From: jfol@carina.unm.edu (joshua l follicks-shields)
Subject: Visser Nights, an Introduction. 
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 02:08:16 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

                         INTRODUCTION
                         ------------

    In the late 21st century life on Earth seemed to be coming to an end.
Under the burden of ever increasing populations and ever more brutal
exploitation the environment on mother Earth seemed to be ready to collapse.
Facing this danger, the new world government, the United Corporate
Council launched a series of huge generational ships in the hope that
humanity would find a new home on far away worlds.

    Defying the odds, life survived on planet Earth, and eventually
recovered. Humanity recovered it's lost technologies and went
further, developing the hyperjump, a means to contact
her lost colonies.

    Contact was recovered with with many colonies, including
a colont set down in Sol system's nearest stellar companion
Alpha Centauri, a colony named Visser.

    Visser, the name of the planet and the island upon which humanity
resides, was the only planet in Centauri with the means
to support life. The enormous island Visser, notquite large enough
to call a continent, the only appreciable land mass.

    Visser had the means to support life, but was an alien land
with twisted monstrous creatures, constant rain and cloud cover,
and a dark, forbidding nature. >Life could go on there,
but not without changing and growing accustomed to it's
new environment.

    The Federation Earth quicly formed with it's recovered
human colonies quickly made contact with several non-human
sentient races. Representatives of these races, and even
communities have come to Visser, as it's Astrographic location
made it central location in known space. The Sylvian Elves and Drow,
lost outposts of civilizations that met uncounted centuries before
and wiped each other out. Neo-Orks, the survivors of a group of
human colonists who tried to conquer their world with genetic
manipulation. Vargr, a doglike race of clans and mercenaries.
The Zin, a catlike race dominated by a warrior culture. The Phraints
insectoids, with a strange and different technology, and society.

   All meet on Visser, and all are changed by the nature of that
place.

                 The Story
                 ---------

    Barak walked down the streets of the Hub. He was more machine
than man, a few shrunken organs maintained in a bio stassis, in
turn supportin a heavily wired central nevous system. The nervous
system ran a large mechanical body with two pairs of arms. Overthis body he wore a suit
of Bandai type XXV reactive cloth armor, a black hat with wide
low brims, and a long black duster that covered the oddity of
his extra arms, if being a bit wide, and the meter long assault rifle
on his back.
   Most of the metros that eyed him might have stopped him for
that, especially here in the Hub, but the look of all the metal
grafted on to his body stopped them. While the metros knew
their side would be victorious in the battle casued by such
a metal monster's almost certain violent fit, they also
knew they would probably be among the first casualties.
   Barak smiled at that, the paranoid delusions and fits of violence
almost never came anymore, almost. But still the look served
well to intimidate and keep the foolish away.
   He stepped onto the gliding stair that would take him
from the third level to the second, and then the street.
The streets and walkways of the Hub were never busy, the
multiple levels of walkway and the traffic far overhead combined
with the fact that only certain people felt capable of walking
the streets of the Hub, noone ever felt safe, and certainly not
in the Hub.
   The last block dissapeared under Barak's feet and took him
to the Last Chance bar. The Last Chance, was not a particularly
interesting place, but it was easy to secure from those
who would try to listen to the conversations that would
occur there. Nicky Six and Sally Shears were already
at the bar. As various electronic devices came on
searching for the inevitable bugs, and various electromagnetic
waves strobed out looking for the various incosistencies
different listening devices made, Nicky turned to  greet
him. "Ah, a bolt from the blue, bartender, a SymTeq for
my friend" Nicky said after flashing a smile that meant
all clear then turning back to the bar.
    "My favorite black hat," said Sally as she gave
him a quick embrace, her razornails scoring grooves
of thread on Barak's coat. The music system becoming staticy
for a moment as a magnetic wave swept over it.
    "Can't you cut that out?" snapped the small Nok from behind
the bar, as he put Barak's SymTeq on the bar. Barak didn't
like Noks, they were to sullen and presumptuous. As Barak
picked up his drink he overloaded the three bugs behind the Nok
almost certainly set by him, and watched the Nok jump
as the bugs popped in unison. As the bugs destroyed themselves
Barak set down a field of white noise, to cover the rest of the
conversation.
   Nicky begain to talk about a new weapons pod from Kaliyama,
the ex-marine would certainly know such a subject, thought
Barak. She was a very technical girl, and had almost
as much "equipment" as he did, though much more subtly
placed.
   Sally would interject her vampy little witticisms
every so often. Sally liked edged things, and was a master
of the quiet kill.
   Barak sipped his SymTeq, in a world of simulated food,
everything had a tendency toward bland and tasteless.
The SymTeq was bitter, and deeply so, it was so hard
to feel anything, that a strong flavor, even if bitter,
was a pleasure. He liked the chemistry, Nicky's
 bouncy happy attitude, Sally's vampish sense
of competence meshed well with his cold air of menace.
They made a good team. 

-- 
Old Jedi Master: Ahh Joshua, he's more machine now than man, twisted and evil.

                         New Imperial Forces Motto:
                       Outnumbered, But Not Outfought!
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk