h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

WooohooooOOOOOooooooOOOOOoooo...

GAAAHHHHH!!!

*T and Ripley simultaneously drape their s over their heads, while T tries to steer the cable car using sheer female intuition*

*pouts* That splash was not my fault!

*seeing that Humpty is now secure, Thistle concentrates on maters of great importance to her - Buttercup, Mary, the Stranger, and the Sheep are having all the fun! She climbs, and tries put her car between the sun and the other cars - then she dives at them.*

Look out, livestock! Here comes the Little Bad Wolf! Wauroooooo!

*having tried to keep up with the others, but failed due to short legs*

*realizes, as he watches the departing cable cars, that he has - once more - been left behind*

* Stomps his feet furiously over the continuity breech, or would stomp them if there was anything underneath them, which there isn't because the door was firmly closed and Purr has spent considerable effort yanking Humpty up against the outside of the closed door and banging him against it repeatedly, and the door probably does not open in mid flight anyway unless the Wild Ride says it does, and if it does it might spill Purr and all the other passengers out, and so instead flails his feet about wildly which is what he had been doing all along anyway.

But that aside, Purr's heroic efforts have also had the effect of pulling Humpty safely out of the way of the plummeting passenger car. *

[OoC]
**Purr sticks his thumbs under a seam at his furry neck, pulls upward, and reveals an unsurprisingly familiar face.**

[unPurr] Hey, Humpty, I was kind of presuming the cable cars to have windows on them that can be opened. I got that impression from Post #94 where Lil hollered over to B4 about the controls, and Post #108 where Thistle and I got splashed "mightily" when the cable car skipped across the water. Granted, I should have said "hauling Humpty in through the window", as that would have given the visual cues necessary for continuity.

Sorry for the ambiguity. Now how do we want to slice it? Are ya danglin' from the bullwhip, or are ya safely crated in the cable car?

Enquiring minds wanna know...
[/OoC]

* Starts flailing his arms too *


It wasn't the window, it was the determinacy. "Respect your fellow players' free will. Do not foist actions on other players, no matter how much you desire a certain outcome." i.e., you can pull on the rope but you can't know if you get me in through the window. The rope could have snapped. The Wild Ride could have veered in the opposite direction. An eagle (perhaps a distant relative?) could have swooped down and taken me away. A quantum singularity could have opened up and placed me in the crisper drawer of the Atelier fridge.

Ipso facto I am still on the outside, enjoying the view.

All these cars have open roofs. Purr is correctthat he could pull Humpty Dumpty up. Humpty iscorrect in that he should be the one to determine whether the attempt has succeeded. Let it be the case that Purr tried, but only succeeded in shortening the dangle length.



Hey-hey, boys and girls and things, haveI become boring and predictable? Sorry!!

*all cars suddenly come to a halt*
*there is an ominous pause*
*now all the cars begin to perform 360 loops, as if they were buckets being swung by giants*

OK, kids, it'sssss... G-Force time!

*thanks Mercer Mayor for drawing her not only cute, but very squat and with a with a wide base and low center of gravity. Not only is she stable, but her compact design should limit the discomfort of high G's. Her hair bow flattens against her ears.*

Darn it, Cat! I thought you rescued Mr. Humpty! Now I'm going to have to try to fly straight and level and behave myself and boring stuff like that! Oh, shoot!

*she heaves a deep sigh, but accepts her sense of responsibility. Thistle begins fighting with the controls to stabilize the car.

Gritting her teeth with the effort, she continues...*

By the way (groans with effort) Mr. Purr (groans with effort) weren't you watching Duckie last? (mighty groan of effort)

[1 last OoC]
Upon further rumination, Humpty, I reasoned that I must have still been hanging onto the bullwhip while opening the cable car door, and must have closed the door upon it, thus I would not have been able to move to an open window to try to attempt to pull you in without first opening the door and risking us spilling out. So... Can you say "centrifugal force"? Hope you enjoy the ride; I'll do what I can for the moment...
[/1 last OoC]


[Purr] Sso much time; sso little to do. Urr... Strrike that. Reverrse it! (to Thistle) Mia culpa. Howeverr, at prresent, Ai am powerrless to do anything for The Ugly (but rather big) Duckling. Ai will feel lucky to even assisst our friend (?) Humpty Dumpty, whom Ai have inadverrtantly put in a possition of some pendulousness...

**Purr braces his feet against the walls on either side of the car's door and tightens his grip on the bullwhip for fear of losing its attendant cargo.**

[Purr] Please, Thisstle, trry to override the contrrols and get us to our final desstination, beforre Humpty rreaches terrminal velocity...

There is a flapping of wings above Ho Ho Spire.

Out of the blue sky, silhouetted against the sun, a large goose descends to the cable car area.

QUACK! Quackity-quack-qua-quack! (Left behind by the group again?)

The Gander cranes its neck toward The Ugly Duckling and shakes its head in empathy.

QUACK! Quackity-quack-qua-quack! (Let's see if we can help you catch up.)

The Gander waddles gracefully to one of the smaller cable cars, pecks at the handle until it has a firm grasp, then moves it enough for the door to swing open.

QUACK! Quackity-quack-qua-quack! (Hey, look! You can step in and join the fun!)

QUACK! Quackity-quack-qua-quack! (No nesting material, though. Guess you'll have to get comfortable any way you can.)

QUACK! Quackity-quack-qua-quack! (Okay, so climb in; it's the only way you'll get down.)

QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! (That's a joke, son! Ha-ha-ha! A joke, I say!)

Wurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
*not her usual mellifluity*

*reaches for the controls with difficulty*

*hanging on grimly*



I know I wanted to get away from my step-sisters and have a change from all that housework, but this is a little too scary!

*Pressed flat on the floor, with the Stranger on top and the on top of him*



*With great effort, pulls her arm up against the G-forces and taps the Stranger on the shoulder.*

Er, excuse me. This seat is taken.

*turns the joystick hard against the direction the car is swinging.*

Mr.Purr, do you think if I do a barrel roll with a little dip at the end we might swing Mr. Humpty into the car like a ball on a string into a cup?

*growls as she struggles with the controls. She would like to get Humpty safe on board, partly so he'll be save and partly because she's just dying to try some of those cool sounding moves. In particular Thistle want to do an Immelman. She doesn't know what an Immelman is, exactly, but it sounds wicked cool.*

**Feeling the bullwhip begin to slip from his grasp, Purr gasps.**

Yess, Thisstle, trry anything that seems rright to yeou, my fine furry frriend at the fflight contrrols!

**Purr instinctively 'un-velvets' his claws and digs into the leather strap and handle of the bullwhip for a better grip. It seems to be working.**

* Begins to enjoy the elliptical orbit and flaps his arms rather than flailing *

Oooo I'm flying! Up down up down, round and round.

* Points at the goose *

Look, it's an eagle just like great-great-great-great-great-grandpapa!
Oh my shoe! I've lost my shoe!

Wheeeee!

*finally gets hold of the controls and tries to steer out of the loops*

Look at Humpty go! Whee-hah!

*looks at the map*

I think we need to go down. No, up. No, down... Are there any sick bags in here?

*keeps quiet because she's starting to feel a little curdled*

(B4 is flattened against the floor of the cable car as it slings itself in a tight circle in the air. He's lost his hand-hold of the controls and struggles to turn himself over on his back. He uses the instep of his left shoe to push his right shoe off. With a tremendous effort, he reaches upward with his leg, grips the joystick between sock-cover toes, and jiggles the control stick as best he can.)

R-re-mem-em-ber kids-s-s, don't-t-try-y this-is at-at h-ho-ome...