Children. I Work With Children (Part 1)

(Game date: 9/10/2020)

The most important thing any group needs is funding.  Some may argue that point, until they need something.

Mauger wants to peddle drugs.  Not really my cup of tea, but if we can avoid killing anyone with it then fine, it's not like the government puts any real effort into keeping it off the streets.  All it really requires of me is an untraceable dead drop interface and some throwaway BANlink contacts.  I can do that in my sleep.  The real danger comes from the street gangs protecting their turf.

I have another idea.

Since the kid, Ryatt, helped me with the TekKnights hack, I've promised him a couple of favors, and I don't like owing anyone anything.  Can't really describe the feeling -- kind of like a security flag was sprung, but no alarms went off, but you just know they will?  So I looked into his reason for invading the TK servers.

Turns out they had a Cease & Desist letter in there, from the SiNet corp, telling Ryatt to stop giving away his own games!  

Breakfast In The Park

 Game date: 8/13/2020

I do not address this entry to my future adoring fans, eager to know every detail of my life.  

Nor do I address it to my VP Parker, burgeoning with potential consciousness.

Yet neither am I making a generic journal entry.

No, this entry is addressed to my father.  Today you would have been proud of me.  You bastard.

Data Heist

 Game date: 8/6/2020

Everything went right.  So why am I still uneasy?

I stopped off at the lair just long enough to grab a quick bite (had to tell the AutoChef to deliver it silently, the voice bugs me now) and plan my attack on TK security.  Then I threw that plan in the recycler and started over from scratch.  When I finally had something that I thought would work, I then set up some backup contingencies in case I got burned, and how badly.  

Everything I own is tied up in this flat, and now in this job.  My so-called family doesn't need any of it, and wouldn't care for it if they had it.  And the closest thing I have to a friend, I realize with some dismay, is my temporary foxkin roommate.  So be it.  

"Parker, prepare to accept contingency programming.

The Best-Laid Plans of Golden Elves, Shiny Gnomes, Foxkin and Men

Game date: 7/23/2020 and 7/30/2020

There must be some universal law about things going wrong, because the universe certainly works overtime to make sure that they do.

I have emptied my bank account to ensure that Aru cannot be traced.  I have invited him into my home to keep him safely off the streets.  And tonight all that may turn out to be for naught.

Here's what happened.

This Plan Stinks

Game date: 7/16/2020

 "Jane Doe" set up a safehouse meeting to discuss the messages that each of us received which led to the Tenner Hut debacle.  She got about as far as denying being the source of these messages when the apartment's vidscreen turned on, tuned to a news report of said debacle.  It appears that my efforts to erase the security footage did little good; they have an image of the trigger-happy individual, and they have the full info of one other person on the scene.  Not broadcasting anything about me, thankfully.  

Then, of all things, the AutoChef starts babbling about having guests over -- right about the same time as Parker warns me that we have Tek Knights closing in.  I informed the others.  Of course, the only pushback came from the shooter, and tempers became short before JD offered an escape route through the Tunnels.  All present agreed to take that.

Once down, she locked the elevator, and I opened one of the two doors leading from the basement into the Tunnels.  We didn't get far before we found our way blocked by some glowing humanoids.  I have never personally heard of any species fitting this description, but just to be safe I asked JD if they were friends of hers.  This, she disavowed, with no little measure of panic in her voice.  

Strange Things Are Afoot At The Tenner Hut

 My son runs a weekly online cyber-punk style game on Roll20.net called Æstas.  Any post with that tag is a storynote from my character, Ezekiel Kai, crossposted here for possible entertainment value.

Game date: 6/25/2020

Responded to a message from one "Jane Doe," a pseudonym to blatantly advertise itself, asking for my presence at a certain time and place with the offer of employment. As I have gone to extravagant expense to set myself up specifically to obtain clandestine employment, I cannot afford at this time to turn down the very first such offer. Still, as I have not yet advertised my services, I took certain precautions. Set up the crawler drone (Maggy) on the wall as a lookout, took a peek at the place ahead of time.

It's a simple convenience store; a hole-in-the wall really. I did see someone else doing much the same thing. So, our Jane is hiring en masse. I do hope she's not looking for a low bidder.

Quite a large troupe at the Tenner Hut tonight. Doesn't take a discerning eye to tell the casual shoppers (and casual looters) from those who are obviously expecting to see someone. Problem is, the "someone" doesn't seem to be there. Everyone who isn't looking expectantly for an unknown face, is very wrapped up in their own little worlds.

Then she stepped through the door. A single woman, nothing too extraordinary about her, save a hunted expression on her face. Every seeker's eye met hers. She seemed startled, as the crowd was too much. This confused me: Didn't the invitation come from her?

Review: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bedtime Reading stream: September 23, 2020 -- September 30, 2020

Of course we loved the Beverly Cleary books. However, the main reason I chose this one was in honor of the household mice I recently released into the wild. One of them was nicknamed "Runaway Ralph."

The premise of this story is that toy motorcycles run on the noise you make when you play with them.  Oh, and also that mice can talk, if only you know how to hear them.  A boy travelling with his family stop at a run-down hotel, where he meets a young mouse who dreams of the open road. 

Like most of the books I chose in the early days of this stream, this one is aimed at younger readers.  Not quite as funny as some of the Ramona books, but still a good experience.

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