The Twilight War: Fences and thorns...
(01-june-1999)
[background, by Rob]
One Month has passed since the Trinity Church went up in flames.
The Trinity Church, which lost everything but the stones of its outer
walls and foundations, has begun reconstruction, helped along by a
generous contribution from Boston-based Samizdat Corp, a multi-national
holding company with investments and businesses all over the Western
world.
Samizdat President Alec Hoffer said in a statement to the press,
"Samizdat is deeply sorrowed by the tragedy that happened on May first,
traditionally a day of rejoicing. We are proud to be able to help
rebuild one of the moral and historical foundations of our home town,
the city which gave us birth. The Church leaders tell us
reconstruction will begin immediately."
Mayor Tom Menino applauded Samizdat's generous contribution, saying "If
all businesses were so concerned with their community, there would be
nothing to stand in the way of city prosperity!"
IN THE NEWS
BOSTON STUDENTS PROTEST BATHROOM FILTH
Meeting with administrators scheduled for Tuesday night
(By Robin Estrin, Associated Press, 06/01/99)
BOSTON - It's not Kosovo or free speech or student rights that
has young people in this city fuming in protest. Students are
up in arms over an issue that really stinks - the state of
school bathrooms.
No toilet paper. No soap or paper towels. Missing stall doors
and graffiti-laden walls. Filthy cigarette butts. These, the
students say, are the hallmarks of city high school toilets.
ARTERY OPEN, BUT RECORDS SHOW MORE REPAIRS NEEDED
Highway safe, officials stress
(By David Armstrong, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent)
Relieved state officials reopened the Central Artery yesterday
afternoon following 78 hours of furious and expensive work to repair
a damaged bridge, but inspection records indicate other bridges
and exit ramps that connect to carry the highway through Boston
may present future problems because they are substandard or
outdated.
BOARD MEMBER GETS LAND FOR A BUCK
(By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff, 06/01/99)
In April, the Globe Spotlight Team documented corruption and
political favoritism by officials in six Massachusetts communities
Franklin, Billerica, Salem, North Attleborough, Salisbury, and
Boston. This is the first of several articles that will appear
from time to time on questionable practices by officials in
other communities.
[writen by chad]
A few days before the first, as the Twilight War Cabal sat drinking
coffee in the Liberty Cafe, a few people in the Cabal came to be
concerned by the peculiar absence and disappearance of their fellow
Cabal member Ryan. After attempts to track him down by phone were
dead-ended, Niccolo and Lee decided to visit Ryan's apartment and check
up on him in person. Others in the Cabal watched from afar.
As Niccolo and Lee lingered in the hall outside of Ryan's apartment, an
attractive woman opened the door and addressed the two. They inquired
after Ryan and asked to see him, but were told that he was otherwise
occupied When Niccolo pressed the matter, the woman divulged the fact
that Ryan was kicking the habit and going through the worst cold turkey
of withdrawals. The two accepted her explanation and returned to the
Cafe.
Later that evening, as the Cabal continued to drink their coffee,
Rachael brought up a curious site she had run across during some of her
first voyages through the Digital Web. As the Twilight Cabal is want
to do, they decided to spend the night exploring this novelty. Euclid
and Eric opened their computers, Rachael sat back and entered a
computer reality sans a computer, and Niccolo and Lee watched, both
from beyond and within the others' minds.
Rachael guided the virtual Cabal to Back Bay where she tracked down a
massive computer system hidden amongst the inane chatter of AOL
terminal computers. They entered the system and perceived a massive
field with a single building far in the distance before them. A
chain-link, razored fenced that stretched beyond sight in either
direction enclosed the plane and prevented the Cabal's casual entrance.
At this point, Euclid separated from Rachael and Eric and went to
chase down the gate in one direction while the other two went in the
other way.
Rachael and Eric only found trouble in their initial search. As they
followed the fence around the perimeter, they came under fire aimed
from somewhere within the fence. After each of them were hit by a
harmless wooden dart or two, they backed off from the fence and left
the field system.
Euclid had much better luck finding the gate. At the computer's
entrance, he programmed a pass-code and passed through the first line
of defense. He slowly realized the system's second defense for as
much as he walked towards the compound in front of him, he made gains
and approached no closer. He took a moment to analyze his surroundings
and managed to break out of the infinite loop he had walked into. Once
he made his way to the compound, he searched it, looking for the side
door that he entered through.
The Cabal's hacker worked his way through the building, past soft,
semi-porous, pulsating walls and down slippery paths that might engulf
the unwary. He was undaunted to discover at one point that the door he
had entered through had been replaced by another pulsing wall; Euclid
mumbled to himself that he was safe because you can't actually die in
the Web.
Euclid was surprised when there in that semi-organic sector he ran
across an old associate of his whom he had believed to have been killed
by ItX. They talked and drank coffee in a large cavern and the
associate spoke of his new life in the sector. He spoke of his job and
it's great benefits from vacations to autonomy, and he spoke of his
past, how both ItX and the Virtual adepts had tried to kill him. The
associate told Euclid of his current research and took Euclid to his
workshop after interested had been expressed.
They left that very-organic set of rooms and entered a section of
laboratory-white, tiled halls and rooms, though this section was still
organic enough with its ribs and spinal columns running through the
walls and ceiling. Euclid gave his associate a thought or two about
some ciphers that were the current project before Euclid protested the
time and proclaimed his need to return to his friends. The associate
gave Euclid his card, should Euclid want to pursue a new position in a
new company, and Euclid returned to the site entrance through a
make-shift portal.
Meanwhile, Rachael and Eric found curious ways to stall as they made
their way back to the construct. They obtained passcodes to bypass the
guards and broke the infinite-loop protection by walking backwards
against the loop. At the door into the building, they knocked and
asked for entrance, which was acknowledged by the opening of the door.
However, Rachael expressed disinterest in entering the concrete tunnel
that opened before them. Eric mucked around and redefined the image
metaphor as a tight forest, though they never had a chance to fully
test it; at that moment Euclid appeared before them, informed the other
two that it was no longer needed that they enter the construct, and
requested with a quiet urgency that they leave now. They did.
Back in the Liberty, as the virtual Cabal withdrew from the Web,
Niccolo fled to the restroom, muttering something about three pots of
coffee. No one had the heart to try to rouse Lee from her nap. With
bladders relieved, Euclid recounted his encounters before the Cabal
called it a night.
(End 01-june-99 session)
Log recorded by Chad Rippere
Cause Sean couldn't make it...
Back to The Twilight War.
Last update 2-june-99
Created and Maintained by Sean Gomez. All rights reserved, 1999.