"John, is it better to go to the hospital or wait for an ambulance?"
"Well, since the ambulance has a siren and lights, I say wait for the ambulance. Besides, I'd feel bad if you took off without getting checked out.
"You want to test your shirts by firing my revolvers at them? Well, put it on and I'll shoot you."
It's a joke, but she's not laughing.
"Sure, if you really want to. But I need to have all of my stuff nearby in case I don't make it. We can do that tomorrow. But you gotta shoot me square. Plus, I want to see if they have any trauma plates for it first. If it can take a 50 cal at point-blank range, it can take just about anything."
Completely serious.
"Also, I want you to fight me again if I survive. I think you need to get out some frustration for that. This time, you're blindfolded. I want to try to teach you Fighting Blind. I can see and you can't. I'll take it easy on you until you get the hang of it."
When am I going to learn not to freak out like that??? Anyway, I'm wearing gloves, so it's the new use. Give me the new use at the beginning, so I get 2 attacks per turn, and no more mock fights for the rest of the world. That is, provided I survive the gunshot, and am in any condition to fight....
When you find the security office in the administration area, you note that it is comprised largely of monitoring stations of various sorts. You are directed to a terminal for an application process. It asks first for you to identify yourself by placing your hand on the reader (as is done in store terminals), and then asks several questions:
Type in:
"First, can I find out more about the job?"
See what it does.
The hardware store offers you a flameless laser torch which runs at one thousand degrees for two hours on a single power pack, and can reach 4000 for short periods. It's not good for major jobs like spaceship hull repairs, but it's only about half a pound and six inches in length, similar to an aerasol can in size/shape.
"Can these also charge on sunlight? Do you have any that can?"
They also have several fuel-driven torches, but these are harder to use.
"What are the capabilities of these?"
They have a portable light about the size of a (2 D-cell) flashlight which is as bright as a 150 spotlight/floodlight (the lens adjusts to wide or narrow beam) and gets about eight hours of light from a single charge. It can be recharged in about an hour from a standard electrical supply or in about twelve hours of sunlight. There is a penlight version which puts out the equivalent of a twenty-five watt bulb and requires similar recharging.
"The best-known export from Poland. The solar-powered flashlight. I'll take one of each."
If you're looking for something that recharges from movement, they recommend you try a camping goods store. They've seen a gadget that connects to a belt or backpack and uses the bounce of a hiker's pace to recharge power packs.
Get one of these too. I've seen a flashlight that you can wind up to charge, do they have anything like that? It has a spinning dynamo generator in it. Like in my radio. Anything like that?
"Hey Mr. Camping Store type person, what are the capabilities of these?"
I fell back into the old rut of buying guns before buying things which might actually be useful....
He says he doesn't carry them because they're a bad design--using the hammer weakens the connection to the handle, and hammering with the blade up is dangerous. He shows you a hatchet similar to your own, and says that the way to hammer with a hatchet is to use the side of the head, not the back. That way your hatchet lasts longer.
"Well, given the level of technology I've seen here, I would imagine they're made out of some high-tech metal that would never break. If the handle was made out of wood, your concern would be merited, but with this level of technology, are you certain they would be like that? Besides, I seem to recall wood being rather rare and valuable. I bet they're made out of a single piece of incredibly hard metal that never breaks. As far as having the blade up when hammering, a simple covering which also secured it to your belt would take care of that."
You could almost call that an in character, out of character question......
I guess I'm asking "Are you sure he doesn't carry it?" A 19 isn't THAT bad of a roll....
I'm trying to keep the weight down in the VSP, so I want as few things that can do as much as possible. A hatchet/hammer weighs as much as one, and does the job of two. Might as well make the most of the high-tech world I'm in....
(Doing Therapy)
