Bill didn’t remember anything about the middle-of-the-night visit to the single wide trailer behind Obscure’s Blue Star Gas Station until Ragdoll filled her in later. She overheard everything from her bedroom she shared with Indigo, who appeared to sleep through the whole event. She didn’t.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0214, Iris
“All right, I have *two* four-handed librarians sitting at *my* Table now. Surely we can figure this out together.” No one around The Table says a thing. Curled Paper keeps staring inside the book he’s always reading. Tin S. Man stands unmoving in the corner. “Hazel… Hazelhurst. A Mrs. Hazelhurst came out of Philip Strevor’s office over in Iris just before I went in. But I didn’t see her. This *must* be Mid-Hazel.” No one says anything. “Mid-Hazel makes things go ’round and ’round, entrapping them in a bewitching circle. New Island is her ultimate creation, perhaps.” Nothing said. “Leeman’s or Leemon’s — mind you, we can only speak in Oracle terms here — anyway, Leeman’s or Leemon’s Hazel is the beginning and ending point for his fictional story nested inside the now totally and completely filled out factual story.” She indicates the screen displaying a map from the book. “He inserts *himself* inside the story, and first goes from Hazel to the Hazelhurst (Ruins) to complete his first, er, virtual watercolor… within the story. This becomes first person, not third. With advantages and disadvantages–” Bill/Wheeler throws down her hands on the table. “Okay, *someone* has to help me here. Librarian 01, I order you to speak.”
Librarian 01 thinks a spell, then offers: “eight.” He elaborates after a shorter pause. “It must have been something he ate.”
“Carrot,” speaks up Librarian 02. “Glasses.” Everyone falls silent here.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0203, New Island, Rubi
“You’ve gone too far this time, husband of mine. And you better get home — you’re changing over again.”
“So can I keep it?”
—–
“I recognized him immediately, The Bill.”
“Bill will do. We’ll think about the royal appellation later.”
“Okay. But it was definitely Smelly Santy. You remember — from the Mission. The eggs, Bill. They must have killed him (!). The Bennington experiments.”
“Nasty place. Even I would admit that.”
“And then you would meet another Bunneh on your way here. Bunneh 01 and Bunneh 02, then. Maybe it happened the same night even.”
“It did,” assured Bill.
“Baker Blinker thinks it may even be this Leeman or Leemon who designed the other New Island. I almost said ‘more real’ but caught myself.”
“Right. Both New Islands are equally real. And there’s a third we haven’t talked about.”
“Russian,” Baker Bloch stated, ignoring mention of the third for now. “Before independence, his New Island was Russian territory. I’ve been reading the relocation guide. I believe the place is as real as Australia, as New Zealand.”
“India,” Bill added. “Indonesia.”
“But not any more real than, um, our New Island.”
“No, not really. Because we, you and I and anyone else who cares, can *go* to our New Island. Physically for us; virtually for our users.”
“But one is latched onto the other. They are — not two plants from one seed. What (expression) am I looking for?”
“They are like babies from the same mom. Which begs the question: who is Mom?”
“Mum,” Dwayne speaks in sync from the side. “We’re so sorry. The chef has burnt the tuna. Would you like to substitute perch for the entree?”
“Perch, perch, perch,” complains The Bill, back in form. “Perch at Perch, go get the perch at Perch. The perch is the best dish at Perch. Always pushing the perch. Well…” and she sends a riveting stare at Sidechick Corea’s brother, formerly out of a job and down on his luck in Heroin Town, “serve me the tuna, burnt or not. Serve!”
Dwayne scurries back to the kitchen, retrieves the burnt item, then tells the chef to pack it in — he’s done cook’n too. We’ll catch up with the chef’s story (Angus Nuffin) later, for he would get his revenge.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0202, New Island, Rubi
“Baker Blinker. Come here. Quick!”
—–
“Just because I have the ring doesn’t mean I necessarily have to go back to Collagesity and be queen. Does it?”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0201, Iris, New Island
“Well, it looks like this is it, Grassy.”
“Grass, please.” Grassy would never get over that he’s a child-like Mmmmmm through and through and will never “progress” to the current state of his cousin Opp — True Opp or Tropp, that is. He’ll never be X-ed out in other words. The shortened name of Grass would never stick. “Yes, I will miss you my old friend.”
“And you my friend. But I’ll return for the weed if nothing else. You certainly haven’t seen the last of me, ha ha.”
“Yes: ha ha. Ha ha ha.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
—–
15 minutes later:
“Would you like to see the painting, Grassy? Er, Grass. Grassy… Grass… can’t remember.”
“Whatever,” Grassy Noll submitted, having given up on correcting her about his name, at least for tonight. “Oh, sure. I totally forgot that’s why you can leave now.”
“Plus the payoff to that loathsome Philip Strevor. And the payoff for, well, everyone that lives here in the swamp village, but most importantly perhaps, Roger Pine Ridge, the great variant. And *you* can leave too, of course.”
“No, my place is here. Waiting for your intermittent returns.”
“Fine, fine. I thank you for your service. I hope the new apartment is to your liking.”
“It’s great!”
Grassy in his new apartment.
—–
30 minutes later:
“So there it is Grassy. A beaut, isn’t it? And it’s all because of that ring Ellen gave me — the power. Catvas here likes it too.”
“I do!” meows the winged feline from her perch just behind.
Grassy moved closer to study the painting more carefully. “Lovely indeed.” He put a finger to his lip here. “But I think I see one detail you missed. We better go check it out.”
“Now?” Bill almost shouted. “But there’s *people* over there. Lots of people. You know I can’t stand people.”
“Most of them are just bots — no one really inside, you see. But let’s go beneath the Mermaid Tavern for a beer beforehand to loosen up your nerves. I’ll buy.”
“You talked me into it!”
—–
“See, Bill? Just one of those silly bots down here. Usually there are a number standing around like zombies.” Grassy’s eyes glaze over here. “And only a handful more right now at the temple according to my inworld map. Perfect time to go. Fate, we could call it.”
“All right. I’ve drunk almost my entire chug-a-mug. One more gulp and I’ll be ready.”
—–
“No, we’ve checked around the whole structure — like the back of my hand now, Grassy — and I can’t see anything I really missed of importance.”
“Look again,” the green Mmmmmm requested. He indicates toward the epicenter of the temple.
“The dancer?” They then jointly stare at the child going ’round the world.
—–
“And that’s it, Sidechick! We’re done with ‘Collagesity 2018 Early’.” They were standing beside Nascera’s Meadowbrook ice cream truck where it all began.
“Just like that? It was sort of an abrupt ending.”
“Bill can paint,” Magus Ellen counters. “Annie can paint. We will assume Mabel can too because of those paint splattered jeans Axis gave her. The great 3-n-1. It’s complete.”
“What *about* Axis? You said time and beach space were altered because he got Baker Bloch to discover Magellan’s broken teleporter one day too early.”
“If you haven’t guessed, Sidechick my friend, my understudy, Magellan is me. I broke the teleporter. But on purpose. It was the only way we could get Opp to come here in the first place and fill the center up with his blueness. Otherwise — all for naught.”
“I’m not understanding. What about, for example, the golden orb?”
“There’s a black and white opening beyond Braynard’s Place that doesn’t concern us. This would be New Eden. Does it stay coupled with New Island through the castle or does it begin to move independently? This depends on a number of factors, including what happens in the haunted Artist Point colony. But it’s a story for another day, as they say.”
Sidechick Corea tries process all this information, then: “What now for us?”
Ellen smiles mischievously. “I have a surprise for you. Still holding his own ice cream cone in his right hand, he expertly whips out another from his left pocket and hands it to his faithful assistant. “You’ve earned this.”
Now let’s leave the 8×8 behind and walk up the road to see that bridge you’ve been talking about forever.”
The Forever Bridge.
END OF “COLLAGESITY 2018 EARLY”!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0618, Iris, Nascera, New Island
“Ooo, heartburn.” Rabbit 01 pauses for a small burp. “It’s always waiting, for us. Past and future and waiting.”
“And not waiting,” adds Rabbit 02. “Like something’s already happened that we — or one of us — has forgotten already happened.”
“Mainly *you*”
Rabbit 02 stews underneath his rabbit suit. “I’m not a good bunny. I play too much golf. I pull too many flag pins for holes in one.”
“You made that airplane engine not fall and then fall again. That was pretty good.”
“Just in that one movie. Just with that one dude. A bridge opens, a bridge closes. Coming and going.”
Rabbit 01 taps her fingers against her other hand. “Why are we here? Do you remember *this*?”
“Start of a new religion,” states Rabbit 02. “Blending of sacred and sacrificial. Should be fun.”
“Clown to be sacrificed how many times a month?”
“Four,” Rabbit 02 guesses. “Five, maybe. I suppose it depends on the moon.”
“Which you know all about.” Rabbit 01 peers around at the congregation, sees their disinterested looks.”I don’t think it’s going to happen today.”
“It’s happened 3 times already. 3 which is 1. ‘Nother one. Be patient. Have fun and be patient.”
“Hiberian-hispanic clowns. Mind you he *deserves* to die over and over…”
“He does,” quickly agrees Rabbit 02 with Rabbit 01. He removes a dead fly from his arm fur. “It’s a way for this place to remain clean and pure. 6 pieces and the truth.”
“You talking about Heterocera? Or just Collagesity?”
“That will be up to the queen.”
A jump happened.
“Oh. There she is. It’s me!”
“No it’s not,” Rabbit 02 hastily modifies. “It’s her. The queen.”
“And the sacrificee. Me as well!”
“Pipe down,” orders Rabbit 02. “People may actually hear us if we yell loud enough.”
“Happened that one time, yes. Olde Lapara Towne. They heard us from the future. It was in front of the Razielian synagogue.”
“I *know* where it happened. I was inside. Performing the sacrifice. Knife slip. Wasn’t pretty.”
“And here we are again.”
“Blink your eyes,” commands Rabbit 02, who was somewhat the older and wiser of the two. “Things should come into focus. I see the true queen. And the true sacrifice. It’s her all right. The Bill is back in town.”
“Oh yeah. I see now.” Rabbit 01 looks down. “And look what appeared in my lap.”
“Don’t do that.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0513, Rubi
Right off the bat, Bill knew Ellen wouldn’t be a love interest, at least from her end, and that she had over-prepared for the occasion. Got herself worked into a tizzy for basically nothing. Good ol’ Grassy, she thinks. If it wasn’t for him…
“Umm, delicious. What do you think Bill?”
“I agree it’s pretty good ice cream, Ellen. Pistachio, yum.” A cold-stimulus headache suddenly kicked in. “But, oww, should we be really eating our desert before the main course?” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand.
“Ice cream is the only decent thing on the menu here, dearest. I have other plans for the evening if you don’t mind the surprise. My assistant has rented a house in the southeast corner of the Moth Village. I think it will be to your liking. Sidechick can teleport us over in turn. The tuna should be grilling by now.” He downs another gob of the sweet cream.
The night was finally looking up for Bill. If this was all they had here, anpan (Japanese sweet roll), milk and Singha beer were only going to go so far.
—–
“Better, huh? Ahh, smell the aroma. Nothing like grilled tuna. Sidechick is a 5 star chef, believe me. Finish up your ice cream and we’ll have a grand old time of it.”
Bill again wondered about motive. The game challenge seemed ages ago, months and months, but it was only 2 weeks back. Did Ellen want to forfeit now? Or maybe switch over to a different game? What was that one more complicated than chess the Oriental people liked? Gong, she though incorrectly. The one where black plays first. Maybe this is some kind of hybrid game; maybe that’s why the moves don’t seem to make much sense. She had to ask.
“Ellen,” she starts more seriously, setting the ice cream to one side. “I’m wondering about your moves.”
“As am I.” He stares at her kindly but intently. She sensed no malice in him at all.
“I mean, they are pretty lame.” She laughed to diffuse the seriousness of the statement.
“Notice what I have done, though? Can you see?”
“Umm, no. They’re just pretty bad moves overall. I’m not really even trying on my end because of it.”
“As you shouldn’t. No need to try.”
“Hmm. Care to explain?” She smiled slightly.
“I moved a pawn. Then I moved a knight. Then a bishop. Then the king and rook at one time in a castle. Then, lastly, the queen. The game is basically finished — no more pieces. We are here to celebrate. *You* are the queen.”
Uh oh, Bill (Wheeler) thought. Here we go. Here’s the *real* motive.
“I have something for you.” Ellen pulls a small box out of his robe and presents it to Bill, who hesitantly takes it and then hides it in her hand, staring forward, face somewhat flushed. “Go ahead and open it, dear,” Ellen encouraged. “You’ll *like* it.”
Marriage proposal?? — could it be *possible* that Ellen… Bill quickly snapped open the box just to end this line of speculation. A ring indeed, but it didn’t seem like an engagement ring. The gem was ambiguous, if it was a gem atall. Maybe, um, agate? Jasper? She found herself compelled to put it on nonetheless, then cautiously held the hand forward. “Care to explain?” she asked again as seriously as possible. No smiling this time.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0509, Iris
http://slmainlandmatters.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-moth-temple-of-iris.html
At the center of the Inner Delta of Heterocera sits the impressive Moth Temple of Iris. The first telehub on that continent (and still an incredibly busy place today!) the Temple… is a delicate but towering wooden structure designed by Xenon Linden. Almost all of the sims in Heterocera are named after species of moths; the continent itself is named for the sub-species of insect by which moths are categorized. You can find these lovely little creatures all over the Moth Temple, including fluttering around the lamps that line the boardwalk surrounding it at dusk.
“Maybe we should break it off for the day, Grassy. I’ve got to start getting ready for my big date.”
“Okay. But I believe we’ve got Roger’s ‘Time’ pretty well down, don’t you think?”
“It’s pretty good,” Bill admitted, still going over their mistakes and miscues in her head. She wants to get it perfect before playing it to him: the *creator*, after all. She’s meeting the mysterious Ellen for this date, but she also keeps thinking of Roger, what he’s doing at any one moment. And then there’s also Philip to consider. The Boss, haha. I can take care of those sharp, chisled angles, she thinks. Smooth ’em down, like the de Milo I am.
So all in all it was another great 3-n-1 riddle to tackle for me the author, pheh. But I’m loving it.
—–
Do you see it yet, Grassy?”
The green Mmmmmm keeps rummaging around the antique trunk while talking. “No soap in here, it appears. Nothing but these old, dusty lanterns.”
“Pheh, Grassy. That’s all I’ve got to say. Pheh,” she repeats. “I’ll just use the Ivory. But I *hate* when it gets in my eyes.”
—–
“This full facial chessboard tattoo is a little extreme, don’t you think Bill?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Take it off.”
——
“Aaaeeee!”
“Don’t panic, Bill,” Grassy soothed. “We’ll sort out your hair.”
—–
“There. That’s better don’t you think dear?”
“I’m loving it. I’m *feeling* it. Where’s that man!”
“Haha.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0505, Heterocera, Iris
Bay door open at the service station with bait taken, Wheeler has finished her exercise routine and is fit and ready for action. Philip makes sure of that.
Akking here we come again!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0501, Pond District
The couch here is unusable, with no sitting scripts. Tired of standing, Bill (Wheeler) rezzes a wearable chair in Philip Strevor’s so-called “waiting room” and tries to be patient. 1 1/2 hours Mrs. Hazelhurst has been in there, she complains inwardly, but does not dare to say aloud. This place has been bugged for as long as she can remember.
—-
The Boss was admiring his mermaid cabinet when Bill walked in. She had not seen Mrs. Hazelhurst in the hallway but had heard the shutting door. Bill figured she exited through the lounge.
“Red, green, blue,” he began, describing the string of shiny, netted balls immediately before him. “The mermaids and mermen called them marbles for some reason.” He turned to face Bill. “How can I help you today?”
Bill crossed her arms. “You called *me* here. Remember?”
“Oh yes. Of course.” He waved for Bill to be seated. He took his place in The Boss’ chair. “I’m sorry there’s no chair available. The maid took it off for cleaning.”
“That’s all right,” Bill said matter of factly. “I came prepared this time.” She rezzes her wearable attachment again and automatically has a seat in it. She then positions herself so she can face Philip squarely.
“Rat lost his property in the Pond District,” he then said, appearing to scan the photos on the bulletin board beside him. “Owner came back and returned his vanity, his ratmobile. Now why would someone squander a perfectly good piece of property beside that beautiful Linden right of way, not rezzing a house, a farm, nothing?”
“They don’t appreciate what they have,” offered Bill. “They don’t understand the beauty, the loveliness, of Our Second Lyfe.”
“Perhaps.” He leans forward, looking down to consider and then up again. “We made your chess move while you were away playing that role. “Pawn to King 3. I hope you don’t mind. We figured we couldn’t keep Ellen waiting any longer.”
Bill felt the anger rising within but bit her tongue again. “I see,” she managed after a weighted pause. “And has Ellen had time to respond? Or is he still stuck on the beach?” She tried to smile but found she couldn’t.
“The New Island beach, yes,” Philip Strevor said nonchalantly. “The Hook I think they call it in that Moth Man’s book. He removed his web site because of us, you know. Didn’t like the idea of another New Island besides his own. The one *he* owns the trademark for. A public/private domain affair again. I have a whole drawer full of those kind of documents.
“I know,” replied Bill. “She then glances at the money and Philip follows her eyes. “Still haven’t put away that wad of cash, eh? Gloating at the clientele, are you? Like me.”
“No,” Philip said. “That a new stack. Mrs. Hazelhurst graciously gave it to us in return for her safe passage to Zindra. Lots of people leaving this place, Wheeler, er Bill. The axemen and swordsmen and their ilk can’t keep them here forever. Soon enough, people cave in on paying the price. Your friend Roger Pine Ridge is next, if you ask me.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree there, I think. Roger doesn’t have any money. Cyberpaperdoll got out of the village with that cash they made from the (ruby) slippers heist. Roger thought Iris would be safe — away from prying eyes over at Collagesity. He was wrong.”
Philip settled back into his seat, getting comfortable. “I know all about that. We don’t want his money, we want his *time*. Though brain damage could come later.”
“Hmm.” Bill paused, then: “How much time does he have?”
“Two, three, four weeks on this?” Philip answered as a question.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0008, 0417, Iris, New Island
Sunklands 