An Alien Ate My Baby: Part 2, Delenn

I agree with mother. Something is very very wrong.

My brother and I have the psionic power of technologikinesis. We can repair broken objects merely with concentration; on our 13th birthdays, we awoke from the last sleep we will ever need. Our reserves are not - quite - inexhaustible, but a short meditative trance every few days is sufficient to restore us to full wakefulness - and it is a trace during which we are completely aware of our surroundings, that we can interrupt instantly at need.

We are no longer human.

We are something better.

This world does not belong to the humans that have invaded it. It does not belong to the natives that were here already.

It belongs to us - to those like my brother and I. And to those who descend from us. This is the new world order, and it is fitting that its construction began on the ruins of the old.

We left off last time just after Delenn and Teal'c had become teens. Both have Brain Power, so they count as aliens. Education is lifted, and T'Pol is trying to get her LTW of Perfect Mind, Perfect Body (about 1/2 a bar of Logic to go). Since I have the Walk to Work handicap I'm also powering the teens through Athletics.

On week 7, day 5, T'Pol gets her last Logic point, so she has fulfilled her LTW. With 2 days to go until she becomes an elder, I send her to the corner of the lot to slowly starve or freeze. As Education is lifted, Delenn is allowed to read the Cooking book to take over as meal supplier.

We will always be grateful to mother for bringing us into existence, but her usefulness has ended. We cannot deplete our meagre rations supporting her in her senescence. Indeed, she gave us explicit instructions to let her starve to death in this eventuality - it is kinder than replacing all our fond memories with this barely sentient reminder of what she was.

Now that's she's an elder, she can quit her job, and it won't be long.

We aren't sure whether she died of starvation before or after she froze to death. It was unfortunate, but we had no choice.

Teal'c and I worked our bodies to the limit; jealous of Mother's achievements, the councillors have denied us the right to travel even to work unless we submit to physical tests. They are jealous of us, but we will pass all their tests. Denied any jobs due to our age, Teal'c helps out by editing technical manuals in exchange for rations and building materials, freeing me to continue to communicate with one of the natives I met as a child. Service is spotty; I can only get a connection twice per year for any significant length of time, but we have grown close.

Mother told me we would need frequent infusions of native DNA to keep our line strong. There is no real room for affection, but Vexok need not be aware of that.

Week 8, Day 2. T'Pol is an ex-member of the household.

A week later, both twins reach Athletics 10, with a clear day to go until they become young adults. This was relatively easy; since aliens require very little "sleep", they were able to hit the 60 hour threshold for Body Builder and then just use Quick Burst with short breaks for food or bladder.

With adulthood, the councillors assigned us jobs. Teal'c was assigned as a test subject - insulting. We almost refused, but we realised that we could turn this situation to our advantage.

Admiring my physique - I appear more exotic than ugly - the creepy councillors assigned me to be a cheerleader and helper to their SportsBall team. This is just degrading; there is a loop hole. Apparently, pregnant women are not permitted to work. I believe Vexok can help me out there.

But before I could put this plan in motion, both Teal'c and I were informed that we were required to attend the high school graduation ceremony. Attendance was mandatory. Missing work was a firing offence. The bureaucracy here is indescribably corrupt - through no fault of our own, both of us were required to seek new employment.

After the ceremony, in which we were handed our diplomas along with our "pink slips", we were informed we needed to immediately report for vocational placement. This time I was placed to help a team of scientists working on vibration technology; the theory was that much of the clinical depression that still persisted was due to some sort of subsonic frequencies. It is at least as demeaning as the previous role I was offered, but it has more potential.

Teal'c was assigned to help with law enforcement, specifically in their crime laboratory, where he expected to be poked and prodded a lot. Again, we saw potential here, so we accepted.

Week 9, day 3.

Delenn is Ambitious, Couch Potato, Genius, Hot-Headed, Slob. She has the skills Athletic 10, Charisma 3, Cooking 4, Logic 6, Painting 2, Writing 5. I select the LTW of Renaissance Sim.

Teal'c is Ambitious, Daredevil, Evil, Loves the Outdoors, Slob. He has the skills Athletic 10, Charisma 2, Handiness 3, Logic 5, Painting 3, Writing 7. I select Illustrious Author as his LTW.

Teal'c checks the paper first and gets Science. Delenn checks the second job and it is Retired; this can be skipped as it is a "fake" job inserted by one of the NRAAS mods. The other job is Professional Sports. Ugh.

So here's a trick. Delenn takes Professional Sports - she has no choice. But then she calls over her alien friend - the idea is, if she gets pregnant, she'll be forced to quit because of Master Thief.

As it turned out, neither my plan nor my Science career work out. The very next day is graduation day - so both of them automatically lose their jobs (it's a Wednesday, so they can't war dial their bosses). After graduation, I check the paper again, and this time Delenn gets Music (I'll choose Symphonic), while Teal'c gets Law Enforcement (and here I'll choose Forensics).

This opens up a path that I wasn't expecting. If Vexok lives long enough - it's a stretch, but he might - and if I can clear Forensics reasonably fast, then The Alien Baby lift for Alien Technology becomes feasible.

We had wondered why the councillors alone seemed immune to the premature senility that had afflicted the other colonists, including Mother. It took years, but Teal'c stole us the formula and we spread it widely - the councillors surely suspect us, but they cannot move without proof.

Week 12, Day 3. Teal'c lifts Forensics, and has 3 days of YA left.

Our study into vibration theory was, on the surface, unsuccessful. That was because of my deliberate sabotage; it took me years, but I managed to work out a frequency that did improve energy and drive - as long as the subject of these vibrations possessed the native DNA that my brother and I had. My "co-workers" were very close to a similar solution for humans, but they will never know just how close; I stole their notes, blamed it on one of the more creepy councillors that had been giving me negative remarks about my weight, and reserved it for our own use just in case any of my offspring turn out to be more human than native.

Yes, offspring. It was time to start considering the next generation; I wasn't getting any younger, and there was much still to be done.

Week 13, Day 2, Delenn lifts Symphonic. A couple of days ago she and Teal'c both completed their LTW and aged to adult. Current total score is 131 (100 from handicaps, 3 base, 11 skill challenges, 3 lifetime wants, 1 gnome, 10 unused aging off days).

Vexok, the native I met as a girl, was still alive though not necessarily well. He didn't seem to have any problems "performing", however. A side effect of my native DNA is that I can tell instantly when I am pregnant - and while I am grateful to Vexok for his donation, I certainly don't want him hanging around while I raise my children.

Aliens seem to live for ages.

Not only did Vexok live long enough to get Delenn pregnant, but good old Dad Phog Xoxxaw was still alive too. That meant that Alien Baby was on the table; I had Teal'c invite him over after making friends, and then "kidnapping" him.

Teal'c, on the other hand, was convinced the natives had much to teach us - and who better than our native father? Of course, the reunion wasn't particularly touching - we essentially kidnapped him and forced him to tell us everything he knew.

Surprisingly, the natives appear to have working spacecraft. The components appear to be clearly salvaged from our Mother's vessel, or variants thereof. What exactly happened? We decided to get "Dad" to steal us a ship and outfit it for travel - would it really be that easy?

Since Forensics is lifted, Phog (despite being 138 days old) is completely controllable. The upgrade took Phog only a few hours - he had Handiness 9, so that isn't really unexpected. It was Week 13, Day 2, when Phog was "kidnapped", so Teal'c has until Week 14 Day 2 to fulfil the $2500 requirement.

It was a one-person vessel, and I really shouldn't be travelling in my condition, so Teal'c took the craft to the local satellite, some of the other planets in the system, and the asteroid belt.

Unfortunately, Phog died:

Father was very old. While the natives appear blessed with long life spans, they are not immortal. Perhaps my own paramour is not long for this life either.

Unfortunately, "father" had the last laugh. After only a few years, during which Teal'c had barely completed a preliminary survey, the machine self destructed. We weren't harmed, and Teal'c managed to eject in time, but he was captured by the councillors, who were convinced he was a native. He was subjected to prodding and probing for several years before he managed to escape back home.

He was 139 at the time, so it's understandable. A short pause in game play was now required - does the kidnapped alien have to live through the 7 days? This had apparently never come up before, so I conferred with my fellow adjudicators. We decided that this was, in fact, fine - the kidnapped alien does not have to live. (The wiki rules have been updated to clarify this).

After 7 days, Teal'c had collected well over $5k worth of stuff, including $3647 just in Palladium. So he goes off to get a job as a Test Subject.

My daughter Kara will be required to do as I have done - to find more natives and mate with them to continue our line. Longshot, her twin, will assist her.

Week 14, Day 2, the new twins are born. Kara will be heir. The pregnancy went fine right up until the last minute, when both toddlers decided to start screaming and everything was nightmarish - Teal'c was off at his first day of Test Subject. But it could have been worse.

Having borne 6 children, all of them more native than human, I was feeling exhausted. At least Kal-El and Jon'zz were now old enough to go to school - that is, they would be, if the snow ever cleared, but thanks to Mother we can tutor the children to make sure they don't miss anything. The councillors are deeply suspicious of us, and would doubtless use even a trumped up charge of truancy to inconvenience us.

The final set of twins, Kerrigan and Wrex. All 6 of the 3rd generation are aliens (they cannot be Scanned or Bio Drained/Boosted). There has been another alien visitor, but this time it is an elderly female, which is basically useless - only males will work, and even if a female was usable they'd have to be of child bearing age. However there's plenty of time before Kara (and if necessary Kerrigan) are ready to produce the next generation, and since they already are 75% alien, even if they have to breed with a human it should still produce at least one alien heir.

Teal'c finally managed to escape - it was almost 10 years since he had been captured. Since it would be politically embarrassing for the councillors to admit this took place, he is reasonably safe at home for now, and he managed to steal many of the pieces of Mother's colony ship. It's not really clear to us at the moment what use they might eventually be, but I'm sure my descendants will find them useful.

Alien Technology lifted! Not bad, nice and early, and relatively trivial.

My best years are behind me, but my families best years are in the future. Thanks to Teal'c, my mind is as sharp as it ever was, and I will remain to guide my children for many years yet.

Delenn and Teal'c are both elders now. Teal'c is basically the breadwinner (writing novels and working as a test subject), but Delenn's making sure that all her kids get an A even if they never manage to make it to school. She has acquired Gardening 10 to add to her list, so if any of her kids picks up Science, she can quickly Tutor the skill over to them.

That makes a pretty good jump off point though. Next time!

An Alien Ate My Baby: Part 1, T'Pol

This is not a house. This is barely even a hovel. No privacy. Not even a basic audio system. I was told this was part of a reclamation project, and I was told to expect primitive, but this - this is not to be borne.

I am expected to somehow create an entire educational system from scratch, and I am not even sure that there are even rudimentary schools. There's no more supplies of the nutrients needed to stave off bone deterioration and senility, there's a significant and dangerous criminal element, and to cap it all off the military have imposed some harsh travel restrictions - we're rationed only enough gasoline to make emergency trips, not even enough to make it to and from work. I was denied the university education I was promised, apparently because the university hasn't been built yet.

This is a nightmare.

This is the second of my blogs for the Feburary 2016 Sims 3 Apocalypse Challenge tournament. If this is your first time reading one of my S3AC blogs, welcome! But you should probably start with my Ectosplasmic blog as I'm going to skip a lot of the identical set up details.

This time around I'm playing with base game + Generations + Seasons (I need Seasons for aliens, and Generations makes some of my handicaps easier). I'm using the handicaps Prestige occult (alien), We don't need no education, Walk to work,  and It's hopeless, for a total of 100 handicap points. I have chosen no advantages.

My set up for this attempt is essentially the same as the Ectoplasmic blog; I've made a different park my festival grounds so that I can still use Central Park as my big park, and I'm using 299 Skyborough Lane again with the same network. My founder is Ambitious, Athletic, Genius, Schmoozer, and Slob. For her job, I roll 3 - Education, Science, or Gamer. In my opinion, this is no choice at all - Education is the clear winner.

The reason for this is that Education enables me to choose traits. With a bunch of Slobs, Culinary is greatly defanged, and Medical becomes less important. So Education it is; I throw together a house (choosing to go above ground this time), and get started. This is going to be rough - Education with the base game method for a founder is brutally hard.

But perhaps I should back track a bit. This is, after all, for posterity. I am a member of the Glorious Green Dawn, a somewhat controversial organisation that believes in spreading our civilisation to new colonies. A thousand years ago our ship took off from Sim Earth, headed for this M class planet. Robots were sent ahead to construct the necessities.

On cue, as the ship landed, it decanted the frozen embryos and used forced growth techniques. I have never been a an infant, a toddler, a child, or a teen - this is all I have ever known.

We're not sure exactly what happened. What remains of our ship was salvaged to provide the pitiful materials we have access to. Most of the robots are non-responsive - certainly they have not constructed everything they were supposed to construct. The atmosphere is toxic - the terraforming process was halted barely after its inception, and we were awakened centuries too early. We were the only viable stock - there is nobody coming, we are on our own, and the current colony leaders are incompetent, corrupt, stupid, or all three.

As you can, very minimal design. After buying the gardening books I have only $6 left. But I do have a car, a chess table (you can just see one of the chairs in the bottom left), and a computer - which I'll need, because the only income I can get is from writing books. Walls and the like will have to wait. I couldn't even afford lights.

Furiously writing, I managed to make just enough to pay my bills on Monday, and give the mob precisely nothing. Nada. Not a sausage. Bugger all. Zilch. Zero.

That'll teach 'em.

Of course I can actually just get a part time job at the bookstore, but I want to move some skills along first - I can't quit a job once I take it, so I will ideally take it when I'm ready to have the first kid.

Wait. I still haven't introduced myself, have I? For all I know my name has vanished from the records - know this, then, descendants of mine: I am T'Pol. I was given increased melanin for what was supposed to be a very sunny environment, even though I can't remember the last time I saw the world not covered with snow. The perverts that pass for in charge have banned us from forming close attachments, saying that the women have to breed with as many partners as possible to maintain genetic diversity. I find that prospect disgusting, but I do need descendants.

But it's all politics here. Because I refused an advance from one of the city councillors, I've been denied any assistance with my assigned task. If you're reading this, then I hope I succeeded anyway, that will show the pig.

I'm getting ahead of myself again.

As soon as she's home, it's novel writing time.

Her first week is spent mainly writing. Once she has enough to buy a stereo, she works out too - and occasionally jogs to the park to repair her Social metric. Fun is no problem thanks to snow angels. I end up giving the mob $8 at the end of the first week, during which time T'Pol has the skills Athletics 6, Handiness 1 (including a repair of the computer and a repair of the toilet), Painting 1, and Writing 6. I am able to partial enclose the bathroom, but I still need enough for a double bed. She took an opportunity to write a biography, but the subject died before she finished; that doesn't matter, she can (and did) still finish the book. A second biography opportunity crops up after that, and this one is completed nicely, with a bit of a cash bonus.

Week 2 is much of the same; she ends with Athletics 7, Handiness 3 (2 electrical repairs, 2 plumbing repairs), Painting 1, and Writing 7. Now the bathroom is enclosed, I have a double bed, and the second story is underway.

Week 3 is again, much the same; she ends with Athletics 8, Handiness 4 (5 electrical, 3 plumbing), Painting 1, Writing 9 (2 best seller Non Fiction). At this point the adjudicators had a discussion; we decided to drastically reduce the Painting and Handiness requirements. The wiki contains our consensus. This was obviously good news for T'Pol, as otherwise she was looking at abandoning this and pumping out babies.

I not only had to design a curriculum, you understand. All of our precious knowledge was junk - data crystals that were just not-very-sparkly-paperweights. I had to create all of the text books. The plan was for us to be decanted with a knowledge transfer that taught us the skills we'd need, but of course that was completely broken as well. Kludging together a typewriter from whatever spare parts I could borrow or steal, I taught myself to become an author, line by tedious line, often teaching myself the subject of my latest text book even as I was writing it.

Week 4, Day 3, the last best seller is written. (Maxxing Writing is no problem from here). I took a short break here to get a point of Charisma and Cooking.

And then, the next night:

My sleep was interrupted shortly after I finished the last of my text books. It appears that this planet has natives! I'm not at all sure how to explain this - my knowledge of biology is necessarily incomplete - but their generally humanoid, bifurcated appearance suggests that something went horribly wrong with the spaceship. What don't I know? How could this native look so similar to a human? A nasty suspicion grew in my mind, and I resolved to test the theory at my earliest opportunity; I gave Phog my spare communicator, and a copy of my children's reading books, so that he could learn our language.

A genuine alien! (I was worried I was going to have to switch this to prestige human). After introductions, it turns out he's already an elder. I wanted to immediately put the moves on, but unfortunately he buggered off shortly after the introduction. As it is a Wednesday, I have to wait a full day before I can war dial him; hopefully he'll live a while longer. To pass the time I go jogging.

I decided to give myself a birthday present. If I'm right, then I should now be pregnant. Certainly Phog's ... "equipment" ... seems to be standard issue.

Pregnancy achieved.

Twins. I do not have any genetic analysis devices, of course, but they certainly seem to be healthy.

This can only mean that the natives share a considerable portion of our own DNA. Just how long was our ship here before we were decanted? Who else knows about this? Will my children breed true, or are they mules?

If you're reading this, my descendants, I suppose we know the answer to at least the last question, but I urge you - discover the answers to the others as well. If there is a conspiracy, uncover it. Spread the word. Reclaim your birthright.

Between looking after Delenn and Teal'c, I basically had to invent the entire concept of physical fitness again. It's not ideal - it won't do anything to offset the muscular deterioration that some of the other members of the community have already suffered - but it is a start; others can take my work further than I will be able to.

The final steps was to actually set up the school. I was permitted to use the back of what may eventually be a book store for my experimental classes - always closely monitored.

And here are the infants. T'Pol, in traditional fashion, put down Delenn in the snow.

A couple of interesting things about aliens, the weirdest of the occults. They do not have a special coloured border in the relationship panel, and they can have only a subset of the full alien powers; they can be hybrids, in other words. Which means you ideally want to have a constant injection of new alien DNA into the family. Since it's easier to befriend and breed with an alien you meet than it is to hope for abduction and male pregnancy, it's also generally easier for an alien prestige occult to be a matriarchy.

At the end of week 4, T'Pol (now an adult) has Athletics 10 (Fitness Nut), Writing 10 (with all best sellers done), Charisma 3, Painting 1, Handiness 4, Cooking 1. With 18 days to go she just needs to clear the Athletics challenges and the Bookstore Clerk requirement.

At the end of week 5, T'Pol (with 11 days until she is an elder) has picked up Body Builder for Athletics, and has 64km to run for the Marathon Runner. She is now a Cash Register Specialist (Book Store level 1); the kids are children.

It is difficult to prove my methods under these conditions. Even my own children are rarely permitted to attend, with the officials citing "snow day" as if that is a decent reason to keep them at home.

The only remaining requirement is the Book Store Clerk. She has 11 days until she is an elder, so she should be fine. I'm having her play chess to see if she can clear the LTW as well.

Another native arrived; in broken Standard, he said he wanted to see the "star children". Delenn seemed to take a fondness to him, and managed to make him laugh several times. As crude as it is to observe - Delenn is not even a teenager yet - we may need a regular infusion of pure native DNA to keep our line fertile.

Another elder unfortunately, so the chances aren't great that he'll still be around when Delenn is a YA. But worth a shot; I've noticed alien elders have lived very long lives in the past.

Finally, the moderators agreed that my lesson plans were valid. Based on my work, teachers across the colony are now running schools for both children and teens. I managed to make sure that there were special provisions for children with "deformities"; Delenn and Teal'c will not face undue prejudice.

There were still improvements to make, but my role gradually transitioned from innovator to management, as I grew older. I sense that the premature senility will not spare me, and I hope dearly that my descendants - you, my readers - have found a solution to this problem also.

Education lifted! T'Pol has 8 days until she is an elder, so that worked out OK; with Logic 6 there is even an outside chance she can still get her LTW.

It appears that the native DNA of my babies has given them some highly unusual biological traits. This smacks of experimentation - of purpose. My research is incomplete - perhaps Delenn will find the missing pieces.

The alien twins are teens. And that's a good point to switch off.