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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:35
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The Great Escape, Day Three – Part One
From the diary of Presidential Nominee Velociryx
Good news, and bad
Someone died today.
I guess in the backs of our minds, we all new it would happen eventually, but I do not believe that any of us predicted that Death would find the island so quickly, and it drove home the point that we are totally alone out here.
Isolated.
Beyond help, save for that we can provide for each other.
It happened during the survey expedition of Liberty.
Solo had found three eager volunteers to assist him in his efforts, and our four stalwarts headed out to map, chart, survey and report back.
Ludd checked out one of our eighteen wireless radios to the group, took one for himself, and I kept a third belted to my waist, so we could maintain contact with the group as they went about their business.
The morning hours went by uneventfully, with Mara of the Gypsy Harem continuing to direct her group, overseeing the task of assembling more Geodesics in order to give everyone some additional elbow room as we worked, LoA and company continued their wrestling match with the windmill, which proved fairly easy to assemble, but somewhat fickle when it came to actually generating power. They installed it on a low ridge, not far from the Quartermaster’s Hut, and the wind’s just fine. She’s spinning like crazy, but so far…no juice.
They’re working on it.
Flubber and the fishing crew departed well before sunup, so I didn’t get the chance to wish them luck today, but if the catch today is even two thirds as abundant as the one yesterday, they won’t need it. One thing I feel certain of after our first full day here, we might tire of the menu now and again, but this is a land of plenty, and even without our crops in the ground, we seem to be in no danger of starving. (found out later though, that he had already arranged to check out one of the wireless radios the night before…wise man)
Water, on the other hand….a bit more vexing, but for now, the local streams are holding, and we shall do our best to conserve what we’ve got.
Q’s been busy all day, cataloging our CD-Library and trying to put some order behind what we’ve got, and Ludd has been organizing the supply warehouse, giving everybody a little cubby space to stow their goods when not in use, and implementing a “checkout” system so that there’s no claims of “you took my stuff” later. A wise precaution, I think.
Someone, I don’t know who, displayed a fair bit of genius and rigged up a PA system, making innovative use of a bit of copper wire and some Conch Shells, mounted on poles approximately ten feet high, so now, if you’re in the immediate vicinity of the Quartermaster’s Hut, you can hear the snatches of conversation with the outside world as DF plies the bands in search of anything that might help us in our cause.
And speaking of DF, his continuing quest to locate Tubes met with some success, although not in the way we had expected.
Rather than Tubes himself, he made contact with a wealthy businessman in Kidatopia who seems most sympathetic to our cause, and eager to depart…eventually.
This news was greeted with much excitement by everyone as we continued going about the business of getting ourselves organized. That someone of prominence seemed to take a genuine interest in us and our chances bodes very well, and apparently this businessman, (a fellow named aneeshm) has a vast pool of assets at his disposal.
In the absence of a formal government, we informed him that we were not yet in a position to negotiate specifics, but agreed on a few things in principle, and there’s a tentative arrangement made to begin our first bit of importing! Rumors circulated throughout the morning hours of a transport ship carrying potato chips in an assortment of flavors was preparing to leave Kidatopia, bound for Liberty! (and apparently free, to boot!—for now, of course).
Advantage – apparently, the packaging the chips come in can sub for toilet paper…a thing we, in all our collected wisdom, forgot about entirely.
Well, not entirely.
One family apparently brought a quite limited supply, and I overheard the man (I’m afraid I never did learn his name) discussing the possibility of bartering some of it to another family.
His wife informed him in no uncertain terms that it would be the last deal he ever brokered, and I’m willing to bet she won that argument. 
As for me, I put my impromptu shovel to good use, and arranged to borrow LoA’s mini-shovel, to put in the hands of a volunteer who wandered by, and we began digging a ditch around the Quartermaster’s hut.
As I bent my back into the work, I could not help but smiling, wondering what Kidicious Prime might think of one of the Presidential Nominees on Liberty out in the sun, breaking his back right alongside everyone else.
Probably, he would assume that it pointed to our latent Communist leanings. Never in his wildest imagining would it be possible for a Capitalist-Pig-Dog to display such a desire to labor along side those he means to exploit later.
Of course, this only served to demonstrate in my mind that he truly has not the least understanding of us or our ways.
Mayhaps, if I am elected as our first President, I shall write to him to open a dialogue, and attempt to explain the charted course of our progress.
Likely, that would meet with about as much success as our earlier conversations, but it was where my mind was wandering as I spent the time before lunch digging the ditch.
Eventually, we’ll install gutters here, to collect rain as it falls off the dome, and direct it into a cistern. With a bit of filtration, we should be able to augment our supply of drinking water thusly. At least, that’s the plan.
I stopped digging around lunchtime and had…I don’t actually know what to call it. It’s a broad, green leafy plant that manages to taste sweet and earthy at the same time. Whatever it’s called, it’s quickly becoming my favorite food on the island. Very refreshing.
And as I sat munching happily, with juices from the broadleaf dribbling down my chin, Flubber called up on the radio to report that the day’s catch was going to be even better than yesterday’s, and to save my appetite.
I glanced at the broadleaf almost guiltily, responded that I surely would, and then took another oversized bite.
Absolutely delicious.
Mrs. Flubber’s second day was a bit busier than her first, as we had no less than half a dozen sprains, abrasions, and other minor boo-boos reported throughout the day, and they kept her quite busy.
Not unexpected, but nothing major.
At least not until the death got called in.
About an hour past lunch, I was back to my digging…making good progress, too, when the radio chirped to life at my belt.
Solo has an even head on his shoulders, but the tone of his voice when he radioed in sent a chill down my spine.
“What’s the word?” I asked him quietly, stepping away from my volunteer in the trenches and speaking low.
“Sully’s down.” He called back. “I…we had just finished lunch near a ravine, spanned by an old log bridge. Three of us made it across safe, but a freak gust of wind hit Sully on the way over….lost his balance and fell….”
It felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.
Damn.
I didn’t know Sully well (he arrived yesterday in the evening with another boat of refugees), but this….I shook my head.
“Can you see him?”
“No…the rock wall is blocking our view. I heard him hit at least twice, and now we….”
There was a burst of static on the radio.
“No wait!….oh God…”
“Solo…what is it? What’s going on out there?”
“He’s alive….I can hear him calling us.”
Another kick in the stomach.
“Tell us where you are, and we’ll send help!”
He radioed their position and Mrs. Flubber was dispatched, along with a makeshift stretcher and four assistants, but the tickle in my gut told me it would be in vain.
Sadly, that tickle was not wrong.
Solo radioed back in less than half an hour later with the report that all sound from the ravine had ceased. It took the medical crew another two hours to reach the site on foot, and two additional hours to rig for climbing and make the descent.
We cannot say for certain how far down the ravine goes, but Sully landed on a small outcropping some sixty feet down.
I rigged up one of the radios and tied it into our PA system to keep everyone from asking me questions about what was going on, and for the rest of the afternoon, our band listened sadly to the rescue operation that was doomed to fail from the start.
And as the sun was sinking low in the sky, and we prepared for the evening’s election, we did so with a heavy heart, and with the report that the first of our fallen was coming home.
(to be continued…)
-=Vel=-
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Flubber
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With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:35
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well
there wasn't the two year campaign that the Americans are used to.
I will vote for Vel.
Hmm in case of a tie will we have our first constitutional crisis ( even before we have a constitution)
Seriously voters-- I would be most pleased to be foreign affairs minister so we can stop vel from having to talk to kid --- or even better just let me provide some fish
I have discovered an area with what looks like some sort of crab-- I'm hoping my Atlatic ocean style crab pot is effective for these guys
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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:35
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excerpts from a campaign speech designed to get the vote out, delivered over the Conch-PA, Liberty Island
Presidential Nominee Velociryx, speaking to the assembly:
Ladies and gentlemen of Liberty, we have but one hour remaining until the polls close. If needs be, to break a tie, we'll leave the polls open late, and thus divert a constitutional crisis before we even get a government up and running, but I implore you not to allow this to happen....the folk of Kidatopia are watching, and if they were to see us stumble before we even get out the gate good, well my friends, that would suck goat a$$. So let us not allow that to happen....especially not when it is within our power to control....
Thank you and good evening....
Long Live Liberty!!!!
-=Vel=-
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Flubber
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With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:35
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Flubber as counsel to the government advises Vel that any speeches near a polling booth are forbidden in many democracies but since we don't have any laws yet, he doesn't think its a real problem
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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:35
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The Great Escape, Day Two – Part Two
From the diaries of Presidential Nominee Velociryx
It was a mournful affair, bearing witness to the first death of Liberty Island, and early that evening, we buried Sully in a small patch of ground not far behind the QuarterMaster’s hut.
Flubber presided over the affair, offering words of comfort to Sully’s friends and family as we lowered him into the ground.
I helped dig the grave, but by that point in the afternoon, was so physically and emotionally drained that I could not do it alone.
Still, it’s one more thing I’m sure those who watch us will raise a curious eyebrow over.
After a somber dinner though I made a short speech about the need to move on.
Put the tragic death behind us and get on with the business of making Liberty thrive.
The speech, for all its good intentions, was not particularly well-received, and I got more glowering looks than anything.
Despite the tragedy, I meant to proceed with our planned election, but voter turnout was all but nonexistent.
It seemed that the death had impacted everyone more deeply than expected, and the people were making their will known.
So be it, but I was not about to undermine the democratic ideals of the island by simply seizing power, and so we were left with a crisis. Specifically, a three-way tie with what few votes did get placed in the ballot box beside the QuarterMaster’s hut.
So we waited.
All night.
Liberty’s future on hold and unable to proceed further without guidance from the people themselves.
Yes, it would have been possible simply to take control.
There was a vacuum.
That vacuum would be filled, and the longer it went unfilled, the more likely it was that someone would simply attempt to seize power and make Liberty into something far different than any had envisioned.
I vowed though, that the someone would not be me.
Thus, until such time as the crisis is passed, and Liberty has a functioning government, I am retiring from my post as Provisional Organizer, and halting all additional construction using assets I brought to the Island with me.
There are sufficient Geodesics up that we’ve got a bit more room, but I do not feel comfortable enough proceeding with further efforts until the crisis has been resolved.
So I shall retire, and watch….and wait.
-=Vel=-
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Flubber
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With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:35
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Oh and Vel
I was wondering if we have disenfranchised our female citizens by having votes here at 'poly.
Oh and can little flub vote?? When he was in my arms he pointed at the ballot box and repeatedly said " 'nana , 'nana, 'nana" which I interepreted as our fledgling nation's first attempt at a "banana" option
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Flubber
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With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:35
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Oh and vel
we could just adopt a constitution that had a 3 person ruling committee fulfilling presidential roles. Althoigh with our small population , we may have to have our entire population as reps and senators.
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Flubber
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With a view of the Rockies
Aug 2000
time: 22:35
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Vel for president
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Q Cubed
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t3h y3ll0w p3ril
Apr 1999
time: 23:35
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quote:
3000 Wats from a spiffy windmill! ME LIKEY! Man, that definitely goes on the wishlist...220v, to boot! Q, if we get it, I think we found the power supply for the Liberty Island Library! |
i'll have to make the point that the library will be availible to all, and that there will be no imposition as to what will and will not be kept in the library by any power whatsoever.
i think it might be nice if ludd and i got together over a checkout system; the more information that can be gathered and cross-indexed, i think would be better for efficiency: single-signon and one-click checkout could eventually be implemented. i am mindful of the risks to liberty, so i propose that this sytem be completely blind to the end user, but as soon as something can be banged up, it source code should be availible for peer review. the database, however, will be encrypted.
these things are all long-term hopes for the distant future: one of the biggest investments will be the creation of a separate island-only network and then high-speed connections to the internet at large. there will only be a few connections between LibNet and the iNet, and those will be locked down with the tightest security possible to defend against external remote access. that said, local access will be completely unfettered, however, it will be, by and large, read-only.
such things as kidanomics, alas, will be availible for consumption in the library; however, if our education system works right, those who encounter it will know of the inherent flaws in such a theoretical system.
when our economy starts taking off, i'd like to try and find a means of getting actual hard copies of texts.
===
quote:
Hydrothermal? (not sure how to harness) |
we'd have to hope for geysers or some such.
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quote:
What's remarkable is that you all are so sure you will be happy on your little island, because you are all confident that you will make it to the top of the food chain. The thing is that only a small portion of you will make it to the top. The rest of you will wallow on the bottom and beg us to free you from your exploitation.
That's how capitalism works. There is no room at the top for everyone. |
i favor open borders, so those who wish to leave the island will be free to go, and those who wish to come should be allowed to.
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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:35
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Executive Order #1:
In the matter of the Liberty Island Library, the government, agrees in principle with Congressman Q, and vows a totally "hands off" approach with respect to any attempt to control either content of or access to the library, as it applies to any citizen of Liberty, or Corporate entity they may choose to establish.
Conversely, we reserve the right to restrict and control information access as it relates to any person or entity NOT from liberty island, with respect to our data. (as this is not an issue at this time, no formal policy needs to be drafted regarding such access).
Executive Order #2:
Delays making any sort of laws placing limits of any kind on the number of Kidatopia immigrants we are willing to recieve for a period of two years. It also implicitly makes the pledge that no constraints will be placed on the citizens of Liberty with regards to freedom of mobility. Any citizen is free to depart the island at any time, by whatever means they can arrange.
Executive Order #3:
Establishes that at a time specified by the government, to be no less than six months from the issue of the order, and by a methodology to-be-determined, plots of land will be either given or auctioned off to any who desire it. Accepting or bidding on land in this manner is subject to the specific terms of the agreement (to be fleshed out later), to include at a minimum, a promise to live on and develop the land for a period of not less than five years.
More later...
-=Vel=-
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26-08-2004 02:12
Crab...it's what's for dinner!
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