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- From: pel@maximo.enet.dec.com (Phillip E lujan)
- Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
- Subject: STORY: Knightsrun
- Message-ID: <1992Dec29.214029.18942@e2big.mko.dec.com>
- Date: 29 Dec 92 21:40:29 GMT
- Sender: pel@maximo (Phillip E lujan)
- Reply-To: pel@maximo.enet.dec.com (Phillip E lujan)
- Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
- Lines: 407
-
- Hello, everyone...
-
- I've been lurking around here for a little while, enjoying the stories,
- and I thought I'd make a little offering of my own. Yes, I would enjoy
- comments, criticism (no flames please), or just to chat with someone else
- who shares a common interest. Nuff said, here's the story...
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- KNIGHTSRUN
-
- He'd know in a minute if it was going to work.
-
- Johannes smiled to himself as he wired up the explosives to the
- detonators. Forty-five seconds until the whole works went up in
- smoke. After that, the land-grubbing industrialists would have a
- hard time getting power from this dam, that was for sure.
-
- Last block of plastique; last wire crimped to detonator; insert,
- and run. 30 seconds to reach cover; enhanced nervous system
- driving clone-tissue boosted muscles to reach incredible speeds.
- Diving behind the improvised barricade with milli-seconds to spare.
-
- Then the world exploded.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- DATELINE NEWS -- 24 DECEMBER 2042 -- DATELINE NEWS
-
- Hey, hey, hey, Merry Xmas Eve to you all out there, this is
- Chip Carson with the dateline news. Flash and Boom! The
- Hudson River Hydroelectric Plant has just been bombed; no
- details have yet been released, but it wouldn't surprise me
- if the Greeners were behind this latest attack... Other
- eco-terrorist actions recently have included the new strain
- of algae that's clogging Greater New York's sewer system and
- the 'plastic pellets' now littering the Potomac River...
- Seems that most of these attacks are centered on waterworks
- of some kind, or maybe it's just coincidence... Chip Carson,
- signing off; remember, no eco-terrorism means we're not
- polluting enough! Bye bye and buy bonds... something from
- the late, great TwenCen!
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- The room was dark. Amid the clutter which littered the floor,
- a dark shape on a futon stirred.
-
- "Hangover, level one, execute," said a voice.
-
- A few minutes pass. "Damn," the voice mutters. "What's wrong
- with the bleedin' voice-recog?"
-
- The shape makes its way to the wall, where an old-fashioned light
- switch is mounted. The switch is flipped two or three times, with
- no results. Finally, the figure moves over to a low table and
- strikes a match. Lighting the stub of a candle, the young man
- that is revealed stretches, then checks his 'deck. A small backup
- power supply sits underneath the device.
-
- ** LOCAL POWER GRID DISRUPTED **
- ** SYSTEM OPERATING ON BACKUP POWER SUPPLY **
- ** WARNING **
- ** POWER LOW : MINIMAL USE RECOMMENDED **
-
- 'Yeah, no shit,' he thinks. 'Let's get some power routed this
- way; I've got a run to make.'
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Blackness, a few points of light scattered around, everything
- blurry.
-
- ** RENORMALIZATION ALGORITHMS ADJUSTING **
-
- Faint, blue letters at the outer edge of vision. Stars approaching
- your face, streaks of light rushing at you.
-
- ** RENORMALIZATION ALGORITHMS ADJUSTED **
- ** INTERFACE SUPERIMPOSITION EXECUTING **
-
- The 'stars' are now visible as lights of varying intensities, and
- the streaks are lightbeams connecting the stars - until the stars
- are replaced by castles, the streaks by roads. A fantasy land
- stands revealed before you.
-
- ** LOCAL ACCESS ACCEPTED. WELCOME, STARKNIGHT. **
-
- Seen from afar, a large castle sits atop a metaphorical hill:
- DataComm, the satellite linkup. The knight in his armor spurs
- his steed to approach. Coming close, he spies telltale signs of
- watchful guard. Raising his right hand, he says, "Lower the
- drawbridge!"
-
- >> ACCESS DATACOMM : SIGMA ALPHA, PRIORITY ONE <<
- ** WORKING ACCESS PROCEDURE **
-
- A guard leans his head out of the gatehouse and asks, "Where from,
- Good Sir Knight?"
-
- ** ACCESS ACCEPTED : PASSWORD, PLEASE : **
- >> EXECUTE WORMWORD : ALEPH NULL DELTA LAMBDA <<
-
- The knight leans forward and states: "My background is my own to
- tell, when I should have a wish to do so. My business here is
- with your castle's lord."
-
- ** WORMWORD RESPONSE : PASSWORD FOUND **
- ** PASSWORD LOCKED INTO SYSTEM **
-
- "Oh, aye," responds the guard. "Right this way, Sir Knight."
-
- The knight enters a room containing several doors, and chairs to
- sit upon. A guard stands before each door, save the one the knight
- entered through. Several other cyber-selves sit in chairs, waiting
- for their turn to pass through to the datastores beyond.
-
- The knight mutters, "Well, so far, so good. That ICEbreaker got
- me through the outer walls; now, it's up to me."
-
- >> EXECUTE SEQUENCE 1 2 DELTA ECHO : TARGET ALL <<
- ** SEQUENCE EXECUTED : NO MATCH FOUND **
-
- "Damn, no-one close enough for an easy match. Maybe..."
-
- >> EXECUTE DOPPELGANGER : TARGET rensvaal : REFIT : REAPPLY <<
- ** TARGET rensvaal REFITTED TO LOWER OS STATUS **
- ** UNABLE TO MAINTAIN CAMOUFLAGE MORE THAN 30 SEC **
-
- "OK, let's go for it..." The knight rises to his feet, surrounded
- by a shimmering light. The guard at the door stands back to let
- him pass...
-
- He finds himself in a large room, with a cross dominating the far
- wall. A portly man, dressed as a Catholic priest, approaches.
-
- "Yes, sir, may I help you?"
-
- The knight speaks easily. "No, Father, I would hold vigil here,
- and seek to wring an answer from heaven with my entreaties..."
-
- ** DATALINK : DATACOMM 7 **
- ** PLEASE ENTER ACCESS PRIORITY : **
- >> EXECUTE SCRAMBLE ACCESS : JOVE TITAN EROS <<
-
- The priest began to frown. "You would refuse the good offices of
- a man of the cloth, Sir Knight? Perhaps you are not as pious as
- is seemly..."
-
- ** WARNING : ICE NOW IN OPERATION **
- ** ANALYSIS : LOW-LEVEL PROGRAM : CODED AS WATCHDOG **
- >> ACCESS EXECUTE LOUDMOUTH : SIGMA 5 <<
- >> EXECUTE SHIELD : EXECUTE SWORD > WATCHDOG <<
-
- "I WILL NOT HEED YOUR BLANDISHMENTS, SPAWN OF SATAN!!" screams the
- knight. Quickly drawing his sword, he runs the priest through,
- to be rewarded by a shriek, a gout of blood, and the sight of the
- priest collapsing, changing into a dog-like beast.
-
- Quickly, then, the knight steps forward to the altar. Kneeling
- before the marble slab, he prays. "Dear lord, allow me to find
- myself in the fortress of my enemy..."
-
- ** ACCESS TO DATALINK ACCEPTED **
- ** DESTINATION : **
- >> TAITO-MITSUBISHI : CENTREX <<
- ** WORKING **
-
- Blurred streaks of light carry the knight to a new palace. As before,
- he finds himself in a temple, although this one is a Shinto shrine.
- The knight quickly changes his garb for that of a ronin.
-
- >> EXECUTE MUSASHI : SHELL <<
- ** MUSASHI PERSONA ACTIVE **
-
- The ronin bows to the priest at the temple, then turns and walks through
- the stone arch. Beyond, a dirt road stretches into the distance. The
- ronin pauses, considering; he should probably seek the information he
- wants first, so as not to waste valuable time. He walks to a nearby village.
-
- >> SHIFT NODE : TENGU:: <<
- ** NODE TENGU:: **
-
- "Iie, Ronin-sama, we have not that information," says the village's headman.
- "But a messenger passed by here with the data you seek... He was on his way
- to Tokyo." The ronin turns and leaves.
-
- >> SEARCH OPLOG : FIND terminus <<
- ** WORKING : terminus MESSAGE MOVED : TOKYO:: **
-
- The ronin approaches Tokyo, his swords at his side. This will not be easy,
- he knows, but he welcomes the challenge to his skills. Rumours abound
- about the quality of the guards at the Tokyo complex. Approaching the castle,
- he scouts the territory.
-
- >> EXECUTE ACCESS SCAN : DETECT MODE <<
- ** WORKING **
-
- 'All approaches well guarded; I shall have to bluff my way in,' determines
- the ronin. He walks toward the front gate, determined to enter.
-
- >> ACCESS TOKYO : <<
- ** WELCOME TO TOKYO:: : PASSWORD : **
-
- "I seek employment with your lord," states the ronin. "Allow me to pass."
-
- >> EXECUTE WORMWORD : RHO EPSILON DELTA <<
- ** WORMWORD EXECUTION DENIED : LOCKED BY ICE OGRE **
-
- Up close, the ronin can see that the guards are not men, but ogres. 'This
- would account for the rumours,' he thinks. The ogres close in, menacingly.
-
- >> EXECUTE BLIND : LEVEL DELTA TAU <<
- >> SHELL EDIT WORMWORD : <<
- >> COMBINE CRACKER | FILE:SWORD > KATANA <<
- >> SAVE : EXIT <<
- >> EXECUTE KATANA > OGRE <<
-
- The ronin draws his katana, angling it to catch the light of the sun.
- A brief flash confuses the ogres for a split-second, giving the ronin
- time to strike down one of them. As the ronin faces off against the
- second ogre, he hears running footsteps from the castle.
-
- ** ALARM CONDITIONS DETECTED **
- ** ICE CONSTRUCTS APPROACHING **
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- In the smoking rubble, nothing stirs.
-
- Large blocks of concrete, steel beams and various twisted pieces of
- machinery cast eerie shadows in the half-light of the emergency lamps.
- Patterns swirl in the blackened smoke; the scents of ozone and cordite
- mingle in the air.
-
- In the smoking rubble, nothing stirs.
-
- Save for a slight rhythmic pulsing of one pile of rubble, all is still.
- Perhaps some piece of machinery still functions, serving no useful
- purpose: such is the way of machines.
-
- In the smoking rubble, nothing stirs.
-
- Then the pulsing seems to get more intense, until a figure arises through
- the heaped-up bits of concrete, machinery, etc. A human figure, moving
- where nothing could have survived.
-
- In the smoking rubble, something stirs...
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- 'Best to finish this quickly,' thinks the ronin. A quick, practiced
- gesture brings a bluish tinge to his katana, and he strikes at the ogre
- with practiced ease...
-
- >> SHELL EDIT KATANA : <<
- >> INCLUDE FILE:FREEZE <<
- >> SAVE : EXIT <<
- >> EXECUTE KATANA > OGRE <<
- ** EXECUTING **
-
- As the katana strikes the ogre, it seems to slow down. The ronin strikes
- again, then passes the paralyzed ogre on the run.
-
- >> EXECUTE TRACKER : TARGET terminus <<
- ** EXECUTING : WARNING : CYCLE TIME SLOWED **
- >> RESTORE KATANA : REMOVE FREEZE <<
- ** KATANA RESTORED : CYCLE TIME INCREASING **
-
- The ronin finds himself inside his enemies fortress, even if only in the
- courtyard of the Oyabun's castle. It's farther than he expected to get.
- A small dog leaps out from behind him, and runs through a doorway. The
- ronin follows his dog...
-
- ** ICE CONSTRUCTS STILL APPROACHING **
- ** ANALYSIS INDICATES : WATCHDOG BLOODHOUND TIGER **
-
- 'Hunting constructs,' thinks the ronin. 'Best to take them out, rather than
- running.' He considers for a moment, then readies his bow.
-
- >> SHELL EDIT ARROW : <<
- >> INCLUDE FILE:POSTMAN:ADDRESS <<
- >> INCLUDE FILE:RANDOMIZE <<
- >> CLONE 1000 <<
- >> SAVE : EXIT <<
- >> EXECUTE ARROW > ICECONSTRUCT : DELAY VISIBLE (3) <<
-
- As the ronin draws an arrow, three creatures burst into view. Two dogs
- and a tiger rush into the courtyard. The ronin fires his arrow, which
- turns into a flight of small birds, each singing a different tune. The
- attacking animals appear confused, so the ronin steps back out of sight.
-
- Hearing a soft growl, the ronin turns to find the small dog waiting in a
- doorway. Stepping through, he is greeted by the sight of a large rack of
- scrolls. As the dog pulls one of the scrolls from the rack with his teeth,
- a large samurai steps into view, his katana drawn.
-
- ** ICE CONSTRUCT NOW IN CURRENT LOCATION **
- ** ANALYSIS INDICATES UNKNOWN TYPE **
- ** PRIMARY STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS : ACTIVE **
- ** SECONDARY STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS : LETHAL **
-
- Recognizing a worthy foe, the ronin prepares for battle. He gestures, and
- again his katana glows with a blue light. Gripping the weapon in both hands,
- he waits for his foe to move...
-
- >> RESTORE KATANA : INCLUDE FREEZE <<
- >> KILL TRACKER <<
- >> EXECUTE PARRY : THEN EXECUTE KATANA > ICECONSTRUCT **
- ** WORKING **
-
- The samurai-construct was fast. The ronin barely had a chance to parry its
- first blow, and completely missed his counter-attack. 'Must be an AI,' he
- thought. 'Time to change tactics.'
-
- >> CODE ICECONSTRUCT > SAMURAI <<
- >> SHELL EDIT KIAI : <<
- >> INCLUDE FILE:LOUDMOUTH <<
- >> INCLUDE FILE:CONFUSION:SCRAMBLE <<
- >> SAVE : EXIT <<
- >> LOOP : EXECUTE PARRY : THEN EXECUTE KATANA > SAMURAI <<
- ** WORKING : CYCLE DELAY 13 COUNTS **
-
- A few more blows are parried by the ronin; his sword is beginning to chip.
- The samurai begins to wind up for a death-blow.
-
- >> BREAK LOOP : EXECUTE KIAI > SAMURAI <<
- ** WORKING **
-
- As the samurai's sword begins to descend, the ronin lets out a great
- shout. "KIAI!" The samurai misses his stroke, and staggers back,
- confused. Wasting no time, the ronin rains blows on his foe...
-
- ** ANALYSIS INDICATES SAMURAI CONFUSED **
- ** SUGGESTED ATTACK : KATANA **
- >> LOOP : EXECUTE KATANA > SAMURAI : BREAK ON ICEDESTRUCT <<
- ** WORKING **
-
- Shortly, the samurai is no more, slain by the ronin's fierce blows. The
- ronin staggers over to the rack, retrieves the fallen scroll, and glances
- briefly at the writing within. Wrapping the scroll around an arrow, he
- fires it out of a window towards a lone figure in the fields.
-
- >> MAIL FILE:MESSAGE terminus : ADDRESS NULL : CODE peasant <<
-
- The samurai begins to stir on the floor behind the ronin. 'Time to leave,'
- he thinks.
-
- ** WARNING : ICE REFORMING **
- >> EXECUTE CHOIRSOFANGELS : NODES FILE:LUCIFER <<
-
- And then the ronin was no more. The samurai, peering through the eyes of
- an incredibly sophisticated machine, saw a brief flash as the ronin appeared
- simultaneously at over 10000 net locations, with a surprisingly non-musical
- sound:
-
- "Thhphhpbbbttttt!"
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- In a room lit only by a candle, a young man sits hunched over his cyberdeck.
- Swearing, pounding the casing with one hand, he finally achieves some
- success; the lights come back on. Checking the real-time display on his
- 'deck, the young man groans.
-
- "I'm late; Toshiro's gonna hang me out to dry."
-
- Nevertheless, the young man plugs the optical cable into the jack behind
- his right ear, and activates the 'deck. A few seconds later, he begins
- to move to a rhythm only he can hear; the beat of cyberspace. Hands play
- the keys as if they were a musical instrument.
-
- Occasionally, he speaks aloud:
-
- "No, that's not it... Try another path... AH HA! Right where Toshi said it
- was!"
-
- More time passes. The young man speaks again:
-
- "Bloody nippers, forcing everyone into their bleedin' fantasy world...
- Huh? This must be it... That nipper in the window just shot this to me..."
-
- Fingers tap on keys, electronic/neural impulses combine, and the man jacks
- out of the net. Trembling fingers pull a datacard out of the write slot.
- The same hands pour three fingers of a dark amber liquid into a glass.
- The glass is set down empty.
-
- "Dante, my boy, what have you gotten into?"
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Out of the rubble comes a man in torn and tattered clothes. The scrapes
- and scratches don't bother him; his other wounds are a slight annoyance.
- He knows that there is a place where these things can be treated; he must
- get there to announce his triumph to the General.
-
- Things were going according to plan...
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- All rights reserved. All characters, especially Starknight and Dante, are my
- own inventions, and should bear little to no relation to reality.
-
- Sean Roberts, 29 Dec 1992
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Well, what do you think?
-