[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

>>>>>[ ... I learned the basics 'in University', so that doesn't wash.  Most of the best of us learned the basics there.
          Other than that, until you understand the difference between wanting to know the truth and hunting it down, no, I really have no advice to give you - and once you DO understand the difference, you won't need any advice, because anything I say about the difference between a script-kiddie tool and a deck will be self-evident.  It should be self-evident already, but you can only lead a user to a program, you can't make them hack. ]<<<<<
          -- The Wyrm Ouroboros (01:45:00/10-11-2075)

[Silence]

>>>>>[Wish I had that luxury.  But then, I understand the difference between a hacker and a decker.  Hackers are great with code.  Deckers have to be great with code and hardware.  You want to threaten the grove and the clan to hurt me?  I've got a news flash for you:  I'm not one of them, one just decided I was his apprentice.  He's a sick, twisted and sadistic bastard at times.  Then he does something like go to the mat for a street rat who never met a mark he couldn't con, or a person he wouldn't lie to to get what he needed beyond the only esh and blood he has left in the world.  The same guy also has a list of people the world would be better off without, and pays people who take them out, but doesn't post any bounties.  He doesn't keep an enemies list.  Mostly because he takes a real pleasure in making them good enemies.  Me, it takes too much time and effort to hate that much, but it's like breathing to him.

The best answer I got from a member of the clan on the subject of blood sacrifice is that knowledge of how to do it is considered premeditated murder in Seattle.  So yeah, there's a distinct difference between the grove and the clan.  Mostly in that if I had to pick one to back me up, it wouldn't be the grove.  They're too damned nice for the Barrens.  But attacking them won't be picking a fight with me.  Might sadden me a bit, but I don't really expect good things to happen to good people.  I lost that particular illusion when I was eight.

So, if I pissed you off, I'm sorry, I really am.  But I gotta ask, why in the world do you care what some know-nothing street rat thinks of you?  I've managed to do some asking, and frankly, a kid like me shouldn't even be a blip on your radar, unless I show up on your doorstep.  If I were in your shoes, I'd be more concerned about the guy figuring out how to kill a dragon and get away with it. scott-free.]<<<<<
     --Siouxsie(01:03:35/10-12-75)

>>>>>{Wait, he's WHAT?]<<<<<
     --Sanctity Rose(02:04:25/10/12/75)

>>>>>[Wow, you really don't know how to read people, do you?  It's obvious the guy wants some payback for what happened to his folks, and the others that died.  Your clan members are so careful not to mention anything related to dragons when I ask about it, and Uath got fired from the only legitimate job he's had for teaching the ZDF how to kill dragons.  Or did you really think the only thing he was doing in Glow City was hunting toxics?  He may be your leader, and not really free to act like he wants, but that's still the guy that walked into an Azzie meeting disguised as a UCAS senator and blew the brains of the guy who was responsible for killing his team all over a wall.  Just because he hasn't done it, doesn't mean he won't do it the second he can get away with it.  I'm a con artist and a trickster, he's a warrior.  If he doesn't get that chance to do it and keep you guys safe, he won't risk you.

But if another dragon offered him the chance to waste the one that hit the old grove, he'll probably give it a discount.]<<<<<
     --Siouxsie(02:14:10/10-12-75

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

>>>>>[ Kid, just because I dropped a bit of educating rant on you doesn't make you someone I care about.  Even if you showed up on my doorstep - good luck finding my current one - I wouldn't give two shits about you.  You need a modicum of education, and this yahoo who's decided to adopt you seems to have forgotten that particular lesson.  So I handed you the same bloody fraggin' advice I've given ten thousand other street morons, ninety-nine hundred of whom are dead because they did something stupid.
          As for 'killing a dragon and getting away scott-free', ain't no such animal.  There are always repercussions for killing - they just may not show up for a while.  And I'm pretty fucking sure the ZDF ain't the one trying to learn how to kill a dragon. ]<<<<<
          -- The Wyrm Ouroboros (12:00:00/10-13-2075)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[There's always a price when you end up fighting a dragon. You never get away clean. Sometimes, that price is paid with the blood of you and those alongside you. Sometimes, the price is worse.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (23:46:23/10-13-75)

[WrongConcept]

>>>>>[Wait and what about Dunkelzan's murder? he was a dragon an a pretty famous one, someone offed him and has not been found... At least to the public media, and i must say this Cyberdeck has some impresive things to toy with, i don't even need hands, just program it and the hardware reconfigures itself its pretty cool, and its pretty obvious the difference in Processing Power, my comlink had trouble with my avatar but this Deck its not even heating. It has many options, i will toy with them but so far looks like a good investment. Thanks The Wyrm Ouroboros, i will try not to do anything stupid, but if death comes knocking on my door beliveme i won't be able to run, hide or fight, so ill try to be smart.]<<<<<

--WrongConcept (15:39:23/10-14-75)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[The only one who can kill a Great Dragon and get away with it would be another Great Dragon. Maybe some of us mortals were in on it, but it was a dragon's orders, for sure. Dunkelzhan was their Loremaster. If one of the 'young races' had killed him, what we saw the last couple years would be a walk in the park in comparison to what would have happened. Maybe someday we'll find out the truth about the Big D's murder, but I wouldn't bet on it, and I sure won't be the one poking around to try and find out. But hey, if you really want to find out, you could always try raiding Lofwyr's personal datastores.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (17:18:23/10-14-75)

[All4BigGuns]

>>>>>[Just make sure your will is up to date before you attempt that raid...]<<<<<

-- Predator (18:42:45/10-14-2075)

[WrongConcept]

>>>>>[I would wish to have so much balls to think of taking down a great D. Altought that seems rather... Pointless, bear with me for a while, lets take Dunkelzhans murder, it didn't really change things, sure everyone cried, but he got to spread all this goodies to everyone, so in the end a D would have a big enough plan or maybe the Dunk knew he was going to get offed... However i won't go into investigating that, i alredy have my hands full with my own quest for the truth.]<<<<<

--WrongConcept (00:05:23/10-16-75)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Just assume that dragons always have a plan. And assume that they are much, much smarter than you, and have been doing this for far longer. I will raid a Wasp nest over a dragon's lair any day.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (04:24:32/10-16-75)

[WrongConcept]

>>>>>[Letting dragons aside for a moment, has anyone been able to confirm what happened to the Nano disaster? i got the usual crap the news give us, i tried to dig in a litlle but hacking is not my forte, and got to bail out before hell broke loose on my bottoms.]<<<<<

--WrongConcept (16:34:23/10-16-75)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[There are rumors amongst my kind about new entities in the Matrix. I haven't witnessed any of it myself, but the ones I've spoken to (and are still themselves) give me different stories. Some say it is the ghosts of those who were trapped by the Crash, looking for new bodies. Some say it is an AI born from viral code, possibly from Jormungand itself. And then there are those who say it is something Dissonant. The truth is, we simply don't know.]<<<<<

--Kusanagi Motoko (20:47:21/10-17-75)

[WrongConcept]

>>>>>[So in short, there is no certainty at what tha frag is happening around us... And people asks why would someone work for a Mega, they offer the ilussion of stability, i would have taken it but im too damaged. In short the quest for the truth never ends and you never trully get to know the truth right? Thats kind of... Depressing...]<<<<<

--WrongConcept (01:03:23/10-18-75)

[Chrona]

>>>>>[All right guys, going to admit I haven't kept up with VU93 while dealing with the Foundation, did not want to use their Grid too much, even if they were nice enough to let me on it temporarily. The plant attacks have died down, for now, and the tome is heavily warded up while we finalize where to take it..]<<<<<

-- Chrona (01:12:21/10-19-75)

[Kylen]

>>>>>[Not knowing what the frag is going on around us in the larger picture is the norm for most of us (likely exceptions of Great Dragons, certain elves, and a somewhat misanthropic data hoarder), so all we can do is try to figure out what's going on and how it may or hopefully may not kill us, or at least how best to avoid it killing us.]<<<<<

     --Card (05:28:30/10-31-75)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Well, it is true that it is impossible for anyone outside the Dragons, the Elders, and their inner circles to know the complete picture of what is going on in the world. So for those of us who aren't in a position where we deal with dragons on a daily basis, the trick is to focus on as much of the picture as you can handle. The way you do that (if you aren't Wyrmy) is to develop contacts. This is the part of running that never ever stops. You head to the local watering hole, make friends with the bartender, or the bouncer. You head on vacation, schmooze some of the other tourists. Get caught by the Knights, make friends with the other inmates while you wait on your lawyer to get you out. Everywhere you go, there are contacts just waiting to be made. There are some people who think they can just get by with a single, well-placed contact. But the problem is, no matter how well connected that Ares manager you know is, he's not going to have the clean scan on what's going on in NeoNET or Tir Tairngir, and he probably won't know drek about what a Tir Tairngir mark's vices are, and who you can go to in order to make a swap. Sure, having the big name contact is great for those times when you can use him, but for the rest, it is better to have a bunch of low-level contacts, spread out across all fields. That way, if you don't know someone who has the intel you need, you at least have someone who can make an introduction.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (12:55:23/10-31-75)