Multiple chapters: Old changes (see long description)

My old laptop broke and I just finally got around to getting the files
off its SSD. I have no idea what exactly I was working on back then.
It’s been a while.
master
BodgeMaster 2025-01-02 09:06:37 +01:00
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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Bare Necessities </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> Bare Necessities </h1>
<p>
Jack is driving the truck towards a dried-out river. On the other side,
a bit in the distance, is a group of houses that &ndash; while they
<span class="comment">certainly have? have certainly?</span> seen better
days &ndash; don&apos;t look abandoned. Jack says
<span class="quote speech">Hold on!
<span class="comment">Festhalten?</span></span> and drives into the
river bed.
<br />
<span class="comment">TODO: mention Annie in this paragraph</span>
</p>
<p>
The truck struggles to get traction while driving up the other river
bank, eventually getting stuck in the sand. He backs up and turns into
the river, accelerates, then steers back onto the bank &ndash; to no
avail, the truck gets stuck again.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Well... fuck.</span><br />
He turns back into the river once more. The engine roars and the wheels
fling sand everywhere. Jack shifts gears, the needle on the speedometer
slowly creeps up, then he goes for another attempt. The suspension
bottoms out as the wheels plow into the river bank, but the truck does
barely make it out.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Ouch.</span> Annie holds her shoulder where
the seat belt had dug into it. <span class="quote speech">Can we not do
that again, please?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;ll... try to keep it in mind,
sorry.</span><br />
He turns around and drives onto the overgrown remains of a road leading
towards the settlement.
</p>
<p>
Jack parks the truck in front of an old store.<br />
<span class="quote speech">This is it, I guess.</span><br />
They get out and start walking towards the door. A small dog runs up to
them, barking, jumping around, running in circles, and wagging its tail.
It picks up a stick and drops it in front of Annie. She crouches down
and pets the dog.<br />
Jack says: <span class="quote speech">I&apos;m gonna be inside.
<span class="comment">more elegant way of saying &quot;I need to take a
piss.</span> Hopefully, they have a toilet.</span>
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;ll be right there.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay.</span> Jack disappears into the store.
She picks up the stick, gets up and holds it just out of reach of the
dog. It jumps back and forth a couple times looking at her.<br />
<span class="quote speech">You wanna play fetch, do you?</span>
</p>
<p>
Annie throws the stick a few times, then she follows Jack into the store.
Its shelves are sparsely stocked with a random assortment of things,
roughly sorted into categories:
Hand tools, boxes full of hardware, household chemicals, bars of soap,
a few clocks and watches, books, and more. Half of the store seems to be
dedicated to food though the shelves are mostly empty. Behind the counter
is a man who appears to be in his 60s, talking to Jack:<br />
<span class="quote speech">No, we don&apos;t sell food. What you see
there is strictly rationed. Since the <span class="comment">river name
</span> has changed course, we don&apos;t even have enough water to grow
crops for ourselves. The cisterns and wells simply don&apos;t
cut it.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay... What if we supplied you with
water?</span><br />
The man interrupts the conversation and looks at Annie:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Good afternoon, what can I do for you?</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;m with him.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I see.</span><br />
He turns back to Jack:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Listen, the amount of water we need can&apos;t
simply be carried here or we&apos;d do it ourselves. And we need it
constantly and consistently, not just once.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I know you need an industrial quantity of
water. We can get you an industrial quantity of water. Will you give us
food if we supply you?</span><br />
He musters Jack for a moment.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Who is <i>we</i> and how do you wanna
accomplish that?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">We are a small group of people living in
a bunker south of Ivydale. Two of us have extensive knowledge of
old&nbsp;world technology that we can put to use.</span><br />
The man looks at him with skepticism.<br />
Jack continues: <span class="quote speech">Let the <i>how</i> be my
problem to solve. If we make it happen, will you supply us with
food?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">You&apos;re gonna have to discuss that with
the others. Wait outside.</span><br />
He disappears through a door behind the counter. Annie and Jack leave
the store and, once outside, Annie asks:<br />
<span class="quote speech">So how do you wanna accomplish that?
Sounds like you have a grand plan already.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Not really, but I&apos;m pretty sure I will
within the hour. If all else fails, we could fix up a flatbed
truck, bolt a tank to it, and drive it here.</span>
</p>
<p>
While they wait, the small dog runs up again. They play fetch for a bit
until a group of people, amongst them the man from the store, approaches
them. A few handshakes later, Jack repeats his suggestion. A man in his
40s, who seems to be in charge, says:
<span class="quote speech">Your intentions are ... ambitious. I doubt
you can do it but I don&apos;t see any harm in agreeing. <i>If</i> you
manage to restore a permanent water supply, you can have all the food
you want.</span><br />
Someone else throws in: <span class="quote speech">Within reason.</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">Yes, within reason. Any objections?</span>
<br />
He looks around. Someone raises a hand.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Yes?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">We&apos;re not just gonna feed these people
forever, are we?</span><br />
Jack replies before the one in charge gets a chance:
<span class="quote speech">We need to feed maybe ten people for a few
months while we establish a settlement in the south of Ivydale.</span>
<br />
The one in charge responds: <span class="quote speech">That&apos;s a lot.
Let&apos;s say two months.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Then we have a deal.</span><br />
</p>
<p>
A few people keep questioning the feasibility until Jack puts a stop
to it:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Ladies and gentlemen, whether it can be done
will be our problem. Now I would like to see what we have to work with.
Can I have a look at that irrigation system?</span><br />
The one in charge turns to a girl:
<span class="quote speech">Mary, can you go, show them around?</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">Sure.</span> She takes a step towards Annie
and Jack. <span class="quote speech">Follow me. The closest access point
is right there, behind the store.</span><br />
They walk around it and onto a field of <span class="comment">withering?
</span> plants. A large, partially buried pipe with just the top exposed
goes through it with an access hatch roughly in the center of the field.
Right next to the hatch is a <span class="comment">Gestell?</span> with
a boom to lower a large bucket into the access hatch.<br />
Jack asks: <span class="quote speech">Is it all like this, a net of
buried pipes?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Mostly. In the greenhouses, it&apos;s just
an open <span class="comment">channel?</span>.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Where do these pipes lead?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">They all connect to a large
<span class="comment">round buried tank</span> from where another pipe
leads to the intake. It&apos;s a bit of a walk but I can show you.</span>
<br />
She gestures for them to follow but Jack stops her:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Wait, we can take the truck.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">That&apos;s <i>your</i> car?</span><br />
Her sudden excitement seems to take Jack by surprise.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Uhh... yeah.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">That&apos;s so cool! I&apos;ve only ever seen
the broken ones by the side of the road. We gonna drive there?</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">If you show the way.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Heck yeah!</span>
</p>
<p class="comment">
Not sure of this should be the end of a chapter or if I should continue
here.<br />
One thing that has happened is that this chapter, while written from
Annie&apos;s perspective, has her be a passive bystander without even
having any introspection for most of it. This needs to be adressed
somehow.
</p>
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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Basic Needs </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> Basic Needs</h1>
<p>
Jack drives into a dried-out river. In the distance on the other side is
a group of houses that, while they have certainly seen better days,
don&apos;t look abandoned. The truck struggles to get traction in the
sand on the other side of the river and eventually gets stuck.
<span class="quote speech">Well fuck.</span> Jack backs up and turns
into the river. He accelerates, then steers back onto the river bank
&ndash; to no avail, the truck gets stuck again. He turns back into the
river. The engine roars. First gear, second gear, third gear...
</p>
<p>
The suspension bottoms out as the truck plows uphill through the sand,
barely making it out of the river. Annie holds her shoulder, it hurts
from getting pushed into the seat belt.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Can we not do that again, please?</span><br />
<span class="comment">response?</span><br />
Jack turns around and drives onto the overgrown remains of a road leading
to the settlement.
</p>
<p>
He parks in front of an old store.<br />
<span class="quote speech">This is it, I guess.</span><br />
They get out and start walking towards the door. A small dog runs up to
them, barking, jumping around, running in circles, and wagging its tail.
It picks up a stick and drops it in front of Annie. She crouches down,
pets the dog, and picks up the stick.<br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;ll be right there</span>, Annie says
to Jack before throwing it.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay.</span> Jack goes into the store.
</p>
<p>
After playing fetch for a bit, Annie follows. Behind the counter is a man
who appears to be in his 60s. He is talking to Jack:<br />
<span class="quote speech">I mean in the long run. We have plenty of food
right now but, since the &lt;river name&gt; has changed course, we
don&apos;t even have enough water to grow crops for ourselves. The
cisterns and wells simply don&apos;t cut it.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">So, basically, you&apos;re saying you need
water.</span><br />
The man interrupts the conversation and looks at Annie:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Good afternoon, what can I do for you?</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;m with him.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I see.</span><br />
He turns back to Jack:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Listen, we don&apos;t just need a little bit of
water. The amount of water we need can&apos;t simply be carried here or
we&apos;d do it ourselves. And we need it regularly and consistently.
When the &lt;river&gt; still flowed here, water used to flow into our
irrigation system upstream and got distributed to all the fields and
greenhouses from there.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I know you need an industrial quantity of
water. We can get you an industrial quantity of water. Will you give us
food if we supply you?</span><br />
<span class="comment">&quot;Who is *we*?&quot;</span><br />
He musters Jack for a moment.<br />
<span class="quote speech">And how do you wanna get it here?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">By train - assuming the railroad south of here
is in a serviceable state.</span> Seeing the man&apos;s confusion, Jack
adds: <span class="quote speech">Let that be my problem to solve. Will
you trade water for food?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;m gonna have to discuss that with the
others. Wait outside.</span>
</p>
<p>
After playing with the dog some more, they get approached by a group of
people, amongst them the man from the store. They shake hands. Jack
repeats his idea to supply water by train in exchange for crops.<br />
<span class="quote speech">What&apos;s this train you&apos;re talking
of?</span>, one of them asks.<br />
<span class="quote speech">A large vehicle from the old world. It drives
on tracks like the ones that should be south of here.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">So that&apos;s what these rails were used
for... But that&apos;s still pretty far from here, how do you wanna
transport the water here?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">That irrigation system of yours... Can we take
a look at it?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I see where you&apos;re trying to go with
this. It&apos;s still not particularly close to the rails.</span>
</p>
<p>
After a bit of additional back and forth, they agree on a plan. The man
who did most of the talking asks a girl:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Mary, can you go, show them around?</span>
<br />
<span class="quote speech">Sure, follow me.</span>
<span class="comment">It&apos;s a bit of a walk...</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Wait</span>, Jack stops her,
<span class="quote speech">We&apos;re here with a truck.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">So that&apos;s <i>your</i> car? Cool!
I&apos;ve only ever seen one working car in the city. So we&apos;re
gonna drive there?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">If you show us the way.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Let&apos;s go!</span>
</p>
<p class="comment">
Not sure of this should be the end of a chapter or if I should continue
here. The way this has turned out, it would also be nice if they ended up
delivering construction machines (excavators, etc.) to the village so
they don&apos;t need to rely on water shipments past the day when the
protagonists leave for Nova Metropolis.
</p>
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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Diesel Creek </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> Diesel Creek </h1>
<p>
Michelle asks: <span class="quote speech">And you really expect to find
one here that isn&apos;t beyond repair?</span><br />
They are walking into a valley in a large forested area.<br />
Jack replies: <span class="quote speech">I&apos;m not even sure this is
the right place. Everything looks so different. But if it is, we&apos;ll
have plenty to choose from. Not optimistic about any of the hydraulic
excavators but we had some older cable-driven diggers
<span class="comment">right word?</span> on site that we might get
working.</span><br />
<span class="comment">research that needs to be done:
When were hydraulic excavators invented?
When did they get the ability to use a jackhammer attachment?
When did the cable-driven ones go out of fashion?</span><br />
James says: <span class="quote speech">Look, over there.</span><br />
He gestures towards a group of very rusty and completely overgrown
machines and vehicles standing amidst the trees.<br />
Jack says: <span class="quote speech">That one to the right is similar to
what we&apos;re looking for.</span><br />
They walk up to the machines.<br />
Jack turns to Annie and James, patting the side of the machine he pointed
out a moment earlier. It has a sort of arm in the front with a huge scoop
thingy on the end.<br />
<span class="quote speech">We&apos;re looking for something like this but
with steel cables going from back here up there and to the boom.</span>
<br />
James asks: <span class="quote speech">Why not use this one?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">&apos;Cause this thing&apos;s done for.
Beyond repair, as Michelle put it.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">How can you tell?</span><br />
Jack walks to the front and points to some parts on the arm of the
machine. <span class="quote speech">These rods used to extend and retract
to move the boom. They need to be perfectly smooth and fit together
exactly or they&apos;ll leak the oil inside.</span><br />
They take a quick look at the other machines. There is another, smaller
excavator, a <span class="comment">Kipper?</span>, a <span class="comment">
Wie hei&szlig;t diese Maschine mit F&ouml;rderband, die Material sortiert?
</span>, and two <span class="comment">Radlader?</span>.<br />
Annie asks: <span class="quote speech">How did all of these get
inbetween the trees?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">The trees weren&apos;t here when they were
used. This is why I had such a hard time finding this place.</span><br />
Annie asks: <span class="quote speech">Is this how the dome was dug
out?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Well... no. That was mostly done using
explosives. But we had a large fleet of machines for all sorts of
tasks.</span><br />
</p>
<p class="copyright">Copyright &#169; 2023 Jan Danielzick (aka. BodgeMaster) &ndash; All rights reserved.</p><script>let spans = ["<span class=\"paper green\">", "<span>"]; let pre_texts = document.getElementsByTagName("pre"); for (let i = 0; i < pre_texts.length; i++) {if (pre_texts[i].className != "paper") continue; let lines = pre_texts[i].innerHTML.split("\n"); let result = ""; for (let j = 0; j < lines.length; j++) {result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + " ".repeat(80-lines[j].length) + "</span>\n";} pre_texts[i].innerHTML = result;}</script></body></html>

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<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> No U Don&apos;t Have Train. </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> No U Don&apos;t Have Train. </h1>
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Consulting </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> Consulting </h1>
<p class="comment">
The following is a conversation between Jack and someone from the
train company.