IP: The Lord of the Rings in the land of Redmond, WA?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

It's is a fun story but I cannot attest to it's truth  and please don't 
swamp me with comments unless you have tried it :-)

Dave


> Reply-To: "John Sears" <john () sears net>
> From: "John Sears" <jss () home com>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
>
> Dave
>
> I just received the below in my email.  The author is not attributed.
>
> ...........
>
>
> Recently one of my friends, a computer wizard, paid me a visit. As we were 
> talking I mentioned that I had recently installed Windows XP on my PC. I 
> told him how happy I was with this operating system and showed him the 
> Windows XP CD. To my surprise he threw it into my microwave oven and 
> turned it on.
>
> Instantly I got very upset, because the CD had become precious to me, but 
> he said: 'Do not worry, it is unharmed.'
>
> After a few minutes he took the CD out, gave it to me and said: 'Take a 
> close look at it.'
>
> To my surprise the CD was quite cold to hold and it seemed to be heavier 
> than before. At first I could not see anything, but on the inner edge of 
> the central hole I saw an inscription, an inscription finer than anything 
> I had ever seen before. The inscription shone piercingly bright, and yet 
> remote, as if out of a great depth:
>
> 12413AEB2ED4FA5E6F7D78E78BEDE820945092OF923A40EElOE5IOCC98D444AA08E324
>
> 'I cannot understand the fiery letters,' I said in a timid voice.
>
> 'No but I can,' he said. 'The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but the 
> language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here. But in common 
> English this is what it says:
>
> One OS to rule them all,
> One OS to find them,
> One OS to bring them all
> and in the darkness bind them.
>
> It is only two lines from a verse long known in System lore:
>
> "Three OS's from corporate kings in their towers of glass,
> Seven from valley lords where orchards used to grow,
> Nine from dotcoms doomed to die,
> One from the Dark Lord Gates on his dark throne
> In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.
> One OS to rule them all, one OS to find them,
> One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
> In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie."
>
> ............
>
> John Sears
> Rochester Hills, Michigan
> john () sears net

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