Secret Technology, Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© August 2022 - Written by David Wicker
Please do not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 13 - "SPLIT"
Slice Of Life (07-29-22)
Good afternoon:
MYSTAR ALGORITHM
As you may or may not be aware I have been working on an algorithm to calculate the best and shortest path between two points even if there are obstacles in the way.
Here you can see the adventurer having no difficulty in reaching the treasure chest as there are no obstacles in the way. You could use a bee-line formula to reach the treasure. Quite simply as most games do it checks the horizontal and vertical.
If the horizontal of the player is less than the horizontal of the target, increase the horizontal of the player.
If the horizontal of the player is greater than the horizontal of the target, decrease the horizontal of the player.
If the vertical of the player is less than the vertical of the target, increase the vertical of the player.
If the vertical of the player is greater than the vertical of the target, decrease the vertical of the player.
And if the vertical and horizontal are the same, you have reached your target. Phew !
However when you add an obstacle, then the normal way of reaching the treasure chest cannot be done and the adventurer is confused as how to proceed.
Even in moving up against the wall, despite getting closer to the treasure will not let the player through. A new method must be formed to reach the treasure chest.
Pic4
So - one of the best ways around this is to use the newly created My*Star function I developed.
Which works even if you must backpedal your steps AWAY for the treasure. The treasure can always be reached with the My*Star algorithm provided the way is not completely blocked.
To see this marvelous program, go HERE to download your copy and try it out for yourself !
. . .
KATY'S VACATION
Katy is back from her vacation seeing the ocean for the first time and certainly had a lot to tell me when she got back !
Carlos has become under the weather and has a bit of a cough. Says the he is having allergies, nonetheless scheduling to see a doctor would not be remiss.
CARLOS'S VIRUSES
He also ran into some bad websites over the weekend and says he now has viruses. Today (08-08-22) I am going to try and repair his computer.
? ? ?
Well that wasn't very difficult. I think I've weeded out viruses and malware for so long I've gotten quite good at it. Was not even a half-hour before I got his computer cleaned and ready to go again.
. . .
If the next question on your mind right now was, I wonder if this guy has seen that cool Weird Al Yankovic movie, "UHF" ? Why yes I have, and thank you for asking !
There is an interesting scene in there at 08:42 where Al is making this wonderful and artistic creation called, "The Twinkie Wiener Sandwich." And it does look pretty tasty. It is a Twinkie turned over, cut on the top with a white plastic knife - don't use a real knife or you won't get the right effect.
Stick a freshly boiled or microwaved hot dog on the top where you cut the Twinkie, then put Cheez Whizz (it's got to be this brand or you ruin the effect) and squirt a nice trail right along the top of your hot dog.
And there you have it !
So I thought about this. I thought about how I found out if you freeze bread it comes out soggy when thawed. How hot dog buns are usually welded shut on both sides and you have to tear them open with your fingers making a big bread mess.
So instead I now use WAFFLES. That's right. If you want the tasty taste of a delicious Hot Dog like you're back at the Baseball stadium - do it like I do - with waffles !
Here's the secret recipe and the ingredients you'll need to make this delicious treat:
DAVID'S WAFFLE-DOG
1. One boiled or microwaved hot dog. "Oscar Mayer" brand wieners are recommended.
2. One Toastered or microwaved waffle. "Kellogg's Eggo" brand waffles are recommended. Plain, don't get flavored, and don't burn it in the toaster so you can't bend it. You'll need to later.
3. Dill pickle topping. "Vlasic" is the best here.
3. Your favorite mustard, the spicier the better. "French's" brand mustard is recommended.
Okay, here are the instructions you follow to make this happen !
1. Take the waffle and hold it in your hand (don't burn yourself though).
2. Carefully place the hot dog in the top.
3. Using a white plastic spoon, spoon out an ample supply of dill pickle relish to line across the hot dog.
3. Squirt your favorite mustard right along the top of the dog.
And here's the magic part. Gently SQU-EEZE your fingers along the waffle to WAFFLE all those savory ingredients right up against the hot dog. And that's it. Devour. You've got it !
. . .
DAVID'S OLIVE BURRITOS
A simple recipe I thought up after this uses the following items. For instance, why do burritos taste so plain when you buy them in a bundle at a store ? Well, that's going to change. You'll need to have the following ingredients and special items.
1. One cooked or microwaved plain-burrito. "Tina's" brand is the best because they are the cheapest and have little flavor. Don't cook it too crispy as you'll need to put things on top of it later.
2. Five pimento stuffed olives. "Manzanilla" brand is the best because you want quality here. The spicier the better.
3. Five toothpicks. Don't get a brand so cheap they break when used.
Now then, heat up the burrito either in the oven or microwave. Once it's cooked, take that plain burrito and put it on a sturdy paper plate. Bonus if it has a Mexican art or arrangement of art on it.
Take out exactly 5-olives and skewer them directly on to the toothpicks, pimento side up and toothpick on the bottom.
Now take these toothpicks and stick them in a horizontal line across your burrito - don't put one where your mouth hole will be. Leave that part clear of traffic.
Now here's how it works. Take a bite of your burrito and pull off one of the toothpicks with the olive. Eat the olive with that ol' big bite of burrito to flavor it. Do so until the burrito is gone. Repeat as necessary. Delicious, right ?
. . .
DAVID's EVER COLD DRINK
The last recipe I have is pretty simple. If you have gotten tired of drinking soda, even sugar free, you may be ready for something that has more water in it. Now I know there is Gatorade and other drinks however these all come in individual-serving bottles that just clutter up an already overflowing landfill of trash.
No, here you purchase one or more of those fruit powders like you get to mix up in one of those water bottles. Get sugar free as there's enough sugar in plenty of other foods - no sense in contributing to diabetes.
You'll need =2= plastic pitchers. If you don't have any, buy 'em. They're $1.25 at Dollar Tree right now. I'll explain why you need 2 in a minute.
Fill up BOTH of them with water, to the top. Place them both in the refrigerator. Now let them set for about 4 or more hours.
Take one of them out and check with your finger to see if it's cold enough for you. The colder the better. If you're satisfied it's cold enough, go to add =2= of the tubes of the flavored powder in the pitcher. Don't be shy - mix up two different flavors if you like. That's up to you.
Then take a paddle or whatever you use to stir things up in a pitcher, and stir till all the powder has neatly dissolved.
Get a glass and pour yourself out some. Cheaper than soda or Gatorade. And you're drinking a lot more water which is the critical bit.
Now you're probably wondering why you have =2= pitchers. Well if you just want a drink of water without the powder you can have that from the other pitcher. But no, the other pitcher is for when you run out of the 1st pitcher.
When you do, go to fill up the pitcher you emptied with fresh water from your sink. Place that back in the refrigerator. Pull out the 2nd pitcher which should be plenty cold sitting there all this time, add your powder as above, stir, and get your cold drink right then without having to wait hours for the water to get to near freezing again.
Also be certain to stir the pitcher you made your drink in hours later after taking the first off the top. Most of the flavored powder will settle and you'll get a lot of water and little flavor. Always stir from the pitcher you are pouring your drink from.
To close the top, put the cap on the pitcher sideways to airtight seal it. When you want your drink take off the cap entirely and pour. Put the cap back on where the openings are at the sides and no liquid can go through them.
And there you have it !
Okay ! Those are some of my best and secret cooking tips from my very own kitchen ! Let's get back to the rest of our writing.
I am definitely thinking I'm going to use my newly developed My*Star routine and make some great games with it.
I think the first might be a 1-player light-cycle game where the opponent is super-angry and comes straight at you as he is point A and YOU are point B. Naturally he should be able to find his way out of any box or trap that still has an opening in it because of the unique way that My*Star works.
.
So many ideas. But that's all for now. Let's get back to our story of Future Barrier, 5th Book, what happens next ?
. . .
I shrugged. Clearly Ash was used to getting his way.
But I would let that pass for now. Surely they wouldn't get anything productive out of me if they killed my friend. I would make sure of that. I started to look out the side window which strangely was not as darkly tinted as the one on the other side and saw we were going under a bridge.
But then it was dark all over. A full minute passed in silence. I sucked in a breath to ask a question when Ash interrupted me, "Wait for it."
A moment later I could tell we were in an elevator that was descending. So apparently there was a secret landing under this bridge that Ash and his cohorts could operate.
I sighed. Just what I need. Another secret underground lair. I mean didn't the bad guys learn their lesson from Arkos when I was down there ?
I shook my head. It did not get past Ash. "Problem little man ?"
I held my hand out as if it would help in an explanation. I told him about the Arkos institute kidnapping me - and that I think it was in league with a marooned alien from real outer space. I mean, I saw Arkos himself. He was definitely not human.
He laughed, but only for a minute. He could see I was serious.
He huffed angrily, "It does seem like you BELIEVE this yet I think it is more likely they were some substandard villain group that pumped you so full of drugs you couldn't see straight and believed whatever you saw - or thought you saw."
I had to think myself now. It was a bit of a blur. I remembered. Well I remembered whom I met. And there were several people. Those two idiot agents Kelthos and Deccor. Stefani. Now I would NEVER forget her. In a way I felt sorry knowing she did not make it from the wreckage of Arkos.
And yet in another I was really glad she was gone.
Dempsey and his gang. Were they still around ? There was also Maggie the awful babysitter. What I wouldn't trade to be with her right now. To see my parents again ? I felt tears well up under my eyes thinking of all the decisions I made in life, and how I would make different ones, better ones, were I given the chance.
"We're here." he said suddenly.
Then noisily he took his heavy metal pistol and whacked it twice against the glass ahead. The door opened to our right letting out the other agent, me, then him.
I looked around and could see I was in some type of parking garage. Then I saw Nikki, apparently awake now. I ran to her and Ash let me. I grabbed her hand and - not accustomed to hugs, I shook it like I was in a business meeting.
"Good to see that you're okay." I told her, reassuringly.
She nodded, "Likewise. But what happens now ?"
Ash spoke louder than all of us in a voice clearly reserved for young children, "What happens now, kiddies, is you two behave and we'll all go to get some ice cream."
I perked up at that, "What flavor ?"
To that he laughed, leaning down and slapping his knee. "Oh my god, that never gets old."
Just then a loud ping came from a nearby speaker followed by a most somber voice. "Ash, please stop fooling around and bring the children to me."
Mirth drained out of his face. I saw something there. Was he - was he afraid of this other voice ?
As I pondered this for a second, Ash got back into character. "Into the elevator. Let's go !" brandishing his pistol pointing the way.
There was some gentle and light music playing in it. I swayed a bit to the music. Ash shook his head disgusted. Just then something pinged on him. A cellphone. He picked it up, swung open the top like a Star Trek communicator and read what was there.
"Yeah, I figured as much." he said. Then he pocketed the phone and stared straight ahead.
I was curious though, "What was - " but that was as far as I could get before he had jabbed me in the back of my neck with some syringe. I froze up in fear.
He had not yet pressed down on the contents. "That's it." he told me, "Just hold steady. Don't move or it'll really hurt."
He grabbed my shoulder to steady me. Then he pressed in the contents. "Orders from the top."
I felt fine. I started to mention that maybe I was immune to whatever when suddenly my feet slid out from under me and could hear Nikki yelling in fear along with rude laughter of everyone else in the elevator. My balance wasn't all that was shot.
I looked up and saw the elevator light blinking at an alarming rate, clearly me hallucinating from whatever Ash injected into me. Then a wave of sleepiness so strong I think I was too tired to even yawn before I collapsed into drugged sleep.
Nikki though was furious and bared her claws.
Ash looked on unimpressed, "I have no such orders for you - " he paused unsure of what to say, "cat - girl."
Returning the hypo to the medical kit he laid out, he carefully pocketed it. Then pulled out his gun sighing deeply. He looked down to see Nikki was holding me protectively.
"Up, sweet cheeks." he said motioning with the pistol.
"It's Nikki." she said haughtily.
"It's dead Nikki if you don't get up now !"
She continued to stay on the ground.
He reached for her and she bared her sharp claws again this time hissing, clearly not wanting to leave my side.
Ash bit his lip in thought. Stretched. You could hear his back pop for a second. Then the elevator door opened. Ash then wasted no time in bodily kicking Nikki outside the door where she rolled professionally and had now both her claws and fangs ready - ready for a fight !
Ash stepped outside the elevator for a second mumbling only a few unintelligible words to the other agents.
"Try that again and you'll lose a finger." she said angrily, clearly hurt as he kicked her right in her butt.
Ash motioned with the gun. "Look, what can I say, I love your tough cat-girl routine. It was amusing the first minute. But quit it already, alright ? Dev we need to keep alive. I don't care if you're alive or dead or if they even decide to dissect you to find out how you came to be. If you want to LIVE then get up, shut up, and follow up !"
Nikki stayed on the ground, "What about Dev ?"
* * *
Ash lowered the pistol. "Nikki it should be clear to everyone that Dev has been - ah - influenced by something alien in nature - to give him these so-called superpowers. It's not something just for children to play around in. We - ah - part of the government here - need to know how it works - to give us the upper hand over Russia and communist China."
He looked away for a second. "We're always at war, Nikki. Even when we're not we really are. The local media is suppressed many times from the actual truth. You - civilians - " and he said it like he was disgusted with the word.
He coughed to continue, "What I mean to say is the United States will always have enemies. Why ?"
He tapped the ceiling alarmingly with his pistol making a metal chime. "Because we are the superpower on this planet ! And we'll be damned if we let some panty-waist little boy like Dev keep superior and advanced technology and ability to himself when it can better serve us and our country's defense."
"What about me ?" Nikki asked, seeing that Ash was not so threatening now.
He nodded in thought, "You ? Well if you behave we'll keep you alive. You'll likely get interrogated as to how you came to be. Few humans are born with cat ears and cat tail. Clearly you were part of some genetic experience - what we don't know. How - we'd like to know."
She offered quietly, "I really don't know where I came from - myself."
Ash nodded to that, "Then it will be a learning experience for both of us. Now If there are no more questions, minx, we're overdue. Let's go !"
She got up and followed Nikki through an electric sliding door. Dempsey was on the other side, apparently having found work. He looked at her only once. "Another freak, Ash ?"
But Ash was defensive. "Oh no. This little miss is the results of carefully designated genetic experimentation. Going to handle her like blown glass."
Dempsey shrugged, "Freak. Experiment. Same difference."
Nikki looked at Dempsey for the first time. Built much like a brick wall and she warranted just as intelligent. But they passed by him and Ash led her into a room with a long table and just a few chairs.
"Sit here." he directed her to sit on the side where there was only one chair.
There was a set of manacles lying on the table and metal bolts connected to the chair she was sitting in.
He pushed on the chains with his gun getting a look of alarm from Nikki.
He noticed. "Yeah ? Well if you don't want to be wearing these then behave. I'll be watching you on camera." and he pointed to a close-circuit camera viewing the table and who was sitting at it.
"Doctor Seisbee will see you shortly." With that Ash pulled from his pocket a security card on a zipline. He scanned it into a security door and it mechanically opened letting him leave the room.
Almost a second later another door opened up and a withered and weathered old fellow hobbled in on a cane. It was indeed Dr. Seisbee from the earlier hospital incident, yet he didn't need a cane then. Clearly he must've gotten injured in the fiasco that occured there.
He tip-tapped his cane to look at Nikki for a moment.
"Wonderful wonderful." he muttered to himself. Then sat down opposite clacking his heavy metal cane on the table to the right of him and left of Nikki.
There was a moment of silence before he began, "So tell me - "
"Where is Dev ?" Nikki demanded.
He smiled and leaned forward, "Listen, child, that's not the way it works. =I'll= be asking the questions. And if I'm not satisfied with the answers - or I'm not getting any answers at all, I need merely press this - " and on his side of the table he slide out a hidden red button.
"This will call Dempsey, that large fellow you saw earlier ? It'll then be his job to 'soften' you up a bit. Hurt you. Make you a little easier to question." Then he held his hands up apologetically. "I'd really rather not. Dempsey is - shall we say - fond of violence."
"I'll tear him to pieces." Nikki said showing the doctor her claws.
He nodded, clearly approving of her anger, "Yes you may at that, but that would only be if you weren't bound. Obviously before we handed you to Dempsey you'd be handcuffed and your legs manacled and then - "
He smiled wide, "Well it may not just be Dempsey, it could be someone else - who is actually quite fond of coming-of-girl ages such as yourself. He likes to play with them in the rudest possible way. And the stranger the girl is the better he likes it."
She silently raged and realized he was right. I mean look at how easily Dev was taken away. She sat back in her chair and nodded quietly.
The doctor nodded, "That's better. Now let me assure you, Dev is going to be well taken care of. He is a diamond in the rough and I mean the most valuable person on the planet at the moment. Why we're not going to harm a hair on his silly little head. Understand ?"
Nikki just narrowed her eyes at the doctor in reply.
He continued, "Yes, I can see you don't trust me. We can have something if that will make you feel better ?"
He pursed his lip up in thought. "Milk ?"
Nikki's ears twitched eagerly at which she suppressed them and lied, "I hate milk."
He nodded clearly reading her earlier body language, "Milk it is." He reached off to push a different button by his chair.
"Our - guest - will have some milk in a cup. Bring an empty saucer. Also bring some cinnamon and sugar too please. I'll take a hot black coffee for myself."
A voice on the intercom spoke, "Yessir. It's on it's way, sir."
END OF CHAPTER 14
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