From: tagg@hg.uleth.ca (Nathaniel Tagg) Subject: Home again, home again, jiggidy-jig Date: 12 Aug 92 21:08:59 GMT Hello there, chatsubo patrons. Besides 'a new participant emerges' and 'looking for Mr. Goodwrench', I have not tried to post anything serious yet. Ignore those posts; everyone else did. I'm going to re-introduce my favorite character one more time (this time with plans for the future). For those of you who find this sort of deux ex machina asthetically unpleasing, I provide this well-used cyberpunk literary transition: (Hiatus.) Tales from the OSD --------------------------- Drax was glad to be home. He walked in the doors of the Other Service Department, unconsciously taking a deep breath of air smelling of smoke, coffee, alcohol, and lubricant. He walked through the bar, making small nods, waving to aquantances. No one he knew to talk to here, just the familiar faces that lends one security. Keeping himself visible. A tech has to keep himself visible, he was fond of telling people. They don't survive on guile, or muscle, or even brains, but experience and reputation. A secretive tech gets no work. He shook the perpetual October rain out of his spiked orange hair, and hung his trechcoat on a convinient hatstand next to a table, careful not to cover the price tag. Eugene hated it when people did that, and Eugene was not a person one wished to piss off. Everything in the OSD had a price. Tables, cutlary, dishes, jukebox, light bulbs, hatracks. Everything. Including, it was common to say, the inhabitants. The OSD was unique, consisting of one part bar, one part cafe, two parts black market, ten parts warehouse and surplus goods store. Just what Drax needed right now. He had just gotten back from Chiba, spending way too much time lounging around in some godforsaken place called the Chatsubo, ordering poorly made drinks, listening to god-awful punk music, shooing whores. And looking for buisness. He had gotten lucky in his second week, landing himself a deal with an insurance company agent, testing some arcology's security. The agent took most of the cash, and Drax did most of the crawling around in service ducts. It was enough to get him home to Toronto, though, and that was what mattered. But he was here now. He sat down at a glass table for two near the almost-translucent window. The OSD was currently decked out in some ancient early 80's resturant decor. Drax didn't care for it too much; not enough metal, not enough scorch marks for his taste. Reflective. Cold, but without style. The great thing about the OSD was, though, that inventory tended to turn over quickly, always leaving the place looking brand-old every couple of weeks. Drax waved over a waitress. She was one he hadn't seen before. She was short, just far enough on the heavy side to give her interesting curves, and tastefully dressed in black with black hair. The latter was unusual; Symphony turf was a ways east of here, the OSD residing in a gang no-man's land, partly due to Eugene. She came over and stared at him. He realized with a start of embarassment that she was waiting for him to order. "Green" he mumbled. She rolled her eyes slightly and left. A better reaction that most, he thought hopefully, watching her leave. Maybe he would try to get her to say a word to him later on. In the meantime, the local talent was just warming up. Drax had been looking forward to this for some time. He had seen these five before a few months ago. The accordian player was a wirehead, playing by jack instead of hands. The rest were old-fashioned types, relying on little augmentation. The singer/harmonica player gave a quiet count, and they all kicked in together on the off beat. Drax felt the tension in his shoulders relax for the first time in weeks. A good old dose of CyberPolka. They were playing an old classic Drax remembered from somewhere. " I can think of forty reasons Why I am where I am today All the things I didn't do And all the things I did. I don't have a lot of regrets Because I'm still to young to say I'll never do this or that. But I'll never be an American. And I'll never be a mother. I'll never take my vacations in Hawii I am too smart to do that." The band was just starting to get it together. Punks were starting to mill around, moving to the strange ohm-pa beat with the enthusiam of those who know they are rebelling against their own culture. God he had missed this. He raised his good hand to summon another drink, but suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. " What does it mean when you gotta go to work And what does it mean when you gotta work hard What does it mean when it doesn't mean a thing doesn't mean a thing doesn't mean a thing Go go go go!" "Excuse me," said the owner of the hand, "but my associate here and I would like to talk to you." Drax spun his head around, half expecting to see some dumb joeboys, or even cops. But the person at the other end of the arm was neither. In fact, he was strikingly plain.... -------------------------------------------------- (Okay, okay, cut me some slack, I'm new to this. _Constructive_ critisism always appreciated.) Drax is mine, and he even has a future. Borrow this stuff at your own risk of sanity. Copyright blah blah blah blah blah. Disclaimer blah blah blah. Lyrics to "Forty Reasons" by The Polka Dogs, a self-proclaimed Canadian Cyber Polka group. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathaniel Tagg The U of Hell, Lethbridge, AB "It's just a matter of putting one point seven nine five three seven two and two point two oh four six two eight together." --The Doctor ___The opinions expressed by the author of the preceding message are not nessesarily representative of the opinions of the author of the preceding message.____ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------