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451 lines
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Plaintext
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+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER EIGHT
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| | ==========================================
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+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
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| ++ | F S F NN N E T
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| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
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| | F S F N NN E T
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|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
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/___________\ ==========================================
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
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___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <NMCS025@MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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CONTENTS
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Editorial Orny
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Narret Chronicles 7 Mari A. Paulson
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Dream Weaver - Conclusion Michael Murphy
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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Editorial
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Hello, again! Well, after all the requests to get the next issue out this
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week, I guess I really ought to. This will be the last issue of Volume 1;
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Volume 2 will begin June 1. A reminder for those of you whose accounts will
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be purged this month: PLEASE send a mail file notifying me of this fact. And
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good luck on your finals, everybody!!! ;^)
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It recently has come to my attention that FSFNET is available from servers
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all over the globe, namely CANSERVE@CANADA01, SERVER@TAMCBA, and
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VMBBOARD@WEIZMANN. I would encourage people who want back issues to check
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these servers, and NOT to request FSFNets to be sent during weekdays and other
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peak load times.
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After this issue (and the conclusion of Murph's lengthy and worthy
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submission), FSFNet will return to its previous format, including the featured
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author column. Narret will also continue to it's illogical beginning. For
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those of you who will be here this summer, stay tuned for the beginning of
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Volume 2 June first. For those who will not be here this summer, remember to
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get in touch again in the fall for Volume 3!
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At the end of this first volume, I would like to thank you all for making
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this project successful, particularly those who took part in the survey and,
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of course, the contributors, without whom there would be no zine. Thank you
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all, and onward into the future!
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Orny <NMCS025 @ MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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The Narret Chronicles
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Book the Seventh
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Samo strained for a second, regaining his composure and letting his eyes
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adjust to the cold, bright blackness of the counter-universe. He reached down
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to the guidance computer and entered the triaxial coordinates of a dim-yellow,
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class G star that was situated in a star field that appeared to Samo to be the
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reverse of Cyri. The star he sought was situated not even halfway there, but,
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as he could recall quite vividly, it seemed to appear pleasantly as a shiny
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point of light gleaming on Cyri's daser.
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Concentrating on the distant star, Samo kept it centered on the light-
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sensitive directional guiding system developed by Cpl. Stado for guiding his
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white-whole telescopes in long exposure photographs. next he locked the
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controls of the craft on auto, and sat back to review some notes.
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"Catabilizer--deload Bio-effect future tape. File off and derun to finish."
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"<<<Deloading Bio-effect file number 9000--don't wait>>>"
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"<<<Derunning with massive errors, wraping down to finish>>>"
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Samo saw an image of himself, some 300 Losar cycles previous his voice
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recording the exercises his figure was running through. At the time of his
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first voyage, he was younger and more ambitious, and he regarded his youthful
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figure with benign indignation. Still, the record he had created of his
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atomic transformations during his last journey did have scientific value, and
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although they were slightly immature, or so it seemed to Samo, he was glad he
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had recorded them for posterity. It was helpful for him to recall how he
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felt, becoming physical for the first time. It gave him something to compare
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his present sensations to.
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"Anti-trivia is so much more restricting than trivia." Samo had said to
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himself, well actually to the ships analog computer during the first voyage.
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He was glad it all felt the same the second time around.
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"Catabilizer start future Bio-effect tape." He had seen enough. Enough at
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least to know that he was feeling normal. Normal for a Narretan suddenly
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placed in the counter-universe, that is.
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"Catabilizer deload Future analog tape file and derun from ending with last
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approach to planet Earth."
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"<<<Deloading Future analog tape--don't wait>>>"
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"<<<Derunning Future analog tape with massive errors--wrapping down to
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ending with approach to Terran Planet number 3>>>"
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Samo saw the dim reflection of starlight from a small, cold, planet with a
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smaller, solitary satellite. He adjusted his orbit for a flyby.
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"Cozy", Samo said to himself as he skirted by Pluto's cratered, gasless
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surface. "So much for their ninth planet...on to the eighth," he said as he
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re-adjusted the orbit for Neptune. "Might as well check out what I've got to
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work with in raw materials..."
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"Ah this is more like it!" He said as he entered the green atmosphere and
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flew under the ring, perpendicular to the planet's horizontal axis. "Sulphuric
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acid, Carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and traces of oxygen." He said into
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the microphone of his analog computer.
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As he flew by Uranus, he became disappointed at the state of human
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technological advancement. "The humans have not established a base on the
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seventh planet of this solar system yet." He recorded.
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At Saturn, he could not stop himself from making a few measurements of the
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ring and studying its chemical composition and the elements in the atmosphere.
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He wanted to compare the sizes of the counter planets with the sizes of the
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home planets to see if there was a measurable difference between anti-trivial
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and trivial mass.
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Samo was monitoring the pre-nuclear signals from Earth as he flew from
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planet to planet, and the signals seemed to be decreasing, so he adjusted his
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course for Jupiter and began contemplating his coming encounter with the
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humans. How primitive were they? How could he best communicate with the
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masses? Most importantly how could he explain who he was without being taken
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for a mad man...
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He decided he'd have to give it his best shot with a few special effects
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when he got there.
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Jupiter. Samo flew inside the ring and ran a spectral analysis on its
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composition. He entered the data into the analog computer for conversion to
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darktron spectral analysis, and flew into the cloud bands. He took her down
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beneath the cloud layer and was again disappointed that the humans had not
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even progressed as far as the fifth planet.
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"Fifth planet uninhabited," Samo recorded, "entering asteroid belt."
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As Samo skirted Mars he was again unsurprised by the lack of habitation.
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"These humans are non-colonial and primitive, at a level approximately equal
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to Amrif's pre-sramian period."
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"Approaching Earth orbit at an inclination of 45 degrees to the planet's
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equator. Receiving two strong signals from different continental masses.
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Both northern hemisphere, opposite sides of the planet." He recorded.
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"Time to let them know I'm here..."
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Mari A. Paulson
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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Dream Weaver
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Copyright (c) 1984 Michael A. Murphy
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(Conclusion of story begun in Vol1N07)
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Sharmuth's afternoon session went like the others had. No real progress
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was made. After studying the tape of today's dream, Doctor James felt like
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they were going nowhere fast. It was quite a different feeling from the
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elation he felt about Maryann's rapid progress. The difference in rates of
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progress had him a little confused. Normally, he would have been able to
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retain a professional attitude if he had had just one of the two cases at any
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given time. Rapid rates of progress are not unusual. Neither are cases that
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have no progress. The fact he had one of each at the same time was what
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perplexed Doctor James. It just did not seem right that he could have such
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amazing success with one patient and have absolute zero success with another.
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"You're looking much better today, Maryann."
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"Thank you, Doctor. I really feel quite a bit better. My therapist ran
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some tests this morning and he said that there had been an improvement in the
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muscle tissue of my arm. He was rather excited about it after all these weeks
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of absolutely no change. I am quite thrilled about it myself! I now have a
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positive reinforcement so that I can keep hoping that I will once again be
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able to use every part of my body. I haven't ever given up hope, but there
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were times when all the tests and efforts of others and myself seemed so
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futile. I think that, more than any other reason, is why I look better today.
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I just feel so much better on the inside that I can't contain it all and it is
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spreading to my outside."
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"I'm certainly glad that you are feeling so much better about everything,
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Maryann. I don't want to bring you down, but I do hope that you can continue
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to feel this way even if we don't make any more progress over the next week or
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even the next month. Progress can sustain a positive attitude with ease.
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It's keeping your positive attitude when things are not going your way that is
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the biggest step towards progress."
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"I don't think I can ever feel badly about my situation again, Doctor. I
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have been through the futility of feeling sorry for myself and now I can
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accept myself the way I am if I do not respond any further to treatment. I've
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been happy before and I have been sad. I have never been anywhere near as
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happy as I was when my therapist told me that there had been an improvement,
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however small it might have been. Even if I never have another change in
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condition I still know that hope is not futile and that improvement is
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possible because it happened once. Until now, no one thought that I had any
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real hope of ever regaining use of my limbs because I had not responded at all
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over the course of a month where full rehabilitation takes less than half that
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time. Now I have a solid basis for the hope that was only in my mind before.
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Now I know that that hope is not a futile hope. Since my condition did
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improve once, I know that it can happen again. I am betting that it will
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continue to improve. If it doesn't, well, I still have hope."
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"That's one heck of an attitude. I wish I could get all of my patients to
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think that way. Too many people these days are trying to get everything in
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large chunks. They want immediate and large scale results in everything they
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do. They won't settle for consistent progress or improvement. They want
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everything now. If they don't get it, they put the blame on someone else and
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try something else. The people in this world would do well to lose something
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that they take for granted and be told that they could never have it back.
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And slowly, very slowly, they would regain the use of that thing. Then they
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might come to appreciate some of the things we all take for granted.
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"Let's get back to the case at hand, my dear. We have progress to make
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with you."
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"I'm all for progress, Doctor."
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"Were you able to remember anything else by concentrating on the color red
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over the past few days?"
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"No, not really. I did dream about the color red one night though. I
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haven't woken up at night because of a dream since last week. I think being
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aware of the other dream and that the color red plays an important part in the
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last dream kept me from becoming terrified at night recently. I do remember
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other colors from when I was dreaming about the color red. They were all
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blurs though and I don't know what they were other than blurs of color. They
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all just kind of blended together. They were all earth colors. Grey, brown,
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green. I get a very ominous feeling when I think of those colors and red
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still makes me feel uneasy."
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"After viewing your dream it is quite easy to see why the color red would
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make you wake up screaming and also cause you to feel a little uneasy.
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"Tell me... Do you remember anything at all about the accident that put
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you in the situation that you're in now? Do you remember where it occurred?
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Or who was in the vehicle with you? Or where you were going at the time it
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occurred? Anything?"
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"Nothing. I know that my family was killed only because I was told after I
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had been conscious for a few days and had asked about them. I don't remember
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anything about what we did that day or why I was with them that day. I know,
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again because I was told, where the accident occurred.
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"The toughest thing to deal with was the fact that my parents and brother
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had been killed and I didn't even remember being with them prior to the
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accident. I can understand my not being able to remember anything about the
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accident, but why has my mind blocked out the events leading up to the
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accident? Why?"
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"I think it is time for you to view your last dream. I was going to wait
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for a couple of sessions so we could discuss your accident thoroughly enough
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so that you wouldn't be taken totally by surprise by the dream. I think you
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know enough via hearsay, you're also beginning to remember fringes of the
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circumstances surrounding the accident, to view the dream and have it help us
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rather than set us back.
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"So let's get over to the machinery and give it a go."
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"Lead the way, Doctor."
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As the tape ended Maryann sighed lightly and slumped wearily in her chair.
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"I am beginning to remember even more now, Doctor."
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"Good. You didn't display any violent reaction to what was on the tape.
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That is good. I had feared that you might, upon 'seeing' the accident for the
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first time," actually the second, he thought, "have an adverse reaction to it.
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I'm glad to see that my fears were unfounded."
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"I remember the accident now. I still don't remember where we had been or
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where we were going, but I do remember the part of our trip just prior to the
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accident. I also remember the accident itself and being thrown just a bit to
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the side of where my parents and brother were thrown. We were all wearing
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harnesses, but I guess the force of the impact just severed the harnesses and
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threw us all out. The only reason I am alive now is because I was thrown a
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few feet in another direction than the rest of my family. The red in my dream
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that kept waking me up is the red of the blood. My blood and the blood of my
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family. This was a very short memory, the color red. I guess I passed out
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very shortly after noticing all the blood. That is all I remember until the
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dreams of the regen tanks.
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"You're amazing, Doctor. You done in a very short time what no one else
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believed could be done. I think we've discovered the major reasons why I keep
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waking up and I also think that now I will begin to improve physically even
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more rapidly. It's so wonderful to have a memory again. Even if the memories
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that have been uncovered are not exactly pleasant, it is still nice to have
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them and know about them rather than be scared silly by them in ignorance. I
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would like to figure out what we were doing all together and why we were in
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such a hurry on the day of the accident."
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"We'll continue to work on that, Maryann. I do want to keep an eye on you
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for a while even though you feel so positive about your recovery now. We want
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to keep things under control and I'd like to see you recover all of your
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memory that was lost because of the accident."
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"Yes, Doctor. I'll see you in a couple of days. Maybe by then I'll be
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walking again!" Maryann exulted.
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The newspaper headlines today read "FIRST CLUE IN MANCHESTER MURDERS
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UNEARTHED." The article went on to say that another murder had been
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committed. All the murders had occurred within a half mile radius. Though
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the area has been heavily patrolled of late, another dead body appeared
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nonetheless. But this time a man was seen moving away from the spot where the
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murder occurred.
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"Doctor, I am becoming a nervous wreck. I have had two more blackouts
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since the other day and who knows what I've done while I've been asleep. I
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can't continue like this. I've got to get to the bottom of this before I go
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absolutely crazy and do something foolish."
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"Mr. Sharmuth, you have to admit that it is very difficult to make progress
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with something when you have no point at which to begin. We have no clues to
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aid us in beginning to find out why you are blacking out. We know that it is
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not a physical problem. All of the tests by the physicians have come up
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negative. That leaves us with the assumption that if it is not a physical
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problem that is causing you to black out, then it must be a mental one. Until
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we find that one little clue to use as a springboard, we will not be making
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rapid progress. Believe me, I'd like to see progress just as much as you
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would. But we must keep searching your mind to find that one little clue,
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that one minor inconsistency. It could be anything. We just have to be very
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alert and careful so that we don't overlook anything. In so doing there is
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virtually no way we can move rapidly. Should we move rapidly, we stand a very
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good chance of overlooking that which we are looking for, whatever it may be."
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"I understand, Doctor, but I still don't have to like it and I still want
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quick results. I'm used to getting things done quickly and it is extremely
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difficult to be patient through all of this."
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"Let us go over and give the dream monitor another try. This time I want
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you to concentrate on blacking out for a few minutes before you go to sleep."
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"Ok. I'll give it a try," Sharmuth sighed heavily.
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Doctor James pulled the tape out of the monitor after Sharmuth had woken
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up. He set the tape on his desk, walked back over to the monitor, and helped
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Sharmuth out of the equipment.
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"Do you recall anything about this dream? Did concentrating on blacking
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out do anything - make you feel anything different - remember anything at
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all?"
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"Still nothing, Doctor. I don't understand it at all."
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"Try to concentrate on your blackouts over the next couple of days. Try
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and stimulate the subconscious so that some of it's thoughts and memories
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might become conscious. I'll take a look at this tape in a while. Let's hope
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there is something different on it. Something that can give us a direction to
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aim in, a starting point."
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"Ok, Doctor. I'll see you in a couple of days."
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Sharmuth's recently made tape was very much the same as the other two.
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There was nothing on the tape that could be used as a starting point to delve
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further for clues. "It's time to adopt Maryann's positive attitude and not
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feel that everything we're doing is totally futile," James thought.
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Time seemed to jump ahead for Doctor James. There had been no progress at
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all in Sharmuth's case. It was becoming increasingly bewildering. Maryann
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had continued to improve steadily, but not as rapidly as at first. This was
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to be expected. The rapid pace of the beginning of her treatment was just too
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much to expect it to continue. With her case doing so well, he had more time
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to spend on Sharmuth's case.
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Sharmuth's case was one instance where a positive outlook had not helped.
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So far. There had to be something. It was only a matter of time before he
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stumbled upon it by just moving about blindly.
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Doctor James arrived in is office earlier than usual one morning. He had a
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full calendar of appointments in the afternoon but had nothing in the morning.
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He had planned to look over the last few tapes of Sharmuth's dreams. He had
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hoped to find something, anything, that might help.
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In the course of walking across the room to where he stored his tapes, he
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noticed that the monitor had been left on and a tape was just coming to an
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end. The record switch was on.
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James checked over his tapes quickly and determined that this tape was a
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new tape and not one of the ones he had used just recently. He watched as the
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tape got closer to the end. The record switch finally shut off and the tape
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was forwarded to the end and then the monitor shut off. James took the tape
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out and went over to his playback equipment. He wanted to find out what could
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possibly be on this tape. How did it get into the monitor and how did the
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monitor get started up? What was it recording, if anything? How could
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anything be recorded when there was no one connected to the input gear?
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He loaded the tape and began to view it.
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I am being followed. Why am I being followed? I'll have to do something
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about this. I haven't done anything and he certainly doesn't look at all like
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a cop. I'm almost home. I don't want him to follow me home. Who knows what
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he may do. He's probably one of those types who doesn't deserve to live
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anyway. The world will be much better off without him roaming the streets.
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There are too many of those about these days. How can they be so cruel and
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inhumane? They don't deserve to live. This one will not continue to live.
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I rounded a corner and waited. I looked quickly to make sure that there
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was no one else around. Even in this city, it can be rather quiet in the
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early morning hours. There was no one about.
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He rounded the corner and hurried his pace because he'd lost sight of me.
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I came from behind him and stabbed him. He died immediately. He didn't even
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have a chance to emit a sound from the pain. I cleaned the knife off on his
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clothes and then walked down the street as if nothing had happened. Another
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dead body in this city will not make any difference at all.
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There was a quick image of beautiful, peaceful countryside and then a
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raucous, rowdy scene began.
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It was a bar. A couple of fights had broken out and the bouncers were in
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the process of breaking the fight (and a lot of the furniture) up. bodies
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were being tossed out into the street left and right. Finally, I became one
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of those bodies. I gracefully picked myself up, shouted obscenities at the
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bouncers, and started walking away. I didn't think of where I was going until
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I got a few blocks away. I made a turn and headed for home. After a few more
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blocks I saw a shadowy figure emerge from a doorway and step into my path.
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He had a weapon and demanded my wallet. Not being one who is into death,
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especially my own, I slowly reached for my wallet. A sharp sound came from
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close by and distracted my mugger for a second. I hit his hand and knocked
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the gun loose. I was closer to it and made a grab for it. I was quicker than
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he and now had the gun. This world has no use for this mugger anymore. He is
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another one of the sort that does not deserve to live. Now he didn't.
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There were people within hearing range, but not within sight. I quickly
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removed myself from the scene and then joined the small mob as they approached
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the dead mugger. It was very easy to do in the confusion. The police arrived
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after a short wait, asked some questions, and then sent us all home. There
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were no eye witnesses. Everyone heard the shot. Everything and everyone had
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disappeared by the time anyone arrived on the scene. I still don't know what
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happened to the gun.
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The world is better off now. One more person, who didn't deserve to live
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anyway, was gone. How can they exist this way. The more I see, the more I
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confirm the fact they do not deserve to live.
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Peace. That overwhelming feeling again. Even in minute quantities it was
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overwhelming.
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What am I doing in this part of town? The types of people that frequent
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this part of town are the sort that I would never consort with. So why am I
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here? I do look rather out of place. In this den of poverty and
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uncleanliness, I have no business. Certainly no legitimate business. Why am
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I here? These people don't deserve to live this way. Most of them don't even
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deserve to live.
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A man approaches. He is a little drawn and thin, but definitely able-
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bodied. One can see the strength that could be his through the holes in the
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rags that the denizens of this demesne call clothes. As he gets even closer
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the stench becomes rather evident. "Can you spare a dollar, mister?"
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No dollar. I did talk him into coming home with me to see what life could
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be like. I was planning on berating him for not doing an honest days work
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when it was quite obvious that he was a very able-bodied man even in his
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emaciated condition. All he needed was the will to do a little hard work.
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Physical labor. Why hadn't he been working? He had obviously been in dire
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straits for some time, as his condition was not good at all. He certainly
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|
could have found work if he'd been willing to go looking. We were almost to
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my place when I decided that I did not want anyone coming home with me who
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could not perform an honest day's work when he was certainly more than
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capable. People like that do not deserve to live. And I wouldn't call what
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he was doing back in that rat infested hole living. The world is better off
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without him. He is certainly much better off. I don't know how I managed,
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but when I realized where I was, he was on the ground, dead. I must've
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strangled him for I had no weapon. Had he not been so weakened from his style
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|
of life, I could never have done him in with my bare hands. As he was though,
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there was no challenge. He wasn't even strong enough to struggle much. But I
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|
did catch him a little off guard too. He didn't deserve to live. How can
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people exist that way?
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I turned, there was someone coming this way about 4 blocks away. I turned
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|
a corner and disappeared. No one followed. If that person kept walking, he
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|
surely would find the body. No matter. He could not possibly have seen me
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well from that distance.
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|
Once again, that overwhelming feeling of peace. This time it lasted for
|
|
several minutes. There were more images of beautiful, lazy countryside. The
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|
soft green and golden yellow suggested a lingering and lasting peace. The
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|
most striking thing about the whole image was that there was no life. No
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|
animal life. No human life.
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|
Doctor James sat in the chair for some time thinking about what he had just
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viewed. His respect for his dream monitor rose immensely. He thought he had
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|
figured out what was happening.
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The sequences he had just viewed were happenings that went on during
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Sharmuth's blackout periods. The machine did pick them up, but for some
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|
reason did not record them during the sessions with Sharmuth. The person who
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had done all the killing was Sharmuth. There was no doubt about that.
|
|
Sharmuth did seem to be the ruthless type, but he did not seem to be the
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|
killer type. And why this sudden hatred for the human species. The man
|
|
thrived on controversy and competition. He needed people so that he would be
|
|
able to enjoy himself.
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|
Why would the machine select just one person to screen out everything that
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|
went on in the subconscious mind? I get the distinct feeling that this tape
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|
had two separate personalities involved in its making. One was bent on
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|
killing and destruction, the other wanted only peace. Total peace.
|
|
Then it hit him. Total peace. To achieve total peace on this world one
|
|
would just about have to start from scratch. All life would have to be
|
|
eradicated.
|
|
Total peace. Overwhelming peace.
|
|
|
|
Doctor James decided that he had to inform the authorities of what he knew.
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|
He would tell them who the murderer was and then he would have to dismantle
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|
his machine. That was the worst part of it. The machine had done so much
|
|
good for so many people. This one case would ruin that record for good. What
|
|
would life have been like for Maryann without the machine? She's now fully
|
|
recovered and such a beautiful young woman now that all her parts are
|
|
proportional again! It is a shame.
|
|
The authorities would never believe his story though. How could they? The
|
|
population of the world is being exterminated one by one to achieve total
|
|
peace? What, this is being done by one man? A 'machine'!?
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|
Well, he knew the response he was going to get. But he'd made up his mind.
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Doctor James picked up the phone and dialed the authorities...
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Doctor James sat bolt upright in bed, his heart beating rapidly and sweat
|
|
running down his face. He stared about his dark bedroom for a while before he
|
|
was able to fall back asleep.
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Michael Murphy <MURPH @ MAINE>
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<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>X<>
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