Atlantis Times, Volume 2, Number 3 From: rwallace@cs.tcd.ie (Russell Wallace) Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:29:45 +0000 Atlantis Times, Volume 2, Number 3 ---------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= HAIL TO ALL ATLANTIS PLAYERS! We represent an alliance of 10 factions, with more than 800 men, armed with knifes, forks, spoons and other blades. We are not warlords, so you won't have to fear us, unless you were planning to attack us. We have our own Sacred Religion, our personal Guard, our Diplomats and our Watchers, and we have several races among us. Since we need money to feed our people, we are claiming to ourselves the regions of Praestbygd (1,10), Ickellund (2,10), Kursk (2,11), Mataro (2,12), Gresir (2,13) and Perski (3,11). Anyone in those regions who does not belong to the Alliance should send a messenger to the following address: Kursk@athena.mit.edu, explaining his intentions, before further measures are taken in account. Since you are in great danger if you choose to attack one of us, we are preparing a symbol that will identify all members of KA. You will know it when you see it! MAY THE SUN ALWAYS RISE FOR THE FRIENDS OF KA! LONG LIVE THE ALLIANCE! TT // TT\ IL// IL\\ IT\\ IT^\\ II \\ II \\ K U R S K I A N A L L I A N C E =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CHANTING THE HARE KRISNA MANTRA: The first principle in devotional service is to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra (maha means "great"; mantra means "sound that liberates the mind from ignorance"): Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare You can chant these holy names of the Lord anywhere and at any time, but it is best to set a specific time of day to regularly chant. Early morning hours are ideal. As you chant, pronounce the names clearly and distinctly, addressing Krishna in a prayerful mood. When your mind wanders, bring it back to the sound of the Lord's names. Chanting is a prayer to Krisna that means "O energy of the Lord, O all-attractive Lord, O Supreme Enjoyer, please engage me in Your service." The more attentively and sincerely you chant these names of God, the more spiritual progress you will make. God has kindly made it very easy for us to chant his names, and He has also invested all His powers in them. Therefore the names of God and God Himself are identical. This means that when we chant the holy manes we are directly associating with God and being purified. Therefore we should always try to chant with divotion and reverence. When you chant alone, it is best to chant on japa beads. This helps you fix your attention on the holy name. Each strand of Japa beads contains 108 small beads and one large bead, the head bead. Begin on a bead next to the head bead and gently roll it between the thumb and middle finger on your right hand as you chant the full Hare Krishna mantra. Then move to the next bead and repeat the process. In this way, chant on each of the 108 beads until you reach the head bead again. This is one round of japa. Then, without chanting on the head bead, reverse the beads and start your second round on the last bead you chanted on. Aside from chanting japa, you can also sing the Lord's holy names in kirtana. While you can perform kirtana individually, it is generally performed with others. A melodious kirtana with family or friends is sure to enliven everyone. Hare Krishna, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The red sun slowly sank into the Western Horizon, washing the grey skies over the plains of Planken with hues of orange and purple. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked... And flapping in the chilly breeze sat a group of lonely tents that marked the Southern occupation zone of the Sarab Alliance. "Beloved Admiral," began the letter that Captain Karl was writing. "I regret to inform you that -" The Captain's first officer Maynard barged into the tent. "Sir," he whimpered, "I can't take it. They're right there! They're scarcely two miles away... I figured it all out! If they attack we have just under a 4% chance of survival!! WE'RE DOOMED DOOMED DOOMED WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE AAAAAHHHHH-" *SMACK!!* The Captain struck his first officer across the cheek. "Give a man a formula and he just snaps!" growled Captain Karl. "Arrr, Listen, wes don't know if they're gonna attack. And if theys do - it's still not the ends of the Alliance, Matie. By far..." The Captain stared through the northern tent wall at the location of the mighty mountain Bogmadie - That's right, A MOUNTAIN, - and assured himself inwardly that the Sarab Alliance would survive and prosper. No matter what happened on the rolling plains of Planken. He escorted Maynard out of the tent. "Bann!" He called out to Bann the Bold, leader of the prominent Alliance Faction, "Go gets Maynard tanked! Arr!" The Captain returned to his writing desk. He had been prepared for all contingencies. " - I regret to inform you that by the time you read this I may already be dead," he continued... Indeed The Alliance had put their heads together and tried to think of how to respond to the apparently aggressive action taken on by other warmongering factions moving toward the Alliance - owned mountain. And they did the brave thing. The bold thing. The honorable thing. They threw a party. "They're WHAT!?" shouted Robert Daemonstorm, leader of the infamous Ragnarok faction, to his scout as he peered through tiny, grime-covered binoculars. "They're - they're partying, sir. Can't you hear the music? They're painting pretty pictures on the tents. There's local women there, it seems." "How come there aren't any local women here?" asked the leader of Ragnarok's fifth Legion of the Storm. Robert turned and growled fiercely at him. "Gimmie that-" he finally said, choking his scout as he yanked the binoculars from him. Through the two narrow lenses he could see eating and fun and drinking and lots and lots of Alliance Silver being spent. "I can't believe they're doing this -" he said. He noticed Bann the Bold getting a First Officer tanked. "Peasant?" the Captain politely called outside his tent to a Planken peasant character who is so unimportant that I won't even give him a name. He strolled in. "Yes sir?" The captain handed him the meticulously written scroll, tightly rolled up and sealed delicately with the seal of Captain Karl's Merry Midshipmen. Within it it contained several magic spells, what could possibly be the most complete map of Atlantis on the planet, the ground plan of the Alliance defenses on Mount Bogmadie, and a very important letter. "I wants you to takes this to ... Admiral Mayhem. Yous can finds him in Sarab. I wants my faction to be in competent hands if I dont's survive this." "Admiral Mayhem!" Peasant breathed. "Why - the famous Admiral Mayhem - he won at Broken Masts! The largest sea battle ever fought on land without ships!" "Arrrr-" replied the Captain. "He was my personal tutor." "But he's been retired for twenty years!" "AR!!" Growled Captain Karl, "Once a man of the sea -- ALWAYS a man of the sea! Takes the note to him! Now!" The peasant scurried away. Dahknar Ultannor, a thin man wearing black robes and an important man within the Armies of Darkness and thusly the Alliance, stared on the hillside at the Planken Peasants silhouetted against the setting sun, setting blankets down on the grass. "What are they doing?" He asked Dierenstein of faction Chaofix. "They're having a night-picnic." He replied. "Rumor seems to have spread that Death and Ragnarok are going to try and wipe out our Alliance forces in Planken. They came to watch the battle." "Really?" "Apparently they hope to see the six-faction Sarab Alliance snuff them both out." A dog barked, somewhere in the distance. "If the attack happens," said Captain Karl to the conductor of the Planken Orchestra that the Alliance had hired with more of their silver, "I want you to play the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss." "Who?" asked the conductor. "Just play it. I wants that song playing if we go to battle." The Captain tried not to sweat. This would, of course, be the first battle ever fought to it's own live theme music. And Maynard drunkenly stumbled up the hill. "We're going to diesh - wheee! We're all going to die die die di-errr - *hic!* PARTY!! whee!" He paused where he was. Years of sitting in the crow's nest had given Maynard one of the highest observation skills on the island. And he saw something stirring in the ranks of the Death and Ragnarok armies in the distance. "Hey -- guuyysssh!" he called to the forces of the Sarab Alliance, all wearing flowered leighs and holding their drinks in one hand and their local women in the other, "They're moving! *hic!* I think they're coming to kill us - errr - wheeeee!" He passed out, falling face first on the ground and throwing up a cloud of dust. A long pause. "Naaaaahhh!" everyone finally said. "He's just joking." They resumed their partying. And somewhere in the distance ... a dog barked. ^ THE SARAB ALLIANCE / \ |> |> / \/\ MOUNT ^ =-=-= / \__ BOGMADIE / \_ _|_:_|_ __/ \ ^ / \/ # \ / \ ^ \___ / \ / / # \ / \/ \ / \ / \_/ /\# \_/ \ /\_/ \ /\/ \ / \ __/ /\ / \ / \ # \/\ / / \ / /\ \__ / /\ \ ^ ###/ \/ / \___/ / \ \ / / \ \ / \ /# ___/ \___/\ _/ \ \_ / / \__ \/ \/ # / \ / \/ \ \ / / \ \ # / / \ \ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= An Hidalgo Diplomat Writes: I stand trembling in here in Kirriemuir, fearing for my life. All month long, soldiers have swarmed around me, going about their tasks: raping the peasants, catching small dogs and large rats to skewer and cook over their campfires, and building, always building that fearsome fortress that towers over everything in this region. The Castle 'Building 9' is already size 30. From your last diplomatic pouch, things also do not bode well in Alghero, cousin. With your estimate of the enemy's strength: 850 men (91 swords, 17 longbows), your future looks bleak indeed. No one will talk to me here. They ignore my presence as if I were insignificant, a flea. But soon I fear that they men with swords will come, and I will be no more. Already I hear the dogs coming closer . . . [ full reports on Kirriemuir and Alghero (and Caserta, if somebody forwards them to me) are available to anyone from the Hidalgo Diplomatic Corps as a public service to you and a public nuisance to them. Contact troyer@cgl.ucsf.edu ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Mad, blind Dominic marched toward the battlefield with his men. His aide, Antonio, tried to steer him around the largest obstacles in his path as he strode forcefully forward. The others trotted to keep up. "Are the dwarves with us?" "They're with us." "Are the packrats with us?" "No sir, they prefer to throw their fortunes in with the conquerers." "Well, we knew that already." Dominic's face spasmed in a crazed, wild grimace. He cackled gleefully. "Well, then, boys: off we go to die!" And that was the last we saw of Blind Dominic, hidalgo of Alghero. And his daughter Rosalinda? Now, that's another story . . . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -- "To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem" Russell Wallace, Trinity College, Dublin rwallace@cs.tcd.ie Up