The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #38173   Message #911171
Posted By: Geoff the Duck
16-Mar-03 - 08:07 AM
Thread Name: Mudcat 5 - Space Rangers of the NYCFTTS
Subject: RE: Mudcat 5 - Space Rangers of the NYCFTTS
Down the road from Torquefahrts Galactic Grill, there is a small light glinting from behind cracked wooden shutters, fixed with rusty barred hinges to the rock face. It is the only outward sign of Iselene's best kept secret. The authorities would close it down if they dared, but as long as it stays reasonably undercover, and does not advertise, they still allow it to operate.
Silently, one of the space cadets separates himself from the throng around Torquefahrts, and ambles past the shutter. Glancing around, to ensure that he is not being observed, he backtracks and taps three times on a small vid-plate.The plate lights with an ultra violet glow and a voice mutters "What 'you want!". The young space rat replies using the secret passwords known only to initiates, "I want to go to Hull". "Pass Friend" replies the vid-plate as the shutter swings inward.
Space rat steps into a dark vestibule. The shutter closes behind him, revealing that it is actually attached to the chromed door of a fully working airlock. The inner iris of the lock dilates to reveal a surprisingly large room carved from the living rock. A low buzz of conversation drifts in his direction, then seems to think better of it, and angles away, back the the smoky end of the bar. For this is the secret that Iselene's authorities wish to keep. A haven for free thinkers, artists, philosophers and musicians who refuse to be sucked into the mundane existence which claims most of the planet's inhabitants.
The authorities would close it in the blink of an Arcturian sloth's eye if they could, but as long as the regulars keep cavey, and as long as the airlock is lined with chromed plasteel capable of withstanding a small nuclear device, they allow the bar to continue operating.