D.A.B. day 8
Tink
Screeching bird wakes me up, and it is kind of useful now. The huts darkness and improved sense of security makes it easier to sleep, but it took awhile for me before I fell asleep. Guess I'm also just tired and jet lagged from getting use to 26 hour days. I look at my watch and realise screeching bird is way early. Figures.
Reiley is already awake as I see her hiding outside with her spear in her hand looking out after threats, while wearing that hot pink tank top and panties. I told her about the bird, but I get her reaction. I've had the same. I also get why she might not be thinking about the colour of those clothes as her eyes colour spectrum is different than mine, with more near IR and far less blue. It makes sense considering that green nature is bright in near IR, and starlight has plenty of IR due to doppler red shift. Moonlight is reflected sunlight turned grey by the moon, combined with that humans can't see colour if its too dark and weak illumination. For someone hunting during dawn, dusk and night, big eyes with wide opening lenses, reflective irises and improved IR sensitivity would be a boon. I hadn't really noticed that her eyes are slightly larger than mine too, and Reiley have no trouble at all moving around and hunting in the bright nights here. She usually took one of the night watches in her camp. Still, my eyesight is sharper than hers, and we both know that I can see more colours.
All the talk about eyes and colour went down a deep rabbit hole. Reiley is totally astonished by my smartwatch even before I told her what it could do back on Earth, and I showed her maps and other stuff. But since it probably use an RGB style display, she couldn't tell the difference between blue, turquoise and green except in brightness, and the yellow wasn't yellow. She couldn't really describe what she was seeing as it was green and red at the same time which felt extremely weird to her, and white was similar and 'brighter'. So my guess is that Reiley's people have turquoise, yellow and deep red or IR as primary colour sensitivity, and she have learned a new word and concept since waking up here. Blue like the clear blue sky. Green like the tree and grass. She can tell a colour difference between green and blue, but not much and it depends on light and contrast conditions, and Reiley's language literally doesn't have a native word for blue. There doesn't seem to be much blue in her culture, or there is and they just see it as shade of green. How does stuff in human civilizations look in UV or IR? I know a bit, but that is learned knowledge from using technology. Ultra violet and Infra red is not the most inventive names. Reiley cannot see purple or violet at all, but the red part of the rainbow is wider and have another shade. Explaining it as she leaned in against me, helped me ignore the fact she was leaning against me.
One thing I've learned is that Reiley is just 16 years old but considered an adult since she was 11, and my age of 38 shocked her, but they have had some talks about it in her old camp. Our talk about it ended up deep in another rabbit hole about planetary orbits, days per year and different ageing. Reiley seem used to slightly longer days than me but have adapted to the day cycle here, and took for granted a year have an exact amount of days and there would be the same amount of days here, and a year for her is 463 days. Not unexpected, Reiley's civilization doesn't have the day divided into hours like I think about them, but I ended up calculating roughly how many hours there is per year and ended up with an X of 1.4. So I think she would be 22-23 on Earth, and I would be going on 27 on her planet. Still old, but not Old. They live harder lives too, so yeah. It was interesting.
There is of course the issue with everyone being an alien and new to everyone else, and some racism and phobias beside cultural issues, but beside Reiley looking close to human, I have a feeling it's easier for me to see Reiley as a true person because I'm not just used to seeing humans with different skin tones, faces and makeup, I have also been bombarded with movies and TV series with far more elaborate aliens I've learned to see as people and characters to care about, and there is cosplayers and masquerade costumes. One issue with that is I just have to get used to having the occasional boner from now on.
It wasn't hard to convince Reiley to share her hunter-war sign language with me. It isn't really secret, and she is happy to teach me. I assumed she had one and was correct, and we will add signs relevant to life here, and more generic and social cues too. We will just practice and use it until it is instinctive. It will be very useful as we move around, but also as a backup if those damn alien bastards decide to just turn off that nifty speech translation. I assume they can. They are bastards.
But it seems like a beautiful day, and time to get moving. The kiln and the pottery have survived and goes 'tink' when lightly tapped together so that is very nice, and it have a weird colouring and is smooth instead of the expected terracotta look, so that high temperature might not have been bad. I fill a bowl with water to see if it leaks out, and we start to heat up the kiln again. This time we fill it up, and I'll add the different mini crucibles so they can be used, and I have made more than I need simply because they're easy to make and can be used for other stuff too. I've gotten so used to bad noises that I didn't even notice that something big died during the dawn, but Reiley did, and when screeching bird woke me up it was the fourth time she looked outside. It's no wonder that Reiley's nerves are a bit edgy during the night and morning. She isn't used to seeing 'huge dragons' like I am and hearing noises like that, and yesterday she got followed, attacked and lost her friend. Not that she seems completely torn up about it, but she lost people before coming to this world. She also took part in a short war earlier in life.
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The true work day will start by checking the fish traps, getting more clay and another type of grass Reiley knows about and seen here that have a more elliptic profile and will feel better against skin. She have convinced me of another bed plan with weaved mattresses.
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Another fish is a fine start of the day, and it feels damn good to have someone watching my back and helping me carry stuff. Reiley fetch the big pot we left behind on the beach to get saltwater for the kiln evaporator, and we fill my seashells with saltwater since it's basically free salt if it dries before rain, but Tiola told Reiley there is some kind of 'Spirit Boon' making salt a couple of ridges north, but it is almost impossible to reach without having a canoe or watercraft. Considering those ridges I understand that feeling. It is good to know, but it seems to be another way those damn alien bastards make people move about, and might be an ambush point or trapped. The bad news is that it is another thing that will make people move in this area. Just like those damn alien bastards planned.
One issue with working in the hut is that the front wall basically makes it impossible to see down into the valley, and we will have no idea if there is someone passing by in a canoe or such, and working in the jungle is similar. So the open area in front of the hut will be used as an outdoor work area when the weather is good. But for now, work is more important than just having one of us keeping watch, and Reiley agree. That might change as we get the basics done, as we eventually will run out of things we need to build or make. If it was just about keeping watch we should try to reach the top of the huge cliff that the hut is on to get a far better all around view, and it should be possible from that gap in the cliff just below the top of the roof, but I don't even know if it's even possible to reach the cliff top from there. At least from other directions a lot of those cliff sides and sections just seem brutal and 'nope', which is honestly a reason I haven't bothered to do that yet. I am not a skilled climber, and although I have made it to the top of a few climbing walls, I don't expect any threats to come from there. The flying dino's avoid these cliffs, and I don't think they will attack something big like me without reason, like protecting their young. Then again, very skilled humans have done insane free climbs, and who knows what alien people will be capable of.
I hear a faint rising double whistle as Reiley found something and signs: 'Come', 'Look', 'At this.' Reiley is crouching over the ashes from Tiola's head, and is poking in it. As I reach her she shows me metallic plates and fine small screws. They're light, and as Reiley finds more I realise that Tiola apparently had been in an accident and got surgery, and Reiley finds some on a jaw bone, and it's probably titanium. I have to talk to quickly explain, and Reiley think our medical technology is utterly amazing. I'm not surprised that Tiola never told anyone, as she obviously wouldn't want anyone to try to get the metal out. I believe it will require too high temperature for us to melt, but Reiley have no issue with us taking it, and do the slightly grisly work of finding it all and getting it loose. Actually, that blade on my new spear might be some kind of titanium too. The goldish-green hue seems like it could be. It kind of make sense that those damn alien bastards don't want to give us something that is easy to re-forge or repurposed. Bastards.
We collect the other elliptic grass just inside the jungle edge. Instead of moving along the beach and being visible from the water, it might be better to move about just inside the jungle edge, and Reiley probably is right that the sun have made the jungle edge so thick that large predator dinosaurs finds it hard to move in and can't do it with speed. They're not one of those strong big 'Dragons' that can uproot trees. The predators are not built to do it, and we can add strategic sharp branches and such to make it harder and dangerous for them, without it being seen from far outside, and the tall grass helps to mask the sharp branches. Again, both times I've seen big predators here, they have stayed on the wide open grass strip.
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We chop down five trees, and Reiley have absolutely done that before and is eager to help. We will need far more to make that loft, but we start with this. Making that loft will be far far easier when we are two to do the work. Splitting all those trees to make flat sided floor pieces will be a hassle, and I want a wood planer to smooth the surface. I hope to use the melted coins, keys or one of those titanium pieces as the blade. A solid door with a brace behind the door posts is a priority, and I'm going to do a sneaky durable lock too so we can lock it from outside, and make it harder for another person getting in. Then two proper beds. Add a table and a frame plus legs for my big stone table and chairs. Then the kitchen bench which might partly be in slate to make cleaning easier, and we will use cutting boards so the bench doesn't soak up meat juice and such. Disinfecting stuff with salt and sunlight will be important.
We chop most logs to the correct length down in the forest, and split those that needs to be split. On Reiley's suggestion we start to collect all the axe chopped flakes in a basket she weaves from branches. It will be good for starting fires and is already cut, and it makes the spot less obvious if someone moves close or through it. Cleaning up the stumps and hiding them is a good idea too. We make many trips up and down as we need to check the kiln and feed it. Carrying the logs give me a chance to do a bit of 'Commando' style showing off, but I'm not stupid and we both help to make it safe and quick. But yeah, I don't complain about the smiles Reiley is giving me even though I have to adjust the pants now and again. Reiley seems to find it very amusing, and occasionally show off too, while we actually avoid the subject.
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