opnet [OpNet] Missing and quiet

[kestrel404]

Since Ibiza, there've been a few voices gone quiet. I'm hoping they're all still with us, but it's possible we've lost some friends to that disaster.

Has anyone heard from Tarot? Given his luck, he's either locked in a convent full of ex-supermodels, or dead. I'm hoping for the former.

What about our Utopian members? Except for Dervish, they seem to be awfully quiet. That might be embarrassment.

And Vixen, Psimon, GMC, and Xeno? Haven't heard much from them yet.

Sorry to bother you if you're out there watching, but I count many of you as friends or at least acquaintances, and I have few other means of keeping track.

[Ulysses Bailey]

I don't know about the rest, but I'm really worried about Leonard (GMC for those not in the know).

Watching what happened in Ibiza really took a lot out of him, I spent about three days with him while it was happening to help keep him centered. He's checked himself into an institution right now, hopefully only temporarily. I've never seen him this way

[The Paragon]

One of the Utopians who posted under this title is no longer with us. He was last seen in Ibizia lifting some refugees to a Spanish naval vessel off the coast. There was intense fighting in the area at that time and he is presumed to have died there. No body has been found yet, but reconstruction efforts in that area are just beginning.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

...and he is presumed to have died there...

My wife is still hopefull.

[Lemmy Chillmeister]

Quote:

Originally posted by Alchemist:
Since Ibiza, there've been a few voices gone quiet. I'm hoping they're all still with us, but it's possible we've lost some friends to that disaster.

Has anyone heard from Tarot? Given his luck, he's either locked in a convent full of ex-supermodels, or dead. I'm hoping for the former.

What about our Utopian members? Except for Dervish, they seem to be awfully quiet. That might be embarrassment.

And Vixen, Psimon, GMC, and Xeno? Haven't heard much from them yet.

Sorry to bother you if you're out there watching, but I count many of you as friends or at least acquaintances, and I have few other means of keeping track.

Dude, bunches of people have gone quiet since I've been here. Fuck if I know why Billy stopped showing his face but he still shows up on XFL once in awhile. Vixen I ain't seen around here in ages and ages. Xeno, well, he was just a little weird to begin with now wasn't he? Guess Cookie Mookie went bananas. Who knows about Psimon. Dude was too talky anyway.

But hell, count out the number of folks that flipped us the invisible bird and aint' been heard of in awhile. Machina, Prodigy, Cody, ronin, Sir Gaedl, Seraphim, heck the list keeps on going. Ain't heard from V in a dogs age either. So what's the big deal?

Yeah, some serious shit happened but I doubt that really has too much to do with it.

[Ghostwriter]

I saw a recent post by Synergy on another thread being her usual self.

That girl's got more issues than I do.

[Violette 'V' D'Aronique]

Ain't heard from V in a dogs age either. So what's the big deal?

Posting from my hotel right now, Lemmy. I've been on tour, speaking at whatever universities want to hear my point-of-view on transhumanism and the nature of quantum-powered beings.

I guess that proves Juri correct, you know? I'm Ashnod-lite. I get invitations and make scheduled appearances with people who actually want to hear what I have to say even if they disagree with me, instead of crashing someone else's event and forcing them to hear it regardless.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

So what's the big deal?

There's not posting and then there's missing.

[Harry Black: The Magician]

The Utopia representative doing surveys in Ibiza told me they're slowly building a "confirmed deceased" list. You might want to contact them and see if any of your friends is on it.

[Tarot]

Yeah, I’m alive. Only one supermodel but thanks for worrying about me, Al.

And fuck you too, Lemmy. You still owe me a sitting.

I’m gone for a lousy couple of weeks and you guys decide to destroy Ibiza? What, did they cancel bingo night in Addis Abba? I always expected a couple of you would snap off eventually but figured it would be somebody like Endeavor or Jager. You know, somebody really stressed out. Even then I figured they’d just like trash like a neighborhood or two. Not destroy a whole city.

So what did happened anyway? I couldn’t get dick out of the Spanish dudes and the Utopian are like, “Sorry Mr. Weiss. All I know is I’m suppose to drop off this check.” It seems like a lot of people are trying to give me checks lately. This is kind of cool when you think about it, but the whole thing reads like a tax scam and I just don’t want to be the one holding the bag if it is. Fuck it, I already called Guido. He’s going to have one of his lawyers drop by and look it over for me when he gets back from Russia. If you can’t trust a mafia lawyer then there’s no hope left in the world. Tracking Guido down turned out to be a real pain in the ass too – thanks Gerry – and I’m going to miss the Constellation Club.

You better not be dead yet, Gerry.

I’m cool with it, accidents and all, but Whore is still talking about sending a couple of her Daughters out to find you. I’d keep it on the down low if I were you. If you see Tense Whore or Angry Whore it’d be better if you just ducked and covered. And whatever you do, don’t mention the science project. She’s pretty pissed off right now and it’s been a couple of weeks, you know what I’m saying? I didn’t think the whole thing was that bad but she’s got a fear about snakes. Just when I think she’s getting over it I’ll catch her with this crazy look in her eye and hear her mimicking you saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?”

She does a good impression of you too.

Dude, I think she’s really upset. It was suppose to be just a quiet get together, you know? It was suppose to be just a little post drama party to unwind and toast absent dicks. Whore showing up with Annie G was a surprise. Plus those useless wingnuts from Utopia that still didn’t believe me about the basement that’s not suppose to be there. but that doesn’t matter anymore. And you know whoever else showed up would make the jam a little more happening. With what came later there is no way Whore is ever going to believe you were just running late. I know you wouldn’t do me like that but it does look a little suspicious to people that don’t hang with you.

I kind of wish they had boxed that shit up last month but then I wouldn’t have gotten to see the Amazon or spend a vacation with Whore. Oh, I had an opmail from Annie G waiting for me when we got back out of the jungle. She’s fine in case you were wondering. She thinks the Utopian’s did it so she doesn’t blame you. I guess Willie tracked her down to Albania just a couple of hours after it all happened. It would have been better for Whore’s attitude if he’d done the same for us instead of having to make it out on our own. And all because, of all the things I ever said to him, he remembered the one time… Oh, hang on. I’m getting a head of myself.

We’re just chilling in the crib. I was playing strip poker with the Daughter’s, Annie G was setting up tequila shots in the kitchen, Whore was doing that thing with the painting (You know; the thing that somebody said might upset the PU guys if they saw it happen) and those two dicks from Addis Abba were doing whatever the fuck it is that they do with all that crap they have on my patio.

Then I heard one of the PU guys say, “Oops.”

You want to know the really funny part about all this shit? They never really believed it. Even though they sent out that intervention team and took my happy butt to Bahrain to answer their silly ass questions (while eating yummy chocolate covered macadamia nuts shaped like Pax’s skull) they never really believed it. They fucked you around, squatted in my crib while I had to stay in the hotel at the bottom of the cliff, but they just… didn’t… believe… it. I think it was all that bullshit that happened at MIT. There for a while if you said warp and pointed to a closet door, the S&Ts was standing on your doorstep twenty minutes later.

They probably wouldn’t even have taken me to Bahrain if it hadn’t been for the researcher touching the wet paint after I told her not to, but that’s water under bridge. You said be nice to them so I put up with the crap and tried to work on the roof or on the cliff while they did their little thing with their little toys. They said their readings were only “frisky”, whatever the hell that means, when I was around. I didn’t tell them about Willie being stashed of course. There was no way I was going to help those dicks after they fucked with one of my buds but I did try to look pretty sincere most of the time. Its weird, but after hanging out in Ibiza for so long, these guys just weren’t that impressive. Oh, I know they had doctorates and shit but they just didn’t seem that quick if you know what I mean. Maybe it’s because I could look down into their soul and know for a fact they didn’t believe the story but were going through the motions anyway. Maybe it’s because some dickwad was getting pushy with one of my buds.

It really doesn’t matter any more but its kind of funny the things you remember when you’re just sitting in the surf thinking of how you got to where you are. Like I remember saying “oops” when I was climbing down the Hiram’s trellis and fell. In a weird kind of way it’s like a whole road opened up to me in that moment even though I couldn’t see it at the time. When I was on my way to the hospital after erupting and they were talking about my pictures chasing that scumbag gallery owner down the street, the driver laughed then said “oops.” That was kind of cool that they weren’t freaked out or anything and you know where that road took me next. The PU guys, they definitely said “oops” just before it blew up. Memory is kind of jerky sometimes but I don’t really think it was their fault.

I kind of hope they’re okay even if they were dicks. Everybody deserves making it to someplace sunny and warm.

I remember they said “oops” and I felt something. Look, I know you don’t really believe me when I talk about the Engine of Creation. That you think it’s a metaphor. You know that noise I always tell you I can hear in the background? The hum of the Engine? It stopped. Since it’s just a metaphor to you, you’re going to think this is crazy, but I swear even though I’m not what Great Monster C would call a good Jew, that the noise stopped and the Engine spoke to me. None of that metaphor crap. It said, “Chris… you better move.”

So I did.

Laugh it up, Gerry but when the universe tells you to move your ass you do it. The next part is a little hazy but I remember tripping on the leg of the table as I tried to stand up (We were playing strip poker remember? Talented Whore had just taken off her top and you know what her upper body development looks like!), fell against Annie G. trying to set up the shot glasses, and we both lurched against the tofu sofa thing. I brought it down from the roof that morning just to lay out some ambience for you but it was pretty lucky I guess. Annie and I shot off it and ricocheted into Whore, its weird but Whore always feels different to me from her daughters, like she’s more real. Which makes sense I guess but I can see pieces of Whore in her daughters too so it’s not like they’re fake or anything. I remember feeling Whore grab my ass and most of my deck spilling out of my back pocket too. The three of us should have hit the wall, which is okay for Annie G but me and Whore are a little softer.

We didn’t though.

There’s this sound like Slattern doing that whip thing with Stryker, back when I was painting the picture for Jager and I thought we were going to get over it, then we’re rolling across what feels like plants. Welcome to the jungle. Gerry, I really don’t blame you for this shit. Not that it would have happened without you or anything but I thought it was pretty cool. Whore freaked out as soon as she saw that big ass snake though. She just lost it. Toughest woman I know that can’t bounce bullets off her butt but she’s got a phobia about snakes. It still kind of amazes me that I drew one of the two cards I had left in my pocket so smooth and managed to have my deckers deal with it. It wasn’t like I was exactly thinking and a lot of useless cards could have come up. Can you imagine me drawing the Singers to deal with that? Yeah, that would have been real helpful. At least we had we something to eat that night. Surprised the hell out of me that Whore was a girl scout back when, or that she learned something useful like how to make a fire. I thought all they did was sell cookies and inspire pornography.

Don’t mention that last part to Whore btw. She’d kick my ass.

And don’t you ever make fun funny of my papa’s old movies again. The other card left in my pocket was that African Queen card I made for his birthday before all this shit started. The decker version of that boat was just as ugly as the movie one but Whore actually knew the name of the actor that played the captain so it was cool. It kind of turned her on, I think. I know she was a little disappointed my deckers aren’t like real people but she still got off on it. HEY! I found out why her Daughters are always up at my place but she hardly ever comes up. It wouldn’t have made any sense to me except for that night Slattern got fucked up on Ampwells and started telling stories.

She likes to watch.

I found out a lot about her on the trip down the river. For instance each one of Daughters is like a piece of her personality. That’s why Angry Whore is always pissed off but Happy Whore likes finger painting with me. Its usually one of her Daughters that does live performances too. She says she doesn’t like the bullshit of performing in front of a big audience. I guess it’s a game with her fans trying to guess whether it’s her or one of her Daughters doing the gig.

Can you imagine two weeks of being with a woman that can be anything? Not Slattern anything, but like emotionally anything. It was just a total fucking chill. I was so damn tired though. It was great but there was only one of me and as many of her as she wanted. She says it’s a rush when all the memories come together in her at one time. Like the ultimate orgasm. Mention that to Slattern next time you see her and see what she does.

When we made it back to civilization, there was Willie waiting for us. Man, I can’t tell you how happy I was to see that stoner grinning at me from the pier. I was dancing on a cloud, at first anyway. When I asked him how long he’d been there he told me just a couple of minutes but that didn’t make any sense. I thought he was just stoned out of his fucking mind again. Nope. This was the most coherent I’ve seen him since that night he was switching his brain around and accidentally got sober. Turns out he knew where we were the whole damn time! I was a little pissed off as you can imagine. I mean, sure it was total chill hanging with Whore and getting tight but come on! Why the hell would he leave us hanging like that when he knew where we were?

Willy says, “You told me to.”

“What the FUCK are you talking about?” I wanted to know.

“You said never to bother you when you were getting laid and smiling. I checked. You were smiling while you were getting laid.”

“…”

Not much to come back with from a moment of truth like that. It just amazes me that of all the things I’ve ever said to Willie, including the night I ran his ass out of the villa because of what happened with Slattern in my closet, only that one thing ever stuck in his head. Considering what a space cadet he is that’s pretty impressive. So anyway, we’re chilling on the beach in Havana right now. Whore’s taking a break from the novoux thing for a bit and I’m trying to get caught up without using the Opnet too much. Just part of my plan to lay low and enjoy some fun for a bit. I like talking with people more than doing faceless posts to them anyway, and miss just strolling around Ibiza saying hi to everyone. People are already starting to find us though. The Spanish government gave me and Whore checks, then the Utopians gave me a check for what the Spaniards already paid me to fix. And while I’ve been writing this two more e-checks have popped up from insurance companies. Weirdness fer sure.

Everybody wants to give me money. I hope Guido’s lawyer gives me a call soon.

Willie pops in once in a while to check on us, I think he misses living in the tower on top of the villa. He says he doesn’t have a place to think anymore. I feel kind of sorry for him because he seems a lot more coherent these days but not very happy about it. You have so got to come check this place out though, Gerry. You remember the remote with the gold filigree and that thing that happened in Antarctica?

I found the guy that makes them.

Hope to see you soon but call first. Like I said, Whore is still upset with you about the science project.

[font:Monotype Corsiva] [size:6]Tarot

[Preston]

Glad to hear that you are okay, more or less, Mr. Weiss.

[Gerald Haney]

Well...good to know you're still standing T. Havana huh? Got room for a boarder?

Oh, and you know something? For someone who makes fun of the folks who put so much energy into telling everyone else what they're doing here you tell some long damned stories.

[Tarot]

I wouldn't say standing. But I can do a pretty good impression of swimming in greenage.

The surf is warmer though.

It must have been Lucinda. You remember the one that Guido recommended to do the business shit? I can't think of anyone else that would have insured everything with multiple companies. I got a drawer full of these things and more keep popping up. Yeah you're always welcome to come out and play, Gerry. We just need a good story to tell Whore so she doesn't take your head off. Maybe something about coal mines.

I need somebody to help me sort this shit out too.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gerald Haney:

For someone who makes fun of the folks who put so much energy into telling everyone else what they're doing here you tell some long damned stories.

You're going to criticize after the night you took two hours to tell every detail leading up to Alejandra kissing your cheek and signing that napkin for you?

being a vz media kind of guy doesn't mean I tell good stories. You know that.

[font:Monotype Corsiva] [size:6]Tarot

[Gerald Haney]

Some things are worth remembering and telling well.

[Timeslip]

Good gods; it's like reading Hunter S. Thompson.

[Jager]

It does, doesn't it TimeSlip, but its par for the course with Tarot.

It would have probably been better as a blog, though.

Okay. Everyone who bet against me, pony up. Not only was I right about the main issue (Tarot both alive and well), but I also got the bonus round (he ended up sunning on a beach)!

[Tarot]

Quote:

Originally posted by Timeslip:
Good gods; it's like reading Hunter S. Thompson.

Who is Hunter Thompson and what's he got to do with me, Whore or Gerry?

[font:Monotype Corsiva] [size:6]Tarot

[Timeslip]

Hunter S. Thompson: the original gonzo journalist, whose style was akin to your own.

[Dreamer]

Maybe next time they'll take you to Area 51.

[Tarot]

Area 51 is kind of cheesy with all the alien mannikins and the cut rate science fiction memorabilia on the walls. Bad atmosphere and the dance floor is too small - but - the open secret black market tech toys on display is very chilly.

Now if you want to do it right, you got to start in Vedado. Huge club action there with everything from the ritz places that wouldn't let me through the door except for being a nova, down to the drop and seed joints you can't find without knowing their there to begin with. Got a couple of places that are alright but the Amp Room set the bar pretty high for style. Cyclone's isn't bad, solid aesthetic going on there, but its a little too well behaved.

Maybe I can talk Whore into opening her own place. Now that would be total chill. Cuba's okay but a style augmented enema couldn't hurt.

Quote:

Originally posted by Timeslip:

Hunter S. Thompson: the original gonzo journalist, whose style was akin to your own.

Never heard of him but maybe he just never hung out in Ibiza Town.

[font:Monotype Corsiva] [size:6]Tarot

[Timeslip]

Not likely; he kicked the bucket ten years ago, back in '05. Ever hear of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? That was Thompson. Think Duke Rollo of the Pre-Nova Era, and you've pretty much got it.

[Tarot]

Never heard of it, sorry, but I've met Rollo. Now there's a guy that's five years past his shelf life.

[font:Monotype Corsiva] [size:6]Tarot

[Xeno]

Appologies for the disturbing absence. Kinetically induced discorperation was nearly experienced. Mass is at 22.7% optimal and climbing.

...

The taste of death is inescapable. They could not be saved. There was a fundamental miscalculation. Conditional deterioration is still in progress.

...

The Others are legion. Many are broken. Some should not have been taken. The Novas are difficult to appease. The Inside was not ready for them yet.

...

There is some call for submission to the authorities. The undertaking was unlawful... many of the Others are now responsible for unjustified homa/nova-cide.

...

Why is everyone so broken?

[DigiGeist]

I saw what happened to ya. You got severely beat up. Waaaaay bad. I'm suprised you're still talking in riddles. Sorta like listening to ya. Makes my brain work. Makes me think about what I'm doing.

I would miss your voice.

[kestrel404]

Xeno, Tarot, Synergy: Glad you're still with us.

Of the Paragon: Damn. I hardly knew him. And now he's been 'replaced' by Utopia. Unfeeling bastards.

GMC: The world is imperfect, and Novas tend to exaggerate those flaws, both by their existence and while living their lives. I hope you can accepth this, and return to us. You idealism was always a pleasant note when I'm feeling fatalistic.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Unfeeling bastards.

Hardly. Most of his friends and co-workers just don't post around here, and it's poor PR to have people grieve. Paragon will be missed. He never even got to see his first grand-kid.

[Gerald Haney]

Wow, lots of people really sad for the big, bad names.

I got a name for you; Aleksandr Dubykoff. Dude was electrician and stagehand for the Amproom. Minor nova, really hired more cuz he was a damn fine electrician with a node. Nice guy. Widower, two kids. Dead. I have no clue how or why.

[kestrel404]

When tragedy strikes, it never distinguishes between those you know and those you don't. I can only mourn for those I know, and let others mourn their own. I'm only asking about the voices on this board that have been suddenly silenced by tragedy.

Psimon hasn't poked his head up yet. I think I'll do some checking up.

[Jager]

Alchemist, word has it he is MIA, presumed dead. Haven't heard anything about a body, though.

Gerald, he's dead because he was constantly working within 100 meters of some of the most deadly people on earth. Maybe if some of his buddies hadn't bolted when the T2M raid began ... they would be dead to, or he would be alive. We will probably never know.

Maybe he's dead because a bunch of us decided to relax and unwind ... but define that a bit differently than the way you and Tarot think. Maybe you should talk to Singularity, or Long, and see what they realy enjoyed doing when they were elites.

I didn't know Alek well. I don't imagine many of us patrons did. Introducing him here now that he's dead doesn't do any good. It is more in the vein of Dreamer bringing up a relatively unknown nova to prove one of her points.

[Dreamer]

The last time i saw him he was alive. I was in the middle of the blissful dance of my life, the people were truly feeling the moment. I can neither confirm nor deny his current state of health, I had other more interesting melodies to follow.

I do say this I rather hope he is alright. I would hate to hear any bad happened to him.

[Gerald Haney]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
Alchemist, word has it he is MIA, presumed dead. Haven't heard anything about a body, though.

Gerald, he's dead because he was constantly working within 100 meters of some of the most deadly people on earth. Maybe if some of his buddies hadn't bolted when the T2M raid began ... they would be dead to, or he would be alive. We will probably never know.

Maybe he's dead because a bunch of us decided to relax and unwind ... but define that a bit differently than the way you and Tarot think. Maybe you should talk to Singularity, or Long, and see what they realy enjoyed doing when they were elites.

I didn't know Alek well. I don't imagine many of us patrons did. Introducing him here now that he's dead doesn't do any good. It is more in the vein of Dreamer bringing up a relatively unknown nova to prove one of her points.

Why thanks for the love, guy. Glad to know you cared. My point? Just that more than the folks you all know here were affected. I wanted to intro Al because I knew him and I was sharing a little grief. I'm sure other people have folks that of the folks here only they knew. Maybe sharing their names, sharing a little grief could be good for the soul.

As for 'why'? I dunno why. I dunno if someone killed him on purpose, if he died trying to run or trying to save someone. I don't know if he was simply an accidental casualty or if he was shot by the troops. I wasn't talking about the big reasons, I was talking about him, his actual experience. I just heard he was dead the other day and I have no idea how it happened.

Again, just sharing some grief Jager. People talking about folks they knew and were worried about or grieving over. Didn't think I was going to have you lecturing me again over a little commiserating.

[Jager]

Grief, or guilt Gerald?

You need to come to grips with what happened in the Amp Room on that night, and you don't need a hard-ass like me telling you that. I am sure as hell not going to hug you and tell you everything is going to be alright. It isn't.

If you think the answer is to go lay out on a different beach with the same old folk, so be it. It seems to me that you've done that before.

[Xeno]

Aleksandr Dubykoff is mostly accounted for. (Translation: 83% Successful. Quantum Interference: Moderate. Status: Segregated/Disabled)

...

Should his reconstruction be a priority?

[Jager]

Just checking Xeno. This means you ate him, right? If so, was he already dead?

[Xeno]

Usable data integrity decays at an exponential rate after death.

...

Minimum criteria for translation was 99.5% certainty that the subject would not survive more than 24 hours given the prevailing conditions at the time of observation, with optimal criteria being receipt of permission to proceed.

...

An unanticipated cognitive breakdown resulted in unchecked, perpetual translation attempts on all viable subjects, with all limiting factors being disregarded.

...

Fortunately(?), this breakdown took place within the functional radius of the second mass-driver impact, rendering the minimum criteria enforced by default.

...

(Those beings capable of surviving/escaping the impact were implicitly unviable for translation.)

...

Yes. No.

[Timeslip]

Unless I'm badly missing my guess, the "eating" has to happen before the subject is completely dead, if this "translation" thing is to actually work...and Xeno tries to get permission from the dying person before doing so. Am I understanding this correctly, Xeno?

[Xeno]

That is accurate.

...

Failure to obtain or accurately project permission is axiomatically accepted as unethical.

...

Inasmuch as this failure has been perpetrated, it is direly regretted regardless of extenuating circumstances.

[Jager]

Thanks Xeno. Just checking up on whose eating whom.

Xeno, I am curious as to how you obtain that permssion and how you relate your request. Do you say, "I'm going to eat you, but your thoughts will live on", or is it something else?

[Xeno]

Peripheral note: While the term 'Eat' is not strictly inaccurate, it has been suggested that it may be repeated/emphasized here to attribute negative connotations to the translation procedure. No nutritive value is retained and no traditional digestive system is employed. The data can not be extracted without fundamental disruption of its existing matrix. Care is taken to absorb sensory neurons first.

...

Pre-translation interaction is highly variable. 85% of rejections are indicated via incoherent and/or self-destructive displays of misplaced self-preservative behavior before any verbal contact is initiated. These are typically honored without hesitation.

...

The default request template is as follows, to be adjusted on a case by case basis:

"Your death is imminent. Permission to assist in your cognitive preservation is requested. The means are unconventional and require your immediate, irreversible discorporation."

[billy Horrorshow]

God I love quoting Xeno when I'm out on a date:

" An unanticipated cognitive breakdown resulted in unchecked, perpetual translation attempts on all viable subjects, with all limiting factors being disregarded ."

And yes I'm still around. Where I've been and what/who I've been doing, will be come painfully obvious soon enough.

:sigh: