trade my soul for a wish

[from_scratch]

This is a successor to "call me maybe", which is getting crowded.

Cam is dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into a bowl of tomato soup when he feels the summons. He goes ahead and grabs it. Doesn't even drop the sandwich.


with Mark (kappa)

with Adanya (Aestrix)

with Sable (kappa)

with Ari (andaisq)

with Metella (kappa)

with Miles (kappa)

with Isabella (Eva)

with Steel (Rockeye)

with Daphne (Maggie)

with Edie (Maggie)

Comments

[sturdycoldsteel]

"There aren't any good landing spots in Opri, and if it's a good distance away there's less chance someone will decide to mess with the shuttle."

[from_scratch]

"Fair enough."

Cam lands on the dam, which has enough space on top of it to allow that, and then flies Opriward.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel flies to Opri and says hi to the guards, who glance at Cam slightly nervously.

She goes to several former employees' homes, particularly the non-shapers. The first few people don't want to move, but then she finds a couple who worry about having two jobs and a preschooler and a baby. They want a demonstration of the free conjured food.

[from_scratch]

Cam makes everybody including the preschooler ice cream.

[sturdycoldsteel]

The preschooler squeals in delight! The parents are startled.

"So it's true... We appreciate your offer very much, but Mary needs to socialize with other children. I think we'll want to move to your island if you can find someone else with a child about her age, but not if it's completely empty apart from you and her."

"I'll make a list of people who want to move in only on certain conditions," Steel says, "We'll let you know if it fills up."

And they go back to canvassing previous employees. The next one who seems interested is homeless and jobless.

[from_scratch]

Well, now they are not homeless anymore.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel wonders, "Are we going to take him there right now, or keep asking around first?"

"I don't mind waiting 'till sunset or something if you make me a nice hot bowl of soup for the meanwhile," not-homeless guy reports.

[from_scratch]

Here's a bowl of soup. The bowl is that bread stuff. The soup is potato chowder. "The shuttle isn't that big - I can make a bigger one, but I don't want to keep accumulating shuttles. You wanted something for point-to-point, right, Steel? You want it passenger-ferry-sized?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel digs out a spoon from her backpack and hands it to the guy.

"Small passenger ferry, if you don't mind. Maybe 40 or 60 people's worth. Removable or folding seats so it can transport things as well, if possible. Onboard kitchen?"

[from_scratch]

"What do you need a kitchen for?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"If I'm going places with it and you're not there, you can't appear food for me."

[from_scratch]

"Yeah, all right. I guess a mid model Earthbus would probably do if I swap out the seats and upgrade the autopilot so you don't plow into a mountain. All right, when we're out of the city I'll make you one of those."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Thank you in advance. I'll want to learn how to pilot it properly eventually, probably."

Back to asking people if they'd like free rent and food!



At the end of the day, there are eighteen people who want to move in, Five are homeless, three don't like having a criminal record in Opri, there are three families (including the first one) who would really like that free stuff, and one doctor who is very excited at the prospect of advanced medical knowledge.

[from_scratch]

Cam gives the doctor an International Pictorial Physician's Assistant Guide, which should give her a loose idea of what state-of-the-art drugs, equipment, and delivery systems look like without requiring fluency in any languages she doesn't know. He distributes more soup and ice cream. And then everybody is led out of the city and Steel receives a snazzy silver Earthbus with modular seating, a kitchenette, and an autopilot which can do everything except choose her heading.

[sturdycoldsteel]

One of the people who want to immigrate to Cam's as-yet-unnamed new city was in Opri's City Planning Committee. He has some ideas about architecture he would like to discuss with Cam.

[from_scratch]

"Do tell."

[sturdycoldsteel]

He has reports and sketches and binders full of notes on Opri's layout.

Mostly he wants to ensure that new buildings and parks and shopping districts and farms and workshop zones will be laid out in a sensible manner and not 'wherever Cam feels like it.'

[from_scratch]

"...If you object to living in a place that is significantly governed by whim, maybe we should turn around and put you back. But I have no desire to put things in places that make them inconvenient or give them disagreeable neighbors."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I'm not going to demand the city be perfectly symmetrical or anything like that, I was mostly worried about peoples' location relative to important services. I assume I can leave if I find it not to my liking? If not, I'll stay here."

[from_scratch]

"I'm not going to imprison you. There'll be a bridge, you can leave whenever you like."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Would you mind suggestions about the placement of various things?"

[from_scratch]

"Only if they become annoying in frequency or content."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I'll try not to do that. Here's a map of Opri as of four months ago. This is a general suggestion of the kind of architecture and city layout people from central Telra expect from their cities. And thank you." He hands over the map and joins the group boarding the Earthbus.

Steel says, "You're probably going to go get your shuttle, so I'll just follow it in the Earthbus when it takes off."

[from_scratch]

"Sounds like a plan."

Cam goes and gets in his shuttle and leads the bus to his island. He should name his island, hmmm.

[sturdycoldsteel]

The bus lands and people file out.

Two families and ten individuals want apartments. One family and two people each want little beach-houses. The doctor wants a clinic built for him, and one of the families suggests they could run a 'shop' that collects requests for things and distributes the created things as required so Cam doesn't need to bother with the busywork.