svn commit: r897513 [8/14] - in /webservices/juddi/trunk/qa: ./ juddi-xlt/ juddi-xlt/config/ juddi-xlt/config/data/ juddi-xlt/config/data/default/ juddi-xlt/lib/ juddi-xlt/src/ juddi-xlt/src/org/ juddi-xlt/src/org/apache/ juddi-xlt/src/org/apache/juddi...

[ks...@apache.org]

Added: webservices/juddi/trunk/qa/juddi-xlt/config/data/default/sentences.txt
URL: http://svn.apache.org/viewvc/webservices/juddi/trunk/qa/juddi-xlt/config/data/default/sentences.txt?rev=897513&view=auto
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--- webservices/juddi/trunk/qa/juddi-xlt/config/data/default/sentences.txt (added)
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+Telia pulled the dress over her head and down her body, smoothing the pale fabric thoughtfully.
+She felt something different this morning.
+Anticipation.
+She wet her hair and left it down to dry in long, spiral curls.
+She slipped on a pair of sneakers and left her one-room cabin, waving to the group under the oak tree.
+Elada called good morning and Kofu, the unicorn king, bowed his head respectfully.
+Telia started down the forest path.
+Though it was morning, warm afternoon sun and the sweet, heavy scent of pine needles enveloped her.
+Her shoes were silent unpon the deep carpet of old vegetation that paved the path.
+She turned a corner in the path and sensed a presence.
+A familiar dusty, male musk, a calloused, gentle hand on her shoulder.
+She stood still, not turning her head.
+Hello, Harri, she said lightly.
+Hello, Tizzy.
+You've been waiting for me, haven't you?
+She turned, smiling.
+What makes you think that, my friend?
+I could feel your call across the worlds.
+You are very strong.
+His voice was low and pleasantly gravelly - just rough enough to make goosebumps rise along Telia's spine.
+He wore baggy adventure clothes, but they only accentuated the strong, solid body under them.
+She touched his waist lightly, slid two fingers loosely behind his belt and felt the slack, looking up at him with one eyebrow raised.
+You've lost weight.
+I hope you're eating enough.
+He grinned lopsidedly.
+Being a hero is hard work.
+Her hand was still at his waist.
+She looked up at him silently, her hair a curly golden-red halo about her face.
+Her eyes were wide, doe-like, silently asking.
+He nodded ever so slightly, an echo of Kofu's bow.
+He walked in a close circle around her, his chest brushing her shoulder, his hand brushing her hips.
+His breath on the back of her neck, then his strong hands on her waist, his arms around her and his mouth on hers, open and ardent.
+She arched her back, responding with her hands laced in his hair, her soft body against his.
+The kiss lasted the length of a lifetime, or an afternoon, or an instant, and when they parted, Telia smiled.
+Harri, why don't you visit more often?
+You know how much fun we'd have.
+This world is full of adventures!
+He smiled ruefully.
+I wouldn't want you to tire of me.
+Every hero needs such true support and longing; if you were ever satisified, you wouldn't call so strongly.
+And anyway, you have responsibilities that preclude my taking up so much of your time.
+You know that deep down, don't you, Tizzy-girl?
+She sighed, looking down at their hands entwined between them.
+Of course.
+She looked back up with a little smile.
+I always enjoy your visits, Harri.
+I know.
+He stroked her cheek.
+I must go, Talespinner.
+Will you return again someday or must I admire you from afar for years on end?
+Her hero smiled his Indiana Jones smile and said, Trust me.
+She laughed, and when her laughter had finished, he was gone.
+Smiling softly, Telia savored the warm glow of the memory of his presence and returned to the oak tree to play poker with the giant Brumbar and Elada.
+Telia retired to her room.
+Just as she crawled under the covers, there was a knock and the door opened.
+A tall blond young man dressed as a space pilot walked in.
+Hey, Telia!
+How was your day today?
+Telia sat up, wrapping the covers around her bare torso.
+Hi, Javid!
+Oh.
+I had a visit from Harri, at last.
+She sighed expressively.
+Javid chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed and brushing the curls back from her face.
+He whispered in her ear, Did you finally get to kiss him?
+She hit him lightly and laughed.
+Not that it's any of your business.
+Not my business?
+Why, who do you think convinced him to pay you a visit?
+Why do you think he was so cooperative?
+Telia glared up at her friend and alter-ego.
+Like I can't create my fantasies on my own!
+You would never violate so perfect a hero by manipulating him yourself, my dear.
+And don't worry - anything he did was all of his own volition.
+He quite likes you.
+Oh, shut up, you pathological liar.
+Anything to keep me happy!
+Of course!
+She crossed her arms sulkily over her breasts, scowling.
+Well?
+Does he really like me?
+Javid grinned.
+I wasn't there when he arrived.
+You tell me.
+Telia's scowl vanished and she lay back again, stretching her arms over her head, sighing and smiling all at once.
+Javid laughed and threw the covers over her face.
+I'll take that as a resounding yes.
+Good.
+I knew you two would get along.
+He patted the covers approximately over her head and turned away.
+Telia sat up.
+You're leaving?
+Yep.
+Gotta finish this other delivery.
+I'll see you around, though.
+Okay.
+Take care.
+And Javid - thanks.
+You don't know what it means to me.
+He paused in the doorway, his back to her, chuckling.
+Oh, yes, I do.
+Subtle waves of pleasure and happiness were spreading invisibly from the little room and out into the world beyond, seeding it with new growth, butterflies of hope, canflies multiplying and willsprites hopping with new energy.
+It's the least I could do, princess.
+He shut the door behind him and Telia pulled the covers back down to her chin.
+The lamp went out, and she slept.
+Telia.
+Telialorethania!
+Wake up!
+You are needed here!
+She sits up quickly, looking up in surprise at the one who called her name.
+Javid.
+The young man grins widely and runs a hand through his hair.
+That's more like it, Princess!
+You've been missed around here.
+It's time to start taking better care of your kingdom.
+He lowers his voice, glancing towards the open door from which morning sunlight pours into the room.
+You better stay for a while this time or you may lose it entirely.
+Puzzled, Telia looks around the room and then at the young man she had called Javid.
+What he said both rang a bell of familiarity and made no sense whatsoever.
+Javid stands and walks over to a wardrobe and throws open the doors.
+Dust billows out and he wavs his hands, coughing.
+He snatches a plain blue dress from a hanger and shakes it out vigorously.
+Here.
+He hands her the dress and strides to the door as she slowly swings her legs over the edge of the bed.
+He pauses in the doorway and looks back at her unmoving form.
+Well, what are you waiting for?
+Get spinning, Princess!
+The words stab at the cobwebs in her head, sweeping some of them aside, and Telia draws the dress over her head quickly and jumps to her feet.
+She runs over to the door and out onto a plain dirt path.
+Thick green grass grows on either side of the path from her door, conspiring with the bright sun and dazzling blue sky to make her forget her awakener and stop in her tracks.
+The world outside her door is overwhelmingly beautiful.
+No, it's brilliant.
+And so.
+Birds and butterflies flutter through the air between the forest behind her room and the giant oak tree that stands alone before it.
+Small creatures hop through the grass and pause in their travels up tree trunks.
+At her appearance, the lively sounds of birds and trees stops and the animals stare.
+She stares back, wide-eyed.
+Then, with a joyous rush, the sounds return, sweeter than before and somehow exultant.
+Though they give no further sign that they notice her, Telia feels distinctly conspicuous as she takes a few tentative steps forward, turning about to see her room and its surroundings.
+Oh, dear.
+On the outside, the one-room cabin looks even smaller than it was on the inside, but what makes her gasp is that the entire structure is covered in many layers of tangled vines and tall bushes.
+There might once have been windows, but the surface of the cabin is only visible in glimpses through the overgrown greenery.
+All around the door, to either side of the dirt path, piles of chopped-up vines lie, obviously cut away from the door.
+I was in there?
+Shaking her head, Telia turns back to the path and follows its beckoning up to the oak tree.
+The dirt almost seems to push at her feet, urging her on.
+As she steps beneath the great sprawling limbs in the shade, she feels a stir in the air like an intake of breath.
+She places her hands on the enormous brown trunk.
+The tree speaks.
+Telia can't believe her ears.
+She looks up into the green-gold of the sunlit leaves.
+What did you say?
+Leaves rustle, and from the whisper of the wind comes a sighing voice.
+You brought back the sun, Telialorethania.
+Welcome back.
+The sun.
+Telia tips her head back wonderingly, gazing up into the swaying foliage.
+Yes.
+It had little reason to rise without you.
+This was a new voice, cool and feminine.
+Telia turns quickly, sucking in her breath again.
+What a splendid woman!
+Her mouth open, Telia takes several moments to get past the thought, How can this be?
+This woman is - is - an ELF!
+Where am - what is - who are you?
+Her brain races ahead of herself.
+Are you the leader - uh, Queen around here?
+Looking a little shocked, the woman holds up a hand.
+Oh, no, my liege - I am not the leader, I am simply the Queen of my people, who owe allegiance to the Talespinner, as do all the folk of this world.
+The- uh, Talespinner?
+A troubled line between her brows, the woman nods and bows.
+I am Elada.
+Ah.
+And you are the Talespinner.
+Oh?
+Telia tries to ignore the feeling that she is in some sort of bizarre dream.
+She isn't sure what normality would look like, but she knows it wouldn't feel like this.
+Perhaps we had better slow down.
+You have been away for a very long time.
+Ah.
+I have.
+Yes.
+Elada motions for Telia to follow her.
+They walk deeper under the giant oak, which towers over them like a natural wooden cathedral or a brown and green skyscraper.
+On the far side of its mighty circumference, there are steep stairs cut into the living wood.
+Elada begins to climb, long gown trailing slightly, and Telia, after a moment's apprehensive glance up at the distant green-gold reaches of the branches, follows.
+The wood is almost warm on Telia's bare feet, and the action of climbing helps her think.
+I woke up in a place that feels familiar, like an almost-forgotten dream.
+I'm following an elf woman up stairs in a giant talking tree- This tree can speak?
+Yes, Elada replies.
+When it has something to say.
+It is the First Tree.
+First Tree?
+The first tree created in this world.
+Ah.
+When?
+Will I awaken from this dream any time soon?
+This is no dream, Talespinner.
+You are home at last.
+Home?
+Telia looks around, breathing deeply the tree- and earth-scented air.
+The staircase had wrapped around the tree somewhat, and she looks down at the vine-covered cabin several stories below them.
+The dirt path leads from the cabin to the oak, and then continues into the forest.
+She can almost picture what is beyond the first row of trees.
+Why can't I remember?
+They reach a landing, a smooth spot in the center of the trunk where several main branches split in different directions, and Elada sits on the edge of the landing, overlooking the view away from the cabin.
+Telia plops down a yard from the edge and looks at Elada expectantly.
+I don't know, the elf queen says at last.
+Perhaps because each time you have come you have only stayed a short while.
+Perhaps because there was so much time between visits.
+But Talespinner, that is why you must stay with us this time!
+Don't leave us again!
+This world will never grow without your presence.
+It will stagnate, or worse - rot away bit by bit until there is nothing but a wasteland of dead dreams and a desert of abandoned stories.
+Telia keeps her lips firmly shut and fights her utter disbelief at this story.
+Stay?
+In this bizarre place?
+It can't grow without me?
+What kind of baloney is that?
+At least promise you will look at everything before you choose to leave.
+Promise you will let us show you what is possible before you reject it.
+Whoa.
+I'm not rejecting anyone or anything yet!
+I'm just a little confused, that's all.
+Sure.
+Sure, I'll stay and find out what this is all about before I make any decisions.
+If this is just a dream, I'll just wake up anyway!
+Elada and the tree are silent, and Telia blushes.
+I mean, no offense, not like you're just figments of my imagination or anything, but this is just a little strange.
+I mean.
+Okay.
+I'll stay for now.
+I don't know where I'd go back to - or how - anyway.
+Wind rustles around her like the sound of leaves clapping, and birdsong rings out like a hallelujah chorus for a few seconds.
+Telia grins.
+Elada nods.
+Thank you, Talespinner.
+Telia follows Elada back down the enormous tree trunk, shaking her head.
+I just can't believe this is all real!
+How long did you say this world has been here?
+Our history records almost 2500 years.
+So who made this place?
+How did you and all this get here?
+The seed, or basic essence, of this world was formed by the One, and it was given to the Talespinner to develop.
+What you see around you is what you've done with it so far.
+Telia looks around the base of the great oak.
+Beyond the reach of its leafy limbs, a forest of lesser trees is on all sides.
+The cabin sits alone, its lush green overcoat scarred where the door was cut free.
+The sky is blue, the sun dazzling.
+The birds sing sweet chirrups and the breeze rustles in the trees.
+I guess I'm pretty good at this, huh?
+This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!
+Elada pauses, then smiles.
+She says, somewhat sternly, No, Talespinner, you did NOT create the natural beauty that you see around you.
+The earth and sky, trees and grass, and most of the animals you find here came with the seed you were given.
+Oh.
+And who made the seed?
+It was the One who created this beautiful world, the One called the Father of All Things.
+And he gave it to you that you could then shape your stories in it.
+The One?
+I'm sorry, but I don't get it.
+The One what?
+The One who creates all things, in this world and uncountable others.
+The One who was before the first thing was, who is where all things are, and who is yet to come.
+The One who sees and knows all things - Sounds like a busy guy.
+I get the picture.
+Elada stares at Telia, frowning slightly.
+Oh, never mind.
+So, then what have I done around here?
+Well, you made the cabin, for example.
+And the willsprites are your creation.
+The city Delmere, the parking lot where the squirrel's quest begins, the pool of dreams, the chameleon people - those are all yours.
+Now Telia stares.
+Show me!
+Elada nods.
+As you wish.
+We will start at the pool of dreams.
+A voice like a bell is singing.
+Echoes seem to ring and ripple through a forest caliginous and deep.
+Telia tries to breathe, but the air seems thick and clogs her throat.
+Awe and terror seem to collide and form a new emotion, unnamed.
+With a gasp, she wakes, to find her bedcovers tangled around her arms and head.
+The dream is gone.
+She tumbles from the bed, laughing.
+It’s a day again!
+Pulling on a dress from the pile in the corner, she snatches her sneakers and throws herself out the door and into the embrace of the morning sun and chill.
+She feels like singing, but fears that her voice could not possibly do justice to the thrill of morning in this land and quenches the urge.
+The blades of grass, the tree limbs and leaves, the lemon and poppy sunrise clouds, it all seems to be shouting at her.
+Shouting what, though?
+Something brilliant, obviously.
+Something scrumptiously wonderful.
+Something important, of course.
+At last, she turns away from the riddle of the wordless message.
+I’ll get it eventually.
+If it’s that insistent, it will come clear.
+Yesterday she went to the pool of dreams and watched part of the story of the rose and the stone.
+She didn’t get very far into the story yet, but feels a strong pull to return and continue it.
+Something about it touched deep into her soul, for some reason.
+She waves to Brumbar, who is sitting under the First Tree, and follows the forest path under the trees.
+Reaching the pool of dreams, Telia scrambles down to the pool’s rim, curious to explore it in closer proximity.
+As Elada pointed out, the best place for story viewing was certainly the overhanging rock lip – but Telia thought she recognized patterns or letters in the stone she glimpsed through the foliage surrounding the pool’s edge.
+As she walks up to the pool, her eyes on the overgrown stonework, she sees a ripple of light in the water and turns her head quickly, stepping up to the edge and looking down.
+A shimmering shape seems to recede into the pool’s depths, but when she blinks both the ripples and the shape are gone.
+A brief shiver runs up her back.
+And then, with mercurial ease the moment is forgotten and her attention returns to the stonework.
+She kneels at the edge and lifts the fern fronds aside, revealing rough-cut old stone, slate-like and gray.
+And definitely inscribed with runes of some sort.
+Dirt covers some of the inscriptions, and Telia scoops up handfuls of the chill water to wash the stone clean.
+Brown clouds spread from her edge of the pool through the black water, billowing as if from some underlying current.
+At last she has cleared several stones, and finds a few words she recognizes.
+She plops down, rolling onto her belly and staring down into the pool.
+A small white glimmer dances beyond the swirl of brown and black, and Telia hears an echo of a bell-like voice in her mind.
+Tentatively, with her heart pounding irrationally, she slides one hand into the water, reaching toward the glimmer.
+I wouldn’t get that close if I were you.
+Telia turns quickly, startled.
+Water splashes from Telia’s hand across the boots of the tall woman who stands next to her at the pool’s rim.
+The woman is lean and long-boned, and her hair reddish dark brown, curly and wild on top, with two long, thick braids which hang to her waist.
+She reaches down, palm up.
+There are faded scars crisscrossing the wrist and arm.
+Telia takes her hand and is pulled swiftly to her feet, stepping away feeling awkward and overwhelmed.
+Besides her height and strength, the woman is quite handsome and has a bearing that touches Telia with awed admiration.
+The woman bows.
+I am Tiichan, First Protector.
+I’m, um, Telia.
+Well met, Talespinner.
+The stern lines around Tiichan’s face relax into a warm smile.
+Yeah… Well, I was just looking into the pool and… So… Does anyone ever swim in the pool?
+The water seems pretty clear, it just looks black because the rock is black and the water so clear, and… So why shouldn’t I get close to it?
+And, oh!
+First Protector of what?
+Tiichan’s right eyebrow rises and her grin widens.
+Full of questions, aren’t you?
+I am Protector of the land.
+Protector of the heart.
+She pauses, looking into the distance for a moment, and then shrugs and her eyes meet Telia’s.
+No, people do not swim here.
+The Talespinner told us never to touch the water of this pool or to wander near it.
+Telia’s eyes widen.
+Why?
+She never told us why.
+Telia considers this for a moment, recalling the inexplicable shiver she felt looking deep into the pool.
+Could her past self had simply been afraid of dark water?
+Not able to swim?
+Or did she know about some pool-lurking monster that Telia couldn’t remember?
+Tiichan begins climbing back up the rock to the ledge, and Telia follows.
+Did she – uh, did I – uh, the Talespinner ever go near it?
+Not any further than this ledge.
+She did her dreaming from here and I never saw her go closer.
+Oh.
+Telia looks down into the pool.
+The dirt is nearly gone, leaving the water dark but glittering.
+As the sun clears the treetops, it spills onto the clearing around the pool.
+Good luck with your dreaming, Talespinner.
+The tall woman was already striding away, her long limbs muscular and pleasant to watch.
+Wow… Telia murmurs.
+No more shapes tease her from the pool’s depths, and she enjoys the story undistracted.
+The story of the young beauty who meets the beast under the mountain… it pulls at Telia’s heart.
+But even so, Telia falls asleep late in the afternoon as the sun sinks behind the western treetops, and dusk falls unnoticed around her.
+Elijah Slocum's voice came in sobs.
+He shook his head and said, I don't know what you're talking about!
+How can I confess to a crime I don't even know about?
+The two detectives said nothing.
+Slocum looked at one man, then the other.
+He said, I want my attorney.
+You can't hold me here without letting me see my attorney.
+Detective Robert Smith bent down and pulled his pant leg up, revealing a small pistol in the harness on his ankle.
+Look here, colored boy.
+It would be a shame if you were to make a grab for that, and I had to shoot you.
+Detective Morgan Davis tapped his partner on the shoulder.
+Bob, come on now, you don't want to hurt the man, do you?
+Smith slapped Slocum across the face.
+Hard.
+Turning to his partner, he said, That answer your question?
+Davis gave Smith an angry look, then he spoke to Slocum.
+Excuse us a moment, will you?
+Smith followed Davis out the door.
+Half an hour later, they were gone, and Slocum felt the pain return to his bladder.
+He shouted, Hey!
+Somebody!
+I have got to take a leak!
+Davis, who was just down the hall, turned to Smith.
+You think he's ready for good cop bad cop yet?
+Smith shrugged.
+I dunno.
+He hasn't peed himself yet.
+If they gave a trophy for iron bladders, he'd get one.
+I say we should wait another ten minutes, and then use the phonebook trick.
+Howcome, Smith said as he sipped his coffee, I always have to play the bad guy?
+Davis said, Just turn your watch around and try not to laugh this time.
+Ten minutes later, Smith grabbed a new cup of coffee and led Davis to the interrogation room.
+Slocum was perspiring heavily, and his face was contorted with pain.
+You ready to confess yet, colored boy?
+Slocum ignored the insult, and said, I'd like to carefully consider that, after you untie me from this chair and take me to the restroom.
+Smith said, I don't think we have time to do that.
+He rotated his wrist outward, tipping his hot coffee into Slocum's lap.
+Slocum screamed, then urinated.
+Aw, geez, will you look at that.
+Now if you hadn't been so obsessed with that bathroom, I wouldn't have spilled my coffee trying to check my watch.
+Davis shoved Smith aside and said, Mr.
+Slocum, you just hold on there.
+I'm going to get a pitcher of cool water.
+He left the room.
+Smith knelt down, so his face was inches from Slocum's.
+That was purely an accident, you understand?
+When Slocum ignored him, Smith grabbed the hair on the back of Slocum's head.
+You listen and you listen good.
+I don't like child molesters.
+You understand?
+I'm going to make you fry a lot worse than that coffee burn, if you don't sign that confession.
+Davis entered the room.
+Smith, leave him alone!
+Shoving Smith aside once more, Smith poured the pitcher of water onto Slocum's lap.
+Then Davis said, Why don't you take five, Davis, and come back in here when you can be civil?
+Davis swore under his breath and left the room.
+Davis paced between Slocum and the door.
+Look, Mr.
+Slocum, Smith is a real dedicated cop.
+I can't control him all the time.
+I'm trying to help you, but you’re not helping yourself.
+What?
+What do you want me to do?
+Sign a confession to a crime I didn't commit?
+You guys are violating my rights.
+You want me to tap dance for you, next?
+What you got out there, a mob and a tree to hang me from, until I confess to killing someone I never saw in my life?
+Davis let out a muffled laugh.
+No, what I want you to do is sign a confession so I can get Smith off your back.
+He's pretty anal, you know, and until he gets that confession, he's going to be like a pit bull.
+Lord, he probably threatened you while I was gone to get the water.
+Slocum nodded.
+Yeah, he threatened me all right.
+Now look, I want to talk to an attorney.
+I need to make a phone call.
+Just sign the confession, Mr.
+Slocum.
+Your attorney can overturn it later.
+Happens all the time.
+Then why is it so important for you to have it?
+Not me, Davis said as he motioned toward the door, him.
+Just then, Smith flung the door open.
+Your five minutes are up.
+He looked at Davis.
+All right, you pansy, did you make any progress?
+Davis said nothing, and Smith snortled.
+I didn't think so.
+Well, I am tired of waiting on this piece of trash.
+Slocum glared at the Davis, but said nothing.
+Davis walked over to Slocum and said, Colored boy, this is your last chance.
+You sign or I get rough.
+And your friend here better not interfere.
+I've got my rights, and you are vio… Before Slocum could finish his sentence, he felt the side of a phone book strike the side of his face.
+Man, stop that!
+Look, I'm dying of thirst.
+Can you give me a drink?
+That's all I want, is a drink of water.
+Davis said, I'd get you a drink, but I'm afraid that would make my partner very angry.
+He hates it that you're not confessing.
+But I’m not g….
+Smith hit Slocum three more times with the phone book.
+Slocum cried out in pain, then said, Man, are you crazy?
+You think someone won't find out what you're doing?
+Smith said, It won't leave a lasting mark.
+I can hit you with this until you die, and nobody will be able to tell.
+He hit Slocum six more times, before Davis grabbed his arm.
+That's enough, Smith.
+If you just give Mr.
+Slocum some time to think, you won't need to hit him like that.
+The two left the room.
+Ten hours later, they returned.
+Slocum was still sitting in the same chair.
+He had urinated again, and it had dried.
+Smith hit Slocum with the phone book again.
+I hate the smell of nigger piss.
+Can’t you control yourself?
+This just proves you're an animal.
+An animal capable of killing a little girl.
+The two detectives then escalated the torture.
+Fifty-three hours and twenty-one minutes after his interrogation began, Slocum gave in.
+Sitting in his own feces, Slocum signed the confession with an unsteady hand.
+Davis read the document, and set it down.
+He picked up the phone book and gave Slocum another hard swat.
+I knew it!
+Now I have proof you did it.
+The detectives took Slocum to a drop-off point, where a patrol car picked him up.
+The officers found a typewritten note, with Slocum's signature on it.
+The confession was enough to get Slocum arraigned.
+The judge set his trial for a day four months away, and set bond at eight hundred thousand dollars.
+When Slocum complained of police brutality, the judge said, I hear that all the time.
+You may file suit, Mr.
+Slocum, if you think you can prove anything.
+This court has heard all the testimony it needs to hear from you today.
+Chapter Two Bobby Holt smiled when the guard brought Elijah Slocum to the visiting room.
+Slocum sat on his side of the glass, and looked, red-faced, at his boss.
+Bobby, a Yale graduate, slipped into his smooth country manner.
+Many corporate predators had met their doom by underestimating him when he did this.
+This time, he hoped his gentle voice and diction would sooth his tormented friend.
+Mornin' to you, 'lijah.
+How they treatin' you in here?
+I only been here one day.
+Thanks, Bobby, for coming to see me.
+Bobby nodded.
+Suppose you tell me how you got arraigned.
+Shoot, suppose you tell me how you got arrested.
+I haven't had a chance to talk with you since you were arrested.
+Bobby, you and me go way back.
+Bobby nodded.
+You took me from way down and gave me a chance to be somebody.
+Bobby nodded again.
+Elijah's voice cracked.
+I am so embarrassed, I don't know whether to be angry or to die.
+Now don't go dyin' on me, 'lijah.
+No, no, you know I won't do that.
+I didn't do a sex crime, and I certainly didn’t kill that little girl.
+But here I am, and I signed a confession, and people think I did it.
+It's even in the newspapers.
+Bobby nodded.
+I saw an article or two.
+Confessed killer.
+Now, 'lijah, why'd you go and sign a paper sayin' you done that?
+Bobby cocked one eyebrow.
+They didn't coerce that out of you, did they?
+Elijah told Bobby Holt the story.
+And I was so thirsty, I thought I was going to die.
+I also knew they didn't care if I died or not.
+So I took my chances.
+But you know I didn't do such a heinous thing.
+Bobby nodded.
+My friend, knowin' and provin' are two different things.
+Yes, I do know.
+What I got to do is prove it.
+How you gonna do that?
+Bobby looked at his fingernails for a moment, then he stared Elijah straight in the eye.
+I won't fail you, Elijah.
+You just keep the faith.
+After the two men spoke another five minutes, Bobby Holt stood up and said, Well, my friend, I have a manufacturing division to run.
+I'll put out some sort of official statement later on.
+Don't worry about a thing.
+Elijah shook his head.
+Sorry, boss.
+The only thing I can do is worry.
+Bobby gave his friend a weak smile.
+Don't.
+Look, Elijah, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll tell you what I'm working on.
+But you have to promise me you won't tell anybody.
+Nothing can make me feel much worse than I do right now.
+What's your plan, boss man?
+First, I'm posting bail.
+I took out a second mortgage on my house, and that'll cover about half of it.
+So I just have to come up with the other half?
+No.
+I have a margin account.
+Also, I'm going to appeal to our company's board to put up $600,000 on your behalf.
+It may take some time, but I think I can persuade them.
+Wait a minute, Bobby.
+That's six grand plus four grand, plus whatever you get from your margin account.
+I only need eight grand.
+I don't get it.
+Are we talking, you know….
+Elijah silently mouthed the word scam.
+Bobby laughed a little at first.
+Then when Elijah gave him a dirty look, he burst out laughing.
+Elijah couldn't help but grin.
+Hey, Bobby, if you haven't noticed, my life is on the line.
+What's so funny.
+Bobby brought his laughter under control, and said, I'm not running a scam.
+Hell, no.
+What I am going to do is hire a private detective.
+First, they are going to find out who framed you, then….
+Bobby Then what?
+Never mind.
+Who are you going to hire, that firm that does our industrial work?
+Yeah, Martin and Santana.
+I know Kimberly Martin personally.
+I'm sure she'll take the case if I ask her.
+Yeah, well, good luck.
+You must not know her too well.
+She retired from the detective business just a few months ago.
+Kimberly squinted through her swollen eyes.
+Sweat trickled from her long red hair to the floor, but some of it ran into cuts on her face.
+It was hard to see, but they made her look.
+The man in front of her spit into a Coke can.
+We’re back, you stupid nigger-lover.
+Been back five minutes now and you aint ast if we kilt her.
+Kimberly could almost feel her hands wrap around this bigot’s throat.
+Except her hands were tied to the same chair her legs were tied to.
+She said nothing.
+She’s your sister, dammit!
+Don’t you want to know?
+The man slapped her.
+Look at me when I’m talking to you.
+She raised her head slightly.
+The man’s nose was inches from hers.
+We aint kilt her yet.
+He put his can between her nose and his, then spit into it.
+But we’re fixin’ to.
+That’s all up to you.
+Kimberly’s head dropped as far as it would go.
+The man flew into another rage.
+He’d flown into several today.
+Are you going to talk or not?
+He slapped her left breast hard, and the pain from the blow made her back arch.
+The man smiled.
+So, where’s that damn computer?
+You want me to hit you again?
+Kimberly’s mind drifted past the whiney, hateful voice, past the pain that wracked her body.
+She floated back to the weeks before her kidnapping.
+She pictured the man who would carry her away from here.
+Or would he?
+She wished she had made love to him.
+She wondered if she would ever have the chance again.
+A single whispered word wafted out onto the night air.
+Sinners.
+The tall man who had uttered the word blinked a light once.
+Another light blinked from the other side of the lane.
+In the middle of the lane sat a car, holding two teenagers.
+The light-blinkers crept toward the car, then stood just to the rear of its unlocked doors.
+Kevin’s lips gently brushed Beverly’s, then he shoved her away.
+In the window was a face covered with a black mask.
+Beverly looked stunned, then she saw the visage in the window.
+Ninja?
+Is this a joke, Kevin?
+You’re scaring me.
+Before Kevin could say anything, both car doors flew open.
+Arms reached in.
+Both Kevin and Beverly screamed.
+A guttural voice filled the night.
+Sinners!
+We shall make you repent!
+Beverly felt one arm wrap around her waist and another around her chest.
+She leaned forward and bit into a hairy arm.
+It was enough to make the man drop her.
+Beverly lurched forward, stumbled, and got back to her feet.
+She heard a man bellow something, and then she heard a loud cracking sound.
+Kimberly’s hand stroked idly across her husband’s belly.
+Do you know what I like best about fighting with you, Jerry?
+I love the way we make up.
+He didn’t say anything.
+She lifted one of his eyelids.
+Are you asleep, baby?
+Jerry sighed.
+Do you have to do that with my eyelids?
+Jerry, where you asleep or just pretending to be?
+Flatly, he said, I was only dreaming about you.
+She laughed.
+You liar.
+She wet the tip of her finger and put it in his belly button.
+You were probably dreaming about Pamela Anderson.
+She put her nose on his, and said, How come you’re so quiet, tonight, Jerry?
+Don’t I excite you any more?
+She kissed him lightly, almost playfully.
+It’s just a peaceful night, that’s all.
+And I’m really tired.
+Do you mind if we just go to sleep?
+He kissed her and said, You are gorgeous.
+Good night.
+Beverly ran just inside the edge of the woods, and stopped.
+She peered from behind a tree and looked at the car she had just run from.
+She saw two men carry Kevin’s limp form toward a van parked maybe fifty feet away.
+One of the men stumbled, and almost dropped Kevin.
+Beverly suddenly pulled her finger from her mouth, and looked at it in disgust.
+She wiped it dry on her pant leg.
+Under her breath, she said, What in the hell is going on?
+Almost in answer to her question, a twig snapped.
+Then another.
+Beverly’s finger went back into her mouth, and she began quivering like a trapped rabbit.
+Margie heard her son’s door open, but she kept reading her novel Little Jeremy came out of his room, his dog Sandy behind him.
+Without saying a word, he climbed onto the couch and sat next to his mother.
+She looked up from her book and said.
+Isn’t it past your bedtime, young man?
+Jeremy nodded.
+Then she asked him, So what are you doing up at this hour?
+Sandy was growling, and she woke me up.
+I think there’s someone outside.
+She laughed.
+You liar.
+You were probably dreaming about Pamela Anderson.
+She put her nose on his, and said, How come you’re so peaceful, tonight, Jerry?
+Don’t I excite you any more?
+It’s just a peaceful night, that’s all.
+And I’m really tired.
+Do you mind if we just go to sleep?
+He kissed her and said, You are gorgeous.
+Good night.
+Beverly ran just inside the edge of the woods, and stopped.
+She peered from behind a tree and looked at the car she had just run from.
+Two men were carrying Kevin’s limp form away.
+She suddenly pulled her finger from her mouth, and looked at it in disgust.
+She wiped it dry on her pant leg.
+Under her breath, she said, What in the hell is going on?
+Almost in answer to her question, a twig snapped.
+Then another.
+Beverly’s finger went back into her mouth, and she began quivering like a trapped rabbit.
+Jeremy came out of his room, his dog Sandy behind him.
+Without saying a word, he climbed onto the couch and sat next to his mother.
+She looked up from the novel she was reading and said.
+Isn’t it past your bedtime, young man?
+Jeremy nodded.
+Then she asked him, So what are you doing up at this hour?
+Sandy was growling, and she woke me up.
+I think there’s someone outside.
+Margie sighed and motioned for her son to sit on her lap.
+Jeremy, she’s not growling now.
+Do you hear her growl?
+They musta went away, he said.
+Beverly waited, and heard nothing.
+She decided to go for help, wherever that might be.
+She took two steps away from her tree.
+A man stepped in front of her.
+Hello, little sinner.
+She took in his features-tall, slender, stern.
+She turned from him and ran.
+Then she felt it-something sharp making its way into her body.
+And here is the synospis of the entire book: Synopsis of Nightrage A novel by Mark Lamendola Nightrage is a 90,000 word mystery-suspense novel.
+The story opens with a kidnapping in the middle of the night.
+Five years ago, Kimberly Martin brought a white supremacy group to its knees and foiled their plot to assassinate black presidential candidate Corey Powers.
+In the process, she won the contest for her lover’s heart—against her own sister.
+Shortly thereafter, she founded Martin and Santana, a detective agency.
+Kimberly’s husband, Jerry Santana, is a management consultant (he’s also a martial artist, body-builder, gun collector, and computer buff).
+Jerry helped Kimberly start her business, with the understanding she would never again do the dangerous work she did when she took on the white supremacists.
+Her agency, now with a large staff of detectives, has cachet with the local police.
+Most of their cases involve insurance investigations and other non-criminal work.
+Occasionally a project crosses the line into the world of criminal intrigue.
+When that happens, Kimberly does not work the case—an employee does.
+Since the agency started, Kimberly’s played it safe.
+Until now.
+When a long-time friend of Kimberly’s parents asks her to find his missing niece, Kimberly personally takes the case.
+In the process, she risks everything important to her.
+As the investigation continues, she finds herself navigating through a labyrinth of twists, turns, and interconnections.
+Kimberly’s first employee, Roger, is a physically attractive gay man in his early 40’s.
+He’s a frequent guest in the Martin-Santana home, and in fact, occasionally stays there in a room set aside for him.
+Life gets ugly when Roger comes home to find his lover’s mutilated and bloody corpse.
+Things escalate from there, and Kimberly eventually finds herself a target of a cult leader’s wrath.
+While Kimberly is embroiled in a fight to save all she’s worked for, including her marriage to a man she adores, an eight-year-old boy asks her to find his missing dog.
+His life is pathetic, and Kimberly is moved.
+Despite her problems with the kidnapping case and tragedy in her personal life, she cannot tell him no.
+The bond between the boy and his dog is strong enough to reach deep inside Kimberly’s heart.
+The bond between Kimberly and the boy goes beyond friendship.
+Kimberly’s involvement with the missing dog takes her deep into a wooded area, where she has her first conflict with a rap-sheet superstar (MacGruder).
+This puts her temporarily in league with the Knight—a self-appointed judge and executioner.
+The battle with MacGruder is brief, but it paves the way to disturbing revelations that shed light on the case of the missing girl.
+In fact, those revelations shed light on several recent events that speak of a consuming rage.
+Kimberly Martin loses her marriage, her house, then her job.
+Jerry has admired her for years, but respected her marriage as inviolable.
+Upon news of her divorce, he attempts to bring their relationship to a deeper level.
+Kimberly has always found Jerry attractive.
+Bound by her marriage, she never pursued her feelings for him.
+Bound by self-doubts brought on by an abusive spouse, she cannot see this man has deep and abiding feelings for her.
+Kimberly knows she is beautiful in outside appearance, and has endured many a leering glance and suggestive remark.
+Her ex-husband, however, made her feel she has little else to offer.
+He haunts her physically and emotionally when he finds out she is seeing Jerry.
+Her lack of self confidence compels her to prove she is more than a pretty face and curvy body, that she is worth an enduring relationship.
+While using Jerry’s modem, Kimberly stumbles onto a white supremacist computer Bulletin Board Service.
+She and Jerry discover a plot to assassinate Corey Powers, who is a military hero and a black presidential candidate.
+Kimberly invents Bleach, a male BBS persona who convinces the other BBS subscribers he is an old hand in the assassination business.
+Kimberly brings news of the BBS to detective Richard Gallatin.
+Unknown to her, Gallatin - through an alter ego - is on the BBS network and a leader in the group that plans to assassinate Powers.
+He is not happy to see her report, and responds accordingly.
+He sets a trap for her.
+Jerry’s friends rescue Kimberly and her look-alike younger sister Gina from separate groups of Gallatin’s cohorts.
+Kimberly’s fate was far worse than Gina’s, and while Kimberly recuperates in the hospital, Jerry takes Gina to Dallas to meet with Powers.
+Gina, forever the spoiled child, intrudes on Kimberly’s relationship with Jerry.
+Circumstances put both women temporarily in Jerry’s home.
+It is inconceivable to Gina that Jerry would prefer one sister over the other.
+The tension between the sisters runs likes thread through the story.
+Kimberly has a hard time believing any man would really love her, and she desperately wants Jerry to love her for the rest of her life.
+Her own insecurities combine with her fear she may lose Jerry to Gina.
+Kimberly has no choice but to go for the gold.
+Over Jerry’s objections, then later with his support, Kimberly goes undercover to foil the assassination plot.
+With her hair dyed, shortened, and put in a bun, she adopts a different voice, posture, and walk.
+Even Jerry does not recognize her.
+She infiltrates the BBS boys as Bleach’s chosen instrument.
+The plan for her to fake an assassination attempt is designed to identify the supremacists who join in the plot, and indict them on conspiracy charges.
+While Kimberly is away as Carol, Kimberly’s predatory ex-husband, Dave, finds Gina alone.
+Dave has lusted after Gina for years, and finally corners her.
+Gina’s unusual method of brutal defense against rape clearly shows she is more than a simple tart.
+Is her ingenious defense enough?
+Does she prevail?
+Gallatin and Kimberly cross paths again, while she is undercover as Carol.
+It is his job to teach her how to use a sniper rifle.
+Gallatin, a married man, hides his real identity from Carol, although Kimberly knows who he is.
+Gallatin notices Carol’s figure, despite her frumpy appearance and ill-fitting clothes.
+Her meek demeanor and naiveté lead him to believe he can control her, use her, and have his way with her.
+Kimberly becomes trapped between accepting his advances as Carol and advancing the cause for which she went undercover.
+To which self is she true?
+Other characters enrich the story.
+For example, Sal Posito is an Italian immigrant whose wife, known only as Mama Posito, dotes on Jerry.
+Several incidents show Sal’s intense love for, and almost religious devotion to, his wife.
+Sal believes God sent him an angel to love, and he makes that his purpose in life.
+The Positos have two adult sons who work in the family business.
+They comically complain about their Italian heritage.
+The one son says, Hey, don’t talk no Dago to us, Jerome.
+We hear that all day long in the business and it gets worse at home.
+If not for the great food, I’d quit being Italiano.
+When the Positos are closing up their store, robbers break in.
+Papa Posito, enraged by the sight of seeing his angel struck by one of the robbers, attacks the men.
+Mama Posito is able to get to the pistol they keep at the store, but she is too late to prevent Papa from being grievously injured.
+When Jerry visits Papa at the hospital, Mama tells him the story of the glass elephant.
+Her narrative reveals an incredible deepness of love, and it causes Jerry to look deeply into his own heart.
+In so doing, learns something about himself.
+Is Jerry really in love with Gina or with Kimberly?
+Does he love both of them, or does he discover he cannot love either?
+Does Carol - Kimberly’s alter ego - sleep with Gallatin, a man Kimberly detests?
+What does Kimberly’s ex-husband do that gets him on the front page of the newspaper?
+What is it about this news that gives Kimberly the most terrible embarrassment of her life?
+Does Corey Powers survive the staged assassination when it does not go off as planned?
+What happens at the end when Gina, with her hair now dyed the same color as her sister’s original auburn, approaches Kimberly with a shotgun in her hands?
+What dark secret does Kimberly discover about her sister, shortly after Gina raises the barrel of the gun?
+Mudwoman is a full-length mystery novel.
+Near the end of a long car trip, the rain lets up.
+Alan Bowers slams on his brakes when his headlights catch the figure of a woman.
+She is in shock, disoriented, nude, and covered in mud.
+The only thing she says is, Help me.
+When Alan attempts to bring her to the hospital, a pickup truck nearly runs him off the road.
+Shortly thereafter, the hospital provides the woman (Linda Baxter) with clothes and releases her to go with the police.
+When the police take Alan and Linda to the place where Alan found her, they follow her tracks back into the woods, where they discover a pit in which Linda had been buried.
+They find the remains of what must have been several hundred pounds of ice.
+Then they visit the spot where Linda was jogging - the last thing she remembers doing before climbing out of the pit.
+There, the police find tire tracks matching those of the vehicle that nearly ran Alan's car off the road.
+Alan takes Linda to her apartment, and a locksmith lets her in.
+Linda's heart stops when she finds her jogging shoes, shorts, and top neatly folded.
+She finds her home office ransacked.
+Linda begins to reveal a glimpse of her past, a past she wants to forget.
+Why the line of demarcation in Linda's life?
+She was a professional killer, in a special military unit.
+Now she and another woman are partners in an engineering firm, and she likes the peaceful life.
+With the discovery that her abductor rummaged through her home office, she fears both she and her partner Debbie are in danger.
+When she and Alan visit the police department and then the coroner, they hit on the connection: Linda survived abduction by a serial killer.
+The last person to fit the pattern was found with her uterus missing.
+And her skin was frostbitten in the middle of summer - ice!
+Linda's new job: go door to door in selected neighborhoods of possible suspects, disguised as a salesperson.
+Linda visits her psychiatrist, Dr.
+Jenkins, who deals with her trauma by saying men are concerned with penis size and women are fixated on breast size.
+He angers her by insisting this is the root of her problems, and dismisses her mudwoman story as something she fabricated.
+He tells her she is unwilling to date, because of this, and she reminds him of what she went through in the Marine Corps, and they are the ones who paid for her engineering degree.
+Again, he dismisses her as being sexually hung up.
+He ends the session by making a pass at her.
+The abductor, Pete, is an idiot savant.
+When Linda comes to his neighborhood, he recognizes her.
+He tricks her into getting out of view of the police van, and - through trickery - renders her unconscious and then binds her hands and feet.
+He destroys the wire she is wearing.
+He is not used to being in the company of a woman, so he takes his time with Linda and becomes fascinated with her.
+He comes to the realization he must free her, and agrees to do so as soon as the sun is down.
+Though she is locked in this man's house until sunset, she feels she has reached deep within him.
+Unfortunately, this is when Pete's masters show up.
+They administer a drug that knocks Linda out, then they take her to the airport in a wheelchair.
+When she comes to, she finds herself an unwilling employee of a brothel.
+The second time customers visit her room, she kills all three of them, using a crude weapon she fashioned after the first visit.
+She escapes onto the streets of Singapore.
+There, she assaults a policeman, gaining both a weapon and some money.
+Meanwhile, Pete defies orders and flies to Singapore to try to rescue Linda.
+Alan and Debbie find Pete's house, and they find a copy of his travel itinerary in his trash.
+Shortly after that, Linda finds a print shop and sends a fax to Debbie.
+All four people converge in Singapore, and Pete reveals the existence of a child prostitution ring, run by the same people who'd flown Linda to Singapore.
+The ring is headed by Yamamoto.
+Alan and Debbie convince Linda to go back to the United States, and Pete insists on escorting her.
+Alan and Debbie arrange to assist the local police for a short time.
+At the airport, a group of men attack Debbie, and Pete dies trying to protect her.
+She escapes, discovers Alan and Debbie were tricked and taken captive.
+She finds them and together they escape to the United States, home to Yamamoto.
+The investigation is rapid and fraught with danger.
+Clues, deadends, new clues, one lead barely tied to another, and a lot of legwork lead Linda and Alan to their ultimate goal.
+But it's not an easy road to run.
+Moves and countermoves characterize both sides.
+The pace becomes almost dizzying as Linda and Alan close in.
+Capture, rescue, escape, and pursuit follow one after another, until the final fatal showdown with Yamamoto.
+Who is Yamamoto?
+None other than the wife of Linda's psychiatrist.
+Yamamoto's true insanity make for a grisly climax to the action.
+In the end, Linda and Alan prevail.
+The book closes thusly: Linda put her head on Alan’s shoulder, and put her hand inside his shirt.
+Alan?
+Yes, dear mudwoman?
+Do you think we can have children?
+I’d like to get started right away.
+Little mudchildren.
+Sounds wonderful.
+What brought this on?
+I think you’ll like the pitter-patter of muddy little feet.
+It is time.
+The story opens with a brutal attack on two teenagers parked in a lover's lane late at night.
+The girl's uncle calls his friend, the heroine (Kimberly), in the wee hours.
+His call wakens her and her husband (Jerry).
+Kimberly, a nationally famous detective, agrees to help.
+While Kimberly is on the phone, you subtly see the love between Kimberly and Jerry.
+For example: Jerry came back in the room, and handed Kimberly a glass of water.
+She stroked his chest with the back of her hand before taking the glass.
+She sipped from it while she listened to Pete.
+We go to another scene: a discussion between the abductors, one of whom is The Knight: The Knight stretched his arm and examined his cut sleeve.
+That little sinner put up quite a fight.
+The ensuing conversation reveals a mind so twisted, even one of the abductors reacts in fear: Gary finished packing his things.
+He walked out of the room without further word.
+The next day, he gave notice at work and put his house up for sale.
+Who is our heroine?
+Five years ago, Kimberly Martin brought a white supremacy group to its knees and foiled their plot to assassinate black presidential candidate Corey Powers.
+In the process, she won the contest for her lover’s heart - against her own sister.
+Shortly thereafter, she started Martin and Santana, a detective agency.
+Kimberly’s husband, Jerry Santana, is a management consultant (he’s also a martial artist, body-builder, gun collector, and computer whiz).
+Jerry helped Kimberly start her business, with the understanding she would never again do the dangerous work she did when she took on the white supremacists.
+Her agency, now with a large staff of detectives, has cachet with the local police.
+Most of their cases involve insurance investigations and other non-criminal work.
+Occasionally a project crosses the line, and an employee works the case.
+Since the agency started, Kimberly’s played it safe.
+Until now.
+Kimberly personally takes the kidnapping case, and in the process puts her marriage on the line.
+As the investigation continues, however, that is the least of her concerns.
+Kimberly’s first employee, Roger, is a physically attractive gay man in his early 40’s.
+He’s a frequent guest in the Martin-Santana home, and in fact, occasionally stays there in a room set aside for him.
+Life gets ugly when Roger comes home to find his lover’s mutilated and bloody corpse.
+Things escalate from there, and Kimberly eventually finds herself a target of a cult leader’s wrath.
+While Kimberly is embroiled in a fight to save all she’s worked for, including her marriage to a man she adores, an eight-year-old boy asks her to find his missing dog.
+His life is pathetic, and Kimberly is moved.
+Despite the urgency of the kidnapping case, Kimberly becomes increasingly involved in this little boy's life.
+She does find his dog, by using the talents of a dog she babysits.
+Kimberly and Jerry have been playing secret games to gain the dog's affection, each to impress the other.
+Here's an excerpt: Roger said, I’m just taking today off.
+When are you coming back?
+Tonight?
+Yeah, tonight.
+Listen, do me a favor.
+Kimberly is borrowing Vicious today.
+Vicious?
+Jerry laughed and said, Luigie’s horse that poses as a dog.
+Roger said, Oh, Precious.
+The dog is partial to oysters.
+Oysters?
+That’s right, oysters.
+Now look, Kimberly gets really horny when she sees how much the dog worships me.
+And as you know, I like her horny.
+As much as possible.
+I’m not sure I follow.
+There is a green bowl I keep wrapped in plastic.
+I rub my hands all over it before Vicious visits.
+I also tape some of my hair clippings to the underside.
+Then I feed her one of her favorites.
+The dog.
+Roger sounded slightly irritated.
+I get it, I get it.
+Alright, I’ll take care of it.
+You’re a good man, Roj.
+We’re boarding now.
+Gotta run.
+Roger hung up the phone, and began rummaging through the cupboards.
+He was amazed that, in a home where both partners and a frequent guest cooked often, things got put back in the same place.
+He easily found what he was looking for.
+OK, let’s see.
+Green bowl, oysters.
+Blue dish, the little ravioli’s and a spray from Kim’s beige perfume bottle around the edges.
+The phone rang, and Roger answered it.
+It’s me, Jerry again.
+I left a rawhide next to the recliner in the den.
+Don’t touch it too much.
+It’s got my scent all over it.
+I meant to tell you about it earlier, but.
+I’ll take care of it.
+Thanks, Roj, you’re a peach.
+Roger hung up the phone.
+Let’s see, Jerry’s rawhide by the recliner, and Kim’s chew toy next to the window sill in the weight room.
+Don’t touch.
+Geez, if these two ever had a kid, I can only imagine.
+Kimberly does find the boy's missing dog, deep in the woods adjacent to the boy's trailer.
+The dog had chased and treed a man later identified by police as MacGruder, a known sex offender.
+The boy's mother recognizes him as the man who had harassed her at the diner where she worked.
+The battle with MacGruder is brief, but it paves the way to disturbing revelations that shed light on the case of the missing girl.
+In fact, those revelations shed light on several recent events that that speak of a consuming rage.
+A Knight rage.
+The Knight - the self-appointed prophet of God (and judge/executioner) who kidnapped the niece - realizes the connection between Kimberly and the boy.
+So he kidnaps him in an attempt to neutralize Kimberly as she continues to close in on him.
+Kimberly enlists the help of the boy's dog to locate him, and Kimberly conducts a stealthy rescue.
+Later, when the Knight finds out Kimberly is the one who injured the evil MacGruder to the point the man was immobilized in the hospital, he begins to question his idea that Kimberly is the Beast Woman.
+Very near the end, the Knight rescues Kimberly from extreme danger, only to suffer death at the hands of his own group's leader.
+The book closes with a banquet, at which Kimberly steps down as president of Martina and Santana, offering the job to Roger.
+Roger makes an offer, too: When he said that, Rhonda rose from her chair.
+People turned to look at her.
+Then Roger said, It is time.
+Rhonda, will you marry me?
+In the Library, Adam had pored over some Gregory Bateson material.
+Bateson had been a favorite with Adam and Ganya years before and Adam had once taken some pleasure in fighting with one of Bateson's former wives, the one with the forked cane.
+He considered himself in the right, naturellement.
+Precisely, he thought.
+City people were being asked to relate a system which confronted them as unalloyed hostility.
+Drivers and pedestrians alike caught in a dance of death.
+Pedestrians were not sure whether the wanted to simply flee or somehow to find a way to live that would be less hostile, less poison, less inhuman.
+Drivers took little pleasure in their daily round of incessant waiting, road rage and sheeplike acceptance of the reality until hostility boiled over and you got the quintessential Boston Driver.
+The driver thought the city should be his.
+The pedestrian should think the city should be his.
+Or hers.
+Or theirs.
+Both knew deep down that they were prisoners of an economic reality over which they had no control.
+And this fact alone was justification for Adam's Boylston Street Plunge.
+Afterward he would sing of it.
+The July sky of southern Mississippi glowed orange, yellow, and purple as the sun continued its decent below the western horizon.
+Sam Cristo stepped off the only bus leading into or out of the fringe town of Edgewood.
+The heavy breeze blowing from the Southwest brought little relief from the scorching heat compounded by the thick humidity.
+According to the local weather broadcast, which had been blaring through the crackling speakers of the bus driver's aging radio, the temperature had reached 105 degrees at its peak on this Saturday.
+With sweat fluidly running down his forehead, Sam surmised that the impending sunset would do little to negate the intensity of the afternoon heat.
+As the bus made its departure, Sam inhaled a cloud of dust kicked up by the bus tires spinning against the loose dirt road.
+Examining his surroundings, Sam realized that no one else had stepped off the bus at this stop.
+Rumor had it that Edgewood was not the sort of town that people ever visited, nor were the native citizens likely to leave the town at any point in their lives.
+A lifetime's journey had brought Sam to this shadow of a town, a municipality too small to appear on any map.
+People who wanted to find Edgewood would run into great difficulty if they were unfamiliar with the surrounding towns, some of which were also missing from most maps.
+The bus had dropped Sam off beside a bench that rested in front of a mini-mart called Ed's, which apparently doubled as the town bus station.
+Sam found it surprising that a bus would even bother to stop in such a diminutive town – he had expected to wind up in a larger town where he would have to ask for directions to Edgewood.
+Sam looked past Ed's mini-mart toward a saloon called Last Stop, which sat on the mini-mart's right.
+To the left of Ed's was a small combination post office/police station with a single patrol car parked in front – there was no mail truck in sight.
+In a town this small, he guessed, the mailman likely walked.
+Behind the three buildings, Sam could make out the top of what appeared to be an extensive forest.
+The area in which Sam stood seemed to be the center of town.
+Small, rancher-style homes lined the rest of the street on either side.
+Next to the bench was a road sign with the name Main Street on it – how original, Sam thought.
+With no additional roads immediately visible, Sam concluded that Main Street was the only road in town.
+He recalled a sign as the bus entered Edgewood, which had read Edgewood – Population: 95.
+The 95 appeared to be a slightly different shade of black than the rest of the sign's letters, as if the number were changed on a regular basis.
+Sam's skin began to burn under the intense heat so he decided it was a good time to get inside.
+He walked toward the Last Stop, determined to down a few cold beers and quench his increasing thirst.
+Sam had never been much of a drinker but tonight was a special occasion.
+After all, he was here to find the murderer of his beloved Jeanette.
+Detection seemed to be playing an odd role in the Panflickian life.
+Back at the Frisbie Memorial on Louisburg Square, the young Mr.
+Silliman closed the portfolio he had been perusing and picked up a Boston phone directory.
+It took him a few moments to locate the number he was seeking in the Government section.
+Soon he was speaking in hushed tones to a functionary at a local branch of the IRS.
+This soul informed him that there was indeed a percentage paid to those who reported subsequently proven instances of tax fraud.
+Silliman licked his patrician lips and unloosened his tie a tad, unbuttoning his blue Brooks Brothers buttondown collar.
+Everything he surmised about the odd person who stood between him and Serena told him that he was of the old hippie school.
+He had probably never paid a dime in taxes for whatever he and Mr.
+Pirhana had managed to win in Las Vegas.
+With major gusto Wendell B.
+We will give you the 1st chapter.
+In it we will identify the main character, that character's unique ability or traits, and set off in A direction.
+The following chapters and where we go in them are up to you.
+The direction is yours to choose, how the characters get there and what they do is up to you.
+The changes, the people, the situations that occur are dependant upon your imagination.
+Just remember that some thread of the plot line must remain, however thinly preserved, to the original character AND your chapter should end in some way to allow your fellow cyber novelists to carry on with.
+The main characters may not die and NO obscene, gratuitous foul language will be tolerated.
+We are a site for the entire family.
+As the Uber-Editor of this tome-to-be I have absolute and final say and any material that I deem to be inappropriate will be removed and deleted.
+The chapters will be posted in some manageable number in the order in which they arrive.
+If, after a month or so, you don't see your submission it means that you didn't make the cut.
+Don't be discouraged; read where we are and submit again.
+And again.
+And, above all, have fun with it.
+Hi there!
+I've been on the net since 1997.
+When I first started, I didn't even know how to surf!
+My Macintosh was 6 years old then.
+Slow, slow, slow.
+I saw the potential to reach people worldwide at almost no cost.
+Wow!
+But, how?
+I didn't have a web site.
+I didn't know how to set up a site.
+So, I worked with only email.
+It was tough.
+Frustrating.
+Then, I decided to set up a web site - without knowing how.
+I figured, that first you need to have a web host.
+So, I got one.
+I thought, they could make changes for me on my site.
+They did, but.
+Frustrated, I quit them and found another one which I use today.
+Now, since I didn't want to pay for someone to make changes to my site, I decided I had to learn html.
+At first, it looked difficult.
+I searched the bookstores to find a way to learn how to do it.
+I found Elizabeth Castro's book: HTML.
+Wow!
+She made it easy to learn.
+So, I spent many hours learning.
+Experimenting.
+It was fun and frustrating.
+Now, it is easier.
+Then, I asked myself.
+How can we earn income online?
+First, I figured I had to sell something, because I had no web skills.
+So, I decided to see if I can sell Hawaiian Chocolate Macadamia Nuts.
+After getting some help on my forms, I did set up a page and amazingly, I made a few sales.
+The net worked!
+I still sell them.
+Now, I wanted to promote my line of health and nutrition products.
+I saw the potential for that online.
+So, after months of testing.
+I put up my own web site.
+I called it: Earn Income Online!
+Sounded good to me and exactly what people want.
+Ever since I did that, and submitted my URL to thousands of sites.
+I eventually generated over 800,000 hits in 1998.
+Gathered thousands of leads.
+What a problem!
+Now.
+My biggest advantage is that I am a distributor for a company that has Distribution Centers in over 40 countries.
+What this means is that I don't have to ship any products outside of Hawaii.
+This meant that I could live in paradise and have a global income!
+Wow!
+On the net, I figured that I save on.
+Long distance calls.
+Postage.
+Printing and brochures.
+Sending out info massively in seconds.
+Training by partners worldwide - daily!
+All this meant less expenses and more profit.
+So.
+What a fun business!
+In 1997, after a lot of struggle in figuring out how to do it.
+And, countless hours - I achieved over $30,000 in online sales volume in my business.
+As I began to add more partners, and they did the same.
+A 1000% increase!
+I still can't believe it.
+Finally, all my efforts, patience, persistence, and belief paid off.
+Now, in 1999.
+More and more people are interested in joining our partnership.
+We are teaching them daily.
+We have templates of our web pages for our partners to use.
+We help them set up their web site - the web host sets up their pages.
+Then, we show them how to generate leads by supplying them thousands of sites for submission.
+What really astounds me is that.
+The net is the future of the world.
+It is fast becoming a way of uniting the people of all countries.
+Thanks to the net, we have thousands of friends worldwide.
+They know how we look like from our photos on the net.
+I would say, it is the greatest thing ever to happen to me in my life, besides marrying my beautiful wife, Nina.
+Our business is growing faster and faster - monthly.
+We are having so much fun.
+I didn't share all the many details in building my online business in this message.
+All that is covered in our daily online Entrepreneur Trainings - FREE to our business partners, worldwide.
+I am totally committed to help others do what we do online to earn income.
+I feel we have the #1 business opportunity on the Internet - for the average person to succeed.
+Nina and I are blessed in finding a way to earn income online.
+Nina and I wish you great success in your quest for online income.
+Of course, you are welcome to join our partners globally if you are serious about online income.
+By the way, we now have a new Macintosh G3/266 computer which we bought last year that is superfast, thanks to the profits from our online business.
+Now, the net is turbo fun!
+If you would like to take a nice, leisurely electronic stroll through the exhibits at the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, just click here for a virtual tour.
+This takes you on a step-by-step walkthrough of the exhibit hall.
+A Gem of a Story has been made possible through a partnership among: The United Parcel Service Foundation.
+The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS, provides local non-profit agencies with the support and funding necessary to meet existing and urgent community needs.
+The grants, ranging from US$10,000 to US$100,000 each, are distributed to organizations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada.
+Since the program's establishment, a total of US$30.
+UPS, the world's largest package distribution company and a sponsor of the 1998 and 2000 Olympic Games, employs more than 338,000 people worldwide and provides services to more than 200 countries and territories.
+UPS revenues for 1996 were US$22.
+Insite Distance Learning.
+Insite distance learning is a technology-driven initiative at Ball State University and the Indiana Academy to provide high-quality distance education programming to K-12 and college students and teachers.
+Programs include the K-12 electronic field trip series, elementary-level language classes, high school Advanced Placement courses, undergraduate- and graduate-level college classes, and professional development for teachers.
+The Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities and its Office of Outreach Programs.
+The Indiana Academy is a state magnet school for gifted high school students located on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
+It has two primary purposes.
+First, the Indiana Academy serves as a residential high school for approximately 300 gifted and talented juniors and seniors from across the state of Indiana.
+Second, through various Outreach programs, the Indiana Academy strives to stimulate and enable vitality in educational programs for academically gifted students and teachers.
+The Office of Outreach Programs has established itself as a state leader in distance learning opportunities throughout the nation.
+The National Museum of Natural History and its Natural Partners Program.
+The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History is one of the preeminent natural science museums in the world, housing millions of artifacts and some of the top scientists and researchers in the United States.
+The Natural Partners Program, a science-education initiative developed by the museum, provides students with access to vast scientific and cultural resources, using the Internet, CD-ROM, and interactive video-conferencing technology.
+This approach, called the Electronic Classroom, is the first step toward a new museum without walls.
+Ball State University, Ball State University Teachers College, and Ball State Teleplex.
+Ball State was established in 1918 as a state-funded institution of higher education in Muncie, Indiana.
+Today, more than 19,000 students are enrolled in 125 undergraduate programs, 76 master's programs, and 19 doctoral programs.
+Its 955-acre campus houses seven distinct colleges and 62 major buildings, including a 1.
+At its core, Ball State is a premier teaching university - a place where computer and telecommunications technology is used to enhance teaching and learning.
+The Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications.
+This includes daily satellite broadcasts, computer networking for email and links to the Internet, videotapes, and videodiscs, as well as technical training and content support for participants.
+The Cambridge-based corporation serves a broad base of educational institutions, non-profit agencies, government services, and businesses.
+Ruby and sapphire are varieties of the same mineral: corundum.
+Corundum is aluminum oxide, which is the second hardest material known (after diamond).
+Though it's relatively common, most corundum is not gem quality.
+It's normally mined for polishing compounds and abrasives, because of its extreme hardness.
+Pure corundum is colorless, but even tiny amounts of impurities can create a wide range of vivid colors.
+If a relatively small amount of chromium replaces aluminum, the corundum is tinted the red color of ruby.
+Or, if iron and titanium are present, the blue color of sapphire appears.
+Click on the thumbnail images below for full-size, high-resolution pictures of the specimens.
+Then click on the Back button of your browser to return to this page.
+At long last, ecommerce is gaining real momentum.
+Nielsen Media Research reports nearly 25% of consumers (or 20 million) who logged on to the Internet in the first six months of this year bought something online.
+A number of product categories - including books, music and electronics - are proving popular Web shopping items.
+However, one category outshines the rest.
+It took off so dramatically - even the experts were caught off guard.
+And many analysts were forced to overhaul their projections for the industry as a result.
+Of course, I am talking about online travel - the online sale of airline tickets, hotel bookings and travel packages.
+Datamonitor goes on to say the travel industry will account for 35% of all online sales by the year 2002.
+When id Software - maker of the phenomenally popular Quake - announced in June its next version will focus on multiplayer gaming, you could almost feel the thunderous applause from the online gaming community.
+Being the industry leader it is, gamers envision other developers following id down the multiplayer gaming path.
+Not that it’s going to take a lot of arm-twisting to convince developers there’s a future in online gaming.
+As we reported in our “Favorite Things to Do on the Web” series, (click for full story), interactive game fever is spreading.
+According to a study by +Plan, roughly 13% of Net users between 54 and 65 - and nearly a third of all 18-to-24-year-olds - go online to play games.
+Here’s what they’re finding when they get there: Hot sites for multiplayer gaming.
+GameSpot rated gaming services earlier this year, listing Internet Gaming Zone, Bezerk and Mplayer among its favorites.
+Click for full story.
+Best online games.
+In its current roundup of multiplayer games, Computer Shopper/NetBuyer gives HeadLand Digital Media’s NetWar high marks in the arcade space for its nonstop action and top-notch graphics and animation.
+If it's combat in the air you crave, Warbirds 2.
+Click for full story.
+What’s next.
+Over 15 million people in the U.
+The report says most online gamers currently pay nothing, frequenting free sites.
+It's a tried-and-true marketing strategy: First they lure you in with freebies.
+Once you’re hooked, you'll pay.
+Click for full story.
+Not all fun and games.
+More and more girls and women are discovering online gaming.
+And there are sites devoted to assisting those pursuits - from a Quake Women’s Forum to Da Valkyries - Women Gamers Online.
+But as FamilyPC reports, women often run into harsh language at many online gaming sites and, it turns out, a fair amount of harassment.
+Click for full story.
+How do you see the future of online gaming playing out?
+Will it get too expensive?
+Will it become kinder and gentler as it ages?
+Join our Rants and Raves forum and discuss online gaming issues with other AnchorDesk readers.
+I was sort of flattered when Jesse came to me and asked if I’d put together a special collection of downloads for today’s issue.
+I mean, he said I was the only one he could count on to do it right.
+I thought, “Whoa, time for me to ask for a raise.
+Occurred to me Jesse may have been making some point about my work ethic, but I chose to ignore that possibility and put together a fun collection for the 9-to-5 crowd.
+These are game downloads you can play by yourself, quietly, while the rest of the office thinks you’re concentrating intently on your work.
+I’ve linked more in the sidebar, but among my favorites: Bubble Puzzle 97: Shoot colored bubbles to the top of the playing field using a cannon.
+But hurry; they need to be removed before they hit the red field.
+Cool graphics, including the animated bubble faces.
+BrainsBreaker: Some pretty snazzy features in this jigsaw puzzle game that you work with your mouse or via keyboard shortcuts.
+You can also create puzzles with your own graphics.
+Challenge Pool for Win 3.
+You can control the cue with your mouse or keyboard; see all the shots the way the expert sees them.
+You know, Jesse may be trying to make a point, having me do this ultimate office goof-off thing.
+Like it will shame me into working harder or something.
+Know what?
+This was actually fun.
+Didn’t seem like work at all.
+Use the Easy Download Guide in the sidebar if you need help downloading.
+And for more games, check out the AnchorDesk collection of Killer Downloads.
+Click for AnchorDesk's Killer Downloads.
+The Doctor staggered into the TARDIS'es primary Console Room.
+Struggling against the encroaching unconsciousness, he set the Space/Time craft in motion.
+At least, he thought, the people of Pisces Australis Nine were safe.
+The same unfortunately could not be said for Kamelion II, the Doctor's cyborg companion from the planet Xeriphas.
+Kamelion had given his life to secure the Time Lord's escape.
+And all the Doctor could hope for now.
+Slumped against the large six sided console the Doctor sighed deeply.
+He was very grateful to see the steady rise and fall of the Time Rotor, as the TARDIS had correctly responded to his keyed in command, slipping the two of them into the safety of Vortex.
+Daleks!
+Even wounded, his voice possessed its normal, clipped edge.
+Am I to be dogged for all Time by their continued interference in my lives?
+He continued to grumble.
+Why, they're almost as annoying as the CIA of Gallifrey!
+As the Doctor righted himself to stand next to the wide control center, a hand idly swept across the broad, high forehead to brush back his mop of perspiration damp, strawberry blond hair.
+His hand moved to his side.
+Withdrawing it he saw it was covered with blood.
+This was hardly a surprise to the slightly enigmatic Time Lord, but he was rather annoyed by it.
+Carefully, gingerly removing his coat of many colors, he let it fall to his feet.
+Supporting his throbbing side, as best he could, the Doctor grimaced, then, staggered from the Console Room, a single destination in mind, the intimacy and serenity of his private suite.
+The Doctor had rallied the necessary energies required to, remove the rest of his garments, take a bath, and even to dress his wound, before collapsing face first onto his wide, Victorian bed.
+Without a sound the Doctor slowly rolled himself over.
+Slowly up righting himself he smiled at the accomplishment.
+Then for all his expended efforts he slipped off into a deep, yet fitful sleep.
+When consciousness returned to him, so did his slightly gravelly voice.
+Daleks!
+Though his green eyes were ravaged with pain, the arrogance of the Prydonian was still his; especially in the way he held his mouth.
+Guess I always knew it was just a matter of time before one of them got off a lucky shot.
+Simply dressed in a long white nightshirt, with a large, fluffy, multicolored, embroidered cat on its front, the Doctor chuckled, marveling slightly at his ability to make light of his present situation.
+Actually I am rather surprised I did make it this far in my rather long, if not illustrious career, before one of them did succeed.
+Briefly he closed his intense.
+Well, my dear, he whispered to the TARDIS, Quite obviously this is the end of the me, me.
+But, hopefully, it is but the beginning of something else.
+He sighed deeply,.
+For where their is life, Victoria their is.
+The Gallifreyan's gaze slowly traversed his domain.
+Huh, wonder who I'll become this time?
+Snuffling, his nose crinkled.
+Just as long as I don't turn back into that cricket lad.
+The Doctor scowled.
+Never was happy with that one.
+Chuckling, he began to drift off into the hazy in between, limbo ed existence that always preceded a regeneration.
+His words became badly distorted.
+Different.
+The Doctor inhaled deeply.
+How strange.
+At the eve of change, the Doctor had usually found himself among caring, devoted companions.
+The Doctor managed to arch a brow.
+Well, almost always, he sighed, recalling the second (and forced) regeneration.
+But even then, surrounded by the hostile, disapproving High Council, I certainly wasn't alone!
+The Doctor's sudden, heightened awareness of his isolation, his separation, his distance from home, was beginning to swamp him.
+Alone.
+I've never been so.
+Salt free tears welled in his eyes, and began to slowly trickle down his cheeks.
+Alone; Doctor?
+The Doctor blinked, and struggled to focus his sight.
+A puzzled look swept across his now ashen face.
+An enormous head shimmered, as it slowly materialized above him.
+Rassilon?
+Yes, Doctor, Rassilon soothed.
+Not alone.
+Not now, nor ever, but certainly not especially now, now at this time of becoming.
+The Doctor struggled briefly, then his eyes slowly closed, and he stopped breathing.
+This gentle, Prydonian Time Lord who had a fondness for kittens, and yellow/brown stripped trousers, was dead.
+The Daleks, evil machinations of the twisted Kaled scientist, Davros had finally managed to kill him.
+But not.
+Though his present body was no longer capable of sustaining life, with a little luck, and the release of a special hormone (lindos) from three special glands in his body, the individual cells of his body could renew.
+This was called Regeneration: a new chance at life.
+The huge transparency of Rassilon, hovering over the Doctor, concentrated briefly.
+Opening his ancient, venerable eyes he smiled, nodding his approval.
+And thus it begins.
+In the quiet of the Doctor's bed chamber, surrounded only by the ever present soothing hum of the TARDIS'es systems, and soft evening-times light, this transmogrification unique, slowly unfolded.
+The change began quietly, invisibly at first from the center most part of the Doctor's body; with ever increasing velocity, and visible manifestations as it radiated outward.
+The Doctor's lindos was well on its way to working its particular brand of magic.
+The lindos.
+The humanoid face and skin blackened markedly.
+The features of the Doctor's face blurred, like melting wax.
+The slightly rotund face began to shutter.
+But then.
+With the regeneration complete, a much thinner, and slightly younger looking body had replaced the former.
+The Doctor's breathing, slow and regular began again.
+All at once the Time Lord's eyes popped open.
+This time it was pair of hazel eyes that greeted the new day.
+Eyes that brimmed with keen intelligence, bubbling enthusiasm, and an incredible softness.
+The MAZER hologram of Rassilon nodded proudly, and slowly, silently shimmered into nothingness.
+A smile lazily spread itself across the Doctor's new and different face as the Gallifreyan realized a new life span had began.
+How did the Doctor know this with such certainty?
+The ever present pain of the last few hours of his former life had vanished.
+In the very first moments of existence for persona number sever, the Doctor slowly sat up.
+So.
+The rejuvenated head turned to the side in puzzlement.
+What a terribly odd sounding voice you have, Doctor.
+The Prydonian pouted in the old comfortable manner.
+Shakily standing the Doctor lightly padded over, in bare feet, to a cheval glass.
+Smiling at the unkempt reflection, the renegade from Gallifrey chuckled.
+This was for sure a downsized Gallifreyan who held up arms totally engulfed in the nightshirt's sleeves.
+The Doctor cackled.
+And once more to find myself all teeth and curls!
+The Time Lord grinned widely in approval at this discovery, proudly displaying nearly two full rows of perfect, glistening teeth, tousling the jumbled mass of curls framing the stranger's face.
+This Doctor's hair was a near copy of the earlier fourth persona's.
+Though I do recall it having a lot more reddish high lites.
+Stepping up to the mirror, for a closer scrutiny, the Doctor snarled at the newest in the line.
+Is that supposed to be a nose?
+Flapdoodle!
+The reflection was given a loud, raspy raspberry.
+How in the seven sons of Delos am I supposed to breathe through something as tiny as those?
+Sighing deeply, the Time Lord accepted that which was unchangeable.
+Well, one must take the rough with the smooth, the Doctor waxed philosophically.
+Unlike the females of our species, generally speaking, we have no choice in how a regeneration turns out.
+Suddenly the Doctor's features contorted in stark realization.
+Jumping' Jehosophat!
+But the Doctor quickly reconsidered.
+Can't be.
+Too.
+Glaring into the mirror this time, the Doctor watched as a pair of small hands began to explore the rather vacuous face.
+True, the features are very fine, one might even say, delicate, but I am the Doctor!
+Am I not?
+Turning from the freestanding mirror Number Seven made Decision One.
+However, first things first.
+A shower, a shave, and locate some proper fitting garments from Wardrobe; and a suitable pair of boots from my Boot Cupboard.
+The Doctor briefly reflected.
+Maybe Scarecrow's old things can be put into service yet again.
+The face brightened.
+As I always say: 'Never throw anything away, Susan'!
+The Doctor's face soured.
+Or is it that I always say.
+It's a mistake to clutter one's pockets, Harry'!
+Still in the former persona's nightshirt (complete with mostly dry blood stains), the Doctor had just finished picking up the discarded garments of Number Six.
+Only this time, in reverse order.
+Turning, the Time Lord headed back into the corridor, the jumble of clothing tucked under one arm.
+Softly, and a little sadly the Doctor spoke to the bundle of clothing as it was dumped into the built in hamper in a sidewall of the ever arcing corridor.
+Good night Joseph, old man.
+It was fun.
+Must do it again, sometime.
+Lightly tapping the front of the hopper the Doctor turned and headed deeper into the maze of the TARDIS'es corridor system.
+The Master was sitting in his own TARDIS his usual pensive, brooding, moody self.
+On one of his hands was a black leather mitt.
+Cradling it in his bare hand, the Master glared daggers at the constrictive glove.
+So soon?
+This can't be happening to me!
+Tremas was in his prime when I acquired his body.
+Somehow I've been double crossed!
+All at once his expression became venomous.
+Who else but the Doctor!
+I can feel his stupid, stubborn interference in this!
+Yes.
+I remember it now.
+Manipulating the Source!
+And in a later regeneration he was there too on Sarn when I used the Numismation gas to restore my size.
+The Master further contemplated.
+What I must do is assure for myself a new secure cycle of Regenerations while removing utterly, somehow, this very persistent thorn from my side.
+His mind continued to plot his villainy.
+And if I could somehow include in that plan those shallow, pompous, arrogant, poltroons who call themselves Time Lords.
+The outlaw Gallifreyan chuckled.
+That would be delicious!
+The Doctor sat in front of the dresser mirror, hair still damp, wearing an old outfit that had once belonged to Scarecrow (persona #2).
+One of the Doctor's hands was resting on a blue and white recorder.
+Scarecrow's garments fit, more or less, except for the navy colored coat.
+Why it was ill fitting, especially across the shoulders was perfectly apparent to the Doctor, now.
+The shower of a few minutes previous had removed all doubt as to what had happened in conjunction with particular regeneration.
+The Doctor.
+The Doctor looked at her dazed, disorientated, confounded, reflection.
+But how can this be?
+This isn't supposed to happen!
+The intensity of the reaction startled her.
+Looking at herself, her lower lip began to tremble.
+How?
+Why?
+She swallowed hard.
+Of course Gallifreyans come in two different models.
+She grinned slyly.
+It's far more fun that way.
+The fragile smile faded.
+However, one does not switch over to the other side simply because one regenerates.
+Her eyebrow arched.
+I mean, just the logistics of it all.
+Now that's some engineering.
+She cleared her throat.
+Indeed!
+She shook her head.
+This has never happened before.
+Even when people willed it to be.
+Never.
+Her voice became full of anger.
+So why now?
+Why pick on me?
+Turning her head slightly she smiled wistfully.
+If ever I had need of a Zero Room.
+Realizing what she had just said, the Doctor grabbed up the little wooden flute.
+The Zero Room of course!
+The Inter-Council of the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey had hurriedly, if not very un dignifiedly, been called into emergency session.
+It was a very intense and very stern President Flavia who addressed them.
+Then we are unanimous ladies and gentlemen.
+We must send a Panoptican summons to the Doctor.

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