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TOPAZ : Hope this helps.__________________________________ ________________________Ann Sandler-BraggVice President, World Wide ImportsDiv. of Imex International9974 Scripps Ranch Blvd. Suite 295San Diego, Ca 92131 Phone and Fax: 619.271.7667 *** Our web page "should" be completed by the middle of January *** A friend of mine is studying (among other things) this sub- ject in Singapore, and he claims that the "cooling" period apparently is much shorter with some suppliers. About one blue sapphire out of eight display well above the safety limit, and one out of fifty are downright dangerous. Geiger counters are cheap - should be an obvious addition to any dealer's range of tools. But that is *nothing*. A few years back, some idiot released a parcel of faceted PECH BLENDE on the market... Yes I did, and yes I am. I MUST learn to proof-read my posts before I send them... :-(
TOPAZ : Hope we are talking about topaz, and that sapphire is only a typo.My newsreader is having trouble allocating the correct source to thecomments in this thread, but I recently came across a web site that hassome information related to the types of radiation used in treating topaz.It is:When you get there, go to the page on topaz. It briefly explains thedifferent radiation sources and processes.I worked with a person here in Massachusetts who was, a few years ago,trying to find the secret of getting the nice bright blues. He had accessto a gamma source and was getting mostly steely grey blues, with occasionalnice colors. He told me that he had tried every type of radiation sourceexcept one, and that he could not get access to this source because it wasbooked solid for years in advance. Turned out this source was exactly thetype of radiation he needed -- and the reason he couldnt get access to itwas because someone else had beaten him to it with their topaz. (Thesituation is different today.) He also discovered that the colorless topazso inexpensive and abundant on the market was reject material that did notchange color well. Always wondered whether it might not be a good idea tocheck that old colorless material too.
TOPAZ : From time to time in rock swaps in the southwest U.S. you can find somesamples of trinitite, the glass formed by the explosion of the first atomicbomb. Evidently, after the war, that test site near Alamagordo was open tothe public and people went in and helped themselves to the material. It isamazing how much material a steady stream of rockhounds can carry away overa period of years. About ten years ago, you could get a kilo of it forabout $10 at Quartzsite. Never saw any of it faceted, and it is not veryhot by now, but, Peter, if you want to give it a try... :-)On the same subject, I found a piece of colorless quartz at the PortlandQuarry in Middletown, Connecticut, that had a black opaque crystal (aboutone to two mm) as an inclusion, and the area around this black crystal wassmoky quartz, rather than clear. The black crystal was a zircon, and theradiation from it had created a smoky halo. Thought that would make aninteresting faceted stone if the zircon had been completely enclosed,rather than on the surface of the specimen.
TOPAZ : Path: pil!boo!netcomsv!netcomsv!butch!kronos.a rc.nasa.gov!eos!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.ed u!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!cs.utexas.e du!tamsun.tamu.edu!rigel.tamu.edu!afj983 8Newsgroups: rec.arts.animeSubject: STORY*STORY The Renegades: Topaz and Fire, Part 2 STORY*STORYMessage-ID: Date: 11 Feb 1993 23:50 CSTDistribution: worldOrganization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing ServicesLines: 260NNTP-Posting-Host: rigel.tamu.eduNews-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41 Here's the second part. Once again, critiques and criticisms are welcome.And if you want to read the first of the stories involving the Renegades, "TheBeginning", then contact those lovely folks at the Worchester PolytechnicalInstitute (commercial plug for MegaZone).---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Fridays were always busy at Sam's, and this Friday was no different. The bar was packed with regulars, and the occaisional new barfly was made welcome by Sam's efficient service and friendly smile. Sam went about histrade with speed that testified to his skills and training. He was fast, fixing drinks with speed and grace. He even poured beers well. What none of the patrons knew or could see was that Dan, in his roleas Sam, was chipped for mixology. Every known drink recipe was readily accessible from the chip's memory and Dan's cybernetic processor had no problemtransferring them to his short-term memory. An easier route than bartender'sschool, and it took less time. Wolfe stood near the door, serving in his secondary role as bouncer. Quietly, he sipped his Coke as he watched the patrons for the signs of trouble.When the cover of Wolfe was being created, the 3WA undercover specialists hadsuggested that Stephen change his dietary habits slightly. One in particularhad suggested that Wolfe might drink something that would be considered a "real"drink, like Scotch or Whiskey. When Stephen explained that he didn't drink, andthat he would have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever, it was suggested that Wolfe then would drink nothing but water, or fruit juice or something healthy.This was immediately nixed by Stephen's two partners. They had seen Stephen when he had voluntarily cut back on caffeine, in particular Coke, for dietary purposes. They had likened it to a man suffering from dysfunctional stressresponse. It was not a pretty sight to watch Stephen shoot at goldfish. Ergo, Wolfe drank Coke, or a faked Rum&Coke, if need be. Topaz sat at his booth, reading the paper. He was awaiting the arrivalof St. Christian's agent, and was getting nervous. This case was getting tense.Alex had continued to wonder why three rookies had been placed on such an important case. He had run through it in his head several times, and came to only one conclusion. The Chief either trusted them incredibly, or was trying toget them killed. The majority of the evidence supported the latter hypothesis. "Mr. Topaz?" Topaz looked up from his paper and met eyes with the person who had addressed him. It was Camille, the young prostitute that he had defended the night before. "Yes, Camille, what can I do for you?" "Are you busy? Can I talk to you for a moment?" "Certainly. Sit down." She sat in the booth, opposite him, her handson the table. The bruises that decorated her face had healed slightly, but shewas obviously still in some pain. "What is the problem?" he asked. "Well," she began, her voice quiet, "I wanted to thank you for...last night. Joe can be really vicious when he loses his temper." "Not a problem." "Yeah, well, there _is_ a problem. You see, now that I'm no longer working for Joe, none of the other pimps want to hire me. They're all afraidof you, Mr. Topaz. Afraid of what you'll do to them. And I can't work alone,that's not safe." Topaz thought for a moment. "What about the brothels?" Camille shook her head. "I don't want to work in some of them, they aren't clean. And those that are, well, I've had...disagreements with someof the madames." "I...see." He sat for a moment, puffing on his cigar and thinking. "Well, it's a bit on impulse, but I could offer you a job." "Doing what?" "Waiting tables, serving drinks." He motioned to the rest of the room."The pay's not quite as good as a streetwalker's, but it should allow you to pay your bills and keep yourself fed. That is, unless you have another mouthto feed?" She shook her head. "No, I've been careful. But, you'd really offer mea job?" He nodded. "You'd have to start tomorrow, and work at least Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Pay is minimum wage, plus tips." She frowned at the low level of pay, but said, "Okay. But I don't haveto wear any stupid apron or uniform, do I?" He chuckled. "What? In this place? Not a chance." "Thanks, Mr. Topaz." "Not a problem, Camille." At that moment, Wolfe came over and said, "Mr. Topaz, a gentlman is hereto see you. He requests some privacy for the meeting." Topaz stood. "Send him to the back room. Camille, tell Sam, and he'llset up a schedule with you." He started for the back room, moving as swiftly ashis limp could take him. The back room of the bar was a simple affair. A round table with six chairs was in the middle, and the walls were featureless and off-white. The door was thick and, when closed, sealed the room from the rest of the bar. Theback room was nearly sound-proof, and with the addition of a white-noise generator, proof against almost any eavesdropping. When Topaz entered the room, his contact was already seated. A tall swarthy man of Hispanic coloring, he wore a slightly worn business suit. A pairof stylish glasses adorned a clean shaven face. There was a bulge under his left armpit. He was smoking a cigarette when Topaz entered and the odor of thesmoke indicated that the tobacco was cut with cloves. "Mr. Topaz?" he asked as Topaz sat down. "Indeed." "My name is Velez, Jaime Velez. I am Mr. St. Christian's representativein your business." Topaz leaned forward and turned on the white noise generator that was on the table. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small plastic device.Pressing a button, he was rewarded with a small beep that indicated that the generator was functioning normally. "Now," he said, "we can talk." "What is it you want from my employer, Mr. Topaz?" "What I wish," said Topaz, taking a pull from his cigar, "is to arrangea business contract between myself and St. Christian. I have clients who arewilling to pay for certain...materials that your employer can provide. I wishto be the middleman." "What sort of materials?" "Are you Mr. St. Christian's business advisor?" "No." "Then it is none of your business." "I was instructed to take your order and report back to Mr. St. Christian and his advisors with it." "I see. Then you are not privy to your employer's business?" "Not really, no." A worried look crossed Topaz's face. "What is exactly that you do forMr. St. Christian?" "I'm a hitman." Topaz stood agape. "A hitman? A hitman?! A HITMAN?!?!?!? I wish to conduct legitimate business with St. Christian and he send a hired gun to me?" "A hitman, if you please. And what seems to be the problem?" Topaz stared at the man. "Are you that clueless, sir? You honestlythink that I will do a deal with a man who has no idea of what his employer isdoing?" "You don't deal with me, you don't deal with St. Christian." "You overestimate your importance, Mr. Velez. You are a hired gun. Youare expendable to your master." Topaz reached into his coat and pulled out ablaster. As he pointed it at the other man, who reacted accordingly, reachingfor his gun, he said, "Good-bye, Mr. Velez." The blaster put a bolt of energy through the other man's chest. The force of impact threw Velez across the roomto bounce off the wall and fall onto the floor. Topaz holstered the blaster, turned off the generator, and left the room. As he was returning to his table, he turned to Wolfe and said, "InformMr. St. Christian that I do business with him or his advisors and not with somedick with a gun. Inform him that I do still wish to do business with him, however. Oh, and dispose of that damn dead solo in the other room, will you?"
TOPAZ : It took St. Christian three days to send Topaz a reply to his "disposal"of the hitman, Velez. His message was an arrangement for a meeting with Topazon Wednesday. A neutral location was selected, the private dining room at TheBacchanalia, a high-class Greek restaurant. The time was set and both partiesprepared for the rendevous. Alex and Stephen, in their guises of Topaz and Wolfe, arrived at therestaurant at 8:45pm, 15 minutes before the meeting was to take place. Theywere taken to the back room by the maitre'de and they placed orders for drinks.Topaz ordered a nice, middle-aged wine, and Wolfe, as usual, drank Coke. Asthey perused the menu, they conversed quietly, keeping in character in case theywere heard. "Mr. Topaz," said Wolfe as he looked over the entris, already decidingon the gyro sandwich, "do you think that St. Christian will be able to supplythe items that you require." "Hmmmm. I believe so, Mr. Wolfe. He is a skilled businessman, and skilled businessmen usually can get or know who can get objects for well-payingcustomers." "But, what about that Velez fellow? St. Christian can't be happy that you offed one of his men." "Of course not. But Velez was an amateur, with no distinctive skills. If he hadn't been, St. Christian wouldn't have sent him. I believe that Velez was sort of a calculated insult, not unlike sending an enemy of a king to behis country's ambassador. I simply cut through all the bullshit and killed himwhen I found out he couldn't get me what I needed." "Still, it was a bit harsh. Killing him like that." "True," Topaz sipped his wine, "but it makes my job a bit easier. Besides, it got us closer to St. Christian, didn't it?" "Indeed it did, Mr. Topaz. Indeed it did," came a voice from the door.Both men looked up at the people entering with curiosity and much interest. The first man in was a wall. A wall wearing a tie. He stood over sixand a half feet tall, and weighed in at what Stephen would estimate was more than three hundred pounds of muscle. He was Amerindian by racial stock, and hislong black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He did not say anything as heentered the room, but instead moved to one corner and watched Stephen intently. The second man in was much different. St. Christian was an albino, with pale white skin and platinum blonde hair. He was dressed in a white suit,set off only by the gold jewelry he also wore. He wore a pair of very dark sunglasses and was removing gloves as he entered. He was tall, not overly thin,and very distinctive. The last man was a small man with a somewhat nervous condition on hisface. He was thin and wiry and appeared to be on some sort of drug. A nervoustitch caused one corner of his mouth to occaisionally jump. He carried a metalbriefcase with the greatest of care. He sat next to St. Christian, across fromTopaz, with the briefcase on the table. St. Christian made a quick order to the waiter that had followed theminto the room, and then waited while Topaz ordered a small Caesar salad. When the waiter had left, he looked at Topaz and pursed his lips, looking very perturbed. "You shot my messenger," St. Christian said, sounding very put out,"You can't imagine how badly that makes me feel." "I can guess," said Topaz dryly, "If he was expendable to send on errands to unknown and possibly hostile entities, then I would assume that he was not very valuable in the first place. He struck me as an annoying and asinine person, completely mediocre in talent and disagreeable in nature." "True. He was an asshole. But he served a purpose. Anyway, you got myattention with Jaime's...'retirement'. What can I do for you?" "I need a large supply of certain types of...stimuli that you can produce for several well-paying clients of mine." "What sort of stimuli?" asked St. Christian, looking amused at Topaz'schoice of words. "FarVe." St. Christian's amused expression disappeared. FarVe was a powerful
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