旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 쿞potlight on The Renegade Chemist!� 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � Welcome to a new Section that you can only find in Defacto! � � throughout out next issues we will be Spotlighting a member � � of the scene! Somebody who in some way or the other has made � � a contribution to this world that we live in! If you think � � that you know of somebody who should have the 'Spotlight' on them � � then please email entropy@ez2.net or talk to a Defacto member � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � Defacto: Chemist can you give me your full Name and a little � � Information on who you are and what you are doing right now? � � � � Chemist: The Renegade Chemist, I am a member of Prestige, sort of an � � organizer, part time supplier and really bad, bad cracker. � � � � Defacto: Chemist can you tell us a little about how you first got � � introduced into the scene and what got you started with Warez? � � � � Chemist: Okay. Well when I started calling out, it was on a friend's � � borrowed 1200 baud modem. I was calling out on my true-blue � � IBM 8086 PC with 568k and a pair of full-height 360k drives. � � The case I think must have been made of titanium, anyway that � � case would certainly survive a nuclear blast. The first boards � � we called were the public domain porno boards, and when I saw � � that I was like in wanker heaven. You must remember, I was � � like 12 years old, and being able to snag pics of naked � � chicks in compromising positions meant a lot to me - I would � � no longer have to rifle my Dad's drawers and find his dirty � � mags. After a while that got boring, I discovered a shitty � � warez board and the rest was history .. For my birthday one � � year I got a 2400 baud modem of my very own, and from there � � I continued to trade on all the local WWIV boards. WWIV � � was the popular software then, and Telegard was pretty popular � � also. I remember the big board in 214 (Dallas area) at the time � � was DUNE, Freddy Krueger's board. I was on his board but not � � for very long. Even when I was totally lame, I had a bad � � habit of telling people exactly what I thought, and Sysops � � don't like it when you tell them they're wrong a lot, and � � when you ask a lot of stupid questions. Then there was the fact � � that DUNE was like the port of entry for all the wares into � � Dallas, so I was never able to upload there, since I was just � � a local lamer. Even though I had GREAT uploads on all the � � local boards, just by shuttling stuff back and forth between � � all of them, I still couldn't get onto DUNE. Back then all the � � boards were 2400 baud. 9600 HST had just started, v.32 was � � around shortly after that but HST was still faster. HST's were � � really expensive, so I couldn't get one. I was just a kid. � � Finally after months of trading on the local boards, I found a � � local board that ran HST, had a few LD callers, and would let � � me on. That was the first "real" board that I was on for an � � extended period of time. The board was called Oblivion, the � � Sysop named Agent Orange, and it ran a forum-hacked software � � called Utopia. That was one of the first forum boards that I � � called. Certainly there were other forum hacks at that time, � � the most popular of which was Emulex/2, at least for a while. � � Anyway, I digress. After a while the 214 scene seemed to get � � better, but I still couldn't get on DUNE. So I started calling � � LD with my 2400 baud modem, and was able to slowly pull files � � in. Back in those days it was SOO easy to get codes .. I � � remember using 950-1044,1033,1022 and a bunch of other codes � � to get the wares into my AC. But even though I was calling � � LD, DUNE was always faster and I still couldn't get on .. � � Eventually I got onto DUNE, but by then I was so enmeshed in � � the LD scene that it didn't matter. I got involved in several � � small groups, the most successful of those being ICE (a really � � lame INC rip off), but never accomplished a whole lot until a � � little later. Anyway .. when I turned 16 I got a car and didn't � � do shit in the scene for a long time. After I totalled my car, � � I had a lot more free time and I started to get back into it. � � � � This is about the time when I started to get involved with � � Razor 1911. When I was in junior high, I knew a guy named � � Brian. Brian was a friend of a friend and we didn't get along � � all that much, I was real lame and remember thinking he was � � super 'leet because he was a big name in an Amiga group, � � Razor 1911. Anyway, Brian moved to Virginia and I thought that � � was the last I'd hear of him. I went about my business in � � 214, running my 2400 baud LSD board, The Crime Lab, getting � � all the files really fast from my friends who ran boards � � with HST's and Duals, and using my local courier group LEECH � � (locals exchanging everything caught from HST's) to control 214's � � 2400 baud boards. There were a lot of them back then. � � INC had the city in a stranglehold, they were dominating and � � Cool Hand decided to keep the city dry of wares. Back then there � � was no Internet, and all the boards in 214 relied on the big � � INC boards (Midnite Oil I, II and III) to bring in the wares, � � so if Cool Hand wanted 214 dry, it stayed that way. � � Only a few of my friends had the balls to let me leech from � � them at night and spread the wares across the city with my � � courier group, LEECH. Eventually LEECH even had suppliers, we � � formed a group called CWF (Consolidated Wares Force) and put � � out some utils and games and stuff. Well, one day I was at a � � friend's house, copying some new stuff and I saw a release from � � none other than Razor 1911. I was immediately stunned and � � surprised, and I checked out the nfo file, and discovered that � � this was indeed the same Razor 1911 as my friend Brian had been � � in before. In fact, Brian was still in it .. in case you � � haven't figured it out yet, Brian was Zodact Stratux, the � � leader of Razor 1911 in the US. Later he dropped the � � Stratux, but anyway, it was Zodact. Back then you could find � � phone numbers to boards in NFO files, and I called one of � � their HQ's, Apocalypse, and left a message with my phone � � number for Brian. Brian called me, we talked, he kind of made � � fun of me and that was the end of that. But I was persistent.. � � I hooked up Razor with some of my friends so that they could � � help him release, and Razor put out a few games from � � a friend that worked at babbage's. But then out of the blue, � � Razor 1911 shut down and some of the members joined INC. � � They did it because Razor had gotten really big, and there were � � a lot of people who claimed to be part of Razor, and in name � � WERE part of Razor, but guys that didn't do shit but took � � credit were ruining it for Zodact and the rest. I got ahold � � of Brian and begged him to reconsider, and after a couple of � � weeks the Razor crew left INC and that was when I became a � � member. I had a lot of time on my hands and I was really � � motivated. Zodact told me the ropes, I bought game magazines, � � checked companies, did everything I could think of to find � � out when games were coming out. We still got beat consistently � � by USA/Fairlight and INC, but now I knew what they were going � � to release when they put it out. Zodact had an account at � � the fast software distributor at the time and ordered stuff � � from there, but USA went one better - they arranged to have � � people PICK UP at the distributor, so we weren't fast enough � � most of the time, and even when we were, we could be certain � � that USA, INC, THG and anyone else would have the game at � � the same time as us. � � � � So it was a bitch. We lost on a lot of stuff, and we � � duped on a lot of stuff, unknowingly, but a dupe's a dupe. � � Razor's reputation started to sink, because we just couldn't get � � enough games to compete, and a lot of the games we did get were � � released by someone else first. To make matters worse, the � � only money we had was the money we spent ourselves, and from a � � few small dist sites. And on top of all that, Zodact was � � losing interest in the scene, but that was probably a good � � thing as it forced me to take more control of the group, and � � to see how shit would be run. Anyway, in Jan/Feb of 1992, � � the USA/Fairlight bust came (The NotSoHumbleBabe and � � The Grim Reaper got busted for carding) and the scene like � � totally shut down for a while. I still have a pretty � � funny "TRC retires" letter from that time, actually. � � I swore that I would not be involved in the scene anymore, � � and it probably would have been better had I not gotten � � involved - god knows the scene is a distraction from hell. � � But I had just gotten a brand new 14.4k USR Dual for Christmas � � via the Sysop deal, and I didn't want it to go to waste.. � � I knew that Star Trek : 25th Anniversary would be coming out � � soon from Interplay, and I knew that I'd be able to get it, so � � I did. I decided that would be the only game I'd ever get for � � Razor. But once I got it, and won on it (even though I later � � found out that uSA had released it also, and possibly even beat � � me to it) I was hooked .. I started to keep better track of � � the games coming out, and with Zodact gradually falling out of � � it I found people who could work with me in the group. � � Guys like The Witch King, who lived on the east coast, had � � tax id's with which I could set up distributor accounts, and � � had a credit card he'd give me so that I could call companies � � and order stuff to him .. People like The Hawk and Butcher, � � who helped the group immeasurably.. Anyway after that one � � release, I was hooked and the group started to grow. � � � � We were in close competition with INC for a long, long � � time .. then towards the end of may '92 INC pretty much went � � belly up and our main competitor emerged as FLT PC, headed � � by The Grim Reaper. Grimmy came back from being busted with � � The NotSoHumbleBabe's much-vaunted supply list, and really � � put out a LOT of shit while I was in Germany for 6 weeks. � � Some of my favorite releases from back then included Links � � 386 Pro, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe : P-160 Expansion, � � and a few others. All of them had significance for me .. � � Luftwaffe was the first time my group beat INC in a race, � � and Links 386 was the biggest game I had put out up until then .. � � Anyway late '92 I found Randall Flagg. He was cracking for an � � Italian group, Dead Memory, and when I saw him do a crack for a � � LucasArts game I knew I had to have him. By now I had kind of � � figured out how to run a group, and formed my initial � � philosophy .. Cracking is most important, respectable boards � � are 2nd in importance, and supply is 3rd most important. � � Razor 1911 thrived for a long time under my leadership, but � � it was always because of our core .. we had the strongest, � � most dominant cracking core out of ANY group for at least 2 � � straight years. And for a lot of that time we had incredible � � spreading, headed by guys like Razor Blade, Hoppermania � � (before he turned into a cardwhore), and DEViL .. � � � � I moved to Austin in late '92, and from '92-'94 we totally � � rocked. During this time members like Marauder, Excessive Knight, � � Butcher, and others made their mark on the group. In fact most � � of those guys joined in late '92 / early '93 and were in for � � the duration. Then in '93 sometime, an upstart courier with a � � bad attitude named Lord Thinker quit the group and started � � PE along with some older guys, like The Hawk. They were tough � � for a while because they were picking up at the same distributor � � where USA had picked up before, and I still wasn't able to get � � a reliable pickup contact out there. '93 was probably the most � � fun I had in Razor, that was when we warred with groups like PE, � � Pentagram, TDT, and others. It was a good time. � � � � In '94 the conflict was mostly between us and PTG, then I � � lost my phone line, and in my absence the Legend split occurred, � � where a bunch of Razor members, headed by Butcher and Westbam, � � formed a new group with former TRSI (and current Prestige) � � members Tazman, Troops, Troll and others. When I came back to � � the scene in August of '94, I got in touch with what was left of � � the group (which wasn't much), Lord Thinker and I became friends, � � and Razor was re-born with Zeus leading the way as the king of � � supply. � � � � Defacto: Chemist, can you tell us some of your SPEFIC reasons for � � deciding to Leave Razor in 1995? � � � � Chemist: I didn't leave Razor until 1996, and depending on who you � � talked to I may even have been kicked out. Ultimately, it � � doesn't really matter because if I hadn't quit I would have � � been kicked out. In October of '95, I realized that Razor was � � pretty close to its peak (which we hit in November of '95). � � The floppy scene was dying out, I would be working full time and � � going to school full time starting in Spring, Zeus would be in � � school in Spring, Lord Thinker in school in Spring, you get the � � picture. Zeus, Lord Thinker, myself, Marauder, and � � Randall Flagg agreed that the best thing to do would be to � � shut the group down at the end of January '95. Anyway, the 5 of � � us agreed that since we were in charge of the situation, we'd � � shut her down at the beginning of '95. Our WHQ of old, Mirage, � � had already gone down, and there weren't too many of us � � old-timers left. Zeus and I were good friends even then, � � but the fun would only last so long with the companies going CD � � only (at that time we didn't foresee the advent of the CD scene � � as it is today) .. Anyway, one day I saw a few releases from � � Nexus, The GEcko's old group. NXS wasn't doing a whole lot, � � and I figured the titles that GEcko could get now and then � � would add to the pile for us, and by themselves wouldn't do � � much for NXS so I asked him to join. We chatted on the � � Razor WHQ, TAG, for 5 minutes and then he offered to join, � � bringing pay sites and a UK supplier, Hot Tuna, with him, as � � well as a great cracker named Beowulf. I said great, but � � that I didn't want SPeed Racer in the group, as I thought he � � was just GEcko's store pickup lackey, and even then I'd seen � � him fuck up almost every release that came his way. Quite � � honestly, I thought that TSR was a total idiot, and I didn't � � want dead weight in the group. But GEcko insisted, so I said � � cool, he can come in. When GEcko joined, he agreed that the � � group would be shut down in early '95, as he would not have � � time for it anymore then either. Eos joined shortly afterward, � � and he agreed to the shutdown as well. My mistake at the time � � was not talking to TSR. GEcko didn't make it clear to me that � � he and TSR were a team, and that TSR made a lot of decisions � � in NXS. If I had talked to TSR then, he would have had to � � swear to the shutdown as well, but since I didn't, I guess he � � didn't feel beholden to it. Well, we kicked ass until December, � � when someone turned in Zeus. Zeus stopped supplying, and in � � January, when we were supposed to be shutting down, TSR � � started putting out budget releases and talking about the � � resurgence of Razor in the nfo files. He also started � � calling dist sites, telling them to send him money, and even � � increased their monthly contribution .. To make a long story � � short, I went apeshit. The prime reason that we had decided � � to disband at the END of January, and not at the beginning, � � is because some of our paysites had paid through the end of � � Jan. and we didn't want to fuck them over. When TSR started � � asking for more money, it was apparent that he was trying to � � pull a fast one - or so I thought. It looked like he was � � trying to get cash out of these guys and bail. Well, to make a � � long story short, Eos/Gecko didn't keep their word, TSR did � � some shifty underhanded shit, and when I got back from Mardi � � Gras in February my account on TAG was gone. I got it back, � � quit the group, and all the old timers left with me. That was � � when Razor 1911 ceased to be what it once was. If you � � look in the nfo now, theres not one person that was in there � � before, except Sector9, but he's just in there because he � � wants to be in a group that's been around 10 years. S9 was one � � of the original founders, but didn't do anything for the last � � 1 1/2 years that I was in the group. � � � � And as far as being sad about leaving the group. Yeah, at � � first I was disappointed about it, and pretty angry, but � � eventually I got used to it. You see, the whole reason I � � wanted to shut down Razor was because I didn't want it to � � turn lame. � � To Be Continued.. .. . � � � 냐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캐 � Due to the fact that both The Renegade Chemist and myself (Entropy), � � More or less have lifes outside of IRC we where not able tom complete � � the complete Spotlight on The Renegade Chemist. Look for the Second half � � and final part of this Spotlight in the next Defacto!! � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴