Get to know Eiwhyl a little better. Get to know our family a little better. Learn all we can about this neighborhood, this city, this world.
Finally, above all: learn to fly.
Think about how we need to improve so that this doesn't happen again. If we were wiser, knew more of the world, maybe we could have found a better way.
When you think about it, it all comes down to power, a rather abstract concept. Power is your ability to affect the world and resist its affect on you, to try to force your will on it. The more power you have, the more things you can do and the less risk you have while doing them.
But what could give you more power? Becoming stronger, certainly. You're growing stronger by the day, especially now that you're eating properly. Each day, bit by bit, you can lift more, move faster, fly further. You also learn more, how the world works, what things mean, ways to use things, new ideas. But that's not nearly enough in this world. You can probably defeat anyone you choose in a one on one fight, but... The other day you learned that those huge towers you saw, this huge tower you live in, it was all made by the inhabitants of this world. If they can make such things, then you're certain you'll never be able to match them with strength alone, at least not anytime soon. So until then, you need something else.
The obvious answer is tools. Tools give power. The inhabitants of this world use tools all the time to do everything, from cooking to flying. They even build tool-people, thinking machines, datapads and droids. Or just use other people as tools. But how to get tools? You can steal, you can fight, you can intimidate for them. You can convince them to help you, like you did with Eiwhyl. Or you can buy them with credits.
As for how to get credits, the answer is largely the same. Fight, steal, intimidate, sell things (including selling your effort, what they call work). This all sounds like a big circle. Every thing depends on everything else. Which means that as long as you keep trying you'll slowly improve. You can't think of anything else that could help, not without becoming more aggressive in your pursuit of power. So you decide to ask Eiwhyl. Maybe she will have a better idea.
You find her sitting on the floor of her bedroom, her back against the wall. The moment she notices you she powers down her datapad and sets it down next to the bottle of grog beside her. You go and sit down next to her. She looks at you, silently waiting for what you have to say.
"How Draggy becomes stronger?""For most carbon-based species it's muscle cell hypertrophy caused by repetitive-""No. How Draggy becomes more stronger faster?"Eiwhyl emits an amused snort.
"Well, lots of ways. Drugs. Cybernetics. Limiter-removal implants. Exoskeletons. All of them have their drawbacks though, unless done very carefully. Safest bet is a power belt, if you can get your hands on one. No need for surgery, very few potential side-effects and it should adjust to your nervous system fairly quickly. Draconic species are also supposed to be very adaptable, so depending on the type and the environment-"She stops speaking and turns her head to give you a suspicious look.
"Not that you really need any of this, unless you're planning on working on construction.""No, I-""Careful." Eiwhyl interrupts you.
"If you say something stupid like 'I want it to fight.' I'm gonna get angry."Somehow the alcohol makes her even scarier.
"I want to be better." you respond after a few seconds of thought.
Eiwhyl grunts as if not really believing you, but continues anyway.
"Well, like I said, there are many ways to improve. But right now, I think you should stick to the old fashioned ones: studying and hard work. For one, you wouldn't be able to afford things like library-implants and embedded translators. And you've got plenty of time to figure that out on your own. There's no reason to be in such a hurry to grow up. I mean, you're only like... How old are you?"You're not sure yourself, but you can hazard a guess.
"Three months?""Three months?!"Eiwhyl utters "holy" followed by a bad word.
"I knew you were a fast learner, but I would had said at least a 5 years old."You stay silent. You don't know anything about what you're supposed to be, so you can't really comment. No, that's not true. Rather, you have a very instinctual understanding of what you are, but no story about it, no understanding, no way to put it into words.
"Damn. You're making me feel old." she mutters the complaint and then takes another sip of grog.
That makes you curious.
"How old are you?""Hey. Don't you know you're not supposed to ask a lady such things?" she says, raising her finger as if she's scolding you, even though her voice shows you she doesn't really care.
"I'm..."She rubs the tip of one of her horns.
"Let's say somewhere around 30." she finally replies.
"So you learn for 30 years to have clinic?""Mhhnno, not that long. Closer to 8.""And you also have..." you try to pronounce the unfamiliar word
"implants?""A small medical library package, though I don't use it that much nowadays. It's just to help me get started a bit quicker, make sure I can quickly look up some of the more exotic species, that sort of thing.""And you can give implant?""Sure. If you can afford it. A simple memory enhancements package is 3000 credits, plus 2000 credits to give you a class A implant slot."That's a lot of credits. It would take you years to gather that much.
"How old when clinic?""Around 30." she says, giving a vague answer. You assume this second "around thirty" is some time earlier than the first one.
"Those things are not cheap." she adds, gesturing all around her.
"It took a lot of time and credits."She seems more talkative than usual, so you decide to press on a matter that's been bothering you for a while.
"And Ali? You know long?""Ever since she and her parents moved in a couple of years ago.""And she is patient?""As patient as any little girl can be- Oh, wait, you mean-"She thinks about it for a second.
"She comes here from time to time." she says with a shrug.
"Sick?""More... worried. Her parents, I mean. Which is good. I'd have a lot less work if more parents cared that much."That statement is a bit contradictory but you decide to say nothing.
"So Ali OK?"She looks at you suspiciously for a second and then shrugs.
"I guess you count as family. She's only once been seriously ill. One of those off-world plagues. And one time she was really badly bruised, like she'd gotten into a fight. Other than that, it's mostly been check-ups.""Fight?""I dunno. She wouldn't tell me. And Jobal said she fell while playing. Which was obviously a lie, but... It's not my job to know."She pokes your chest with a finger.
"And neither is yours. Don't go looking for a fight.""You fight?""No. Not now. Not for a while. Not since when I was a young stupid hornless kid."She's about to take another sip when the you hear the sound that lets you know someone is at the door. Eiwhyl gets up and walks all the way to the entrance. You follow, thinking she might need your help. She activate the intercom and leans close to it.
"Yes?"Whoever is on the other side doesn't speak the human language. From the tone of their voice, they sound very friendly. Perhaps too friendly. You see Eiwhyl tense up. Eiwhyl gives a short response. The voice in the intercom continues, this time sounding apologetic, but once again the tone doesn't match Eiwhyl's response to it. She looks around, as if checking for escape routes. She stares at the stun baton she keeps under the counter but doesn't pick it up. She closes the intercom, takes a few deep breaths and then looks at you.
"Don't cause any trouble, OK?"Before you can respond she turns around and walks to the door. The door opens. You catch a glimpse of a green man, the same species as Iseng'ela, before you hide in the hallway.
"What do you want, Graad?""Can't I pay one of my friends a visit?"As he speaks, you hear three sets of footsteps walk in.
"We're not friends. And I don't like unannounced visitors. So unless you and your friends are in need of treatment, I-.""Oh, but I am sick. It's my heart, you see. My heart has been broken by someone very close to me. I need to find her to make it whole again."Something about the way he talks, the way he smells, it all feels pleasant but also a bit... off. Like something is trying to convince you you should trust him.
"I don't know what you're talking about. We don't provide these sorts of services here. Maybe you should try a detective. Or your friends at the security force.""Oh, I have. But I also wanted to check your place. Just in case she decided to come back here.""Well, nobody has come here tonight. So you can go now.""I'd feel a lot better if you let me and my friends take a look. Just to make sure there isn't anything you forgot."There's silence.
"This is a clinic. You can't just go around messing with things. Who knows where your hands have been?""Only nice places, I assure you. But if it would make you feel better..."You hear footsteps approaching your hiding place in the corridor. They're almost right next to you when they suddenly stop. Then you hear the squeak of the disinfectant dispenser and the stingy smell of disinfectant reaches your nose.
"There. All nice and clean. So. May we go in now?"More silence.
"Come on now. I am getting impatient. You don't want to make a sick man wait."You hear Eiwhyl sigh.
"Make it quick. Don't touch anything. And don't disturb my patients.""Oh, don't worry. By the time we're gone, nobody will know we were even here."They're going to start searching the place.
You could maybe try to hide under a bed or pretend to be a patient or something. They're not searching for you, so you could just not hide and say you're a nurse. Or you could jump out the window and make your way to Ali's Apartment, that would mean they'd never find you, but it would also mean that if they try to hurt Eiwhyl you won't be there to help.
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Topic: Surviving in an Alien World [Suggestion Game] (Read 106983 times)