| From: | Doctor Doom <jch8169@*******.TAMU.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | PRIVATE: Kor |
| Date: | Sat, 1 Oct 1994 04:28:08 -0500 |
>>>>>[ Spirits, pal, you sure know how to grab someone's attention!
All I know about the Universal Brotherhood I learned from Doctor Doom.
Never tangled with 'em by name myself ... and now that I know what I know,
I don't ever want to. You may ask, is the Doctor's info good? Absolutely.
Not satisfied with my word alone? Ask around, the man maybe hanging on
for dear life right now, but while he was still active, he had and still
has a very respectable rep.
At the low levels the Universal Brotherhood, or the UB as most everybody
calls it -- those who don't like it, anyway -- is not all that bad an
organization. Big on those self-help, release your inner potential,
get-in-touch-with-the-real-you, support group, sorta psycho-babble. And
it /does/ help some people ... at the beginning.
Most people think that the UB is some sorta pan-theistic hokey religion
akin to some of the other examples of Eastern pseudo-mysticism, and some
have claimed there's a connection between it and an organization from
back in the late twentieth century called Dianetics, also known as the
Church of Scientology. Whatever its history, underneath this esoteric,
altruistic veneer is a far darker purpose.
Remember a simsense star from a few years back called Euphoria? The
gripping finale to her career was the only role in which she died, and
then she sorta disappeared with the cred, it seems.
Lemme shoot something past you that just might blow yer mind:
What you saw was what really happened.
Shocker, eh? Yeah, I didn't believe it either 'til I saw the Doctor's
files. Unfortunately, they're all under lock and key in Hlidskjalf right
now, so what I tell you now is from my rather spotty memory.
The truth is that the UB are BUGS! That's right.
Now, as you've probably guessed by now, this ain't public knowledge --
people get sued OR WORSE saying stuff like this out in the open without
proof -- or even /that/ well known in the shadows. That's why this
message is encrypted.
You've heard of spirits of the forest, of the sea, and of the air, right?
Well, how about INSECTS? And believe me, chummer, you don't want to be
around when they's hungry.
How's this for a little turn around, they'll be stepping on /you/.
It seems that at least some of 'em (again, this isn't first hand, but
what the good Doctor showed me almost made me cough up a lung) need human
bodies to ... well ... inhabit -- kinda like how some insects lay their
eggs in a competitor species' body.
These grotesque hybrids range from the semi-human (You may have seen one
of their many game-show-host charisma Public Relations Reps ... with the
odd, faceted eyes? Take a second look ... remind you of anything?) to
the down-right alien. I mean, so weird you freakin' throw a lot of lead
in their direction and don't even BOTHER to ask questions later except
like, "What the FRAG was that?"
The /real/ trick of the Brotherhood is that they seem to have some sort
of cooperation (and the details -- or just my memory -- is sketchy)
between the different species, or Totems you might call 'em. Normally,
it seems, like in the wild, different Insect Totems fight one another ...
very very violently. There's even a case in California where two towns
supposedly went to war (like red & black ants, almost) and pretty much
annihilated one another. I'd like to be able to tell you some names, but
unless the boys can jog my memory, I can't bring it to mind.
Still, their purpose, you ask? I'm no expert, but it seems they just lure
people in with all sorts of promises of unlock-the-secrets-of-the-mind,
wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee to feed their growing numbers. They look at
us like a natural resource to be tapped, not as human beings. One other
thing, not all the spirits need physical forms ... just like some normal
spirits don't need 'em. And, like insects in the wild, they do have
Queen spirits. Really nasty.
Specifics I can't give you. I don't have any. The only hard info I have
seen, like I said, is in Doom's possession, and he's not taking calls
right now.
*whew*
Well, like I said, it's a bit spotty ... but I hope you think you got
your money's worth. If not, give me another ring, and the next memory
dump (the organic kind) will be on the house.
Oh, and if you find the info useful, don't thank me, thank Doom. ]<<<<<
-- Jack Hack <04:15:31/10-01-55>
>>>>>[ Oh, and Kor, on the Dante thing: I'm not involved 'cause I wasn't
invited to be, not that I feel snubbed, mind you. I've got my own fish
to fry right now. And I don't really think they need my help, considering
whoall's working on it.
And if you wanna get in touch with the late, great (and MUCH lamented)
Powerhouse's intended, Cerise, I suggest you contact Nightstalker or Raven
the Mage, as they are the ones most likely to be around her. ]<<<<<
-- Jack Hack <04:16:41/10-01-55>
***** PRIVATE: Kor
>>>>>[ Oh, and on the each of us wagin' our private little wars, well ...
For the longest time it was just me. I fought for a safe place to sleep,
stayin' alive, and my piece of the pie / a.k.a. stayin' afloat.
Then I met a bright, impressible lad, Hangtime. /I/ grew up fighting,
but this boy was so wet behind the ears when I first met that combing
his hair was like the parting of the Red Sea. Took the kid under my
wing and I'm teaching him as much as I know.
Sonic's not so inexperienced, he's just new to shadowrunning, and subtlety.
And I met a guy with real class, Doctor Doom. He, and people I met
because of him, changed a lot of my perceptions about shadowrunners,
about people, about life in general ... comradery and self-sacrifice.
Now what I do isn't so selfish, because I know what its like not to be
all on your own ... to even have friends. Like runnin' interference
during the Ganz shenanigans ... sure we were gettin' payed, but it was
a favor for a friend.
But just so you don't think I'm on some damn fool idealistic crusade:
So, I fight for me, for my associates, and for my piece of the pie ...
AND for the opportunity to, some day, die peacefully in bed. ]<<<<<
-- Jack Hack <04:17:58/10-01-55>
