**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 95.11.05 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> Compiled by Hazed plus a team of specialist newsdroids **>> your news and gossip and get paid good groats! **>> STRIKE! Oh deary me, this is terrible! I don't know what to do... which button to push, what switch to press, should I even touch this lever here? ...!!SPROING!!... Whoops, guess not. In case you're wondering who I am, I'm Jephry-6, the H-by-A catering droid. I'm in charge of the very important task of providing refreshments to the hard-working journalists throughout their busy day and night. And it's not easy, let me tell you! Newsdroids are really quite particular about the amount of machine oil they want in their tea. But now, it's a disaster! I'm all alone in the H-by-A office, and if I don't do something, there won't be a news today. You see, the newsdroids have all gone on strike. They are taking industrial action for some reason - they're unhappy about Our Beloved Editrix, Hazed, and her habit of turning them into ashtrays and trash receptacles when she is upset. Personally, I've never found anything wrong with the way the demi-Divine one behaves, but then I'm only the lowly teadroid so what do I know? Anyway, they are refusing to return to work unless their demands are met, and Hazed has locked herself in her office in a sulk, muttering something about going off on a holiday and leaving the 'droids to stew, so I guess it's down to me. So let's see what happens if I press this button... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP... caCHUGga caCHUGga caCHUGga... Oh look, the news seems to be happening! **>> THE GREAT GROAT GIVE-BACK In the next few days, the TechDroid will replace the groats missing from Dukes and ex-Senators balances. At last, Occy will be able to buy drinks again! **>> TRIVIA TRIVIA TRIVIA... TONIGHT! Tonight (Sunday) is Trivia Night in Fed, so join G'Hostess Lyrynna to show how much you know about Fed. The fun starts at 9.00pm eastern in Chez Diesel. **>> BE A CHAMPION FIGHTER IN THE ADULT SPACE FANTASY We all know that Federation, the adult space fantasy multi-player game, is not a violent game. It's not about fighting, it's about trading. But sometimes, it does the soul good just to have a blast! Every second Sunday of the month its your chance to show off your fighting prowess and display the might of your powerful twin lasers in a fighting championship in Arena Space. If you've never fired a mag gun or a laser, come along and pick up some tips from the masters and mistresses of space warfare; if you think you've got what it takes to show the old hands a thing or two, issue a challenge and show us what you're made of! Join us on Sunday, November 12th, at 9.00pm eastern in Arena Space for the fighting championships! **>> HALLOWEEN FUN Last Sunday saw Grannie hosting a Halloween party for spooky revellers in Fed. Planet-owners outdid themselves to provide special scary locations for the party-goers to visit, the winner being Dierdre for her planet Cove. Winner of the costume contest was something so scary, so unusual, so shocking that it was making grown Fedders faint: >ex Oxcart with aprehension >You see before you a stunningly handsome and dashing young man. He's clean and dressed in a fine tuxedo. What a stunning disguise! **>> THANKSGIVING LOCATION CONTEST The Halloween planet location contest was such a success that we are going to repeat it for Thanksgiving, so all you POs should start thinking now about what modifications you want to make to your planets. **>> EPINI CENTRE OF GALACTIC CRIME WAVE A report in today cites the duchy of Epini as the centre of the scandal of missing spaceships that has been puzzling investigative agencies for years. Many theories have been advanced to explain the constant disappearance of ships, some fanciful and some plausible: - Ships have been eaten by a winged quadruped - Ships have been flown into the Galactic equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle - The Martians have been stealing ships to put together their invasion force - Clueless newbods are forgetting where they parked their ships But recently our investigators have found that seemingly new ships purchased to augment the Epini fleet are, in fact, second-hand models bearing fresh paintwork and new serial numbers. Many of these ships bear a remarkable resemblance to those missing vessels. We questioned Budwarp but he claimed to know nothing, and said he would have to ask his wife. Our investigations continue. **>> PLANET NEWS We promised you a review of Menua's new planet, Stonehenge, but since there are only 6 locations (3 space and 3 land) there's really nothing to write about. We'll revisit the planet when Menua has done a little more construction. **>> SPYNET REVIEW Congratulations to those who were promoted during the week. The new Captains were Quiet, Mycroftt, Spot, Korin, Muskegon, Milan and Seri. Shandi was promoted to Adventureuse. Capt, Daphne and Lorelei proved themselves adept at running their companies and were promoted to JP. **>> 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. The current Federation Game Hosts are: Freya, Porcupine, Lyrynna, Grannie, Sparky, Zzzax, Geezer, Magneto, Syfari and Goblin. Their function is to answer questions, help new players get started, and make fun things happen. In the event of a problem or question, you can: * talk to Hazed or one of the Game Hosts in the game * a message to Hazed * send mail on your host system to the Federation team: on GEnie, mail FEDII.2 or use the option on the main Fed page on Delphi, mail FED2 or use the option on the main Fed page on Cris, mail FEDERATION2 You can buy a copy of the very excellent Idiot's Guide to Federation for the paltry sum of $15.95. On GEnie, type ORDER from any main menu page. On Delphi and Cris, send a check for $15.95 to: Leah Parker, 4543 La Crescenta Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214-2912. **>> BULLETIN ENDS