Chapter 13

On Tuesday I met with Shawna after class, and we had an early dinner then headed to the game shop. They welcomed her to join in and soon Shawna had a cleric of Isis and she was playing along. It was a good game, and we did need her as one of the battles was really intense and I was almost unconscious when it was done.

We made out for a bit longer in the parking lot before I dropped her off, and I headed back to the dorm. The next few days we only saw each other in passing, as we were both working hard on final projects and studying. And overall, it was not unlike being back in High School again. Seeing each other for meals or in the two classes we shared, and maybe an hour or so afterwards before going to our respective rooms and hitting the books again.

We had a storm pass through on Friday, and we held each other for about an hour and kissed and caressed each other in the parking lot before Shawna headed back to her apartment. But we made plans to get together the next day. We met up at the cafeteria and I mentioned how I was surprised to see snow up in the hills north of town.

“Oh yes, they get snow up there all the time.” But I was then surprised when she said she had never seen snow before. So after going to my room and grabbing my heavy coat and old ski jacket I got us both into my truck and we headed north.

And we had not gotten very far outside of Santa Clarita when I started to see white on the side of the freeway. And when I saw the ground was covered in what looked like six inches I pulled off, and followed some signs to a state park.

When I got there I saw that the entrance was open, but it was completely unplowed. So for the first time I kicked in the all wheel drive and was driving past some large rock formations. We pulled into the large parking lot, and we were the only car there. I hopped out, and after some encouragement Shawna came out and joined me. And I think it struck us both at the same time when we looked around.

The rocks towered above us, the strata lines straight, but running at crazy angles. Almost 45 degrees or steeper, with a hundred feet of rock sticking into the air then ending. I knew we both recognized it when I said it looked just like Hell in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Shawna said it looked like the planet Kirk fought the Gorn in Star Trek. And we were both right.

And off the road, the snow was over a foot deep, and I could tell that walking in it surprised Shawna. “I thought you would just walk on top of it, but I keep sinking!”

“Well, that’s because this is not packed. But yes, you can sink quite deep, we sometimes got four to six foot drifts back home.”

“Holy hell, how can you walk on that?”

“Oh, you don’t. You walk around it.”

She reached down and made a snowball, and giggled as she threw it. “Wow, it’s kinda cool. And so cold!”

“Well, I grew up like this, it’s just snow to me.” She turned around and started to walk away from me, picking up her feet high and giggling as she stepped back down each time. And as she did so I admired her heart shaped ass in her tight jeans, and reached down to grab a handful of snow. When she turned back around and grinned at me I tossed it at her, hitting her in the belly. She screamed, and instantly did the same in return, but I ducked out of the way.

For the next fifteen minutes we tossed snowballs at each other, with her trying to hit me any way she could, but me trying to aim at her body. Finally she ducked down to avoid one, and got hit right in the face. But she was not upset, and actually laughed even more as her face and glasses were covered.

I went over to her as she removed her glasses, and she gave me a big kiss, still giggling and saying that had been a lot of fun. Still laughing we headed back to my car where I opened the back and pulled out a towel I kept back there. I handed it to her and she cleaned off her glasses, then dried her face and said that she had never realized how much fun the snow could be, if a tad cold.

Hand in hand we started walking around for a bit more, and when I heard a car coming up the road I turned and looked. It was the park ranger, and he pulled up next to us and said the park was closed.

I looked at him closely after he said that. “Closed? Why, for this?”

He laughed, and nodded. “We get no plows up here, and we have a couple get stuck every year so the park is closed when we get snow.”

“Snow? This ain’t snow, this is barely a dusting.” He laughed and agreed, but added that most people that would come up had no experience in driving in this so they closed it as a precaution. I shook my head, and we headed back to the car.

Once the car was warmed up again we pulled out, and I waved at the ranger as he put some orange cones in front of the entrance as soon as we left. On the way back to the Valley, she asked me what the next week or so would be like.

“Well, Pete is going to be making this one of his bigger visits it seems. But they do not want to pull the kids out of school so it is just him flying down. I will probably have dinner with him and my Aunt Rosie his first night, then he will be making the rounds for the rest of the week. A night here, a night there.”

“Well, that is one way to save on hotels I guess” Shawna said with a laugh.

“Oh, it’s more to reconnect with his friends. Most he actually went to school with. And it works both ways, they normally stay up at the compound when they visit him. Between the houses, motorhomes, and trailers we sometimes have two dozen or so scattered around the place.”

“OK, that makes sense. When are we heading to the con ourselves?”

“Well, Pete has the hotel from Thursday night to Tuesday morning. I am having dinner with him and Keith on Thursday night. How about after that I pick you up and we can head down?” She said that would be fine, and I said I would pick her up at 9. We were going over the last mountains before the Valley, and it started to rain again. So after talking a bit we went to a place I knew and had a nice dinner before we drove to a park near where she lived. We spent a lovely time just kissing as the rain pattered on the roof of the car, and after I dropped her off at home I headed back to the dorm.

Most of the Tuesday night group said they were also going to the con, and we both said we would look for them there. And on Thursday I loaded up everything I would need and headed to Keith’s.

Keith met me at the door, and Pete was right behind him. He gave me a big hug, and the three of us settled down in the living room where there were three large foam containers. My brother handed me one, but I did not expect what was inside. It was strips of beef. They both laughed when they saw the look at my face.

“This is something I can’t get at home. So most times I come down I treat myself to this. Go ahead, dig in.” I saw him stirring his bowl, and saw that under the beef was rice. I copied him and it actually was not bad. The beef was boiled, and together they were actually really good. He said the place he got it, and I remembered seeing them scattered around the area but had never been in one before.

We talked as we ate, and he filled me in on what had been going on at home. Mostly the same, but that the newest line of computers had been a real hit so far. And after Keith gave us each a beer, I asked him what was going to happen that weekend.

“Oh, this is a smaller presentation for Steve Jackson. First we are going to have a three hour game in the main convention room. Not one of the big ones, we only do those with Brad. This is going to be more like my older ones, just a bunch of us playing around a table. Then the next day it is going to be a test run of the first adventure for the same ruleset.”

“Another new game? I assume it is for GURPS, what is the setting this time?”

“Oh, this time it is post-apocalyptic.”

That caught my attention. I sat up, and looked at him closely. “What, like Fallout?”

“Oh no, but similar. Kind of a cross between that and the old Gamma World rules. But closer to Fallout, as there will be little sci-fi involved. Set in an alternate 2500, but no actual nuclear war. Instead the Earth gets caught in a meteor swarm that is leftover material that had been wandering the solar system for 4.5 billion years. Leftover from when Earth and Theia collided and created the moon. Essentially inner core material that was flung off, and finally collided with Earth again. Primarily uranium, it created the same effects of a nuclear war but without the bombs.”

“Wow, that’s kinda deep. I know the theory, I saw a documentary on that a year or so back.”

“Well, I had been thinking of this for years now, and we probably saw the same documentary. In fact, what was blocking me was that I did not know how to start the nuclear war. The Soviet Union is gone, and the Russians are nothing like them. For Fallout they used China, but I did not want to go that route as China is a potential customer and making them the bad guy could alienate them. But highly radioactive core material from an ancient planetary collision that had entered a long elliptical orbit and after missing several times finally collided again. And I liked this as there was nobody to blame, it was just a cosmic accident.”

“I actually like it. So, what else is there?”

“Well, some of this you will learn as background. All of society and civilization collapsed, the game starts 400 years later. There are still radiation zones to look out for, from where larger meteors crashed down. And there are robots of different levels of AI, as well as other forms of mutant animals and people.”

“OK, that’s cool. But hard sci-fi?”

“Yep. No mind reading, no levitation, nothing like that. But there are lasers, plasma weapons, things like that. Over 90% of the population died within a few years, and what is left is abandoned ruined cities, and things like that. Kind of a blending of ‘A Boy and his Dog’, a little ‘Night of the Comet’, with some from Fallout and Wasteland. Most of the societies are medieval in structure, and some shelters scattered around in various levels of functionality. But nothing as advanced as in ‘Idaho Transfer’.”

I thought and admitted I knew some of those movies, but not others. “Really, there is a movie named ‘Idaho Transfer’? I never heard of it before. Kinda strange, not many movies are set up there.”

“Well, it’s kind of a strange one. Made by Peter Fonda. And kinda dark, like ‘A Boy and his Dog’. But instead of at the end eating the girl to survive, the last survivor is put into the back of a car and converted into fuel.”

“OK, that’s dark. OK, so I can understand why none of that. This is kind of a change for you.”

Keith laughed and shook his head. “Naw, not really. We used to play Gamma World occasionally back then, not the first time we have done that. But that had a lot of sci-fi involved, really campy. Pete, you use mutation charts like that?”

He took a pull of his beer and shook his head. “Naw, mutations for players are all mild. Tougher skin, a bit taller or smaller, like Linda’s height small, not pixies. Superior night vision, able to jump farther, immunity to low levels of radiation, things like that. No third arms growing out of the chest, eyes that shoot radiation beams, or anything like that.”

I found I was actually intrigued by this, and was actually looking forward to it. But when I finished my beer I saw it was just after 9 so I said goodbye and hit the road. I called Shawna on the way, and she was waiting in front with a backpack and overnight bag when I pulled in. She threw them into the back seat and after giving me a kiss we headed off.

The traffic was light, and just after 10:30 we pulled into the hotel. I grabbed all of our bags and led her in, and although I got some funny looks from the clerk and had to show my license to show that my last name really was Culver. But finally with keys in hand we headed up to the room.

And wow, it was nice! But I would have expected nothing else, knowing my brother. He always seemed to get the best of everything, and the weekend cost for this was probably more than Shawna paid for a month in rent. Pete had already told me to use the master bedroom, but they were actually both the same. So we selected one and settled together on the couch, a beer each that I had brought with me.

“Wow, I had no idea there were really rooms this nice! Two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining table and sitting area, this is even nicer than my apartment! How much is this costing him?”

“Don’t ask, but not much. At most, he is paying for the upgrade from a single bedroom suite to this. No, because he is running a game demo here on Sunday, he will just hold it here. And for the company, it is not much different than adding in the cost to rent one of the private rooms downstairs. Plus he said there would be a small buffet in here for us to eat that night.”

Shawna was cuddled in my lap, and we kissed as we chatted, and she said she was excited as she would not have to go home as she had when she went to the ones in school. But things started to heat up, and I asked again if she wanted the room to herself.

“Oh no, you are sleeping with me. Five nights together, I can hardly believe it. This is like a vacation, even though I am actually still in LA. And I want to spend a lot of it with you.”

She slipped out of my lap, and taking my hand led me to the bedroom. We made love for the next hour, and at around midnight curled up together and drifted off to sleep. The next morning after breakfast with backpacks in hand we headed on down. Our passes were waiting as we had asked, and soon we were walking the floor.

This was even bigger than the ones back home! The last ones I had gone to had taken up all of the meeting rooms at the casino, but this was easily four times bigger. We played a few games, then got the first surprise when we went into the sales room.

I saw Aunt Becky over in the corner, and holding Shawna’s hand we headed over to see her. I could see a bit of a twinkle in her eye as I introduced them, and was not surprised that Shawna knew who she was. There were four tables in an L shape, covered with adventures she sold. And we all talked as Shawna looked through what she had to offer.

“Wait, what is this one?” she asked, holding up a booklet with one of Mandy’s drawings. “Oh, that’s ‘Holy Rites’, kind of a light D&D game for Christians.”

“So, it’s not an adventure?”

“Nope, it’s an entire game system. Lightly based on D&D First Edition, with almost all of the magic stripped out. No magic users at all, only a few clerical spells, no real monsters other than those from Christian mythology and real world animals. Pete made that with a religious group, and last year I got the contract to republish it. The idea is to give Christians a game like D&D, but nothing they would find objectionable. The Alignments are only good, neutral and evil. And players have to be good. This is actually a non-profit release, hence the low price. But because the mechanics are more basic, it is also good for teaching new players.”

I told her I had played several of the adventures, as part of my brother’s test group. “It’s not bad, and if you see many churches have endorsed it. The only religion is Christianity, with others mostly being evil.”

“Oh no, not all are evil!” I heard from behind me, and I was surprised to see Pete and Keith there. I gave each of them a hug, and looked at Keith.

“Well, all the ones my brother ran us through were. Pagan Roman gods, pagan Egyptian gods, things like that.”

“Well, play the one I did. Becky, you got ‘Seal of Solomon’ in there?”

“Nope, sorry. I just started putting these out, and not gone to the adventures yet other than the two introductory ones Pete made. But for you, I will do that one next. I promise.”

I looked at him, and he nodded. “Yes, my one and only foray into writing. I played it a few times, and was kind of disappointed as like you said, other religions are all evil. So I made one where they have to help a Rabbi recover the Seal of Solomon in order to trap some Djin in their bottles again.”

My brother nodded, and added that it had been popular. “It is about showing how Jews and Christians are largely the same faith, just some different beliefs. And it was a great idea, having to actually work with another religion instead of working against them. Yes, that is an exception. But ultimately, we both worship the same God so it fits. Becky, when you republish that one let me know, I want Keith and I to go over it again. And write a new intro.”

I asked how much he made from that, and Keith shook his head. “Oh nothing, little man. Those are all free, the only cost is the printing and distribution cost. And the part I am proudest of is actually the appendix, with rules for playing a Rabbi as a player character. Crystal said that her youth group plays it sometimes, but with the entire group as being Jewish instead of Christian.”

I chuckled, and saw that look on my brother’s face. “OK, change Becky. Keith and I are rewriting the entire thing. Including a player book so it can be stand alone.” Shawna looked at him as he said this, but this was something I was used to.

“What, going to make it stand alone, and pitch it to synagogues without the Christian aspect at all?” Keith asked.

“Yep. I had never thought of that before, but it would be perfect. I will also reach out and see if I can find any interest among the Islamic community. I am sure many of that faith feel the same way. I don’t know enough about their beliefs to make something, but I’m sure I can find somebody.”

I shook my head, and poked Shawna in the side. And as Pete lost that glazed look he sometimes got when his mind was racing, I introduced him to her. She actually stammered when he smiled and shook her hand, and said he was honored. “But none of that ‘Mr. Culver’ nonsense, just Pete.” He then asked how many of us were joining him the next two days, and Becky shook her head.

“Sorry, I’m only here because Heather had to bail and I already had the booth reserved. I’m going home each night, but I will pop in to catch the end of your presentation tomorrow.”

We all said goodbye, and Pete took us into the cafeteria to get some lunch. Seems that after I left he talked Keith into joining him so they were both here until Sunday night. And when Shawna left to use the bathroom, he turned and grinned at me. “Now, any reason in particular you did not tell me she was black?”

“No, simply because it does not matter to me. Why, does it matter to you?” He actually leaned back and looked at me closely, and I actually felt a bit ashamed when he looked hurt.

“George, you should know me better than that. You’ve met Jacki many times, she is even darker than Shawna is. Like you, it does not matter to me worth a damn. And to be honest, I’m glad that she’s a geek also.” At that Shawna returned, and we drank our sodas as she asked him a series of questions about what writing games was like.

“Well, mostly now I do it for relaxation. Both my wife and Becky finally got me to realize I was burning myself out, with Gem, Gem Charter, and all the rest. So a few years ago I largely stepped down and let them run all of that. This, this is all just fun for me now. But I still do the conventions, as my publishers said it is expected of me.”

I wanted to fucking kill him! Shawna looked confused, and looked at me, then him again. “Gem? Gem Charter? What are those?”

“You don’t know?” He looked at me, then shrugged. “Well, sorry about that, George. What do you know about me?”

Well, mostly it was about his games, and seeing his taped presentations. And what I had told her about the ranch. “OK, that is a lot of it, sure. Have you ever heard of ‘Orbit Communications’?”