From: jfusion@xs1.xs4all.nl (Johnny Fusion =11811=)
Subject: WIP: At Yoshiwara's
Date: 20 Dec 1995 07:14:06 GMT

[
 Notes From The Author:

	Well this project actually Started for me to develop a 
"back-story" to some other stuff I am writing, but it turned out ok so I 
thought I might cast it to the net and see what people thought of it.
It is a Work in progress so all criticism and comments are welcome and 
encouraged.
]


			 At Yoshiwara's
			----------------


	Yoshiwara's is a nice place. It attracts the kind of people I
like, hell it attracted me. I don't know what it was I guess it wasn't
the split level look, the ancient instruments hanging on the rustic,
wooden planks and bricks that passed for walls. It must have been the people.
The people who ran the place, the people you could meet there. Maybe it was
the food.

	"Hi, Johnny."

I turn to see the newest frequenter to Yoshi's. Marc is a kid that I met
at an arcade. As usual there was a crowd around the Matrix-Paranoids machine.

				********

	It was a couple of days ago and I had just spent the past few hours
running code, and I needed to unwind. I laced up my shoes and grabbed my
skateboard. Jumping out of the front door, I headed for Food, pool, pinball,
and video/holo games. All could be found at Sultry Stacy's. I walked in
and smiled seeing the attention Matrix-Paranoids was getting.

	I wandered over and saw a 16 year old defeating anyone foolish enough
to slam in a coin. If someone wanted to play, they would place a coin on the
machine. I saw that there were at least a dozen there already, who knows
how many have been there before I came along.  I leaned over to place my coin
on the machine, and I could feel all the eyes following me, watching
almost in disbelief. I thought they were amazed that I thought an old
timer of 24 would stand a chance agianst someone in there arcade game
playing prime. Then I heard someone mutter.

	"Number Thirteen."

About four teeners rushed to place thier coins behind mine.

	Soon my coin was the one ready, everyone looked impatient they
wanted the kid to beat this 24 year old, (who is obviously past his
computer game prime) so they could get thier chance to try to defeat or
be defeated. I look over at the kid with his long, dark bangs hanging in
his eyes, and said,"Good Luck." He just pushes his hair behind his ear, 
looks down, and shakes his head. You don't need to be psychic to know he 
is thinking, "Poor guy, hate to take his money like this, but he did put 
his coin up."

	"I hope you don't mind starting on Matrice 3."

	"Not at all," I say, "I hope you are up to playing up to 99."

	The kid just snorted in disbelief, I think I heard him mumble, 
	"As if..."

	The Kid was good, he gave a slight nod of approval as we moved to 
the Fourth Matrice. I think he started to panic a little when we reached 
Matrice 12. Both of us were silent, he with an intent look that forced 
others that saw him to see nothing but the playing field as well. I was 
doing my best to look clam and collected. The occasional smirk escaped my 
lips though, and my shoulder moved once in a while. The only part of the 
kid that was moving were the blurs that were his fingers and his eyes darting 
around assimilating and assessing the way only a teener can.

	The matrices fell one by one, and as they did teeners retrieved thier 
coins from the machine, tired of watching and wanting to play somthing 
themselves. As the coin line grew less, the crowd grew more. Those who took 
thier coins returned to watch, and soon, somwhere around Matrice 42 there 
were  few machines in play except for Matrix Paranoids.

	By Matrice 70 someone had patched our game into the wall monitors, 
and  you did not have to crowd around the machine to see the action. There 
was still quite a crowd though, I guess some people like watching the players 
as well as what is played.

	Matrice 98 was presented and eventually defeated then the playing 
field went dark. The kid did nothing to hide his disbelief. I just smiled.
The music came from the machines sound system was Bach's Tocata and Fugue in 
d minor. In a flowing script the following message was displayed in the 
darkened playing field:

	   WELCOME MATRIX PARANOIDS TO MATRICE 99 THE FINAL MATIRCE.
	      AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINING SO SHALL IT BE IN THE END.                                      WHAT WAS FIRST SHALL BE LAST.
		  BEHOLD THE FINAL MATRICE IS INDEED THE FIRST!


The playing field was borderd at the top and bottom by two thick white lines.
On either side of the field were small rectangular shapes that responded to 
our urgings on the Matrix Paranoid main control. 

	*BOOP*  A small square darted from the top left hand corner and moved down
and right towards my paddle. I moved my paddle to block the sqaure and send
it towrds my opponent. *BEEP* The square ricocheted of the bottom border 
*BOOP* and sailed towards and past the kid's paddle *BRRZT*.

	"What in Hades is this?!" Exclaimed the Kid not hiding his confusion.

	"It's PONG, kid," I said cooly, "Maybe it was before your time? Look
out, here it comes again."
	
	*BOOP* Well technicaly it was before my time as well, back in the 
days before holotables and they only had flat-land to play in. The kid picked
up the basics of PONG soon after that and gave me quite a challenged.

Soon, Matrice 99 was also defeated, victory music played, and two chits
fell from a slot under the coin return. The playing Field displayed one last
message:
	THERE ARE NO MORE MATRICES TO DEFEAT, OH MASTER MATRIX PARANOIDS.
		  GO HOME. RELAX. YOU PLAY TOO MANY VID-GAMES.
	     YOU WILL FIND A DEBIT CHIP REDEMABLE FOR YOUR OFFICIAL 
		       MATRIX PARANOID CHAMPIONSHIP PACKAGE. 
	      (includes t-shirt, certificate sutible for framing, 
	       membership card and "I defeated Matrix Paranoids" button)
       
	We were both exhausted and I offered to buy the kid a soda, and found
out his name was "Marc". We sat down each with our beverage of choice and 
just looked at each other with exhaustion and appreciation. 
	
	"I never thought playing a vid-game could make on so tired."

	"How did you get you get to be so good at them, Marc?"

	"Well, I just look at a game and think, 'If I were coding this, how
would I make the game react?' I mean, it all boils down to a coder sitting
somewhere figuring out how to make the game act like how he wants, right?"

	I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, you got that right."

	"How did you become such an ace at 'Paranoids?"

	"Well, The coder is my best friend. I helped him debug it a lil' 
	actually."
	
	"You cheated!"

	"Naw, I played the same way you do. Only I saw the code on a monitor
once, you only saw it in your head. I had to have some advantadge over your
youthful reflexes." Said I with a wink.

	"Wait a minute," Marc blurted, "The coder is your best Friend?"

	"Yes."

	"Rembrandt?!?"

	"Yes."
	
	"THE Rembrandt."

	"Well, A Rembrandt, but yes, probably the one you are thinking of.
You want to meet him?"

	"Do I!"

	"Well meet me at Yoshiwara's tommorrow, can you?"

	"THE Yoshiwara's?"

				********

	"Hey Marc. Have a seat. Want somthing to drink? Eat?"

	"Yeah. Ok. Um, what's good?"

	"Everything."

	"Hmmmmm...."

	I could see him looking around in wonder. I was wondering just what 
they were saying about this place to make the kid think this place was of
Legend. I know it had a rep, a rep that I guess I helped shape. I think this 
kid is going to work out fine. Make a good addition to the group. We need
some young blood anyway.

	"See anything you like?"

	"Who's that?" he asks pointing at a Filipino at the bar with a 
flawless hairstyle.
	
	"Oh him, well he's a lesson. A good one."

				*********


		[COMING SOON: THE TALE OF DEREK NESS]



--
+---------------------+     "There are two kinds of fool. One says, 
|   Johnny Fusion     |      'This is old, and therefore good.' And one
|      =11811=        |      says, 'This is new, and therefore better.'"
| <jfusion@xs4all.nl> |      
+---------------------+      -- from _The Shockwave Rider_ by John Brunner 
---
Now you can find me on the Web: http://www.xs4all.nl/~jfusion/