Reggie Carlisle – John (Beta)
Trae Mowaka- Jesse
Jack Nash – John (Prime)
GM- Tod Foley
– We are in a desert. Something big beneath the ship just moved. Trae tries pinging Earth via UpVector radio. No response.
– A strange creature approaches from the distance, tall and reddish-orange in color with a long neck and clawed feet, looking like a cross between a humanoid and a bird with an exoskeleton. Reggie opens up 2-way telepathic communication with it.
– The creature “Tweel” is excited to see humans, but says it is unsafe here: “We must go to that ridge!” Tweel is super fast. Leaps >100 meters.
– From here we can see the southern city. Nash realizes we’re on a known Dream Node based on Weinbaum’s Mars. No one has read the story, but Nash has glanced at the Big Model data and knows this species once had high civilization – even space travel – before they depleted their planet of water. Once there were millions of them; today maybe hundred thousand remain.
– Tweel tells Reggie that Jarvis said he’d return with a plan to bring water from Earth.
– The power supply is down to 180mW. That’s 18 hours. They will need to repower eventually.
– Tweel is tapping on the ship. Reggie has an idea to solve the water problem in exchange for power.
– Trae points out that the entire problem is also part of the dream, and thus doesn’t matter if they solve it.
– This doesn’t change Reggie’s mind. Reopens communication with Tweel, who says they have a “tremendous magnificent power station.”
– Reggie has no plan, and Tweel is disappointed.
– Trae wonders about somehow creating a water replicator. This prompts Reggie to Lucid Dream a weather system directly over the city. After a few minutes of hard mental labor, a stormcloud appears over the city, and rain begins to fall.
– Tweel freaks out: “Oh no! We will become targets for all the other thirsty creatures! We need to fill ALL THE CANALS!” (points at canal). “You have destroyed us!” Tweel shouts, and puts his head in the sand.
– Reggie convinces Tweel that working together his people can make this work: they just need to build some aqueducts. Tweel is encouraged, and they head off toward the city, where Tweel agrees to show them the Power Station. By the time they get to the city, the Marduk is down to 160mW of power.
– Barrel Beasts and Thoth work together despite their differences to maintain the last working power station, which succeeds in pumping out only a few thousand gallons of water a day. There is some argument over whether or not Reggie is a rain god, and the Barrel Beasts who tend the power array are upset about all the water that’s gathered in the dish. Nash and Trae drag out cables and jerry-rig a connection to the Marduk. The ship sucks 3mW out of the power station, which stops pumping water. The city people need 1mW/hr to keep their pump running, and with water in the dish and the cloud cover above, the station is only generating 1mW per hour. An argument ensues, both groups of aliens screeching and whistling and gesturing angrily.
– Reggie Lucid Dreams a big circular hole in the cloud cover above the city, leading more of the Thoth people to bow to him, while Nash plays with the dish controls until he manages to dump the water out.
– Jacko Constance radios from Earth: Trae’s message made it through after all! He says “You’re supposed to be on Drir – have you suffered a flux storm?” and asks if the Marduk needs assistance. “Shall we clear Bay X?” and Nash agrees.
– Trae checks the news: Scilla Sardacian has just recently been seen with a “new man” called Jack Nash” in this reality.
– Reggie takes one last look at the Barrel Beasts and the Thoth, arguing and throwing things at each other, and makes the slip.
– Back in Bay X, Jacko welcomes Nash home while Trae checks argofans.com, only to find that the website does not exist. Still not home. The date is early December: several weeks *before* they left the last Earth. They’ve moved *backward* in time.
– The crew discusses their predicament. They need to find a reality in which Trae exists, but so far they haven’t. They consider talking to some SlipSpace scientists at the Academy of Intraspace Technology.
– Reggie contacts Frank telepathically. Frank shouts “BACK THE FUCK OFF!” and slams him out of his chair. “Oh yeah,” thinks Reggie, “Frank thought I was the Enemy a few weeks ago.”
– Reggie taxis the ship to Bay 6 and Trae calls for an autocab.
– Jacko suddenly calls over the ground radio. He asks to get a visual on Nash, as security guards begin moving in around the ship. “I just got a message from your ship,” Jacko explains, “ and it says you guys are preparing to come in from Drir?”
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