CHAPTER NINETEEN
Zen & the Art of Escape
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Date: 08/03/94; 12:04PM
From: Brass Orchid [3]

Lacking sufficient convenient plot devices, Nightwatcher 
produces his Ion Cannon from his BOII, just in case, as the 
group hurries along in their progress towards the back of the 
room.  The misplaced PCB's prove to be sufficiently confusing 
to afford them a clean escape with Flint Fireforge following 
just behind, swinging his ax now in a menacing manner.

Once Flint has firmly closed the door, he uses his ax to 
create a finely crafted door brace from a nearby table in the 
back room.

There are a few tables here and a large wall mural which is, 
at present, showing the mayhem just beginning beyond the door. 
One table, the only one occupied, is populated by three 
people, all of whom seem delighted by the activities on the 
wall mural, and are placing bets on the outcome.  The PCB's do 
not seem to be favored, and all of the wagers are on one 
regular patron or another.

Nightwatcher pulls up a chair at an adjoining table to await 
the attention of these three people.

Baldy is wondering how they use the wall murals to view scenes 
at a distance, touching the edge of it, and finding that it 
seems to be what he would take for ordinary paint, except that 
the shapes and colors change with a startling fluidity.

The Wrecker takes a chair opposite Nightwatcher.

Flint Fireforge groans and grips his ax while he bemoans the 
obvious unskilled clumsiness of the combatants beyond the 
door.  If he had the time, he would probably saunter out and 
conduct a quick class on fighting, melee style.

Darkness walks over to the little corner bar and taps a few 
cool drinks for herself and her friends, setting them on the 
table and then sitting down to wait and enjoy the show.

Your move...
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Date: 08/04/94; 1:59PM
From: Darkness [17]

Speaking in Terran, I advise Baldy that the screens are not of 
Kervokian design.  They were created by the Helvish, my own 
people, and function on the priciples of sub-quarkian 
particles, such as the Q particles, which we numbered zero 
through seven, even though there are actually sixteen of them. 
Only the even-weighted particles have any function.  The 
uneven-weighted particles are, for all purposes, invisible to 
energy and matter, being dark and ethereal and having no rest 
state.

We once embraced a religion based on the sub-Q levels and used 
the animal I transformed into for hunting as the main symbol.  
It seems sort of silly, but we were able to reconstruct our 
civilization after a collapse, using the mnemonics employed to 
encode the hard data into symbologies of faith.  I guess it 
doesn't matter anymore.  Anyway, the fight seems to be 
slowing, and we should be able to procede soon.

-[)arkness-
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Date: 08/07/94; 2:40PM
From: The Wrecker [11]

Wrecker gets out of the chair opposite Nightwatcher and 
saunters over to the chair NEXT to Nightwatcher and sits 
down!  Would you have time in the near future to show me that 
+11 staff of moaning again, I'm afraid I missed it the first 
time and I do need a laugh today of all days since it's my 
birthday!!
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Date: 08/07/94; 3:30PM
From: Baldy [13]

Baldy chooses to reside on the chair just vacated by Wrecker 
after accepting Darkness' expalanation of the wall mural.

I don't want to miss this show...
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Date: 08/07/94; 8:32PM
From: Nightwatcher [1]

NO!  You don't pay attention for months on end and then you 
show up demanding things.  Too bad for you.  Birthday or 
otherwise!
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Date: 01/05/1999; 2:04PM
From: The Game Master [krtkuzba@execpc.com]

At this point, the imminent collapse of the Commodore BBS
world creates an abrupt end to the story.
We may surmise, however, that our party safely negotiates
their passage through the undercity to the empty space
above the sphere below the city, and then to the ship and
freedom.  It is known that L.S. Creetor escapes somehow,
most likely by some combination of charm and skullduggery,
and that Flint, Darkness, and Brass Orchid make their
way back to Earth and the present day.  Baldy and The
Wrecker proceed to investigate the Universe. Love Bunny
exists in her own reality within the alternate universe
which is the Mind of the Ship, since her participation in
the lower worlds is no longer required. Of the fate of
Nightwatcher, nothing is known beyond that he was
with the party when they departed Kervokian space.
Given his bold nature and the technology he was holding
when last seen, he might be nearly anywhere, any time.
At any rate, only Brass Orchid, Darkness, and Flint
Fireforge are present when the story begins again
in an obscure diner in the middle of nowhere in the
middle of the night after some years have gone by.
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Story continues in Forgotten Legacy 2000