English !}!}!}!}!} !} !} !}!}!}!}!} !}!}!}!} !} !} !} !} !}!}!}!}!} !}!}!}!}!}!} Volume 1 !}!}!}!}!} !} !} !} !} Issue 24 !} !} !} !} !}!}!}!}!} !}!}!}!}!}!} !} August 11, 1996 !} !} !} !} !} !} !} !} Web Page Address: HTTP://WEBCONTACT.COM/WA/ESP !} English ESP! ------------- Publisher/Editor: Acolyte Brynne (104706,716) Financial Editor: Mufasa (104453,2275) Contributing Editor: Disco Duck Contributing Editor: Hispaniclyte Boricua Contributing Editor: Sunray Render Columnist: Cosmocat Columnist: Hierophant Srk Columnist: Princess Di Columnist: Throbbing Gristle HMS Columnist: Witchy English ESP!'s TWIP (This Week In Phantasus) -------------------------------------------- Co-Editor: Jal (74323,3325) Co-Editor: Sweet Suz (74323,3325) Events Coordinator: Arch-Emp Paul (London Lad) Events Coordinator: Jadelin Deutsche ESP! -------------- Editor-in-Chief: Zooey (101552,3560) Features Editor: Throbbing Gristle (101552,3474) Group Liaison Editor: Tom Turbo (101637,1021) ESP!: It's *YOUR* Soapbox! !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!} !} {! !} Copyright 1996. Articles in ESP! belong to the individual {! !} authors. ESP! is not to be redistributed in whole or in part {! !} without prior permission and the inclusion of its copyright {! !} notice. {! !} {! !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!} {!} - Table of Contents - {!} Files/GIFs with this Zipped File: ESP-1-24.TXT This file; English ESP! Volume 1 Issue 24 Accompanying Kymer-conomics HEADS8A.GIF OTHER8A.GIF ESP!'s TWIP Files TWIP124A.TXT ESP!'s TWIP TWIP124B.TXT Event Schedule by Event Category TWIP124C.TXT Event Schedule by Date/Time From the Editor's Desk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acolyte Brynne ESP! on the Web ESP! Staff Positions Cover Stories Comments from Cosmocat: Terry Talks and Uni_Tea . . . Cosmocat Ask the Oracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hierophant Srk Feature Stories Open Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dreamscape Team Raman and Milly Come to Kymer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Raman The Witching Hour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Witchy Kymer-conomics Financial News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mufasa August Auction Prices Whipping Inflation Tangled Web Tantalizing Tidbits WA Auction House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Happy Little Trees Clover's Collectibles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clover LeadMan's Auction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Leadman Kymer Happenings Data & Fancy's Engagement Party. . . . . . . . . . . Acolyte Data Double Wedding Planned . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Editorial Staff Gamblers Not-so-Anonymous WARaffle Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acolyte Lynx Hispaniclytes' Corner: "Aqui en Espanol" Aqui estoy yo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispaniclyte Boricua La Boda del año: Los primeros latinos en realizar su boda en WA, Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra e Hispaniclyte Boricua. . . . . Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra Just Ducky WorldsAway Website Open! . . . . . . . . Jimi, Duckolyte Sr. Wing New Duckolyte Contest. . . . . . . .Proud Feather, Duckolyte Wing Duckolyte Auction. . . . . . . . . . . . Duckolyte Sassy Wild Cat Report: August 7 Announcement: August 14 Departments Advertisements Kymer Avatar Group Information Game and Event Advertisements Items Wanted/For Sale Businesses and Services How to Send Submissions to the ESP! Publications Writers' Guidelines for ESP! Submissions !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!} The views and opinions published in ESP! are the sole responsibility of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect those of ESP!, its publisher and its editors. Articles written by Acolytes are not to be viewed as having been written in an official capacity, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Acolytes or of the Oracles. !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!} {!} - From the Editor's Desk - {!} By Acolyte Brynne ESP! on the Web --------------- So much talk about the World Wide Web these days! Everything anybody wants to know is there ... somewhere! Pages for WorldsAway are springing up right and left! A couple months ago, Jimi, Duckolyte Sr. Wing, approached me about putting ESP! issues on the Duckolyte Homepage. I gave him an enthusiastic go-ahead and after getting a couple issues up, Dread went over there to look at the page. He was quite impressed! Since then, Jimi, with the help of LongWalk, Duckolyte Wing, has greatly improved the Duckolyte pages and has given ESP! its own home page. The address is in our masthead. I was at the page this past week and am *very* impressed by how ESP! looks in HTML! LongWalk did an outstanding job converting each of our past issues! As Jimi mentions in his article under the Just Ducky section, all past issues of ESP! are available at the ESP! home page. Articles are linked with the Table of Contents so an article is only a click away. For the current issue, if you want it in a timely fashion, you'll still need to download it from the WorldsAway Community Forum, Newstand Library. If you don't want it in a timely fashion, you can wait a week until it's put up on the Homepage and download it from there. This may change in the future; and if it does, we'll be sure to let you know! Thanks to Jimi and LongWalk for their hard work in helping to make ESP! the premier publication in Kymer! ESP! Staff Positions -------------------- We are looking for avatars who would like to become involved in our continued efforts to improve ESP! and keep it alive and fresh. The following positions are all currently available. They are, at this time, voluntary and do not offer token salaries, as ESP! has no income of its own. We hope this will change in the future. If you are interested in becoming a part of a dynamic staff in one of the following positions, please send me email to 104706,716. If any of these positions give you an idea for something which you could uniquely do, please let me know. I'm open to all new ideas! Features Editor to secure stories for the Cover Story and Feature Story sections of ESP!; to cover (or find someone to cover) specific events inworld and write cover or feature stories re same; to work closely with Contributing Editors, Columnists and Reporters by providing information the FE may have that would be good for follow-up stories, etc.; to assist Brynne in the actual editing process of everything submitted. Public Relations Editor ESP! is working with Dot Warner and WATV stations she is bringing to Kymer. We are looking for someone who would work with Dot to obtain the "TV broadcasting schedule" for publication in ESP! each week, to write reviews, to prepare our ad spots, perhaps to put together a small staff who would take turns with broadcasting an "infomercial" of the contents of the current ESP! issue and anything else the person in this position would wish to do to insure the success of the WATV stations and help publicize ESP! inworld. Group Liaison Editor: to work at making contacts with the inworld avatar groups, becoming familiar with all the groups, keeping up on new groups, encouraging the current and new groups to submit to ESP! instead of posting to the forum, or putting things in the library without any public notice; writing about a group, or perhaps a general article that would address the overall activities of several of the groups in the last week, upcoming week, etc. (the "Avatar Groups of Phantasus" section of ESP! would be this editor's responsibility) Contributing Editors to write articles for the various sections of ESP!, to encourage avatars to submit articles, etc. and make sure these contributions are in publishable form before being sent to Brynne; to come up with ideas for contests, etc. ESP! can sponsor; any other tasks a CE would like to take on Columnists this position is different from Contributing Editor in that the columnist is only responsible for his/her particular column. It also does not need to be a regular weekly column; a minimum of one article every four issues is requested. Does not require as much of a time commitment as a CE. Reporters to work with Features Editor, Contributing Editors and Columnists to provide tidbits for their articles; a reporter can also submit his/her own article whenever s/he has items to submit (weddings, divorces, general "gossip", new businesses, etc.). !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Cover Stories ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - Comments From Cosmocat - {!} Terry Talks and Uni_Tea By Cosmocat This was a rather eventful week in the Dreamscape -- seems FSC is trying to make up for Fern Day. First off, Oracle Teresias gave an inworld conference on the Starway Stage (Beam me up, Scotty! ) where we got to ask inane questions and he attempted to answer with diginity and wisdom. So, for those who missed it, here a few of the highlights: Some of the current projects being worked on (still) are: Documents, glue, sitting, Acolyte powers and an update to the Promenade Sequence. He also claimed that the server problems had been fixed in the last server take-down. I do know it *only* takes me about 30 seconds to change locales now , and I don't crash as much -- only twice so far, in fact. He also claimed that accessories are coming and we will get non-humanoid bodies. Wow, that'll be nice -- my tail is permanently kinked from being stuffed into these double-knit golf pants for 9 months. We also learned a few things about the Oracle himself: His father was a fisherman in Thebes, but he didn't like fish, so he hit the road and joined a Greek chorus, but their wagon broke down, and since he was the newest member, he got stuck with fixing it, but he forgot his toolbox, and it took him hours to just get the wheel off and the others got mad at him, so they left him alone and went to Plato's house for dinner. A violent thunderstorm broke out just as night fell and Teresias was tired, so he fell asleep under the wagon, and Morpheus, impersonating the Godfather, spoke to him in his dreams, and whisked him off to the Dreamscape where he didn't need to fish or work on wagon wheels, which is why he is still here after all these eons. Or something like that. He also told us what a typical day at work is like when you're wise: Pop in the door at the crack of eleven in the morning, get some coffee and a cruller, plop down in a chair and read your mail and scan the forum messages. Then you get to look at game and event ideas, and read theft and harassment reports. Then you order pizza and sushi, take a nap, and enter the Dreamscape for awhile to see what's *really* happening inworld. Then you make prizes, making sure to include the underscores so Cosmocat has something to write to the WATeam about, and fix the spelling errors in the vendos and locale names. Then you pester the sysops to get that newsletter written, remind development not to program any morality into the software, and bug the art department to get cooking on those Cocktail_weenies for the Bar-L Happy Hour. Then you go home. (Alright, so that's not *exactly* what he said, but I read between the lines, ok?) Now, about this Uni_Tea thing. I'm not quite sure what's going on here, but I was inworld on Friday night and this bubble headed lightning boy entered the locale I was in. And there was that cryptic forum message left by *someone* from the WATeam (let's see, who's the poet again? ). It said something about towels and candles and tuna. Uhm, I mean Tao and candles and runes. And Uni_Tea, from 11am to 6pm on Saturday. I am very confused. Is this some kind of wisdom test or something? I decided to go inworld Saturday to try to figure this out. This is what information I was able to pry from the fine citizens of Kymer: Ok, so there's this dark and spooky cave that lightning boy took Uni, Indigo and Emmanuelle to from which no one is ever supposed to return. (Now, I wouldn't mind so much if Uni never returned , but I'd really like to see the others again.) We're all supposed to hold prayer_candles and pray for Indigo to return from another plane of conciousness, and hope that Darkness and Light can unite to defeat the evil monster who walks the streets of Kymer saying "Hahahahahaha!" (Hmmm... that sounds familiar -- do you think Headhunter is back in town?) But who is this "Holy Man" who confronts evil, and why is Bill Gates here? (Oh, sorry, my mistake -- Bill the Galactic Hero.) And where is the Golden Sorceress and how in Phantasus are we supposed to wake the Queen? Ack! Fortunately, the Vampyres toss black prayer_candles onto Carmila the Queen's grave in the Blasted Heath and awaken her, which makes bubble boy leave his cave (*big* mistake!), and this breaks the monster's telepathic block on Uni and allows her to place a spell on the turf elevators and create a gate to the cave. The monster hears about this, and rushes back to his turf as fast as the server will allow and finds a bunch of yellow and black clad people in his home and he gets mad and starts making idle threats. But the Sunrays and Vampyres unite their strength and scare the poor monster so badly that his bubble bursts and he starts to cry. Uni thinks it's funny, and decides to send him to The Void, too, just for kicks, and she does, but Morpheus intervenes and crashes the server. When the server comes back up, special "I_Survived_Another_Server_Crash" masks are sold in a vendo in the cave until Oracle Uni, after telling us about how long it takes to fill a vendo and how long she can go without eating and sleeping, is informed that the lightning that escaped from the monster's bubble when it broke had struck the FSC headquarters in San Jose and the server was being run on generator power. She, in her infinite wisdom, decided to place the mask vendo in Meditation Park so everyone would have a chance to get a souvenir of this notorious day in Kymer. And then, the server crashed. At least, I *think* that's what happened. Until next time, Cosmocat. {!} - Ask the Oracle - {!} By Hierophant SRK As announced in Compuserve's "What's New", Oracle Teresias was available on the Starlight Cafe Stage to answer questions on August 8. This was an interesting way to get behind-the-scenes insight into the planning and execution of WorldsAway. And it satisfied that urge to learn just a little bit more about what an Oracle is and does. There were between 65 and 70 ghosts in attendance during the two hours that Teresias was answering questions. As usual, the method of asking questions was to ESP one of the attending Acolytes, and they would announce messages as appropriate. The Acolytes were Chameleon, Milen, NightDemon and Data. There wasn't any shocking news, but Teresias did get everyone's attention when he answered Fluffy Cuddles' question about inworld pregnancy. Fluffy's attention was drawn to this life-giving issue by her own recent events. After congratulating Fluffy, Teresias pointed out that there are all kinds of possibilities for inworld pregnancy. For example, why shouldn't men be pregnant? At this point, some of the male acolytes started shuffling around and looking unhappy, while the female acolytes expressed expressions of joyful reverie. To quote Acolyte Chameleon, "Works for me, >" But Teresias explained that technical obstacles make it difficult to implement inworld pregnancy and children. Many interesting suggestions were added to the wish list, such as more gestures, more inworld sounds, musical instruments, carrying objects in both hands, changing clothing and adding jewelry, ties, glasses. Teresias seemed genuinely interested in all suggestions. But almost always, the answer was that it would be a lot of work and that it would be "in the future". A few things were closer to really happening. Inworld documents are at the top of the list for additions to Dreamscape. No date was given, but soon avatars should be able to give each other documents that they could hold and read. Taking things out of chests while still in your pocket is a feature that should be added "soon". You won't have to put your chest down to get something out of it. The next locales scheduled to open will be Meditation Park which will laid out in a Four Seasons style with at least 15 new locales. A new Acolyte training program will be started soon. Please send suggestions on helpful avatars (other than yourself!) to the WATeam. There's going to be a big "bash" for the Kymer New Year on November 15. An important function of meetings like this is to settle controversial rumors. Someone asked Oracle Teresias if it is true that there is a hack that can spy on your ESPs. It turns out that there is a way to spy on your pockets, because WorldsAway software posts the contents of your pockets whenever you enter a locale. But there is no way that anyone can see your ESPs. They are secure and there is no spy program that can see them. For those who crave insight into the workings of WorldsAway program- ming, Teresias gave a glimpse or two of the technical implementation decisions, when he was asked why do all the apartments exit to the same elevator. Originally there was only one elevator. When they added more, they didn't go back and figure out how to divide up the apart- ments. Should all one-room apartments empty into one elevator? How about each month's new rentals being exited into a different elevator. Even seemingly small decisions raise complex design questions. There were a few questions from those who were trying to see behind the hood to the "real" Oracle Teresias. One asked what he did before he became an Oracle. The answer was a fascinating story of a boy in search of a dream. It turns out that he ran away from his home in Thebes to search for his destiny. Morpheus offered him the job while he was asleep! Morpheus was looking for a few good Dreamers. Way to go Teresias. He was asked "What does your turf look like?" And the surprising answer was that he never had the time to get his own turf. The Oracles use some extra locales for a staging area. One of the most intriguing answers all night was his description of the extra locale: "And they look like a backstage. Junk everywhere. Old vendos, objects, experi- ments." Someone asked, "What's your typical day?" This was one of those questions you might be sorry you asked. Imagine asking the President of the United States what a typical day was like. The answer might be something like, "From 05:00 hours to 05:22, I get an international security briefing. From 05:23 to 05:46, I'm filled in on domestic situations. Then, I read six newspapers while eating breakfast." By about 7:00 a.m., you would definitely be wishing to change the subject. This was not too different than Teresias' day. Believe me folks, you would only want to be an Oracle if you want to be really, reeaaallllly busy. You can download a complete script of the event from the "WA Official" section of the forum library. The file name is xscript.txt. Start thinking up your questions now for the next "Ask the Oracle" event, some time in September. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Feature Stories ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - Open Letter from the Dreamscape Team - {!} To all members of the Dreamscape: There is absolutely no truth to the rumors that the Dreamscape will be moving from CompuServe to the Web. While WorldsAway is indeed launch- ing a separate world on the Internet this fall, our commitment to the Dreamscape remains, as it always has been, permanent and total. We have sent a new contract to CIS, and plan to stay here indefinitely. If you have any questions or concerns about WorldsAway's plans for future developments, please consult the press release "FCT Designs Worlds for the Web" in the "WA Official" Library and the Dreamscape Team Newsletter for an outline of our plans and a reaffirmation of our commitment to the Dreamscape on CompuServe. The Dreamscape Team strives to keep you, the members, informed of any and all new developments in our business, our policies, or our future plans. We will answer any questions you have as promptly and as accurately as possible; your concerns are very important to us and are taken very seriously by the WorldsAway staff. We hope that you will continue to use us as a primary source of information regarding the present and future status of the Dreamscape. As stated in this month's Dreamscape Team Newsletter, there are three ways to reach us: Sending messages to our read-only message archive: dream@worldsaway.com; Posting messages in the WorldsAway Community Forum (GO AWAYFORUM); or Sending messages to our WATEAM account (76710,162) Please do not hesitate to send us your questions and comments. We need your feedback to make this Forum, and the Dreamscape, as well-suited to their members as possible. Thank you for your continued partnership in the creation of this community, The Dreamscape Team The WorldsAway Community Forum Staff {!} - Raman and Milly Come to Kymer - {!} by Raman Consolation Prize Winner The Contract ------------ It was business as usual in The Crimson Tusk. Clumps of young orks, most of them openly wearing the black on gray colors of The Night Stalkers, were drinking the afternoon away, arguing about who could drink the most or fight the best. Drowning out the others was the voice of Slasher, the Night Stalkers chief. Scorch marks and deep gouges scarred the heavy plastiwood bar and tables, and the thick atmosphere reeked of synthahol, bakosticks, and burnt wood. In the back booth, a deal was going down. "So you see, Mr. Raman, it is simply routine policy for DynaChip Instruments to contract a Shadowrunner whenever company data is transfered. In the absence of our usual contractor, we have sought your services," Mr. Johnson (the standard name for all corporate contractors) droned on. Thin, starting to bald, his suit marked him as a corp citizen. "Our man will be carrying the data chip and have the password; your job is merely to ensure that no outside interests intervene. No wet work involved at all." Just then, the front door of The Crimson Tusk opened and allowed a few beams of hazy light to penetrate the gloomy atmosphere. Three street punks squinted into the darkened room and then made their way to the bar. Raman noted the well-worn studded bracers and the absence of heavy weapons, and cut to the chase with the suit. "My standard fee for bodyguard work of this type is 25K, 10K up front," he told Mr. Johnson. "There is always risk in this line of work." Raman half listened to the suit protest about slashes in corporate budgets, while he noticed that the three tuffs had spotted the non-orks in the back. They were drinking and pointing toward the back booth with obvious displeasure. As the biggest of the three stood up, Raman pulled the zipper down on his black leather jacket. While the tuff swaggered to the back booth, Raman shook his head slightly answering Slasher's quizical look, telling the Night Stalker chief not to interfere. "Hey, youse guys are giving the place a bad name," the big ork laughed at his own joke. "Now get outta here, 'fore I hafta bust some furniture on youse." He looked back at the other tuffs and laughed again. Raman took the opportunity to stand up. Raman was a brawny six footer, but the ork was a head taller and heftier. And the ork's eyes were semi-glazed, some kind of drug was racing through his blood. The only thing Raman didn't know yet was how enhanced the ork was. Subdermal armor, cybered reflexes, Raman couldn't see any obvious signs of them, but sometimes you couldn't tell till it was too late. "Go back to your chummers, pal, while you can still walk," Raman growled. The only thing that orks respect is someone who stands up to them; it was the only thing to do. It didn't work in this case. "Eat my fist, pretty boy," the tuff grunted as his huge clenched hand came up. Null perspiration, Raman thought, looks like no cyberware, lots of time to work here. He stepped closer, rammed two quick jabs into the orc's face, lifting his head up, but not slowing the tusker down at all. Throwing his weight into it, Raman lunged forward slamming his forehead into the orc's face. Bone splintered in the orc's nose and the iron-tinted smell of blood filled Raman's nostrils. The force of the impact knocked the heavy orc backwards; he was out before he hit the ground. Baring his teeth, Raman snarled at the other two tuffs and they backed down, shuffling forward with their eyes averted to pick up their unconscious chummer and drag him off. Slumping into the booth across from Mr. Johnson, Raman leaned forward. The leather jacket fell open, exposing the huge leather-wrapped steel handle of an Eraser 68 Magnum. The suit's eyes grew large when he saw it. "Er, well, Mr. Raman, your fee does seem reasonable after all for a professional of your caliber. It's acceptable and I'll key in the 10K advance right now," the suit fumbled with the manual keying device and handed the up front credstick to Raman. Sliding the credstick into his own palm-sized verifier, Raman waited for the display readout to confirm the amount. A few seconds later, when it checked out, he said, "You got yourself a 'Runner, pal. Now let's go over the details." The Lull -------- As usual, Milly jumped up in surprise when Raman threw the door to their doss open; she never heard the click of the lock when he returned. He relaxed when he saw she was the only one at home: in his line of work, you couldn't be too careful. "Hi, Sugar. I brought home some dinner money," Raman smiled and showed her the credstick as she ran into his arms. His lips muffled her quip, "Burgers at MacDonna's or a trip to that fancy new French restaurant on the Strip?" His broad shoulders lifted with the laughter she always brought him, "Give JonMo a call, Sugar. Invite him out for a French dinner and Slam Party on me. Tell him I can pay him what I owe him. Showering now," as he peeled himself out of her arms. After the shower, Raman put on his burgandy leather jacket (Milly called it his "formal evening wear") and while Milly happily got ready for their first big night out in a while, Raman worked over the details of the upcoming run in his mind. The essence was simple enough, pick up the corp dude at their HQ and take him to the meeting place, exchange the data chip and password for the certified credstick, and get the corp guy back home safely with the stick. He visualized an indirect route to the rendevous point; he'd walk it and a few alternates tomorrow. "Probably the easiest 25K I've ever made," he chuckled when JohMo arrived. JonMo was simply the best comtech around; if he couldn't hack into a system, then neither could the programmers who made it. He always carried a black, unlabeled notecomp which he flourished now. Flipping up the notecomp's plasteel lid, JonMo asked Raman for the credstick and slipped it into one of the many slots along the side of the case. "Check this out," JonMo said. "I finally cracked the ID codes for credsticks. Everybody says it's impossible, but I used one of my old encryption schemes, reversed it, and nailed it. Watch this," he said excitedly as columns of numbers and organization names whizzed up the screen. "In a couple of minutes, we'll backtrack through all the double blinds that every credstick uses. Ha, once I tune this puppy, I'll be able to tell you the name of the person who authorized it's issue," he laughed. A moment later he whistled, "Hey, you're working with the big boys now, huh? Mistuhama Industries, net worth 685 trillion, HQ in ..." JonMo continued on, but by this time Raman was already starting to rethink his plan. Why couldn't things be simple? The Run ------- Huddled in the cold, damp foul-smelling sewers under the cemetery designated as the meeting place, Raman and the labtech from DynaChip Instruments went over the codes for yet another time. "If I say, 'I trust you. Mr. Smith, go get the other data chip.' then what do you do?" Raman asked while rechecking the load in the Eraser 68 Magnum. "I go back to the sewer entrance and wait for your signal. It means something is wrong," the labtech was nervous, but he seemed to understand the variations. He'd never been on a run before, had even blurted his name out before Raman could tell him that he was Mr. Smith on this run. Art Harriman, senior labtech with DynaChip Instruments, was about to have the experience of a lifetime: a shadowrun. "All right, Mr. Smith, wait a minute, then follow me up," Raman instructed as he swung his weight up the rusted ladder to the hatch above. "JohMo, you online?" He muttered. "Right here, pal," the calm voice came through the commlink implanted in Raman's ear. Raman extinguished his portalight and opened the hatch after his eyes adjusted to the darkness. A quick sniff of the air revealed that no one was present in the sepulcher, so he turned the portalight back on for the labtech to see. Raman crossed the small room to the door, cracked it open and looked out. Good cover behind tombstones, he noted, settling down to wait for his counterparts. Two of them arrived, both wearing the long dusters that concealed so much. Raman checked for the bulges that would indicate major weaponry, but they seemed to have nothing bigger than Uzi Shredders. The one in charge was big for a human, about the size of the orc in the bar. But most noticeable about him was the tatoo on his forehead of a cobra about to strike. The way he talked without looking at his companion might indicate he was giving orders over a commlink. "All right, time to party," Raman grunted, swinging the door open and walking out with his empty hands at his sides. At the sudden sound, the one in charge snapped his head around with cyber enhanced speed, but no weapons were drawn. "It's not crowded here at this time of the day," the smaller of the two parroted in the recognition signal. Disdaining the canned response, Raman just answered, "Yeah, chummers, we're the ones you been waitin' for." He called over his shoulder for Mr. Smith to come out, not taking his eyes off the two. He held out the datachip from DynaChip, and the big one held up a credstick and tossed it toward Raman. Without taking his eyes off the two men, Raman flipped the datachip toward the leader and moved his hand a little so that the credstick fell into it. He slipped it into the special credstick verifier that JonMo had rigged. Long seconds later JonMo's voice filled his ears, "Bad news, Raman. The credstick isn't for the 300K you expected, but for 1K instead. It was VERY hard to trace, but it came from Mitsuhama again. I figure a regular verifier could tell you that in about two minutes; that's all the time you got. Good luck." "I trust you," Raman told the two. "Mr. Smith, go get the other data chip." Testing the air, he caught the sudden acrid scent of fear from Smith, but only the scent of excited human hunters from the two; he had been setup. "All's well that ends well, right chummers?" He stalled for time, letting Smith get closer to the tomb, their best escape route now. "What the hell! We don't need the fragging datachip anyway," the leader suddenly shouted. "I'm tired of this fragging waiting, let's PLANT 'em," he yelled. "This is the easiest 50K I ever made." As the leader's cybered reflexes went for his gun, Raman whirled and sprinted after Smith, putting his bulk between the gunmen and the labtech. He grabbed the flash grenade from his belt, squeezed to activate it and dropped it. Both he and Smith were almost to the door when the first bullet chipped the stonework to his left and the second one caught him in the shoulder. He'd been expecting it and it was a light shell, so it didn't knock Raman down, just twisted his body and he slammed into Smith pushing him through the door as two more bullets thudded into him. Damn Uzi's, he thought as he fell inside the tomb on top of Smith, good jackets were hard to come by. He could smell the fresh, rich cinnamon scent of his own blood and another, different blood scent; Smith must have caught something too. Slamming the door behind him, Raman shook his head to clear the red haze of pain and anger. Smith was unconscious, a red stain growing on his back. Raman's own wounds were healing now, but Smith was another story, had to get him back to Milly quick. The milspec flash grenade should hold them up long enough, Raman thought, once we're in the sewers, we should be safer; even I would have a hard time tracking someone through there. He picked Smith up easily and climbed down the ladders to the safety of the sewer labyrinth. The Aftermath ------------- Milly was waiting by the sewage grate in the Park, a worried look on her face and a professional medkit in her hand. She cried out when she saw the huge, bloodstained holes in Raman's jacket, but read his wave off instantly having previously seen him recover immediately from near fatal wounds. "Another bad day at the office, dear?" Milly gamely quipped, her smile strained. But she was quickly reassured and warmed by his ready laughter. Reluctantly, she turned her attentions to Art Harriman, the unconscious labtech. "He's lost a lot of blood, and he's in shock," she muttered, knowing full well that Raman knew that. Loosening Art's clothing, she dressed the wound; luckily Art had taken only one bullet. Next, she took out a PlasmaPak and applied it to his arm, followed by a StimPak. With the bleeding stopped and artificially stimulated, Art regained consciousness. "Oh," he groaned, "What happened?" "They gave us a counter-offer, which I turned down," Raman shrugged. "Just take it easy till we get you to a safe doss. Rest a bit and then we'll be off." Turning on the commlink, Raman told JonMo, "I don't care what it takes, track a 50K payment to the Vipers. I want to know who issued the stick. We're going to Paris, don't drop by till we get back." JonMo would understand: Raman was going to rig explosive charges at their old doss just in case the Vipers came calling. Paris was the code name for their secondary doss, a more secure safe house. Turning, Raman saw the dejected look on Milly's face; she too knew that the code meant no returning home for her. "If you haven't got it on your back, you haven't got it. Right, hon?" Milly knew how to look on the bright side of a change of address. "Right, Sugar," Raman nodded absently, he was already wondering about what had gone wrong today. The Vipers hadn't needed the datachip, so they must have had a wet contract for the labtech and Raman. It was time to find out what Art knew. "So, Art, while you're resting, tell me about your job," Raman probed. Listening to Art, a picture emerged of a research facility exploring the practical uses of quantum physics. Art's role was to use computer simulations to design practical equipment based on the theories of the DynaChip researchers. Their most recent breakthough had been the development of a highly sensitive detector of mesons, short-lived particles. But even more exciting than that (Raman smiled at Milly's be-still-my-heart look), had been the discovery of a nearby area which had an unheard of, continuous high-level meson output. Top secret excavation work toward this underground source had been completed two weeks ago, with eerie results. Art had been one of the few labtechs allowed to enter the hollowed-out cavern which held the source of the continuous meson emissions. He had been stunned by the shimmering black radiant field which held a constant circular position in the cavern. Mesmerizing to look at, Art noticed others and himself staring at it raptly for long minutes. It was definitely trans-dimensional; nothing they threw in had ever come back, including trained animals like homing pigeons. Transmitters apparently stopped sending when passed through the Portal, as it came to be called. For security reasons, Art and the other labtechs had been denied access to the cavern in an uncharacteristic crackdown. Both executives and security guards from their parent company Mitsuhama had been flown in to handle the stituation. With all the fuss about the Portal, there was hardly time for routine work. The trans-dimensional Portal was big business for Mitsuhama. The Portal ---------- Lurking in the shadows, Raman and Milly waited for JonMo's OK signal on their commlinks. As soon as Raman had learned from JonMo that the credstick paying for the Viper's attempted hit on himself and Art had been issued by Mitsuhama, he had decided to strike back where it would hurt the most: their super secret underground discovery. Whatever he could find out about it would be highly saleable, no doubt. Milly had insisted that she come along, and since she was even more stubborn than himself, Raman knew there would be no arguing with her on this. He decked her out in Kevlar designer armor and, like himself, a CamoPainted face. At three in the morning, the streets were deserted in this industrial area. They were alone across from the five-storey DynaChip Instruments building. The only light inside came from a first floor window: a security room with a guard who wandered in and out. Raman's infrared scanner, however, showed more guards throughout the building. JonMo's diversion should distract them enough to get inside. After a while, JonMo's voice came over the link, "No problemo, chummers. Their firewall couldn't keep out a determined firefly! I'm in their network as a superuser. In exactly one minute, the alarms will go off for the third floor lab, and the security locks on the door near you will be disabled. Good luck!" After a minute, Raman could hear the internal alarms go off, and see the infrared patterns of the guards rush to the third floor. In the confusion, he and Milly crossed the street to the side door, which Raman picked quickly. He stepped inside first, eyes fully adjusted to the dark. Seeing no one, and trusting that JonMo had disabled the security cams, he and Milly proceeded rapidly to the recently constructed stairs leading to the cavern. A near silent hiss from Raman's NarcoJet Stinger and the solitary guard at the bottom of the steps slumped to the floor. Picking this lock took more time, but at last Raman swung the door open and looked inside. The cavern was huge, probably the height of a three-story building, with rows of tables nearly filling the space, each one covered with an array of electronic and chemical gear. But the most impressive feature was against the far wall: a shimmering curtain of black light, looking like the surface of a darkly tinted lake at night. The iridescent eddies of dark highlights was fascinating, Raman had to will himself to stop looking. Seeing a dreamy expression on Milly's face, he shook her till she recovered. They both decided not to look directly at it again. Raman dragged the unconscious guard inside, shut the door and signaled JonMo to enable the security system again. Then they split up, Milly ransacking the racks of datachips, while Raman concentrated on the tables. He had already scooped three prototype units and several datacorders and was near the black shimmer when the alarm went off. "JonMo, talk to me," Raman growled into the commlink. "Uh, it looks like they are trying to open the door to the cavern. I'm signalling The Night Stalkers to begin their assault now. Things will get hot fast. Good luck," JonMo ended. The idea was for The Night Stalkers to mount a massive weapons attack on the building to draw fire away from Raman and Milly. All they had to do was take care of the few guards that came their way. Raman's Eraser was already out: the time for the slilent NarcoJet had passed. When the door opened, the first guard appeared and went down immediately as the Eraser roared. Another guard was out of sight, but Raman could see the cannister of gas he fired into the room. It exploded into a yellow cloud which Raman had seen on vids before: a nerve gas used to quell prison and citizen riots. It was a banned substance, very expensive and lethal. He thundered off a couple of shots through the door and watched it close; they were probably content to let the gas do it's deadly work. Looking around, he saw a caged canary on a nearby table. He grabbed the cage, established a link with the frightened bird, calmed it and carried it over to the shimmering Portal. Focusing on the bird, he tossed the cage gently through the Portal. For just a moment he felt the bird's sense of freedom and then the link was cut. Knowing the gas would kill Milly made Raman's decision easy. "Come on over here, Milly, we're going to do some vertical swimming. The bird was OK on the other side. Jump through quickly now, I'll be right behind you. Take a deep breath." He watched her slim form disappear into the Portal and leaped in after her. There was a moment of complete darkness, an immersion in a cold atmosphere and a light, unencumbered feeling, but he could still smell Milly's fresh scent. He fell a bit as bright light suddenly stung his eyes, and he landed heavily on Milly. They were both completely naked and on a wooden surface. He blinked and looked around: they were on a ship and several of the sailors were pointing at them and smiling. The yellow-feathered canary was also there, but the cage was nowhere in sight. "Well, at least they have something to think about other than their scurvy," Milly whispered, hiding under Raman. A weather-worn sea salt came up to them, "Avast there, maties! Ye've dropped in from the sky on us. Larsen, get them some clothes on the double. Stranger things I've seen on my trips to Kymer, but n'er a cuter lil filly. You're welcome aboard the Argo, next port of call is Kymer," he continued as Larsen brought up some clothes, a yellow two piece outfit for Milly-the-Filly (as Raman now thought of her), and a large green shirt and some jeans for himself. Standing on the deck of the Argo, the two looked out on the horizon. "The next time you decide to travel, let ME do the packing," Raman laughed, while they both wondered what kind of place Kymer was. {!} - The Witching Hour - {!} By Witchy Magic Places in Nature ---------------------- You have seen how to set up and prepare your own magic space indoors, but naturally the world has a lot more to offer than a small room. When there is time enough and the weather permits it, there is nothing better than going to a silent, secluded place in nature. There you can directly connect with the elements and feel readily under your finger-tips the energies of existence as you caress the trees, touch the flowers, and listen to the sounds of nature. The only two requisites should be that you can be alone in your chosen spot and that this spot agrees with you. You might have to organize a special trip for this purpose, perhaps several days long, but it will be worth it. Everyone needs some kind of contact with nature to feel balanced and grounded, and that is so much more true for those who are learning to use nature's forces for magic. The second requirement: To find a spot that actually agrees with you. This might need some research work and a little intuition. What does it mean: "A spot that agrees with you?" It is a place in nature which makes you feel good. You might equally like the seaside and the mountains, but if you go to the sea after a while you become tired and sluggish and in the end maybe even depressed. If you go to the mountains, on the other hand, it might be hard work walking up the steep hills, but you feel refreshed, alive and awake. You must be aware of exactly what it is that makes you feel a particular way when surrounded by a particular aspect of nature and of all your feelings, not just those that appreciate the beauty of nature. Here is a list of power aspects of nature for you to check out before you make your final decision: seaside; mountain tops; waterfalls; lakeside; rivers; streams; brooks; caves and large rocks; wide, flat fields; woods. If you have a busy and hectic life that keeps you occupied the whole week, you can make this into a program of several weekends. You could go alone or with your family or friends, taking a notebook with you to write down faithfully your reactions to that place. Having this task of finding your magical spot in nature will be a good excuse to go out of town, putting you in an explorer frame of mind, which can make into fun something that otherwise you might not bother doing. You can organize trips of a few hours, of a day or a weekend - or if you wish, do your entire research in one go of several days. It will be especially good if you can prepare an incantation to do in the spot you have chosen. This will give you a final proof of the suitability of that place. Regardless of where you are you need to remember to define your place. Take a compass with you and determine the east, west, north and south. At a few steps distance from each other mark those points with a vase or candle or an oil lamp. This will help you to contain the energies that you will raise with the magic. As a general rule you will be sitting facing east. (Unless you are performing a sunset ceremony, in which case you would be facing west.) Primary Tools of Magic ---------------------- A primary tool for magic is any being or object of nature which is used in a magical practice by channeling its own and particular properties into the goal you want to achieve. All things of nature are magical. One flower possesses healing qualities, another one the future. Yet unless these properties are used, the flower will just grow, bloom and die. The same is true for each tree, rock, seashell, little fish or bird or lion of nature. To discover nature in this light of magic and to use her gifts as primary tools for magic is the most enriching experience man can make. Once you see the world made up of this vibrating magic which you are part of, you are no longer alone - everything is your companion in the process of creation. How does it happen? How do you pick up a seashell or a plant and become able to use it for magic? You do it by opening yourself totally to the particular being you want to do magic with. Take a seashell in your hands and look at it; feel it with your fingers, feel it with your heart, smell it, and open your spirit to whatever her spirit is, without words in your head, without knowledge and history. You will be unable to do this if, as soon as you see a shell, your mind is already running through the biological, oceanalogical, chemical, and mythological files on it. The experience must be totally new. Don't expect a lot at the beginning ... and trust what you feel. When you are far advanced in the path of magic, and you can see all things with naked eyes, every single particle in nature is available to you in that way. But to begin with it is a long process of acquaintance, of opening and loving. It takes time and patience. You will need to get to know your friends slowly and to find what is the best way to relate to them, what are the areas they can best help you with. You will need to find out if there are some days when these friends can help you better, and under what conditions. It is a real love affair which you are to begin with your chosen subject, and as such you need to have the greatest respect and care for your primary tools. Do not be deceived by the word used here: tool. It does not mean that you are to treat your subject as a thing even though it might be a stone or a seashell; it just means that you will use and channel the magic contained in it. People can be primary tools of magic. It is sufficient to think of a love affair with another person; when the love is strong you live magical moments with that person. You are, maybe without knowing it, using that person as a channel to the realm of the magic world. When you know how, you can expand those moments, and you can channel that great energy to make discoveries and achieve impossible feats. This pre-supposes a great clarity of mind and of heart, sound wisdom, and openness of spirit. People working magic with each other in this way need to be either under the guidance of a teacher or very advanced souls. As it is a very complex theme, it transcends the scope of what I'm explaining here to those of you who are new at this. As an introduction to nature's magical primary tools, I have talked about Herbs and Flowers, and Stones have yet to be mentioned here. They were chosen because they are easy to work with and with some precaution are quite safe for anybody to use. Furthermore they are channels which can help you in a wide range of needs in the magical practice. You can begin with Herbs, Flowers and Stones, if you want to. Or start off with another tool that appeals to you more. Either way remember that patience and respect are needed in discovering the ways of releasing and channeling magic in the aspects of nature. Ordinary Tools of Magic ----------------------- These are all those man-made objects which you will need in the course of your operations. With them you have a relationship of utility, and though these are also made from natural substances and contain magic, you are only using them in that dimension. A magician has quite a few of those tools, depending on what kind of magic he favors. If he likes to work with herbs, for example, he will have many gardening tools as ordinary magic tools. If he likes to work with birds, he will need all the paraphernalia used for keeping birds. The important thing is to remember "never" to use your ordinary magic tools for anything else than for magic. Here is a list of the most needed ordinary tools: The Cauldron ------------ The traditional magic tool. This can be a fire-proof terra-cotta or cast iron pot. It is used to boil herbs and other concoctions. Oil Lamps and Candles --------------------- These are most important because they are the only form of illumination possible when the sunlight or moonlight are not enough. Electric light is, in fact, as bad for magic as garlic is for ghosts. Notebook and Pen ---------------- Choose a clothbound book, not leather, and use it to record your experiments, your spells, your magical dates. The pen should be a simple goose-feather quill, but if you find it too difficult to write with that, choose a good fountain pen - not a biro or felt-tip! - and use it only for magic. A Mirror -------- This is essential as mirror-magic is very effective and easy. It does not have to be a big one, but when not used for magic it must be covered with a cloth of black velvet. If you want to avoid embarrassing questions it is better not to use a wall mirror for this purpose! The Cup, The Incense Holder, The Brass Bowl, The Burner ------------------------------------------------------- These serve to represent the four elements in the magic circle, and you also always need them in front of you in the opening ceremony. The cup (representing water) serves to contain water or wine and should be silver or ceramic. The incense holder (incense representing air) can be a ready-made one (brass or wood) for incense sticks, or if you know incenses well could be a proper censer or a thurible. Incense is one of the most beautiful ways of doing magic. The brass bowl (representing earth) - could also be ceramic - serves to contain rice or other grains. The burner (representing fire) is a cast iron little pot or similar object that serves to light a small wood fire. The above objects can naturally be used also in any rituals or incantations in which they might be needed. If, for example, you need to drink a potion, the cup can be used; if you want to burn a herb, use the burner, and so on. The Broom --------- Just can't do without it! Choose an old garden one, and show it to your friends when they inquire about your magical activities. Bright * Blessing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Kymer-conomics ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - Financial News - {!} by Mufasa, Financial Editor August Auction Prices --------------------- Because LeadMan's European Collectibles Auction and the German Auction at D-TREFF were still in hiatus, Passion's hospitalization limited Clover's Collectibles to a one-ring auction, and it was an off-week for Happy Little Trees, there was less auction activity than normal between August 1 and August 8. Auction prices for that period are shown in the two .GIFS that accompany this column: HEADS8A.GIF - Auction prices for heads only OTHER8A.GIF - Auction prices for all other items. Because of concerns about the state of the Kymer economy, this week's charts include not only the average price to date this month and last month's average price, but also include the percentage of change. In most cases, there has been a significant drop between the average price for the first week of August and the average price for the month of July. Some of this can be explained by the saturated market for rare paint, snowballs, heart chests, and valentines. However, a good part can be explained in terms of FSC's manipulation of the Kymer economy. Note the following snippet of dialogue from the conference with Teresias on the evening of Thursday, August 8. Some non-sub- stantive remarks by acolytes on-stage have been deleted. All remarks by Teresias are exactly as spoken by him at the conference. Acolyte NightDemon: Shendarkra: 60t/hour doesn't go very far... can we have a raise? Oracle Teresias: Uh, we will have to look at the current state of the economy. I rather doubt we will make a raise unless we have no other way of balancing the economy. I realize that we are in a state of fairly severe inflation and will be working to add more objects to buy and (most importantly) get various means of producing objects (documents mainly) into the hand of the users. After that, you may just have to be enterprising on your own for spare change. Whipping Inflation ------------------ One person's "balance" is another person's "manipulation". While many of us have known that FSC is manipulating the Kymer economy, this is the first outright admission of their intention by an employee of the company. This creates two interesting questions: 1) Why is FSC attempting to whip inflation to the detriment of middle-class avatars, leaving the favatars unscathed? 2) Because FSC has stalwartly refused to program ethics into the software or to introduce any form of government, why are its minions adopting an inconsistent position relative to economics? Not all rich avatars are favatars. Most of the rich avatars in Kymer earned what they have exclusively through their own efforts. We know who they are, and we respect them. Others, most notably a denizen of Kymer who wears a Kimi head, and who has disported herself in pat- terned paint since early spring, have been on the receiving end of numerous gifts from the Oracles. The glasses, cigars, necklaces, and other accessories received by these favatars have a way of changing hands for prices in the 65K-100K range. The Sema, Burglar, Tut, Masked, and Nefertiti heads they wear were excluded from the vendo restock. The Monkey head appeared in the vendo restock, as did the Kiwi head. Chess heads have magically appeared as gifts from Morpheus, and Elf, and Smiley heads have been reintroduced as prizes. The owners of these heads were not favatars. The Oracles forced these avs to take a big financial hit while simulaneously protecting their special friends. Their rationalization: Some win, some lose, and if you lose, that's life. But why should the favatars, some of whom have become very rich through Oracular help, be shielded from that part of life? The recent Fern Day and Paint Amnesty Day seriously undermined the economic positions of avatars in the lower and mid-ranges of the Kymer middle class. After an avatar has been part of the community for awhile, has participated in some games, won a door prize or two, and earned some tokens, the usual priority has been to acquire and decorate a turf. Ferns have been used by many avatars to cover exit mats, as beds, and as decorations. In July, avatars paid an average of 1052 tokens, or 17.53 hours of connect time, for these ferns. Many of these avatars were beginning the transition from new to middle-class. When the new ferns appeared in vendos for 10 tokens each, the value of their investments was wiped out for weeks, perhaps even months, to come. The announced purpose of Paint Amnesty Day was to give avatars who were displeased with the results of paint patches the opportunity to own a custom-painted head. However, many avatars transitioning from new to middle-class status had purchased rare paint for their vendo-issue heads. Some had bought rare-painted vendo heads at auction for a premium of several hundred tokens. Because any avatar with a repaintable head could receive a custom, rare paint job free of charge on Paint Amnesty Day, middle-class avatars were dismayed to realize that the value of these investments had plummeted, too. Not only is the economic tinkering protecting the favatars, but it is of very limited help to the new or poor avatar. A new avatar who could not afford a repaintable head, or who was unable to beg or borrow the tokens to buy one, received no benefit at all from Paint Amnesty Day. New avatars may have been able to buy a few ferns on Fern Day, but they are of limited value without a turf. They are too large to be very desirable hand props. Several new arrivals in Kymer who had purchased second heads on the Promenade complained that they were unable to borrow or beg the tokens to buy a fern head. Regarding the second question, it is sufficient to say that economic theory was once called "political economy" and that certain philo- sophies, notably Marxism and Objectivism, base their respective systems of ethics upon their economic theories. FSC already has significant control over the Kymer economy through its ability to set compensation for online time, controlling vendo restocks, and setting prices for turfs and vendo items. If FSC does not want to impose any view of ethics upon Kymer, why should it care about the aftermarket? Isn't that the sole business of the citizens, whose ratavas are paying real world money to participate in the community, including its economy? In the meantime, the Econo-Lion advises that middle-class avatars be extremely cautious. The poor and new avatars have little or nothing to lose. Avatars having net worth of 100K or more can afford to take risks and will not be wiped out even if one very large investment goes sour. Avatars having net worth between 50K and 200K should avoid making single investments in a head or item exceeding 40% of net worth, and should maintain minimum liquidity of 20% of net worth. Avatars having between 25K and 50K net worth should not invest in any one item exceeding 25% of net worth, and should maintain liquidity of 30% of net worth. If your net worth is below 25K, buy whatever you wish for personal use, for your turf, or for gifts, but use no more than 15% of your net worth for speculation and maintain liquidity of 50% of net worth. Tangled Web ----------- In the last several weeks, there has been much discussion of the possibility that FSC may move WorldsAway to a Web site on the Internet. Opinions and projections have run the gamut from decrying the discussion as rumor-mongering to wait-and-see to certainty that this will occur in the near future. It was apparent from the Oracle conference on August 8 that FSC believes that it is very likely that WA will go to the Web in the near future. Although there is no firm date and supposedly, no firm decision has been made, FSC will expand the Meditation Garden to 15 locales and enhance it to provide a four-season environment; manipulate the economy to resolve the inflation problem it perceives; has taken steps to resolve the lag problem on the server; and prepare for an influx of new avatars from many different locations (ergo, expansion of the Meditation Garden). Teresias did make a firm commitment that the look of the Dreamscape and its manner of operation would remain the same, and that avatars now in Kymer would retain their tokens and items. Stay tuned. In Kymer, very little is as it appears to be. Tantalizing Tidbits ------------------- Happy Little Trees is now offering an Executive Search Service, and will locate that rare item or head for you. To get a glimpse of what the parent company of FSC has been up to, go to: http://CCITY.IWE96.INFOWEB.OR.JP/ on the World Wide Web. Only Web pages at that site now, but there is much promise of things to come. Next week: Street Traders II (promised for this week, but pre-empted by other things), August Auction Update, and more Tantalizing Tidbits. Have a wonderful, prosperous week! {!} - WA Auction House - {!} By Happy Little Trees We are sorry to report that Saturday's auction has been postponed until next saturday, same time same place! We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. I hope to see you all there! Thanks! AUCTION: Turf: WA Auction House Time: 5:00 p.m. WAT Date: August 17, Saturday See ya there, consignments accepted at 7% until next week! {!} - Clover's Collectibles - {!} By Clover 1 RING AUCTION The Dreamscape's premier dealer of rare heads and items no longer available in vendos. Selling rare items for over 6 months. Serving hundreds upon hundreds of satisfied customers. *** NEXT AUCTION *** Monday, August 12 at 7:00 PM WAT Turf Address: CC Items on the Block ------------------ Pizza Rosehead (Rare Elf White) Hot Chocolate RoseHead (Rare Pink) Commemerative Gold Fern Head Boysenberry Pie WomanHead (Burgundy Hair) Heart Chest Baby Bear Lacey Heart Head (not paintable) Frost Elf Head Scarlet Head (painted rare blonde) Female Vampire Head X-Mas Elf Head See you there! DISCLAIMER: Clover's Collectibles is a privately-owned business. As such, the proprietor reserves the right to refuse bids or consignments, or to eject anyone from the premises, for any reason or for no reason. Clover's Collectibles does not do business with Thieves, Tagged Thieves, Disrupters or Harrassers. {!} - LeadMan's Auction - {!} By LeadMan Due to rude behavior during the Unity Event, people clogging the elevators and some refusing to ghost, it was impossible to use an elevator to prepare for the auction on Saturday, August 10. We are postponing the auction to Thursday, August 15, at 1:30 p.m. WAT. Hope to see you there! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Kymer Happenings ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - Data & Fancy's Engagement Party - {!} by Acolyte Data Greetings everyone! Fancy and I are having an engagement party this Saturday (August 17) at 6:00 p.m. WAT, in the turf: Data & Fancy. We are hoping all of our friends will make plans to attend. A community invitation was uploaded to the WorldsAway Life library. No gifts are necessary and we will have some giveaways (several rare valentines + cake & champagne) for those who come. Please come and share in our joy. The wedding date will be announced at the party. Cheers, -Data & Fancy {!} - Double Wedding Planned! - {!} In a double wedding scheduled for Saturday, September 21, Arch-Emp Paul (London Lad) and Naomi Emp Queen and Poseidon, Lord of the Water and Golden Knight Courtland Cox will be exchanging their vows of Dreamscape matrimony! Two separate ceremonies are being planned: a humorous one (to be held in a turf) and a serious one, which will be conducted by Acolyte Brynne. Current plans are for Princess Alexa to hold the humorous ceremony. Stag and Hen night parties will be held; watch the forum and future issues of ESP! for more information. Congratulations to the two couples! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Gamblers Not-so-Anonymous ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - WA Raffle Winners- {!} By Acolyte Lynx Winners of August 10 Drawing 1st place . . . . . . . . .4250T. . . . . . . Mrs. Wert P. Gumby 2nd place. . . . . . . . . .2125T. . . . .Little Princess Leadman 3rd place. . . . . . . . . .1250T. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Margu 4th place. . . . . . . . . . 850T. . . . . . . . . . . . .Hotspot Next week's drawing is Sunday, August 17, 2:00 a.m. WAT at WARsun Inc Please read WARHOW2.TXT in the WorldsAway Life Library for rules and instructions on how to play the WARaffle. WARaffle representatives: Acolyte Electra Acolyte Lynx Acolyte Michael Acolyte Moria Acolyte Nicci Angelika S. BLD Quackers Necrolyte SKYTOWER Renegade, Duckolyte Sr. Wing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Hispaniclytes' Corner: "Aqui en Espanol" ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - Aqui estoy yo - {!} por Hispaniclyte Boricua Llamenme Senor Boricua de ahora en adelante, BROMA, sigo con el mismo nombre pero ya no soy el soltero mas codiciado de WA. Si, el jueves 8 de agosto me case con Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra en una ceremonia hecha por Oracle Uni. Gracias a todos los que asistieron, hasta ahora mi vida de casado es muy feliz (espero que siga asi). Pueden ver las fotos de la boda en la libreria Dreamscape Snaps del Community Forum de WA. Esta semana les traigo,en honor a mi boda, la ceremonia que Oracle Uni oficio ese día tan especial para Venus y para mi: Esta Ceremonia de Matrimonio, hoy, ante Morfeo, en la Ciudad de Phantasus, en Kymer, servira para reforzarlos y traer mas luz a su amor, de manera que crezca e irradie felicidad a todos los que tengan contacto con ustedes en el Dreamscape. El matrimonio es publico y personal. Es una afirmacion a la comunidad que dos avatars han decidido unirse en uno para establecer un hogar, presentandose a los demas, en un espiritu unido. Es una promesa para si mismo y para su amor de seguridad, rendimiento, respeto y complementacion. John Steinbeck, en una carta a su esposa Gwendolyn, dijo: "Querida, tu quieres saber que yo quiero de ti. Por supuesto muchas cosas pero principalmente esto. Quiero que mantengas esto que tenemos virgen y esperando- la persona que no soy yo ni tu sino nosotros." Nos reunimos aqui como comunidad para escuchar y reconocer promesas de amor y apoyo de parte de estos dos, cada uno hacia el otro. Conoscamos los votos. Hispaniclyte Boricua, aceptas a esta mujer en matrimonio, para amarla y respetarla como si fueras tu por el resto de tu vida? Prometes amarla, para escucharla con corazon y mente abierta? Prometes compartir tu vida, envolverte en su vida, para construir una vida juntos, considerando lo grandioso de este regalo? Haces este compromiso voluntariamente, sinceramente, con toda intencion de llevar a cabo este compromiso, a cualquier costo? Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra aceptas a este companero en matrimonio, para amarlo y respetarlo como si fueras tu por el resto de tu vida? Prometes amarlo, para escucharlo con corazon y mente abierta? Prometes compartir tu vida, envolverte en su vida, para construir una vida juntos, considerando lo grandioso de este regalo? Haces este compromiso voluntariamente, sinceramente, con toda intencion de llevar a cabo este compromiso, a cualquier costo? Que ofrecen a cambio para simbolizar estos votos y este lazo de amor? Por favor ofrescanlo ahora. Como simbolo de estas promesas y de este lazo de amor que los une, por favor quitense sus cabezas y presentenlas ante el Oracle. Acepta esto, la cabeza de tu novia, como simbolo de esta union. Entiende la nueva perspectiva que ella trae. Une su vida y su pensamiento al tuyo. Protejelo como al tuyo. Convoca tu espiritu de las sombras de tus suenos y llevalo publicamente en este dia. Acepta esto, la cabeza de tu novio, como simbolo de esta union. Entiende la nueva perspectiva que el trae. Une su vida y su pensamiento al tuyo. Protejelo como al tuyo. Convoca tu espiritu de las sombras de tus suenos y llevalo publicamente en este dia. Recuerden este momento por la eternidad. Unanse en los suenos de Morfeo. Cuando esten en si mismos, mantenganse a ambos en su corazon. El Oracle presenta ante los ojos de Morfeo y ante los ciudadanos una nueva union. Que florezca por siempre. Que su escencia viaje a traves de esta comunidad, bendiciendo a cada avatar que toque con educacion y gracia. Que caiga como la lluvia en los corazones de Kymer. Que su sonido como el trueno y relampago como el rayo que todos escuchan recuerden el sonido y el poder de este lazo de amor. Que viaje suavemente como el rocio, dejando su huella a atraves de fragiles venas de las hojas de nuestra Gente y la historia de sus descendientes. Los declaro marido y mujer, pueden besarse. Felicidades, Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra e Hispaniclyte Boricua. Ahora estan casados ante el corazon de Morfeo y ante los ojos de la comunidad. {!} - La Boda del año: Los primeros latinos - {!} en realizar su boda en WA, Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra e Hispaniclyte Boricua. por Hispaniclyte Venus Cleopatra La familia Hispaniclyte celebro en grande el enlace de sus miembros: Venus Cleopatra y Boricua (fundador de este club). Apadrinaron el enlace matrimonial los Hispaniclytes: Merci y Shark Snip 7 tambien unos amigos del club: Dawny Cakes y Snoop Doogie Dough. El enlace fue bendecido por la bella Oracle Uni. La fastuosa boda fue llevada a cabo en el turf Chapel of Dreams, un salon fastuoso decorado con ferns, rosas de color rosa y blanco y corazones de color rosa, esta decoracion estuvo a cargo de Sunray Ann, decoradora y coordinadora de bodas. El arreglo personal de la novia estuvo a cabo de la diseñadora de modas, destacada tambien en el ambiente de la estetica (maquillaje y estilismo) Angel Gambler. Venus lucio un hermoso traje de novia confeccionado en chiffon, sin mangas corte corazon acampanado de la cintura hasta el piso, decorado con perlas doradas, el tocado de la novia fue elaborado con cristal de roca y perlas doradas; el velo largo estilo princesa y el tocado de mano, fue una hermosa rosa color rosa palido. El guapisimo novio lucio una etiqueta color blanco. El sequito de la novia vistio lujosos trajes de color rosa pastel y el sequito del novio vistio lujosas etiquetas color blanco. Los novios intercambiaron sus votos con: (ella) la llave de su corazon, para que el novio pudiera tener y quedarse con el amor de Venus para siempre y Boricua intercambio su propio corazon, para que la novia pudiera vivir en el eternamente. Ademas intercambiaron sus cabezas como simbolo de union, respeto, y aceptacion para toda la vida. Entre los invitados de la pareja asistieron: SexyCat22 Hispaniclyte, Hispaniclyte Baster, Hispaniclyte Baughi, Merci Hispaniclyte, Hispaniclyte Shark Snip7, Oracle Uni, Dawny Cakes, Snoop Doogie Dough, Hispaniclyte Arturo Espinoza, entre otros. La ceremonia fue bastante privada pero con mucho lujo. Los novios se fueron de luna de miel a un lugar secreto, y estableceran su residencia en los Turf de WA. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Just Ducky ! ! sponsored by ! ! The Krewe of the Duckolytes ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - WorldsAway Website Open! - {!} By Jimi, Duckolyte Sr. Wing Over the past couple of months, I have been working on a new website. Yes, of course it's WorldsAway related, and yes, I know there are lots of other sites out there. But that is where this one was designed to be different!! What I call the "WorldsAway Web" (unofficial, of course) is a pretty darn large website, currently with exactly 100 web pages (I counted ). As of August 12, this site will be open "to the public". Because the site is so large, it would be difficult for me to tell you everything that's there without getting my article chopped in half by Brynne :-), so here is a listing of some of the things that are available on this site; A Links page: with the most WorldsAway related links I have seen as of yet An Advertisements/Classifieds Section: A place where someone can post advertisements for free on the web, or look for a job. A contest section: see the article "New Duckolyte Contest" for details. The Duckolyte Homepage: This is the newer version of the old pages, with many additions and revisions. Some of these additions include the adding of the complete text of our Constitution and By-Laws, updated information about the Krewe of the Duckolytes, a games schedule to see what Duckolyte events are hosted where for that week or month, Duckolyte games results, with information on last week's winners of Duckolyte Events and what they won, as well as the current monthly standings. You can also see an archive of past events results. Also, an up-to-date (as possible, that is) Duckolyte member list is also available. Coming soon are the 'Ducky Profiles' With info on Duckolyte avatars. The ESP! Homepage! How could I leave this out . As Brynne probably has mentioned already somewhere at the top of this issue, ESP! is now on the web! On their site, you can view html conversions of all the back issues, plus you can view all those nice Kymer-conomics graphics within the documents :-). Also, each issue's Table of Contents is linked with the various articles, so you can just click to view the article you want, instead of trying to scroll through and find it yourself. One last feature that is probably worth mentioning is the discussion forum. To be honest, as I am writing this article, I am having difficulties trying to get it to work. So depending on what happens in between now and the time you read this article may decide whether the forum is operational or not. If it isn't, sorry ahead of time, and come back soon to check it out. If it is ready, well, ummm... nevermind! There are of course other smaller sections to this site that you should also check out. Curious yet? Good. So you probably wanna know the address huh? Well, here it is:http://webcontact.com/wa NOTE: If you haven't taken the time to download Netscape 2.0 or later yet, do so! I think its available from "Go:Netscape". This site is designed *specifically* for Netscape 2.0 or later! Enjoy!!!! And please remember to send any comments about the pages to me at the below addresses! Jimi, Duckolyte Sr. Wing 76740,1202 jimi@webcontact.com {!} - New Duckolyte Contest - {!} By Proud Feather, Duckolyte Wing (103746,1554) Hi there! This is the first of a biweekly encoded message that will appear on the Duckolyte Homepage. Each message the winner will receive a rare prize. "How do I win?" you're asking yourself. To win you must decode the message and then send me the text that I instruct you to send via electronic mail. If you are the first person to decode the message and send me the text that I asked you to, you will win a rare prize. This message's winning text string is, "The grass is greener on the other side of the pot of gold, near the rainbow". If you win both rounds in the month, you will get a special prize. Happy decoding, and Good Luck! The contest can be found on the Internet at the address: http://webcontact.com/wa/contest {!} - Duckolyte Auction: August 7 - {!} By Duckolyte Sassy Wild Cat There was a super show of heads at the auction! Here is a listing of the results of the August 7 auction! These buyers made great deals! Item. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Price. . . . . . . . . . . .Purchaser ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bag-O-Chips . . . . . . . . . . .5,000. . . . . . . .Mrs. Wert P Gumby Candy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,550. . . . . . . . . .Doc Purpleman Duck (Rare Blue). . . . . . . . 444. . LumMoose, Duckolyte Sr. Wing Kimi (Color-mapped blue/multi hair) . . .1,500. . . . . . Jessica Hahn Kimi (Rare Blonde). . . . . . . 800. . . . . . . . . .Sunray Mariah Rose (Rare Blue98 Body paint). . 1,300. . . . . . . . . . Jessica Hahn Rose (Rare Pink 74/60). . . . . .1,250. . . . . . . . . .Sunray Mariah Rose (Rare White) . . . . . . . .1,000. . . . . . . . . . .Jewel Stone Snowman . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,800. . . . . . . . . .Doc Purpleman Watson. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,400. . . . . . . . . . .Jewel Stone Wendy (Color-mapped bronze/blonde hair) 2,000 . . . . . . Jessica Hahn Werner (Rare Black92 Face). . . . 650 . . . . . . . . . .Doc Purpleman Woman (Color-mapped purple hair) 1,700. . . . . . Duckolyte Larry Lamb Frost Elf . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000. . . . . . . . . . . . .li'l kt We would like to thank all those who attended and made this Kymer first a huge sucess!!! See you at the next auction! {!} - Duckolyte Auction: August 14 - {!} By Duckolyte Sassy Wild Cat Turf: DUCK SOUP Date: Wednesday 8/14/96 Time: 6:00PM WAT Ornaments For Everyone! Come and see these fantastic ornaments! Collected by the rich and famous. Join the ranks and purchase your very own! Items to be auctioned Pink Valentine Ornament, Angel Ornament, Angel Boysenberry Pie Ornament, Ballerina, Morphs to teddy bear Baby Bear Ornament, Gingerbread Man Pizza Ornament, Snowman Pink Body Paint (3 left) Ornament, Toy Drum Bronze104 Body Paint, (3 left) Red Stocking (Holds 3 items) Red Space Chest (minimum bid 2,000) Red62 Body Paint (3 left) Ornament, Dove The best auction in all of Kymer is ready for your tokens! Come and join the fun! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Advertisements ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Kymer Avatar Group Information ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ====================================================================== Krewe of the Duckolytes ====================================================================== The Krewe of the Duckolytes is founded upon the historic carnival traditions of role-playing, fun, entertainment, celebration, benevolence, and good citizenship. Our motto is: Friendship, Fun and Benevolence. If you are interested in becoming a member, please download our application (DUCKAP.TXT), Constitution, and Bylaws, all located in the Worlds Away Life section of the forum library. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Game and Event Advertisements ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ===================================================================== LeadMan's 3 of 15 Lotto LeadMan, 1001413,1430 ===================================================================== Select 3 of 15 numbers from 1 to 15 and win with 2 or 3 matches. The order of the numbers isn't important. Tickets 20T each, unlimited tickets allowed. Next drawing Saturday, May 11, 3pm WAT, KYMER CASINO. You don't have to be present to win. Download LOTTO315.ZIP from the forum library for easy ticket selection. Contacty any ticket seller to buy tickets inworld: Aunt Bobbie, chazz, Dreamer 008, Duncan McLaud, Hispaniclyte Ivan Boricua, IN-T, MANO, SpellBinder, Sukelie, The Duke, Thomi. For further information or to buy tickets with PAC (208-3) write to LeadMan at 1001413,1430 ====================================================================== Leadman's Sport & Event Bets LeadMan, 100413,1430 ====================================================================== Bet on all major Waking World sports events (and more) and earn big money! We cover Boxing, Formula 1 Car Racing, IndyCar Racing, ATP Tennis, NHL, NBA, etc. We are working on bets for inworld events too. Bets ranging from 20-1000T We are accepting Phantasus Credit (PAC) Official agents: Cr. Necrolyte Little Princess, Tin-Tin, Rotfuchs ESP us or E-Mail LeadMan at 100413,1430 if interested. A list of the latest is available for download as SPORTBET.TXT ====================================================================== Beteigeuze's Late Night Tales Beteigeuze ====================================================================== This is a new game in German language, which will be held every Tuesday at 5:00 pm WAT in the turf Kunterbunt. The objective will be to create a tale together, and while in Germany it's late night (or even early morning ) at 5:00 pm WAT, it will be a meeting point for all who can't sleep and are creative! So if you'd like to listen or even participate, you are all invited! ====================================================================== Duckolyte Kymer Melissa T ====================================================================== Ever find yourself wandering around late at night, wishing you could find a Kymer game? Ever get stood up by the special someone, and have nothing to do inworld? Well, you can come to Mel's Parlor in the turf building. I host Duckolyte Kymer with Melissa T on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 9:00pm WAT. Drop in, and you could win one of our large pots. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Items for Sale or Wanted ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ====================================================================== Wanted: Red Girl Ornament Cassandra Kane, 75207,2054 ====================================================================== Huzzah! With the help of a friend, the soldier has finally returned home from the wars to his ballerina, to much rejoicing by all and sundry (sundry = guard-spiders and fuzzies). Only one thing now mars their joy, and that is not knowing the whereabouts of his sister, who ran off to become an actress in order to avoid an arranged marriage. Her parents now regret the arrangement and wish only to have their daughter home again. She has written one letter to her friend the ballerina, which gave no return address. She was last seen wearing a red dress, and a bonnet, boarding the coach to London. If anyone knows where she might be found, please write to Cassandra Kane at 75207,2054 or ESP Cassandra Kane inworld. *REWARD* of tokens and/or rare items upon her safe return home. Thank you. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Businesses and Services ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ====================================================================== Angel Gambler's Fashion and Photography Services Angel, 70264,51 http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/angel_gambler ====================================================================== * Traditional ethnic costumes * Modern fashions * Wedding fashions * Custom-made heads * Photography and touch-up services * Cosmetics * Advertisements Prices start as low as 50T! For more information, email Angel [70264,51], ESP Angel Gambler inworld, or visit http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/angel_gambler for samples. ====================================================================== Avatar Cleaning Service Koa and Motio ====================================================================== Announcing Koa's and Motio's Avatar Cleaning Service! We clean avatars. First we give them one FREE sample (their choice) of soap, water or lotion. If they like it, they can have THE FULL CLEANING, that is when they get all of those things for only 10 Tokens. We have had very many satisfied customers ... like Cyber King, Razzle Dazzle and many others! Try it! ====================================================================== Bella Belle's Boutique ====================================================================== Looking for that perfect look? Dead, simple, kewl, stylish, 60's style, animal like? You name it! Wanna find the perfect head? And the perfect paint? You need some help from Bella Belle's Boutique. ====================================================================== Bulldozer Security Service Brainchild, 101761,2030 ====================================================================== You are afraid of the Headhunter or other terrible creatures? You are afraid of obtrusive fans? You are afraid of thieves? You are afraid of other things and persons? Then we are the right business for you! Bodyguard Service ================= Contact us and we are on your side if you need to put something on the ground. We will take care of you, your things or other persons. You can have your own *bodyguard* for only 120T per hour! Contact Brainchild at 101761,2030 or via ESP in WA! Tresor Room ============ Do you have rare items that are very important for you? Contact us, we will take care of your items in a full safe Tresor Room. Now you needn't rent a two room apartment. If you will lock a item, we claim only 1% to 10% of the worth of the item per month. And you get a certificate, that *you* own the thing! For example: 10% on a spider 1% on a Oracles Candle Please contact Brainchild at 101761,2030 or via ESP in WA! ====================================================================== Chapel of Dreams Ordained Ministers Bog Brains, Wing Commander Necrolyte Sunray White Rose Magica Sunray @thena Piemur Sunray Ann Sunray Lummoose, Kymer Guardian ====================================================================== The Ordained Avatars of Kymer have opened the Chapel of Dreams to serve your needs for wedding services. You can get an all inclusive wedding package, including officiating avatar, wedding chapel, decorations, security, and a reception hall from us! If you are interested, please contact any of us via esp. We can then discuss prices. Remember there is a fixed fee of 150T for anyone performing a wedding ceremony, all other items are extra. ====================================================================== Clover's Collectibles Clover, 73071,1252 Passion, 102443,1111. ====================================================================== Kymer's Standard in Auctioning Excellence! We are here to serve you. We are accepting consignment of rare items for future sales. Consignment fee is 20% of selling price. All items will be auctioned to the highest bidder. If you have rare or hard to obtain items you wish to place on consignment, please contact one of our staff inworld or via Email (All CIS UIDs and information supplied will be handled in a professional and confidential manner): Clover at 73071,1252; Passion at 102443,1111. Auction Catalog available in Library #4 WorldsAway Life: File name catalog.zip Consignment Hours: Thursday 11:00 AM WAT Thursday 7:00 PM WAT Monday 9:00 PM WAT (at the completion of the auction) Other days and times by appointment Please supply the following information: Consignor Avatar Name, Consignor UID (if different from UID on Email); Item Names; Minimum starting bids for each item; Locale for collecting consignment item; Proposed time for collection of consignment item. You will receive return Email either confirming the meeting or proposing an alternate meeting time. Please allow 1-2 days for a response. ====================================================================== CyberServices CyberServices, 101533,3636 ====================================================================== Announcing the opening of 'CyberServices', an adult oriented service. One to One ESP conversations on any subject. Strictly over 18's only. Participants will never meet any member of 'CyberServices'. All conversations will be carried out via ESP at the specified times arranged. Discretion is guaranteed, though before any conversaton starts, you will be required to state that you are over 18 years old, and that you understand the adult nature of the service. These statements will be saved in a text file, and a copy sent to you if you required. The cost of the service is 150T per sesson, with discounts available for bookings of two or more sessions. Sessions will run no less then 20 minutes, and no more than half an hour. You may change your mind, about participating, during the first five minutes, but a charge of 75 Tokens will be made (your original fee will be waived). For more details of the services on offer, please leave a PRIVATE message in the forum (click the 'private' checkbox), adressed to 'CyberServices' UID 101533,3636. Subsequent correspondance will be via EMail. Please note, this service is ONLY available inworld, and cannot be conducted via EMail. 'CyberServices' is looking to add one more woman to it's team (currently one male, and one female). If you are interested in applying for this position, please post a PRIVATE message in the forum. You need not use your real name, and details will be sent to you upon receipt of your request. Please note: It is not the intention of 'CyberServices' to offend. Please do not reply to this ad, if you find talk of an adult nature offensive. ====================================================================== NUbie YUniversity Karynda, Sejanus ====================================================================== Turn newbiehood from a week to an hour. Thursdays 6 to 9 am WAT TURF: School. More hours soon. Learn the basics: Your way around with a tour; Turn, Walk & Stand where you want; Worlds Away Economics; the 3 W's of getting help (Who, When & Where); how to avoid stealing and being stolen from; donations gratefully accepted now or later; Karynda, Karynda2, Karynda3, Karynda4, or Karynda5. Partner: Sejanus. Teachers to be announced. ====================================================================== Passion's Fashions Passion ====================================================================== Passion's Fashions is here to serve the avatars of Kymer. We want you to look good! For a mere 70T you can be on your way to a better you and a mere 90T for a head color consultation (Not including Heads and Sprays) We coordinate your avatar look and colors. Come to us for your fashion needs and advice! All customers extremely satisfied! Passion's Fashions has been in business since early September 1995 and is *extremely* successful. 7-10 Avatars use this service daily. Many famous avatars come to Passion's Fashions for Fashion advice. Turf Address: Passion's Fashions Open 6WAT p.m. - 8WAT p.m. daily ====================================================================== Passion's Interior Decorating Service Passion ====================================================================== Passion's Interior Decorating Service is here to serve you and your turf decorating needs. Turf address: Passion's Fashions <> Open Daily: 6WAT p.m. - 8WAT p.m. **10-15 Avatars use this service daily.** Many satisfied customers have used this service. Furnishings supplied by the customer are placed tastefully in your turf. Check out the file: Hottub.gif in the Forum Library for an example or ESP Passion for a tour of Passion's Interior Decorating Showroom. Prices are as follows: 2 room turf: 350T / 3 room turf: 400T / 4 room turf: 500T Have the turf to be envied! We look forward to serving you! ====================================================================== The Phantasus Yellow Pages GermanGiant Necrolyte Xian Hotspot ====================================================================== For the most complete listing of inworld businesses, and the ONLY single listing of resident avatars, check out the WorldsAway Yellow & White Pages! Whether to find a service, check to see which businesses are already operating inworld, or to verify the correct spelling or User ID of an avatar, the WA Yellow & White Pages is the BEST source available! You can download a copy of the WA Yellow & White Pages in the WA Community Forum Library, Newsstand Section, filename YELLOW.TXT. Thanks to all the WAYP customers for making it a success! If you have any questions or would like to place an ad, contact GermanGiant, Big Kahoona, Necrolyte Xian, Hotspot, or Sunray Dream Keeper. ====================================================================== Rare Mart Ropes Pago, Duckolyte Wing Princess Di Pajo ====================================================================== "Nothing can compare......with rare! We are pleased to announce the opening of our new store, RARE MART. We deal in the consignment and selling of many rare items, and offer a very competitive consignment fee of 7.5%. You may contact either Ropes Pajo, Duckolyte Wing, or Princess Di Pajo inworld for more information! ====================================================================== SWIFTIES: London/New York/Kymer 101760,3117 or auction@swft.demon.co.uk ====================================================================== RARE ITEMS, HEADS, PAINTS AUCTIONED WEEKLY Every Sunday 4:00 pm WAT Turfname: SWIFTIES Items taken on consignment for 10% fee email us at 101760,3117 or auction@swft.demon.co.uk or ESP inworld: Swifty Mage or Swiftness Mage Counselor ====================================================================== Tarot Readings! by LaJolla ====================================================================== I am offering in-world tarot readings to interested avatars for a reasonable price, starting at just 25 T for a basic three card reading, or on a sliding scale if needed. I currently use the Moon Garden Tarot, a beautiful Tarot deck focused on the feminine energies of the moon. Readings can be tailored to your time, questions, interest, and how much you would like to spend (i.e., longer, more complex readings would cost more). I encourage you to give this a try. All readings would be through ESP if privacy is desired and your confidentiality is assured. I hope you'll give it a try and will find Tarot to be fun, informative, and insightful. To make an appointment for a specific time, either weekends any time or weeknights after 5 p.m. WAT, send me an e-mail with possible times and we will arrange it. Otherwise you can approach me in-world for an impromptu reading or to make a time for later. But please don't interrupt if I'm playing a game such as Worlds of Fortune (my favorite) or Kymer or such. If you ESP and I don't answer you right away, that's probably why. :) ====================================================================== WA Auction House Happy Little Trees, 76463,1405 ====================================================================== Happy Little Trees, Pokey, Nonsense., EMP Emperor Cyber King Every other Saturday, at 5:00PM WAT, Auctions are held in the turf: WA Auction House. Items consist of rare to the rarest of the rare, and all rare items are accepted for consignment at a mere 7% consignment fee, the lowest of any scheduled auction. Please ESP Happy Little Trees, Pokey, Nonsense Stone, or EMP Emperor Cyber King in-world, or E-mail Happy Little Trees at 76463,1405. ====================================================================== Wheels On Fire Limo Service Karynda ====================================================================== I'm Karynda, your worlds away ride (as in wheels) Need to get somewhere *FAST* ? Need to find that item or place ? Want to whisper with that special someone without the hassle of driving ? Price: I work for tips (as in tokens) Hours On Duty: Whenever I can Esp me and I'll come to you... Excuse all the names: Karynda, Karynda2, Karynda3, Karynda4 or Karynda5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! How to Send Submissions to ESP! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! {!} - English ESP! - {!} Publisher/Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . Acolyte Brynne (104706,716) Deadline: Saturdays, 3:00 p.m. WAT Types of submissions: Engagements and Wedding Announcements Letters to the Editors Advertisements Articles regarding new and existing groups Feature and General Articles Letters to the Editors Opinion Pieces Poetry Anything you wish to submit but are not sure who should receive Financial Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mufasa (104453,2275) Deadline: Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. WAT Auction reports; all material pertinent to the economy of Kymer. {!} - ESP!'s TWIP - {!} Co-Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jal (74323,3325) Co-Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sweet Suz (74323,3325) Deadline: Saturdays, 3:00 p.m. WAT Gaming Reports and Announcements Letters to TWIP's editors regarding games and events in Phantasus Anything else relating to games and events All new event listings and changes to current listings {!} - Deutsche ESP! - {!} Chief-Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Zooey (101552,3560) Deadline: Saturdays, 1:00 p.m. WAT (20:00 CET) Types of submissions: Gaming Reports General Articles Engagement and Wedding Announcements Letters to the Editors Advertisements Anything you wish to submit but are not sure who should receive Features Editor . . . . . . . . . . . .Throbbing Gristle (101552,3474) Deadline: Saturdays, 2:00 a.m. WAT (11:00 CET) Feature and General Articles Opinion Pieces Poetry Group Liaison Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Turbo (101637,1021) Deadline: Fridays, 4:00 p.m. WAT (23:00 CET) Articles regarding new groups Articles regarding existing groups Anything other than events regarding groups {!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!} Event Listings for the Event Schedule cover ESP!'s TWIP publication period of Monday through Sunday. Submitting these listings to TWIP is in addition to submitting event information to the Scheduling Group. Scheduling conflicts, if any, are resolved by the Scheduling Group. Changes to recurring events should be submitted to both the Scheduling Group and ESP!'s TWIP. ESP! is available in the Newsstand Library of the WA Community Forum and thus earns no tokens to pay authors. Likewise, advertisements are no charge to the advertisers. Upon the availability of inworld documents and the sale of ESP! inworld, this policy will be reviewed and payments/advertisement rates will be adjusted accordingly. !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!} {!} - Writers' Guidelines for ESP! Submissions - {!} Each issue of ESP! requires a great deal of time to prepare. Once the Editor has received everything for an issue, eight to ten hours of actual work hours later, the issue is ready for uploading by mid- afternoon Sunday. Writers can help reduce some of this time by following these tips. 1. ESP! does not place article titles in all caps; we initial cap the main words of an article title. Most of our writers submit their articles with their titles in all caps; to clean this up, the Editor must change it to lower case and then initial cap the main words. Writers: help us save a little time by typing your titles in initial caps only (main words: not words like "a", "the" when used within the title, "by", etc.) Along these lines, it is not necessary to include the {!} - before and after your article title or try to center it. In the conversion to ASCII text for retrieval into WordPerfect 5.1, the attempt to center the title becomes blank spaces which need to be deleted because the title is not really centered. Type your title flush left and your byline underneath it. The Editor will run her macro which will center the title, add the {!} - and - {!}, move to the next line and center the byline. 2. ESP! doublespaces between paragraphs and does not use tabbed indents for the main body of the article. These are flush left. Lists within an article may be indented or tabbed. Articles submitted that are single spaced between paragraphs and tabbed in one tab position at the beginning of the next paragraph require major cleanup. Once saved as ASCII text, these tabs become spaces which must be manually removed. Because some of the gaming reports include tabbed lists of winners and items won (which in ASCII become spaces), a global search and replace of spaces cannot be done. If this is done, then the gaming reports must be totally reformatted, replacing all the spaces with tabs or putting the deleted spaces back in for the lists to line up properly. 3. If you have subheadings within your article, do not type them all in upper case. Type them in initial caps and underscore them with the dashes like this: Subheading ---------- [Begin text here] 4. Use the ellipsis (three periods) correctly. The proper use of the ellipsis is [word][space]...[space][word]. The ellipsis is used between a sentence and a phrase, not between two full sentences, and the periods within the ellipsis do not have spaces in between. In quotes from other sources, the ellipsis is also used to designate that text has been removed. Too often, writers pepper their articles with multiple periods in between sentences.......Like this. A very careful search and replace must be done because we do not want to remove a period where one properly belongs. 5. Event Listings: hosts submitting events are asked to follow this format so we can more easily conform it to our schedule format: Day and Date Time Name of Event (not in all caps; initial capped) Location (if in a turf, indicate Turf Address: [name]) Host's Name Description of event (keep to a maximum of 100 words) Submitting a listing that looks like this: EVENT NAME, MONDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY TIME DESCRIPTION HOST'S NAME requires us to retype this to conform to our Event Schedule format. Please help us save some time by submitting it as indicated above. We will put in the leader dots on the second line between the location and the host's name. 6. Above all, proofread your article before submitting it. A spellcheck is run on all articles but words like "here" and "hear" will not be caught because they are both legitimate words. So make sure your words are spelled correctly. Every article submitted is read carefully and whatever grammatical, spelling and other changes necessary are made; but making these corrections can get very time consuming and delays the production of ESP! Think of these as Writers' Guidelines for ESP! They're not cast in stone and we won't reject a submission because it doesn't conform to our guidelines. ESP! needs all the original articles it can get! But anything our writers can do to help us spend less time in the actual production of ESP! to gives us *more* time to search for authors to provide us with original stories and other articles would be *greatly* appreciated! Thank you! !}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}!}