ÚÄÄúú úúÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÍ͹ ÄÄÍÍÍÄÄ ÌÍÍÄÄ¿ : º THE º : ú º VERTiGO º ú : º VOiCE º : ÀÄÄÍ͹ ÄÍËÍÄ ÌÍÍÄÄÙ ÀÄúú º úúÄÙ º ³ ³ ³ ú ú ú iSSUE #5: SEARCH FOR THE MiSSiNG VERSE JANUARY 1, 1996 ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄú STAFF úÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ³ ³ ú ú WRiTERS (Alphabetically) Adidas Aylia Cherub Cybermage Hypoxia Smurf Introvert Mazarti Merbear Tim Trahan COMPiLED BY Introvert ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú CONTENTS Compiler's Notes...................................................Introvert Quote of the Month...................................................Unknown Posiedon's Lair........................................................Aylia Can't..............................................................Cybermage An Hour in the Life............................................Hypoxia Smurf Apathy................................................................Cherub Tragedy................................................................Aylia Untitled............................................................Sunshine The Hill, Autumn...............................................Hypoxia Smurf Self-Imagery...........................................................Sheep A Killing Machine.....................................................Adidas They...............................................................Introvert Bear Mountain..................................................Hypoxia Smurf Not................................................................Cybermage Sleep on the Floors...............................................Tim Trahan Reality...............................................................Adidas Grump Grump Grump..............................................Hypoxia Smurf Thoughts Knotted and Wound.........................................Introvert Calvin Klein Bottle................................................Cybermage Historical Gambol of Mercury.........................................Mazarti Lassen.........................................................Hypoxia Smurf Untitled.............................................................Merbear Absinth (or A Really Bad Pun).........................................Cherub Themesong 43.......................................................Introvert Ignore.............................................................Cybermage ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú COMPiLER'S NOTES [This space intentionally left blank.] -i- ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ QUOTE OF THE MONTH ³ ú ú "Humor is the opiate of the incompetent." -Unknown- [E-mail me if you know who said this.] ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Poseidon's Lair by Aylia Caught in fire, Beneath the sea. Flowing in Motion, Naiad and he. His arms of strength, Eternal embrace, A look of desire, Upon her face. Bound to one heart, Passion increased, His spear not in hand, Their minds, at peace. Guiltless in souls, In Poseidon's lair. Above is the storm Below, the prayer. Pure devotion, With intense heat, Drifting sensations, Neptune and she. Pacific love, The sea is serene, Shining in moonlight, Ecstasy's scene. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Can't by Cybermage The world... contains no truth. Black is white... green is blue. And what I say, it is not false. We're in a maze; I walk through walls. I cannot lie. I cannot speak. I cannot walk. I cannot be. If you were a tree in a forest, Would you fall without a sound, If I were not there to hear your or hold you up? No one can hear your one hand clapping, Applauding yourself for something only you can understand. You're so ever far away that you're never far away. Can you hear me through you're own applauding? You're your own biggest fan. I cannot lie. I cannot speak. I cannot walk. I cannot be. I could never leave you. With you always will I be. I'm not your better half; I'm not a half at all. You can't touch my face. You can't hold my hand. My shell is all I am. There is no/only promised land. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú An Hour in the Life by Hypoxia Smurf Fog almost lifted. I walked into the small busy post office, stood in a cold line with the other interrupted lunchers. My mangled carcass washed down the hillside in the spring floods. The line moved slowly, so I read all the posters about new stamps and wanted criminals. Carried by mud, I rolled over manzanita, then was caught in a Doug Fir's roots. The cranberry woman ahead of me caughed into her stack of letters. Grackels dropped from the limbs and feasted on my eyes and tongue. The sandalwood hippy behind me caughed too, and the line inched forward. Squirrels happily nibbled on my arms; a raccoon came for my liver. Just in front of the counter, a carriaged baby suddenly, obviously needed a new diaper. A coyote scattered the midsize scavengers; she gnawed on my thighs while ants surveyed the feast. By the time I'd reached the flabby postmaster and bought my sheet of international stamps and IRCs, I was already late. Various rodents chawed on the remaining chunks of grey flesh. My boss glared at me as I returned to my desk. The ants had me picked clean by the equinox. The fog lowered again. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Apathy by Cherub Narrow prospect, racing mind, what happened to my traction? Never fear. Nevermind. Sliding on the asphault, dark'ning skies, chilling winds, my coat's out of action. Love the rain. Love the storm. Icy sting, I'll not halt. Spinning 'round, oneway road, lightning in my eyes, out of mind, out of sight, backward freefall slide. Racing fate, oncoming. Shudder in my guise, throw my hand. Let it go, embrace my backward glide. Hail Eris! This isn't apathy. See, my eyes are open. This isn't apathy. Aimless traveler me. This isn't apathy. Any way the wind blows. This isn't apathy. I'll follow. This isn't apathy, isn't apathy, isn't apathy, isn't apathy, ISN'T APATHY!!!!! ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Tragedy by Aylia Shut up in this empty world, My heart and soul are blind. Peace no longer is a word... And dreams just drift behind. Colors, nations, race, and creeds Seem to be sublime. While children of this rainbow.. Burn in the fire of time. Like the sweet Persephone, Trapped in a living hell... I'm waiting for the one bright hour To hear the damned church bells. Someday when all is in the light, I'll open my weeping eyes... To be blinded by the rainbow My heart, pure of sight. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Untitled by Sunshine I am but a slave, Darkness is my master His whip is cruel, A price was paid, He abuses me freely, Openly he caresses me. Demanding satisfaction, I cry out in pain, I close my eyes, retreating to a void, Leaving my body My soul flies away, Fleeing the misery, Blackness swallows me, Savoring my flesh, Drinking up my soul, I am free, but trapped again, I visit fantasy lands, lands forever hidden, I enter the garden, Beautiful it grows, the trees majestic, Flowers bloom ever so fragrant, Animals roam freely, Minding their own business, The wind gently kisses me, I see a pretty flower, I walk to it suprised I find the serpent, He waits for me, Taunting my soul, leering I scream when he lunges, The poison enters my body, Drunkeness is my feeling, He slithers away, Satisfied with his meal I drop to the ground, Crying as I go, My second death, worse than the first, My soul dies, I go back into the void. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú The Hill, Autumn by Hypoxia Smurf The weather just changed, falling gingko leaves leaving mousetrails in the air. [FUCK, there's a fortune in leaves going to the earwigs there.] The cannibal dogs down the hill are at it again, or maybe they've just devoured a tresspasser, and the apple harvest ended in the valley. [That's where the sparkling cider grows.] And it's past time for castrating the young bulls. [Their baying swirls up the hill like five manx cats.] And soon will be the season of the rains, endless rains, like last year when the hill was an island for weeks, and we all got to know each other real well, nothing to do but talk & fuck & toke & party & eat & fuck, and watch the combat choppers fly over. [Don't shoot at 'em.] The TV crews never made it out this far. Bill strapped a gas-powered weed-whacker to his surfboard, and cruised to the store for Korbel brandy. [What else?] We had freezer-thaw parties every night. That's where the eats & tokes & fucks came in, Wandering from house to house on the hill, a moveable feast, slo-mo orgy, with popcorn and a barrel of zinfandel floating in. The real fun's when all the propane tanks that got caught by rising water & falling expectations end up at the sandbar at river's end and we take Jerry's scorpio, [which he usually uses for running the Grand Canyon,] downstream with our rifles and shoot the fuckers. Nice show, pyro. So the weather's changed. There's so much to look forward to. Maybe we can slaughter the rescue parties, or the TV crews. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Self-Imagery by Sheep I write for she whose pen shouts while her voice whispers. I speak of she with warring thoughts behind veiled eyes. I load these words with the burden of her identity, And dream of Christine. Who loves the swallowing silence of a cathedral left alone with its God, the talk of companions under moons bright as suns, pliable red-gold bristles of beard that for three days, haven't seen a razor. Who hates chatter of bureaucrats, their ties hangman's nooses, ignorance in the name of religion, death in the name of God. Who longs for simplicity, a tiny stone to plug the draining hourglass, time to let each action reach full bloom before it's past, and a few more blissful moments till the alarm clock splits the ear and, brain. Who knows that darkness can reveal what close examination hides, and that light is brightest after a too-long night, it's not my will, but Thine. Who is the watcher, pen in hand, her open wrist her inkwell, marble waiting statue with dampened cheeks, and forward-pressing wanderer, but with road map upside-down. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú A Killing Machine by Adidas The blood burns in my veins, It screams out to me, I cry in pleasure. I smile a smile I've smiled never before, I writhe in satisfaction I feel angry, sad, guilt, happy, but powerful. I know what I've done, and I'm glad, I see what I've done, and I cry out in joy, I laugh at what I've done. The darkness consumes me, As does the rage, I'm possessed with hate. My muscles flex tight, The rage lights me up like a match, The excitement flares up in my mind. A smile comes to my mouth, My heart pounds, My breathing slows down. Blood runs down my lips, I smile, for it's over, I've killed a man. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú They by Introvert They fell from the heavens, landing in green pastures of unsoiled beauty. They waited, absorbing. And while the menagerie shifted, They remained a stoic constant, beneath the soil, calculating wildly Their gradual overthrow. unlike any before, yet shockingly cliche. Grating synpases, grinding to a halt, pausing for respite, and realizing in that instant of unhindered existence, that the sum of it all was an all-encompassing void, unfillable, but always screaming to be filled. With this in mind, They entered the bloodstream. They partook of the flesh that was the antithesis of all They believed. and in one swift motion, They became just as we are, weak, fallable, arrogant, and blind. Their sparkling facade forever tarnished by this becoming, and all future plans of conquest dashed upon solid faces of granite, They sought only forgiveness, solitude. This was Their last mistake, the one that tied the knot in the throat of Their speaker's voice. They came from Us. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Bear Mountain by Hypoxia Smurf The mountain is not infinite. Infinity is not filled with bears. Bears only partially cover the mountainside. You pull the covers off and bare my ass to the wind. The ass breaks wind and is caught and slaughtered and devoured by the bear. I crawl through the dry breaks, seeking any finite sign of water. The sky breaks, the waters drop and swirl, the bears dance. I busted my ass for nothing, for nothing, for nothing. The mountain is neither nothing nor infinite. Infinity is rarely, rarely bare. Bears rarely chew my ass. Would you? ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Not by Cybermage I'm not your crucifix. I'm not your crucifixion. I'm not your happy dagger. I'm not the lonely beggar, Who you give change to. I'm not you catharsis. I'm not your therapist. I'm not your mother, father, brother, sister. You're not my houseguest, Who I change the sheets for. I'm not your laundromat. I'm not your talk show host. I'm not your telephone psychic. I'm not your uncle's ghost, Who whispers to you in the night. I'm not your other half. I'm not your blowup doll. I'm not your dream man. You're not the slinky sex-cat, Who howls into the night. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Sleep on the Floors by Tim Trahan Noises of the dark are often drowned out by the dampened breath of sleep. Crickets chirp, sound of good luck in the dark house. Occasionally seen: blackness scurrying about in the floors. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Reality by Adidas Life sucks... Then you die. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Grump Grump Grump by Hypoxia Smurf I'm tired of not seeing anything here, no posts, no discussions, no words. I'm tired of having my keyboarding interrupted by barking dogs. I'm tired of sweet vampire films - they should be gritty. I'm tired of political vampires, sucking us all dry. I'm tired of music that's been done 5000 times. I'm tired of TV that's been done 5000 times. But I'm not grumpy. No. Just tired. But I'm not ugly. No. Just sexy. And poetic. Much too poetic. And much too aesthetic. But not too athletic. Or anaerobic. Or amoebic. Or alive. Or... ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Thoughts Knotted and Wound by Introvert Swallowed by dark water, it thrashes wildly. Its arms reach and seek, endowed with a sense of dying, charged with corrosive energy. A violent siezure. A carefully choreographed routine. Its thoughts slip by, knotted and wound, quantized and capsulized into delicate champagne bubbles, reflecting and scattering pale yellow light, resonating from an invisible source above. Halo? As they push to rejoin and unite, It plunges downward. Perception shifts, and again it feels, still unaware of its environment, and disoriented. Up is down is up is down, and only one direction at once. As the id screams rapture, cold as before, a shriek of reality within calls its attention once more, to the asphyxiation, and a bubbling stream. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Calvin Klein bottle by Cybermage I'm not empty on the inside. I'm an emotional Klein bottle. If you look deep into my eyes, All you'll see is your own reflection. I'm not hollow and I'm not superficial. Just because there's nothing below the surface. It doesn't mean I don't have feelings, Just because I told what they were. You try to figure me out, But you never get past yourself. You're trapped in your own world, Just like everyone else. So what? Does is matter? I'm telling you right now... That I don't care. And I mean it. What do I mean when I say what I say. Maybe I mean what I said. Or maybe I mean what I said I meant. And maybe I meant what I said. Why do I do the things that I do. Maybe I do them because I want to. Or maybe the poem writes itself through me; Maybe the words use my mouth to speak. Maybe the moon is made of green cheese. Maybe the Virgin Mary's hands bleed. Maybe wine, women, and song are all a man needs. And maybe there's more. So what? Does it matter? I'm telling you right now... That I don't care. And I mean it. Philosophy is pointless, And politics is silly. Science runs in circles, and religion stands and spins. What do I do with my time. I sit and I think about life I write poetry and songs, Knowing it's pointless all along. I don't believe in anything. I don't believe in me. I don't believe in you. And I believe in Everything. So what? Does it matter? I'm telling you right now... That I don't care. And I mean it. Life is not a game. The universe isn't a machine. God is not a man. And love isn't like on TV. All politicians lie. All ministers sin. All heros make mistakes. The villains sometimes win. Life is a series of tired old cliches. All myths are true, all history books false. Prince Charming never comes, Because we all grow up to be our parents. So what? Does it matter? I'm telling you right now... That I don't care. And I mean it... Really. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Historical Gambol of Mercury by Mazarti, 1994 A long trip through time exposes the secrets of Mercury... This silver- tongued, telltale, highway robber of a God, outsmarted the three virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, with his eloquence, ingenuity and thievishness. The light of the senses had been replaced by a single darkness, to be undone by love between Venus and Mars, when Mars removes his shield, and the comet returns with the truth. Because Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, its surface unprotected by an atmosphere, is extremely hot when subjected to the rays of the sun and very cold elsewhere, it appears to rotate once every 59 earth-days, and is 3,000 miles in diameter. Mythological Mercury, also known as Hermes or Mythol, is the son of Zeus, Jove or Jupiter the gaseous planet of hydrogen, methane and ammonia that is circled by sixteen satellites. Consider Hermes escorting the dead to the underworld of Hades when he made the following statement, allegedly found on an emerald tablet, clutched in Hermes hand at the time of his death that reads in part: "What is below is as what is above and what is above is as what is below... Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross smoothly and with judgement." Distillation in alchemy was born out of the unknown but legendary Maria. Alchemists preserved quotations attributed to Maria, they included the invention of laboratory apparatus named "Apparatus of Maria". Gold was merely a by-product of Maria's study in metals. Kleopatra followed Maria's lead to propose an elaborate theory on the natural cycles of birth, growth, and decay, including the structures that govern metals in nature. Ethics in medicine are sworn under the oath of Hippocrates, the Greek physician from 400 B.C. He stressed the importance of clinical observation, the rational study of the body and its function in science. Medicine involved body functions imitating the earth and moon, he recorded daily and seasonal rhythms observed in physical and mental health. Around the year 300 A.D., Zosimos, fascinated with the apparatus of Maria, saw the still as a womb in which metal gave off its spirit as vapor and re-emerged as a newly formed altered body. Thus the concept of the Philosophers Stone emerged with mercury as the key to transmutation. The sublimation of mercury changed and fixed the density, malleability and color of metals. Metals created in the earth were a result of a fiery, smoky principle, sulphur, to a watery principle, mercury, being exhaled from the earth, that led to a thickening and mixing together until a solid homogeneity resulted. Thus mercury became the spirit and sulphur the soul, the male and female principles. For over 5000 years Chinese medicine has taken the changes of light from the solar system into account as scientific evidence as to its influences on health. In the 2nd century B.C., Emperor Lui Ch'e became interested in the alchemy that was said to produce gold, the alchemical symbol of the sun, he believed that by eating off gold plates would extend life and immortality. The Chinese word for alchemy became 'Kem-mai' interpreted as to wander or go astray. Gods were scrutinized in the epicritic poem written by Publius Ovidius Naso. Between 2 and 8 A.D. Ovid depicts everything from creation to the latest news, although he admits, himself a distant relative of the gods, he claims, "No criminals, scoundrels or such black sheep on my side of the scales." The poem begins: "Bodies I have in mind, and how they can change to assume New shapes -- I ask the help of the Gods, who know the trick." Ovid portrays the creation, chaos, elements, nature and characteristics that come into being. This format, handed down from ancient beliefs implied, all of nature and life depended on 'Continuity', rather than 'Atomos' the indivisible, formless and nonexistent. Mercury is full of distractions, winged shoes, winged cap, wand and Pan pipes for his prop. The trickery he sneaks into poor unsuspecting characters are induced to sleep with heavy eyelids, or turned into trees, we are left not knowing if they are dead or alive. However, monks and scholars preserved the study of nature in manuscripts, that went beyond the two dimensional page of words. The threads of nature are woven, braided and knotted into words, illustrating the dimensions of experience. The complicated knotting in The Book Of Kells and Lindisfarne, amount to a revelation of their whole inner philosophy as in hieroglyphics. In a fifteenth century manuscript, the testament and prophesy of the venerable Master Magnalicius felt his art left him empty and decided to study the knowledge of the ages. He studied the occult and works going back to Egypt, his insight of the spirit had been equally shared throughout time with Zosimus from Panopolis, Gilda the Wise, Iamblicus and others to reveal this prophesy: "Two mighty Kingdoms will contend for all the world, and then turn against it, until the soil and the sea shall sicken and the wind become a flux of poisoned vapors. And all men shall be sorely tried, so that at the last, none may escape the choice between light and darkness." Journals of alchemy, contained secret symbols and pictures depicting fierce dragons, war chariots, red salamanders and green lions. A green lion stood for Aqua Fortis, an acid that dissolved gold. Alchemy became a closed fraternity that no layman could decipher. According to Islamic belief, all symbols were evil, therefore the alchemical writings were translated into plain language. European churches banned all other religious writings; alchemy written by Muslims became heresy. Meanwhile Princes and Kings encouraged alchemy in their search for gold, they produced gunpowder, and counterfeit coins until their soldiers uncovered the deception. Gold transgressed alchemy, the secret ills of mercury were concealed in fairy tales, witch's cauldrons turned people into stone, nature into materialism and beauty into vulgarity. Mercury was described in symbolic illustrations, an example is of Hermes with the sun and moon under his feet inside a large droplet, outside the droplet are clouds with the sun above, below are birds, two birds carry leafy twigs that touch the droplet with symbols attached, two angels carry the droplet of Hermes represented in its gaseous form. Knowledge preserved through the ancient written word, also had numeric values assigned to them that became the mathematical base of modern science. The phrases 'Alpha to Omega' and 'A to Z' in Greek and Roman alphabets implied a completeness or wholeness of knowledge. The letter 'Z' became an indication of perfect accomplishment in the study of Apollo the God of medicine, the seven liberal arts, and the nine Muses. This was the upward path to beatitude in the arts and sciences as the spirit headed for immortality. The mythological Zeus, lightening bearer, chief God and heavenly source of that power was manifest in the letter Z. Laws of nature were thought to have been divinely inspired by the planets. Johannes Kepler a student of Greek geometry, sought the help of Tycho Brache the Danish astrologer. Kepler measured the speed and distance of the planets as they passed the sun, the measurements were put into ratios, from the ratios he discovered the perfect pitch in music. The same ratios are true to the vibrant rainbow colors, expanded and extended they become the energy spectrum. Stradivarius and Bach were instrumental in perfecting the musical artform, organ music became prominent in churches and musicianship made dance popular. Many of Sir Isaac Newton's insights were taken directly from ancient texts. But what of the Philosopher's Stone? The true Aqua Vitae? The broth of Medea? or the horn of Amalthea? Newton noted 7 different signs for mercury followed by a nervous breakdown. Toxic mercury poisoning cannot be denied after analyzing the consequential events, and he knew the symptoms well as he replied to a colleague's ailing furnace worker, "Your hair is not white, but silver mercury." Newton's notes say, "Perhaps the whole frame of nature may be nothing but various contextures of some certain aetherall spirits or vapours condens'd as it were by preaecipitation, much after the manner that vapors are condensed into water or exhalations into grosser substances." Newton also flatly states, "It's well known that bodies act one upon another by the attractions of gravity, magnetism, and electricity and these instances show the tenor and cause of nature, and make it not improbable but there may be more attractive powers than these. For nature is very consonant with herself." Mercury was filtered through the earth, in the same manner that the sun is filtered through dense atmospheric air. "It is a mercurial spirit, extremely subtle and supremely volatile, which is dispersed through everyplace. The general method of operation of this agent is the same in all things, that is, it is excited to action by a gentle heat, but driven away by a great one, and when it is introduced into a mass of substances its first action is to putrefy and confound into chaos, then it proceeds to generation. In a metallic form it is found most abundantly in Magnesia (antimony) and all spices of metals derive from this single tin root." Male and female were joined in nature, but nothing man-made could imitate natures union and left a one sided refraction of light. "A double mercury is the sole first and proximate matter of all metals, and these two mercuries are the masculine and feminine semens, sulfur and mercury, fixed and volatile, the Serpents around the caduceus, the Dragons of Flammel. Nothing is produced from masculine or feminine semen alone. For generation and for the first matter the two must be joined." Beyond the theories of gravity extracted from ancient scrolls Newton's work went into understanding the vortex, "The moments of quantities are the principles from which they are generated or altered by a continual flux." The periods of revolution vary in a vortex as the square of the radius, whereas Kepler's third law, based on the celestial phenomena, demand the three-halves power. "Let philosophers then see how that phenomenon of power can be accounted for by vortices." New symbols were created by John Dalton, mastered in 'Newtons Principea', Dalton developed the 'Corpuscular theory' describing the ratios of ethereal gases surrounding atoms, bound mainly in differences of weight. Then Alessando Volta in 1800, described the battery in his 'contact theory', electricity arose from the mere contact of different metals, hydrogen ejected from the negative pole and oxygen ejected at the positive pole. Following Dalton's lead, many recreated their own symbols until the 'Polar Theory' of chemical combinations resulted. Confusion followed over physical and chemical atoms, thus separating physics from chemistry, Dalton objected to the tampering of his original symbols that led to his 'Corpuscular Theory'. The atoms that were not bound by weights became Isomers, and found to be joined by differences of structure with different boiling points, their boiling points decreased as the compounds became more complex. Isomers were also found to rotate the plane of polarized light found in optical activity. The polyatomic densities of mercury, phosphorus, iodine and sulphur went to the realm of physicists towards industry and electricity. Metalloids, semiconductors and superconductivity were left out of medicine by the chemists analytical puritanism. Once the Industrial Revolution gained momentum, minerals replaced the burning of wood, leaves and incense. The dragon spewed out gases and metallic dust that altered the hues of nature's spectrum. The precipitation became a flux from the river of metallic malnourishment. Herbal remedies were replaced with compounds of mercury. Mercury vapors and methyl mercury escaped into the atmosphere with undetectable odors and chemical changes that putrefied and transformed organics into chaos. Alice in Wonderland's reference to the Mad Hatter was an isolated incident of mercury poisoning detective work of an unfortunate few, the problem was far more widespread, disguised and underestimated. In Dormouse's story, the characters were to draw, "Everything that begins with an 'M'." "Why with an M?" said Alice. "Why not?" said the March Hare. Alice was silent. The madness spilled into espionage, wars and the procurement of minerals notably Spanish mercury. In the name of war, developments spread an inane production from mechanics to chemicals that included tin cans. Industry, materialism and commercialism applied their politics to ordinary people drenched in an ocean of apathy. The game of economics is to the death, the realm of play was born out of mercury's seven alchemical signs, the seven sisters of oil, and the seven deadly sins, pride, covetousness, lust, gluttony, anger, envy and sloth. Patients filled hospitals with unknown diseases, some were saturated in baths of mercury resulting in a slow torturous death. Sanitariums electrified the human circuitry already toxic and damaged by metals. Pharmaceutical preparations contained mercury, metals and chemical combinations that fanned the flames of chaos causing various sporadic and chronic symptoms, in which Mercury plays the metals messenger. Electricity replaced the flame that once burned undetectable harmful gases, the underworld surfaced and rose to the suns energies and confused the atoms routed by metalloids. Question Napoleon's import of sugar as to the cause of diabetes, because in 1826 mercury was first used in dental amalgams. In England and France, the amalgam contained silver, tin, copper, zinc, and fifty percent mercury. Amalgam was introduced to the United States in 1830 where organized dentistry denounced its use by 1840 in an attempt to show their concerns about mercury poisoning. Research now shows mercury coating proteins in diabetes, making them unrecognizable as a protein and undetectable in blood tests, because diabetes and gangrene have been cured when heavy metals have been removed in chelation therapy. 1979 research showed mercury vapor constantly being released from amalgams, stimulated by chewing, brushing, or heat exposure, then in 1993 the zinc in amalgams was found to dissolve in water or saline in the practice of dental hygiene, and mercury atoms exist in the metallic state in the surface layer of zinc amalgams. Copper and zinc also play an important role in the study of incurable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In 1994 mercury placed in teeth was found to accumulate in the odontoblast, the research suggests that it may be transported into the dentin tubules and a cause of decay. There is a missing link between mercury and penicillin both weakening teeth, the chemical changes are an obvious clue. Fluoride also creates a chemical change with methyl mercury and mercury is a by product of the chlorine process. The slow release of mercury from dental amalgams coincides with the slow onset of chronic illness and ageing, it starts at birth from the mothers teeth through the placenta and in breast feeding. Research at the University of Georgia determined that mercury from fillings inhibit the effectiveness of antibiotics. During 'World War II,' European tuberculosis hospitals discovered patients recovered after the removal of amalgams. Agitation from chewing and brushing teeth give off mercury vapors, then bacteria in food, the digestive system and the mouth turns into odorless methyl mercury that can travel through the bloodstream crossing into the finest fatty filtering tissues. Volt's mixture of metals create a 'battery effect' that can be found in a mouth containing both gold and amalgams, there is also a natural current under the tongue. There are viruses whose formation is dependent on electrostatic properties that go beyond the nervous systems electrical potential, their precise alignment to self assemble shows the same function of the battery effect, likewise their disassembling in distilled water. It is evident that mercury stresses the immune system of all females. This was uncovered in research on school children. The University of Calgary School of Medicine demonstrated in 1984 that mercury from amalgams could be found in the blood and tissues of pregnant mothers and their babies within a few days and it has become evident that long term low level mercury over 0.06 mg. reflect changes in menstrual cycles, quantity, duration and flow. The incidences of preterm delivery, spontaneous abortion, fetal death, still birth, cerebral palsy and complications of pregnancy rise due to mercury. Surgery was found unnecessary to unblock clogged arteries that result in by-pass surgery, chelation therapy removed the heavy metals that caused the arteries to block. European research shows high density traffic and industrialization result in heavy metal maladies. In May of 1992 a medical research team at the University of Kentucky, established a probable relationship of mercury exposure from silver amalgam dental fillings to cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. Comparison studies of brain tissue samples from people with the same dental mercury exposure were found to correspond to those with high lead deposits in their bones. Mercury is the key to metals and electricity in the body, the mobility of quicksilver to certain tissues has been found in its density, transmutation and transformation. Microwave ovens affect pacemakers, the body's electricity is influenced by similar corresponding spectrums through the accumulation of heavy metals and the battery effect. From Newtonian mechanics we now have quantum mechanics, understood as photons, atoms and electrons acting as particles and waves, but theorists still speculate how an object can act as both a particle and as a wave. Mainstream medicine and dentistry pulled back in denial like a fault line pulling apart with people falling in the crack, meanwhile support groups for chronic illness support research for a miracle pill, as the guardians of health, the drug companies, empty their cupboards of mercury tainted prescriptions. Meanwhile the growing smog and mechanical dust pollutes the environment short circuiting all life forms. Genetics avoided confronting generational metal poisoning since physics, not considered a human phenomena, developed in secret. Meanwhile medicine, a monopoly of chemicals and limited biology, remained in denial of physics foundation in metals, currents, toxicity, chemical changes and gases. A historical review states, "Lack of control groups unexposed to mercury (amalgam free) for investigations of health problems; Contribution of dental mercury to environmental pollution. In conclusion, a lack of interdisciplinary research and of a critical approach to established clinical routine appears to be the reason for the failure of the dental profession to protect the patient from mercury exposure when saving the tooth." Technically, 'Mercurialentis' is the first sign in the eye of mercury poisoning, a brown discoloration of the anterior capsule of the lens, a diagnosis not adhered to, but associated with eye problems and diabetes. Obviously, the first sign of mercury poisoning is in the tooth. When a mercury molecule is attached to an organic molecule, its physical and toxic properties are radically changed, organic mercury molecules are much more soluble in fatty tissue, because of this, they cross membranes and enter cells more readily. When metals penetrate the brain they become a potent neurotoxin, in brain research the neurotoxic effects of inorganic mercury creates an irreversible blockade of the voltage-activated calcium channels. Mercury changes in many forms to combine with the human electrical engineering, leading to symptoms and debilitating diseases of the mind, nerves, muscles and bones, the tissues involved are as flexible as the changes of mercury. The World Health Organization reported that exposure to mercury from amalgams is generally higher than that from fish, seafood, water and air. This generation will reach 200 years of mercury in dentistry, the research is minute in comparison, but gaining momentum, each generation has outlawed practices of the last, each time returning to nature's intimate beginning. Under Swedish law dental amalgams containing mercury have been banned. Sweden's shores were washed free of war, but tragically tainted by nuclear fallout, they are the first to be officially freed from mercury in dentistry. For health and the environment, the first step is to stop mercury damage to the fetus. "We realize now that we have previously made an error in our judgement of this question. Patients have suffered unnecessarily and we will now rectify our mistakes and in different ways try to solve the problem." Sweden's recognition of the dangers of mercury has resulted in new insights into the prevention and repair of arthritis. The majority of dentists voluntarily stopped using amalgams in pregnant women before the ban was imposed. Venue: Columbia, platinum was put in a glass tube containing radium. Atomic particles given off by the radium attached themselves to the platinum and gradually changed it into gold. This laboratory gold was used in radiation treatment for cancer, arthritis and other diseases, implanted in diseased tissue it gives off a radiation which was found to stop the spreading of diseased tissue. This treatment is by no means one hundred percent effective and juggled between a horrendous treatment and a cure, perhaps just another example of alchemy's fool's gold. Mercury as a medical icon has been replaced with a radiation icon. With today's genetic research targeting diseases, patents are pending for the golden egg, but nothing comes. The original story of genetic splicing was the grape vine, in an attempt to create a taller vine it was spliced with the elm, but the elm is now in the process of extinction. After a century of denial of physics in medicine, genetics was sold for altering structures for medicine, rather than wisdom behind the clinical electrical circuitry. It is the overall view of medicine and research that is in need of repair. Genetics can help understand the electrical circuitry of the body, but the public definitions require correlation and association in a broader picture that will properly differentiate between symptomatic causes and grounds for a cure. Salt, sugar, fat and tobacco have become scapegoats for the superstructure and superconductivity of mercury and its allies, the natural organic defenses, energies, alloys, insulators and stimulants have been found guilty by a kangaroo court. The lack of salt leads to radioactive iodine entering the body causing cancer, sugar alternatives lead to chemical imbalances, lack of fat leads to epilepsy, and tobacco insulates the negative current produced by mixed metals and stimulates the stressed electrical response with nitro-glycerin. X-rays cause sterility and cancer because of man-made ionizing radiation, the suns ionizing radiation is made harmless by filtration, broken up by dense atoms in the atmosphere before reaching the earth. In nature mercury was made harmless by filtration through the earth. Atomic bombs, nuclear power and radioactive elements are all products of atomos that leads to the giant toadstool cloud that excreted cancerous spores into the atmosphere. In the 1950's thermonuclear weapons development released airborne mercury vapors, a tornado uprooted a red cedar tree nearby that was then measured for mercury levels, since trees do not normally absorb mercury from roots the levels are considered to be from airborne mercury, the red cedar tree measured 7,000 parts per billion, the normal range is from 2 to 4 parts per billion. The thermodynamic kinetics of mercury elevate the bioelectromagnetic communication through contact electricity in the self assembly and transport of bacterial viruses. Heavy metals polluted with radiation, give off toxins in the process of decay, therefore mercury is likely to transform the toxins into excreting toxins. The static properties are broken down by distilled and deionized water. Electrolyte solution rebuilds the natural mineral balance, but unless the system is dismantled complex chemical reaction loops develop. The spectrum is made up of vibrations, the sonic vibrations are used to clean gold from impurities, they also dislodge the buildup of impurities in the body in the same manner that music and dance mildly free the body of stress. Medicine is light years behind industry, fluorescent lighting contains a combination of solid mercury and mercury vapor or a radioactive element, fire alarms contain radioactive elements, but there is no house-hold alarm for the detection of mercury or radiation. Meanwhile food is irradiated for human consumption to kill bacteria, but natural organisms necessary for regeneration are altered or destroyed too. Radiation is the extension of mercury's singular degenerative root. Yesterday's "Fates" decreed no help, no hope, no answer... The sun's sickly face, earth's dark clouds, rain drops of blood, altars weeping and the trees groaning because the "fates" inscribed on tablets of iron and brass, wait for wisdom to reveal the truth that leads to lasting peace. The future depends on nature's continuity through the study of medicine, arts and sciences. Apollo represented medicine that was essential in all knowledge to become an accomplished student. Medicine has searched nature and administered man-made artifacts. Instead, medicine requires the study of man-made portents to administer nature's remedy. The restoration of medicine in education under the virtues of Apollo, requires educating each generation to the next generation, then full disclosure of information can be studied and analyzed to build cures, free from statistics financial and political vindication. Meanwhile strategic medical marketing, lowering the price of beneficial medical and dental treatment is responsible medical preventative practice. Zzzzzzz... Planetary nightmares... Nostradamus armed with his silver mercury mirror, revealed the tell-tale signs in the centuries of destruction. The flame of the soul burning at the root of the senses, the spirit unleashed interwove the fabric of life. Each step revealed the next, the system that undid man and nature would have to be Mercury the thief, as the mythological Gods would have us believe. Fate cannot be undone, but some things can. Nostradamus comes to the end of his quatrains, but in the few left, translations have not recognized the word 'dent', french for teeth, at the same time he changes the context of the verb 'die'. Back to the present in a UFO... The first rule is don't alter the past or risk the future, if our future descendants have risked such a trip, perhaps we should think about the duality of nature required for generations. Living on land with cancerous deformities and viruses resulting in a lack of hair or under the ocean deprived of air and altered eyes, some say we would adapt in time, but this is not nature's nurturing time, it is a singular man-made time. Time and dimensions are at odds in a black hole, the celebration of life is in the duality of light and truth. BIBLIOGRAPHY Becker, Robert, Dr., and Seldon, Gary, The Body Electric, (New York, William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1985) BioProbe Newsletter, Vol. 10, Issue 2, (March 1994) Brock, William H., The Norton History of Chemistry, (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993) Brown, R. H., "The Transgenic Mouse Model of Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis," The New England Journal of Medicine, volume 331, number 16, (20 October 1994) Christianson, Gale E., In the Presence of the Creator, (New York, The Free Press, 1984) Cohen, Jack S., and Hogan, Michael E., "The New Genetic Medicines," Scientific America, (December 1994) Crick, Francis, The Astonishing Hypotheses (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994) Erikson, Kai, The New Species of Trouble, (New York, W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1994) Fradkin, Philip L., Fallout, (Arizona, University of Arizona Press, 1989) Green, Michael, On the History and Truth of the Unicorn, (Pennsylvania, Running Press Book Publishers, 1983) Hirshfield, Jane, Women in Praise of the Sacred, (New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 1994) Inglis, Brian, A History of Medicine, (Cleveland and New York, The World Publishing Company, 1965) Kaku, Michio, Hyperspace, (New York, Oxford University Press, Inc., 1994) Klawans, Harold L., M.D., Newton's Madness, (New York, Harper & Row, 1990) Levenson, Thomas, Measure for Measure, (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1994) Lyttle, Richard B., The Golden Path, (New York, The Free Press, 1984) Marshall, Peter, Natures Web, (New York, Paragon House, 1994) McLeish, Kenneth, Key Ideas in Human Thought, (New York, Facts on File, Inc., 1993) Medline, Index Medicus (On-line, 1995) Mengham, Rod, On Language, (New York, Little Brown and Company, 1993) Slavitt, David R., The Metamorphoses of Ovid, (Baltimore, The John Hopkins University Press, 1994) Westfall, Richard S., Never at Rest, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1980) "Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Plant," Oakridge Sentinal, Tennessee, (19 May 1994) ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Lassen by Hypoxia Smurf The Mountain Of Light, that's not the dark volcano we climbed across an icy chute, a 2-mile drop to the desert, passed and chased back down by lightning. We iced our fiery feet in a frigid stream, and chewed pemmican and hysteria. Fun though. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Untitled by Merbear I ramble of a hopping mass of random freckles, stringy hair. I shout and squeal of a happy human running 'round in purple tights. I whisper of her open arms. I scribble of Merilee, merrily. Who yearns to be everyone's mother; To cure a skinned knee with a kiss and a bandaid. Who needs, beneath, The blaring symphonies, The roar of moments passing by, And the white noise of a buzzing life, A silent space To think. Who knows the strength of a cello string that trembles at her touch. And the power of a simple crayon, Wielded by her hand. Who is a plain, silly flower, Unfolding serene and oblivious, Amidst the shrieks and tribal drums, Of a serious Jungle. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Absinth (or A Really Bad Pun) by Cherub The sunlight streaming through the glass window revealed swirling universes of dust that were slowly settling on the checkered linolium floor. 'Kel was watching them with an out-of-place feeling of nostalgia when the tin bell on the door broke into an abrupt spell of dinging and clanking. Damian let the door close slowly behind him and took a stool next to 'Kel, nodding a hello. "Strawberry phosphate," he said emotionlessly, throwing a dollar on the counter. "One for me, too," said 'Kel, almost as an afterthought. He began to dig around in his pockets for change, finally producing two quarters and a nickle. "I heard you quit acting." The sound of his voice was loud and out of place in the quiet pharmacy. "I've quit the theatre," Damian replied. "Wern't you just off performing in the tropics somewhere?" "Yes, all over the tropics, actually...my final part was in _A Midsummer Night's Dream_." The jerk sat their phosphates on the counter and made change. "I miss it a bit." Damian looked thoughtful. "The crowd always loved what I wanted to be." "Or you always wanted to be what they loved," 'Kel replied dryly. Damian glared at him for a moment at turned to his phosphate. "Don't you miss the crowd?" 'Kel asked, turning his head from his own phosphate to look at Damian. "A bit. I still talk to them. It really isn't their fault -- they could never stay long enough. It isn't quite as gratifying when I'm not on stage. I'll wait until I can take the stage again, though." "The waiting must be terrible...do you want some licorice?" 'Kel retreived more change from his pockets. "Nay, friend. It's true, you know; absinth makes the heart grow fonder." ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Themesong 43 by Introvert Turned it around, flipped it over, ripped it apart, tore out its weak parts, sifted through the gutted remains, and found nothing. Nothing means words. words mean lies, little whispered secrets, inside the pale flesh. Meshing in, fading out, power in unity, hope in falsification. Still don't believe, you don't feel a thing. Still can't grasp, purity in disassembly, perfection is disarray. You said nothing is as it seems. You said i don't know what it means. You said it's all empty dreams. I feel I'm loose at the seams. ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú ú Ignore by Cybermage We live in glass bubbles of curtains and blinds. We live in glass boxes of visions and lies. Ignorance is bliss. Ignore the things you see. The truth is self-evident. It's whatever I tell you to believe. Dreamers living in a sleeping world, Eyelids flutter; fingers uncurl. Lucidity flies and routine sets in. Sin is the enemy; your machine is your friend. [Neato melody gets stuck in a loop, repeats far too long, and then becomes more mellow.] Nobility is in the knowing. Self-sacrifice is gnostic pain. I know the pain will go away. I know it will come again someday. Ignore-ance is bliss. Just accept the things you feel. No truth is self-evidence, And the world disappears... [Neat chimey, transcendental sounds.] [Background chanting] We live in glass bubbles, We live in glass boxes, We live in glass towers, We live in glass houses, We live in glass mirrors, We live in glass... ú ú ³ ³ ÌÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͹ ³ ³ ú QUESTiONS, COMMENTS, SUBMiSSiONS, ETC? ú If you want to submit to me (and you know you do), then you can probably find me at one of these nifty Austin, TX area BBS's. I'm always looking for new writers, new ideas, and general ass-kissing compliments. .o[Board]o. .o[Number]o. .o[Sysop]o. Adam's Garden 5i2-301-3344 Muffin Man and Feather Cyberverse 5i2-255-5728 Cybermage The Return of the Son of Pig Sweat 5i2-4i9-i403 Split Ringworm's Lair 5i2-255-6832 Hound The Sprawl 5i2-485-3409 Blackthorn zen ink 5i2-476-7i77 Cyberspace Buddha THE FiNE PRiNT All works contained in this electronic magazine ("zine") are the sole property of the respective author. Reproduction is hereby authorized on the conditions that the works contained are reproduced in their original state with complete due credit given to the author and source. The works contained herein may not be used for profit. This zine is a completely non-profit venture and in no way is it intended for the financial gain of the authors or editor (Introvert). WARNING: Intentional misuse of product may result in permanent brain damage and relieves the authors of any and all liability. All works by Hypoxia Smurf are a product of OTRSS, all rights reserved. This has been a Lowtech-approved joint. Lowtech: Cluster the possibilities. E-Mail Vorphlack (Lowtech #1) at Ringworm's Lair for information on Lowtech. ú -i- ú ³ Where has all the greenery gone? ³ ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ End of File (66,601 bytes). Yowza. ÿ