THE LAST UPDATE FROM COUNSELOR X [Author: Arcadian Del Sol]

People often asked me why I became a counselor. I guess there is no simple answer for that, but I guess you could say I have always been the kind of guy who looked out for the little guy; the underdog. I’m the kind of guy who can’t walk by a sleeping bum on a sidewalk without buying a couple hotdogs from a vendor and giving him one. I care about people, okay? I was actually minding my own business smithing at a public forge when I saw a counselor trying to teach a player how to make ingots. I offered some of my ore, and my tools, and even assisted with some of the tutorial. When it was done, he said to me I should consider becoming a counselor. His name was MindTrip.

MindTrip was probably the biggest influence on my UO career and stands as one of the reasons I am still here today. He is the Obi Wan to my Luke Skywalker. I would like to think I would have made it into the program on my own but he did have something to do with it. I was robed by SLC Damsel on 6/1/99 at 7:35pm and never regretted a minute of it. I wasn’t a perfect trainee and at one point she told me flat out that I was one of the most frustrating people to deal with – I was a constant thorn in the side, always questioning things, always challanging decisions. But I kicked ass on calls, and nobody argued that. I never considered myself a “victim” or “used” by OSI – because the act of helping the “little guy” is its own reward. If you don’t understand that, you never will. I cannot fucking help thee with that.

I will forever miss the friends I made and the players I met, and my only regret is not being available more often and taking more calls – helping more “little guys” before the lights went out.

Do I blame anyone in particular? no. You’ll find no venom or anger here. I was angry yes, but something changed, and put the reality of today’s events into perspective. I logged into #UO-East and witnessed the following exchange, reposted here by permission:

[23:04] (Morbius_East_training) Who will help the players?

Morbius was one of the bright stars and would have made a kick-ass counselor, but the sad reality is that he passed the tests and examinations only to learn this evening that the program had been pulled out from underneath him. If anyone had a right to be angry and frustrated, it is Morbius. Here he devotes weeks of his game time to study and practice, and now it is all gone. Morbius will never take a call – will never know the sheer exuberant joy of having helped a player who was in need of his guidance. Yet, what is his reaction? What is his first concern?

“Who will help the players?”

Nothing about being betrayed, or let down, or even dissapointment. His concern is for others; the players he doesn’t even know and will never even meet.

That, my friends, is what made this program so goddam fucking incredible. Forget about the looming scandals and high-layer politcal in-fighting. In the trenches, one thing never changed: it was all for you, the players. The furthest thing on Morbius’ mind was whether or not he would ever become an SRC or an SLC – it was all for you.

For all the Morbius’ out there, thank you from the very pit of my heart for your dedication, your devotion, and your sacrifice. We share this loss together.

So that’s all, then. It has been a long time since I spoke to you from my seclusion, but believe me, I have always been here watching and doing my best to make for damned sure that I might continue to be an instrument of change and improvement. My dedication has not wavered and my resolve has never weakened.

I just wanna help the “little guy”.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for your support always.

Counselor X

aka Counselor Philo_East

aka Arcadian Del Sol

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