| From: | NightLife habenir@*****.uc.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | OT: Never Deal With a Dragon |
| Date: | Wed, 16 Jun 1999 02:18:20 -0400 |
Never Deal with a Dragon.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, avoiding Dragons would be
it. The long term dangers of associating with Dragons have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my
own meandering experience...I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your tres chic clothing; oh nevermind; you
will not understand the power and beauty of your clothes until they have
faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at wanted posters of
yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay
before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You're not as fast as you imagine.
Don't worry about the Awakened World; or worry, but know that worrying is
as effective as trying to summon a spirit by chewing bubblegum. The real
troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried
mind; the kind that are 2 metres tall and want to blind you on a Tuesday at
4am.
Do one thing everyday that scares the neighbours.
Shoot straight.
Don't be reckless with other people's heavy machine guns, don't put up with
people who are reckless with yours.
Conserve Ammo.
Keep up with SOTA; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind; the
race is long, and in the end, it's what keeps you alive.
Remember the secret pay data you retreive, forget the loused up runs; if
you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old cyberdecks, throw
away your old credsticks.
Stay Low.
Don't feel safe if you don't know what you want to do with that hot
merchandise, the most wanted people I know didn't know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their illegal wares, some of the most dangerous 40 year
olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of soykaf.
Be kind to your knees, they're expensive to replace.
Maybe you'll goblinize, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have HMHVV, maybe you
won't, maybe you'll retire after 40 runs, maybe you'll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th ;what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too
much or berate yourself either. Your survival is half chance, so is everybody
else's.
Enjoy your Ares Predator, use it every way you can; don't be afraid of it,
or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever
own..
Deck, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
RTFM, even if you don't understand it.
Do NOT read Slashnull, it will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when you'll need some extra cash
from them.
Be afraid of your criminal record; it's the best link to your past and the
thing most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that Johnsons come and go, but for the precious few you should
hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the
older you get, the more you need the money.
Live in Seattle once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Chicago
once, but leave before you turn into a bug.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, the weirdness will increase, runners
will sell out, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that
when you were young the streets were normal, runners were noble and elves
were trustworthy.
Never trust an elf.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a stolen bank
account, maybe you have a wealthy Johnson; but you never know when either
one might be eaten by insect spirits.Don't mess too much with your wired
reflexes, or by the time they're 40, they will be out of warranty. Be
careful whose BTL's you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and
recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the Dragons.
