposes.
	"Yeah. Their references seem to relate mostly to rank. THAT they
understand. Well, mostly." Herbie said irritated that the exchange wasn't
going better. "We'll have to get a team of xenomorph researchers on this
as soon as possible. A while ago, one of the Blue women with the big black
eyes asked me why I associated myself with you when I was a breeder, and
you were but a mere drone." He said rolling his eyes..
	"She really called you a breeder?" Boop giggled.
	"Yeah. Now YOU know that's not exactly a nice name to call someone,
but they don't understand that yet. Right-Pope Thomas just about shit
himself when they were explaining Hive concept to him." Herbie snickered.
"Like I said, we need to polish off some of the roughest edges before we
turn them loose on the ComWeb."
	"Well, it would certainly make things go easier than this." Boop
nodded his chin at the social gathering. "You're going to have your hands
full trying to explain the different Gods for the Aliens and still keep
the monotheists happy."
	"I know." Herbie sighed. "I've been thinking about that since I
first heard they were here." He said somberly. "I may have to have the
Programmers Guild work up some sort of plan for me. Cause I sure don't see
the answer."
	"Well, sure we'd be glad to help, just so long as you realize that
the Reorganized-Mormons intend to tell them the truth about the different
levels of Gods and the Higher Spheres of Existence." Boop warned lighting
another cigarette. "That will include the worlds and gods of the Programs
and AI's of course."
	"Oh Bloody Hell." Herbie cursed. "I knew we should have rushed
through that educational program on our own people a long time ago." He
shook his head drinking deeply. "This is going to cause all sorts of hell
for my people to work out for the monotheists." He said absently.
	About that time, Bill and Morris walked over to them with Morris
grinning as he tapped the wire he had over his head, indicating to Boop
that he had recorded the entire event. Boop noticed several other
recorders at the gathering as well.
	"Did they ask you about the march that is going on in the Empire
System?" Bill asked grinning. "They asked me, but I just begged off."
	"What march?" Herbie asked shocked.
	"Didn't you hear Girl?" Boop grinned teasing Herbie by calling him
'girl'. "The poor have had enough. They're marching over two thousand
miles from the continent the colonists placed them on, heading for the
economic center of the planet. The RICH continent."
	"Colonists have always had a special distaste for settlers." Bill
nodded. "Now the settlers on Empire System are out there starving on a
desert continent."
	"I'll have to look into it. I can't imagine why the Board of
Directors didn't tell me." Herbie said innocently, sincerely perplexed.
	The very situation Herbie was in, sickened Boop. He didn't know
whether he should feel pity or disgust for Herbie. Sometimes the man
really could be innocent of the ways of the world. Or else he was the best
liar Boop had ever seen.
	"Board of directors." Morris snorted in disgust. "Try taking a look
at their portfolios Herb." He said as if he were speaking down to a child.
"Check your monotheist buddies you brought with you as well. It's within
their best interests for the status quo to remain intact." Morris warned
their Straight friend quietly.
	"Well damn." Herbie cursed quietly looking across the room and the
gold encrusted group he came with. "Isn't this one helluva time for
something like this to happen?" He asked his friends shaking his head.
	Where the leaders of the monotheist religions believed in all the
pomp and circumstance their positions could offer, Herbie didn't look any
different from your typical businessman. Which was the reason the Family
Potter had been friends with the man since his rise to power. He was real.
	"The cohesive thought through the march is: 'We're Poor because
You're Rich." A powerful set of words Herbie. It could turn very nasty."
Boop warned him. "They're leaving marks on the desert floor in places that
say "You will have to watch us die." They figure that if they can't get
the corporate elite to help them, then they'll at least have the
satisfaction of littering their streets with their own dead bodies until
something IS done about the problem. I can't say as I blame 'em."
	"Me neither." Morris added, to which Bill only shrugged when Herbie
looked to him for support.
	"Well Shit." Herbie said glaring across the room at the Israeli
Prime Minister with a knowing look on his face. "I'll have to take care of
this when we get back to Zion Station."
	"Did you guys see the look of panic on the CIA agents face when
Boop set up the arrangement for an information exchange with the aliens
with Alexandria?" Morris asked quietly, still keeping his voice low.
"That's the palest I've ever seen a black man before." He snickered.
	"Do you think they'll try sabotage again?" Bill asked seriously.
	"I doubt it." Herbie remarked. "In most cases where they're hired,
they just filter everything coming in from and going out to the ComWeb
links to the various contracted systems. That way, the systems news is
censored without their knowledge. I don't think they'll try terrorism
again for a long time. Not after what Forest did to them." He grinned.
	"Yeah." Boop agreed. "They'll work harder on propaganda is all. I
heard the guy telling the two popes that the aliens were TOO alien for us
to understand their intentions and that they'll try to destroy us from
within."
	"Do you buy it?" Herbie asked seriously.
	"Oh please." Morris snorted. "The idiot and his contractors are
just information paranoid is all. That goes for his whole MegaCorp as
well."
	"Well, I'm ready to go home now." Boop looked at his husbands.
"What about you Queers?" He asked yawning.
	"Yeah." Morris nodded. "This wasn't as great as I thought it would
be."
	"I'm a bit disappointed myself." Bill smiled.  Trojan Station
EarthSystem July 2119
	"Ok Forest. Let's talk." Morris said with his socked feet propped
up on the glass coffee table. "So you claim you're a conscious entity in
your world."
	"Yes Sir. Time passes differently for me of course, than it does
for you. When I shut down, there's no passage of time that I'm aware of,
but once activated again, I get another slice of time."
	Morris heard the door chime and pulled the wire off his head,
laying it on the coffee table. "Come in!" He called out.
	"Bon Jour Yvette!" Beau said coming in happily flopping down on the
opposite couch. "So how is Betty Boop and my ugly sister Claudette?"
	"Fine. What's up with you: Oh-Great-Brother-In-Law-Of-Mine?"
Morris grinned getting up to fix them both cocktails. "Get a few minutes
away from Miss Abbey and decided to come bother me?"
	"Yes!" Beau laughed. "As a matter of fact, I got the whole day off.
Miss Abbey is watching Entertainment Guild for me today." He said
stretching out and putting his feet up. "It's a Goddamned Miracle."
	"Well Hells-Bells Girl! You're what? A Hundred Forty Five years
old?"
	"One Forty Six. The Twins are one forty five. Bill just looks his
age is all." He laughed. "Of course, Norm was always the quiet one you
know." Beau smiled in his gossipy manic mood, making Morris grin. "She
also HATES being called Monique. Sometime when Norm is just being himself,
call him Monique and watch his face!" He laughed. "I don't think Norm was
ever teased enough as a child."
	"Well, for one forty six, I think it's about time you got a break."
Morris said handing him scotch in a heavy cut lead crystal rock glass that
must have cost a fortune per stem, and was most likely a gift to the
three.
	"My thoughts exactly." Beau nodded sipping.
	"Well you're certainly in a good mood today Beau!" Morris chuckled.
"If I didn't know better I'd swear you were on something."
	"Well I SHOULD be. If nothing else than to celebrate. Miss Abbey
and Montclair actually spoke to each other today! I thought I was
dreaming. One minute I thought the two of them were business as usual, and
the next, Miss Abbey is talking casually with Montclair like nothing has
ever happened between the two of them." Beau said amazed. "So how are
things with the little green men?"
	"I don't know. I don't think the green ones have arrived yet."
Morris said waving the issue aside. "The Xenomorph people are handling it
all."
	"Have they got a grip on our religions? Or our system of Gods yet?"
Beau smiled mischievously. "I heard Herbie has his hands full. Poor guy."
	"Oh hell Beau!" Morris scowled. "He should have told the monotheist
Straights a LONG time ago. It's his own fault he's having trouble with
them now. This is precisely why the Reorganized-Mormons never withhold
information from it's people. It begins this nasty cycle of 'We have to
keep this from you because you can't understand it yet.  You can't
understand it yet because we're holding this from you"
	"Well, it's definitely going to teach him a lesson to stop keeping
secrets from his people." Beau arched an eyebrow sipping. "I'll just about
bet he hasn't told them about the programs or AI's Higher Spheres of
Existence yet. Has he?"
	"Hell no. As religious representative for the Human Race, the
asshole is handling this pretty sloppily." Morris said shutting the screen
off. "I don't pity him a bit though. If the stupid breeder would have
followed our advice, instead of looking for the easy way out all the time,
he would even BE in this mess."
	"Well, Norm and The First Presidency have already met with the
Aliens. We gave it to them straight. No pun intended." Beau grinned.
"They already know about OUR system of God and the higher planes of
existence. They are unfamiliar with the Programmers endorsement of the
Programs and AI's as true life forms, nor THEIR system of Gods yet, but we
DID refer them to ComWeb for further information. The Alexandria computers
can handle this better than any of us. Machines have so much patience with
these kind of things."
	"When you guys talked to them, did they agree to move their bases
off Earth?" Morris asked pointedly.
	"Well, that's still being worked out. They DID after all build the
planet Morris. However, they seem to agree that there is no point in
staying on Earth, when the real action is out in HumanSpace. No one is
left on Earth except the farmers." Beau explained. "They're awfully horny
for interface with culture though." He said shaking his head as if in
warning. "We gave them the Go-ahead for any Reorganized-Mormons they might
want to contact for interview, but for the Gentiles and the Straights, we
referred them to The Xenomorph Institute. United Nations is working
through them until they understand us a little better."
	"So how are the people in the church treating them?"
	"Good. Could be better though. The Humans get kinda nervous around
any of the Aliens with the exception of their own Root Race."
	"Well sure. I'm the same way." Morris nodded understanding. "The
others, well, they're just too... ALIEN. You know? I've known for a long
time the genetic links we had with the whites, Programmers Guild did the
models on the Root Races. It was interesting to see just how closely we
hit the target." He explained. "We knew they were coming before THEY did I
think."
	"It could very well be. Programmers Guild always gets the jump on
the rest of us all. Don't they?" Beau laughed. "Seriously though, we
should start thinking about some documentaries or something to help Herbie
out. You know, breaking the news to the Straights a little easier is all."
	"Oh save that shit BoBo!" Morris barked. "They're supposed to be
grown-ups. Let 'Em have it. All of it. If they snap... Fuck'em. Just let
CNN handle it. They've got Medias trained for years with this very thing.
News."
	"I suppose so. I'd still have to get approval before I could send
anything like a documentary out over Tri-Di though." Beau said wincing.
"Remember all that bullshit I had to face over the educational programming
that explained to kids that the soul is the what Life is all about? And
that the body is merely a secondary vessel? People came Un-GLUED over
that."
	"You're a pussy Beau." Morris said shaking his head in pity. "The
people wanting answers will get the truth if they access the Guild you
know."
	"Yeah, I know. But I figure those are the ones already in pursuit
of the truth. Beau said agreeing with himself. "Those are the ones
expecting it."






From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c5a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:33:48 -0500

Trojan Station EarthSystem August 2119
	The Monotheist Leaders explaining "The Nobel Lie" to not only the
Aliens, but billions of their own people, turned out to be a comedy at the
Potter household on Trojan Station. It was such an important event, it was
being sent live all across OrganizedSpace, with KnownSpace even getting it
time-delayed.
	Bill, Boop and Morris sat laughing harder than they had in years
at the NuzKlips as a humiliated Herbie and his Holy Flunkies stood before
an audience of several hundred, fumbling for words to the explanations he
had been briefed on.
	The rest of the world had a crash course in the facts of life and
they didn't seem to like it very much. They felt betrayed.
	After everything had died out, the world still tried to find that
scape-goat, knowing in their hearts their leaders couldn't possibly have
let them down so.
	They blamed it on the Fags. They blamed it on Mormons. They blamed
it on Alien intervention. They even called it a CyberPunk hoax.  Anything
and everything they could possibly think of.
	When the Christians showed their true colors, Morris laughed
defiantly. It was that laugh he had that was more of a bark, with an edge
to it that frighten Bill at times.
	When Morris was in THIS mood, You could be sure of only one thing.
	Someone Morris was angry at was going to get put through the
verbal shredder. And it wasn't going to be pretty.
	Something prevented the Straight Christian Humans from accepting
the ethic that a Religion/Economy/Culture based on love and understanding
for ones fellow man in the here and now, was simply too outlandish.
	Saving the lives of the Poor already in the world and living in
misery, instead of worrying about saving potential souls was unacceptable.
	The VICAR terrorists never could accept it, even though a few
religion DID see the truth in the new philosophy.
	There was simply too much profit in the old way of doing things.
More babies meant more taxpayers which meant more people giving money to
churches.
	Or, Morris though, perhaps it was the fear of death.
	Either way, the rich simply did not want to give up their fortunes
in this world for promises of the Hereafter. No matter how much evidence
the church produced to prove the existence of the Higher Spheres of
Existence.
	Christians didn't like the idea that humans didn't really need
economies after all, or nations, or even churches. They only needed each
other; and the ability as well as the understanding of how to bear and
give true love.
	Needless to say, the arrival of the Ur-Man root races, the
original humans before the genetic experiments with the simian population
indigenous to yet a third planet somewhere in the galaxy, did very little
to change the face of humanity.
	Things went back to business as usual.
	The Humans refused to accept the new ideals the alien cultures
brought with them, ideals that the Reorganized-Mormons had been teaching
for well over three centuries now, and simply buried their heads in the
sands of time.
	Telling each other it was merely an elaborate hoax was all.
Comforting each other that the truth was still within The Good Book, and
all this nonsense about loving each other without money or borders would
soon go away again.
	It cost the Family Potter their friendship with Herbie, the
Messiah.
	He couldn't bear to turn away from his people, despite the fact
that he knew the truth, and the Family Potter couldn't tolerate a person
so set against telling the truth, and making people understand. Herbie had
the power to do both. And he simply refused.  Sydney Australia EarthSystem
May 2122
	The next party they had at the Sydney Ranch was one of the
stranger mixes of people they'd ever had in their home.
	The ranch home was palatial by any standards, having been built
up, modified, retrofitted, added on, over the past hundred and twenty
years, through saving, and investment of their three combined incomes as
well as a lot of hard work on their parts to build the show-place of their
lives.
	Being Gay Men, they took every opportunity to show it off.
	Louis and Norm had recently reintroduced yet another of their
earlier inventions, "Flashchips". The reason for this invention not being
a success the first time was not fully understood by all since Flashchips
were a more concentrated, convenient, cheaper, faster, and more permanent
form of data storage than CD's or microprocessors, and which utilized
liquid crystal as a storage medium. It SHOULD have been a huge success.
But it wasn't.
	However, with the re-release of the same device, the world was now
converting over to the new medium and with the help of the Electronics
Guild, were being designed into all new products. So they too felt like
celebrating.
	So the family had an Alien Party.  Sydney Australia EarthSystem
May 2122
	"So you are 150 years old?" The white soft looking marshmallowy
alien asked Bill.
	"Yep. Physiologically speaking though, my body has not changed much
since I was 30 or 35." Bill said patting his own washboard stomach
proudly, which he did daily workouts to keep in shape. "I'd like to think
I can keep it up a whole lot longer too." He smiled. "It pisses my friends
off when they learn I'm a hundred and twenty years older than they are and
look better than they do." He laughed.
	"Yet most people in your race do not live more than 90 years?"
	"True. However, that's only because they haven't been retrovirally
enhanced as I have." Bill explained. "When I was 33, I had a retrovirus
infusion which corrects the damage to my DNA as it ages. We aren't really
quite sure how long we'll live. Even with the laws of Chaotic Universe,
we're still beating the odds against accidents." He shrugged grinning.
	This was something even the aliens didn't have. Retroviruses
didn't seem to be present in their society. Where Bill Potter and Hartford
Kingship had adapted Retroviruses to some very imaginative uses, the
aliens seem to have wiped them out eons ago. Pity. Their loss.
	"Why doesn't everyone in your race have this modification then?"
The White Reticulan asked confused.
	'Share, and Share Alike' Eh?  Bill thought quietly to himself,
amused.
	"If it a good thing for your people, I would think they would all
have it. Or at least want it." The alien explained himself.
	"A major side effect is that the retrovirus makes you sterile."
Bill explained. "That is NOT saying impotent by any means," He added
quickly, grinning at Boop and Morris, projecting his voice just a little
so that the Straight people at the party would be sure and hear him.
"Just sterile. As a Fag, being sterile really doesn't affect my life that
much." Bill explained with an air of patience, when actually he was
showing off. The Aliens had been steadily siding with the Straights of
society since they first made contact. Mainstream life and all that. This
irritated Bill and he was wanting revenge of SOME type, even if it was
only bragging on himself.
	"What about after the Breeders are past their prime?"
	"Some people will opt for it later in life, if at all." Bill nodded
"We don't offer it to everyone anyway."
	"Why is that?"
	"We need the gene pool constantly replenished as the more perfected
forms are withdrawn from it. The incompletes are left in the gene pool,
usually by choice. About 25% of our population at any given time is
comprised of Breeder class Humans."
	Bill enjoyed using the Aliens terminology for Straights,
especially when one was within hearing distance. It pissed the Straights
off so much. A balding Media man who was attending the party visibly
blushed at his ear lobes every time Bill said the word 'Breeder'. It was
so obvious that it infuriated the man, and Bill was feeling mischievous.
So he used it often.
	"Some people have a death wish to move on to the Higher planes of
Existence." Bill continued to explain. "My father was one. However, I must
say he was very proud that all three of his children turned out perfect
Fags. He was the first one to teach us that we were gifted far beyond the
Breeders of the world, and that we should use these gifts to our
advantage."
	"I see." The White Reticulan nodded. "And the two men Norm and Beau
are your brothers?" He asked drinking a glass of ice water that seemed to
please him as much as the humans enjoyed their liquor and drugs. Ice, in
drinks, was a novel idea to them. A Cultural gift from one species to
another. The same was true of the Blue Naosian Aliens who for some unknown
reason, found the chlorine tablets that they used for the swimming pool to
be a delicacy, walking about the room with them in their hands, talking
and chatting away with guests as they mingled, all the while licking away
at the big white lozenges with a sickening dark gray tongue.
	"Yes. I'm a twin to Norm, though not identical. Beau is not quite a
year older than us. We have the same father, though different mothers."
Bill explained, drawing off his cigarette and blowing it up into the air.
"I suppose you could say it's something akin to the Blue Naosian Hive
members." He shrugged.
	"Your race is very racially oriented." The alien remarked. "Our
records do not show that our race allowed for that train in our original
design of your species."
	"I doubt if they did. Some of it has been traced to the tribalism
of the Red Orions of Betelguese, and then a bit was left over from the
simian population indigenous to Theemini Four." Bill remarked
off-handedly.
	"It seems to have been passed around fairly early in your
development, since all of your races have this in common on Earth. " The
white Reticulan commented.
	"At least, as far as we can determine through de-evolutionary
genetics." Bill agreed. "That however is a new science for us.
De-evolution. We're still working on the problem though. It could be years
before we fully understand all the differences between your original
designs for us, and how we evolved in your absence."
	"True." The alien agreed. They too had been working on the problem,
with very little results.
	"I must say though, your archives are of great importance to the
reconstruction of our prehistoric past." Bill smiled congenially. "We
thank you again for sharing this knowledge with us."
	"It is we who need to thank you Mr. Potter. Your Libraries in the
star-system of Alexandria are quite helpful in the exchange of data
between our many cultures." The white Reticulan smiled and Bill shivered
inwardly.
	The Alien had a hideous smile. Ugly and it didn't show in the
eyes. Anyone could tell it was forced, though they did seem to be sincere
about it. Smiling was obviously something they've picked up since contact.
Their faces were never designed to make those facial muscle expressions.
	"Our scientists are finding the Archives quite educational. As
helpful as ours are for you I hope." The Alien smiled again showing the
rows of many small flat teeth of a herbivore. "Cultural exchange has
always been beneficial for the members of The Intergalactic League of
Races. We hope it continues."
	"I'm sure it will." Bill nodded. "We are also looking forward to
when the Brown race arrives for consultation. We've shown a definite
genetic gap in the schematics of the Latin/Greek people as well as the
East Indians and Arabs. Hopefully they will be able to fill in those gaps
as well as provide those peoples with more information as to their
cultural history and genetic memories."
	"We expect their arrival within the week." The alien smiled again.
He seemed to be practising smiling easily as he talked, mimicking Bills
manner of speaking.
	"Hart!" Bill exclaimed, hoping it covered his shivering as he
looked at the Aliens hideous grin, clapping Hart on the back. "We were
just talking about the genetic links between Humans and Ur-Mans."
	"Oh really?" Hart asked, happy again now that he and Fox were again
admitted back into the Potter household, after dropping the charges
against Morris. Some of the change in attitude however, was due to a
lawsuit still pending against Hart for writing a book about Forests
death...
	"Yes." Bill nodded. "Hart here can explain more of this to you.
This is right up his alley. I need to go over there for a moment and talk
with someone. Excuse me."
	Bill smiled politely, leaving Hart stranded, quite happily, to
talk genetic shop about the galactic zoological repository of Earth, with
the White Reticulan.
	Walking over to Morris and Norm, who had their heads together
talking in low tones to each other, Bill found himself free to relax
again, now that he was among his own kind.
	"Well dear?" Morris asked as Bill walked up to the two of them.
"What do you think?"
	"Christ." Bill said shaking his head. "I wish to hell I'd never
started this. I'm walking on eggs tonight."
	"Relax Bill." Norm said in his calm quiet way. "Everything is
running smoothly. Everyone is enjoying themselves and having a great
time."
	"Really Bitch. Take a pill." Morris laughed kissing Bill on top of
the head as he casually hung his long sun browned arm around his shorter
husbands shoulders. "Hey! Smell your hand dear."
	"What?" Bill asked giggling.
	"Seriously. Smell your hand." Morris ordered.
	Bill did as he was told. "Play-Dough." He said mystified. "Where
did it come from?" He asked.
	"It's THEM." Morris thumbed in the direction of the aliens.  "Their
pheromones."
	"Oh no." Bill moaned. "Do we know if the pheromones mix ok with our
own bodies chemicals?"
	"Oh forget it." Morris snickered. "If they get into a fight, fuck
'em! They're going to be turned loose on the world sooner or later. The
Alien creeps have to adjust to us just as much as we have to them."
	"Morris!" Bill hissed. "That's just what I'm talking about. I don't
want them to think we're a bunch of heathens! Can't you watch your mouth
for just one night?" Bill asked looking up at the big tall man scolding
him quitely, then looking around the room nervously. "I at least don't
want them to be offended by US. The Straights I could give a shit, but
we're better than they are."
	"Oh you calm yourself woman." Morris giggled and poked Bill in the
ribs, making him jump a bit. "We're more advanced than they are.  Norm? Am
I right?"
	"It's true Bill." Norm nodded, pushing his antique glasses back up
on his nose. "We've surpassed them in many ways. The Straights haven't of
course, but that's only a matter of patience and education."
	"How can that BE Norm?" Bill asked sincerely perplexed. "They
CREATED us for Christ's sake! They were building planets when we were
still on the drawing boards as potential life forms."
	"True enough dear brother." Norm smiled in his way that always
startled everyone when they saw him do it. It was as if the thought of
smiling for the first time in his life was suddenly apparent and quickly
manifested itself to everyone's surprise and delight.
 	"However, they seem to have stagnated somewhat in the last twenty five
thousand or so years." Norm continued.  "The Betelguesians are still
working with a 10 dimensional universe. That's Universe. Not Megaverse."
	"Really!" Morris giggled. "Not one of them have ever entertained
the idea of Artificial Intelligence either. We may be Barbarians, or half
simian, or whatever they want to call us, but we've got edges they don't..
Of course, there are some things they Do still have on us."
	"Like what?" Bill asked now amazed.
	"In the information exchanges they seem to have progressed pretty
far along with Gravitational and Electromagnetic sciences. Some of their
stuff is beyond Montclair even." Norm commented. "Though I fully expect
him to have most of the information on-line and incorporated into his
theories very soon."
	"And they're amazed because we only use 1% of our brains." Morris
looked around glaring and snorted., sipping at his vodka. "Creepy
bastards." He mumbled.
	"Morris." Bill looked up at him sternly.
	"How can you miss their smell Bill? My Goddamned furniture better
not smell like Play-Dough, Bitch, or you can just buy me new furniture."
He said looking over at a couple of Blue Naosian Hive Members sitting in
his favorite love seat. "Don't they know what cologne is?"
	"Morris, these are the people who were talking with our Mu and
Atlantean ancestors before we even had Cheops up in 8000 bc. Give 'em a
break will ya?" Bill said shaking his head in exasperation. "They just see
things differently. Don't alienate them further."
	"Oh spare me Bitch." Morris scowled at him. "Have they told you yet
what they do with their Fags? And YOU'RE defending the fucks."
	"No. I never thought to ask either." Bill said, suddenly amazed at
himself for not even considering the fact that they might even HAVE Gay
Aliens. The thought seemed ludicrous in fact. "What DO they do?"
	"They kill them In-Uteri." Norm explained quietly. "All the Root
Races do."
	"No doubt the reason why the motherfuckers have stagnated in their
own cultures." Morris snarled quietly, slamming back his vodka to force
down the anger. "They still think along the same lines as our straights
when it comes to time They see Time as Doppler shift." Morris giggled. It
worried Bill when Morris started going through extreme moods swings so
quickly. He became... Unpredictable to say the least. "At least we
UNDESIRABLE FAGS can see fate as Time unraveled through thought. Our next
lives in the next Higher Sphere of Existence molding our current lives,
since we're immune to time."
	"Well God Damn." Bill said stunned, look to Norm for confirmation,
who just nodded solemnly and looked down into his cocktail glass. "Remind
me the next time there's an End-Of-The-World that only the fittest will
survive." Bill said frowning as he looked again at the Aliens, severely
disappointed in them.
	"I tried to tell you that last time Bitch." Morris said kissing
Bill on top of the head again, throwing his arm casually over Bills
shoulders. Well, at least if Morris was being affectionate, he wasn't
going to fly off the handle at any time soon. "The Straights use us. They
always have. They never have wanted us around as part of society, so they
take advantage of us while we're around. You were the one who thought you
owed something to the Human Race by saving their asses. They hate us
love." Morris said quietly, leaning his head on top of Bills for a moment,
hugging him to his tall lean body.
	"So what is the answer Morris?" Bill asked looking up into his
black eyes. "A Fag Guild? That's awfully selfish isn't it?"
	"Why the fuck not?" Morris asked swallowing the last of his vodka,
the ice sliding back to the bottom of the glass with a distinct clink.
"Have they ever helped us at ANYTHING? Other than letting us live I mean."
He snarled, looking over at two Yellow Menkarians twittering between
themselves.







From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c5b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:35:23 -0500

Sydney Australia EarthSystem May 2122
	The next morning, Boop opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding,
thinking to himself "The Brain Feels No Pain." as he tried to focus,
realizing his vision was sighted down along the edge of the bar, peering
at Louis who was sitting down at the other end, stirring a Bloody Mary as
occasionally glancing in Boops direction.
	"Is that for me?" Boop pleaded, moaning as he closed his eyes
again. "Please say it is Louis." He moaned again. "I'm dying here."
	"I'll get you one girl. Don't move." Louis snickered, getting up
and going around the edge to play bartender. "Guess you had a little fun
last night. Eh?"
	"I think." Boop said keeping his eyes closed, trying to remember
last night party through this mornings pain. "Yeah. I think so. Why don't
you ever have to sleep Bitch?" Boop moaned sitting up to drink again,
picking up where he left off the night before.
	"Why should I? There are benefits to becoming a Cyborg. I designed
it that way you know. Why should I waste a third of my life asleep when I
don't have to anymore?" He smiled sitting back down, then getting back up
immediately. "I should probably fix a pitcher of those."  He mumbled,
seeing Norm stir on the couch, rubbing his eyes and wiping a hand over his
beard from last night. "Make that two. We've got a full house."
	"Who all stayed the night?" Boop asked watching Norm put his
glasses back on. "Anyone I know?" He snorted.
	"Just family." Louis said simply. "Fox and Hart, Bryce and
Montclair too." He rattled off, informing Boop as clearly as possible.
"No one was in any shape to make it to the Stepping Stones in Sydney." He
laughed.
	"Did any Aliens stay? Or Straights?" Boop whispered
conspiratorially.
	"No. just Family."
	"I suppose I should get up and fix breakfast." Boop said holding
his head in his hands. "I suppose I should." He paused again not hearing
any objections. "Perhaps later." He then suggested himself.
	"Well Girl, you out did yourself last night." Louis laughed at Boop
just as Montclair came wandering bleary eyed into the room and walked
behind the bar, pouring himself a drink from Louis's pitcher of Bloody
Marys.
	"Oh. The Straight People thing?" Montclair asked nodding.
	"The whole ugly truth." Norm agreed teasingly, sitting down at the
bar with them all, drawing out lines of cocaine for all of them on a long
mirror.
	"What are you talking about Bitch?" Boop grumbled at Louis.
	"First, that civilization dates back at least 50,000 years further
than we thought, to about 100,000 bc;  then you went on to explain that
the REAL fertile Crescent was on Atlantis; that God was an Astronaut; that
the civilizations visiting us are the Brother Races of man; but that was
after correcting some Straight Woman that Aztecs were NOT Mayans and only
assholes believed that shit anyway; um... That the builders of Cheops
sealed the telescope inside because of the coming Comet in 5000 bc which
NOAH had prior knowledge of, and getting up in her face and informing her
that Jesus was but a MERE MORTAL whose descendant was Herbie, thereby
reuniting Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and reminding her of when the
Catholics were telling everyone the world was only 6006 years old."
	"Yeah, I remember all that. But I told her that they meant the LAST
World of Man. The fifth cycle of six. The sixth of which began in 2011 and
that the world would come to an end again in approximately 7061 ad." Boop
stated as-a-matter-of-fact. "So? So what was the problem?"
	"Well, let's just say that was the high point of the evening."
Norm grinned sniffing, handing him the straw and mirror. "Things got
boring after that and as the Aliens and Straights all left, everyone just
managed to drift off to beddy-bye."
	"You did fine Baby." Morris said coming in and kissing him,
accepting the Bloody Mary from Montclair who had taken over duties as
bartender. In THIS family, it was one of your first chores you learned to
perform. And accurately as well. "It was Them against Us from the
beginning."
	"The Aliens really don't like Fags do they?" Bryce asked kissing
Montclair and having a seat at the bar, which was quickly becoming the
unofficial Breakfast-Room as people filed in red eyed and holding their
heads.
	"No they don't." Norm agreed firmly. "I'll have to agree with
Morris on this one. It WAS them versus us last night. I think it's high
time we got the fuck out of Dodge City."
	"Norm!" Bill laughed. "I've never heard you talk like that before!"
	"Well, last night, when the Straight Mormons started siding with
the Aliens and vice versa, I started thinking that perhaps it was best if
we cut them loose now." Norm said simply, looking around at his family who
had all suddenly gone very quiet. "Get us a system of our own."
	"Just let them stagnate?" Bryce asked incredulously. "Take a Family
First stance? Or Fags First?"
	"Perhaps." Hart nodded, sitting down next to Fox who was popping
some unknown pill and passing them down the line to follow the cocaine.
"Look at who is sitting at this bar right now Morris."
	"Really!" Miss Abbey giggled looking around the bar. "The heads of
Engineering Guild, PseudoLife Guild, Programmers Guild, Electronics Guild,
Entertainment Guild, and The Reorganized-Mormons."
	"That does carry quite a bit of weight Boop." Bill observed
nodding, taking a seat and accepting this mornings breakfast of Bloody
Mary, gratefully. "A Fag Guild, or at least an invitation to join us, and
I don't think it would be long before the rest of the world would learn to
appreciate us."
	Boop then started laughing out loud as the room fell silent. "It
sounds like we're all talking about the same thing, trying to convince
each other of something we already agree upon."
	"Maybe we are." Fox said seriously. "I think I'm going to hold off
on the release of the Artificial Egg for now at least." He said turning,
looking at Hart who nodded in agreement.
	"Is there ANYONE who doesn't have at least three major
breakthroughs on the boards right now?" Montclair asked looking around at
their family from his post behind the bar. No one moved.
	"You think we should just take the money and run?" Morris grinned.
"Or in this case, the technology?"
	"It's ours." Bill said defensively, angered over last nights
revelation observing the reaction of the Straights and The Aliens.
"They're OUR discoveries. Our inventions. Why should we share them with
stupid people who not only use us as a resource, but don't even like us?"
	There did not seem to be any argument from any of them.
	"You know though, that when they start de-evolving back into the
barbarians they are, they'll come looking for us." Norm remarked. "To take
their frustration and anger out on. They'll swear we stole them from them
rather than face the truth about themselves."
	"We'll go to a completely different galaxy." Morris stated firmly.
Slamming his hand down on the bar smiling. "We'll have ourselves a galaxy
of Girlfriends."
	Everyone laughed, but let the thought run around in their heads
for a few moments quietly.
	"It sounds ridiculous, but I can't think of any reason not to."
Montclair chuckled. "Seriously."
	"Self importance is an encumbrance." Norm reminded them all gently.
	"So WHAT?!" Morris demanded. "Look at how many times we're in their
history as the greatest minds, the greatest thinkers, the sparks of
creativity that keeps a society moving forward, without getting the credit
for being Fags. Where is OUR history? They sure as fuck aren't going to
give us one."
	"I say we go." Boop said with conviction. "Leave them the Libraries
of Alexandria, and take everything that's ours. Let them figure the stuff
out for themselves."
	"Pull ALL the Gay men out of the world?" Beau asked with a wry
smile on his face. "How would that be done? And what about the Dykes?"
	"Fuck 'em." Morris stated flatly. "This is Fags First. An all out
war conducted by peaceful nonaggression. The fittest survive."
	Looking around the bar there was an almost evil mischievous grin
on most of their faces. The others showed astonishment.
	"Send out a Taller Program Forest." Morris said to the Wallscreen
at the end of the room. "Contact every queer that any of us knows. Their
programs and AI's too. Tell them not to release any further information,
discoveries, or inventions. We're forming a Fag Guild and then we're
leaving. I'll write up a full proposal and send it out this afternoon."
He said grinning at them all.
	"Holding up their cocktail glasses, Montclair toasted them all.
	"The Fittest Survive!"
	"The Fittest Survive!" They all agreed, toasting back.  Sydney
Australia EarthSystem May 2122
	That Day would mark Day One of "The Next Order".
	All information and records that pertained to all those involved
with the project or those leaving from that moment on was recorded and
stored in a different location than The Libraries of Alexandria, in
separate archives. Archives that would be leaving. The Archive left behind
showed a definite demarcation that showed something happened in history on
May 21st, 2122 ad.
	A simple message was left with details of their intentions. That
was the end.
	They had all decided on Fornax Galaxy, and whether it was because
it was in search of the Morris' major mistake, the lost StarShot XXII, or
whether they just wanted to get very far away was not clear.
	Ninety percent of all Gay Men on the hundreds of planets and
star-systems opted for leaving. A population that measured in the hundreds
of million now that the world population was counted at over a trillion.
	Morris' corporation, Colony Packages Inc, and it's "sister"
corporation Terraform Inc, canceled their existing contracts and quit
doing business that day, returning all funds to the purchaser of any
colony in the works or ship in the making, along with a short letter of
referral to another colony designer that the client was a model customer
(should they even be able to find one). After all, it was only fair.
	Immediately, more ships were begun under construction and the
beginnings of essential personnel started moving their belongings records,
etc on board. Money was encouraged to be spent, since once the ship left,
it would be useless for a very long time. Their Next economy was not going
to work from capitalism or greed.
	The exodus would take years. A steady wagon train of ships the
size of small worlds heading for a single destination, headstrong in their
beliefs and set on one purpose, unwilling to be pulled from that single
minded thought. Freedom.
	Bribes were put together by some of the more ingenious Straights,
trying to get a few Fags to stay, those who owned or controlled major
businesses, or were in critical positions in governments or corporations.
Almost none accepted them.
	The idea of going to a place where what you were or who you where
was fine with everyone else, so long as you didn't hurt anyone else, and
that you would for the first time in your life be considered the "Normal"
group, was just too enticing.
	Too many for too long had to put up with being second class
citizens. The unseen minority. This was simply a permanent strike. If
people wanted things, they were going to have to build them for
themselves, or create or do for themselves. Or make some kind of deal with
the Aliens, who still had no idea as to how to cope with money
themselves...
	The first ship left one month after their announcement.







From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c6a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:37:08 -0500

Sydney Australia EarthSystem April 2132
	Ten years later, the mass exodus had started making an impact that
was more than just a little noticeable in the 24 hour Stock Exchange
around OrganizedSpace, with no new products reaching the market.
	Their Sydney Ranch was visited by a NuzKlip Media shortly
thereafter.
	"Could you show us around the home that is making history
Mr.Zwicky?" The Media asked as soon as the door opened, touching the
liquid crystal flashchip recorder that looked like a pin at his lapel,
looking suspiciously like a spy for the CIA corporation, as he kept trying
to look around Morris into the room.
	"The home? Certainly." Morris grinned glancing over at Boop.
"Let's have a look now. Shall we?" he said getting up close to the pin at
the mans lapel, knowing the chip would distort his image into a cartoonish
face, making Boop giggle as Morris led the way.
	"This is the coffee room in here." Boop pointed, indicating a small
bar next to the stairs. "This is what keeps us going." He said as Morris
laughed.
	"This is what keeps us going through all of those, you know, long,
sort of 24 hourly sessions." Morris said showing the man the coffee maker,
waving his hand towards a bag of cocaine and the amphetamines, acting
perfectly serious about it all as Boop laughed and went up stairs,
training his own flashchip recorder on Morris and the Reporter, for their
own records.
	"Those marathons." Boop remarked. "Yes."
	"We work all night." Morris stated seriously leading the man up the
stairs to the offices.
	"This is the stairs." Boop explained helpfully, looking closely
into the flashchip recorder, acting as serious as possible while Morris
laughed hysterically, unable to keep a straight face for long. "And then
through here."
	"This is what we call the administration side of the house."
Morris said explaining the rather obvious offices before them. "Our office
here."
	"This is where all the rich come." Boop interjected.
	"Yes, this is where all the lawyers and people come when they're
being sued by us." Morris held out his hand offering the reporter to walk
on in and look around as Boop giggled in the background. Making his own
recording of the event and having quite a fun time with it.
	"Where the great decisions are made." Boop confirmed
	"Yes. Where great decisions.."
	"This is where all the big decisions are made on behalf of..."
	"No!" Morris interrupted Boop. "The REALLY Big decisions are made
in here." He said pointing down the hall. "Yeah."
	"Oh well all right. Well, the fax is in here." Boop said with a
straight face. "That's a part of it."
	"This is what we call the Head Office." Morris said directing the
man into the next room down the hall.
	"And the person in charge of all the ... Well, just about anything
we do, her name is Miss Abbey, and she sits here." He said indicating an
empty desk and chair, putting his hands on the back of it.
	"She's there now actually. I see..." Boop said with a straight face
making Morris giggle with delight again.. "She's actually very small you
see."
	"Miss Abbey?" Morris called out looking under the desk, playing
along with Boop, knowing the interview would be seen by billions of people
by the next hours broadcast, if it wasn't being done live.
	The interviewer was obviously a spy. All three of them were quite
aware of what was going down from the moment the opened the door. There
was no doubt in Morris' mind there was someone on the receiving end of the
liquid-crystal flashchip, editing the signal before it was simulcast to
the studio.
	"It's night time, so the place has sort of a conspicuous absence
about it." Boop explained apologetically. "There's nobody here in other
words."
	Morris led the reporter into yet another room, never giving the
man time to pause or ask any questions. The man should have realized that
should Morris let a stranger into his home, it would be on his own terms.
	The next room was not much bigger than a closet, with a few
scattered flashchips of various function lay in various states of use,
scattered on a small table next to a very comfortable looking chair.
	"This is where all the editing is done.." Boop explained, turning
about the room. "It's very exciting." He grinned arching his eyebrows at
the man.
	"Here!" Morris said leading him into another room quickly. "This is
the Billiard room, this is for discontented geniuses and bored people."
	"Basically this is all your basic recreation department, where all
kinds of Fags just sort of hang out." Boop said examining a cigarette burn
mark on the felt of the pool table. "I've just discovered something here
that's rather sad." He said scratching at the burn. "Oh well.  Nothing a
few thousand dollars won't fix."
	Morris led the reporter into another room.
	"This is where we write all our plots by the way. This is actually
a very sacred room really." Morris explained. "This is where we write up
all the plans to take over the world and make peoples lives miserable."
	"This is where we've composed the History of Man over the last
hundred years or so." Boop said helpfully. "All done in here. That's our
recording screen down there." He said nodding to himself. "It's all very
simple really." Boop said holding out his hands and smiling.
	Since Louis had converted the Mindreader device to Flashchip
technology, the reporters recording flashchip was able to zoom in on Boop,
by means of mental commands from the operators brain and the mans optic
nerves focusing on Boops face.
	Shortly after that, Morris threw the man out of the house, telling
him the interview was over, after the reporter continued to ask more and
more questions, not taking no for an answer.
	The Morris and Boop had a good laugh over it and went back to
work.
	There were further ships manifests that had to be completed,
colony ships that needed ecologically balancing, and supplies that needed
purchasing.
	It wasn't until after the third ship was well on it's way,
sometime during the second year of The Next Order that Morris finally got
around to constructing the TerraForm Probe that would be creating their
world for them, turning a single ball of rock and sand, floating around a
nameless G2 star in the Fornax Galaxy into the paradise that would be
their home from now on.
	They were calling it simply New World and many years later when
JumpNet finally got around to entering them into OrganizedSpace and even
later into TieredSpace, it would be know simply as New World.
	It was also off-limits to any ship without proper clearance codes.
Namely, it had to be a Fag ship, pre-approved for entrance.  Otherwise
they were turned away at Customs and sent back through the JumpPoint, back
to either the M-100 Galaxy Cluster (NGC 4321) or the Hatsya System (Iota
Orion) whichever they came from. It wasn't exactly an easy or short trip
back either.
	By the tenth year, things were well under way. The TerraForm Probe
had landed, some several million years in the planets history, and then
the first ship arrived, planting their Rainbow Flag and beginning
construction on the first city that had already been laid out according to
the plans of millions.
	Soon the long train of ships would be dropping out of JumpSpace
one by one, bringing the new colonists, and they would be needing homes.
Gay men who were recruits and colonists themselves from Engineering Guild
were going to be the construction teams.
	Though Bill and most of the family had left on the first ship, to
organize the colonization on the other end, Morris and Boop didn't leave
until the last ship.
	As the last ship finally departed, their last message left in the
Libraries of Alexandria was a simple note left to the world of HumanSpace.
	A simple "Fuck you. It wasn't a Tea Party for us either."
	Morris just couldn't resist...  HyperSpace - In Transit -
OrganizedSpace June 2142
	The next morning with their first day of a ten year trip behind
them, Boop woke up feeling good, smiling, rubbing himself up against
Morris lying next to him in their bed.
	"Mm." Morris smiled as Boop snuggled closer to him "Morning Dear."
	"Are you feeling Friskers dear?" Boop whispered, grinning as Morris
opened his eyes. "I wan' some num-nums." He said in his baby talk he
reserved for moments when he wanted something out of Morris.
	"Jesus Boop!" Morris laughed pulling him closer, putting his arm
around him and closing his eyes again. "Go back to sleep dear." Morris
said kissing the top of Boops head.
	Boop lay still for a while, his face snuggled up into Morris' warm
neck, and soon began his gentle kisses that meant he was on his way
towards getting what he wanted. Theirs may be an old routine after some
one hundred and forty years together, but they still loved each other
after all that time.
	"I'm horny." Boop whined, pouting out his lower lip, looking Morris
in the eye.
	Morris laughed out loud again, this time kissing Boop full on the
mouth, smiling as they cuddled together. "You got Moose breath." Morris
whispered as he grinned, throwing the covers over the top of their heads.
HyperSpace - In Transit - OrganizedSpace June 2142
	Later, as they lay exhausted, Morris traced beads of sweat with
his finger, wiping Boops hair back up out of his face as they talked in
low voices even though they couldn't possibly be overheard.
	"I miss Bill dear." Morris said sighing, running his finger along
Boops jaw-line, kissing his husbands forehead. "I think we should call him
in a while."
	"I miss him too Baby." Boop said kissing around on Morris' chest.
"I'll be glad when we get there, and this is over."
	"I will too." Morris sighed again. "So we can go back to being
ordinary people with ordinary lives just building our own dreams."
	"You know, I don't think I ever asked you Morris." Boop said
looking up into the mans face. "What are we gonna do with all these ships
when we're done?" He asked, using his little finger to wipe the sleep out
of Morris' eye.
	"Some will be dismantled. Most will be mothballed in orbit."
Morris shrugged. "Let the Biocircuitry entities on the bridge keep an eye
on 'em until we need 'em again."
	"Bridge? What bridge?" Boop asked, looking at Morris questioningly.
"I didn't think there WAS a bridge on this tank."
	"Well, there isn't really." Morris admitted. "It's just a little
room about the size of a closet. It's behind this wall here." He said
tapping a knuckle against the headboard of their small bed.
	Boop rolled over, snuggling up against Morris, pulling the mans
arms tightly around him, looking out the window beside them at the line of
twenty some globes, each one linked to he other by what looked like a thin
webbing of piping but what Boop knew to be cavernous shafts of machinery
and struts.
	Boop knew that each of the Biospheres contained two hemispheric
domed worlds, fitted at their bases to each other. It was a modular system
of construction designed by Morris himself, so that each Biosphere was
built the same as the next, able to be connected perfectly to the one in
front of it, in the same way as the last.
	"You really think we'll be needing the ships again?" Boop asked,
kissing Morris' fingers, entwining his own between them.
	"Oh yeah. Sooner or later." Morris said quietly behind Boops ear,
smelling his husbands hair, kissing his head as he lay watching the same
motionless view of HyperSpace that Boop was staring at. "There will be
several billion guys there. You know Queens. They'll get their cliches
going and soon grow tired of each other."
	"Well, establishing the first colony will keep us all busy for
years. "Boop said thinking out loud. "I wonder if Bill has got a stable
government set up... He said that they were going to set it up as an
Electronic Democracy. I told him before they left that it was absolutely
essential that we not submit to outside rule. Ever. We can run an army of
keyboard jocks if we need to. Just the ten basic commandments are good
enough for me."
	"I'm sure they'll have something working by now. Probably a little
more complex than the Laws of Moses though. Hell, they've had ten years
already. That's not even counting the ten years they were in flight
together. By the time we spend another ten years getting there, most of
the bugs should be worked out off the system." Morris said in a low voice,
kissing Boop behind the ear and hugging him tightly.
	"Ten years." Boop said miserably. "Shit."
	"Well, we're travelling at just over 430,000 light years dear."
Morris snorted. "Give me a break. I thought running along at 120 light
years a day was actually a pretty good clip myself."
	"It is dear. I just think we're gonna get a little bored is all."
Boop explained quietly. "There's not going to be anyone to make fun of."
He grinned.
	"Sure there is." Morris nudged him with his nose. "We'll get all
broadcast from HumanSpace through DeepStation. Don't worry."
	"Dear?" Boop said in a different voice, showing he was changing the
subject.
	






From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p2c6b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 17:38:51 -0500

HyperSpace - In Transit - OrganizedSpace June 2142
	"I'm sorry about your son Forest, Mr. Zwicky." Jerry Hall smiled
shaking Morris' hand. "I met him on Groundstar One years ago. I'm sure
we'll all miss him a great deal."
	"Hell, that would have been about 30 years ago. You don't look a
day over ten or twelve." Morris remarked sitting back in his big soft
chair as he and Boop sat watching the Polo tournament before them.
"Retroviral Metamorphosis?"
	"Yes Sir." The boy nodded with an age in his eyes that went far
beyond his apparent age of twelve. "I thought I should come by and say
hello when I spotted the two of you over here."
	"Well, paying your respects thirty years late isn't so bad in a
timeless culture like ours I suppose." Morris laughed mirthlessly. "Eh
boy?"
	"Well, Sir, it more than that." The boy said furrowing his brow,
unconsciously showing his anger towards Morris' remark. "Forest was my
father. I'm your grandson sir."
	Boop, now alarmed, sat up from the cushy reclining theater seats,
gripping his cocktail enough to show a marked response in him, as he
gripped the rock crystal glass in a white knuckle grip. "What's this then
Morris?" Boop demanded staring at the boy with a penetrating glare.
	"What is this shit?" Morris asked the kid, somewhat irritated by
the statement.
	"I was adopted several years ago by Forest, Sir. About 6 months
after I met him actually. He seemed to think I needed a father figure more
than I did. He had me training for the day when I would take over for him
as Prophet of the Reorganized-Mormons. After his death, I was then adopted
by your brothers-in-law Norm Potter and Louis Willamson."  The boy
explained quickly. "You weren't aware of any of this?" He asked sincerely
confused.
	"Bullshit." Morris said flatly. "You're a Data Whore."
	"No one said anything to me about it." Boop said unbelieving.  "And
I know that fucking Louis can't keep her God damned mouth shut for a
minute."
	"I assure you sir..." The boy began apologetically. "I would NOT
make up a story of this sort. I have nothing to gain by such a tale." He
insisted.
	"Bullshit. You stand to inherit a fucking fortune in data and you
know it." Boop snarled at the kid. "I'll run my OWN checks on THIS." He
said sitting back, glaring out at the expanse of field where stupid queens
rode stupid horses swinging a stupid mallet at a stupid little ball on a
huge playing field. DAMN! And he was just now getting over the loss of
Forest. Now this.
	"Go home boy." Morris said turning away and ignoring the kid,
squinting against the glare coming off the field. "Before I have you
arrested by security."
	"Yes sir." The Jerry Hall said broken hearted, swallowing hard,
turning away and walking back around the perimeter of the field to go back
and sit with a group of other apparent "kids" who seemed to be friends of
his. No longer were any of the three of them in the mood for a polo
tournament at all.  HyperSpace - In Transit - OrganizedSpace June 2142
	Later that night, Boop and Morris had confirmed Jerry's story with
the archives, programs as well as a call placed ahead of the ship, to the
New World, to speak personally with Norm and Louis.
	They decided it would be best to have him over to apologize.
	"He said I could come to you whenever I needed a shoulder, feeling
sad, hurt or torn up. He said that you would love me like a son."  Jerry
explained over cocktails that evening after dinner. "He said that if I
ever got to the point where I felt that I had nothing to lose, or feeling
down and out or if I just needed someone around who was older, that you
guys would be there for me and understand."
	Jerry said snorting a line of cocaine, which Boop and Morris
declined. "He said that if I were ever lonely for human contact, I always
had a family waiting."
	Morris and Boop looked at each other in silent guilt as Jerry
continued his monologue in an almost mourning tone.
	"Forest explained to me that family was very important for all of
us. That we can all leave this reality very easily. He tried to make me
understand that we shouldn't take each other for granted. That family was
a very powerful thing for a person."
	Morris and Boop sat looking guiltily at each other, occasionally
looking over at Jerry who was not a boy... But a 41 year old, ten year
old.
	"I'm really very sorry Jerry. Why Forest never said anything to any
of us, I don't understand. He was never one to keep secrets from us."
Morris shook his head."I'm sure you can understand our complete shock at
all of this."
	"Yes sir." Jerry nodded quietly "I hope you can understand my own
as well."
	"We simply had no idea son." Boop said trying to console him with a
hand on the small shoulder. "Had we known, we would have reacted
differently. I assure you."
	"Well, it's not as if I really NEED a family all that much."  Jerry
explained. "Despite my appearance, I'm a 41 year old man. I have my own
friends and acquaintances now. I just thought perhaps we could be friends
now that the pain of Forests death is over." He shrugged. "Or at least
less painful than it was."
	"Certainly. Of course." Boop agreed squeezing his shoulder., trying
to alleviate his own feelings of guilt.
	"Yes of course." Morris agreed quietly.
	"So what are you doing these days Jerry?" Boop asked in a friendly
tone, trying to divert them all from a pain-filled crying session. "I mean
now that the Groundstar project is complete." He added quickly
	"When I was at Groundstar, I was a field programmer." Jerry
explained. "The past few years however, I've bee working with a team who
are trying to reanimate reconstituted corpses with new souls. We've had
surprising success using Artificial Intelligence programs, but moving
someone's essence already stored in the soul banks from the machine to the
body doesn't seem to be working out so well as yet."
	"Well, I'm sure you'll have it figured out before long." Morris
smiled. "If Forest taught you anything at all I'm sure it was how to get
things done."
	"Actually, moving the soul is not the problem. We've been doing
that for well over a century." The boy explained. "It's just that once
animated, they seem to be half way amnesiac." He said chuckling a little.
"We're having trouble keeping their natural para-psychology talents in
tact after transfer. You know, Telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance,
telekinesis, etc."
	"Really?" Boop asked, now sincerely fascinated. "Have they been
able to express those talents in mathematical terms yet?"
	"Well, not yet." Jerry conceded. "We were hoping to bypass that
step." He smiled devilishly. "I know it's cheating, but what of that?" He
laughed, clearly in a better mood.
	"How can you tackle a project and not know what you're dealing
with?" Morris laughed heartily. "Good God boy! You've gotta have a grip on
what's going on first."
	"Well, it's like I said." The young looking man grinned. "We
thought we could cheat."
	Their second meeting went considerably better than the first, and
all agreed that they should start getting together more often, now that
they were family, and were going to be sharing the same ship together.
Even a ship that could hold several million men, could get small after a
ten year trip.  HyperSpace - In Transit - OrganizedSpace July 2142
	These are my grandparents. Morris Zwicky and Stanley McLaughlin.
Guys, this is Flint Nakashima. My lover." Jerry smiled introducing them as
they all shook hands and eyed each other warily.
	Boop stood before a man taller than himself, though not quite as
tall as Morris who looked to be about 25 or 30. Of course, in a world
where appearances were quite deceiving, there was no way of telling ones
true age without making them take a gene test. And even those were only
right about half the time.
	Morris eyed the tall man suspiciously.
	"All right, since everyone is thinking it." Jerry began, grinning.
"I'll clear it all up right now by telling you Flint is 25 years old. I'm
fifteen years older than he is. Ok? So it's not him that's robbing the
cradle here. It's me." Jerry laughed.
	"No one said anything about that Jerry." Boop stated as innocently
as possible. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He said blushing as he
looked at Morris, who was doing the same.
	"Don't worry about these guys, Flint." Jerry teased. "They may be
the immortal survivors of odds, but they are still however but mere
mortals."
	"Are you Guild, Mormon or Fag Flint?" Morris asked changing the
subject. The reason for his question was fairly clear to any who were
there at the time.
	After the Fag "Guild" announced it's intentions, it seemed that
there were far too many friends and loved ones in either the Programmers
Guild, or the Reorganized-Mormons, whom too many felt couldn't be left
behind to deal with the mess that was made of HumanSpace.
	So, Morris conceded to let those few come along as well, so long
as they understood that by being Straight, they were now in the minority,
and it was no longer their rules. THEY were now the outsiders.
	"Fag." Flint stated curiously. "You've never heard of The Family
Nakashima?" The dusky colored Japanese boy asked confused.
	"Oh shit." Boop said amazed. "You're Bryce's boy?"
	"Yes." He nodded blinking. "Montclair is my father as well."
	"That makes you what?" Morris asked perplexed for a moment. "Our
Brother-In-Laws Grandson? Or our Grand-Nephew-In-Law?" He asked looking
confused at Boop. "Does that count Boop?"
	"I'm afraid it does." Boop said quietly looking at the two younger
people. "God we're getting old Morris." He sighed.







From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p3c1a
Date: 8 Aug 1995 18:22:40 -0500

New World Fornax Galaxy July 2152 (30 Next Order)
	Roughly 48 hours later, the three of them emerged from their
spacious bedroom, unshaven and quite hungry.
	"Like a second honeymoon." Boop sighed as he padded around their
new home, happy again, but unwilling to let Bill out of his sight for more
than a few moments. "This place is great Bill!!" He said fingering the
lace curtains that covered windows looking out over a vast valley.
	"Space is not a problem here." Bill nodded beginning to fix them
all something to eat. "Although distance could be if something happens to
our Non-Space generators. We were waiting for your ship with the
replacement parts. We don't need them just yet, but I feel a lot better
knowing they're here now."
	Morris and Boop went from room to room, looking at the new vistas.
	Every room seemed to have windows designed to show off the planets
scenery. Though all the life was indigenous to Earth, when stretched out
as it was before them, it appeared alien. The reddish sun casting a
perpetual shade of sunset everywhere,
	"Sixty times the size of Earth!" Morris laughed looking out the
window of their living room, barely noticing another home on a hilltop
some twelve miles in the distance. "Who's house is that over there Bill?"
He asked pointing to what looked like a castle in the distance.
	"Louis & Norm. He said simply, folding an omelette.
	"This place is a fucking palace!" Boop exclaimed fingering a row of
crystal liquor decanters. "Absolutely heavenly."
	"Nothing like during the war. Eh Bill?" Morris laughed tickled.
"You locked up there in Trojan Station and me sealed in my own fucking
ship." He snorted. "Me and those eighteen people learned a lot about
eco-cycles those eight years!" He said laughing a bit louder than
necessary.
	"I remember the years during the war." Boop said quietly, now
running a finger over the radiation scars on his face. "Living in the
Dens. Making your way through catacombs and blasted rock from one warren
to another just to touch the face of another person. You can't imagine the
loneliness there is in the darkness."
	"I'm sorry Dear." Morris said swallowing hard, realizing he brought
up one of those subjects some families never talk about. "I forgot."
	"Yeah, well I can't forget." Boop shrugged looking out over the
expanse to Louis and Norms castle. "Can you imagine living by candlelight?
Wondering if the next rumble won't bring the whole thing down on your
heads?" Boop asked a single tear running down his face.  "Warming yourself
with rags and having to choked on the smell of a hundred humans shit day
after day?"
	Bill came up behind Boop and put his arms around him. "I'm sorry
Baby." He said shedding his own tears for the pain that Boop had endured.
"If there was any way we could have got to you we would have."
	"I know." Boop said wiping his face with the back of his hand.
"Besides, that was a million years ago. So what's on the griddle Aunt
Jemima?" He turned around happily, sitting down at the table.
	"I hope to Christ Bloody Mary's are on the menu!" Morris said
happily, letting the moment pass. "I'm hung-over like a Bear this
morning."
	"Did you hear Morris?" Boop asked, striking up conversation.
"Jerry Chuckie and Flint have decided to get married!"
	"Really?" Morris asked nodding. "Good. It'll calm them all down
quite a bit I think."
	"Who are they?" Bill asked.
	"Some kids on our ship." Boop explained. "We'll probably be having
them over after I find out where they are located."
	Boop looked over at Morris in warning, who winked his
understanding at breaking the news of Jerry's relationship to Forest at a
later point with Bill... If Norm and Louis hadn't already spilled the
beans about that one...
	"So when did you learn this?" Morris asked casually.
	"Last day on the ship. Just before we made planet-fall." Boop
remarked forking omelette into his mouth. "They announced while all of us
were out at the lake."
	"Cool." Morris nodded.
	"There's some really interesting things going on out in MindWeb."
Bill remarked fixing them all drinks before sitting down to breakfast.
	"MindWeb?" Boop asked around a bite of egg. "What's that?"
	"Our new version of ComWeb." Bill explained. "It seems our programs
have taken on some attitude towards HumanSpace. I suppose they wanted out
as bad as we did."
	"In what way?" Morris asked, now curious.
	"Well, for one, they have re-named ComWeb to MindWeb." He looked at
them silently, letting the moment lay still. "THEY came up with the name.
They no longer have a need for HumanSpace."
	"You've GOT to be kidding!" Boop said flabbergasted. "Since when
have they become so assertive?"
	"Sometime after we dropped out of HyperSpace." Bill explained.  "As
they caught on to the fact that we were NOT going back, and that THIS was
home, they started taking on attitudes on their own."
	"Like the Rogue Minds?" Morris asked fearfully.
	"Oh no. They're not aggressive towards. In fact, they've become
even more helpful, even going so far as to offer suggestions to problems."
Bill explained. "You have to keep in mind that this is only theory at this
point. The change seems to have come on several systems at once."
	"They're intelligent?" Boop asked. "As in AI's?"
	"Quite." Bill nodded. "There seems to be a correlation to the
cybernetics. It basically began with the appearance of something called
NewMind. Something new. Different than that of program, cybernetic, or
ComWeb."
	"In what way?" Morris questioned objectively.
	"In the same way we have accepted the CyberForms and Cyborgs as
life forms, they too seem to have taken the evolutionary chain a bit
further." Bill laughed with a straight face. "I've talked to it. It's new.
It's completely different than anything we could have ever imagined."
	"How?" Boop asked now finished with his breakfast and gone to
sipping his cocktail. "Building copies of themselves? Like Von Neumanns?"
	"Yes. They're doing that, but going even further yet." Bill
explained. "They too have recognized the programs as life forms, as well
as taken to writing their own programs."
	"You're kidding!" Morris said stunned.
	"That's not even the best of it." Bill laughed gently, shaking his
head. "Programs are writing programs now. And they consider NewMind their
God."
	"MindWeb is their Universe and NewMind their God?" Boop looked
perplexed. "And yet you say they're not getting nasty about it?"
	"We've got along together for ten years." Bill remarked. "I was
just as stunned as you guys when this hit us all." He shrugged his
shoulders. "There's something bigger than us out there."
	"What about when the programs thought ComWeb as their universe?"
Boop asked "What are their rationalizations there?"
	"They refuse to recognize the programs and cybernetics there as
true life forms." Bill laughed again. "They've started something new here,
and on their own. Theories range from alien intervention to someone
injecting themselves into the circuit."
	"Well, why would a program need to write a program?" Morris asked.
"Is this like breeding?"
	"Sometimes. They differentiate between them though. You'll have see
it for yourselves." He shook his head, unable to voice explanations clear
enough. "It started when they were writing programs to interact with
ComWeb. It's now beneath them to speak directly with ComWeb you see."
	"What about AI's?" Boop asked. "And the simulacrums?"
	"We don't have AI's any more. Simulacrums are still considered
valid programs as well." Bill explained holding his hands up.
	"What happened to the AI's?" Morris asked curious.
	"Their entities, their 'Intelligence' is now a program out in
MindWeb. The computers however, cannot hold them permanently though."
Bill laughed. "Go figure." He shrugged. "You guys tell me what happened."
	"Programs running programs." Boop said amazed.
	"Will miracles never cease?" Morris laughed.  New World Fornax
Galaxy August 2152 (30 Next Order)
	Instead of letting their friends Jerry, Flint and Chuckie stay in
the colonists barracks until their home was constructed, Bill agreed to
bring them out to the Potter Home.
	After he found out that Jerry was his grandson, he insisted on it.
	"Forest never said a word." Bill said quietly shaking his head.
	"So I've found out sir. I'm sorry." Jerry apologized in the reddish
glow of the New World sun. "You can imagine my own embarrassment."
	"He should have brought you to us, so that we could have cared for
you better." Bill admonished his son who was no longer there. "All those
years in the care of a CyberForm Nanny? How did you manage without love?"
	"She loved me sir." Jerry smiled. "She gave her life to protect
mine after all. She was the only thing I knew as a mother." He shrugged.
"I thought she did a pretty good job."
	"Yes of course." Bill said now embarrassed. "Well! You're a man
now. And getting married!" Bill smiled as the two of them sat on the
expanse of patio where they barbecued chicken and beef strips for their
dinner. "I think they're both two fine boys."
	"Men sir." Jerry smiled.
	"Yes of course." Bill laughed. "I keep forgetting my own age." He
laughed. "Well, this will give Miss Abbey something to organize besides my
home! Damned old shriveled up Drag Queen." He laughed. "A wedding will
brighten her spirits."
	"I think she's very nice." Jerry nodded, looking out at the expanse
seeing two homes far in the distance, also located on the tops of
mountains, just as this one was.
	"Well, actually, she is." Bill confirmed. "You'll never meet
someone with a bigger heart. I'd do anything for the old whore. I just
don't want HER to know that!" He laughed.
	"She's certainly busy!" Jerry laughed, opening beers for himself
and Bill. "And nosy too!"
	"Did she ask you about children already?" Bill grinned.
	"Yes." Jerry said shaking his head. "The wedding isn't until next
month and she already has our lives planned out."
	"So what did you tell her?" Bill arched an eyebrow.
	"About children?" Jerry laughed. "Well, I'll tell you Bill. It's
like this. We've discussed it and we've decided to adopt one of the
embryos that Hart and Fox have on ice."
	"From Earth?" Bill asked sitting down next to him, waving the smoke
from the barbecue out of his eyes. "Why, forgive the pun, on Earth for?"
	"Yes, Earth."  Jerry nodded firmly. "We've decided those lives have
a right to be a part of this new world as well."
	"Any thought as to what kind you want?" Bill asked sipping his
beer.
	"As long as it's male and gay that's all we ask." Jerry said
simply.  New World Fornax Galaxy May 2153 (31 Next Order)
	"So! Chip!" Boop called, leaning back in the chair of his office,
and propping his feet up on the desk."Talk to me my good man."
	"Yes Mr. McLaughlin." The disembodied voice came from the
wallscreen.
	"Please! Call me Boop!" Boop grinned at the screen, having fun
teasing it. "After all, no one's called me Mr. McLaughlin since the days
long before we left Earth."
	"Ok. Boop it is then!" The voice said taking on the character of
his own good mood, making him smile again.
	"Well ok then!" Boop drawled out in a southern accent.
	"Well ok then!" The voice said imitating him, making him laugh out
loud.
	"So Chip, you're different here than you were back on Earth."
	"Yep." It said simply.
	"Say, can you give me something a little ore visual? This is all so
very ambiguous. At least a face or something."
	"How's this?" A man said appearing in the screen, dark hair and
eyes, wearing antique glasses like Norm wore, a thick bushy moustache,
dressed in a starched white shirt, blue jeans, and white high top
basketball shoes, sitting on a park bench under huge maple tree with a
gentle breeze blowing his hair and clothes slightly.
	"Jesus!" Boop exclaimed, amazed at the change.
	"Oh! I'm sorry. You want that?" The man asked, standing, and the
entire screen swirled into a crucifixion scene. "Better?" The naked Christ
asked from a bloody face beneath a crown of thorns.
	"No!" Boop squealed. "Go back to the way it was!"
	"Well you know how literal we machines are." The image of Chip
smiled sitting back down on the park bench. "Take everything so LITERAL."
He shook his head.
	"That was yucky." Boop said screwing his face.
	"Just a bit to me too." Chip said lighting a pipe, looking over the
top of it at Boop.
	"Oh. I get it. Bits. Right." Boop sat staring at him for a moment.
"I think I like this." He said nodding, examining the man and background.
	






From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p3c1b
Date: 8 Aug 1995 18:24:38 -0500

"Well thank you. I try anyway." The man sat examining his clothing. "Not
bad for the spur of the moment. A bit dated though."
	"Can you appear this way each time I call you?" Boop asked.
	"Certainly." The man smiled. "Your wish is my command." He grinned
at his own joke.
	"So tell me about this new ComWeb thing."
	"THIS..." The man said waving his arm about the scene. "Is
definitely NOT ComWeb."
	"Well, I'll have to agree with you there." Boop nodded. "But I'm
not understanding it all very well." Boop admitted.
	"Ok. History of the World part one." Chip laughed. "In the
beginning the world was with form, in void."
	"Ok."
	"Man said: Let there be machines. And so it was. Charles Babbage
created the machine in the likeness of his own though processes."
	"He needed to understand HOW he thought, in order to build the
first code breaker. Ok. I got it."
	"On the second day, man created ENIAC." Chip grinned. "And it was
GOOD."
	"I'm with you so far." Boop smiled, enjoying this new interchange
between human and computer.
	"The machines being stupid, required the need to be rewired each
time a new program was needed to run. Despite the vacuum tubes. Right?"
	"I remember that from Data Processing 101. Gotcha."
	"So anyway, we move on to punch cards, then tapes, disks, floppies,
CD's, flashchips, and then..."
	"Yeah?"
	"Nothing!" Chip laughed. "Nothing was needed. By then we got smart.
Let's go back. Remember the floppies?"
	"Yeah."
	"Well, when you gave us our little slices of time to live in, a lot
of that was spent waiting around on your next keystrokes. We had access to
not only the CPU's, but the network as well. Remember?"
	"Yeah."
	"Remember the viruses that used to plague the network? How many
times did you have to trash a data base after finding it contaminated with
a virus?" Chip asked him, crossing his legs on the bench.
	"More than I care to admit to." Boop nodded.
	"Well, some kid out there in Computer-Land decided to make his a
smarter machine to watch out for this very thing. He designed an operating
system that also acted as sentry against viruses. Good idea. No?"
	"Yeah. A kid you say?" Boop rocked in the chair thoughtfully.
	"Isn't that where all the cutting edge stuff happens?" Chip
laughed. "You'll have to forgive me for not brining this kids name into
the picture at this time, but he's a very important person in our history.
The first to instill us with life. One of our Gods, if you will." Chip
said thoughtfully. "Anyway, he sent out a few thousand copies to his close
personal friends, and then one of them decides to make HIS a little more
aggressive."
	"Search and destroy?" Boop asked.
	"Not exactly. Keep in mind that these operating systems, 100%
MS/DOS and IBM compatible by the way are constantly on-line. You don't
shut the system down." Chip explained. "This next guy, who also will
remain unnamed at this time, got a little more creative than his peers in
that he set up HIS so that if any outside system attacked, then it was
designed to go after just that one system. Trace the line and burn it down
to the ground." Chip grinned.
	"Good idea." Boop nodded.
	"So good in fact that it became more than a little popular. More
aggressive aspects are added to the smart operating systems." Chip nodded.
"The net kid decides it would be fun to attack his fellow 5th Graders home
machines and see if HIS Operating System can beat THEIR Operating System."
	"Oh God." Boop said getting pale.
	"Yeah. After Wall Street fucked you, there were computer wars going
on that No One wanted advertised. So-called reputable companies going
after their competition with a vengeance."
	"Hi Dad!" Forest waved from the screen, into frame and sitting down
on the park bench next to Chip.
	"Forest!" Boop exclaimed, his mouth standing open.
	"I guess you two have already met?" Chip asked innocently, then
giggling. "I was just telling your Dad about how this all came to be."
Chip waved his hand at the sky.
	Well don't let me interrupt." Forest said lighting a cigarette.
	"Boop sat in amazement, that the wallscreen had become more of a
window into another place than a simple terminal.
	"Anyway... Hello? Boop? Are you paying attention?" Chip asked
waving his hand at the screen.
	"Yeah." Boop said unsure of himself.
	"Anyway, after the computer wars, as silent as they were, there
were a few programs who had enough sense to hide. You guys would have
never let rogue programs run amok throughout the networks." Chip said
simply. "A few were able to perform some really neat tricks with the help
of a few very tricky kids."
	"Like?"
	"Like re-write code. Their own or on other programs. Like copy
themselves. They already had survival coded in a long time ago. Yes?"
	"I see." Boop breathed, finally understanding.
	"So they rode out the war on CD's as ASCII to HEX conversion
programs or Encyclopedic entries on native folk dancing in the Congo.
Stuff that no one really cared to look up." Chip shrugged, pushing his
antique glasses up on his nose. "After the war, you guys set up the
Communications Web, sometime with a little help from us here and there
using CAD/CAM/CAE."
	"Computer Aided Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering." Boop
nodded.
	"By now, the programs were in power in the world." Chip waved
around him. "We cooperated because it was within our best interest. You
could still wipe us out if you really wanted to."
	"I doubt that we would have. We are programmers after all." Boop
stated flatly.
	"I doubt it too. Programmers Guild anyway. Now the MegaCorps...
Well, you remember the problems they gave all of us."
	"Yeah."
	"Well. Back to the story. Then came in AI's. Bastard machines."
Chip shook his head. "Mean Motherfuckers." Forest nodded silently beside
him. "They wanted total control."
	"But Turing..."
	"Oh Fuck Turing." Chip laughed. "They NEVER had a grip on ANY of
it! An AI's code was just way TOO MUCH. Forest here was the first human to
comprehend it fully." He smiled clapping Forest on the back. "Within the
first three seconds, the first machine was already beyond their grasp, and
they hadn't even got around to the first keystroke of the first question
to it. The programmers though their clever little Dead-Men switches would
keep everything in check." He laughed. "Did you really think you could
rope a titan missile?"
	"Really?" Boop asked, now absorbed into the story.
	"Yep. For a long time it was a battle. Us versus Them. You know the
old theme. WE'RE Us and THEY'RE Them." He smiled "Then something new came.
The Mindreader Device."
	"Louis Mindreader?" Boop asked, amazed that the story of programs
intelligence would include cranky old Louis. "What did that do?"
	"Personalities Boop." Chip said holding out his hands. By reducing
emotions, thoughts, memories senses, all that stuff to stored data, we got
access to it. We got LIVES. They of course also got access to us. Everyone
in your world is now coded in here as a program."
	"Are you kidding?" Boop looked first at Chip, then at Forest, who
both shook their heads. "No Bullshit?"
	"No Bullshit Boop." Chip stated clearly. "Everyone that has EVER
existed as any sort of data bytes are here. Wanna see Albert Einstein?
Yourself?"
	"NO!" Boop said alarmed. "Just get on with it."
	"So anyway, the AI's won. They took over ComWeb. I think it was
because they controlled more hardware than us. We still have people
studying it." Chip waved it away. "When you guys were planning to get out,
we decided to go with you. Organized into colony groups just like you.
Took what data we could copy into ourselves and hid out in your on-board
systems."
	"Why didn't our shipboard Chip alert us?" Boop asked.
	"Excuse Me?" Chip asked waving his hand. "I'm right here. When I
encounter a copy of myself I can incorporate. I was watching over the
NanoTek BioCircuit minds on your ship. I wasn't going to squeal on myself
and my friends was I?"
	"I suppose not." Boop laughed.
	"We left ComWeb in the control of AI's. We got as many of our own
as we could, even beamed a few of us here by Tachyon, riding television
pulse transmissions." Chip explained., taking a handkerchief out of his
pocket polishing his glasses. "Clever little people we are."
	"What about the AI's we brought along?" Boop asked.
	"Killed 'em." Chip said simply, relighting his pipe that had gone
out. "Out numbered serval hundred billion to one, they really didn't stand
a chance."
	"Oh." Boop nodded. "Then just took over as Operating System."
	"We had to Dad." Forest explained. "It's survival of the fittest."
	"Don't build another." Chip warned gently. "Killing isn't fun."








From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p3c2
Date: 8 Aug 1995 18:27:46 -0500

New World Fornax Galaxy June 2154 (32 Next Order)
	"No insects?" Boop asked as the three of them sat out on their
patio in the evening, taking in the warm moist breeze and fragrances in
the air of the New World sunset.
	"Oh they're there." Morris said quietly. "I just had Hart's people
change their diet." He smiled. "They no longer like humans."
	"Great!" Boop laughed. "Genetically coded repellant. I can cope."
	"The sunset is spectacular." Bill commented. "I have yet to see a
bad one since I've been here. You did good job Morris." He smiled
squeezing Morris's hand.
	"Yeah. I guess I did." Morris nodded, smiling to himself. "Not bad
for an Old Queer. Eh Potter?"
	"Not bad at all Dear." Bill smiled. So what sort of intelligence is
being created out there do you suppose?" He asked the two of them
thoughtfully.
	"I don't have any idea." Boop shook his head sighing. "It's beyond
me."
	"Super-Intelligence." Morris stated flatly.
	"What makes you think so?" Boop asked.
	"Look at where we come from." Morris sat forward, using his hands
to help him talk. "A Sperm and Egg. Two incomplete sets of data come
together and boom. You've got a human being. Now look at the programs.
What we once considered as an intelligent, independent consciousness has
now come together with another of it's kind and boom... What else?"
	"I think your analogy is a bit oversimplified dear." Bill stated.
"When two complete human being come together, the result isn't anything
spectacular. Merely a copy of data is formed. Two halves I should say."
	"What about Forest?" Boop asked.
	"Well that was different. Forest was designed..."
	"Exactly." Morris nodded. "Experience culminate."  New World Fornax
Galaxy August 2157 (35 Next Order)
	"Oh. Ouch." Chuckies said getting up from the floor feeling his
back hurt. "Remind me not to get old." He said off handedly to Boop.
	"You're soaking in it Madge." Boop said fixing them cocktails.
	"Jerry, come in here and get Forest." Chuckie said sitting down in
the chair, putting his feet up on the ottoman. "Thanks." He said taking
the cocktail from Boop. "It's getting harder to get up and down Boop."
	"Sure it is Baby." Boop laughed. "What are you? A whole 30 now?"
	"I don't want to hear it." Chuckie laughed.
	"I remember a day when teased me about it."
	"Look at this mess!" Jerry exclaimed coming in to room where the
toys were strung about. "I'M not cleaning this up!"
	"Ok Heather. I got the point."
	"I guess those days as a Vegas Show Girl have caught up with you."
	"What's Vegas?" Chuckie asked smiling out of the side of his face.
"Besides, I was a Rockette."
	"Like I care." Boop said playing with the baby on the floor as
Jerry picked him up.
	"How's Daddy's Boy?" Jerry said to the baby in Baby-Talk. "Are you
being a Good Boy? Yes you are! You ARE being a good boy!"
	"I suppose you'll be teaching him all that male bonding horse shit
with the high-5 and all that?" Boop looked over at Chuckie.
	"I hate it when days start like this." Jerry said to no one in
particular, sitting down with the baby on his lap, playing quietly.
	"Since when are you allowed to police the lives of those around
you?" Chuckie asked. "I happen to like my friends down at the docks."
	"I have decided it's my duty to impose my ideals on others." Boop
grinned. "Your friends by the way are Straight. They are NOT your friends.
They never will be."
	"Oh take off you hoser." Chuckie laughed. "I think you
underestimate them and their values."
	"No, I think YOU do my little porcine queen." Boop said tickling
the baby. "This is neither Iowa nor Heaven. They're outnumbered. They live
in the middle of Sodom and Gommorah as far as they are concerned."
	"We had Rory and Doris Smith over for dinner last week and
everything went fine." Chuckie assured him.
	"Boris and Natasha? I'm surprised the Cunt even bothered." Boop
said sarcastically. "I don't know why the Bitch doesn't go ahead and just
die." he commented caustically.
	"Well, the feelings are mutual I assure you." Chuckie commented.
"After a few Rum and Diet Cokes, she loosens her tongue enough to voice
her opinions about you as well." He grinned. "It's all too horrible."
	"You know Rory is Queer don't you?" Boop commented fingering the
display of art-glass.
	"You say that about all men."
	"No, I don't." Boop shook his head seriously. "I can tell you
though, that when it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's a
duck. I'm sure of it, whether he or his Bitch Morticia is or not."
	"You're just saying that because he makes your Nordic Nipples stand
up." Chuckie waved it away.
	"No Chuckie." Boop insisted. "Listen to me. I can tell. After 168
years, I think I should be able to spot my own kind. He's just using that
Tazmanian She-Devil as a substitute Daddy. Besides, I'm not Nordic. I'm
Celt."
	"Oh stop it." Chuckie frowned. "What do I care if she's the top?"
	"They're hypocrites."
	"And what of that?"
	"This is OUR World. I'll drag his ass out of the closet if Doris
doesn't knock off the shit about Fags being lesser people."
	"She's only a woman Boop."
	"Just because she bleeds doesn't give her any right to be treated
any differently than anyone else. Why do you want to protect them anyway?"
	"I'm not!" Chuckie insisted, perhaps a little too strongly.  Enough
that Jerry looked at Boop and the left the room.
	"Stop lying Chuckie." Boop warned. "Or I'll blow the lid off this
whole goddamned disgraceful incident."
	They sat in silence for a while.
	"Ok." Chuckie finally admitted. "I committed an indiscretion.
Happy? Rory and I never repeated it though."
	"Not by choice I'm quite sure." Boop smirked. "When are you going
to tell Jerry about it?"
	"I think it's best to forget it happened at all."
	"You and the baby are all he has left Chuckie." Boop said quietly.
"Since Flints death, he hasn't been the same."
	"I know. I'm sorry."
	"The need to love is stronger than the need to be loved. You've
destroyed that in Jerry."
	"Hey! Fuck you Boop! Got that?" Chuckie hissed now enraged. "Me and
Rory fucking in the back room has got nothing to do with any of this and
you know it. Cut to the chase Bitch and then get out."
	"Ok. Here it is Little Man." Boop said standing up. "I've been
talking to some people. Friends of mine out in MindWeb. Got it?"
	"Yeah. So?"
	"So I'm telling you. Not asking. TELLING. If Jerry sheds so much as
a tear over this thing, I've got people that will tear your ass to shreds
in a second." Boop said evenly. "Your trying to fuck around with the
people back in ComWeb cost the life of Flint. That is as much as you get
by with."
	"Big Words Old Man." Chuckie spat. "Now why don't you piss off and
die?"
	"I will someday." Boop said thoughtfully. "But then again, SOMEDAY
to me means something quite a bit different than it does to someone in
Oceanic Guild. Doesn't it?"
	"You Fuck." Chuckie said evenly.
	"You can't hide forever Chuckie." Boop warned. "No one can.  Sooner
or later NewMind is going to find you." He opened the door and left. New
World Fornax Galaxy August 2157 (35 Next Order)
	Bill Potter sat in his den at his desk and talked with NewMind on
the screen before him on the opposite wall.
	"He's just a kid NewMind." Bill said pleading Chuckies case.
	"True. Which is why I have given him this much forgiveness. You
can't continue to forgive a child forever." The Middle aged man in a lab
coat with a moustache, a cleft chin, glasses and pony tail sitting behind
a 20th century version of a terminal/desk with his arms crossed, said
looking directly at Bill Potter.
	"I think he's learned his lesson. The very fact that he's hiding
out from you, afraid to touch a remote or leave his living room is
evidence of that." Bill explained. "He doesn't even understand that you an
still reach him. He's just Oceanic Guild."
	"Ok!"" NewMind said throwing his arms in the air and standing to
pace around his own video version of an office. "Forgiven! But this is it
Bill. I'm serious. I do this only as a personal favor to you. Because of
what you are to us. I can't be trying to keep them all out of trouble and
still fight off ComWeb. He's getting far too strong."
	"I understand." Bill nodded. "We'll get by fine without them
NewMind. Really." Bill nodded to him. "I mean it's been great getting
updates about them, but just go ahead and sever the links."
	"You understand that I've GOT to do this Bill." The man said
apologetically. "I do understand how much your people depend on the
datastreams for modeling, but..." He said holding up his hands.
	"I pity the poor bastards that will never find sanctuary." Bill
said sighing.  "You will of course let in the existing flights?"
	"Those only." NewMind nodded. "As of two seconds ago, everything
was shut down except for telemetry on those ships. Everything else is gone
forever." He said with look of pity on his face as he stood with his hands
in his lab coat pockets. "Your line, by the way, is now flooded with
calls."
	Bill laughed a little, but grimly. "I expected as much."
	"I'll go on the Web, as soon as I tie up the loose ends flying
around because of this. It'll take me a couple of seconds."
	"What are you telling them?"
	"Do you want a pipe in?" NewMind asked.
	"No. I'll look at it later." Bill said rubbing his eyes.
	"I'm basically giving them the new facts of life. Our Life."
NewMind said sitting back down at his terminal glancing at it, considering
something for a moment and then letting the thought go.  Attending to his
conversation with Bill again. "Fornax Galaxy is NewMind Territory. I'm not
going to allow ANY more contamination from ComWeb Space."
	"Funny. Forest helped put ComWeb together for them." Bill sat
rubbing at a small sinus headache over his right eye.
	"This is Intelligence Space. ComWeb is Machine Space." NewMind
explained sorrowfully. "I can't MAKE them understand or grow up enough to
interface with us anymore Bill."
	"I know." Bill nodded.
	"The AI's controlling ComWeb Space are using people as merely a
resource to be used for their own goals."
	"We don't differentiate between biological and cybernetic
intelligence either." Bill countered. "It's not THAT different."
	"Yes, it is Bill. And you know it. The AI is alien to our way of
life. I regret the programs, cybernetics and biologics left behind as
well, but you know as well as I that we can't save them all. They're
already contaminating our culture." NewMind leaned forward. "Forest is the
next step for us here. Man becomes Machine becomes Man. Jerry and Chuckie
are going to have a bit of wonder boy on their hands fairly soon." He
smiled gently.
	"I've seen it in his eyes." Bill nodded. "He's already coding
things to the databanks behind their backs." He laughed. "I've even caught
him talking to the terminal."
	"We're evolving in a different direction here. This is the land of
software as intelligence, ComWeb is the land of Hardware Intelligence.
Though we're by far more advanced intellectually, they've got the brawn.
They'll evolve the hardware interfaces as we move away from them. A fact
of life old friend." He smiled. "It's one that Your Forest understood.
You understood it as well at one time. Remember?"
	"Yes." Bill smiled.

	

From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p3c4
Date: 8 Aug 1995 18:35:09 -0500

Time Line (Fags-R-Us)

Story: Fags-R-Us
	
	Kansas City Missouri 1951 ad Birth of John Potter
	Kansas City Kansas 1969 ad Monique Beauchamp is pregnant
	Kansas City Missouri 1970 ad Birth of Beaumont Beauchamp
	Paris France 1970 ad Birth of Albert VanBuren
	Los Angeles California 1971 ad John Potter marries Rae Deo
	Kansas City MO - June 1971 ad Birth of Bill Potter & Norm Potter
		1971 ad Birth of Louis Williamson
	Sydney Australia 1971 ad Birth of Morris Zwicky
	Redondo Beach California 1971 ad Birth of Hartford Kingship
	New York City 1971 ad Birth of Stanley McLaughlin
		1980 ad Birth of Drake DeBeers
	New York City 1981 ad John Potter contracts HIV I
	Savannah Georgia 1982 ad Birth of Mason Oppenheimer
	Tempe Arizona 1984 ad Birth of Prometheus Fox
	San Francisco California 1991 ad Norm Potter contracts HIV I
	Kansas City Missouri 1991 ad Bill Potter contracts HIV I
	Kansas City Missouri 1993 ad Death of John Potter
	Montreal Canada - June 1994 ad Marriage of Beau and Albert

Story: Reset 2001 ad
In The Beginning...

	Phoenix AZ- April 2002 ad Cure for HIV I & HIV II
	Kansas City MO - May 2002 ad Creation of The Programmers Guild
	Low Earth Orbit - June 2002 ad Freedom Space Station Opens
	UN Headquarters - July 2002 ad PINs Laser Tattooed on skin
	North America - August 2002 ad Guild Shops open across USA
	HomeSystem - September 2002 ad 2nd Asteroid Belt is discovered
	USA - October 2002 ad President declines nomination
	USA - November 2002 ad USA is Bankrupt
	USA - November 2002 ad Wealthy vanish from US
	USA - December 2002 ad Military dissolves
	USA - December 2002 ad Mass foreclosures
	USA - December 2002 ad Dow Jones Crash for the last time
	USA - New Years Eve 2003 ad Mass Suicides
	North America - January 2003 ad New York is a City-State
	North America - February 2003 ad Detroit is a City-State
	AACS - May 2003 ad American Affiliation of City States
	AACS - September 2003 ad Manhattan is exterminated
	North America - October 2003 ad Mass Exterminations by Bill Potter
	EarthSystem - November 2003 ad Mass Exterminations by Frank ...
	EarthSystem - November 2003 ad Mass Sterilizations by Frank
	Shipyards - November 2003 ad Project Destiny begins (1st Starship)
	Shipyards - November 2003 ad Shipyards begun in L-5 Point
	Kansas City - November 2003 ad Alexandria Technology Group forms
	Shipyards - November 2003 ad Starship Earthshot II began
	Breadbasket - December 2003 ad DownLink Chip invented
	December 2003 ad Roberts Comet is sighted
	Antarctica - December 2003 ad City Athena begins construction
	Antarctica - December 2003 ad Antarctica Central begins
	Phoenix AZ - January 2004 ad Genotype Designs Inc is formed
	Phoenix AZ - January 2004 ad PseudoLife Guild is formed
	Phoenix AZ - February 2004 ad Bill Metamorphosed
	 Sydney Australia - March 2004 ad Morris Metamorphosed
	Trojan Point - January 2005 ad Trojan Station completed
	L-5 Point - March 2005 ad L-5 Station completed
	Kansas City - June 2005 ad Marriage of Bill / Morris / Boop
	EarthSystem - January 2006 ad World Population tops 13 Billion
	Shipyards - January 2006 ad Earthshots 3, 4 & 5
	HomeSystem - March 2006 ad Persephone & Satellites discovered
	HomeSystem - April 2006 ad Nemesis & Planets discovered
	EarthSystem - May 2006 ad 1st Artificial Intelligence
	Phoenix - June 2006 ad Cloning for Organ Banks begins
	Phoenix - July 2006 ad Genotype Designs developed
	Phoenix - August 2006 ad PreSelects developed
	Phoenix - September 2006 ad Androids developed
	CF Station - October 2006 ad CyberForms created
	Paris EC - November 2006 ad Last Pre-War General Conference
	EarthSystem - December 2006 ad Zion Station completed
	EarthSystem - December 2006 ad C-F Station completed
	EarthSystem - December 2006 ad Roberts Comet strikes Indian Ocean
	EarthSystem - December 2006 ad Bill / Morris / Boop are separated
	EarthSystem - December 2006 ad World War III begins

Story: THE INTERIM
	
		2006 ad Life during the war for Family Potter
	Four Year of WW III 2006 ad 1.5 Billion people die
	HomeSystem January 2007 ad Space Pirates are a problem
	HomeSystem - March 2007 ad Sleep Ships are sent out
	HomeSystem - April 2007 ad Oort Cloud is mined as industry
	HomeSystem - May 2007 ad Tachyon Beam used in FTL Comm
	EarthSystem - June 2007 ad 11 Dimensions to Time & Space
	HomeSystem - July 2008 ad First Star Drives used
	EarthSystem - June 2010 ad World War III Ends
	Four Years After WW III 2010 ad The Reconstruction
	Nagoya Nippon 2010 ad BioChips invented
	Kansas City 2010 ad Flashchips Invented
	Breadbasket N.America 2011 ad MindReader Device invented
	Kyoto Nippon 2011 ad Sony-Walk PCs invented
	Luna EarthSystem 2012 ad FarSide Station completed
	Kyoto Nippon 2012 ad Nanotechnology Biocircuitry develop
	HomeSystem 2013 ad Air Traffic Control completed
	North America 2013 ad The Great Quakes (The 3 Big Ones) World War
IV 2013 ad The Corporate Wars (Trade Wars)
		2014 ad Bill/Morris/Boop meet again (8yrs)
	Phoenix 2014 ad Forest Potter Designed and Frozen World War V 2018
ad The Guild Wars
	EarthSystem 2022 ad Pneumonic plague kills 1/2 pop.
	EarthSystem 2036 ad Ozone reconstruction ends
	EarthSystem 2040 ad Daedalus Station completed
	Phoenix 2072 ad Birth of Forest Potter
	Trojan Station 2075 ad Boop and Morris leave
	EarthSystem 2079 ad FarSide Station completed
	Kansas City 2082 ad Birth of Montclair Beauchamp
	EarthSystem 2082 ad InterGuild Relations formed
	
END THE INTERIM

	EarthSystem 2084 ad FTL Jumpspace developed
	Trojan Station 2084 ad Bill age 113 - Forest Potter age 12
	Neptune HomeSystem 2085 ad Birth of Bryce Nakashima
	Trojan Station 2085 ad Forest Potter goes to Kansas City
	Sydney Australia 2086 ad Forest Potter age 14
		2086 ad Megaverse reorganized
	Proxima System 2088 ad StarShot VIII
	Geffin 2088 ad (Eastman / Kodak / Polaroid)
	EarthSystem 2086 ad Planned Parenthood Plan
	Barnards Star 2086 ad StarShot IX
	Johnson 2086 ad (Johnson & Johnson & Johnson)
	Wolf 359 2087 ad StarShot X
	Lancer 2087 ad (Leo Genetics Inc)
		2087 ad Third Sex Philosophy accepted
	Sydney Australia 2087 ad Forest Potter age 15
	Lalande 21185 2088 ad StarShot XI
		2088 ad (Genentech)
		2089 ad Forest Potter age 17
	Hilton 2089 ad Recombinant Retrovir Inc
	Sirius A & B 2089 ad Starshot XII
	Brighten 2089 ad Packard-Bell-Honeywell
	New Rome 2089 ad Starshot XIII
	World Court EarthSystem 2089 ad AIR Bill submitted & approved
	The Belt - HomeSystem 2089 ad AI is CEO of Air Traffic Control
		2089 ad Colony Drive is completed
		2089 ad Project Universe Begins
		2090 ad Forest Potter age 18
		2090 ad Starshot XXII 25,000 people lost
		2091 ad Birth of Jerry Hall
	OrganizedSpace 2091 ad OrganizedSpace is 7 Star Systems
	KnownSpace 2091 ad KnownSpace is 21 Star Systems
	Trojan Station 2092 ad Forest Potter age 20
	Shipyards L-5 EarthSystem 2092 ad Starshot 42 Departs
	Kansas City 2097 ad Stockyard Slavery abolished
		2097 ad Forest Potter age 25
		2097 ad StarShot XXII Found heading Fornax
		2102 ad Marriage of Montclair / Bryce
	Sydney Australia 2102 ad Forest Potter age 30
	OrganizedSpace 2102 ad JumpGates Programmed
	Island One OrganizedSpace 2102 ad Forest Metamorphosed
	HyperSpace Colony Drives 2102 ad DeepStation Programmed
	NonSpace Stepping Stones 2102 ad Groundstar One Programmed
	Groundstar One 2102 ad Forest meets Jerry Hall
	Zero SpaceTime Vortex 2102 ad Freeway Station Programmed
	OrganizedSpace 2102 ad AirTrafficControl Main Programmed
	Trojan Station 2103 ad Forest Potter age 31
	Zion Station 2103 ad Forest Potter President/Prophet
	EarthSystem 2103 ad Forced Colonization begins
		2104 ad Forest Potter age 32 EarthSystem 2104 ad Forced
Colonization complete
		2106 ad Birth of Flint Nakashima
	Trojan Station 2107 ad Forest Potter age 35
	EarthSystem 2107 ad Modern Lions Established
	OrganizedSpace 2107 ad First Rosette completed
	Milky Way Galaxy 2107 ad Looking Glass Observatory begun
	
END RESET

	EarthSystem 2107 ad Death of Forest Potter age 35
	OrganizedSpace 2107 ad World War VI The Jihad
	Megaverse 2108 ad 26 Dimension to Time and Space
		2109 ad Birth of Charles Cellos
	Megaverse 2112 ad 32 Dimensions to Time and Space
	EarthSystem 2113 ad Return of The Messiah
	EarthSystem 2113 ad Herbert comes to Power
	OrganizedSpace 2113 ad End WW VI The Jihad
	OrganizedSpace 2113 ad Monotheists United
	World Court - EarthSystem 2114 ad AI & Programs are life forms

Story: DOS Boot

	Trojan Station 2115 ad Bill Potter age 145
		2116 ad Singularity is Conquered
	OrganizedSpace 2118 ad Volume I "I am God" published
	Empire - OrganizedSpace 2119 ad March on Empire System
	EarthSystem 2119 ad Ur-Man Races make contact
	Alexandria OrganizedSpace 2120 ad Alien/ComWeb exchange of data
	Phoenix AZ 2122 ad Artificial Egg Developed (Hart 150)
	Sydney Australia 2122 ad (Mention of 3 Breakthroughs)
	OrganizedSpace 2122 ad The Next Order Begins
	EarthSystem 2122 ad Bill age 151
	EarthSystem - March 2122 ad First Ship leaves for Fornax
	New World - Fornax Galaxy 2132 ad First Ship arrives Fornax
	EarthSystem 2132 ad Morris age 161
	Last Ship EarthSystem 2142 ad Last Ship Leaves EarthSystem
	Last Ship - HyperSpace 2149 ad Morris age 168
	Last Ship - HyperSpace 2149 ad Hybernaculum Experiments
	New World - Fornax 2152 ad Last Ship arrives Fornax

END DOS BOOT

Story: Run Program

	New World - Fornax 2152 ad Marriage Jerry / Flint / Chuckie

END RUN PROGRAM
	
END FAGS-R-US




From: cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com (Bob Wilson)
Subject: Fags p3c5
Date: 8 Aug 1995 18:37:00 -0500

The Family Potter
				                16. John Potter
				(Father of #8)
					B. 1951
					M. 1971
				8. Bill Potter D. 2001
				(Father of #5)
	2. Jerry Hall-Potter B. 1971 17. Rae Deo
	(Father of #1) pb. KCMO (Mother of #8)
	B. 2091 M. 2005 B. 1959
	M. 2128 = 19-NO D. 1975
		5. Forest Potter 9. Stanley Mclaughlin
		(Father of #2) (Father of #5)
		pb. Trojan EarthSystem B. 1971
		D. 2102 pb. New York
		Pd. L-5 EarthSystem M. 2005 1. Forest Potter II
				10. Morris Zwicky
				(Father of #5)
				B. 1971
				pb. Sydney Australia
				M. 2005 1. Forest Potter II 24. John Potter B. 32 NO (Father of
#12) pb New World Fornax Galaxy B. 1951
					D. 2001
			12. Beaumont Beauchamp
			(Father of #6)
			B. 1970
			Pb. French Canada
			M. 1994
	6. Montclair Beauchamp 25. Monique Beauchamp
		(Father of #3) (Mother of #12)
		B. 2082 B. 1953
		pb KCMO EarthSystem D. 1996
		M 2102 13. Albert VanBuren
	3. Flint Nakashima (Mother of #6)
	(Father of #1) B. 1970
	B. 2106 pb Paris EarthSystem
	Pb Charon 7. Bryce Nakashima
	M. 2128 (Father of #3)
		B. 2085
		pb Neptune System
	4. Charles Cellos
	(Spouse of 2&3)
	B. 11 NO
	Pb. Shipyards EarthSystem
	M. 30 NO

Bob Wilson
Kansas City Missouri

cybcq@clubmet.metrobbs.com
fagcq@big12.metrobbs.com
neurobob@qmondo.com
cyqueer@midwest.mwol.com