kirabug's idea files

Day 193:

I’ve been negligent about gathering food.

I mean, I’ve got more carrots than I know what to do with, but carrots aren’t exactly enough to carry someone.

And I’ve got more potatoes than one can imagine, but roasted carrots and potatoes will only go so far.

One needs meat.

Usually I kill an animal, dry its meat, and live off that for a while, so that I don’t have to do it very often.

But I got caught up in working on my map and lost track of time.. and I haven’t killed anything in a while – not the duckens, not the cows. And now I’m out of meat.  (I mean, yes, I still have duckens and cows but I woke up hungry. Not peckish. Hungry. That kind hungry that stops a person from thinking straight.)

Luckily, I can still fish. The fish here bite like nothing I ever saw on any other planet I’ve visited. “Have the fire hot before you throw the line in the water” fast.  So I fished, roasted a fish, ate that, and then fished some more. Spent the whole day out on the water, in the sun, listening to the duckens cluck and the underground zombies groan. It was peaceful.

I think I’ll do it again tomorrow.

Day 192: I saw a pig! He grunted at me!

I haven’t figured out how to lure him back to my house.

I’m not even sure what to feed a pig.

And I have no idea why so many animals on this planet have Earth analogs!

But pigs! That was exciting!

Day 191:

I’ve noticed that the small zombie children aren’t affected by the sun (which is to say that unlike the adults, they don’t burst into flames as soon as they’re in the light).

(There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write in a mining log.)

I’m not sure why they’re unaffected by the sun. I’ve noticed though that they’re also really thick-skinned (and I don’t mean insults). They’re almost as tough to kill as an adult and my sword slices the adults open just fine.

I supposed when you’re a creature from a planet where everything grows in like four days you store a lot of fat under your skin for your growth spurts.

Not sure that explains the fire thing.

Day 190:

Killed a horror squid in my living room, did some cleaning, working on laundry.

I’m guessing it’s probably a Monday.

Day 189:

I have a confession to make.

I’m not digging toward the big mountain.

I mean, I was. I started doing that. But then I hit a really nice seam of ore… and then another… and another… and I’m pretty much just harvesting everything this dirtball has to offer right now.

I’ll get back to digging toward the big mountain.

I will!

I know it looks like I’m addicted to mining, but I’m not!

I just like dirt, is all.

And maybe I’m a little afraid of what I’ll find out on the big mountain. And maybe I’m not sure if I can sew a coat warm enough for up in the snows. I can’t tell how cold it gets up there or whether it could kill me.

Or whether there’s people up there who will kill me.

Or whether there’s people up there who will tell me that it’s all just a big hoax and I’ve been duped by The Company, or fired, or something.

I’m better off with the ore, is what I’m saying

If I have the ore, then even if The Company fires me, I’ve got these logs as records the they abandoned me — the clause in my contract says 180 days — so I would get to keep everything I find.

I know that sounds selfish. Some people might even think I’ve been trying not to be found just so that I could keep what I found. Those people haven’t faced down a horror squid at two in the morning in their bedroom. Or slept on an untanned sheep hide. Or eaten carrots for 180 meals straight.

But I’ll also admit that there was a tiny tiny piece of me that was hoping, as day 180 slowly crept up, that maybe they wouldn’t find me before the deadline, so at least I’d get something out of this crudhole.

Anyway, I’m digging. I’m a little ashamed of it, but I’m doing it anyway.