Search Results: 520 messages were found

As far as I remember I'm able to kill myself agents in my missions, so
I don't think this is anything extraordinary if a horde of zionists
managed to kill one, albeit surely more skilled than those I had to
clash with.

Congratulations to the 3 for having the chance to participate in this unique mission, and for succeeding in it.

Hi again Darius, glad to see you still want to continue with this group! I would be interrested in the beggar's part.

Strong player events are indeed a must. These are the things that make
people build new links, know new people. Me and Consequence are
preparing a very promising one (See the audition thread in the Next
Renaissance forum) and we are nailing down elements of an interresting
story and NPCs, but above all, we want to make something that will be
fun for everyone. Stay tuned for more details!

I was talking with some of my faction mates yesterday as to where we want to go while most of the serious pvpers now left Consequence. RP was obviously a much favorized option, especially events that would be open to the whole community. I proposed a little idea at the end, and I wonder if the community would like to give it a try : improv nights.

Take 2 teams of around 4 players each night, pitch in some themes and a time limit, and have spectators vote on their favorite execution. This might not be the best place for roleplayers wanting to evolve their character or the storyline, but might be a good way to see roleplayers of all kinds in action.

As you can see, there's really nothing prepared yet, there are many details that are still unclear. I'm just interrested in seeing if this is something that players would like participating in, or assisting to.

Improvisation is a fundamental skill in roleplay. It mixes character
building, story writing, listening and repartee. It's about bringing life to a new
world with very little preparation. It can be humorous or dramatic, but
the goal is the same : showing that you're able to switch what you are
at will.

Message Edited by Harpalos on 06.19.2006 07:51 PM

We'll be holding a little meeting to discuss about this project Sunday 25 june at 4 PM EST, in club Avalon. Like the event itself, it will be only OOC. The goal will be to present my views on the project, brainstorm with the people so we can agree on a format that will be interresting, and if needed, I could do a little demo on how this will work.

See you there!

As planned, the discussion meeting will be in 30 minutes. If you got
some interrest in this project, either to participate in it, or be a
spectator, feel free to join us.

Tabletop RPGs+Politics+Hanzel und Gretyl = Great!

I'll be doing a full recap soon, to give the description on how the
things will work. People there really liked the plan, so it's quite
promising!

106

Not much for someone that's around since the prerelease!

Hello. Yesterday, we held the preparation meeting where I described my views about the kind of game we could make. Of course, not everyone that was interrested could make it, but the players that were there were quite enthusiast about the idea. I will explain here the concept that we agreed on yesterday in detail. Every player that wants to play in it, and every audience member that is curious about how things will work should read it! This might not answer every question, so feel free to ask !

Background
Where I come from (Quebec), improvisation (impro or improv, whatever you prefer) is a widely played game. Every high school has its team, and even league. I played and coached in this game for years, and this is definitely where I developped my best roleplay skills. The concept of short form improvisation dates from a long time, and everyone knows about it thanks to shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway? However, we'll be using a specific set of rules and game structure for this mxo league.

The participants
Each game has 2 teams of 4 players, distinguished by uniform color. Many teams will be accepted, to allow different matchups . This is open to any player, and teams don't have to be faction-related. Since the game is totally out of character, players from any background can join.
There's an arbiter, who is acting as MC. He gives the themes, counts the points and gives warnings when necessary. For the first league, I will be handling this role.
In the game of impro, the audience is a key player. Since each improvisation's winner is determined by a vote, it's the audience that determines the winner of each match.

The game setting
Matchs will be held in a bar with a scene, like Polyvinyl, but maybe somewhere less crowded, but available to low-levels. Both teams will be on the stage, at each end of it. Teams must be in a mission team. Players which are not in play must sit and stay quiet.

The game sequence

The game is made of about 8-10 improvisations. In each impro, both team has to roleplay through a given theme, with set contraints. At the start of each impro, the arbiter presents the theme, the type, the duration, and an handicap. Here is an example of how this will be presented :

Compared improvisation. Duration : 3 minutes. Handicap : none. Theme : My kingdom for a blue pill.

This description contains 4 parts. Here is the lowdown on each one.

The type : there are 2 different types of improvisations : compared and mixed. In mixed improvisations, both teams each present their improvisation, but one team after the other. This allow more control in story building. In mixed improvisations, both teams have to work together. This is the most challenging type of impro, since you have to compete directly against your opponent's ideas, but is often the most interresting.

The duration : each improvisation must be played within the said time limit. Once the arbiter tell that this is over, the actors must go back with their team.

The handicap : this is where special contraints can be put to spice out the challenge. Whether it is to force players to speak in rhymes or set them into a parallel universe, the handicap totally modifies how players will play. The arbiter has to describe the handicap when its not clear enough.

The theme : this is what the actors must loosely follow. There is place for a lot of creativity, so as long as you can make a link to the theme somewhere, this will be ok. By the way, not every theme or execution has to be linked to the Matrix universe since this would probably limit us more.

Once the description is done, each team has 1 minute to prepare their game plan. Each team discuss in team chat about what they will do, who will do what, etc. It got to be noted that it's not necessary to have the full team playing at each time. Having too much players at once can bring confusion, and make bad improvisations.

Immediately after the huddle, if the improvisation is mixed, at least one player of each team must come in the scene to start it. If it's compared, a /random made by the 2 captains will determine which team will have a chance to start or let the other team begin.

During the improvisation, silence among non-playing actors is essential. Especially in a chat environment, it can be easy to lose track of what is going on. Emotes can be used, but the most important thing is to make the scene flow well. So it's better to type short sentences than to write a long message.

At the end of the improvisation, the arbiter calls the vote. Each member of the audience got to vote by moving to either side of the room. Each person votes by using its own criterias. Some might prefer character building, while some others would prefer comedic elements. Once the vote is made, the arbiter counts the votes, and the highest number gains a point. Then it's time to move on to the next improvisation, until the match is over!

League structure
At each week, 2 teams that never met will face each other. At the start of the league, it won't be possible to add a new team, but once the league is over, we will be taking new applications. By the way, all of this is made strictly for fun. There's no prize in itself. Matches will be played sunday nights, around 9 PM EST. Yes, this won't be a good time for european players, but we can rethink the time for the next league. Each match should be 1-2 hours long. Consequence will maybe be hosting an improv league section on its website, so results can be presented.

Well, that was long, but I think it was important to define well how things will work!

If you are interrested, you can start subscribing to the league by forming your 4 person team, and giving the names of the participants here. If you don't know anyone, or are not enough to form a 4 players team, add your name and we'll try to match you with others to form a team. Also, team captains should pick out their team color. Each team will be named by its uniform's color. The uniform of each team will be a distinct color of G-Met T-shirt. They are ugly, yes, but they come in a large variety of colors. So pick up your team color, name a captain, and start forming teams!

Message Edited by Harpalos on 06.26.2006 11:45 AM

So far, I have heard many individuals interrested in joining in.
However, there's no team announced for sunday. The first two full teams
announced here will be competing against each other for the first match
of the league.

See you all in a bit less than 1 hour, club Polyvinyl! We have one team
confirmed, for the second one, I guess we'll have to see...

Congratulations for the Red team! (Venmm, Rikhu, Wolfess and
Deathkladius) They have won by a landslide in overtime against the
green team (Caillech, Staticzero, Nephillim, Parkin). The format seems
to have pleased the players and the audience, so I hope that you'll all
be many for the next encounter!

aariel2100 wrote:
I'll just echo Harlaplo's thanks...

Harpalos, my dear. Harpalos.

Since the days of LET running everywhere are over, it's good to take
time to appreciate those gems we managed to experiement. I got
some pretty interresting moments, but there's one interaction I will
remember fondly for it's weirdness. I don't know if you remember, but
during a while there was theories that Lelan was the cypherite leader.
Well in a conversation I had with him, he asked me if I had a mask, out
of nowhere. I traded it to him, but he refused. I never understood why
he said that, but that was cool. Oh, and after a big philosophical
debate, he said "Merv or not, you speak wisely, Harpalos." Nice
compliment from a LET member!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/harpalos/screenshot_lelan.jpg

Message Edited by Harpalos on 10-24-2005 11:48 PM

Oh! How could I forget that. The Purged, the faction I was a member of
for the first weeks of the game, had a nefarious reputation for it's
capacity to gather information. We managed to learn about a meeting
with Niobe. We went there, and just sat behind Niobe.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/harpalos/screenshot-niobe1.jpg

However, here's what we could see from our point of view :

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/harpalos/screenshot-niobe2.jpg

Yup, the entire Zion population of Linenoise. We were young and proud of our move, thanks to a nice non hostile server...

My traditional Black Machello Jacket and Tie, with black Arasiki
leather pants and Lucien Dress shoes. I've been wearing that one for
months, enough that this is now a second skin.

I imagine the scene. Take any award, like the Oscars. Some nominees are presented, clear winners for this year begin to surface. However, one guest speaker starts talking against another actor. This actor answers back, and others join to support either group. The essence of the initial presentation is now lost, because they wanted to bring some interpersonnal conflicts publically. Eventually, the award ceremony is stopped, to let people calm down.

If this would happen in the real life, every actor that took part in the name throwing would be the laughing stock of the cultural community, simply because they wasted the ceremonies' mood, despite if their arguments were good or bad.

Roleplayers are actors in a sense. Our role is our character, our play is this game, and every action we make, either in-game or in the forum is what we want to show to the public. Many mentionned in this thread do a great job, making our everyday interactions inside this big screenplay more real, more enjoyable. However, it only took a few personnal vendettas brought here to hide the good work of some players.

No need to answer to this message, I already feel bad to have written this because I hate intervening in OOC conflicts, especially those I'm not involved.

I would gladly write my own nominees for RP awards, but displays of meaningless conflicts like that remind me why I don't want to participate anymore in the current state of roleplay, prefering to do my own affair with those that care.

Hiredguard3's Log: July 27 22:45

*CENSORED*, that city is really not made for me. My shift watching the idiot went well, I think that watching a goddamn paraplegic could only be easier. The other 2 with me are nice too, the chick especially... Gotta try to buy her a drink, never know where it would lead. But the problem is that I wouldn't be able to even pay her one until we're paid. Apparently, Lady Luck decided to screw me tonight.

I was nearing the end of my shift, and I past across a place called Eber Casino. That looked like a lousy place, but heh, glitzy stuff isn't for me. I came into, meeting a few morons playing poker. That's not my thing. Tried it for a while, too skill-based for me. Nah, I prefer staring straight into fate's eyes and play like a real man, not a sissy. That's what roulette is made for. And with video machines, you don't even have to suffer the comments from the idiots playing with you. So I went to the bar, ordered a double whiskey and got sitting at the machine. I looked straight at it, tried to dominate the machine. The greasy buttons were disgusting, but a little spit and wipe of my shirt did the thing.

Well goddamn! The *CENSORED**CENSORED**CENSORED* machine made me spend every little dollar I had! I was hearing her laugh at me inside her rusty carcass. And yes! I use her and not it, there are just women to be bitchy like that! I got up, threw her a good punch right in the screen! Yeah, I got kicked out by the manager, which I thanked him for his service by the beating of his lifetime. So now I'm not even with not even a single dollar, but also I'm blacklisted from all the casinos in the city! Yeah, this stupid city has all its casinos held by friends or I don't know what, and surely I don't want to. The need to gamble is already filling me. Those days before being paid for this crappy job will be a real hell for me!

Wow. Lady Fate might be a *CENSORED* sometimes, but I guess that she managed to grow a pair. I made the most stupid thing I have ever done tonight, and *CENSORED* it was worth it! In my last days guarding the idiot, I managed to get some names in the underground. It looks like job isn't something lacking in Megacity. Opportunities afloat, but right now, I don't have a dime to pay me some food or anything. Times are hard living with whatever you can scrap off trashes and such. I was desperate, and I needed cash right now. I then went to a pawn shop, one of the way too many in this hell hole. The guy there laughed at me when I asked what my jacket was worth. I didn't like his answer, and I grabbed him by the colar, telling him surely much more than his pitiful life. He laughed at me with the most hideous teeth I ever seen. The idea that my fist could easily make these horrors history made me smile, and I dropped him by utter disgust. The *CENSORED* biped lard got back on his feet and started laughing. Apparently, he was liking my style. He offered me something real weird : a little betting opportunity... A little event he hosts from time to time with the local ruffians. He asked me if I had something of value. I hesitated and said alas no, nothing apart some critical piece of information that my boss had told me to keep for myself to value as much as my life. He displayed his atrocious rack of nightmarish dentistry and invited me to a secret meeting. A game of Russian Roulette.

Fast forward to a few hours later. I'm meeting my new contact and another bloke. Between us, an Harlick Arms with a single bullet. One shot each. 16% chances to die if I start, 20% if it's him. That's good odds. The survivor(s) split a 10000$ wager. That's *CENSORED* nice! We make the coin flip, and *CENSORED*, he gets the first shot. 4% less chances to not survive might not seem big, but when facing death, it is. The guy picks the revolver, applies it on his temple. He's not a pro, I see he has absolutely no confidence. The sound of the trigger is quickly followed by a symphony of brain splatter. Nicest music to ever reached my ears! Never in the process I had any fear. I grinned to the pawn broker, and stretched my hand to signal him to spit out the cash. he gets inside his bag and gives me a 5000$. Thanks for his health, he quickly explained to me that the next 5000$ could be reinvested by me. He liked my attitude and is ready to patronize me for a high-stake game. 6 players, 1 million $ bet each. Last man standing. I accepted.Now word has been out of the street. We\'re waiting for 5 idiots wanting to give a chance. Wednesday, 7 PM MCT. Location will be given 15 minutes in advance. All they have to do is to manifest their interrest to the underground. I got to get myself ready. I won\'t miss the opportunity for my highest stake game ever. \n",1] ); //-->

6 players, 1 million $ bet each. Last man standing. I accepted.

Now word has been out on the street. We're waiting for 5 idiots wanting to give a chance. Wednesdayi, 7 PM MCT. Location will be given 15 mnutes in advance. All they have to do is to manifest their interrest to the underground. I got to get myself ready. I won't miss the opportunity for my highest stake game ever.

((By putting a RP story on the forum, in a certain sense you open yourself to OOC feedback, but also to IC retroaction. Of course, having someone coming out of nowhere and scrapping IC your story is bad. Take for example if I was writing a story about me going to meet someone soon about a mysterious deal. Someone then reply to my thread, says that his character heard about this meeting and doesn't want it to happen. So he kills my informant.

This is RP "piracy". Total hijack of a story, and this should not happen. But let's say in the previous example if the player would have said instead in his post that he would have placed a bug on me, so he can learn what is going about. This would change my plans for my storyline, but not derail it. It would in fact bring more dimension in a story.

Dimension is what we're looking about in roleplay. Forces clash, links are created. This allow us to create more colorful stories. Things like what GhostOfNada did wasn't for killing the roleplay. I see it more as food for thoughts, to allow the story to be more colorful. So my advice to the original poster : if you don't like what was done, don't continue. By posting IC, you can get IC answers. If you didn't want any IC retroaction, you should have specified it. If however you feel like jumping in, pick on the story and continue with the current elements. That will be a great read, I assure you.))

Very nice work here.

I will be there. I know nothing of the pvp community and I'm not in the forefront of the rp clique thanks to my character's distant personality, but I'm sure I can contribute to something since I worked on many rp events and projects since I started.

I hate talking about roleplay, since roleplay is an essential part of me, and doing so makes me feel like an elitist egocentric or something like that. I am sure I can be considered as one of the most experienced hardcore rper around, but no one ever seen me roleplaying. Why that? The character I decided to make.

Harpalos is a shy anti-social scientist.

Eric, the player, is a scientist, but an extremely social person.

Harpalos rarely says a word to others, but loves having meaningful conversations with the people he cares for(really not many...)

Eric must usually be asked to shut up.

The result makes a strange roleplay experience. I love to roleplay, to interact with others, to build stories. But mxo is my first mmorpg, and since I had no idea how it would be, I built Harpalos as my shell, allowing myself and my character to be 2 separate entities. Yes, this requires me to spend most of my time online doing no roleplay, except with Caillech, Harpalos' girlfriend. I would love doing much more. But it would be out of character going to public spaces and start creating bonds. So that leaves me few options for roleplay, and I got to admit, if it wasn't for Caillech with our daily rp, and our ongoing collaborative story (which I have no fear to claim as probably the biggest piece of written roleplay in the mxo universe), the game would be terribly boring for me.

A small rp faction would however be my dream. My crew is roleplay. It's easy, we're only 2 inside it. To have a full roleplay faction is something complicated however. With the game having less and less appeal, the number of veteran players go down, and makes the number of hardcore roleplayers go down. This is why most roleplayers are now isolated.

There are surely many solutions possible. Having a rp meeting spot is good, but that's not the best solution for the kind of character I play. I don't know if I'm alone in that situation, but if no, it would be something worth discussing with those giving interrest in enhancing their personal and collective roleplay experience.

((Me and my in-game partner, Caillech, have started working on a
collaborative story. Turn by turn, we add a part to the story, but
without having a set plan. So we don't know what the other will do in
advance, and we must react to that.

We hesitated before making it public. It might not interrest everyone,
but it's an interresting effort in rp that I think is worth checking.
Feel free to check it, and follow the story everyday at the same time
with us as the story unfolds. Don't expect a love story, this is a
Matrix story, with a strong emphasis on realism and respect of the
setting. Here's the link to check it :

http://caillechandharpalos.pbwiki.com/

We hope you'll like our work, and are interrested in following it.

Harpalos and Caillech))

The concept itself in my opinion is wrong. A RSI is an avatar. Like when you play a video game, your avatar is the character you play. In state-based games like rpgs, your character itself becomes better as it learns new abilities. But your mind also learns and get you better at controlling your character. So we have an avatar which gets new abilities as we progress, but also the player becomes better and better has he learns to use the system. If I play a game and my character file becomes corrupted, it's just too bad, all I have to do is to try to fix the problem, or restart a new character.

Now, the Matrix. Your avatar is your RSI. It's through it that you progress, that you learn abilities. Neo itself knew Kung-Fu, but I strongly doubt that his body in the real would have allowed him to practice it. It was through his avatar that he was able to realize those feats. Yeah there's the sentinel overloading thing also, but that's another thing. The main thing is that a RSI is our avatar. It contains data representing ourselves. What happens if the data of a RSI becomes corrupted?

My opinion is that it wouldn't matter. You scrap the RSI and bring another one. Your avatar is just a channel. As long as the person behind it starts learning how to use it, there wouldn't be a problem if he had to scrap his RSI and regenerate it. Maybe some abilities would have to be updated, but as long as the mental training is done, you would be ready to restart. I follow a strong conviction that in the Matrix, the mind is more important than the code. A virus infecting a RSI would be useless as soon as the person jacks out. Yes there's also Smith, but that's not the same kind of thing. This theory would also completely nihilates the popular lupine and blood drinker infected redpills. (Sorry Cai, I know that you're already aware of my views on the topic) Each jack into the Matrix is a new beginning.

I guess I didn't made any friends with this hypothesis, but will gladly discuss about it.

I might not be worth 50 men, but I followed the orders. I had told Salera that it might be better to have more people to assist me, but she refused. If you ask me, letting him go so easily was maybe deliberate... I think that we have yet to fully understand Salera's strategy. For my part, no offense all this is over. Seraneth offered me a good company, but the less I'm involved into Zion affairs, the better it is for me.

Tosuno wrote:

They stay in your mind, you don't need to "re-install" them everytime you jack in.

I disagree. There's no way a human being could be considered a Grandmaster in Aikido, Karate and Kung Fu at the same time, while knowing how to program complex simulacra or to code objects from thin air. Hence why we can't invoke a simulacra if you don't have the ability loaded. You know it's possible to do, that you know you can do it, but without the mechanics loaded into your RSI, you just can't do it. This explains why we must select the abilities that we want to load, and this is in limited quantity since the number of things loaded into our RSI is limited.

Like an ability, a virus is code. I think however it's possible to say that a virus could have done cerebral damage and would allow code to modify a brain, "implanting itself" in it. Just like how the various cyberpunk's settings viruses can affect the brain of a hacker jacked into a network through cerebral influx, just like The Matrix. Once jacked out, you would still feel the damage from it, but when you come back, your avatar is untouched. It's you who took the damage, not your code.

Last thing : I'm not a Matrix guru, not at all. I base my hypothesis on cyberpunk litterature and common sense. There are many black holes in The Matrix cannon, and there's place for interpretation. I'll never shun someone who took initiative to introduce something such as RSI viruses, as long as the process is believable enough. Tosuno's explanation of his virus seems good. Based on the cerebral impact argument, it's something I can believe into. For RSI viruses, people have the right to use them, but I think a little effort must be made to make sure they are believable, just like anything brought through roleplay.

You don't have programs in your head. You just know how to use them. It's through your datajack that brain influx is translated to machine code and vice-versa. I strongly doubt that Matrix cybernetics introduced data storage units inside brains to contain programs. From what I remember in the Matrix, the jacks are direct neural interfaces, working through stimuli to communicate inputs/outputs between the body and the machine.

I still stay strong that the only way you could influence someone through viral interference is by either inflicting direct damage to the brain, or find a way to hack into the storage where RSI data is stored permanently. The later part is truely the thing I have yet to find a precise reference about how it works.

Technically yes. A programmer could build a code specially designed against redpills to execute a pattern of influx that would affect the brain in a certain manner. Modern science is already able to influence the brain on specific points, which could lead in "thought control". Since the connexion to the Matrix is directly linked to your brain, it doesn't seem too farfecthed that a really advanced virus could alter brain functions.

The LESIG was initially presented by Aether in april. It's goal was
initially to take the pulse of the community in regard of live events,
with the help of a dedicated group. The first application required to
submit a short paragraph telling why you would like to help. This
process lasted 3 weeks, until the middle of may. A few weeks after
that, an email was sent to those who were selected to go in the second
phase (which I think is everyone that submitted a paragraph). This
time, a lot of questions were asked, about a wide range of topics. But
this was a few weeks before the SOE announcement. So in the meantime,
Aether left MxO and the LESIG project was put aside. But a few weeks
ago, Walrus announced that there was still interrest in putting this
group back on line. With the transition now over and the team dedicated
to continue improving MxO and it's live events system that makes it so
unique, this group will certainly help!

And will it be it's job? If I remember how it was presented, the LESIG
will advise on ideas put on by the LET, might test elements of upcoming
events, or taking an active part in the events by helping the LET. This
might be different now, to accomodate the current needs of the LET.
Time will tell us, I can't wait to see this (especially if I'm in it!).
By the way, one of the points that we had to agree in the series of
questions for the second phase, was that nothing discussed about the
LESIG could be discussed, or the culprit would face expulsion. So I
don't expect to hear from the LESIG members screaming on every roof.

I hope this answers enough the questions of those tired to hear the word LESIG without knowing what is it really!

Indeed. He mentionned that with the public uproar they would think to
reactivate the masks. But now people seems to have forgotten it, so the
devs might not remember that's something the community would like to
have back. Especially me, as an advocate for players events.

But of course many will argue over that, telling that it's not fair
since they recycled their masks, thinking they won't be usable again.

The Choppers is the gang that usually hang in Uriah. Apparently, the Crushers decided to claim some space there too!

Skinny Puppy

Einsturzende Neubauten

KMFDM

Front Line Assembly

Strapping Young Lad

Ministry

Fear Factory

Nine Inch Nails

White Zombie

Wumpscut

Mastodon

Static-X

VNV Nation

And I must admit that I'm liking The Birthday Massacre these days.

I vote for no new movies. I hate seeing sequels the way hollywood does
them these days. Only thing I can think when I see them is a bunch of
corporate executives looking at their license herd and selecting which
cow can be milked. The original movie got popular because of it's
creativity. And you can't be too creative with a sequel, since the fans
of the originals would feel that this is not the same movie. So they
keep remaking the same movie, hoping to lure people that love the
original. A series which adds sequels after sequels ages badly. Let the
classic survive the test of time, instead of covering it in shame with
it's sequels.

Very nice website, congratulations!

((Hello. I haven't posted a rp story since a good while, and I wanted to break the sleep with something which I put quite some efforts building it. I suggest you to read it twice however to get it correctly. I hope you'll appreciate it.))

Harpalos was sitting into an 70s-era black dragster car. Last time he drove a car was years ago, back at his hometown. To make sure he would be able to control such a wild car, he loaded a driving program before jacking in. Caillech joined him, astonished to see the car he had found. He invited her inside the car. After a rough turn of the key, the loud motor was humming. Caillech smiled at the idea to do this. She hadn't been in a car since a long time, but it was more the idea of seeing her lover drive that surprised her. He had been very silent to her all the day aboard their ship. She concluded that it was because he was preparing himself mentally for this surprise. He looked at her and both exchanged smiles. He reached in the inside pocket of his Machello suit and pulled out an 8-track cartridge. Caillech read on it "In The Hall Of The Mountain King, Edvard Grieg." He pushed it firmly inside the radio's slot, and waited for the first notes to start.

((What's better than a little audio support to continue reading this story... Continue reading while playing the song at http://files.kendormusic.com/str200.../mp3/stra01.mp3))

The car was slowly advancing out of its parking place, in Tabor Park. It was the night, so the interior parking lot was quite empty. He drove cautiously, still uneasy to do this after all these years. He made great caution to not push the pedal too much, because everytime he did, the motor roared in a burst of noise. The music was all calm, the timid strings contrasting highly with the purr of the motor. The car went down the 4 levels of the parking, to the exit. A quick look around at the Tabor Park East hardline showed some machinist operatives, unaware of what was going on. The car was now out, rolling up to the street next to the water. Caillech was smiling, finding this little nocturnal escapade quite romantic. At her right, she could see the aqueduct plunged in darkness, with the lights of Downtown behind. Harpalos navigated through the Richland streets quite easily. He was an operative in Megacity for so long, he knew the various districts extremely well. He approched the freeway entrance near Uriah, with still no words said to Caillech. She just enjoyed the moment, seeing how focused he was while driving. They've been together since a few months, but almost every day he managed to find ways to suprise her. This was one of these days.

He engaged on the freeway toward Downtown with more confidence. The circulation was not dense, with most citizens quietly sleeping at home. But Megacity never sleeps. Harpalos wasn't alone on the streets. He picked up the speed slowly, and turned to Caillech. In the depth of his pitch black Gigaflop glasses, his gaze pierced deep into her eyes and he made her a nod. He was ready. He reached for her hand, kissed it and asked her to fasten her seatbelt. He went to the volume knob of the old radio and turned it. The bad quality speakers of the car were now playing the classical piece loudly, making every drivers around wonder what was this. Suprised to see it wasn't some kid with upbeat urban music, but a middle-aged man, driving a vintage car while listening to classical music at an unusually high volume.

A few minutes after, he was driving at breakneck speed on the freeway, criss-crossing between lanes. Caillech was sitting next to him, wondering what was happening with him. She knew him as a calm force, a man driven purely by reason. But for a reason that she ignored, he was now acting recklessly, nearly causing accidents with every car they met. But despite all, he wasn't mad. His face wasn't displaying any emotion apart from his usual focused attitude. The start of the run was exstatic to Caillech, always loving to see her lover do unusual things. The speed was a good cleansing therapy, but she quickly started to panic, unable to understand what Harpalos was doing. She shouted at him, asking him to slow down, telling him she wasn't finding this funny anymore. He didn't even flinch. A quick turn of the steering wheel made the car avoid by a few inches a motorcycle rolling to the side. Her senses were becoming all dizzy, with the colors of the various cars becoming blurred and the sound of the motor pushed to the limit dampened by the high volume of the song. He then engaged the car on the line leading to the Edgewater's bridge. The toll booths to access the bridge were coming soon, and the speed of the car betrayed Harpalos' lack of interrest in halting his drive to pay the toll. The car crossed 4 lines to go into an unused lane. The crash of the car in the barrier created an explosion of shattering wood.

Police cars could be seen. The chase was launched. Harpalos didn't feel for dragging this too long however. In a move that made Caillech's heart to stop, Harpalos suddenly turned the steering wheel, which brought the car directly into the bridge's side barrier. Caillech screamed at the top of her lungs, knowing she wouldn't survive this. At the same time, Harpalos unbuckled both seatbelts and grabbed Caillech by the shoulders. A fraction of seconds after, he was hyperjumping with her in his arms, landing not far away on the bank. Caillech was paralyzed in his arms, and the last thing she saw was him, smiling, taking the phone from the nearby hardline to have them return to the ship. As her code was dissolving, it was possible to hear the last notes of the song, absorbed by the water as the car was going underwater. Harpalos was satisfied of his stunt, and returned to the ship to continue reading, back to his usual self.

Glad to see you back TW. You can count me in too.