Cincinnati 2000

The Unknown Appearance @ the Ropes Lectures

The University of Cincinnati, March 1, 2000

We had a chance to visit Brian Hagemann at the Unknown Bunker in the basement of the University of Cincinnati Student Union. While we were there, we were able to watch the Unknown server as its log files scrolled by, live. We were able to watch people read the Unknown in real time. Before that, we didn't realize this was possible. This moment later served as inspiration for the Thailand scene.

In typical Unknown fashion, we were experiencing technical difficulties right up until the two minutes before the reading. The University called in a team of experts to get us up and running. They couldn't figure it out until Brian H. showed up and shouted directions to the technicians on the floor.

Dirk and Scott both have a profound respect for the their colleagues and the faculty at the University of Cincinnati, who might some day award both of them Ph.D.s in English, so they took great care to rehearse. Dirk ignored the technical difficulties and escaped into a corner of the hall to practice his introduction. Carefully.