From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se Subject: blakes7-d Digest V99 #10 X-Loop: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se X-Mailing-List: archive/volume99/10 Precedence: list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/digest; boundary="----------------------------" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se Reply-To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se ------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blakes7-d Digest Volume 99 : Issue 10 Today's Topics: Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #302 Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #310 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 09:19:03 GMT From: "Dita Stanistraken" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se, blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #302 Message-Id: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 00:05:37 +0100 (MET) > From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se > Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #302 > To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se > Reply-to: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > ------------------------------ > > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > blakes7-d Digest Volume 98 : Issue 302 > > Today's Topics: > Re: [B7L] Gotcha all. > [B7L] Carnell - thanks again > [B7L] A New Character > Re: [B7L] A New Character > [B7L] Gareth photos > [B7L] Redemption and plays > [B7L] Horizon Newsflash 7/12/98 > > ------------------------------ > > Date: 06 Dec 1998 20:08:13 +0100 > From: Calle Dybedahl > To: > Subject: Re: [B7L] Gotcha all. > Message-ID: > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Spam and chain-letter-type things are not welcome on this list. Please > don't do that again. > > /Listadmin > -- > Calle Dybedahl, Vasav. 82, S-177 52 Jaerfaella,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se > Hello? Brain? What do we want for breakfast? > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 14:10:14 PST > From: "Joanne MacQueen" > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] Carnell - thanks again > Message-ID: <19981206221014.22088.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Hello all. > > Lisa, thank you for more pictures, but I still cannot see what it is > that some (female) members of the list have been drooling over . > Maybe you're right - one does need to see an animated version of the > pictures in order to have any idea. > > As for Dangermouse, don't worry about sending snow in the direction of > the Antipodean list members - it'll melt before it gets to us . > Either that, or some of us can hit you with our recently acquired copies > of "Mission: Impractical". Vandor Prime indeed! > > Regards > Joanne > > Once a moderately jolly wizard camped by a dried-up waterhole under the > shade of a tree that he was completely unable to identify. And he swore > as he hacked and hacked at a can of beer, saying, 'What kind of *idiots* > put beer in *tins*?' > Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent. > > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 17:29:47 EST > From: LordRab@aol.com > To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] A New Character > Message-ID: <18d3c1a4.366b055b@aol.com> > Content-type: multipart/mixed; > boundary="part0_912983387_boundary" > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > This is a multi-part message in MIME format. > > --part0_912983387_boundary > Content-ID: <0_912983387@inet_out.mail.aol.com.1> > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > > Hello All, > > I'm afraid the new character is me and this is my first posting to the group. > I have read and watched the progress for a few weeks now, concurrent with my > re-viewing of the Blake's 7 series from beginning to end with great interest. > > My fascination with Sci Fi goes back to childhood and I have digested the > good with the bad over the years but never has a series grabbed me in such a > way > as Blake's 7 has. Nevermind the cheesy monsters or the low budget special > effects, or even the occasional lame episode that goes nowhere. At it's heart > was a character > driven story that arced from episode to episode (not unlike a soap > opera) in which charcters reactions to plot developments did not always move > in predictable ways. This goes against the grain of most genre type fiction > where we are given clearly defined "heroes and heroines". Boiled down, most > sci fi on TV has always been cops and robbers or cowboys and indians in outer > space. > > Ok, Star Trek will give us the occasional moral dilemma, but they somehow > manage to wrap things up all neat and tidy by episodes end and the good guys > win (and we feel soooo good about it) and we have another valuable vanilla > morality play. Oh yes, and everyone recovers nicely from their wounds. > > A recent example: > > On Voyager, the HoloDoctor is assisted by a Cardasian (aka Nazi's in outer > space) Surgeon hologram whose barbaric medical experiments provided the data > necessary to save the life of a crew member. Of course the politically > correct crew are outraged and the data is destroyed in the end after being > used > succesfully because it's the right thing to do. > > All I could think of was a line from my favorite Blake's 7 character > (surprise!!!! It's Kerr Avon) : > > "I rarely comment on the Ethics of others" > > Cheers, > Rab > > "Give me ambiguity or give me something else" > > > > > > --part0_912983387_boundary > Content-ID: <0_912983387@inet_out.mail.aol.com.2> > Content-type: message/rfc822 > Content-disposition: inline > > Return-Path: <> > Received: from rly-yc03.mx.aol.com (rly-yc03.mail.aol.com [172.18.149.35]) by > air-yc04.mail.aol.com (v53.20) with SMTP; Sun, 06 Dec 1998 13:33:04 > -0500 > Received: from imo28.mx.aol.com (imo28.mx.aol.com [198.81.17.72]) > by rly-yc03.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) > with ESMTP id NAA21036 for ; > Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:33:03 -0500 (EST) > Received: from localhost (localhost) > by imo28.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.7.3/AOL-2.0.0) > with internal id NAA25536; > Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:33:04 -0500 (EST) > Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:33:04 -0500 (EST) > From: Mail Delivery Subsystem > Subject: Returned mail: User unknown > Message-Id: <199812061833.NAA25536@imo28.mx.aol.com> > To: LordRab@aol.com > Auto-Submitted: auto-generated (failure) > Mime-Version: 1.0 > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > The original message was received at Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:32:25 -0500 (EST) > from root@localhost > > *** ATTENTION *** > > An e-mail you sent to an Internet destination could not be delivered. > > The Internet address is listed in the section labeled: > "----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----". > > The reason your e-mail could not be delivered is listed in the section > labeled: > "----- Transcript of Session Follows -----". > > The line beginning with "<<<" describes the specific reason your e-mail could > not be delivered. The next line contains a second error message which is a > general translation for other e-mail servers. > > Please direct further questions regarding this message to the e-mail > administrator or Postmaster at that destination. > > > ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----- > > > ----- Transcript of session follows ----- > ... while talking to mailhost.lysator.liu.se.: > >>> RCPT To: > <<< 550 ... User unknown > 550 ... User unknown > > ----- Original message follows ----- > > Received: from LordRab@aol.com > by imo28.mx.aol.com (IMOv18.1) id 0XYGa05320 > for ; Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:32:24 -0500 (EST) > From: LordRab@aol.com > Return-path: > Message-ID: <89c09247.366acdb8@aol.com> > Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:32:24 EST > To: Blakes7-@lysator.liu.se > Mime-Version: 1.0 > Subject: A New Character > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit > X-Mailer: AOL 2.5 for Windows > > Hello All, > > I'm afraid the new character is me and this is my first posting to the group. > I have read and watched the progress for a few weeks now, concurrent with my > re-viewing of the Blake's 7 series from beginning to end with great interest. > > My fascination with Sci Fi goes back to childhood and I have digested the good > with the bad over the years but never has a series grabbed me in such a way as > Blake's 7 has. > Nevermind the cheesy monsters or the low budget special effects, or even the > occasional lame episode that goes nowhere. At it's heart was a character > driven story that arced from episode to episode (not unlike a soap > opera) in which charcters reactions to plot developments did not always move > in predictable ways. This goes against the grain of most genre type fiction > where we are given clearly defined "heroes and heroines". Boiled down, most > sci fi on TV has always been cops and robbers or cowboys and indians in outer > space. > > Ok, Star Trek will give us the occasional moral dilemma, but they somehow > manage to wrap things up all neat and tidy by episodes end and the good guys > win (and we feel soooo good about it) and we have another valuable vanilla > morality play. Oh yes, and everyone recovers nicely from their wounds. A > recent example: > > On Voyager, the HoloDoctor is assisted by a Cardasian (aka Nazi's in outer > space) Surgeon hologram whose barbaric medical experiments provided the data > necessary to save the life of a crew member. Of course the politically correct > crew are outraged and the data is destroyed in the end after being used > succesfully because it's the right thing to do. > > All I could think of was a line from my favorite Blake's 7 character > (surprise!!!! It's Kerr Avon): > > "I rarely comment on the Ethics of others" > > Cheers, > Rab > > > "Give me ambiguity or give me something else" > > > --part0_912983387_boundary-- > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 02:35:11 PST > From: "Penny Dreadful" > To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] A New Character > Message-ID: <19981207103511.11254.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Rab said > >Ok, Star Trek will give us the occasional moral dilemma, but they > somehow > >manage to wrap things up all neat and tidy by episodes end and the good > guys > >win... > > > Star Trek has an unfair advantage over B7 in this arena, inasmuch as it > has "good guys". B7 has, at best, "not-as-bad-as-some guys". > > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 12:11:56 +0100 (BST) > From: Judith Proctor > To: Lysator List > Subject: [B7L] Gareth photos > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=ISO-8859-1 > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by samantha.lysator.liu.se id AAA25067 > > Dangermouse very helpfully helped me trace some photos of Gareth in Pygma= > lion, > Cat on a hot Tin Roof, Jekyll and Hyde and Rebecca that are now in the Sc= > ottish > Theatre Archive. The best ones appear to be the Pygmalion ones (he was p= > laying > Colonel Pickering) > > I'm just about to send in an order for photos for myself and several frie= > nds.=20 > Does anyone else want any while I'm at it? Price is =A34 for a 7x5 photo= > , =A36 for > a 8x10, and =A310 for 20x16, plus postage. They're all black and white. > > If you're interested, mail me and I'll send you a list of the photos. Th= > ey'd > prefer me to send in one large order rather than everyone sending in sepa= > rate > orders as it makes their life simpler. (Besides, I can sort out the > overseas money more easily that way) > > I can't predict postage costs in advance, but I'll do it as reasonably as= > I can. > > I can't guarantee that you'll get your photos before Xmas as it depends o= > n how > busy the people at the archive are, so it's probably more likely that you= > 'll get > them in the New year. > > Judith > --=20 > http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 > > Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention =20 > 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent > http://www.smof.com/redemption/ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 14:07:38 +0100 (BST) > From: Judith Proctor > To: Lysator List > cc: Space City > Subject: [B7L] Redemption and plays > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Redemption is 26-28 Feb in Ashford in Kent. Paul Darrow is appearing in Swansea > in Guards Guards two days later, on Tuesday 2nd March and Gareth Thomas is in > 'The Hosts of Rebecca' the same week in Cardiff starting on the same day. > Students of geography will realise that Swansea and Cardiff are both in South > Wales and only about 30 miles apart. > > > Would there be interest if we organised a mini-bus/coach on the Monday from > Ashford to South Wales? > > If there's enough interest, we might be able to work out some kind of package > involving transport, accomodation in Wales for Tuesday and Wednesday night, > theatre tickets etc, but I'm only prepared to do that if there's sufficient > interest. > > Another thing that might be possible (and it is only might, because I've only > just thought of it - well actually a lady from Theatre Clwyd suggested it to me > about an hour ago) would be to try and arrange a get-together on the Monday > night with Paul and/or Gareth. > > Basically, the more people who are interested, the more effort I'm prepared to > expend in trying to put together something worthwhile. > > Judith > > -- > http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 > > Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention > 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent > http://www.smof.com/redemption/ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 23:03:09 +0000 > From: JMR > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] Horizon Newsflash 7/12/98 > Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19981207230309.007b9790@mail.clara.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > HORIZON NEWSFLASH 7 December 98 > > GARETH THOMAS > Gareth will play Tomos Treherne (the Narrator/Minister) in THE HOSTS OF > REBECCA an adaptation of a classical Welsh novel by Alexander Cordell. It > will play 04/27 February - Theatre Clwyd, Mold (Box Office 01352 755114) > and 01/06 March - New Theatre, Cardiff CF1 3LN (Box Office 01222 878889). > You can also watch out for him next year in a TV ad for Warburton's Bread, > in which he plays the father of an ice skater. > > The Horizon Club website: > > > > > > > J.M. Rolls > jager@clara.net > ---------------- > Steedophilia: The John Steed Website > > > -------------------------------- > End of blakes7-d Digest V98 Issue #302 > ************************************** > Dita, President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 09:20:08 GMT From: "Dita Stanistraken" To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se, blakes7@lysator.liu.se Subject: Re: blakes7-d Digest V98 #310 Message-Id: Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT > Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 19:23:23 +0100 (MET) > From: blakes7-d-request@lysator.liu.se > Subject: blakes7-d Digest V98 #310 > To: blakes7-d@lysator.liu.se > Reply-to: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > ------------------------------ > > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > blakes7-d Digest Volume 98 : Issue 310 > > Today's Topics: > Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. > Re: [B7L] Avon the genius? > Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. > Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > [B7L] ? > Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > [B7L] Gilbert and Servalan > [B7L] Travis has three faces > [B7L] Re: High Council > Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. > [B7L] Re: High Council Restoration > Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > [B7L] Avon the genius? > [B7L] OT : Pat F and other Sydney ladies > RE: [B7L] Travis has three faces > Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > [B7L] B7L-Breakfast with Blake and Co > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 03:31:30 PST > From: "Rob Clother" > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. > Message-ID: <19981216113130.9074.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Kathryn: > > >* Avon's probably a coffee person. > > The fourth series Avon is probably more of a pork pie person. > > -- Rob > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 06:51:31 EST > From: AChevron@aol.com > To: Tigerm1019@aol.com > Cc: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] Avon the genius? > Message-ID: <9a5f70ce.36779ec3@aol.com> > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 12/15/98 2:14:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, > Tigerm1019@aol.com writes: > > << This list would be > boring if everyone agreed on everything. :-) >> > > > Alas, I've failed in defending my icon! as you say however, it wouldn't be > much fun if we all agreed. Especially on those rare instances when one side or > another concedes to the opposition's viewpoint, as should happen on some > issues. This topic, I agree, is not one of those that has a "right" answer to > it. On to the next topic!!!:-) D. Rose > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 09:11:08 -0600 (CST) > From: Susan.Moore@uni.edu > To: BLAKES7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] Breakfast with Blake and Co. > Message-id: <01J5EETOYKC88WZMX0@uni.edu> > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > In the ongoing discussion of what people would eat for breakfast: > > Servalan: Caviar (or something else expensive and not too fattening) or > incompetent underlings > > Travis: Nails > > Avon: definitely a "coffee only" person > > Jenna: I agree with Judith, grapefruit > > Gan: Eggs, toast, broiled tomatoes, etc. > > Cally: Apparently nothing > > Vila: Beer and twinkies > > Vargas: The scenery > > All I can think of for now. > > Susan M. > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 08:33:14 +0100 (BST) > From: Judith Proctor > To: Lysator List > Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > On Wed 16 Dec, Penny Dreadful wrote: > > > >Why is Travis so interested in Keera? > > > > I always saw that as a seriously inept come-on. A hostile, half-hearted > > pick-up line. It's in keeping with my diagnosis of Travis' personality > > disorder (I'm not a psychologist, but I *do* have a second-hand copy of > > the "DSM-III-R Training Guide"). And I think after being "rejected" by > > the poor thing his pointless refusal to let her drink Jenna's blood is > > subconscious revenge. > > With a mutoid, a pick-up line would be irrelevent. They are conditioned to obey > orders. If he'd wanted sex, he would just have had to command it. Thus, I > think it was company he desired. > > Travis, like Blake, was dome bred (actually that's an assumption on my part - he > might have been from a frontier world). How does the dome dweller cope with an > outside environment? Travis had been a soldier and had obviously spent a lot of > time out of doors, but night alone on a strange planet must always carry some > fears. > > I agree with you that his refusal to let the mutoid drink Jenna's blood could > well have had a subconscious revenge element. > > > Why did Travis prefer mutoids? Was it simply because they were well trained and > never questioned orders or was there more to it than that? I think he once > claimed that he felt part mutoid himself because of his cybernetic arm, but I > think there was a bit more to it than that. > > Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids > because they weren't repelled by him? > > And that brings us onto the question of why he refused plastic surgery for his > eye. What do you think his motives were there? I think it was a bit more > complex than the reason he gave Servalan. > > Judith > > -- > http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 > > Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention > 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent > http://www.smof.com/redemption/ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 13:35:11 EST > From: Tigerm1019@aol.com > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > Message-ID: > Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 98-12-16 13:28:09 EST, Judith wrote: > > << Why did Travis prefer mutoids? Was it simply because they were well > trained and > never questioned orders or was there more to it than that? I think he once > claimed that he felt part mutoid himself because of his cybernetic arm, but I > think there was a bit more to it than that. > > Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to mutoids > because they weren't repelled by him? > >> > > Perhaps it was because he didn't consider them to be people the way he would a > human crew and he could thus be more ruthless with their lives. Or perhaps he > didn't have to worry about a mutoid crew mutiny the way he might have with a > human crew. Rai did say in "Seek-Locate-Destroy" that many officers would > refuse to serve with Travis. > > Tiger M > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:07:45 PST > From: "Rob Clother" > To: blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: [B7L] ? > Message-ID: <19981216190746.24437.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Anyone got any theories on why the High Council was alive and kicking in > "Rumours of Death", and yet it had to be "restored to power" later on, > as reported in "Traitor"? > > Perhaps Servalan dissolved it after the coup, in retaliation for Sula's > betrayal. > > -- Rob > > > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:55:59 PST > From: "Penny Dreadful" > To: Blakes7@lysator.liu.se > Subject: Re: [B7L] What does 'Duel' Tell Us... > Message-ID: <19981216195600.858.qmail@hotmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Judith said: > > >With a mutoid, a pick-up line would be irrelevent. They are > conditioned to obey > >orders. If he'd wanted sex, he would just have had to command it. > > I think it's more complicated than just "wanting sex". It's, um, wanting > to get someone to want to have sex with one. Hmm. Otherwise the world of > procreation would be much more straightforward than it is. > > >Why did Travis prefer mutoids? > >Was it more that he felt rejected by normal people and thus turned to > mutoids > >because they weren't repelled by him? > > I think he felt isolated from, and (psychologically) threatened by, > normal people even when he was physically "normal". I think he felt more > empathy for the mental processes of mutoids than he did for those of > normal people. > > >And that brings us onto the question of why he refused plastic surgery > for his > >eye. What do you think his motives were there? > > I think he perceived himself as a machine even before he got shot up, > and was glad of a chance to overtly display this inhumanity. > > - Penny "I Feel Your Pain" Dreadful > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:23:31 +0100 (BST) > From: Judith Proctor > To: Lysator List > cc: Space City > Subject: [B7L] Gilbert and Servalan > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > I'm delighted to announce that Chris Blenkarn's opus, the Gilbert and Servalan > Song Book is now available. This is a genzine and does not contain adult > material. > > Space City members in particular will have seen many of Chris's hilarious > Gilbert and Sullivan parodies this last year. Who could forget Servalan's > version of 'For I'm called Little Buttercup' or Travis's 'I am a Renegade' to a > tune that formerly belonged to the pirate king in Pirates of Penzance. > > Or Vila's Nightmare Song - > > When you still have the shakes from that last scheme of Blake's and you can't > get to sleep for anxiety, > You've consumed a relaxant, the effect's not apparant, you're still in a state > of sobreity, > Your nerves are all shot, the bedclothes they plot of your usual sweet dreams > to deprive you, > Your bedspread hits the floor, scatt'ring bottles galore and the sheet follows > shortly from under you, > > - and gets wilder and wilder > > Avon jumps on a horse, drinking neat Worcester Sauce, followed up with a large > whisky sour, > Then you turn to find Blake, who is munching fruit cake and a plateful of cold > cauliflower, > He asks you to dine, but you have to decline for you're falling into a large > cavern, > Feeling somewhat unstable you grab a chess table in what seems a late maniac > tavern, > etc. > > If you know Gilbert and Sulliva's Savoy operas then you'll be rolling on the > floor. If you don't know the original songs, then you'll still find these > parodies funny, but you may find a sudden dertermination to go out and buy a CD > of 'The Pirates of Penzance' or 'The Gondoliers'. The originals had great tunes > as well as having some of the most delightfully improbable plots of all time. > Speaking of improbable plots, this volume also contains the storyline for 'The > Pirates of Gauda Prime' a tale of amazing deeds that introduces the Scorpio crew > plus Blake, Cally, Servalan and Carnell in a PGP that shamelessly rips off the > plot of The Gondoliers and coms out with something even more improbable. > > This book is A4 in size, has laminated card covers and wire binding and cartoons > drawn by Michael Blenkarn. > > It's available from Judith Proctor, 28 Diprose Rd, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne, > Dorset, BH21 3QY, England for 5 pounds in the UK, 5.70 pounds to Europe, or $11 > cash to the USA, 6.80 pounds to Australia. > > Judith > > -- > http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7 > > Redemption 99 - The Blakes 7/Babylon 5 convention > 26-28 February 1999, Ashford International Hotel, Kent > http://www.smof.com/redemption/ > > ------------------------------ > > Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 19:35:28 +0100 (BST) > From: Judith Proctor > To: Lysator List > Subject: [B7L] Travis has three faces > Message-ID: > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=ISO-8859-1 > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by samantha.lysator.liu.se id TAA22255 > > On Tue 15 Dec, Julie Horner wrote: > > Judith said: > >=20 > > >There's an interesting comment in 'Weapon' where Travis refers to his = > visits > > >to the 'retraining therapist'. What's that about? Did it involve some = > kind of > > >mental manipulation. On days when I'm treating the two Travisis as sep= > arate > > >individuals (which I do occasionally for purposes of writing a story) = > then I > > >assume that the 'retraining' was to make the second man believe that h= > e was > > >the first as this is the first episode in which Brian Croucher appears= > . The > > >first Travis became unstable or died in a fight or accident (or Serval= > an had > > >him killed). Brain prints are a given technology in Blake's 7, as is m= > emory > > >adjustment, so it woud not be impossible to create a second Travis. Th= > e fact > > >that Servalan used the first Blake clone to test Travis is also indica= > tive. > > >Why test unless you have a reason to? And what was the involvement of = > the > > >clonemasters? Did they create the second Travis as well as the Blake c= > lones? > >=20 > > That is a really interesting theory but surely if the clonemasters had > > created the second Travis they would have made him look like the first = > (after > > all they managed that with Blake) Also how would one explain the fact = > that > > other characters knew that it was Travis? > > I was waiting for that question . I worked out a hypothesis t= > hat I'm > rather fond of and developed it into a story a while back. > > Southern Comfort 9.5 'The Travis Affair' which is (as far as I know) the = > only > Travis/Travis story in existence. Here's some (slightly censored) extrac= > ts that > explain one possible theory as to why each Travis looked the way he did. > > > The story opens during 'Aftermath' > > > Avon stood over Servalan as she lay sprawled on Hal Mellanby's floor. > > "Imagination my only limit? I'd be dead in a week." > > "But you have to admit, it would be a fascinating week." > > He allowed himself to laugh, the smile spreading over his face. Servalan= > had > style, you had to grant her that. She held out a hand, graciously permit= > ting > him to assist her from the floor. The seduction wasn't over yet: the ope= > ning > negotiations had been concluded, their basic bargaining positions establi= > shed; > now the game began in earnest. Avon took the proffered hand, with the sl= > ightest > mocking hint of a courtly bow. They had plenty of time until the Mellanb= > ys > returned from their foray against the Sarrans. Perhaps she would convinc= > e him > to abandon Blake, perhaps she wouldn't, but the game, with its multiple > overtones of power and sex, was worth playing for its own sake. > > "All you want is another Travis, just someone to follow your orders." > > "Not true." Her voice was low and throaty as she caressed his cheek with= > a long > slender finger. "I need a man with a mind of his own, someone whose skil= > ls > complement my own. Someone=99" her eyes traversed his figure up and down= > , and > then gazed directly into his own, "=99 someone I find attractive." > > Avon tilted Servalan's chin up and kissed her ruthlessly. "Was that why = > you had > him changed?" he inquired. > > "Changed? I can't imagine what you're talking about." > > He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "Can't= > you?" > > Warm and firm, her body conveyed a message that had nothing to do with th= > e > spoken conversation. "The records of Travis' trial are conclusive. No o= > ne > challenged his identity =99 the judicial computer confirmed both fingerpr= > int and > retina scan." Servalan's hands moulded themselves against him. "Don't y= > ou > think we should continue this conversation elsewhere?" > > But Avon's curiosity had been piqued. "So, you had the records altered." > > "On the contrary," her smile was pure innocence, "the records were not on= > ly > genuine, even men from his own unit identified him when they were called = > upon to > give evidence." > > "You're telling me that the original Travis was the fake?" > > "Correct." > > "Then why..." His words petered out. "Ah!" > > "I knew you'd see it." Her hands worked on his black, silk shirt, openin= > g it > and caressing the warm skin inside. "That's why I need you. Working wit= > h slow > minds is so tiresome."=20 > > "You needed to get rid of the original Travis; he knew too much about you= > r > fiasco with Orac. But you didn't actually have the original Travis, only= > a man > who thought he was Travis. To put him on public trial - it would have be= > en too > suspicious had he died suddenly =99 you needed the real thing. A clone t= > hen." > > "Exactly. The real Travis died in a space accident three days before he = > was due > to take charge of the hunt for Blake. I needed him. His hatred and obse= > ssion > for Blake gave him that extra edge. So, I made a new Travis." > > Which answered everything. The Federation were experts at memory manipul= > ation.=20 > No doubt they'd taken what they could get from the dying man's mind and t= > hen > topped it up with every detail possible from Travis' service record. Who= > their > victim had been before the transformation didn't really matter. Avon fou= > nd > himself unable to care greatly about the man, although Blake would probab= > ly have > found countless ironies in the situation. Blake, who had seen only the e= > yepatch > that distinguished Travis so strongly, and never wondered about the man b= > ehind > it. > > And what would Blake think now, if he could see Avon caressing Servalan? = > The > thought was perversely delightful; thumbing his nose at Blake gave Avon a= > great > sense of freedom. Travis' fate could wait for another day. Bending down= > , he > scooped Servalan into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom. > > ----------------------------------- > Explosions blossomed across the sky, strange exotic flowers that could ne= > ver > have grown on the surface of this world. Fen stood amongst the low clipp= > ed > hedges of the formal garden and watched with the patience of the very old= > . Why > the invaders had come to this galaxy she did not know, but the ancient co= > mpact > that the clonemasters had relied on for five centuries was over - each fa= > lling > shard arcing bright against the sky was another step closer to death. Th= > e > Andromedans had no need of those whose skill lay in cloning human tissue.= > When > one side could use a weapon and the other could not, the balance to be ga= > ined by > protecting it was gone. > > They were old. They were all old. Perhaps it was right that their time = > should > come. Another deadly flower exploded, sending crimson showers flaring br= > ight > against the stars. It might have been possible to seek shelter against th= > e > radiation, but she chose not to go; her world was passing and she would p= > ass > with it. The human race in all its genetic diversity would continue. Li= > fe > would continue, and that was all that mattered. People who demanded her > services never realised that cloning was ultimately a form of stagnation.= > It > was not for man or woman to determine the ultimate form of humanity; such= > hubris > sowed the seeds of its own downfall. The clonemasters had realised that = > long > ago. Manipulate men solely to gain strength and you lost versatility. B= > reed > for one feature and there was always a cost elsewhere. The Rule of Life = > said > 'copy, but do not create' and there was wisdom in that rule. Natural sel= > ection > was slow, but it was certain. She wondered idly, how many people realise= > d that > the ultimate purpose of the clonemasters had been to prevent cloning? Pr= > omise > to clone soldiers for one side if the other developed cloning techniques,= > and > you had the key to stagnation in the art. A fine balance, one dependent = > on > politics as much as threat. Fen had been a master in the art of diplomac= > y. She > knew that, and had no qualms regarding pride. Making the occasional clon= > e had > always been necessary for political reasons, both to bribe leaders and to= > remind > others of her power. > > Somewhere out there were men that she had created. Somewhere, buried in = > the > soil of the garden, beneath the carefully trained roses, there lay the bo= > dies of > men whom she had allowed to be destroyed. She felt a mild regret for the= > death > of the first Blake clone, but he had been newly formed with no memories o= > f his > own. Had Travis ever realised that that clone had been made, not to test= > her > accuracy in making Blakes, but to test his own reactions as a newly forme= > d > Travis? To make a clone who was unaware of his own nature was the harder = > art - > the memory transfer had to be an exact and painstaking process. She had s= > pared > the original Travis by way of atonement for the death of the living Blake= > clone.=20 > The clone she had created of the first Travis had never come to wakening,= > but > its dead body had been sufficient to convince Servalan of the man's death. > > Where was he now, the man to whom she had granted life in accordance with= > the > Rule of Life? > > A new star burst directly overhead and she welcomed it with open arms eve= > n as > the impact burst around her. The mysteries of this life were over, but s= > he had > faith in the next. > > ----------------------------- > > > Travis laughed aloud as the ship flipped over in a tight loop. The sheer > exhilaration of being in space again was worth any price. An alien ship = > flashed > briefly into view and his co-pilot sent a short, sharp laser burst toward= > s it.=20 > Twist and turn, the old skill hadn't deserted him yet. What did he care = > for the > people in Krantor's corrupt empire? He hadn't volunteered for their sake= > s, but > to be in space once more. The scanner showed a second ship moving to bra= > cket > him. A three second burn on the retros and he dropped back, evaded the t= > rap, > and headed low into the planet's gravity well. The Andromedans fought ba= > dly > close to atmosphere, he'd already learnt that. Their ships might have be= > en > ideal for crossing deep space, but their total lack of aerodynamics gave = > them > too much drag to manoeuvre well. > > Unheeding of his danger, the Andromedan pilot followed. Travis held his = > course, > down, straight down, until the man beside him clenched at the arms of his= > seat > in terror. Energy bolts streaked past them, fiery trails marking their p= > assage.=20 > Only when the hull sensors showed a temperature approaching the safety ma= > ximum > did he begin to pull his ship's nose up. A pursuit ship, he would have t= > aken > past the safety margin, but this aged blockade runner was twenty years ou= > t of > date and in need of a good overhaul. The hull vibrated as the ship resis= > ted the > turn, the short stubby wings barely holding up under the strain. With th= > e > momentum gained from the dive, he sped upwards, twisting into another loo= > p to > come suddenly past the alien ship, allowing his partner to rake her flank= > s with > laser bursts. > > Fire burst from the aft of the vessel, spreading in jagged tongues across= > her > hull. Three seconds later, she exploded. > > Travis didn't wait for applause, not that there would have been any. The= > re > would be more of them out there. A tight orbit to lose any that were wai= > ting > for him to emerge, and then back into the fray. He hadn't had this much = > fun > since... > > Since he'd met his counterpart. > > > It had been the week after Christmas, shortly before Mardi Gras. Freedom= > City > didn't operate by any normal calendar, it simply moved from one festival = > to > another. The croupiers had all put away the red suits which seemed to be > traditional for the season and were wearing what passed for their normal = > attire.=20 > Establishments around the rink were busy, but far from overflowing. He'd= > heard > about Travis almost as soon as the man had landed. It would have been ha= > rd not > to. Every third client passing through the brothel where he worked took = > pride > in informing him that he had a twin brother hanging around Chenie's place= > : > another man with an eyepatch and an artificial arm. And every one of the= > m > thought that the joke was original to him. He'd nearly broken the fifth = > man's > arm. It would have been so easy to claim that he'd tried to leave withou= > t > paying his girl, but then too many people roughed up were bad for busines= > s and > it was a good job, he even got a free night with the girls when he wanted= > it. > > Once his duty shift ended at 2am, he'd gone to Chenie's to investigate fo= > r > himself. > > The woman behind the bar was statuesque and blonde, not his type at all. = > She > raised an eyebrow at him as he pounded a fist on the wood to attract her > attention. > > "Don't say it," he growled. > > She tossed her head carelessly and looked him in the eye. "I wasn't goin= > g to." > > "Where is he?" > > "Travis?" The amount of contempt she managed to get into the word was am= > azing.=20 > "Why should I know?" > > He dropped a ten credit piece onto the counter, where it span and finally > wobbled to a halt. She pocketed the coin disdainfully, dropping it into s= > ome > hidden recess in her overfrilled costume. "He's a spacer, always after n= > ews of > incoming ships. You'll likely find him at one of the spaceport flophouse= > s; him > and Kline." > > "Kline?" > > "Never heard of him." > > Impatient with her obvious play for more money, Travis snatched out with = Dita, President and Supreme Commander of the Terran Federation. -------------------------------- End of blakes7-d Digest V99 Issue #10 *************************************