Of Young Love, Aliens and Committee Meetings
My dearest Holly,
Well, my only Holly, come to that. When you turned up at the beach yesterday, I just couldn’t help myself. I had to kiss you. I’m sorry your favourite blouse got soaked. It was one of those spur of the moment things. I didn’t stop to think that having just climbed out of the hot tub might be a problem.
Of course, as soon as my arms went round you, I realised. You were all dry and dressed and stuff. Not good, Mike. But then you hugged me and kissed me as if you didn’t care either.
And then you agreed to come home with me. The stars have never looked so beautiful. I may have the paving imprinted on my behind for life but it was worth it.
Then we kissed again and I wanted it to go on forever.
And then… the rest of it. Last night was wonderful. As are you.
All my love,
Mike xxx
* * * * *
Darling Hols,
So sorry to hear you’re under the weather. I told you you shouldn’t have had the lobster. Steak is far safer. Cuddle up in bed and look after yourself.
I should be finished here in another day or two. Then I can come and look after you. And maybe cuddle up with you.
Get well soon,
Mike xxx
* * * * *
A Night With the Starsstarryabductees.org.svYou are not alone!1/5/13
EmmaH
Pollination Technician
Posts: 103Last night I saw the lights again. I’d gone to bed but I was still awake. Even through closed eyelids, the lights were bright – and unmistakable. I ran out on to the balcony.
The lights were already drifting down to the ground. Someone else was their target this time.
Michael seemed fascinated. He didn’t try to run as I had. Instead, he just stood there gazing up into the beam of light until it drew him up into the ship.
I didn’t know what to think – or how to feel. Of course, I was worried for Michael. Would he be haunted as I was? As I still am, sometimes. But seeing it happen to someone else removed any last doubts about my sanity. The aliens were real. Now maybe I’d feel confident enough to tell everyone. With two of us, we’d be twice as likely to be believed. Wouldn’t we?
Then I noticed Stiles on the path below me. He’d seen it, too.
In just a few minutes, the spaceship was back.
Stiles is braver than I am. He walked over for a closer look (and, it turned out, to get some better photos).
Just as I had, Michael teleported out with the alien (was it Tixxit again?) and stood looking dazed. I finally pulled myself together and called him upstairs for tea and sympathy.
But it wasn’t really needed. He was OK. A little shaken, perhaps, but not confused and distraught as I had been.
It seems that the aliens have been working on communicating with humans – and that they have also developed a device to remove our negative feelings.
Michael was given one as a gift. He thinks it was intended for me, to help with my flashbacks. He also has one of their transporters.
* * * * *
SASP: minutes of the Extraordinary Committee Meeting held on Sunday, Week 5Present:Tamara Clavell
Stiles McGraw
Emma Hatch
David Decker
Blair Decker
River McIrish
Michael Bachelor
Apologies:Ayesha McGraw
After a brief introduction by Tamara Clavell, Emma Hatch and Michael Bachelor told of their experiences of abduction by aliens.
Photographs taken by Stiles McGraw, a witness to the second incident, and examples of alien technology were produced in support of their story and the meeting agreed that, incredible as it seemed, the evidence was overwhelming that:
- Aliens exist and
- They are interested in us.
It is unclear whether they regard us as objects of scientific study or a source of light entertainment. Either way, they are prepared to reward us with more gifts of their technology. Given that we cannot detect their observations (other than a vague feeling of being watched) and have no way of either predicting their arrival or avoiding further abductions, the SASP committee is of the collective opinion that we should make the best of it and cooperate.
From what Michael was told, Emma’s new cooking style is at least as important to promoting our health and fertility as the medical treatments we have developed. It is therefore vital that we increase and improve our stocks of herbs and spices
(Action: S. McGraw) and analyse them to try to identify the active ingredients
(Action: D. Decker).
The aliens are intrigued by our quest for survival and have promised greater rewards if we can keep the ‘experiment’ going for ten generations, starting with the current children. The nature of these rewards is not completely clear and is somewhat controversial but it appears that we could, if we choose, be revived with our current memories but with our youth restored. Immortality also appears to be a possibility (i.e., escape from the endless cycles).
They want to study every aspect of our lives, including death. However, they also wish to challenge us and for variety in their observations. (This would appear to support the ‘light entertainment’ theory.) Therefore, every generation must move to a new house, taking limited money and possessions, but before doing so, each heir must complete a series of tasks.
These are codified as rules in Appendix 1* but can be summarised as:
- Success at school and in a career
- Expertise in a skill
- Completion of a series of unique tasks Can’t we call them ‘Black Ops’? It sounds way cooler – DD
- Financial success, demonstrated through property ownership
- Achieving maturity. Basically, having a few birthdays – DD
The aliens do not wish us to live in isolation but as part of our society.
They were intrigued by the recent attempted burglary and therefore would particularly like to see more of ‘the homeless ones with strange clothing’ (see Rules 2 and 3).
Finally, they wish every household to assemble a unique collection of ten items. (They are aware that we have already started one.)
It will be observed that the number ten recurs throughout the ruleset. The aliens find it amusing that beings with four limbs, each with five digits, would choose to use base ten in preference to four, five or twenty.
It’s an in-joke! I told you we were on the alien equivalent of reality TV.In the immediate future, it is clear that the onus of completing these challenges will largely be on Xena Decker. Given her youth, SASP feels that knowledge of her responsibilities should be introduced gradually, as she develops the maturity to cope with them
(Action: B. Decker). Meanwhile, we should ensure that she continues to do well in school
(Action: all).
Five*
Three more suggestions were rejected as rules but it is the SASP committee’s fervent hope that Xena and her heirs will do their best to comply, since these are the raisons d’être for both SASP and Xena herself. However, since we require the goodwill of Tixxit’s society, the rules in Appendix 1 take priority. These additions are:
- The family should attempt to ensure the survival of as many original Sunset Valley bloodlines as possible.
- Of these, descendants of the original household should be given priority.
- The offspring of ‘real’ Sims are to be preferred as spouses and ‘clones’ should be avoided where possible.
- All children born into the family shall have names beginning with ‘X’. The aliens’ll love it! Just point out that it’s the Roman numeral for 10.
- No spouse shall be named Crumplebottom or Steel.
* * * * *
River,
One of our esteemed committee members seems to have made some inappropriate additions to your excellent minutes. Could you be an angel and run off a clean copy, then get it to our legal eagle ASAP? I’d do it myself but Gunther Goth wants a meeting today. Maybe the old skinflint is finally going to cough up some cash.
Thanks,
Tam
Sorry about the slightly boring chapter. I had to get the rules in somewhere and this seemed like the right point. The committee meeting was staged in a parallel file since I could never get enough of them together in-game for anything that looked like a discussion. Even in a file with static needs and no free will, they still managed to spoil a lot of screenshots. Blair kept getting up and walking around, complaining about the crowd, Michael kept insisting he had pathing issues for no apparent reason and Tamara appeared to be sucking lemons.
Having created the set for the SASP offices, I may use it again later – although its location is strangely empty in the main story
.
I’d been waiting for someone else to get abducted so that poor Emma had some support. Eventually I sent half the household out in search of space rocks. I didn’t do too well, since
they don’t have the aliens haven’t given them a collection helper yet and it’s been so long since I’ve played in SV, I’ve forgotten where most of the spawners are. Still, they collected enough to trigger a visit that night. Michael didn’t get pregnant, by the way – the house was full at this point.
…And, since he doesn’t seem to be appearing much in the story itself, here is an irrelevant toddler pic of Xavier.
I thought his hair was random mutation until one of the offspring pointed out that Boyd has pale blond/grey hair. I checked in a new Sunset Valley file and, yes, Xavier has inherited his granddad’s hair.
Next chapter
