The Great Sriracha Famine Begins

The official court ruling went through today so you may now partially kiss your sriracha good bye.

National Novel Writing Month (how it all ends)

There has been an exciting new biological discovery inside the tomb of the Chernobyl reactor. Like out of some B-grade sci fi movie, a robot sent into the reactor discovered a thick coat of black slime growing on the walls. Since it is highly radioactive in there, scientists didn’t expect to find anything living, let alone thriving. The robot was instructed to obtain samples of the slime, which it did, and upon examination…the slime was even more amazing than was thought at first glance.

This slime, a collection of several fungi actually, was more than just surviving in a radioactive environment, it was actually using gamma radiation as a food source. Samples of these fungi grew significantly faster when exposed to gamma radiation at 500 times the normal background radiation level. The fungi appear to use melanin, a chemical found in human skin as well, in the same fashion as plants use chlorophyll. That is to say, the melanin molecule gets struck by a gamma ray and its chemistry is altered. This is an amazing discovery, no one had even suspected that something like this was possible.

Aside from its novelty value, this discovery leads to some interesting speculation and potential research. Humans have melanin molecules in their skin cells, does this mean that humans are getting some of their energy from radiation? This also implies there could be organisms living in space where ionizing radiation is plentiful. I’ve always been a big panspermia proponent, the idea that life did not originate on Earth but is actually common in the cosmos. Organisms that can live in space certainly gives more credence to this idea.

Possibly this could also be used to create plants or mushrooms that could grow in space, serving as a food source for space travellers. Maybe these fungi could be modified and used somehow to clean up radiation contaminated environments. There’s quite a few of those, in fact the disposal of radioactive waste is still a huge and unsolved problem. Now the fungi couldn’t actually eat the radioactive isotopes, I’m not saying that, but if they can live in radioactive environments they might be used to somehow scour out or concentrate the radioactive isotopes in such a way as to facilitate their clean up.

Imagine, there’s fallout from a nuclear accident and what do the guys in suits do? They show up, spray mushroom spores over everything, and a few weeks later the mushrooms are harvested and disposed of while the contaminated area is now radiation free. It would certainly be useful, the picture at the top shows the still abandoned town of Priyat, Ukraine. It was built to house the workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and was evacuated within hours of the accident.

An excellent story about the Chernobyl disaster and Pripyat is at the Ghost Town link. Just be aware that, no, Elana didn’t actually ride her motorcycle through the radiation contaminated zone, that was poetic license on her part. (Motorcycle enthusiasts have motorcycled across Europe hoping to duplicate her tour, only to be told by the guards that that motorcycles are not allowed in the contaminated zone.) The pictures and descriptions are accurate though, some of the images are incredibly poignant. Just think, a whole town where the inhabitants fled without warning, leaving all of their possessions behind.

Fortunately the Chernobyl reactor was an old and unsafe design, only one other reactor in the world was built the same way. It was right here in Berkeley, a research reactor built on campus in the fifties. It was sagely decided to quietly shut it down after Chernobyl; while it couldn’t have had an accident on the scale of Chernobyl, the locals were a little concerned anyhow. In fact it was a block away from my favourite burrito place, yikes.

(The above image was released into the public domain by its author. Credit: Jason Minshull.)

https://unitedcats.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/major-biological-discoveryinside-the-chernobyl-reactor/ 

National Novel Writing Month Pt 18

    Pale glowing figures happily bathe in that wonderful pool inviting me to join. I can’t resist and join them. The water is warmer than I last thought but oh so relaxing. The water relaxes me and drains away all my worries. A woman offers me soap and I  happily accept. It has been days since I could bathe properly. One of them even washes my back for me. The kindness of strangers can be striking but wonderful at the same time. Shaking out my hair to wash it as well I am struck by how long it is. I didn’t remember it being so long or full last week. It feels like it has grown at least six inches since I last washed it. The soap softens it. Diving under the water to wash out the soap I relax further, exhilarating in the caress of the water on my skin. The water surrounds me and holds me softly in an embrace. Surfacing I could swear my hair has grown longer still. I must be imagining things. Hair doesn’t grow a foot longer in only a few moments. The stress must be getting to me. The women are smiling and giggling around me but they are not making fun of me they are simply enjoying themselves. There are more women waiting to bathe so I reluctantly leave the pool.

    Someone offers me a large plush towel which I gratefully accept. It is soft, warm, and feels so good on my skin. I can almost taste the softness of the cloth. Shaking out my hair and attempting to brush it with my fingers a comb is offered to me. It is silver, engraved with graceful leaves and set with stones. The teeth are fine and it detangles my hair very nicely. These women are very kind and open to sharing even with a complete stranger like me. Looking for my clothes they are not where I left them. Looking slightly panicked I see them being washed. That is very kind but what am I to wear while they dry? My concern must have been evident on my face because an outfit is offered to me by a beautiful young woman.

The clothing is strange and I have no idea how to wear it. Giggling at my confusion two women help to dress me in a greek style toga. They put jewels and flowers in my hair braiding it and styling it similar to how they are wearing theirs, anoint my skin with scented oils, and drape me in fine jewels. They even put a pair of soft leather boots on my feet. The clothes are more comfortable than I ever imagined them to be. I am warm but not hot and can move freely. The cloth is softer than silk but obviously made from some kind of lightweight cotton. The belt helps to give the dress shape. Seeing my reflection I can hardly believe how beautiful I look. Could that really be me staring back at me?

    Lost in my own reflection I wonder about this strange turn of events. Why does all this feel strange and wrong somehow? What is wrong with me? Why would I be suspicious of such kind people? They are painfully beautiful and have been nothing but kind to me. They have shared with me and even dressed me like them. They have done their best to make me one of them.

    Two women approach me and take my hands while smiling. They beacon me to follow them. A sense of exhilaration flows through me and I join them. We dance to music  can almost hear, but my feet are sure and I am very light on them. Through the beautiful temples and gardens we dance. Winding around the golden columns we dance in the moonlight. The carvings seem to move in time to the music. I can feel the music in my bones but I can’t quite hear it. Even the gowns flutter in time to the music. The sculptures come alive around us as we dance. Others join hands with us forming a beautiful line of dancers extending to infinity. Round and round we spin flowing and fluttering graceful in the moonlight. I have never been so happy in all my life. If only I could live like this forever, then every day would be perfect. The simplicity of breathing cool air and dancing is perfect. I would never want for anything again. Not tiring I dance on through a throne room curtsying gracefully at just the right moment and back out into the courtyard.

    One of the rooms contains a feast. Succulent roast meats make my mouth water. Every kind of bread imaginable is piled up on tables enticing me to try them all. Baked bread fruit sandwiches appear on my plate as if by magic. They are sweet, filling, and very satisfying. I have never tasted something so wonderful in my life. Every bite is different and all are amazing.

    Sitting at a long beautifully decorated table with my plate of delectable delicacies in front of me I smile and can’t wait to dig in. Something catches my eye. I look again and see a scared girl terrified in the moonlight shaking in the corner. She is screaming but no one seems to hear her. Why does no one help her? What does she want? Reluctantly leaving the table I go to her. She is crying so hard that I can’t make out what she is saying. I try to hold her but this only seems to make things worse.

    “Why are you crying little one?” I ask in a soothing voice. She finally looks up at me.

    “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want this to happen to you or anyone. Its not your faoult and now it is almost too late.”

    “What is wrong? What is too late?” I ask.

    “You. They have you now and they will keep you, and it is all my fault.”

    “Child no one has me and no one will hurt me. Now come lets eat.”

    “No!” She cries. “You have to run. Run now or you will be trapped here forever.”

    I am confused for a moment. Then I remember the children of the moon. What they looked like and how they danced all night. A bell tolls loudly.

    “Run now!” she screams.

    I turn and run. There are too many people in my way. I can’t get through the sea of bodies. I fight and realize that hands are trying to hold me back. They are too strong and I only slowly make ground. I am desperate to make it out of the room. I barely make it outside when the sunrise hits. The children of the moon melt away in the light. They almost had me. They almost trapped me for eternity. Who was that girl? Was she the first?

    Looking behind me I see a room that had mostly collapsed. All the people are gone. All the food is gone. Everything changed in only a fe moments. A few moments that can change a lifetime. Looking at myself I still have the fine dress on. I am still wearing the jewelry. I still smell of jasmine. My hair is still very long and braided with flowers in it. Some parts of last night live on but most of it has disappeared. Vanished as rays of moonlight in the dawn. I am shocked at how shallow and simple the illusion was and how close it was to working on me. If I had not seen the child I would have never made it out in time.

    I go back to the pool and find it just as I had the day before. The water is still flowing. The bells still ring softly. The pool still appears cool and inviting. At the pools edge are my bags and clothes freshly washed, dried, folded, and waiting for me to wear. Knowing it is a bad idea to steal from gods I take off the fine dress folding it carefully and placing it at the pools edge. On it I carefully place the jewels I am wearing the dress in my clothes.

Taking my bags I turn and quickly leave the room. The draw of the pool is ever increasing and tempting me but I resist the temptation to touch the water as I might not be as fortunate as to escape again.

I walk out of the temple grounds knowing that staying further would be too tempting. I find a stone path leading to the jungle and it eventually breaks up into the foliage. Crashing through the jungle I know why no one lives near that temple. Everyone has been captured and turned into children of the moon.

This must be a thursday. I never did get the hang of thursdays. But is it really a thursday? I look at my watch to check and yes it is a thursday. But something must be wrong. My cast is gone and my watch is showing the wrong year. Where did my cast go? My arm feels fine. I feel fantastic in fact but how could a whole year have passed since I landed on this island? It has only been a few days. Something must be wrong with the watch or did I accidently enter faerieland where a single day is a whole year in our world. Too bad I can’t call the colony and ask without getting blown up.

National Novel Writing Month Pt 17

    Fearing the unknown person living here I back away slowly and critically examine my surroundings closer. With all the fallen stonework, layers of dead leaves, and pieces of temple grounds uprooted it is hard to tell if someone lives here or not. I haven’t found any real signs of human habitation but that doesn’t mean much. They could just be very clever about hiding their traces. As though they don’t want to be found. With the size of the plot and knowing how much someone can eat whoever lives here is somewhere between one and four people. The land would not support more than that. A larger group would eat more food and be more likely to leave more signs of human habitation. Not having come across any domesticated animals I would have to limit the group further as not many of these plants produce much protein.

    It occurs to me that they might be hiding from me for the same reasons I am hiding from them. I don’t know these people, I don’t know why they have come here, and I don’t know what they want. They don’t know that I don’t want to hurt them. They don’t know what I am running from. Hell I don’t even know what I am running from or what I am running toward. What am I doing here? My life has really fallen apart this year and I don’t know where to turn any more.

    The melody of water falling draws me out of the garden. An ancient aqueduct stands tall. The air is cooler here. Green plants grow all around. The water comes in through a single source and is divided several times. Some flows around the space to cool it and then out to the garden to water the plants. Some dribbles onto bells and metal things to make beautiful music. The sound is haunting yet familiar. I listen for a long time and notice that the music changes over time as though playing different songs. The set up is delicate but precise and wonderful all at the same time. There is a great pool in the middle with a mosaic tiled basin. The water is so cool and clear that I can just make out the pink lotus blossoms at the bottom. Kneeling at the pools edge I dip my fingers in and luxuriate in the wonderful coolness of the water. Shivering with the memory of coolness I become lost in an old memory tracing my fingers back and forth through the pool.

I went to the stream often to swim or fish. I would even look for pretty stones, faeries, or gold which are the fantasy quests of children. I was alone much of the time so I would make my own fun. Growing up with a schizophrenic sister I could not trust her to go with me on my childish trips. She would have tried to drown me in the stream or thrown rocks at me in a fit of unknown rage. She was always angry with me and would hurt me badly if she or one of the voices in her head believed that I had wronged her. She would steal my toys, cut up my clothes, and shit in my shoes all for imagined slights. She never was normal.

When I couldn’t take her beating me for no reason any longer I would go to the river. I loved the river. All that water flowing with such purpose. As if each drop was important and traveling somewhere with purpose. I wished I was like the water and knew my purpose. Then I could have gotten away from that awful place to where I belonged. Instead of living where I was afraid to sleep because someone would do something mean to me. I always admired water for that reason and wanted to be like it. My heart ached and yearned to be more like the water. At least the water was always there when I needed someone to talk to. The river was one of few comforts of a hard life. I knew the water would one day take me away from this awful place and to my true love. All I had to do was believe.

The cool grass on the shore was also my friend. I could dry off on it after swimming as I never remembered to bring a towel. The towering trees would shade me so I would not get sunburnt. I love this spot. I was always safe in this spot. No one would ever follow me. No one would ever find me. No one would ever harm me in this spot. Most summer nights I would sleep here as it was more comfortable than my hot unairconditioned room. I wished all places could be like this one safe from harm, safe from ridicule, safe from people who would not understand. No one understood me. Only this spot understood me. Large bodies of water would always make me feel that way. As if I belonged. The water would call me all my life. I could never bring myself to leave the water for long. I would always return thirsty for more, for what a large body of water could give me and nothing else. No drug could match it. No high could out do it. Nothing is better than standing by a large body of water, with a cool breeze on my face, the sun on my skin. I would stand and breathe. That is the only time I would ever feel at peace.

National Novel Writing Month Pt 16

    The statues move in the moonlight glowing a pale blue and dancing to music only they can hear. The gods and goddesses of old are all here and so close I could reach out my hand and touch them. Swirling and twirling in long graceful movements they are beautiful. The artists who carved them did poor imitations of the actual people before me now. Many of those statues were damaged when I saw them in daylight but as if by magic the moonlight has made them whole again. Yet they appear just as solid as I am now. Long robes flutter gracefully as the figures move in an intricate dance I am unfamiliar with but that I feel like I would know if I got up to join in. Looking around I see that the buildings are whole again too, freshly painted, and have gold leaf accents causing them to glow all the more. The stone path is level and un marked. All the towering trees are far back from the temple grounds so as to not interfere with the buildings. Clear cold water is running in groves along the path as though it was designed to do so. It smells so sweet I am tempted to drink some. The ornately carved buildings tower to the heavens once more. Golden pillars stretch high in the air. The carvings tell stories that I do not know. Words are engraved that I can not read. I wish I knew more. None of the statues I encountered during the day are where they once were. All the figures are up and moving around. All the rubble has been cleared. Everything is perfect and glittering in the moonlight. Terrified that if I move this dream might end I sit still and watch the silent figures. All are smiling and some through their heads back laughing wholeheartedly in ecstasy. None of them appear to notice me and continue in their revelry.

    The women all have long braided hair laced with flowers. Stone jewelry practically covers them from head to foot. Chains with stones drape them prettily. Circulets, bracelets, necklaces, and even draping stone laden belts. Something is odd about the stones. All the stones are the same kind of stone. It hits me suddenly that all the jewels are moonstones. Lots and lots of moonstones decorate the figures from head to foot. Are these the legendary children of the moon? Ethereal spirits which come out only in the moonlight and dance. I have heard many legends about them. They can not harm anyone, many can not even interact with you but beware of going anywhere with them or entering their buildings as it all vanishes with moonset. If you stay too long you can be trapped and turned into one of them. Able to only walk the earth in moonlight. There are so many of them as if the entire community was turned on a single night. The first is said to be a young girl who was lost in a forest at night. She was cold, tired, hungry and very beautiful. The moon saw her and took pity on her placing an inviting cottage in front of her. As she was desperate she entered the house finding food, water, a warm fire, and a bed she made herself at home. She was unaware of the danger and stayed too long. By morning she was trapped by the moon forever being one of his people. As she was lonely she came down every night and would trick strangers with her beauty, laughter, or crying and trap them as well. For the moon was jealous of the earth and wanted people to dance upon its surface as well. This is a legend told from a book found outside the moon house. Each bite of food taken in the house allows you to interact more and more with the moon people but it also weakens your resolve to leave. In the end a trapped young man couldn't find the strength within himself to leave so he threw his journal out the front door. A stranger came upon it and kept it for many years. Eventually the book made it into our library.

I wonder which of these moon people came first or if the moon people can move from site to site and dance all over the world. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I take solace in knowing that I am safe from capture by the moon as the piece of ground I am sitting on existed before the moon rose and I do not find myself suddenly inside a building by chance. I do not feel afraid of these moon children. Only curious about them and faintly enchanted by them. Their dancing continues for hours and the are still light on their feet given strength from the moon to keep going. So beautiful and happy that my heart breaks for them. Yet there are worse fates than to be trapped by the moon and dancing nightly happily. Eventually the exhaustion creeps up upon me and I fall back to sleep.

Upon waking I explore the temple grounds. So many great stone structures are all around me. The years have not been kind to the buildings and they are falling down. Many have trees growing out of them with great roots thicker around than my arm. People have been gone from this place for a very long time. Those who danced here once before must have been gone for centuries. My heart aches for those people. I must learn more about them, who they were, and why they turned into moon children. I have only ever known one or two moon children to be out at once not hundreds. There is something here worth investigating and I must learn what it is.

With my wanderings I come across an oddly tended garden. Everywhere else in the temple complex there were no signs of habitation for years yet there is a tended garden flourishing in one of the temple courtyards. All of the plants are edible most are annuals, and all of them are growing in straight rows and are weeded. If someone isn’t here now then someone comes here often.

National Novel Writing Month Pt 15

Our leaders and priests did not come back to us but their buildings did. The great towering castles and vast religious sites do. Maybe this is to help remind us of our mistake and to be humble. Our once proud cobble stone streets are now filled with sand. Our great wondrous buildings that once reached toward the sky are now crumpled and towers jut out at odd angles. So many stones have fallen and lay on the ground but none of us are strong enough to move them. Our city was always so clean, well crafted, and pristine that the rubble on the ground is an insult. Yet we can do nothing to change this. Maybe this too is part of our penance.

A huge obelisk was placed by the gods in the center of the town square. It details our folly, our penance, and what we are to learn. It glows with a pale blue light coming out of the peak. It is bright but cold and we can’t venture too far from it. There is a limit on how far we can swim from the center. We never reach any sort of wall or barrier we just suddenly can’t swim any farther. We are all trapped here and are forced to live out our lives within the barrier created by the obelisk. It has been several weeks and no children have been born and all pregnancies were lost when we dropped below the ocean. Perhaps the gods do not want our population to expand as the obelisk says that we are now immortal. With food readily available no cooking possible, and nothing to import or export few people have anything to do. There is no forging available as we are below water and no fire is available. We have nothing to make and nothing to do but think about what we have done wrong. Eternity will take a very long time to arrive.

The old roads are long since gone and there is nowhere to travel. We were told that if the fire ever went out in the temple that horrible things would happen and they were right. The fire is out and we now live under the ocean forever in the murky depths of the deep. Day and night blend together and there is nothing to break the monotony. We can’t even sing any more. The novelty of swimming wore off quickly. None of the old machines work any more. We have truly lost the favor of the gods. We will never again have the sweet fruit whines, the spiced breads, or wear fine cloth. So much has been lost and it saddens me greatly. The loss of the sun is a trivial thing in comparison to the loss of everything else we once had. How will we go on in the midst of such loss? How do we go on when there is no more purpose to life? We must preserve the knowledge of all the great things as someday someone will come along and be able to right the wrongs and allow us back into the light.

    Waking with a start i hit my head on the ceiling of my escape pod. Rubbing it to dull the pain I wonder why there is no padding there for just this purpose. Then I wonder about how long I have been in here and how much longer I have to go. Where will I end up? How long will I be in a survival situation till help arrives? Looking at the screen in front of me the display points out the time traveled, time remaining, and distance. With ten hours to go I resolve to wait. Touching the screen it comes alive and a friendly looking woman stares back at me. Suddenly she starts speaking. “Thank you for using the Ecos 300 escape pod, the top of the line in escape pods. This vehicle is equipped with engines, power, water, waste disposal, and entertainment to last you a minimum of 3 days or two thousand miles for double occupancy.” Good I have plenty of air and supplies. “So you can escape a shipwreck and reach civilization minimizing the risks of open ocean exposure. This is your orientation video and will cover everything you will need to know to make your stay as comfortable as possible.” She drones on about where the food and bathrooms are located and gives advice on maintaining hygiene in such a confined environment. After a while she stops and I start watching some movie from the video que and eating popcorn as though I was in a personal cinema moving silently under the water. I begin to get lonely and wish for someone to talk to. But a phone was not built into the pod and I have survived worse than loneliness. Eventually I tire of the movies and switch to a video game. This thing is actually equipped with an xbox and some games. Replaying oblivion should help pass the next six hours. But what to play as a mage, a worrier, or a rogue. I choose rogue as I played the other two already. Soon I start stealing everything I can purly because I can.

    Despite the massaging chair below me I eventually stiffen and become sore from lack of movement. I am grateful of landfall. The pod suddenly hits something and some motors strain. I am moving again but more slowly and jerkily. Eventually a loud click is followed by a hiss and the lid opens. Stretching I stand and my back popps a lot as I twist and move to work out the stiffness. Before I step out of the pod I grab my bag. After I am out the lid closes and a compartment opens on the outside releasing a five gallon container of water and a large back pack. Taking both I look back at the ocean and notice tire treads. The pod drove me up on the beach so I wouldn’t get wet or knocked down by the waves.

    The sky is afire in color with either sunrise or sunset I am not sure which. Only time will tell on that front. The pod has sealed itself to look like a rock so I will have to make a shelter if rescue doesn’t come soon. Half an hour later I am sure that it is sunrise and not sunset as the sun has gotten higher in the sky and the sky has brightened. I take out my satellite phone and call Asa telling her all about the crash, the black helicopter, and about how I am stranded on an island and have no idea where I am. She promises my rescue is coming in only a few hours and all I need to do is wait.

    I move all my supplies to the shade about fifty feet from the pod and wait while taking stock of the backpack more out of a desire to do something than concern over supplies. With that done I relax against the bag and wait for rescue.

    An explosion awakens me. Panicked I look around critically. It was the pod. Did the pod blow itself or or did someone blow it up? In a moment of indecision and panic I rip the battery pack out of the satellite phone and back away from the fire. Why would the pod explode? It was still good and could have been cleaned and reused. Blowing it up would be a huge waste. Someone must have blown it up. Someone must be after me. Someone is trying to kill me. The harsh realization slowly dawns on me. I grab my supplies and trudge off into the jungle feeling like a fool. Someone killed my husband and now they are after me. The thought is a sobering one and frightens me but not near as badly as knowing that there is a mole in the colony. I keep walking.

    The air is hot and humid. I am sweating profusely and have no idea how far I have gone or even where ai am going. I suppose it doesn’t really matter where I go. There is obviously a mole in the colony which is why that bomb found me so quickly. No matter how far I run they will stop at nothing to kill me. Scared, tired, hungry, thirsty and my eyes blurry with tears I stop to rest.

    There are water apples in the tree above me and I eat those to help save my supplies. The skin is red and the flesh is white but they are juicy and sweet. I eat my fill and sit on the ground to rest. As I remain silent the jungle around me comes to life. So many different sounds created by unfamiliar animes frightens me but then I remember that they are probably more  afraid of me than I am of them and relax.

    Gathering my things I again move on. The jungle just looks like more and more of the same. To pass the time I try to identify different plants but this game soon tires me. I could easily get lost out here without a compass. So far I have been heading straight into what I think is the center of the island as I have no better idea of what to do. My supplies are heavy but I know I will need all of them and have attached them all to my back.

    As nightfall comes I look around for shelter. I probably should have stopped hours ago to make camp. But I foolishly clung to the vain hope of finding civilization. All I have found is more jungle and disappointment. Seeing something in the distance I stumble on.

    There is a cobblestone road here and there uprooted a bit by the massive trees bordering it. As this is my best bet of finding civilization I follow the road. No matter how old the road is it has to lead somewhere. There must be something at the end of it important enough to have had this road constructed to lead to it. After all who would build such a road for no reason? That would be far too much work for a prank.

    My heart sinks as the road ends at some old stone temples. The buildings are old, very old, and overgrown with brush. Some even have trees growing out of them. The scent of jasmine is in the air and I know that this place is not only old but abandoned. With a heavy heart I find a level piece of ground to make camp for the night.

National Novel Writing Month Pt 14

    The ship slammed hard to the left throwing me against a wall hard. I slump to the floor and try to right myself. Loud buzzing emanates from everywhere and all the lights come on flashing red angry lights. Something is very wrong. A monotoned woman comes on and tells us “The ship is taking on water and the waterproof doors are sealing. Do not be under them as they descend.”

The door to my room is vanishing behind another metal door. I am trapped in here. I have just been sealed in. Not knowing the protocol for this I try not to panic and instead choose to dress for the occasion. As a colony resident I have various clothes which can help me survive almost anything. A set of clothes made of spider silk and silver which can withstand being shot by a gun. The fabric doesn’t stop the force of the bullet but will not puncture so the fabric is pulled tight. This helps to allow you to remove the bullet later while the fabric helps to stop the blood. You also can not stab with a knife through the cloth so you only get a bad bruise. The silver helps to make it so the outfit does not grow bacteria and so can be washed less often. Usually you only need to wash out the salts from sweating. Basically you wash your clothes when they can stand up on their own. I have a dry suit for diving which would keep me warm and dry in the ocean but I wouldn’t want to put it on till I know that we are going down. A rebreather which allows me to breathe underwater for long periods of time. The device extracts oxygen from the water but sometimes that is not enough to support much exertion. I sort out what I need putting electronics into drybags and various useful items onto my belt for easy access. Adding the rebreather and the vial of radiation eating bacteria to the belt I critically examine my clothing. The set of fins might be useful and I place those with the drysuit. Some bamboo undergarments go  on first as those are antibacterial and don’t require much washing. Settling upon the spider silk clothing I put on the long white tunic top with the large billowy sleeves which come to tight cuffs at the writs, the knee length black pleated skirt, black leggings, and knee high boots which fit snugly at the knee. The swimming fins can strap onto the boots easily if needed. Rolling up the paper thin drysuit I put it in my bag. I have a few energy bars and some water in there too.

With my possessions sorted and gathered I look around the room for some indication of what to do in an emergency. I find a guest book and see the angry red letters indicating a chapter on emergencies. It mentions an escape pod located in my  room which I should enter and wait for instructions. Lifting up the mattress I find a small pod which opens for me. Some friendly looking lights come on inviting me inside. There is enough room for two people to lay down side by side within the pod and I load my possessions in the other seat and climb inside. As soon as I lay down the lid of the pod closes and clicks shut.

A screen in front of me comes to life. It is split into a grid of about 10 pieces most of which have faces in them. They are all looking at me but only the captain is speaking. He is talking about how the ship was hit by a torpedo and is taking on water. How everyone should find an escape pod and to launch. That he has programmed the pods to travel to a specific neerbye island and that we will be rescued there. The island is only about eighteen hours away and the pods have enough supplies for three days. Feeling a bit apprehensive about an eighteen hour trip alone in a pod I try to voice my objection but no one seems to hear me. There must be some button I need to press in order to be heard. Then came the most maddening part of it all. “You have nothing to worry about.” the captain said. How can he say such a thing after he was so wrong before? I guess I do have something to worry about because he is trying to convince me not to worry. With a great woosh my pod is sent out of the ship into the ocean where the gods only know what will happen next.