Part 15: Building Paradise
April 1st 2013 (I think that's the date. The days here are 26 hours long)
Alexandria Navarro here, leader of the alien branch of humanity, writing on a bunch of leaves with a pine needle and tree sap. The plants around here are really weird, nothing at all like the ones back on Earth... or, the ones we USED to have back on Earth. I guess I should have expected this. We're on an alien planet, not in someone's backyard. Actually, I think we're adapting pretty well. We have several people here who were scientists before the Imperium's takeover, so we have a leg up on ancient people who wore animal skins and pounded each other over the head with giant clubs. They're still out looking at things actually.
We're not THAT much better off though. The Argathins who brought us here left all of our personal belongings back on the ship that brought us to this planet, including my box of pictures and all of our clothes. And since there are no malls around here, we've had to go back to the basics... animal skins! Eeeewe... I'm all for a nice outfit, but only when I don't have to see the animal they come from. Especially when they're so scaly... ewe.
Most people agree with me, either sticking to the clothes they had when they came here, or throwing their clothes aside completely. There was some fighting, but it eventually ended when they realized that there wasn't much choice. It was wear the skins, walk around naked, or walk around stinky. I really don't want to wear some poor animal's skin as clothes... but the idea of walking around naked isn't very appealing either.
Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart, because Kira seems to be adapting pretty well to all of this. She was one of the first to volunteer for a skin that was carved off of a strange lizard-thing with tentacles and six eyes that looked like bright red Frisbees. It looked almost like a bug, but it was HUGE. But apparently it was weaker than it looked, because a couple spears through the eyes took it down. Unfortunately... or fortunately depending on your point of view... there wasn't enough meat in it to eat. I didn't really think it looked appetizing anyway.
Speaking of food, we haven't found much to eat around here. We found a few things around here whose shells feel like Goddamn bowling balls, but have soft, chewy, pretty tasty centers. Those things comprise most of our current diet thanks to the ancient human art of smashing things against jagged rocks. And our water supply comes from a small stream we found close to our village...
Hah, calling it that is such a joke.
So far this "village" is composed of a bunch of bodies on the ground. We haven't found any materials to make tents, and it takes time to build cabins. There are only so many people around here, and right now everyone is focused on finding things to eat that we don't have to smash 20 times against a boulder first. Only a handful of people are working on the housing situation.
Thank God or whoever that it doesn't get too cold at night. It doesn't get too hot in the day either... somehow it stays a pretty good temperature all day. That doesn't make it safe though, we ARE laying out in the wilderness after all. We're lucky there haven't been any animal attacks, but luck only lasts so long before it runs out.
These leaves work pretty well, maybe I'll write some more later. It really helps give perspective on everything that's going on.
Alexandria Navarro
April 5th 2013
Woohoo, we found an edible animal! It was a large... thing with... things on it that were covered in fur. I'd like to describe it in relation to animals on Earth, but there really is no comparison. So instead of that, we've named it a "Stinky" because it smells like crap. Once it's cooked over an open fire though it's really not that bad. It's filling and tastes a lot like beef. Served with a side of the Bowling-Ball fruit, it made for a decent meal.
Plus its hide is a very comfortable, very warm skin. I actually don't mind wearing this one, especially since the boy who makes these things made it especially for me. He's such a sweetheart.
Now that we have a decent food supply, production has begun in earnest on shelter from the wildlife. Those insects are becoming a real nuisance. It's like the first ones to find us called their friends, who called their friends, who called their friends, and who all keep coming at us in a giant massive wave. There isn't a person in this "village" who hasn't been bitten at least ten times.
They're small little things too, and pretty good at getting under clothes. Especially those less covering clothes like the animal skins that more and more people are wearing. Kira has bites in places that no insect or animal should ever go. A few villagers who used to be scientists are looking for ointments in the local plants that might stop the itching, or a bug repellant, but at the moment we just have to suffer through it.
I hope we get rid of these damn bugs soon... I just pulled two out from under my top. I REALLY don't want to get bitten anywhere that sensitive. Poor Kira's been moaning in pain since her bites... ick, she can barely walk. Oops, she's calling for me. Later.
Alexandria Navarro
April 8th 2013
Hey, I found a cure for the bug bites. Apparently the tree sap I've been using to write this journal has pain-relieving effects. After my last entry I accidentally put my hand in my little sap-well, then scratched at one of the bites and it felt better. How come the answer to annoying problems is always right under your nose? Oh well, we're all relatively itch-free, and production on those much-needed huts are speeding along.
Kira's been acting strange lately. After we realized the sap could help with the bites, she asked ME to put the sap on her bites. I thought it was just because I could see some of them better, but since I did it she's been giving me real strange looks.
Kira's a pretty girl I guess... she's beautiful in fact. But I'm not sure if I'd want that kind of relationship with her. I've only ever slept with one woman, and that was the woman who touched my heart like nobody else, man or woman, could. Maybe it was a little bit born out of pity, maybe it was because I was amazed she was strong enough to live through what she did... but I still loved her like I can't love Kira.
I should get to sleep early tonight. Maybe by morning everything will make sense again.
Alexandria Navarro
April 10th 2013
Wow... I don't know what to say. They finished the first hut today and insisted that I move into it. Actually, they insisted that I ALONE take it, even though there's still upwards of fifty other people who have no shelter. I tried to refuse, but they threatened to lock me in if I didn't agree. So I agreed... on the condition that they let Kira move in with me.
When did I become such a popular person? I feel like a movie star or a President or something. The strangest thing is, Kira didn't seem all that surprised when it happened. Am I the only one who never knew I was some kind of popular person here? Boy, I've gone through like a decade of war, and only now that I'm popular do I realize how much things have changed since my early High School days of being shoved behind soda machines.
Not that I mind. They were careful to make the room bug-tight, so I can sleep annoyance-free, and I can change clothes... er... skins without doing it either in a bush or out in front of everybody. Of course, they didn't expect Kira to live here too, so there's only one bed... it's like the fates are conspiring against me or something.
She's already asleep behind me actually. She took off her Slimy (that's what we decided to name that bug/lizard thing) skin and went to sleep on top of the pile of leaves on a frame that they call a bed. She's trying to tempt me I know it. Oh well, we're two mature women, we can sleep together without anything sexual happening.
Overall things are looking up... but I wonder how Sam and Clover are doing? ............ Well, I should get some sleep.
President Alexandria Navarro
April 13th 2013
We've been here for, like, three weeks now, and we're finally getting into a daily swing. Some people go hunt for food, others continue to work on the incomplete huts (though progress on those is picking up as they get more experience working on it), and others continue to fashion clothes, though by now everyone in the "village" is wearing the hide of some animal or other.
I discovered a new fruit yesterday too. It looks like a worm, and it wriggles in the wind. It looked creepy, but I brought it back to the "village" anyway for the experts to take a look at it. They proclaimed it edible (after some human testing) and possibly nutritious. Combined with the Swanky that attacked me yesterday, our diet's growing all the time now.
Speaking of attacking though, things aren't as peaceful as they used to be. It looks like the carnivores finally got wind of our presence here, and started wandering in at night. There were three attacks two nights ago... one fatal... a small girl named Jasmine. I knew it would happen eventually... this is a life-struggle, not a picnic, but still...
Nothing like a good cry I guess... I'll end this here then.
Alex
April 17th 2013
Kira is starting to get more forward... she told me yesterday that she thinks I'm attractive. I don't know what to do...
Otherwise, the village is growing more and more civilized every day. Huts are practically springing up and we're finding more food and clothing sources almost every time we turn around. Some clever people even started fashioning some exceptionally large leaves into bikinis and shorts. We're well on our way to becoming a real village.
But, the animal attacks are getting more frequent. Those of us who have huts seem to be safe, but those trapped outside are attacked on a nightly basis. For the time being me and everyone else who has them opened our huts to others, but there still aren't enough huts to house everybody yet. We'll just have to try to work faster and get everyone their own home.
It's getting kind of overwhelming, having everyone looking to me as some kind of leader. Just because I made that speech in the beginning everyone thinks I know what I'm doing here? How am I supposed to know what we should do all the time? No wonder Sam decided to leave as the head of WOOHP for a while, I only have about 50 people looking up to me and it's getting overwhelming.
Sam... she's still back on Earth, with Clover and everyone else, waiting for me to come back with serious firepower. I can't afford to wait much longer. Soon everything will be settled enough here for me to sneak away back to the Argathin settlement and find the weapons they need.
But I can't just leave Kira without saying goodbye at least can I? I don't even know if I can talk to her, let alone tell her I'm leaving... possibly never to come back. Man... well, I'll wait a few more days to leave. Step back from my little role at the head of the village and make sure they can get along without me before I go fulfill my promise to Sam. Maybe by the time I leave I'll think of a way to deal with Kira too...
Alexandria Navarro
April 20th 2013
Tonight's the night, the night I leave this village behind and see if I can steal weapons from a superior alien species and sneak back to Earth with them. That looks even more insane in print than it sounds in my head. Oh well, it's not like I can choose not to do it, stay here in peace with everyone else while Sam is counting on me to come back with enough weapons to stand up to the Zardexian army.
It's strange. I can't help feeling a bit proud of myself right now. I know I probably didn't do much to make this village work, but looking back on everything that's been built and found so far fills me with a sense of pride. We all worked together to build this place... without any hatreds or differences getting in our way. Nobody cares about race or religion... just survival. Maybe that's how it should be.
It sounds like Kira's asleep, and the suns are already down outside. It's about time for me to leave, and fulfill my promise. In a way, even if we succeed in liberating Earth, I hope I'll be able to come back. This simple life has really been growing on me... I'll miss it when it's gone. And something tells me it won't be like this on Earth, even after the alien invasions and everything. Humans can be so stupid and stubborn...
I think I'll leave this little 'journal' (if you can call this pile of leaves that) here for Kira to find. I can't just vanish without a trace, but I can't bring myself to say goodbye either. Letting this thing say goodbye for me seems like the best alternative.
Kira, by the time you find this, I should be on my way back to the Argathin city. I wish I could've stayed with you all... but I promised Sam I would keep fighting for the Earth, and I would never break a promise to her, even for paradise. So goodbye, and please, make sure the village keeps running smoothly after I leave. It'll make me feel a whole lot better to know that everyone here survives, even if I fail to save the Earth.
Best wishes and love...
Alexandria Navarro
April 1st 2013 (I think that's the date. The days here are 26 hours long)
Alexandria Navarro here, leader of the alien branch of humanity, writing on a bunch of leaves with a pine needle and tree sap. The plants around here are really weird, nothing at all like the ones back on Earth... or, the ones we USED to have back on Earth. I guess I should have expected this. We're on an alien planet, not in someone's backyard. Actually, I think we're adapting pretty well. We have several people here who were scientists before the Imperium's takeover, so we have a leg up on ancient people who wore animal skins and pounded each other over the head with giant clubs. They're still out looking at things actually.
We're not THAT much better off though. The Argathins who brought us here left all of our personal belongings back on the ship that brought us to this planet, including my box of pictures and all of our clothes. And since there are no malls around here, we've had to go back to the basics... animal skins! Eeeewe... I'm all for a nice outfit, but only when I don't have to see the animal they come from. Especially when they're so scaly... ewe.
Most people agree with me, either sticking to the clothes they had when they came here, or throwing their clothes aside completely. There was some fighting, but it eventually ended when they realized that there wasn't much choice. It was wear the skins, walk around naked, or walk around stinky. I really don't want to wear some poor animal's skin as clothes... but the idea of walking around naked isn't very appealing either.
Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart, because Kira seems to be adapting pretty well to all of this. She was one of the first to volunteer for a skin that was carved off of a strange lizard-thing with tentacles and six eyes that looked like bright red Frisbees. It looked almost like a bug, but it was HUGE. But apparently it was weaker than it looked, because a couple spears through the eyes took it down. Unfortunately... or fortunately depending on your point of view... there wasn't enough meat in it to eat. I didn't really think it looked appetizing anyway.
Speaking of food, we haven't found much to eat around here. We found a few things around here whose shells feel like Goddamn bowling balls, but have soft, chewy, pretty tasty centers. Those things comprise most of our current diet thanks to the ancient human art of smashing things against jagged rocks. And our water supply comes from a small stream we found close to our village...
Hah, calling it that is such a joke.
So far this "village" is composed of a bunch of bodies on the ground. We haven't found any materials to make tents, and it takes time to build cabins. There are only so many people around here, and right now everyone is focused on finding things to eat that we don't have to smash 20 times against a boulder first. Only a handful of people are working on the housing situation.
Thank God or whoever that it doesn't get too cold at night. It doesn't get too hot in the day either... somehow it stays a pretty good temperature all day. That doesn't make it safe though, we ARE laying out in the wilderness after all. We're lucky there haven't been any animal attacks, but luck only lasts so long before it runs out.
These leaves work pretty well, maybe I'll write some more later. It really helps give perspective on everything that's going on.
Alexandria Navarro
April 5th 2013
Woohoo, we found an edible animal! It was a large... thing with... things on it that were covered in fur. I'd like to describe it in relation to animals on Earth, but there really is no comparison. So instead of that, we've named it a "Stinky" because it smells like crap. Once it's cooked over an open fire though it's really not that bad. It's filling and tastes a lot like beef. Served with a side of the Bowling-Ball fruit, it made for a decent meal.
Plus its hide is a very comfortable, very warm skin. I actually don't mind wearing this one, especially since the boy who makes these things made it especially for me. He's such a sweetheart.
Now that we have a decent food supply, production has begun in earnest on shelter from the wildlife. Those insects are becoming a real nuisance. It's like the first ones to find us called their friends, who called their friends, who called their friends, and who all keep coming at us in a giant massive wave. There isn't a person in this "village" who hasn't been bitten at least ten times.
They're small little things too, and pretty good at getting under clothes. Especially those less covering clothes like the animal skins that more and more people are wearing. Kira has bites in places that no insect or animal should ever go. A few villagers who used to be scientists are looking for ointments in the local plants that might stop the itching, or a bug repellant, but at the moment we just have to suffer through it.
I hope we get rid of these damn bugs soon... I just pulled two out from under my top. I REALLY don't want to get bitten anywhere that sensitive. Poor Kira's been moaning in pain since her bites... ick, she can barely walk. Oops, she's calling for me. Later.
Alexandria Navarro
April 8th 2013
Hey, I found a cure for the bug bites. Apparently the tree sap I've been using to write this journal has pain-relieving effects. After my last entry I accidentally put my hand in my little sap-well, then scratched at one of the bites and it felt better. How come the answer to annoying problems is always right under your nose? Oh well, we're all relatively itch-free, and production on those much-needed huts are speeding along.
Kira's been acting strange lately. After we realized the sap could help with the bites, she asked ME to put the sap on her bites. I thought it was just because I could see some of them better, but since I did it she's been giving me real strange looks.
Kira's a pretty girl I guess... she's beautiful in fact. But I'm not sure if I'd want that kind of relationship with her. I've only ever slept with one woman, and that was the woman who touched my heart like nobody else, man or woman, could. Maybe it was a little bit born out of pity, maybe it was because I was amazed she was strong enough to live through what she did... but I still loved her like I can't love Kira.
I should get to sleep early tonight. Maybe by morning everything will make sense again.
Alexandria Navarro
April 10th 2013
Wow... I don't know what to say. They finished the first hut today and insisted that I move into it. Actually, they insisted that I ALONE take it, even though there's still upwards of fifty other people who have no shelter. I tried to refuse, but they threatened to lock me in if I didn't agree. So I agreed... on the condition that they let Kira move in with me.
When did I become such a popular person? I feel like a movie star or a President or something. The strangest thing is, Kira didn't seem all that surprised when it happened. Am I the only one who never knew I was some kind of popular person here? Boy, I've gone through like a decade of war, and only now that I'm popular do I realize how much things have changed since my early High School days of being shoved behind soda machines.
Not that I mind. They were careful to make the room bug-tight, so I can sleep annoyance-free, and I can change clothes... er... skins without doing it either in a bush or out in front of everybody. Of course, they didn't expect Kira to live here too, so there's only one bed... it's like the fates are conspiring against me or something.
She's already asleep behind me actually. She took off her Slimy (that's what we decided to name that bug/lizard thing) skin and went to sleep on top of the pile of leaves on a frame that they call a bed. She's trying to tempt me I know it. Oh well, we're two mature women, we can sleep together without anything sexual happening.
Overall things are looking up... but I wonder how Sam and Clover are doing? ............ Well, I should get some sleep.
President Alexandria Navarro
April 13th 2013
We've been here for, like, three weeks now, and we're finally getting into a daily swing. Some people go hunt for food, others continue to work on the incomplete huts (though progress on those is picking up as they get more experience working on it), and others continue to fashion clothes, though by now everyone in the "village" is wearing the hide of some animal or other.
I discovered a new fruit yesterday too. It looks like a worm, and it wriggles in the wind. It looked creepy, but I brought it back to the "village" anyway for the experts to take a look at it. They proclaimed it edible (after some human testing) and possibly nutritious. Combined with the Swanky that attacked me yesterday, our diet's growing all the time now.
Speaking of attacking though, things aren't as peaceful as they used to be. It looks like the carnivores finally got wind of our presence here, and started wandering in at night. There were three attacks two nights ago... one fatal... a small girl named Jasmine. I knew it would happen eventually... this is a life-struggle, not a picnic, but still...
Nothing like a good cry I guess... I'll end this here then.
Alex
April 17th 2013
Kira is starting to get more forward... she told me yesterday that she thinks I'm attractive. I don't know what to do...
Otherwise, the village is growing more and more civilized every day. Huts are practically springing up and we're finding more food and clothing sources almost every time we turn around. Some clever people even started fashioning some exceptionally large leaves into bikinis and shorts. We're well on our way to becoming a real village.
But, the animal attacks are getting more frequent. Those of us who have huts seem to be safe, but those trapped outside are attacked on a nightly basis. For the time being me and everyone else who has them opened our huts to others, but there still aren't enough huts to house everybody yet. We'll just have to try to work faster and get everyone their own home.
It's getting kind of overwhelming, having everyone looking to me as some kind of leader. Just because I made that speech in the beginning everyone thinks I know what I'm doing here? How am I supposed to know what we should do all the time? No wonder Sam decided to leave as the head of WOOHP for a while, I only have about 50 people looking up to me and it's getting overwhelming.
Sam... she's still back on Earth, with Clover and everyone else, waiting for me to come back with serious firepower. I can't afford to wait much longer. Soon everything will be settled enough here for me to sneak away back to the Argathin settlement and find the weapons they need.
But I can't just leave Kira without saying goodbye at least can I? I don't even know if I can talk to her, let alone tell her I'm leaving... possibly never to come back. Man... well, I'll wait a few more days to leave. Step back from my little role at the head of the village and make sure they can get along without me before I go fulfill my promise to Sam. Maybe by the time I leave I'll think of a way to deal with Kira too...
Alexandria Navarro
April 20th 2013
Tonight's the night, the night I leave this village behind and see if I can steal weapons from a superior alien species and sneak back to Earth with them. That looks even more insane in print than it sounds in my head. Oh well, it's not like I can choose not to do it, stay here in peace with everyone else while Sam is counting on me to come back with enough weapons to stand up to the Zardexian army.
It's strange. I can't help feeling a bit proud of myself right now. I know I probably didn't do much to make this village work, but looking back on everything that's been built and found so far fills me with a sense of pride. We all worked together to build this place... without any hatreds or differences getting in our way. Nobody cares about race or religion... just survival. Maybe that's how it should be.
It sounds like Kira's asleep, and the suns are already down outside. It's about time for me to leave, and fulfill my promise. In a way, even if we succeed in liberating Earth, I hope I'll be able to come back. This simple life has really been growing on me... I'll miss it when it's gone. And something tells me it won't be like this on Earth, even after the alien invasions and everything. Humans can be so stupid and stubborn...
I think I'll leave this little 'journal' (if you can call this pile of leaves that) here for Kira to find. I can't just vanish without a trace, but I can't bring myself to say goodbye either. Letting this thing say goodbye for me seems like the best alternative.
Kira, by the time you find this, I should be on my way back to the Argathin city. I wish I could've stayed with you all... but I promised Sam I would keep fighting for the Earth, and I would never break a promise to her, even for paradise. So goodbye, and please, make sure the village keeps running smoothly after I leave. It'll make me feel a whole lot better to know that everyone here survives, even if I fail to save the Earth.
Best wishes and love...
Alexandria Navarro