https://www.twitch.tv/frankderbly

Hello everybody. For those that don't know I have a Twitch channel that as of recently I've been working on rebranding. I haven't streamed since October, but I have a return stream planned for Tuesday, May 28th! I was hesitant to get into Twitch, but it was quite a pleasant surprise to start meeting some very kind and supportive people throughout this journey. I've been able to step out of my comfort zone and do something I never felt capable of doing; entertaining people live through video gameplay, teaching about cooking, as well as getting caught up in nerdy banter with like minded individuals. My current goal is to reach 500 followers which we're getting pretty close to achieving. If you've read this far I greatly appreciate it and would be extremely grateful if you could take the time to check out the channel! The link is https://www.twitch.tv/rpg_zpin and my socials linked to my channel can be found there for future updates on current as well as upcoming projects. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I hope to see you there when we go live again! Take care. 🫡

Welcome to Alterworld, an enchanting realm within the vast and dynamic universe of Ultima Online. Alterworld is not just another private server; it’s a meticulously crafted and uniquely customized experience for adventurers seeking a fresh and exciting journey in the world of Britannia. Built upon the Sphere emulator, Alterworld offers a vibrant and ever-evolving landscape, featuring new towns and dungeons that will immerse you in a realm of limitless possibilities. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the Ultima Online franchise, Alterworld beckons you to discover a world filled with mysteries, treasures, and challenges that have been artfully tailored to create a truly one-of-a-kind gaming experience. Join us in this extraordinary adventure, where you can forge your own path and explore the uncharted territories of Alterworld, a realm where the unexpected is the norm, and your choices shape the destiny of this exceptional online world.
Accounts per IP: 3
Characters per Account: 5
Houses per Account: 1
Skill cap: No cap
Stat cap: 300
Ruleset: Alterworld Custom Felucca
Website: www.alterworld.online
Trailer Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGj_crMg7ro&t=1s&ab_channel=AlterworldOnline
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[Previous]
Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic
Date [standardized human time]: July 12, 2136
The loud footsteps of the predators trailed behind Kam and me, practically at their mercy as N-04H carried Cheln, its arms firm against his wool. The humans had remained silent throughout the tour, keeping to themselves as if the stars dared to explode under their words. No doubt that they’re maintaining a presence of power.
My brain switched into autopilot mode, as I steered our group to the next stop: my office. However, the second I opened the door, I realized I had made a dreadful mistake. In this morning’s panic, I had left a TV on. The news was cycling through footage of bomb shelters across the planet. Government advisories played on loop in the background. They were speaking rather candidly about the humans’ foray, and the likelihood of mass casualties.
There was no point in turning it off, they were already aware of our fears. N-04H stared at the screen, motionless.
“Your fears are more numerous than expected,” It began. “Up close encounters stimulating fear are expected. This is not. Fear throughout the entire planet, not of a minority but of the whole population. This response is not logical given your reason.”
Oh speh, it figured something was entirely off…
“W-well,” I stuttered “, again, y-you’re the very first alien l-life–”
“The response is not logical.” It cut me off. It sounded… agitated. “No species would react in this manner on a whole scale to the news of extraterrestrial life for the first time. Based upon the given nature of the venlil, war amongst yourselves is unlikely, needing no reason for the bunkers… Why would you need the bunkers in response to us if we are the first ever exterrestrial life to be here?”
Both Kam and I just stood there in shock, as this thing had deduced something about our livelihood. It was smarter than we had expected. Oh speh, actually intelligent predators?! Oh we’re screwed!
“U-um, w-well you see–”
“Have you been lying to us, Governor Tarva?” It said coldly.
“U-um–”
“Have. You. Been. Lying. To. Us?” It asked again, stepping forward menacingly. It wouldn’t let me have the chance to defend myself as my voice was merely a whisper compared to its loud voice. How could it? It's a predator after all. It’s in their nature to be devoid of empathy and filled with sadism.
It set Cheln onto my desk, continuing to approach. It was corning Kam and I into the walls. I could feel my eyes watering as we both huddled up together. It stretched both of its hands out, ready to bash our heads against the wall and feast upon our corpses. Closing our eyes, we waited for the inevitable.
I heard a beeping. Opening one eye, I glanced at my desk, witnessing a report, though obscured by Cheln, on Venlil Prime’s orbit on the screen. A fleet had been detected in our space. May the Federation burn these monsters.
A soft hand landed on my skull. Panicking, I prepared to scream for my life. Instead, I felt its claws… scratch against my wool? Looking at Kam, he’s also getting the same treatment, equally as surprised as I am. It's... soothing… It feels nice despite the firmness behind it.
“You have no reason to fear us.” N-04H said. “The similarities between us and the previous aggressors are zero percent.”
“N-no reason?!” Kam spat. “Look at you! You’re a–”
“A predator.” It let both of us go, walking back to my desk. The 3D photo… Speh, I left it on my desk! The picture in question was of myself, at a conference with dozens of Federation leaders. It was obvious, to any intelligent observer, that those diverse life forms were not of Venlil origin. “We are not the first non-hostile species either, correct?”
“Y-yeah…” I said. “You’re not… H-how did you figure out that your species were–”
“The rest of the species in this photo follow a pattern. Side-eyed. Flat teeth, common amongst herbivores. No indication of carnivorous or omnivorous species.”
It took a while for my translator to process those unfamiliar words. Prey… Predator… half prey, half predator? What [bullshit] is this predator spewing?! Either way, it’s a sign of relief, showing how idiotic this thing is for believing in such a thing. Maybe there still is a chance to outsmart the beast.
“What?”
“There are no species that follow a stereotypical appearance of a predator. Only that of prey. Your reactions to us, which do not fit your views as prey, shows previous experience with other ‘predators’. Venlil fear is not by the unfamiliarity of the unknown, but instead of the opposite.”
“Y-you’re right…”
“Tell me about the other predators.” Silence blanketed the room with a heavy grip. Nobody wanted to explain what happened with the Arxur; not even Kam would offer pointed comments on that subject. “That is not a request, Governor Tarva.”
What words could provide an adequate description of evil incarnate? My eyes swelled with water as memories resurfaced. My father, captured alive on the warfront, shipped back piece by piece. The day the Arxur launched a gas attack against my daughter’s school and left her braindead. The slave pens, the irradiated worlds, the Venlil kept as cattle…
I buried my head in my paws, trying to hide the tears. Showing such weakness in front of the humans was the worst thing I could do. This species, for all its refined words, was cut from the same cloth as our oppressors. If they saw the extent of our pain, it would be weaponized down the road.
Before I could say anything, S-4R-4 walked into the room… When did it leave the room?! Where was it the entire time?!
N-04H didn’t bother to glance back at its fellow predator, instead saying: “We now already have the information needed. You do not have to say anything else.”
Another beep. Again from my desk. I stumbled towards it, looking at the screen as I nudged Cheln away. Another fleet had entered orbit. A Federation fleet. Oh we’re saved! Yes! Yes! Wait… they were already detected before…
Realizing the implication, I flicked my tail, gesturing Kam to come over where I stood, to confirm what I was reading. Looking down upon, his eyes widened, gasping as he came to the same conclusion as I did.
It wasn’t a Federation fleet that was first detected before. We both slowly looked up at the humans, the foul beasts in place next to each other. They knew… They knew! They were setting us up! Let the Federation burn them!
The report was showing that that the Federation Fleet had already made contact with the unknown one. With instinct, I went under my desk, searching for the panic button. It wasn’t there… it was ripped out.
Going back out, I saw that the humans remained still.
Silence. We were at a stand off, all four of us.
The human starts off: “No more lies, Governor Tarva. Let us settle this conflict diplomatically with the Federation. As equals”

I currently have spots opened on a few of my personal, US based, streaming accounts. I accept PayPal or Venmo.
Peacock TV no ads: $3.50 a month ( 3 spots )
Paramount Plus w/Showtime: $4 a month ( 1 spot )
FuboTV Elite w/ international sports plus: $35 a month ( 1 spot, the spot is for one of the out of the home device uses: can stream on phone, computelaptop, tablet or cast to TV only)
https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/channels: If you want to view channels for Fubo

Watch JazziexBoo with me on Twitch! https://www.twitch.tv/jazziexboo?sr=a

Game 1

First Pitch: 5:05 PM at Globe Life Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Angels	Tyler Anderson (3-4, 2.92 ERA)	BSW	KLAA
Rangers	Andrew Heaney (0-4, 4.39 ERA)	BSSW	105.3, KFLC (ES)

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
LAA	0	0	1	2	3	1	0	0	2	9	14	0	10
TEX	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	5	3	4

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B2	Jonah Heim homers (5) on a fly ball to left field.	1-0
T3	Kevin Pillar singles on a ground ball to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Luis Rengifo scores. Kevin Pillar to 2nd. Throwing error by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.	1-1
T4	Zach Neto homers (5) on a fly ball to left field. Jo Adell scores.	1-3
T5	Willie Calhoun singles on a ground ball to right fielder Adolis García. Kevin Pillar scores. Logan O'Hoppe to 2nd.	1-4
T5	Kyren Paris singles on a fly ball to right fielder Adolis García. Logan O'Hoppe scores. Willie Calhoun scores. Zach Neto to 3rd.	1-6
T6	Taylor Ward homers (9) on a fly ball to left center field.	1-7
B8	Marcus Semien homers (9) on a line drive to left field. Josh Smith scores.	3-7
T9	Jo Adell doubles (4) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Leody Taveras. Logan O'Hoppe scores. Willie Calhoun scores.	3-9

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Anderson (4-4, 2.72 ERA)	Heaney (0-5, 4.43 ERA)

Game ended at 7:59 PM.

Game 2

First Pitch: 4:15 PM at Globe Life Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Angels	Patrick Sandoval (2-6, 5.00 ERA)	FOX	KLAA
Rangers	José Ureña (1-3, 3.62 ERA)	FOX	105.3, KFLC (ES)

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	R	H	E	LOB
LAA	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0	11
TEX	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	6	1	12

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
T4	Taylor Ward homers (10) on a fly ball to left field.	0-1
B6	Adolis García homers (11) on a fly ball to left field.	1-1
T7	Jo Adell homers (8) on a fly ball to right center field.	1-2
B8	Nathaniel Lowe out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Mickey Moniak. Marcus Semien scores. Corey Seager to 2nd.	2-2
B13	Angels challenged (hit by pitch), call on the field was upheld: Nathaniel Lowe hit by pitch. Travis Jankowski scores. Ezequiel Duran to 3rd. Corey Seager to 2nd.	3-2

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Rodríguez, Y (1-0, 6.32 ERA)	Fulmer, C (0-2, 2.66 ERA)

Game ended at 8:01 PM.

Game 3

First Pitch: 11:35 AM at Globe Life Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Angels	José Soriano (1-4, 3.72 ERA)	BSW	KLAA, KTMZ (ES)
Rangers	Michael Lorenzen (2-2, 3.75 ERA)	BSSW	105.3, KFLC (ES)

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
LAA	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	6	0	4
TEX	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0	7

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B4	Corey Seager homers (6) on a line drive to right field.	1-0
T7	Mickey Moniak singles on a fly ball to left fielder Evan Carter. Willie Calhoun scores. Jo Adell to 3rd. Zach Neto to 2nd.	1-1
T7	Kevin Pillar singles on a line drive to center fielder Leody Taveras. Jo Adell scores. Zach Neto scores. Mickey Moniak out at 3rd, catcher Jonah Heim to third baseman Josh Smith.	1-3
T7	Luis Rengifo triples (1) on a line drive to center fielder Leody Taveras. Kevin Pillar scores.	1-4

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Soriano, J (2-4, 3.30 ERA)	Lorenzen (2-3, 3.61 ERA)	García, L (2 SV, 5.03 ERA)

Game ended at 2:04 PM.

I'm making a video of all the Target Lady ads and I'm wondering whether anyone happens to have a good version of this Target Lady ad? Or have a way to download it off iSpot.tv without a watermark? Does anyone also happen to have a good version of this Target Lady ad (it's a shortened version of this ad). This ad was also on TODAY show but was cut off at the end. I can't find either of these ads in good quality and they were not posted by Target on any of their socials. Also, if anyone has a collection of all (or some of) the Target Lady ads, if you're willing, please share it with me. Please let me know if you have any of these ads in better condition or a collection of Target Lady ads. Thank you!

Live with Link to the Past/Super Metroid randomizer. Come say hi! https://www.twitch.tv/thunderandlightninggaming

E1 7 - 8 PSG

• Map: Bank

SiegeGG Page - R6EsportsBR Page - Liquipedia Page
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Come join the Sunday Watchalongs in ‘The Giant Chat of Sumatra’ On Discord. It honestly doesn’t matter if you are a Sherlock fan, or just randomly found this on the scroll, we would love to have you join us! We're hosting a Granada Holmes mega watch-through!
On 26th May we’re going to watch Episodes Eight & Nine; 'The Copper Beeches' & 'The Greek Interpreter'. Granada Sherlock Holmes was produced by the British tv Granada Television between 1984 and 1994. And starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes.
All of the watchalongs take place in the Discord Server ‘The Giant Chat of Sumatra’ and we start watching Promptly at 20:10 UK time (People usually turn up from 19:45 onwards to have a natter beforehand!) See you there!
https://www.tumblr.com/nixxie-pic/750933391565848576/come-join-the-sunday-watchalongs-in-the-giant?source=share

I'm making a video of all the Target Lady ads and I'm wondering whether anyone happens to have a good version of this Target Lady ad? Or have a way to download it off iSpot.tv without a watermark? Does anyone also happen to have a good version of this Target Lady ad (it's a shortened version of this ad). This ad was also on TODAY show but was cut off at the end. I can't find either of these ads in good quality and they were not posted by Target on any of their socials. Also, if anyone has a collection of all (or some of) the Target Lady ads, if you're willing, please share it with me. Please let me know if you have any of these ads in better condition or a collection of Target Lady ads. Thank you!

Angels (18-29) @ Rangers (24-24)

First Pitch: 11:35 AM at Globe Life Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Angels	José Soriano (2-4, 3.30 ERA)	BSW	KLAA, KTMZ (ES)
Rangers	Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 3.61 ERA)	BSSW	105.3, KFLC (ES)

Game Preview
/angelsbaseball Discord
Reddit Stream for this post

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
LAA	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	6	0	4
TEX	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0	7

Box Score

TEX		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
2B	Semien	4	0	1	0	0	2	.270
SS	Seager	2	1	1	1	2	0	.247
1B	Lowe, N	4	0	1	0	0	1	.273
3B	Smith	4	0	2	0	0	1	.284
C	Heim	4	0	1	0	0	0	.266
LF	Carter	4	0	0	0	0	0	.205
RF	Jankowski	4	0	1	0	0	1	.254
DH	Grossman	4	0	0	0	0	0	.188
CF	Taveras	3	0	0	0	0	0	.238

TEX	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Lorenzen	6.1	3	2	2	3	6	103-64	3.61
Hernández, J	0.2	3	2	2	1	0	22-15	4.50
Anderson, G	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	23-14	10.57

LAA		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
3B	Rengifo	3	0	1	1	1	1	.308
3B	Tucker	4	0	0	0	0	1	.235
2B	Guillorme	0	0	0	0	0	0	.209
DH	Ward	4	0	1	0	0	1	.275
1B	Calhoun, W	4	1	1	0	0	0	.328
1B	Schanuel	0	0	0	0	0	0	.226
RF	Adell	3	1	1	0	1	1	.252
C	Thaiss	4	0	0	0	0	2	.200
SS	Neto	2	1	0	0	2	0	.250
CF	Moniak	4	0	1	1	0	1	.189
2B	Paris	2	0	0	0	0	0	.130
LF	Pillar	1	1	1	2	0	0	.333

LAA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Soriano, J	7.2	5	1	1	2	5	93-65	3.30
García, L	1.1	2	0	0	0	0	16-13	5.03

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B4	Corey Seager homers (6) on a line drive to right field.	1-0
T7	Mickey Moniak singles on a fly ball to left fielder Evan Carter. Willie Calhoun scores. Jo Adell to 3rd. Zach Neto to 2nd.	1-1
T7	Kevin Pillar singles on a line drive to center fielder Leody Taveras. Jo Adell scores. Zach Neto scores. Mickey Moniak out at 3rd, catcher Jonah Heim to third baseman Josh Smith.	1-3
T7	Luis Rengifo triples (1) on a line drive to center fielder Leody Taveras. Kevin Pillar scores.	1-4

Highlights

Description	Length
José Soriano against the Rangers	0:09
Michael Lorenzen against the Angels	0:09
Bullpen availability for Texas, May 19 vs Angels	0:07
Bullpen availability for Los Angeles, May 19 vs Rangers	0:07
Bench availability for Texas, May 19 vs Angels	0:07
Fielding alignment for Texas, May 19 vs Angels	0:11
Bench availability for Los Angeles, May 19 vs Rangers	0:07
Fielding alignment for Los Angeles, May 19 vs Rangers	0:11
Starting lineups for Angels at Rangers - May 19, 2024	0:09
Measuring the stats on Corey Seager's home run	0:12
An animated look at Corey Seager's home run	0:11
Breaking down Michael Lorenzen's pitches	0:04
Michael Lorenzen's outing against the Angels	0:23
Breaking down José Soriano's pitches	0:04
José Soriano's outing against the Rangers	0:23
José Soriano gets Semien swinging	0:07
Michael Lorenzen strikes out Mickey Moniak	0:07
Corey Seager's solo homer (6)	0:30
José Soriano escapes the jam	0:09
Mickey Moniak's game-tying single	0:29
Kevin Pillar's two-run single	0:29
Luis Rengifo's RBI triple	0:28
Luis García gets out of the 8th	0:13
Michael Lorenzen strikes out six	1:19

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Soriano, J (2-4, 3.30 ERA)	Lorenzen (2-3, 3.61 ERA)	García, L (2 SV, 5.03 ERA)

Game ended at 2:02 PM.

Game 6

• First Pitch: 6:00 PM ET
• TV/Live Stream: ACC Network

Game 7 (If Necessary)

• First Pitch: 8:30 PM ET
• TV/Live Stream: TBD

Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch Parties: FSU Alumni Clubs
Twitter: @RFSUSports
Discord: The Warpath

Are wa tenshi no koe!

"Temple — The Communicator — Pancakes"

Extra Info and Links

ANN MAL TV Tropes Wikipedia

Comment of the Day!!

StardustGoetia has been tricked into believing the Haibane propaganda!

All the talk about how the Haibane are not allowed to have new goods, or how they can't leave or communicate with outsiders, makes things sound rather insidious. The shopkeeper seemed nice enough, though, and all the Haibane seem pretty friendly. (The idea kind of reminds me of the Pig Liver show from a couple seasons ago, except the execution here is decidedly better.)

JustAnswerAQuestion has been nosing through their dvd extras which amusingly dates the anime so well. Can you imagine back when Ai Yori Aoshi or Sakura Taisen were new!?

Pulled out some of my DVDs (couldn't find DVD right away, which apparently has extras.)
DVD 1 came with a big insert booklet full of character info, and messages to the the consumer! Typing the text into google doesn't give any hits, sorry.
DVD 1 extras: NC OP, Japanese OP (they use a really nice font), the previews, which I don't think were even in my fansubs. There's an art gallery not just of the characters, but every day objects like Reki's lighter and medical kit.
Previews for Sakura Taisen Gekijouban, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits (oo-oo! oo-oo! dakishimetainoni), Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar, Gatekeepers 21, Lupin the 3rd (TMS), Patlabor WXIII, Master Keaton, Heat Guy J, Live Action Saikyou no Onmyouji, L/R Licensed By Royal

QotD

• Hikari is becoming dangerously close to going from Angel to little devil!! How shall we correct this lost child!?
• What do you suppose Haibane halo are actually made out of?
• What are your current thoughts on the Renmei? They look after the girls but leave strict demands and boss them around right?
• Do you feed strays when able? Would you grudge an adorable little crow, fox, trash panda, or Kuu their midday snack?
• What's the one food you can never get yourself to eat? It's fine to be immature, we're adults and are perfectly capable of acknowledging out shortcomings~
• It is really that bad to have a constant smell of bread about you? Does Rakka sound more tasty when she stinks of freshly baked bread?

Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"

Vaadwaur speaks from experience.

The prompt is the reminder of that feeling you have when you wake up after a pub crawl and realize you don't know what city you are in.

Yesterday's Prompt!

Today's Prompt!

Tomorrow's Prompt

If you strain your ears, you can probably hear it.

Previous Part
I grabbed the back pack Bianca had left in the kitchen and waited in the living room. I had no idea what she was packing for but after this morning I wasn’t going up there to check. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to ask Tuck yet. I wanted him to tell me he was a werewolf himself, that seemed like pretty important information just on the basis of trust. But I also wanted to know why he was really out by the mine yesterday. His story didn’t add up and there’s no way he knew we would be up there, I think that was just a coincidence. As I was trying to come up with exactly how I wanted to broach the question to Tuck, Frank put a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing his lab coat so I guessed he just came up from the basement. The hairnet he always seemed to wear when he was working was in its usual spot. I suppose he wore it to protect the memory of hair that was once on his head. He looked solemn and a little sick as he turned to me.
“Keep her out of trouble will you? I know we haven’t always been the best to her and I’m sure Stein and I don’t really give her the help she needs. But she’s like the daughter I never had time to have, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
“Frank, you probably do more than you know for her. Did she ever talk about her family with you?”
“Very briefly throughout the years, I don’t know if she’s told you much or anything for that matter. It… it certainly wasn’t easy for her growing up and it never got easier.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble. If she does end up following me into… whatever this trial ends up being just promise me you’ll have a way to get her out. Some kind of contingency, I can fend for myself but I’ve seen her just shut down before. Like yesterday in the caves someone grabbed her and she lashed out and just… wasn’t herself. She just froze and I don’t want that to happen anywhere near Shaoni.”
“I’ll work on something but I can’t promise that. Like Stein said we’re scientists, we don’t really do field work like that. If I do come up with something you’ll be the first to know. I’m glad she ran into you when she did Keith, she could really use a friend.”
With that Frank walked away, back towards the kitchen and into the basement.
It wasn’t long after that when I heard Bianca coming down the stairs asking if anyone had seen her toothbrush. At which point Rocco appeared in front of me from god knows where holding a suspicious disassembled toothbrush.
“Not. A. Word. Kid.”
Rocco growled at me as he scampered out the door behind me.
“I have a couple that I packed for the trip here from Wisconsin I can just give you one of those.”
I called to Bianca. Partially because I wanted to get a move on and partially because I wanted no part in whatever Rocco was getting up to. If there was one supernatural thing about this town it was that raccoon’s knack for mischief. I get that’s what raccoons are known for but seriously, Rocco was on another level. Bianca reluctantly agreed to take one of the travel tooth brushes I had back at my house. I wasn’t even going to ask why she packed a duffle bag to go a few hundred feet into town and back again.
“Come on we’ll take the bikes again.”
Bianca said as she made her way behind the house.
“I’m telling you they’re going to give me tetanus one of these days but sure. Lets just stop at my place first, I want to drop off this backpack you took yesterday first.”
Bianca was still wearing the ratty jeans she’d taken from me yesterday and at this point I just figured she could have them. I really wasn’t about to get into an argument as to why she should take my pants off and… ugh even saying it is just… no. Those were hers now as far as I was concerned.
We rode over to my house through the crisp autumn afternoon. The trees along the street were finally being to change color, it looked like a scene from a postcard. One of those one’s of the idyllic towns that could’ve come straight out of a hallmark movie. I had to give it to Eagles Peak, it may by turning into a den of vipers for me minute by minute but it sure could be beautiful, in it’s own isolated kind of way.
“Wow its very… small.”
Bianca commented as she stepped into my house and looked around.
“Yeah not everyone has a blank check from two different governments like Stein.”
“I didn’t mean li…”
“It’s ok I know what you meant, its different.”
I said cutting her off before she had the chance to apologize. I dropped off the backpack in my room and rooted around in the one duffle bag I still hadn’t unpacked from my trip here. I found the toothbrush without to much trouble and walked into the living room to give it to Bianca only to find her unpacking on the couch.
“What’s going on here, are you moving in?”
I joked, not expecting the answer I was about to get.
“Yeah, kind of hard to keep an eye on you from my house. I suppose I could from the top floor but if we’re working against Shaoni that doesn’t seem like a great idea. She’s got that whole thing with lighting and I get the sense her being angry at you while your up in the air isn’t a great combination.”
Bianca said, unpacking a blanket like she wasn’t just inserting herself into my house.
“WHAT?”
I shouted, maybe a little too loud.
“Is there a problem?I thought you wanted me looking out for you, this is me, doing that.”
She said looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. You’ve got to understand, those eyes coming from someone like Bianca, glowing or otherwise, well you just can’t say no to that. When it’s Bianca you really can’t say no. She can just take that option away in an instant but again she didn’t for me, it was still my choice.
“I.. sure but you can have my bed. We’ll get everything set up once we get back from the Roost. You did tell Frank and Stein about this right?”
I gave in, deciding to let her stay.
“I’m a big girl, they doin’t need to know everything I do, and… thanks”
“It’s alright, just let me know next time you’re going to pull something like this ok?”
I added, equal parts excited to actually have someone to talk to besides myself in my own home, and worried what Frank and Stein might think was going on here. I put those thoughts out of my head for the moment as we got back on the bikes.
It was about 3 by the time we made it to Tuck’s bar after the delay Bianca had caused by moving herself out before we left. Just as I expected the sign said closed but the door was unlocked. The bar looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Stone fireplace roaring and pristine wooden floor looking like it had been polished just this morning. Tuck was sitting behind the bar looking worse for wear. The look on his face said he knew we were coming and he wasn’t to thrilled about it.
“Does he know?”
Tuck asked pointedly, looking straight through me and speaking to Bianca.
“About me or you, because the answer is both of us.”
Tuck shook his head at this and a grim look came over him.
“Ya shouldn’t have pulled him into this.”
“Actually I pulled her into it if anything, going out there was my idea. I’ve got a mark like Robert’s, its actually what brought me to town in the first place.”
I said, hoping my honesty would get the same out of Tuck.
“So that bird called ya out here somehow?”
“More or less, but that’s not what I’m here about. I want to know why exactly you followed us out there yesterday.”
Tuck sighed and gestured to the seats at the bar, beckoning Bianca and I to take a seat.
“When Robert chased ya out the other night some of his friends came by. They all got that mark like him, they were sayin’ something about the thunderbird makin’ an appearance back at the old mine. I wanted to see for myself and make sure they were wrong. I found those bikes and ended up followin’ the trail. By the time I got there some guys were poking around that hole in the wall and a storm had kicked up. I saw them cut that rope and figured they weren’t doin’ no good. I… changed and dealt with them then forced my way into the old mine entrance, the rest ya already know cause I ran into ya not long after.”
This story made more sense to me, Tuck never came out there to find me, I just so happened to be out there. Those boulders I thought were moved had been, by Tuck which made me question just how strong he was. Each of those huge things had to weigh tons and there were three strewn about the entrance.
“Ok that makes more sense than what you told me, but what were you hoping to accomplish up there. If you ran into the thunderbird what would you have done?”
“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t really up there again but the storm seemed to say otherwise. No storm like that just pops up and goes away, the bird had to be involved with that.”
“Actually she was there, just not as some huge bird. She was down in the caves with us but she looked human, native American to be more precise. That’s how I met her when I got marked and now she’s holding some kind of trial out in those mines.”
“You met the thunderbird, its a person? What does she want with this place now.”
Tuck said his demeanor changing into one full of concern. I didn’t know what else to say cause at the moment I didn’t actually know much more than that. It’s infuriating, this being in the dark thing. I just settled for dodging the question.
“Not to change the topic but are we to early to grab a bite to eat?”
I wish I had a camera handy because the face Tuck made at that whiplash change of topics was priceless. I can’t properly do it justice with words. Suffice it to say one of his eyebrows hit the ceiling while the other hit the floor and a violently confused expression plastered his face.
“Sure I guess, what do the two of ya want!”
Tuck exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and walking back behind the counter. I ended up ordering some fried chicken sandwich with bacon and pickles, and as I took the first bite my risk of heart attack increased ten fold. Bianca ordered the same thing and was pecking at it inquisitively when I asked,
“So what’s the story with Rocco?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why, why did Frank and Stein make him in the first place?”
I asked through a mouthful of greasy goodness.
“Well I think it started out as a joke, then Stein actually wanted an assistant and that joke became Rocco. They worked on him for a while, pretty much they took a random raccoon off the street and played around in its head. I know there was some gene splicing involved but if you want to know how they did it ask them.”
“So he was supposed to be an assistant in the lab? I think I’ve seen him doing one thing to help them out this whole time and he was poking through a back alley for old batteries.”
“Yeah, he’s not a great assistant, must be good enough though cause they haven’t tossed him out.”
“Are you kidding me! If they tossed him out he be so much worse! Just think, Rocco left to his own devices without any supervision.”
Both of us shuddered at the thought, if he was bad now he’d be a menace to society without the little control we had over him.
Bianca and I ate and eventually Tuck came out and I told him my story about Imalone. He seemed really concerned at the fact that the thunderbird could be walking around town and he wouldn’t know about it. I assured him that Shaoni was really hard to miss if you just looked at the eyes. It wasn’t like she looked any different either, no matter what she was wearing those tattoos would be a dead giveaway. Tuck assured me he was going to keep an eye out and gave me his number to call if I saw her. I don’t want to talk down on Bianca, but something about having a werewolf looking out for me as well was reassuring. Tuck told us a bit about what he was doing with Frank and Stein too. Apparently he contracted his “disease” as he called it long before he came to work in Eagles Peak. He was originally from Louisiana and moved to New York for a change of scenery and ended up getting a job in the mines here around 1940. I should also mention Tuck ages very slowly due to his “disease” so he looks like he’s in his 50’s or so but he was born in 1900. To his credit you’d never know he was anything other than your friendly middle aged bartender.
Bianca and I were getting ready to leave as it came time to open the bar for real. When Tuck offered us a round of drinks on the house.
“No, no that’s alright Tuck, you’ve done enough for us we’ll see you later.”
Bianca politely declined, pulling me towards the door. After I said my goodbyes and we had gotten back to the bikes I asked Bianca,
“Do you not drink? I’m not judging just… when Tuck offered you seemed kind of jumpy.”
“I just never have, I was kind of bouncing around the country when I turned 21 so I just never started.”
“So your telling me you never had your first drink? Well, we have to fix that then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, its like a right of passage where I’m from. We’ll pick up a six pack or something on the way back but we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I said, trying to convince her. I’m not a huge drinker but I am from Wisconsin, alcohol is a way of life out there and we’re know for our beer. In my family turning 21 and having your first drink is cause to bring the whole family together. I couldn’t do that for her but I could at least give her the experience, maybe give her just one more good thing to remember.
Bianca agreed and we pulled into the Save-A-Lot just outside town. The building was painted white bit it was slowly peeling away revealing a concrete grey underneath. The big glowing sign was missing a few letters now simply reading Sav- -Lo. Despite its decaying state it still had the classic beer cave inside. I took a second to look for something from Wisconsin, call me a snob but we do beer right. I settled on a 12 pack of Leinenkugel, that was close enough to home for me. Bianca trailed behind me in the store, a bit like a scared cat looking for a place to hide. Obviously she didn’t get out much and having people she didn’t really know much about was stressing her out somewhat. We got to the checkout and an older cashier eyed my suspiciously.
“Can I see an ID”
She croaked in a hoarse smokey voice. Now I don’t always look my age but I’m 28 there was no reason to try and ID me. That didn’t really bother me so much as the fact that my wallet was still at home. I’ve been spending the cash Bianca gave me back when I watched her house and I just keep that in my pocket. I also have a bad habit of only brining my wallet when I knew I would need it instead of carrying it on me. Regardless I started to sweat a little as I tried to explain the situation.
“You see I would but I left mine at home and I’m not sure if…”
I was cut off by Bianca reaching out and brushing the cashier’s hand Then looking her straight in the eye. I knew exactly what she was doing.
“Look we don’t have an ID for you right now can you just take it on faith?”
“I understand sweetie, here why don’t I cover it for you, my treat.”
The cashier said, turning a complete 180 on her previous question. I looked from Bianca to the old woman a few times before Bianca finally shrugged.
“What?”
I wondered if it was that easy for her to change my mind back when she manipulated me into watching the house.
“So she just payed for it?”
I asked Bianca as we walked back to the bikes.
“That was her, not that I couldn’t make her do that. As far as I can work out, if I suggest something people tend to do it. Over the years I learned how to control that to the point where I’m only able to do it when I want to. Frank said it has something to do with pheromones in my breath or something like that.”
Bianca explained, hoping onto her bike and keeping pace with me back towards my house. I didn’t ask for an explanation but she gave it. I’m not really sure pheromones were something that could have that profound of an effect on someone but I’d just add it to the list of questions I’d have to ask Frank or Stein at some point.
“Still it was a bit weird seeing it from the outside. Was I that easy to convince before?”
Bianca got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh, you were so much easier, I barley needed to try. Just flip my hair and flutter my eyes a few times and that was that.”
She said, smiling devilishly at me. I blushed a little bit, partly because that’s probably all it would’ve taken from someone who looked like her and partly because I was embarrassed that she might not just be poking fun at me.
“No you definitely did something to me, I lost like 6 hours in your kitchen! That was you right…right?!”
I asked a little nervous. Bianca just laughed and pedaled off ahead of me. She did not put my mind at ease with any sort of answer but she did beat me back to the house.
When I got in She was sitting on the couch sorting through a pile of movies she pulled out of her duffle bag. She really had just thrown the entire contents of her room into a bag and brought them over. Bianca seemed to settle on a movie before she realized I’d walked in.
“So you like horror?”
I said, gesturing to the same movies I’d seen lying out earlier when I watched her house.
“Yeah, I just like seeing how people think all these things act. Like Tuck, werewolves are always looked at as these big imposing things in movies but he’s a puppy in comparison.”
“The guy looks like he could tear me apart down the middle with his bare hands buuuut, I see your point.”
Thinking back to every interaction I’d had with the guy so far, he never really was as scary as he looked. I sat down on the couch, dropping the case of beer on the coffee table.
“So, have you picked out a movie yet?”
To which Bianca closed her eyes and poked at a random movie in the pile. “Dog Soldiers”, it was called, actually I think I’ve heard of that movie before. One of those its so bad its entertaining things. I popped the movie into my DVD player and sat back, handing Bianca a beer.
“ Is this how normal people feel?”
She asked as the movie started.
“Depends on what you mean by normal, even then I’m not sure that’s the question I’d be asking. Maybe you just finally have a chance to relax after years of never being able to.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just relax now that I know we have the actual thunderbird looking to force you into some kind of trial.”
Bianca joked sarcastically before suddenly softening and taking a sip of her beer.
“Uggg that’s bitter… but not bad. Maybe your onto something Kieth.”
I don’t remember much from the movie. One scene stuck with me, a guy trying to fist fight a werewolf. It was already campy but the effects on the werewolf were just dated enough to make it that much funnier. Bianca and I couldn’t help but to Imagine Tuck as the werewolf, bewildered as to why this scrawny thing thought it could fight him. At some point the beer ran out, Bianca and I making it through the whole case. I remember getting up to go to my own room and Bianca pulling me back. What I didn’t remember though was letting Shaoni into my house. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder, coming face to face with her. Shaoni’s hand was on one shoulder and Bianca’s head was on the other. At some point we both feel asleep on the couch together, the TV was still on, illuminating the dark room.
“Well well, I wasn’t expecting you to have guests Keith.”
Shaoni mocked, clicking her tongue at me as she finished. She wore the same white night dress I’d seen her in before. Something in the house was open, a window, a door? I didn’t know but the smells of an autumn rainstorm blew into the house, a storm no doubt caused by Shaoni.
“I… its not what it looks like.”
I stammered out, embarrassed to be caught like this.
“I don’t care what you get up to in your free time Keith. I just came to tell you I’ll expect you at the mine tomorrow, The trials will be starting soon and I want everyone who will be participating to meet each other, you will be participating, won’t you Keith?”
She asked like it was a question but it really wasn’t, wether I liked it or not I was going to be there, I could come willingly or kicking and screaming. She was simply asking which I wanted it to be.
“When do you want me there?”
“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll send someone to collect you around noon.”
With that she turned to walk away, but I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Wait! What exactly are these trials, what am I going to be doing out there?”
“That would spoil the surprise Keith, be patient, you’ll know in time. That pretty little thing there, her name wouldn’t happen to be Bianca, would it?”
Shaoni asked, pointing at Bianca who was still asleep on my shoulder.
“How did you know that?”
I shot back, immediately jumping to Bianca’s defense. I hadn’t known her all that long true, but I didn’t want her any closer to this than she had to be.
“Oh no reason.”
Shaoni said with a snicker that sounded more like a hiss. With that she disappeared, and I mean she was just gone. One minute she was there the next there was a gust of wind and a brief flash of light and she was gone. The disruption was enough to wake Bianca up finally.
“Ugh, head..still…spinning.”
“Heh, I think you overdid it a bit last night.”
“Ugh maybe.”
She said, holding her head that still rested on my shoulder.
“What’s going on anyway, why’d you wake me up.”
“It’s just… well things are moving a bit faster than I hoped.”
I said, trying to reassure her that it was nothing, most likely failing miserably but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a second there that I thought maybe things could just be normal. This whole thing would just blow over and Shaoni would never come back and get me for these “trials” but I always knew it was wishful thinking. Now Bianca was a part of it to somehow, that had made up my mind. She’d been through enough, now Shaoni seemed interested in her all of a sudden. If putting myself through these trials kept her away from Bianca that’s exactly what I’d do.

Axstrom's Notes

1. The list is here: big jump list
2. The draw (1-5548) is 877, 1520, 4754, 5265, 1478
   1. Drawing 5 so there are backups in case of issues, but the jumper gets to choose among 4
   2. 877 is Earth Final Conflict - A TV show whewre aliens come and uplift Earth but have a hidden agenda
   3. 1520 is Investiture of the Gods - A fantasy tale in Zhou Dynasty
   4. 4754 is Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - a Disney mashup videogame
   5. 5265 is The Fountain - A film about contuinity across time, grief, death, and growth
   6. Jumper chooses The Fountain
      1. Jump Doc
      2. Reddit discussion
   7. Jumper buys access to The Biosphere Supplement
      1. Supplement Doc

Build Notes

1. Drawbacks - None - Part of the point is that you can't have everything
2. Companions - None - This is the journey of an individual soul
3. Origin
   1. Past: Noble - setting the stage for grander thigns
   2. Present: Inventor - striving for progress
   3. Future: Witness - seeing what has become of the world
4. Perks
   1. Noble Thought - free for Noble, stay connected to the people who are affected by your actions
   2. Noble Deed - free for Noble, your actions have greater impact and are remembered and recorded
   3. Inventor's Vision - free for inventor, studying a problem gives increasing insight in how to improve it
   4. Inventor's Intent - free for inventor, your creations are harder to misuse
   5. Improved POV - free for witness, observe / remember events from multiple perspectives
   6. Bystander - free for witness, events can unfold around you leaving you unharmed
   7. All Together Now - merge all your past origins into a complex mind
   8. 500 Years of Practice (Teaching) - mastery beyond mastery of the chosen skill
   9. Soothing Presence - calm strong emotions and suffering
   10. Absolution - If someone genuinely repents, you can allow them to move
5. Items
   1. Meditation Garden - self-explanatory warehouse attachment
   2. Biosphere - Full purchase activates the Biosphere Supplement
   3. Tree of Life Sapling - Grows six immortality fruits per decade, which can (over very long time) grow more trees

Jump Notes

1. I wake up in my room in the warehouse apartments, after shutting myself in without even checking the Benefactor's Lounge the night before
   1. I'm still lingering on the frustration of not cracking the riddle of Allabar, and not being able to solve the problem permanently
   2. But there's no going back, so I commit to facing forward for the rest of the week, and head to the Benefactor room
      1. Once again, there are four envelopes with me, and my big chart of jumps up on the wall, like something from a Kindergarten classroom
      2. As I affix a sticker saying "The Fountain (2006)" to the big chart, a small round outline appears next to it: "Biosphere Supplement available"
   3. On my way to call a team meeting, I catch a surprise outside the apartments
      1. Three of our bard graduates are slowly exploring the area
   4. At the team meeting, I announce my intention to go solo on the next jump
      1. The decision isn't popular, but most of them have waited while I've done gauntlets before, so it's not a big shock
   5. We set up the entertainment room to watch the movie, even though I don't expect that meta knowledge will be much help
      1. For the first time, we don't all fit in the Entertainment room
      2. By count, there are eleven of us (me and ten companions), the Halflings are now up to fifteen after two recent births, and we have nine new bards with us, so we set up a second showing in the evening
   6. Finally, before heading in to the jump, I make one last check of the Benefactor's office to see if there's more information on the biosphere supplement, but though my note has been removed, there is no response, and nothing on the tablet
2. I awake from a deep sleep in a luxurious bed, it is early morning and the sun is still rising
   1. I can feel the absence of my abilities; I am reduced below even bodymod, to the level of a baseline middle-aged man in a world with primitive medicine
      1. Nevertheless, I can feel a gift reaching back in time to me - and as I accept it, I am calmed, no longer distressed by what I have lost
   2. In this time, I have duties, both in the mundane sense of the tasks those around me expect me to perform, as well as a greater sense in which I must try to make this world better
   3. My new gift becomes invaluable in due time
      1. All manner of petitioners and officers come to me with grievances, and each of them are a storm of emotions - no one comes before their Count to declare how satisfied they are with things
      2. In short time, word of my wisdom spreads, and my council is sought by King Ferdinand
   4. I lobby my King with an eye to improving the lives of all involved
      1. It is the lives of ordinary Spaniards that are the measure of his ability as a King, not the mass of his treasury
      2. Colonialism brings with it dangers beyond the obvious, and responsibilities for ages to come
      3. Allowing the priests to destroy artifacts of other cultures does not increase our glory, but diminishes it
   5. Despite my ability to make my case clearly and seemingly overcome all objections, my guidance is rarely heeded when I leave the room
   6. And before long, it seems I have made enemies of those who stand to gain by plundering the New World
      1. They do not discuss the matter with me, or make their displeasure known by facing me down in violence
      2. But as the breath leaves my lungs over dinner, my last thought is that I have been poisoned by a coward
3. I awake from a fitful sleep in a large bed, my wife still asleep beside me despite the chirping of my alarm clock
   1. My first throught is of the date - It is September 7, 1999 - the first day of fall semester
      1. This will not be my first time teaching CS 101, but this time will be different, I can feel the power in my body, my mind, and my soul
   2. I arrive at my office early, of course, and make sure everything is in order - the syllabus handouts are ready, my slides are in order and proof-read, and my TAs have confirmed their preparedness
      1. The lecure hall is large - so many students sign up for CS 101 without any prior programming knowledge, just to see what it's like, or convinced that they will be a natural
      2. As the students file in, they sparsely occupy the massive auditorium, afraid to sit near people they don't know, not fully understanding that for the vast majority of them, this is their first class on campus, their first opportunity to get to know eachother
      3. I exhort them to move towards the front so they can hear and see better, and a few oblige
      4. The first lecture flows like a breeze, the students hanging on my words as I understand what each one needs to hear to understand what the rest of this semester will hold
   3. By semester's end, the students and TAs are in awe, the CS department chair has asked for my materials and told me that spring registrations for CS102 are higher than ever, both of the student papers have run articles praising my class, and the dean of Arts and Sciences has interceded to clear my spring schedule to prioritize my research work on the condition that I teach 101 again next year
      1. I appreciate my grad students and TAs, but I don't have a real family in this life, so I head into the warehouse for winter break
4. I awaken rested and enthusiastic on a beautiful spring day
   1. It is graduation day for the first group of freshman I taught after coming to this jump, nearly four years ago
      1. They have come so far, and I'm fortunate that some of the best have continued to work with me, and three of them will be graduate students working under me starting in the fall
   2. It is also the first day of human trials for the drug, a new anti-inflammatory
      1. We were hoping it would treat chronic inflammatory diseases, but early testing suggests that it may significantly reduce hay fever, which would be great if we can mass produce it cheaply
   3. My reputation at the school has skyrocketed thanks to the combination of my groundbreaking research plus my teaching perks ensuring high instructor reviews as well as students learning and retaining more
      1. My tenure process has been fast-tracked, since the dean is rightly concerned about losing me to another institution
5. I awaken slowly, and awkwardly, as if from a coma, as a cocktail of drugs is released into my body, still restrained on my cryobed
   1. Our vessel, the Cyllene, is essentially a large asteroid with a hole carved in the middle, stuffed with propellent, equipment, supplies, expansive aquaponics facilities, and a relatively tiny living area
      1. Cyllene was said to have nursed and protected Hermes, as this vessel must nurture and protect us, the first observers, and hopefully, colonists,
   2. As my body and mind resume normal function over the course of 90 minutes, I get a slow trickle of updates on the status of the Cyllene and our mission
      1. The mission clock says it's 202 years since we left Earth, but thanks to time dilation, Earth has experienced 221
      2. Computer Block 5 (of 8) is currently undergoing automated reconstruction as the block with the highest error correction rate at the time the last automated reconstruction completed
      3. 1575 individuals are currently in cryosleep, and 25 (including me) are active, all sufficiently healthy
      4. I am still Dr. John Axstrom, revered teacher and groundbreaking computational pharmacologist, but my consciousness seems to have jumped forward a few hundred years, skipping past the development of miracle cures, life extension medications, and cryogenic preservation of humans
   3. As I realign with my memories and identity, I remember why I'm here
      1. If colonization proceeds, the coming generations are going to need exceptional teachers if they are to learn their place in the universe, and I'm one of the best there ever was
      2. Our mission is expected to take about 750 years from departure to arrival, and though the vast majority of that time is spent in cryosleep, we take shifts being "awake" to ensure systems are functioning and keep eachother mentally and physically healthy
   4. Since the monitoring systems will throw a fit if I straight up disappear from the vessel, I take a long ride out to the external "observation" check, out of the range of most of the sensor systems
      1. There's not really much to observe in deep space - it's like the night sky, as the ancients saw it with no light pollution, but from a different perspective
      2. Here I quickly form a stunt double duplicate, hand over my electronics, and duck into the warehouse
   5. The warehouse clock confirms my suspicions - I'm nearly seven years into the jump
      1. Since it looks like this isn't going to take nearly 1000 years, the team hasn't been going full-stasis mode
      2. The bards have been poring over J-Borg's personal library as well as the impressive collection of the warehouse media room
      3. But the reason I came is the Tablet of the Free - I'm stuck on a large but still confined deep-space vessel until my scheduled return to cryosleep - how is that supposed to entertain the boss?
      4. After confirming nothing interesting is in the warehouse, I head back to the observation deck, and stash the portable door I've been using back into hammer-space before re-merging with my stunt double, and taking the long trip back to the living area
6. I wake up to an unfamiliar synthetic beep - apparently the Cyllene's version of a doorbell
   1. When I open the door, one of my crewmates tells me that our directional antennas have picked up some unusual RF activity that seems to be coming from our destination system, and they want me (as the on-shift programmer) to help the astronomer, comms, and operations staff to help make sense of it, and ensure we're not about to get nuked by a magnetar or something
   2. Initial findings were sparse and inconclusive - just occasional pulses of a signal that must have been very strong and highly directional at the time of transmission, to reach us so far away
   3. But I had access to diagnostic tools that the astrophysicists and comms staff didn't, for all their training and equipment: a series of perks specifically for teasing out the needles of relevance from the haystack of noise
      1. And as I looked at what we were seeing, and what we weren't, the answer became clear: these radio bursts looked just like a primitive form of RADAR
      2. At first my colleagues on the Cyllene were skeptical, but the evidence kept mounting, with 4 additional series of "pings" being detected in the next six weeks
   4. With the spectre of extraterrestrial intelligence hanging over the Cyllene, our XO followed protocol, and ordered the full complement to be wakened from cryosleep to assist in the work to come
   5. Within six months, we had fabricated and installed a much larger purpose-built directional antenna array on the surface of our asteroid hull, and reports of different signals were coming in almost daily
      1. We needed all the extra hands, even our mining and terraforming experts were lending a hand with signal analysis and attempts to form patterns
      2. The whole crew felt the urgency and wondered at the situation - temporally, it would mean that their early experiments with RADAR and initial RF broadcasts would have happened at about the same time as humans did those things on earth, and if they developed at the same rate as us (a big if), they would likely be more advanced when we arrivedd than humans were when we left (and thus the technology of our vessel), and would almost certainly see us coming
   6. The coming months flew past, each bringing further confirmation of suspicious, but with it frustration, as we had been unable to extract a coherent signal - the broadcasts we could pick up didn't appear to be using either amplitude or frequency modulation
      1. More than once I brought signal samples to the warehouse team, but they were just as stumped as us
      2. Even more "esoteric" means didn't work - we tried every variation of "Tongues" and "Comprehend Language" spells on printed, audioized, and even engraved versions of the RF signals we caught, but they all failed and the representations seemed full of too many discontinuities
   7. I could feel my new Inventor's Vision working on the task of how to decode these signals, and about two years after the first pulse was detected, I had my breakthrough
      1. The signals didn't represent continuous audio (like human radio) or even piece-by-piece visuals (like rasterized video), but something of each, and a little weirder
      2. They were composed of many (from seven to three hundred, and not consistent at all) micro-audio clips
      3. It was like making an ultra-low bitrate recordding of the voice of every singer in a chorus individually, and transmitting fifty milliseconds of one, then fifty milliseconds of the next, and so one, in serial, and then starting back again with the first voice
      4. We couldn't figure out why they did this, but once I was able to identify the break points between each "voice", I could layer them on top of eachother to make a composite audio version
      5. And that composite audio could be played, and was a viable candidate for magic translation
   8. The entire vessel went wild when I demonstrated the isolation and recombination of the signals to produce audio
      1. The sound of the thing was somewhat like the sound of multiple birds, frogs, and crickets in a forest, in very brief clips
      2. Of course, I didn't reveal that I had access to magic translation - I figured the comms and signals staff (and the one cryptographer) should have to earn their pay
   9. The remaining year and a half was spent in intense research, for them, while I mostly slacked off and tried to make conversation with the people doing important work on this front, since my actual mission here was to "observe" as humans of this universe underwent a sort of assymmetrical first contact
7. I awaken in my weird little pod bed in my weird little capsule room for the last time, perfectly aware of the remaining hours in this jump
   1. After the initial excitement died down, the majority of the colonists were put back into cryosleep, with only the decoding specialists and those "on shift" like me staying active
      1. There has been a lot of anxiety around the Cyllene for the last few months - we are clearly a colony ship and the intelligent inhabitants of that system probably do not want to be colonized, and may well be easily capable of destroying us
      2. There were discussions about trying to reverse course and head back to Earth, but we could do that any time, and the closer we get, the more information we can gather about the system and its inhabitants
   2. It would be cruel to try to skim supplies from this vessel even if there were something I wanted aboard, so I just wait my time out, helping where I can and secretly translating any communications we receive when time permits
      1. So far it has all been rather uninspiring, which makes me even more curious what kind of species would develop radio technology but not transmit any fiction or speeches or poetry
   3. When it's almost time, I once again make the long trek out to the Cyllene's observation deck alone, and split off a Stunt Double, who can at least stay here for a month, while I slip into the warehouse
      1. When I enter, J-Borg greets me and informs me of a message at the Benefactor's lounge
      2. The note on the door says "Supplement Pending - please attend as soon as possible", so I go in to check it out
      3. With the choices all locked in, the door unlocks and I head out to meet with the team
   4. With the memories of my time in Spain finally restored, I realize how I had been trying to communicate with myself all along, but failing
      1. The need for calm communcation and education will never end - among our closest neighbors or with a civilization 300 light years away
   5. We have the traditional group dinner in the commons, and discuss what's going on
      1. The team did end up spending most of the time in stasis, and the formerly-newborn halflings are a little over a year now biologically, learning to speak and walk
      2. When I mention the Biosphere supplement and how I wasn't allowed to consult them, they naturally asked when it would apply, but it hadn't even occurred to me that there were now definitely too many of us to wait out warehouse changes in the entrance hall, so I checked with the central control
   6. Afterward, no one was complaining when the doors finally unlocked and we were able to leave the commons hall, only to find that the door led to an outdoor path with a natural-looking sunset on the horizon
      1. I didn't want to spoil the whole setup yet, so I said we could tour in the morning, and turned off a number of the facilities and systems for the night, to give me some time to understand what options were available before letting my companions go wild with them
      2. Fortunately, the obvious items like the tree of life and factory complex were on other islands, that would be difficult to reach without the transport disks running
   7. And then I went to sleep again, wondering what the next awakening had in store for me

Notes on the Fountain Jump Doc

1. Honestly this doc has been on my to-try list since I saw it - I really enjoyed the movie and gladly rewatched it again when it came up in my random draw.
2. The author took some liberties with the source material, which makes sense because of how focused on Thomas the story is, and the extensions largely make sense
3. There were a few confusing things in the jump, such as how you get essences and what powers you bring with you into each phase of the jump, but a close reading makes them clear enough
4. The jump has a few really standout purchase
   1. the inventor's intention is the answer to a lot of concers that "do-gooder" jumpers are likely to have in their careers
   2. the full tree of life is an amazing item - the ability to grant perfect health and immunity to aging within a regrowing item solves a lot of problems
   3. 500 years of practice is amazing if you have a particular skill or art in mind - literally centuries better than the "10 years of practice" equivalents that you find din many other jumps, and has a lot of potential to synergize with other perks that scale off your skill in a particular area
   4. Biosphere is super cool if you want your fiat-backed warehouse to grow into something more
   5. The Dagger of the Path is a great example of a conceptual weapon, and something I probably would have picked up if I had a bunch more points
5. How you're supposed to interleave the three eras is a little unclear, and maybe I'm not a creative enough author to pull it off. I don't believe SJ Chan ever got around to writing a fictionalized account of jumping to it, unfortunately
   1. If anyone else has done a good jump fiction of this jump, please let me know
6. Overall absolutely a fantastic jump. Obviously a great option for anyone who likes the movie or wants to solve one of the specific problems available
   1. I'd especially recommend it for an early-chain jumper because of the generally low danger level and great variety of rewards

Notes on the Biosphere Supplement Doc

1. I knew this was something I wanted to pick up when I first read the fountain jumpdoc several months ago
2. I use the "Personal Reality" warehouse which was co-authored by SJ Chan, and this supplement feels perfectly tailored to supplement that
3. There are lots of good pickups for people with various interests, or those who just want to keep their options open
   1. Observation Deck seems like the real must-have since a lot of the other buys are controllable through it
4. The structure of the biosphere was a little confusing at first - I thought that there was an island, a void around the island, and a hard shell, and wasn't sure why you'd want to increase the shell thickness, but further reading cleared that up
5. On the whole, a good pick up, especially considering it only cost 400 CP in the jump, and normally buying warehouse upgrades with CP has a very unfavorable conversion, but in this case, the biosphere purchases all seemed cheaper than they ought to be.

(Builds to come in a separate post due to length restrictions)