**>> SPYNET BULLETIN
**>> EARTHDATE 95.11.19
**>> 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!


**>> NEWS FROM THE TECHDROID

Our little metal friend is busy working on the new build system,
which will be put into the game later this week (assuming nothing
catastrophic happens). We will provide full details of how the
new system works when the code goes in.

Also expected with that version will be more commas, this time
in personal balances, making it much easier to see how much money
you have without having to count the digits!


**>> NOW FOR A NICE WORD!

It has come to the attention of our Newsdroids that Lorelei has
not been mentioned in the News since her betrothal to Instill.
Not only that, prior to this mentioning, not a single good thing
has been reported about her! We can not have that.

Lorelei, you are a swell cookie.


**>> A TAXING SITUATION!

It cannot have escaped your attention that people in Federation
DataSpace are aware of events following the declaration of
independence of Epini and Nexus Duchies, followed a few days
later by the declaration by Ausland and Naug Duchies.

These 4 duchies now form the backbone of the League of
Confederated Planets. It is rumoured that the LCP was kick
started by some Epini planet owners who had found some
unexplained changes to their stockpiles and treasuries and
reported to their Duke. Alarm bells rang all around Epini and
Nexus and soon to other sympathetic Dukes. As a result the
effected Dukes felt duty bound to protect their flock from this
insidious sabotage and hence the LCP was born.

The sole purpose of the LCP according to a leaked document of
the LCP's, found by a newsdroid nearby a garbage dump on
Epini, is to protect its participating planets from malicious and
damaging practices by traders as yet unidentified. It is rumored
that LCP's chief of security (who is this?... does anyone know?)
is currently installing covert devices in every Federation bar
in an effort to trace the perpetrators.

In an initial step apparently to further its purpose, the LCP has
levied a 25% duchy customs tax which the LCP must hope will
discourage the errant inside traders from hauling into the LCP.

In a crafty move the LCP have extended the favoured status of
0% customs between the LCP duchies which means, according
to the LCP, traders can buy and sell between the duchies without
incurring any tax and trade out of the LCP tax free. Planet
Owners will be relieved to know that there is no tax levied on
milkruns and workboard jobs into and out of the LCP... honest!
we asked Hazed.

In a further development the Solar System shipyards have been
kept busy by several traders who have had a strange blood red
insignia emblazoned on the side of their spaceships. Could this
be the start of a counter faction? Or should innocent bystanders
watch their backs? Is it just coincidence that sympathizers of
the LCP have inundated the shipyard on Starbase1 with requests
for dragoons (no... this is not a spelling mistake) gasping their
last breath to be stencilled on the sides of their spaceships.

In an effort to establish the facts our steadfast newsdroid
interviewed Budwarp:


Q: How does one become a member of the LCP?

A: You fill out an application. Epini and Nexus have waiting
lists - we are now running background checks on prospective
members.

Q: What would be some of the reasons you would reject a planet?

A: Sorry that information is sensitive.

(Newsdroids thought for sure that one of the questions would be
"Have you ever or are you a member of the communist party".)

Q: Have you ever partaken in smuggling to hurt your enemies?

A: Smuggle? Epini and Nexus does not engage in those activities! 
Epini and Nexus are set up to provide ongoing trade routes.

Q: What about a background check, Bud?

A: well we have engaged a security force to accomplish background
checks.

Q: Have you ever been subject of the background check, Budwarp?

A: Myself? a Backgound check? sure Budwarp's past is one of
honor.

Q: Have you ever engaged in the activity known as dumping?

A: Me?

Q: Yes, I was addressing you, Budwarp.

A: What a question!

Q: Care to answer it?

A: hmm dump in this version of fed or past?

Q: In your existence.

A: innocent, until proven quitly, of any such charge

(Newsdroids just happen to have documentation of Budwarp's past. 
Bribes are being accepted at this time.)

Q: Ok, to move on, would you deny someone admittance into the LCP
if they used to dump in the past?

A: Security is in charge of background checks - and such checks
are forwarderd to the the LCP review committee.

Q: Who is in charge of Security?

A: the person in charge of security is the head of security of
course - what a silly question.

(Newdroids wonder if Budwarp is as straight with the members of
LCP.)

Q: And do you know who this supposed "Dumper" is?

A: dumper/dumpers' identities are under investigation also. and
until proof positive is in hand - the LCP will not name anyone

Q: Could the dumper/dumpers be a member of LCP?

A: (Benson answers) not LCP been ok'ed for membership. how dumb
you think LCP is anyway?


Subsequently our newsdroid intercepted Brandy on her return
from a public relations tour of all the LCP planets and managed
to gain an interview. Brandy had apparently not had time to be
briefed on the latest situation so her comments would have
graced any senate gathering with their ambiguous content.


Q: Brandy, have you ever practiced the art of dumping ever in
your history of living here in this galaxy?

A: what me? I doubt it, I am such a nice person

Q: Have you ever known anyone who has practiced dumping?

A: No not "known" in that sense ;-) When Nexus was a planet I
never caught anyone "dumping"... But some days it sure lost a lot
of groats!

Q: Brandy, what would I have to do if I was a PO and wanted
admittance into LCP?

A: LCP has membership requiements under review

Q: And what are these requirements?

A: they are under review - but I can say that they become more
stringent with every raid

As you can see, no new information was found by continuing the
interview with Brandy. Bribes are also being taken to find out
what Brandy and the Newsdroid were on about when Brandy remarked,
"Background check? Well, I like -your- background!"

When Aja was asked about the LCP, her statement stood firm with,
"Sphinx Duchy will face this bald act of discrimination... using
the philosophies of Ghandi. We will lower our tariff and welcome
traders! We will welcome >all< traders... even trying to soften
the blow they are receiving by trading Epini and Nexus Duchies."


So there you have it. Where will all this lead? Could there be
a messy conflict or can the non LCP dukes/duchesses reveal the
identity of the inside traders who have allegedly caused so much
mayhem and damage to economies? Even if this was possible
would the LCP relent and drop its customs tax? (Goodness, sounds
like a soap opera, doesn't it?)


**>> STOP PRESS....

One of our newsdroids has just rushed in with the news that
Daphne has founded a small trading group which has announced
it is boycotting the LCP. It is no secret that Chance, Duke of
Choas, has trained Daphne in the art of exchange manipulation
and is promising to give her his full protection and we all
know what this means, don't we?


**>> DIRTY MINDS GET LAUNDERED
Has Trista been brainwashed?????

Trista has been running around all week insisting she has NOT
been brainwashed, that she was of sound mind when she seceded
from Nexus and joined Chaos. DrSpock pointed out to her, quite
logically, "How would you know if you've been brainwashed?"

Trista agreed to submit to a test and we planted a microphone in
the hospital on Conception: Present were Trista, DrSpock, Budwarp
and Dierdre of Epini (which is allied to Nexus) and Daphne, who
represented Chaos.

The hospital was sterile, filled with electrical equipment,
and smelled of old bandaids. The air was tense with nervous
expectations as Drspock underwent his examinations. It
started with the usual questions one would expect. "What is
your name?" Trista managed to get this one correct, with no
prompting. When asked where she lived, Trista answered, "In
a state of Bliss." Given that her planet is named Bliss, we
have to surmise that this was a correct answer. The series
of questions were all, as we could tell, answered correctly
with no prompting. This, however, did not stop Drspock from
testing Trista with a memory test. She was asked to
remember three things: a house, a shoe, and a car. When
asked to repeat these items back, to make sure she
remembered them correctly, the crowd muttered in
astonishment when Trista said, "A horse, a shovel, and a
carpet."

The tests carried on with Drspock asking Trista to count
backwards from 100 in increments of 7. Trista performed
the feat without a problem... until the end. She then broke
down in tears when she was unable to end at 0. After the
counting came the test on similes. Trista was asked the
meaning of "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Trista
concluded that this meant Mick Jagger smokes everything. No
fault could be found there!

Each test proved nothing about the state of Trista's mind.
One comment from her, however, might be considered
seriously, "But why do I have such unclean thoughts? If my
brain has been washed." This is the most valid statement
that the Newsdroids could find to prove whether or not
Trista had been brainwashed. But with that, Budwarp shook
his head and said, "terrible - we have to get the head of
security to move Trista's case up to the Top 10." Just who
=is= the head of security and is Trista's case on this list
with her knowledge? With these two statements, Newsdroids
feel uneasy knowing something somewhere just is not right!

Then the games were over! Drspock flipped a switch with one
fluid motion, engaging one of his many electrical toys.
Newsdroids were unable to identify this contraption, but
were impressed by the dials, beeps, and LED lights. Trista
was strapped to the chair, her head resting on a headrest
and bound by a cloth band. He then asked that everyone
step behind a shield for their safety. Before stepping
behind the sheild, Daphne quickly ran to the restrained victim
and covered her forehead with a unidentified lotion.

After the electrical surges, Trista was unable to remember
her name! Accusations flared against Daphne with shouts of
"Poisoned her!" and "Sabotage!" Daphne calmly held up a
bottle of suntan lotion and stated blandly, "I did not want
the scanner to burn her skin." The crowd was not appeased
by this simple gesture and name-calling commenced, and
matters were not helped by the solid fact of Trista's vacant
mind.

Finally Trista regained her wits when Daphne whispered
"Chance" while Trista was staring at large fuzzy dice. Upon
that whisper, Trista exclaimed, "Chance! I remember
Chance!" Then Daphne whispered "Chaos" to where Trista
happily shouted, "I know Chaos! Why, I am Trista, Squire
of Bliss, Duchy of Chaos!" Newsdroids were very relieved to
see that Trista had regained her mental capacities. But the
members of LCP frowned with consternation.

And then the tape got very fuzzy. So it is unclear to us whether
Daphne prevented DrSpock from brainwashing her, or prevented him
from 'un'brainwashing her.


**>> DEJA VU?

One of the remote control newsdroid satellites was blown off
course recently during a meteor storm. Although the satellite
sustained major damage, the mission was not a total loss; the
satellite managed to send back the following transmission before
its damaged transmitter shut down permanently.

The cowled figure stopped before the marble slab, raising a book
above the still figure immobile upon the hard, cold surface, and
began to chant. It rapidly became apparent that this newsdroid
was witnessing an attempt to raise the dead; something rarely
occurring in Fed because of the scarcity of personages able to
raise the dead, and the exorbitant price involved in doing so.

As the newsdroid observed this rite, the marble slab began to
glow brighter and brighter, before emitting a truly blinding
blast of intense white light, burning out almost all that
remained of the satellite's sensors. The audio continued just
long enough to record a second, husky voice observing in a
detached tone, "...but I seem to be in the WRONG body".

A search is in progress, when time and funds allow, for the
remains of the satellite and clues to this mysterious rite.


**>> DEJA VU TOO?

This past week witnessed the return of Senator Nightstalker from
Nightfall, putting an end to the rumors that he, like Tellurian
last year, had angered the Demi-Goddess and been demoted to the
lowly rank of Newbod.

The esteemed Senator's first stop was an undisclosed location,
where he met with a certain shady character for the period of
almost an hour. Newsdroids attempted to follow him but were
unable to pierce the shields of his companion. Senator
Nightstalker then stopped by Duke Chance's planet, Chaos,
for a visit with old friends and to offer advice on trading and
planetary economics to some of the young up and coming traders
and merchants.

Though Nightstalker's reception on Chaos was warm (and the news
team can only guess what went on between the Senator and his
shady companion), all of Federation did not rejoice at the
Senator's return. Certain factions of the LCP are rumored to
suspect Nightstalker of condoning the practice of "dumping"
and Dierdre, Duchess Consort of Duke Budwarp, was overheard
remarking "It's clear now, with this TIMELY return of
Nightstalker, who is REALLY behind all these act of sabotage".

The news team attempted to contact Senator Nightstalker for his
official position on the LCP and the practice of "dumping" but
received no reply from him before deadline.


**>> DON JUAN JORDAN...

Our newsdroids have picked up innumerable reports of Jordan's
seductions of the various beautiful women of Federation. What
Jordan does not seem to realize is that these women have familial
ties to some of the most powerful men in the galaxy. The Dukes
and Barons are getting annoyed at the exploits of this upstart
JP and when they involve their daughters, nieces, wives,
lovers... well there are threats, rumblings of war, even
assassination
contracts!

Jordan is hereby warned to keep his feet firmly planted on
whatever planet he finds himself on, and to keep his hands to
himself for the duration of his Federation career...


**>> SPYNET REVIEW

Congratulations to those who promoted. The new Captains were
Nykl, Wolfboy and Heilmeck.

Sting made it to Adventurer.

The Traders Guild admitted Amberli to its ranks.

Tesla and Sailor proved their economic prowess by becoming JPs.

Galena advanced her planet Mallavia to technical level, becoming
in the process a Technocrat.


**>> 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

* <SEND> 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