Star People
Side Story 4
Daily Life Changes
Aug 17th, 11 AE…
The Alder southern coastline, near New Pearl Harbor…
“Ahhh… that feels good!” Miriyo let off a sigh as she lay on her stomach on a towel on the beach. She was wearing a very skimpy, purple bikini. Sitting beside her, dressed in black swim trunks was her husband as he massaged suntan lotion onto her back. Currently they were in a secluded cove, some distance away from the crowded beach front.
“Yeah, it feels great to finally get some shore leave.” James admitted as watched the ocean waves splash continuously onto the sand. “I can’t remember when we got some downtime.”
“I don’t think we had any. It’s been one running battle after another ever since the Terrans and Kyteeri joined forces against the Cryterians.”
“Come to think of it, you’re right. We didn’t even get a proper honeymoon after we got married.”
“Yes, speaking of which…” Miriyo reached behind her back and undid the straps to her bikini top. She then sat up, giving her lifemate a good view of her naked chest as she reached out toward him.
In almost no time at all, the two were in a heated embrace and making intense love on the sand. A year later, Miriyo would give birth to twins.
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A bar in Polaris City…
“WHOA! WHAT IS THIS STUFF?! IT’S GREAT!” The dwarf named Merjar asked as he downed a large glass of alcohol. He was a tourist from the dwarven territory of Klor. He had come to Free Land to pick up on new metalworking techniques and sample the local alcohols. In addition to being stronger and having more stamina than the average human, dwarves also had an extremely high tolerance to alcohol. In fact, some said that dwarves drank alcohol since birth.
Behind the long table, the Velor bartender name Herrell smiled as he held up a bottle that was filled with a greenish liquid. “This is called Velorian Brandy. It’s one of my people’s specialties. It has very high alcohol content and it’s quite intoxicating. I am impressed that you’re able to handle that much.”
“Heh! It’ll take more than a normal amount of alcohol to down a dwarf! Though I got to admit, your brandy stuff sure puts the ale and mead I’ve been drinking to shame! The dragonfolk make good alcohol!”
“Well I’m not what you refer to as dragonfolk, though I appreciate the compliment all the same.”
“Got any more?” The dwarf put down his currency card on the table.
Many nations had begun to value the Free Land currency which was the credit unit, and the currency card, which was seen as both convenient and far safer than carrying large sums of coins. The currency card resembled the credit card of Earth’s 20th and 21st century, but had a DNA-verifying nanochip built into it. As a result, even if the card was stolen, it was practically useless to thieves and bandits, as it wouldn’t work for anyone but its owner.
Herrell shrugged as he reached behind him and took from the shelf, a square bottle filled with amber liquid. “Here. I think this might be to your liking as well. It’s an alcohol that the Terrans call whiskey. It’s quite strong. This is a very ancient brand that they call Jack Daniel’s.”
The dwarf let off an audible gulp as he watched Herrell pour out the sweet-smelling, strong alcohol into a lowball glass and offered it to him. After taking in the scent, he gulped it down and then his eyes widened and his mouth turned up into a toothy grin.
“OH YEAH! NOW THAT’S SOME REALLY GOOD STUFF! FREE LAND ALCOHOL IS THE BEST!”
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Aug 24th, 11 AE…
The spectators looked on with awe as First Lieutenant Kojiro Tanakato and his wife, Second Lieutenant Nicela put on a martial arts demonstration. Kojiro originally came from Okinawa, and was a seventh Dan level in karate and judo. His wife Nicela, was a slender Kyteeri with shoulder-length, black hair, cut with straight bangs. Both were dressed in the traditional, Japanese gi and were barefoot. For Nicela, she would be demonstrating her proficiency in the Kyteeri martial art called Veras-la.
“Kiyah!”
With one quick strike, Kojiro hit the top concrete slab of a pile, causing the bottom slab to break apart, while leaving the top ones intact. The crowds were amazed at the level of power and control he had demonstrated. He then gestured to his wife.
Nicela got into a stance then made a short, open-palmed strike at a wooden training post. This caused another post some five feet away to split in half. There was no magic involved and those in the audience who could detect magic, such as elves and dwarves, were amazed at the sight.
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Aug 28th, 11 AE…
The capital city of Ardelous…
“Look over there!” Iskaria said as she and her fellow prostitutes sat at a local sidewalk café. “Aren’t they from Free Land?” She pointed toward a group of soldiers dressed in Free Land military uniforms, across the street. A few were Terran, while the others were a mix of Catian and Velor.
Iskaria was a feline beastkin, dressed in a skimpy halter top and shorts. She could be mistaken for a Catian female. Sitting beside her was Caladora, a voluptuous humanoid woman with four arms, and Lordina, a petite girl with avian features.
“They should be spending their money on us.” Caladora remarked as she took a sip of her tea.
“Oh, I’d love to mate with them!” Iskaria said with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Heck, I’d do it for free! They’re so gallant and heroic! They’re the ones who freed our country from the Sath!”
“Forget it. They’re practically impotent.” Lordina said. “They won’t give us the time of day or night.”
“She’s right.” The multi-limbed hooker agreed. “Especially those human officers they call Terrans. If you’re not a human woman or one of those blue-skinned female elves, they’re basically not interested. Come to think of it, a blue-skinned elf would really clean up around here. I’ve had a few of my clients ask if we had one working for us. They’re willing to pay some serious coin to spend a night with one.”
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WHAP!
The noble was sent sprawling after Corporal Veneska backhanded him. Since she was out of uniform, he didn’t know that she was an officer of the Free Land forces when he mistook her for a street walker and tried to proposition her. The foolish and arrogant noble had only heard about the blue-skinned elven beauties that had come from the Alder continent and thought that he could get one into his bed.
His guards came up to attack her, but Veneska defended herself by focusing on her psion-manipulation abilities and knocked them back with a levitation wave.
As all three men groaned in pain, the blue-skinned female glared at them and said, “We Kyteeri may need to mate with other men to propagate ourselves, but we also reserve the right to say no when we are not interested!”
She then walked off in a huff.
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Sept 9th, 11 AE…
Verset Territory, formerly a Sath Vassal State…
“So what is this called again?” Taro asked as he looked at the strange-looking thing with two thin wheels.
“This is a bicycle.” The Free Land merchant named Jessie Stryde said. He was an employee of the only Earth bicycle company that still existed, the Trek Bicycle Corporation. Ever since the Empire of Sath and the other nations of the Merdov continent had undergone major infrastructure advancements; there came a need for the common citizen to have a simple, cheap and reliable mode of personal transportation.
“Bi… sicke? It doesn’t look like a sickle.”
“Well, no it’s not. It’s a bi… cycle. Bi means two so this is a two-wheeled cycle.”
“Okay… so what is this thing supposed to do?”
“It’s a way to get around without walking. Sort of like a mechanical horse. Watch.”
Taro’s expression turned from skeptical to utter disbelief as Jessie demonstrated by straddling the seat and he started pedaling. He rode down the road for a bit before turning around and rode back before stopping in front of his customer.
“See? It’s a very easy way for you to travel long distances and it’s a lot easier to maintain than a horse and wagon. So, are you interested?”
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Nov 19th, 11 AE…
“Wow, there are a LOT of people riding their bikes nowadays.” Commander William Krandal noted as he and his younger brother, Lieutenant Joseph Krandal, rode their bicycles down the road that led to the capital city of the Verset Territory. The roads were filled with cyclists going both ways.
“Ever since the Trek Bike Corporation introduced the bicycle to Verset and the surrounding territories, it’s gotten to be very popular.” William’s brother said. “It’s a cheap and easy mode of transportation. You don’t have to feed or care for it like a horse. Don’t have to clean up after it. And the corporation has begun opening up bicycle repair and equipment shops all over.”
“I heard that this territory has started having bicycle competitions and races.”
“Speaking of which… race you to the capital!” Joseph put on a burst of speed and began pulling ahead.
“You’re on!” William said as he started pedaling faster.
In front of the astonished eyes of all those present, both Terran cyclists sped ahead and quickly disappeared over the horizon.
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December 14th, 11 AE…
“Simple… but effective!” Jorada remarked as the dwarf studied the chain drive, sprocket and pedals of a bicycle he had bought in Nervin. “Why didn’t we think of this?”
He then began to have ideas. If this bicycle’s chain drive system could be used to convert motion into torque energy to turn the back wheel, then why not use the same principle for other applications?
It wasn’t long before this train of thought began to spread and pedal-powered devices started appearing all over the dwarven nations, such as paddleboats, cooling fans, manual electric generators and even crude mechanical hammers, drills and presses. Since the average dwarf had ample amounts of physical energy, due to their professions as blacksmiths, miners and laborers, it began to be commonplace to see one dwarf at a forge or business, pedaling away to power some device.
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Jan 6th, 12 AE…
The Kingdom of Naran…
“What do you mean the Kingdom of Merin do not want to order any more Dragon Fire Gem Torches?” Merchant Guildmaster Saron asked.
“That’s just it.” Saron’s aide stated as he read the report. “The Kingdom of Merin didn’t make their monthly order of Dragon Fire Gem Torches. They didn’t make any orders for any other products either.”
“Did they give any reasons as to why?”
“All they said was that they were too expensive and that they didn’t need them anymore.”
“Hah! As if they could get anything better! Naran products are the best in the world! Just you wait! They’ll come crawling back to make their orders once their industry begins to decline! We have the virtual monopoly in terms of exported goods! There’s simply no comparison!”
“If you say so, Sir.”
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The Kingdom of Merin…
“Damn! I love these new TIG-welders!” One dwarf blacksmith exclaimed as he finished welding two pieces of metal together. What would have taken him hours to join together via rivets and hand forging, now only took him a few minutes.
“Yeah, and this new ‘aceta-leen’ torch puts those Dragon Fire Gem Torches to shame.” His apprentice stated while raising his goggles. He had just cut through several metal pipes with ease. “Don’t need to put in any chants, nor do I need to replace expensive Magic Fire Gems.”
“Did you also notice that since we don’t need to put in rivets any more, things have gotten lighter and stronger?”
“I’ll say! When we built that locomotive boiler tank for the king, he was surprised at how fast we managed to do it. Not to mention that boiler tank can withstand more than twice the stress and the locomotives can pull more now. What used to take two engines, now only needs one.”
“No doubt about it. We don’t need the Kingdom of Naran any more. Free Land is the way to go!”
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Jan 16th, 12 AE…
Kingdom of Atlans…
“So this is what they call a pocket calculator, huh?” A technician named Veralon remarked as he held the device in his hands.
It was a simple function calculator the size of a garage door remote. The input buttons were translated into the local dialect. Veralon put in a series of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division equations and was surprised at the speed and accuracy of the results.
“Well, I guess I should throw out the old slide-rule.”
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Feb 10th, 12 AE…
It was several days after the appearance of the Planet Ravager, and the major nations of Istaria began their military buildup in order to protect themselves from its inevitable return.
The Empire of Sath…
“What did you call this again?” Admiral Hardo asked as he watched several men loading long, metal tubes onto his new steam-powered ship. Out in the harbor, a few of the old, sail-powered ships of the White Dragon Fleet were being towed out toward open water.
“These weapons are called torpedoes.” Commander Joshua Craiger said. “They’re basically underwater missiles. They have a range of about 6 miles or less than 10 km and each have an 800 pound warhead. That’s enough to sink cruisers and damage battleships.”
“Really?!”
“That’s right. These torpedoes will allow your vessel to punch above its weight class.”
“What?”
“It’s an old Earth saying. Nevermind. In any case, we’re going to demonstrate how you’re going to use these weapons in battle.”
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An hour later…
“FIRE!”
Much to the amazement of the Admiral and the Sath crew, the tube launched a slender, metal object into the water. In less than a minute, the torpedo swam toward its target and hit the decommissioned wooden vessel, exploding on impact. The old ship broke in half and sank in seconds.
“Unbelievable!” Admiral Hardo exclaimed.
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Feb 16th, 12 AE…
The territory of Varnsola, Merdov continent
“Yum! What is this?!” Felita asked as she and her fellow elves devoured the cold, sweet treat.
‘It’s a dessert from the Planet Earth.” Syrona of the Kyteeri said. “Amazingly, throughout all of our travels through the cosmos, we have yet to find anything even remotely the same as this!”
“What did they call this again?”
“It’s called ice cream.”
“They should call it the nectar of the gods!” Felita declared as she finished off her triple-scoop sundae.
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May 24th, 12 AE…
“Give me that Big Mac Meal with a Coke! Super-size it please!”
“I’ll have the Double Quarter-Pounder Meal with a Sprite! Super-Size!”
“I’ll have that twenty-piece box of Chicken Nuggets and a Dr. Pepper!”
“I’ll have the Filet O’Fish Meal with an extra order of fries!”
After discovering the wonders of McDonald’s, adventurers, nobles and commonfolk alike would form long lines just to get a Big Mac or McChicken Sandwich. It got to the point that the McDonald’s business couldn’t limit them to one restaurant per major city. Soon there were outlets in large villages and small towns. They were especially popular outside of dungeons. Nothing beat a tasty double cheeseburger after a day of fighting monsters and collecting materials.
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Oct 30th, 12 AE…
The New Magical Technologies Lab, Kingdom of Naran…
“Are you certain this will work?” Serato asked as he and his colleague were looking over an old prototype rocket.
“I don’t see why not.” Velena replied. “It would be a waste to break this down into raw materials, considering how much time and effort we put into building it.”
“Yes, well his Majesty was quite upset when the Kingdom of Atlans beat us into launching a rocket into space, and then became doubly angry, when he found out that magic doesn’t work in space.”
“I’ll admit that the race to space was a useless endeavor, but this rocket technology could be useful in other fields. I can see this being applied toward the military. I’ve heard that even the Empire of Sath uses rockets as offensive weapons on their wyverns.”
“I suppose we could use rockets in that manner, but why even bother? We could use magic to cast fireballs and lightning.”
“Yes, but offensive spells have limited range and lose their potency the further they travel. A rocket will have the same amount of explosive power in its warhead, regardless of how far it travels. And I’ve done some research from my last visit to the Alder continent. Apparently, Free Land is in possession of what is called a guided rocket or missile. If they are able to produce weapons that can be guided toward a target, then why can’t we do the same with magic?”
“Can it really be done?”
“There are spells in which a caster can control the direction of an object in flight. So I propose that we create a rocket that can change its direction to pursue its target. It would be a kind of… pursuing rocket.”
“A Pursuer Rocket… that’s not a bad idea. Let’s go for it!”
To be continued…
ice cream
BING CHILLING
Thanks for the chapter.