Prologue: E-mails

[Brian]

To: Fans of Unriced Civics
From: ORiverSoBlue ('ad3lphi_reader@hotmail.com')

I may be able to do that.  I will need some idea of what you want, and I can try to see what I can do in that regard.  What business will it be?

[Brian]

To: Fans of Unriced Civics
From: ORiverSoBlue ('ad3lphi_reader@hotmail.com')

Subject:  Goodbye.

I'm sorry.

Someone is after me.  I can only guess they didn't know about me before now, but my abilities are limited, as is my time left.  Good luck, I will buy you what time I can.

[Brian]

To: Fans of Unriced Civics
From: Listar (fansofunricedcivics-announce@topica.com)

Subject: You have been UNSUBSCIBED from the list.

You have been UNSUBSCIBED from this list for reason:  List deletion.

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Thank you for using topica mailing lists!

[Rezantis]

To: ORiverSoBlue  ('ad3lphi_reader@hotmail.com')
From: Karelais ('shelim_manaya@hotmail.com')

You know I'm stuck in this.   Remember?  Give me -something-.  I keep my promises, dammit.

I'll see you when I see you.

[Brian]

To: Dracos
From: Cymage

Subject: I hate you.

With the white-hot fury of a thousand suns.  No, I'm serious.

Mostly.

Anyway, my friend says the best place he knows in California is Tracy, at 1654 Main street.  Were you serious about your house blowing up?  I think I saw something about that on the news a while back.

[Rezantis]

To: ORiverSoBlue
From: Karelais ('shelim_manaya@hotmail.com')

Subect: You'd better damn-well be there

Because I don't really want to repeat this debacle, even if I knew where to start.  I'm sure you heard about the mess in SF.

--N

[Brian]

To: Karelais ('shelim_manaya@hotmail.com')
From: ORiverSoBlue ('ad3lphi_reader@hotmail.com')

Subject: If you're reading this ....

I'm setting things in motion before I know it's advisable to do so.  With luck, this message will never reach you.  But if I am no longer here to keep this message in check ... then you will know that I have fallen.  It's time for me to prepare for battle, as little as I care for it.

I'm trapped ... I don't know how much time is left, and I'm sorry I couldn't answer some of the questions I know you had.  I have to take my only option to buy myself time against my attacker.

I've found a place outside of the webs I'm used to.  A place where dream and ether merge.  The wolf is there, and he is trying to protect me, but I know it can't last.

I no longer have a sense of time in this place....  How long have we been fleeing?  The future grows darker and clearer with each moment, and I can no longer run as well as I used to when I was younger.

Now, I realize, looking back, that while I felt I did what I had to, it cost me more than I had ever intended.

The wolf took some time to come back after leaving our haven today.  He won't speak of it, but I think he's having more and more trouble fending off our attackers.

I wish, so dearly, that I had the time to leave you something more than these fleeting memories.  But time is precious, and I have little left.  Please, Nathan, forgive me.  And ... protect my daughter.  With my passing, she and you are the last of the Delphites.

You can wake her up by sending an e-mail to: tyrean_@samiam.org.

Please, protect Relm.

I'm sorry.

Good bye.

[Rezantis]

From: ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')
To: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')

Subject:  Waken, sleeper, wake and rise.

Your mother left me one thing before she passed - a message.  She told me that you were her daughter and to protect you; and that this was how to wake you, so . . . here I am. My name is Nathan, and I'm the guardian of Delphi . . . although a damnably ineffective one thus far.

You're Relm, and you're the daughter of the Oracle of Delphi. And that's really all I know.

So.  Awake yet?  :P

--N

=====
Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today, we kneel only to the truth.
--Kahlil Gibran

[Brian]

From: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
To: ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Re: Waken, sleeper, wake and rise.

I'm awake ... but I feel so alone.  What's going on?

I can't find the wolf anymore....  Maybe he's not in this part of the world.

I dreamed last night that you found me, and woke me up.

[Rezantis]

To: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
From: Rez ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Subject: It's too early in the morning . . .

I don't know what's going on, exactly.  Ayame died . . . and now there is you.  How that works exactly, I have no idea.  And I don't know where the wolf is - he was hurt, but he looked alright.  I don't know exactly what he is, though . . .

I saw you in the dream - you looked surprised to see me there.

How much do you know, or remember?

--N

[Brian]

From: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
To: ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Re: It's too early in the morning . . .

I don't really know anything.  But I remember everything.  Ayame left me a lot of notes, but it'll take me a long time to get as good at this as she was.

What should I do?

[Rezantis]

From: Rez ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')
To: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')

Re: It's too early in the morning . . .

Well . . . with any luck, hopefully nobody else knows you exist.  If so . . . you don't want to let them know that you do, and if not, you don't want to let them know where you are.  Try not to do too much to draw attention to yourself, and keep in touch with me.

For now . . . go through Ayame's notes, practice and learn.  And tell me if you find anything useful in there.  ^^

And if you happen to want some practice at breaking into things you shouldn't be in, you could help me crack this server I lifted out of the Workshop when we went through it.  Hey, maybe I can even teach you something.  ;)

--N

[Brian]

From: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
To: ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Re: It's too early in the morning . . .

Oh!  Can you let me play with it?  Gimmie a login!

[Rezantis]

To: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
From: Rez ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Subject: Uh-oh.

. . . well, hey.  I guess it's nice to see someone else enthused about this kinda thing.  :P

IP of my connection is ***.***.***.***, as you can see in ze email header.  SSH and FTP are port-forwarded from the uplink to this laptop.  Login: relm, password: wereallgonnadie    IP of the server is 10.0.0.251, off the connection eth1 from my laptop.  I can read the RAID, but I'm stuck brute-forcing the key.  Which is going to take a little while, unless you have any better ideas.

Oh.  And while I don't mind you messing around a bit, break this box irreperably and I'll . . . I dunno, just consider yourself threatened with dire fates.  :)

--N

[Brian]

From: Relm ('tyrean_@samiam.org')
To: ('terrestrial_star@hotmail.com')

Re: Uh-oh.

Scaredy cat!  I won't break anything, I promise.

And the dire fates are my department. :D