Welcome to Raven's Lair

Um... hello.

Welcome to the future.

Perhaps I should explain what has just happened to you. Whether intentionally or otherwise, you have passed through a Time Gate which has carried you to the year 2029. Don't bother asking me how it works, because I don't have the slightest idea either. :-)

One way or another, you're here now, so I suppose I should fill you in a little on what's happened in the last few decades. Along about the turn of the century, a NASA probe called the Beagle II returned from Mars to Earth carrying samples of Martian soil.

NASA didn't bother telling us what else came along for the ride.

As alien viral epidemics go, it could have been worse. A lot worse. Only a relatively small fraction of Earth's population -- 6% in developed countries, more in the poorest regions of the world -- died in that first outbreak of the Martian Flu. But you see, the Flu wasn't content with just killing us. It left behind a legacy.

The legacy was another disease, which Center for Disease Control scientist Dr. Robert Stein isolated soon after the initial outbreak. The new disease didn't kill -- well, not most of the time anyway. Instead, it changed people -- tapped into the genetic heritage we share and sent the victim backward on a trip down life's memory lane.

The disease was Stein's Chronic Accelerated Biomorphic Syndrome -- SCABS for short.

And it changed the world forever.

Who am I? Well, nowadays I go by the name Raven Blackmane. Needless to say that wasn't always my name. But SCABS has a way of changing you enough that you want to leave your past behind. And I left behind almost everything when I came to the city.

The city is the one place where normal humans -- the "norms" -- have made a reasonable effort to coexist with the small percentage of people who've been changed by SCABS. Here in the heart of the downtown area -- really, in one of the less-nice parts of town -- you can find a place where everybody knows your name. And your species.

Here Scabs and norms stand on equal ground. Here we can drop in for a drink, a chat, a song or some sympathy. Plenty of each is served up every night.

This is my new home, the place where I go for friendship, foster family and support.

The Blind Pig Gin Mill.

One thing a lot of us regulars like doing is telling stories. Here you'll find a collection of some of our Blind Pig Tales (or Tails) -- a scrapbook of our hopes and dreams, fears and memories. You'll also find other stories, of other worlds, to capture the heart, the mind, and the imagination. Stop by often, you never know when something new will appear.

Welcome to my world.

Raven Image shown above is Copyright 1999 by Caribou. Used With Permission.
Raven Blackmane, the character, is Copyright 1996 by Raven Blackmane.

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