Date: Mon, 16 Jan 95 12:03:37 -0500
From: Usenet Oracle <oracle-vote@cs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Usenet Oracularity #706-02

Selected-By: Jonathan "Dr. Who" Monsarrat <jgm@cs.brown.edu>

The Usenet Oracle has pondered your question deeply.
Your question was:

> Here on Earth, we humans play "God Games",
> like Civilization and Populous.
>
> Up on Olympus, some of the lesser gods
> have to do the same sort of thing for real,
> to earn their keep;
> but the Oracle is above all that.
>
> O great Oracle, who is free from all compulsion,
> I beg you to enlighten me:
>
> I was playing Civilization, and I got this big headline about
> "Religion cancels effect of Oracle".
>
> Just what *was* your effect before it got cancelled?
>
> P.S. I patched my CIV.EXE from
>       2b00 1400 3600 0e00 0d00 1d00 2200 7f00
> to    2b00 1400 3600 0e00 0d00 7f00 2200 7f00
> and now the Oracle lasts forever...

And in response, thus spake the Oracle:

} Supplicant, it is nice to see people making constructive use of their
} time for once. and so I will give you a quick and succint answer to
} your question.
}
} In the final version of Civilisation, the Oracle increases the effect
} of Temples until Religion is invented. However, the original version of
} Civilisation was considerably larger than the one released in the
} shops, featuring many more discoveries and improvements.
}
} The most important of these was as follows:
}
} Civilopaedia entry: Internet
}
} The INTERNET is one of the most important discoveries in the history of
} Civilisation. It was the first true mass communication system, and soon
} replaced outdated concepts like TELEVISION and WRITING. The major
} advantage of the INTERNET is that it allows the construction of the
} ORACLE wonder.
}
} Requires: Computers, Coffee, Space Travel
}
} Allows: Oracle Wonder
}
} Civilopaedia entry: Oracle Wonder
}
} The USENET ORACLE is the greatest of the nineteen classical wonders of
} the world. Given a sufficient supply of COFFEE it can solve all the
} problems of Civilisation at no cost. The development of the INTERNET
} led to the availability of this service increasing to such an extent
} that it could reach everybody. This wonder makes all your citizens
} happy, increases the movement rating of all troops by 6, makes your
} cities invulnerable to attack and makes all other nations offer to make
} peace.
}
} Requires: Internet
}
} Cost: 600 shields and 500 gallons of coffee
} Maintenance: 4o/turn
}
} You owe the Oracle 4o.

End of Usenet Oracularities Digest #706
***************************************