SNAP CRAFT | Ch. 42 - Motionless Observation
Added 2023-12-23 14:17:24 +0000 UTCClara sat on a chair, reading a book while leisurely watching Kai. Every so often, she checked her watch. Kai wondered if this was her way of goading him. He knew better than to ask her if he had sat still long enough. Three hours of motionlessness had gone down the drain the last time he had done that.
So far, he had yet to receive a satisfying explanation that justified this absurd training. “Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to do nothing at all,” Clara said. “It will teach you some patience,” was another line she had thrown at him. Oh, and his favorite, “I’m just making you better husband material for Ariel.”
How was Ariel doing? Was she still mad at him? Once a sad thought got a foothold in his mind, another came pouring in. The black ‘x’ outside Sunny’s workshop. Neil’s death. Albert, whose cough became increasingly severe until his lungs finally gave out. And, saddest of all, that moment when Alex had turned his back and walked away.
“Good! Four hours without moving. I think it’s enough.”
Kai grunted as he stood up, slapping his legs and trying to kickstart the circulation. His whole body felt sore, and his joints popped and cracked with every move. “Yupi! Good for me!”
“Spare me the sarcasm, boy. Do you think I would take you along to study animals if you can’t even sit still?! Once, I had to lie in the rain for 10 hours to see a wolf give birth. Four hours sitting down is a piece of cake, by comparison.”
“If you say so. So what do we do now?”
“Hmmm… Well, there’s wood to chop. We're leaving on our first expedition tomorrow, so preparing things in advance will be good. That way, we can rest when we return.”
Kai grabbed the axe and dragged it to the stump, where they cut logs into more manageable sizes. “How do you think Ariel is doing?” asked Kai as he hit the first log.
“How should I know?”
Kai managed to crack the log on the second swing. “Do you think she’ll forgive me?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m a woman,” she said matter-of-factly.
“So?”
“So, I used to be a girl.”
“And?”
“I know how a girl’s heart works. Let her miss you, you idiot. Now. Chop, chop!” Realizing the accidental pun, Clara giggled and returned to reading her book.
Kai kept chopping. “It must be good to be old and order young people around,” he mumbled loud enough so Clara could hear his complaint but low enough to mumble an excuse if he angered her.
*
The rocks that made up the reef, by themselves, were just that. Rocks. Outcrops of stone. But once he was far enough and could get a broader view of the scene, he could identify the reef for what it was: the corpse of an old drowned city. The disposition of the rocks and the neat angles formed by the empty spaces between rocks gave it away as the remnants of a sunken town.
“So this is what Daisy hid here.”
“Good for you, Kai. Have you heard the tale of Atlantis? The first one to mention it was the same historian who devised the concept of the seven wonders of…” Maia was back to her usual chatty self.
Were it not for Maia, Kai would probably not have been able to make this discovery. The android's uncharacteristic silence as they swam was the first thing that made Kai suspicious. It was as if the android was a metal detector that worked backward. Metal detectors beeped more frequently the closer they were to metal. In Maia’s case, the closer he was to making a significant discovery or finding a valuable card, the more silent she became.
While Maia went on about the tales of Atlantis, Kaigrabbed his camera and smiled from ear to ear. The [Wide Lens] upgrade turned out to be a good investment. Happy with finding his first legendary card in this arena and knowing his opponent hadn’t gotten to it first, Kai took off the gloves and let himself fall toward the underwater ruins. He would walk the rest of the way.
He took another walk through the reef but was disappointed. The fresh perspective on what this reef had once been didn’t help him get any new cards. He quickly decided to leave the ocean and return to the jungle. As his head came out of the water, he noticed the sky had become orange. The day was well spent.
Quickly crossing the sand separating the ocean from the jungle, he phased through the thick bush and returned to a world of vibrant green. The sound of the waves became a distant rumble again, and he began exploring.
The jungle represented half of the map, and Kai was confident there were still valuable cards to capture here. After all, he knew his opponent had also gone to the ocean first, meaning they probably hadn’t spent much time in the jungle. Even if they had, though, this jungle wasn’t lacking in opportunities. In a few minutes, he had spotted more than twenty species of plants.
Whereas other maps offered little variety, the challenge here was to discern the most valuable photographs. The question now was, what in this jungle was worth more points?
One thing he could look out for was medicinal herbs and plants. From the [Wound Dressing] card he had obtained in early rounds, he knew some cards had healing properties. He could use these to heal creature cards. It would be a good idea to get medicinal plants to bolster the hit points of [Unicorn] and [Illuminated Adult].
Another thing he could try to find in the jungle was tools. Between [Unicorn], [Illuminated Adult], and more recently, [Crab] and [Razor Clams], he had several creature cards, and he could make even more using shadow puppets. Creature cards were fantastic for generating points, provided he had tool cards to pair with them. For example, he had gotten [Oryx Forager], [Wolf Warrior], and [Barbaric Spider] by equipping different creatures with an axe.
The only problem was that items were in short supply on this map. Where in this jungle could he find a weapon or a tool? Could he find a straight branch that would pass as a quarterstaff or a thick piece of wood that his creatures could use as a club? Kai was regretting not having bought the [Flint Mine] upgrade. He sure could use flint tools this round.
A third potential source of points in the jungle was the trees. Unfortunately, Kai came back to the problem of his need for more tools. Trees were valuable if he could harvest them, but he had no axe cards right now. He couldn’t even burn them anymore. [Red Star] didn’t absorb the points of things he burned. He considered making a new [Fire] card and starting the process from scratch but discarded the idea.
Last but not least, Kai still had a secret weapon: he could make shadow cards. He hadn’t experimented more with it in the factory and city arenas because he had found multiple recipes and had to spend a considerable part of his shots on their ingredients.
However, he had only found one recipe here. Maybe he could spare some shots at the end of the stage and make more shadow puppets. The biggest problem with shadow cards was that he needed to free both his hands to create more complex shapes. Although he hadn’t stumbled upon a timer or a tripod yet, he had the next best thing.
Kai turned to Maia, pulled out the camera strap from around his neck, and handed the device over to her. “Maia, could you hold this for me?”
“Affirmative,” she answered.
“Good. And if I ask you to take a picture, will you do that for me?”
Maia thought for a while. She took so long to answer that Kai wondered whether she was asking permission from Daisy. “I don't think there's anything wrong with that,” she finally answered.
Kai smiled. If Maia took the picture, he could keep both his hands free to make more complex shadow puppets. He could then bring them to life by merging them with [Light]. Emboldened by having a backup plan, Kai set out to explore the jungle.
He was using Clara’s training to the full. Everywhere he looked, there was a new species of plant. Kai felt a prickling in his neck as he studied the plant life. He had the impression that he was being watched. He turned to the sneaky android that always stayed behind him in his blind spot.
“Maia.”
“Yes, Kai?”
“Could I ask you to walk side by side with me? Having you behind me freaks me out.”
“Of course.” The android took a few steps and now stood by his side.
“Thank you.”
Maia was a better upgrade than he originally thought. Not only did she keep him company, but she also helped him make good decisions. Such was the case with [Child] and [Sunken City]. But that wasn’t necessarily it. He just had an idea of a new way to use her assistance.
“By the way,” he tried gently, “how good is your memory?”
“A few yottabytes. Why?”
“If I were to say, give you data, or ask you to remember things, would you be able to recite them to me later?”
“What are you trying to do, human?” The question was asked with more authority than was characteristic of Maia, unsettling him. It was almost as if Daisy had been the one to issue the query.
“Hear me out. There’s a bazillion species of plants out here in the forest. I want to photograph the ones that are worth more points. For that, I need to assess which ones are rarer. But I don't think I will remember how much of each I've seen, and I’ve got nothing to take notes on.”
The android stared at him blankly and unresponsive.
“Therefore, I was thinking of telling you aloud every time I see a species. You would remember the information and count how many times I see each plant. After we walk through the jungle, you would tell me what plants I've seen the least. Does that make sense?”
“I see. You want to use me as a counter.”
“Precisely. Would that be against the rules? I mean, you’re supposed to be an expert in history. If you think about it, everything that has happened in the past is history. If you tell me how often I’ve seen a plant or a flower in this stage, you’ll just be fulfilling your programming. Right?”
“Humans are clever,” she praised. She sounded like a human praising a dog for performing acrobatics. “I guess it won’t go against my programming.”
Kai rubbed his hands in anticipation. He had just gotten a cheat sheet for this part of the exam. Better than that, his opponent couldn’t possibly have something similar. “Very good. So, let's start right away. Also, keep track of where we were when we saw these.” Before she could protest, Kai was already reciting, “Fig tree. Rhododendrons. Turmeric. Devil Ivy.”
Every time Kai saw a plant, he shouted its name. Kai smiled as he noticed Maia walking beside him, respecting his earlier request. He scratched the back of his neck. Why did the feeling that he was being watched persist? He looked over his shoulder but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Shrugging, he continued.
“Teak. Liana Vine.”
Kai halted when he saw a fern he had never seen before. There was something weird about it, although he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“Why did we stop?” asked Maia.
“I don’t recognize this plant.”
“So?”
“Just add it as a weird fern to the database.”
After shouting the names of plant species for several minutes in a row, Kai realized that he hadn’t had any water to drink in a few days. Kai’s voice would have been hoarse if this were real life. It's a good thing that Daisy was keeping his real body hydrated.
After twenty minutes of marching through the jungle, while shouting the names of plants, Kai turned eagerly toward Daisy. “So, let’s hear the results. What were the plants we saw the least of?”
Hopefully, his strategy would enable him to decide where to spend his precious shots.
“You saw the ‘ghost orchid’ only once; the ‘weird green flower,’ and the ‘weird brown fruit’ twice; and the ‘weird fern’ thrice.”
“Really?” asked Kai. Could it be a coincidence that three of the four plant species he had found were new to him? Something smelled fishy.
“Let’s go to the weird plants. Which one is nearest?”
“There’s a weird green flower not far from here.”
“Let’s go then.”
The human and robot quickly found the plant, an unassuming green flower. Flowers were supposed to be colorful to draw insects in and aid them in pollination, not green and faded like this.
Kai got ready to photograph the exotic flower but felt a shiver down his spine and looked over his shoulder.
“What's wrong, Kai?”
“I don't know; I feel like I'm being watched.”
“I’m watching you,” she said lackadaisically.
“No. That’s not it.” When Maia looked at him, Kai felt nothing. This was different. It was something springing from a primal part of his soul, one hardwired to prevent danger.
He turned back to the green flower.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 10 of 20.
Green Daisy (Rare)
A flower that seems to have been genetically altered.
1 of 2
Hp: 4
Vp: 3
Capture successful!
Tries left: 9 of 20
Green Daisy (Rare)
A flower that seems to have been genetically altered.
2 of 2
Hp: 4
Vp: 3
It turned out to be a rare card! He had just hit the jackpot. “Okay, let's move on to the next one in the ‘weird’ series. What’s next?”
Maia turned west, and Kai followed after her. The feeling of being watched was only getting bigger. Kai felt goosebumps and shivers. He looked over his shoulders a few more times but saw nothing. What was watching him?
The afternoon was well spent, and as the sun descended on the horizon, the light started hitting the jungle at an angle. The light had to go through more vegetation, making the jungle darker. Kai grabbed the gaslamp and gave it to Maia, who happily carried it for him.
They reached a bush with brown berries. Kai had gone through berries with Neil and Clara. Both teachers had taught him how to tell edible berries apart from poisonous ones. When he looked at the berries and found no clue about whether they were edible, he had registered that as weird. Kai grabbed the camera and, judging the surroundings to be too dark, decided to use flash.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 8 of 20
Brown Berry (Rare)
A bush berry that seems to have been genetically altered.
1 of 2
Hp: 2
Vp: 5
When the light flashed, Kai saw something hidden on a tree to his left. His hands were shaking. He gently stepped to the right, pretending to look for a better angle on the berries, and took another shot.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 7 of 20
Brown Berry (Rare)
A bush berry that seems to have been genetically altered.
2 of 2
Hp: 2
Vp: 5
Now more aware of the creature’s general location, when the flash hit, he finally got a good look at it. It was hiding at the very edge of his vision. Its spots made it blend seamlessly with the jungle, but the reflection of the flash of light in its eyes gave it away. It was a jaguar.
