iron warrior: volume 10, issue 9

8/14/2019 Iron Warrior: Volume 10, Issue 9

1/12

ON W RJuly 7 1989 THE ENGINEERING SOCIETY S STUDENT FORUM July 7, 1989

al VY Birthday

Can ad a

,In This Issue

Garbage Space

, ,,

oise

,


2/12

~ ~

Page2 Iron Warrior

Yes, but IS it Art?I'm sitting here thinking that this is a

tired topic: Arts electives in Engineering.Why do I want to write about this?Because my co-editor loves to complainthat Engineers can't write, which I don'tnecessarily agree with. But mainly I wantto write about this because I think peopleare missing a big part of life when theyfocus on their technical education andignore writing and music and painting, notonly in structured courses, but in everydaylife as well.

"But is it Art?" Is this editorial Art?How about that picture, this page, thispaper? It couldn't possibly be Art,because some people say that Art andEngineering are mutually exclusiveTherefore this paper is not Art and shouldnot be left on a coffee table 0; hung on awall as such.

We need more general electives tomake us more well-rounded, socially adepthuman beings." No one argues this point.We need Arts electives so that we don'ttalk in programming languages at socialgatherings and so that we can writesentences that don't contain Greek letters.

This is true, but in a superficial sense.I saw "Dead Poet's Society" and I

remember the Poetry teacher sayingsomething like - I can't remember theexact quotation - we user Math andScience and Engineering to live, but welive for Art and Poetry.

Not only an etpansion of ourselves,but a focus. An appreciation of form and

style and colour and light.When you look al a Van Gogh

painting , do you see the movement andexpression, or do you ask, Why is it soblue?" Do you analyse it in a logicalmanner, dissecting and considering eachpiece?

When you walk through a forest, doyou actually see the trees?

TradingJune has drawn to a close, but I'm sure

not going to miss it. Don't believe themyth of lighter workload in fourth year; itis a blatant lie. Never have I had to workso hard just to keep my head above water.

At this point. you're probablythin1cing that I'm whining on paper. Ofcourse I am, but this time I have a point.I've long believed that school is bad foryou, but I can finally prove it. Thephysical effects have been profound and aredisturbing; I have lost 10 pounds since thestart of the tenn. My fitness level is very

The Iron Warrior is a forum forthOught-provoking and informative articlesp r ~ s e n t e dby the academic community of

University of Waterloo. Viewsexpressed i.n the l tvn Wardpr. other thanthe ediLOrials, are those of the authors anddo not necessarily reflect the opinions of

editors Of the EngineeringSociety.I rOD Warriof encourages

fiS\llbmissions from students, faculty andmembers of the university

c:ommunity. S ubnJissions should renecttbe concerns and intellectual of the

general, and should btDULly written.

one side of tJte pageclass if

You may say. "But I don't have timeto walk through the forests or go to ArtGalleries." and I may say. "You don't h veto go and do anything - just notice thingsas you live. as you walk home or drivedown a road"

This editorial is about appreciation andwonder of existence - how we look atthings. I'm not accusing engineers of

being boorish and artless, because this isfar from true. I think I'm just saying thatengineers and people in general forget howto look at trees.

Health or Degreelow. I feel drained and "put-upon" most of

the time; rarely am I full of energy. Inshort. I feel like shit.School is th(}reason, o f course. In the

past seven days I have pulled 5 "latenighters" (staying up until 7-8:00 amfollowed by about 3 4 hours sleep). Thiswas preceeded by two weeks of midterms.It took me most of the long weekend torecover rational thought. This week fmdsme in the same pauern of work

The point is that it shouldn't be thisway. Every engineer has had to endure the

A submissions, unless otherwiseSlated, become the property of the lLo A

Warrior. which t'Cserves the right to refusep u b l i c L i ~ o fmaterial .which it deemsunsuitable. {he Iron Wanigr also reservesthe right to edit grammar, spellin& andportions of text that do not meetuniversity standards. Authors will 'benotified of any major -chm&C$ that may berequired.

All submissions and advertising 'enquiriesshould be forwuded to:

Iron WarriorEngineering SocietyCPH 1327

same workload that I have. How many

years have we lost off our lives for thesake of this degree? I don't feel that I amlearning anything by staying up for somany hours. ' In fact. I don't have time tolearn; I have assignments to do. Where isthe true spirit of education? When do I getto LEARN?

July 7, 1989

EdjtorsCarolyn FrenchGeoffVona

WritersJay GibsonEric LangfordThe Quantwn MechanicTodd RuthmanAndrewReeves-HallYuri QuintanaShmoEdmond ChowChris BaisleyCynthia SmartJulian FordDonald C. Driedger

Typesettjo&We don't need no stinkingtypesetting

Pboto2rapbyDavid Chen

Advertisio&Christine BurkeTeresa FungChris Fleck

Layout Mana&erTodd Ruthman

LayoutEdmond ChowMatt PowellAndrewReeves-HallChris Shapiro

Teresa FungEric Langford

Special EffeCtsJay Gibson

Music MaoMatt Powell

GafferShmo

Gouber

Eric Langford


3/12

July 7, 1989 ron Warrior

Message From The Deanby Dean Lennox

I wish to thank my ghostwriter(s) forsuch an excellent article. I really foundfault with only two points. First, Iprobably would have argued for freetuition, full government subsidies forliving costs including weekly transportation home, and second, I would neverspend your money on a Honda Preludewith power windows and racing stripes.The Dean of Engineering at Waterloosurely deserves a Lamborghini with fullpower options, including turbo andflaming red racing stripes.

Each year in March, I attend TheOntario Design Competition - OEDC.This year was quite disappointing in tenos

t the number of Waterlo o entries. Until1989, the total number of entries forWaterloo over the history of OEOC was

virtually equivalent to Toronto and Queens(53, 54, 54 out of a grand total of 333and, not suprisingly, we had more than

Social Stuphby Eric Langford

Blue Jay's road trip - July 14.Please note that the buses are leaving

from the EI Cui de Sac at 5:00, not 6:00as previously mentioned. There will be apre-game bash in POETS prior to thedeparture of the busses. As usual, alcoholis not permitted on the buses. Sorry, alltickets have been sold for this amazingevent

POETS Patio Pub - July 15.Time: 6:00 pm - 1:00 am.There will be bands, barbeque and lots

o f ~ Bring your friends I f you have aband and you're interested in playingplease contact me at 747-1864.

(In order to set a good example forfuture events, we ask that everyone drinkresponsibly, thanks.)

P A S C R P T O N S

We Accept University Drug Pion

WESTMOUNTPLACEPH RM CY

886-767050 Westmount Ad. N.

OPEN DAILY9 am to 10 pmSUNDAYS & HOLIDAYS

11 am to 9 pm

WESTMOUNTKINOCENTRE PHARMACY

578 161

King Centre

OPEN DAILYMTWS 9:30 5:30

Thu & Fri. 9:30 9:30Closed Sundays

our fair share of winning entries), but wevirtually had a no show in 1989 atKingston. I recognize that perhaps co-opmakes participating more difficult, but itmay well be that you are not fully awareof The Competition. There are fourcategories:

Entrepreneurial DesignCorporate DesignExplanatory CommunicationsEditorial Communications

I have all the details. Projectsassociated with course projects, workshopsand/or work term experiences can beadapted to fit the criteria The competitionwill be held in March 1990.

I recently distributed $250,000 ofalumni support to departments. Thisbrings the total to date to $1,065,023 (7years). All of these monies are targetedtowards offsetting the shortfalls in our

teaching equipment budgets. In addition,this year The Faculty was allocated$193,305 from The University's Teaching

Equipment Budget (total $735,000). Thiscertainly helps, but. to put the problem inperspective, The Faculty recentlycompleted a detailed teaChing equipmentneeds inventory, which IOtaled$1,661,161.Our total existing inventory is nearly$20,000,000. In this regard the class of'89 certainly helped with their "Plummer'sPledge". They presented a cheque for$94,800 at May Convocation. This, bythe way, established another first atWaterloo by Engineering Students and Icertainly appreciate their support

I don't want to harp continuously onthe underfunding issue, but you should beaware of the problems. Consider thefollowing:

In December, the province announced it. was providing a 7.5% increase to the

operating budgets of the university system.When one subtracts "special" funds, the

result was really a 4% increase to base. InMay the province announced the newpayroll tax. In doing the calculations,

Page 3

they forgot that universities (and hospitals)do not control their income and theresulting overall cost of this tax is 1.6%of the IOtal budget. It is easy to subtractthis from 4 to get an actual increase of2.4%. The government's own estimate ofinflation is 5.1 %.

Holy Cow Batman, is thisgovernment for real?

''I'm afraid so Robin, old man."It's nOL difficult LO see why universities

arc in the "ditch".

anada Dayby Shmo

Canada Day was a rousing successLots of litlle kiddies had lots of litlle fun,and lots of big kiddies got big migrainesand sunburns. Thanks to all those who

carne out to make it a great day for thekids. Special thanks to Julie In TheOrifice for putting everything together.

If yourGRAD

PORTRArT

Deluxe Sitting(up to 16 full-Sll proofs)

Up to half an hourdevoted to your sitting

Traditional, casual andcontemporary poses.

Free e r m a n i z i n g ~(the only way to makeyour portraits last)

Photographed else-where and don't lookyour best?- - deduct THEIR sittingfee from your orderwith us

Appointments atYOUR convenience.

Mail order or personalorder service.

Your choice ofbackgrounds.

SUPER $39AVERSPECIAL28) 10.25) 7.6 Wallets:

5 Black and White GlOSSies:ALL NEGATIVESII'some condl1fons apply.

UNIVERSITYPHOTOGRAPHERS

258 King St.N #211(Comer University c t King)

749-7000

. .


4/12

Page 4 Iron Warrior July 7, 1989

Welcome Norman Ball ummerTipsy Eric LangfordOn July 10, 1989, Dr. Norman Ball,

an accomplished speaker, author andlecturer, will be joining the CivilEngineering Department and will Chairthe new programme TechnologicalImpact on Canadian Society". He leaveshis posit ion as Senior Curator,Engineering and Industrial Technology atthe National Museum of Science inOttawa and brings with him a wealth ofknowledge in the areas of science,technology and Canadian history.

The Chair and Programme to beestablished is designed to help address theissue of technology and it's impact

particularly in a Canadian contextFurthermore, it is designed to provideservices for other engineering faculties andthe engineering profession as a whole andnot just to engineering studies at theUniversity of Waterloo.

Ongoing research pro jec ts ,undergraduate and graduate teaching,intensive training for faculty members,and offering specialized programmes wouldbe the function of Jhis programme.

Funding for the implementation of theChair and Programme will be provided forthree years and will come from a numberof corporate sponsers, Northern Telecombeing the largest. As well, it is

anticipated that Dr. Ball will generateresearch funds from the Canadian StudiesProgra 'mme of the Department of theSecretary of State of Canada.

The engineering profession, engineersof tomorrow and companies hiring thoseengineers will all benefit from aninnovative progra mme such as this one.

The programme is a first for anyschool in Canada and we welcome themost knowledgeable person in this fIeld tothe best university in Canada. The Deanand the faculty are all very excited aboutthis and are proud to be part of this newdevelopment

by Tbe Quantum Mechanic:

All right, it seems that just abOuteverybody in the universe is writing abouthow g r e a t ~ m e ris. and bow much theylove summer, and so 00. I. bowever, amfrequently being reminded Of thedepressing f a c ~dun people at otheruniversitites are now sitting in the sunwith no assignments, no homework, andno midtenns. True. this can be said aboutpeople in the Faculty of Arts, but rumourhas it that they actually have classes nowand then So, I came up with a fewsuggestionson bow to make summer evenbeUtt: . ,

Old Revolutions- Watch alot of "Batman." rYe noticed

that no matter how bad the weather ishere, it NEVER rains in Gotham City.Then again, the percentage of peoplerunning around in tights is much higberthere, so it kind of balances ouLy Chris Baisley

In our attempts to duplicate the qualityof the Imprint, Ridge Baisley offers thefIrst of a series of record reviews .

Disorder In Line"Buzzsaws and the Death orAnarchy

The long awaited release fromBuzzsaws and the Death of Anarchy hasfinally arrived. Through their hey-days(June 23-27, 1982) Buzzssaws released

albums, but we e c ~ h e d n g j n g -hardcore-punlc-highland dance-muzak: fanshave waited years for "Disorder In Lhe. _

In a recent interview, DialemFormurdr, last surviving founding memberand lead vocalist, said "Fuck Off." Whenasked what message Huzzsaws and theDeath of Anarchy wisl,ed to pl'ftray totoday's youth, he said Fuck Off.Dialem's ability to present his thoughtswith such introspect and poetic po wer hasearned him the respect of the undergroundmusic community, whom Dialem hascalled "ignorant fools who'll listen to anykind of crap and feign enjoyment just tobe different"

The 142 songs on this album aremostly refections on childhood by Dialem,selections such as "Frypan Bruises" and"Setting Dad on Fire," The poorest track

tl Carnival Cruise LinesTHE MOST POPULAR CRUISE LINE IN THE WORLD

THE FUN S H I P ~ ~

MARDI GRAS ~Carousel

Holidays

Marlin Travel, University of Waterloo, South Campus Hall

888-4054 Registration No. 6 ~2003

on the album is titHed "30 Amp Fuse", asDia1em explores the world of Medievalmonastary life from the point of view of afuse in a kitchen stove. But thisdisappointment is more than compensatedfor with the song "Woman In A Blender."Those connoisseurs of old Buzzsaws willrecognize the line "bleeding screamingcanaries on a string", in this song referringnot to fast food as in their previousunderground hit "Lust For Liver", but tothe unity of Man and Nature. "Woman InA Blender" also has a hard side to it, with

Dialem screaming "I'llhave

a coffee,black " oyer a tumultuous arrangment ofpanting mammals and straining violins.

True to form, Buzzsaws has once againput forth a large instlUmental effort. The32 instrumental tracks will fail to satisfythe true techno-headbanging-hardcorehighland-muw-er, the wind chimes lackthe ragged energy of previous efforts, andthe electronically altered recordings ofmating rhinocerii can't compare with theirprevious use of bowling alley andbathroom sound effects.

Buzzsaws are playing with a newpercussionist, Mold Jammer, previously ofTrashy Lingerie. Mold has introducedsome new effects: there is one outstandinginstrumental piece, called "High DensityWooden Lampshades, a holisticmasterpiece with annoying and plagiarizedmelodies, insect noises, and a cOl1 l'letelack of timing, talent, or thought. This ishow music should be, and more thanjustifies the price of this import album.

- Have an EngSoc event such as "FatalAttrnction Day" in which all us Engineersget together and boil that stupid MathBunny to death.

- Start introducing mandatory EnglishLanguage Proficiency Ex ams foc Profs.

- Invite Linda Frum back to UW so thatshe can see what the university actuallylooks like OUTSIDE the Math building.

- All you XL and L people out there whoinsist on wearing sized M: JUST STOPIT You know who you are. Same goes

for you peo Ie who in our ns aroundVi

annoying for t h o s ~of us who can t do it,and results in many people hitting oilierpeople with their pens while trying toleamhow.

M andotory nglish Language

Proficiency xams lo r Pro/so

- Have a competition to see if anyonecan possibly promote MathNews. evenmore than they do themselves. Have youever noticed that every article in that paperis about how wonderful it is? Actually, Ibear that the Wall Street 10urnal isplanning to switch to the "photocopiednewsletter" look to be more like this preeminent news gathering source.

So, I feel that with everj'body'scooperation, we can make this term a bitmore enjoyable, and the rain a bit moretolerable.

Independentlyowned andoperated MR. GROCER r ~

\q, ~Mon - Fri : 9 am - 9 pm ....

Sat: 8 am - 6 pm C .I L:-uni'lefSit y I

/ ~ OP

c:Westmount Place, Water100 886-7920 52Parkdale Plaza, Watertoo 884-1630 eWE APPRECIATE YOU r

Full Service & Selection Meat & DeliFresh & Crispy Fruit & Vegetables from Around the

WorldDelivery Service Available at 2 pm each day

The Morris' & the Greenfield's Welcome YoulWATERLOO'S LARGEST INDEPENDENTLY

OWNED SUPERMARKETS


5/12

July 7, 1989 Iron Warrior Page 5

rad omm Livesby Geoff Vona

Grad Comm is alive and well Forthose of you who have been face down inbooks for four years; Hey WAKE UPIts time to graduate Its time for GradComm.

For those of you who don't know orhaven't heard, Grad Comm is theGnlduation Committee. It has severalresponsibilities, all associated with thegraduating class of 1990. Theseresponsibilities include planning of theGrad Ball and the Iron Ring Slag,organizing of the Grad Gift and the GradPledge, and production of the yearbook forA-stream.

Most things are just getting startedup , so its not too late to get involved .There's lots of planning to do for the GradPledge (each student pledges to give acertain amount of money each year for thenext few years; proceeds go to thestudent's faculty) and the Grad Gift. Mostimportant, there's the yearbook. If you'reinterested in helping out with theyearbook for your class, fmd out who yourclass yearbook rep is (each graduatingclass has one by now.). f you want toreally get involved in the planning andcoordination of the entire yearbook, pleaseget in touch with me (Geoff Vona) in theOrifice. I would appreciate as much helpas possible. (You don't have to be a gradto help )

Be a part of the strongest, most active and most funstudent society on campusl

All students are encouraged to apply, regardless of academicterm or previous EngSoc experience

Comm unicationsAdvetti8lDg(2)

Iroll W urIor (2)Newsletter (2)

Pholo Din dorWhltmoard

AcademicsAad _ l o 2 )

Deb"' ;S.A.CS .F.F.

lNew or Special for W'90jArIa

P a ,a Rep. AcM.or

PabUdtyeoaaulllty I.eIoItioM

Beerlep

(Mao, forFaIl'89: Off-T_ l lep )

Services


6/12


Pugwash Conference

Learning To Think In A New Way

by Andrew Reeves-Hall

Over the long weekend of June 16 to19, I was fortunate enough to represent theUniversity of Waterloo at the CanadianStudent Pugwash Conference in Ouawa.

The purpose of the conference was tofoster discussion amongst students fromuniversities across Canada. Thediscussions centred around the theme of

New Frontiers for Humanity: Science,Technology, and Promise for the Future .

I hoped to learn at the conference whatrole I could play in best representingsociety'S responsibilities within mychosen career path, Computer Engineering.To tell you the truth, I naively thoughtthat Computer and Electrical Engineeringhad little to concern itself over whencompared with areas such as Chemistryand Physics.

After all, it took some chemist toproduce a lethal gas that could be used as amethod of effectively killing opposingarmies; and it lOOk a physicist to perfectthe nuclear bomb.

Besides which, being in Canada do weeven have to worry ourselves about suchthings? When was the last time we wentto war ' be only H-Bomb l 've seen wason TV (thank God) and it seemsincomprehensible as i t is.

1 guess I am a fairly typical Canadian .I'm not 100 vocal; oh sure, I might be abit rowdy after a good night at theBombshelter, but I don't consider myselfthe type of person to march on Queen'sPark every time I'm perturbed.

But the conference raised some pointsthat did give me a reason for concern. Iguess the best way to describe the things Ilearned is to use the term ethical .

As engineers, we are grilled in ourcalculus and problem-solving abilitieswith little reflection time for responsibleapplication of our new found wisdom. Toa large extent, and rightly so, how we

apply ourselves is left up to our ownjudgemen t. Unfortunately, some peopleget so wound up in their career that theydon't stop to seriously consider the impactof their work on ' - .1


7/12


AI Continuedimportant and difficult issues of liabilitywith which the legal profession will haveto wrestle.

Artificial intelligence is still in itsinfancy. Three important industries havebeen identified for the next century:information technology, bio technology,and new materials. The Canadiangovernment will continue to target thesupercomputer and artificial intelligenceindustries as important components of theCanadian economy, Nevertheless, theactual level of resources committed tothese industries in Canada is meager byinternational standards. Canada onlyspends about $40 per capita on researchand development in general, and only 4%of this is on computer research, with themajority of the rest devoted to research onresources. In the U.S., the correspondingfigures are $100 per capita on research and

development activities, with about 35% ofthat on computers. There is a broadconcensus that the Canadian governmentshould devote many more resources toresearch on the computer industry.

One area of the computer industry thats neglected is the highly negativeenvironmental impact of computer chips.Silicon occurs naturally throughout nature.However, silicon chips include traceamounts of extremely rare and toxic heavymetals. There metals have some ,properties that are essential to thecomputer industry, due to its emphasis onminiaturizati on. Gallium arsenide, forexample, is extremely poisonous and yetis frequently used in chips. These chipsare included not only in computers, butalso in much other equipment, including

microwave ovens, stereos, VCRs and soon. Hundreds of millions of chips with~ i rpoisonous beavy metals are imbeddedin this equipment, all of which will overtime be disposed of. The disposal problemis of such a magnitude that theimplications rival those of the , nuclearindustry. Additionally, screens include

phosphorous, and circuit boards are cleanedby CFCs. One possible policy responseis to levy a tax on all new units purchased,and refund this amount if the unit is laterdisposed of appropriately. The policydifficulty is determining what appropriatedisposal is.

Compostingby Cynthia Smart

The military has a great interest inresearch on supercomputers and artificialintelligence . Supercomputers and artifi c ialintelligence research has been conducted inthe Strategic Defense Initiative research,and other research is being conducted todevelop new weapons systems that drawfrom this research . These developmentsare immoral and should be opposed byresponsible scientists

.While some

applications of computer research may beappropriate, especially in the field ofcommunications and monitoring ,computer research should be primarily usedfor civilian application and to better thecondition of people, and nOlto increase thedestruct ive capabi l i t ies of nationsComputer researchers have a responsibilityto understand and guide the application oftheir research to promote these objectives .

Circuit boards are

cleaned by CFC's

The two greatest successes of computerresearch have been in robotics andsupercomputers . While art i f icialintelligence has not yielded the expectedbenefits, the potential implications of thisresearch are enormous. Research on visionis growing in importance, as is work onremote sensors. Holograms offerinteresting possibilities for computer'researchers. Optical disks, huge mappingcapabilities, and improved graphics are allemerging areas of interest. Functionalprogramming, which is an attempt toreplace traditional computer languages andhence solve a series of practical problems,including incompatibility betweensystems, is also an interesting area ofresearch, Fractals, where images aregenerated from small bits of data, are ofpotentially great importance. Other areasof interest are related to present research onDNA replication, on mapping the humangenome, and on neurological research, allo f which have potentially profoundimplications for the development of anartificaial intelligence. Important issuesa r ~raised by these possibilities. Whatrights would a new intelligent being have?Will these beings be slaves to people, ornew gods? Who would control them, ifanyone? What are the legal and socialimplications? Ultimately, these questionsmust be confronted. As the knowledgei tself accumulates, wisdom on itsimplications and how to respond to it in amanagec beneficial for society and peopleis essential. This is perhaps the greatestchal lenge of all facing computerresearchers.

Composting is an easy procedure for \homeowners to follow. Some form ofcontaine r is needed. A small pit, an oldgarbage can with holes punched in thesides. or a wood cubicle would work best.

Composting is the decomposition of Once you have a container, you can beginorganic material to form an excellent to layer kitchen wastes (such as fruit,fertilizer-conditioner for lawns gardens and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, teaparkland. It is slowly getting introduced leaves, egg shells) and yard wastes (suchto the backyards of many homeowners in as leaves, grass clippings, plants)Ontario. Org anic materials, when broken alternatively with a layer of soil. Do notdown in uncontrolled conditions, are partly include meat scraps or fat as they willresponsible for the troublesome generation aJttaCt animals and do not break: down well.of methane gas in landfills. In addition, f the materials appear too dry, they mayorganic waste ' do not contribute be moistened with water. After foursignificantly to the generation of heat in weeks, the pile should be turned with athe incineration process. For these pitch fork and more frequently thereafter.reasons, com posting and the division of Non-aerated cetnposting r a compostingorganic wastes would have definite pile that is too wet will emit unpleasantbenefits for current waste management odors. The above process should work

Engineers Are Recycling

by Donald C. Driedger

And they 're doing a great job tooWith the encouragement and generous

financial support of the Faculty ofEngineering and the diligent work ofCindy Smart (Eng . Soc. Recycling Coordinator), the engineers have three brandspankin' new recycling containers locatedoutside the C&D. The recyclables includeglass, steel, aluminum and newspaper.

I am suprised, but very happy, toreport that engineers, and others using theC&D, are doing their part in making thissmall but important recycling project asuccess. Everyone using the recyclingcontainers can also be commended for theirextra effort in separating the aluminumand sLeel cans. Since aluminum brings in40 cents/pound and steel only pennies,this source separation helps to bring in afew extra dollars to support futurerecycling ideas.

So how does one tell the differencebetween an aU-aluminum or steel pop can.Here's how its done; although the lighterweight of the aluminum can is one clue,

loolcing at the bottom is the best way togo. Before you try this, make sure youeither haven't opened your pop can oryou've finished drinking your pop. (Iknow you knew that.) The aluminumcans have a shiny striated finish, whereasthe steel cans have a darker, smootherlooking finish on the bottom . If that isn'tobvious , try to match it with the cut-offbottoms attached to the appropriaterecycling container. And if, and only ifyou still can't decide where it should go,ptace it in the container marked STEEL.This way, it won't contaminate the moreprofitable aluminum recyclables.

This Eng. Soc. recycling program isstudent organized and operated, so if youhave any questions or comments pleasetalk with Cindy Smart 2B Civil or leavea message in the Eng. Soc. Office.

And for those of you who haven't hadthe chance to flip the recycling lids yet,we encourage you to take part, It is yourparticipation which makes this and otherrecycling projects effective in reducing ourconsumption of the Earth s finiteresources.

lhomasCookravel

France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria,Germany, Holland

Tour Cost $899 .00 per person

August 15-26, 1989Thomas Cook TravelUniversity Shops Plaza

7 4 6 7 9 9 9

"r---------, The Stanley Burger Philosophyl ,' FREE I:BUR'GERIIII '

II

With thepurchase of i

similar burgel , .with this coupon.

t ) ~ f J b

t Jt Stanley's w ~believe that a ~ h

customer deserves a great tastzng,wholesome meal. Every i tem on our menuis prepared the olde-fashioned way us ingonly fresh, nutritious ingredients. Our

. burgers are made with 100 pure b e e ~,all-natural spices, no added preservatwe8and are' served on bakery fresh buns. Wetake pride in putting only the best intoeverything we 71UJke

,Experien,z,e the Difference o f aFresh Home d e Burger

210 King St. N. Water loo

J I ~ S y ~ s = t e m ~ s ~ w e n ~ a n d ~ w ~ I ~ m o m ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


8/12


SPACENEWS Vol. 1, No.4.EDITOR S COLUMN

Welcome to the fourth i ss uc ofSPACENEWS, a bimonthly r eport onspace ncws and technology for Canadiancngineering students . This i s the last iss ucfor thc 1988-1989 academic ycar . I d likcto thank all the peoplc who havc contributed articles this year .

Sincerely,

Yuri Quintana.Systcms Dcsign Eng. MaSc'89 (Watcrloo )

World NewsCanada

The Govcrnment of Canadaannounced the city of Montreal as thc siteof the new Canadian Space Agency. Theagency will co-ordinate the Canada's spaceresearch and devclopment efforts .

Four candidates havc been named toshuttle flight STS 45 IML-l (IntcrnationalMaterials Laboratory I) scheduled forApril 1991. They arc Dr. Ulf Mcrbold(European Space Agency), Dr. RogerCrouch (NASA), Dr. Kenneth Money andDr. Roberta Bodnar, both [rom Canada.Only two of the candidates will be sclcctedto fly on thc missions.

U.S.A.

STS-29/Discovcry shuttle missionwent into orbit on March 13, 1989. Themission will deploy the TDRS-D trackingand data rclay satcllite.

Construction began on thc RockdynelIypersonic Flow LaboralOry (RflYFL,pronounced rifle) in California. The site isto be completed next year and will simulatc Mach 25 specds.

CanadianAstronautProgram

The Canadian Astronaut Programprovides Canada's space communitywith hands on research skills for experiments aboard NASA's space shuttle.

Currently, Space Team Canada numberssix astronauts selected in 1983 based onthe basis of academic background (withan emphasis on university graduation inscienee, engineering or medicine), professsional experience, physical fitness,and communication skills. They areclassed as payload specialists whoreceive some araining in the operation ofthe shuttle systems. but are mainly concentrated with specific experiments inorbit.

A star uses hydrogen as its fuel forfus ion . But as time goes on, the amountof fuel diminishes and the ccnter of thestar becomes very hot, causing the star toexpand. As the outer surface of the starcools , its colour turns red and a redgiant i s formed. When the hydrogen isalmost depleted, the thin outermost laycrs of the star dissipate into space whilethe core having no more fuel, quicklycollapscs undcr its own gravitationalpuU

Due to the large mass, this collapseis so cxtrcmely rapid, that the electronshells collapse and the nuclei come closer togcther forming a white dwarf star.H the star collapses suddenly enough, it

cxplodes, causing a supernova, and emitling large quantities of energy and matter. However, if a star's mass is 1.4times that of our sun, the collapse cancause the electrons to fuse with the protons, forming ncutrons. Sincc there isnothing to keep the neutrons apart, gravitational attraction forces them closertogether, until they are tOUChing. Theresult is a ncutron star .

H the star's mass were largecnough, it would be possible for even itsncutrons to be smashed by the force ofthis collapse. The physicist RobertOppenheimer determined that if the collapsing object were 3.2 lime the mass ofour sun, its gravitational pull while collapsing would be strong enough to dojust that. Once the neutrons are gone,nothing remains to check the star's collapse. The sun would continue l shrinkto the size of a pinhead, then beyond ourcomprehension to infinity.

According to the theory of generalrelativity, gravity is unSLOpable. Thestar's contcnts would collapse to nothing- a geometric point of zero dimension, asingularity in space-time whcre a vastmass occupies zero space. In otherwords, a black hole.

Marc Garneau wa the first Canadianastronaut in space . He conducted a seriesof experiments in space science, spacetechnology, and life sciences in his 8-daymission (4I-G) aboard the Challengerspace shuttle in October 1984. SteveMaclean has been assigned to fly thenext Canadian mission. He will carry outexperimcnts for the Canadian designedspace vision system that will be used tohelp operators improve the precisionhandling of Canadarm and future Spacestation manipulators.

The number of astronauts will be

increased to support Canada's participation in the international Spacc Stationprogram. When the Space Station is upand running in the late 1990's, there willbe a Canadian astronaut aboard for theequivalent of a six month period everytwo years. Canadian astronauts assignedto Space Station duty will form part ofan international team trained to do all thework associated with the running of thestation. Pre-flight training will lastbetween three and five years.

Black HolesBlack holes are immensely com

pacted balls of malter with the largestgravitational pull known 10 man. Neithergeneral relativity nor quantum mechanics ean explain to us these bafflingobjects Black holes defy all our traditional laws and theorics, although it isnow generally accepted that they doexist. For years, scientists have scannedthe skies for concrete evidence of theirexistance. Many different methods havebeen are arc being use


9/12


Four Prose Poemsby Edmond Chow

For the past few months, I thoughtthat the first prose poem in this collectionwould be called "Prose Poems." In it. 1would jolcingly explain what prose poemsare by ridiculing the writing process, andexplain why prose poems exist. But tryas I might. I couldn't put that all into aprose poem I was happy with, so I'm notgoing to. But I'm also not going to feigna scholarly introduction by researchingwhat a prose poem really is. All I haveare prose poems in literary journals andsmall collections from which to t a k ~examples. All you really need to know isthat it's a hybrid between poetry and prose.I've tried poetry, and I've tried prose, andthey're tough, but when I look at prosepoetry, it looks easy and it looks like Ican write it too. It really sometimesseems like just babbling and puttingwords together (which you can't do inpoetry because of something calledrhythm), with no line breaks, no rhyme,and no descemible plot This explanationforces me to admit that I am choosing thisgenre because I can't do the others. Inother words, I am not a good writer. I'mnot even saying this sarcastically, eventhough sometimes (like now) I pretend toknow what I am doing.

I m not really a writer.

I get very emotional about sludentwriting . I don 't think writing is easy, andI don't think that many students, includingmyself, put enough practice or work into apiece to call themselves writers.Recently, I've also been wondering ifwriting is being read properly, or at least,the way I think writing should be read.Even if we do recognize something sublleand important in writing, it is passed by

with "Oh, that's nice." I know, I do it too.But what are writers trying to do in thefirst place? Think about that sentencecarefully Well, these prose poems try tosay something. but usually it's shroudedunder one giant metaphor -- I like to dothat Otherwise, remember I'm not reallya writer. The few people who havealreadyseen some of these poems couldn't get myinterpretations, and it seems that theirinterpretations were sometimes moresuitable than mine. A real case of givingthe author more credit than deserved in ananalysis. In any case, maybe some of youwill get them . Try to guess what I'mthinking

Dancing In The SunImagine seeing a girl dancing in the

sun. The sun shines down on a big emptyfield. and the girl is in the middle of it, aUby herself. She is running in circles.twirling and stepping. spinning, armsflaying wide apan. Who knows why thegirl is doing this? Perhaps she has seengrown-ups in a movie dancing like that.and she wants to be a grown up too.Pernaps her friends do it. and tell her it isfun, and peer pressure and the prejudices ofsociety are powerful things. Perhaps shedoes it because she's supposed to. beC".ause

it's supposed to be fun. and iI's really grealthat she wanis to have a good time. Ormaybe because it's in heegenes, and everymonth or so she has to get out and do this -she just can't help it -- it's instinctive.

Now imagine that you like the girlwho is dancing in the sun. And forwhatever reason you care for this girl.whether she is your daughter or yourgirlfriend, you only want the best for her:the truth, real experiences. good, honest,clean fun. You don't like her dancing inthe sun; you tell her, dancing in the sunreally isn't that fun. you're deceivingyourself, and you want to take her to thefair, and you open your heart, and showher your world, and you give, and yougive, and yougive.

Now imagine the girl not dancing inthe sun, but rolling in the long grass by acreek. far from other people, but this timenot alone, but rather with a stranger. Whoknows why the 'girl is doing this? Ormaybe the girl is a druggie, injectingherself with the psychadelic drugs -- oh,the colours -- but the feeling is the sameas dancing in the sun . ' Who knows whythe girl is doing this? It might also be thecase that the girl is simply sitting in aclassy restaurant with her classy friends,all propped up in tight dresses, displayingbare shoulders, w ~her friends, becausepeer pressure and the prejudices of society

are powerful thing s, and if she isn't grownup already, because e wants 10 be grownup.

Playing GodIt is very difficult. the wise old teacher

said, perhaps offering some consolationfor his own failure. This did notdiscourage the naive young student - onlya boy -- from fmding the biggest and bestpiece of plasticine he could. and when hefinally did, in this obscure Iitlle art supplyshop at the edge of the city, he toole ithome, and started drawing plans for itimmediately. It was a massive blocle ofplasticine, needing four people to carry it

I f you want pain

you clln hal1e pain,

but you clln t do it yourself.

up to the studio, and just fitting throughthe door. Indeed, it was bigger than the ,boy himself.

At fust. the plasticine was too hard:all the muscles in his fingers ached, tryingto form the plasticine, squeezing with theballs of his joints. and the tips of hisfingers . A love's labour. he thought, andhe set the plasticine by the window. thesun's rays softening and nourishing theresistive chunle, melting it into amalleable dough. But il was left too long.and the plasticine. now sticky. never keptup its form. having a life of its own.flowing and flopping. But soon, with acareful balance of sun and other attention,the plasticine let itself get moulded in theboy's gentle and loving hands. and manytimes the plasticine would take on so realand life-like a fonn. that flesh would jumpinto it It seemed for a while that the boywas rebellious and ambitious: a more

stunning sculpture, more perfect in fonn,than any ever seen before, he promised.With this in mind. however, he saw uglyfeatures everywhere -- even the mostelegant shapes needed modification . Dayafter day he would toil . until his arms andhands reeked of plasticine, his fmgers onceagain sore . and his eyes were wild withlack of sleep. and lack of progress.

One day. the boy's loveecame into hisstudio to see how the work was comingalong. One look from the boy, comparinghis plasticine with his lover, he unleashedall his frustrations on her: You 're allwrong You're all wrong You're allwrong

S A n d MS and M isn't real . Let's defme pain as

something you don't want. S and M givesyou something which really isn't pain;after all. why do you want pain? I f youwant pain, you can have pain, but youcan't do it to yourself, something has to doit for you. If you do it right, you 'll seethat the S and M type pain is a differentfeeling. You can do it yourself, and you'reunder control -- a controlled roller-coasterride, or being in the movies. twisting youremotions. Nothing bad will happen if youdon't want it to. In fact. good things canhappen. First of all, you give yours elf all

that attention that you d eserve. Attenti onhat no one else would give you becausethey're not you, and they have their own S

and M. And then you feel good, lilce youare suffering and you have to make up forall that happiness . If there was a courseon happiness. they would teach you aboutthe law of conservation of happiness.There's only so much happiness in theworld. and your suffcring Icts other peoplebe happy . Don't you fecI sorry foryourself now? Compare . Your life isterrible and others are wonderful. Youmight as well. Welcome and self-indulgein more S and M.

Care BearsYou care for care bears. and care bears

care for you. No matter how mean youare, care bears care for you, and you carefor care bears because they're not mean .Even though care bears can't always do thethings you want them to do, you don'texpect your care bear to. It's easy to carefor a care bear -- they just need a place tosleep -- they really don 't even need food,not really . You don't even need to lovethem -- they care for you any ways.Neglect them, and theystill care.

It's easy to care for a care bear becausethey care for themselves too. They don'tdo silly things lilcejump off beds (or jumpinto them, for that matter) by themselves,and they don't stay out late. Care bears arevery understanding -- they were designed atthe factory to be caring. They're not taken

by mood s, and they're alway s fun to bewilb. And the best thing is, lJIey'realways there

Farah s Food MartIn Store Bakery

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables ,Deli Counter

Full Line ofGroceries

Man In Store Features@[p)@@ (j @ ~ . r r J M U ~

[Ji]) Q lMl

886 - 9933s laza II Waterloo

M[N)@ @ ?IMOfM

UNIVERSITYSHOP PLAZA

747-9888

$3_NY PillA O V E R 00

(( . elud,ng S ' . ' t

_ _ _ _ o u p o n - - -

747-9888

$30OfF

_NY PlZZ- OVER 59 00(E .e ludlnq Spec '.'$1

- - C o u r p o - - -

d ~ 306 ~ ' ~ 'ANY PIllA O V E ~

IE elud nq Spect,llS)

747-9888


10/12

Page 10

by Julian Ford

Repr inted from I ron W ar ri or(March 3,_1989)

There are two hundr ed and eighty -eight

tiles on the ceili ng o f my c ell: eig ht eenlong by sixtee n wi de . I know becaus e Ihave counted them sixty -three times .

t takes nine p aces to cross the lengthof the room, and six pace s for the width . Ihave made each of these measurementsseven hundred and thirty-ne times.

The -reason for my diligence is that Iwas once told that when someone goesmad, the ability to deal with numbers isone of the flIst to go . I don't know if thisis true or not. but it i s all I have to go on .Besides, I haven 't anything else to do.

I have now been held captive foreleven days. At first I tried to hold out. Iwouldn't ta1ce any food. I wouldn't talk to

the interrogators. But after three days withnothing to eat I gave in.

My cell is simply a rectangular roomwhich contains a small cot, a chair and atiny table -- a nd no window. The onlyway I have of telling time is by the mealsand the sleep periods which my captorsimpose. Twice each day -- I assumearound noon and early evening -- I ambrought my meals . The meal, which Ibelieve is lunch, typically consists of twosandwiches and a bowl of lukewarm soup.Dinner, howeve r, is usually quitenourishing.

Until now, the boredomlUIS

been so complete as to

nearly drive me insane.

An attendan t brings my meals. Heenters my room and places it Otl my table,then leaves without a word.

Twice a day, ea c h time a couple ofhours, I assume, after meals , I am broughtout of my room to a washroom down thehallway, and that is the only opportunity Iam afforded tu leave my cell.

Iron W ar rior

Sh ortI realize I am being meticulous and

perhaps mundane, with my details, but Imust write this down. Perhaps it willhelp to keep me sane, though I fear I amvery close to los ing my mind already.

It was worse w hen I was first captured.I was only allo wed paper and pencil thismorning. Until now , the boredom hasbeen so comp lete as to near ly drive mefrom my senses. The last co uple of days,though, I have fe lt mu ch calmer. Perh apsit is a s ign of my ensuing mental dem ise.I th ink, how ever, that it i s perhaps due to

The question is not

exactly WHO has taken

me captive, but WHAT.

something they have been putting in myfood.

The alarm has just been sounded,lelling us know we have five minutesuntil lights out. I will continue thisjournal tomorrow. I yet have much towrite.

It has been six days since my last entry.I broke the end of my pencil and it hastaken this long just to get another one.

By now, you must be wondering whohas ta1cen me captive and why. I have leftthe discussion of this until I have done mybest to convince you that I am sane anddoing my best to remain that way.

The question is not exactly WHO hastak en me capt ive, but WH AT. I amconvinced that my abductors are not of thisworld, but have come from some other,perhaps many light-years away. I'm surethis sounds fantastic to you , whoev er youare , but it is true. In any case, I feel I .must p resent my story while I can stillremember it. If anybody ever doe s readthis, th ey are free to decide on its validityat that time, for I know that it is a d ifficultthing I ask you to believe . Her e, then, ismy account of what led to my curr entsituation.

tor y :I was a security guard at Wheeler

Technology Laboratories . I was workingnight shifts during the summer break fromUniversity, where I was an Englis h majorwho fancied himself a writer of fict ion .My favor ite genre was scie nce fic tionwhich make s it a ll the more ir onic that Is hould find myse lf in this currentpredicament.

I used to lik e wo rking the night shiftbecau se it afforded m e a chance to writeundisturbed for many hours. Sometimes Iread a novel in the course of my shifl. Ifound it a r efreshing experience to be leftalone to my ow n devices.

Do not mista1ce me for one who doesnot enjoy the company of people, for thatcould not be further from the truth. Isimply found solace in the oppurtunity tobe alone from time to time.

In any case, it was the summer of1987, my final year at University. I hadrecently sold two of my best stories toOMNI magazine, and had just beenapproached to join a new club of novicefiction writers who called themselvesTYROT ALES. It was my second monthof engagement to the most beautiful girlin the world, an d all in my life seemed, atthat point, to have directed itself in a solidcourse. I was a happy man.

I yearned for some glimpseof secrecy which would e

othe indicator of some

breakthrough.

It was the flISt night of July and I salat my post in the lobby of the smallnetwork of research laboratories whichcomprised Wheeler TechnologyLaboratories. I never learned what wasactually being researched at the facility,but it did not attract any attention from themedia, and the daytime staff - which I sawonly on my once-a -month visit to collectmy paycheck - appeared to be anunobtrusive collection of rather averageseeming people.

July 7, ~ 8 9

t was n' t tha t I expected a compan yfull of fam ous scie nti fic minds t o becollecte d at s uch a sma ll, una ssumi nginstituti on , ye t I som ehow yearned forsome glimp se of secrecy whi ch would bethe tell -tal e indicato r of some po tentiallyrevolutionary breakthrough. I did considermyself, after all , a science fiction writer .In fact , a number of my stories dealt with

I was about t

turn back, when I

thought I heard a noise.

the facility in some respects. Some of thedescriptions I had used were of locationswhich I found in my nocturnalwanderings, and some of my characterswere extrapolated analogies of people I hadencountered among the daytime staff.

This, however, is leading me from mystory. So it was the flIst night of Julyand it was very warm. I particularlyremember the heat of that night becausethat was the reason I had decided to strolldown the East wing of the complex. TheEast wing was always several degreescooler than the rest of the building, andsometimes I lingered there when I mademy hourly rounds.

This particular night, I journeyedfurther into the East wing than I hadpreviously dared. I had been given strictboundaries to which I was to adhere, but Icould see no reason why there should be aproblem with my being a few dozen feetfurther down the hallway than I wassupposed to be. After all, I wasn't aboutto steal away with proprietary secretsshould I happen to encounter them .

I .vas about to tum back, when Ithought I heard a noise. It wasn t aparticularly loud noise, so I had troubleidentifying the source. I listened for awhile longer and heard it several moretimes. I began to search for the cause of

FastDeliveryAll Day S N FRANC'ESCQ'S

FAMOUS ITALIANSANDWICHESAND PASTAS

VealSteakSausageMeatballCold Cuts

LasagnaSpaghetti

GnocchiRavioli

MOND Y NIGHTSPECI L

Large 16 slice Pizza3 items 4 Cokes

12.99

NEWKITCHENER

LOCATION

Ucenced Sports BarBig Screen TV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ 33 University Ave. E

Waterloo

PIZZA

EATIN DRIVETHRU TAKEOUTPHONE AHEAD AND YOUHORDER'

WILLBE READY FORPICK-UP

30 Ontar io St. S

Kitchener

PANZEROTII


11/12

July 7, 1989

this, as, to the best of my knowledgeanyway, there should not have beenanybody else in the facility . .

After searching a few of the

laboratories in the area, I had foundnothing, and the sounds were no longerpresent. I finally decided that they hadnever been there, it had simply been amatter of my own mind - perhaps inspiredby my violation, however negligible, ofmy boundaries - playing tricks on me. Ichecked several more doors, just to appeasemy curiosity, then chuckled at my ownparanoia and returned to the lobby.

It was only a few nights later when Iagain began to hear the noises. I waspatrolling the East wing, well within myboundaries, and I heard what I decided wasthe humming of electrical equipment.Once again I tried to locate the source, butwas unable, as it kepi. fading and returning.Finally it stopped, and I did not hear itagain that night.

It then came upon me as a challenge. Idecided that I had to discover the source ofthe noise. It became a game r would play.Each night I made my usual rounds, but itwas only ever in the East wing that Idiscovered the n o i ~ .

I did not hear the noise every night, tobe sure, but there were nights where, upondetecting my acoustic quarry, I quietlyrushed from door to door, sometimesheading deep into the restricted area, tryingdesperately to locate its source.

Iron Warrior

The NoiseThe excuse I was given was that a

restructuring of he budget demanded somereduction of head count, and so, it wasdecided, they were installing a surveillancesystem which rendered my job redundant.The man thanked me for my services andapologized that these measures bad becomenecessary, but assured me of a complimentary evaluation and reference.. The man had made no mention of mystory. and I was so stunned at that timethat it didn't occur to me until some dayslater when I realized where I had left it. Imade no connection. , however, betweenmy story and my termination, for whatconnection could I have possibly foreseen?

Within two weeks, I obtained a similarposition at another research institution inthe area, having received, as promised, anexcellent evaluation from Wheeler

Technology. Three months following thatsaw my return to school, and the

My nightmares contin uedto grow worse.

publication of the story r had conceivedabout the Noise in a leading science fictionmagazine. I had, indeed, forgotten myobsession with the Noise, and began toplan my wedding day which my bride-to-beand I set for nine months hence, being as Iwas to graduate one month before that. Itwas at this time that the nightmare trulybegan.

tried to break me, but they couldn't. Myresolve strengthened then, and I swore toexpose them, indeed 10 destroy theml

I knew that I bad to fmd the Noise, for

in finding it, I believed, I would find thesource of their plan and be able 10 reveal itto the authorities. I knew that my storywould be laughed at without proof, and soI began to devise my assault on WheelerTechnology.

The irony -- if such a tremendoustragedy can be given sononchalant a label -is that it was love which doomed me andperhaps mankind: The pure, unfetteredlove which I had nurtured for my belovedLeesa, traitorously betrayed me and, in sodoing, signed the ,death warrant for all ofEarth.

She came to me a few nights beforemy plan was to be executed, and told meshe was afraid for me. She said that I hadchanged and was no longer the man sheknew. f wanted to continue ourrelationship, she demanded that I forsakethe obsession which gripped me. I almostlaughed at her pathetic attempt to swayme, and I told her that I knew what shehad become, and I renounced her as myfiancee.

It was about a week after thepublication containing my story became

",....-.,i---=. v: :ailable that I began to have ~ u iarAs the w i ~ dreams. They were mild at fust, dealing

The noise changed slightly, from timeo ti'me, and I decided that whatever

The shock of my words somehowaffected her, and she collipsed on the floorof my apartment, sobbing uncontrollably.I could see the conflict which raged acrossher face, and I realized that she must befighting the controlling forces, strugglingto regain her will. I Icnelt to her, my lovefor her burning within me, and I told her

that I would free her, 1 would fight for her, i necessary, woW or

game become on obsession.

machines or equipment were being used togenerate the sounds, were not always thesame. I atso began to realize that thenoise was not always in the same place.Some times the noise ' came from fartherinto the restricted area than other nights,always only in the East wing.

As the weeks wore on, the game,which I originally embraced as healthycuriosity, became an obsession. I was no

longer content 10 sit at my desk: and read,and my patrols of the other sections of thebuilding became more and more rushed,until I gave them up completely.

It wasn't until the noise began toinvade my dreams, that I realized myobsession was becoming too severe. Withthat thought, I decided I was going to stopsearching for it. Besides, it was probablyonly some automatic processes, set tomake readings at various times, aboutwhich nobody had bothered to infonn me.It was an incredible relief to realize howfoolish and naive I had been: the paranoidimaginings of a hyper-active sciencefICtion writer.

Over the following few nights I beganto compose a short story related to thisincident, in an attempt to purge theobsession completely from my mind. Thestory deait with alien beings who hadcome to earth in human form, and wereusing the resean:h facility in order toconduct experiments, in prelude tolaunching an attack on our planet. Thestory gave me great amusement as Imocked my own imagined sources of thenoise. On the Friday morning of thatweek, however, I accidentally left a roughcopy of the slOry on my desIc, and laterthat afternoon, I wa fired

with my wanderings about the East wingsearching for the Noise. The dreams thenshifted to nightmares 'of brain surgerybeing conducted on me without anaesthetic.I began to wake up nights, sweatingprofusely, with the most peculiarsensation that my dreams were being takenfrom me somehow. I felt that somewhere,someone could see into my min'd and wasperusing my subconscious thoughts. Icontinually tried to convince myself thatthese were only dreams, only a pattern ofelecrical impulses in my brain. It workedfor awhile, but shortly my reality began to

change also. .The changes in my fiancee were subLle,undoubtedly unnoticable to anyone else,but to me they were plain enough. Ithought at first that she was ill, but shequickly denied that. Then I began tobelieve that she was having a change ofheart as to our betrothal, but again shebelayed my fears.

My nightmares continued to growworse until I could no longer concentrateduring school hours, and my studiessuffered immeasurably. My fiancee beganto urge me to seek psychiatric help, and itwas at this point that I realized two things:

. would not surrender to the evil monsterswhile my will was still my own. I kissedher quivering, tear-soaked lips gently, thenleft the apartment. It was the false senseof trust, inspired by my love, that dupedme.

I left her in my apartment alone, withthe knowledge that I intended to stand upto them, and it was only two hpurs laterwhen I was plucked from the street, whereI was wandering, by two muscle-bound,obviously possessed men. Thcy strappedme down -- oblivious to my comparativelyfeeble attempts to break: free -- in the back.of a windowless van, and drove for a longtime.

When we fmalty stopped, I was carriedinto the building which has become myprison, and locked in my cell. I burnedwith rage at my captors and at myself forhaving SO easily succumbed to the beings Ihad sworn to destroy. I Icnew then that I

They hIIvI Isk e v ~ r y l i g :

. f r e d o m y li/ .

was helpless, and my futile attempt tosave my planet was over.

I had lost control of my dreams tosomeone else, and my fiancee was no That.. dear reader, is my story. It is, aslonger the woman I adored, but was now I have said, fantastic, is it not? Yet it issome brain-washed shell with no will of no fantasy.her own. It has taken me two days to complete

I grew afraid. I could trust no one. I this journal and in the interim, I believe Ibegan to have dreams of people removing have won the confidence of one of myface masks to reveal hideous monsters in keepers. He has sworn to me that he isdisguise, and then I realized that my story human, and somehow. deep within myhad actually been a true account, or near being, on an instinctive level, I believe heenough, of what was occurring at Wheeler is. He has promised that, were I to prepareTechnology. They invaded my mind a letter, he would see to it that it wasperhaps to drive me completely mad so I posted. I have decided to trust him. W ~could not reveal their plan 10 others. They ,after all, have I 10 lose?had turned my beloved faancee into an I have not, as yet., decided to whom I

will address this document, but at least. automaIon to try 10 control me. bey had

Page 11

now you know how it has come to be inyour possession. I beseech you to bewary. I hope I have not jeopardized ' yoursafety by infonning you of these ev.ents,

but I must take this chance. It may be allI can do now against them.

My Dearest, Beloved Leesa:It s to you I have decided to write this

letter . [ don't know if you will receivethis, and if you do, I cannot be sure thatyou are the woman to whom I ambetrothed. I fear my words may fall ondeaf ears, or blind eyes, but I have no oneelse.

They have taken everything from me;my freedom, my life, but they cannot takefrom me my love for you and mymemories of you. I do not know where Iam, but I know it is a long way from you,and I ache to hold you and live again.

It is because of me thal you have beendrawn into this, and for that I shall carrymy guilt beyond death, into the fires ofHell. They knew that no one would

The doctor turned silently

bock towards the frontlobby and continued on.

believe me, except perhaps you, so theyslOle your mind.

I am sending you this now because Iknow you loved me once. We drankdeeply from the cup of love, and I oncefoolishly believed that a love as true andas pure as ours could conquer anything.

You loved me, perhaps deep down, beyondleve1 aliey conaroJ. you Siill Go. And

maybe, just maybe. my words willawaken you, and I will at least have savedyou from their control.

1 know now that I wiII never see youagain in life, and my heart labours withthat knowledge, but ( cannot let them haveme. For what 1 am about 10 do, I hopeGod and you can forgive me Goodbye,my love .

He honest.ly believed that there werealiens running this place " said the orderlyas they walked down the hall towards themain lobby. "I've seen some wackosbefore, but that guy takes the cake. Oh,incidentally, Doc, he gave me a letter tomail for him. J guess there's no hannnow that he's dead, huh?

The doctor stopped walking and lookedat him with the cold, stony face the youngorderly had become used to.

"Let me see it, he saidThe orderl y hunted through his pockets

for a m o m e n ~then produced the envelope.the doclOr opened it and skimmed thecontents quickly.

"Well," he said finally. We can't beletting nonsense like this go floatingabout, can we. And with that, he rippedup the journal and dropped it in a nearbywaste basket. You know the rules, no

outgoing mail."Yeah uh .. sorry, Doc.

"You've seen to the body?"Oh, yeah. We shipped it off this

morning. PreUy obvious cause of death;he ripped off some of his clothes andrammed it down his throat so he chokedon it Pretty gross way to go, if you askme.

The doctor turned silently back towardsthe front lobby, and continued on.

"What an icy bastard," thought theorderly. Then he shrugged and followedthe doctor OUL


12/12

U n i v e r s i t y o f W a t e r l o o

S u n d a y u I y 9 1 9 8 9 Races Include :

40 km Novice Category Criterium (over 18)25 m Men's Open Criterium15 kril Women's Criterium

Special Thanks toour Sponsors

Mountain Bike RaceMountain Bike Relay (4 X 1 lap relay)Running Relay (4 X 1 4 lap relay)

k nkosthe opy enter

Applications in the Engineering Orificeand Turnkey Desk

iron warrior: volume 10, issue 9

Documents