“Man that’s a long way up.”
“No kidding,” came a reply behind him.
“Wilson? Er, Wheeler?”
He then saw that she herself was just a kidd.
Tag Archives: Spaced Ghost^*+$
Starbuccaneer Barista is dead.
Killed by a crashed airplane. No onboard casualties listed. Starbuccaneers remains closed indefinitely for a period of mourning and needed repairs.
A grieving Baker Bloch decides to visit Carrcassonnee for spiritual guidance.
—–
Carr.:
Very reminiscent of Donnie Darko. And there’s a time loop involved as well. In one reality she didn’t die. In another she did. It was suppose to happen. And, anyway, she could come back tomorrow, good as new. Good as old. No need to grieve. Something that was suppose to happen at this point in the script is all. Stop your blubbering. Here’s a hanky.
BBloch:
Thank you Carrcassonnee.
—–
Baker Bloch’s father Space Ghost was so upset that he walked around Collagesity all day without his cane, forgetting he was handicapped. He loved Starbuccaneer as well, perhaps even moreso than the son. While they were sitting at Rhoda’s Karl’s bar on Tuesday, he planned on confessing something to Baker but got too drunk to really do it. Let’s listen in again.
—–
Space Ghost:
Another round Karl (hiccup).
Furry Karl:
Maybe you should slow down there Space Ghost old man, old chap.
Baker Bloch:
Great you could take over the bar while Rhoda was dead, Furry Karl.
Furry Karl:
Rhoda? He or she’s right upstairs. We decided to switch bars. Too much blood and shooting down here for him-her. He/she’s prone to it. I don’t attract that crowd, that element. I can better control a situation. PUT DOWN THAT GUN! (dramatic pause) See? Just a joke from me. Still here.
Baker Bloch:
It’s the… sorry Karl, go ahead…
Furry Karl:
It’s the violence from his former bar. That’s also why I removed that cursed picture of him-her and Shark, another him-her actually. Lordshore Bridge pic returned.
(Along with Clock, Baker Bloch then thinks, staring at the far wall. Why did *that* return?)
Baker Bloch:
Well, I suppose things must keep moving forward. It can’t remain February 2nd or 2:22 forever.
Space Ghost:
Well put (hiccup) son. Here’s to time moving forward, moving onward. Up up and away. (he downs his beer in one long swig)
Baker Bloch:
Let’s get you home. Where is your home again? I don’t think that’s quite been established. Carrcassonnee said that you usually sleep in the portal now? Explain Father.
Furry Karl:
Yeah, I’m gonna seal that thing up with a big, grey rock. You better find other digs if that’s your hangout, Space.
Space Ghost:
I live in Muff-Birmingham. In the clouds. Cloud 9. Number 9 Dream. Night night. (he lays his head on the counter)
Baker Bloch (turning to Karl):
Well, I gotta take him somewhere. The other day, I found him sleeping under a rock, speaking of rocks. What rock are you going to seal the passageway with, Karl? Just curious.
(Just then a phone rings. Furry Karl goes around the corner and into the back corridor to answer it. Baker Bloch and his father cannot hear what was talked about through the wall. He returns several minutes later.)
Furry Karl:
Well I may have a place for your father to stay. Turns out this time Rhoda is actually dead. Some kind of symbiosis with Starbuccaneer, along with the ballerina next to that rock outside. 3-n-1. They discovered them all combined together in one body at the morgue, during the autopsy. So, for Space Ghost in the immediate now, he can live upstairs after we clear out Rhoda’s stuff.
Baker Bloch:
That’s *terrible*. We’ve lost not one but three Collagesity entities in one tragic scoop swoop.
Space Ghost (head raised):
I knew that already. I think it’s time to move to the harder (hiccup) booze. Karl, break out that bottle of (burp) Boos Number 10 (hiccup). The one made (hiccup) on Mars.
Furry Karl (correcting):
We call that *Le*Mars in this dimension. It’s a stopover on the way to Neptune. Karoz has been there not once but 3 times now. 3-n-1.
Baker Bloch:
Has he made it to Neptune?
(Another phone call. Furry Karl visits the corridor again. He takes a little longer this time to return.)
Furry Karl:
Sealing’s off for now. Looks like we’re going to have a crowd in here soon. Upstairs boss says the Portal’s opening up from the other side.
Space Ghost:
That’s (belch) *me*! (clunk)
Furry Karl:
Yeah, I don’t think so. Shame about Rhoda. Shame about Starbuccaneer. Shame about the ballerina girl. 3-n-1. Damn shame. And now we’re going to have visitors because of it. Muff-Birmingham.
Baker Bloch:
Oh God.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Starbuccerina
“I’m afraid this is all my fault son.”
“I figured as much.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Recovery
Baker Bloch continues to sit with his father into the night.
“Why’s that meteor attached to your hand for son?”
“I can’t really see it from my angle. I see a *Wheeler.*” Baker Bloch waits for a response which never comes.
Instead: “Open the other door. You’ll see.” Baker Bloch does as his father tells him and opens the other door to the Boos gallery.
“Nope. Still can’t see. Back of collage in way. I still see Wheeler, though.” Baker Bloch doesn’t get a response again, despite the additional prompting.
“It’s the Boos collage. Not Boos as in booze. I’ve had enough of that for a while!”
“I know. Good you can yell again,” Baker returns. “Means you’re getting better.”
“I sure am. And… I think I’m finally ready. Help me to my feet. I’ve been sitting a long time. Let’s go see that new girlfriend of yours. My partner as well. Starbucanneer. What a gal!”
Baker Bloch agreed but was still thinking of something else.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Spaced Ghost
“Oh no. Father!”
“Oh thank God. I thought you were dead. Father… get up. Are you okay? Nothing broken or sprained I hope.”
“No,” comes a weak answer. “I’m okay.”
“Then put the glass down and get up; that beer’s pretty much gone anyway. We need to take you back to, well, I guess to the bar. Father? Are you listening to me?”
“I hear you. Simmer down. I have a headache. I can hear my ears throbbing.”
“That’s because you have a hangover. What happened father? You never use to drink.”
“That’s what you get — oh me head! — when you suddenly own part of two bars. First one then the other. Horn of plenty.”
“Do you need some help?”
“No I can manage.” Space Ghost struggles to his feet.
“When did this thing get here?”
“It’s the colonnade. Baker B. put it there a couple of days ago. Baker B. created the *bars* a couple of days ago. And Starbuccaneers. And Gallery Jack. And this big rock you slept under or whatever you did. And also now he’s bringing back you apparently. Back from the dead.”
“I’ve never been dead,” Space Ghost snaps back. “It’s just a stage name. Like Cary Granite.”
“Grant. Cary Grant,” Baker Bloch corrects.
“No, the *Flintstone’s* version. And now you’ve made me raise my voice and hurt my head again. My head, my ears…”
“My beer,” Baker Bloch finishes for his father as he takes the last sip. Carrcassonnee would be pleased. “Never mind that. Follow me. Into the bar.”
“No, I’m not going back in there for a while. Take me to Starbucanneers. Buy your old man a cup of strong coffee.”
“Okay.”
“And where’s my cane? Oh, never mind, it’s in my hand. I had to replace it with my beer. Now I’m finished my beer and… cane returned. I’m ready.” Space Ghost finally turns away from the colonnade, reattached cane in his right hand; empty beer glass detached from same.
“What’s all the red buggers suddenly all over town? Place is infested with them, ow.” Space Ghost holds the side of his head with his free hand. “Darn headache. But I can make it up that hill, thank you. If I don’t trip over one of the red things on the way.” He starts to slowly climb the hill, and continues to complain. “Robots… back in the days we didn’t need machines to help us with our chores and such. We used our own arms and legs.” His son was now beside him, holding his arm and making sure he was stable.
“Out of my way Red.”
“Can you make it up that step, father?”
Space Ghost sarcastically mimics his son: “Yes I can make it up that step.” Then Space Ghost tries but fails to make it up that step. He sits down on it instead.
“How did it come to all this, son? How did I end up *here*?”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Lynch Not Lunch
(2 hours later)
“Is it four yet?”
“It’s 10:15 father.”
“Then I have nothing more to say.”
“You’ve said enough!”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Blood
(20 minutes later)
“Wrestler?” Space Ghost scratched his head and sank back into the couch. Green Acres was playing on TV. Baker Bloch had buckled up and paid for cable with the new move in. But he knows he’ll still enjoys the static channel every now and then.
“Yeah, they’re thinking about calling themselves The Mulholland Drives. You remember David Lynch.”
“Sure, I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat.” Space Ghost was almost off the couch when Baker Bloch waved him back down beside him.
“No, *Lynch*. Not… anyway I talked about him all the time when I was a kid. ‘Straight Story’, ‘Mulholland Drive’, ‘Inland Empire’. And, oh, of course ‘Twin Peaks’. They’re remaking that up in the real world, dad.”
“The one with the dwarf?”
“Yeah, there’s a dwarf in it. Good. So you’re ready to eat?”
“Not yet. Let’s wait ’till four. Where’s your clock? Where’s Annie?”
“Annie the Clock?” Baker responds. “We threw her away in ’92 dad.”
“The one with the mirror. Blood.”
“Yeah I remember. We don’t like to talk about that, dad. Remember?”
“Hmmm.” Space Ghost shook his head. “So your girlfriend is a wrestler, eh? Not knocked up?”
“No dad. It really isn’t possible here.”
“Oh you don’t know much about *here* son. I was up in Farmington for a while, you know, up at the old continent.”
“You mean Sansara? We’re on one of the older continents now, father. Heterocera.”
“I just know it as the Old Continent. Anyway, there were pregnant women walking the streets all over the place. Babies popping out of them. So just be careful, son. Don’t get your girlfriend pregnant. You dodged a bullet this time.”
Baker exhales. “Anyway, I want to talk about something else with you now. Uncle Phil.”
“Uncle Phil?” Space Ghost looks blank. “Oh,” he said with a realization. “You mean Phil Heartthrob. He wasn’t your uncle. We just called him that around you kids. He was, er…”
“Yes?” Baker stared at his father.
“Let’s just say he was a friend of the family.” Space Ghost leaned away from Baker Bloch a bit, eyes squinched up meaningfully.”
“You said he was your twin. But he had facial surgery. Because of the accident. With the rodent.”
“Yeah, there was that.”
“*Was* he your twin?”
Space Ghost clasped his hands together and stared straight ahead. “Is it four yet?”
“Not quite yet father,” Baker Bloch responded, waiting.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Return of Space Ghost
Baker Bloch’s father Space Ghost shows up in Collagesity from the woods again. He stops in front of Gloomy Gus. “Helllooo? Son?”
He waits about a minute, then decides to try what he remembers as Baker Bloch’s other house in Collagesity: Home Orange just up the hill. *His* old home. As Space Ghost makes a (typical) wrong turn around the Hole in the Wall bar to get there, he becomes stuck in the 7th and namesake spire of the Castle of the 7th Spire, the same place that Carrcassonnee took her infamous Intense Shower and almost lost an eye as a result.
Unable to free himself, he manages to finally figure out how to text his offworld son after some effort. The message Baker Bloch received was, “Help! Stuck! Hurry!”.
—–
“Just teleport out; use your map,” Baker Bloch told his father after arriving on the scene several minutes later.
“I don’t know how to do that,” Space Ghost despondently replied, limbs still flailing.
“Okay, do you see the little logo that says *map* at the bottom of your screen? At the *bottom*. Or it could be on the left side, I suppose. Yeah, I’m looking at mine right now and it’s on the left side. But I believe I moved it there. So look at the bottom first.”
“I can’t find it. Is it next to where I keep my pillows and blankets?”
“Jesus,” Baker Bloch uttered, and tried to go inside the spire so that he could talk to his father face to face. But the phantom prim formerly used to access the shower had been made solid. Baker Bloch swears again with a dirtier word. The f-word.
“Now Son, I didn’t raise you to use profanity like that. Apologize to the heavens and then get me the heck out of here!”
“Heck is a cuss word too, Dad. It’s a euphemism for hell.”
“Shut up!” Space Ghost barked back. “I’m… I’m starting to lose my breath. I’m starting not to breathe!”
“Okay, don’t panic Dad. I have an idea. I”ll just remove the prim if I can’t get it open. But let me try to cut you loose first before I start destroying town relics.”
“Yeah, that worked. *There*! You’re free now old man. Just take a moment. Breath in… breath out. Can you do that with me?”
“Breath in,” Space Ghost repeats with an inhale. “And breath out,” he says and lets it all go in a big exhale.
“Do it again,” Baker Bloch says to his father.
Space Ghost repeats what he did before twice. “There, I think I’m alright Son. That was a close one! I almost saw your mother inside, meeting me at the Golden Gates.”
“Well you’re okay now. It will be some time before you join mom up there.”
“Not that long. What if you were offworld doing something that took your user away from the computer? I could have easily died! Anyone else here in this town now? Noone heard my calls for help.”
“We come in as we’re needed,” Baker answers. “Everyone is still here, they just pop in and out. Which brings us to my next question. What are *you* doing here? I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“I’m visiting you, you old fart,” his father answers. “Where’s that girl of yours? The other Baker. Baker Blood. No, that’s not it.” He shakes his head, trying to remember. Baker Bloch helps him out.
“Blinker. Baker Blinker. And she’s not my girl. I don’t have a girl. I don’t even have a you know what. I get that from your side.”
“Oh, that’s not what *I* heard,” Space Ghost insinuates back. “That’s why I’m here. I figured it was that other Baker you might have knocked up.”
“No, we’re not a couple, Dad,” Baker Bloch reinforces. “Where did you hear this?”
Night was falling on the Rubi Woods and mainland Second Life as a whole. There was a sudden chill in the air.
“Let’s get you up to Home Orange for some hot beverages. Come along; just follow me. You were going the wrong way up the hill to get there, by the way.”
“Shut up and take me home.”
“You had to go up the road. Remember the road? Remember the cannon? Cannon Road?”
“Not really.”
They reached the cannon at the other end of Cannon Road.
“Oh yeah, that old thing,” Space Ghost uttered as they came upon it. “I remember I had to blast aliens with it during the 7 Year Spending Spree War. Damn House of Lemons. Damn that child of theirs. All that trouble over a little kid.”
“The kid who was locked up in the same place you just got stuck in. Seems to mean something, Dad.”
Space Ghost became thoughtful as well. “You could be right Son. Let’s go inside and I’ll catch you up on where I’ve been. And you can catch me up with your do’ins. How’s that girl of yours? Baker something or another. Not Bloch obviously. That’s your name!”
Baker Bloch suddenly felt great sympathy for his father. “Just through that orange door there, Dad. You remember, right?”
“Home sweet home,” the old man said as he passed through the phantom door.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0002, Heterocera, Rubi^
Norum College
In happier news for Karoz, his new school of learning keeps developing. He’s decided to call it Norum College, housed in the old Norum Gallery building formerly featuring the work of collagist Julie Sadler. Karoz wants to hang at least one of her collages in the college but hasn’t chosen which yet. The Norum Gallery sign has been retained for the school.
Applicants for the college are suppose to show up in person on the bottom floor, where Space Ghost and Cardboard Derek Jones help them sign up. Karoz is still preparing promotional pamplets, along with the application packet itself. But this is roughly how it will look when the room is finished.
The second floor is devoted to the vast subject of science, perhaps focusing on the experimental side, such as Tesla inventions and theories.
On the third floor so far, we find these 3 easels. It’s obvious that Karoz wanted to hold at least painting classes here but he was running out of prims after the splurge on science from the floor below. We’ll have to see how it balances out. Baker Bloch is hoping that the college will place more emphasis on art in the end. It is *Collage*sity, after all.
Baker may live on the top floor in serving as custodian for the school. As of this writing, he’s won out over Karl for the position. But what will become of Karl now?
The most ambitious project slated for the college has to be this rocket ship Karoz is designing in the tower section of the House of Truth. He plans to take it all the way to Second Life’s lone moon, and after that… well, better save some surprises for later(!).
After giving Baker Bloch a tour, they sit in Karoz’s apartment and look out on southern Minoa and Sikkima while sipping Absinthe from a bottle, a surprise gift from Old Kent (shark). Oh, but it comes with a sort of price tag: “Don’t change,” the accompanying note simply read. He doesn’t plan to; no worries there.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0001, Heterocera, Rubi^
Pooh
Karoz grudgingly agreed to a private meeting over at the closed town diner. It was about 1:45 in the morning. Lockfry didn’t want Furry Karl or Baker Blinker or any of the others to overhear what they might speak about. Karoz didn’t care one way or the other.
“Listen, I’ve given you my apartment, my *woman of interest*”, started the moss being. “I have nothing left in this town. I sleep over under the red lights of the town museum with the flattie elephants and guerrillas.”
“Over under?” exclaims Lockfry, stretching his arms above his head. “Sounds like my kind of place, though. Have the guerrillas played mind games with you? I hope so. That would be cool.”
“So, what, you’re going to try to talk me out of leaving? Why would you do that?”
“Look, this is hard for me…” spoke Lockfry more honestly than before to Karoz. “We’ve met before. I know Peter SoSo.”
“That’s impossible.” The sound of squeaking and rattling was heard from the door. It was Winnie the Pooh and his honey cart, passing by on the rocky road outside (Cannon Street). Karoz noted the sound but couldn’t see the famous bear from his angle. Lockfry acted like the noise didn’t exist.
A longer silence ensued as Karoz tried to assimilate the revelation. “So you’ve been to Crabwoo?”
“I was enrolled at the college for 3 years, until they kicked me out for cutting the head off that dame and eating her lover. But, heck, we all do crazy things when we’re young and away from the home for the first time. Just kidding about that, by the way. You can take your shocked look off your grassy face.”
“The college stuff or the killings? Because I’m much more inclined to believe the latter.”
“I’m Peter’s friend Dave. We knew each other. Devil Dave, remember? I was pretty evil back then as well. And devilishly handsome of course.”
“Dave?” Karoz scrutinized Lockfry’s face closely for perhaps the first time. “Yeah. Yeah, I can see it. You *are* Dave. A considerably redder Dave, but you were quite pink in those days, so I can see the progression. Trace it back.”
“So you believe me.”
“I guess so.” “Dave,” Karoz repeats after a pause, and then looks at Lockfry again. “How?”
“Heck, everyone who was anyone back then went to Crabwoo to study. It’s not *that* odd.”
“Have you seen Peter recently?”
“Not since the [Linden] takeover. Most of us Ancients lost track of each other in the confusion. The days of Lemony Goodness were over. But, ahh, Crabwoo in its time was something, wasn’t it? Beat the [socks off] Chilbo. But of course there was the curse put on it. The Purse Curse.”
Karoz knew his Crabwoo history. He came to the Maebaelia continent city when it was sliding downward — considerably after the curse. But it was still something to behold. Two sims abuzz with excitement, all nuzzled up to the Blue Feather Sea. Like Lockfry said: everyone who wanted to expand their horizons went there. To study, to experience, to *know*. Know the higher truths. That’s where Karoz was introduced to the concept of TILE and tiling. Dave, if he recalled correctly, was 4 or 5 years older than him. So he could have seen the carcass sprawled out in the central mall, before they hauled it away. Peter talked about it as well, but he remembered the lingering smell more than anything. They couldn’t get it out of the air; it permeated *everything*.
The rattling/squeaking noise was heard again, as Pooh passed by from the opposite direction. Something else was in his honey cart, changing the timbre. He stopped in front of the diner door. His umbrella was both inside and outside the structure at once.
—–
Baker Bloch paused from speaking to his Past Father and turned around to see what the rumbling was about. The reality including Karoz and Lockfry had shifted over.
“Sounds like rain,” said Past Space Ghost.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0001, Heterocera, Rubi^
Sunklands 