The /prog/snake

%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
% THE /prog/SNAKE, NOW IN RESOLUTION-INDEPENDENT FORMAT!
%%BoundingBox: 49 202 554 618
%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
%%BoundingBox: 49 202 554 618
/b {bind def} bind def
/c {curveto} b
/i {fill} b
/l {lineto} b
/m {moveto} b
/n {newpath} b
/r {setrgbcolor} b
/s {closepath} b
/v {currentpoint 6 2 roll curveto} b
/y {2 copy c} b

0 setlinecap 0 setlinejoin 3 setlinewidth 1 setmiterlimit []0 setdash
% snake
n
49.75 299.3291 m
51.3418 296.4854 54.208 294.124 57.083 292.374 c
62.8398 288.8701 69.1499 286.2617 75.3457 283.6426 c
80.4258 281.4941 85.6665 280.0488 90.998 278.6758 c
95.8726 277.4219 100.5928 276.4355 105.6338 276.2402 c
111.9551 275.9951 131.543 276.0938 135.0625 276.125 c
144.104 276.208 146.6514 279.0107 153.458 283.249 c
160.083 287.374 167.8838 292.085 175.1665 293.166 c
180.936 294.0234 189.333 294.5 201 293.833 c
205.334 293.585 210.1904 292.9424 214.5 292.333 c
218.1743 291.8135 222.8687 290.8008 226.333 289.624 c
233.688 287.125 240.4219 283.1396 246.0322 277.7676 c
247.75 276.123 249.3525 274.3623 250.833 272.5 c
255.0801 267.1572 259.354 261.6475 262.3765 255.4932 c
263.6763 252.8477 264.5425 250.1582 264.9453 247.2402 c
265.2207 245.2461 265.7939 242.6084 265.208 240.624 c
264.666 238.7881 261.5874 236.6484 260 235.833 c
256.3076 233.9375 255 232.833 250.5 232.2734 c
245.4355 231.6436 240.2808 231.1611 235.1733 231.4092 c
230.8643 231.6191 226.2896 232.1855 222.1045 233.2363 c
219.7886 233.8174 217.541 234.7256 215.4927 235.9541 c
213.4922 237.1533 211.875 238.3125 209.708 239.874 c
211.375 236.5625 213.354 230.6738 216.458 228.124 c
218.2822 226.625 221.0059 225.5654 223.2451 224.9043 c
228.6265 223.3154 234.709 222.793 240.3096 222.7725 c
241.9971 222.7666 243.6909 222.8945 245.3462 223.2344 c
249.9248 224.1738 253.8018 226.8438 257.7769 229.1494 c
258.6597 229.6611 259.5542 230.1504 260.458 230.624 c
258.1025 224.7129 257.208 223.249 v
255.833 220.999 253.333 216.874 248.583 212.874 c
244.2358 209.2139 238.5078 206.0488 232.9878 204.6055 c
228.6025 203.459 223.8525 203.3154 219.3438 203.041 c
213.249 202.6719 207.0391 202.1934 200.958 202.999 c
192.458 204.124 188.2471 204.8838 181.083 206.874 c
176.2847 208.207 171.4907 209.5039 166.8149 211.2344 c
164.4028 212.127 162.0103 213.0977 159.708 214.249 c
151.1685 218.5186 149.3032 219.999 147.583 219.999 c
139.6963 219.999 122.458 219.999 y
90 220 84.9951 219.9824 v
80.875 219.9678 76.9854 220.2051 73.0684 220.8154 c
70.292 221.248 67.1167 222.2734 64.458 223.124 c
61.333 224.124 57.6816 225.7334 53.7813 227.6875 c
52.5063 228.3262 51.2813 228.7813 49.75 229.5791 c
s i
% snake's eyes and nostrils
1 1 1 r
n
220.75 270.25 m
220.75 265.6934 217.0562 262 212.5 262 c
207.9438 262 204.25 265.6934 204.25 270.25 c
204.25 274.8066 207.9438 278.5 212.5 278.5 c
217.0562 278.5 220.75 274.8066 220.75 270.25 c
s
257.5 247.375 m
257.5 245.9248 256.3247 244.75 254.875 244.75 c
253.4253 244.75 252.25 245.9248 252.25 247.375 c
252.25 248.8252 253.4253 250 254.875 250 c
256.3247 250 257.5 248.8252 257.5 247.375 c
s i
0 0 0 r
n
215.25 273.5 m
215.25 272.1191 214.1309 271 212.75 271 c
211.3691 271 210.25 272.1191 210.25 273.5 c
210.25 274.8809 211.3691 276 212.75 276 c
214.1309 276 215.25 274.8809 215.25 273.5 c
s i

Have you ever heard the expression "a sepple a day keeps the Schemers away?" Most assume, with no reason to think otherwise, that it is simply an easy-to-remember rhyme that stresses the importance of learning C++ to young children. But the saying did not originate as a harmless reminder. It was born in a frontier datacenter in the early years of the computer industry, where storage was scarce and speed even scarcer.

One August, when a bad drought had struck the region, a series of bloody killings swept through the town. Every night, a single house would be broken into, and anyone who saw the invader would be swiftly, brutally slain. Nothing was ever stolen, save for a few floppy disks.

After two weeks of this, a local programmer set out a disk containing sepples source code and another with Scheme in the datacenter overnight. He then hid in the cabinet of one of the servers, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone who came by.

Fighting fatigue, the programmer waited for any sign of life below. Just after midnight, he was rewarded by a chilling sight; a man, carrying a black snake with an evil grin and dully shining metallic-looking eyes and covered from head to foot in wizard's robes, staggered into view. He paused at the sight of the sepples and scheme disks, then whipped his head around, as if looking for the one who dared to patronize him. Seized with fear, the programmer ducked out of sight, staying hidden 'til sunrise.

The strange man had only taken one of the sepples, and didn't even touch the scheme disk. No houses were broken into, and no one was killed. For decades, the datacenter continued to place out a sepples disk or two every night, even long after a single sepples disk stopped dissapearing.