Eagles Nest BBS 7/Eagles_Nest_Mac_Collection_Disc_7.TOAST/PD General/PRIZE6/PRIZE6.TXT

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THE PRIZE

Newsletter of the Watchers Of CIS

JULY, 1794

ISSUE #6 -- 9 THERMIDOR

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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR'S CAGE


Issue number six of THE PRIZE, and what this half-year has wrought; since I
signed on last December we have acquired a name for ourselves, a body of
Officers and two orders of knighthood, our own room, our own library, our own
conference room, this newsletter, a convention to go to, and a third season of
HIGHLANDER. Time flies when you're running up the bill...


Renovations of our Virtual Hall are now completed (except for that mysterious
stain up in front, but that was here when we got here), so We would like to take
this opportunity to post some courtesy rules:

Checking of all weapons at the door is mandatory. The Virtual Cloakroom is to
your right as you enter; the dignified matrons guarding either side of the door
will be happy to show you over to the Desk with whatever level of force they
deem necessary. Swords will not be released without a valid check-ticket -- no
exceptions.

As our Hall has replaced the former flame-war room, we respectfully request that
serious disagreements be handled outside in the Virtual Parking Lot.

The Sysops will not make change for the Virtual Soda Machine. The Virtual Change
Machine is in the basement beside the Virtual Washer and Dryer.

The Virtual Dojo is through the door to the left of the stage (mind the steps);
please put all equipment away when not in use.

The "Please do not feed the mythical pleisiosaur" sign on the conference room
door means exactly that; violators will be forced to contribute to a fund for
the Monster's dentalwork.

And finally, we remind you that there is no smoking in the Virtual Executive
Bathroom as it's bad for the 'puters.


Concurrent with the completion of the remodeling, we have been presented with
the keys to our own conference room; room #10, "The Highlands", is now available
for regular and irregular realtime meetings. Special events will be noted in THE
PRIZE as they are scheduled provided I am given timely notification -- remember,
the standard deadline is the first day of the month.


On to business --

Shooting has started in Vancouver for the third season of HIGHLANDER. According
to Velia Tanner (relayed from the Internet by Helva Peters), the first script to
be filmed is THE SAMURAI, wherein the origin of Duncan's katana is revealed.
Episode #2, LINE OF FIRE, brings back Richie and Dawson.

We welcome to our band of Watchers future HIGHLANDER director Mario Azzopardi,
who brings the unsettling news that our humble efforts do not go unobserved. In
fact, 'twas the Powers who recommended us to him as an ideal place to get the
feel of HIGHLANDER's audience...


In this issue:

Once again, the onset of reruns thrusts us into a bloodthirsty mood: herein, the
sequel to the bizarrely popular article in THE PRIZE #4, "Grues R Us".

And so long as we are on the subject of reruns and sequels, we present
installment number three of our intermittent series on attempts to make a
sensible connection between the first film and the series. Alternate universes,
HA! (Further attempts may be found in THE PRIZE #1 and #2.)

He's tall, he's bald, he's mad as hell: Top Ten reasons to love the Kurgan.


In response to a frequently-heard question, here are the Goddess's Rules for
Winning a Title.

And we have for our Watchers in the United Kingdom some information on
scheduling and tape availability.


Next month (gee, is it *August* already?): more on last month's discussion of
Holy Ground, a look at how immies make their money, and a homebrewed Highlander
drinking game.


-- Samantha Lynn, 73524,43


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BRIDE OF GRUES R US

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Sex and violence; that's why we love this show. As CIS has certain rules, I can
only present to you here our thoughts on the violence. Strange, but true...

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SL -- Has anyone asked yet whether all that white stuff at the end of PHARAOH'S
DAUGHTER was that those birds exploded or something...? ;)


KC -- GAWD!  I just posted a supernote on all my PHARAOH'S questions, and I just
realized I've left off one of the most important questions I had... WERE THOSE
BIRD FEATHERS????

If so, I protest.  That was gross.  Cut off a head, a hand, impale all you want,
but DON'T blow up liddle white BIRDIES!!

No kidding, I got the impression those were bird feathers wafting thru the air
during the Quickening, but after rewatching the end (seen the last 10 minutes
TWICE... and not much else)... it looked like round circles (round circles???
are there others?) of paper or sompin.  Like jumbo-sized confetti.  Besides,
there seemed to be much too many of the simulated "feathers" for the two birdies
in the cage to provide.

They showed the birds...then to [Marcus], then to Duncan surrounded by falling
white stuff.  You make the call...

But they didn't have to explode birdies.  I'll try not to lose my head. :)


SL -- Here's a thought: the windstorm from the Quickening sucked all de feathers
off the widdle birdies... ;)


KC --   <<windstorm plucked the liddle birdies>>

Gawd I hope so.  Naked birdies is easier for me to accept than busted birdies.
I hope they didn't imply that the birds were killed by the Quickening.  OTOH...
it's crossed my mind about what would happen to any *living* stuff near the
"point of [spooze]", given the violence to inanimate objects.

In the movie, a crowd of 30 or so saw the Kurgan receive Kastagir's Quickening,
and they all survived (well... except maybe for that old lady that rode the
hood... "MOM")   Appropriate memory for Mother's Day, no?

<G>    BTW... any thoughts from anybody on her fate?  the movie didn't really
make it clear if she died or not.  I'll have to rewatch that.

    <<[To RG, not shown] Tweedy fans unite!!!>>

I'm wif YOU, bud!  I was really shocked abit when the feathers flew. Look at it
closely, and it *is* confetti (round stuff).  So where'd it come from?  I still
haven't watched the whole eps, so I'm not sure what else was in the room that
could have provided the White Spooze (?). Could there have been a feather pillow
in the room?  Or some packing material of some sort?  (btw...anybody else notice
that that blue lit room looked alot like others we've seen?  like when Richie
took Mako's head?)

The thought of exploding tweedies is MUCH too gross.  And inhumane, too, even in
fiction.  I mean... it was just unnecessary, if they (the tv people) were
filming that scene and said... "HEY... I got a GREAT idea... Let's make the
birds blow up and spread feathers everywhere!".


M-E -- Wait! Wait, y'all!!!!  You mean you're afraid they blew up real birds?  I
thought the problem was that the birds exploded as part of the storyline!

Not to worry your liddle birdee brains!  The SPCA and other type groups monitor
film and tv production on behalf of liddle birdees and other critters.  I
suspect that is true in Europe as well as here, because the animal rights groups
there are even more militant than here.

If you're still worried, ask on Showbiz forum what the name of Bridgette
Bardot's group is; they are one of the main animal rights groups in France. And
then write her.

Even if it was real feathers, all they had to do was stand on a ladder, cut open
a down pillow and let it fly!  OK?

Are all you liddle ones calmed down now?  Do you want some milk and cookies?
<BG>

M-E  (Agent Provocateur) uh, well, maybe this time (Nanny)  <GG>


RG -- <<Are all you liddle ones calmed down now?  Do you want some milk and
cookies?>>

Yes nanny,my widdle heart isn't goin boom boom boom *no* more.<g>
Can I have owtmeal cookies? ;)

wobert


KC --  <<real feathers vs. pseudofeathers...>>

My Dearest Nanny...<G>..

Nope... I was concerned that the feathers were a part of the *storyline*. I
figured they didn't RILLY blow up birds, since that would catch holy heck from
the SPCA... in EVERY country.  (hurray for the folks in France and England,
btw).

My angst was that they even IMPLIED that innocent liddle birdies got blasted.
That is just too gross.  I don't want to think that the power from the
Quickening would do that to living things.  Richie watched Duncan receive Slan's
Quickening, and he lived to go on to bigger and better things.  This did make me
think, tho, about why there is so much violence to the surroundings (inanimate)
because of the power transfer, and what effect that might have on living things
that got too close.  (hmmm... didn't Tessa see Duncan receive Caleb's Quickening
also?)

Thanks for trying to diffuse my fears, tho, M-E.  Tis appreciated.  I just
didn't want to consider that birds were injured by the Quickeing in the story.
If so, it was a terribly unnecessary part of the plot, IMHO.

(can I have my milk and cookies now?)   <G>


RG -- I was just remembering some of the outdoor Q's we'd witnessed and I
thought of the furry little critters sleeping in the bushes. Imagine... thumper
is snoozin under a bush and suddenly... lightning is bouncing all over the
place... the wind is rrrrriiiipppppppping through your bush... and then the
leaves explode off the branches.
 If thumper doesn't have a coronary on the spot, he left his fur behind as he
headed-for-the-hills.

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RG -- If an immie is shot does he/she absorb the bullets or just carry the extra
weight??


CB -- From a strictly medical standpoint, there are many times when people are
shot that the bullets are left in the body.  This may be because of the location
-- too near the spine to remove without doing more damage, for example -- or
that the bullet is just sitting in muscle and it doesn't matter anyway.

They don't worry about infection, as the bullet is considered sterile when it
leaves the muzzle of the gun due to the heat from the muzzle blast.

The body encapsulates foreign objects with a thick, fibrous covering that for
all intents and purposes isolates the object from the surrounding tissues.
(That's one way they can tell, at autopsy, how long a bullet has been in the
body... how thick the encapsulation is.)

So if all this is true for us mortals, which it is, why should it be any
different for immortals?  What's different is that an immortal doesn't have to
worry about dying from a gunshot wound, and us mortals do.

This is probably a lot more than you ever wanted to know about bullets in the
body, but I hope it helps.


JC -- << They don't worry about infection >>

I do - the bullet will carry bits of clothing & who knows what else into the
body.


CB -- It's still considered sterile.  When a projectile enters soft tissue, a
thigh for example, it creates a path for itself through the tissue.  As it
passes, air is trapped inside the tissue as the path collapses in on itself
after the projectile has passed through it.  This is called the Temporary Cavity
Effect.  Depending on the type of projectile, some of it may be left behind in
the tissue as fragments (i.e.: you've heard of people having bullet fragments
left over after being shot and the bullet has been removed?).  Yes, there can be
bits of cloth, skin, anything that happened to be on the skin at the time... if
the bullet passed through an intermediary object before hitting the body it may
have pieces of that object, too.  But the fact still remains that it's
considered sterile.  If the wound is not sufficient to remove the bullet, the
the wound is just cleaned out (debrided as it's called), bandaged and followed
to make sure there aren't any subsequent problems while it's healing.

How do I come to know this?  I've spent 9 years working in a county hospital, 8
of them spent primarily in the ER.  Not to mention that one of my best friends
is a forensic investigator with a specialty in ballistics.

I'm not saying getting shot is fun... something to run right out and do... no
sirree Bob!  But even for us mortals there are times when it's not as bad as it
could be.


HP -- << The body encapsulates foreign objects with a thick, fibrous covering
that for all intents and purposes isolates the object from the surrounding
tissues. >>

Is lead poisoning a potential problem?

Considering the number of times Duncan has been shot, the extra weight must be
affecting his balance and his stamina by now.  He knows better than to pass up
an 'edge' in a fight, so I suspect he does something about it every few decades.


M-E -- Did you ever stop to think about all the lead in Duncan over the years?
He must have 3-5 pounds of lead he's toting around!  I haven't seen any signs of
them being extracted yet!!!!


KC -- <<if you left the sword or bullet, etc. in would they heal around it?>>

Hmmm...I would think so, since the "tissue" is doing the healing, but the
"metal" would be stuck there, so to speak.  Should make for some interesting X-
rays, huh.  :)


KB -- <<Should make for some interesting X-rays, huh.  :)>>

Not to mention fun with metal detectors!  As many times as Duncan's been shot,
you'd think he had enough metal in him to set things off...


DEGAN -- I believe that, as he heals from his wounds, his body rejects the
foreign objects and expels them from his body, sort of in the same manner that a
splinter will eventually work its way out during the healing process.  Either
that, or he manages to metabolize more than his RDA of minerals <G>!


KB -- <<I believe that, as he heals from his wounds, his body rejects the
foreign objects and expels them from his body...>>

Oh, eww, the mental image of the body rejecting the various bullets and whatnot
is just not appealing... <slightly squeamish g>


KC -- The more I think about it, I bet the metal bullet (or whatever) would work
its way out of the body in the healing process like a splinter...

Which makes me wonder what Tessa must have endured.  They've just finished a
major love making session in the shower... there's a {CLINK!!} and an old bullet
falls on the shower floor.  <VEG>

OR... same deal, only in bed.  Right in the middle of the session, Duncan stops
suddenly (not unlike he did when he sensed Richie in THE GATHERING) and says
"Please excuse me, darling, I have to go shed a metal projectile".

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RS -- ...[W]hat happens to all those headless bodies! If Duncan leaves a trail
of bodies behind him, eventually the police are gonna catch up with him. (Life
in prison? *shudder*).

What seems likely to me is that the bodies are somehow consumed by after death,
putting out all that lightning and fireworks.

Picture the poor confused cops in NY; "Shots fired in a garage...". when they
get there, just bullets lying on the floor, deformed from hitting a body, next
to a car with an open trunk, and the owner is now missing! (season finale, part
1)


C B-K -- <<What seems likely to me is that the bodies are somehow consumed by
after death, putting out all that lightning and fireworks. >>

At one time, I also believed this -- and still think it's a possibility.
Doesn't happen immediately, though.  We've seen glimpses of bodies, especially
in the first season episodes, during the Quickening.


HP -- << Yeah, but what happens to all those headless bodies! If Duncan leaves a
trail of bodies behind him, eventually the police are gonna catch up with him.
(Life in prison? *shudder*). >>

Which gives rise to one theory that the trunk of the T-Bird is getting full ...

Actually, we saw a grave for Caleb (MOUNTAIN MEN), and the detective in INNOCENT
MAN mentioned a decapitated body found near Soldiers' Bridge, which is where
Duncan took Slan in THE GATHERING.  And there have been numerous other sightings
of headless bodies.  They just haven't pinned it on Duncan yet ...


SL -- <<What seems likely to me is that the bodies are somehow consumed by after
death, putting out all that lightning and fireworks. >>

Hm, possible, BUT: in LEGACY it was at least implied that there was enough left
of Rebecca Horne to bury, since we saw her grave.


KC -- That question (about where da bodies go?) is one oft batted about around
here.  There has been much discussion, and evidence on both sides, I might
add... but we have much evidence that, on the series, at least, the body stays.
Rebecca (LEGACY), Amanda's mentor, even had a grave and a headstone.   I know
that in the movie (the one, the only..H1), the bods shimmered and floated
upwards (I suggested that they go up to whereever the dead Germans went on
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK).

Either way, you make a good point.  Too many bods... suspiciously all having
swordwounds and/or (fatal) decapitations... would make Duncan a favorite with
the cops.  OTOH... even with NO bodies... there is *a lot* of distruction from
the Quickening (esp. of late).  Who knows...


KB -- <<Yeah, but what happens to all those headless bodies! If Duncan leaves a
trail of bodies behind him, eventually the police are gonna catch up with him.
(Life in prison? *shudder*).>>

Ya know, this is one that has always bothered me.  Particularly when combined
with the mass destruction of windows, street lights, amusement park equipment,
etc. that seems to accompany the Quickenings.  You'd think the police would
catch on...

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LW -- [on Duncan] ... His lofty ideals are nice, he is kind, romantic and
sensitive... but I guess I'm just shallow <sob of shame> my favorite thing about
AP is his tush.


C B-K -- <<...my favorite thing about AP is his tush.>>

I am overfond of his pecs, myself.  Check out UNDER COLOR OF AUTHORITY, wherein
he wears a black tank top to do chin-ups.  There was general agreement among
Forum women that this particular costume was edifying.


HP -- <<...black tank top... edifying. >>

Most edifying, certainly, but I'll take the Sterling Moral Shoulders every time.


SR -- <<I'll take the Sterling Moral Shoulders every time.>>

Are we *really* dismembering the poor lad...? :(  Where ARE his chaperones?!?

(I've got dibs on his cousin.)


JB -- Speaking of dismembering, a perplexing question just occurred to me.  What
happens if one cleaves an Immortal right down the middle?  Would you end up with
two immortals or would one half die?


B G-S -- <<What happens if one cleaves an Immortal right down the middle?  Would
you end up with two immortals or would one half die?>>

Good grief!  John, that is a disgusting thought... Do you think immies are
flatworms?  There'd be two, but then that would be impossible, because... there
can be only one, of course.


KC -- <<Speaking of dismembering.....immies cleaved in half>>

Wooo.  The definitive "bride of grues" question!  Thanks for asking it! I'm
surprised this hasn't come up before (or has it and I'm having another of those
strange blank spells...G).

Well... if it's a partial cleave... I guess the sides would just heal up the
middle like the T-1000 in TERMINATOR 2.  (oooh that would be grodie to watch
tho).  If a complete cleave... hmmm.  I really don't know.  I wonder if there
would just be two immies, since each side would heal. (CLONES R US!!).

OTOH... if Xavier's hand didn't heal back quickly since the part was completely
severed, then maybe the two halves would just lay there for centuries until they
were reunited.  THEN... there would be a complete healing with the two halves
back to one whole, original immie (assuming, of course, they were aligned
properly!).

On Xavier's hand... the last word I remember hearing on the subject was that we
agreed (I think) that his hand was *probably* regenerating under that hook
(liddle baby hand... I suggested it looked like the mutant's hands in TOTAL
RECALL).   But... the healing of a completely severed part is very very slow,
unless the part is reattached.  Xavier's hand fell in the river, if I remember
right, so it was not recovered.  Still, this is a head wound (well... body wound
with head involvment)... so maybe this is different.

Guess this is one time we could say an immie would be "seriously injured" <G>.
BTW... what about cremation?  When the body is burned, how can the mostly dead
immie come back to life?  I remember us talking about that, but what was the
consensus?  Personally, *I* think the writers should hire us here on CI$ to be a
"consulting team" for continuity and logic. We can explain *anything*!  :)


HP -- <<Would you end up with two immortals or would one half die? >>

Well, we _have_ been trying to figure out how to clone Duncan ...

"HIGHLANDER IV: THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE" ??


MH -- I have 2 theories re: Xavier's lost hand.  Either:
   1. Lost limbs regenerate much more slowly than regular wounds heal OR
   2. Lost limbs don't regenerate at all, but if you sew the appendage
      back on, no matter how bad a shape it is in, it will heal.
Now that Xavier is gone, we'll have to wait for another Immie to lose something
(no Bobbit jokes, please <G>) to see which theory is sooth.
Hmmm, if Dawson were to become an Immortal, would his legs heal?

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SL -- <<[Cathryn Bauer-Kahn's husband Ted] wants to know:  "What happens if an
Immortal is burned at the stake and the body is incinerated before the Immortal
returns to life?">>

Oh, god, Mutant Grandson Of Grues <G>...

Well, lemme think: Marcus Korolus was burned as a witch and survived the
experience, though decidedly mad [SEE NO EVIL]. Burning at the stake is an
inefficient disposal method, I recall -- yer always left with a lot of holy
relics in the historical accounts, like hearts and bones and stuff. (anyone back
me up here? I know I read this somewhere.) Gee, I knew I should have paid more
attention to that Joan of Arc book.

Now, if an immortal were accidentally cremated under modern conditions... <G>

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CB -- Loved the latest issue of THE PRIZE [#4].  The ballistics discussion is
particularly interesting.  I would think that, especially with some shotguns at
close range, [being shot in the head] could kill an immortal.  I guess it would
depend on the range, shot size, etc.  I've seen some mortals who've come pretty
close to beheading themselves that way.

One side note I thought you might find interesting.  The reference to erections
occuring in males being hanged: it was the Marquis de Sade who first noticed the
phenomenon. That's where auto-erotic asphixiation began. Decrease the blood flow
up the carotid arteries to the brain, hopefully NOT enough to cause death, and
it's supposed to enhance orgasm.  Personally, I don't know, since I'm not
interested in taking that much of a risk.

Well, you must admit we get into some very interesting side discussions on this
forum, don't we?


[SL: Samantha Lynn; KC: Kim Crawford; M-E: Mary-Elizabeth Peters; RG: Robert
Green; CB: Carole Baker; JC: John Cowart; HP: Helva Peters; KB: Katherine
Bryant; RS: Ross Schacher; C B-K: Cathryn Bauer-Kahn; LW: Linda Walton; SR:
Sheri Richardson; JB: John Brobston; B G-S: Barb Galler-Smith; MH: Martin
Higgins]


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GRAND UNIFIED THEORY, TAKE THREE

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Despite the best efforts of the production company to shut us up with an
official explanation, Watchers still insist upon trying to reconcile the film
and the series...


Theory #7 comes from the mind of BRENT KNORR:


Oh Great Goddess, I offer up as sacrifice the following discussion on Holy
Ground, unification of movie and series as well as the blasphemous HL2.

What if, horror of horrors, there is such a place as the planet Zeist
and they do, on occasion banish certain undesirable (at least undesirable to
those fools) individuals to the planet Earth whereabout they become Immortal.
These individuals from said far off planet have in them a power referred to
as the Quickening which hapless humans on Earth lack.  A Zeistian Immortal
can only be killed by taking his/her head.  If this is done by another
Immortal , the victor receives the loser's Quickening.  So far nothing really
new.

However, if the Immortal is not killed by another Immortal, or is
killed on Holy Ground, the Q escapes.  The escaped Q divides into a number of
parts equal to the number of Immortals that had been taken by the unfortunate
Immortal who perished, plus one for the Immortal killed.  These Q-bits (or
Cupids, as they are sometimes called) seek out a new host.  As there are no
new Zeistian hosts, the Cupid will find a human who is at the moment of
conception.  The participants in the act of conceiving a child will simply
shrug off the rather electrifying experience as really good sex, not
realizing that their child to be has become a pre-imme.

This means you will then have two types of immortals running around,
Immortals that are originally from Zeist, and Immortals that are from Earth.
At the end of H1, Conner and Kurgen are the only two remaining Zeistian
Immortals.  The Gathering referred to in that movie is the first Gathering,
that of the Zeistian Immortals.  The Gathering referred to in the series is
that felt by the Human Immortals.

This does not mean that Zeistian and Human Immortals cannot slay each
other and benefit from it, they just do not feel compelled to seek each other
out.

This means that perhaps there can only be two! One Zeistian Original
Immortal and One Derived Human Immortal.

This would also explain why Immortals do not fight on Holy Ground.
For reasons discussed in HIFAQS, Holy Ground causes the dispersal of Q and
thus the creation of a bunch of pre-immies.  If a preimmie does not die a
violent death and thus never becomes immortal, at the moment of natural death
the Q will seek out another new host.


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Theory #8, from HELVA PETERS, is a more general attempt to explain the workings
of the HIGHLANDER universe:


Helva's Dissertation on "Hearsay"

I've been pondering another 'take' on Immortal Theory.  It also touches on
reconciling the (One!) Movie to the TV Series.  This may get a little
disjointed, and some of it has been said before, so bear with me  ...

Ramirez passed a lot of information on to Connor.  The Kurgan and other
Immortals all had the same information: The Rules (One-On-One, Holy Ground, The
Gathering, etc.), The Explanations (Quickenings, Healing, Sterility, etc.) and
The Goal (The Prize).  BUT -- no one knows where all this information ultimately
came from. The explanations -- The Gathering and The Prize -- could both be the
product of some long-forgotten Ancient Immie's over-active imagination.

We have seen that Immie characters and personalities run the same gamut as those
of Homo Sapiens.  There could easily have been an Ancient Immie with a Messiah
Complex and Charisma.  Other Immies could easily have believed his ravings and
passed them on as fact.

Some of the information can be verified by experience: Quickenings, Healing, and
Sterility.  The rest of it amounts to hearsay -- it has no supporting evidence.
We have not seen any consequences suffered for violating One-On-One or Holy
Ground.  [Granted, we have not seen Holy Ground violated, and Xavier's henchmen
were Mortals, so do they count?  And what about Brenda's intervention?]  The
only time we've seen The Prize was at the end of the first Movie.

So: What if -- the things that have been verified are real, but the rest of it
is *hooey* -- the fruits of some long-dead-and-forgotten over-active
imagination, passed down in good faith, but also in error.  Where does this
leave Connor?

I get the impression that Celtic culture has a high level of acceptance of
"psychic" phenomena.  Maybe Connor was always a little bit "fey" without ever
recognizing it.  When he was hit with The Kurgan's Quickening -- The Biggest,
Baddest, Shock-Treatment Collection of Quickenings ever assembled into a single
dose -- his latent psychic abilities went BALLISTIC, and he assumed that was The
Prize.

Once he got over the initial shock, he started sorting through the 'entities' he
could identify within the Quickening that came from The Kurgan.  He 'found'
Ramirez and Kastagir, but could not 'find' Duncan or Darius.  This distressed
him greatly, as the only way they could be 'missing' from The Prize was if they
both had died without passing on their Quickenings, which would have been lost
forever.  So he went to Paris to try to find out what happened to D & D, and
found them both alive and well.  He also realized that his new-found (to him)
psychic abilities were fading, so he took some time off -- until he found out
that Slan Quince was stalking Duncan.

When Connor asked Ramirez "Why?", the reply was "Why does the sun come up?"
Knowledge has progressed since then and we now know that the sun does *not*
"come up", but that is the appearance due to the earth's rotation and our point
of view.  Connor and Duncan have both lived through the transition from
Superstition to Scientific Inquiry.

So if they sit down and apply Scientific Inquiry to their experiences as
Immortals, they will separate Immortal Lore into Verifiable and Questionable
concepts.  The Gathering will end up on the second list.  Being who they are,
and given that information, they would decide to continue their present policy
of defending themselves and Mortals from attacks by Immortals, but *not* doing
any *active* headhunting.  (Connor hunted Slan to protect Duncan, which is OK.)
They would encourage other like-minded Immies to do the same.

They would take a skeptical wait-and-see attitude toward The Gathering, hoping
that the result of their policy would be a surviving *group* of Benevolent
Immies who question the old idea of The Prize, and decide that things have gone
far enough, that they can now become teachers instead of fighting over who will
be the ruler.

Duncan is gaining more control over Quickenings than any other Immie we've seen.
Maybe he'll also start asking questions that have never been asked ...

It just might work out that way.


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TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM

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The combined efforts of KIM CRAWFORD and BILL O'BRIEN have brought us another
Top Ten List:

Top Ten Reasons to love the Kurgan... (ok... here we go, number 10>>>)

10)  Rides liddle old ladies around on car hoods in NYC.

9. Trendy fashion sense.

8. Churchillian sense of duty.

7. He's a real cut-up.

6. Inventor of the tongue-in-cheek technique.

5. Bald men just make me tingle all over.

4. Can tear down and re-assemble his sword blindfolded.

3. Not afraid to talk to the clergy about his feelings.

2. Poster boy for Ginsu.

1. Eager to get ahead.


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Since the question seems to have been coming up too often lately, here are the
Goddess's Guidelines for Getting a Title in the Watchers Of CIS:


Be funny. I like funny.

The above, of course, means ya gotta stop lurking and post.

If you amuse the Goddess, or make enough of a nuisance of yourself, or just
plain seem useful, the Goddess may come along in the night and leave a title in
yer 'puter for all to see, hopefully before you have a chance to protest.

Suggestions will be considered, but probably revised.

The Goddess is always receptive to attempts at bribery.

A title entitles one to a key to the Virtual Executive Bathroom, bragging rights
at the Virtual Pub, and the use of said title in CIS posts, and may be listed on
all product registration cards requesting one.

Titleholders attending the Highlander convention are requested to label
themselves prominently as the Goddess is somewhat nearsighted.

No refunds or exchanges; I'm confused enough already.


Recent awards --

Adrian Glanvill -- Bearer of the Haggis


In addition, we have two orders of Knighthood for Services Rendered:

The Order of the Sword and the Pen, for distinguished wit, headed by Martin
Higgins (Head Protector of Heads)

The Order of Duncan's Chaperones, for spirited defense of Duncan's Sterling
Moral Character, headed by Cathryn Bauer-Kahn (the Doorkeeper)

Persons of any sex may be sponsored into these orders (regardless of other
standing) by whomever happens to catch them first. Please send documentation of
the offense.


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A Field Report from the United Kingdom: MARTIN COLLOBY and PAUL AUSTIM have
provided the following information on HIGHLANDER availability on their side of
the pond --

Satellite service: Highlander is on Sky One at 9PM [GMT] on Sunday.

Tapes released commercially so far are

Tape 1     The Gathering / Revenge is Sweet
Tape 2     Free Fall / Mountain Men
Tape 3     Family Tree / The Road Not Taken
Tape 4     Innocent Man / Bad Day in Building A
Tape 5     The Sea Witch / Deadly Medicine
Tape 6     See no Evil / Eye Witness

In addition, three more tapes are due out, reportedly including the episodes
AVENGING ANGELS, BAND OF BROTHERS, and NOWHERE TO RUN.


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THE UNCLASSIFIED ADS

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Announcing the CIS Gatherings: regular meetings are now taking place on the last
Sunday of every month beginning at 10 PM Eastern. Room #10, "The Highlands";
bring a dish.

In this library [SF & Fantasy #12, HIGHLANDER]: AP0529.TXT -- Transcript of the
first CIS Sunday Gathering, the Birthday Bash for Adrian Paul.

In this library: AP0603.TXT -- Transcript of a live conference with Adrian Paul.
Posted with the permission of AOL.

In this library: CN0629.TXT -- Transcript of the first of our CIS Sunday
Gatherings. Topic: naming room #10.

In this library: HIFAQS.TXT -- June revision of the Internet "Highlander
Frequently Asked Questions" file. Includes episode summaries for the rest of
Season Two.

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    The 1st EVER Official HIGHLANDER Convention.

    Date: October 7, 8 and 9
    The Regency Hotel, Denver, CO
    Guests:
        Adrian Paul, Stan Kirsch and Bill Panzer (Exec. Producer).

    For info, send SASE to: The Gathering
                    PO Box 123
                    Aurora, CO 80040-0123

    or, call:               Krystmas Tarr [phone]

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FINE PRINT

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THE PRIZE is a house organ of the Watchers Of CIS.  We are not funded by anybody
or sanctioned by anybody.  If we get in trouble, I'm changing my name and moving
to Tibet.

The Watchers of CIS are a floating pool of HIGHLANDER fans on the Compuserve
Information Service.  We make no claims to official status or knowledge, but we
know what we like.

We hereby absolve Compuserve Information Services of all blame for the content
of this newsletter.

THE PRIZE may be freely distributed in hardcopy form ONLY across the seven seas
of space so long as no alterations are made to the text thereof, save any
required translations into languages other than the original American English.
Any violations of this caveat will result in the wrath of the Goddess and more
importantly the wrath of CIS, so please don't spoil our fun.

The Watchers of CIS exist on the Compuserve Information Service. For info on the
network and the SF Forum (where the HIGHLANDER message-board section is), call
1-800-848-8990 and ask for representative 186.

THE PRIZE 1994 is a production of Woodhull & Desmoulins Press.

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Here are the addresses that will accept mail for the series:

Rysher TPE, 3400 Riverside Drive, Suite 600, Burbank, CA 91505
Please write Keith Samples at this address to express your support for the show.

SSA Public Relations, 15060 Ventura Blvd., Suite 360, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
This is the address for fan mail to the actors.

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This issue's contributors:

KIM CRAWFORD -- 75230,2250
MARY-ELIZABETH PETERS -- 74230,725
ROBERT GREEN -- 72652,1571
CAROLE BAKER -- 73614,2036
JOHN COWART -- 76326,3174
HELVA PETERS -- 71321,502
KATHERINE BRYANT -- 74447,320
DEGAN -- 72064,664
ROSS SCHACHER -- 72204,1172
CATHRYN BAUER-KAHN -- 72734,1403
LINDA WALTON -- 74452,2455
SHERI RICHARDSON -- 70703,2746
JOHN BROBSTON -- 71410,3121
BARB GALLER-SMITH -- 73733,1315
MARTIN HIGGINS -- 72223,3441
BRENT KNORR -- 74362,2177
BILL O'BRIEN -- 72241,765
MARTIN COLLOBY -- 100137,2625
PAUL AUSTIM -- 100046,776

and myself, the eternal Goddess Samantha.

E-Mail -- [e-mail]
Snailmail -- c/o Judy Kunz, Kibby Labs, 25235 Dequindre, Madison Heights, MI
48071

Computers by Apple Computer
White Bicycle Shorts by Pennyfarthing's
For Entertainment Purposes Only


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HIGHLANDER, for those of you just tuning in (the rest of you could skip this
bit), is a television series based somewhat loosely upon a film of the same
name, concerning a man from 1500's Scotland who discovers that he is immortal,
and cannot die.  There are others like him, he finds, and they are engaged in a
fight to the last immortal, for the power of the Prize.  In the end, there can
be only one.
The movie and the series diverge at this point: in the film, our man is Connor
MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), and he lives at the time of the last days, the
Gathering, when all the remaining immortals are coming together for the fight to
the death.
In the series, however, our immortal hero is Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) --
"Same clan, different vintage" -- and the Gathering is not yet at hand. Duncan's
task is to keep his head from week to week.
For that is the only way to slay an immortal.  From any wound but one, even unto
death, they will recover -- but "if your head comes away from your neck, it's
over."  So says Connor's immortal mentor, Ramirez (Sean Connery).

    -- THE PRIZE, Issue #1

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        WATCH YOUR HEAD

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