MIRAGE99.NFO

Today is December 31, 1993 .. and tomorrow, as is the tradition, I'll
be conjuring up a list of new year's resolutions which will contain the usual
bullshit resolving to study 9 hours a night, run 23 miles every morning, stop
picking on R.Noble .. and, as is  the tradition, I'll have broken them by the
next  day [Sorry R.Noble].  The coming  of the new  year is  also a time  for
tying loose ends, wiping the record clean, defragging the human hard drive as
it were.  It all seemed like the perfect time .. to announce the official and
permanent archiving of Mirage Designs.
When I originally  began compiling  this file I had written a several
page report on the  history of the  organization .. then decided  against it.
Instead, I'm opting to include just some of my abstract thoughts of the time,
detail a little  insight behind the Mirage concept and give out a few thanks,
shouts and ever else.
For those  closely affiliated with  the organization,  this was a day
long foreshadowed, where the  question wasn't so much "will Mirage die" as it
was "when will Mirage die".  When Mirage  was originally shaped I had a dream
of what I wanted  it to be, it was going to  be different ..  succinctly put,
the  artist would make up Mirage, rather than have Mirage make the artist.  I
wanted the group to  be a collective association of personalities and talent,
more of a loosely knit collage rather than  a rigid company.  This would be a
contact for artists looking  for distribution,  advice, or project  partners.
There  would be  no regulated charge  for  production of graphics, the artist
would maintain personal  choice over the matter.  No quotas .. production was
to be a result of the artist's desire to create, rather than one of pressure.
With time, it all began to  change, as it became just another graphics group,
and  that's not what we had set out to do .. because as everyone knows, there
are more than enough generic groups running around the scene.
As of this  time, I've been variably in  and out of the scene, and of
recent,  more often out than in .. and everytime I came back in, it was in an
attempt to revitalize a  slacking Mirage.  To  keep an  organization  such as
this  running at a  certain quality takes a lot of time and dedication, some-
thing I found I was no longer able to give.  Many other of primary membership
had the same loss of inspiration .. for us it had lost it's luster.  When you
call your first boards, the scene is a place of mystery and wonder.  Everyone
want's to be  the first to get 10,000 elite points and win .. but realization
later  comes that it's not all you expected, and  often less.  During my time
I met a lot of great people, as well as  a share of that, well let's just say
weren't so great.  I feel with the departure of the organization that I began
just a litte over 3 years ago, that's it time for me to take a personal leave
as well .. an  extended hiatus from  the national pirate scene.  As they say,
it was the best of times .. it was the worst of times .. now  I'm closing the
book  on one of the  most celebrated graphics  groups in  the short but  ever
changing time that we've all been around.

-- Kaska ƒ. Kaska
[Mirage Founder]

Air Jordan    : Admittedly, he never joined Mirage, but if he had, I'm sure I
would've thanked him right here ..

Agent 86      : An invaluable help both to  the organization and myself.  Yet
another  entry that  will probably  never be read, but if you
happen  to see  this in Vegas or  wherever yer at,  drop me a
line.

Beez          : One of the original three members, and you're still around ..
along the way you've become one hell of an artist.

Black Night   : You  organized the best courier system we ever had in Mirage,
just too bad  we were never  able to implement it to its full
effect .. maybe if we had you in the early days of the group.

Bruce Lee     : Just thought It'd be kewl to put him in here as well ..

Crushed Ice   : A G. Washington without the artistic talent <grin>

Deadman X     : iCE vs.  Mirage on The Citadel .. damn, those were the days I
still think about.  Y'all can count that someday I'll make it
out there again.

Dragonbait    : Your first .NFO file  <grin> ..  our very unofficial courier,
scout, and all around kewl guy.

Force Ten     : NOW I'll merge wit ya ..

Frozen T      : Founder  of iCE .. there were  rumors around,  but you always
shot me straight.  Luck wherever ya are ..

G. Washington : The hardest  working man in the  organization, as well as one
the best artists  ever to hit the scene.  Another vital piece
of the rise of Mirage .. and as we've learned, certain people
can't be replaced.  Drop me a line when yer available ..

Kafka K       : Second kewlest  name in the scene <grin> .. it was  all about
Social D's graphics that inspired my ANSI start.

Lady in Black : Our un-official President of the Mirage fan club .. never did
get Tempus, but it was enjoyable.

Loki          : Looks like LoL will outlast Mirage .. it wasn't for long, but
the time you were around was valued.

Metalhead     : Though I  don't give you as much  credit for the group as Ren
does, can't deny what could've been with "The Next Legacy"

Mind Bomb     : Wassup dewd .. volleyball anyone?

Porizkova     : Damn .. wish she was in Mirage ..

Poseidon      : Another Florida kid who thinks he can ball <grin> .. also the
most productive VGA artist we ever had.

Psylocke      : Smoke Pot; Hail our leige Satan; Down with Communist Regime.

R.Noble/Ren   : Probably the  person who's had the  most influence on my life
within the scene.   Also, in my mind one of the best  artists
to come  around, because everything he's done  was completely
original.  And no .. can't say it wasn't fun.

Ricochet      : My San Leandro information source .. can only wonder what may
have been if we got you involved back as Silk <grin>

Slam Dunk     : How  many basketball players we got in  Florida anyway?  I'll
check ya too <grin> ..

Snibble       : Miss those conversations en francais .. you also had  some of
the best coding I've ever seen.

TANK          : Same as always, thanks for RPM.

Tempus Thales : I always thought that we had you right on the verge of coming
over to  the group.  Still think  that you're one of the best
artists  around, but I doubt if  your basketball skills could
match .. I'm gonna school ya someday <grin>

Terminator2   : Seems a shame  that we picked you up when the group was going
downhill .. g'luck wherever ya go.

TGiTM/Dodger  : blah .. whatever happened to those application generators?

Zandorf       : Guess it was just something that was never able to get up off
the ground again ..

And now, a real concise listing  of anyone who was ever a part of the
Mirage membership .. I'd like to thank all for their contribution.

Atomic Playboy:Bad Karma:Beez:Black Ire:Black Night:Black Spyrit:Black Wolf::
The Black Legend:Bookwyrm:Captain Kaos:The Carnage:Cobalt:Coin Master:Cool T:
Crushed Ice:Cue:Cyber X:The Dark Servant:Dark Wolfe:Dead End:Deep Freeze:::::
Desolation:Dodger:Don Quixote:Dr. Freeze:Dr. Jekyl:Dreamevil:The Drow:Faust::
Flag:Fusion:G. Washington:Iceman:Icy:Igniter:Kafka Kierkegaard:Killer:Kronos:
Logan:Loki:Magical Gangster:Malcolm X:Maltar:Metal Head:MicroFarad:::::::::::
The Morbid One:Mr. Brownstone:Mystic Knight:Nhim:Nightblade:Outlawr::::::::::
Paul Muad'dib:Pnakotic:Poseidon:Prometheus:Pyro:Rasitlin:R.Noble:Razor:::::::
Regurgitated Fluff:Ricochet:Samurai Sam:Shihear Kallizad:Slammer:Slyboy::::::
Soulforger:Terminator2:THX:Toxic Marshmallow:Vito:Vlad Drac:Voivod:Weapon X::
The Weeze:Zandorf:Zero:Zirkoid:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

" We wanted to end on a positive note, so here's our biggest pack ever .. "
" Frank Tire Pros / 2310 El Camino Real / Redwood City, CA / 415-3O6-9394 "
" Golden State Warriors to win it all from '94 on .. "
" iCE - ACiD .. all yours "
" so .. anyways .. "

" To be a champion you have to believe in yourself when no one else will "
- Sugar Ray Leonard

Mirage Designs (c)1993 going on '94 - Elite has been successfully redefined ..