Our Friends the Machines.P1
Our Friends the Machines.P1
[Evan had played earlier via
email exchange: his input is integrated into the action.]
Intro: It’s late Summer of 1986. Local Loop designers have created a hot new line of toys: transforming robots to be manufactured right here in Boulder City! A boost to the job market and local economy. Hyped since 4th-Of-July, in commercials, cartoon shows, and comic books, the kids have been saving to buy their own.
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The radio advertises, “Transmorphers, more than meets the eyes. Come on out to your local Toy Town store Thursday, 4pm, for the grand opening sale. The mayor will be there along with the toy creators themselves, Ellen Voss and Ursula Kerr. The good Convoys versus the evil Deceivers are waiting for you.” The kids have already set their eyes on their favorite:
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Eric (Mike): Convoy EXEKUTOR PROMO – black Saab
Sedan. Zooms on 2 wheels and flips to reverse. |
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Lukas (Aaron): Deceiver SHARP F-15. Flashing
lights and zooming sounds; shoots soft-plastic pellets. |
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Ein (Joey): Convoy FAXIMIL
FANTASTIC –Turns into a 4ft long flying aircraft carrier. |
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Vicky (Lily): Deceiver EX-ATOMA. Transforms into
either an atomic bomb or a “nuclear powered” plow. |
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Jack (Leo): birthday Sept 17th.
Deceiver SHARP-15 Sharp. |
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Evan (Jordan): Deceiver WRECKAMAX- crane and
wrecking ball. (Evan likes construction equipment). |
The kids have been saving their allowances and hard-earned money from various jobs. Eric and Lukas are paperboys while Ein makes money from his computer Bulletin-Board gaming program. Vicky took a part-time job at a fast-food joint while Jack signed up for extra chores around the house. Evan works odd jobs around his uncle Steve’s house. While Ein enjoyed the comfort of inside air-conditioning doing his work, the others labored in the sweltering September heat. And of course, Vicky had to work the drive-throw window with it constantly open and thus no A/C benefits!
7:30am, Tuesday, 8 Sept 1986: Ein’s house proved to be the kids’ gathering spot to head off to school together. Most rode bikes while Lukas rode his skateboard. [Investigate] It had rained days ago. Maybe that’s when the robot had come into the yard and left its deep imprints that were now dried. Eric pointed out, “Notice how the lead toe of its 3-toed pad seems deepest. They lead west.” Jack looked closer, “And look at its stride… it must have been running.” Ein added, “I see two pairs as if two robots ran together.”
Eric ignored Vicky as he followed
the tracks that led between the houses, “Looks like they are running west.”
[Comprehend 0] Jack decided to see where the robots came from and thus looked
back across the street. And noticed the black sedan parked across the street: a
woman in the passenger seat (dressed in black) had the window down and
binoculars at her eyes looking in their direction. Jack quivered, “Guys, I
think they might be after us. Did anyone get into trouble?”
Scared, Jack hid in front of
Ein’s car in the driveway. Curious, Eric and Evan looped behind the house to
sneak up on the car. [Investigate 3] Eric easily got close enough to read the
plate and to overhear the woman with the binoculars, “Those kids see the
prints. From their reaction, the robots must be headed west.” Eric saw the
driver with his head down working with something in his lap as he spoke into a
microphone, “Yes sir, moving west. Radio frequency sporadic. Having trouble
tracking them further. Awaiting further instructions.”
Meanwhile, Vicky kept looking at
her watch, “We need to wrap this up or we’ll be late for school.” Having seen
Eric appear on the other side of the house, Jack decided to sneak up on the car
too: he used the front yard bushes to hide his movement. Lukas was shocked to
see Eric so near the car and decided to help by distracting the occupants: he openly
walked towards the car to draw their attention. [Eric: Sneak 0 even with +2
distraction bonus] The woman noticed Lukas at a distance, “We got a kid
approaching.” The driver looked up and just happened to spot Eric in the side
mirror. He quickly put whatever was in his lap away and stowed the microphone.
Eric got near the woman and tried to bluff, “I see you got binoculars. Have you seen my dog who ran away?” The woman spoke up, “Move along kids and be safe. We’re tracking a power surge in the electric grid. We think it may have shorted out one of our municipal robots in the area. Stay away from it and call it in… to the electric company.”
And that’s when Evan
appeared at the driver’s window, “Excuse me, but whatcha looking at? Just bird
watching, dinosaur hunting, evil robots on the loose?” The startled driver
blustered, “Just got a radio call. We’re on the wrong street. Sorry kids, false
alarm.” The car sped off. Eric handed Evan a piece of paper, “I got the license
plate #. Maybe you can get your conspiracy-theorist uncle to research this.” Evan
added, "Gas company. Yeah, they're full of gas!"
School: The kids couldn’t wait to sit together at lunch hour to
compare notes. “Who should we tell?” Back and forth: tell other kids? Tell
adults? “Adults never listen.”
[Leadership roll 3 successes = 6
bonus die] Vicky stepped up into the leadership role, “I say we keep it a
secret for now.”
Thursday, Sept 11th: Why does the school even bother to have a half-day of school?! As if the teachers could keep the students’ interest. But then, it was a few hours of reprieve for the teachers, knowing the students would be on their best behavior… considering… tonight was the start of Parent-Teacher Nights. No school till next Monday!
4pm Toy Town: Unlike the radio announcement, the mayor wasn’t there.
Instead, Boulder City council member, Eric Loudon, proclaimed, “The
grand opening doesn’t start till the toy designers (Ursula and Helen) arrive.
The junior high band will play the Transmorpher song, then the doors will
open.” The owners (Anne and Henry Lewis) stood at the front of the store proudly
proclaiming, “Remember kids, each Transmorpher sold comes with a free first
issue comic book in the series Our Friends the Machines.”
It was already 4:10 and the kids
were getting antsy. Eric Loudon leaned towards the owners, “I’ve tried calling
their homes, but no one answers. I think we should start without the
designers.” The waiting kids could care less about the band playing: as soon as
Anne and Henry opened the doors- a stampede! And the bullies (Randy, Darrel,
Joey) were at the front of the line! First in but almost crushed by the other
kids.
Vicky finally found her desired
EX-ATOMA on the shelf… only one left. And a 9-year-old boy standing under it,
“Could you reach it for me, please?” Vicky “politely” hip-checked the boy and
took it for herself. [But I did it kindly] She ignored the boy crying in the
aisle as she stood in line at the register to pay, then hustled outside.
Evan wanted a WRECKAMAX, but
there was only one left. And an 8-year-old also wanted it. Evan pulled it down,
looked it over, and handed it to the kid, "Wreckamax is my favorite too.
Take good care of him." Anne (at the register) noticed what he’d
done. When Evan started to leave the store, Anne spoke up, “I saw what you did
back there. Go pick out whatever you want for free. Henry, go in the back and
see if you can find another WRECKAMAX for Evan here.”
Jack and Lukas stood staring at
the last SHARP F-15 jet fighter on the shelf. They smartly pulled it off the
shelf first before declaring, “Rock, paper, scissors. Best 2 out of 3 for who
gets it.” Smart move considering Darrell rounded the corner eyeing the prize in
their hands. He backed off at the sight of Jack who proudly walked away with
it. Lukas found the owner (Henry) and asked, “Can you check in the back if you
have another F-15?” Henry apologized, “It must be an issue with delivery.” Anne
chimed in from the cash register, ““I swear we had equal models delivered. Did
you misplace the boxes?” Henry excused himself to the back storage room and
soon returned with an unboxed Deceiver VERTIKAMP KRUX helicopter, “Did you see any kids get in the storage area? Anyway
Lukas, I can sell you this… display… half price.” Lukas checked it out as still
working before he paid for it.
As Lukas stood in line, Randy
tried to bully him, “I need your help…” Knowing he must be up to no good, Lukas
used his skateboard to fend off Randy. As Lukas finally got to the register, he
noticed Randy talking to the little boy who was making the ruckus crying in the
aisle. Jack was near enough to hear Randy whisper, “Cry loud and I’ll buy
whatever you want.” And once again the boy belted out a loud and long cry. And
Randy used the distraction to run for the door with a robot package under his
arm. [Force 1] Jack slung his yoyo, wrapping the string around Randy’s arm.
[Force 2] Lukas rolled his skateboard at Randy’s feet. Randy fell in a heap at
Henry’s feet. The owner helped him up, “like the sign says, you break it, you
buy it. That’ll be $21.” Randy shot evil-eyes at Jack and Lukas as he fished
out his money.
Out-And-About: The kids were already making plans to go to their
hangout hut (at Pierson’s Salvage) to open their packages and play with their
new robots, when they heard a little girl crying. Ein and Eric tried to comfort
her, but she just cried, “It flew away!” Lukas noticed the opened VERTIKAMP
KRUX box at the girl’s feet. Evan knelt beside the girl and tried to comfort
her, “These are just toys, not sentient
robots. You probably just hit a button and made it fly. Graves (my pet raven)
can get it down.” While Evan tried to instruct Graves, Jack stepped into
action, “She must have bought a rare one. I wonder if each of
them has a unique feature. Don’t worry little girl, I’ll fetch it for you.”
Jack began to climb. Vicky had 911 on speed-dial. [Move2 needed but only 1
success] Jack scaled the 25-foot pole and was just out of arm’s reach when…
Graves swooped near the helicopter, which launched off the pole and collided
with the bird. Graves tumbled to the ground with Evan just able to catch him.
The battered helicopter wobbled off towards the west.
As Evan cradled poor Graves, Eric offered the girl $2,
“Maybe we can help you buy a replacement. But this time, buy one of the Convoy
robots.” Vicky added $5 to the collection. They walked her back to the store,
“Anna, this little girl’s toy flew away. Could you possibly let her get a
replacement at half-price?” Evan added, “Do you have any bandages? My pet raven
was injured.” While they were at the store, Eric noticed the same black sedan
parked across the street with the same couple dressed in black as occupants.
[Sneak2 but only 1] He must have been spotted: the car drove away. Eric
pondered, “Did they expect the real robots to show up here?”
Sleepover: Evan offered, “Ask your parents if you can
do a sleepover at my uncle Steve’s house. Hopefully he’s found someone on that
license plate.” Vicky counted, “I double my parents would let me stay at a
boy’s house. How about we do a sleepover at my house instead?” [Sorry Evan, but Vicky is in the
Leadership role.] Vicky’s stepmom already had pillows and blankets set
out in the Livingroom, “So you can make a fort to sleep in. Snacks and soda are
in the kitchen.”
Ein talked Eric into sacrificing his Convoy EXEKUTOR PROMO, “Let’s see what’s under the hood.”
[Tinker2 needed to be able to put it back together; rolled 3] Ein smiled as he
exposed the internal workings, “Well, lookie here. A chip with an antenna.”
[Program2 needed but only rolled 1. Plus 2 from Luck] Ein hooked the chip up to
his laptop, “Some kind of Artificial Intelligence programming with the antenna
to communicate.”
[Investigate] Meanwhile, Jack
never was interested in computers. Which allowed him to see his F-15 toy begin
to rapidly flash its lights before taking off and flying out the window.
“Crash!” The window was closed since the air-conditioning was running. The
plane crashed to the ground outside.
Vicky’s parents heard the noise
and called out, “What happened?” As they began to come downstairs, Vicky
ordered, “Hide the mess.” Eric quickly raised the window since the broken glass
was outside. The parents appeared, “Anyone hurt?” Eric lied, “Sorry Mrs. Moon.
I stepped on my car and broke it. See it in all those pieces?” [Charm 0 so used
Pride for auto success] Vicky distracted her parents, “Could you make some
popcorn as we want to watch a movie?” Before going back to bed, Mr. Moon
instructed, “Please close the window since the A/C is running.”
When the coast was clear and her
stepmom went back upstairs, Vicky got plastic-wrap from the kitchen to cover
the broken window. Eric closed the curtains as an extra measure to hid ethe
window. Jack stepped outside to retrieve his broken jet fighter. [It had flow off, scared of also
being dismantled.] At least Ein put Eric’s car back together. Eric
pulled out a city map, “Remember those robot tracks headed west? And that toy
helicopter flew west?” And that’s when their walkie-talkies chirped, “Grunt to
Raven, come in Raven. You might want to come home so I can show you what I’ve
found regarding the license plate.” Evan packed up his toy, said goodnight to
Vicky’s parents, and left. “I’ll call you.”
[Body1] Jack and Lukas woke with
a sour, dry taste in their mouth. As they stumbled to the kitchen for a glass
of water, Jack stepped on something hard. They turned the lights on to
investigate, waking the others who slowly woke also with a sour, dry taste.
Jack stood over the broken pieces of Eric’s toy car, “I thought Ein fixed it.”
Lukas pointed out Ein’s aircraft
carrier was also busted. All of the other toys were missing. “What happened?! I
didn’t hear anything, did you?” Ein immediately thought about the free comics,
“Did our toys battle just like they do in the comics?”
[Investigate] Vicky was still
groggy and thus moving slow. [I’m bratty when I’m tired.] They realized the
windows and doors were still closed. And that’s when Lukas and Eric heard
whirring noise from upstairs. Eric led the way as the kids climbed the stairs
and stepped into the parents’ bedroom. Eric was the first to see Vicky’s toy
Atoma (now transformed into a plow) on her sleeping mother’s neck, cutting her!
Eric rushed forward, intent on knocking it off her. He didn’t see the VERTIKAMP
KRUX helicopter swoop in to attack, shooting BBs.
Lukas and Ein ducked into the room, looking for a blanket
to throw over the plow. [Force 2] Jack flicked his yoyo at the helicopter and
yanked it out of the air, slinging it to the floor. Broken. Lukas grabbed Mr.
Moon’s shirt and smothered the plow as he and Ein wrestled the toy off Mrs.
Moon. Vicky rushed in and tended to her step-mother, “Look at the capsule on
the end of the plow. It was trying to insert that into my mother’s neck! And
look at the bump on my dad’s neck.” And that’s when Mr. Moon woke and climbed
out of bed in his pajamas. He began exercising next to the bed then suddenly
blurted, “Nice time for a run.” He dashed out of the room, down the stairs, and
out the front door, turning west.
And that’s when their walkie-talkies buzzed, “Raven to
SNOOPS! You’ll never believe what just happened at my uncles house!”
[That sour, dry taste? When
the kids fell asleep, the VERTIKAMP KRUX
helicopter released sleep-gas to deepen their slumber. Thus, they never heard
the toy robots battling: the 2 Convoys outnumbered.]
TO BE CONTINUED: https://tftljoey.blogspot.com/2023/12/our-friends-machinesp2-conclusion.html
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