Anthology - From the Street

›››››[Of course he has; he arranged for the head-shot. Timmons, though he'd been a valuable mouthpiece, was starting to feel his real power as part of the chaotic Post-Awakened Protestant Church. Word is that he was preparing to end his relationship with the dragon and reveal all.]

– Gossip Hound 08:22:09/2-24-54

›››››[This is a fraggin' great dragon we're talking about! First off, you don't think he could have kept Timmons quiet if he'd wanted to? (Assuming there was a reason in the first place.) Second, if you're one of the most powerful magical beings on the face of the planet, why rely on some goon with a cheap hunting rifle? Timmons nearly survived, you know.]

– Untouchable 11:28:42/3-1-54

›››››[What, dragons don't know healing magic??]

– Doctor Dave 10:19:27/3-5-54

Dunklezahn remained without a "voice" until 2028 (resulting in some bizarre one-sided interviews between Holly Brighton and the dragon.) In the spring of that year, the dragon began using a young woman named Terri Ann Riberio. Riberio, like Brighton, was a neophyte reporter when 'discovered' by the dragon. A perky and personable 'voice' for the dragon, Riberio proved popular enough even without Dunklezahn that she moved on to a somewhat successful, if not noteworthy, acting career in 2039.

›››››[It's also interesting to note that Riberio has to date refused, despite offers of tremendous sums of money, to create a tell-all program about her years with the dragon, let alone be interviewed about the subject. Integrity, or something else?]

– Publisher 03:17:15/2-26-54

›››››[Yeah, fear of getting on a great dragon's drek list. Makes sense to me.]

– Carnival Barker 10:27:50/3-1-54

›››››[Ah, but such a manuscript does exist, I understand. Riberio keeps it as insurance. If she dies "oddly," it goes public. A fairly common and usually successful insurance technique. Of course, should Dunklezahn find it…]

– Winner 12:01:57/3-1-54

During the five years prior to that, Dunklezahn had begun spending vast sums to create his current "lair"‚ a sprawling retreat on the shores of Lake Louise in the Athabaskan Council, southwest of Edmonton. It serves not only as a tourist attraction and high-technology entertainment resort, but as the dragon's personal feudal domain. Though the legal basis for Dunklezahn's claim to the land is still unclear, there is little doubt that the great dragon is lord and king over all he surveys. (And, considering the phenomenal destructive power displayed by the great eastern dragon Aden when it razed Teheran in 2020, it is doubtful that anyone in the Athabaskan Council has ever seriously considered attempting to reclaim the land, let alone collect taxes.) The Lake Louise resort is known not only for its quasi-medieval splendor, but for the incredibly sophisticated virtual reality (VR) technology available there. Guests can participate in incredible adventures, witness stunning real and imagined vistas, and generally risk life and limb without leaving the comfort of their recliner. The resort's technology is operated by VisionQuest, the former Ares Macrotechnology VR lab purchased by Dunklezahn in 2037. Today, the continually advancing technology of the VisionQuest hardware is considered state-of-the-art for a direct-feed VR experience. The dragon himself seems fascinated by the concept of virtual reality, its applications and implications. Dragons, he is quoted as saying, have a unique understanding of reality, and anything that claims to create or define reality is of great interest to him.

›››››[I've heard that Dunklezahn himself has attempted a direct neural-tap VR feed with no success. Guess he's stuck using those stupid archaic helmets and gloves. Quite an image, eh?]

– Bowman 07:26:30/3-1-54

›››››[VisionQuest is very aggressive about maintaining its technological lead. I understand it's about to begin another expansion and will be looking to increase its staff. Since the wiz-kings with the real skill are as protected as an orbital banking system, you can expect some rather violent recruiting. High on this list: Dr. Michael Denaris of Fuchi, Dr. Ellen Brand Koch of Renraku, and Dr. Estaban Wallech of Brilliant Genesis.]

– Insider 10:18:51/3-4-54

The dragon's current "voice" is one Nadja Daviar, an Eastern European elven beauty with a mesmerizing voice and no personal history on record. She has held that position since 2039 and reigns over the Lake Louise resort like its queen. Holly Brighton, who resides in retirement at the resort and still wields considerable power within the dragon's sphere of influence, is frequently at odds with Daviar. Brighton's greatest influence seems to be over Dunklezahn's periodic talk-commentary trideo program "Wyrm Talk."

›››››[lt's been continually reported that Daviar has some connection to the Polish intelligence community, though no information beyond that has ever surfaced. I'll bet that Brighton would pay mucho dinero for that kind of paydata.]

– Ex-Pat 03:02:09/3-12-54

The dragon began the semi-annual program the year following Brighton's retirement from media and has produced over two dozen editions of the program. Topics range from trite celebrity interviews and profiles to frighteningly insightful commentary on culture and society. The dragon's current program is overdue, and word from the production studio is that Dunklezahn remains undecided about its scope or subject. However, no one on the production staff even knows the topics the great dragon is considering. Regardless, the choice and result will undoubtedly be fascinating on some level, as well as a ratings bonanza.

›››››[I'm on the production staff for "Wyrm Talk" (yes, you could see my name on the credits if you knew where to look) and "undecided" is an understatement for the Big D's (as he's referred to in the studio) state of mind these days. Angst-ridden is more like it. At the heart of who and what Dunklezahn is is his fascination with humanity, specifically human interaction. He's amazed by how we relate to each other, or don't. The whole VR setup in Lake Louise is designed so that he can observe people reacting to things and each other. What's got him upset (though that may be too strong a word for a dragon) is that he knows something he thinks everyone (read: humanity) should know about. Why doesn't he just say? I don't know. Will he say? I don't know either.]

– More Than Best Boy 07:17:16/3-10-64

›››››[Maybe he's silent because others don't think humanity is ready to know everything and have warned him against it. If so, just who out there is powerful enough to tell a great dragon what to do? Think about it – it'll keep you up at night.]

– Frosty 05:10:12/3-12-54

THE DUELISTS

Written by Diane Piron-Gelman and Robert Cruz, based on stories by Jonathan Szeto

› Sysop: You are in the War Stories room.

› Sounds like one helluva run, Jo.

› Hellcab

› Buy me a beer and I'll tell you about an even better one.

› Josie Cruise

› (pop/fwsshhh/gluglugluglug) Bought and poured, Jo-girl. Spill.

› Hellcab

› I'll trust you for one in the meatworld (fool that I am…). Okay. I was in Calfree last spring, part of a team pulling a job on Yamatetsu. The corp had a hush-hush R D compound up in the Northern Crescent, not far from Blue Lake. Our Johnson thought they were up to something biogenetically questionable (to put it nicely), and wanted us to get two kinds of proof: data and a sample. Get in, snatch the goodies and get out again-my specialty.

So we headed out from Redding, got as near to the compound as we could by off-roader, then bailed and started hoofing. I'm not going to bore you with the rigger's-eye-view of the ride up; half the folks on this board know what that's like, and anyways nothing happened. The fun stuff all came later.