Slide 2:The Literacy: Book 3 Chapter 7 Last chapter, I spent the entire first slide on a wall-of-text recap. That feels relatively unnecessary for this chapter, but I still feel like I need to do an introduction of some sort. So this is the second chapter I’m posting to The Literacy blog. The Sims 2 Exchange has been “fixed” (with a patch, what’s up with that?), but now that I’ve switched over I’m not switching back. This is still sort of in the experimental stages, though, especially in the layout and dialogue departments. Also, as always, I view The Literacy as something of a writing exercise, and greatly appreciate any comments you may have. So please, if you read The Literacy, let me know what you think of it, either in the comment space on this blog or on my Boolprop thread. Thanks! Um…that’s about all I’ve got in terms of introductory stuff. Last chapter had a full-blown recap from the very beginning, so if you’re lost I would suggest just rereading that recap. Yeah, that’s it. On with the story, then!


Slide 4:“Ah, Anatole. How pleasantly surprised I am to see you here so very early. Is there something I can help you with?”


Slide 5:“You weren’t in your office.” “Ah, no. I only use my assigned office when it’s absolutely necessary. I find the administrative building to be too far removed from my students. After all, how can I help them if I’m across the street from them?” “How are we supposed to find you if you’re never in your office?”


Slide 6:“You didn’t come in early just to question my use of my own office, Anatole. What is it that you want?” “I got my schedule.”


Slide 7:“You didn’t have any trouble understanding it, did you? I tried to make everything clear in my e-mail, but—” “—I memorized it.” “Of course you did, you good little boy. Do you need help finding the rooms? I know our school can be quite intimidating for—” “—The first four classes are gym classes!” “Yes, but they’re not all the same gym class, silly! The first is—”


Slide 8:“—I know they’re all different! That’s not the point! And then after that I’ve got lunch, and after that it’s some bogus class called ‘Introduction to Fangirls’?!” “Dealing with Fangirls is a useful skill, Anatole! Surely you’re not—” “—which is followed by ‘Romance Through The Ages,’ followed by ‘Love Poetry,’ then something called ‘Partner or Small-Group Research’ with the room assignment as a broom closet, and then ‘Swimsuit Smustling’?!” “Oh, you do have your schedule memorized! Good for you!”


Slide 9:“Seriously, Estelle? These classes are crap! I mean, come on! ‘Swimsuit Smustling’?!”


Slide 10:“Oh, I am sorry about that one—” “—Just that one?!” “It was originally going to be ‘Nude Smustling,’ but I couldn’t get it approved on such short notice. Perhaps next semester.” “That’s disgusting!” “What can I say? It’s bureaucracy.”


Slide 11:“That’s not what I mean, Estelle. This schedule makes me out to be an empty-headed WooHoo-obsessed jock cliché!” “What, exactly, is the problem with that?” “There’s more to me than sports and romance!” “Really? What?”


Slide 12:“Uh, well, there’s the…um…there’s the…” “Eeben, child, don’t try to pretend there’s more to you than there is! It’s just not healthy! Besides, with sports and romance, you’re a fully two-dimensional person. There are plenty of one-dimensional people who are still perfectly happy. You’re twice as complex as them! Isn’t that enough for you?” “There should be more to me than that!”


Slide 13:“Based on what standard, Eeben?” “It just…doesn’t feel right that all I am is my aspiration and my predestined hobby.” “Oh…it doesn’t feel right.” “Plus, I have a girlfriend, so the last two classes are pretty much out.” “Oh, but we’re very discreet here—” “—No.”


Slide 14:“Alright, Eeben. I’ll replace three of the gym classes and the two romance classes you find objectionable with space for an independent project of your choosing. You’ll need to submit a written proposal to me, of course. That would be, once you decide what it is you want to be, aside from a romantic athlete.” “But I don’t know yet, I just know I want there to be something.” “Right, I’m getting to that. Until you do decide, you’ll be assisting other students with their projects. Does that sound fair?”


Slide 15:“Alright.” “Working with the other independent project students might even give you some ideas of your own. Or convince you to drop the whole charade of complexity. I’d really be happy either way.” “Th-thank you, by the way.” “Think nothing of it, Eeben. I’m happy to help.” “Thanks.”


Slide 16:“Oh, but…all those girls in Swimsuit Smustling will be so disappointed. They were all quite excited when they found out there was going to be a boy in the class.” “Estelle…” “They would have absolutely swarmed you, you know. Anyway, just something to think about. I’ll leave the slot open for you, in case the whole third dimension thing doesn’t work out.”


Slide 17:“Bekwa, remind me…why are we doing this?” “I need to get abducted by aliens for the Ivy League Master Point.” “I know that. I meant, why are we doing this? Like, why am I here too?” “Well, I thought you’d be fun to have around.” “How are you going to summon aliens with that flashlight, anyway? It isn’t even outshining the light from our house, so there’s no way it’s visible from space.”


Slide 18:“Aw, dangit! I dropped the flashlight. This is not cool.” “It probably doesn’t matter, Bekwa.” “Oh, and it rolled off the porch, too. This is so not cool.”


Slide 19:“Uh…Bekwa? Maybe you should just look up.”


Slide 20:“Oh, now this? This is cool.”


Slide 21:“Meadow? Remember that subplot we had, like a zillion years ago, when you wanted to marry into a legacy family?” “It wasn’t that long ago, Marsha.” “Alright, fine. But you do remember it.” “Sure.” “Well, what if I were to tell you that, while you still couldn’t marry into the main legacy, you might possibly have a chance—just a chance—at marrying someone who’s, like, a really important character in a legacy, even though they’re not the heir?” “Like, a spare? Are you saying I could marry a spare?” “Well, kinda like a spare. I mean, it’s possible for a spare to become this sort of character. And I’m also not sure about the marriage part. But would you be interested in dating this character?” “Who is it you’re talking about, Marsha?” “It wouldn’t even have to be a long-term thing, you’d just need to keep him distracted until a…uh…hypothetical other couple could be established.” … “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”


Slide 22:“Alright, let’s see if I can put this another way…um…Hey, wouldn’t it be awesome to date a god? Think of the stories you could tell afterwards!”


Slide 23:“You want me to date Hades?” “Not even date, necessarily, just…distract!” “That sounds like an awful idea.” “Think about it! You’re a Family Sim, right? So you probably want to grow up and spawn a bunch of kids, right? So wouldn’t it be awesome of you spawned a bunch of demigods?!” “Marsha, this is crazy!” “Look…your other option is to spend the rest of forever in this smelly little box, wandering in and out of more important peoples’ stories, providing comic relief and an occasional cheap First Kiss.” … “How do you even know Hades would be interested in me?” “Easy. Hades wants a woman who is…shall we say, accommodating?” “Ooh, I can be accommodating!” “I know! And I, uh, have it on good authority that the gods are, like, super fertile. So, you know, you’ll probably get to have a whole truckload of babies if you end up together.” “Ooh! I love babies!” “Yeah…you do baffle me.”


Slide 25:“GeronimoooooooooaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Thud.


Slide 26:“Bekwa! Are you alright?” “That…was…awesome!” “I was so worried! I was afraid they weren’t going to bring you back, or they’d replace you with an evil clone or—” “—I wanna go again!”


Slide 27:“What did they do to you up there?” “Oh, you know, experiments and stuff. You wouldn’t understand.” “You’re…you’re not even going to try to tell me?” “It’s not the kind of thing I can just explain, alright? It’s…well, you just wouldn’t understand. I think it’s beyond words, or even interpretive dance.” “Oh, come on, Bekwa! What did they do to you?” “Well, first they divided me by zero—” “—What?!” “See, I told you. You wouldn’t understand. And I haven’t even gotten to the weird part of it yet. Oh, by the way, my animus wanted me to say hello for him. He actually looked a bit like you. And if you ever encounter reality from an objective perspective, try not to throw up too much. Anyway, I sort of need a shower right now. I’ve got, like, residue from the Timestream or something on me.”


Slide 28:“I was so worried, Bekwa! I—oh Zarquon, you’re all sticky!” “Yeah, what did I just say? Residue!”


Slide 29:The alien abduction completed, Bekwa is one scholarship closer to her goal. While still skilling diligently, her attentions turn to becoming a vampire. By the way, I haven’t narrated much during this chapter, have I? Anyway, she makes plans to head downtown in search of Grand Vampires, bringing along Eeben, who brings along Persephone.


Slide 30:“So, um, Persephone…I’ve…I’ve been thinking. Would you—” “Yes?” “Would you be interested in—that is, would you like to…um… … Would you like to have a Pillow Fight?” “Oh…sure, alright.”


Slide 32:“What could be classier than a nice evening of chess at the park?” “Indeed, I can think of nothing classier.”


Slide 33:“Why, this whole place simply exudes class.” “Oh, yes. Ever so much class.”


Slide 34:“Hey, Eeben, can we take a break for a second?” “You just want to stop because I’m winning.” “How can you win a pillow fight? No, really, I want to talk to you, now that we’re out of earshot of Bekwa.” “What is it?”


Slide 35:“Eeben, I’ve been doing some thinking.” “My gosh, have you ever tried not thinking? I mean, I know you’re a Knowledge Sim, but maybe sometimes you should take a break—” “—I’ve been thinking about the other night…in the Love Tub.” “Oh…”


Slide 36:“There’s still a lot that I need to work out about myself, and of course I haven’t forgotten about Hades, but I realized something: if I can’t be in a real relationship because of what he did to me, then…well…then I’m letting him win. Men who do what he did are after control, and even if I escape him physically, if I can’t let myself love you because of my past, then he’s still got the control he was after in the first place.”


Slide 37:“That…that is a lot of thinking you did.” “Eeben, that night? You asked me if I’d be interested in dating you, and I didn’t have an answer for you. Well, my answer is yes.” … … …


Slide 38:… …. …


Slide 39:“It’s yes, Eeben!” … …


Slide 40:“What? Oh! Yes! You said yes! Sorry, I think my mind just blew a fuse or something. Yes, alright. Let’s…date, and stuff, then!” “Haha!”


Slide 41:“So…well, I’m not quite sure how to go about this, exactly, but…” “Is something wrong?” “Would it—would it be out of line if I tried to kiss you?” “No. Not at all.”


Slide 43:“Sorry, I hope that wasn’t too awful, that was my first kiss.”


Slide 44:“Eeben, that was the best kiss of my life. Let’s pretend it was my first, too.”


Slide 45:Bekwa does not meet any vampires that night. Undaunted, she pursues other skills while she waits to go back downtown. “Hm. Well, your technique is very good, but I’m just not detecting any seething, repressed hatred of humanity in your punches. Just something to work on, if you ever feel inclined to take my advice, which you won’t.”


Slide 46:“Aw, dang it. Tonight I just wanted to skill…


Slide 47:…Guys, come on! I have plans for tonight!…


Slide 48:…alright, a quick break for a zany adventure across space and time, and now it’s back to work…


Slide 49:…Eeben! You didn’t come out to meet me this time!” “What? Where were you?” “I got abducted by aliens again.” “Oh. That’s nice.”


Slide 50:“You…you don’t want to hear about it?” “No thanks. I wouldn’t understand.” “Oh…well, you wouldn’t, but aren’t you curious? Doesn’t it just eat you up inside that I’ve experienced things you wouldn’t even—” “—I kissed Persephone last night.”


Slide 51:“Yes. You’ve said that several times now.” “Know what it feels like to be in love?” “I’m sure I’ll find out for myself at some point. Would you like to know what it’s like to be in a singularity?” “No, but thanks.” “I had a conversation with an irrational number of irrational numbers!” “That’s nice.” “I ate a metaphor!” “How ‘bout that? I have felt the touch of a lover.” “Shut up!” “Alright.” … … “Hm. I think I may be looking at a previously-undiscovered planet. What are you looking at, Eeben?” “Bunch of pretty stars.”


Slide 52:“The way I see it, Anatole, you’re an ambitious spare with one nice point. You’re either going to end up as a villain or an anti-hero, so I might as well be the one who trains you. I figure I can cultivate some loyalty to the family that way, and you won’t kill Eeben.” “But I dropped out of the heir poll willingly!” “Oh, yes, willingly. Right after your Girlfriend Ex Machina showed up. Your girlfriend who, just by the way, I haven’t seen in a while now.” “What if I don’t want to be a villain or an anti-hero?” “Oh, by all means, subvert our expectations. Find some third dimension nobody’s thought of for you yet. But in the meantime, I’m going to mentor you. Now squeeze! Squeeze! I still hear a pulse! You’re not squeezing hard enough!”


Slide 53:In order for Bekwa to be able to stay on a community lot for a really long time, I need to be able to save on that lot. It’s also been a while since I’ve had a Sim run a business, so Bekwa is starting a nightclub…


Slide 54:…Danse Macabre. It’s not a typo, it’s French. Bekwa has brought along Eeben for moral support, and Marvin, primarily because Marvin hasn’t had a lot of screen time lately. “Shall I work the DJ booth, then? Or should I just stand someplace out of the way and try not to get in the way of the main characters?” “Um…the DJ booth, please.” “Oh, thank you Miss Turner. Now my life has purpose.”


Slide 55:“Bekwa, why do I have to dress like this?”


Slide 56:“We’re trying to attract vampires, Eeben. Nothing attracts vampires better than darkness and angst.” “Really?”


Slide 57:“Oh, gods, you don’t think I actually know, do you? I’m just guessing here, but it seems like a pretty good guess.” “I look like Hades!” “Eh…it’s not like Persephone is going to show up here or anything.”


Slide 58:“I think we should begin with a few selections from Mozart’s ‘Requiem in D Minor,’ followed by ‘Dust in the Wind,’ then…how about ‘Reasons to be Miserable’?”


Slide 59:Rachel? DeepThought? Could you take a break from that for a second?


Slide 60:I need to talk to you. Maybe you should sit down. “Ha! You’re not gonna make us do something important, are you?” Um…


Slide 61:…actually, it sort of is important. Sorry. I think you guys should sit down.


Slide 62:So, Bekwa is trying to earn the Ivy League Master Point. To do that, she needs to earn every available scholarship. Including the one for orphans.


Slide 63:“Oh, I see where this is going. You don’t need us anymore, and we’re getting in the way of your stupid plans, so we’re about to get the axe!” Not about to, not by any means. Bekwa still hasn’t even gotten the skill points she needs, or become a vampire, or gotten a job. Killing you will be the very last thing that happens before she leaves for college. You’ve still got plenty of time left, maybe even a full lifespan. I don’t know. The point is, when the time comes, you’re getting killed off. There isn’t time to wait around until you die from old age. “What, are you in some kind of hurry?” Yes, actually. It’s…well, it’s not something I can explain very easily, but yes, I’m in a bit of a rush. You two are both perma-plat. You’d have really long elder lifespans, and I can’t bring the whole legacy to a halt waiting for you both to die. “You’re a heartless demiurge.” Wait. I’m not finished. I’m offering a trade, of sorts. Because you’ll be dying of something other than old age, there’s no real need for you two to become elders, which is three days away.


Slide 64:I’m letting both of you take a full bottle of elixir now, and no matter how long it takes Bekwa to finish her other requirements, you’ll get to stay in your prime. “Until you kill us.” Yes. Until I kill you. Because I’m a heartless demiurge. But you’ll also be young ghosts, which is more than Paige and Arthur will be able to say.


Slide 65:“You know, DeepThought…that actually doesn’t sound that bad.” “Not that bad? It sounds like a deal with the devil! Prolonged youth in exchange for a shortened lifespan?” “Well, yeah, but I don’t want to get all old and saggy, and Dreamer is only pretty sure that we’ll have to die ahead of schedule…


Slide 66:…plus, he’s not giving us a choice about dying early, so we might as well take the elixir.”


Slide 67:“Wait! We could appeal directly to the readers! I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t want us to get killed off.”


Slide 68:“Well, sure, we could. But even if the readers convince him not to kill us off, I’m guessing the odds of us dying by ‘accident’ would suddenly go way up.” “Oh…right.”


Slide 69:“I hope you understand, this doesn’t mean I approve of what you’re doing. You’re still a heartless demiurge.” “Ooh, DeepThought, it tastes great!” “Really? I’m detecting a distinct aftertaste of wood. Specifically, the short end of a stick.”


Slide 70:And with that, I make an awkward and insensitive segue back into comedy. So here we have Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, on the left, and Heathcliff from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The fact that Gatsby wears a blue speedo while Heathcliff is a naked hot-tubber is of course based on years of extensive literary research.


Slide 71:“Persephone! What are you doing here?” “Word spreads fast around here, Eeben. I heard your sister was opening a club, and decided to check it out.”


Slide 72:“Oh. Well, of course, you get in free.” “Really? Is Bekwa okay with that?” “Bekwa doesn’t need to approve everything I do. It’s not like she’s the boss of me!” “Really. On an unrelated note, why are you dressed like Hades?” “Oh. Uh…Bekwa made me wear this.”


Slide 73:“Oh, hey Persephone! Eeben didn’t charge you admission, did he? Relatives and future in-laws get in free.” “I didn’t charge her, Bekwa. And don’t you have work to do?” “Don’t you?” “I’m working the crowd! I’m just really focused right now.” “Alright, alright.”


Slide 75:“So, Eeben…when Bekwa referred to me as a ‘future in-law’…” “I wouldn’t worry about what Bekwa says. She just likes messing with people.” “But…do you think we’ll end up getting married?” “Well, it’s what Paige wants, and what Bekwa seems to be expecting. You’d certainly make sense for the Legacy…” “What do you think?” “I think we’re too young to be worried about that.” “I was younger than this when Hades—” “—If there’s one thing I’m certain about, it’s that I don’t want to be like him. I’m happy in the here and now, without worrying about the future more than I have to…what do you think?” “I…I love you.” “I know.” … “What?”


Slide 76:“I mean I love you too! Sorry. Sometimes I can’t resist an easy reference.”


Slide 77:“Have we all forgotten about the actual plot? There is, if you need reminding, an insane deity stalking your love interest.” “What’s that, Marvin? I can’t hear you over the throbbing of my heart.” “Oh, is it your heart that’s throbbing? Funny, I thought it was your—” Marvin! “—Plumbob.”


Slide 78:Bekwa’s plan comes to fruition as Danse Macabre attracts its first vampire, Count Komei Kosmokos. “Hey there! Count Komei! Great to see ya!” “How do you know who I am?” “Voice in my head. Anyway, Grand Vampires get in free!”


Slide 79:“Hmmmm….your offer of free admission is tempting, but I cannot help but believe there is an ulterior motive behind it. You would not, perchance, be attempting to gain my favor in the hopes of becoming a vampire yourself, would you?”


Slide 80:“Uhhh…no, of course not.” “So, you have something against us vampires, do you?” “Uh, alright, I actually do want to become a vampire.” “So, your offer does have an ulterior motive.” “Uhhh….maybe?”


Slide 81:“Relax. I am merely…what is the mortal expression? ‘Screwing you’? I am merely screwing you.” “That is…almost certainly not the expression you were looking for.”


Slide 82:“Tell me, Bekwa. Why is it, exactly, that you want to become a vampire?” “I’m a Knowledge Sim.” “Fair enough, but you must have more reason than that.” “I’m going for the Ivy League Master Point.” “Oh. You’re after the scholarship.” “Is there something wrong with that?” “Bekwa…unlife is not easy. The world is harsh and unforgiving enough as it is, and being undead makes things no easier. People have hated and feared my kind for millennia. I have kindred who were murdered for nothing more than because they were vampires. People are less zealous in their hatred now, but even today the undead face great prejudice. You know that the Literature Island school system does not actually recognize zombies? They are allowed to enroll for some reason, but once they do the system does not track their progress, only their disciplinary infractions. Their grades cannot go up, only down.” “What? That doesn’t make any sense!” “No, it does not. But there are enough people in the world who call zombies vile abominations that we cannot rally enough support to create change, try as we might. The scholarship was not created for mundanes to actively seek out, it was created because we know undead students will need all the help they can get, and we want to make their unlives a little bit better, however we can.”


Slide 83:“I’m not just doing it for the scholarship, though. I mean, I need the scholarship for the point, but I’d want to be a vampire even if I didn’t need to be one for the point. I want to learn all I can about the world, and I want to live forever. Is that…is that a bad thing?” “You are aware that Elixir of Life will also prolong your life, yes? “Yeah, I know that. But it wouldn’t be the same as becoming a vampire. Living forever as…as just a plain old ordinary person wouldn’t actually mean anything.” “Hmmm…elaborate.”


Slide 84:“I want to, I don’t know, be something more than normal. I want to be able to turn into a bat, and stay out all night, and be part of a nifty ancient society, and have all the crazy vampire powers.”


Slide 85:“‘Crazy vampire powers’?” “You know what I’m talking about!” “I know what you are talking about, but I sense that perhaps you do not know what you are talking about.” “What do you mean?”


Slide 86:“To begin with, there is the beginning. Let us say, for the sake of argument, that I decided to make you a vampire right here and now. Do you know what that would entail?” “Well, you’d put me in a trance and suck out all my blood, right?” “Wrong! Well, the trance part is more or less correct, but we do not actually suck blood.” “You don’t?”


Slide 87:“It is a common misconception, but no. If you were to become a vampire, it is your life force, not your literal blood, that would be removed. This would be absorbed by the vampire converting you, and make them immensely stronger, while permanently binding you to them. That is why we create more vampires—not to feed, for we eat mortal food—but to strengthen ourselves with the consumed life force of others, and to gain minions. Knowing this, do you still wish to join us?”


Slide 88:“Sure. I told you, I’m looking for new knowledge. Becoming a vampire would be a new experience for me, and I’d be fine with minion duty if it meant gaining knowledge.”


Slide 89:“Well…you seem sincere, if perhaps a bit misinformed. I will present your case to the Council, but I cannot promise you anything. We are not actively recruiting new vampires, nor do I anticipate that we shall be within your lifetime, assuming you do not extend it.”


Slide 90:“Why not? It seems like making new vampires would be a great deal for you guys—you get to eat someone’s life force, and get a free minion. I mean, if people want in on the minion thing, wouldn’t it make sense to just let them join up?” “Alas, it is not quite that easy, for you see…


Slide 91:…ah, the dawn has come absurdly quickly, and now I must flee.” “But you’ll present my case?” “Well, you do not have much of a case, and I will not do much in the way of presenting, but yes, I will follow the strict definition of those words and present your case.”


Slide 92:This is where I’m going to end Chapter 7, because as predictable as this plotline is, I like to at least pretend to have cliffhangers. So tune in next time, for the mysterious Council’s decision, plus maybe I’ll resolve some of my other absurd loose ends, in…The Literacy! …Thanks for reading!