This is a placeholder for the first thread of Tyler, GMed by Tadeusz.

Welcome aboard, Tyler!  -- Oak :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:14, Fri 03 Apr 2015.

In reply to Tadeusz (msg # 1):

The new Scriff Inside! megachip seems to be malfunctioning on your newest laptop you just bought yesterday.  Now, while there are company reccommendations otherwise, and a few weird tales on the Net, you're curious.  From everything you know, the megachip seems to be defying the laws of physics.

Its four times larger than a regular chip, but its not getting bogged down in intra-chip data transfers.

Opneing it, you see a set of four regular chips, held apart by what look to be liquidous channels of yellow....approaching with your screwdriver....and the arc that leaps up to your arm is followed by dazzlement, and yellow globules, and a sensation of the world tilting...

=====================

You're laying face down on what feels like hot sand.  Your feet are wet, and are bobbing up and down.

You're beginning to sweat, and the air is hot, but clear.  You smell salt water, and jungle compost.

You feel uninjured.

Blinking several times, I can't believe what I'm seeing. Hot sand, salt water, I was just tinkering with the Scriff megachip. What happened? Was this some kind of Tron deal where I got sucked inside the megachip? I stand up and look around.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:47, Fri 03 Apr 2015.

You're on a ten yard deep, half-mile long belt of sand between jungle and the waves.  A capuchin monkey is staring at you from a palm tree to your right.

To your feet is your cane, and your small computer toolbox, and nearby is your old laptop in its case.  But you can see other items of yours nearby, scattered in what almost seems like a pattern.

To your left, the coast curves in, and to your right there is a high, rocky point.  Out to sea is blue, and lots of it.

Picking up my cane, I try to decipher the pattern before moving. Once I figure it out or if nothing comes to mind, I begin hobbling around and picking up my other belongings.

For a long moment, nothing comes, but then like overlaying a pattern, its clear.  The items are laid out as if they had been in your house, and somehow moved without being moved....here.

Its enough to raise the hairs on the back of your head.

Cane equipped, you begin, which is hard in the heavy sand.  And then you hear footprints behind you, and a nice floral perfume.  Turning about, you see a raven haired girl with a ponytail and glasses in jean cutoffs, and a checkered shirt, holding out one of your things from about twenty feet away.

She's been crying.

Stopping what I'm doing, I slowly walk towards her instead. With a empathetic look on my face, I ask, "Are you alright, Hun? My name is Tyler."

She's about your height, and somewhat awkardly approaches to give you the item, while half keeping an eye on your cane, in case you're a caniac.

"I'm Lucy, Lucy Morgan. Am I dreaming?"

OOC: Caniac...I had to go there.  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:14, Sun 05 Apr 2015.

"Well, Miss Lucy. I'm afraid you're not dreaming, unless we're somehow sharing a dream and seeing as we don't know each other before this... that's highly unlikely. What was the last thing you remember before waking up on this beach? I was tinkering with my new Skriff megachip."

She wrinkles up her face as she considers your point, and then nods.

"I was crawling under the floor of the Launch Mainframe Center, trying to get a cable hooked up to our new dot matrix printer.....does this mean, we're dead?  I expected angels."

She moves about helping you pick up items.  Its clear she's used to being a 'gopher'.

"Launch Mainframe Center? Like you work for NASA?" I ask, as we collect my things.

"Well, yes." She pauses looking at you as if waiting for something, and then adds.  "My father is Commander Randall Morgan, and my mother is mission astronomer, Jenny Morgan.  I get my eagle eyes from her."  She points past  you.

"I saw a whale out in the water. It was...very large.  What is going on Mister Tyler? What should we do?"

I look behind me to try to see the whale. "Fate's been kind, I couldn't have chosen someone I'd rather be stranded on a desert island with. I don't know what's going on quite yet, Eagle Eyes. If you like seafood we should build a shelter here along the beach and try fishing for food, if not then I suggest we head inland and gather fruits and vegetables instead. Whatever we do, we should stay together though."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:23, Tue 07 Apr 2015.

"I like seafood. We rarely get it in Arizona. Um, how do we do this shelter building and fishing?"

Out in the dark water farther from shore, you spot for a tenth of a second a very long shadow under the water, and then its gone.

"Ahh, Arizona. I went there once as a kid. We took a family vacation to the Grand Canyon and went through Arizona while we were that far south. I grew up in Washington state.

Well, for the shelter we need long pieces of drift wood... I'd say eight foot or so, maybe twenty pieces to lay together, I think. My dad is a fisherman, he tried to teach me... I was never very good at it, but I'll try. I think two six foot long pieces of driftwood, two hook-shaped metal objects, and some string-like material will do for makeshift fishing poles." I start sorting through my collected things to see if anything would fit the hook-shaped metal pieces or string-like material.

She pulls out her diamond earrings, which with a bit of bending could work.

You don't find any string of sufficient length.

Poles are easy as you spot some bamboo on your search for driftwood.

It takes you several hours to find some driftwood, and as you and Miss Lucy come back with a load, you see a very tall, and wide guy standing near your refuge in progress.  The expression 'built like a brick wall' comes to mind.

He has a suitcase.

Dropping my load of driftwood near the refuge, I introduce us with a friendly hand out. "Hello, there! I'm Tyler and this is Miss Lucy. We were just trying to build a little shelter here. Do you know anything about where we are or why we are here or where here is?"

He looks ill tempered, and when you offer your hand, he puts out his will not much grace.

"Rich Black, and you took the questions right out of my mouth."
 "I'm just in my hotel room, fiddling with  some stupid demo device the ad boys want me to promo.  I'm stuck doing adds for the Invention Channel, can you believe that. Two years ago, I was starting on the Washington Steelers, now...its not like everyone doesn't do it. Drat it all.  And now I'm here.  I suppose you want an autograph?  Have I been kidnapped for that Celebrity Survival show?"

He looks ill tempered, and when you offer your hand, he puts out his will not much grace.

"Rich Black, and you took the questions right out of my mouth."
 "I'm just in my hotel room, fiddling with  some stupid demo device the ad boys want me to promo.  I'm stuck doing adds for the Invention Channel, can you believe that. Two years ago, I was starting on the Washington Steelers, now...its not like everyone doesn't do it. Drat it all.  And now I'm here.  I suppose you want an autograph?  Have I been kidnapped for that Celebrity Survival show?"

"Well, Rich this isn't a celebrity show, because I'm not famous whatsoever. No offense, but I really could not care less about your autograph. Maybe you could help us collect driftwood? We're in the process of building a shelter for when evening comes, in case it gets cold at night here."

His face flushes red, and then abruptly  he turns aside, and begins to drag up a log from the jungle edge.  When Lucy asks why he says...

"For the campfire."

You gather more driftwood with Lucy, and get enough and a bit more.  She talks a bit about NASA, and the Mission, but mostly she just keeps an eye out.  Rich gets a half-dozen large chunks of logs, and thick branches.

As you get back, you see with stomach rumbling, Rich eating a protein bar.  He pauses, then digs into his suitcase, and pulls out two his face expressionless.  A quick flick of his wrist sends each sailing to their separate target.

"Maltomeal Protein Bar, for muscle building."  Its....edible.

I pay close attention to Lucy's chat about NASA and the Mission, as it does actually interest me.

I try to catch the protein bar one-handed. "Wow, thanks Rich. You don't happen to have any kind of string or a lighter do you?

Now we need to lean the driftwood up against each other so they stay up in teepee fashion."

Listening to her, you realize she's talking about rather a large crew.  At least six, and for more than a year.  And they hope to get good ring pictures from her mom's work.

You catch it. It helps that he was exactly on target.

"Well, I have this jacket with a pull string.  And no, no lighter. Pop told me long ago that if I wanted to play pro ball, I couldn't smoke."

The jacket is dark blue, says 'TEAM', and has two cords of two feet and four feet.

With everyone's help, you create a teepee, which cheers them.

"Its like the nose cone on one of those primitive chemical rockets." Lucy says.

============================

Primitive construction 1@1 skill added to your character.

Listening to her, you realize she's talking about rather a large crew.  At least six, and for more than a year.  And they hope to get good ring pictures from her mom's work.

You catch it. It helps that he was exactly on target.

"Well, I have this jacket with a pull string.  And no, no lighter. Pop told me long ago that if I wanted to play pro ball, I couldn't smoke."

The jacket is dark blue, says 'TEAM', and has two cords of two feet and four feet.

With everyone's help, you create a teepee, which cheers them.

"Its like the nose cone on one of those primitive chemical rockets." Lucy says.

============================

Primitive construction 1@1 skill added to your character.

Tearing open the protein bar, I eat it as though starving. It is gone in seconds. "Thank you for sharing those, Rich. Can we pull those strings clear out of the jacket? I'm thinking to use them to make fishing poles, so we have something a bit more filling."

He nods and pulls them out.  With the earring as hook and a four foot cord, and a bit of crab meat from one of the tiny crabs skittering by, you're soon fishing.

The earring works loose, and drops in the water, and seems very hard to find, but with a peculiar look on her face, Lucy goes right to it.

"Its like...I wondered where it was, and I knew in what direction all my stuff was, including something I had left back aways."

Rich tries it to, and looks puzzled and surprised.

"What is going on?"

"Huh, that's interesting." I find it curious that she just knew where to find her things. I'm not sure what Rich is referring to when he asks his question, so instead I just try wondering where my stuff is too.

Its a feeling as of 'oh yeah, I dropped something over there' or just knowing in the pit of your stomach, but you instantly know where all your things are.  You even find a pencil that was buried in a light layer of sand.

And what's more, you can detect the other two here, as if on a different frequency.

And you can detect two others, one to the left a bit, and the other much further to the right.

When  you open your eyes, you see the other two staring at you wide-eyed.  Rich is doubling his fists, and Miss Lucy looks like she'd like to cry again.

"WOW! That's amazing!" I say grinning, at first oblivious to their reactions. Then I catch on and my smile drops, "What's wrong?"

"It is amazing." Lucy turns a bit more positive.

Rich shrugs.  "Its just more certain that something very, very weird has happened to us.  I liked my life.  Granted, I was second string, but pro football is great, even if we're not as popular as pro rugby."

He smacks his fist into the palm of his hand.

"Coach would say 'play with what you got.'"  He looks long at you.  "And to be honest, I was always a lineman.  So you're smarter than me, that makes you the quarterback."

"And then I'm the cheerleader?" Lucy asks with a quizzical smile.

"I'd like to see you in a miniskirt." I say with a smirk and a wink.

Then flirting aside, I take Rich's quarterback comment to heart. I decide to take charge and play the leadership role. "When I tried to know where my stuff was, I could feel where you two as are as well. I could also feel two more people, I think we should go find those two."

Her fair skin flushes up to her cheekbones.

They agree with your plan, and you start walking off to the right.  By half a mile you've reached the high point of a rocky hill jutting into the ocean, and you can feel the other vector has moved appreciably.

Upon climbing the hill, you see no islands out there, but deep in the water are two shapes that are long, cylindrical almost, and at least a hundred feet long.

"Megalodon." Lucy says with wonder.  "I've always wanted to on an Alaska cruise to see the megas."

About three miles to your right, you see the rising cone of a volcano reaching above the jungle.  Down below you, on the far side of the hill is a cove with a glint of creek through palm trees.

"Yes, they are extraordinary." I close my eyes trying to see if I can 'feel' the megalodon. "I'm afraid the other person is moving, I hope we can catch up to them and still make it back to our shelter before dark." I press on following the vector.

Suddenly you 'feel' the megalodon, but not in the way you expected.  You touch its mind.

A cold, ferocious majesty' never ending hunger and never stopping; a will that could not consider quitting.

The water presses against you, as it ought.  For dozens of miles in every direction you can see the seafloor, and the places where the prey hides from you.

And above the surface of the world, in the dessert of air....

There is a small little thing, not even the size of one of your babies newborn...

She is aware of you.

1@1 Access Mental Impressions of Animal.

"Woah! That's a heck of a thing." I shake my head trying to refocus my mind back to my own body. Still feeling the insatiable hunger, I look around for something edible.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Tue 21 Apr 2015.

OOC: 'hell'...please don't.  You gain +@1 to your new skill, so its 1@2 MI w/ Animals.

You find how to disconnect yourself, and  with a snap, you are back in only your own body.  You look back, and see a coconut tree, but before you can go to it...

The meggie launches skyward, fully out of the water.

Carcharhondon Megalodon is 62 feet long, a shark, but on a scale that a Great White is only 13 feet long, this thing is enormous.  It rises fully out of the water, and eyeballs you before it drops back with a splash that sprinkles sea drops over the top of the rocky hill you tghree are on.

Rich is swearing, bouncing around, white as a sheet.  Miss Lucy is running.

OOC: 'hell'...please don't.  You gain +@1 to your new skill, so its 1@2 MI w/ Animals.

You find how to disconnect yourself, and  with a snap, you are back in only your own body.  You look back, and see a coconut tree, but before you can go to it...

The meggie launches skyward, fully out of the water.

Carcharhondon Megalodon is 62 feet long, a shark, but on a scale that a Great White is only 13 feet long, this thing is enormous.  It rises fully out of the water, and eyeballs you before it drops back with a splash that sprinkles sea drops over the top of the rocky hill you tghree are on.

Rich is swearing, bouncing around, white as a sheet.  Miss Lucy is running.

OOC: Sorry, is heck ok or should reedit it altogether?

"Rich! We need to catch Lucy!" I start running after Lucy.

OOC: It's ok.

Rich nods, and takes off at a full-tilt sprint that demonstates that he is indeed a pro sports player.  He quickly catches up to her.

When you catch up to them, Lucy is still a bit scared, but she and Rich are arguing.
"That's a Meggie. There's a herd of them near the Gulf Coast, and two in the Mid-Pacific...."  Lucy says.
"No, way, sister. That's some freaky alien thing cuz their are no sharks that big where I come from."

OOC: Did Lucy run towards the Megalodon?

"So, do you think that means we're some where in the mid-pacific?" I ask as I catch up to them.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Wed 22 Apr 2015.

OOC: Just the opposite. Down the hill and toward the jungle.

"Yes." Says Lucy definitely.
"No way. Rich says. They glare at each other.  "Look Meggies went extinct shortly after the Flood."
"Idiot." Lucy says.

"Where were you running to, Lucy?" I ask, completely ignoring the arguement.

"Some place away from the Meggie.  Those things sink small ships every year."  She paused, and shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed.  "I know now that I was safe, on the land, on a hill, but when I saw him eyeball us.....I panicked."

I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "That's right, it won't get to us here on land. Are we ok to continue or do you need a breather?"

She smiles wryly.

"Let's go."

About an hour later, you see a man? in a tan suit approaching.  As he gets closer, you realize its a uniform, and he has a sheathed sword at his waist.  He's walking toward the three of you on the beach.

She smiles wryly.

"Let's go."

About an hour later, you see a man? in a tan suit approaching.  As he gets closer, you realize its a uniform, and he has a sheathed sword at his waist.  He's walking toward the three of you on the beach.

"Well, that's interesting." Seeing the sword brought back memories. I've always been fascinated by the middle ages and even went to a couple recreation events in the past. I raise my hand in greeting. "Hail!  Greetings, my friend. I am Tyler, this is Rich and that is Lucy. Who might you be? Are you lost on this island as well?"

He makes no sign as he gets closer.  You realize he's Oriental.

"He has a Rising Sun on his collar." Lucy says.  By now, you caqn't see that, but you can see his  sword, which is slightly curved, and one-edged.

"A Rising Sun, I believe that's Japan's symbol. Man, I knew I should have taken a Japanese foreign language class. I don't suppose either of you know Japanese?"

"I know a tiny bit. Spent a week in Japan doing advertisements for energy drinks, and ah,  other stuff." Rich says.
Miss Lucy shakes her head.

In any case as you get closer, you find out its not needed.  Before you can speak, he yells.

"KNEEL!"  When the three of you stare at him.  His face turns reddish.  He draws his katana, and yells again.  "Kneel, dogs."

Not knowing what else to do in this situation, I follow directions and slowly get down on my knees.

You kneel, and snarling, Rich does as well.  Lucy is already done on the ground.

"Now, I am Lieutenant Hiero Monsogai  of the Imperial Japanese Army.  You will provide your papers, and explain this place."  He points his katana at you.

"Od E Peal Mih?" Rich mutters.  "Eh's tun."

"Speak English, dog." He threatens a back hand, and Rich just smiles at him.

"Ah, I... umm have no papers, Lieutenant. This place is foreign to us as well; although, we believe we are somewhere in the mid-Pacific, sir."

"I kin take him, say da woid." Rich says through compressed teeth.  "You tangle his steel with ...."

And that earns him a backhand across the face.

You can see underneath the imperialism, which is odd, is stark terror. And you can see Rich is ready, like a trigger to leap.  And Miss Lucy is looking shocked at something she saw. And in the water you can see out of the cornerof your eye that long shadow.  And at your hands is loose sand, and a small crab, and in your right hand a cane.

It does seem true as Samuel Johnson said that the gallows does concentrate the mind wonderfully.

Perhaps it was knowing that Rich was fully capable, perhaps it was death staring me in the face, who can say. With a courage I previously didn't know existed, I push myself forward, swinging my cane to bat aside the katana. Not having hands to catch me as I stretched forward, I land face down in the sand. It was either the bravest thing I'd ever done or the stupidest... I could only hope Rich took it for the signal to pounce that it was intended to be.

Smack. The jolt runs up your arms, and you get the pleasure of seeing the startled face of your opponent before you pitch face down...

And CRUNCH. Then thud.

Then..."I got the sword thing!" from Miss Lucy.

Spitting out sand, you pull yourself up.  The Japanese guy is laying on the ground, where he had been tossed several yards away, groaning. and Miss Lucy is inexpertly menacing him with the katana, and Rich comes over to you, and lifts you to your feet with a ....

"Whoo-yeah. We did it!"  He's grinning ear to ear.  It occurs to you that for someone like him, all this uncertainty, it must have felt cathartic to just be able to solve a problem by hitting someone.

OOC: Do you have a fighting skill with canes?  If not, I'll give you one, and if you do, I'll give you a bonus for new use.

Slowly rising to my knees again, then on hands and knees, eventually I rise to stand again with the aid of my cane. I hobble over to the Japanese man. "Good work everyone, thanks for your help." I offer Rich and Lucy both a nod of thanks. "Now, Lieutenant, would you like to speak civilly about this situation we all have found ourselves in together? Or perhaps you'd like to be our prisoner for a while?"

OOC: Nope, no cane fighting skill... just desperation and an incredible amount of luck.

OOC: You had a limited goal, and you caught him by surprise.  1@2 Cane Fighting (1@5 is normal amateur).

"You are all going to hang.  You have assaulted an officer of the Imperial Japanese Domain of California."  He speaks through shivering teeth.  You know his look; he sees his Doom at hand.  "What do you know of civilization? I am mayor of small town, provide order. You send an assasin to attack me, in my bed.  And then drag me here to this island."

Miss Lucy points out his badge on his sleeve.  Looking closer you see an outline of western America up to the Rockies is in red, while the rest is gray.

The shock of seeing the patch held me silent for a moment, while I pondered the possibilities. I had seen enough movies and read similar books depicting alternate realities, to see it in the patch. "We have done no such thing, Lieutenant. We simply woke up on the beach of this island, same as you. We don't know how we got here or why we are here, either." I decide not to speak of the Imperial Japanese Domain of California at this time, for the poor man is scared enough without speaking of alternate realities. Regardless of my curiosity. It was the only explanation for his commitment to the belief that the Imperial Japanese Domain of California existed and he wore a uniform depicting it, despite the unbelievability of it. What secrets did this mysterious island hold? Could it really be a cross-dimensional rift, do all roads lead... here?

He looks about to say something in retort, but then sighs.

Rich asks you to come off to the side.  When you do, he whispers.

"What's this Imperial Japan junk?  Everyone knows Japan got smashed by The Bomb."

Miss Lucy is still guarding the prisoner, althugh he looks resigned, and she looks unhappy.

Talking quietly to Rich, but watching the Mayor and Miss Lucy just in case, "I don't know, Rich. He's got that strange uniform and he sounds like he believes what he says." I don't know how to explain my theory of alternate dimensions coming together to Rich. I don't really see him as the type to comprehend, even if I did explain it, either. "The only thing I can think of... well, did you ever watch any Sci-fi type shows or movies? Like Sliders or Fringe?"

"I watched some Eleventh Hour, I didn't get much of it, and I enjoyed Firefly."

"Imagine a world like ours, only we didn't discover the bomb... Japan kept going, actually winning the Hawaii and the West Coast before we could stop them. What if that world was real, just like ours, and this island is somehow a crossroads where all worlds meet. Why we are here or how we got here is still a mystery, but that's what I think here is."

He blinks.

"Whoa.  You mean, like a world where someone other than Webb is President? Wild."

"Well, that's the only explanation I can come up with anyway." I shrug my shoulders.

"Ok." Rich accepts it with a calmness that is a bit unnerving as it shows his trust in you.  He fetches Lucy, and takes the sword from her to guard the Mayor.  He puts the sword down out of range, and just relies on his size to keep the prisoner out of trouble.  He's far calmer than Lucy about it.

Lucy comes over to you....

That certainly went better than expected. I take a deep breath as Lucy comes over, now it was time to explain my theory to her. Giving her a comforting smile, I begin the process with her. "Alright, this maybe hard to believe but it's the only explanation I can come up with. He's got that strange uniform and he sounds like he believes what he says. We have to be dealing with multiple realities here.

Imagine a world like ours, only we didn't discover the bomb... Japan kept going, actually winning the Hawaii and the West Coast before we could stop them. What if that world was real, just like ours, and this island is somehow a crossroads where all worlds meet. Why we are here or how we got here is still a mystery, but that's what I think here is.

She looks frightened when you speak of this, and she runs over to the Japanese officer, and demands of him several questions.

He tells her that 'FDR died in the Burning of Philadelphia when the Nazis nuked the East Coast.'  and later he says 'Its 1967 by your Christian calendar.'

At that point she turns to you, and says 'but how do I get home? My parents were about to go on the Saturn Mission.'  She's keyed up.

The Nazi's got the bomb first... what a scary world that would be. However, I don't have time to reflect. I need to calm Lucy down, so she can think rationally. "It will be alright, Lucy. We'll all get home, but it will take time to figure out how." I go over to her, placing my free arm around her shoulders.

"Its not just that, but we're lost in time and space, Tyler.  I have to get back to 1975, my 1975 with my dad, Commander Randall..."  She pauses.  "Neither of you know that name?"

She's trembling under your arm.

"Am I in the Twilight Zone?"

I shake my head, "No, I don't know your dad. I'm from your future, or at least a world similar to yours in the future. But it will be alright, we will find a way home regardless." I turn to face Lucy, gently kissing her forehead, "I don't know how, but we will find a way, Lucy."

"Ok, who's the last four presidents, cause I'm thinking none of us are from the same world.  For me its, James Webb, Lamar Alexander, Patrick Buchanan, and Dukakis.  And the year is 2010.  I'm a second string National Football League lineman, on the bench right now because my back is acting up." Rich says.

Lucy accepts the kiss with a hug, and straightens up.

"Lucy Randall, IT Girl om the ground for the round-trip to Saturn Mission.  President is Reagan, before that was LBJ who no one liked, and then JFK for two terms, and Ike.  I don't know much of use...I mean, I know how to code in Cobol and Fortran, a bit, and how to activate a nuclear propulsion device.....I had the best fireworks display for my Sweet Sixteen two years ago."

Rich is staring at her with his mouth open over her head, and he mouths at you 'atomic bomb fireworks? Are they nuts?'

"The last American president was FDR.  Since then the west coast has been governed by the governors appointed by the Emperor."  He lists off a number of names.  "I have basic combat training, and judicial training.  My sensei says my sword skills are 'acceptable'.  If i meet him again, he will be gravely dissapointed in me for underestimating a cane."  He flickers a smile.  "I do have a good memory for poetry, and my tea ceremony is said to be 'quite good'.'

"Well, I am from the year 2015 and my last four presidents were Obama, Bush junior, Clinton, Bush Senior. I'm currently disabled and unworking due to my back problems, I was studying chemistry and physics at college, planning on a career in nuclear chemistry until my life fell apart. Reagan, LBJ, and JFK were all presidents in my world's history though JFK didn't have two terms in my world. James Webb, Lamar Alexander, Patrick Buchanan, and Dukakis were all the losers in my world, running for President and not succeeding."

Rich seems to recognize Bush, but otherwise they are "Clinton? Obama?"

You and they talk a bit, and you get the feeling of a more middle-class, blue jeans world from Rich.  He mentions a brother who works in the steel factory, and another factory he used to work in himself.   As he points out, he's not in the National Rugby League, so he's not making the big money.

With Lucy, the Soviets are on the verge of surrendering because the USS Constitution, a seven thousand ton nuclear armed space battleship driven by an Orion drive is a very potent threat.  A similar device is going to take ten people to Saturn.  She cheerily assures everyone that 'a little extra radiation is good for you, hormesis, don'tcha know.'

Rich is deeply skeptical of 'randomly tossing nukes around', but he's unable to answer her arguements.

Your stomach grumbles, and that reminds you that you're thirsty as well.

I chuckle at Lucy's assurance that radiation is good for you, I've never heard of hormesis, so I assume it's a joke. I'm impressed; however, by the talk of an Orion drive and spaceships.

"Is anyone else hungry and thirsty? I think we need to find something, soon."

I start looking around for banana trees or berry bushes.

OOC: I believe we walked into the jungle, correct me if I'm wrong.

A few minutes search reveals a grape vine, a bannana tree that is bent over, but still heavy with fruit, and a berry patch.  There are also some fronds the mayor is willing to eat.

In your search you stumble across a small creek.