The Great Experiment: 1.2
It’s amazing what you can find when you look hard enough. I find an odd-looking device that looks suspiciously like a work station while we’re there.
“What on earth is this?” I ask as I take a closer look. I know what it looks like, but the dumb approach is my best option.
“That?” she observes on spotting it, “Looks like a robot station to me.”
My eyes widen gleefully as she confirms my suspicions. I have a love/hate relationship with machines; I hate when they go wrong, but I love working with them.
“Hmm,” I ponder as I examine the machine, “Wonder if it still works?”
“Why would it?” she shrugs, “It’s been dumped!”
“It’s in good nick though,” I remark as I run my hands along its surface, “Maybe a minor repair job? Who knows?”
“Would you be able to fix it?” Riley asks, “Can you even work that contraption?”
“Oh, I can learn,” I smile, “I pick things up pretty quickly.”
Riley shrugs, and we add the machine to our loot. What with that and everything else, there’s not much the two of us can bring back, but it’s enough to get me started. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that station will be worth the extra bulk.
Riley takes me by surprise though, as she dives into a pocket in her jeans once we get back home.
“Here,” she offers, holding out a small handful of notes, “It’s not much, but it’ll keep you ticking over for now.”
“Oh, no,” I begin, shaking my head, “You don’t…”
“Really, it’s fine,” she insists, “You need it more than me; I get paid every week.”
“Are you sure?” I check. I hate accepting or asking for money, even at times like this, and Riley isn’t exactly rich.
“Positive,” she smiles, thrusting the bills into my hand, “Go on; stock up the refrigerator, get anything else you need.”
I smile gratefully as my fingers close around the papers placed into my palm, thanking her as well as the others before the family have to leave. After warmly watching them for a while, I decide to inspect the ladies’ handiwork.
I’ve spent most of my life broke, and some of that time with just a few coppers to my name, so I’m no stranger to surviving on little. This is definitely the lowest I’ve come though, with just a self-contained shed to protect me from the elements. Still, I’ve lived in a small place before, with just a large bedroom that doubled as a study and a broom cupboard for a kitchen, so this isn’t too bad. At least I don’t have to share a bathroom this time, even if it’s outside.
Although unpleasant memories of camping at the festival soon spring to the fore; the sooner the bathroom can become a proper one, the better. What a time to take a crash course in male anatomy, too…
Yes, my bathing area really needs to be moved indoors. Some people may be able to strip off in full view of passers-by, but I’m not one of them. I don’t know how I’ve ended up with things like swimwear, but I’m not complaining in the slightest.
I consider all I’ve learned, both from at the Grunts’ house and my last chat with Riley. I never doubted the existence of aliens; the universe is too big for us to be alone. What got me was how I went through a sim-style abduction, yet everything else has been running just like real life. Riley needed to ask someone to take us up to the tip in the nearby city, and not only do I have my mobile with me, but I also have British change in my new wallet. There is the matter of things like money trees, though…
… until I recall Missy telling me how top secret this location is. We really are in Area fifty-one territory, with the base just down the road from here. Missy explained that they use alien technology in this town to make all manner of items, including the money trees, and the town doesn’t even have a name to speak of; it got dubbed Strangetown by the city residents who turn a blind eye to all that goes on here. The network my phone has found is one exclusive to this area, making use of the many radio masts erected about the place - but of course, with this being a secret area, calls can’t be made to numbers beyond it.
So much for this being another Sims World scenario. Strangetown exists for real, locked away from the rest of the world to keep a lid on the alien presence here. The nearby city holds its own secrets (vampires, no doubt), possibly resulting from dodgy experiments, and La Fiesta Tech seems to be breeding the kind of scientists that like to dabble in this kind of thing. And Yours Truly has been dropped into the thick of it all.
I guess this sex-swap palaver is just another of these experiments. Funny how it’s not just me who’s been affected - was it some kind of ray at work? How did I get involved in all this?
I’d never been so glad to see Vidcund Curious - now Violet - who turned up with her half-brother Logan to check out their new neighbour. Logan is the gender-swapped Lola Curious-Smith, so we all had quite an interesting chat.
I explained my predicament, and they mentioned their sister Patsy who’d recently given birth to an alien baby. They suggested I give her a call as we have much to talk about; I may just do that, since I’ll need all the help I can get if it really has happened. For now though, I need to concentrate on more practical matters - like getting some decent wiring and plumbing into this place, and generally making it more liveable.
I want to see if this thing works; I may be able to make some cash from it. I also need to get writing again, but for that I need a computer. I found a good looking one at the tip, which I really can fix - I built a system from scratch once. Right now it’s just a shell, and without knowing if I’ve been pollinated, I’m on the shelf about looking for work. Maybe if I can build something to babysit I’ll be alright, but it’ll all take time and I have a possible deadline - the not knowing is driving me crazy. I’m under no illusions about how quickly the time goes, and I decide my best bet is to work flat out on my skills.
If I can get good enough, I should be able to fix this place up myself. I prefer to not rely on others anyway, and one thing I’ve often wished for is to be not a jack of all trades, but a master.
I keep in touch with my new friends, and from them I hear that the kids who used to be Johnny and Ophelia have started at University.
Riley excitedly talks about the chance of joining them fairly soon, more in a bid to get away from the rest of her family she says. It’s a shame that things are that bad, but whatever makes her happy in the end. I just hope that family can work things out, for everyone’s sake.
For me though, I’m starting to give up hope of ever getting home. Being stuck in a classified area, and now meeting with aliens, they wouldn’t even let me leave. I do miss my old life, but I don’t miss the problems I had. I even get to keep a pet this time; I couldn’t do that before and I missed owning a cat. Apparently you can find pets work around here too, which’ll help no end once this little guy gets big enough.
Also, if it’s true that treasures can be found beneath the sand, that’ll help even more. I hear aliens have settled nearby too, starting up a shopping area with many possibilities. I did try setting up a home business before, but this time I have something better to sell if I can get good enough at making them.
I’ve never been a farmer, but I’m quite enjoying tending the tree. I’d thought about growing my own food before, and what better time to try than when money is short? It’ll give me something useful to do with the rubbish, although ironically it’ll cost to set up the garden in the first place. I’d consider it an investment though; one time payment for resources and then it’s just the seeds.
That investment happens sooner than I expect, thanks to a windfall below the surface. It also means I can upgrade the house, and I work on that over the coming month.
The job is finished just in time, too, as what were my worst fears are confirmed. I’ve had enough time to build up a decent base though, so thankfully it won’t be quite so bad, and the kitten - who I named after my brother Frank - is nearly a cat now.
I get a strange phone call one day, from ‘Jenny’ - the girl quickly introduces herself as a friend of Riley’s, so I soon guess who this Jenny is.
“Hi there,” Jenny greets, “I got your number from Ri- erm, Riley as she calls herself these days.”
“Thought it might be something like that,” I smile in reply, but frown as I sense something amiss. “What’s up?”
“Well, there’s this alien guy in our dorm who calls himself Stratos Terrano,” she explains, “Said he used to be a girl called Stella.”
I thought the name sounded familiar…
“Hold on,” I check, “Used to be a girl? So it’s spread there too?”
“Sure has,” comes the reply, “But anyways, we chat as dormies do. He said he was learning the art of pollinating, and that he’d been on placement lately…”
“Whoa, whoa,” I cut in, “Is this going where I think it is?”
“That’s what I thought,” comes the reply, “Riley’s mentioned you, so I asked him about it. His ears pricked up and he started asking how to get hold of you.”
“Wonderful,” I remark, “Well, you go ahead and send him round here, ‘cause it sounds like we need to have words.”
“What on earth is this?” I ask as I take a closer look. I know what it looks like, but the dumb approach is my best option.
“That?” she observes on spotting it, “Looks like a robot station to me.”
My eyes widen gleefully as she confirms my suspicions. I have a love/hate relationship with machines; I hate when they go wrong, but I love working with them.
“Hmm,” I ponder as I examine the machine, “Wonder if it still works?”
“Why would it?” she shrugs, “It’s been dumped!”
“It’s in good nick though,” I remark as I run my hands along its surface, “Maybe a minor repair job? Who knows?”
“Would you be able to fix it?” Riley asks, “Can you even work that contraption?”
“Oh, I can learn,” I smile, “I pick things up pretty quickly.”
Riley shrugs, and we add the machine to our loot. What with that and everything else, there’s not much the two of us can bring back, but it’s enough to get me started. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that station will be worth the extra bulk.
Riley takes me by surprise though, as she dives into a pocket in her jeans once we get back home.
“Here,” she offers, holding out a small handful of notes, “It’s not much, but it’ll keep you ticking over for now.”
“Oh, no,” I begin, shaking my head, “You don’t…”
“Really, it’s fine,” she insists, “You need it more than me; I get paid every week.”
“Are you sure?” I check. I hate accepting or asking for money, even at times like this, and Riley isn’t exactly rich.
“Positive,” she smiles, thrusting the bills into my hand, “Go on; stock up the refrigerator, get anything else you need.”
I smile gratefully as my fingers close around the papers placed into my palm, thanking her as well as the others before the family have to leave. After warmly watching them for a while, I decide to inspect the ladies’ handiwork.
I’ve spent most of my life broke, and some of that time with just a few coppers to my name, so I’m no stranger to surviving on little. This is definitely the lowest I’ve come though, with just a self-contained shed to protect me from the elements. Still, I’ve lived in a small place before, with just a large bedroom that doubled as a study and a broom cupboard for a kitchen, so this isn’t too bad. At least I don’t have to share a bathroom this time, even if it’s outside.
Although unpleasant memories of camping at the festival soon spring to the fore; the sooner the bathroom can become a proper one, the better. What a time to take a crash course in male anatomy, too…
Yes, my bathing area really needs to be moved indoors. Some people may be able to strip off in full view of passers-by, but I’m not one of them. I don’t know how I’ve ended up with things like swimwear, but I’m not complaining in the slightest.
I consider all I’ve learned, both from at the Grunts’ house and my last chat with Riley. I never doubted the existence of aliens; the universe is too big for us to be alone. What got me was how I went through a sim-style abduction, yet everything else has been running just like real life. Riley needed to ask someone to take us up to the tip in the nearby city, and not only do I have my mobile with me, but I also have British change in my new wallet. There is the matter of things like money trees, though…
… until I recall Missy telling me how top secret this location is. We really are in Area fifty-one territory, with the base just down the road from here. Missy explained that they use alien technology in this town to make all manner of items, including the money trees, and the town doesn’t even have a name to speak of; it got dubbed Strangetown by the city residents who turn a blind eye to all that goes on here. The network my phone has found is one exclusive to this area, making use of the many radio masts erected about the place - but of course, with this being a secret area, calls can’t be made to numbers beyond it.
So much for this being another Sims World scenario. Strangetown exists for real, locked away from the rest of the world to keep a lid on the alien presence here. The nearby city holds its own secrets (vampires, no doubt), possibly resulting from dodgy experiments, and La Fiesta Tech seems to be breeding the kind of scientists that like to dabble in this kind of thing. And Yours Truly has been dropped into the thick of it all.
I guess this sex-swap palaver is just another of these experiments. Funny how it’s not just me who’s been affected - was it some kind of ray at work? How did I get involved in all this?
I’d never been so glad to see Vidcund Curious - now Violet - who turned up with her half-brother Logan to check out their new neighbour. Logan is the gender-swapped Lola Curious-Smith, so we all had quite an interesting chat.
I explained my predicament, and they mentioned their sister Patsy who’d recently given birth to an alien baby. They suggested I give her a call as we have much to talk about; I may just do that, since I’ll need all the help I can get if it really has happened. For now though, I need to concentrate on more practical matters - like getting some decent wiring and plumbing into this place, and generally making it more liveable.
I want to see if this thing works; I may be able to make some cash from it. I also need to get writing again, but for that I need a computer. I found a good looking one at the tip, which I really can fix - I built a system from scratch once. Right now it’s just a shell, and without knowing if I’ve been pollinated, I’m on the shelf about looking for work. Maybe if I can build something to babysit I’ll be alright, but it’ll all take time and I have a possible deadline - the not knowing is driving me crazy. I’m under no illusions about how quickly the time goes, and I decide my best bet is to work flat out on my skills.
If I can get good enough, I should be able to fix this place up myself. I prefer to not rely on others anyway, and one thing I’ve often wished for is to be not a jack of all trades, but a master.
I keep in touch with my new friends, and from them I hear that the kids who used to be Johnny and Ophelia have started at University.
Riley excitedly talks about the chance of joining them fairly soon, more in a bid to get away from the rest of her family she says. It’s a shame that things are that bad, but whatever makes her happy in the end. I just hope that family can work things out, for everyone’s sake.
For me though, I’m starting to give up hope of ever getting home. Being stuck in a classified area, and now meeting with aliens, they wouldn’t even let me leave. I do miss my old life, but I don’t miss the problems I had. I even get to keep a pet this time; I couldn’t do that before and I missed owning a cat. Apparently you can find pets work around here too, which’ll help no end once this little guy gets big enough.
Also, if it’s true that treasures can be found beneath the sand, that’ll help even more. I hear aliens have settled nearby too, starting up a shopping area with many possibilities. I did try setting up a home business before, but this time I have something better to sell if I can get good enough at making them.
I’ve never been a farmer, but I’m quite enjoying tending the tree. I’d thought about growing my own food before, and what better time to try than when money is short? It’ll give me something useful to do with the rubbish, although ironically it’ll cost to set up the garden in the first place. I’d consider it an investment though; one time payment for resources and then it’s just the seeds.
That investment happens sooner than I expect, thanks to a windfall below the surface. It also means I can upgrade the house, and I work on that over the coming month.
The job is finished just in time, too, as what were my worst fears are confirmed. I’ve had enough time to build up a decent base though, so thankfully it won’t be quite so bad, and the kitten - who I named after my brother Frank - is nearly a cat now.
I get a strange phone call one day, from ‘Jenny’ - the girl quickly introduces herself as a friend of Riley’s, so I soon guess who this Jenny is.
“Hi there,” Jenny greets, “I got your number from Ri- erm, Riley as she calls herself these days.”
“Thought it might be something like that,” I smile in reply, but frown as I sense something amiss. “What’s up?”
“Well, there’s this alien guy in our dorm who calls himself Stratos Terrano,” she explains, “Said he used to be a girl called Stella.”
I thought the name sounded familiar…
“Hold on,” I check, “Used to be a girl? So it’s spread there too?”
“Sure has,” comes the reply, “But anyways, we chat as dormies do. He said he was learning the art of pollinating, and that he’d been on placement lately…”
“Whoa, whoa,” I cut in, “Is this going where I think it is?”
“That’s what I thought,” comes the reply, “Riley’s mentioned you, so I asked him about it. His ears pricked up and he started asking how to get hold of you.”
“Wonderful,” I remark, “Well, you go ahead and send him round here, ‘cause it sounds like we need to have words.”