Today's #flashfiction #TheAlmostDoomedChild

“I'm afraid of heights.”

Spiderman*

       Today the Internet is finally back to normal. Yeah! Earlier in the day I played an old game called Advance Wars. Something old I got for my birthday with that giant robot game. (Speaking of which in that giant robot game CJ and I found the settings where you can customize the robot's colors you change each piece like the head legs arms etc., now we rain turquoise-pink-yellow-green death on our enemies)

       The game Advance Wars, as the title suggests, is a war game for the game boy advance(yeah the game boy before the DS). Now I started the campaign from the start and I was really confusing because the characters were talking to this mysterious “Connor”, claimed to advisory of the protagonist Andy. But unlike the main characters this “Connor” had no sprite. (For those who don't know in video games a sprite is the name for all the graphics in a 2D video game. Like Pac-Man, the image of Pac-Man is a sprite, the image of each ghost is a sprite)

       So I'm wondering who this magical invisible man is who doesn't speak is. But then it hits me...I AM CONNOR! Dun dun dun...the reason that he's invisible is that he's the player character, me(the game wouldn't provide a picture of me) and they were talking to me all along! The original owner of this game must have been named Connor(or chose to go by that alias in game). Well Connor it seems thanks to the powers of Bookmans I now walk in your shows and go by your name.

As per tales of actual battle in Advance Wars?

       Well for many of battles I can say Operation: Build Tons and Tons of Tanks turns out to be an incredible success. Now in Advance Wars there's a sort of system of what units are effective against what. Also nuances on how far things can move. Even if something is of a certain effectiveness if its too far then it won't get the first hit in, it can get complicated. But here's the thing...throw enough tanks at a problem and it will be solved. But what about sea and air battles? Jets are air tanks and submarines are sea tanks.

        Now what about the moments where I just can't build loads and loads of tanks? Tanks require money and you need both the cities that give the money and factories to build them. Sometimes I am deprived of one or both or its just impractical to get enough money to launch Operation: Build Tons and Tons of Tanks. (Each turn you get money so it takes time, time the enemy attacks me and I can make other units)

This is where my plans come in. Namely cowardice, heartlessness, and acceptable losses.

       Now in this game units have fuel and need to be restocked...supposedly. That's what the APC unit is usually used for, that and transporting infantry. I'm not used to using it though. Usually in Operation: Build Tons and Tons of Tanks I find my money better used in building more tanks and supplies don't get low because by the time I start my assault starts I have enough tanks that everything dies before I run out of bullets.

       But when I'm stuck in “normal” settings I use the APC for another use. Because of its rapid speed it can get into many positions fast. Computers are usually ruthless in that they hunt the first thing they see with the closest units. So I put the APC in the most convenient spot to lure all the enemies out to kill it. Then I flank the enemies with my guys. (If I don't have APCs I have a sort of mental hierarchy of which units based on the combat situation to use as bait) This plan usually works. I don't always need bait though. Computers often come straight at me anyway so I can stand just out of their range so they have to spend their turn going into mine so I can give them a good sucker punch.

      I am a military genius.

     Anyway onto the flash fiction!

The Almost Doomed Child

        A terrible doom awaited a child. One where he falls down a hole in a construction site. A deep hole. No one could see him and the rumble of the machines drowned out his screams for help. Then in this doom that awaited him a cement truck would dump cement into the hole. He would drown on it. It would be quick enough of a death so that he couldn't be rescued but slow enough that he could feel an incredible amount of pain. It is a very unfortunate way to drown.

        But although the doom awaited him he never reached it. He never actually reached the interior of the construction site. While minding his own childish business and walking along the gentle sidewalk he thought happy thoughts. Not a bad one in his head. These gentle thoughts left him aware enough to catch sight of a little pigeon. An animal normally ignored this one was clever and strong. It learned to fly much earlier than any of its siblings or many other pigeons and was nearly as small as a baby one. If the pigeon never caught the boy's eye he would have become interested in the construction site and wandered into it. But instead he watched the bird for a moment then continued on his trip. The doom that awaited him never reached him.