So! A chance to contribute your ideas for a survival on a hostile planet. The protagonist is being dropped in, has a fair amount of cargo space, is being offered more. What should she stuff into this new space? She is potentially going to be alone for years, and can farm/garden once she had established a predator-free zone. But that’s going to take a while. She has weapons and ammunition.
Snip:
Brian cleared his throat. He exchanged significant glances with the captain.
“Ione, you chartered six drop pods.” Captain Dalriada steepled those elegant fingers on the table and leaned slightly towards me. “Given the, ah, special circumstances of this run…”
“I’m happy to pay an overage fee.” I offered, seeing that he was fumbling. As short a time as I had known him, this seemed uncharacteristic.
“Oh. No, we…”
“We want to offer you the remaining two empty pods.” Brian butted into the conversation. “You need as much help down there as you can get.” He nodded, firmly.
“I…” I didn’t know what to say.
“We would also like to have a, er, brainstorming session about what to put in them.” The captain reached for the teapot and refilled his mug. “It may seem presumptuous…”
“I’d appreciate it.” I would, I realized. I’d done all of this by the book and on my own. My experience was rusty. Having many minds would help. “Mac has my list.”
“We’ve all seen it.” Brian grinned. “Some good ideas on there! But we had a few things we were thinking of…”
“Were you all sitting around talking about me?” I protested.
“Yes.” Captain Dalriada gave Brian a withering glance. “We were. You and your cargo are, separately, not unusual. Together? And when we had no other passengers booked? Yes. We started to speculate.”
“Um.”
“Again, we meant well.” He ran a hand through the red hair, which had enough silver at the edges to remind me again his grace belied his age. “Forgive us? As Captain MacGowan, well, we would be honored to do a service to you and… to your honored dead.”
I had a lump in my throat again. “One condition.”
“Anything.”
“Stop treating me like a delicate fucking flower.”
Comments
16 responses to “Help a writer out!”
One thought, companion animals. While they may be the friendly “pet” types to keep her company, they may also be tracking helpers, guard animals and possible pest control.
Yes. She’s not planning for this, but that’s going to happen. As it is known, humans will make pets out of “anything” and I’m having fun with that idea. Also, if it’s fluffy, it’s cute, right?
Hain’t always cute — sometimes they’re eevill:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXOzgoZbdg4&w=560&h=315%5D
Actually, the first thought that came to my mind was a musical instrument of some kind, like a dulcimer or a hurdy-gurdy. But I’m the last person you’d want to deploy alone to a distant planet!
And that wouldn’t have crossed my mind because I’m so unmusical.
Water, shelter, food, those are the priorities in order. Purification system of some sort. Alexa pro gravity style system for low maintenance and ease of use. Pump system for portability.
Canvas or some space age material army wall style tent. Offers space and shelter.
Food… well I think based on listening to your past live casts I think you’ll have that down.
Solar power, maybe a generator that she can build makes into water powered. Having electricity will help power music and podcasts which provide human voices to keep her sane. Also offer electronic library for researching building variety things, physics, etc.
Shovel, pick axe, axe, hammer, nails, twine, rope, saw, are all tools I’d want. Trying not to be Swiss family Robinson here and give her everything just basics to make on her own out of materials around her.
I’m sure I’d i spent more time I could come up with a longer list. Livestock like someone previously mentioned is good. Oxen to till or haul? All the more reason for electric power of some sort powering electro net fences quick to throw up and move to rotate pasture space.
Materials for the fiber arts, sewing, knitting, drop spindle, the materials to make a back strap loom and a card loom. Also books on “old skills”. Bolts of sturdy material for various uses. Seeds (esp squash,beans,corn,tomatoes,herbs), earthworms, good healthy soil (to help establish helpful bacteria). Honey bees and other pollinators. Depending on the size of the pods tools to turn them into grow houses and shelters. Chickens, pigs, and rabbits in some form. A book reader crammed full with a solar charger…and a spare.
Salt, pepper, cinnamon, italian seasoning mix.
Look at the planning list for Lazarus Long’s trip into the outback in “Time Enough for Love,” starting around page 298 or so (per my paperback copy.) Hand tools are also key – include extra heads for hafted tools, as the hafts can be fashioned.
Also, if possible, can you use the pods themselves to create an enclosure? If they can be set close together, instant frontier fort.
I just read that a month or so ago. It’s part of what sparked this, I suspect.
Yes, I’m planning on having that be a part of her initial setup. Not all the pods are going to make it safely, though.
If not the character, then hopefully someone will either convince her, or she already has, spread out her supplies through all the pods in case of loss. You may not have the widget, but you can have the frammitz which works as well.
And it makes a great framework for a scavenger hunt!
Yes, yes it does! *laughs in Evil Author*
Depending on tech level, AI robot, or just a robot. Something like the Pack animals they were developing for the Army. Can carry more and help help move things. Repair parts for EVERYTHING. Things will break down. Raw materials for clothing patching and replacing. Entertainment (again the AI/robot might help, but having books or movies or especially music to listen to). Medicines and First Aid equipment, and something link an AutoDoc if there is the tech for it. Trying to set your own broken leg or do surgery on yourself for a burst appendix can be a real issue. Materials for doing tanning of hides and/or processing of plant fibers. Books/ instructions on HOW to do processing of hides and plant fibers. Books on how to build a house that won’t fall down on you because the corners aren’t plumb. Tools for cutting down trees or cutting rocks for building. Nails, screws, bolts, or Universal glue, something to hold things together. Things to cut things apart. Fishing line and hooks. Metal working tools for smelting your own ore if needed. Or a Mini-Fac for making those kind of things if the tech allows. Something that can test the water, test the plants, test the animals to make sure they are edible. A way to heat and cool the dwelling. A way to store and preserve the food she grows, (Fridge? Freezer? Dehydrator? Salt? Pickling?) Extra vitamins in case the local foods don’t contain all the things that a human needs. (And salt). Hobby items. What are her hobbies? Drawing? Writing? knitting? Harmonica? Carving? Some way to replace windows or make glass or plastic/acrylic for the dwelling. And/or cold frames and or Green houses. Fencing of some sort to keep animals out. Electric/ Sonic? what have you. And fencing to keep animals in, once she tames them. A way to either charge her things, or enough batteries/fusion/etc to run things. And while she has weapons and ammo, can she replace them? Energy weapons would be useful there. Sharpening stones. Oils of various kinds. Shampoo and soap. Lots of it. Instructions on how to make more. Glass or pottery jars for making kimchi or other fermented things. A way to replace the ones that get broken. A stove and oven or other cooking device. There’s a start.
Does the technology support a 3d printer that can take raw materials in one end and shove spare parts out of the other? Even a limited and imperfect one would be helpful but not TOO helpful.
Perhaps equipment to make a map of the local area (or an actual map if such a thing already exists) and a compass. I’m sure that she could learn the local area by exploration and memory, but having a map would help her when planning how to get the next multiple stage task done.
Of course not every planet will have their magnetic poles somewhere close to their rotational poles (and on those that do magnetic north and true north can be significantly divergent close to the poles). So if she is supplied with an existing map learning the adjustment between compass north and map north could be an interesting challenge for the character.
Similarly, the existing maps would only contain the things of importance to whoever commissioned them. She may find that they don’t have things of primary importance to her, and do show things that she finds irrelevant.
On a separate front, metals in particular can be difficult to extract from their ores – even if those ores can be found. If she wants to fashion anything out of metal, then she will need a supply of either the refined metal or an easily refinable ore, and a means of constructing the end object. At the lowest technological end she could use a blacksmith’s forge and equipment.
Also power. She will need to be able to supply the necessary power to keep her alive without outside support, but given that this is a spacefaring society a small, highly reliable, power source (perhaps a fusion or fission reactor) with a supply of fuel wouldn’t be unreasonable.
Depending on her beliefs – if any – she may feel that she needs certain book(s) and/or equipment. Of course that’s probably already in her six existing pods.
Plants animals seeds eggs Medical Supplies hand tools. Weapons, hand and powered.