Then we turned to Deadpan and asked him what he knows about the computer game Alien Search. Deadpan never gushes but he seemed immensely proud as he explained how he conceived the idea of a reality game and then developed the software for Alien Search. Plucky was furious: “How could you hide this from us?” Deadpan looked surprised then replied that he didn’t know we were interested. When a tiger got angry at Lmao he told the tiger: “You don’t need to bite my head off.”
Justin is telling Plucky and me that he learned about the Alien Search computer game from a popup ad on his smartphone. According to the ad, the first level would be reached when the user purchases a ticket to Hawaii from a sponsoring airline. Justin states that his mother lets him use her credit card for after-school events and has never told him that he isn’t allowed to purchase plane tickets to Hawaii. Lmao invented a fireproof suit but he says he’s not about to ride off into the sunset.
As Plucky and I scan the beach wondering what to do next, our attention is focused on two areas of interest. First, all of the gamers who arrived after Justin are treating him like a rock star, snapping pictures with their phones and recording his every move to share on their social media accounts. Of greater concern to us however is the fact that Deadpan is always at his side, whispering to him and helping to keep the crowd at bay. We summoned both of them to my spaceship. I don’t understand the appeal of impressionism; Deadpan says it’s just different strokes.
I’m beginning to lose count of the number of rubber rafts washing onto our shore. An occasional ka-ching sounds forth as one more gamer touches onto the beach and announces his or her ascension to a new level. As I help with their rafts and direct each of them to a shaded area, Plucky and the others hurry to and from our spaceships, bringing sunscreen and juice boxes. Lmao had a race with a whale once; he says it blew him out of the water.
Plucky picked up an unusual radar signal which she at first mistook for whales. I brought a telescope to the beach and was eventually able to make out what appeared to be specks in the water. As they drew closer, I realized that the specks were actually rubber rafts, each carrying a young Earthling gamer. I ran and told Plucky; then I texted the king. When I told Deadpan that someday I would like to travel beyond the horizon, he said that’s out of sight.
Lmao has learned a new word. Justin followed Lmao to the other side of the island and Lmao showed him how to climb a coconut tree. When Justin’s phone awarded him a level, he pumped his fist and declared ‘ka-ching”. Now whenever a coconut hits the ground, Lmao pumps a fist and laughs: “ka-ching ka-ching”. When Lmao heard they were looking for actors for a jungle movie, he said: “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”
Plucky and I met in her control room and did some research; we were unable to find any information for the computer game Alien Search. Yet somehow Justin has made his way to our island and appears to be quite comfortable among us. Of particular note is that he and Deadpan are hitting it off so well; looking at them you would think they were long time friends. Deadpan once used a time machine that didn’t have any shock absorbers; he says it was a throwback to another era.
