The Devil and the Three Naval Architects by Catt of the Garage (PG)

[moonbeamsfanfic.livejournal.com]

Fandom: KNIGHT RIDER
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: n/a

Why this must be read:

For my last rec, I'm leaving you with a bit of a challenge: Catt of the Garage's "The Devil and the Three Naval Architects". Fantastic story, could have been an episode (if TPTB had that much money to burn!). Everything is canonesque down to the last iota; perfect characterizations, perfect technology, perfect plot. It's got intrigue, it's got sabotage, it's got torpedoes... it's even got a little something extra for KITT. There is absolutely no reason why you should not read this story -- except one. And that's where the challenge comes in...

The challenge? To find the story! Catt has, near as I can tell, vanished from the web. I've looked for her, checked every website and email address I could find. I even looked for her by her real name. Nothing. She's gone, and she took her stories with her. (A pity, because aside from this one, she also wrote a thrilling novelization of the episode "Killer KITT".)

What to do? I don't know. As of the writing of this rec, Google still has a copy of her story saved in cache format. I don't know how long it'll last, or even how legal it is to rec it like that. I've never found a copy of her story anywhere else, not even FF.Net. The only other option I can think of to get this story, is by asking some kindly fellow KR fan with a saved copy on their harddrive if they might be willing to share.

I encourage you to give it a shot, one way or another! This story is certainly worth the effort. Good luck, and have fun! :)

Comments

[ratcreature]

It's also archived at the wayback machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20021013153302/luna.spaceports.com/~catt/garagetales/dev.html

[blazingskies.livejournal.com]

I have actually got her mobile phone number still saved on my Sim card...dunno if it's still up-to-date, though.
She was a great person - I met her and a bunch of ther KR fans a couple of years ago up in Newcastle.

[moonbeamsfanfic.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, thank you for reminding me about this! I didn't even think to check the Wayback Machine, despite having used it in the past to recover lost stories in other fandoms. ::slaps forhead:: Gah!

Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the community, so I'm unable to edit my entry to include it. We'll have to hope folks think to check the comments for it. But thanks for thinking of it, ratcreature! ::hugs::

[madeleinestjust.livejournal.com]

I was one of those fans in Newcastle! :D

Anyway. I know this is way, way, way late - don't know if you're still interested - but I have a copy of Catt's 'Killer KITT' story. I printed it off years ago - o, the power of the printed word! - and then scanned and reformatted it into a Word document. I've been dealing it to old and new fans alike, just because it is that good. Better than the episode!

[moonbeamsfanfic.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd almost forgotten about this thing! Good to know the KR recs are still being used. :)

Thanks for the offer, madeleinestjust, but as an old-timer myself I do have an original copy of Catt's stories as well. Of both the episode novelisation and the rec'ed "Devil and Three Naval Architects". I too have been sharing them around with any new interested readers who ask. Actually, it's all very 1980s fandom-ish, kinda like relying on the old circuit mailing lists back before the internet took over and made things easier. Which, if you think about it, is rather appropriate for an 80s show. ;P

[madeleinestjust.livejournal.com]

Ah, well! Thought I'd check ;)

I found this site while randomly searching LiveJournal for KR - I was supposed to be working, but strayed! I found my KR groove again this year, so I'm still a little giddy :D