As I rose up from deeper slumber I stumbled into a dream, already in progress, after the necessary interruption of deep sleep. I know I slept deeply because on Sunday morning I awoke at 8:27 a.m. and I was surprised it wasn't ten or eleven in the morning since I went to bed around midnight on Saturday.
My brain was running a movie for its own entertainment. It's the best way to convey the dream because I really didn't interact much but I was able to move around like a spectator in a Quake game. I had walked in on the second episode of an anthology movie like Creepshow dealing with Twilight Zone weird tales. Opening scene was a gray beach in November where the waves were getting a little rough. There was narration which was not easily heard but since it was a dream I was able to get the gist. A small town up the hill had suddenly emptied itself leaving two poor souls to face the weird situation.
First I was floating through the streets where houses were already covered in ivy, cars left idle and empty in the streets and despite the false twilight of the storm the streetlights weren't flickering on. The streetlights were quite nice, they had a broad base then had the shape of a chess queen. The posts had been painted black but the passage of time and curious hands had worn away the coating to reveal gold.
Now I was in the passenger seat of the female protagonist. She was driving along the street oblivious to the situation, as if cutting into opposite lanes to avoid abandoned vehicles was an everyday experience. Even though the houses were covered with ivy they were still in good repair yet the windows remained dark. I learned from her running internal monologue that she was looking for her son. When I turned around to look out the back window I saw a kid riding his BMX with a delivery sack dangling from the handlebars. Definitely a dream because thoughts of "geared bikes are so much more efficient, wtf w/ the fixie?" didn't interrupt the story.
The kid caught sight of his mom and began furiously pedalling his bike. Out of the fog came horsemen. Knights astride barded mounts who would not flinch amidst a storm of steel and blood. Much to my surprise these warriors took a left turn leaving the kid alone. The mom had pulled over and exited the car to notice the medieval army but the kid was still oblivious.
Aaaand we have plot. A time slip occurred, people continued with their lives unaware of the timeslip leaving behind this timeline which was infected by the dark age. My modern mates were, for lack of a better term, left behind.
"Mom" tried to explain what she saw to her boy but he didn't believe her. They walked under a tree while she tried to explain what she saw and build a case. Over the hill I could hear the roar of war. Everything suddenly had aspects of the number eighteen. Overhead was thunder. Soft thunder. Like the beating of wings. The silhouette of a flatworm with wings was undulating below the ceiling of clouds.
Oh wow, this isn't history.
The shape dove behind the hill and a weak new sun rose over the ocean.
Bedraggled and recently anointed veterans stumbled back over the hill with fearful faces. Ranks were broken and any semblance of order collapsed as they hid throughout the neighborhood. Once again I heard the wings and so did the little family down the street. We had enough sense to run while the warriors resigned themselves to their fate.
Looking back over my shoulder I could see the dragon was very much a typical western dragon except for the broad, flattened tail. There was a harsh roar followed by the dragon's head being pulled into her body. Wings wrapped around the body as the tail folded over her underbelly. No longer a fantastic yet non-aerodynamic form the dragon had become a coppery sphere. Moments later all the tension in the dragon's body was loosed as a torrent of fire impacted the asphalt.
The three of us made it into a novelty store where I found a box of little squeaky dragons. Eighteen of them. We heard the jingle of the front door bell and watched as the dragon sauntered into the store. A quick count showed there were eighteen squeaky dragons. I ran up to our pursuer handing over the box which pleased her leaving us in peace.
Fortunately I had a spare tube at home, had fun changing the tire and realized that I really ought to pick up a patching kit in addition to an extra tube. Right now I have two tubes that need patching and reckon I'll do those for fun over Independence Day weekend.
Finally must remember that the quarters in my cycling backpack are for TAKING THE BUS not pumping into the vending machines at work.
First patch deals with explosions. When assaulted by a freezing, flaming or shocking sphere normally the player is the sole victim of the detonation. Also in the "e" family of spherical monsters are gas spores. Gas spores violently detonate upon being destroyed by the player except this explosion affects a 9x9 area and includes surrounding monsters. A poor suicidal man's area of effect weapon. Now freezing, flaming and shocking spheres have elemental explosions with a 9x9 area of effect.
Second patch adds color to NetHack. Certain levels have particular color schemes which breaks up the monotony of white walls in every scenario. Now Gehennom is red, beehives are yellow, the Gnomish Mines are brown and the Wizard's Tower in Gehennom is royal purple.
being really half-assed
Cars and the like are simple beasts with a mere pair of brain cells which keep each other company as they browse and forage over the great highways and freeways of the world.
The simple act of driving a car is an exercise in cruelty.
QED, people should ride bikes.
