Chuck liked to arrange things. Organise get-togethers. Of course, he was rather bad at it. His finger tended to slip one digit to the right when charting out an address, or he tended to forget to write down prior obligations he had made, and so proper get-togethers were a rare thing in Chuck’s life. But he still liked to have a drink every now and then. He liked to just cast a wide net, and invite friends he hadn’t talked with for a while to some kind of drinking function. Preferably alcohol, but getting past the legal hurdles always required a bit of logistical foresight. As a short person who insisted on a Boo hat, he wasn’t exactly the most convincing wielder of fake ID, after all.
And so it normally was coffee. Not Irish coffee, unfortunately. Regular old caffeinated coffee. And that was it was today. At short notice, only Cody and Panya had been available that day. He liked them both, of course. But as far as he knew, they weren’t parts of the same crowds. They didn’t exactly have similar interests. And so, if nothing else, it’d be cool to see how well they gelled and all that.
Chuck had failed to get to sleep the night before. And that was why he was keen about coffee this fine day. When he reached the coffee shop, he was in the “high” stage of tiredness. A slightly heady rush, a dizzying burst of energy, a kind of exhilarating torrent of gusto to keep him awake. He was a bit hyper, was the point. Inevitably, he would crash soon, as the more conventional bodily responses to sleep deprivation kicked in. And so the current priority was to get some coffee into his stomach. And so that it what he did.
As always, Chuck gave them a fake name to write on his coffee cup. ‘Ashurbanipal’. Solidarity with his friends of slightly more esoteric names. And because Chuck was boring. And because they spelt it wrong a lot anyway. He bought a slice of cake too. It would be too rich in the end, too intense for the generous portions it came in. And then he sat outside, made himself comfortable. Realised he should have checked they weren’t sitting inside.
Ah well.
Sweet Bay Covfefe
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General Goose
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- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
((Cody Jenkins Start))
Cody ambled into the coffee shop, taking his sweet time as he made it up to the counter. Unfortunately, the Barista wasn't interested in the obvious health benefits of drinking green tea over coffee, but he got the hint and moved over to the side, collecting his cup. The person who made his drink misspelled "Aleister" as "Allister", which seemed to be par for the course for this place. Had they ever spelled one of his fake names right? He didn't remember it, so probably not.
He walked around, careful not to spill his drink as he looked for his friend. Cody walked around in circles, checking every corner of the building's interior, with no success. Pretty strange, considering that Chuck wasn't exactly easy to miss. It's not every day that you stumble upon a guy that short wearing a cartoon ghost for a hat. Maybe he was later than he thought.
After a few minutes of standing there like an idiot, he remembered that the building had an outdoor seating area. He smacked his head as he realized his mistake as he headed out the door. A quick scan almost immediately revealed where Chuck was sitting, and Cody strode over to his table, setting his drink down before taking a seat.
"Hey Chuck."
He leaned back in his seat, his eyes wandering to the piece of cake sitting on the table before staring idly into the air.
"You know, I wonder how they keep people coming back to this place. The prices are pretty crazy for what they're giving you, and the wi-fi signal's not too good either. Hmm... maybe they're putting something in the coffee, like, besides the regular caffeine, obviously. Yeah, I guess caffeine's kind of addictive on its own, but there's gotta be more to it, right? I really wanna know what they're powdering those donuts with, because it sure as hell isn't just sugar, if you get my drift."
Cody ambled into the coffee shop, taking his sweet time as he made it up to the counter. Unfortunately, the Barista wasn't interested in the obvious health benefits of drinking green tea over coffee, but he got the hint and moved over to the side, collecting his cup. The person who made his drink misspelled "Aleister" as "Allister", which seemed to be par for the course for this place. Had they ever spelled one of his fake names right? He didn't remember it, so probably not.
He walked around, careful not to spill his drink as he looked for his friend. Cody walked around in circles, checking every corner of the building's interior, with no success. Pretty strange, considering that Chuck wasn't exactly easy to miss. It's not every day that you stumble upon a guy that short wearing a cartoon ghost for a hat. Maybe he was later than he thought.
After a few minutes of standing there like an idiot, he remembered that the building had an outdoor seating area. He smacked his head as he realized his mistake as he headed out the door. A quick scan almost immediately revealed where Chuck was sitting, and Cody strode over to his table, setting his drink down before taking a seat.
"Hey Chuck."
He leaned back in his seat, his eyes wandering to the piece of cake sitting on the table before staring idly into the air.
"You know, I wonder how they keep people coming back to this place. The prices are pretty crazy for what they're giving you, and the wi-fi signal's not too good either. Hmm... maybe they're putting something in the coffee, like, besides the regular caffeine, obviously. Yeah, I guess caffeine's kind of addictive on its own, but there's gotta be more to it, right? I really wanna know what they're powdering those donuts with, because it sure as hell isn't just sugar, if you get my drift."
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General Goose
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
"Hey Cody!"
The traditional 'how are yous' and other such superfluous banter that followed most greetings seemed slightly redundant with Cody - he would always come up with something revealing, something far more interesting, if left to his own devices. Artificial prompting, traditional routines of clumsy small talk, tended to be unproductive. Postponed his rather interesting mind from delivering something memorable at his own pace.
Chuck personally considered himself a sceptical mind. Rationality and convention were held in high esteem. Conspiracy theories never took root beneath the Boo hat. But Cody was harmless, and benign, and his conspiracy theories tended to steer into the more mundane. Always worth a good conversation. Ignited some friendly debate, or temperate discussion. Made Chuck smarter too. Forced him to defend the assumptions he took for granted. To inquire and scrutinise the most basic and rudimentary of concepts. Chuck couldn't say if Cody had ever truly changed his opinion. But, by accident, he made a great debating practise, and a fine muse for journalistic inquisitiveness.
Personally there was something distasteful about questioning the unimpeachable motives of the Sweet Bay Coffee ownership. Sweet food, sweet service, was Chuck's internal slogan for them. But, coming from Cody, it was par for the course. And again, any malice was impossible to detect.
And, in between bites, Chuck pieced together a response. Kinda ironic really. Within the same mouth, he was piecing together a reply as he was tearing apart a cake. Was that ironic? He wasn't sure. Was kinda poetic though. Cody would probably appreciate it.
"So, you think that they added artificial sweetener?"
Chuck knew that wasn't what Cody meant. But playing coy was always fun with Cody. At least at first. And sometimes, just sometimes, Chuck liked to hint at involvement in a conspiracy.
The traditional 'how are yous' and other such superfluous banter that followed most greetings seemed slightly redundant with Cody - he would always come up with something revealing, something far more interesting, if left to his own devices. Artificial prompting, traditional routines of clumsy small talk, tended to be unproductive. Postponed his rather interesting mind from delivering something memorable at his own pace.
Chuck personally considered himself a sceptical mind. Rationality and convention were held in high esteem. Conspiracy theories never took root beneath the Boo hat. But Cody was harmless, and benign, and his conspiracy theories tended to steer into the more mundane. Always worth a good conversation. Ignited some friendly debate, or temperate discussion. Made Chuck smarter too. Forced him to defend the assumptions he took for granted. To inquire and scrutinise the most basic and rudimentary of concepts. Chuck couldn't say if Cody had ever truly changed his opinion. But, by accident, he made a great debating practise, and a fine muse for journalistic inquisitiveness.
Personally there was something distasteful about questioning the unimpeachable motives of the Sweet Bay Coffee ownership. Sweet food, sweet service, was Chuck's internal slogan for them. But, coming from Cody, it was par for the course. And again, any malice was impossible to detect.
And, in between bites, Chuck pieced together a response. Kinda ironic really. Within the same mouth, he was piecing together a reply as he was tearing apart a cake. Was that ironic? He wasn't sure. Was kinda poetic though. Cody would probably appreciate it.
"So, you think that they added artificial sweetener?"
Chuck knew that wasn't what Cody meant. But playing coy was always fun with Cody. At least at first. And sometimes, just sometimes, Chuck liked to hint at involvement in a conspiracy.
"Artificial sweetener... Yeah, it's definitely artificial, alright."
Cody’s sides shook as deep, raspy laugh emanated from his chest. Good old Chuck, always looking for the “rational” explanation. While it was nice to have someone to keep a handle on his wild “journeys of the mind”, as he sometimes called them, Cody really wished that the dude was able to think outside of the box more often.
“It’s bigger than that, though. You ever wonder why a lot of coffee drinkers feel like shit when they don’t get their morning coffee? It’s not just the caffeine. A lot of these places spike their coffee with nicotine, to get their customers hooked, you know. “
A cool spring breeze rushed through the area as Cody paused for a moment to take a sip of his tea. Once his mouth got running, it was hard to stop. Better get a taste of his drink now before it inevitably got cold.
“It’s the same pattern, happens all the time. Guy feels kind of tired, goes in and gets a coffee. Next time he’s out, dude feels worse than he did the last time. Thought pops into his head, maybe he should get another coffee. Made him feel better last time, after all. He goes to the shop, gets a drink, feels better, and the cycle repeats.”
Yeah, the story was pretty wild, and by the way he was waving his arms as he spoke, you couldn’t blame anyone for thinking he was a little off his rocker. That might have been a little concerning, if Cody cared at all about other people’s impressions of him. He said whatever he wanted to say, and if anyone had a problem with it, too fuckin’ bad.
Cody’s sides shook as deep, raspy laugh emanated from his chest. Good old Chuck, always looking for the “rational” explanation. While it was nice to have someone to keep a handle on his wild “journeys of the mind”, as he sometimes called them, Cody really wished that the dude was able to think outside of the box more often.
“It’s bigger than that, though. You ever wonder why a lot of coffee drinkers feel like shit when they don’t get their morning coffee? It’s not just the caffeine. A lot of these places spike their coffee with nicotine, to get their customers hooked, you know. “
A cool spring breeze rushed through the area as Cody paused for a moment to take a sip of his tea. Once his mouth got running, it was hard to stop. Better get a taste of his drink now before it inevitably got cold.
“It’s the same pattern, happens all the time. Guy feels kind of tired, goes in and gets a coffee. Next time he’s out, dude feels worse than he did the last time. Thought pops into his head, maybe he should get another coffee. Made him feel better last time, after all. He goes to the shop, gets a drink, feels better, and the cycle repeats.”
Yeah, the story was pretty wild, and by the way he was waving his arms as he spoke, you couldn’t blame anyone for thinking he was a little off his rocker. That might have been a little concerning, if Cody cared at all about other people’s impressions of him. He said whatever he wanted to say, and if anyone had a problem with it, too fuckin’ bad.
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General Goose
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
By most standards, Chuck was a guy who thought outside the box. He was a creative mind, after all, who sought solace and inspiration in unorthodox places, only mixed up with the conventional to keep the unorthodox from becoming routine. He was a guy who would contemplate the background assumptions of an argument, who would ask vexing questions and hope that news articles would provide more rigorous citations so he could verify things himself.
But, at the end of the day, he still knew where the box was. Even when outside it, he knew where he was in relation to the box. Could go back there and put something in the box, or take something out of it, whenever needed. He trusted the existence of the box. Knew of the importance of the box, as a kind of methodological and analytical foundation. Knew that, for all the imperfections of the box, there was no better way of storing the information and thoughts floating around one's mind.
Cody had forgotten what the box looked like.
And Cody, bless his anti-government and anti-business paranoia, was a fine advertisement for the virtues of knowing where the box was. One of those unscrupulous advertisements that was basically a 'don't be like this' warning. Much like how Chuck was an advertisement for not being short, or not getting too mired in a metaphor.
But still, Cody was fun. He liked Cody. Genuinely. He also liked winding Cody up. Not winding up in the sense of agitating him. Nah, facts did that. Winding him up in the sense one would wind up a toy. Just adding more fuel to the conspiracy theory, and watching him go. And, to be honest, Cody made a brilliant sounding board for Chuck's most novel thoughts.
"See, Cody, I heard something different." Whenever Chuck said those words, there was a nine in ten chance he would attempt to bring some reality to Cody's world, when his rantings became frustrating or risked veering into the offensive. There was a one-in-ten chance, however, that Chuck was giving up, and just embracing the madness. This was one of the latter times.
"I heard that they actually stop putting caffeine in your coffee after all." With that, he took a sip. He could feel the buzz of caffeine, meant for one Ashurbanipal - apparently the barista had knowledge of Assyrian kings. Or was a Civ player. "See, what they do, is they give you enough to get you hooked. And then they just slowly take the caffeine out, once you're addicted to the routine, so they can give you basically murky water for rip-off prices."
"Oh, and I heard there's a new medical treatment they're keeping secret." In reality, Chuck had had an idea for a sci-fi story. Or a revolutionary invention. But again, Cody made a good sounding board.
But, at the end of the day, he still knew where the box was. Even when outside it, he knew where he was in relation to the box. Could go back there and put something in the box, or take something out of it, whenever needed. He trusted the existence of the box. Knew of the importance of the box, as a kind of methodological and analytical foundation. Knew that, for all the imperfections of the box, there was no better way of storing the information and thoughts floating around one's mind.
Cody had forgotten what the box looked like.
And Cody, bless his anti-government and anti-business paranoia, was a fine advertisement for the virtues of knowing where the box was. One of those unscrupulous advertisements that was basically a 'don't be like this' warning. Much like how Chuck was an advertisement for not being short, or not getting too mired in a metaphor.
But still, Cody was fun. He liked Cody. Genuinely. He also liked winding Cody up. Not winding up in the sense of agitating him. Nah, facts did that. Winding him up in the sense one would wind up a toy. Just adding more fuel to the conspiracy theory, and watching him go. And, to be honest, Cody made a brilliant sounding board for Chuck's most novel thoughts.
"See, Cody, I heard something different." Whenever Chuck said those words, there was a nine in ten chance he would attempt to bring some reality to Cody's world, when his rantings became frustrating or risked veering into the offensive. There was a one-in-ten chance, however, that Chuck was giving up, and just embracing the madness. This was one of the latter times.
"I heard that they actually stop putting caffeine in your coffee after all." With that, he took a sip. He could feel the buzz of caffeine, meant for one Ashurbanipal - apparently the barista had knowledge of Assyrian kings. Or was a Civ player. "See, what they do, is they give you enough to get you hooked. And then they just slowly take the caffeine out, once you're addicted to the routine, so they can give you basically murky water for rip-off prices."
"Oh, and I heard there's a new medical treatment they're keeping secret." In reality, Chuck had had an idea for a sci-fi story. Or a revolutionary invention. But again, Cody made a good sounding board.
The leaves of a nearby tree rustled in the wind as Cody drummed his fingers on the table in front of him. He sat there for a moment, his eyebrows knitted together deep in thought. Chuck definitely brought up an interesting idea.
However, being interesting wasn’t enough to make it likely. Chuck’s inexperience in the area of conspiracies was definitely showing. All those late-night hours spent on online messageboards definitely gave Cody a leg up in that regard.
“Eh...well, I can see where you’re coming from.” He paused while he took a sip of his tea. The issue with that theory is that, if they stop putting the addictive ingredient in the coffee, the drinkers would eventually lose their dependence on the stuff and stop drinking it. Kinda like what happens when cigarette smokers quit cold turkey.”
A grin began to spread across Cody’s face. Not exactly an appropriate gesture to make at this point in time, but damned if it didn't feel good to have his theory “beat” another one. He continued on, a hint of smugness making its way into his voice.
“You see, it makes a lot more sense for them to make the coffee more addictive than less. Sure, taking the caffeine out may save them a few cents, but it’d be a bad idea in the long run because if the customer’s not addicted, they’ll stop coming, right?”
Cody tapped his the side of his head with his finger, his smile having reached a rather obnoxious size.
“You have to think about all the angles, my dude.” He continued speaking, moving into the next topic without even missing a beat. “So...what was that medical treatment you mentioned?”
However, being interesting wasn’t enough to make it likely. Chuck’s inexperience in the area of conspiracies was definitely showing. All those late-night hours spent on online messageboards definitely gave Cody a leg up in that regard.
“Eh...well, I can see where you’re coming from.” He paused while he took a sip of his tea. The issue with that theory is that, if they stop putting the addictive ingredient in the coffee, the drinkers would eventually lose their dependence on the stuff and stop drinking it. Kinda like what happens when cigarette smokers quit cold turkey.”
A grin began to spread across Cody’s face. Not exactly an appropriate gesture to make at this point in time, but damned if it didn't feel good to have his theory “beat” another one. He continued on, a hint of smugness making its way into his voice.
“You see, it makes a lot more sense for them to make the coffee more addictive than less. Sure, taking the caffeine out may save them a few cents, but it’d be a bad idea in the long run because if the customer’s not addicted, they’ll stop coming, right?”
Cody tapped his the side of his head with his finger, his smile having reached a rather obnoxious size.
“You have to think about all the angles, my dude.” He continued speaking, moving into the next topic without even missing a beat. “So...what was that medical treatment you mentioned?”
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General Goose
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
"Ah. Ah, ah, ah." Chuck held his coffee cup out. He kinda wished he had ordered decaf. Just to further heighten the illusion. He kept on saying 'ah', as if to interrupt Cody, to interject with some insightful and decisive point, even though Cody, ever respectful, had long yielded the floor to Chuck.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. You see, you can get addicted to habit, to routine, just as much as you do to substances." Chuck reiterated this point, knowing what he was saying was bullshit, but enjoying the debate nonetheless. It was worth honing and refining his repartoir of argumentative skills and logical tools. Even if the actual substance of the conversation was divorced from reality, Chuck was intent on making his case. On using facts. Trivia. On using clear logical progression.
And because a conspiracy theorist like Cody should never have their BS go unchallenged.
He really liked hanging out with Cody. Really liked Cody. Worth reiterating that point. "You see, I never said they go cold turkey. That's a strawman, my man. They wean you off. They transfer the addiction from one of substance to one of habit. And addictions to habit are far stronger than addictions to substance. You never seen someone addicted to decaf? It happens. My mom, case in point."
"And the thing is, an addiction to habit is all the more powerful. You can't sabotage a supply chain of habit. You can't get a detox from habit. You know, a lot of smokers, when they're quitting, they still like bringing things up to their lips. Because they're addicted to the motions." He let the obvious innuendo slide. Sometimes, devotion to an argument trumped his natural immaturity.
"You gotta think about all the angles, my man."
He'd won that debate. Wasn't gonna boast about it.
"Well, okay. I'll start with a question. Me and you. A great whale. A mushroom. A mosquito. We can all be crushed to death."
"No, no, no, no, no, no. You see, you can get addicted to habit, to routine, just as much as you do to substances." Chuck reiterated this point, knowing what he was saying was bullshit, but enjoying the debate nonetheless. It was worth honing and refining his repartoir of argumentative skills and logical tools. Even if the actual substance of the conversation was divorced from reality, Chuck was intent on making his case. On using facts. Trivia. On using clear logical progression.
And because a conspiracy theorist like Cody should never have their BS go unchallenged.
He really liked hanging out with Cody. Really liked Cody. Worth reiterating that point. "You see, I never said they go cold turkey. That's a strawman, my man. They wean you off. They transfer the addiction from one of substance to one of habit. And addictions to habit are far stronger than addictions to substance. You never seen someone addicted to decaf? It happens. My mom, case in point."
"And the thing is, an addiction to habit is all the more powerful. You can't sabotage a supply chain of habit. You can't get a detox from habit. You know, a lot of smokers, when they're quitting, they still like bringing things up to their lips. Because they're addicted to the motions." He let the obvious innuendo slide. Sometimes, devotion to an argument trumped his natural immaturity.
"You gotta think about all the angles, my man."
He'd won that debate. Wasn't gonna boast about it.
"Well, okay. I'll start with a question. Me and you. A great whale. A mushroom. A mosquito. We can all be crushed to death."
Cody suppressed his annoyance at being interrupted as he considered Chuck’s point. It was an interesting idea, for sure. Definitely plausible. As a theory, it stacked up well against Cody’s own.
He sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair for a moment. He couldn’t think of a proper rebuttal, but neither was he willing to admit defeat. It was one thing to allow Chuck to produce a standard, uncontroversial answer, but another to let himself be beaten on his own turf. Faced with this dilemma, Cody made a quick decision.
It was time to take the path of least resistance and allow his friend to change the subject.
Cody wasn’t 100% convinced of Chuck’s logic, of course, but he figured it wasn’t worth starting a long argument over, a decision that he had come to many times before. Perhaps it was the reason that their friendship existed in the first place, come to think of it. It was fun to debate, but not so fun to push things to the point of actually getting heated about it.
So. Anyway. Chuck’s question. Thoughts and images swirled around within Cody’s mind as he contemplated the riddle placed before him.
Me and you. Us. US? Possibly a reference to the United States, maybe a government program of some sort.
A great whale. Cody remembered having to read a book about a whale in English class. What was it called again? Moby...Moby Dick. Yeah, that was it.
Heh, Moby Dick.
Cody smirked, his train of thought temporarily interrupted.
...
Ok, back on track now. On to the mushroom. Mushroom. Probably a reference to drugs. Cody did enjoy doing shrooms from time to time, but definitely preferred the good old “green magic”. Though, as a medical treatment… possibly some kind of alternative medicine thing? He shelved that thought away in his mind as he continued.
Mosquito. He hated those. Always buzzing around, trying to find a place to crawl around, looking to suck his blood. Fucking bloodsuckers… Medical treatments often involved blood, so probably a good clue to take from that.
Lastly, the crushing to death. Crushing...to death. Death. Cody thought about the little mosquito from the previous phrase. Little death. The French had a phrase. La petite mort. He remembered reading it to be a slang term for orgasm. Crushing to orgasm…He winced. A little disgusting to think about, but as a figure of speech, it made sense.
Alrighty. Time to piece together the clues. US. Dick. Drug. Blood. Orgasm. Hmm….
Well, he remembered from sex ed that erections come from heightened blood flow to the penis.
Erections…
Drugs...
US government…
“Are you saying that the government is hiding a new treatment for erectile dysfunction? Seems kind of like a waste of taxpayer dollars."
Cody chuckled.
"Then again...politicians are usually geezers, so maybe it’d be of more interest to them than me…”
He sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair for a moment. He couldn’t think of a proper rebuttal, but neither was he willing to admit defeat. It was one thing to allow Chuck to produce a standard, uncontroversial answer, but another to let himself be beaten on his own turf. Faced with this dilemma, Cody made a quick decision.
It was time to take the path of least resistance and allow his friend to change the subject.
Cody wasn’t 100% convinced of Chuck’s logic, of course, but he figured it wasn’t worth starting a long argument over, a decision that he had come to many times before. Perhaps it was the reason that their friendship existed in the first place, come to think of it. It was fun to debate, but not so fun to push things to the point of actually getting heated about it.
So. Anyway. Chuck’s question. Thoughts and images swirled around within Cody’s mind as he contemplated the riddle placed before him.
Me and you. Us. US? Possibly a reference to the United States, maybe a government program of some sort.
A great whale. Cody remembered having to read a book about a whale in English class. What was it called again? Moby...Moby Dick. Yeah, that was it.
Heh, Moby Dick.
Cody smirked, his train of thought temporarily interrupted.
...
Ok, back on track now. On to the mushroom. Mushroom. Probably a reference to drugs. Cody did enjoy doing shrooms from time to time, but definitely preferred the good old “green magic”. Though, as a medical treatment… possibly some kind of alternative medicine thing? He shelved that thought away in his mind as he continued.
Mosquito. He hated those. Always buzzing around, trying to find a place to crawl around, looking to suck his blood. Fucking bloodsuckers… Medical treatments often involved blood, so probably a good clue to take from that.
Lastly, the crushing to death. Crushing...to death. Death. Cody thought about the little mosquito from the previous phrase. Little death. The French had a phrase. La petite mort. He remembered reading it to be a slang term for orgasm. Crushing to orgasm…He winced. A little disgusting to think about, but as a figure of speech, it made sense.
Alrighty. Time to piece together the clues. US. Dick. Drug. Blood. Orgasm. Hmm….
Well, he remembered from sex ed that erections come from heightened blood flow to the penis.
Erections…
Drugs...
US government…
“Are you saying that the government is hiding a new treatment for erectile dysfunction? Seems kind of like a waste of taxpayer dollars."
Cody chuckled.
"Then again...politicians are usually geezers, so maybe it’d be of more interest to them than me…”
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General Goose
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
"Uh. No."
This was why Chuck never gave Cody a straight, to the point description. Because otherwise, he'd lose out on the fun of seeing what sort of convoluted, jumbled mess he would spit out. It was a small window into his logic - and Chuck was sure the process was more beautiful than the outcome, which often seemed to lack rhyme or reason - but a beautiful window nonetheless. He smirked. Cody had been put on the defensive by Chuck's superior logic.
Chuck didn't mean to boast, but if he wanted to, he could be an amazing conspiracy theorist. He could do an Alex Jones parody, maybe. He'd be quite good at it. Able to expose the malevolent conspiracy theorists for the charlatans that they were.
"I mean, they might be. But I don't...see...why."
Chuck shook his head. Nope. Could not get distracted. He wanted to discuss his own bullshit ideas. On his own terms.
"No, no, no. So, the thing is," Chuck continued, omitting the disclosure that this was all in his head, stuff he thought would make for a riveting story, "is that surely, if you can find a surface small enough, hypothetically crushing bacteria should be possible too? And viruses and all that? And you can't develop an immunity to being squashed. And what is being developed right now? Nanomachines, son."
This was why Chuck never gave Cody a straight, to the point description. Because otherwise, he'd lose out on the fun of seeing what sort of convoluted, jumbled mess he would spit out. It was a small window into his logic - and Chuck was sure the process was more beautiful than the outcome, which often seemed to lack rhyme or reason - but a beautiful window nonetheless. He smirked. Cody had been put on the defensive by Chuck's superior logic.
Chuck didn't mean to boast, but if he wanted to, he could be an amazing conspiracy theorist. He could do an Alex Jones parody, maybe. He'd be quite good at it. Able to expose the malevolent conspiracy theorists for the charlatans that they were.
"I mean, they might be. But I don't...see...why."
Chuck shook his head. Nope. Could not get distracted. He wanted to discuss his own bullshit ideas. On his own terms.
"No, no, no. So, the thing is," Chuck continued, omitting the disclosure that this was all in his head, stuff he thought would make for a riveting story, "is that surely, if you can find a surface small enough, hypothetically crushing bacteria should be possible too? And viruses and all that? And you can't develop an immunity to being squashed. And what is being developed right now? Nanomachines, son."
Eh… Cody shrugged, drumming his fingers quietly on the table. It was worth a shot. After all, part of the fun of solving a riddle was the risk of getting it wrong. right? An easy problem would be hardly worth solving at all. In any case, Chuck had brought up an intriguing possibility.
As Chuck explained the next part of his story, Cody’s wandering eyes landed on the long ignored cup of tea sitting next to his arm. He picked it up and took a sip.
Cold. Cody put the cup back down, disappointed. This always seemed to happen. It was like time just...disappeared whenever he got sufficiently immersed into a conversation. Most likely some sort of trick of perception, but then again, you never really could know for sure. He made a mental note to investigate this phenomenon later.
Now, back to Chuck’s idea. Cody was no scientist, but it seemed to make some sense, at least hypothetically. It was a little outlandish, of course, but stranger things happened every day. It definitely wasn’t crazy enough to be dismissed outright. He wanted to know more.
“Well, that does sound pretty cool. What’s the angle, though? Who’s making it, the government? Why are they keeping it a secret?”
As Chuck explained the next part of his story, Cody’s wandering eyes landed on the long ignored cup of tea sitting next to his arm. He picked it up and took a sip.
Cold. Cody put the cup back down, disappointed. This always seemed to happen. It was like time just...disappeared whenever he got sufficiently immersed into a conversation. Most likely some sort of trick of perception, but then again, you never really could know for sure. He made a mental note to investigate this phenomenon later.
Now, back to Chuck’s idea. Cody was no scientist, but it seemed to make some sense, at least hypothetically. It was a little outlandish, of course, but stranger things happened every day. It definitely wasn’t crazy enough to be dismissed outright. He wanted to know more.
“Well, that does sound pretty cool. What’s the angle, though? Who’s making it, the government? Why are they keeping it a secret?”
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General Goose
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:51 pm
Okay cool. Cody liked it. Chuck could have a career as a Poe's law case study if he ever wanted to. Schroedinger's YouTube ranter - is he a parody or not? Chuck could be one of those. Yeah. Backup career numero cinco sorted out. Chuck grinned to himself, more at his identification of purpose than anything Cody said. Still though. It felt good.
Chuck shrugged. This was where he fell short. His damn innate aversion to logical fallacies and unsubstantiated bullshit made filling in the gaps all the more difficult. "Well, I don't know, man. It's all hazy. I'm not as connected to the..."
What was a polite way of saying 'fictional'?
Fuck it. "I'm not as connected to the methods of finding the unofficial accounts of things as you are." God, the words sounded wanky as they came out of his mouth. Probably not the best choice of words. But still. Fuck it. "So, yeah. If you could fill in the gaps in my..."
He waved his hand.
"Investigative...examinations of...subterfuge and cabals and...manufactured narratives." Granted, in Chuck's eyes, the bulk of manufactured narratives were the conspiracy theorists', but still. He'd handled it well. A useful talent. If Chuck was to be a politician, he would need to learn to deal with nuts that lacked Cody's warmth and charm.
Chuck shrugged. This was where he fell short. His damn innate aversion to logical fallacies and unsubstantiated bullshit made filling in the gaps all the more difficult. "Well, I don't know, man. It's all hazy. I'm not as connected to the..."
What was a polite way of saying 'fictional'?
Fuck it. "I'm not as connected to the methods of finding the unofficial accounts of things as you are." God, the words sounded wanky as they came out of his mouth. Probably not the best choice of words. But still. Fuck it. "So, yeah. If you could fill in the gaps in my..."
He waved his hand.
"Investigative...examinations of...subterfuge and cabals and...manufactured narratives." Granted, in Chuck's eyes, the bulk of manufactured narratives were the conspiracy theorists', but still. He'd handled it well. A useful talent. If Chuck was to be a politician, he would need to learn to deal with nuts that lacked Cody's warmth and charm.
Of course, of course. This wasn’t Chuck’s area of expertise, after all. He may have uncovered a small lead, but he definitely didn’t have much experience in the area as Cody did. Still, it was pretty cool that he got this far, at least.
Cody leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand as he pondered the situation. All other explanations aside, there was one that these cases nearly always pointed to. As the old saying went, follow the money. It was rather obvious who stood to gain from hiding a cure for a disease. The boy lifted his cup to his mouth and finished off his drink before presenting his conclusions.
“Well, you know, in these situations, there’s usually one group that profits from this sort of thing. It obviously benefits the pharmaceutical industry to produce treatments rather than cures. That way they can continue charging people for medicine rather than having them pay once and walk away without coming back.”
He paused briefly for dramatic effect before continuing.
“This treatment also sounds pretty complicated and expensive, from what you’ve described to me. It’s entirely possible that Big Pharma has decided that it’s just not profitable to offer it at this time, and their lobbyists have made sure that the government doesn’t pry into it. Obviously the mainstream news media is in the pocket of both big money and the government, so they’re not going to rock the boat either.”
Well, it wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it seemed to work pretty well. Clearly there were other reasons to cover up this sort of discovery, but without more information, he wouldn’t be able to confidently put them forward yet.
In any case, his eager waiting for Chuck’s response didn’t leave him disappointed. This back and forth continued long into the afternoon, the sun slowly descending low over the horizon. After several hours of animated discussion, they both agreed that it was getting a little late, and that they would have to continue this another time. Both students left Sweet Bay Coffee that evening feeling rather satisfied with themselves, each viewing himself as having been the wiser and more knowledgeable one.
Perhaps that was for the best.
((Chuck Soileaux and Cody Jenkins continued on the island))
Cody leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand as he pondered the situation. All other explanations aside, there was one that these cases nearly always pointed to. As the old saying went, follow the money. It was rather obvious who stood to gain from hiding a cure for a disease. The boy lifted his cup to his mouth and finished off his drink before presenting his conclusions.
“Well, you know, in these situations, there’s usually one group that profits from this sort of thing. It obviously benefits the pharmaceutical industry to produce treatments rather than cures. That way they can continue charging people for medicine rather than having them pay once and walk away without coming back.”
He paused briefly for dramatic effect before continuing.
“This treatment also sounds pretty complicated and expensive, from what you’ve described to me. It’s entirely possible that Big Pharma has decided that it’s just not profitable to offer it at this time, and their lobbyists have made sure that the government doesn’t pry into it. Obviously the mainstream news media is in the pocket of both big money and the government, so they’re not going to rock the boat either.”
Well, it wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it seemed to work pretty well. Clearly there were other reasons to cover up this sort of discovery, but without more information, he wouldn’t be able to confidently put them forward yet.
In any case, his eager waiting for Chuck’s response didn’t leave him disappointed. This back and forth continued long into the afternoon, the sun slowly descending low over the horizon. After several hours of animated discussion, they both agreed that it was getting a little late, and that they would have to continue this another time. Both students left Sweet Bay Coffee that evening feeling rather satisfied with themselves, each viewing himself as having been the wiser and more knowledgeable one.
Perhaps that was for the best.
((Chuck Soileaux and Cody Jenkins continued on the island))