| From: | The Powerhouse <P.C.Steele@*********.AC.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Showdown |
| Date: | Tue, 6 Sep 1994 16:33:49 +0100 |
find
them interesting.
***** Download Node logs SPU 8 - Data processing node
The scene is inside the Nexus, the shadowland computer which you all know so
well. The node, (SPU 8) is a relatively low security node used for passing
data between more important nodes in the system. The walls are lit with a
dazzling grid of silver, gold, bronze, blue and red set against a black
background, tiny pulses of light illuminate the lines at various times making
the whole area seem like some expensive firework display.
Pacing up and down in the middle of the node is a dark robed figure holding
a large metal scythe. Someone isn't very original in his icon design for it
is the icon of death and the most used persona of the infamous decker IBA. As
he moves shadows seem to flow from the robes which rustle and move with a
startling amount of detail and animation. Every now and then he stops, mutters
something containing lots of expletitives and the occasional mention of the
name Dante.
The system clock reaches 00:00:00 hours, the system date moves forward to
09.06.55, there is a chime as if from a church bell. The visage of death stops
and looks up, there is another chime. At the entrance of the node a clock
has appeared, the old type that used hands, beneath it a large wrought iron
bell is suspended impossibly floating in the air of the reality that is the
matrix.
The figure of death removes a stone from a pocket and slowly, rythmyically
begins to sharpen the blade matching the exact speed of the chimes. The
muttering has stopped and the figure seems to be chuckling to itself, finding
something strangely amusing in the events currently taking place. The twelth
chime is sounded and the clock and bell begin to fade, in their place stands
another decker though this one is very different from the one standing straight,
scythe in hand.
The newcomer appears in a strange garb, large soft leather armour adorned with
elaborate embroidery makes the chest seems larger than it should and medieval
looking trousers add to the strange appearance of the decker. The decker doffs
it's hat, a round soft hat with a crumpled top and executes a swift bow to the
figure of death standing opposite.
The newcomer speaks : So IBA you showed, I was wondering wether you would or
not wether you puny decker skills could take on one as mighty as me, wether
you actually cared anything for that pathetic spawn of your loins that you call
a son, wether you have the guts to do something other drink yourself into
oblivion because you cannot handle the pressures of life, of reality. But no
you choose to live in this virtual world where data is life and all things can
be made to seem something else, where you can escape from that pathetic excuse
that you call your life.
IBA : Dante you mother fragging piece of sputum, you were born from the
drek of devil rat, the product of a thousand whores and their clients, you
don't deserve to live, you've shown others that you're little more than a
shadowrunner wannabe, yeah no more than a fraggin wannabe, you really
think you stand a chance against me. Me who has been running the matrix since
he was able to read, me who was brought up in the ghettos of Austin and the
barrens of Seattle, you really think that a fraggin piece of mother drekking
pathetic excuse for a human can actually do anything to me ! Ha, come fall
on my blade, come let me burn the neurons in your brain, let me invite that
lethal feedback dose that I know you desire so much where your brain will go
from pleasure to pain in nanoseconds, that is all the pleasure you get from
me the pleasure caused by the confusion of your brain as it struggles to find
the right signal to let you know that your have a mere microsecond to live.
Dante : IBA, you underestimate me, you saw my little frame before I entered,
you can see my icon, the garb of medieveal Italy, more orginal than Death !
I shudder to think how many variations of the Death persona I have come
across when travelling throughout the matrix. Are you so poor a coder that
you had to steal someone else's MPCP code ? Are you so unimaginative that
you *buy* your attack programs from your fixer, or do you get that other
thorn in my side Solitaire to create your programs. Ha, I wouldn't be suprised,
yet even she would not be able to beat me, no my talents are not just your
equal IBA, they are your superior !
IBA : You fraggin what ! The day you can code anything better than me will be
the fraggin day, I can place a fairly good bet that if I said create a
complex search tree or a Jorna matrix that you have to go running to the
fraggin whore that was your mother and ask *her* for advice. Of course she'd
rather shoot on site and was sorry that she didn't have the decent sense to
get a piece of drek like you terminated when she could have done.
Dante quickly begins weaving something in his hands, IBA spins his scythe the
blade passing in a circular motion over his head, as it does so a shimmering
shield of blackness begins to obscure IBA.
Dante : So afraid of me are you that you seek to make a shield when I merely
respond to your challenge. Here a complex search tree and a Jorna matrix,
with the Gottley algorithm for increased search time implemented into each.
A small sphere of glowing light begins to float from Dante's hands, it pauses
just a the edge of IBA's shield. IBA reaches to his eye and pulls, what looks
like a small eyeball appears in his hands, suddenly it grows wings and
flutters in the barrier waiting while IBA adjusts the parameters to let it
through. I approaches the sphere of light several pulses of black ink are
fired from the eye into the centre of the sphere. On each pulse the sphere
begins to slowly disintegrate, eventually there is no more and the eye floats
back through the shield where IBA retrieves and replaces the eye.
IBA : Hmphh ! So fraggin what, so you learnt a tiny bit of computer programming
at school, that's first year stuff as well you know let's see what you can
do with some real programs.
The shield around IBA changes, instead of beacoming one complete cylinder of
darkness surrounding him it forms into a denser more opaque shield that hovers
and shifts in an unpredicatable way around IBA's body. Around Dante a shaft
of heavenly light suddenly appears bathing him in glorious light, a sound
of chanting can vaguely be heard in the distance.
The two begin an intricate dance, IBA spinning his large scythe making
exploratory moves Dante. Dante laughs skips out of the way, taunts some more
and all the time the heavenly light follows him around.
At last IBA moves in to attack, a long swipe to the midsection, Dante is
nearly caught unawares by the attack happening so quickly but he skips back
looking angry and mutters something. A small demon in the shape of a small
ninja appears in his hand, IBA gasps for it is one of the personas of
Nightstalker.
Dante : Ha, see what I did with your friend, I made him into a piece of code,
well what did you expect when you sent a half brained idiot after me to try
and track me down. Ha, he couldn't even find his own way home if that whore
he calls a girlfriend Raven led him by his dick all the way.
IBA : Frag you Dante, prepare to die.
The battle begins in earnest, the two appear very evenly matched for speed,
both moving with lightning reactions. Dante moves first and releases the
icon of Nightstalker, except that it isn't it's a crude mockery of Nightstalker
made in the form of a tiny demon. He releases it and watches it fly towards
IBA. IBA counters a slice of the scythe and it is no more, datasymbols fall
to the ground as the piece of code returns to it's silicon heaven.
Now IBA attacks, he moves in close and swings his scythe a large diagonal
swipe. Dante laughs again and stands there waiting for the blade to hit, then
his image shimmers and he is no longer there, instead Spirit stands there
belly ripe and swollen with the twins she was to later bear but her face is
evil, fangs protrude from her face, her skin is green and small demon horns
sprout from either side of her head. Stunned, IBA cannot stop the swipe but
moves his hand slightly and the scythe head becomes transparant for a mere
second passing through the image of Spirit. But some evil part of Dante's
programming had prepared even for this, the image splits cleaving Spirit in
twain and a pair of young demons both in the image of Nightstalker emerge
from her womb and speed towards an attack against IBA. To one side Dante
stands and laughs again.
Dante : See, all your friends are mine for me to control. Ha !
IBA obviously incencsed, dispatches the Nightstalkers with another double
swipe. He then turns towards Dante, looks and places the scythe butt on the
ground. Suddenly a point of inky black comes from the tip of the scythe and
hits Dante right in the chest. The heavenly light had absorbed some but now
a dark hole can be seen in the shield of light. Dante now looks mad, he
picks himself up and doesn't appear injured in the slightest. Next to him
another demonic form appears, this time it is Fenris with the wolven feautures
twisted in a cruel parody of themselves into something more dark and foreboding.
Fenris leaps with a snarl and attacks IBA, hitting the constantly moving shield
of blackness. IBA again fights back.
The fight continues, black rays emitting from the scythe creating IBA's attack
and demon forms of IBA's friend's and associates being used as attack forms
against him. Then an attack of Dante's hits home, IBA reels and staggers.
A small gravestone appears infront of him and the soul of an unfortnate
leaves the body of the dead and infuses IBA's persona with it's lifeforce
healing some of the damage inflicted by Dante.
Dante however isn't letting up, he has obviously underestimated IBA as IBA
underestimated him. He is showing signs of irritation at having to counter the
new forms that the peculiar black ink produced by IBA's scythe, but his body
looks well, whereas IBA has now suffered from a few cuts. With a new sudden
attack IBA changes tactics, muttering something he disappears leaving the
attack programs of Dante's with no target they quickly hit the wall and
dissolve. Dante looks perplexed and launches into a long series of taunts
to make IBA show himself, he then proceeds to launch numerous sensor programs
all in the form of a curly haired middle aged man with long multicoloured scarf.
No result, he shouts out again. Then he stops in one corned a glow is
beginning, it grows with incredible speed then IBA drops his masking and
appears with one *big* ball of glowing corsucating blue, gold light. This he
hurls at Dante who still slightly dumbstruck fails to react fully in time
though much of his armour and shield are destroyed in the attack, Dante
staggers but still lives, small sparks seems to emanate from beneath his
embroidered suit.
IBA : It took me some time to realise that your deck was better than mine, but
I guessed right by thinking that I was the better coder. So I reckon by
now I've blown maybe half your hardening so that makes the odds even again and
it's down to pure coding skill.
Dante : Frag you !
Dante then proceeds with a massive assault each attack launches three of the
Nightstalker demons. IBA dodges swipes and destroys then returns fire with
a finly tuned piece of black magic. 20 seconds pass, still the two are
equally matched though the strain of the fight is showing on both their faces.
IBA pauses to take breath and Dante uses the opportunity to heal some of the
system damage with a strange icon. A small gypsy girl floats down and kisses
Dante on the cheek. Seeing this IBA attacks again shouting loudly.
Suddenly as the icon of the small gypsy girl floats upwards another small gypsy
girl appears at the doorway. Though this one is an unmistakable form of a
decker and a good one at that judging from the persona.
The girl stops glances at the icon of herself and sends a shaft of bright light
towards it which immediately vapourises it.
Girl : So I found you at last Dante. Well it took me long enough.
Dante : Arrghh, frag it Solitaire, you always know how to spoil some fun.
IBA : Solitaire, frag off, this is between me and Dante.
Solitaire : No, way I've waited too long to kill this sonofabitch.
Dante : Well I'd love to hang around for the party but I don't like the way
the odds have just changed. See you in hell frag faces.
A small red button appears in front of Dante, both Solitaire and IBA leap to
try and stop him pressing it. However they are too late, with a small pop
and an inrushing of air Dante vanished, jacked out.
IBA : Fraggin fraggin fraggin hell !
***** End download ]<<<<<
-SysOp (**:**:**/**.**.**)
