From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   THE XENA SCROLLS ARCHIVE   
      
   Xena Scroll Pouch #6   
   Dispatches from the Xena Restoration Society team that translated the Xena   
   Scrolls   
   (as edited by Robert Mellette)   
      
   Pouch 6: X.R.S. Correspondence   
      
   Date: February 3, 1997   
      
   To: TeamUniversal   
      
   From: Hasson   
      
   Re: Marvin's Appearance at the Convention   
      
   Marvin asked that I include this letter with the next E-pouch:   
      
   "What a trip. What an absolute trip! I just happened to be in Los   
   Angeles staying at Janice's house while she's away, when I got   
   a call from Creation Entertainment asking if I'd speak at the first   
   Xena Convention. Well, I was sure the fans didn't want to sit through   
   a lecture about parchment palimpsests in cursive scriptio continua   
   -- that, and I'd just had all my hair cut off in Tibet, so I didn't   
   feel like appearing in public. They said, "wear a hat,"need you   
   to introduce the episode based on Janice Covington's journals."   
   What a crazy crowd! A guy with a funnel on his head and an aluminum   
   foil chest plate asked some question or another. Reminded me of   
   the early days of Star Trek. I'm sure I looked like an idiot myself,   
   wearing Old Lady Covington's bomber jacket and my lucky Aussie   
   hat--but at least my outfit was from the 20th century. I think   
   my favorite fan was the very attractive young woman, wearing perfectly   
   normal clothes, who heaped so much praise on the Xena Restoration   
   Society. I was about to ask for her phone number... but that would   
   have been too tacky ... even for me.   
      
   I have to say that after years of presentations to all of the skeptical   
   professors, sophomoric students, and empty seats, this convention   
   was a blast! We who have lived with Xena in obscurity for so long   
   -- some of us more than others--are finally getting our day in   
   the sun. Though we might have to find some kind of sunblock.   
      
   I was pleased that the Creation folks and all of the volunteers   
   let me roam around so much without one of those stinking badges.   
   Little things in life do make all the difference. Because of this,   
   I did get to meet Lucy. What a terrific lady! Had the real Gabrielle   
   been there, she would have written of the heroic exploits of "Xena"   
   signing over 2,000 autographs. I've never seen anything like it.   
      
   The only downside was that I misplaced my journal. Last time I   
   saw it was backstage at the convention. Should anyone find it,   
   I'd appreciate them passing it on to Creation. Thanks.   
      
   Other than that, the day was a wonderful inspiration to get back   
   to the work of translating, for it reminded me of what Joseph Campbell   
   calls, "The Power Of Myth."   
      
   [Not so] Mad [as the fans] Marvin   
      
   Still in Los Angeles   
      
   I can't say that I'm sorry I missed this little get together.   
   I'm not sure that the power of myth is meant to make otherwise   
   intelligent adults dress up like cartoon versions of historical   
   figures and parade around in public. All of these displays make   
   it so much harder for us to be taken seriously.   
      
   But, I've spoken my piece on this subject. All I can do is continue   
   to tell the story of the Xena Restoration Society's struggle for   
   acceptance.   
      
   Hasson   
      
      
   ******************Message Separator******************   
      
      
   Date: July 30, 1994   
      
   To: XRS   
      
   From: Costantakos   
      
   Re: Callisto Stories   
      
   If you recall, when I first began work on the Callisto stories,   
   I was taken with the action and the new character, Joxer, the   
   Everyman of the Xena Myths. Well, I've just finished translating   
   the second story, and I must tell you--while it is just as exciting   
   as the first--it is also filled with great depth. It reads like   
   a Schopenhauer, for here is debated the power of love.   
      
   "Love is a trick Nature plays to get us to reproduce."Love" in   
   one sentence. And who better than Callisto to sum up what the   
   Great Pessimist would say centuries into the future.   
      
   But there is another opinion of love here, "The Poteidaian Innocent,"the   
   core of her soul--for in this story, "the little innocent is   
   dead" and may never be re- born.   
      
   As with most of The Xena Scrolls, there are some every progressive   
   images here--not typically Greek at all. Take, for example, Perdicas.   
   In a time when revenge was a noble motive, and might made right,   
   we are given a hero who puts down his sword to sacrifice himself   
   in the belief that love is stronger than hate. Perdicas is sacrificed   
   by the hands of hatred, but it is love that wins in the end. I'm   
   sure our detractors will use this as evidence that the Scrolls   
   were created long after Rome was Christianized. Janice, and others,   
   will say that it is further proof that the Scrolls were written   
   by a woman. An argument could be made that Perdicas is an ideal   
   example of a man getting in touch with more feminine values. I   
   will hold my opinion, preferring to play the part of neutral translator.   
      
   And so we have two extremes of love: Callisto, who sees love as   
   a weakness to be exploited and Gabrielle & Perdicas, who see love   
   as an all-powerful force. Between these two extremes is Xena.   
      
   "X[ena]'s love was true and deep. She could feel what her   
   Poteidaian friend felt but was not aware of. With the same [inst]incts   
   that made her the mighty W[arrior] P[rincess], she knew that young   
   love would take her love away from her, and Poteidaia would have   
   a new family of farmers spin[ning] yarns of [adventure]. [Now]   
   if only X[ena] could return her [little] friend to[ward that] path   
   the F[ates had] set for her before her encounter with the traveling   
   warrior."   
      
   And so we see how mature, almost matronly, Xena's love for Gabrielle   
   is.   
      
   "[Suddenly,] the time had come. Good-bye. A parting of their lives.   
   They might see one another in some distant future, but both women   
   knew it would never be as it was."[missing half a line] "It was   
   gentle. It was tender. It was the bes[t way fo]r Gentle Warrior   
   Women to say good-bye. More than friends, a[nd]" [The rest of the   
   page is missing].   
      
   There is nothing to tell us what "it" was. Later, when Callisto   
   kills Perdicas, we see exactly how she takes advantage of Xena's   
   newfound feelings:   
      
   "Callisto was trapped. Her objective, the grieving young bride,   
   was securely protected by the [W]arrior [P]rincess, [who was]   
   advancing with ad[vantage?]. But retreat and failure was not acceptable   
   to the she-demon, and between her and her horse was the in[jured]   
   Perdicas. [With a] flip, a twist, and her horrific scream, she   
   pounced on the peaceful Perdicas. [The wound] she [inflicted upon]   
   him was mortal, full of pain, and guaranteed a slow death. As his   
   heart was entwined with the widow-to-be, and hers with the heart   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)