The Name's Oliver - Ben Oliver. Ch. 159: Duty vs Ethics, Pt. II

[chetanhaobijam]

Well done, Keira. Hurrah to you. It was nice to see our sims graduating.

[chetanhaobijam]

So, in happiness and joy on graduating from the OSS, here is Tomba speech:
Good Morning, everyone. It's been an honor and a privilege to study in this school. And it has been a high honor to meet and study under the world famous agent, Sir Ben Oliver. I have learn so much from you. And I am glad that I have passed and graduating from your renowned school. In this success, I want to give the credit to my sponsor Mr. Haobijam. I would not be studying in the school, without his effort and consideration. Special credit to my team-mate Jasper. He was a great friend and a great support in  the team. Last credit to all of you. Even if you were on different team, you all have given me great friendship, which I will never forget. I was a simple Indian man when I came first on the Valley, but now I am a qualified spy. Thank you.

[Schipperke]

So, in happiness and joy on graduating from the OSS, here is Tomba speech:
Good Morning, everyone. It's been an honor and a previlege to study in this school. And it has been a high honor to meet and study under the world famous agent, Sir Ben Oliver. I have learn so much from you. And I am glad that I have passed and graduating from your renowned school. In this success, I want to give the credit to my sponsor Mr. Haobijam. I would not be studying in the school, without his effort and consideration. Special credit to my team-mate Jasper. He was a great friend and a great support in  the team. Last credit to all of you. Even if you were on different team, but you all have given me great friendship, which I will never forget. I was simple Indian man when I came first on the Valley, but now I am a qualified spy. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Tomba and chetan, for that marvellous speech!  Ben is quite chuffed at being referred to as "Sir Ben Oliver."  And I agree that without Mr. Haobijam's hard work, Tomba wouldn't have achieved nearly as much as he did!  .

[RainBeau]

Hazel drops both her jaw and her diploma. For once she has no eloquent response to the situation.
Hazel: W-what?

[Schipperke]

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the long hiatus in this story.  I had planned to show the students socializing and having their farewell party, but that game file got glitchy and I haven't been able to fix whatever is wrong with it.  My apologies, especially to the students and their handlers for keeping you waiting.

Now that the students have all graduated and gone their separate ways, please join me in a round of applause for the handlers who did a masterful job with their assignments:

- Swirl-Girl & her Sim Keira 
- Wiry & his Sim Ezagutza
- Danielle Haydis and her Sim Coline
- RaiaDraconis and her Sim Jasper
- Chetanhaobijam and his Sim Tomba
- Ombradellarosa and her Sim Hazel
- and KillCupido and her Sim John, who found themselves unable to complete the project.

It was a big job for the handlers, and they really delivered!  *applause, loud cheers*

... and now our hard-working instructor (Ben) is ready for a rest.  No rest for the wicked, you say?  Well, wait and see what happens on Ben's little break.  Coming soon. 

[Audren]

Great job, everyone! The assignments were great, and it was a lot of fun to read. Can't wait to see what happens next! 

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part I

Diary Entry

The partying was over.  The students had all graduated and left for home.  I had enjoyed the OSS, but it had been a busy few weeks, and I was looking forward to a short break before resuming my normal duties at work.  I hadn't seen my father in a long time, so Sunday morning I said goodbye to the recruits and May, and stepped into the time machine that would take me to Payne's Glade.



I never knew exactly where in – or out of – the Sim world Payne's Glade was.  From what little my father had said on the subject, it was a sort of way station somewhere between his homeland and the Sim world.  The journey to Payne's Glade didn't take long in the time machine as a rule.  There seemed to be an unusual amount of turbulence today.



Then the machine lurched and flipped over.



My whole body felt as if it was being twisted out of shape and I felt decidedly queasy.





By this time, the machine was spinning wildly, totally out of control.  I lost all sense of time or place and couldn't have said whether I was right side up or upside down.



I don't know how long the wild journey lasted, but it seemed to be forever.  I was sure this was going to mean the end of me – Ben Oliver, dead not at the hands of ESCARGOT but from a faulty time machine.  I was wondering how my father would take the news of my death when the time machine suddenly came to a juddering stop.  The automatic door opened and I fell out on the ground.

[Trip]

Well, being greeted by that isn't a good sign!

So glad to see a new update.

[simaholic^]

It look like Ben is in trouble! Great pictures.

[RaiaDraconis]

Oh wow, how in the world did you manage those crazy screenshots? Poor Ben, that even looked nauseating.

Yep, he's in trouble again. But knowing Ben he will find a clever way out...eventually.

[Schipperke]

Oh wow, how in the world did you manage those crazy screenshots?

I used Paint.Net to edit them to obtain those effects.  It's a free photo editing program. 

[RaiaDraconis]

I used Paint.Net to edit them to obtain those effects.  It's a free photo editing program. 

That is awesome! I'm going to have to give that a shot. Thanks!

[Schipperke]

That is awesome! I'm going to have to give that a shot. Thanks!

Yeah, I think it's a good program.  And definitely the price is right. 

By the way, I forgot to mention that I also used the fog emitter to create the effects in the first couple of screenshots.

[chetanhaobijam]

Good to see Ben on another adventure. I wonder what will happen to him. Looking forward for next update.

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part II

Diary Entry

I sat on the ground, stunned and trembling from my wild ride.  I opened my eyes, expecting to see my father, and saw instead a fierce-looking man dressed in strange garb and aiming a very sharp-looking arrow at me.



Where was I?  And who was the fellow with the arrow?  I got shakily to my feet and stood brushing down my jacket as two opulently-gowned women bustled over.



“What is it, Mordred?” the woman in the purple gown asked the man.

“Stand back, Griselda!” the man exclaimed in a deep, powerful voice.  “Didst observe how yon varlet emerged from a strange-looking box that wasn't there a moment ago?  Evil doings are afoot, I'll warrant.”

“Witch!” the woman in purple called Griselda shrieked, pointing dramatically at – me?



I walked up to the man.  “I'm no witch,” I told him.  “My name's Oliver – Ben Oliver.  I'm from Monte Vista -”



“Silence!” he roared at me.  “We have not given you permission to speak.”  He turned to the women.  “Observe the immodesty of the knave's dress.  No decent man goes around dressed in a shift!  Mark me, what we have here is a dangerous lunatic.  And the box that appears from nowhere is clearly black magic of the most diabolical sort.”

“Yes, yes!” said Griselda.  “A most dangerous witch, who must be burned at the stake.  Thank goodness for the hay that was just delivered yesterday – it will make a very fitting pyre for this witch.”



Witch?  Burned at the stake?  I couldn't believe my ears.  Surely this must be a nightmare.  I pinched my arm but the pain convinced me that I was in fact awake, and this was no dream.  I glanced uneasily at the  stacks of tinder-dry hay and at the excited gleam in the eyes of Griselda and knew there was no way I'd be able to talk my way out of this.  I tensed my muscles and prepared to run.

Then the blonde woman in the blue gown began to laugh.  “Sire, this is no witch!” she said.



“Elaine, you are young and innocent, and I'm afraid you know nothing of these matters,” the man said, dismissing her. 

But she continued speaking, “Sire, methinks your new fool has arrived!”  she gestured at me.  “Giacomo the Great, King of Jesters and Jester of Kings.  Surely yon garment is part of his fool's costume!  And as for the box, no doubt good Giacomo wanted to entertain you with this singular mode of arrival.”  She turned and looked meaningfully at me.



I didn't know why she was helping me, but the lady Elaine had just thrown me a lifeline.  If playing the fool would keep me from being the main attraction at a barbecue, I'd play along.

“Oh, Sire, please forgive your humble servant!” I said, trying to speak like Mordred and the women.  “As the gracious lady has explained, I had heard tales of your majesty's wit and originality, and so I devised this unusual arrival just to amuse you!” 



I bowed low, pasted an apologetic look on my face, and held my breath as I waited to hear Mordred's response.