Mission Highly Unlikely: Mission Complete

[donatello]

Oh you don't know Goodwin! He's not just Good, he's very Brave! As well as Family-Oriented, a Hopeless Romantic, and a Great Kisser! Sigh...

Hahahahaha... You're adorable, lol!

[Silverbella]

Hahahahaha... You're adorable, lol!

She is isn't she?    And I agree, with Goodwin and Mary on his side there's no way Nameless can fail!

[Schipperke]

An Ambitious Plan

Diary Entry

Could I really be hearing this?  I would have said Mr Payne wasn't the sort to ever give up.  Was he seriously suggesting we abort the mission? 

"I can see no alternative," he said.  "It's not your fault.  The fault is mine.  I knew this town needed help and was sure we could make a difference.  I had no idea how difficult it would be.  The most important mission of my life, and it's ending in failure.  Well, it can't be helped.  We'll just have to place an embargo on the town and leave them to their fate.  Let me know when you'll be ready to leave and I'll book your flight out of this benighted town."



Leave now?  Just when I had met Holly and Miraj?  When I had done all my work on the showers?  And go back to what - lying on the couch in front of the television, guzzling nectar and feeling sorry for myself?  Suddenly I realized I didn't want that kind of life anymore.  For the first time since my wife took my daughter away, I had started to care about someone other than myself.  And I had started to care about myself too.  I had begun to believe that I might have something to offer.  I came to this town because I didn't know what else to do, not because I cared about the town or its inhabitants.  But to my surprise, I had started to care.  I didn't want to abort the mission.

As Mr Payne was talking to me, Mary Fairy arrived.



She looked at me and asked, "Do you want to leave?  Are you ready to abort the mission?"  I shook my head dumbly.  She continued, "Because I'm not ready to quit."  To Mr Payne she said, "I just got here.  But I've met enough of the townspeople to know they aren't all bad.  We can't just leave them to their fate!  They need help!  I believe it might even be possible to persuade some of the Evil ones to change.  Maybe not the top-level bosses; they gain too much benefit from the way things are to want to change.  But there are a lot of Evil Sims living in very poor conditions, and I think we might be able to reach them.  I wonder why the library and art gallery were torn down in the first place."



I could answer that.  "Holly told me that the Evil ones didn't want the people to have access to free reading material.  They kept the book store because someone makes money from that.  Of course, what is sold at the book store is subject to their approval and censorship.  So those with money can have books, but as for the poor or the elderly, those who don't have big incomes, they have nothing to read and no chance of bettering themselves.  This suits the Evil ones and helps to ensure their grip on the town remains unchallenged."

Mr Payne added, "Learning has always been a threat to evil regimes.  An educated populace will think for themselves, instead of just accepting the party line.  Educated people are more likely to question the status quo and to push for change."

Mary asked, "But didn't they keep the school?  What about the children's education?"

Again, Holly had explained this to me:  "The Evil ones recognized that they needed a skilled workforce to do their jobs, so they kept the school.  But of course, the curriculum is strictly controlled by them."



Mr Payne pointed out, "And, of course, art has always been subversive, to a greater or lesser degree, in that it challenges people to look at things differently.  Artists by their nature are independent thinkers, harder for the Evil ones to control.  So it makes sense that they would want to shut down that sort of self-expression by getting rid of the art gallery."

"But there must be something we can do!"  I burst out.  "What if we rebuild the library?"

Mr Payne said, "I wish it were that easy.  But where would the money come from?  Building a library is a very expensive undertaking.  The Vandersim foundation I manage would love to help, but there is no way to transfer funds to this town.  The Evil ones have seen to that.  If we tried to somehow circumvent the rules they've put in place, there could be severe repercussions.  All the Good Sims and the innocent bystanders in town would be in jeopardy.  And, of course, a library isn't just a building - it needs books.  Where would they come from?"

Mary said, "What if we earned the money and paid to have the library built?  It would take time, but my sculptures are starting to bring in money.  I'll gladly donate all the money to the library fund."

I chimed in:  "I can write books for the library!  I've already written one!"  Well, the one book I had written was a monumental flop, but I was sure I would get better with practice.  Not to be outdone by Mary Fairy, I added,  "And I'll donate my royalties to the library fund."

Mary offered to try her hand at writing as well.  "I wonder how many books we need to open the library?"



None of us was sure how many books a library needed.  We would have to buy the skill books, but for general reading, how many books should we aim for?  We decided to start with a goal of  75 different books.  First we would build and equip the library, then we'd take on the task of building and equipping an art gallery.

Mr Payne said, "Well, if you're sure you want to do this.  It's a very ambitious plan.  I'll talk to the Good Sims in exile and let them know of your hard work on their behalf.  I must say, I am truly impressed by the two of you.  I'm sure your determination and hard work will pay off.  I'll do what I can to support you.  But be careful.  The closer you get to your goal, the greater the risk that the Evil ones will get wind of what you're doing.  If that happens, neither you nor any of the Good Sims in town will be safe.  And now, I must be leaving.  Mary, will you walk me to the gate?"

Diary Entry Ends.

Mr Payne:  How's it going?  How are you coping?
Mary:  It was hard at first.  I wasn't sure what I should be doing.  But now I have a better idea of what this mission is all about.  I believe I can help.
Mr Payne:  You already have helped, without knowing it.  Just having you here has shaken him out of his lethargy.  Whether it was because he felt he needed to prove that he could do it without your help or whether he had actually begun to shake free of the depression he's been wallowing in since his divorce, doesn't matter.  The change in him is enormous.  I always felt the boy had potential, despite his many flaws.  And you were the trigger, you helped to take him out of himself. 

The two friends say their goodbyes.



I can't show you what Mr Payne did next.  He insists it would be detrimental to his dignity if I were to show you a picture of him clicking his heels together and loudly singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."  So I'll just leave you with this picture of him going on his way, with a spring in his step.



 

[JudesSims]

I just have one word...no, two words...no, three words: Excellent, excellent, excellent!

[donatello]

Reverse psychology... I had suspected that!

[ladyaya]

Haha, Mr. Payne's a wily one!

I'm thinking that Sinbad Rotter will change his spots later on if Mary's talking about other evil sims willing to change? 

[saltpastillen]

A do it yourself library, what a wonderful idea!

[Wiry]

Splendid! 

Of course, you must remember now that as I said, I was rooting for the good sims just so I can come back and muck it up 

[Odinsdottir]

I knew Nameless would pull through! 

[SadieHamming]

Rebuilding the library is awesome! Go Nameless!

[Audren]

Reverse psychology... I had suspected that!

What else would you expect from a personal friend of Simgund Freud? 

I'm glad Nameless and Mary aren't giving up! Yay for culture! 

[RainBeau]

I knew it! Haha, I was right! That's exactly what I thought they would do! Except I didn't think of them actually writing the books and so on, that's the extra mile and it makes all kinds of sense! Way to go Schip!

Hahahahaha... You're adorable, lol!

She is isn't she?    And I agree, with Goodwin and Mary on his side there's no way Nameless can fail!

*blush*

[Louise56]

Mr Payne is my hero lol, I love the last picture. They have a lot of work with the library, but I know they can do it!

[Schipperke]

Full Speed Ahead

Diary Entry

And so Mary Fairy and I set to work on our ambitious project.  Books to write, sculptures to sculpt and sell, and soon the money would be rolling in - we hoped.  But first I had an important service to perform.  Mr Payne had given me Goodwin Goode's address and I set out to welcome him to the town.



Goodwin was dismayed to learn of the corruption in Sundown Town's police force, and he vowed to do what he could to help clean it up.

"Speaking of cleaning," said I, as I handed him his own evil-free, self-cleansing shower.



Goodwin's evil roommate was taking a great deal of interest in our discussion.  He had obviously overheard some of what we had been saying.  But I felt a bit of relief that he seemed to think I was giving Goodwin an ordinary sink.  I worried about what might happen if the Evil ones discovered our plan to distribute self-cleansing showers.



On my way home from Goodwin's I stopped at the Consignment Shop.  Cornelia sensed something different in me and insisted that it was time for me to have a new outfit "to celebrate the new you."



I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and resolved to wear my new clothes from time to time.  But I wouldn't throw out my old duds just yet.  They might be a bit frayed, but they were comfortable and I was sure I could still get quite a bit of wear out of them.

I stopped by Central Park hoping to see families picnicking.  The only group of picnickers was Vita's spies.  They were trying to look casual in their leisure clothes, but there was no mistaking those boys and the way they were watching everyone.



I ran into Vita and was amazed at the change in her appearance.  Last time I had seen her she was a zombie, now she was a vampire?  What did the woman think she was doing?  Was she trying on every vile, evil persona she could think of?



Vita kept eyeing my neck in a hungry way, so I beat a hasty retreat back to the safety of Raven House.

Back home, I changed into my comfortable old clothes and sat down to see if I could write a book that wouldn't flop.  Mary Fairy was downstairs working on her sculptures.  I hadn't seen her or talked to her all day, but I seemed to feel her presence.



Ever since our meeting with Mr Payne, I had been feeling a little guilty that I hadn't given Mary a self-cleansing shower yet.  She was still using one of the standard-issue evil showers.  If her sculpting was really going to earn money for the library fund, she deserved to have an improved shower.  Besides, working on her shower would give me the perfect excuse to see what she was doing down in the basement.  What I saw shocked me deeply.



Ice?  The poor demented fairy was putting all that work into something that would melt into a worthless puddle of water?  She said, "I am very close to learning the secret of making permanent ice sculptures!  Think of it - ice that will never melt!"

Well, she wanted to believe in what she was doing, and I wasn't going to argue with the poor thing.  But I resolved to redouble my efforts to write lucrative books.  Obviously I wasn't going to be able to count on much help from the poor fairy.  Non-melting ice?  What strange thing would she pursue next - solid air?  However, she clearly believed in what she was doing.  She had persuaded Aleister's shop to allow her to sell her sculptures on consignment, and she purchased a small vehicle to take them to the store.  She special-ordered a vehicle with no back windows so the Evil ones couldn't see what she was transporting and become suspicous.



Every night I fell into bed exhausted from the day's labours.  But there was a certain satisfaction in having spent my day working for a good cause.  And every morning when I woke up, Ashynna's portrait reminded me of the Good Sims counting on me, and gave me the strength to carry on.



Despite all the hard work, life was good these days.  Then Holly brought word of a new threat.
 

[saltpastillen]

Solid air, I've heard it's the next big thing