LINE NOISE News from Chez Diesel 28 January, 1989 PEG-DEATH I don't know what to say. I'm utterly distraught! How can I carry on serving drinks when my favourite winged horse won't be there to buy them? I guess you've all heard the news by now. Fedders have been talking of nothing else since the announcement. The sound of weeping and wailing has filled the comm channels - as well as specula tion as to the cause of this tragedy. I speak, of course, of the imminent death of Pegasus (reputed to be the meanest son- of-a-bitch in the entire galaxy). He has decided to hang up his hooves and trade no more. But he is not merely retiring from public life - he has decided to end it all! He will be committing suicide at a date yet to be announced. Which of the 101 Ways to Die he will use is a closely guarded secret that even my extensive network of intelligence operatives has been unable to discover. Other publications (such as that scrurrilous sheet TWF, which has the temerity to call what it publishes NEWS) have been speculating wildly - and in the process have attracted another writ from my lawyers over their disparaging remarks on the quality of my pizzas. Nor have I been able to ascertain the reasons for Pegasus' shock decision. The Red Baron himself is unwilling to go into his motivation. Again, TWF have their own guesses which are probably wildly inaccurate. But popular sentiment seems to blame that journal for the impending tragedy; the continual press harrassment that the famous in Fed receive from the likes of Magius and TIRZ was too much for a sensitive soul like Pegasus to cope with. They hounded him in search of scandal, followed him day and night, and reported on his every motion to further their muck-raking 'journalism'. I hope they are satisfied now they have driven him to this desperate end! Other Fedders are shocked and stunned by this immiment loss. Sevrina is particularly upset, not only because she was a close personal friend of Pegasus but also because she relied upon Peg slaughtering GroundHogs regularly to feed her pet eagle, Bruce. She has been appealling for volunteers to take-over this important task, and I understand Pugwash has agreed to try and assume Pegasus' mantle. Pugwash herself is utterly bereft. She and Pegasus have been all but inseperable since the early days of Fed - indeed they once planned to get married but the thought of any offspring that might result from such a union - a cross between a homicidal winged horse and a sex-crazed leather goddess was enough to make them think again! Despite their occasional bitter (and very public) rows, they formed an unbeatable team. With the loss of her playmate, Pugwash's warm, loving character may well change as she tries to fill the gap left by her dear friend. Another sad Fedder is Omi, who has long been an admirer of Pegasus' reputation. He has vowed that no-one shall be allowed to forget the great winged horse, and has promised to erect something as soon as he gets his own planet (very excitable, these Juniors). Even those who were not close to Pegasus realise that his absence will make a great difference to the game. This could be the end of Fed as we know it! Our Illustrious Leader has been forced to cease working on Fed for the time being duing to circumstances beyond her control. The enormous super-computer that she works on has had a nervous breakdown under the strain, and has been placed in the care of a top robo-psychiatrist. It is expected to recover soon but in the meantime there will be no progress on the GM puzzle, or any of the other modifications she was working on. One minor modification that has gone in recently is that personas are now deleted, never to be recovered, if they are not used for 150 days. Will Samantha return in time to save her wealth? Apart from the sick computer, Bella is a little reluctant to spend too much time working on Fed these days because the Galactic Administration (currently under new management) is being a little recalcitrant in paying over her cut of the takings. Typical bureaucracy! This reluctance to pay over royalties is the reason why Pegterm+, the excellent link terminal for the C64 with programmable F-keys is not for sale on the net. However, for the many of you who are desperate to obtain a copy, all is not lost. If you bring a blank disk and a spare fiver to the meet next weekend, you can have a copy. If you intend to come back to Chez Diesel after the meet, your disk will be returned straight away; otherwise Pegasus will post it to you. If you cannot make the meet but would like a copy, mbx Peg (NO1) and I am sure he will make alternative arrangements for you! Of course, if you are bringing spare fivers to the meet, don't forget to-bring one to purchase your very own take-away version of THE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO FEDERATION II, an indispensible- publication that no Fedder with street-cred should be without. If you can't-come to the meet then you can order your copy by post from Hazed-by- Alcohol. See the details in the Fed News Directory. For those of you who have had your head in a bucket for the last few weeks, just a quick reminder that Fed's First Birthday Meet is being held on Sat 4 February at 7.00, at Pastaficio, 64-66 Duke St, London W1 - nearest tube is Bond Street. If you want to attend, mbx me and I will reserve a place for you - but I need to have final numbers by Thursday at the latest! Line Noise will be celebrating the Birthday with some special features. Look out over the next few weeks for an exclusive interview with Alan Lenton, the creator of Fed Data Space (without whom etc etc etc), and a look back on the first year of Fed - the development of the game, the people, and the bugs! Fed itself has been practically deserted for the last month, so I have no other news for you (and unlike TWF, I don't make things up when there is no real news!). I don't know what has caused this sudden absence of players, but what Fed really needs at the moment is lots of new Poor People for all the Rich People to victimise - I mean give jobs to. So why not try and persuade your friends to start playing Fed? I'll see you all next week for the best Fed Meet so far!