Deer and a Horrifying Vision of the Future

Ah yes, camping. The more I look back on it I yearn once again to see the proud cedars and oaks, to hear the gentle wind snake down the valley, to see wild turkeys lead a silent parade through the fields in the wee hours of the morning. But I do not miss the cold; the bitter, frigid cold that threatened me at all hours of the day and night, the cold that made my moustache quiver and my fingers freeze in place so I have no idea whether I have arthritis or some awful paralyzing disease.



See? I told you, that deer was charging straight for me, I hazard to guess that the only reason it fled was because it saw my moustache and immediately realized that is was a man it headed towards.

As for that science-fiction I wrote, it's all fragments of much larger stories so I think some explaining is in order: The year is 2099, mankind has colonized other planets and moons including Mars, Europa, Titan and even Mercury. All the interplanetary trade and politics is regulated by one organization: The IASA (International AeroSpace Administration). The IASA, in addition to many other independent space agencies and corporations are slowly taming the Final Frontier as mankind is headed towards a golden age of science and exploration.

The catch? Killer robots from Mercury. An uprising from sabotaged artificial intelligences has made Mercury even more inhospitable then it already was and now the so-called Killbots are waging a war against the Human race.

Our story begins on Titan, where an unassuming colony is receiving visitors of the hostile kind...

Henry's heart pounded as he loaded a fresh clip into his gun. The readout went from 00 to 45 as the ammunition clicked.
"This is it." He said. His knees knocked together and his sweat ran cold as the sound of machinery came down the hallway. Through the thick yellow haze of the leaking atmosphere he could see the dark monolithic form slowly moving towards him.

"Ready...now!" Both engineers turned and opened fire as the hallway exploded with the sound of tearing metal.

45...37...21

Henry was emptying every last bullet into the shining metal machine.

19...10...5

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" The Killbot screamed as sparks flew.

3...2...1

Zero. Both guns clicked empty, the Killbot and the wall behind it were pock-marked rubble, totally inert. Henry and Debbie breathed heavily through their bulky masks, their goggles fogged. Debbie was still shakily pointing her gun at the broken Killbot.

"I think it's dead." Henry said. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before more come."

They ran. The Killbot however glared at the fleeing Humans with it's glowing red eye. It swiveled it's death-ray to face them and fired. Debbie's suit immediately burst into flame as the beam hit her. She collapsed on the floor, he screams echoing through the radio.

"Keep going!" She choked as her skin boiled. The Killbot fired again and she exploded in her suit.

"CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY!" The Killbot shouted as Henry ran for Sector Q.

...

So yes, that's what I predict the future to be like. There'll be flying cars, sure. There'll even be world peace and an end to world hunger. But keep this in mind, there will also be Killer Robots and you cannot escape from them, ever.

Campin'

I just got back from a week long camping trip at William Hesie County Park and immediately gorged myself on Internet. That's not to say the trip wasn't enjoyable, it was. The first two days however, it rained. Alot. Thankfully I had brought a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five and Frankenstein, I hadn't read either before and they were predictably depressing except for when the Tralfamadorians showed up, that was a hoot. I also started writing some of my own science-fiction while it was raining and some of them have very gruesome death scenes. I might put it on here if it's good enough.

After the rain stopped I finally was able to walk around and explore the park. I went on the Canyon Oak Trail, then the Desert View Trail, then other trails with similar names. As far as I could tell, basically all of them. The Desert View Trail is the one that stood out to me the most, a long meandering path that goes up hills that surround the park and ends at the very top. By the time I got up there I was over 4,000 feet above sea level. At the top is a little granite platform with a telescope. That was all fine and good but I was more concerned with getting down, the wind was so cold and so strong that I felt like I would either flash-freeze up there or be blown over the side and fall all the way to the bottom.

Other then that, we went to Julian which is a little town that's just a mile away. We had breakfast there and looked around the gift shops, I bought a little crow plushie as it is my tradition to buy a bird every time we visit. It's the reason why I'm surrounded by owls in all the videos I appear in.

Speaking of videos, I took a couple while we were there! Including one of a deer running past me.

I looked that deer straight in the eyes, it couldn't have been more than three yards away. I could see the dew on it's fur coat, suddenly it started galloping right towards me but turned and fled into the hills and I got it all on video.