Originally posted by Morgana:
The launch platforms and the cornucopia were in front of a lake, but he didn’t dare to go there. That area would be under the control of the Careers by now, and any tribute attempting to get water or supplies would be killed. Clark couldn’t risk a run-in with the Careers — or any other tribute, for that matter — in his current weakened state. He also couldn’t discount the possibility that Platinum might be out there, in spite of her injuries in her fight with Lois. The last thing he needed was another exposure to Platinum’s Kryptonite pendant.
Why did the Careers stick to the cornucopia? Apparently it still contained weapons and supplies the other tributes could use? My concern is that if Platinum died someone might take the pendant as a prize ... poor Clark!
The Career pack controls the Cornucopia because that's where all the supplies are--all the food, all the weapons, all the medical supplies--and though such things can be found and made in the wilderness, it's a whole lot easier to have them ready-made.
I'll address the issue of the pendant in the next chapter.
The water was clear, with only a few leaves floating on it; in fact, it was so clear that he could see the rock strewn bottom and a few fish swimming past. It smelled clean, and the single drop Clark placed on his tongue tasted fine, but he still hesitated, fearing that he was wrong. It was fast becoming apparent, though, that if he didn’t drink the water he would suffer severely from dehydration, perhaps even die from it, before he regained his invulnerability. If he did drink it, he might get sick, though that was far from a certainty, especially since the water was clear and moving quickly over algae-covered rocks, which any farm boy knew signified clean water, but, he thought, if the water was bad, he would most likely recover from whatever illness it triggered in him when he fully recovered from the Kryptonite exposure.
In this alternative universe Clark has had to hide his talents so well that he can survive under normal circumstances without them. Yet, during the games, his survival instincts w/o his powers are taxed to the limit. Good lookout regarding the algae on the rocks. If another tribute had poisoned the water he would have noticed that immediately.[/quote]
I have to thank KenJ for the info about the algae. I've always regarded wildland water as something that shouldn't be drunk without processing unless absolutely necessary, and I wouldn't have had a clue on how to identify potentially safe water.
All the logic in the world didn’t change how he felt. Becky had trusted him, and he had failed to live up to that trust. She had died horribly, and her death had no doubt been broadcast and re-broadcast across Panem, the Capitolites shocked and yet thrilled at Becky’s horrific end. In the districts, people would be sickened by what had happened — but they would watch anyway. There would be no mass refusal to watch the Games, and if a few people refused, the Peacekeepers would arrest them, using them as an example of what happened to those who defied the Capitol.
Ok people! Isn't it time we started talking about a resistance movement? The Capitolites diseased rule has to come to an end! This whole tribute system has gone on for over one hundred years! True, District 13 had fought back and were destroyed, but I find it hard to believe no other uprisings have occurred...[/quote]
The Hunger Games were established to punish the Districts for the uprising that took place in the Dark Days. It has now been 66 years since the Dark Days, and though there's an underground movement, they don't have the impetus yet to get a large proportion of the population to rebel. That's what takes place in the Hunger Games series, when Katniss and Peeta, at the end of the 74th Hunger Games, basically give a giant up yours to the Capitol by refusing to play along with their sudden rule change, while at the same time having enough support from the viewers to get away with it.
The thought of Platinum made Clark uneasy. The Careers were dangerous, but they were also arrogant and noisy, traits that could be their undoing.
All this is true, but those people have been trained for the Hunger Games. They know what to expect. Clark and the others are .... cannon fodder. Huh, excuse the expression.[/quote]
Quite true, and the Careers win the majority of the time--but not always. At the time of the Quarter Quell in 75, there are at least two victors from every district.
“You stole my rabbit!”
“I … what?”
“That rabbit is mine! I’m the one who speared it!”
“It got away from you. I’m the one who killed it.”
“You couldn’t have killed it without my help!”
Clark had to admit that this was true … but he would never tell Lois that. “We can share it,” he told her.
“Share it!?”
“Or else you get nothing.”
“You can’t tell me —“
Sorry! This is a very serious situation and they are fighting for their lives, but it is so Lois and Clark to be fighting over a rabbit! The dialogue is pitch perfect![/quote]
Thanks.
