Aug 21 00:00:32 109 PA - Worrying for Feeding the Masses

From Chronicles

Aug 21 00:00:32 109 PA.

YAKOV'S DELI

Rasputin is sitting at his usual table. He is looking over a few sheets of paper, and reviewing what appears to be a large map. The deli is empty as it is fairly late at night. Just Rasputin, and what looks like a tumbler filled with some light brown liquid.

Gabriel opens the door to the deli, and raps his knuckles lightly on the glass to announce himself before saying in his soft drawl, "Evening, Rasputin. Depending on whose watch is right, it's either very late or very early. What're you still doing up?" It's one of those half-questions, half-amusing accusations of an unknown mania.

Rasputin looks up from his work, "Da, da. Mornink?" He grins, "Mink goink over my latest trip da." He looks at this maps, "We foundink dino's and Tribal village." He tugs his beard, "How about you?"

The taller and slightly younger of the two older men steps across to find a spot at his friend's table. "I'm well. Guess we both have our hunting grounds right now. Maybe I can help with yours? I'd really hope you can somehow help with mine." His casual jacket is opened, and he brings out his own map, ready to fold it out when there might be space.

Rasputin nod slowly and folds his map back out of the way, "Oh? Where are you huntink? And dhwat are you huntink?" He rolls his papers out of the way.

"Hope," Gabriel says, rather softly. "Most of the big-wigs think that I'm worrying about nothing, but I'm waiting for a large hit of refugees now that Tolkeen's down. In fact, the whole area, not just the city. Found a place to start... see if you can't help me out. But what about you?" He nods with his chin toward the big map. "Dinosaurs and a tribe? Do you have *any* idea how weird that sounds to my ears," he ends with a big grin.

Rasputin chuckles and nods, "Da, da. Mink too. Native Americans, da. Who had trees dwhich like steel." He shrugs, "And were dery haughty to people who were net supposink to beink dhere." He shrugs, "Dhough, perhaps will be able to beink havink contacts dhere, for morink huntink. Easier, da." He shrugs, "Buttink we dwill see."

"We told a lot of Injun' jokes in my time. I don't suppose they had a wooden Indian standing outside of a tobacco shop?" Gabriel asks with amusement. He scoots over a little so that he isn't looking over the map entirely in reverse. "Which direction? Only real Indians I'm familiar with are the ones out west. Reservations and all, but I doubt those exist anymore."

Rasputin tugs his beard and shakes his head, "Net, net. Dhey were very serious." He looks at his own map, "Abouttink 5 days travel east and south of dhere." He shrugs, "Net reservations, dhough dhey havink tight control on dhere territory, da." He shrugs, "Buttink with Federation, CS, and Dinos can net blamink dhem."

Gabriel nods. "Well, five days travel, that's a lot of travel." His lips swish from side to side as he thinks. Eventually he just shrugs. "Let me ask you something, Rasputin. Your average dinosaur hunt that you've been doing. If you took and converted everything that you could into food, how many people do you think one of those average hunts would feed for say... oh, a week?" He leans his right forearm comfortably on the table near his folded map.

Rasputin tugs his beard, "Da, dwell." He flips open his note book, and starts to write down a few figures. "Of da twoink we killed," He starts to mutter to himself in Russian a bit, "Afterink we gavink da tribe," he talks some more in Russian to himself. "Da, average person, da, "347 people per dinoa da week," He thinks a bit, "Dit would beink 2 pounds a day per person, da?"

"Two pounds of meat a day? Wow. Civilians eat better than soldiers, I guess," Gabriel says with a deep chuckle. Deep in meaning, not necessarily pitch. "What about a more realistic diet? You know, the kind that you'd serve when you had lots and lots of people who needed to eat enough to stay alive without growing stomachs, but not a sixteen ounce Porterhouse for every meal." Rasputin shrugs, "Da, buttink," He looks at you with a blank thought, "Da, 2 lbs day dis too much?" He looks at his own tummy and kitchen, "So problems dis, if someone doesn't havink others to supplement dhen dhey will be havink problems." He does some more math, "Do you havink somethink besides meat?"

Gabriel give a brief wave of his palm. "Let's assume that I do. Maybe enough for... let's say a bowl of oatmeal in the morning. How far could you stretch the average hunt, as far as peole on say, one pound or less. Survival doesn't mean full stomachs."

Rasputin nods, "Dhen doublink, to 714 peoples per day. Simple double. Keepink in mind, dhat is one pound per day for seven days. Each dino only 5000 pounds of meats." He shrugs, "Dis lots of food, if you givink each half pound, dhen 1428 peoples. Buttink, net enough calories to beink keepink dhem alives."

"There are various stages of alive that people will be willing to accept before dying. Just round it out to a thousand people per week with supplements." Gabriel thinks it over for a moment, doing some simple math, and chuckles. "Okay, two more questions. Just, in theory, if you could take down twenty dinosaurs a week, how many men and other supplies would you need? Second - how long would the dinosaur herds last at that rate? Just hypothetical to the theory."

Rasputin shakes his head, "Net knowink," He sighs, "Mink hunt for premium meats, tri-tops. Dhey got good price, buttink net designed for feedink masses. We couldink perhaps, do two or three weeks, but numbers of herds net issues." He sighs, "Chereokee, net allow dhat type of huntink for muchink. Dhey protect dheir herds."

Gabriel nods again, "Well we could resettle them somewhere," he says. Whether or not he really means it or if it's just idle chatter is anyone's guess. "There have to be more herds somewhere, right? I mean, on tribe of red men can't own everything southeast of here. These things that aren't tri-tops, those could be taken down, too? I don't suppose you know anyone with a regular cattle ranch." This time, he really does say it as if he doesn't expect the answer to be 'yes.'

Rasputin looks at you and as he thinks he tugs his beard, "Mink wouldink want to be tryink to temp a few hundred Chereokee braves with dheir weapons, dhey are ables to killink dino's on dhere own with net manies modern weapons." He shrugs a bit, "Dhere are others, buttink gettink less good meat from raptors or T-rex, da allosaurus," He shrugs, "Dhere could be even lagers ones, perhaps somethink larger dhen Tri-Tops?" He thinks a bit, "Dhough, huntink dino's disn't easy, or safink."

"But, it is a large meat source. Or at least the biggest one that I'm aware of without leaning on imports or the small areas near Kingsdale itself," Gabriel says. He finally unfolds his own map, right over top of Rasputin's, already displayed. "I'm expecting a boatload of refugees in from up north, Rasputin. If they try to cram into the compound south of here, things are going to get crowded, hungry, thirst and messy real quick. That's how riots start. So, I've been looking for somewhere else to let them call home. Found a place out here, about thirty miles toward Laramy. I'm sure you know Sage and Rubidia. Also had a hunter and ironically, a Cherokee woman along. Looks like a good spot, so that's the first part covered - the where. Bare minimum. Now comes the part of trying to build a base to take care of them." He draws his finger from Kingsdale, down the line toward Laramy, stopping at the properly indicated point.

Rasputin nods slowly, "Da, da." He tugs his beard, "Da, mink be other spots to beink huntink tri-tops." He thinks a bit, "Perhapsink dere are other places? Further west?" He thinks a bit, "Dhough, mink could always keep lookink for other locations," He tugs his beard, "Buttink, da main part of huntink dino's is findink dhem, without dhem findink you, and beink able to carry dhem out of dhere." He sighs, "Almost as much trouble transports out, dhen killink dhem."

"I understand," Gabriel says with a nod. "Maybe I can use you in another way. Actually, the way that I intended when I wandered over... this early in the morning. You own a successful and decently large operating deli. Food is prepared, staff distributes it, food is brought in. I know the military side of logistics, can probably get some basics to the refugees. But you have both the personal touch and the wherewithal to handle it." He hesitates. "Any chance I could recruit you? Or at least get as many tips as possible? I'd really hope to recruit you to the cause... I've got good people working on it."

Rasputin nods slowly, "Da, mink am dwillin to help as mink can." He thinks, "Dis expensive to goink out to huntink dinos. Dis around 20K to 30K each trips, if net goes bad." He looks at your map, and ponders then, "And tinks can go bad, dery bad at times." He pauses again, "Dwhat are you lookink to recruit mink for?"

Gabriel repeats, "Your knowledge of catching, receiving, processing and distributing food to large amounts of people. I can really send anyone to catch dinosaurs, given the money. It's the specialties that you bring to the table - pardon the pun - which are important. Maybe you magic too, but I don't know about that." He waves a hand in a wide arc from east to north to west. "I'm going to be holding fundraisers to kick this off, if I can get people to believe that there will be a problem. After that, it will be obvious that there's a problem, and I have a couple of sources to tap for charity money, so that's a positive note. Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting to ride in on the white horse and save everyone. Just mitigate it enough that they're as comfortable as possible, and the city doesn't end up in chaos."

Rasputin ponders and nods, "Mink understandink dhat, buttink mink net da greatest guide, justtink been fightink kitchen mostly." He sighs a bit, "Mink willink to help Gabriel, dhen mink people showed up there were only maybe a hundred peoples." He pauses, "Or two hundred, net remember now." He chuckles, "We have already had 10 times dhat, and you are makink me think 100 times dhat will be here soon." He ponders a bit, "So you are lookink for fundink, in Kingsdale? For 10,000 to 20,000 peoples?" He thinks a bit, "What are your plans for integration into Kingsdale? Do you have ideas for dhat?"

Gabriel folds up his map. "Actually, keeping them separate for now. You have to be really dedicated to the cause to start a riot and march thirty miles through the wilderness to complain. Don't worry, like I said, all of this is only the bare-bones beginning, just trying to put together what and who have have to tap. Funding will start soon, and I'm personally anticipating perhaps... well, I've had a number as high as sixty-thousand in my head, the ultra-low end would be twenty-thousand. They should have enough natural water for drinking and hygiene issues. Sage thinks that she can show them how to work crops and such, Sithik show them how to hunt." He shrugs pleasantly, "It's a start. You're the ultimate food man that I know, Rasputin, even throwing out the dinosaur part of it. But I'll be catching you late, I've got to get back to the office. Got a VIP escort at four." He smiles, and then departs rather abruptly.