Patrols in Sanford Florida

I hate to inject anything political or non-fiction onto my blog aside from the occasional photo from the border.  This blog is mainly for promoting my book series.  But this has to be said:  yes, there are NSM patrols making their rounds in Sanford, Florida.  I haven't been down there to check things out as of yet but I know guys who are definitely patrolling.  Even a few other groups have mounted small 5 or 6 man patrol teams to help out. 

I like the NSM's position on it all.  They aren't the judge and jury of what happened.  However, the majority of the anti-white left is.  To them, the Gospel is Zimmerman being a gun toting white man who's hobby was riding around trying to find a justifiable homicide he could commit on a black person to satisfy his racist bloodlust.  His victim was a saintly 12 year old child, as the media would have you believe.  Zimmerman isn't a white guy, isn't any sort of nationalist or even seems to harbor any right wing views aside from the obvious (gun ownership).  But I wasn't there.  I can imagine what happened but that's all I'd be doing:  imagining.  You can't get certified in police forensics using your imagination. 

Talking to one of the guys who is patrolling down there, it seems fairly quiet by Florida standards.  Nobody has ran into trouble so far and everything has gone fairly smooth.  The NSM has gained a lot of much needed experience working alongside the U.S. Border Guard in on the US/Mexican border and it is paying off now.  That isn't to say they couldn't use JT Ready or Harry Hughes out there right now.  That being said, these aren't patrols through the Cartel controlled CZ either.  It is a whole different ballgame and the guys doing the patrols know that.  Much caution is being taken to not create any more ripples than is already there. 

Let's all hope things end on a peaceful note and soon in Sanford.

Snake Holes and UBV

(Snake Holes come into play during the third Cruel New World Book:  FN3)

A Snake Hole, as it is commonly called, is the exit hole made by an Underground Bore Vehicle or UBV.  Both the United States and China produced UBV in secret before the war.  Only China perfected a practical model called the Scaptonyx-1 and since its production, has made vast improvements.  Below is a list of models and a brief description:

1 Scaptonyx-1 First production model of Chinese UBV produced between 2003-2005.  This is the most common of all Chinese UBV models.  It is 100 meters in length and roughly 40 feet tall.  Most of the space in the forward section is taken up by the craft's reactor.  As with all known UBV in the world, the craft is cylinder shaped.  Its speed is roughly 13 miles an hour, depending on subterranean conditions.  Unlike all other known Chinese models, it lacks any sort of water propulsion system.  It is also the most lightly armed, carrying a single plasma-cutter torpedo and one tunnel mine dispenser.  It has no defensive weapons for use while surfaced. 

While idle or in case of damage to the reactor, the Scaptonyx-1 can power itself by geo-thermal generators.  This feature was added to increase crew survivability before the UBVs became more reliable.  Scaptonyx-1 models did not include an escape system but a few have been retrofitted.  The Scaptonyx-1 has no "top-side comm" system, meaning it has to rely on a series of repeaters dropped in the tunnel it makes from its point of origin.  This is a costly and unreliable system which started being phased out of production after only a few years.  The only advantage is that the radio signal repeaters can be reused and can be used for a variety of electronic tasks in addition to UBV communication. 

Scaptonyx-1 can carry very little cargo (estimated 20 tons in the hold) but often makes up for this shortcoming by towing egg shaped trailers behind it (often referred to as "Rabbit Eggs" or "Breakfast Barges").  These trailers can be pulled in either direction in case of a problem.  Most are estimated to carrying up to 80 tons. 

One Scaptonyx-1 UBV was capture in Lake Michigan on the night of January 1st 2010 after it entered the lake due to a navigational error caused by a computer malfunction.  The craft's feature which allowed it to jettison the reactor/forward section came in handy and the crew/cargo section floated to the surface.  The crew escaped after setting the craft's self-destruct system in motion.  However, it too malfunctioned and the craft did not self destruct, possibly due to the same mainframe problem that had caused it to end up in the lake to start with.  When the crew reached the shore, they realized that the UBV was not going to explode as planned.  Frantically, several of the crew tried to reach the vehicle in a stolen civilian sailboat.  Not having much or any sailing experience in addition to the high winds that night, caused them to miss the UBV by half a mile.  By then, the sailboat's owner had noticed it stolen and reported it to the police, who reported the boat stolen to the Coast Guard.  The crewmen charged with trying a second time to scuttle the UBV were picked up by the Coast Guard and the boat returned.  Immediately, they knew something big was on their hands and took every step to cover it up.  This included a large area manhunt for the rest of the UBV crew.  All but one was captured and their fate is unknown to this day.  Little is known about the incident except that the US Navy rolled out their first production model UBV called "The Rattlesnake" a year later.  It is almost a direct copy of the Scaptonyx-1 except with a better mainframe, more efficient reactor and better electronics. Its cargo capacity was always a well kept secret but it is estimated to be about 10% more than the Scaptonyx-1.  Both the Chinese and American copies are normally crewed by 12-15.

2.  Scaptonyx-2.  Like the Scaptonyx-1 except it has almost no cargo capacity and carries a large amount of offensive weapons as well as some defensive weapons for surface use.  The Scaptonyx-2 carries two upwards-facing plasma-cutter torpedo tubes and normally 4 torpedoes per tube.  It carried two mine dispensers on either side towards the very aft section of the craft.  It carries a mine clearing device normally, which is a high powered laser which can burn through 100 meters of rock, though it is time consuming to use and requires that the craft is stopped.  The laser requires all or most of the reactor power to use and is prone to malfunction and has a short service life.  Larger UBV carry 2 to 4 such lasers for just such a reason.  Aside from mine clearing, the heavy device has no other apparent use.  The 2 model carries a surface defense pod which is deployed from the dorsal of the craft.  The pod is armed with two anti-tank missiles (various models) or two anti-air missiles (HN-5 Grail).  Mounted center in the pod is a 30mm cannon similar to what can be found on the BMP-3.  That pod can engage targets 360 degrees but has a massive dead zone due to its position on the UBV

3.  Scaptonyx-2A or Type A.  This model is a troop/light armor transport and carries no weapons except for the same surface defense pod carried on the model 2.  It is significantly longer and has more towing capacity.  No 2A has ever been examined by the west but they have been seen transporting troops and light airborne armor.  The ones subterranean encountered have deployed no weapon systems and therefore are assumed to be unarmed.  However, they are frequently known to be escorted by other UBV into hostile areas.

4.  Scaptonyx-3 Type A.  The Scaptonyx-3A is the biggest of any known Chinese UBV model.  It is the only model which is larger in diameter instead of just longer (roughly 60 feet), is 250 meters in length and has a crew of 150 plus a compliment of up to 60 marines.  This model is the only known type that carries a forward firing torpedo tube (vehicle has to be stopped to fire).  In addition to the forward firing tube, it carries dorsal, belly, port and starboard side torpedo tubes (4) each with an unknown quantity of torpedoes.  It carries a special cruise missile in an internal bay as well as four surface defense pods.  The model 3A is not known to carry any mine laying capability, not mine removal systems, relying on smaller UBV for support.  The main drawback to the hulking craft is its poor water performance.  Though it can stay submerged for an indefinite period of time, it very slow and very vulnerable to conventional submarine attacks. 

5.  Fire Worm Type A.  This type is of an entirely different design that the Scaptonyx line.  The Fire Worm is no longer deployed (or rather, detected) but its intended use was to create huge tunnels under the earth which would be filled with sea water.  This was supposed to allow submarines a way to travel under land" and into large seas and lakes.  Despite their calculations, this caused several large lakes in China to be completely drained. 

The tunneling caused several major earthquakes and tsunamis from 1998 until the program was halted in 2011 after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was after the 2010 Lake Michigan incident of Jan 1st and the existence of Chinese UBV were known in the West.  Naturally, the public was kept in the dark on every aspect of the subterranean travel, Chinese or otherwise.  Though accidental, the Chinese never accepted the blame for the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami nor any of the previous earthquakes and tsunamis which were directly attributed to large scale underground tunneling.  China insisted that the UBV captured in North America was the work of an independent group of scientists and engineers working in secret, unknown to the Chinese government.  The Chinese even arrested nearly a dozen scientists and engineers, claiming they were involved in development and production of the "single UBV craft", though some of the scientists’ fields were in no way related to subterranean travel or nuclear propulsion.  These arrests were meant for the eyes of the Western intelligence community and were never made public.  The scientists and engineers in question simply disappeared (presumably forced into other secret projects or terminated).  China also argued that the UBV craft which was captured was much too small to cause any noticeable earth movement.  China refused to pay for any damages caused during the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.  This led to deteriorating relations between China and the West. 

China terminated the Fire Worm program(s) and attempted to lead the West to believe that it was diverting the technology and it’s funding towards its moon base programs and away to large scale tunneling vehicles/machines.  This was only partially true.  The smaller, safer and more efficient Scaptonyx model UBVs caused less earth disturbance and thanks to their deeper tunneling ability, were far more difficult to detect.  The disasters caused by the Fire Worm program perhaps helped set the stage for WW3. 

The West, mainly the United States, took great steps towards early detection of UBV.  The US constructed and deployed deep-earth sensors and top secret satellites designed to track UBV movement.  China responded in the months before the onset of WW3 by sending out dozens of UBV-drones heading towards false targets.  No one in the West has been able to figure out what these drones were or how they operated. 

Type 105 Underground Mine.  The Type-105 mine is a UBV deployed mine with a conventional payload.  It has a dual use.  It is used to create an underground shockwave to damage or destroy another UBV or it can be used to close up a tunnel behind the UBV to decrease the chances of flooding/surface drainage.  These mines can also double as naval mines, with a variety of settings to account for depth and fuse. 

Type 110 Underground Nuclear Mine.  This mine is the same size and roughly the same weight as the T-105 and can be used from the same dispenser.  This mine can be used to create small earth quakes, sink holes and small tsunamis.  It can also be set close to the surface to destroy underground installations.  This mine has no naval features such as found on T-105.  Very few of the T-110 exists and only two have ever been recorded as being used.  It is not common practice to find these mines aboard larger UBV since complications with such a weapon have led to the loss of at least one or both UBVs who have been known to use them.  The danger involved in the T-110 deems them unpractical for use from larger, more expensive and strategically crucial UBV or in a fleet environment.

Type-3 Plasma Cutting Torpedo (PCT)  The T-3 PCT is the standard Chinese subterranean torpedo.  It replaced the Type-2, which was said to be much less reliable.  This is difficult to imagine since the T-3 PCT cannot be described as reliable itself.  The T-3 PCT frequently explodes before reaching the target.  The torpedo has to stay in constant communication with the UBV and when this communication is broken (frequently), the torpedo digs wildly in random directions.  As a failsafe, the T-3 has been fitted with a self-destruction system that activates after a period of time with no communication between itself and the UBV.  The torpedoes are easily jammed and most Western underground installations maintain PCT jamming equipment.  An experimental UBV belonging to the US (UBV-13 is rumored to be have been the craft’s name) was lost while carrying out experiments with captured Chinese PCT.  The plasma cutter did not reach the required temperature, causing the torpedo to crush itself and explode right outside the dorsal area of the American UBV.  The UBV was lost with all hands.  No further experiments with Chinese made PCT were carried out and the US elected not to attempt to copy their design. 



Yang Jian Base.  Yang Jian is a deep underground UBV base operated by the PLA.  At least a dozen UBV of various sizes are based there, miles below the earth’s surface.  Many speculate that this base is the largest manmade object underground and possibly the deepest.  No one in the west is sure how the structure is held together despite extreme pressures.  Some speculate that the base floats in an underground lava lake and is constructed with some sort of unknown alloy.  Size and location of the base are speculated on by the movements of UBV to and from the area.  The base is also heavily defended both with underground mine fields and UBV traps.  An electronic PCT “screen” surrounds portions of the area.  One attempt has been made by the US to destroy this base using shockwaves from nuclear weapons.  This attempt was unsuccessful and it was decided that the UBV threat was best dealt with only when necessary, due to rapidly depleting nuclear resources. 

Post-WW3 UBV status.  Roughly half the UBV belonging to China and the US have been either destroyed as a result of combat, depleted all ammo for their capital weapons or are MIA.  Being one of the more expensive and likewise destructive weapon systems either country possess, their use has always been limited.  In the case of the PLA, UBV have mostly been used to pave the way for invasion to compensate for lack of naval support.  In contrast, the US has mainly deployed UBV in attempts to repel such invasions.  The few that remain now are kept in reserve by what is left of main body of the remaining US government and the PLA seems to hold to the popular theory that one day UBV will be the only serious weapons left in the world. 

Non-Chinese/US UBV  Numerous UBV exists in the hands of various nations but none have been used in a combat role so far.  North Korea posses a donated Chinese UBV (model unknown) but is said to have since decommissioned it.  France had two UBV before WW2 but neither was used directly for military purposes.  The status of the French vehicles is unknown.  The UK had a fleet of five UBV before the onset of WW3.  Three were lost to combat, one was reported MIA and their last UBV was stolen by a group of defectors fleeing to China.  Little is known about the German, Russian and Italian UBV projects but each country had programs in place before the war. 

Unknown UBV or Unidentified UBV activity.  After WW3, remaining UBV saw limited combat.  On several occasions both Chinese and US UBV encountered unidentified UBV in their fields of operation.  This incidences were often dismissed as geological anomalies or equipment glitches, except of course when the unknown UBV engaged either side.  Rumors persist of an unknown UBV type possessing fast, reliable torpedoes, superior speed and electronic jamming capabilities.  Two UBV belonging to the US reported being fired upon by these unknown UBV, normally operating in pairs.  One of the US vehicles suffered damage and was nearly destroyed.  3 Chinese UBV have been destroyed by unknown UBV, with no US or UK vehicles claiming the kills.  Satellite data have confirmed unknown UBV surfacing in Antarctica by a UBV of a previously unknown type.   During WW3, a Spanish oil tanker came across a surfaced UBV of unknown type and origin.  No UBV activity was reported in the area by any country.  The tanker hailed the craft but received no answer.  It was still manned and shadowed the tanker while surfaced for 60 miles.  During this time a nearby Italian cruiser was dispatched to the scene but by the time it arrived the unknown UBV had submerged and was gone.   No sonar trace could be found by the cruiser.  Presumably, the mystery UBV burrowed and disappeared, showing substantially better performance than any known military of civilian model in existence.  Skeptics concluded that the Italian tanker crew had mistaken a capsized Chinese submarine for a UBV.  A Chinese sub had been sunk in the area but its wreck was accounted for some 200 miles away, having gone down two weeks earlier.  The Italian captain was a former naval officer himself and knew exactly what a submarine and a UBV looked like. 

Fetcher gang warfare

This brief account of a skirmish between the Fetcher gangs outside the areas of Atlanta not controlled by Mars Tribe.  This account is given in an interview done by the Argentinian news service to a Fetcher named "Bliss."  Though the news team is English speaking, they were forced to use a translator because Bliss is a near-mute moldy, though of average human intelligence. (See Moldies or Man-2). 

News Agency of Argentina:  Start by telling us your name and a little background on yourself.

Bliss:  My name is Bliss.  I'm a second generation Man-2 and I work in hazardous area salvage.  Some would call me a Fetcher.  That's slang.  Slang is when you use a special word you like to use.  You apply it to something that already has a name. 

I grew up near Stewy (Fort Stewart).  My folks weren't part of Atom Bomb Eaters (a large local tribe) so we didn't have much.  We lived near a pond and ate fish.  My mom and dad grew corn.  One year it was too dry.  Our crops died and the pond almost dried up.  It became just a big mudhole and all the fish died.  They left to talk to ABE about use going to live in Stewy.  There was some kind of trouble going on there.  Must have got caught up in it.  Neither of them ever came back.  My brothers and sisters went south down the road, looking for help.  I don't know what happened to them.  Basemodels probably killed them, that was all that lived to the south.  A basemodel is like you men with the cameras.  No offense. 

I went north.  I got in with a new family on a farm outside of Atlanta or Toxic City or CT.  Good people.  Most of them were Originals like my parents but weren't too bad off.  They traded with Mars Tribe sometimes.  Those guys were loaded.  I knew from an early age that I wanted to be loaded too. 

News Agency of Argentina:  Describe life on the farm, away from your parents. 

Bliss:  Wasn't bad.  They told me about God.  I learned how the man who owned the farm and his wife both had cancer.  Something in the soil, they think.  They became moldies during the war.  No more cancer.  That was 20 years ago or more.  I won't say his name because he doesn't believe in what I do.  But I believe in God and his miracle.  Have you ever seen a miracle?  The farmer did and he thanked God everyday that he woke up without cancer.  That was everyday.  He also thanked Jesus.  Him too. 

Work was hard but it was rewarding.  What I mean is, it felt good to do the work.  We grew all kinds of stuff.  Had pigs too.  Basemodels tried to rob us a few times, stole a couple of pigs.  We killed one and put another one out of his misery.  Stomach shot.  Did him a favor.  But the farmer felt bad so he built a church.  We also took some warning sighs from around the outskirts of Atlanta a placed them around the farm here and there.  I'm not sure what they said but it was about chemical hazards.  Nobody tried to rob us after that.  Farmer and his wife says it was the church and me and the other hands say it was the signs. 

One night the farmer saw us burning a field we'd harvested.  Said he saw the devil's face in the flames.  He and his wife said at church that the devil had been summoned by one of the farm hands or the house women.  That next day someone trashed my room while I was working.  Maybe they were looking for something, I thought.  They might think I summoned the devil.  It seems like if the devils face was in the fire, we who were closest to the fire would have seen him.  I told the farmer that and he asked me how the devil had tempted me to evil. 

I have never drank alcohol, cursed or stolen anything from a living person.  The devil tempts me like anybody but unlike a lot of people, I do not give in.  Some do, maybe some of you, and that doesn't mean you are evil.  You just have to not let him tempt you a second time or a third or a fourth or a fifth.  Even the old Bible says that. 

So I left the farm and go in with a Fecter gang.  I was good at it.  Brave.  Strong.  Fast.  High chem tolerance.  DD (Death Dust) didn't phase me.  Wasn't long before I had a real share in the gang. 

News Agency of Argentina:  How long had you been in the gang?

Bliss:  Let's see, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold, hot and cold again.  3 years? 

News Agency of Argentina:  What can you tell us about the battle at Shoe Warehouse?

Bliss:  Everything.  Most Man-2 don't wear shoes.  Some do but don't need to.  Some like sandals, give the feet air.  Feels good in the sun.  Mars Tribe didn't care about a warehouse full of shoes.  It was even called Show Warehouse.  Battery Bob, the leader of the gang, he said it even had words that spelled "Shoe Warehouse" across the top of the building.  If you could read, you'd know it said that and that would tell you what was inside the building.  Every Fetcher gang that does well has someone that can read.  You also need at least two guys who can speak loudly.  Those are the facts. 

Mars Tribe told everybody who was fetching that they could have anything near Shoe Warehouse.  They put a green mark on the road signs to let people know that it was a free area.  That is how you know.  Orange or Red means their stuff:  stay out or die.  They didn't want the shoes and had taken out all the food they needed from a food store across the street. 

You can sell shoes to Basemodels and get good stuff.  They always need shoes.  If your stuff is chemical free and not radioactive, they'll take it.  We knew we could make out good after we found out about the place.  Mars Tribes sends guys out, you see.  You pay them and they'll tell you what areas Mars Tribe has opened up to Fetcher gangs.  Rules though.  You've got to have rules.  No more than two Basemodels per party.  No automobiles.  Only what you can carry and don't leave traps. 

News Agency of Argentina:  Were there other gangs in the area?

Bliss:  Yeah.  That was the problem.  There had been hard rain lately.  That brings out the Basemodels.  Toxics in Toxlanta aren't as dangerous then.  DD is harmless when wet.  Wet with water.  Or soft drink.  Or soup.  It wouldn't matter. 

Like I said, rules are rules and they are there for a reason.  Basemodels don't think our rules matter.  They want us to obey their but they don't act like ours mean anything.  Not you all but most.  We came across a party that was nothing but Baselines, all wearing chemical suits.  Some call them "chem suits."  Chemical-suits is the proper word.  We saw them over at the food store.  One waved at us and we waved back.  No problems so far.  Battery Bill said for me to stand outside Shoe Warehouse and keep an eye on them.  I didn't mind but I wish I'd had a gun.  All I had was a sword, the same one I have now. (a cheap Samurai sword, made in India but with a good edge---ed). 

The other 5 guys went into the dark building and started loading up shoes.  Four guys carry, two walk security.  You need six people.  Four plus two is six.  I lost sight of the Basemodels.  I was going to walk in and tell Battery Bill but then something happened.

KA-Boom!  I heard an explosion and then screaming.  It wasn't the loudest but loud enough to scare the piss or urine out of me.  I heard the guys shouting at one another.  "Bring him into the light!" somebody called out. 

It was Cricket Cap.  He always wore a hat with a cricket on it.  Fishing hat or something.  Let me start by saying this was the first time I'd ever seen anyone with both hands blown off.  Just blood stumps...like bloody tree stumps after a tree has been cut down.  He was in shock too.  Shaking, cold and talking nonsense.  He tried to say that a pair of boots at had exploded.  Battery Bill tried to tell him, no it was a bomb or a booby trap.  After just a few minutes, Cricket Cap was dead.  They couldn't stop the bleeding.  Battery Bill cried and said he blamed himself.  I actually blame whoever set the trap.  That seems like the person who you'd consider guilty. 

News Agency of Argentina:  Who set the trap?

Bliss:  I don't know.  Everybody immediately said it was Basemodels who did it.  Them across the street.  So Battery Bill says two things,  they are there illegal and they set the trap.  King was a good fetcher and he says, we should just go find a Mars Ganger and tell them.  Anger can make things hard to figure out.  Everybody has been mad before and anyone who has been mad over a killed friend knows how hard it can be to think.  Think about what you are doing at the time.  Everybody but King said the Basemodels set the trap and everybody was getting mad at King too, so I kept my mouth shut. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What happened next? 

Bliss:  We didn't have many guns.  King had a shotgun, pump action.  Battery Bill carried a mini-14.  Very nice gun.  Only two mags though.  Joker, King's younger brother, carried a .380 pistol.  Me and Locks carried just swords and a couple of good knives.  Locks had a couple of fire bombs.  Molotov Cocktails people called them.  Invented in Asia, the home of China. 

Battery Bill told me to follow Joker and Locks to follow King.  He'd stay nearby with his rifle.  He told us to sneak around to the sides of the buildings and wait.  When the Basemodels came out, whoever was closest ambushed.  That means to jump out and attack someone.  Jump out from hiding.  Whoever was not closest was to come running once they heard shooting.  If they tried to run, they'd run into the others or him.  Dead meat, we all thought. 

Me and Joker hid between a couple of old cars.  I hoped that the Basemodels didn't come out where we were but they did.  Joker was excited and popped up from over the hood and started shooting his .380. 

I looked up but had nothing to shoot.  All I could do was watch.  Don't know why I was even there.  Blap-Blap-Blap---a Basemodel in a green chemsuit grabbed his arm and dropped the rifle he was carrying.  It was a nice AR-15.  Those are the best for a lot of reasons.  (Edited---Bliss trails off talking about the benefits of carrying an AR type rifle until we got him back on the subject---ed)  I wanted to rush out an grab it but didn't. 

Joker shot 8 times or maybe 9.  All that shooting and he only hit one person from just a few cars away.  The other Basemodels, must have been 10 or so, more than we'd thought, fired back at us.  Plunk, plink, plunk!  Bullets were making Swiss cheese out of the cars we were behind.  Swiss cheese is made in Europe.  Or America.  Or anywhere I guess. 

Joker reloaded his pistol so fast that he even dropped a few bullets on the asphalt.  He didn't bother to pick them up.  He just raised his head to shoot and all I heard was something that sounded like someone dropping a melon off the roof of a house.  Joker just stood there leaning over the hood of the old car.  He was fine except he had no head.  No head = dead.  It doesn't matter who you are and how tough you are supposed to be. 

I pulled Joker's headless body back down.  You guessed it, shot in the head by the Basemodels.  I tried to get the pistol out of his hand but he wouldn't give it up.  I think his last thought was "I have to hold on to this pistol no matter what."  I gave up and started climbing under the cars away from the shooting.  The shooting stopped though and I heard shouting.  Boom!  Someone, either King or one of the Basemodels fired a shotgun.  I heard Battery Bill shooting from where he was across the street. 

That was when something under one of the cars caught my rig.  I had left my pack behind across the street but still had my rig on.  I started to take it off then thought about how much I liked it.  So I just struggled with it. 

The shooting stopped and I heard the Basemodels talking through masks.  They killed King, I knew that and they weren't sure they had killed Joker but pretty sure.  I was sure he was dead.  Both brothers, dead and gone, I thought.  It was sad but I had my own problems, you know. 

All they had tried to do was make a little money and it amounted to getting bombed and shot.  I knew Battery Bill and Locks had taken off, I was sure of that.  Gone.  I didn't blame them.  You know, problems of my own. 

I had just got free from whatever had me hung up.  That was when I see a gas mask face staring looking right into mine.  Someone looked down to see if anyone was hiding under the cars and it was me.  It scared us both but I did something I didn't even think about doing.  I reached with both hands and yanked the mask off the Basemodel's face as hard as I could.  It slipped off and out from under his hood.  I saw his face for a second.  Surprise was how he looked.  He put his hand over his mouth and nose and tried to snatch the mask out of my hands.  I don't know about you but I have a good grip.  I can hold a coffee can full of lead for an hour.  Maybe not an hour. 

He finally choked and died, almost as quick as having his head blown off but not as gross.  I heard the other Basemodels saying, "Jackson?  Jackson?"  Then they came running.  I crawled out quick and took off through the parking lot.  Bullets whizzed by me, close too.  I knew I'd get hit but there is something you'd do well to learn.  Most people don't shoot as good wearing a gas mask.  They shot worse than Joker.  At least he'd hit somebody.  If they would have hit somebody, that somebody would have been me. 

I got to where I thought Battery Bill and Locks might be.   They were no where to be found.  Just poor dead Cricket Cap.  The Basemodels were behind me but going slow, cautious.  They thought I might have a gun. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What did you do then?

Bliss:  Hid in the shoe store.  I didn't think about it until later but the reason they didn't follow me in was that they saw Cricket Cap and figured out what had happened.  They knew the trap that had killed him had been inside the building.  They knew there might be more.  And besides, nobody wants to go into a dark building not only full of traps but with someone doing an ambush somewhere inside.  I already told you what an "ambush" was. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What did you do after they left you alone?

Bliss:  I don't know why, but I followed them.  I thought maybe I'd see someone from Mars Tribe maybe and be able to show them where the Basemodels were.  We all have to stick together, you know.  It was easy to follow them too.  They had a hurt man with them and even though he was bandaged up, he was still bleeding.  I think it must have been the one Joker shot in the arm.  When the suits get punctured, the Basemodels don't stick around anyway.  It was a drop here and a drop there, but it was plenty enough to track them.  You also learn to look for smudges in the dust, poison kind and regular kind.  It had been dry for a while too, even easier to track somebody.

News Agency of Argentina:  Did you eventually find them?

Bliss:  Yes!  I'd lost them for a little while but then found them again.  They were under a bridge making camp.  But when I saw them, it all made since.  They had been tracking Battery Bill and Locks.  They had caught them too.  I didn't know it but I'd been on the trail of my friends and my enemies at the same time.  Battery Bill and Locks looked like they'd been beaten up, but were standing beside a tall metal pole or pipe sticking out of the ground.  It went all the way up to the top of the bridge.  Each had one hand handcuffed to a chain that ran through a metal loop that was bolted onto the pole. 

The Basemodels had a camp set up there but it was temporary I think.  There was a huge water tank or something turned over with a door cut into the side.  Over that door was a showerhead, maybe so they could wash off the Death Dust.  You always know a regular human place since they have to keep the DD off of them.  I don't care for it either and it taste terrible.  It kills them though.  Quick.  Everybody knows that around here.

A few of the Basemodels came up with some old car tires.  The tires could have been from trucks too.  Hard to tell from where I was hiding.  They cut the tires and put them around the pole, just a few feet between Battery Bill and Locks.  There was a big stack of them. 

That was when one of them said, "This is payback for our friend you did like that."  Or something like that.  I could hardly hear them. 

They took one of Locks' own firebombs and threw it into the tires.  It caught on fire but only burned in the middle of the tires. 

"We can stand this all night!" was what Battery Bill shouted. 

"Just wait," said one of the Basemodels.  "When it gets going, you'll pull one another into it.  The one who lives can go free!  Sound like a deal, mold-trash?" 

They said "mold-trash" a lot too.  They were all derma-phobes.  Dermaphobia is the worst thing that can be wrong with anyone.  You can't hate somebody just because they an physical improvement of yourself. 

"We're good friends," Lock hollered.  "You'll never make us do that!"

"Just wait," the evil Basemodel said again, from under his ugly looking gas mask. 

The tires began to blaze and the heat was too much.  Fire will make you do anything and say anything.  Battery Bill was trying to get away from the heat just a little at first but even just a little caused him to pull Locks closer to the raging fire around the pole.  Locks screamed as his shirt caught on fire.  I didn't want to watch but I did want to see who would win, so I kept watching. 

Locks was bigger than Battery Bill and gave a hard snatch on the chain.  It pulled Battery Bill right into the burning tires.  He let out a holler like you wouldn't believe and literally jumped the other way.  He was burned bad in his arm and face.  They say some Man-2 don't feel much pain.  That is only a few and that wasn't Locks or Battery Bill, I can tell you that. 

Battery Bill dug his feet into the ground and leaned back.  He pulled Locks into the flames, this time on purpose, I think.  He leaned back so far that he almost laid down on the dirt.  Locks jerked the chain so hard that he dislocated Battery Bill's wrist, you could tell.  I thought he might pull Bill's whole hand off.  But he didn't. 

Locks whole arm, shoulder and face was in the fire.  He thrashed around but couldn't get a good foothold to pull himself out of the fire with.  Battery Bill jerked on the chain with all his might, trying to pull it with his good hand.  Suddenly he cursed and let go.  The chain was red hot where he'd grabbed.  Locks fell out of the fire a little and dragged Battery Bill just a little closer.  But Locks was done for.  His whole face was burned and was nothing he could do even though he was still close to the roaring fire.  He tried to stand and instead just fell.  A few minutes later, he was dead. 

It was sad to me, so much that I cried as I crawled away from hiding place nearby.  Anyone will tell you that I don't cry easily either.  We'd tortured and killed dozens of Basemodels with fire but not that way.  When we did it, it was to teach the Basemodels a lesson like not to come on our land, take what was ours or not give us what we needed more than them.  It wasn't because they were "normal" and we were Man-2.  It wasn't because of hate. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What happened to Battery Bill?

Bliss:  I don't know.  I never saw him again.  He was badly burned and I knew even if the Basemodels let him go, he wouldn't be doing any fetching for a long time.  I had to make a living still.  Also, I wanted to get as far away from the Basemodel camp as I could.  Seeing a Basemodel burned up and hearing him scream was different.  You knew they deserved it and even if that particular one being burned or tortured some other way didn't deserve what they got, their kind did----all of them!  But seeing Locks burned that way and Battery Bill being forced to kill him was too much.  It was all over a simple misunderstanding. 

News Agency of Argentina:  Do you still believe it was that party of normals that set the bomb that killed your friend?

Bliss:  If it wasn't them, it was some just like them. 

News Agency of Argentina:  Do you want to kill all normals?

Bliss:  No, some are okay, like you.  But there can't be any peace until we are all Man-2.  At least there can't be any peace until we have everything we need.  When the war broke out and God punished Basemodels, they were so jealous of us that they killed us on sight, even little kids.  They are still jealous of us and they all hate us deep down, even if they don't show it.  Not you all though.  But Most, most all. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What if all the normals moved to South America or Australia and left all the Man-2 here?

Bliss:  They'd take everything with them, I've been told that.  They would take their farms, animals, vehicles, weapons and their women.  What do you call a Basemodel trying to swim with a rifle? A drowner!  You see what I mean?  They are the greediest kind of animal on earth. 

News Agency of Argentina:  What do you think of the Moldy tribes that are peaceful and trade with the normals?

Bliss:  Wait and see.  I heard a preacher say something once.  "Nothing lasts forever, nothing but extinction."