The dreams have been recurring for weeks.   It is in that twilight between sleep and consciousness when she hears her name being called. The voice is so trembling and weak… she is hurt, scared, and in terrible pain. She just repeatedly calls out for Hope, perhaps believing that she will somehow be heard.   During the fog of dreamtime, Hope searches for some clue to help her understand what is happening. Although she hears Kacey only in her dreams, she knows there is something wholly real about it. There was a connection the instant they met. It is a kinship that … Continue reading Chapter 5.9 – Dreams

Broken…   Well, not technically broken; but definitely bent. Some kind of anomaly, really. But certainly not good.   The timestream only moves forward. It is an unbreakable law of quantum physics. But its path is being bent like a section of pipe, perhaps in an effort to intersect itself so that two points meet. No, it’s a terrible analogy. Far too simple to accurately explain what is happening. But good enough to get the idea across.   The discovery explains quite a bit, actually. Somebody has been tinkering with time. Well, not tinkering, really. More like tampering. The energy … Continue reading Chapter 5.8 – Loop

One great thing about best friends, is that they’re always willing to look past the small gaffes that sometimes cause problems in other relationships.   Faith apologizes to Jimmy immediately as they get on the road back to Sunset Valley. He shrugs his shoulders and suggests that he has no idea what she is talking about, then changes the subject back to his widget, and the amazing little shop filled with old pieces, parts, salvage, and gadgets.   After a very long and tense break in the conversation, Faith declares that she has absolutely no right to feel lacking in anything. … Continue reading Chapter 5.7 – Confusion

Tinkering with cars isn’t exactly Faith’s idea of fun.   But since becoming a teen, Jimmy seems more interested in keeping his head under the hood than in video games. Faith does manage to keep herself interested though, and she learns quite a bit about the mechanics of his vintage land yacht. Besides, by helping him finish his car early, she takes away his excuse to skip the Final Warcraft raid party tonight. The guild really needs his Dwarven Scout to help in the boss fight.   After some creative searching on the web, she is able to find the … Continue reading Chapter 5.6 – Hormones

Ninety nine point nine seven five. It is totally unfair. Now, because of a stupid computer glitch, she is less than one tenth of a point away from being top of the class. There was no way she is finishing second to Becky Barnes, the perfect little passive-aggressive drama queen. Jimmy doesn’t see what the big fuss is about. But he knows better than to suggest that she let it go. WITH RECURSIVE supplytree AS (SELECT si_id, si_item, si_parentid, CAST(si_item As varchar(1000)) As si_item_fullname FROM supplyitem WHERE si_parentid IS NULL UNION ALL SELECT si.si_id,si.si_item, si.si_parentid, CAST(sp.si_item_fullname || ‘->’ || si.si_item … Continue reading Chapter 5.5 – Glitch

Normally, celebrating a teen birthday is cause for major excitement.   But in Faith’s mind, it is just another rotation of the planet on its axis, and she makes light of all the fuss. Her big day gets started by finishing up her honors science fair project about fractals found in nature. Hope had suggested she turn in a butterfly collection. Honestly, she loves her mother to death. But sometimes they have difficulty communicating at the same level. She did find a fractal pattern on one species of butterfly and incorporated it into her project. It turned out to be a good compromise, … Continue reading Chapter 5.4 – Adventure

  Working in the church soup kitchen has presented Faith with unique opportunities, and introduced her to sims she would never have otherwise met.   One evening in particular stands out, after an otherwise uninteresting supper. It is fairly late when a last-minute straggler finds his way into the hall. Mark has put up most of the tables and chairs already, and volunteers have packed the food away. But there is something in the guy’s eyes that motivates Faith to prepare a plate from leftovers and warm it up in the microwave.   He is very grateful to Faith and carefully eats his meal, seeming almost … Continue reading Chapter 5.3 – Doc

Faith’s fellow classmates learn an important lesson about her personality one Friday afternoon during debate team practice. —   If there is anything that Faith does well, it is arm herself with information. When she was chosen to defend the argument that Sunset Valley was prepared for a major earthquake, she decided to take a less direct path to her position. According to her research, there are no faults, ridges, or hotspots within a hundred miles of Sunset Valley.   Of course, her opponents argue that the last two tremors were warnings of some impending doom. But after Faith methodically shoots holes … Continue reading Chapter 5.2 – Competition

Faith continues to cruise through her childhood, enjoying the prolonged calm gracing the Barimen household.   While it may seem that nothing much of interest is happening during these years, they may actually be the most important for Faith. The family’s wealth has mounted as investments seem to flourish whenever the Barimen name is attached. Hope has turned the Bistro into a major success, with sims traveling from all over the world just for the dining experience, alone. Rubbing elbows with some of the most rich and famous sims on the planet seems a very natural thing for her. Before long, she … Continue reading Chapter 5.1 – Charity

Faith Barimen is not a typical ten year-old girl.   There is nothing outlandishly strange or unusual about her, really. She does very well in school and is the kind of kid that most teachers want to clone. She’s polite, happy, and an all-around good kid. But it is the particular group of friends she best identifies with, that really sets her apart. Most kids would rather die a slow, agonizing death than be associated with this misunderstood bunch. These are the kids who plays chess at lunch, and do math problems for fun. They are a very diverse group of sims, who all … Continue reading Chapter 5 – Faith