The TBG Tribune

Issue 2 turn 701

Constitution Wins Yet Another Election

Beak Blamed For Latest Dybuk Releasings

Paradox Payback Promise

Pirate Alliance Hits TBG

Rumours Of A Big Reset: Fact Or Fiction?

Purging Pains

No Imperial Expansion Planned

Interview With The Wise Prophet

The Editorial

CONSTITUTION WINS YET ANOTHER ELECTION
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

Constitution continues to reign supreme as Galactic President, despite the arrival of the Freedom of Information Party. An overwhelming majority of the alien races voted for his continued supremity, and it would seem that all is looking good in the Constitution Camp. Rumours have been flying around that FIST, the pirate alliance, have access to all the presidential information, but these rumours are as yet unsubstantiated with hard proof. The Freedom of Information Party are said to be disappointed with the result of the latest election, and tribune sources within the group can reveal that there is a strong belief that come the next election, there will be more of a challenge to Constitution. After 100 turns supremacy, does Constitution have any plans to give up the position? How does he feel about the new challenge from the Freedom of Information Party? Find out the answers to these questions, and more in the next issue of The TBG Tribune where we hope to have an interview with the longest reigning President in TBG history.

PARADOX PAYBACK PROMISE?
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

As was brought to you exclusively in the last issue of The TBG Tribune, Paradox has left the UT. He has stated a willingness to hand his ship over to the next President, and he seemed confident that Constitution would be toppled this turn. The general feeling permiating around TBG at the moment is that Paradox should be restarted at the earliest opportunity, or should be used for salvage operations. What Paradox will do is as yet unknown, although rumours have been circulating that Paradox has been in contact with the prophets, and is trying to find a way to return to normal tbg life. Whether that will be possible is a matter for some debate.

PIRATE ALLIANCE HITS TBG
by Mack the Hack

The newly formed Pirate Alliance has high ambitions but needs a leader. "We need a leader" stated a Tribune source within the alliance. Perhaps this is due to their lack of membership although the founders of this organisation are eager to appeal to the dark side of all TBG captains..."Piracy should be accepted" claimed our contact "I admire ALL pirates...they don't mind shooting down a player". This is dire news for all peaceful vessels after the demise of the UT however without a leader these bandits could struggle to get out of dry dock.

PURGING PAINS
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

Flying Beak and Better Ship Lollipop have caused a wave of panic amongst the members of the Terminal Codes list. They are currently purging people's access at various starnet terminals, and causing many ships to get annoyed. However, due to good organisation by Shadow Wraith, there is now a public list of all the terminals, when they were last purged, and whether they have been repurged. The question is, will Flying Beak and Better Ship Lollipop manage to keep ahead of the repurgers, or will Shadow Wraith be able to mobilise the Terminal Code bods into action quickly enough to keep their accesses, and also keep those artefacts still in working order? Who knows. At present, Better Ship Lollipop and Flying Beak are ahead.

FLYING BEAK BLAMED FOR LATEST DYBUK RELEASING
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

Flying Beak has been identified as the latest Dybuk releaser. The Galactic Comedian, not content with purging terminals, is now using his science favour to release TBG's most feared evil entity. It is a severe blow to President Constitution who thought that he had managed to contain the most recent strain of Dybuk releasings. However, it has emerged that he is not entirely to blame for this latest release. Dybuk had been chained up at Star #50 for quite some time, and had been guarded by Mendelssohn for a few turns. However, The TBG Tribune has learnt that it was in fact Myopic who pushed the release reward up to around an astonishing 51 popcorn, and apparently Flying Beak could not resist the temptation. The TBG Tribune has also learnt that Myopic disobeyed a direct request from the Fierce Prophet not to harvest popcorn at Star #50.

RUMOURS OF A BIG RESET: FACT OR FICTION?
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

There have been rumours flying around of a big reset of TBG. These rumours have been given some substance by the latest debug lines, and new pollution ranking in the Sub Space Times. So, what is this Big Reset, and how will it affect you? The big reset is in essence a build up of pollution levels to a point where there is an apocalyptic accident. So, what actually happens? Well, when the big reset occurs, the colonies all get moved around on the various planets, and different places become homeworlds. Also, another affect of this apocalyptic accident is that every unprotected module on your ship breaks. It is not clear at present how exactly you protect your ship, or if anything else will happen. Also, it is not clear if there will be any way of reducing pollution levels, or whether they just build up over time constantly getting bigger and bigger. However, The TBG Tribune will keep it's eye on this major development, and keep you all informed of the progess.

NO IMPERIAL EXPANSION PLANNED
by Mack the Hack

The Betelgeuse Empire has squashed rumours about exapansion plans. It has revealed exclusively to The TBG Tribune that it has no plans to expand or increase its tax rate claims Imperial Information Officer Prelude To Peace. This is good news considering that The Empire claims to have had no tax income since the agreement of the new protocols were signed, coupled with the acknowledgement that Imperial funds spent on assisting new vessels have been unrecouperable. Despite this the Imperial Navy, as stretched as it is, will continue to take a firm stance towards tax evaders whilst offering protection to tax payers within the Imperial borders.

THE EDITORIAL

Welcome one and all to the second issue of The TBG Tribune. We try and act on all feedback given to us here at The TBG Tribune, and part of that was that it didn't look much like a newspaper on the stars background, so this is an effort to change that. Please keep your views coming into us at thetbgtribune@yahoo.co.uk as we value them all. Also, due to a technical hitch, last issue's poll didn't actually work. Many apologies. We'll mend it and it will return in the near future.
The TBG Tribune Editorial Team
thetbgtribune@yahoo.co.uk

Terminals Purged List

Corby's Turnulator

Contact the Pirate Alliance at pirate_alliance@
yahoo.com

Visit the Imperial Pages at http://empire.selsted.dk

Interview with
Spectral Duck - The Prophet of the Wise One

This weeks prophet interview is with the Wise Prophet, Spectral Duck. Find out what he has to say on matters such as his time as dual prophet, and why he became Wise Prophet all those turns ago.

Q. Why did you decide to become Prophet of the Wise One?

I was one of Feline Grace's science chosen when he announced his decision (to his chosen) to step down as Prophet of the Wise One, and asked for volunteers to replace him. I put myself forward with a view to expanding my TBG horizons, and because I was a neutral captain without alliance ties. This independence is a quality I feel is important in a Prophet. I also hoped to be able to add to the sterling work already achieved by FG. I knew it was a tough act to follow, but life gets dull without challenges.

Q. What plans did you have for the position?

Principally to act as a balancing/stabilising force in the universe, assisting smaller ships in their growth, keeping starnet accesses available to all, punish dybuk releasers/starnet purgers and to maintain and update the star database. In addition, the upholding of the newly created single chosen principle.

Q. Do you feel you've achieved those objectives?

Some. I have helped stabilise a chaotic period (see dual prophethood questions below) at significant personal cost. Since the UT appeared, most of the Prophet's time has been spent working to reduce the effects of their actions - predicting Evil's movements, distributing that info to the relevent places, protecting smaller ships from Dybuk, coordinating with the other Prophets and the President for hunting campaigns etc. The burden of communications (including interviews ;~) ) seems to be growing exponentially.
The single chosen rule has had to be relaxed a little to allow for a Dybuk hunter, although the observed inefficiency of such a role makes this a little questionable.
At this time, there is an active hunt for BSL and Flying Beak who are purging all starnet accounts.

Q. How long do you plan to hold on to the position?

As long as I can actively contribute to the goals mentioned earlier. I am aware that I hold this position as a service to other Captains, and can retain this position only with their support. When the time comes for me to pass on the baton, then I like my predecessor will choose from those that have an interest in the Wise Way (tm), and who can build on the principles already established. Short of the 'Duck getting caught in a supernova, handover will be an orderly affair.

Q. Have your plans for the position changed?

The plans haven't changed, but the focus has. The actions of well known criminals has meant that the focus of the Prophet's position has been on reducing their impact, instead of building improvements. It is the sort of role that is not very visible. If we were to stop fighting the bad guys, then the good captains of the universe would soon wonder what had hit them. I'd like to point out that it's not just the Prophets and the President doing the work here, but a significant number of older, experienced, ships too. The task is huge, and continues still.

Q. What residual feelings do you have about the time when you took the dual prophet role?

A little anger and a bit more sadness at how quickly other captains accused me of profiteering and self interest because of my action. I still believe I was right to seize the vacant position and to stabilise the Mighty Prophethood at a time when the UT of Paradox, Flying Beak and Alpha were at their strongest. The poll that I set up resulted in identifying Flying Haddock as a clear favourite for the position, and work was already in hand for a clean handover when the infamous turn happened. His Prophethood has, I'm glad to say, increased the number of ships that are able to protect others from Dybuk.

Q. How have the negotiations with Deformed Rabbit gone, and what results have come out of them?

I hold many vessels responsible for the Dybuk incident, although the principle ones are Almost Honest, Deformed Rabbit, Flying Beak and Paradox all of whom schismed. Some agreement has been reached with both AH and DR, but details are private, and still being executed.
Flying Beak and Paradox would have had the same opportunity but for their other henious crimes. I'm afraid that the only option with these two is a complete restart. They could never afford to compensate all their victims for damage incurred.

As the second most recent ascendant to Prophethood, I'd like to thank all those Captains that have been of assistance both before and after the Dybuk incident.
May you live long and prosper.

Next issue, we hope to have an interview with Constitution, the Galactic President. If you have any questions that you think should be asked of him, please do not hesitate to contact us at thetbgtribune@yahoo.co.uk