To these riddles another must now be added: Is Bill Gates human? Or is he, as some observers are now cautiously suggesting, an extraterrestrial inhabiting a human body?

In this Challenge, we will explore the latter possibility.

Salon readers are invited to assume the role of Bill Gates' supervisor, located on the distant planet Ep^3. Each year at this time, you send a single, encrypted communiqué to Mr. Gates. You can use this opportunity to evaluate his performance, update his mission or report on news from home.

Write the report in Ep^3-chat, and then translate it into exactly 18 English words. (The Ep^3-to-Earth transmission software will garble anything shorter or longer.)

Good luck! Or, as they say on Ep^3, Bizkay umvbr~!

R U L E S

Send your submissions via e-mail only to salon21st@salon.com. Please include your full name and an accurate e-mail address so we can contact you if you're a winner. By submitting your entry you give Salon Technology permission to publish it. Deadline for entries is May 31, 1999.

P R I Z E S

The winning response will receive a copy of Salon Technology senior correspondent Andrew Leonard's book, "Bots: The Origin of New Species."

In two weeks we'll publish a winner and some selected entries -- then start over a couple weeks after that with a whole new challenge.
salon.com | May 22, 1999

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