🚀 go-pugleaf

Notes (No, not the post-it variety :):
        Webster and Webs Tor are the henchmen of Tsar Chasm, the villain
created by Ken Schmidt, who gave me the idea for this story.  Full circle,
eh? }->
        The Master of the Net will reappear in future reposts of Pliable
Lad.  Why else do you think I posted this? :)


Read Between the Lines #4: "Battle of Wits, Battle of Wills"
Copr. 1993 Mike Escutia
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        "Webster!"
        "Yup.", Tsar Chasm's aid said.  "We figured you could use some help."
        Webster, Pliable Lad, Kid Chivalry, and wReamhack were in a dark room
somewhere, with only Webster's flashlight providing light.  Webster had tel-
eported the LNHers away from the LNHers who were under the influence of the
Master of the Net.
        Looking around, KC said, "So where the heck are we?"
        Webster flipped on a nearby switch to reveal the the foursome were in
wReamhack's quarters.  The room was a mess.
        "Hey!", wReamhack complained.
        "A little disorganized, wReamhack?", Pli asked sarcastically.  KC
grinned.
        "Very funny", was the response from wReamhack.
        "We can talk room neatness later.", Webster interrupted.  "Right now,
I think we'd better help stop the Master of the Net."
        "Speaking of help," Pli said.  "where's Tsar Chasm himself?"
        Webster looked at the others, looking as if he was about to reveal
a secret, and said, "Who do you think's going up against the Master of the
Net?"

        In the computer room, two people at opposite ends of the room stood
facing each other.  The one by the computer system was dressed in a black
bodysuit and red cape, while the one at the far end of the room wore armor
and a blue cape.
        "Who ARE you?", the first one asked.
        "I told you once.", the armored figure said.  "But I'm feeling nice,
so I'll tell you again.  I am...Tsar Chasm!"
        "Well, *I* am the Master of the Net," the other one said.  "and you
are going to DIE!  Servants!  Attack!"
        Several of the Master of the Net's servants pulled out guns and fired
on the armored Tsar Chasm.  The bullets, however, bounced harmlessly off what
seemed to be a force field in front of T.C.
        A thin white man stepped out from behind the armored Tsar Chasm,
concentration on his face.  "Meet Protector.", Tsar Chasm said.  "I never
leave home without him."
        "Well.", the Master of the Net (henceforth called the Master) said.
"If you can't attack the body, attack the mind!"  With that, he quickly pres-
sed a button on the computer console, causing something to flash across the
screen as Tsar Chasm and Protector looked on.
        The Master was excited.  In less than a few seconds, he'd have
this armored man and his force-field-generating aide serving him, all thanks
to the control file he had tricked them into seeing.
        A few seconds passed...
        ...But nothing happened.
        Tsar Chasm turned to Webs Tor, saying "I didn't know you could do
that."
        "Neither did I.", Webs Tor replied with a shrug.  "I thought my Protec-
tor powers only worked against physical attacks."
        Suddenly, several LNHers, including Ultimate Ninja, Multi-Tasking Man,
and Kid Kirby, walked into the room.
        "Oh, good.  You're just in time to...oh, no.", Tsar Chasm said, realiz-
ing that the LNHers were not in their right minds.  [But were they ever? :)
--MRE]  The Master had already gotten to them.
        "LNH servants --attack!", the Master shouted.
        Several LNHers, led by the Ultimate Ninja, charged the force field.

        Pli, KC, wReamhack, and Webster had decided to use the terminal in
wReamhack's room (direct data connection }-) to get onto the main com-
puter.  There were too many mind-controlled LNHers about the building to risk
even one of the freedom fighters trying to get to the computer, so they didn't
take the chance.  Besides, KC didn't really want to run into Bad-Timing Boy
again.
        wReamhack, with the aid of Webster as Augmenter, was able to shut down
the port selector which allowed access to the computer from terminals.  Well,
they didn't quite shut it down as much as limit it to only one connection --
the session they were currently running.  Which, I suppose, made sense.
        The good part about this was that the computer was effectively isola-
ted from the net.  No e-mail, no newsgroups, no Talk, no IRC, no MU*, no
nothing.  The Master of the Net wouldn't be able to send out any more mes-
sages.
        After several minutes of silent searching, wReamhack gave a yelp.
        "What is it?", Pli asked.  "What's wrong?"
        "I found it!", wReamhack exclaimed.  "I found the text file the Net
Master (or whoever he is) hides in his postings!"
        "Really?", KC asked.  "Is it safe to read, or will it turn us into
zombies if we look at it?"
        "No, it's safe to read.", Webster said.  "I think some sort of encryp-
tion program is used to make them subliminal."
        "Hmmm...", Pli mused.  "Could we possibly change the text file, and
then send it out again?"
        "Do eight bits make up a byte?"

        Back in the computer room, Tsar Chasm and Webs Tor were about to be
attacked by several mind-controlled LNHers.  Webs Tor, as Protector, was tir-
ing, and his force field was weakening.
        Tsar Chasm was starting to consider retreating when he got an idea.
Signalling Protector to drop his force field, he folded his arms and made a
face.  "Oh, dear.  The all-mighty Legion of Net.Heroes, mind controlled by
the *greatest* dictator on the Net, about to attack me.  WhatEVER am I going
to do?"
        He wasn't really sure if his gamble would work; he had encountered one
or two mind-controlled people in his career, but they were hypnotized, not
electronically brainwashed.
        But it worked.  The LNHers all stopped in their tracks, unsure of
what to do.  Even if they were slaves of the Master of the Net, they could
still be affected by Tsar Chasm's powers.
        The Master of the Net, rather ticked off by current developments,
jumped into the aborted fight and attack Tsar Chasm himself.  With Webs Tor
still too weak to throw up a shield, Chasm had to brace himself for the mad-
man's attack.
        As they tussled, with the mind-controlled LNHers now beginning to
move again (though still under the Master's control), there was a flash
of light near the computer, a shout of "Hey, everybody!  Look at what we have
here!", and the press of a button as everyone in the room turned to face the
computer.

        Tsar Chasm wasn't affected by the subliminal message which had just
scrolled by on the screen, but did take a moment to catch his breath.  Un-
tangling himself from the Master, he approached the foursome at the computer
and asked, "What did you do?"
        "We changed the message in the 'control files'.", Webster said.  "It
now says 'If you are under the control of the Master of the Net, you are
freed.'."
        "Very good thinking, Webster.", Tsar Chasm said.
        As the affected LNHers came to, Pli noticed that the Master of the
Net was looking about in meek confusion.  "Where am I?  Who are you people?
Why am I dressed up like this?  And why is this masked man about to slice off
my head?", he asked.
        The Ultimate Ninja brought the man close, face-to-face.  "What are you
up to now, 'Master of the Net'?  What's your plan?  Why did you want to take
over the net?  Talk!"
        "What the heck are you talking about?", the man asked.  "I'm just
plain old Reggie Davenport.  I'm a taxi driver, for cryin' out loud, not some
would-be net.conquerer!"
        The various LNHers (and Tsar Chasm and company) just looked at each
other, unsure what to make of this development.
        "Oh, boy.", said Pliable Lad.

        It didn't take too long to get the port selector back up and the
new versions of the control files onto the net using the rnring.  wReamhack
was able to cancel the files the Master of the Net had sent out, which made
things a bit easier for the LNHers.
        The Master's servants, now freed of his control, returned to their
lives and homes.  Reggie Davenport, now in street clothes given to him by
Pocket Man, returned to his job as a Net.ropolis taxi driver.
        The Ultimate Ninja had Kid Kirby and Multi-Tasking Man return the
rnring to storage, and this time, Kid Kirby put it in a special box of his
own devising.
        Deeming the subliminal encryption program too dangerous to keep around
(at least at LNHQ), the ninja had wReamhack delete it.
        Tsar Chasm, Webster, and Webs Tor all left peacefully while no one was
looking, although TC did speak to Pocket Man quickly before leaving.
        Pliable Lad and Kid Chivalry, meanwhile, had taken to Pli's quarters
to read the comics they had just bought.


Epilogue:

        About twenty miles north of Indiana University, in a large, dark
mansion on the outskirts of town, a young man named Kenneth walked to a com-
puter terminal and sat down.  The file he had been expecting should his master
not return had just arrived, and he knew what to do with it.  Piping it through
a certain special program, he let it scroll by on the screen and penetrate his
subconscious mind.
        When the file had ended, the Master of the Net smiled and stood up.
It had been so easy to upload a copy of his mind directly to the LNH computer
and send it to his own computer when nobody was looking.  This Tsar Chasm had
defeated him this time, but next time he would be ready.
        Oh, yes, he would be ready.

FIN
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