Iridium Magazine Issue 1

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Iridium

 · 11 Jul 2023

To be honest, Iridium Magazine originally stemmed from something very bitter. Lets go WAY back to Psychosis Issue #2... I had just gotten Psychosis Issue #1 about a week ago, and I get a call from Jabberwocky. He called originally about an art group I used to run, MACE, but talk turned to Psychosis. We discussed ideas, and I ended up making him a menu to be used in Psychosis #2, he seemed thrilled, and so was I, it was the kind of exposure I needed, at that time. Eventually, as the time came to release Psychosis Issue #2, I got a call from Jabberwocky telling me that that my menu would not be used, it would be Tempus Thales' instead. Well, quite fumed was I (though now looking back, who could blame him?). So Jabberwocky and I embarked upon an era of arguments, based around this decision and etc.. etc.. So, I became DETERMINED to release a magazine that would beat Psychosis, and make me the better man.

Well, my idea was immediately derailed, when I realized there was no support for my determination. So, for months, Iridium sat on the back burner. I had completely forgotten about it. and on I went. After being dregged in the warez scene for so long, and being 'just another Joe'. I decided to make the switch to the art scene, and a welcome change it was. MACE died. And for awhile I just sat in Thedraw, and practiced. My board became more and more art oriented.. Slowly, I became friends w/ FusioN and Cool T (my once arch-enemy...) After getting into iCE, Iridium once again seemed possible.

I started talking to a local friend about programmers. To see if he knew any, turns out, while I was away from the computer, he had book-learned C, and knew quite a great deal. So, absent of the rest of the world, we started playing around.. Tried some interfaces, and he learned while programming. We took a break, and left it alone for awhile. Then as school neared end, I decided it was time to get down to business. So, I bugged Excalibur (our humble programmer) to get started on a final copy of the magazine, and off we went.

When it became evident that the magazine was going to happen, one way or another. I went to Cool T, or rather, he came to me, and I offered him his Senior Staff position, he graciously accepted. For the next couple of months, we mainly fiddled around w/ ideas, and schemes for the magazine (e.g. - What it would include, VGA or no, music or no, etc.. What would it cover) and such. So, it came around time to get a REAL start on the magazine. FusioN was added as Staffer #3, and off we went. Towards the middle of July I started advertising for the magazine on CyberCrime, and here we are, months later, with Cool T gone, and as the new third Senior Staff guy..... issue #1.

Well - I hope this quickly, poorly written article gives you a basic idea about where Iridium Magazine came from.

Raistlin [iCE/Iridium Founder]

First

A few notes on Iridium Magazine - to keep in mind while reading the staff/credits, and the magazine itself.

1. Iridium Magazine is based SOLELY on the ART SCENE. Whether it be Ansi, Vga, Music, Poetry, Fiction, etc.. Art in general.
2. As this issue will show, Iridium is an ANSi only interfaced magazine No VGA will be included at this point (though it may sometimes be shown in the magazine itself.)
3. Iridium is not interested in, nor affiliated with, any software pirating, hacking, phreaking, or other establishments of this nature.
4. This is mainly a PROMOTIONAL issue of Iridium. However, we hope you find it informing, useful, and interesting in content. Yet, this is only a preview of issues to follow.
5. Iridium magazine is a monthly released magazine.
6. The staff of Iridium Magazine does not hate Shihear Kallizad.
7. As point 6 illustrates, we are already quite unique.

The Beef

Iridium Magazine (tm), is dedicated to bringing you the latest in the art scene. As one of the innovators of this type of magazine (along w/ Paradigm) we hope to bring you the highest quality of concrete information available to us.

We Need YOU!

Iridium Magazine is ALWAYS looking for new submissions. Since we are concentrating on bringing you the MOST information possible. We need the largest scope to obtain our wealth of information from. We don't care who you are.. Whether you are in iCE, ACiD, Nemesis, Shmo, Putz.. We don't care. As long as you feel you can submit quality information, presented in a respectful article, we want your work.
Now: The following is a complete listing of all contributors to Iridium Magazine.. and we mean COMPLETE. Every little detail - outlined.

Iridium Founder/Creator:

• Raistlin [iCE]

Iridium Senior-Staff:

• Raistlin [iCE]
• FusioN <ACiD>
• Excalibur [Programmer]
• Quazar [TRiBE]

Physical Credits:

• Pre-Load Config Screen: Raistlin [iCE]
• Main Menu Interfaces: Raistlin [iCE] (2) -- BoBo by RM! :)
• STiLE [iCE]
• No Carrier [LTD]
• Text Reader Interface: Raistlin [iCE]
• Configuration Inteface: Raistlin [iCE]
• Help Screens/Misc: Raistlin [iCE]
• Excalibur [Programmer]
• Programming: Excalibur ^- Hmm....

Editorial/Non-Fictional Writing:

• Fusion <ACiD>
• Raistlin [iCE]
• HOOPTiE <ACiD>
• Glenn Danzig <M/¥X>
• White Knight [iCE_TRiAL]
• Dreadnought [ASSAULT]
• Quazar [TRiBE]
• No Carrier [LTD]
• Cavalier [iCE]
• Smooth [Nemesis]
• Morbid Angel [Nemesis]
• R. Noble [MiRAGE]
• The Untimed [iCE]
• Literary

Contributions:

• Dreadnought [ASSAULT]
• Creeping Death [ASSAULT]
• Cyberpsyco <ACiD>
• Scofflaw [Nemesis]
• Morat The Black [ASSAULT]
• Digital Dictator [ASSAULT]
• Amadeus [ASSAULT]
• Corwin of Amber [ASSAULT]
• Lizard [ASSAULT]
• Mindriot [ASSAULT]

Top Ansis Category Contributors:

• FusioN <ACiD>
• Cavalier [iCE]
• Raistlin [iCE]
• Scofflaw [Nemesis]
• R. Noble [MiRAGE]
• Morbid Angel [Nemesis]
• Quazar [TRiBE]
• HOOPTiE <ACiD>
• Tempus Thales [iCE]
• Pyromaniak [CHAOS]
• Wolverine [CHAOS]
• Minor Threat [CHAOS]
• Transportation

(Couriers):

• Scofflaw [Nemesis] (Coordinator)
• Napalm Vortex
• Rancid
• The Cool One [M/¥X˘Courier]
• Absence
• Black Monday

A big hand is deserved for these guys, if you're reading this now -- Its thanks to them.

Distribution Sites

The Shadowlands - 609.256.0332 - World HQ - Raistlin [iCE] Silicon Vortex (Down) - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Canadian HQ - STiLE <ACiD> The Spawning Grounds - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Southern HQ - Quazar [TRiBE] The Sanctuary (tm) - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Tempus [iCE] Total Grindage - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - HOOPTiE [iCE] Mechanical Resistance - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Mr. Goodwrench The Omerta - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - The Untimed [iCE] Gotham City - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Batman Psychosis - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Dreadnought [ASSAULT]Infinite Ragnarok - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Jormugand After Dark Club - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Glenn Danzig [TRIBE] The Crypt - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Black Monday House of Pain - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Mazter The Body Electric - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Israfel [iCE] Nuclear Winter - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - The Drow [MiRAGE] Wasted Youth˘215 - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - Neptune [iCE˘Courier]Valhalla II - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site - White Knight [iCE_Tr]Maximum Overkill - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Distro Site -
Bodily Harm - XXX.XXX.XXXX - Member Site - FusioN <ACiD>

Special thanks to

Scofflaw, The Drow, Cavalier, HOOPTiE, Excalibur.

Greets to

Jabberwocky and Israfel (will miss you guys!), HOOPTiE, R. Noble (I thought you were an equal opurtunist :-) ), The Drow (enjoy the vacation?!), Tempus (at least I can get your attention here!), Glenn Danzig (where the fuck did you go?)... and last, but not least.. STiLE (bye).

Notes to

Spelljammer (I left your board out, no one could get on -- get the name -- Some info was lost, etc.. Sorry.) -- Iridium Credits -- Compiled on 08/2X/93 -- by Raistlin Majere [iCE] --

P.S. - If I left ANYONE out, PLEASE let me know.. and SORRY (ahead of time.. 'cuz I know I must have..)...

'The Lack of STiLE'

Well, with the recent rush of people leaving the scene, it seems only appropriate that it should continue. In this recent rush, it appears we have lost another great artist.

STiLE, former Vice-President at iCE Advertisements(tm), has left us. His reasons for leaving are the usual these days: Taking up too much time, no longer fun, too much pressure, etc.. STiLE was a loved and hated man (though it seemed more of a hated man), but when it all comes down to it, the art scene has lost an amazing artist, and personality.

When Midnight Sorrow left, and iCE was stuck with a few questions of leadership, STiLE came in as iCE VP. From that time on, STiLE has been a tribute to the scene, and to iCE itself. As the art scene regressed into an incredibly boring situation, STiLE rejuvinated many subjects, brought the iCE/ACiD feud (whether good or bad..) partially back to life on CyberCrime International Network. When Valiant broke up, he was there to pick up the pieces, and bring them to iCE.

Whether you liked STiLE, or hated him, he never gave the scene a boring moment, there was always some controversy, or something to talk about. So what made STiLE leave? Hmmph. Was it really the classic reasons? Some say so, but I doubt it. You see, STiLE had recently removed Altars of Madness as iCE Canadian HQ. Why? Well, he said reasons included the breakdown of AOM's local user base, and the basic breakdown of the board itself - basically naming the board unfit to run as iCE CHQ. Regardless of this opinion of his, AOM is a very popular board, locally, and for long-distance callers. STiLE liked to push his weight around, but it seems to me that with the AOM incident, he pushed a tad to hard, and it came back to haunt him.

Anyway, the conditions of STiLE's leaving are this:

• He has resigned as iCE Vice President.
• Silicon Vortex (STiLE's board, and distro site/home for MANY groups) will cease to exist within the next few weeks, as soon as he is able to sell his modem.
• He will remain an iCE artist, but only produce ansis occasionally.

Now, this brings up many questions...

• Who will be the new iCE Vice-President? (me? :) )
• Who in 416 will overtake all STiLE's affiliations? AOM? Perhaps..
• What will happen to iCE now that it lacks STiLE's initiative?
• What will happen to the scene?

Anyway, back to the story here..

At this time, STiLE is now working w/ ACiD. As mentioned, he will release the occasional article, but does not plan to have any major positions in any groups now -- a result of plain fatigue.

Whether liked, or disliked, STiLE was a tribute to the scene, to iCE, and to art in general. He had a flavor for it, and seemed to have been the only person in the limelight that TRULY cared what was going on. So who takes over? Who will be the next with his zest? Anyone, or will the scene go into a state of devolution, until the next STiLE comes along. We have lost another great artist, personality, and diplomat..... STiLE, we hope you'll reconsider.

Raistlin Majere

[Iridium - Editor˘in˘Chief]

'THE BADDEST MAMMER-JAMMER ALIVE'

By: HOOPTiE [ACiD `93]

A person, Johnny for the sake of this discussion, has traditionally been a hard working individual focused on the achievement of his goals. He did well in School, but didn't receive much recognition being that he was merely a face in a crowd of many; he does well at work, yet he is still young and has achieved personal accomplishment more than anything else. Year after year, Johnny has gotten nothing more that big hugs and warm handshakes for his hard work and dedication.

For the past two years Johnny has dreamed about getting a sports car. He wants something smooth, low to the ground, and that hauls ass on the road way. After denying himself any real social life in an effort to save for that car, he finally has found one: A 1978 cherry-red Corvette with the 454 big block, quarter-mile cam, and nitrous tank in the rear. This is one MONSTEROUS piece of machinery.

After finding this this little beauty, do you think Johnny has an additude? Do you think he deserves to have one? Think about it now; he has worked long and hard for this; do you think it is allowable for him to be recognized for his efforts? Sure he does, just as every artist, coder, cracker, and courier does.

Being inducted into ACiD or iCE is one of the most prestigious things that the artist can do. In the art world, an affiliation with one of those groups is literally Johnny's cherry-red Corvette. It is something to take pride in; something to be proud of; and, that artist has every right to be a bit cocky at times.

Take ACiD's and iCE's member list and total the members. You get approximately 150 people. Now, allow another 150 for the other budding young artist groups out there; and, allow possibly 200 artists from groups based in WWiV and other nets. So for the sake of this arguement, there are about 700 artists that we are dealing with. Now compare that to the number of normal users out there. Who know how many there are in the U.S. and Canada alone. That's pretty elite.

The same goes for the coders, couriers, and crackers in the bbs community. Couriers must smoke bad chiba or something. They learn the intracacies of weaving a call through PBX lines to bring boards the latest warez. They risk their ass on a daily basis for what, $25 a month? They are allowed to have an additude because of the riskiness of work they do.

Crackers are the intelligencia of the community. They learn assembly and some tricks with Soft-Ice and figure out how to bypass software company's copy protection schemes. Without them, we would all be paying cash out the ass to get these games and utilities. They are allowed to have an attitude from time to time because of the job which they do.

Coders spend endless hours in front of their terminals working in conjuction with a VGA artist and a .MOD composer to create a single loader. The don't get any wide spread recognition and do ALOT of work. They are allowed to get cocky and blow off some of their programming frustration from time to time because of all hard work they do.

Finally, the artist. We get constant requests for logon screens, stat screens, menu sets, and to make a board visually stunning. There is only one difference between the artist and the other three kinds of people: you can't read a manual or a .DOC file about how to draw a picture. While it is true that a little talent is required to be successful in any venture, artistry is primarily all talent. There are no tutorials, only LIMITED classes in school or college (none of which deal with computer art), and no real set of rules to follow. ANSi Artists have the right to have an attitude because they are required to transform 256 characters and 16 colors into something that will satisfy the viewer's visual palette.

Don't get me wrong; I am not saying that any 'profession' is better than any other. I am just pointing out that when you are good at something, you want to, at least, be duely recognised for it.

Being accused of having an additude is most wide spread among artists. In an attempt to be widely recognised and popular, they tend to accept commissions from larger boards that already have a large user base, or do work for groups that already have established a prestigious foothold. As a result, they must dismiss a great deal of smaller, usually local boards that request artwork. Whether its jealousy, envy, or mere spite, the sysop determines that his board is just not good enough for the artist to take time for the board; so obviously, the artist has an additude, is stuck up, or whatever.

I know from personal experience that this happens. I started doing a little artwork for a friend and the Sysop from *THE* (then) 'Elite' board in El Paso commented on it. I got on and said that I would help out with the ansi's on his board. After I did a few, I nonchalantly poster the ads in CCi NET. Then I put my board up, ToTaL GRiNDAGE (The Terra Dome at that time), and called Infinite Darkness to try to get CCi. To my surprise, I was invited into iCE by Midnight Sorrow.

While all this was happening, I stopped doing ansi's for Tortured X-istence (the local board). My attention moved from his requests to my own board. All of a sudden, a great deal of rivalry came between the two boards. While ToTaL GRiNDAGE was growing in both affiliations and users every day, his board moved no where. At that time, he promised his 11 local elite users (11 including myself and the sysop) the the board was going to be a Malice Site, have Felony NET, etc; however, it was all a bunch of talk.

Once he felt that he had been 'beaten' in the little competition, it was decided that I had an additude, that I got lucky to get into iCE and ACiD, and that I lucked out getting the distro sites that I did. The last straw was when I didn't let the self-proclaimed elite locals on the board. The Immortal, Wire Fashion, and Mister Sinister simply could not stand that they got black listed from my board. In an attempt to save face, The Immortal deleted my CoSysop, MirrorShroud, myself, and five other local users which left his user base with FOUR users including himself.

Once friends, we now are just a bit less than cordial toward each other. What started all of this? An Additude?? It is a sad state of affairs when jealously and envy overcome someone to the point where it possesses them?

˘ M/¥X - Masters of the Art Experience ˘

History in Review

Notes from the Author: I felt I had to write this article to let more people find out about M/¥X. With the group's many distribution sites and artists I felt that M/¥X wasn't getting the recognition it deserved. I hope this article encourages all beginning artists to come look at M/¥X and consider the thought of being in an art group with total freedom. In the group nobody tells you what to do (art wise) and you are free to experiment with all aspects of computer related artwork as you wish (as long as you get SOMETHING into the pack...) Special thanks to Snow Dog in 602 for providing the info needed to write this.

' Art Before Ego '

Max Productions has a humble beginning as far as forming a group goes. The founder and president, Slinger, saw other groups (not mentioning any names) and thought it was possible to have a group that produced quality art, like the other groups, but also without the ego that the other groups seemed to possess. Thus, Max was formed to produce quality artists, by taking beginners under their wing and helping them develop the needed skills and techniques to be a good artist.

The group started out as a joke in 602 as Slinger just began drawing ansi out of the blue and signed 'MaX' next to his name. All the locals sighed saying 'Oh boy....another new group...' but unbeknownst to them, Max was the beggining of a whole new generation of computer artists. Snow Dog, Max's leading ansi artist, saw the new group and decided to hook up with it for less competition on his part. Max was now a grand total of two members. Slinger and Snow Dog began drawing ansis for local boards and were sighted by Vladimir, who wanted to hook up with Max to help get the group known throughout 602 and other area codes. For the first three months of the group's existance, Max consisted of just those three members, and nobody else. As word about Max began getting out, more and more people were intrigued about the groups code of honor, so to speak, of art before ego, the few people that joined also liked the privilege of pure freedom and how the group didn't try to control you, all was needed was SOMETHING submitted by you in the pack. If you were an ansi drawer, you could put a Mod into the pack if you wanted. It didnt matter what you signed up onto the group as, you could make anything you wanted. As Max grew, the group realized the potential of their VGA artists. With such quality artists like Slinger (who also did VGA professionally) and others, Max opened a new chapter in it's art department. With it's own sound department and original coders, Max began producing VGA loaders that could compare to even the likes of the other groups' work.

As Max grew, the feel for a sudden boost of art had led to a possible merger with a group called MiNDLESS. MiNDLESS was a local Houston, TX group that had little or no long distance support at the time of the merger. Fortunately, the merger fell through, on MiNDLESS's belief that they would keep the MiNDLESS name if the merger were to happen. From then on, Max ruled out that in a merger, the Max name would be kept.

Max, like every other group out there, has had it's darker moments such as the MiNDLESS incident, but none were as disturbing as the VoD merger. VoD - a group that I saw nowhere else but on WWIVNet (hahahahahaha) somehow got ahold of Vladimir and convinced him into a merger. The VoD president, Quasar (NOT the Quazar of iCE - who i might add is a cool guy :) became the Max ansi president and was screwing half the group over, while his side of Max which was mainly newly acquired VoD artists, were being let in left and right. Quasar thought it was ok to let his personal WWIVNet buddies, like Azarel and other PD lamers that I saw nowhere else but WWIVNet, into the group without going through trial status, when the artists he was letting in were poor quality and didn't have any art even in the VoD pack!! At the time of the merger, Max's policy was that you could not charge for artwork of any kind (this policy has since been changed) and Quasar knew of this policy. Quasar, when confronted by Snow Dog, lied to him about charging and couldn't tell the truth for some strange reason. It's not like Snow Dog would've CARED if Quasar was charging, SD just wanted to know what was going on. Quasar also got blacklisted off of CCi, which might have added to Max's unpopularity but after that happened Snow Dog got fed up and Quasar quit Max and was simultaneously kicked out of the group. Quasar has since hooked up with TRiBE and I hope him the best of luck in the future. I just hope he dosent try to pull off the stunts he did with Max to TRiBE. The VoD merger wasn't entirely unsuccessful. Max did acquire some extremely talented artists. Deathlok and the Depradator and some others...but the things that happened with Quasar were a shame, because Quasar was (and still is) a great ansi artist.

Max's dark moments have passed now, I'm hoping for less of them in the future. Max always been, and always will be pursuing a higher level of artistic excellence. Make way for M/¥X... the new generation of ansi, vga sound and coding - Art before ego gentlemen.

Glenn Danzig

- M/¥X '93 -

The Resurrection of LTD

˘ By: No Carrier [LTD] ˘

Well, when Raistlin told me my article had to deal with the art scene, I wasn't really sure what I was going to write about. But, things have a way of working themselves out, and this is one of those times.

I'm sure the seasoned BBSers still in the scene can remember when LTD was one of the biggest ANSi groups around, and all the top artists were in the group. Then you start seeing old members of LTD in other groups, some groups merge with others, leadership getting lost along the way, and then you realize, LTD was no more. I myself had just come into the scene when FusioN had joined LTD, and was pretty ignorant about ANSi at the time so, I just admired their work from afar, and didn't really follow everything that happened with them. So I can't tell you what happened to disband the group, for that you'll have to ask one of the old members. But LTD wasn't just another ANSi group that pops up one day, gets some instant popularity and then dies off before you know it. LTD built a foundation, and seeing it go was a real shame.

Well, I stayed in touch with a few members of LTD casually. In the meantime, I had put up a board, run it for three years, and finally took it down, leaving me entirely too much time on my hands. One of my old remotes, Hawk, came up with an idea which could make me money, keep me busy, and do what I do best. Modify BBS's to the extreme. We tossed a few group names around, and couldn't find anything good. We wanted to use LTD (Licensed To Design), but figured it was too close to the LTD ANSi group (Licensed To Draw). Hawk, being a member on Wasted Youth (Cool T's board), told him of our intentions, and he said we could do whatever we wanted since LTD hadn't been around in quite awhile. Cool T, once an LTD artist himself, then was in iCE. So we did just that, we made up LTD ,did some local advertising, and I did whatever sysops needed done, for a nice reasonable price. It was a good idea, and I made quite a nice sum of money, but there's only so many boards in the area, so I decided to spread out. I posted about my group on UltraTech/TSAN, but didn't get much of a response from anyone, except for ANSi requests, which I do for free. When I posted a few of these screens, people saw the 'No C/¥rrier [LTD]', and actually a few of the old LTD members replied, asking if the old LTD was still around, and how to get back in.

So, seeing there still was an interest, I decided to make LTD an ANSi group once again, but not the run-of-the-mill ANSi group. I didn't know how I intended to accomplish this, but it was my goal anyway. I have a good number of artists now for the group, from all over the country. We intend to put out a pack of our best works hopefully in the next month, including ANSi, VGA, VGANSi, and some MODs. We have alot of different types in our groups, each with their own specialty, whether it be fonts, pictures, animations, VGA, or music. So we intend to use all of our resources to the maximum potential and get this group off the ground, and back on people's minds. You might be saying you haven't seen any of our work, and that's because we're still growing, and have a lack of couriers and such. If all goes well though, United Couriers will possibly be couriering for us very soon, and then we will get some more exposure. I will start posting some stuff on CCiNet, and I am always posting on Ultra Tech & TSAN, so if you want to see our work, check us out on these nets.

If you wish to become an Artist for LTD, or a Distribution Site for us, included in this archive should be an application, LTD'93.APP. Fill it out, and u/l it to DiGiTAL REALiTY, our WHQ. The #'s 609-231-9582. If you can't do this for some reason, you can send them to any of the other HQ boards, and you'll find their info in the next member listing I post. That's about all I can think of for now, so this is the end of the article I guess.. Some LTD Logos and Pics would be much appreciated! And if you have any of the old LTD works, we are looking for them, so contact us and we'll set something up to get ahold of them.. Thanks for the time.. L8r

No C/¥rrier [LTD/Iridium/TSANANSi]

CHAOS CT / Assault

It all started a week or so after the end of school, at Onslaught's party. We rented some old movie we thought would be cool, 'Programmed to Kill', and dug in at about 7pm for some sleep After two movies, three bags of chips, a case of coke, and hours of Street Fighter ][, we got bored. Everyone was kind of fuzzed out, but speech was possible, so what the hell.

We started throwing around ideas for doing poetry for boards, and eventually got some lines together (which we forgot when we woke up). First signs of light, we got our faces glued to Onslaught's mutant 20 monitor. Things were very touch and go, but when the first piece was finished, we knew the future was looking up.

It's a digital field of fire,
A lonely man's desire,
To gain sanctity from the crowd.

His escape is hidden from sight,
In his mind this must be right,
To pull forth the darkened shrowd.

Running away from conspiracy,
Trying to flee hypocracy,
He must be heard, he must be loud.

This is the end .. It sinks in
It's time to realize, he can't win.
Listen to him? His society is too proud.

No need to dodge the enemies' flack,
Having no means to counter-attack,
It's time to enter the OutBack.

[ Onslaught Ì Dreadnought '93 ]

This was the very first piece to come out of CHAOS Creative Texts, though at that time we weren't much of anything. Not bad for a first try at poetry, and I realize this more now than we did then.

At this point I was a distribution site for CHAOS, no less, no more. Hopefully this would catch the eye of Wolverine, the Outback's SysOp. Sure enough, it did. The next day I worked on the first short fiction, which is now one of the groups mainstays.

As the elven warrior leaps behind the bushes, he realizes his loosely tied raiding party is being pushed back at the front. He summons the rogue tracker to find an escape route. As the two scan over maps of the dark forest, arrows crack through the air and strike the tracker full force. Knowing he is outarmed by far, the elven warrior takes to a confused run into the forest. Taking one glimpse back, he sees his last two ogres fall to the advancing knights. Running as he has never ran before, the elven warrior knows he is on his turf now. But he can only go so far before the advancing army cuts off all means of escape. Stepping out into a clearing he sees a door suspended in midair. With his acute hearing, he can almost feel the columns of troops closing in on his position. All the tribes had been warned about the door, but he has no choice. This warrior knows what he must do.

He must enter the Outback.

Dreadnought '93

There it is, the first short fiction from CHAOS CT. Not bad in itself either, though the ending could have used some work.

After this, we had CHAOS interested in what we were doing. I did a few more pieces, and they said I was in the group as the first poet. Cool deal! Then Onslaught got some more work together, and he was accepted as well. Things went smooth for a month or so, but we knew we needed more control, and more man power to open things up to compete with the rest of the scene. CHAOS granted us that power, and I started up CHAOS Creative Texts.

Creeping Death does by FAR the best D&D, fantasy, and horror fiction I have ever seen, anywhere. Amadeus is a professional musician/composer, and does free verse poetry. Octupussy hails from the great land of Australia.

Anyone can see we have a varied membership, so new ideas are quick to come up. At present we are extremely productive, with an average of 1-2 new pieces a day, and 60+ in a few weeks. Some people may say you can't be that productive and put out quality, we say we can. It's an open invitation, anyone is welcome to look at our work.

---------

Since completing the above portion of this article, we've gone through yet more changes. After we started the lit division, there was increasing interest to allow artists under our wing. Many of them local, and weren't willing to make calls down to Florida. Some of the artists that we had (that happened to be in the lit group) also wanted more control over what they did.

After all was said and done, a new group under the name Assault emerged. We are now a full blown lit/art/coding/composing group, and we have the people and tools to succeed. A few things that Assault is doing differently:

• Eliminating long chains of command. Red tape is never good, and power trips often get in the way of real work. Assault will have department heads, and department members. No less, no more.
• Better lines of communication. Our official support network is UCA, courtesy of Section 8. Wherever our members are located, we'll start up Headquarters to carry UCA and keep people in touch. We can also communicate via the Internet,and other networks that will carry our bases.
• Joint projects. Assault is looking forward to working with other groups. We're improving the quality of the art scene, by placing some of the most talented writers and artists under a single flag. We will work with other groups on joint projects however, as we can help them, and they'll be able to help us. We have no need to be in competition with groups our own size. Currently, we'll be working with CHAOS and MaX.
• Losing quotas. IMHO, a very bad idea. I feel restrictions kill creativity. Assault has strong members that put out strong work. We have no need to push them. Assault work will be quality work.
• A very flexible design. At this point, members can bring up ideas with Black Knight and I, and we can work things into the group.

Our current memberlist follows, but will be drastically modified over the next couple weeks.

Assault '93 - Memberlist for 08/16/93

• Dreadnought - Lit Department coordinator, Head Hunter
• Black Knight - Art Department coordinator

Lit Department

• Creeping Death - VGA, Fiction
• Amadeus - Poetry
• Mindriot - Fiction
• Stealth - Poetry / Coder
• Lizard - Poetry / Fiction
• Morat the Black - Poetry
• Corwin of Amber - Poetry
• Bullfrog - Poetry / ANSi artist
• Octopussy (From the great land of Australia!) - Poetry
• Digital Dictator - Poetry
• Sonny - Poetry
• Skullcrusher - VGA, Poetry

Art Department

• Black Knight - ANSi
• Color Blind - ANSi
• Crypt Keeper - ANSi
• Number Cruncher - ANSi
• LiQUiD - ANSi
• Sir Psycho Sexy - ANSi
• Jesa - ANSi

Coders

• Khan
• Stealth
• Number Cruncher

Courier(s)

• Maxx
• Aftershock

Special Members - Draeden from VLA - The viewer will kick ass!

Terminal Entry from Paradox

Section 8 from iCE - UCAnet! ;)

  .-----------------------------------------------. 
 ;     Assault '93 - Time to watch your back!      ; 
  '-----------------------------------------------'

Assault is a new group, but you can see from our member list we're by no means starting from scratch. If your interested in the group, get in touch with either Black Knight or myself. Everything is still in the planning stages, but our first few projects will be out within days.

You can reach my system (Psychosis) at (508) 829.9550. The NUP is LAMER_DIE! .. Make sure to state your intent in the feedback. The ideal method to get in touch with the group is obviously Internet, but I realize this is not available to most people. (Even in the underground. ;) )

Be on the lookout for Assault, we're on the move.

Dreadnought [Assault / Iridium]

spencer@interlan.interlan.com

The *ART* Scene as Quazar sees it...

Well hello everyone I am not sure if you have heard about me, I assume most of you have. Well I do Logo work <or should I say did?>, I am now swaying towards doing pictures and slowly easing away from the 'easy out' of being a font artist.. Anyways, my section of Iridium will basically consist of me talking about the general Art scene.. I'll try to sum up the groups in a paragraph or two..

ACiD: Welp, seems that ACiD is still releasing, and still keeping their head's above the water <as well with everyone>.. But I see a small problem. I talk with lots of people in the ANSi/Wares scene, and the opinion everyone seems to dish out to me is that ACiD has not gotten better, but the competing groups have actually gone downhill. Since the splitup of QUiCk SiLVER's group Valiant some 1-2 months ago has offered iCE and ACiD as well as the other groups out there a fine selection of ANSi and VGA artists.. ACiD managed to grab Icy in the carving as well as a few others in which I cannot remember who :).. But I see ACiD staying with the art scene for a while now..

iCE: <grin> I suppose I am going to be bias towards all groups I will list towards iCE <I'll try and be fair..> heh.. Anyhow, iCE is probably the largest ANSi/Art group around. iCE managed to grab LiQUiD iMAGE, Lord Carnuss, Elminster, and a few others from the Valiant breakup.. Hmm, there are a few artists still not producing a whole hell of a lot, like Marshal Law <geez! give the guy a break, hes the god of ANSi.:) > but it'd be nice to see a little more production outta him.. Tempus has also declined in production, maybe he just has no time <like me> or just ran outta ideas!?! So that about summs it up for iCE..

TRiBE: TRiBE is a group that is on the run for 1st place, and doesn't care how they will get there, but they seem to have massive amounts of determination.. With Leper Messiah's jump from ACiD to TRiBE last month should make TRiBE a stronger group, that is if Lep can keep a good production level.. Shihear is still producing, and the quality of his work has definatly skyrocketed since the 1st of the year, with his release of The Spawning Ground ANSi during his time in iCE, to Stay of Execution while in TRiBE.. Quasar <my namesake :) > has come back with a strong ANSi for a month opener. Be on the lookout for Quasar in the future.. Dreamevil is still producing and getting ever soo better, as well as LogaN with his god-like skill of making ANSimation seem life-like in the cartoon world.. So TRiBE is definitely gonna be a group for the future..

NEMESiS: Welp, I cant say a whole lot.. They are just starting out again, with Morbid Angel in the captain's seat.. Maybe Morbid can make things happen (again).. Only time will tell.. Hannibal Lectar has recently joined NEMESiS after leaving ACiD, due to a lack of communication between the members. .. But it seems that quite possibly NEMESiS is going to be a strong group when they can get ahold of some good members and strengthen their Senior Staff.. Maybe in a few months we'll hear good things about NEMESiS, but for now the group is still young and still small..

VALiANT: <croak>

Rumors: Well off the record, I heard these rumors basically through the grapevine.. And as Digital Fuhrer has said, the Grapevine is seldom true, but I always take the new word into hand.. STiLE suposedly left iCE and hauled ass to ACiD.. Icy suposidly <in 1 day folks> left ACiD, joined iCE, went to NEMESiS, and back to ACiD.. Digital Fuhrer supposedly dumped ACiD due to ACiD not having a very honest group, and from all the dickovers, he decided to dump the 'ACiD Georgia Outpost' position in which egghead claims he never had in the 1st place, but RaD Man is the one who assigned the position.. So The CyberReich is no longer an ACiD Outpost.. Hmm, that seems to be about it besides all the controversey between people leaving, and joining other groups.

This is Quazar [iCE Productions] signing off.. :)

PRiMAL ENERGY [ACiD]

'Gee, the guy draws like Tempus Thales!'

An Editorial by Cavalier [iCE]

I'm giggling.

No, strike that, I'm laughing.

No, better yet, I'm on the floor drooling because I'm laughing too much.

If you're not, then you haven't seen PE-DSOC1.ANS. Please check ACDU0893.XXX where XXX being determined on whether or not it passed through some ARJ enthusiast.

I'll wait till you get it.

What? Still not laughing? Hummmmm... Ok. Go back in the iCEPACKs, September '92 or ICEPK-09.ZIP. Pull out TT-TA2.ICE, I'll wait.

Ah, there you go. Laugh away, thanks for reading this!

If you're not laughing by now, you either don't have the proper files in question or were easily persuaded that that piece of work by Primal Energy was original [you could be immensely stupid, but this is a nice editorial]. If you still don't know what's going on, here's the story:

These two ansis mainly revolve around the picture of Pitt, one of modern comic's more.. aggressive characters (Go buy stock in Image! yip!) Tempus Thales made his back in September of 1992, Primal Energy's 'made' this past month. Now, sit back, because I'm going to teach you how to draw ansi just like Primal Energy!

: LESSON BEGINS

Go into TheDraw and load TT-TA2.ICE. Now this picture has to look differ- ent so let's start with the basics. White background? I don't THINK so! Remove all the white background [careful not to remove anything on pitt himself, that comes later] so you now have pitt on a black background. Better get rid of those leaves too, they give it away. Hmmm, now what can we do to the picture you ask? Well, gollly, *I* know! Let's remove the highlights from mr. pitt himself! First, go to the hair, see those parts where it has bright highlights? the white and grey? Yep, those, change those to dark grey [or 'Bright black' for you avid optimists]. Hmm, light on Pitts muscles? Too easily identified, make his whole skin color just one color. After you've finished removing those yellow highlights, lets try and take away more of the shading. I KNOW! Remove the bottom half of his arm that's on the bottom [you know where most of the lower half of it is dark?] Yeah! Of course, the arm doesn't look proportional anymore, but who cares? It looks different! You know, for a finishing touch, you COULD go to his hand (on the forementioned arm)..see that claw that was curved? STRAIGHTEN it [be sure not to use proper shading, you might be called an ansi artist if you did]! What? What's that you say? Can't draw any group logo fonts or a font for the board you're making the ansi? No PROBLEM! You're in the group now, just cut and paste an ACiD logo from another artist [hm, I hear Cardiac Arrest is good!] and a board logo from another artist [hm, here's one from Hannibal Lecter! Look it's even in the pack!] Just use the stats from the board logo too, since you have no artistic ability whatsoever to come up with something original.

: LESSON ENDS

CONGRATULATIONS! You now have your very own ACiD ansi! Please call Sharp to let him know you're awesome art skills, heck, he'll agree with you that since the pitt can 'only be drawn in one perspective' your ansi can in no way be a bite! We all know that ACiD doesn't copy, they create! Right? Right?

[voice fadeaway to hysterical laughter]

What it all boils down to is this new guy, calling himself Primal Energy, once accepted into ACiD under his earlier works from EViL, decided to out-do himself and what it came down to was ripping a Tempus Thales ansi. Now, everyone agrees that ripping an ansi is the lamest thing you can do in this scene, but to rip it and DENY it? Let alone due to his persuasiveness [God, i HOPE it's only because of that!] it was accepted and PUT IN THE ACID PACK!

If you are still not sure about the ansi rip, there is a GIF floating around made with some VGANSI offbreed that puts them right next to each other and thus makes the rip clearly obvious. Look around for it, and get yourself a good laugh.

I hear PE wrote some kind of explanation file, saying he drew it, all the power to 'em, it's up to you to decide who's real and who's lame.

[bah, bad closer, hey, it's late]

**-- NOTE FROM RAISTLIN [˘Iridium˘Editor˘in˘Chief˘] --**

For FURTHER comparison's on this subject -- please call Sanctuary, or the Shadowlands (Sanctuary: 305-792-8771, Shadowlands: 609-256-0332) and download the file named ACIDRIP.ZIP - This includes several notes on the subject - and a GIF, SIDE-BY-SIDE comparison of the two ansis.

This should be my first 'Published' article since... well, EVER! I've never cared much for this sort of thing and managed to keep myself out of it until now. I've got the odd feeling this opportunity to address the entire art world is SUPPOSED to fuel some sort of fire. For the record (That IS what this is, isn't it?): I don't rag or bash or put people down for things they do in the scene. Far too many people have been confusing reality with What We Do Here In Our Spare Time recently. If you call me on a foolish thing I've done, I'm not going to drive to your house and kill your dog. Nothing We Do Here In Our Spare Time has any effect on our individual realities. A week after you've Quit The Scene, not only will you be replaced by a person doing it better than you, but you'll be forgotten. You may as well have never existed. Please keep this in mind in the coming weeks, we've got a long way to go.

iCE, for as long as I'm a member of the senior staff, will employ a new brand of administration. I believe the Old Way Of Doing Things is dead. A lot of things are dead but still their memory lives on. Why? Because We Fear Change. What if it doesn't work? What if They laugh at us? There are more, of course, but too many 'Theys' gets me a little paranoid and I have to stop writing. :)

For a new administration to work, we're going to need adaptable people who aren't afraid. Many of the brick walls I run into are prefaced by, 'Well, I dunno. Call me back in a week.' This translates from FearSpeak to English as 'I'm scared to death it won't work.' There are many members of iCE that aren't afraid of anything. These guys have balls of steel. These guys are the reason I joined iCE. Unfortunately, many of them are gone now. . .

A file called ICE01-TU.ZIP should be available on your favorite Art Board. If you are interested in the iCE Of Today, please read the brief text. Both my data and voice numbers are included in the text. I say this because I want the potential iCE members to feel that they can call me and discuss a new plan for something, a way to do something better, faster, easier. I'm betting on a long shot here, but if this magazine reaches ANYONE that feels they have been restricted by the confines of a harsh tone to the thought of something new or different or anyone that generally agrees with my view of the world we BBS in, please contact me the quickest way you know how. iCE needs you. My number is in that file, feel free to call 24 hours a day, we'll talk.

The Untimed [iCE]

Bah. Another Article. As much as the thought was tempting, another 'the scene sucks now! It was so much better (X) ago!' didn't seem right at the time of this writing, nor did '[group] sux, [other group] is better,'and here's [bragl why', so I decided on something with a purpose.

Consider it anything from 'a call for heros' to 'IRIDIUM ISSUE #1 WANT AD SECTION', I'll consider it the former. If you're currently 'employed' in a group and more than happy to stay in it, congratulations, you need read no longer. If you want to have nothing to do with iCE Advertisements, one of the longest and strongest art groups in the world as we know it, your loss, and you need read no longer.
Long ago, there were numerous people in the scene who came to be known as 'communication' people. These people, through certain phun methods, helped kept groups together, motivated, and many other things, all with the simple task of keeping communication. They were popular, served a great purpose, and were always looked upon most respectively (exception being the 'Enemy' group :) ). Times changed, and something terrible happened.. these people vanished. Sure, you may find one some- where somehow, but they're just not around anymore, case in point being the east coast. In modern times, communication experts are in extreme demand. ACiD guys are giggling right now, Shihear's giggling right now (wait, that's not a good example, Shihear's always giggling at something I say just because he's the dumbass we all know and love(?) as Shihear Kallizad), because they have these individuals in extreme plethora [throwing in a big SAT word like that can get you far in many parts of life, try it, works every time]. I've tried hard to find where these people have gone, but haven't made much progress. That's why I'm making this call, a call for heros.
iCE Advertisements is currently putting together a 'Communication Staff' for all purposes needed by communication experts. It goes without saying that we won't take simply anyone, this is iCE. 'The best of the best' is not a suave saying, but a motto we live and strive by. If you feel you have what it takes to help serve us with the right skills, now is your chance to become part of the largest and strongest art group currently in the scene today. For more information, try contacting myself, Cavalier, on the nets or if all else fails call me at (305)947-4307, my name is Jason. If you have no luck at all contacting me, try your nearest iCE member. There are many things to be done, many projects to be completed, and money to be made. Consider yourself, consider iCE.

Cavalier [iCE/CCi]
The following is a captured message, posted by Quazar, on CyberCrime International Network -- concerning his leaving iCE. (Note to Quazar: Yep, we did capture it! :) )

08-17-93 2:09am EST

Well, I am making this announcement to everyone that I am officially quitting iCE.. So as of *NOW*, I am just going to be independent.. Just a note to everyone in iCE, I am not leaving because I feel uncomfortable, or feel neglected in iCE.. I just feel like moving forward.. I am beginning to draw pictures and leave the font shit behind me.. Making me less of a use to the group since there are like 20+ artists.. I don't want to make anyone mad or disappointed that I am leaving, since I have done a lot for the group and you all have got all the use you possibly could out of me.. I was called by NEMESiS and was asked and asked to come, but I just kinda put it a side until I feel comfortable.. Tempus, I don't expect to keep the Distribution Site you and the Senior Staff gave me for all the work I did for iCE.. But if you decide to let me have it, I have no problems with that.. Hell, I might even come back to iCE if I don't find what I am looking for.. Maybe iCE has all the things an ANSi artist could ever dream of.. I am not leaving because of some lame excuse like 'Man, iCE has a lack of communication, BAH!!', or 'Why cant iCE have at least a teleconference or two???' or some lousey excuse like that. Like I said, its nothing personal against anyone in the group, I just feel kinda outta place now with the mass amounts of artists and due to the fact that I don't feel like continuing my reign in font work.. Cavalier, just don't pull that rag shit like you all did on Leper Messiah, this is not that big of a deal..

Hey, I am in TRACE! We can still be friends.. <grin>.. But anyhow I am just going freelance for a little while..

To any groups wish to recruit me, I am asking a few things.. Dont call me voice begging or anything, if you wish to get in contact with me, and get a fast response the best thing is to call my BBS.. I'll post it at the end of the text file.. I don't really plan on going to ACiD since they are pretty much a west coast group.. Bah, maybe I ought to make my own group!! Yeah that's the ticket.. <shrug>.. I doubt it would work out.. But anyway to any group that calls me voice disqualification will be the result.. Sounds lame, but there are lamers who would call an artist voice and bug the shit out of them just to join thier group.. iCE, I hope this doesn't cause a major hole in the group.. I basically started drawing to help you all out when Valiant came and swept up your best artists.. Thats really the only reason.. And I have to give Shihear all of the credit because he is the one who got me started in drawing ANSi in the 1st place.Anyhow.. I am going to summ it up here so you all can go on to the next message, or just get outta your text editor, if this actually was captured and spread as a file or something..

Thanks iCE, it was the best 6 months I have ever had.. I learned alot, and had shitloads of fun.. Keep up the kickass work.. I am rooting for you all the way.. Seriously..
STiLE: Bah, I don't do logos anymore.. Compete with Hannibal Lectar.. :) HL: Compete with STiLE.. Your getting awesome bud.. <g> TT: No hard feelings?
Cav: YO!!!! Keep it cool between us. Like I said to TT. No hard feelings.
Sk: Hey, maybe I'll just join TRiBE!!
Morbid: Or how about NEMESiS!!
Scofflaw: yeah NEMESiS!!
RaD Man: Or how about ACiD.. jesus, what a selection.. Anyways, lateron folks.. Quazar [Independent!] The Spawning Ground
(404)475-0442

CyberCrime international

KindaImportantSortaInformativeArticle

Hey there, Cavalier here. I'd rather not beat around the bush with this, so I'm going to get straight to the point. Lot of people out there are wondering what's going on with CCi, whether it's dying, whether Chronicnet is going to take its place, or just wondering why their board isn't getting its art messages from the damn net. It's been a good long time since Midnight Sorrow quit the scene, and I've been trying feverishly to get hooked back up with the net in some shape or form. I've had to cross computer platforms, spend huge amounts of money trying to keep contact with sysops and other items [like, um, a new computer]. It's been a long and severely draining couple of weeks [ack, try two months] in both physical and emotional resources. By the time you read this, I should be back on the net. While I will not resume being the world hub [for fear of regionals taking weaponry and aiming it at this person] I will be making DRASTIC administrative changes to the net.

So, how does this effect me?

Welp, CyberCrime is coming back in a force you've never seen the likes of before. No more of this quantity 'CYBERCRIME 300+ NODEZ!#%' bullshit, we're going for straight quality here. If you're an art affiliated board, and can support CyberCrime, you better get on the net pronto. No more PD systems and just additional numbers, CCi will become once again *THE* place for groups, artists, and the 'crowd'. If you're listing the net as one of your affiliations currently, and are not currently active on the net, prepare for a surprise. Any CCi node that is not active by the end of August [or earlier, depending on your current situation] can consider themselves dropped from the net completely. Let me say that again, if you are not active in the net soon, you will be DELETED from the nodelist and all other files.

CyberCrime is an iCE net!@#^)(*!

Bullshit. Maybe you had a problem with Midnight Sorrow, maybe you just listened to rumors like that, maybe you wanted to believe it, too bad. I want any and EVERY quality art system in the net that can support it. If you're in Mirage, ACiD, Nemesis, kRADGRouP, and you run a good system, I want you in the net. ACiD seems to have this large problem with the net, I hope this will leave the way Mitch left the scene, because I want EVERYONE back together on this net. Yes, for the record I *AM* in iCE, but this has nothing to do with CCi. If I find that I will get many more active systems if I'm not in iCE, then I'll leave the group. I'm THAT serious about this net, I don't want it to be considered 'The Fidonet of the elite world!', I want it to be considered THE net of the elite world.

So, how do I get in touch with CyberCrime?

Until further notice [watch the net, grin] Electronic Frontier is still the world hub and application center for CyberCrime. The phone number is 1-816-737-1445, and there is no NUP. If you have anything you need to talk to me about, be you a CCi sysop with a question or just someone who's interested, my phone number is 305-947-4307 and my name's Jason, [you could, of course, try and catch me on the net..:)].

CyberCrime. Just when you thought it was dying(dead)...

--------

[k-rad greets sent out to:

• Net Distortion! Don't worry bud, almost there...
• ALL the CCi regionals! So, where's the party?
• All ACTIVE CCi Sysops... thanks for believing..get ready for the party
• All my friends in CCi and iCE, let alone the scene.

:ot tuo tnes steerg dar-k]

-----------

'Mirage, The Legend Continues ... ' OR 'The World, How it should be ...'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
<> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> N 
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SomeBullshit City, SomeBullshit State, This just in from our star reporter, Bill Shatner, Mirage has just negotiated a joint merger between two ANSI monopolies, iCE(tm) and ACiD Productions(tm), to form the giant comglomerate known to the world as Mirage Graphics Productions Exclusive. This merger combines into what to be the most largest and powerfulest ANSI group ever. Mirage, bringing in their most productive season to date, has agreed to take in the two other groups into their shadow, making the president of this titan group Kaska F. Kaska, which presently is on vacation on Giligan's Island.

What made RaD MaN and the various leaders of iCE be absorbed into Mirage were many events that led to the slow degeneration of each respective group. Marshal Law of iCE released a 5k logo of Force Ten which astounded most of the iCE members causing major disruption, as the ANSI received a -2.5 on behalf of the Iridium ANSI reviewing staff. The ANSI made many believe that iCE was truly on the downhill as their best artist was releasing crap. Tempus Thales then revealed that he was actually Primal Energy, and was on assignment by Force Ten to inflitrate the ranks of ACiD to cause confusion within the group, but Stile, a former iCE member, saw the ANSI Primal Energy did as a duplicate of Tempus' previous ANSI of Pitt, and released his discovery on various nets. This was a major blow to the operation, as it was planned to be this way, but not this early. Due to this, it ruined the plan for a fully coup in ACiD. RaD MaN then talked to Stile over the matter, and could never talk for more then 5 minutes as Stile said he constantly had this mysterious 'board' meetings. It was the staff of Nemesis, later, that discovered Desolate Zombie, a previous Nemesis Member, had actually been Stile, and had tried to cover his old reputation. While all this was happening, Shihear Kallizaad had been heard laughing hysterically over the phone lines.

With all the operation failure of Primal Energy, Tempus Thales felt Force Ten had been a weight for the group, and he was dismissed as a member. This brought Force Ten to reveal that Tempus Thales was actually Cetis. This brought major attention to ACiD, as Cetis has had the reputation of a warthog. In a statement by Tempus Thales, he pronounced the accusations as 'Compeletly and utterly false', and Cetis later also released a text file saying 'Force Ten is just mad! I can't draw worth shit!'. Nobody believed Force Ten's accusation, and he finally realized this, and then went underground, and no one has heard from him since. During this entire fiasco, RaD MaN had been secretly making plans with QuickSilver for a major upheavel in the system of iCE. The plan was to release false ANSIs by The Unforgiven, a previous member of iCE, being of the upmost quality. The ANSIs were released, and The Unforgiven was claiming to be of a group known as XYZ, Xquisite Yellow Zippers. iCE saw the threat as a betrayal of The Unforgiven, but could never reach him. iCE then released a 9.2meg iCEPack of uncompressed GIF files and EXE loaders. They were heavly critizied for the move, and iCE's popularity was slowly on the slide. But ACiD also had problems. RaD MaN was caught shoplifting Chia Pets and then sent to jail for life, as in Mexico, where he was attempting to setup a BBS there, a Chia Pet Felony was punishable by law, the structure of ACiD's staff was in confusion. Members such as Hannibal Lecter, which begged to be returned to ACiD, Hooptie, and Cetis claimed to be the new president and founder.

During these turbelent times, groups such as TRiBE and CHAOS excelled to the top US graphic groups. Mirage saw all this as a major joke, and are rumored to still be laughing, and sat back and watched it all from the front row seats. Shihear Kallizaad saw this as a perfect time to release his world domination proclaimation, stating, 'TRiBE had been a cover for my true dream of taking over the world. First the Computer Industry, and later Washington'. And his major supporter were Cobra, a world-terrorist organization, and the Decepticons, a strange robot race from another planet. With the help of these forces, TRiBE slowly began drawing the most detailed comic pictures ever to be seen. CHAOS on the other hand, had just acquired Icy, and he had basically took over the group. Mirage saw the danger of TRiBE teaming up with Cobra and the Decepticons, and sent letters and called the teams of the Autobots, and G.I.Joe, were G.Washington was already a member. A major war broke out between the group, TRiBE drawing Spawn and Wolverine, and Mirage drawing Captain Planet and Snoopy. Eventually TRiBE was drained of all power and was throughly assimalated by Mirage. Shihear was then made into the Official Janitor of Mirage.

So all these events led to the Mirage take-over. Mirage's ANSIs of KrisKros had brought new respect to the group, and ACiD and iCE had no choice but to bow and heel to Mirage's new found power in drawing pathetic pictures of Waldo, which no one in ACiD or iCE could still find in the ANSIs. On a conference, known as 'The Conference', discussion was made to bring all the ACiD and iCE members into Mirage. The president would then be Kaska F. Kaska, and the senior staff consisting of R.Noble, Ren, and Resinator (These handles had all been known to be used by a mysterious guy named Charles K).

Current news of the group has had the amazing production of a joint ANSimation by RaD MaN and Tempus Thales, and giant loader produced by SharP and Eight Ball. Beez released a 6.2meg ANSI of an Amy Grant centerfold he found in a magazine, 'Former Christian Singers'. Metal Head continues to draw pictures of Garfield hanging from a tree, and produced a 922k ANSimation of his handle. Shihear Kallizaad, after being assimalated, drew a picture of his favorite comic book character, Speed Racer. Also acquired by Mirage in the merger, were two inspiring artists named Beavis and Butthead. They drew 625k ANSIs of a poodle, pruning a tree, and the leading national cold remedy. Hannibal Lecter left the group do to uncontrollable circumstances and now asks for re-entry into Mirage. The Unforgiven re-drew his infamous Void ANSI and re-touched it, and now it is black for a full hour. Stile/Desolate Zombie was never seen again, as Joker of the previous iCE Group, was seen on a roof top with him or the two, whichever. Sonic and Tracer combined to redo an ANSimation of Black Ire, and now Black Ire is truly white (and it's not his race), though he still has not finished downloading that X-Rated GIF. Kaska F. Kaska has left R.Noble/Ren/Resinator/Charles K in charge of the group as he flys to the Bermuda Triangle on vacation (again) and he has banned all drawings of Spawn, and has yet to do an ANSI.

Future news includes the absorption of the Future Crew, a new cracking division releasing the latest negative 0 to 7 month warez, and a phreak hack division capable of calling Antartica for free while on call waiting from an artist in Djibouti, and the later absorption of stomach ACiDs in Force Ten's stomach.

On another note, the staff of Mirage, has still yet to figure out what Ricochet, a former iCE Member, does. - Associated Bullshit

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
SH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! <> NEWSFLASH! 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there you have it folks, what has happened to Mirage, er, Mirage Graphics Productions Exclusive, in the past month. So it's not true, it'd be uh... huh huh... cool ...huh huh ... - R.Noble

The following is a list of recent occurances in the art scene, a simple summary of each -- to keep you up on what's happening!

Cool T, former LTD and MiRAGE Artist.. Is now a former iCE Artist. He has left the seen for approximately one year. The reason -- simple. Cool T left for college, and won't return to the art scene/bbsing until summer break.

Hannibal Lecter, 'everyone's favorite logo maker', has officially left ACiD, and has joined Nemesis. He has already released logos under the Nemesis name, so it is final.
Leper Messiah has also officially left ACiD, but not to Nemesis. No, Leper has left a group for the second time now, and has traveled to Shihear-Land. Yes, Leper Messiah is now a member of TRiBE.

STiLE, Vice-President of iCE Advertisements(tm), has left the scene. Or so, in a matter of words. More specifically, he has resigned as iCE-VP, and Silicon Vortex (his board), will go down in the coming weeks. Now in ACiD, he says he will remain to draw his high quality logos, occasionally.

Scofflaw, Iridium Courier Coordinator, has been promoted to Nemesis Senior Staff. That now brings Nemesis Senior Staff to three members (Doctor Johnny Fever, Morbid Angel, and Scoff).

Two small, but promising art groups have merged together. NAG (Newave Ansi Group, New Jersey -- who brought us Feyd-Rautha, of ACiD) has merged w/ TAG (another small group). The TAG name stuck -- and the two groups feel obviously positive about the merger. Feyd-Rautha <ACiD>, former NAG president, reportedly feels extremely disgusted at the loss of the 'NAG' name.

VindicatioN, perhaps the most talented artist out there on both sides of the road(ANSi -and- VGA) has finally settled down after the Valiant breakup. (It seemed no one knew his wearabouts since the time of the Valiant split). However, VindicatioN is now a member if iCE Advertisements (tm).

CHAOS has lost its literary division -- The members of CHAOS CT (Creative Texts) have left the group for merger purposes. The former CHAOS CT members, and members from BAD and the deceased EVIL have merged to create a new group -- ASSAULT. They appear to have an interesting philosophy. Read Dreadnought's article for more information.

Quazar, iCE Fontist/Logoist for approximately 10 months -- Has left iCE, and is presently a member of TRiBE (more for Shihear). When he joins a group -- we'll let you know. Why did Quazar leave? Well, according to him -- he's tired of doing font/logos only, saying they are 'the easy way out'. Thus, admitting his pictures are not quite the 'iCE Picture Quality' he does not want to lower the quality of the pack (his hairbrained conclusion), so he's left for TRiBE.

Lemming, iCE-Euro Member (former?!?) has reported that he has been kicked out of iCE's Euro Division. He states the reason is his pictures 'weren't good enough'. We don't know the real story yet. More info in the next issue.

'Reviewing Ansis - Disclaimer'

˙ By: Fusion <ACiD> ˙

Ok, it's gonna be hard to start this topic, so I'll just jump right

into it.. First, I personally feel that no one can judge an ansi except for the person that did the work.. Although some are more qualified than others.. :) That's what we tried to take into consideration while reviewing the many works.. I know that my scores and comments are only meant to help artists, and they should take this in no other way.. I must say, that it seems like an easy job, but it's not.. I spent a long time reviewing everyone's work..

Since I've actually used THEDRAW :) , I know how hard it is to come up with certain color schemes along with patterns and designs.. When I went to judge work, I didn't judge one artist against another, or if the ansi wasn't a comic book it sucked.. I judged the artist on their style and to what I believe that ansi ranked to them so far in their ansi life..Although I'm not the best at ansi I do know raw talent and good work when I see it.

I feel an article of this nature had to go along with the reviews of the ansis.. After doing this, I take back a few comments I said about Paradigm, and from my view point I see how hard it was to review and rate, although their method could have been a lot better.. So I ask everyone before they yell at how bad an idea it is, to take a look at what we are trying to do here..

If you feel it is a bad idea, then so be it, but our intensions were not of the bad type.. We want to promote more work, and more quality work.. I know that several artists have come to me, and I've helped them with their style and concepts.. And now I'm trying to do it on a more wider scale.. Although I didn't have the time or room to actually do that with everyone, I would have liked to..

I know that I had a hard time judging work for my board, along with my own work, and previous and/or future artists who have done work for my board.. I tried not to take that into consideration as best as I could, remember that I did not try to hurt people when judging their work..

Overall tho, I feel that ACiD (and no it's not because it's my group, talk to anyone that knows me, and I'm the last one to put my group first) had that best pack, follow by iCE then TRiBE.. For the past several months, if you would have asked me, I would have had iCE first then ACiD.. I know it's Metal Head's first time doing the pack, but all he had to do was unzip it and look at all the dupes, it was just sickening to see such errors from such a big group.. Also, the ansi work in ice was below their normal.. Tempus didn't produce as much, although I can see why, I myself haven't been producing much and current just a font artist.. Also, with the iCE pack, there were no vgas, yet in the stats it totallyed 0k and 23 files.. Weird.. Oh well, everyone needs the experience somewhere, and I know I would make a few with my first pack, it's a lot of work, that's for sure.. Welp, let's just hope to see better from iCE this month, I don't want to be let down again.. They have a lot of great artists under their belt.. Alright, welp, before I get into anymore trouble writing this, I think I should stop while I'm ahead.. I hope that I haven't made too many people mad.. :) oh well.. lates..

-/-Nemesis--

Nemesis. Aren't they dead? Where's the pack? Well folx.. here's the lowdown on what has happened in Nemesis in the past few weeks. Well.. there is my story.. from being a courier to Senior Staff. This article is about the group, not me, so.. we won't talk about that. I meanwho cares about me? :) Anyhow, a lot has happened in this not so productive month of Nemesis.

First of all. I'd like to congratulate Smooth on the birth of his new baby daughter, Krystal. <Excuse the spelling if i'm incorrect :) basically taken up much of his time. Therefore, communication between him and others in the group was very limited. Tho, after many calls to his house and uncounted e-mail left on his board, he finally decided to give me a call to tell me what was up. Looks as if he will have some production even tho the kid was being born. <Maybe she could draw for Nemesis? :) > Well, again.. Good luck to Smooth and the kid!

Next in the list of happenings for our beloved group, was the coming of the homie chicken Hannibal Lecter. Definitely one of the craziest bastards in the scene! His ability to spit out good quality fonts will definitely be a big plus for the group. And the abusiveness of his Anti-Ice and Anti-Acid slogans has inspired Morbid Angel to a new level of obesity, which will most likely keep the others in the group on their toes! He'll absolutely be a riot. <And if I can't control these two you better believe rag wars are going to be started in the scene (As if there aren't enough with Zee anyways!) >

Another lovely thing is the coming of Kingpin as our new VGA president. Thanks to strong ties in Pentagram <Definitely one of the upcoming forces in the warez scene! ;) > he has found a home in Nemesis to do his art. He is a man full of ideas.. and will definitely produce. And that's only if he keeps himself from writing anymore t-files that will land him in jail! He is another strong addition to the group, and that's something we all welcome.

Now, i'm going to have to take the time to write about our Courier Coordinator. Hmm.. what do they do, they call couriers.. and tell them where to take our art, right? Well.. this one doesn't. I must say, our C.C. has to be one of the most hard-working people in the ansi scene. He has help set up the sites with couriers <obviously, it's his fucking job> along with actually keeping in touch with artists. He does more than we ask him <or so i think :) >

and does quite a good job at it too. He is definitely one of the reasons why Nemesis is what it is today. And this person happens to be no other than Dr. Johnny Fever -PTG/NUAA/NEMESIS- My greets go to him.. thanks a lot dude.. you've helped us out a lot! Now, instead of news about people in the group here is some about new sites. With South of Heaven being taken down by Morbid Angel <Don't worry! it'll be back up this winter!> we were in need of a new WHQ. We wanted it to be a board that was already known to many, and has looked at many for the position. Well, we looked and we looked.. and heard about a board called Alpha 2010. We said wow, that's quite a large board <6 lines and 16 gig> and would be beautiful to have.. lucky for us, a friend of Zee's was a friend of Silus. <Silus Guardian being the sysop of Alpha 2010> And we had struck it rich. After a few talks with Silus he had agreed to take the Nemesis WHQ. Phew! Now the biggest order of business for us in the group was done. We have a WHQ again.. now it's just time to get the board ansi's. And time to get things rolling.

We also picked up On the Edge as our new Western HQ with Sea-Tec Astronomy being taken down by Hannibal Lecter. This is another big board.. with a great sysop and all the plus' imaginable. Shit, more ansi's to be done.

:) Oh well.. things are looking up for us on the site listings. A total of about 14 boards. And all are quality. Sounds good to me as well as the others.

There is a lot of other stuff that is going on now. As far as sites are concerned. So until all is official.. i won't say any board is or isn't a site. I don't want to post any false info here! :)

Now, if you are wondering where the pack is <trust me, you aren't the only one> here is the explanation. Due to the overwhelming amount of vacations being taken by members of the group, not enough was done to put together a decent pack. So instead of putting out a lame one. We decided to take this month to restructure the group. Which I may add I think we are doing a good job!

Ok, well.. looks as if everything that's going on that I would tell you about is told. The one thing that prouds me most about our group is the communication. It always seems as if we find the time to be talking to at the least 2 to 3 artists a day, and at times we somehow find the time to talk to artists who aren't in our group ;), but anyhow.. here we are at Nemesis. Growing, slowly but surely.. And if you are in anyway interested in the group leave e-mail to me on any Nemesis HQ board. Preferably Alpha 2010 or The Eutopian Dream. Wish us luck <God knows we'll need it to compete in the ansi scene these days! ;)> Well.. i finally got this god damn article done Chad, are you fucking happy now? :) Later..

Scofflaw [NEMESIS]

The goal of the Iridium reviewers is to be as fair and unbiased as possible (ahemm... para.. nevermind..).. Although we are certain total fairness is IMPOSSIBLE -- this is about as close as you are going to come to it.
Here's some VERY brief info on our reviewers:

• FusioN: Weird Guy.
• Raistlin: Honest Guy.
• Morbid Angel: Nice Guy (Too).
• Cavalier: Honest/Slightly Nasty Guy. :)

Enjoy the reviews. We hope you enjoy reading them, as much as we enjoyed writing them (yeah, right.. Especially the re-typing.. eh, Doug?)

How is 'Iridium's Top Five' selected?

Iridium's Top Five is one of the more unique aspects of the magazine. We try to obtain the BROADEST aspect of opinions to compile the Top Five list.

We asked several artists (named later in this article) to give us their Top Five ansis of the month -- from the iCE, ACiD, and TRiBE Packs. Point values were awarded accordingly. For example:

This is how Joe Shmoe's Top 5 would be evaluated.

 #         Filename              Points 
---      ------------            ------ 
 1       TOPANSI1.ANS              50 
 2       TOPANSI2.ANS              40 
 3       TOPANSI3.ANS              30 
 4       TOPANSI4.ANS              20 
 5       TOPANSI5.ANS              10

A tally of all points rewarded was kept, and once all TOP Five contributors had handed in their lists, the totals were added up -- and the final list was compiled.

Contributors to the Top Five List are:

• FusioN <ACiD>
• Raistlin [iCE]
• HOOPTiE <ACiD>
• Quazar [Former˘iCE]
• Cavalier [iCE]
• Scofflaw [Nemesis]
• R. Noble [MiRAGE]
• Morbid Angel [Nemesis]
• Minor Threat [CHAOS]
• Pyromaniak [CHAOS]
• Wolverine [CHAOS]
• Feyd-Rautha <ACiD>
• Tempus Thales [iCE]

---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-CINTX.iCE  | Cintox (Cool T)                                     | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good overall picture, but a terrible font..         | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Nice idea, no originality... Looks slightly 
               | overshaded.                                         | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Cool picture, but the font needed work.             | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Blah.  I still argue that women can't be done       | 
               | justice in 16 colors by 256 characters.  This looks | 
               | like Cool T does Aada and, well, I share            | 
               | CyberChrist's opinion on that matter. :)            | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-SV.iCE     | Silicon Vortex (Cool T)                             | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good picture, and good use of colors in fonts..     | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Nice picture, short, but good overall style...      | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Nice picture, little too short but well shaded.     | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Gack.  This makes the above look like a 5.0.        | 
               | Picture sucks.                                      | 1.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-TSC.iCE    | The Shadowlands (Cool T)                            | 3.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Wow, cool picutre, and a pretty decent font..       | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| W/ some reshading, and hand work, this would be     | 
               | excellent.                                          | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| The proportions are a little off, but it's my fav   | 
               | of his 3.                                           | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Like the iCE at the beginning, good picture, solid. | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DZ-LE2.iCE    | Lands End (Danzig)                                  | 4.7 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Incredible picture and superb font, good use of text| 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Agreed.. This one is excellent, amazing font..      | 4.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| This guy rocks!  Consistent and amazing work from   | 
               | Danzig!                                             | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Then why not a 5?  Danzig is one o the FEW artists  | 
               | that hold a totally unique style, and it kicks ass. | 
               | Sweet.                                              | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ED-DSTAR.iCE  | Death Star (Eternal Darkness)                       | 3.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Amazing font, but I've seen better pictures from    | 
               | you.                                                | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| This must have been a rush job, very blocky..       | 
               | Needs work.                                         | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| I liked the use of so many colors, plus the awesome | 
               | font!                                               | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Good picture, and an always amazying font from ED.. | 
               | superb..                                            | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ED-HARD.iCE   | Hardline (Eternal Darkness)                         | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Picture was decent, but weak at parts, average font | 
               | for you.                                            | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Nice picture, font was nice, but not original...    | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| I loved the pic, but the font needed work.  Still   | 
               | awesome!                                            | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Yes!  I've been waiting for this since the Phone    | 
               | Henge ad!  ED is the only ansi artist that can do   | 
               | Batman RIGHT.  Great picture, great font, great ansi| 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FI-BE.iCE     | The Body Electric (Forbidden Image)                 | 2.9 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good strong picture, and ok font..                  | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Poorly proportioned/shaded picture.. Nice BODY font | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Great at some parts, weak at others (ie font).      | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Font was ok, liked the opener, Gambit looks sketchy | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FI-SV.iCE     | Silicon Vortex (Forbidden Image)                    | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good picture, and ok font again..                   | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Excellent mech picture, cop-out easy font...        | 
               | Fonts! Work!                                        | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Awesome shading and decent font..                   | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| That mech kicked ass, the font blew though. Wah.    | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FI-TEC.iCE    | The Empire City (Forbidden Image)                   | 3.7 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good close-up picture, and ok font..                | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Yeah, very nice close-up, but another cop-out on    | 
               | the font..                                          | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| More good shading but the font weakens the pic      | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Excellent face, loved the eyes.  Font was allright  | 
               | this time..                                         | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MH-PG.iCE     | The Powergrid (Metal Head)                          | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good cartoon style, quite talented to hold          | 
               | different styles                                    | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Exactly, Fusion, this was a great cartoon.. So      | 
               | why a 3.0?                                          | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Not bad in cartoon, but he's great in realism.      | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Good cartoon, but the M from the top looks toooo    | 
               | much like Tempus' Korova ansi..bah..stuck in my     | 
               | when rating.                                        | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MH-WALL.iCE   | The Wall (Metal Head)                               | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Wow, good realistic picture, good use of shading    | 
               | and color.                                          | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Excellent!  That picture is hard to draw.  Very     | 
               | impressive.                                         | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Nice shading, great proportions.  Overall: Awesome! | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Excellent picture, everything worked.  And a        | 
               | STiLEish logo :)                                    | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RM-HARM.iCE   | Bodily Harm (Raistlin)                              | 3.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Superb picture, original font, but could use        | 
               | touching up..                                       | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Proportion is off, claw looks good, nice font.. :)  | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Proportions a little off, font rocked! Overall nice!| 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| One of the best ansis in the pack.. THIS is what    | 
               | current ads are made of!  Great picture, great font,| 
               | lit, EVERYTHING!                                    | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RM-MAIN.iCE   | Main Stats (Raistlin)                               | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Good small pic, font could use some work..          | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Nice picture, good for a stat screen..              | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Cool stat screen, font kind of small.               | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Bah. Reverse your ratings, Chad. :) This was 'ok'.  | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RM-VORT.iCE   | Silicon Vortex (Raistlin)                           | 3.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Excellent picture, good font, best so far..         | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Decent pic and font.. My best, but next month will  | 
               | beat it..                                           | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Excellent font! Pic was nice but font was awesome!  | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| No, Spawn was your best.  This DieHard's good, the  | 
               | font's good, but your Spawn had that.. magic..to it | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RV-SV.iCE     | Silicon Vortex (Random Violence)                    | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Nice large picture, quite an interested font..      | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE]˘| Excellent close-up, and font second only to Danzig's| 
               | LE!                                                 | 4.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| AMAZING pic, AMAZING font. Best ansi in a long time | 5.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Great font, size of picture lowered quality.. still | 
               | good..                                              | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 S8-EMH.iCE    | Eight Miles High (Section 8)                        | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Cute picture, good use of originality, a little     | 
               | abstract..                                          | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Well, the font's DEFINATELY the best part on this   | 
               | one..                                               | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem]˘| Creative!  Nice pic!                                | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Heh.. real good, but Odie should've been tokin' :)  | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SQ-FK.iCE     | Fort Knox (Squirrel)                                | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| One wild picture and font...                        | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice, original picture. Good work w/colors, love    | 
               | the font!                                           | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice picture, but the font was unique and awesome!  | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE]˘| Wow.. that's all I can say.                         | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SQ-ICA.iCE    | UCANET (Squirrel)                                   | 3.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD> ˘| Average picture & large font.  Seems like something | 
               | is missing.                                         | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice again, but it seems to fall apart going into   | 
               | the font.                                           | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Picture is good but the font was disappointing..    | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | The font was original but killed it with its size.. | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SZ-LOON2.iCE  | Looney Toon Asylum 2 (Skitzo Killer)                | 3.9 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good picture and font, the blood splatter needs help| 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | 2 nice pictures, decent shading.  Font is pathetic. | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | What was the ansi supposed to be? Font needed work. | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Excellent.  SZ shows that Russ isn't the one one who| 
               | can make an excellent face in a small amount of     | 
               | space..                                             | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 TMT-FACE.iCE  | (No Boardname) (The Malevolent Tickster)            | 3.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Great to see this guy back.. His style is incredible| 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | This is a comeback?  You lost something while you   | 
               | were gone..                                         | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | This guy used to rock!  This ansi was decent, but at| 
               | least he's back!                                    | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Childish 'Did Not!' he's back, he's bad, can't wait | 
               | this month..                                        | 4.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 TRW-TBE.iCE   | The Body Electric (The Retarted Warrior)            | 4.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent picture and good use of depth & color in  | 
               | font..                                              | 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Decent pic, average font.. Needs some smoothing out | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Groovy pic and swell font (so my vocabulary is a    | 
               | little outdated :)                                  | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Picture worked great, the font was nothing special. | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 TRWTT-EX.iCE  | Exodus (The Retarted Warrior & TT)                  | 4.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Great picture with you guys together..              | 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | This one is amazing. I'm thoroughly amazed.         | 5.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | This ansi kicked ASS.  Would be a 5.0 if the font   | 
               | was good.                                           | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Best damn ansi the scene's had in a few months!     | 
               | EXCELLENT!                                          | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 VU-US2.iCE    | Underground Syndicate II (Vulcan)                   | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Picture could use a lot of work, good shading tho   | 2.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Cute, but poorly shaded.  Terrible font.. touch this| 
               | up...                                               | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Needs a lot of work. 'specially the font!           | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Loved the font, cute idea too.  A little reshading. | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-AFRO.ICE   | Afro (Cool T)                                       | 2.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good fading, a nice small logo.                     | 2.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice, simple logo.. Looks strangely.                | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | There are enough AFRO's in Chicago already! :)      | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Simple, small, familiar, font.                      | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-IRID.ICE   | Iridium Magazine (Cool T)                           | 1.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Perhaps one of his worst works, altho colors scored.| 1.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Obviously NOT a long time work, this really stunk.  | 1.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | PERHAPS? Definately.                                | 1.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Proving you cannot whip out a logo in 15 minutes.   | 1.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-NAG.ICE    | NAG (Cool T)                                        | 3.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Very good use of a large font and good background.  | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice font, a little boring, but overall a nice font.| 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice, cool idea.                                    | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Nice overall, background, foreground, nice.         | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-UAA.ICE    | UAA (Cool T)                                        | 1.9 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Another nice small logo.                            | 2.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Good idea, nothing fancy, simple -- and just nice.  | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Seen it before.                                     | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Cool T was just itching to get in the pack this time| 1.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-VGANS.ICE  | VGANSi (Cool T)                                     | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Superb small logo.. good blend of font.             | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very nice, something clicks on this one..           | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | I liked this one alot! It just works.               | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Yeah, nice font, but this is a re-release? What?    | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 CT-ZYXEL.ICE  | Zyxel Modems (Cool T)                               | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Decent Zyxel font, and good small flag/fonts..      | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Zyxell? Oh well.. Nice font, flag sucked.           | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Looks like he should be drawing for ZOOM!           | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Hey. Kicks your average PD ansi's ass. (Zyxel)      | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DS-UNI.ICE    | UNISON (Devil's Spawn)                              | 1.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Too simple of a font.                               | 2.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | iCE? Where? This is extremely poor work. I hope you | 
               | get alot better w/ future works.. ALOT better.      | 0.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Not bad. Decent.                                    | 1.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | I did not want this in the pack, sigh.. he's not an | 
               | artist.                                             | 0.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DZ-REG.ICE    | The Regulators (Danzig)                             | 4.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Original lettering, but hard to read at times.      | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Easy to read. Black and white shading is superb.    | 4.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Hard to read, but interesting.. Awesome!            | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | A little hard to read, but excellent. Danzig's own. | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 EL-PSYM1.ICE  | Psychosis Magazine (Elminster)                      | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Great font and good overall member listing.         | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Boring, regurgitated font.                          | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Awesome member list, boring font.                   | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Fine font, fine color scheme, just fine.            | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FI-UD.ICE     | Unexpected Domain (Forbidden Image)                 | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good job with the font and nice shading.            | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Poorly shaded, poorly shaped. Poor font.            | 1.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Really nice font! Even the stats looked good!       | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | The font was the neat part about the logo.. :P      | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RM-PSY1.ICE   | Psychosis Magazine (Raistlin)                       | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent font, like the 'Sticks' idea.             | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice sticks idea, something about this one.. :)     | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Preety cool.. I liked the shading.. ELEET!          | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | 'Psychosis' is excellent.. But magazine is JEDish.. | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 RM-TRAG1.ICE  | Tragedy Magazine (Raistlin)                         | 3.2 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good overlapping, nice overall font.                | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Small, pleasant font, suiting for a magazine.       | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Would be awesome if I could read it.                | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | There. Nice font, original 'Magazine' font. :)      | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SQ-SAOO.ICE   | Silicon Aluminum (Squirrel)                         | 3.2 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Knock out shading w/ the font.                      | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | This is just plain ugly.                            | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | That shading wasn't that bad guys!                  | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | That 'S' was nice.. The colors brought it down tho. | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SQ-VILE.ICE   | Vile Couriers (Squirrel)                            | 3.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Sloppy overall logo... I've seen better from you.   | 2.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Yep, very sloppy, but still nice.. Very original.   | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | It's been used many times.                          | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | You can't always be polished. The idea and execut-  | 
               | ion for this was excellent in my opinion.           | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ST-ACME.ICE   | ACME-Net (Stile)                                    | 4.2 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Wow, great job with the reverse color perspective.. | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice shading, excellent overall look.               | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Excellent! Great use of dark colors!                | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Everything great, except he forgot to sign it. :)   | 4.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ST-BLADE.ICE  | Blade (Stile)                                       | 2.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Nice font w/ good additions in the background.      | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | This is really bad, no specs, just looks really bad.| 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nothing new here.                                   | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Gack, no matter what the color scheme, looks bad.   | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ST-VIS23.ICE  | Vision/2 (Stile)                                    | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Neat reflection, except you forgot the 2... :)      | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Hmmph. What happened this month STiLE?              | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | What was that? Never saw those colors used together!| 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Hey.. I thought the reflection idea was neat.       | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SZ-REL.ICE    | Relentless (Skitzo Killer)                          | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good font with good shading.                        | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | This is poorly shaded and schemed. Sorry. No beans. | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Overall: cool font.                                 | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Sweet font, sweet colors, and it filled the page!   | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 TT-REG.ICE    | The Regulators (Tempus Thales)                      | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Kickass logo, good use of everything!               | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice logo, I've seen better.. Is there really a  ' ?| 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice, but not up to your normal awesome standards.  | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Is there a what? It was a quickie, but a 'goody'..  | 4.0 
-              -                                                     -   - 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DD-FUSI.TRI   | FusioN BBS Software (Dead End)                      | 2.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good short and sweet ansi..                         | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice purple cloud effect, font was too simple...    | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice, I liked the idea!                             | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Nice *FONT*, cloud was background.. Nice, tho.      | 1.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DD-CITDLE.TRI | The Citadel (Dead End)                              | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good ansi with a very nice font..                   | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice cartoon ansi, agreed -- Very nice font.        | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Not bad, font was nice, even tho it looks familiar. | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Err, nice font, 'OK' guy on crack.                  | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DD-TRIB1.TRI  | Tribe Logo (Dead End)                               | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent style with good concept of curves, fonts..| 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Didn't care for it, too sloppy.                     | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Not much to it. Font has been used before.          | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Ok, this guy can do fonts. Pictures, needs practice | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DD-SG1.TRI    | Shallow Grounds (Dead End)                          | 1.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | A little too bland.. Definately needs something.    | 2.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nothing to it. Really, nothing.                     | 1.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Good idea, but its too simple.                      | 1.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Umm.. This is an ansi?                              | 0.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 DE-FEE.TRI    | Far East of Eden (Dreamevil)                        | 3.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good start w/ TRiBE, I've seen better from you..    | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice ansi, kind of short though, not much to it.    | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Cool, cartoons are nice, we should trade Chinese    | 
               | comics one day!                                     | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | He's done better, much, MUCH better...              | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 LO-HERES.TRI  | Heretic Assylum (Logan)                             | 3.9 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Definately a style to your own, somehow works well..| 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very nice, good cartoon effects, as usual..         | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice, I like the use of shading in cartoons.        | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Excellent, one of Logan's finest..                  | 4.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 LO-CTDL.TRI   | The Citadel (Logan)                                 | 2.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | A little below your average, but still good work.   | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very below average, especially for you.             | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | What happened? Your other 2 were awesome?           | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Logan does Wolverine.... and stumbles.              | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 LO-LENT2.TRI  | Lentilbrew Lane (Logan)                             | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | By far the greatest of your works, loved the skull! | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | I liked the 'Heretic Asylum' one much better..      | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice ansi, very creative use of text!               | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Logan gets right back on track, this time w/ poetry!| 4.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MK-DARK.TRI   | Dark Liquid (Mystic Knight)                         | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Nice font and good detail, this ansi works.         | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Decent font, the shading throughout lacked a pattern| 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Font was cool, but was what that blue thing?        | 2.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Hey, where's the picture?                           | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MK-RFLX.TRI   | Reflex Point (Mystic Knight)                        | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good font..                                         | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | I liked this, fairly original font.                 | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Font was ok, but it reminds me of LC's 'Skynet'..   | 2.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | POINT same font as INTOX one, REFLEX, yer average.. | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MK-INTOX.TRI  | Intoxifornication (Mystic Knight)                   | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good font, with a nice addition, adds to the ansi.. | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Something clicked w/ this one, classy.              | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Font was one of the best in the pack!               | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | The font was nice, don't overuse it.                | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MM-DL.TRI     | Dark Liquid (Mr. Man)                               | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Great picture, just the font needs some more time.. | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Yep, picture is fairly nice, font needs to be redone| 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Picture is cool, font is tedious.                   | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Joe, quite a way from MIND-02, always getting better| 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MM-MHQI.TRI   | The Mafia Headquarters (Mr. Man)                    | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good picture and great work w/ the font..           | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Cut this short, didn't we? Overusing the drip.      | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Picture was decent, upper font ok, lower AWESOME!   | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Nice small Spawn, nice small font, nice small ansi. | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SK-SOE1.TRI   | Stay of Execution (Shihear Kallizad)                | 3.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Pretty good picture, great font, nice quickie..     | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice, possibly a little of of proportion, it works..| 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice ansi, but too small.                           | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | God, I *hope* this was a quickie. I just saw his    | 
               | Spawn for Latitude Zero tho, SK is slipping, Oh, SK | 
               | thanks for your opinion of me (TW0793). You're dead | 
               | wrong -- as usual.                                  | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 US-BODHM.TRI  | Bodily Harm (Dead End & Mystic Knight)              | 2.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | :) Love the blood and skull, really goes w/ board!  | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Huh? The skull was most non-impressive. Nice font.  | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | At least you know no one will steal the ansi..      | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Yes, DD and MK can do fonts, we have established    | 
               | this.                                               | 2.0 
-              -                                                     -   - 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ES-SVOR1.ANS  | Silicon Vortex (The Evolutionary Shadow)            | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent picture and good font. Good piece of work.| 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice picture and font, but overall a little hard to | 
               | follow..                                            | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | TES Rocks. He has always been one of my favorites!  | 
               | this Ansi is cool, but the font is really nice!     | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Excellent picture, font was OK. Pretty good.        | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 EX-CITLD.ANS  | The Citadel (Exile)                                 | 2.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Decent picture and font, but it seemed a little     | 4.0 
               | clustered.                                          | 
Raistlin [iCE] | Font and picture really blew.                       | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | This is about as good as Cetis is bright.           | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Retch, in his defense, the comic itself blew too.   | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 EX-DSOC1.ANS  | The Dark Society (Exile)                            | 3.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good picture/outlined font, font could use shading. | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very nice, a large improvement on prev, crappy font.| 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | This ansi is very nice, makes up for previous one.  | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Picture seems rough, tho'. Liked the font.          | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FN-DD1.ANS    | Dark Dimension (FusioN)                             | 3.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good jungle perspective, and nice monkey skull! :)  | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Well, the jungle perspective was good, s'bout it.   | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Good solid ansi, like the rest of your stuff.       | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | I think FusioN sux!! J/K..  Liked the skull.        | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FN-HNET1.ANS  | HyperNet (FusioN)                                   | 3.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | One of my better fonts, but it lacked a background. | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Excellent font, no background needed.               | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Nice, wasn't cluttered w/ crap.                     | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Sweeeet font. Background would've killed it.        | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FN-IRID1.ANS  | Iridium Magazine (FusioN)                           | 3.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Shaky font, and could have used a background.       | 2.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | The background was GREAT! I like black! :)          | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Wasn't bad, looked a little rushed.                 | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Hey! That background rocket! I'm a sucker for fonts!| 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 FR-SWAT.ANS   | SWAT Couriers (Feyd-Rautha)                         | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent start w/ ACiD, excellent pic!             | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice picture overall, few minor things (i.e. - the  | 
               | nose..) Good start, font is overused, tho'...       | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | If this is his first one, he's going to be great!   | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Rough around the edges, hard to follow, stopped it  | 
               | from being a '4.'                                   | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 GL-CVT2.ANS   | Covert Action 2 (Golgotha)                          | 4.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent picture, good job on chains, Nice font.   | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Agreed, excellent picture. Font was WAY too boring. | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Awesome pic, his best in my opinion, font was OK.   | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Yes, PITT and Ripclaw from CF#3 can fit on the same | 
               | ansi! Golgatha proves it all in GL-CVT2.ANS . Felt  | 
               | more could've been done w/ PITT's face tho.         | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 GL-HARD1.ANS  | Hardwired (Golgatha)                                | 3.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good picture, decent font.                          | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Picture is too small, but nice. Nice font too.      | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Not bad, even though its a little too small.        | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | You all suck, sweet picture, sweet font.            | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 GL-PAW1.ANS   | PAW (Golgotha)                                      | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good large font, and nice use of a good color scheme| 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Letter shape is too simple, however, unique colors. | 2.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | I like the idea, representing a sunset.             | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Once while tripping, I saw this color scheme (PLUS!)| 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 GL-UNXD1.ANS  | The Unexpected Domain (Golgotha)                    | 3.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good picture, and ok font.                          | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Picture is half-ass, and font.. I'd rather not.     | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Cool pic but font blows..                           | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Rushed? Rushed?                                     | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HL-TBE1.ANS   | The Body Electric (Hannibal Lecter)                 | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good job on the drawn font, and use of shading.     | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very nice font, stats however, looked like crap.    | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Cool font! and this guy hates Cetis! A '+' for that!| 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | HL shows us that, even logo artists, can run out of | 
               | ideas.                                              | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HL-TDS2.ANS   | The Dark Society (Hannibal Lecter)                  | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good visual effect and use of colors.               | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | FusioN, you giving the home team an advantage. Sucks| 1.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | I liked it, 'cept for the 'D' which was decent.     | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Interesting. Desperation for ideas turns up a rather| 
               | interesting one. Takes the looking at a few times   | 
               | tho. I hope he loses the 'FULL WHiTE STATS' next.   | 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HL-TSBR1.ANS  | The Sound Barrier (Hannibal Lecter)                 | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Nice small font, but could seriously use something. | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Simple, nice scheme/shading. Again, stats are crappy| 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Pretty cool idea, except was a little simple.       | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | See Cavalier. See Cavalier bite his toungue. BITE!  | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HO-ACID.ANS   | ACiD Logo (HOOPTiE)                                 | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good design, but font was too 'blockish'..          | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Excellent logo, original, and nicely shaded.        | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Good idea, but there was something I didn't like..  | 2.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Blockish ugly font. Animation takes too much spce.  | 3.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HO-TG.ANS     | Total Grindage (HOOPTiE)                            | 2.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Haven't seen a good ansimation in awhile, good job! | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice animation, 'Total Grindage' font was.. Ack!    | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | It was HO-ACID.ANS with a poorly done TG font.      | 2.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Jesus Christ, what crack do you people smoke? That  | 
               | was the largest waste of space I have seen in awhile| 
               | .. 180k of cute transitions? No actual picture, and | 
               | animated GREETS?!                                   | 0.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 HO-HTEK.ANS   | Housetek (HOOPTiE)                                  | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Misspelled it, 'Houstek' didn't work. But good font | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Good font, style too overused.. Originality NEEDED! | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Ok, but yeah -- the font has been used before.      | 2.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Missed an e, and this got in? ACiD QUALITY CONTROL! | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IC-CS.ANS     | Crusty's Spamland (Icy)                             | 4.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Holy shit, killer picture and font. Blew me off my  | 
               | feet!                                               | 5.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Agreed. Excellent all around. Need to be longer to  | 
               | recieve a 5!                                        | 4.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Amazing! This is much better than a 5, but...       | 5.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | The 'IC' killed an almost flawless beautfull ansi.  | 4.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IC-OBV2.ANS   | Oblivion/2 Matrix (Icy)                             | 5.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Best damn matrix I've ever seen! Excellent 25 liner!| 5.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Only 25 lines, but doing THIS MUCH in 25! WOW!      | 5.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | 5.0 here! I love this guy!                          | 5.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Holy SHIT! That is the SWEETEST logon matrix I've   | 
               | ever seen! Gack! I've got to convert this to Tele-  | 
               | gard shuttle! :)                                    | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IC-PWA.ANS    | PWA Logo (Icy)                                      | 4.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | One killer logo, and good use of wide color scheme. | 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | At least not a 5 again! :).. Excellent. Superrrrbb! | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Really nice, this guy had one hell of a month..     | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Nice. Pwaahhh!                                      | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IL-ACID.ANS   | ACiD Logo (Illumination)                            | 4.1 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent outline, and good affect w/ color scheme. | 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Yep, very good glossed over/glassy effect.          | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Awesome idea, and well executed.                    | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Wow. I have never seen such a stock color scheme    | 
               | seem so original, sweet.                            | 4.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IL-HS.ANS     | Helter Skelter (Illumination)                       | 2.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Nice skinny font, and use of ˛'s. Snake needs help. | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Hardly. This was 'thedraw'ish. Not good at'all.     | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Font was too skinny.                                | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Gack. Whole ansi could use help.                    | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IM-CHAR.ANS   | Charisma (Iron Man)                                 | 3.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good background, decent font.                       | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Excellent font, liked the branches/leaves too :)    | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Cool font. But has been used before.                | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | S'allright.                                         | 3.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 IM-DL.ANS     | Data Lore (Iron Man)                                | 2.6 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent picture, but shaky at parts.              | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Poorly proportioned/shaded. Font was the best part. | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | I liked the pic, but not the font.. Go figure.      | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Overshaded to HELL. Minor Threat [CHAOS] did the    | 
               | same pic and makes this one look like shit. This    | 
               | picture didn't need shading, and even then IM over- | 
               | kills it.                                           | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 KR-FBEER.ANS  | Free Beer (Killean)                                 | 2.3 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Picture seems to surrounded by simple shading.      | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | This guy should not be drawing ansis for ACiD.      | 1.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | Could be cool if more time was spent, nice font..   | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | What? ACiD have quality control? Nice font tho'.    | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 LM-SWAT2.ANS  | SWAT Couriers (Leper Messiah)                       | 5.0 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Unbelievable use of colors and characters! Great!   | 5.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Excellent. Excellent. Background w/ font was nice!  | 5.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | WOW! How many awesome fonts!! WOW!!                 | 5.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Paradigm said this was its exclusive. Screw up!     | 5.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 LN-FX.ANS     | F/X (Liquid Nitro)                                  | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Great picture, font really brought quality down.    | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | What the fuck was that? Great picture of WHAT?!     | 2.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | The font was terrible. Ansi was cool.               | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Was that Diehard? Whaa? Whaa? Good font, bad pic.   | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 MO-ALIEN.ANS  | No Name (Morpheus)                                  | 3.5 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Interesting style of work.                          | 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Who let this guy in? 'Where did' ACiD 'quality go?' | 1.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | I like the shading!                                 | 3.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | About time we had an abstract artist in the scene.  | 4.0 
--˘˙ PRIMAL ENERGY's RIP OFF DOES NOT GET REVIEWED. REAL WORK ONLY! ˙˘ 0.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 PJ-CRIM.ANS   | Crimson II (Panama Jack)                            | 2.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good font and use of a background.                  | 3.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Good idea, but could use some reshaping/shading.    | 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Cool idea.. Nice colors.                            | 3.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Liquid Image did this style first awhile ago. People| 
               | keep biting it. Oh, anb I see we skipped Primal En- | 
               | ergy's rip.. (Sniff).. I don't get to have any fun! | 2.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 SC-GHETO.ANS  | Ghetto (Sonic)                                      | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Excellent style, smooth animation, hard to improve. | 4.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Nice animation, but what's the point here.. Bad font| 3.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | Sonic's style rocks! Funny, and a little short.     | 4.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | 25k for a bright sonic, blech. Person was average   | 
               | Ghetto font was average, animation font sucked shit.| 2.0 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 TR-SOUND.ANS  | Sound Barrier (Tracer)                              | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Funny ansimation, nice smooth scanning, no mistakes.| 4.0 
Raistlin [iCE] | Very nice ansimation, bad theme :), poor font.      | 3.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | This was awesome!                                   | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | Sweet ACiD Opener, the rest, I'll pass on a comment.| 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 VS-SGMAG.ANS  | Shallow Grounds (Vision)                            | 3.4 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Good font concept, but almost unreadable at parts.  | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | I found it totally readable, excellent font.        | 4.0 
M. Angel [Nem] | It was awesome, except spelled wrong!               | 4.5 
Cavalier [iCE] | That blew whale dick, unreadable, color from hell.  | 1.5 
---------------¬-----------------------------------------------------¬---- 
 ZN-INC.ANS    | INC (Zed Nitro)                                     | 1.8 
---------------≈-----------------------------------------------------≈---- 
Fusion <ACiD>  | Old box in the bottow right corner, font was good!  | 3.5 
Raistlin [iCE] | Oh! Its an ansi! Sheesh, my mistake.                | 0.5 
M. Angel [Nem] | My god!                                             | 2.0 
Cavalier [iCE] | Um.. er.. umm.. uh.. er                             | 1.0 
-              -                                                     -   -

'The Shadowlands'

Out of the twilight haze of dusk a lone warrior emerged From the misty maze of tangled woods and rocky knolls The dwelling place of fairies, enchanters and trolls A savage lust for war and vengeance within him surged
These were the Shadowlands; the denizens of dragons and witches Famine, pestilence, disease- morsels of food gnawed by rabid bitches The Hero traversed this dank dungeon of gloom and despair Surrounded by demon, wraith and ghoul in the choking, sulfurous air He wiped his blood-stained brow and plodded aimlessly along the road From somewhere in the dark, griffons shrieked and giants bellowed The sweet taste of victory made bitter by the acrid smell of death He tired of battle, longing for rest; he muttered and cursed under his breath, 'Oh, would that the Fates allow, I would toss my weapons into the sea - But the life of a knave, betrothed to a fair wench, is not the life for me!' So then, brave traveller, welcome to the Shadowlands, but take heed - Come ye not without mail or lance, sword or spear, nor without a trusted steed. Those who travel in this forsaken place are oft seen nevermore Of these are tales told, legends of battle, and stories of war -These are The Shadowlands...

Amadeus [CHAOS CT] '93
The mist was swirling sluggishly, obscuring the man's view. Balin looked about, trying to distinguish any landmarks in his view. But there were none. He had walked all day, trying to escape these horrible lowlands. The mist was so thick that it clung to the unsuspecting traveler, it seemed to have a mind of its own. His clothes were soaked through with rain and mist, and he shivered in the cold night air. He stumbled over a bush, and fell to his knees. He struggled to get back to his feet, for the journey had exhausted him completely. He stumbled about, searching in the mist, trying to escape its cold grasp. Balin's legs began to give out from under him, his muscles tired and cramped. He tripped once again over another bush, and lay where he had fallen. He found it hard to breathe in the mist, for it seemed to draw one's breath away.

Suddenly, in the distance, he heard a howl. He jerked up into a sitting position, his fatigue momentarily forgotten. Answering howls sounded from all around. He saw shapes moving in the mist, mere shadows, but his horror was not dissolved. The shadows came, closer, and began to take on forms. He saw many wargs, giant evil wolves, circling him at a distance. Balin also distinguished man-shaped shadows, with long arms and a hunched over stance. The wraith-like forms lifted their heads, and their red glowing eyes met his. He screamed in fear, and began running away from them. The wargs quickly chased him down, knocking him onto his back and pinning him to the ground. One warg took a playful bite at his leg, ripping half of his calf off. He screamed in pain as the shadows approached him.

'Pitiful mortal! Do ye not know better than to travel these misted lands? Here, we rule all. We take the souls of whomever trespasses. We are the Shadows of this land. And ye have been caught trespassing in our home, in THE SHADOWLANDS!'

Screams filled the night air as the Shadows lifted his body up, carrying it away to punish him for his crimes. Creeping Death [CHAOS CT] '93

Rebirth

Thriving in ecstasy of absent light
I court the leather-winged black hosts of night.
Learning the evil secrets no one should know,
I discover the tastes of veins wine flow.
My fangs enveloped in a sweet crimson blood
drunk from those i once passionately loved.
Their rushing life echoing throughout my ears
as death in shadows, suddenly leers.
Red between my fingernails pooling
on the white marble floor, slowly cooling.
I search the mirror to suppress my fears
yet i see it clear like translucent tears.
I run to leave behind the dark desires
and stumble into Hell's blazing fires.

Scofflaw

Nemesis Senior Staff

Shatterproof Window
Go ahead, look in the window,
See me as I really am.
You can look, but you can't change me,
I am not some pathetic lamb.

I believe I am a shatterproof window.
As the glass withstands the harsh pressure of the storm.
So do I, the current of conformity.
I will never take society's form.

My face is the window to my emotions.
Whatever I'm feeling you can see.
Like the raging river breaking through the dam,
I speak my mind, don't hold me back, just let me be.

You can try to make me lose my individual form,
As you try to make the glass melt, with your pressure and your
heat.

But I won't change to fit society's stupid standards.
To me, that would be accepting absolute defeat.
Scofflaw

Nemesis Senior Staff

Mechs of War

Part 1
'Father, what will the future be like?'
Little Will, about eight years of age, was trying to talk to his father to break up the boredom in the beautiful but eventless country.
'I don't know Will. Things are always changing, anything can happen. Who knows, we may even move back to the city someday.' Steve said, looking out the window towards the serene forest.

'Why don't you go out and play in the fields Will? Maybe you could take a dip in the stream later..'

Before Steve could even turn his back, he heard his son's voice again.

'Dad, what's that robot doing out on the hill?' Will was on his way out to play in the field. He was speaking calmly, sensing no danger whatsoever.

'Oh my God, they've found us..' Steve's speech was hushed, he was obviously planning what to do next.

'Will, listen to me. Some people are coming to talk to your daddy. I want you to run, run as fast as you can. Run away from this house, and don't come back. I'll come for you when daddy's done talking to his friends.' With that, Steve pushed his son out the door, to an uncertain future. Walking out the frontdoor of the little cottage, Steve saw the gigantic mech 50 yards in front of him. He closed his eyes, never to open them again.
The mech was built for the military to destroy rebel factions in heavily wooded and jungle enviroments. Very few weapons available to present day man could even dent the multi-alloy armor. The gatling gun on the mech's right arm slowly moved towards Steve. In a hail of fire Steve's body was lacerated into hundreds of minute parts. There was no corpse. The missle pack on the 30 foot monster's back suddenly came to life, and fixed itself into position. Four missles later, there was no homely cottage, there was no Steve, and there were no remains. The mech had totally obliterated Steve's secluded hideaway.

'Get the kid.'

Dreadnought [CHAOS] '93

Leaving the bustling city on a small armored boat, the prisoner became acutely aware of the shackles on his ankles and the guards on all sides. As the din of the city was quieted, the convict took in the gentle sea breeze, the smell of salt, and the singing of the gulls. Everything seemedfine, and for a moment, he was at peace. Closer they came to the island that he would never leave alive. From his vantage point on the boat, he could see the stone, barbed wire walls towering above the tiny base of the island. Lost in thought, he felt the vessel slam into the dock and the guards shove him onto the entrance ramp. While walking up the ramp to the maximum security cell block, he thought he would take one last look back at the city he he never knew but nonetheless admired. Turning around to view the distant boardwalk he came from, the guard on his left knocked the prisoner over the head with a metal rod. While blackness was still enveloping his sight, he heard the words that would stay with him for life.

'We didn't tell you to turn around. By the way, welcome to Alcatraz.'
Dreadnought [CHAOS] '93

The wind had grown silent. Nothing stirred on the open plain. The three foot tall grass stopped swaying, and even the insects stopped their chirping. Something was wrong in this peaceful scene. Something was about to happen.
'What do you think it is, Major?' asked one of the young soldiers.

'I don't know. Someone must be planning an attack on us. Johnson, turn on the main security systems. I want the fences, barriers, and all other laser systems on line in five minutes. Millan, get the rest of the guard suited up and ready for action. Also, get the mechs on line. I want at least ten of 'em ready in five. Okay men, let's get to work.' Major Striker turned back to the plain, scanning the field with infra-red binoculars. Nothing was in his view.

From behind a hill a huge head suddenly rose up, and a blast, soundinglike an airhorn, sounded from it. More robotic heads popped up, completely surrounding the compound. The first mech, an Excaliber MK VI, rose to the top of the hill, it's armored body glinting in the sun. Fully 36 feet high, the robot dwarfed the rows of borgs that climbed to the top of the hill next to it. It's shoulder missle pods flipped open, and scoresof medium range plasma missles flew towards the Fort. Explosions rocked the compound as rubble rained down upon the men.

'Get the mechs out there NOW!' shouted the Major. As he said this, a Spartan mech launched a volley of reflex multi-nuclear warheads at the walls, blasting huge gaping holes in the twenty foot thick concrete walls.The gates opened, and the Fort's own mechs stomped out. Ten fully armoredM.A.C. II's dubbed 'Monsters', walked out upon the battlefield. They raised their 40cm automatic cannons, and blasted the Excaliber into fragments. The men on the walls cheered. Half of the M.A.C.'s turned towards the Spartan, and fired blasts from their tri-laser cannons, blowing the torso off of it. The legs stumbled about, splurting oil and smoke, and finally collasping on the ground. At this display of power, themen rushed out to attack the borgs. After ten minutes of heated combat, the enemy was devastated. The borgs had been ripped apart by the Fort's artillary, and were finished off by the troops. The mechs hadn't stood a chance against the 'Monsters'. After years of careful planning, the attackhad failed in less than half an hour. The remaining mechs were ordered tofall back and retreat, and cannon fire followed them.

The Fort's army turned back and headed into the compound, the huge gates swinging shut with an enormous clang. The Major inspected the battlefield, and received the report from the mech pilots on the damages sustained.

'Excellent work, men. Let them come, but nobody can break our defenses. Nobody can stand a chance of entering FORT KNOX!'

Creeping Death [CHAOS CT] '93

Snowbound

Working
mountain climber, axe in hand
can see the apex from where I stand

Looking
into the distance, what a sight!
top of the world, isn't that right?

Rumbling
one moment silence, next moment roar
like no other noise I'd heard before

Towering
a wall of snow, too much to see
storming down on top of me

Crashing
thrown about like a sack of grain
my bones are broken, I feel their pain

Darkness
encased in ice, a man's worst fear
I scream and yell but nobody hears

Weakness
my pain grows dimmer and my mind grows weary
I begin to sense that the end is nearing

Hopeless
I realize that I may never be found
my future - an eternity snowbound

Digital Dictator [CHAOS CT] '93

The Body Electric

Dread its coming, fear its advance;
Opposing it you'd have no chance.

Feel the surge, know its force.

Let its energy, through you, course.
- -
Beware the might of basilisk sight.
Heed the roar of the Minotaur.
Fear the jaw of dragon's maw.

- -
All are none, within this place;
'Gainst the Body electric's haggard race.
Know what it is; this pure, raw power,
Away from it, every man shall cower.

- -
Dread the eyes of Medusa's guise.
Fear the rasp of Harpies' grasp.
Know the rip of Fates' dire snip.
- -
Here the Body's might is shown,
And its flowing fire known.
Heed the call; it may prove dire.
Oh, see the body, electric; on fire.

Lizard

[CHAOS CT] '93

Omerta

He fired two hot rounds into the man's chest. The body fell to the pavement in a heap. Jack shoved the .45 back into it's holster and draggedthe bleeding body into the bushes. 'They won't find him till he starts toreek!' Jack whispered under his breath. He continued down 32nd Street where he met up with Rob, his 'business partner.' Jack nodded his head, signaling the job was done. They both walked to the next block where a black caddy was parked, waiting for their return. The door opened, and the two entered.

The headquarters were located deep in the woods east of the city. Whenthe car reached their destination, the vehicle emptied out into the small shack. Time to do business. Jack motioned Rob through the door, and showed him to his seat. The remainder of the men stood around the small table, as if expecting a fight to start. 'We agreed fifty thousand for the Fed!' Rob stormed. 'You didn't say there'd be others.' Jack said calmly.

'I DON'T CARE! I'm just paying for the man we agreed on. NO MORE!' Rob yelled. Jack was beginning to get annoyed by the hostility of his so-called 'partner.' 'Watch youself Rob,' Jack spoke, 'Don't do anything you may regret.'

'You BASTARD!' Rob said as he sprung from his seat, pulled out his .38,and two shots later, lay dead on the floor. Jack looked down at the body and lowered his .45, then motioned his men out the door. Just as he was leaving the broken down shack, he turned,looked at the lifeless body, and whispered, 'NEVER fuck with the Omerta. Never.' And fired another round into the man's chest. MiNDRiOT [CHAOS CT] 7.23.93

Phantos stood quietly at the castle towers east side. Solemly looking over an endless, barren empire in it's final days of decay, Phantos wanted to slay the men who had caused this. Calmly realizing it was impossible for himself, a mortal, to fight his enemy, he returned to the steady scanning of his countryside.
Castle Shurak was one of the three main outposts of Phalia, a bustling collection of interdependant townships. No communication was had with outside peoples, as the early adventure seekers had never returned. For three hundred years, this policy was never questioned. Then three short months ago, oddities started appearing in the normal trade routes.

Caravans would dissapear, search parties would not come back, and whole grazing fields of animals would be mutilated. Within a week, there was no word from Shurak's two sister outposts, and the worst was feared. Shurak'sarmy was split up and sent to both outposts, albeit unwillingly. They never returned.

Phantos stood watch over the fields, waiting for his immortal foe to appear in the moonlight. His castle was reduced to the resident peasents, a small armed guard, and what was left of Phalia's government. Sharp cracks were coming from the sky rapidly now, as the light blue lightning scorched the sky. The next bolt brought his horrifying dreams to reality. A few hundred yards from the castle stood four human like figures, completely clad in armor. Unknown to him was the superior weaponry and technology these warriors were holding.
The screams of the armed guard could be heard, charging out in a vain attempt to stop the mettalic men from reaching their king. Phantos sadly watched his comrades bodies explode with dull thuds before they ever reached their targets. The warriors entered the castle, and many screams pierced the stale night air. Each scream was silenced in turn, and Phantoscould hear his four enemies moving up the stairs.
The door to the castle tower opened, and he looked eye to eye with the metallic monsters. All the circuitry and armor, Phantos thought, these menfrom the darkness surely weren't out for a fair battle.

'You are the king of the empire we have crushed.' the first warrior asked, not looking for a reply.
'I am Phantos, king of Phalia, and you are my enemy.'

In a split second, Phantos reached behind him and grabbed a dark orb. As it started to swirl at a sickening rate in his hand, he smiled at his once invincible visitors screams.

'There will be more of us! One man can not stop a superior race!' the leader screamed.
'You are my enemy, and I have destroyed you.' was the last phrase that would be uttered by Phantos, or any other Phalian again.

The explosion was of epic scale. The castle was left a streak of black rubble on the charred plains, and the force of the destruction shook the ground.
The metallic men never returned to the holy land again.

Dreadnought [CHAOS] '93
Why do mortal men question immortal authority? Slandering the creators, killing, stealing, forgery Weak animals looking to believe, believing in their own book These men have paid in hell for the names they took Do you think we would send a weak man on the cross? You need not look for salvation, everything is already lost. The masses go on, the need to believe in everlasting life You mortal men, hear us well. It was your fault, you created the strife No need for us to feel mercy for a doomed race You, the only ones, could only look at your own face There are others and they will come, your death is near. We will kill you, and you won't be coming back. Time to fear. Our justice is swift, our weapons omnipotent We have said our piece, our message has been sent Time to sing the death song, time to sing those cords We have no mercy and feel no pain, we are the Overlords! Dreadnought [CHAOS] '93

It isn't hate;

it's not chagrin;

it aint this cage
you've locked me in.
I won't say it now;
I'm not so bold;
but 'fore I die,
you will be told.
I will not hit,
or punish you,
Yet someday you'll
respect my view.
You've chained me up.
You've kept me down.
Too long, this cycle
goes around.
I'm many now,

not just a few.
A half-mad captain,
and a skeleton crew.

Morat the Black [CHAOS CT] '93

I sat on a high perch and looked towards the horizon Gazing towards the coming night, I felt a fear I had never known It rushed upon me, it's flaming eyes enveloping the night. A beast like I had never seen, rushing straight towards me It hungered for blood, mine, so I ran far from it As fast I rushed. I could not escpae it's oncoming fury. Then I feel upon a glade, with a tree, which seemed different Then I saw a man, dressed in silver and black and he bade me welcome. He raised his mailed fist and the beast knew fear then. It retreated knowing it could not best the man in silver and black. he bade me to stay and to be at peace... I asked him where I was.. he said.. 'this is my world' .. I asked who he was and he simply smiled...and said..'a man, just a man..' Then he disappeared and as I walked from that glade with the tree.. Everyday, seemed to be a new one and every shadow seemed to have.. The Man in Silver and Black..
Corwin of Amber [CHAOS CT] '93