IO Gazette

IO Gazette was part of POD's website, it included some small stories, event announcements, interviews and more. Here are some stories that were recovered from it.

## IO Gazette Top News Take 3

*SpaceLight Corp. One of the largest car manufacturers on Io showed us the Mirage a couple of years back. This model was constructed for one of the most simple and boring job on Io, that of a taxi cab!!! Yes my friends, at the beginning this car was all over New Columbus' roads and highways, but today there is only one left. Driven by Spider, he and his car will surely die!!! Why do I say such things? Simple, the Mirage suffers from a "MAJOR" lack of acceleration. It is a good car but, come on Spider it's a cab!! Here's a small email I sent Spider a couple of days ago. Read it and you will understand....*

*Hey Spider,*

*What's wrong friend, are you crazy? Maybe this will hurt you but I need to be sincere... Your car is in bad shape Spider. With all the modifications you did to it, it's so heavy you can't vamose. Yes I know what you are going to say, it's fast and it has grip, but it takes you years to get to 100mph. Listen Spider, you're a good friend of mine and i don't want to see you get digested by POD. So listen to me for once!!! I really don't ...........--encrypted.*

*ACE.*

*That is the reason I don't like the Mirage. We all have our personal reason. VIVA L'AKURA....*

*See ya Podies...*

## IO Gazette Top News Take 4

*And now, the top news since the last edition of the IO Gazette.*

*A couple of days after the last IO Gazette, something out of the ordinary happened. I noticed a change on the roads of New Columbus. Many inhabitants of Io have started using motorcycles!!! Don't ask me what they are thinking, I have no idea. We've been stuck here for a couple of months now and people are starting to get a wee bit crazy. Did you all loose your will to live??? I wish I knew. Those motorcycles were fast enough and now crazy people are starting to modify those hell machines. The other day I saw one of those fools on Iceberg. Ha!! Ha!! I never laughed so much in my life... Kept falling and falling... He!!! He!!!*

*Some of them told me there are good things about motorcycles, one of them being that they could fit in those tight spots (you know those spots where they usually crash, He!!! He!!!) where a car couldn't. Some of the more "MACHO" guys told me that girls dig guys on bikes??? Well not me that's for sure. I prefer a man with a limo... or a private jet.*

*Well later Podies*

## The Secret Part 1: Discovery, by Ian

The mine was gone. There were only a mangled wreck of metal in its place. One last train made it out of the mine before its destruction. On it was the precious metals that were the life and blood of planet Io. Also on board was a stow-away, oozing and flowing on the top, pulsating with a sickly green light that immediately gave away its presence in the midnight blackness. It comes from the mine, but it would occupy the mine no longer.  It would occupy everything, the magnificent structures in the buildings ahead. It would then feed, and it would then occupy more. Back at the mine, a single figure stood a mile away. His brown eyes were fixed on the mine, then widened with shock at the explosion. He frowned, then turned around. His black car was waiting for him a few meters away. He got in the car, slammed down on the accelerator, and pulled onto the highway, and drove off. He muttered under his breath,

"*Someone had better know this.*"

Doctor Ian took an exit of the highway early the next morning.  The massive buildings of New Columbus once again towered above him, and he couldn’t help but stare for at least a minute at the skyscrapers.  He eased his car through the streets of New Columbus, and pulled his car to a stop in front of a building just the same as any other.  He checked his watch.  6:00 a.m.  Too early.  He went into a coffee shop across the street to wait out the morning.

Doctor Ian walked out of the shop at around ten, and loaded a copy of the day’s news onto his organizer.  He walked back to the other side of the street.  He walked into the lobby and scanned the list of names for his friend.  He found it, and pressed it.  Somewhere, hundreds of stories above, there was a scramble to get to the comm-link.

"*Yes?*" "*It’s me, Ian.*"

"*Ian?  Where have you been?  Uh, I’m a little busy now.  Could you come back later?*"

There was a woman’s voice heard in the background.

"*No.  I don’t care who you have up there this time.  I won’t tell anyone.  It’s too important.*"

"*Could you come back tomorrow?*"

"*No.  Now.*"

The voice on the comm-link sighed.  A beep sounded, and Ian walked into the elevator that opened for him.  He rode up in less then a second, and found himself in a quiet hallway.  He walked half-way to the end, found the number he was looking for, and knocked firmly.  An unshaven face appeared at the door, and let him in.

"*You’ll have to excuse my appearance.  You did come without warning.*"

"*That’s because it struck without warning.*"

"*What’s ‘it’?*"

"*It’s too hard to explain.  I was at the mine yesterday evening, and I learned of...something.  I got out as fast as I could, before the mine exploded, and drove all night until I got here.*"

"*The mine exploded?  What happened?*"

"*I’d rather not tell.  It’s rather...unsettling.*"

"*I can handle it.*"

"*I don’t think so.*"

"*Well, then what did you come here for?*"

"*I need to ask you to do me a favor.  You have connections.*"

"*You want me to get you inside city hall to tell the mayor about this ‘thing’?*"

"*Not the mayor directly, the head of the Health Department.*"

"*O'Hara?  You can’t be serious!  She’ll never forgive me if I bring you into city hall again!*"

"*She will, when she hears this.*"

"*Is it that important?*"

"*It’s that important.*"

The other man sighed again.  "*Hold on.*"  He disappeared into his bedroom.  He came back fifteen minutes later with a donut stuffed in his mouth and a cup of coffee in each hand.  "*Want some?*"  Ian took the cup and they walked together silently down the hallway.

Ian’s dark car pulled up in front of another building.  City hall was almost exactly the same as all the other buildings, except for the flag of New Columbus flying above the entrance.

"W*hy don’t you let me drive?  You drove all night.*"

"*No.  I like to drive.*"

They walked up the steps to the front door, and Ian’s friend led him through the maze of corridors to the head of the Health Departmernt’s office.  The secretary at first said that O'Hara was at a meeting, but quickly called her when Ian’s friend made himself recognizable.  They were allowed inside after a short wait.  Ian followed his friend inside.  It was already twelve hours since the destruction of the mine.

## The Secret Part 2: Attack, by Ian

The ooze had arrived at the bigger pieces of metal early that morning, and now, it was moving freely.  First it isolated its target, cutting off all attachment to bigger places.  It would go to bigger places later, when it had the strength.  After it had fed, on the warm and cold pieces all around it, then it could reproduce, and make itself stronger.  All very soon.  Then it would be everywhere, and that would be good.  Then it would be at peace.

"*No!*"

The Health Inspector of planet Io screamed at Ian and his friend for five full minutes before Ian had a chance to speak.  And Ian retaliated every last one of her insults with three of his own.  After a while, Ian’s friend got bored and stopped them:

"*I hate to interrupt this colorful argument but we did come here for an important reason.*"

"*I don’t care how important it is,*" Name said

"*I’m not going to consort with this trash ever again.  It was bad enough the first time.*"

"*This is more important than our petty personal lives,*" Ian said

"*All of Io depends on this.*"

"*What could possibly endanger all of Io and possibly concern me?*"

"*Twelve hours ago I witnessed the destruction of the mine I was at.*"

"*A mine just doesn’t  self destruct.  Someone had to be involved.*"

"*Not someone.  Something.*"

"*You’re not making any sense.*"

"*It doesn’t matter.  I need to talk to everyone important in city hall.  Everyone must know of the danger.*"

"*The danger?  What are you talking about?*"

"*There’s no time!  We have to act immediately!*"

"*But you must give me a reason.*"

"*The thing that destroyed the mine can and will strike again.  It’s already left for new places.*"

"*I still don’t understand.*"

"*Just do it!*"

She sighed.

"*I’ll see what I can do.  In the mean time, you can stay here with your friend.*"

She glared at Ian’s friend.

"*How soon can you guarantee me an audience?*"

"*Two days, probably.  No more than a week.*"

"*We don’t have that much time!*"

"*Tough!  There are more important things in life than your stupid apocalyptic ideas, you know.  We’ll get to you in time.*"

"*You’re impossible!*"

"*I know.*"  She grinned.

Ian stood outside with his friend and got into his car.

"*She’s so ignorant!  How could I have ever loved her?*"

"*Oh, come on.  You got your audience.  Now get your speech ready, whatever it is.*"

Ian spent all that day working on what he was going to say to city hall.  By the time the sun fell beneath the skyscrapers of New Columbus, Ian was dead tired.

"*Hey, Ian, do you realize you haven’t slept in thirty-six hours?  Get some rest.  You’ll feel better in the morning.*"

Ian decided to follow his friend's advice, although he was never able to fall asleep with his friend’s girl giggling all night long.  By morning, though, he felt much better, especially after a hot breakfast.  But he still had that worry in his head, that single thought, that something bad was happening.  He only hoped he could beat his enemy.

The slime was feasting.  It had encircled the big things and was now chasing the little things down.  The slime could not experience fun, but if it could at any one time, this would be it.  Some colder pieces did not move, and were quick to become part of the slime.  Other, warmer pieces would move away from the slime, struggling until they were completely part of the slime.  Some would shake and make high-pitched noises.  The slime did not understand this, nor did it care.  It devoured everything it could find, and began enlarging itself so it could take on larger things.  And there would be larger things. The slime would not be satisfied until it had that beautiful, tiny ball in the air.  If it could learn from a warm thing, it would know that that ball is called New Columbus.  And it would be good to have New Columbus as a part of the slime.  It would be very good indeed.

  **Database**