------------------------------------- Note 22 Prank *** A Story by Dr. Graper *** 11/20/80 5:51 pm brian dear / udperuse Dear Friends: This is a prank note. Prank. PRANK. Look at the fucking word. Prank. Makes you wonder where in hell it came from. Is it French? German? I think German. Now keep looking at the word. Prank. I saw it in sexednotes. It said, "All Prank notes will be deleted." Have you gotten into the magic of the word yet? Try looking at it really seriously. Here: Prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Say it in your head when you read it. Prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Got it yet? I hope so. Prank. Think of prank. What is a prank? (Keep thinking about the weirdness of the word; repeat it if you have to). You are in =reality=. To the PLATO staff, you are a "prank," of sorts. You're______ sort of a prank. That's what prank means. Prank. Prank. All prank notes will be deleted. Prank. Prank. Prank. ---------------------------------------- Response 1 of 4 *** A Story by Dr. Graper *** 11/20/80 5:51 pm brian dear / udperuse PART II: Mental Explorations of the PLATO Office building when nobody's around Don't try and fool me. I know that Fred Hofstetter is just an extra in the film of my life they're doing right now. Yeah. Boy, is it going to be an epic: sort of avant-garde, you know? I mean, all these props and stuff, building that amazing Roland Garton robot to amaze me and everything. . . .and it'll all run for about 70 odd years straight. 40 thousand reels of film. Hi! I spend a lot of time skiing! You can call me Suzy Chapstick! (Deeper Voice) Hi, I spend a lot of time on PLATO typing stories. You can call me Doctor Chapstick! Right now, the telephone lies mute, black, plastic and all that, waiting to ring and buzz and make annoying sounds. On it is Santa Claus, trying to reach Fred H. via the secret tie line to the office building. "Fred? That you?" ---------------------------------------- Response 2 of 4 *** A Story by Dr. Graper *** 11/20/80 5:52 pm brian dear / udperuse PART III: Santa Claus calls PLATO and arranges a demo "Fred? Is that you?" Rather than say he isn't here, I decide to imitate him. Luckily the line from the north pole to here isn't too good. "Hello, Santa. What's up?" "You're not Fred!!" Uh oh. The other end hangs up. The office begins to darken. Oh no. Heebie Jeebie time. Thank god I'm a prank and can stand this sort of stuff. BANG! BANG! What's that? Something hit the roof!! There's a jingling sound. Oh christ, it's santa! Jesus, he can travel fast. The place gets real dark. Uh oh. Vampire santa claus. This is getting real scary, no shit!! Where's the staff gun rack?? ---------------------------------------- Response 3 of 4 *** A Story by Dr. Graper *** 11/20/80 5:53 pm brian dear / udperuse PART IV: What we__ need is a little professionalism!! "HO HO HO!" Santa says. There are like four floors in this building. He's on the third now. He's coming down slow to scare me. The light is real low now. Where the hell is the magazine for this M-16?? Dammit!! Here's one. . .what the fuck? Empty? Shit, I wish people would throw away their empty magazines when they're done shooting !! I'll write a note in staffnotes. "HO HO HO," he says. Scary. Oh screw santa claus. I'm a prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Prank. Santa cannot stand a prank. "Prank notes will be deleted, Santa!!!" I shout up the stairs at the bastard. That scares him off. His sleigh slides off the roof onto the car next door. Woah. Boy, what time is it? Look, who cares. I've been working on this problem all night now and it still doesn't zero this variable when I press this here key such and such a way. I mean, a real ---------------------------------------- Response 4 of 4 *** A Story by Dr. Graper *** 11/20/80 5:53 pm brian dear / udperuse reality/uofdel 7/3/80 6:07 am graper/udperuse/unidel PART V: . . .and the cock crows on another PLATO day. . . crackerjack programmer would know what to do no sweat. A freight train or at least one big truck is headed right for the front door. I wonder if I should go out and knock on the fellow's window, maybe tell him to slow down and watch out where he's going. Ben Williams (a crackerjack programmer) won't talk to me tonight because he said somebody would break his arms or something. Ouch. Oh no. Anatomical delusions. Spinal taps. Kneecap transplants. Root canal work. The PLATO office building late at night. It's more than just an adventure. It's a prank.