“Well *we’re* a fine pair of lost souls, Robot Derak Jones.”
“Be quiet, Campbell. I’m trying to figure out what went wrong.”
“Opp, please,” the blue boy demanded again.
“Opp, Campbell, Opie, Thelma Lou, whatever.”
He read well into the night while the Mmmmmm dozed outside in the warm New Island clime. Peace and quiet at last.
But no mention of Pervimus and the resurrection yet.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0106, New Island
Furry Karl woke up in the Bluebird Cuddle Van, more 3d and less hairy, true, but still alive and well (yea!). He shortly made his way into a conveniently placed local strip club. No surprise there given the change.
“Well,” coffee drinking Pervimus Rex opined, checking him over. “You *smell* fresh. That’s a good sign.”
“Yes,” agreed his smoking and reading cousin Wally. “Looks like he’s here to stay a little longer than we expected.”
—–
Afterwards, Baker Bloch treats Baker Blinker to a fresh meal of catfish at Perch to celebrate. “Here’s to akking!” he exclaims, raising his glass of French rosé and clinking it with Baker Blinker’s own. The strong German beer Brewmeister’s Quarterly had been banned from the restaurant.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0105, Heterocera, Horizons, Rubi
“You’re not suppose to be looking in that direction,” scolds Arale to her sister perched on top of the Bluebird Cuddle Van. “We’re not suppose to know about such things.”
“I’m not. I’m looking over there. At the sunset.”
“The *water tower* is blocking your view of the sunset. Why do you care anyway? We’ll never have such monstrosities attached to our bodies.”
“Well… *you* won’t. You’re a robot.”
“Hey. Watch with the bad mouthing.”
“Well, you are. I built you when I was 6.”
“No you didn’t. I’m a child just like you.”
“But you never grow older. Do you?”
“No.”
“Then that’s usual, wouldn’t you say? How many inches have I grown since we’ve known each other?”
“17.3859.” Arale became aware that she is acting too robotic and backtracks here. “Approximately,” she tacks on, although she knows the figure is correct.”
“Alright, alright,” relents Tonya Two Egg. “You’re my sister. Flesh and bones.” She jumps off the van and hugs Arale tightly — suggestions of the metal parts within but not so much as to break the illusion. It was a top of the line kit, she remembered. The last present her real parents would ever give her.
They often used the vacated house formerly owned by their Uncle Dick as a base for exploring Mt. Tom, like today. “Sunset is over, my blood sister,” spoke Tonya Two Egg. “Time to go see what Harry is up to.”
“61.58…” Arale said, then realized she was unblurring the boundaries again. “… 34”, she couldn’t help adding on several seconds later to complete the calculation, though.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0606, Horizons
“They just sat there. In that shack. Daring me to approach with that blasted *poodle* in plain view. You know how I hate poodles. Such an ugly dog now with its hair all trimmed in the wrong places to make it… make it look like a demented toy.” On the stool, she crossed her legs and folded her arms while uttering a grunt of disgust, foot vibrating rapidly.
“Now, now Annie,” actor Tom Casey soothed from the couch. “I have something that I’m sure will cheer you right up. You’re always complaining about how I never gave you anything.”
“All I asked for is a ring. *The* ring.”
“Well, you know I can’t do that right now love. But I got the next best thing for you. A *bug*. Right outside the door. I’ve been keeping it over at the club to surprise you.” He waved his hand toward the front of the house. “Let’s go look.”
“It’s got spider webs all over it,” she continued complaining, unimpressed with the auto parked outside. “And it’s orange; you know I hate orange.”
“Yeah, I’ve tried washing the webs off to no avail; they just keep coming back. I would assume the same with the paint. But you know what this means?” he asks, still unconcerned about her indifference. He knew it would spin around.
“Halloween came early this year?” she replied sarcastically.
“No. It means you don’t have to sit at The Table and talk ‘Pumpkintwisters.’ There’s no way The Eye and The Cat can properly reach it now.
“Oh,” she reconsidered.
“I stole it right from under their nose. In the center of Collagesity.” His smiling white teeth contrasted sharply with his tan face now.
“Yes,” she said, face also beginning to beam. “Yes that *is* good news.” She threw her thin arms around the muscular Casey and planted a big, wet one on his cheek. She’d lost her ruby slippers and rainbow halo but at least she wouldn’t have to revert to being a Zappa groupie again, with all that old baggage resurfacing. Relief!
“Thank you,” she said, tears now running down her face and ruining her mascara. Still smiling too brightly, Tom Casey dramatically handed her his freshly laundered handkerchief with the 24 karat gold “TC” monogram.
Always aware of the camera, this one is.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0516, Horizons
… someone who has a golden glove…
… with someone who merely has butterfingers.
Marion Harding woke up in the translucent green crystal tree lounge where he’d met Golden Josephine three nights before; promptly walked off the open eastern side and dropped down to the landscape far below; stared up at the tree and saw the two lights on its huge trunk next to the lounge, pinkish red and bluish green, which then faded; turned around to look at some colorful plants; then turned back around only to see the two lights reignite on the tree at the same position. He repeated this pattern several times. Yup, every time he returned his gaze to the tree, the lights were there, then diminished to nothing. *Must* mean something.
“Wake up Mr. Hardman,” urged Tonya Two Egg from the shack’s lone table where she was sitting with Arale. “Our sister Annie heard something over the ridge and has temporarily left her watch station. The time to move is now!”
“Oh,” she then said, taking another look through the ice tinged window. “Never mind. She’s already returned. You can go back to sleep, sir.”
So Marion rolled over and dreamed about the tree again. “Those lights up there,” he said to himself. “Where have I seen them before?”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0515, Horizons
“Wake up, Tonya Two Egg,” whispered Arale after hopping down from the top bunk. Her internal alarm had just gone off. “It’s 2:01 in the morning, sister. Time to head over to the ice fishing shack. Marion Harding will be waiting.”
Across the house…
“Your *sisters* don’t think I know all about that 2:01 in the morning trick, Annie,” murmurs actor Tom Casey, who has also just awoken and then roused his sleeping partner. “You better go follow them. Let me know what you find out.”
Annie emits a small, retaliatory grunt. But he knows she’ll follow orders.
“They’re coming out of the house now, kid. You better get ready.”
“Already on it.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0513, Horizons
“Are you coming to bed, baby?” actor/writer/inventor Tom Casey called from across the room.”
“I’m *thinking* about it.”
“Why don’t you think some more about it cuddled up in my big, muscular arms.”
Anorexia huffs and recrosses her arms and legs. “Are those your trophy girls?”
“What?”
“The women beside you on the bed. Your harem or whatever. Is that what I’m to be added to?”
“Oh. *Those* girls. They mean nothing to me, sweets.”
“Why don’t you, I don’t know, put them *face down* on the nightstand, then? If we’re going to go through with this.”
“Listen, Annie, I paid top dollar for this rendezvous. I had to come all the way out to this adult sub-continent to get away from prying eyes. You don’t know the psychotic depths of my ex.”
“I think you are motivated by one thing and one thing only.
Have you ever heard the Poodle Lecture?”
“What?” Tom Casey repeated.
“It’s how Zappa explained WO-MAN controlled MAN. It’s why I left the fold. But now I’m summoned back.” She thought back to removing her ruby slippers and rainbow halo at last.
“*I* asked for you.”
“No you didn’t. The Kidd asked for me. She said her daddy was in a heap of trouble and I had to do this to make things right. Had a thing for thin, she said. Something about supermodels.”
“Philip,” Tom Casey explained again to her, “is a simple accountant. Working in a simple stripper club. Nothing more.”
“You’re dreaming if you say that.”
The actor/writer/inventor sat up in the bed and looked her over from the span separating them. “18, you say?”
“Right.” She was wiggling her foot rapidly.
“Cause there’ve been rumors.”
“Rumors started by The Kidd. It makes me look innocent. I’m not, of course.”
“Then come over here. Let’s get started.”
The flames rose rapidly.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0404, Horizons
“You’re sitting in my seat, bud. My mountain, my seat.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0316, Horizons
In yet another dream, Casey One Hole sits atop his mountain in Horizons-Spica which is actually Horizons-Vega, waiting for someone.
The controlling 32 cube is clearly seen from here.
Along with the Killing Shack. The Crux of the matter.
He will be patient.
“We’re gonna have to leave *sometime*, Tonya Two Egg,” whispered robot child Arale inside the ice fishing shed.
“Have patience my friend.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0315, Horizons
Philip continued to read his book for hours. Afterwards it described him looking through the telescope at hand and seeing Spica, bright as a bell, like he was back in the northern hemisphere and far away from that dreaded Southern Cross. Back to studying the Spica variable star and the precession of the equinoxes, similar to one of his major heroes Copernicus did before him. Our Second Lyfe’s sun, hmm, he then ponders, wondering if it could possibly be reachable by rocket ship. What is in the centre?
—–
By this time, Marion Harding was back down on the ground — grounded — and seeing Capitol City straight and for what it really was again. Bland and boring. The others of his gang were suppose to meet him in Raven Manor’s main dining room at 7:00 (more leftovers from the great spread he had prepared 2 nights back now), but since they both were usually a little late, he decided to drag his feet this time as well. He takes a detour to that recently found ice fishing shed over in Horizons-Spica, part of the sci-fi retro sub-continent where land can be rented so cheaply (thanks Veyot!). Ahh, vacation, he thinks. Could it be possible soon? Perhaps after the one last big bank heist in Farmington. Or was it Bennington?
He teleports to the shack using the landmark created last night. An angler is positioned just a bit down the bank from him, seemingly of the female variety. “Hello?” he says. No answer — but this might be problematic. He wanted to be alone and smoke his grass and talk to his fantasy creations: Peanut Cop, Golden Josephine, and the rest. Away from that nonsense babbling Kid and tough talking Philip, somehow the best of buds now despite their different natures. He doesn’t want other fishermen — or fisherwomen — in his way. Who does own the shack? He desires it for his own, his own centre of the universe, he realizes, at least for a little while.
He decides just to ignore the problem for now and poke around inside again. Chess, he remembers…
He finds himself laying down on the far couch against the colorful throw pillows.
“Fishing,” he murmurs, relaxing, letting it all go. “Fishing for fish. Fishing for answers. Fishing for…”
“Pitch,” the fisher lady then calls from outside, puzzling him. “Pitch. Time to wake up. Wake up.”
—–
“It was awful, Mary. I dreamed I was back in Buster and I’s killing shack, but I was the victim set up this time. I was to be sacrificed!”
“There, there,” Mary comforted, stroking his white forehead. “Only a dream.” Then they laid together. It was like old times.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0007, 0308, Capitol City-, Gaeta V, HANA LEI, Horizons
Sunklands 