SPIDERS: It's not a game.

[LMNO]

Pho glanced at her watch.  She was late for that day's meeting, and so walked briskly towards the Starbuck's.  As she approached the large glass door at the entrance, she noticed a piece of paper with a scrawled note taped to it.  

"Pho: Gone across the street. At Charlie's Pub.  C U There!"

Snatching the note off the door, she hurried across the busy street, frowning.  Something wasn't right.  The front doors of the bar were half open, and she could hear someone inside, singing.

"We're caught in a trap... I can't walk out..."

Pho stopped, and glanced at the awning above the doors.  "Live Kareoke Nitely," it read.  A few more voices joined in the lyric.  "Why can't you see... What you're doing to me... When you don't believe a word I'm saying..."

There was a burst of laughter then, and Pho shook her head.  This wasn't how it was supposed to be working.  Dammit, they were getting along.  Everyone was singing now, blaring out the chorus.  "WE CAN'T GO ON TOGETHER, WITH SUSPICIOUS MINDS; AND WE CAN'T BUILD OUR DREAMS ON SUSPICIOUS MINDS..."

Pho tried to take a step forward, but couldn't.  The sheer joy and happiness rolling out of the bar was overwhelming.  She took a step back.  

"Hey, watch it!" a voice shouted.  She turned to see a bike courier racing towards her, taking up most of the sidewalk.  Instinctively, she jumped out of the way.  Unfortunately, she jumped into the street.

Looking up, the last thing she saw was the front grille of a Greyhound bus.  Emblazoned across the top was the destination:  "NOW-HERE".

Thump.

Inside the bar, a voice faltered.  Something had changed.  Hurriedly, they went back to mouthing the words, hoping that no one would notice the slip.  No one did, and no one noticed there were, in fact, two faces that suddenly seemed terribly uncomfortable.

One of the Spiders has been eliminated.  The Machine™ cannot be created. PhoenixofDiscordia is out of the game.


____________________________________________________________________


Ofuck how could this have happened I was just going to see her tonight because I felt there was something familiar about her just like looking in a mirror and there wasn't any resentment or bitter antipathy like the rest of these fuckers no not hate but something to use to abuse to consume to fuel and I was sure that she would be the one to finally get them all and crush the weak under my feet and what was up with that radio message how could she have missed that scrawny little fuck he couldn't even stand up for himself when the rest of these deluded fools started accusing him and ofuck there's another one of them out there somewhere I have to find them but there's another one of me too and we have to find each other so we can feed and control and control and control and have to get them and eat them and I'll show them how to be happy and I'll take away their cares and worries and I'LL MAKE IT ALL BETTER..

The Spider did not subsume anyone this round.

_________________________________________________________________

Chuck took the day off work.  A quick call to the boss was all it took; that and a few well-timed coughs, of course.  After a brief stop at a local copy shop, he was soon on the streets, a ream of paper in one hand, a stapler in the other.  KA-CHUNK.  

Every time a staple jabbed into a telephone pole, Chuck smiled.  This should be pretty fun.  KA-CHUNK.  He glanced off to the right.  Down the street, someone had stopped and was peering at the flyer Chuck had left behind.  The smile slipped off his face as her realized that it would be pretty obvious who had put it up there.  Chuck quickly turned and walked in the other direction as the stranger looked his way, tore the flyer off the pole, and shouted, "Hey!"

Chuck walked faster, trying to stay nonchalant.  He risked a glance behind him, and saw the stranger running.  "Hey!"  Panicked, Chuck turned around slowly.  "Yeah?"

"Did you do this?"  He held up the flyer.  Below a picture of a gracefully swooping handlebar moustache was written in big, bold, capital letters, "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MOUSTACHE?  BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME."

Chuck coughed nervously.  "Um..."

"It's fucking hilarious.  My name's Peter."

"...Chuck..."

"Ha!  A likely story.  Hey, you know where these would go over great?  Down in the fashion district.  C'mon, I'll show you."



Discordian conversion: Successful

[Doktor Howl]

Johnny - 1

For America™.

[LMNO]

Round 4 is now beginning.  


SEVEN votes are needed to put someone On A Bus (13/2=6.5+1{round up}=7).

Official voting will not begin until everyone remaining has posted.

[Doktor Howl]

Johnny - 1

For America™.

[Remington]

Victory!

JohnNyx - 2

Because I still don't trust the fucker after his little covert-ops attempt.

[Freeky]

Ohai. Posting in dis here fread. I'll vote when voting opens.

[Elder Iptuous]

well, now we know that Cudgel can be trusted, too. 

[Eater of Clowns]

I do think Johny's PM attempt was him trying to mete out those he was suspicious of.  It was not a brilliant maneuver, HOWEVER, I do not think he is a spider.  He was one of the first that took Cudgel's word and voted for Pho.  Now, I would say this is the move a genre savvy spider would make, except it wouldn't mesh with the fact that he blew it with the PMs.  So unless this is some wild xanatos gambit I'm falling into...

On the other hand, unless like I said at least one of the spiders is genre savvy by voting for Pho, we can reasonably suspect the remaining spiders either voted for someone else or abstained.

I realize this puts me among their number, and so I'll defend my action.  Honestly, it comes down to not really liking the idea of someone that was put on a bus being integral to the development.  Not saying they shouldn't be participating, because it's at least partially my fault Cudgel is gone in the first place, but I wasn't a fan of it.  So that's really all it boils down to.  And I would like to add that I abstained only after it was clear Pho had the majority enough vote that it wouldn't have made a difference.

[Doktor Howl]

I think EoC and Ippie are the two remaining spiders, but I'm still voting for Johnny, because Leslie Gore would have wanted that.  Also, he's a terrorist.

[Eater of Clowns]

For reference:

The (remaining) players:
BDS
Cudgel - Discordian, put on a bus
Dok Howl
Dr James Semaj - Subsumed
Eater of Clowns
Frederieke van Noodleberg
Iptuous
Joh'Nyx
Mistress Freeky
phoenixofdiscordia - Spider, put on a bus
Remington
Requia
Rumckle
Sigmatic - Subsumed
Storebrand
That Green Gentleman
Triple Zero

I think EoC and Ippie are the two remaining spiders, but I'm still voting for Johnny, because Leslie Gore would have wanted that.  Also, he's a terrorist.

You also didn't vote for Pho, but unlike me you actually discouraged people from doing so.  What do you have to say for yourself, Dok?

[Doktor Howl]

You also didn't vote for Pho, but unlike me you actually discouraged people from doing so. 

I did? 

I was encouraging people to vote for Johnny.  Different thing altogether.

[Elder Iptuous]

I was thinking Dok was a spider, but now I think he's just fucking with everyone for shitsngiggles.
Otherwise his actions just don't make any sense...

[Doktor Howl]

I was thinking Dok was a spider, but now I think he's just fucking with everyone for shitsngiggles.
Otherwise his actions just don't make any sense...

You're operating under the assumption that you have all the facts about how this game works.

[Fredfredly ⊂(◉‿◉)つ]

POST! I will vote later

[Eater of Clowns]

You also didn't vote for Pho, but unlike me you actually discouraged people from doing so.  

I did?  

I was encouraging people to vote for Johnny.  Different thing altogether.

Your "You fuckers never listen," post sounded like a discouragement from voting for Pho.  It came just as the votes started coming in, just after Cudgel's reveal.

Did not vote for Pho:
TGG (abstained prior to reveal)
Dok
Myself (abstained after pho's total was sufficient)
Ippie
Requia

I've defended myself, we know what Dok thinks.  Ippie hasn't said much on the subject.  I'd like to hear from Requia and TGG.