Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 08:14:21 -0700 Reply-To: Hank Wyckoff Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Hank Wyckoff Subject: (11B/20) Frostmelt -- HL Posting -- SPLIT POSTING SPLIT POSTING -- In order to follow the maximum line rule Frostmelt (11B/20) -- By Henry Wyckoff A Crossover between Highlander/Forever Knight/X-Files/Sharpe's Rifles A Continuation of: When the Veil is Lifted The Duplicity "Now, explain this to me again," said Cancerman, in the passenger seat of the car driven by the Mad Chauffeur. "O.K., one more time from the top," Powys had lost his impudent grin, and now spoke with a frustrated snarl. "In real life, if you find a dead or live cat on opening the box, the cat will stay that way regardless of whoever else opens the box later on -- a collapsed wave can't uncollapse itself and remake it's decision. When the secretary was there to observe our departure from the room, her observation collapsed the wave -- so we are no longer potential human beings. "Now, pay attention. During the time before then, you were a potential human. You were both alive and dead, and had a high potential of getting your head blown off -- if I hadn't have been there, you would most likely have been dead by now. "I saved your life by fixing the dice of probability. I became a potential human being, just like you, and I made sure that I was going to live. That carried on to you." "I just can't believe this! You didn't hire anyone to kill the assassins that were supposed to kill me, you didn't outpay the assassins -- you just sat in my office drinking beers! You're saying that just by sitting there, you pulled all this off." "Some forces can act from a distance. Gravity is one. If you don't understand what I'm trying to tell you, then just take it on faith, until you *do* understand." Cancerman took another swig of ale. "How do you control probabilities?" "It's just something you do. How can you breathe? It's easy to say 'this is the muscle...' and so on, but when it comes down to it, you just breathe. It's the same way with this. You just roll the dice and go for it, throwing away all your expectations." Powys' eyes became focused. "You know, I think that was the hardest part -- letting go of my expectations. It's like a book I read -- part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series -- where Arthur learned that the secret to flight was in forgetting to fall. Part of the trick was not looking at the ground. I never wanted to try it myself, but the point still works." "You're insane!" "The word is luck-crazy. I've been living by luck for so long I don't even think I'm normal. No... I *know* I'm not." They reached the apartment where Mr X was holed up. There were no sounds in the complex -- no people, and no lights. It was like everyone had up and left. The two looked at one another. "I'd expect to find some sort of activity," muttered Cancerman. "No. We're in a node. There's never activity in a node except for pivoting." Cancerman decided to leave that one alone. They reached the door, and found that it was deadbolted. Powys looked at Cancerman -- he knew the drill, and turned away with a grimace for only two seconds. When he turned back around, the door opened. Powys smirked. Mr X sat on the sofa, finishing the glass of ale that Powys had left an hour ago, and munching on some crackers. He looked up at Powys, "I still can't call heads or tails." Cancerman looked around in confusion. "I don't see anyone! What happened to the assassins?" Mr X smiled viciously, "What assassins? I've been drinking this horrid beer your friend gave me, flipping this coin after he nearly put me to sleep!" Cancerman looked at Powys, who shrugged, "He chose to live." Muttering, he walked out the door, where he yelped in surprise. The other two ran over to where three fat, greasy men were stuck head-down in the apartment dumpster. One of them had lower legs that bent forward like a flamingo's. Cancerman looked once more at Powys, who shrugged, "They chose to die." ********************* *********************************************************************** Q: Want to know how to conserve bandwitdth? A: We all stay off the web and watch the servers shut down. =========================================================================