**>> SPYNET BULLETIN 
 **>> EARTHDATE 94.10.02 
 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE 
 
 **>> Compiled by Hazed plus a team of specialist newsdroids 
 **>> <SEND HAZED> your news and gossip and get paid good groats! 
 
 
 **>> GENIE ANNOUNCES REDUCED RATES FOR 9600 BPS ACCESS 
 
Fire up that high-speed modem and head for your favorite GEnie Software
Library! Effective October 3, 1994, you'll be able to access GEnie Services
at 9600 bps for as little as $5.00 per hour. This is a limited beta test,
and will be opened to all users on October 10, 1994. 
 
As a result of an arrangement with Sprint, GEnie will be offering 9600 bps
access from almost 300 SprintNet locations. Best of all, this high-speed
access will not be subject to high-priced surcharges. The normal $2.00 per
hour SprintNet surcharge will apply... even at 9600 bps! This open beta
test is expected to run through the end of the year. 
 
To find the number of the SprintNet access number nearest you, simply type
PHONES at any GEnie menu prompt (or use the "Move To Keyword" option in
GEnie for Windows and type PHONES). Remember, this rate applies only to
9600 bps access via SprintNet. So be sure to choose the access number
showing "9600" in the "Baud Rate" column AND "SprintNet" in the "Network"
column. 
 
From the "Fine Print" department, please note that the $2.00 per hour
surcharge for SprintNet access is applicable even during your initial four
hours of monthly usage. 
 
So, whether you're into downloading software, reading bulletin boards, or
accessing databases, it's about to become cheaper to do it faster!  Join
the beta test today, and get a headstart on the savings! 
 
 
 **>> SLOW-DOWN! 
 
The GEnie network suffered during the week, and on many occasions it was
very, very, very, very slow. However, you should remember that the computer
that Fed runs on may not be affected by these network delays - it's on a
completely different continent - so slow GEnie does not necessarily mean
the game itself will be slow. It's worth popping in to have a look. 
 
 
 **>> SAVING GRACE 
 
For technical reasons, the <SAVE> command has been removed from the game. 
 
This command dates back to when Fed was in beta-test, but since then it has
become redundant; the game automatically saves your persona when you leave,
and when you do anything significant such as get promoted. 
 
 
 **>> PORTABLE SPY-PROOF ROOM! 
 
In his paranoia, Looney has been experimenting in his laboratory, trying to
come up with the perfect spy-proof shield - one that will protect him from
the prying eyes of everyone, not just his peers. There was consternation
throughout the Galaxy when it looked like he might have succeeded!
Suddenly, people found themselves unable to spy on him at all. It worked!
He was completely spy-proof. 
 
Unfortunately, the device has a few side-effects. Not only is he spy-proof,
he's also kiss-proof and tell-proof! No sex and no private conversations...
is privacy worth making those sacrifices? 
 
Back to the drawing board, Looney. 
 
 
 **>> BLOOD BATH ON ROMA? 
 
Senator Marcia and Thane Ciaran were enjoying an intimate evening in Roma's
public baths when Marcia vanished without a word, leaving the unfortunate
thane... unfulfilled. It seems she had promised to help Eeyore with the JP
puzzle, and not warned her husband beforehand. 
 
Needless to say, Ciaran's Irish temper got the best of him, inspiring him
to fly about Federation space shouting insanely (a la Otoole) for somebody
to fight him. He found the spacelanes deserted, but found Marcia sometime
later back in the baths. In his madness, he slit his own throat and fell
lifeless into the pool while Marcia watched in horror. 
 
One hopes the servants cleaned up the carnage before Squire Cicero
returned; we understand he is quite finicky when it comes to dead bodies
floating about! 
 
 
 **>> POPULARITY POLL RESULTS 
      by One 
 
For the Past week I have been running a Popularity Poll to see who the most
popular person in Fed is (besides Bella and Hazed). There were 4 Categories
in which you would Vote: Best Senator, Duke, Baron and Your Overall
Favorite Person. This contest had all the regular rules: Bribing, Looting,
Stealing, Cheating, Killing, Plundering and Threatening were all allowed. 
 
The Senate results had Tellurian in First with 7 Votes! But Close behind
him was the Lovely Mira with 6 Votes! Last but not least in Third Topper
with 5 Votes! In this contest every Senator got at least 2 votes, whether
they deserved them or not. 
 
In the Duke category it looked as though Amigan would have it all the way
but he didn't. In the end Gemini pulled ahead barely with some last minute
votes. So the final results were Gemini with 11 votes, Amigan had 10 and
NightStalker had 7. Honorable mention was Looney with 5 votes. 
 
In the Baron category we had what I thought was a Landslide victory for
Maxwell in the first day! In the first 2 days of voting Maxwell had 9 votes
with the closest person being Blackadder with 2! But during the week
everyone turned out for Blackadder who pulled it out and won with 16 votes.
Second was Maxwell with 15 and Tellurain (Who voted for himself in all 4
categories) had 2 in Third place! 
 
In the final category for your Overall Favorite Person Occy had an early
lead but it was soon tied up when Dierdre got 3 and Mira had 3. But the
final score was Mira with 4 in First, Dierdre and Occy tied in Second with
3 each and in Third Amigan and Talisan tied with 2 each. 
 
The person with the most total votes is Amigan who had 12 votes combined,
and in second is Mira who had a total of 10 votes combined. Congratulations
to all the winners. 
 
One more thing, I'd like to thank all who voted and give an award to
Plantking and Ramius. Plantking announced for me what the 4 categories were
after I had repeated them dozens of times. And for Ramius who gave me the
Only 1 Line answer! Most people here are full of wind! Tellurain also had a
one line answer but his doesn't really count. (He voted for himself so that
was pretty easy.) Keep in touch for more contests! 
 
 
 **>> FROM THE SOCIETY NEWS DESK 
      By Lady Lulu 'Buffie' Capturfilingham   
 
Hello dearies! Yes, we're back from the beach, summer's demise having
driven us to autumnal pursuits and considerations. And of course, with the
change of season, I'm quite sure everyone's thoughts have turned to... 
what else but Fall Fashion! What can we expect to see on our fair populace
as temperatures drop and politics heat up? A quick perusal of a few notable
personalities might give us an idea of trends to watch!   
 
As it is always a good course to either start at the bottom or the top,
we'll spotlight our resident Demi-Goddess. Hazed set the standards earlier
this year with the sunbeams reflected from her mirror frock. (Rumor has it,
the label in the back proved the designer to be none other than God
himself!) Hazed gave us transitional casual-wear of a nice bubble ensemble
with a tag line of 'Can't a girl take a shower with a friend without
someone bothering her?' Good question, Hazed, and one I'm sure we all have
wanted to ask on occasion!   
 
However, all that notwithstanding, this morning the D.M. revealed to a
select audience on Kama, her tout de resistance for this Fall, sweeping
into the Glurg Memorial arrayed to 'sheer perfection' in 'You are dazzled
by such beauty! Truly there has never been a more gorgeous creature in the
history of history itself. All others pale into insignificance.' We are,
without exaggeration, properly overwhelmed. She was appropriately
accessorized with the ship, painted 'It gleams, it sparkles, it's the most
splendid vessel you have ever seen. Truly the ship that launched a thousand
faces!' Lady Dierdre, present at the unveiling, aptly noted what a good
complement this was to Lord Cryptosporidium's ship that has 'launched a
thousand feces.'   
 
Moving on, those perennial stilettos appear to be the hottest fashion
staple. We're seeing them affected by M. Mosquito, Galena and Nocturne,
among others. We also noticed Dierdre showing off a stunning casual look of
hip-hugger bell-bottoms. She passed us so fast though in her single-minded
trading frenzy that we're unsure if that ensemble included a 'crop-top' or
a 'riding crop' accessory. We did manage to catch the yellow rose on the
darling cap she was wearing.   
 
New arrival, Senorita Lola has set tongues wagging with her daring and
demonstrative pasties with tassels. We're wondering if this will be copied
by our other FED ladies! One also has to wonder if, should they do so, will
classes in operating the tassels then become de riguer? (Which leads one
immediately to ask who will step forward as instructor?)   
 
Duchesse Gemini has been seen recently visiting FED, back from her
demanding tour schedule. She is setting her own fashion standards as is her
usual wont, and has been attired in political postulation concerning the
precepts of the role of Porcupine. Oh dear me! Make that Concubine!    
 
A last note, the Lady Talisan seems to be making it a practice to enmesh
herself each season in a new bout of nuptials. Since we have reported on
her arrangements already twice before, we're asking ourselves if she plans
on actually getting it accomplished this go-around. We also must wonder if
she plans on dragging out that tired black lace sheath with the red
hour-glass embroidered on the bodice yet again, or if she'll get herself
something fresher in which to wed her Senator. However, on that subject,
this controversial wedding between Mlle. Talisan and Senator Tellurian just
might be the very kick-off of Fall Notable Events. So we're looking forward
to seeing the turn-out of Fall frocks on Tempest this eve at 10 p.m.
Eastern. See you at the Altar darlings... Ta ta! 
 
 
 **>> SPEAKING OF THAT WEDDING... 
 
We understand that the darling duo have asked Amigan, who will be presiding
over their wedding, to omit from the service the part where guests are
asked if they know of any reason why the marriage should not take place. So
if anyone does have objections... tough! 
 
 
 **>> FIRESALE ON EIRE 
 
Sean plans to have a fire sale this evening (Sunday) on Eire. He will be
forsaking his usual profit markups and configuring his exchange to give
Traders rock-bottom prices! 
 
This generosity on his part is in anticipation of his promotion to Baron on
Sunday. Could this mean that Sean plans to enter politics? If he makes Duke
fast enough, he could change the political map of the Galaxy by enticing
planets away from their current homes. And that could affect the Emperor
race badly! 
 
We'll have to see how soon Sean can rush through his Duke builds and solve
the devilish puzzle. 
 
 
 **>> PLANETS AND DUCHIES 
 
There's not been much movement in the duchies; only that caused by planets
spinning in and out. 
 
Xyzzy's new planet, Advent, was linked in on Friday and joined up with the
Duchy of Nightfall. This might be a good planet... but we don't know,
because we were unable to find the way to the main part of the world! The
usual services cluster around the landing pad; there's a beach where you
can swim in the glass sea, or dive to the sea bottom... but we couldn't get
any further than that. We'll have to get the owner to give us a guided
tour, then we'll do a proper report next week. 
 
Djmayhem's Halcyon advanced to mining and turned mini. 
 
Amerigo's Vespi also turned mini... despite only being in the game for a
short time, he volunteered to decrease the planet in size to make room for
new planets. 
 
Aja's new planet will be linked into the game early next week. 
 
 
 **>> THE RACE FOR EMPEROR 
 
It's no longer a three-horse race - Senator Elex has announced his
intention of standing for the role of Emperor of the Galaxy, and posted
some campaign speeches in the MPGames board. He could be a strong
contender! 
 
 
 **>> SPYNET REVIEW 
 
Congratulations to everyone who promoted during the week. 
 
The new Captains were Parker, Newsdroid, Looker, Primetime, Tellurmom,
Gwen, Winter, Kirsten, Ultraman, Zongalinga, Lola, Chickenhawk, Tubesock,
Centurian and Logan. 
 
Spider, Primetime, Oingy, Lola and Ultraman reached Adventurer/euse. 
 
The Traders Guild admitted Tasar, Kassandra, Primetime, Lola and Wahb. 
 
Corwin and Lola were promoted to Merchant. 
 
Eeyore and Killa made it to JP by solving the awesome puzzle. 
 
Briefcase cracked the fiendish GM puzzle, and then went on to make
Explorer. 
 
Xyzzy became a Squire when her new planet was linked. 
 
Finally, Mosquito played her 1000th game! 
 
 
 **>> CONTACTS 
 
The following information will appear at the end of every News Bulletin, so
you don't have to read it if you already know it. 
 
In the event of a problem or question, you can: 
 
 * talk to Hazed, Bella, Emmi, Mira or Tellurian in the game 
 
 * <SEND> a message to Hazed 
 
 * send GEnie mail with the Mail about Federation option from the main menu
 
A front-end terminal program is available for Federation, for the PC and
Amiga. You can download a copy of FedTerm from the Federation official
libraries (option 3 on the main Fed page). 
 
The third edition of the unexpurgated printed Idiot's Guide to Federation
is now available, price $15.95. Type ORDER from any GEnie main menu and buy
one. Or more! 
 
Federation has several categories in the MPGames RT. To get there, type
M1045,1 from any menu prompt and SET category 13 (for information,
instructions, questions and answers) or 14 (for general chat and
discussions). The Federation Leader in the bulletin board is Oxcart (Mail
ID: J.LONG29). There are also private categories for Explorers and the
Sentate, run by Krell (Mail ID: K.HILLYER). 
 
The MPGames RT has a Federation player library in the files area, Lib 5. 
 
 
 **>> BULLETIN ENDS