Thinking out loud: Could I raise that psionic force shield in the shape of letters or words? If mommy can see it, and I could do that, she could read what I'm writing. No, too dangerous, for now anyway.
Can I tell north, south, west, east? How? Well, if I'm in the "west wing" of the hospital, then I would assume that entering the room would be heading west. Maybe I can see the sun and tell which direction is which. Where are the other two scriff vectors pointing? One is to the VSP and the other is to the gear 20,000 miles away. Can I tell which compass direction it's pointing? Assuming that this earth is identical to ours, knowing the compass direction and having the rough idea of distance, I could guesstimate where the gear might be. (According to my spell check, "guesstimate" is an actual word. I didn't realize that....)
The station gear would/should point to below the horizon. I think the earth drops a degree for every 20 miles. I remember reading that 20 miles is the absolute maximum distance you could fire an explosive driven slug thrower, for that reason. From where I'm sitting, it would be kind of underneath me, due to the circular shape of the earth. The vector in line with me is the VSP, and the vector pointing below the horizon is the station gear. So, which compass direction (if I can tell) is the below the horizon vector pointing?
Two
I realize it's completely irrelevant to the game at the moment, but I felt the need to clarify that snap to stance trick. This would be (in a nutshell) stepping back on my right foot, crouching and raising both of my hands. To the police officer, it would look like I was just surrendering. All I would have to do to move into stance would be to change the position of my arms from hands raised out flat to closed fists, really. It's probably closer to a trick at deception than getting to stance quickly. Perhaps, maybe, I wouldn't do it if I were referee, he has to pass a difficult intuition check to tell that I might not actually be surrendering. Probably deserves a sit-mod on if I have to do it at a moment's notice as opposed to if the cop already has me cornered and I have a minute or two to prepare before the action starts. I know it's irrelevant at the moment, but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. Put it on the back burner for a little while until it comes into play. (And it WILL come into play.) That is all.
(Doing Therapy)
You are in the "maternity ward", and there are no windows in the nursery, and when they take you to your mother they close the blinds first to keep the light a bit dimmer. You have no information about compass directions.
You're a bit fuzzy about the passage of time, because you don't see the sun and you certainly don't eat and sleep on a twenty-four hour schedule, but from comments people make you would guess that you have been alive about three days when you are bundled in warmer clothes, placed in your mother's arms as she is sitting in a wheel chair, and rolled to the parking lot where there is a jeep waiting with the canvas top secured and a child safety seat rear-facing in the front passenger seat. The movement suggests that some of your gear is in the back of this vehicle, probably hidden under the blankets back there. The sky is overcast, and as you are settled into the car seat you can see very little but the larger seat in front of you and the canvas roof that surrounds you.
Your mother appears on the edge of your vision, and with some difficulty you manage to shift slightly to see her blurry face better. It might be that she looked at you and smiled, but that's much more detail than you can see at that distance.
You feel the vehicle start moving.
"Well, John, it's time to head for our new home--wherever we can find it."
The vehicle turns quite a bit, but eventually it seems to pull onto a highway. At this point the third vector is roughly behind you, in the direction the vehicle is headed.
--M. J. Young
At this point the third vector is roughly behind you, in the direction the vehicle is headed.
I'm going to assume that we're headed roughly south, back to Mexico. When do we stop? A hotel? Where? See if I can determine direction then. Perhaps tomorrow will be sunny.
When I have a moment or two alone, try again to raise a flat psionic force field. I just have to raise it once, and then I can put it on practice mode for the next 10 years until the T-1000 shows up. (That IS the way it works, right?)
See if I can get a writing utensil. If I could write even remotely legibly, that would be a big help. Write in the dust on the coffee table if I have to. Don't write on walls with crayons. I imagine mommy would get too upset at having to pay for damage to a hotel room to read what was written. Try to write the word "SKYNET" A baby's scrawl, if it was at least legible.
This could be defining my actions for a week or more, your call.
(Doing Therapy)
You spend the night in a hotel. Mom drops you into a Snugli(TM) while she takes a few things from the jeep into the room--thus you are bounced back and forth several times, but there is something comfortable about the motion and the warmth of being pressed against her belly and breasts causing you to become quickly relaxed and drowsy.
Among the things she brought are apparently a collapsible bassinet of some sort, and you wind up in it. How alone do you wish to be? Your mother isn't going to go out and leave you.
She apparently drove through somewhere to pick up food; you must have been asleep in the car for that.
You wind up lying on your belly on a firm mattress, a light blanket atop you, dressed in a fuzzy all-in-one jammy. You can wiggle your fingers slowly, but you cannot close them firmly nor open them fully. You cannot lift your head off the mattress.
--M. J. Young
How alone do you wish to be? Your mother isn't going to go out and leave you.
She would probably leave me alone in the other room when she was in the bathroom. That would be good enough. Preferably she closes the door, but I'd still try it door open. Psionic force shield.
You're right, I didn't realize how helpless I am. At least when I was in traction I could talk.
(Doing Therapy)
You attempt to raise the screen, and then you involuntarily scream as a searing pain crosses your back.
Your mother comes running, and yanks you out of the bassinet. You can feel the fear in her.
"What happened?" she asks no one, and you feel her pulling your clothes off.
"You're bleeding, John. What kind of madness has Skynet pulled this time? Sending invisible missiles to my room?"
You feel her washing your back; it stings, and you can't help but cry. Then she's bandaging it with something.
In a few minutes she is holding you.
"There, there, I'm here, John. I'll take care of you."
The pain is reducing to the point that you can stop crying, although the emotional surge in your body was surprising, as if you physically over-reacted to what was probably only a minor cut but was a pain for which you were entirely unprepared.
--M. J. Young
So this body is way more sensitive too.
Enough with this for the moment. Just do whatever babies do for right now. Give myself a week or two to heal. Observe what's going on. What am I finding out?
What happens if I practice my psionic healing on that cut? Does it heal faster, but you just don't tell me about the progress? How can I practice psionic healing if I'm not injured, but if I am injured and say I'm healing it, it isn't practice? Well, every little injury I sustain will have psionic healing practiced on it. Maybe if I'm in the sun for long periods, I'll be practicing the psionic healing against the sunburn, and never get burnt.
This should cover the next week or so.
I'm sure you knew I would be confused. I'm guessing you've already used the psionic healing successfully and so want to put it in practice mode, but you don't want to risk botching trying to heal yourself on this cut, so you don't want me to roll.
As to how you practice the psionic healing when you aren't injured, psionic healing involves redirecting your body's self-healing efforts to the injured location. You can practice directing the self-healing efforts to lots of places that are not injured.
I don't know that there's much you can learn. At some point you figure you must be in Mexico; you are always on the move, always staying in very cheap hotels. She eats junk food; you mostly live on breast milk, infant formula, and sweetened water. Your diaper is changed a lot, and you move between car seat, bassinet, Snugli, her arms, and makeshift changing tables. You still can't focus on anything closer than six inches or farther than one and a half feet, so you don't see much of what is happening around you except as blur; you're also backward-facing in the car seat, so you mostly see the sky above the jeep, which is usually blue with stray white clouds.
The blurry humanoid figures you see frequently have distorted heads, which you realize are large hats. The language is the one you don't know, most of the time, except when mom talks directly to you.
I don't know whether that helps, but we'll go through a week of that and you can tell me what you're doing next.
--M. J. Young
I'm sure you knew I would be confused. I'm guessing you've already used the psionic healing successfully and so want to put it in practice mode, but you don't want to risk botching trying to heal yourself on this cut, so you don't want me to roll.
Exactly. Well, I'm putting psionic healing into practice mode. If that means I heal injuries then all the better.
After a week, when I get a minute alone, try the psionic force shield again. Flat shield.
Just keep doing what babies do and see what else happens.
Most of what babies do in the first two weeks of life is eat, sleep, and get moved around by people--in this case, by mom, who feeds and changes you, and sometimes has you sleep in the bed with you and other times puts you in the bassinet near her. She's more paranoid now, though, since your mysterious injury.
You are constantly on the move.
Most nights you are in hotels, but a few nights you sleep in blankets in a small tent. It's always hot, which is fine, because you realize that you get cold pretty quickly when you're being cleaned.
--M. J. Young
--M. J. Young
When I get a minute alone, try again the psionic force field. If I botch again, that's three in a row.
If I get it to work, put it in practice mode. Keep rolling until I get it to work or botch again.
Keep doing what babies do.
The apparent attack on you has your mother paranoid enough that she does not leave you alone at all--she takes you with her into bathrooms, and usually has a gun with her as well. You are not more than five feet away from her at any time over the next two or three weeks, and that for not more than fifteen seconds.
I'm assuming that this is not sufficient time/distance for you to make a next attempt, but you can tell me otherwise.
--M. J. Young
Which gun does she carry? Is it one of mine, or one that she bought herself? Just curious.
Keep doing what babies do. How long will it be before I am able to speak? (You probably can't/won't answer that, but I just thought I would ask)
I've put the psionic healing and the psionic sensory increase into practice mode. I'm practicing both a lot. By the time the T-1,000 shows up, I should be a 3@ in both of those.
Two
Have I been able to determine which direction is which yet? East rising, west setting sun, can I tell which direction my gear is?
(Doing Therapy)
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
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)
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
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)
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
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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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
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.
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)
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
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)
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)
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
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)
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.Spelling out SkyNet with blocks would be a cinch, comparatively speaking.
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
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)
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
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)
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)
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
- Stare at her like she's crazy?
- Intentionally babble nonsense back at her?
- Try to copy the sounds of the words she is making?
- Try to answer her in English?
- Do something else which you will explain to me?
--M. J. Young
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.