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John 2 John

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Started 2 years ago by M. J. Young
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M. J. Young
Moderator

It's your Ruger P-89.

It's a bit difficult to work out much of anything directionally. You sleep more than you're awake, and you can't see anything but blur outside maybe eighteen inches, and even then everything you see is doubled, as if each eye were working independently. So sometimes you have the impression that the sun is low in the sky, near one of the horizons, but you don't know which one and you don't know with certainty whether it is rising or setting, and by the time you could reach that conclusion you've fallen asleep again and don't know how long you are asleep before you awaken.

Your world is extremely limited at present.

--M. J. Young

Mon Apr 12 2010 1:43 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

It's your Ruger P-89.

She's permitted to use it. That's why I was asking. She also had that huge 44 magnum revolver at the end of the first movie (It was in the glove box of the jeep) It would be harder to conceal, so I imagine she would carry the smaller 9mm.

Are you aware of the practice mode for those psionic skills? I'll be practicing those nonstop.

A couple of weeks ahead. Do I ever get the chance to try the psionic shield again? Five minutes relatively alone. That's all I'm asking for. One successful roll, and it's in practice mode. How far along are we anyway?

(Doing Therapy)

Mon Apr 12 2010 1:51 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Mom is still never more than about five feet from you at any time, and that not for more than seconds. She's really paranoid about that unexplained attack that cut you. When she gets the opportunity to bathe, she takes you in the tub with her and bathes you, too.

It's difficult to count days, but it's been at least a month or so when finally your eyes focus well enough that you can coordinate the images of both eyes into a single view. It's a flat view; you're not really able to judge distances.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 13 2010 12:25 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Cool, my character has seen Linda Hamilton naked. Can a baby boy get an erection? Mom would certainly dismiss it, but it would probably be happening. (Hey, I'm just being honest.) Have I been circumcised? (That's a legitimate question)

I get it. When Mommy goes to sleep and I wake up for my 4 AM feeding, instead of crying right away, try to raise the psionic force shield. I just need to do it once and it's in practice mode. If it works, lower it before I start crying to be fed. Keep rolling until I make it. If I botch, I'll probably start crying again. That would be three in a row. If I botch and hurt myself (again!!), hopefully mommy will just think I need to be fed. I don't need her any more paranoid. Try not to let her on that I hurt myself. If practicing psionic healing can heal it sufficiently that she doesn't notice, all the better. Let's just hope it isn't 3 in a row!!

What's going on? Are we camping out? Hotels? Has she sold my gems? You said she was running short on cash. The gems in the bag are all totally random from that list. I figured a GE roll could determine their value on arrival. Out of character, I have no idea which gems they are.

Can I try to speak yet? Try to say "SkyNet" at some point. Preferably when I would be in no danger of a surprised mommy dropping me. That's going to be my first word. Keep trying to say "SkyNet."

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 13 2010 12:37 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Your character has not seen Linda Hamilton naked. He has seen Sarah Connor naked, a woman whom Linda Hamilton resembles--but apparently so does Lena Headey. As one less-than-pleased fan said, apparently history changed such that Sarah Connor changed from a buff blond to a wimpy brunette.

In the 1980's circumcision was only done if the mother requested it; so the question is whether you would prefer yes or no, and the dice will be rolled accordingly.

It will be most of a year before you can string together a single consonant with a single vowel.

You are mostly camping now, and when you camp you are in the same sleeping bag with your mother. Are you going to attempt the shield while inside the shared sleeping bag?

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 13 2010 10:12 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Your character has not seen Linda Hamilton naked. He has seen Sarah Connor naked, a woman whom Linda Hamilton resembles--but apparently so does Lena Headey. As one less-than-pleased fan said, apparently history changed such that Sarah Connor changed from a buff blond to a wimpy brunette.

And either one of them would give me an oedipal complex. Sarah was 19 when Reese came through. She's 29 in the second movie. I'm serious when I say take notes on this. I can tell you a lot you certainly don't know.

In the 1980's circumcision was only done if the mother requested it; so the question is whether you would prefer yes or no, and the dice will be rolled accordingly.

No need to. I was just curious if the mother requested it.

It will be most of a year before you can string together a single consonant with a single vowel.

All the more reason to keep trying. It would just look (and sound) like baby babbling. Maybe I might roll a 3 and actually say something. Keep trying. A 3 means I actually manage the word "SkyNet".

You are mostly camping now, and when you camp you are in the same sleeping bag with your mother. Are you going to attempt the shield while inside the shared sleeping bag?

I would only try the flat shield if I could get my head out of the sleeping bag enough to see beyond its confines whilst Sarah is sleeping. If I botch and kill both of us, she's certainly going to be my associate, as there's no way she would leave me. If I can get my head out far enough to see beyond its confines whilst she's sleeping.

This is the time when Sarah was making contacts. Enrique was only one of several stashes that she had. He was the closest and most heavily packed, so they went there. (In one considered version of the story, the T-1000 finds Enrique, and Enrique blows it and himself to pieces with a truckload full of explosives. The T-1000 of course reassembles. Enrique doesn't.) What I'm saying is that the next good GE roll should mean we're sleeping at a cabin with some heavily armed paramilitary Mexican redneck. In the novel, Sarah was not above selling herself for information, training or a place to stay. (I mean really, how did you think she hooked up with Enrique in the first place?) Just a thought. Also, at this point in the story, she is (at best) a low 1@ with any gun. In fact, if she does use that 9mm, it would probably be her teaching herself to use it roll. Failure she forgot to rack a round in the chamber before shooting, botch it jammed or the recoil made her drop it, I guess. She had never fired a gun prior to the first movie. When they're in the hotel room, before Reese leaves, he gives her the 38 pistol he stole from the police station. Not because it would be any use against the Terminator, but so that Sarah can study it and examine it. Get to know the gun. Seriously, take notes.

For some reason, it's suddenly come to mind that you said that a person could get an amateur understanding of a weapon without ever firing it. If Sarah examined that 38 closely, she could have a 1@3 skill in using a 38 revolver. In which case, it would probably make more sense for her to be carrying my 357 as opposed to the 9mm (much closer in design to the 38) I don't know why, I just thought I would throw that out there. No reason, really.

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 13 2010 10:37 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

By the time of T2, John Connor would have had gun scores probably comparable to my own. His 2@ scores would be in military assault rifles though, not civilian pistols and shotguns. He was trained in chemistry (making plastique, for instance) computer hacking (obviously) electronics, explosives, car mechanics, all kinds of things. And Chess. His mother made him learn Chess. I know nothing of Chess, I have no desire to learn Chess, but I thought I'd mention it. According to some sources, he didn't know what a video game was or even go to a regular school (homeschooling) until his mother went to the asylum. And she's not going to the asylum, if I have anything to say about it. Take notes, please.

(Doing Therapy)

Wed Apr 14 2010 5:17 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

That's pretty tricky of her to be 19 in 1984 and only 29 in 1997 when her son conceived in 84 is 13. I guess there's a bit of temporal tinkering they neglected to include.

Since you can't crawl and you're not yet able even to roll over without help, it's beyond you to move any distance.

Please stop telling me to take notes, or how to run the world. Thank you.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 15 2010 2:18 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

That's pretty tricky of her to be 19 in 1984 and only 29 in 1997 when her son conceived in 84 is 13. I guess there's a bit of temporal tinkering they neglected to include.

Please stop telling me to take notes, or how to run the world. Thank you.

No, it's in T2. Doctor Silberman says "29 year old female" when referring to Sarah Connor. The third movie screwed up the timeline. It's a matter of debate among fans. I still don't think you understand what I'm saying MJ. I'm not saying my information is correct. I'm saying this is what is in the Terminator lore. I'm not telling you how to run the world, I'm making suggestions for you to adapt to your own usage. I don't want this world to run like I expect it to. Take what I say and make it your own. Don't tell me to stop telling you to take notes, that's not going to happen. I'm not trying to trump the world, I'm offering suggestions. That's what I don't think you understand. This world is right. My information is fiction. This is the reality. What I say is fiction. Take my fiction and make it your own. Make it my reality. I thought you would be happy to have an expert on Terminator telling you ideas. Above all, I AM NOT telling you how to run the world. I am giving your suggestions for how to run it. You can make suggestions in one hand and you can make a bowel movement in the other. Which hand will fill up faster? When I say that Sarah would be a low 1@ with a gun, I'm not saying that's the way the game runs, I'm saying that's the way the Terminator lore ran. If Sarah is a 3@10 with every kind of gun known to man in this world, all the better. This world is right. My information is suggestions based on fictional sources. The game is right. I'm not telling you how to run the game, I'm telling you about Terminator lore. Two completely distinct topics. Terminator lore has nothing to do with this game.

Since you can't crawl and you're not yet able even to roll over without help, it's beyond you to move any distance.

Keep living and doing what babies do.

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 15 2010 2:40 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

MJ, I don't think you're understanding me. When I talk about Terminator in this context, I AM NOT refuting the game. When I say "Sarah was 19 in the first movie and 29 in the second" I mean exactly that. Those were her ages in the movie. However, if the Sarah Connor who gave birth to my character is 36 years old, black, and originally from Chicago, then she's 36 years old, black, and originally from Chicago. (Please don't run it that way though) This world is right. Whatever you say is happening in this world is what's happening. I AM NOT going to use my knowledge of The Terminator to dispute anything in this game. This game is the reality. What I know is fiction. I am not trying to contradict you, override anything, or tell you how to run the world. I am just saying "This is what the novel said" And it means about as much to this story as it did in the novel. In the novel, Sarah was not above selling herself if she needed to. That was just telling you about the novel. It's conversation about Terminator. Means nothing here. It was just a suggestion for you to work from. Don't tell me to stop telling you to take notes, you'll want a lot of these notes when you're up one night wracking your brain for what to put me up against. Besides, in this context "Take Notes" is a suggestion, not an order. The story in the game is the truth. I'm not arguing anything. Just making suggestions for you to turn into your own story. I just want to be clear on that. If I say something happened in the novel, it means just that. It happened in the novel. Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that it happened in the novel means absolutely nothing to this game. It means you have an idea to use if you want to. That's all. It's telling you what a different source said. Read it, take notes maybe. Adapt it, or discard the idea completely. It's just to add flavor.

In Terminator 2, John Connor was originally supposed to be 10 years old. The third movie called in the character of Katherine Brewster, so his age was changed. It's a nitpick in the movie series hotly debated by fans. I'm of the 10 years old in T2 circle. You're in the 13 years old in T2 circle. That's fine. Circles of Fandom!!!! Nothing I say about Terminator is to contradict the game, it's to enhance it. To give you something to work with. Enhancement, not contradiction. I'm saying "This is what the book said" you take that and turn it into "What the game says".

When I say that something should be happening a certain way, that's my anticipation. The dice and referee can and will say otherwise at times. That's fine. I'm not telling you how to run it, just what my anticipation would be, so you know how to bias the GE roll. (Based on my anticipations, correct?) Anything which looks like an order is a suggestion, and anything which looks like a contradiction of the story is an anecdote from a different source.

Two Rules MJ, if we are ever going to hope to run this peacefully
1)What I say about Terminator is to enhance, not contradict, the game.
2)If you think I am contradicting you, go back to rule number 1.

The game is right. My knowledge is fiction. Use my fiction to create my reality. This story isn't going to go the way you're thinking either. Why should I expect i to go the way I'm thinking?

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 15 2010 3:06 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

It's been a couple weeks of trying, and now you are able to make noise with your mouth closed--that is, you can say "M" as a consonant. You can also express a couple of vowel sounds, so you can say "Ma" and "Moo". You also struggle with "ga" and "da".

Your mother smiles at you a lot. You still can't seem that much more than that, but the days are mostly bright and hot, and she dresses you in sleeveless legless onezies during the day, bathes you from the dirt in a bucket in the evening, and puts you in a somewhat warmer sleeper in the sleeping bag at night.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 15 2010 10:01 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Are we clear on how my knowledge works in this scenario? I'm not trying to override the scenario, I'm telling you how it went int a different source. If you want to take it that way, all the better. If not, the ideas will still there to use. For example, do you know what a Silverfish is? What about a Goliath? A Centurion, perhaps? I do. One of those was in Terminator Salvation. Care to guess which one it was? I'll tell Sarah (and consequently, you) about all of those. Then you will know that the 30 you just rolled means I'm facing a battalion of Centurions, whereas the lower number would mean it was just a Silverfish. It can only make the game better.

Is Mommy still paranoid about my botch? Is she leaving me alone at all? If I get a few minutes alone, try the shield again. If not, just keep practicing the others.

Thu Apr 15 2010 11:16 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Then you will know that the 30 you just rolled means I'm facing a battalion of Centurions, whereas the lower number would mean it was just a Silverfish. It can only make the game better.

From above, you know about tanks, (Did you know there are at least 3 official versions of it?) You know about the flying machines (At least five different incarnations that I can recall) the Terminators (T-600, 800, 850, T-1000 and T-X, anyway) and the Goliath robot. (Yeah, that huge robot thing with the cannon on its shoulder? That's Goliath) That's enough to make a decent world. But, as they say, the more the merrier. Using my knowledge can only make it better. Excellent, not just decent. I am NOT contradicting the game. I want to make sure we are clear on that. Only giving you fictional information from other sources. Information which I hope will be used.

We're apparently outside a lot. Have I been able to determine direction yet? (Rising sun, setting sun, etc.)

MJ, if that "Questions you should ask players" has you in a bad mood, I'll understand if you want to suspend this until Sunday. If you reply, it would mean a lot, but I'll understand if you don't.

(Doing Therapy)

Fri Apr 16 2010 3:31 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Mom will probably be paranoid about that attack for the rest of her life. She has no idea how SkyNet managed to hit you like that, and she is not going to let it happen again. You spend most of your time in the Snugli, your face snuggled comfortably against her breasts, and rarely is she as much as five feet from you, and that not for more than a moment, such as grabbing the wipes that she left on the other counter just out of reach.

You seem to have settled in a campground of some sort, a dusty hot place with some broken-down house trailers and a few other tents. Your mother talks that other language quite a bit with the people who live here, and you're beginning to get some of the sense of it from how they interact.

You aren't in the car as often, and when you are it's just to travel to a local store for groceries. You've been switched from paper diapers to cloth, which always smell of bleach and which she washes in buckets heated over open fire and air dries so they're a bit stiff and scratchy, but she smears some kind of cream on you which takes away some of the discomfort.

The contents of your bottles has varied some; apparently the formula you were getting is not as easy to acquire wherever you are.

--M. J. Young

Fri Apr 16 2010 6:59 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

MJ, are we clear on the issue of my fictional information is not contradicting the story? I'm a paranoid psychotic, don't forget, emphasis on the paranoid. I need to make sure we are clear, because there is no way I can not talk about Terminator in the game. Honestly, if it's a big deal to you, you might as well verse me out now back into my original body. If I can take Sarah as an associate, all the better. There's no way I can not talk about it. I'd rather run the world, believe me, but you can't ask me to not talk about it. It would be impossible. I need to make sure we are clear about that. I am NOT contradicting the story, only giving fictional information from other sources. I need a response.

Mom will probably be paranoid about that attack for the rest of her life

Or at least until I can talk and tell her what happened. I had no idea it could turn out like that.

You must not have seen it in all of the gibberish up there. Can I yet tell directions? No matter how bad my eyesight is, I could tell which direction the sun was, I'd think. It's likely the only bright light I would ever seen at the moment. Try not to stare at it too long, obviously, but can I tell which direction it is? Ya know, I just had a thought. A baby wouldn't know not to look at the sun, and would certainly not understand how dangerous it could be. Might not even be able to turn their head to look away even if they wanted to. I wonder if that's why God gave us such crappy eyesight as babies, so we didn't burn out our eyes.

Keep trying to speak. Humor me here. Roll a GE, if it's a 3, I manage the word "SkyNet". I don't think you understand how important communicating with her is to me. I guess a 30 would be that I say it whilst she's holding me and get dropped. (Perhaps a Simple/Bonused agility check for Sarah and/or a GE roll would save the day?) Just humor me if you would. You don't understand how important it is to him to communicate with her.

(Doing Therapy)

Fri Apr 16 2010 11:47 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Just so you know, I'm laughing.

When you called Mr. Smith "John" I knew that wasn't going to work. I hate my name!!! So, I called him Mr. Smith. That also reminds you that the character is the blacksmith.

When I asked what the name of my boss in TerraNova was, you said Sam Ash. After I read a few additional posts, I reread that, and I could almost hear the exasperation in your typing "His name is....... SAM ASH!!!!!" (That's supposed to be funny, BTW)

From now on, instead of the dread question "What's his name?" I'll ask "What do I call you?" That is, how do I refer to the character so that the referee knows to whom I am referring. If I should refer to the person as "Mr. Weapons Dealer Guy" then that's how I will refer to the person. I'd prefer something a little more creative. "Mr. Rifle" or something like that. Your call. It's how do I refer to the character so that the referee knows to whom I am referring.

Oh and back to what I was saying about this doesn't have to follow to movies, that also means that Sarah doesn't have to die of leukemia before the third movie. (In the book, I think she's killed leading a resistance supply convoy.) The real reason she was killed off in the movies is because Linda Hamilton didn't want to do the third movie, and the rest of the story was vague enough to allow it. She would be in her early to mid sixties by the time Reese came back, but she could still be alive. I really want to take her as an associate. Even at 60+. We can find a way to turn her back into a svelte 19 year old...

MJ, blacksmithing is a tech skill using the body. So that would mean that I can do that at 2@1 the minute I'm strong enough to pick up a hammer, right? Shooting is tech, so I have 1@10 skill with the 9mm carbine as soon as my hand will wrap around it, right? Is that how that works? It's only skills listed as BOD which have been affected, right? Tech skills using the body are OK?

NOTES:

Don't forget, I want a propane torch for the VSP. Get a soldering iron tip, and you would have a mobile blacksmith's shop and be able to do basic electronics repair. It's going to be a very long time before I can pick that up at all though..... Using a propane torch would be a new use for blacksmithing, wouldn't it?

We don't want to stop the war, we want to control it. Miles Dyson can just slow down the development. If he releases it first, we can have some control over it. Maybe a kill code can be installed unbeknown to SkyNet. Besides, can you say "Infinity Loop"? No, I got it. The main motherboard. Put an ounce of C4 with a 30 year detonation timer on it. Disguise it as a large capacitor. SkyNet wouldn't even know it was there because it wouldn't be hooked up, just appear to be. Once the timer runs down, it blows a hole in the main motherboard. If that doesn't cripple SkyNet.....

Don't forget to ask Mom is she knows the exact date that Reese traveled back from. (That's one I don't know) Set the ounce of C4 to detonate the day after Reese comes back.

(Doing Therapy)

Sun Apr 18 2010 5:19 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator
John, at present you are very limited in your speech. As far as saying "Skynet":
- No sibilances at all, so no "S";
- No voiceless consonants, so your "K" is "G" and your "T" is "D";
- No diphthongs, and no extreme high or low vowels, so your "AI" sound is more like "Uh" or "Oh".
Thus on the best possible roll, the word coming out of your mouth would sound most like "gonad". And since I don't think you want to say that or that your mother would think for a moment that this was a word you were trying to say, I'm not going to bother rolling for it.

In a couple months your control of your vocal processes will be good enough that you can reliably say "gonad" on a simple skill check. If you want to say it then, we'll let you roll. Sibilances and diphthongs are going to be a lot longer, though.

Concerning your incessant commentary on what happens in the books and other excluded parole evidence sources, I find that I do my best to skip those sections of your posts because I don't care and don't want to know; and I think that's not really fair to you--but it's not fair to me for you to be posting such things constantly. Thus I'm going to propose a compromise.

Your character knows that he is John Conner, and has good reason to believe that he is that John Conner, son of Sarah Conner, leader of the resistance against SkyNet. He also knows what you know about the various variant versions of the story--excluding Terminator Salvation, which post-dates your entry into the verse. It is thus fair for him to wonder about which parts of the fiction are true in the reality--but only to regale me with such wonderings at moments when they are relevant.

Thus once SkyNet is in control you can wonder in print whether it has yet developed hydrabots that will attack you if you attempt to cross the lake, or hunter-killers that will seek you from the sky, or when the T-600 is going to come on line. Right now you can wonder which of Sarah's contacts are people you would recognize from the books and which are not, what skills she's developing and where you are and are going.

You will be at least thirteen years old before you might see another terminator, so it's not until then that you can start to wonder about SkyNet's technology.

--M. J. Young
Sun Apr 18 2010 10:35 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Concerning your incessant commentary on what happens in the books and other excluded parole evidence sources, I find that I do my best to skip those sections of your posts because I don't care and don't want to know; and I think that's not really fair to you--but it's not fair to me for you to be posting such things constantly. Thus I'm going to propose a compromise.

Compromise accepted. The only contact that I know of at the moment is Enrique. Concerning the technology, I just thought you might want to develop a bit of a knowledge base of that, and put it on the back burner for a minute. I now suddenly realize how stupid an idea that was, as it might be a year in real time before I face a Terminator. I'll try to keep that in mind.

Thus on the best possible roll, the word coming out of your mouth would sound most like "gonad". And since I don't think you want to say that or that your mother would think for a moment that this was a word you were trying to say, I'm not going to bother rolling for it.

In a couple months your control of your vocal processes will be good enough that you can reliably say "gonad" on a simple skill check. If you want to say it then, we'll let you roll. Sibilances and diphthongs are going to be a lot longer, though.

I guess I really don't realize how helpless he is. Has mommy gotten anything resembling building blocks with letters on them? Why would she get those for an infant, I don't know, but I just thought I would ask. Spelling out SkyNet with blocks would be a cinch, comparatively speaking.

Keep doing what babies do. What's going on? Obviously Sarah was training herself prior to training me. She might have had 1@10 gun skill by the time John was able to shoot one. I don't know how that's going to work with her being paranoid and not leaving me at all, but we'll see what the dice say.

(Doing Therapy)

Sun Apr 18 2010 10:50 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Spelling out SkyNet with blocks would be a cinch, comparatively speaking.
Yeah, sure it would--you can't pick them up or turn them, but you might be able to get them to fall into the right positions by batting them around for several days, if no one puts them away between times.

On the bright side, you are now able to smile when you're pleased. That's an improvement.

What you can't do is stop drooling--you just started, suddenly there was saliva in your mouth that wasn't there before, and now it's always all over your chin, dripping down on your chest, particularly when mom leaves you half-propped sitting on the bed.

Oh, that's something--you can stay in a sitting position for a long time now--ten or fifteen seconds at a stretch before you fall over. You can also chuckle and squeal, so you're making more sounds.

Sarah talks to you, and she seems to expect you to make noise in response. She obviously doesn't expect you to speak coherently, but you probably are aware that babies "babble", responding to speech with incoherent noises that are speech-like. You know you can't pronounce words because your phonemes list is so small, but you can attempt to reply. Thus the question is, when Sarah talks to you in that sing-song voice people use to speak with babies (nearly all adults in every culture of the world use the same sing-song inflections when they speak to babies), do you sit quietly because you can't say anything, babble nonsense back to her, or struggle incoherently to answer her intelligently (which has much the same sound, but is a different task on your part)?

Your diet is still mostly breast milk and various other beverages, including apple juice, cow's milk, and what is probably goat's milk.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 20 2010 8:06 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

do you sit quietly because you can't say anything, babble nonsense back to her, or struggle incoherently to answer her intelligently (which has much the same sound, but is a different task on your part)?

Struggle to answer intelligently. I don't imagine the botches on a baby trying to speak could possibly be painful. Instead of trying to say SkyNet, try to answer her yes or no. Certainly she would be asking those stupid questions you don't expect the baby to answer. If I replied yes or no to a question she asked, that might get her attention. I think NO would probably be easier.

Your diet is still mostly breast milk and various other beverages, including apple juice, cow's milk, and what is probably goat's milk.

I've had goat's milk before. It tastes about the way you would expect a farm to taste. (You'd have to taste it to understand)

Keep doing what babies do.

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 20 2010 8:17 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Actually, mother's talk to babies to get reaction, not intelligent response. When they say, "You like your little rattle, don't you?" they expect to get smiles and laughter, not "Yes, mom, the rattle is my favorite toy." Mothers think that babies understand more of what is said than they do, but babies understand a surprising amount as time progresses.

But then, Sarah talks to you in Spanish quite a bit; what are you trying to say when she talks to you in Spanish?

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 20 2010 9:00 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

But then, Sarah talks to you in Spanish quite a bit; what are you trying to say when she talks to you in Spanish?

I'm half surprised you even asked. If I can't understand her, I can't reply. Act like a baby most of the time. If she asks a question I can understand, try to answer her yes or no.

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 20 2010 11:21 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

MJ, I know you say you don't want me to talk about the machines at the moment, but I've got a question. According to a few sites I read, the T-1000 could also be killed with highly corrosive acids. According to the comic books, a 12 gauge blast to the knees would hinder (at least) the walking ability of a T-800. The T-800 series could also be knocked out for 3 minutes by hitting it with a strong electrical charge. Three minutes for the computer to reboot. I know the vulnerabilities of these machines that you might not know. Are you going to trust me to tell you how to beat them?

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 20 2010 11:46 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
Concerning how to beat Terminators, we'll go with what I know. You can tell me what you do and what you hope will happen from it, and I'll figure out whether you get what you expect.

So, when Sarah speaks to you in Spanish, do you
1. Stare at her like she's crazy?
2. Intentionally babble nonsense back at her?
3. Try to copy the sounds of the words she is making?
4. Try to answer her in English?
5. Do something else which you will explain to me?
I'm surprised you were surprised by that question.

--M. J. Young
Wed Apr 21 2010 9:18 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Concerning how to beat Terminators, we'll go with what I know. You can tell me what you do and what you hope will happen from it, and I'll figure out whether you get what you expect.

I see. These aren't cannon Terminators that I am facing. If I hit a T-800 with a strong electrical charge, a 3 means it's out for 24 hours, a 30 means I just recharged its batteries. So these would have vulnerabilities I wouldn't know about... Good show old man!!!

I did so answer your question about what to do if Sarah speaks in Spanish.

Act like a baby most of the time.

I would only try to reply on something I could answer yes or no.

Wed Apr 21 2010 9:54 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Was about to put down an amusing (and utterly pointless) anecdote from the book. Stopped myself, wanted to document it.

Just curious, have you ever run any kind of Terminator scenario before this?

(Doing Therapy)

Wed Apr 21 2010 11:54 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Three

Just because it's driving me crazy, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the game, I rented T2. The T-1000 pulls up John's information on the police computer.

DOB 2/28/85
Age 10

The second movie takes place in 1995. He wouldn't be 13 until 1998. Not contradicting the game, just clarifying the movie because it was driving me nuts.

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 22 2010 2:53 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Somehow I can't credit that a kid who is ten years old does what John does in the movie, let alone that he makes out with Kate Brewster in a friend's basement. I wasn't ten in 1985, but it doesn't seem to me like ten-year-olds did that then. I'll go with my timeline. You were born in 1984.

As to "act like a baby most of the time" we have the complication that you are not a baby, so you're going to have to tell me what you're doing that is "acting like a baby" at least in some circumstances--and this is one of them. It appears that when people talk to babies, babies at first listen as if fascinated by the act itself, and then try to imitate the aspect of making noise by making noise back. Then they initiate making noise themselves, to get people to respond. You aren't doing that, because you already understand the concept of speech. When Sarah speaks to you in English, you're babbling back to her because you are trying to answer in English and don't have the phonemes in your articulation. When she is speaking to you in Spanish, it's not clear whether you are attempting to answer her in English (and thus attempting to get her to switch to English), attempting to imitate the sounds she makes (and thus attempting to master the Spanish phoneme set), attempting to babble complete nonsense (and thus looking like a baby but not really doing what a baby does), or keeping silent (and thus trying to get her to speak to you in English, because you respond to English but not to Spanish). So, let's try again: when she addresses you in Spanish, how are you responding?

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 22 2010 8:29 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Somehow I can't credit that a kid who is ten years old does what John does in the movie, let alone that he makes out with Kate Brewster in a friend's basement. I wasn't ten in 1985, but it doesn't seem to me like ten-year-olds did that then. I'll go with my timeline. You were born in 1984.

How many times do I have to say it? I AM NOT contradicting the game!! I was telling you about a flaw in the movie series which had nothing whatsoever to do with the game. Of course they had to change his age to 13 to introduce the whole Katherine Brewster angle. Originally, that wasn't part of the story. It's a flaw in the movie series. If you told me I was born in 2026 and the war didn't start for another 30 years, I'd go along with that. I wasn't contradicting the game, I was pointing out a mistake in the movie series. I would in fact be moderately disappointed if this plays out the way I expect. Stretch the brain muscles, don't just go with what happens in the movies. If I'm 13 instead of 10 when the next attack is made, all the better. That means I'll be physically stronger and have 3 years more training. I'm not going to turn my nose up at that. I was just pointing out a flaw in the movie.

Apparently, they changed Sarah's age as well. In T1, she was 19, born in 1965. In T3, on her gravestone, it says 1959, which would make her 25 in the first movie. Just pointing out movie flaws, nothing more, nothing less.

Speaking of mistakes, I am watching T3 again. I was mistaken about the gun that the TX uses. I got a much better look at it this time, and it turns out it is not a Beretta 9mm, it is in fact a Smith and Wesson 4506 45 caliber. Still possible to survive multiple direct hits, although not as likely as the 9mm. If you want to change that on your time travel site, that's up to you, I just wanted to clear it up.

OK, the explanation makes more sense. I want her to speak in English. Don't respond at all to Spanish. Ignore her if she speaks Spanish. Make a point of the fact that I am ignoring her if I can do that. Start crying when she speaks Spanish, and don't stop until she starts speaking English, that kind of thing. When she speaks English, attempt to speak back to her. If I can say "Gonad" on a 3 GE roll, then NO should be a simple skill check. Try to speak back in English. If she asks a yes or no question, try to answer her. I'd have to know what the question was to be sure, but NO would probably be the default answer, just because it would be easier to say. ("Do you want the strained peas?" "NO!!!!!!!" See what I mean?) Hopefully she will figure out that there's a brain in here.

What I want is for her to realize that my brain is capable of communicating with her on an intelligent level. If I can wrap my little fingers around a fat magic marker or a fat crayon, then I can write. I want her to give me a writing utensil and a piece of paper as my ultimate goal. (That won't be for a few posts at least, so we'll discuss it then)

Have I been able to determine if I'm right or left handed yet? I am right handed in real life, but that says nothing about my character.

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 22 2010 8:45 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

I'm just curious. Has nothing to do with the game, I just didn't want to start a new thread for this. If you knew right off the bat that I wasn't going to survive the TerraNova spacecraft the minute I decided to split up, why didn't you try to ensure that we did? If there were 1,000 beasties on it when we're together, once we split up, now there's only 500. We get smaller batches of them per GE roll, that kind of thing? Perhaps Lauren decides that she wants to rejoin us, and sends a message to that effect. Railroading the player is one thing, trying to ensure that they have a good time playing is totally different. Just curious.

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 22 2010 10:02 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Three

I'm watching Terminator Salvation, and I just noticed something. Marcus signs his body over to Cyberdyne systems. When he is in the SkyNet core, he's researching what happened, and it says in one of the newspapers "Cyberdyne Systems purchased by U.S.A.F." I would assume that means that Cyberdyne was still at least in part responsible for it. Miles Dyson couldn't possibly have destroyed every single shred of research on that chip. They still had a leg up, and it just took them 10 years longer. Sorry if you already noticed this, but I just noticed it. I wonder if I could use that..... I want Cyberdyne to build it. Then we can build into it a weakness.

(Doing Therapy)

Fri Apr 23 2010 11:03 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Four

I think I know what would happen to the timeline if I versed out before sending Reese back. Since I would be gone, it can't be an infinity loop. My trip is the first leg of a sawtooth snap. The first leg because I will never be here again. The next leg of it will be John Connor. It cannot repeat back to my existence here, since I won't be here anymore. This is the first leg of a sawtooth snap. It would be impossible for my actions to be confirmed in the next timeline, and the odds are infinitesimally small that my actions will confirm the previous. This is how you would break a world out of an infinity loop. My presence cannot be confirmed in the next timeline, so the world starts snapping. If it was in an infinity loop already, my presence just broke it out, since my actions won't confirm the others. If Kyle doesn't come back, next timeline is original father of John Connor.

If not the guardians of the Multiverse, versers ARE the guardians of time travel. If God sends a verser to a world stuck in an infinity loop, that just broke it out. How many worlds have versers saved? God's tools to save us from our own folly of time travel. The verser disrupts the infinity loop, as his presence doesn't confirm anything. It starts snapping after that. He turns the infinity loop into a sawtooth snap which could stabilize.

(Doing Therapy)

Fri Apr 23 2010 11:14 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

You cry when she speaks Spanish, and she gets upset and tries to figure out what's wrong.

For some reason no matter how often you do this, she doesn't seem to get it. She just gets frustrated.

You can make a "naw" sound, but it comes out "maw" as often as not; your efforts at "yes" come out "naa".

--M. J. Young

Sat Apr 24 2010 12:44 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

For some reason no matter how often you do this, she doesn't seem to get it. She just gets frustrated.

She's not going to hit me, I know that. Let's switch tactics. Giggle and laugh furiously when she speaks English. If she's speaking Spanish and I'm crying, the instant she says ANYTHING in English, stop crying instantly and start laughing myself silly. Even if what she says is "WILL YOU SHUT UP??!!!?!?!!?!" Crying for Spanish, laughing hysterically at English. Whenever she speaks English, no matter what she says, I'm as happy as a clam.

I get it MJ. In order to let her know there is a brain in here, (which is what you knew I wanted) you had to put it to the test. Good show old chap!!!!

You must have been short on time. Did you read through everything I put down? Some of it was just movie talk. Sorry about that.

I did want to know why you didn't try to help us through that spaceship though. It's just one of those unanswered questions, ya know? And am I right about the timeline? How would I know? I wouldn't, but who is to say my character hasn't figured that out as well? (Or are you to say?)

(Doing Therapy)

Sat Apr 24 2010 1:00 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Mistake

(Doing Therapy)

Sun Apr 25 2010 9:42 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

If you have questions about a previous world or game session, start another thread. I don't want to derail your game with talk about what might have happened.

It goes for a couple days like this, and suddenly she looks at you and says, "You like English, don't you? But you don't like Spanish. That's weird. How would you even know that they were different? English has a lot more sounds in it, but there aren't many Spanish has that English doesn't; but it's faster, I think. Maybe you find English easier because it moves more slowly and has more sounds in it. Maybe that makes it easier for you to understand what I'm saying.

"It's funny; they say that a baby exposed to two languages will learn both of them, but you don't seem to want to know Spanish. That's probably not a good thing; there will be a lot of people in your life who speak Spanish and not English, and a lot more who speak both but will use Spanish if they think you can't understand it. But I will speak English to you, and Spanish to everyone else in Mexico, and maybe you'll learn the Spanish anyway."

--M. J. Young

Sun Apr 25 2010 9:04 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

"You like English, don't you?"

As soon as she says that, start laughing and applauding. Clapping my hands. Giving squeals of joy. That sentence just made him the happiest baby in the world, and it's going to show. I want her to know that I understood that sentence.

Now that we have the language issue settled, let's see what I can do about talking back to her. If she ever pulls out something resembling a fat writing utensil, a magic marker or whatever, try to point and signal to her that I want it. If I can wrap my hand around the writing utensil, I can write with it. Use both hands together if I have to. As long as it looks even remotely like "SKYNET" she should understand what I write. Try to make hand motions like I'm writing. I want her to give me a piece of paper and a writing utensil.

(Doing Therapy)

Mon Apr 26 2010 1:50 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Words to write. Gotta say as much as I can with as little as possible.

Kyle
SkyNet
Verser
HK (She knew what an HK was)

I need letter blocks. Magnetic letter refrigerator magnets or something. That and a metal cookie sheet, I could talk. I've got to communicate with her.

(Doing Therapy)

Mon Apr 26 2010 2:29 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Your mother sometimes props you in a high chair when she feeds you, particularly on those rare occasions when she stops in a restaurant with you.

At one of these, the waitress puts a child's placemat in front of you and drops three crayons there. You attempt to snatch one up, but your eyes don't seem to be able to tell you where to put your hand for it to be anywhere near any of the crayons, and your hand flies back and forth over the tray, knocking everything on the floor.

Your mother and the waitress starts picking them up, and your mother is saying something to the waitress in Spanish which seems rather stern but is meaningless to you, and the crayons and paper leave with the waitress.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 27 2010 1:46 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Did you want to slow down? You keep saying I'm running through it fast. There isn't really very much I can do at the moment, so I'm just trying to find out how my situation is.

Are we still camping? As far as I can tell, what is Sarah doing for money? If she never leaves me alone, what is she doing for that? Also, she has (in my VSP) a crossbow, pocket fisherman, a knife and fire starting gear, as well as other supplies. The throwing knife was intended to be used as a spearhead. Perhaps Sarah figures that out and teaches herself to use one? (It could happen!!) That pack was designed so that I could attempt to live off the land if need be. Might Sarah be trying to teach herself skills like that? I could imagine. She's hungry, has no money, so she takes my crossbow out and kills a deer, or goes fishing or something. Sarah's training should be starting any time. Teaching herself to live off the land seems like as good a skill as any, given the situation. Just a thought. Is she doing any kind of training? She should have some high 1@ scores at least by the time I'm old enough to shoot.

She's also got that field guide for how to make traps and live off the land. It talked about making snares, anyway. That book could have snares for animals that don't even exist here. I wonder what Sarah thinks of that. Probably thinks they're mutants from the future or something. If the snare was for a 4 pound animal, it would work on any 4 pound animal. Sarah teaching herself to live off the land seems like a good skill to start with. She might want to get some skill with those guns. She's got enough ammo to teach herself to use the 2 9mms, anyway. She would probably train herself to use a gun before she tried to meet up with any militia guys. The militia guy could turn on her. Better to be prepared. Teaching herself to shoot and live off the land seems like a good skill set right about now, what do you think? She's got my gold, silver, and gems. She could buy more bullets. Crossbow bolts are reusable. The crossbow is quiet, wouldn't hurt my ears. Sarah teaching herself to shoot and live off the land? It's out in the Mexican desert. She could probably walk 20 feet off the main road and have a place to shoot a gun. That book probably covers desert survival. (What is that book? A 2@5 example or something?)

As far as Sarah's gun skills, does she have to start at 1@1? Could it be that her father was an avid hunter and taught her to shoot at an early age? This Sarah doesn't have to be like the movie Sarah. She could be a 2@4 with most guns, really. I think her father did have guns. When the T-800 is seen in the aftermath of killing Sarah's parents, there's a shotgun blast in a door. The T-800 only had an assault rifle at that point, so I would assume that the shotgun blast probably came from Sarah's father. It wouldn't have done him any good of course, but it's just a thought. Maybe a really good GE roll, Sarah already has some mad gun skills? It's possible.

I didn't have a tent, but I did have a sleeping bag and 4 waterproof king size bedsheets. I was intending to use those to make a lean-to tent if need be. Sarah may have bought a tent. If she does go hunting, you better believe I'll be quiet, unless I see something dangerous that she doesn't.

Can I try to write in dust? Perhaps she sets me down on a dusty-topped coffee table. I could try to write in the dust.

I wonder if I could pray for a soldier from the future or someone to come to help. It's flatlined, I'm sure, but could there be a way to do it?

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 27 2010 1:58 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Your hand/eye is not yet adequate for you to control the fine motor skills necessary to make the lines in the dust that you want.

Sarah is examining the gear in the verser survival pack; not all of it makes sense, but of course you already know she's wearing one of the diamond rings. She has also examined all the guns, trying to figure out how to disassemble and assemble them, how to clean them, what goes with what, but she hasn't fired them yet.

She did get a tent from somewhere, and you've been sleeping in your sleeping bag.

She has done some target shooting with the crossbow. She's particularly interested in the laser pistols, but has not used them.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 27 2010 9:06 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

She has also examined all the guns, trying to figure out how to disassemble and assemble them, how to clean them, what goes with what, but she hasn't fired them yet.

So I wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to ask if Sarah has any gun skills. Although she could conceivably have them.

She has done some target shooting with the crossbow. She's particularly interested in the laser pistols, but has not used them.

I've had books like the one I have in game. It would have information on edible plants (which is probably useless, since it's from another universe) How to make animal snares, fish traps, where to look for water, how to build shelters, all kinds of things. I would expect she would be teaching herself things like that. She could take me out to set up snares, come back 12 hours later with dinner. Set up fishing traps and whatnot. I think she would be trying this. You don't need a ranged weapon to live off the land.

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 27 2010 10:23 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Actually, a book on survival for a universe of many habitable planets would probably have ways of identifying edible plants using whatever tools are immediately available. (That can be tricky, though--I don't know any equipment-free field test for edible plants that works for mushrooms, and I know that berries can be tricky if they have seeds. But I'm sure the book has information on such things.)

At present, Sarah has an infant for whom to care, and so she's staying on the fringes of civilization. Staying in the camper she rented seems to be the norm, with occasional forays putting you in either the tent or a hotel when she is on missions you don't really understand.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 29 2010 7:45 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

I'm half surprised you replied to this at all.

That can be tricky, though--I don't know any equipment-free field test for edible plants that works for mushrooms

Actually I do. A friend of mine was an army ranger. The test for mushrooms is there is no test. They're ALL poisonous. There's not enough food value in a mushroom to worry about it, so just assume they're all poisonous.

Staying in the camper she rented seems to be the norm

What camper? This is the first mention of it. Tell me more about this camper. In fact, why not give me a break down of everything which has happened. Tell me everything that's been happening lately. I've not heard of a camper before now, so there must be some details we're missing.

Thu Apr 29 2010 5:21 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Mea culpa. It was in my post of April 16 that I said you were often at this campground with some broken down house trailers and such, and I meant that you were staying in one of those. It's a more simple one, but it does have bathroom facilities and hookups for power and water.

From what you know, you've moved around some, but this seems to be the base at present. Everyone here speaks Spanish.

The problem with the test "all mushrooms are poisonous" is that it doesn't work for a book on survival across many planets. The reason you don't eat mushrooms in the field for survival is 1) many of them are highly toxic; 2) it takes expert knowledge to distinguish the toxic ones from the good ones; and 3) the toxins are such that a twenty-four hour test won't work, but testing them by ingestion will simply kill you later.

Now, here's the problem: on our world, that growth that will kill you later is a mushroom, but what if on Alpha Centauri Three it's a bean, and on Cetus 7 it's a gourd, and on Sirius 2 it's a berry? If you've got a survival book that will enable you to identify edible plants on any planet, it has to provide a low-tech means of identifying the kinds of toxins that are in poisonous mushrooms, because if those kinds of toxins exist naturally they might be in an entirely different kind of food on a different planet.

If you can't field-test for those toxins, you can't know that any plants are safe on any alien planet, because anything might be this planet's "mushroom".

And bear in mind that when you were on TerraNova no one had ever heard of Earth, so that makes this an "alien" planet in terms of the book.

But I'm assuming that there is such a test in the book; we just don't know what it is.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 29 2010 11:40 pm #

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