You sounded pretty down in your last post. Did something new happen? I mean something BAD new? If so, tell me about it. Don't stew. I know you've heard it all before, but it isn't the end of the world when your boyfriend dumps you. Life goes on. Doesn't help, does it? Okay, but talk about it. It might stop hurting just a little bit. Post back soon. See ya.
?
Origin: The Castle BBS (1:897/675)
Melanie gave the computer instructions to boot up the wherewithal to post a message. The process was the computerized equivalent of writing a note on a piece of paper and thumbtacking it to a cork bulletin board, except that it was done with electrons, not paper and metal and cork.
To: Linda Barclay
From: Melanie McDaniel
Subject: Life
You're right, I'm not feeling very good. Its like what's outside tonight, just snow swrling around and darkness and lonliness. Sometimes i think i just want everything to go dark forever, and no more Melanie. I guess im in a pretty bad way. Hell. Damn. Know any good fourletter words? You cant say the F word on the Net or the moderator will come around and wjs
Her eyes filled with tears and she was blinded. By the time she'd dabbed her face dry with a tissue she saw that she had inadvertently hit Control-s. The message had been 'Saved' and posted on the system. Well, she'd just kill it and start all over again ? but then she shrugged. What the hell. Leave it. She didn't feel like BBSing any more tonight.
She was about to log off, when she noticed something blinking in the upper left corner of the screen. It was a prompt, and it read PRESS 'R' TO READ INCOMING MESSAGE. She'd never seen anything like it before. Was the System Operator trying to talk to her on-line?
She hit R and the message spilled across the screen at 2400 bits per second.
To: Melanie McDaniel
From: Linda Barclay
Pvt Msg
Subject: Worried
No, you don't sound at all good. Something did happen. Tell me about it. Post back immediately. I can talk to you on-line. Please answer!
? Linda
?
Origin: The Castle BBS
Melanie was puzzled. All this time she had assumed that Linda was posting from a BBS far away in another city. It took days, sometimes weeks for a message on the CyberNet to negotiate the maze of interconnecting phone lines and reach its intended recipient, and the same length of time for an answer to get back. The Net was not a direct-communication system. That would cost a lot of money, and the Net was a nonprofit system. A bulletin board didn't work like that. It was slow; however, it was cheap.
But Linda was answering a message that Melanie had just posted minutes ago. That was impossible, if Melanie understood the way the Net operated. The only way it could happen was if Linda were sitting at the terminal of the university's BBS computer over in the Student Union, just a block away.
But the message's Origin line had read 'The Castle BBS,' not the 'Eagle's Eyrie,' the name of the university system. Melanie had never noticed a location tag for The Castle, but it had to be outside the university.
At the SELECT: prompt she hit R for 'Reply' and TO: LINDA BARCLAY came up automatically. For 'Subject' she hit the RETURN key and the computer reproduced Linda's subject line: WORRIED. She began typing the body of the message.
I was surprised to get your message. Are you somehow patched through the Eagle's Eyrie? How did you get my message so quickly? Anyway, I'm sorry about that last post. Was feeling pretty rocky. But I'm okay n
Suddenly the keyboard froze. She vainly jabbed random keys and hit RETURN,but nothing happened. Then:
CHAT: start
Hi, Melanie! Thought I'd break in and talk on-line. Your message did worry me. How are you really feeling?
On the screen, the cursor had moved to a blank line. Melanie was puzzled. She typed:
Linda? Is that you?
Yeah, it's me. Want to tell me what's going on inside your head?
How are you doing this? Are you on the university system?
No, but I'm using a modem you wouldn't believe. It can do almost anything. I'm on a direct line to your computer.
Wow, that really neat. I can't understand it, but its great. Anyway, your right, I'm pretty down. But Ill be alright.
Excuse me if I don't believe that. You're really sound depressed. You're not thinking of doing something silly, are you?
Melanie thought about. She was indeed thinking of doing something. But what she typed was:
No, I' ll be alreight. Excuse my typing
You're putting up a good front, but aren't you having suicidal thoughts?
Melanie sighed. No use to hide it.
Okay your right. How did you know?
How? Because I've been there myself. But I sense something else wrong, something major. Care to tell me?
Well, there is something. Jeez, I don't know.
Are you pregnant?
Melanie was amazed.
Linda, do you have a cristal ball? Yeah, you guessed it. I'm preggy.
That's 'crystal.' I don't need one to know who the daddy is, do I? The dork.
Chads not a dork. He's immature and needs someone to tell him what to do and be a mother to him. I wasnt ready to do that.
Sorry. Have you told him?
No. Why complicate his life? It was my fault anyway.
It takes two to tango, kid. Well, have you thought about what you're going to do about it?
If your talking about abortion, I think ive pretty much ruled that out.
So, you either keep the baby or give it up.
I havent even begun to think aobut that. I guess Ill have to drop out of school.
