Diary Entry July XX, 2004
Everything settled back down in Perfection. Burt has not come to the conclusion that there are two graboids. He thinks he's seeing things. Possible double. Burt has gone back to his daily rounds. Larry and Jodi have filmed all what they have needed to from him. We don't know when Burt will leave but he's gearing up. He's purchased some camera stands, cameras, lighting equipment, and all sorts of things. He's even making a list of what he could put on his shows. He's gotten really into this. I think he hit his head a little too hard.
Thanks to Dr. Thorpe, Jodi and Larry now all have the important details about D.W. I have now nicknamed them 'the punk.' Even though D.W. was alone in that hatchery, they still picked up all those bad habits from those graboids we fought in Utah. Even taught El Blanco some of those tricks. Man, its like having teenagers around. We now have an ordinance to ask out 'who is there,' since they now try to scare you with their tentacles when you open the door. At least their odor can sometimes tell you beforehand or if you have the seismo on you. They try to catch you off guard though. Don't know how they do that, but they're smart creatures.
Diary Entry July XX, 2004
Well, the day has come. Burt has picked up and left. He says he will be back some time. Who knows when that will be? He's gone off to other parts of the desert to film his survival show. The copies Jodi had on hand, all sold out. Burt has given her permission to make more copies until he gets her the newest ones.
Someone did buy Patricia's house she flipped. Don't know who exactly but did see some transport trucks and furnishing people over there.
Twitchell came by to give us updated signs since we have two graboids. Jodi put in a request for graboid proof bins similar to those that are bear proof. He said he would put in a word for the research group.
Grady got a hold of Larry to share the news that the facility for the albino shriekers and assblasters are almost done and he needed Larry's advice on how to showcase it. I overheard 'having the giant doors from Jurassic Park but have it read Precambrian Park instead,' while picking up my mail today. Cool but kind of cliché. Also, wouldn't that be copyright infringement?
Diary Entry August XX, 2004
Just found out the deadly duo, what I call Rose and Wes, are finally dating. Man, if only Burt knew about this. I wonder what Heather is thinking. Good for them though. They stopped by, checked in how everything was going. Graboids came right to them when they arrived. Both of them had to greet those two or else they wouldn't leave them alone.
She even asked the town what their dreams would be for this town. Jodi said a restaurant. Larry wanted a museum. Rosalita wanted an event center. Nancy liked the museum idea. We still have some donations coming in for that but it's going to be a long while. I wanted a better maintenance shop. It's better than nothing but one could only dream. Rose recommended we draw out on the map and have it all detailed out. I don't know what her plan is but hopefully it doesn't get our hopes up too much.
Diary Entry October XX, 2004
Deadly duo back again. Rose asked for those dream papers. Don't know what she's going to do with them. The two had just gotten down with a club meeting, whatever that means. She also had a small animal, like one of those koala-tarsier looking things but this had a rat like tail and long pointed ears. It kept clinging onto to her arm. Took up the whole arm too. Cutest darn thing you ever did see, but you get too close long claws, ears are pointed straight up, a weird double mouth. Like the mouth opened up to an upside-down V with vicious teeth. One of her club members called them the 'midnight rambler.' Don't know how it got its name but don't want to know. Has a big snarl for something so small. Also likes to make Wes jealous by snuggling up to Rose and giving him glances.
Diary Entry November XX, 2004
Construction crew came in. Said they were going to build multiple buildings. Never caught the name of the sponsor but my guess is Rose. They said the buildings are going to be built some hundred feet past the original layout of the main road. Basically, down the road on Main. We're going to have old Main and new Main. A way to keep the original town but also keep growing. I don't know how much money Rose has but it must be a lot!
Wonder how it's going to be with the teenagers. The workers said they have to follow 'rules' in order to stay alive. They wouldn't say the rules but so far, El Blanco and D.W. have been only been curious. No one is dead yet.
Diary Entry November XX, 2004
Got a word from Burt. Well, a postcard actually. He's doing fine. Says he might be radio silent and need not to worry. He left his last coordinates on there too. If he does get in danger, the town agreed to send the deadly duo. If they can survive Mixmaster, they can survive anything.
Got wind from Melvin and Jack, those two had an RV camp. Well since it has done so great, they're building more. Outside of town thankfully. Already came up with names, so I'm writing them here as to not steam them. 'Getaway Graboid. Camp Graboid. Graboid Forest.'
Diary Entry February XX, 2005
Being single just got rough. Deadly duo just got engaged. Good for them. Wes still wearing his Tarzan look. He pulls it off though. Makes us miss Burt more. Would love to see his reaction on his son's hippie hair.
Dream buildings are coming in. Foundation was laid. Walls are up. They are sure working fast since during the raining season. Teenagers have gone underground due to the rainstorms. We might have new buildings before tourist season starts.
Diary Entry May XX, 2005
Buildings are done. Ready to move in. Wow. Just wow. Rose must have spent a fortune. Which the deadly duo to come to see them finished. Wes mentioned she has become a gambler and a good one at that. He said if they ever were in financial trouble to let them know. How much can this lady win? Wes mentioned a lot by the look of his face.
Anyways, my machine shop has two car ports. One can do trucks and the other, cars. It has a little lobby area. In the back is my own apartment built in with a kitchen, living room, full bath, and bedroom. Not mention graboid proof, shrieker proof, and assblaster proof.
The restaurant which is next to it, has both booths and tables, full kitchen with storage, prep areas, and dishwashing; a bar, a freezer, a waiting area, restrooms, and has an area which can be reserved for private parties or functions. Jodi hasn't come up with a name yet but Larry and her are going hog wild about it.
Speaking of Larry, his museum is the biggest building. It has the lobby area for tickets or donations, different sectioned areas for the exhibits they want to display, a kids corner, a gift shop, restrooms, atrium, and get this, a small theater room. Which Larry has already suggested town movie nights and all I am thinking about is football season. Imagine watching it on a big screen like that. His apartment is actually on the roof. Similar to mine but he has an extra room. Also with the sturdy roof, Larry is going to put a greenhouse and a little lawn area so if any of us want to stargaze safely, we could do that at his place. The museum sits across the restaurant and my shop.
Everyone is excited about the buildings. Can't wait to see the future of Perfection. All these are lifecycle proof to a point.
Tyler snatched the diary out of Wes' hands. "I said the important parts!" He teased.
Wes chuckled. "But these are. I would like to know what you thought of the buildings. Ready for tourist season?"
"I will once I get a chance to," Tyler sat down next to him. They were at the new restaurant. It was menu night. Everyone was in for meal tastings. Larry and Jodi had come up with new ideas. "The teenagers keep scaring the living day lights out of me. I went to check my route and BAM!" Tyler slammed his and on the table. It got some looks from the others. "Both of them are beached with beaks open. Slammed on the brakes. Almost pissed myself. They made short grunting noises. Whole worm bodies just shaking before they dived back into the ground."
"That's their laugh," Rose took a sip of wine.
"Now you're telling me that graboids can laugh," Tyler gave her a look of disappointment.
"Laughing Graboid," Jodi wondered out loud. She smiled. "I like it! The new name of the restaurant is The Laughing Graboid."
"Why not graboids?" Rosalita tilted her head.
"Doesn't sound as good," Jodi bobbled her head. "The Laughing Graboids. Makes it sound more like a comedic duo. And the restaurant at the Market is going to be Graboid Grill that will have ready-made snacks and foods. It will become more of a kiosk."
The group continued on chatting while tasting the food. Rosalita nudged Rose. "So have you two set a date yet?" She was itching to hear all the details.
Rose smiled. "We have and a place. Once the last details are finished, we will be inviting everyone here. We are wanting it next year in April. That way its still during the rainy season but also warming up."
The group also helped the next day put in the exhibits at the museum. It felt much better having a permanent place to put everything they had came together on. Larry even sold his RV for extra money now that he has an actual apartment. He used it to buy all his furnishings.
Rose and Wes headed back to wherever they needed to be. The town rushed to get things ready for tourist season.
Diary Entry June XX, 2005
Tourist season has started. Lots of new faces and familiar ones. Larry had been updating his blog about the construction sites. He got lots of people already looking forward to our new accommodations. Didn't think Melvin and Jack were much help but their RV business has created a nice symbiotic relationship. We don't have any hotels, but they need events besides camping. A win-win.
Twitchell was not enthused about our new buildings. He knew about them. I heard him mutter about how she, guessing Rose, went by the book and got approvals quickly. Which makes us all miss Burt. He would have thrown such a fit since we had new buildings without his approval. However, since he's gone, the rest of the town is in charge and we were all in agreement to keep the town growing.
Speaking of Twitchell, he came by to give us new signs, the graboid proof boxes, and more government reports. New signs are about how the teenagers are a bunch of punks and up to all sorts of mischief. Just the other day, those two put their tentacles out when I opened the door, jolted so bad the coffee in my hands went all over. Thankfully I had one of those iced ones. Can't imagine what would happen if I had a fresh hot one. Don't know if they can 'laugh' underground but I bet they did.
Diary Entry July XX, 2005
Burt sent another postcard. Different area, same message. Going radio silent. Send help in a few months if no further response. Definitely feel neglected. We went through quite a bit and now he's on his own, that lone wolf.
Oh, speaking of, one of Jodi's college friends came to visit. Turns out he's a chef from one of those five-star restaurants in San Francisco. He stayed a few days which turned into a week and then two weeks which turned into a month, then an extended stay, and now into a business partner slash new boyfriend. What a turn of events. Jodi was telling me that he actually has a degree in both business and culinary. Also helps out the town. Larry was manning the restaurant but Jodi's boyfriend does that letting Larry take over the museum since Nancy was covering that. She helps wait tables with Rosalita or mans the bar.
Got to chat with him one night, guess he wanted something else from the city life. He also had a long-time crush on her. Hearing she was trying to make it work out in the desert perked his curiosity. Man was also lonely. Happens to us all. Soon they will be the next to be engaged. Which in a few months, Wes has his bachelor party. We're going fishing, visit some bars, shoot guns, nothing too wild. Something calm and fun.
One day, Tyler was driving through his tour route. Going at a moderate speed. It was a nice warm day. The sun was out. The tourists were coming in. Life was going great.
"Graboid Dundee, come in, Graboid Dundee," Wes spoke over the radio.
Tyler pulled the jeep into a stop. He parked for the tourists to overlook the valley. Tyler chuckled to himself at the name.
"Oh look, there's people over there," one tourist pointed while looking through their binoculars. This prompted the rest of the tourists to do the same.
Tyler looked over that way while grabbing the radio. "Graboid Dundee here, what can I do for you, Fremen?"
"We're doing a routine inspection," Wes didn't need binoculars to see them. "Stay where you're at until I give the word."
"Copy that," Tyler smiled. "My esteemed guests." He pointed to that area. "What you are about to see is a rare occasion. A group of scientists are doing a routine inspection on both graboids. You won't ever get to see anything like this. These graboids aren't trained. This is a trust between them. Don't try to do this. The scientist conducting the experiment has worked with both these graboids."
The group watched as Rose, who was wearing conservative attire with a head scarf and sunglasses to hide from the sun, have a baton in both hands. She touched the ground with each, sending down vibration, picking them up, walking a short distance, setting the batons back down which sent more vibrations.
"Oh, here they come!" One tourist was hitting the arm of another. They were panicked as they hoped nothing would happen to them. Wes was leaning on a boulder with a baton by his foot while the rest of the scientists were standing in the middle of it.
Both graboids launched out of the ground to land with their beaks on either side of Rose. The tourists let out gasps in awe of a rare scene.
"The scientist is of average height, five foot six," Tyler had his binoculars out, narrating what was going on. "As you can see, graboids are monstrous creatures. The group of scientists have been continuing their research with the help of these two. If you watch closely, you can see them measure their width and length. Take into account the skin. Some are even daring enough to get samples from their mouths."
"This is amazing," one tourist breathed out.
"The smaller of the two graboids, that's D.W.," Tyler continued. "The bigger one is El Blanco."
All of a sudden, the beaks of both spread open and the graboids started to make grunting sounds. Their bodies shaking. Rose turned to Wes who shrugged his shoulders. The graboids sudden movement made the scientists freeze in terror.
"What is happening?" One tourist was afraid for them.
"That movement is actually graboids laughing," Tyler wanted to know what happened as he watched Wes and Rose more than the graboids. "Graboid research has explained that graboids can laugh but they can also go into a similar state during the transformation process for shriekers. Since these two are albinos, this is them laughing. As you can see by the beaks closing, and they are resting into a normal position. They just happen to get a kick out of scaring people."
"I read in an article," another tourist spoke up. "Their communication is based upon clacking of beaks. Humans can actually communicate with graboids."
"They can communicate," Tyler informed. "But the vocabulary is limited. Words can be taught to animals but its just a series of limited vocabulary in a pattern. For example, known words for graboid communication is graboid, food, danger, inedible, and a few others. A few ways to communicate is to have those batons the scientists have or to go full on Monty Python and the Holy Grail with coconut shells that have been emitted through a speaker sitting on the ground. With a graboid, each clack is produced with the help of the hooked mandibles on the side."
Rose walked a distance between them. She put both batons down. Her fingers pushed buttons simultaneously. The beaks opened up enough to let out the tentacles.
"WOAH!" The tourists flinched back.
"Now it looks like the measuring of tentacles," Tyler went back to narrating. "As you can see by El Blanco's tentacles, they can reach up to ten feet long. D.W. is still a young one, as you can see their tentacles don't quite reach out. Those tentacles can grasp, taste, and sense very subtle vibrations. It seems like they have a mind of their own but don't be fooled. They're just like little ferocious octopus arms."
When the testing as all done, the scientists were back on the boulder. Rose walked between them towards Wes. She reached where their bodies were still partway in the sand. She grabbed a walkie hanging from her hip. She spoke into it. It only took a moment before the each graboid reared their heads straight up, using the weight of their bodies to dive back into the ground. Rose walked towards Wes.
"Nice joke," Rose came over to him.
"What treat did you get them this time?" Wes asked.
"Feral hogs," Rose looked at her seismo. "Captured in Texas. They were given multiple chances with live capture and release in a new area away from civilization, multiple times. Instead of killing them, if they can survive these two then they get another chance at life."
Wes brought out his walkie. "Graboid Dundee come in, Graboid Dundee."
"Yes, Fremen," Tyler answered.
"You're going to need to keep on the rocky terrain," Wes informed him. "Frankenstein let out some treats. Best not to interrupt their hunt."
"Got it, see you back at Chang's," Wes put down his binoculars. He let his tourists now about the situation. He still kept on route, thankfully it was all rocky terrain on the last part.