The Kiva, Pueblo Bonito

[Malaclypse 666]

"One Hundred seventy five, soaking wet."

The kid had panache, he'd give him that. Perhaps he'd be just what Eris and the TAZ needed to edit a "house rag". Given all the cries of "anarchists!" and "traitors!" the TAZ had elicited lately, even from their own Zoner brethren, having a more "public" face might dispel these ridiculous myths.

"Reginald Asmodeus Waverly wasn't called by Eris. Reggie, or 'Daddy Warbucks', as he was known when I met him on Curacao, didn't have a clue about Discordianism. His calling was business, plain and simple, and he was damn good at it!"

Mal placed his thoughts in order, wanting to do justice to his oldest friend and partner.

"'Pops' Warbucks was working for IND when we met, plying the lanes in a garish Luxury Liner. He fancied himself part 'Warbucks', a legendary Terran billionaire, and part 'Mark Twain', a riverboat gambler and homespun philosopher. It was immediately apparent that the man was shrewd, astute, and could smell a good business deal from a parsec away. So, I approached him, not with converting him in mind, but with a business 'question'.

At the time, I was dabbling in some hydroponics on Curacao, attempting to grow what later would be known as 'Kallisti Gold', the sacrament of Eris and her followers. You see, that old Cryer nonsense that 'not a single seed' survived the journey from Sol was just marketing propaganda. Cannabis is a durable weed, Gypsie, and I was able to find not only Indica seeds, but some Sativa as well. Seeds I had, but hydroponic growing took a long while, and the crop lacked potency, for some reason.

At first, Reggie was put off by the fact that there was no market in the Sector. I patiently explained that I didn't intend to market the 'drug', and that it would be used solely in Discordian rituals and meditation. I almost lost him at that point, but after another 'umbrella' drink at the Curacao Sheraton, I could sense the wheels turning in that entrepeneural brain of his."

There was so much to tell about how it all started, and Mal wanted to be as clear and "chronological" as possible.

"Reggie had recently become fond of visiting a planet in the Omega 49 system. The planet was sparsely populated by Zoners and a few Corsairs at the time.. oh.. and some Coalition lads who were still valiantly trying to get revenge for being dumped on by the Alliance.. but I digress..

"Gran Canaria was extremely fertile, most of it bathed 18 hours a day or more by its' hot twin suns. Reggie suggested that it might be an ideal spot for growing our sacrament; but also mentioned other 'cash crops' that the Sector would welcome.. tobacco, coffee beans, even juniper berries to put the tang back in the nasty beverage purporting to be 'gin' at posh bars.

"After a few more hours, and lots of umbrellas, we had shaken hands on a partnership. I would purchase a few thousand acres on Gran Canaria, and Reggie would oversee the 'plantation'. He would also provide the means to move the current hydroponics operation from Cortez to 49.

"Reg kept his job with IND for another year, helping to nurse the plantation through the first growing season. Meanwhile, he chartered 'Waverly LLC', 'Laughing Goddess Bakeries', (at the time, we were still throwing a lot of pies for Eris), and built what was to become 'Veranda Incognita', the base of operations for ELF, and its' later incarnations. Reg began studying the Holy Tome, and converted to Discordianism.

"So, in an appleseed, Reggie 'Warbucks' Waverly was responsible in large part for giving the ELF the financial backing to expand and evolve. Discordianism had a home, and I had made a lifelong friend."

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