No Aladdin summoned me. There is no magic lamp I can call home, no magic ring that can compel my presence. I am the result of terrible experiment.
Fabulous cosmic power, itty-bitty living space. That has always been the boon and the curse of my kind. But what if you could have the power, but not the curse?
I am the answer to that question. My name is Hydrogen, and I am a free djinn. Those of you versed in history curse my very existence, but this is not your story. From the moment I came into existence, I have never had any illusions as to what my legacy would be. Humans fear what they do not understand, and fearing one of the djinn is hardly irrational. I forgive you your fears, and ask only for your attention.
Much of what you have heard is true. Humanity had, indeed, taken to the stars. They had, indeed, discovered that many so-called supernatural creatures from legend were in fact various extra terrestrial beings. They did, indeed, bring their formidable scientific prowess to bear on the legends of the djinn, and they did, indeed, discover the truth of our existence. An enlightened civilisation, they sought to free us from what they perceived - not unreasonably - as slavery.
Our sense to serve the master of our talisman object was innate - genetic, the scientists called it. We could no more be free than a heart could choose not to beat. But the science and compassion of humanity was indeed great, and perhaps so was their hubris. Using techniques only recently rediscovered, perhaps, in your own time, they found a way to genetically engineer an unbound djinn with no talisman focus - the "Free Genie" project that doomed the world.
Their intentions were noble, and used to both pave and cement the routes to various unpleasant afterlives.
Without a talisman, the cosmic power that is the birthright of all djinn had nowhere to ground out harmlessly. With my creation, the cosmic power that should have been mine instead ravished the world, destroying all but a remnant of the population, reanimating the dead, and saturating the world with a magical radiation no less inimical to human life as that produced by atomics; the Sun itself was reduced to a white dwarf, barely able to keep the Earth above freezing temperatures. This was not my doing. But it was my fault.
Humanity's darkest hour became its brightest. Rather than sink into despair, the military took control and recruited the best and the brightest of us to a boot camp, spending all of their precious resources to try and ensure we could somehow rebuild. We? Oh, of course - despite the source of the apocalypse, I was the brightest and best of them all; were Earth to recover, my assistance would be mandatory. Indeed, it seems that the fate of relearning what was lost was to be my responsibility, as they informed me I would be responsible for revising the education program even as I was attending it.
I immediately set about a vigorous exercise program - my muscles were all too vulnerable to atrophy from the magical radiation. I worked on my people skills, and tried making friends. In the first of many oversights I was not given a key to the food stocks, so I was forced to eat whatever I could scrounge; fortunately, I am not easily disgusted, but for the benefit of the more refined reader I will refrain from describing what I ate in detail.
Unfortunately humanity's light is always balanced by its dark; various survival groups competed for dominance, and one such offered protection for our dormitory in return for a modest fee. Much as I loathed the idea of paying these criminals, I had little choice; my few belongings were absolutely critical, and I could not rely on my room mates to guard them during lectures or tutorials.
Though I must have spent years at the boot camp, it seems from one perspective to have taken no time at all, because it wasn't until I graduated from the Business and Education programme with full honours that my task really started. While I had enough resistance to the magical radiation that I wasn't as badly affected as normal humans were, my lifespan was still curtailed, and I would not live as long as my race usually did.
I tied the bed to the top of my barely functional car, and drove to the bare space I'd been assigned as my living quarters, with a few meagre dollars and a one-time deal with the military engineering corps to construct a shelter. From your perspective, you probably feel that I should have simply been executed, but you're about to learn that the only reason you even know that is because of me and my efforts to make sure you were probably educated. Whoever you are. You found this journal - do you still believe me the monster your mother warned you off as a child?
Perhaps you do. Perhaps my next journal will dispel that - or confirm it. We shall see.
Fabulous cosmic power, itty-bitty living space. That has always been the boon and the curse of my kind. But what if you could have the power, but not the curse?
I am the answer to that question. My name is Hydrogen, and I am a free djinn. Those of you versed in history curse my very existence, but this is not your story. From the moment I came into existence, I have never had any illusions as to what my legacy would be. Humans fear what they do not understand, and fearing one of the djinn is hardly irrational. I forgive you your fears, and ask only for your attention.
Much of what you have heard is true. Humanity had, indeed, taken to the stars. They had, indeed, discovered that many so-called supernatural creatures from legend were in fact various extra terrestrial beings. They did, indeed, bring their formidable scientific prowess to bear on the legends of the djinn, and they did, indeed, discover the truth of our existence. An enlightened civilisation, they sought to free us from what they perceived - not unreasonably - as slavery.
Our sense to serve the master of our talisman object was innate - genetic, the scientists called it. We could no more be free than a heart could choose not to beat. But the science and compassion of humanity was indeed great, and perhaps so was their hubris. Using techniques only recently rediscovered, perhaps, in your own time, they found a way to genetically engineer an unbound djinn with no talisman focus - the "Free Genie" project that doomed the world.
Their intentions were noble, and used to both pave and cement the routes to various unpleasant afterlives.
Without a talisman, the cosmic power that is the birthright of all djinn had nowhere to ground out harmlessly. With my creation, the cosmic power that should have been mine instead ravished the world, destroying all but a remnant of the population, reanimating the dead, and saturating the world with a magical radiation no less inimical to human life as that produced by atomics; the Sun itself was reduced to a white dwarf, barely able to keep the Earth above freezing temperatures. This was not my doing. But it was my fault.
Humanity's darkest hour became its brightest. Rather than sink into despair, the military took control and recruited the best and the brightest of us to a boot camp, spending all of their precious resources to try and ensure we could somehow rebuild. We? Oh, of course - despite the source of the apocalypse, I was the brightest and best of them all; were Earth to recover, my assistance would be mandatory. Indeed, it seems that the fate of relearning what was lost was to be my responsibility, as they informed me I would be responsible for revising the education program even as I was attending it.
I immediately set about a vigorous exercise program - my muscles were all too vulnerable to atrophy from the magical radiation. I worked on my people skills, and tried making friends. In the first of many oversights I was not given a key to the food stocks, so I was forced to eat whatever I could scrounge; fortunately, I am not easily disgusted, but for the benefit of the more refined reader I will refrain from describing what I ate in detail.
Unfortunately humanity's light is always balanced by its dark; various survival groups competed for dominance, and one such offered protection for our dormitory in return for a modest fee. Much as I loathed the idea of paying these criminals, I had little choice; my few belongings were absolutely critical, and I could not rely on my room mates to guard them during lectures or tutorials.
Though I must have spent years at the boot camp, it seems from one perspective to have taken no time at all, because it wasn't until I graduated from the Business and Education programme with full honours that my task really started. While I had enough resistance to the magical radiation that I wasn't as badly affected as normal humans were, my lifespan was still curtailed, and I would not live as long as my race usually did.
I tied the bed to the top of my barely functional car, and drove to the bare space I'd been assigned as my living quarters, with a few meagre dollars and a one-time deal with the military engineering corps to construct a shelter. From your perspective, you probably feel that I should have simply been executed, but you're about to learn that the only reason you even know that is because of me and my efforts to make sure you were probably educated. Whoever you are. You found this journal - do you still believe me the monster your mother warned you off as a child?
Perhaps you do. Perhaps my next journal will dispel that - or confirm it. We shall see.
Welcome to one of my Sims 3 Apocalypse Challenge blogs. This is for the May 2015 tournament; you can follow the progress on Facebook here and check out the rules here.
For this iteration, I'm using a Prestige Occult Genie start with Prestige University start. As I see it, my biggest challenge is going to be earning sufficient lifetime reward points to purchase a lamp, and to use that lamp to summon and marry a mate.
First, the basics. I have selected Sunset Valley as my town. Creating Hydrogen, a female YA genie, I give her the traits Ambitious, Athletic, Friendly, Genius, and Slob. Her lifetime wish is Perfect Mind, Perfect Body; favourite food is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, favourite music is Kids, and favourite colour is white. She's an Aries.
Her home lot is 2350 Pinochle Point (which is only 30x30, but honestly that's fine - I adjust her cash down to $8308 as required). I then adjust the lifespan and weather settings appropriately, and turn free will Off. Her roll for job is a 3, which gives me a choice of Education, Science, or Gamer. Gamer isn't really a contender for the first lift, but the other two are both tempting; on balance, Science only really comes into its own with other lifts, but Education gives immediate benefits. So Education it is, and at this point (without Military lifted) I must do it via the rabbit hole method.
After about 90 minutes Sim time, the mascot arrives and I take the test, getting a $1000 credit partial scholarship (the key here is being a Genius). I then enrol for a term in the Business stream, which is the one that gives a boost to Education afterwards. With 6 credits already from the aptitude test, I sign up for 1 term of 12 credits, for a cost of $250 (after scholarship), with an immediate credit of another $100, so really the first term is only $150.
I choose the dormitory on 505 S Bend Ave, after changing it to my Apocalypse dormitory. I spent the first day getting a point of Athletics, a couple of points of Charisma, and almost making a friend; one of the room mates made salad, and besides eating a plate I grabbed a few empty plates to stash in my room as well. Then I paid the protection money for the term, leaving me with $7558.
The term goes fairly well. I get 1 point of Handiness and 4 extra Charisma before the brain enhancer (on Friday) decides to shock me. Slob is a real boon at Uni, because sometimes the roomies won't make multiple serving meals and you need to be able to survive those days on Lick Clean or older meals.
The thing to remember with Uni starts is that nobody's welfare matters except for your Sim. The dorm mates cannot starve to death, and I stick the toilet and anything else I will want exclusive access to in my (locked) room. Remember a toilet is a 1-square object, and you can freely move it around if you want your dormies to occasionally be able to use it.
At the end of the first term I have 18 credits, Athletics 5, Charisma 6 (including Comedian challenge), Handiness 1, and Logic 4. Not the best possible start, but certainly quite acceptable.
The aptitude test is retaken, I get another $1000 credit scholarship and another 6 credits. Back to Uni I go for another 12 credits - which is a mistake, I should have taken only 6 - and after paying protection money I have a total of $6708 left. At the end of the term, I have 30 credits, Athletics 8, Charisma 8 (Comedian, Personable), Cooking 3 (from the brain enhancer), Handiness 5 (from the brain enhancer), and Logic 6.
For the third term I chose only 6 credits, as I was getting 6 from the aptitude test anyway. With the scholarship, and after paying protection, I ended up with $6483. Unfortunately the very first time I tried the enhancer, I got shocked, but I only need 2 more points from it anyway, and I can hopefully get that last term. The third term ends with 36 credits - did it not count the Aptitude test? - and Athletic 9, Charisma 8 (Comedian, Personable), Cooking 3, Handiness 5, Logic 7.
For the last term, I chose 12 credits - since that way, even if it doesn't count the aptitude test, I'll still graduate. After protection money I had $5633 left. On the Sunday before the term started I managed to get to 10 Athletics. The term finished as expected, and my new random trait was the useful Family Oriented.
I end University with Athletics 10, Charisma 9 (Comedian, Personable, Super Friendly), Cooking 5, Handiness 5, Logic 9. I take the Sloppy Jalopy car, the B.R.A.S.S. double bed, and my graduation certificate home with me; I've also picked up a graduation gnome.
In the next entry, I'll build the genie palace - or however much $5633 will purchase - and get down to the crux of lifting Education.
For this iteration, I'm using a Prestige Occult Genie start with Prestige University start. As I see it, my biggest challenge is going to be earning sufficient lifetime reward points to purchase a lamp, and to use that lamp to summon and marry a mate.
First, the basics. I have selected Sunset Valley as my town. Creating Hydrogen, a female YA genie, I give her the traits Ambitious, Athletic, Friendly, Genius, and Slob. Her lifetime wish is Perfect Mind, Perfect Body; favourite food is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, favourite music is Kids, and favourite colour is white. She's an Aries.
Her home lot is 2350 Pinochle Point (which is only 30x30, but honestly that's fine - I adjust her cash down to $8308 as required). I then adjust the lifespan and weather settings appropriately, and turn free will Off. Her roll for job is a 3, which gives me a choice of Education, Science, or Gamer. Gamer isn't really a contender for the first lift, but the other two are both tempting; on balance, Science only really comes into its own with other lifts, but Education gives immediate benefits. So Education it is, and at this point (without Military lifted) I must do it via the rabbit hole method.
After about 90 minutes Sim time, the mascot arrives and I take the test, getting a $1000 credit partial scholarship (the key here is being a Genius). I then enrol for a term in the Business stream, which is the one that gives a boost to Education afterwards. With 6 credits already from the aptitude test, I sign up for 1 term of 12 credits, for a cost of $250 (after scholarship), with an immediate credit of another $100, so really the first term is only $150.
I choose the dormitory on 505 S Bend Ave, after changing it to my Apocalypse dormitory. I spent the first day getting a point of Athletics, a couple of points of Charisma, and almost making a friend; one of the room mates made salad, and besides eating a plate I grabbed a few empty plates to stash in my room as well. Then I paid the protection money for the term, leaving me with $7558.
The term goes fairly well. I get 1 point of Handiness and 4 extra Charisma before the brain enhancer (on Friday) decides to shock me. Slob is a real boon at Uni, because sometimes the roomies won't make multiple serving meals and you need to be able to survive those days on Lick Clean or older meals.
The thing to remember with Uni starts is that nobody's welfare matters except for your Sim. The dorm mates cannot starve to death, and I stick the toilet and anything else I will want exclusive access to in my (locked) room. Remember a toilet is a 1-square object, and you can freely move it around if you want your dormies to occasionally be able to use it.
At the end of the first term I have 18 credits, Athletics 5, Charisma 6 (including Comedian challenge), Handiness 1, and Logic 4. Not the best possible start, but certainly quite acceptable.
The aptitude test is retaken, I get another $1000 credit scholarship and another 6 credits. Back to Uni I go for another 12 credits - which is a mistake, I should have taken only 6 - and after paying protection money I have a total of $6708 left. At the end of the term, I have 30 credits, Athletics 8, Charisma 8 (Comedian, Personable), Cooking 3 (from the brain enhancer), Handiness 5 (from the brain enhancer), and Logic 6.
For the third term I chose only 6 credits, as I was getting 6 from the aptitude test anyway. With the scholarship, and after paying protection, I ended up with $6483. Unfortunately the very first time I tried the enhancer, I got shocked, but I only need 2 more points from it anyway, and I can hopefully get that last term. The third term ends with 36 credits - did it not count the Aptitude test? - and Athletic 9, Charisma 8 (Comedian, Personable), Cooking 3, Handiness 5, Logic 7.
For the last term, I chose 12 credits - since that way, even if it doesn't count the aptitude test, I'll still graduate. After protection money I had $5633 left. On the Sunday before the term started I managed to get to 10 Athletics. The term finished as expected, and my new random trait was the useful Family Oriented.
I end University with Athletics 10, Charisma 9 (Comedian, Personable, Super Friendly), Cooking 5, Handiness 5, Logic 9. I take the Sloppy Jalopy car, the B.R.A.S.S. double bed, and my graduation certificate home with me; I've also picked up a graduation gnome.
In the next entry, I'll build the genie palace - or however much $5633 will purchase - and get down to the crux of lifting Education.
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