Sunday, January 10, 2016

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Home From Cincy

It had already been a long day in the car.  The round trip to my sis's house is close to 4.5 hrs, and we needed to travel from there another 30ish minutes out and then back before heading home.  Per the usual division, James was riding back with Joshua and Ty was riding with me.  As I was passing the time listening to a podcast, Ty was playing a game on his tablet.  Par for his course when he gets frustrated with a game, Ty began to vocalize his discontent.  I turned off the podcast to ask him about what he was playing.

Anyone else play Plague Inc.?  From what little I learned about the game, it seems to be one of strategizing an infection capable of eradicating life on earth.  Why my child is playing something that seems so dark is anyone's guess.  As his infection progressed, he asked me what anemia, hemophilia, and necrosis were.  (These are things he is going to become WELL acquainted with when he gets into nursing school.)  And as the infection progressed, I became more curious about this game.

The creator of the infection can customize it, make it evolve and adapt as it progresses and causes more fatality.  The creator can also cause it to originate anywhere on the map.  One trend we noticed through his failed attempts at the wanton destruction of life is that he couldn't get the infection into Greenland.  First I suggested that maybe the infection couldn't survive the extreme cold.  He hadn't considered that and made the adaptation when the game allowed.  He still lost that round.  When I suggested starting the infection in a county close to Greenland, he took a look at the game map and saw that only Norway and Iceland had any real contact with Greenland and decided on Norway.  He lost that round, too.  Then he decided to try originating the infection in Iceland.

Did I mention that the creator can also name the infection?  I don't know what name he had been using, but he said he'd had better luck when he used the name Ultron.  I told him if he really wanted to use a name that struck fear in hearts of men he should call it Mom.  He said, "Or Banshee."  (As an aside, Banshee is the "b-word" Ty IS allowed to call me.  It's an inside joke, and almost a term of endearment, so don't ask and don't judge.)

So Ty originated the Banshee infection in Iceland and watched its painfully slow progress the rest of the drive home, which really wasn't too much longer.  Once home, I put the game out of my mind and moved on to other things that demanded my attention.  Until, while running an errand, I got a text from Ty.  I hope you will find the following conversation as entertaining as I did.

Ty:  IT FINALLY GOT INTO GREENLAND!!!
Me:  Congrats!!!  Where'd you start it this time?
Ty:  Still on the round where it started in Iceland.  It took forever, but it finally got in.
Me:  How's it spreading otherwise?
Ty:  Rapidly, actually.
Me:  Nice to know we have successfully brainstormed an infection that could possibly eradicate the human race.
Ty:  We're probably on a watch list now thanks to this conversation.  Congratulations, Banshee has wiped out all life on earth.  Didn't know you were that powerful.
Me:  Never underestimate your momma.

Apparently, I am an all powerful destroyer of life.  Who knew?