Chapter 2: Statistically Speaking...
Day 2
The Western Approach
I woke up. Peacefully, much to my relief. The bed I was laying on was scratchy and felt like it was made of tree bark and animal skin. I swung my legs over the side and took in my surroundings. The room I was in seemed to be constructed from a similar material, being more thatch and twigs than anything else. There was a small, wooden chest next to the bed with a set of cloth clothes neatly folded on top. They were a dull tan and seemed to be stitched together using plant fibers. As I began to get dressed I took a moment to look myself over. The dizziness was gone and there were clean bandages wrapped around where I was bitten. My hair still smelled like slime and I was hungry as hell but other than that I was fine. I opened the chest to examine its contents. Inside was a leather pouch filled with water and a tool of some sort. It had a short, wooden handle wrapped in fiber and a flat, triangular stone set in the tip, secured by more fiber. The stone had a sharp edge and seemed to be fit for both chopping or cleaving. I took a long drink from the waterskin and put the hatchet on my belt. A pair of leather-soled sandals waited by the door. I walked over and slipped them on. They were a little small but I didn't really know my shoe size anyway so I couldn't complain. I could hear muffled voices from beyond the door. I couldn't make out the words but I recognized the voice of the stranger. I decided now would be a good time to make it known I was awake.
I pushed open the door and stepped through. The room I entered was larger than the one I woke up in and was still constructed primarily from thatch. I noticed immediately that this one was actually missing a wall, revealing a view of the beach outside. Sitting at a table in the center of the room was the stranger. He was speaking to a small girl sitting across from him, and given the obvious pout on her face, not about something she enjoyed. She had messy blonde hair and tan skin. She wore a bland, sleeveless, cloth tunic that didn't cover scraped knees. Her feet were dirty and scratched like someone who preferred to be barefoot more often than not.
She noticed me standing in the doorway and launched out of her seat. "Joe look out!" She pulled a slingshot and stone out of her pockets and flung the rock at me.
The small projectile struck me in the throat. Despite the weak power behind it, I was still forced into a coughing fit.
The girl hopped up on to the table and lined up another shot. "Next one's going in your eye!"
I held up my hands in defense while trying to get a word out. Meanwhile the stranger was laughing once more. "Mira, calm down. This fella is a guest of mine."
Confusion spread across her face. "But you said-"
"I know what I told you," he said, cutting her off, "but he's a bit of a special case. He means us no harm. Besides, it's not very polite to stand on tables." He gestured to her stance.
Reluctantly, she climbed back down. She never lowered her arms, however. I think the daggers she was shooting me were more lethal weapons than the one in her hand.
The stranger looked between us before coming to a conclusion. "Mira, how about you go fill up the waterskins." He said, turning to her. "And check the dodo coop for eggs while you're at it."
She turned, surprised. "But-"
"Mira." His tone stern. "Now. It'll be fine, I just need to have a few words with our guest here."
She looked at him with worry, but lowered the slingshot. She crossed the room towards the missing wall and hopped off into the sand. She whipped around and stuck her tongue out at me before running off.
We both watched her go. The stranger chuckled to himself while I got back to my feet. "You just have the worst luck, don't ya?" He turned back to me and offered me a chair. "Sorry about Mira. She isn't the most trusting child."
I scoffed as I sat down. "Bit of an understatement if you ask me." I rubbed my newest injury, a now darkening bruise, when a thought hit me, "Wait should she be out by herself? Aren't there more of those lizards?"
He just chuckled again. He did that a lot. "She's a smart kid. Practically raised by the island. What she lacks in strength she makes up for in cunning." A proud look crossed his features. "Just like her m-" he paused, rethinking his words. "Anyway it seems I never properly introduced myself. My name is Jahova." He flashed a friendly smile and held out his hand. "But people call me Joe."
I reached forward to shake his hand when I noticed he was expecting a reply. "I'm... Uh..." I drew a blank. What was my name? Why didn't I know my own name? Panic began to set in as a dark realization hit me; I didn't know anything really. No name, no memories, nothing. My head began to swim as I wracked my brain for anything relevant. I flinched as Joe snapped his fingers.
"You ok boy? Your pale as a sheet. I mean you're already pretty pale but now you're getting scary." He looked at me with concern, yet it seemed like he knew exactly what was wrong. "You don't know, do you? Your name, or anything at all, huh? As far as you're aware, your life didn't start til you woke up. Am I wrong?"
I blinked. He guessed it perfectly. How could he have figured it out that fast? I didn't have a head injury on the beach, so it couldn't seem like trauma. And even then what kind of concussion could fully wipe my mind without even an echo remaining?
My expression must have been confirmation enough, as he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Just as I thought, another new one." He ran his hand through his white-grey beard and mumbled a few things I could slightly make out, "...been too long... this rate... population decline... not much choice... gotta return early..." I patiently waited for him to explain, but he seemed very invested in his train of thought. That is, until a sudden thump derailed that train.
Mira had tossed a basket onto the table. It surprised me too, I hadn't even heard her return, let alone enter the room. She smiled at Joe "I even cleaned the coop while I was out. Think we can have the special breakfast this morning?" She practically beamed at him with a pleading look in her eyes.
He considered it for a moment before surrendering. "Alright, alright. Just don't give me those eyes."
"Yes!" She threw up her arms and jumped around in excitement. "It's been forever since we last had it! I can't wait-"
Joe took the opportunity to lunge forward and grab her by her now wide-open armpits, pulling her into a tickle trap. "What did I say about letting your guard down?" He said over Mira's laughter. "Even when you think you've won, the enemy can always pull out a trick." She pulled her arms in and bent over to get away from his grasp, but it still left her sides exposed. Joe shifted himself so he could take full advantage of that.
"Stopitstopitstopit!" Mira was full on howling laughing at this point. "It won't happen again I promise!" She threw herself onto the floor to escape, only to give Joe a good angle to tickle her feet. By now both of them were in stitches over themselves.
Their happiness was getting contagious,and I couldn't help but crack a smile. Despite my situation, seeing them in such a jovial state was strangely uplifting. Soon even I was chuckling at their antics. After a good minute of it, I spoke up "The tough girl act really just melts away, doesn't it?"
Only then did Mira seem to remember I was there. She rolled quickly, pulling her leg out from Joe's grasp. She hopped up, dusting herself off, stone-faced and defensive once again. "I'll go get the fire going." She said, her tone short and business like. She ran back outside and around the hut.
I looked back towards Joe apologetically, "Sorry. Didn't mean to ruin the mood."
He just waved his hand at me while he got his laughs out. "Don't worry about it boy. She's just a bit too proud. She acts all tough when really she's just hiding that big heart of hers."
"Not true!" Mira yelled from around the house, inciting a laugh from the both of us.
He turned back to me, "Joking aside, how's about we get that breakfast going?"
My stomach grumbled in response to the idea of food. "Yes. Please. Absolutely. Food sounds amazing."
He stood up and headed for the opening. He stopped and turned back, "Let's hope you ain't a picky eater. After all, dilos have some of the stringiest meat on the island."
On the outside, the hut wasn't that impressive. The whole thing was made from a white thatch supported on a wood frame. It looked like a strong wind could blow it over. It was still unfinished, if the missing wall was any indication. There were only 4 rooms; 2 bedrooms, a closet, and the sitting room we met in. It was still on the beach, but was closer to the tree line than the water. Off to the side was a smaller hut surrounded by a small pen. Walking about inside were several small, round birds. They had rather diminutive wings, definitely unusable for flight, seemingly preferring to wander about on stout legs. They had a sizable beak, taking up the majority of the head, looking more adapted to picking berries and seeds off low bushes than eating live prey. They squawked often, but it didn't seem like there was much purpose to the action. Frankly there didn't seem to be a lot of purpose to these birds. They'd be easy prey to one of the lizards, or any other carnivorous creature really. Dotting the sand were a few white and brown speckled eggs. I supposed if they breed often enough, then their population could be maintained. Still, it's a rather ill-adapted looking creature.
I sat at another table around the back of the hut where a few more utilities were present. Against the wall was a brown box emitting steam, probably for storing food. In the center of the clearing was a burning campfire, over which a pot was suspended by a tripod. Joe was busy at the end of the table preparing the meat and eggs while Mira had gone off to collect berries to go with the meal. Occasionally, Joe would raise his arm and stare into the stone in his wrist for a few moments. Each time he did it would glow faintly. After which he would look away and pull out a different utensil or the next ingredient.
I examined the stone in my own wrist, trying to figure out what he was doing. I leaned in to get a better look at it when a blue light shined from the center of the stone directly into my eyes. I recoiled more out of surprise than pain. I blinked spots from my eyes as my vision cleared.
"We call them implants." Joe said. He had all the ingredients in the pot, ready to eat when Mira got back. "They take some getting used to."
I scoffed at that. "To be honest, it'll take me a while to get used to any of this." I looked back at the implant. I tried angling it, tapping it, and shaking my arm to get it to shine again, but no luck. "I mean really, what's the point of having a glorified laser pointer stuck in your arm?"
Joe rounded the table and sat next to me. "Here, like this:" He held his arm out from his face with the implant square with his eyes. The stone lit up once again. "It's triggered by holding it in a certain position."
I did my best to mimic his movements and, sure enough, I was greeted by another blast of light to my eyes. "Dammit! What's the point of that?" I rubbed more spots from my eyes. Strange, they were the same pattern as the last ones.
"You can't flinch from it," Joe instructed. "The key is to stare into it. Let it do its thing."
"You're either being really helpful, or me looking like an idiot is funnier than you let on." I deadpanned, inciting a laugh.
"If we're being honest, it's pretty much makes my day so far." He replied with a grin.
I simply rolled my eyes as I brought my wrist up to them again. This time when it lit up, I didn't look away. Numbers and symbols danced before my eyes until they came into focus. Whatever this thing was, it was projecting light in a way that I could read information coming from it.
"We call it the 'Inventory.' A sort of summary of your body and it's possessions." Joe explained. "It's controlled by both thought and input from the eyes." He tapped his temple then twirled his wrist. "Try looking around a little, get a feel for it."
"Is it possible to be impressed, terrified, and hungry at the same time? Because that's me right now." I glanced around the interface. Taking up the left side was a large box with 2 icons inside. The first appeared to be a picture of the implant. The second was a rock. I stared at the implant icon for a second and a description popped up:
Specimen ID: 000165894
Species: Human
Vernacular ID: To Be Determined
Survival Quotient: To Be Determined
Specimen? Survival Quotient? What am I, a test subject? The looked at the rock instead. After a second it prompted me with "move item" and "drop item." I selected the latter option. A moment after I hit the button, the stone materialized in front of me and landed on the table. It looked exactly like the rock I would have hit the lizard with.
"From what we've been able to figure out, the implant is a form of compressed space that the user can deposit and withdraw from at any time." Joe went on. "While things stored in this space are somewhat lightened, they still put stress on your body. Thankfully, through means unknown, this stress is evenly distributed across your body, rather than focused in the wrist."
To say I was confused would be an understatement. How was such an advanced device even able to function without power? Unless it sapped my own energy, which was a scary prospect. Who made this? And more importantly, why did everyone have one? I really must be wearing my emotions on my sleeve because Joe spoke up again.
"I see that look. You may want to just take these things at face value for now. Questions are good, they keep your mind going, just don't overwhelm yourself. Believe me, in my experience, sometimes it's better to simply accept something and move forward." He got some plates from a nearby counter top and set them out on the table. "After all, who has time for an existential crisis on this island?" He chuckled, but it was a hollow laugh.
He stared into the pot for a while. I brought up the interface again and looked elsewhere. In the center was a picture of me. Man, I looked like crap. I was dirty, sweaty, and I had noticeable bruises here and there. I was thin, but not scrawny. I was notably pale, like Joe said, but I had a feeling that would change with time. My hair was a reddish-brown, almost cinnamon color with a massive case of bed head. At least I have hair, for all I know I could have been stuck with a buzz cut. My clothes fit me rather well, if slightly baggy. Overall I just looked beat up and dirty. I couldn't complain though. If I got cleaned up right I could almost pass as attractive.
My eyes wandered to the right side of the interface. It was dominated by a bunch of numbers and statistics. It was labeled "Statuses" and had several categories with fractions next to them. Some read 100/100, others were at 0, some were in between, and some were a percentage. "Hey Joe?"
He shook himself from his thoughts. "Yeah boy?"
I gestured with my free hand. "On the right side here, there's a bunch of numbers labeled statuses. What do these mean?"
He sat down in his chair with a sigh. He almost seemed tired already. He made a line with his hand as high as he could reach for a visual. "Pay attention, 'cause I don't like repeating myself. The upper portion displays situational information such as the time of day, how many days you've spent alive, general region name, ambient temperature, etc." He lowered his hand a bit, and again with each category. "The lower portion denotes your current physical statistics over what your optimal state can be. First off, you've got the obvious; health. This denotes basically how close you are to death, with the denominator being the peak of health, and the numerator being your actual wellbeing. You'll want to keep an eye on that one. Next you have stamina. That one basically explains itself but in case you don't get it, it's how tired you are. The next three are nothing more than fancy ways of handling your basic needs of air, food, and water. Keep those topped off and you'll be golden." He stopped to take a bit of a breather. They way he explained it made it seem almost practiced. Almost like he's had to explain it several times already. "Aside from the situational stuff and health, I don't think you'll be checking the others very often. I mean, do you really need a lightbulb to tell you that your getting tired or hungry? Anyway, below that gets a bit more complicated. First you've got weight, which is basically the amount of stress the implant is putting on your body. The higher that number, the harder it'll be to move. After that you have two percentage values; melee damage and movement speed. Obviously those denote how much damage you do and how fast you move, respectively. From what we can guess, those values are set at 100% upon awakening and rise or fall based on how you develop. Really gives new perspective on fight or flight instinct, huh?" He smiled at his own joke. "Below that is a number called fortitude. In a nutshell, that describes how resistant you are to superficial elements such as hot or cold temperatures or things like poison. Finally you've got a little percentage called crafting speed. This more or less just rates how fast you are with your hands, basic dexterity really." He let out a breath, finishing his explanation. "Got all that?"
I nodded slowly. He threw a lot of information my way all at once, but I think I got the gist of them. "I guess this makes getting in shape a lot simpler." I joked. Before my humor got him to at least smile, but now he just seemed down. "Is something the matter? You seem... Tired."
He waved at my concern. "Just getting a bit old is all. Really starting to feel it." He looked up at the tree line. "It looks like Mira is back. Shall we dig in?"
Despite the obvious question dodging, actually eating seemed more important. Mira dropped the basket full of a multitude of berries on the table with a smile as Joe passed out helpings of a meat-filled omelet. The unspoken decision was made: food now, more explanation later.
We ate in relative silence, both Joe and I lost in our own thoughts. My mind swam with questions and conflicting emotions. Joe explained a lot in a short time. The implant seemed impossible yet here it was. I opened my mouth to ask another question when Mira spoke up.
"You didn't make it right." She poked the meal in front of her.
Joe looked at her with a smile. "What do you mean? This is how we always make it."
She pulled a chunk of meat apart and scrunched up her nose. "The meat isn't right. It's too stringy." She crossed her arms and pouted. "And we always have savaroot with it. You know, the kind that's in little bits and brown?"
Joe thought for a moment before realizing his mistake. "You're absolutely right pumpkin." He set down his fork. "Before I made it with phiomia meat and fried some diced savaroot in the fats."
Mira perked up. "Yeah yeah! That! Let's make that today!" She beamed at him again. If she hadn't attacked me on sight this morning, I would have considered the display adorable.
"Mira, you know it's-" Joe started, but paused. He turned to me as he mulled over a thought. "Actually, this might be a good opportunity for our guest here to learn a few things." He smiled at his conclusion. "After all, you have to earn your keep somehow."
I was unsure what he implied. Obviously I was in debt to Joe for giving me food and shelter, so It was unsurprising to hear I would need to do something for him.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Today," Joe grinned, "we're going hunting."
When we finished eating, Joe told Mira to go play. Mira pouted in response.
"I'm tough! I can can come too! I can even beat up that guy" She pointed a finger at me and tried to stand taller. She may have been a good shot with a slingshot, but I doubt she could handle an actual weapon.
Joe chuckled at the display. "I bet you could pumpkin. But I have a more important job for you." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a leather book. It was filled to the brim with pages at looked like it had seen better days. He flipped through it until he found a picture of a black berry. He knelt down and showed her. "I need you to collect as many of these as you can. Three basket-fills at least. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Mira deflated a little bit but seemed eager to help. "The sleepy-time berries, right?" She asked as she examined the drawing. "Why do we need so many?"
Joe closed the book and placed it back in his bag. "We can use them to trade for some savaroot."
Mira lit up once again. "Does that mean we're going to visit Mrs. Ellen?" She was practically radiating excitement.
"Yes, we'll be popping over to her tavern tomorrow." He explained. "I'm afraid today isn't a good day to head to town so we won't be able to make the special breakfast until tomorrow. Is that alright?" He put on an apologetic smile.
Mira's excitement faded a bit. "Is it because the bad men are there?"
Joe sighed "Yes, the bad men are there. They leave for a hunt later tonight though so we should be finetomorrow."
I listened to the exchange. This was the first time they had mentioned other people. The idea of a town seemed promising, but it sounds like these "bad men" were quite the deterrent.
"I have to get ready to head out," Joe said, standing up. "Why don't you go get your forest kit ready to go? We'll meet you back at the house come dinner time, alright?"
Mira flashed a smile and a thumbs up before running into the hut. Joe turned to me. "And as for you, we'll be out for a few hours. Go fill your waterskin while I get my gear together." As he walked off he called back "Don't worry about how clean the water is, it's not gonna kill you."
"That's comforting." I walked down to the shore. The beach was littered with driftwood and small stones, but otherwise was clear. I unhooked the pouch from my belt and dipped it onto the water. It astounded me just how clear the brilliant blue water was; I could see right through it. Schools of fish darted about in rhythm with the waves. Further out, some more birds floated lazily on the waves. Unlike the dodos, these birds had long, thin wings, likely to catch the constant sea breeze rather than provide much lift. The beaks of these birds were narrow and probably used for fishing.
I watched the ocean for a while when suddenly the flock took off from the water. The calmness was shattered as a massive creature erupted out of the water. It's gaping maw gleaned with rows of teeth as it lunged at the flock. One unfortunate bird didn't get out of the way in time and the creature closed its jaw over it. With a thrash of its tail, it disappeared back beneath the waves. I was shocked by how fast it was; over as soon as it started. I shuddered and walked back towards the hut. "Holy shit... Where the fuck am I..."
Joe walked out of the hut with his bow slung over his shoulder. He looked up and noticed me clutching my waterskin. "What's the matter? Water too cold for you?"
I just shook my head and waved it off. "I am never going swimming."
Joe tilted his head in confusion before realization hit him. "Oh! Yeah, there's a few nasty things down there." He smiled. "Make sure you show some respect to fishermen. They deal with those for a living."
He had to be kidding. No sane person would do that. Then again, maybe the alternative was even worse. I pushed the thought out of my mind. No need to panic over what I don't know. I decided to change the subject. "So what are we going to be hunting anyway?"
"It's called a phiomia." He began walking towards the dodo coop and I fell into step behind him. "It's a decent sized mammal, docile too. They spook easily though, so I'll be the one shooting. You just hang back and keep Trailblazer from wandering off."
I tilted my head in confusion. "Trailblazer?"
To answer my question, Joe raised two fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle. Movement could be heard from behind the dodo hut as a tall creature stood up. It trotted up to Joe obediently. It walked on two legs like the dilo, but was easily triple the size. It had a longer neck with an angular head that extended upwards with a large crest. Running the length its back was a short fin that ended with the tail. It's mouth was flat and and it let out a hollow, airy call that seemed to echo across the beach. It turned to look at me and I flinched.
"Aww don't be shy. Trailblazer here is a Parasaur; he prefers berries." He waved me over to it.
I walked up to it cautiously. It kept its eyes on me, yet made no move to react.
"Go ahead! He doesn't bite!" Joe insisted.
I hesitated a bit, but reached out and placed a hand on its side. It's skin was cool and leathery. I watched for a reaction from it. It seemed to be considering me for a minute before taking a step back. It leaned down and nudged my arm with its head. I ran my hand down the side of its neck until it leaned into it suddenly.
Joe grinned. "I think you found his sweet spot."
I scratched the area in question and soon enough Trailblazer was arcing his neck so I could scratch more. It was amazing, really. On closer inspection, this creature seemed very lizard-like, yet almost showed intelligence. Not on the level of being sentient, but more akin to that of a pet or companion.
Joe walked to the other side and draped a bag over Trailblazers back. "Amazing creatures, aren't they? The island is full of dinos, large and small. Some majestic, others terrifying. They give the island both its life and its perils. I've spent my whole life studying them, and yet they always find ways to surprise me." He secured the bag in place.
"How is it that this one listens to you?" I asked, still scratching Trailblazer.
"Many people consider dinos to be little more than beasts. Savage creatures roaming the island, looking for their next meal. If one took a much closer look, they'd see there's so much more." He reached into his bag and pulled out a bushel of berries. He held them out to Trailblazer who pulled away from me to eat from his palm. "All things on this island fight to survive, however several people realized that it's easier to survive when you have help. So these people found ways to form bonds with dinos, work with them, benefit from them. Many dinos work with humans simply because we can provide them shelter and food, like Trailblazer here. Other dinos work with humans out of mutual benefit from things like shared food sources or protection from predators. And rarely, if a survivor is strong enough, they can show dominance over a dino, and command them out of respect." He paused, then added. "Or fear."
I was captivated. From the sound of it, this was a common practice among people. Living with dinos would definitely have its uses. Supposedly there was an immense variety of them as well, so the possibilities would be huge. "Amazing...You said there were a lot more dinos, right? Like what?"
Joe smiled at my interest. "Oh words alone fail to do them justice. There are ones taller than the trees that gently graze the canopy, winged ones that navigate the airways with unmatched grace, plant eaters that collect in herds as far as the eye can see, meat eaters with a bite strong enough to smash stone..." He trailed off. "Aww heck, you're funny and you listen as old men ramble. You're gonna do fine." He gave me a hearty grin that I couldn't help but return. Despite everything, I couldn't help but feel confident. Joe walked up towards to tree line. "Enough chit-chat! We're burning daylight!"
I took hold of Trailblazer's lead and followed him into the forest.
A/N
How was that? Was that ok? Am I doing well? Has Senpai noticed me yet? These are the questions that plague authors everywhere. Probably.
What's that editor? I'm 2 chapters in and I still haven't named my protagonist? Is that bad? Aw who cares anyway?
Edit: Probably all of you.
Shhhh...
Anyway, look at that magnificent reasoning that seamlessly explains away core game mechanics! Rejoice in the lack of dues ex machina in my story! YEAH!
Ahem.
Jokes and humble brags aside, I want to stay true to the actual game as much as possible. I won't throw in crossovers or (with some exceptions) any unrealistic content. Also if it isn't already clear, I'm throwing in a lot of visual and heavily descriptive scenes to both give a better image for readers who haven't played ark and also give a deeper look for the readers who have.
Geeze, I hope I don't become one of those people who write big authors notes only for no one to read them.
That would suck.
As always, try to have a good laugh today.
-TheSurvivingComedian
