|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- GOODBYE POPCORN--CUP 32--"PROVOCATION TEAM D" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Goodbye Popcorn  ||  -------> (Cup SRgp032, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "It's like," Daptin said, "Obfuser told me to drink some of the Coffee and go through a bridge, and then I'd get back to that world where I left from, and to stay with Fake until the Coffee in my system took us back to the Cup, which I'd leave back here at Greatwall. But like, we'd need to fight off that gang." "I see. Did they seem formidable?" "Oh man. Formidable? Forget it. They creamed us, and we were armed to the gills. No, they're definitely a force to be reckoned with." "I see. Perhaps we should bring my whole team, if you feel comfortable letting them in on this." "Well yeah, but like, I mean, do they need to know everything? I mean, we're going to some undefined world, and then back to Greatwall, so like, if they do come, could they like..." "Don't worry Daptin. They'll understand if things aren't entirely explained to them. And frankly, they're so anxious to see some action, I doubt if they'll have many questions." "Good. I just hope old Provocation Team D is up to the challenge." "Daptin, you know we're competent. In fact, we're far too competent for the use Fife is putting us to. I've been so serious about forging a lethal fighting team, it's taken me a long time to realize that Fife and the others are far too disorganized to need such services. No, I think something like this is just what we need." Granticaine drank a whole glass of cold strong tea and put it down. Daptin wondered, in light of what Granticaine had just said, if it was wise to reveal the whole story to him, since Avert wasn't directly involved. But he was relieved that the burden of being the sole holder of the knowledge of Aconck/Avert was lifted from him. And Grant and his little team might be useful backup in confronting the Caxopys as well, if that eventuality ever occurred. "Well, at least with all this weird universal stuff going on, there's still nice, stable places like this." Daptin said, holding a cup of tea and looking down into it idly. "Stability seems to be the norm in my travels." Grant said. "It's funny, one might expect a lot more disorder than is commonly seen in Aconck. Perhaps it is that the original formulae derived by Bestroystraw favor stable worlds. I don't know." "Well like, if you ever like get to see Agoopish and stuff, man, you'll see disorder in action, like, in full force, y'know." "This whole world of the gods you describe is extremely interesting, Daptin. I hope you'll truly consider taking me to this place." "I think, y'know, I think we can do that. It's just, y'know, I don't wanna make it like a big scene, y'know? I don't wanna open like the floodgates between these two worlds. Aconck and Avert are like, y'know, like oil and water or something. They don't--or won't--mix." "Well, with what we know of Sweptim, if these are the survivors, I'm sure they'd react pretty violently to the news that their old interconnection of Earths has been resurrected, even given that Bestroystraw claims to have overcome the deadly flaw in the Sweptim formulae." "I dunno, Grant. It's just like, it's like being there, there's so much that seems hidden. I don't know. I mean, there's just so much, uh, I don't know..." "You know many goddesses there?" Granticaine asked, stirring a spice into some hot tea. "Huh? I uh, well, I mean there's lots and lots of goddesses there. And like, for some reason I had access to the god community right away. I guess it's because I'm a mortal there, but I dunno. I seems sort of, almost, suspicious. I don't know. But yeah, I knew a number of goddesses. I mean, I know them. I do plan on going back." "Are they nice?" "Nice? Yeah! They're amazing. I mean, you like get buzzed and tingle all over just being near them. It's really weird. That's one reason I doubt the Sweptim thing--they really do seem to be like, I dunno, like deities." "Hmm. I'd like to see what this is all about. I've long suspected that there's a lot more going on than just Aconck, and it looks like my patience has finally found fruit." "Yeah." "Found fruit, not to be confused with fend fruit, eh?" "Heh heh, no." Granticaine took a big bite out of a piece of fruit and looked again out the window. "So Daptin, what sort of framepoint are we looking at for this mission of yours? Is it time-sensitive?" "Um, well y'know, that a pretty good question. Obfuser didn't make that part very clear. In fact, he didn't make much of anything clear." "Is this Obfuser fellow contactable?" "Um, generally no. I have been able to get him to show up on a few occasions, but there were special circumstances involved." "Hmm." Granticaine said, nodding. "I mean, I know very little of the physics of the matter. I assume time is running pretty much equiv between here and there. I guess he put me back a little while after I disappeared. And at this point..." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----