**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 92.03.01 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> OH WOE! The big news this week, the news that has rocked all of Fed Data Space, the news that no-one wants to believe, is that Oxcart is dead. And not just dead, but dead-dead! And not by accident, but by his own hand!! Rumours are rife about his reasons for such a dramatic act. The favorite story is that Ox martyred himself in protest at activities of certain players during last weekend's free weekend, but the only person who know the real truth is Ox, and he isn't talking! Whether Oxcart will return to Fed, and whether he will appear under a different name, we haven't been able to determine. In fact, there's not a lot about this story we have been able to determine! We do know, however, that Oxcart will be sadly missed. **>> THERE'S ONE LESS STAR IN THE HEAVENS This is the first time a planet-owner has died dead-dead. With Oxcart's demise, his world Jinx vanishes. Anyone who owned factories on Jinx will not be able to access them to sell them. However, warehouses can be sold even if the planet is not on-stream. A planet does not automatically vanish when its owner dies; Our Illustrious Leader has to amend the code, to prevent the planet being loaded into the game when it fires up. This is what she did with Jinx. But, her typing being what it is (and possibly under the influence of too much Rigellian Green Chili Vodka) she managed to remove Scratchwood too! Hazed, understandably, was not pleased at this. She had to battle long and hard to have Scratchwood returned after Bella stole it the first time, and it was much reduced when it reappeared; for it to vanish again - by accident - has led her to believe there is a conspiracy against her, and although Bella has promised to return Scratchwood soon there could be tears before bedtime. Riccardo's planet has been ready to go into the game for a while now, but there s a problem with it that means it won't load when the game fires up. Bella is trying to track down the source of the problem but has had no luck yet. **>> WHO'S WHOM Bella has uploaded a new Who's Who file in the Fed Library. It is file number 1239, and it replaces the old file number 952. It lists all players above the rank of Captain, in alphabetical order, and shows their shipname, corporation and planet (where applicable). In case you are wondering why she hasn't included Commanders and Captains, it is because approximately 350 new players logged onto Fed during the free weekend, which would have swelled the size of the file considerably! Many of the new players have continued to play the game - welcome to all of you. **>> THE FED UNCONVENTION It's only two weeks now till the Fed UnConvention, so it really is time to send in your registration forms if you haven't done so already. If you cannot attend the UnCon, you can still buy yourself a T-shirt to commemorate this great event. See Cat 14, Topic 33 in the Fed BBS for details. **>> A POSER... Scientists and researchers in the Galactic Administration's Department of Archeology and Very Old Things are starting to ask the question: what happened to the Martians, and why are the ruins ruined? If they find out the answer, we will be sure to report it. **>> THE WAGERS OF SIN It's a while since we've been able to say anything about the roulette wheel in Chez Diesel, so you've probably all forgotten that headline by now. Still, if a joke's worth using once, it's worth flogging to death. Narkhast, a Poor Person, decided that jobbing for a living was far too boring. He worked until he had a certain amount of Trader Points, then headed for that den of vice, CDs, to inflate his earnings by gambling. Sad to say, he lost all his Trader Points and all his money, so had to go back to work. How boring! Grumbling loudly, he scraped together another stake and headed back to CDs to try his luck for a second time... and lost the lot again! Obviously, if something's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. It only goes to show that you shouldn't gamble what you cannot afford to lose. Those who are looking for a free lunch, be warned! **>> THE RTC SCHEDULE Krell has been putting the finishing touches to the schedule for Fed RTCs, to be held in the MPGames conference room on page 1045. The Fed conferences will be held on the second and fourth Sunday of each month, at 2.00 eastern time. The first one each month will be informal - a chance for players to chat, discuss important issues, and ask questions about things that are puzzling them. The second monthly RTC will be a more structured affair, to teach players about a specific aspect of the game. The schedule is - tentatively - as follows: March 8 informal chat March 22 planet design April 12 informal chat April 26 trading school May 10 informal chat May 24 fighting school More details as speakers, dates and times are finalised. **>> A BIT OF GOSSIP We don't know what has happened to our string of anonymous correspondents. They have failed to come up with any gossip at all this week! Deep Throat, Shallow Throat, Poison Pen, Unleaded Pencil and all the rest seem devoid of scandal. We have no idea whether it's because they are too lazy to write anything, or because there is nothing happening that's worth writing about! The only piece of gossip we could dredge up is that a certain Evil Being promised to grope a certain (normally ungrope-able) Angelic Being - and then disappeared! What tease! The Angelic One was left in quite a frustrated state. **>> PROMOTIONS NEWS We just have news this week of two new Merchants: Dobie and Vlad. Congratulations, boys. **>>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. In the event of a problem or question, you can: * talk to Hazed, Bella or Clem in the game * leave a message in the game log * send mail with the Federation Feedback option from the main menu You can order a copy of the unexpurgated printed Idiot's Guide to Federation by typing ORDER at any GEnie menu. Cost - a mere $12.95. Federation has several category in the new MPGames RT. To get there, type M1045,1 from any menu prompt and SET category 13 (for information, instructions, questions and answers) or 14 (for general chat and discussions). The Federation Leader in the bulletin board is Krell (Mail ID: K.HILLYER). There are also categories for Explorers and for the Conclave; these are run by Occy (Mail ID: OCPAC) and Oddball (Mail ID: D.STALZLE) respectively. The MPGames RT also has a Federation library in the files area, Library 5. Library 18 holds the Federation News Archives. **>> BULLETIN ENDS