From: John Willemin (vze27q9e@mail.verizon.net) Subject: [PW!] Meeting the Maker Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2001-08-15 16:26:37 PST (OOC: *plug mode on* http://velox.waha1.com/ *plug mode off*) "Hello, Professssor Jamessson. It'sss been a long time..." The lab coat-clad human knocked over a chair as he stumbled backwards in fright. "P - Panopticon!" he cried. "How did you evade my Porygon guard?" "I didn't," the cyber-raptor responded. He sneered as he showed off the fresh Hyper Beam burns on his body and legs. "You know, you really ssshould be more welcoming..." The bedraggled and sleep-deprived-looking human scientist cowered in a corner of the dimly-lit basement laboratory. "What...what do you want from me?" "Calm down, Professssor. I think you have me confusssed for a man-made menaccce who'd dessstroy hisss own creatorsss and go on a sssilly quessst to dissscover hisss true purpossse..." The cyber-raptor paused to laugh at his own dry wit. "I'm here to requessst a tune-up. A major confrontation isss nigh, and I want to be prepared." The Silph scientist squeaked, "Tune-up?" "Yesss, Professssor," Panopticon said in a patronizing tone. "I need a new plasssma cannon, for ssstartersss. I've been without one for almossst ssseven yearsss..." "I...I can't build another..." the scientist stammered. "My plasma research...it...it was incinerated during the break-in four years ago!" Panopticon raised a scaly eyebrow. "Break-in? I heard nothing of thisss." "A bunch of radical college students...they barged into the Silph building after dark...they torched years' worth of data! Our military weapon research, our nanotechnology research, even a lot of our research on artificial intelligence...all gone!" the scientist explained. "I programmed my Porygon to deter further break-ins..." Panopticon raised one finger to his chin. "Hmmm...I don't sssuppossse you ssstill have that prototype railgun that wasss originally to be my tail-weapon?" "Stolen!" the Professor squeaked. "All I can offer you is a Porygon with Zap Cannon...but it's hardly the lethal weapon you're looking for, I bet..." "That'sss it?" Panopticon sounded more disappointed than mad. "Well, in any event, I could ussse sssome new fuel cartridgesss for my rollerbladesss. You can at *leassst* sssupply me with thossse, yesss?" The scientist slowly stopped shivering as he realized Panopticon was not angry about the lack of weapons. "Yes...yes, I can." The scraggly-haired man got out of the corner he had been cringing in and dug through a large drawer at his computer workstation. From the drawer he pulled two narrow metal canisters that looked decidedly like the magnets that cows were forced to swallow to cleanse their systems of ingested scrap metal. Panopticon took the canisters, then reached down and pressed the buttons on his ankles, instantaneously ejecting the spent fuel cartridges from the backs of his feet. He installed the fresh cartridges and grinned a toothy grin. "Well, if that'sss all you can give me, I sssuppossse I'll be going," Panopticon said as he turned for the door. "Wait, wait!" the Professor stammered. "It's lonely down here! I'm virtually cut off from the outside world! Stay a while! I want to know what my second-greatest work of artificial intelligence has been doing all these years..." Panopticon froze in his tracks. "*Sssecond*-greatessst?" The Professor tugged at his collar, as he had not meant to say "second" out loud. He tried to recover. "Well, I...I also made the Vorge program, you know..." "*That* wasss your greatessst creation?!" Panopticon snarled. "He'sss dead!!!" "Yes, but the destruction he wreaked while he lived..." The Professor's eyes filled with tears at that fond memory. "...simply beautiful!" He quickly jumped back a foot when he realized he was getting carried away. Panopticon bared his teeth. "You know, disssregard what I sssaid earlier..." With a leap and a claw swipe, he slit Professor Jameson's throat. While the Professor choked and bled to death, Panopticon headed for the door. "Now, by your leave, Professssor," said he, "I have an ambusssh to arrange." (OOC: Anyone out there going to Pokémon Fun Fest NJ on Sunday? ^^;) -------------------------------------- K * A * R * N * I * V * A * X "Your cavalier dismissal of mechanics shows a commendable bravado, from a swashbuckling perspective. But from an academic perspective, it's a real problem." -My English teacher Mr. Hench, commenting on a term paper