Daleks On Vacation

Recently, we took two of our Daleks with us on a weekend excursion.  They are named Salt and Pepper.  As this was their first trip away from home, they were understandably excited.

Salt: Long John Silvers, home of master's favorite fish!
Pepper: Remain calm.  Daleks do not get excited.

Salt: You don't think they'll shake us, do you?
Pepper: I hope not.  If my gun goes off, 
I might accidentally exterminate their food.

Salt: Mountains!  I see mountains!

Pepper: Joshua Trees really put the yuck in Yucca.

Salt: What are you researching, master?
Dragon Dave: Just our itinerary for tomorrow.
Pepper: Could you tell us a story before we go to sleep?
Dragon Dave.  Sure.

The Bears of Muroc: A Bedtime Story for Daleks

Once upon a time, three pioneers traveled into the wilderness.  Their names were Clifford Corum, his wife Ellie, and Clifford’s brother Ralph.  They settled on Rogers Dry Lake, built a house, and operated a store and post office.  When the Post Office objected to them naming their store and local post office Corum, they reversed the spelling, and called it Muroc.

Salt: Were they related to Corum Jhaelsen Irsei?

Dragon Dave: No, that's a character Michael Moorcook created for his novels. 

Pepper: Wasn't he an aspect of the Eternal Champion?

Dragon Dave: That's right.  Now shh. 

A few years later, a family of bears traveled to Rogers Dry Lake.  Their names were Army, Air, and Corps.  They had visited other dry lake beds, but either they found the dry lakes too small, or the clay of the beds was too soft.  They decided that Rogers Dry Lake was just right.  Initially, the bears used it for bombing practice, but later they used it for testing experimental aircraft, which they called Flight Test.  The bears called their new home Muroc Army Air Field, after Clifford, Ellie, and Ralf.  Later, they renamed it Edwards Air Force Base, in honor of Glen Edwards, who died testing an experimental Flying Wing bomber.  This was where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in his Bell X-1 rocket plane.  Later, the X-15 rocket plane helped the Bear family with the space program.  They also tested experimental lifting bodies, like the Northrop M2-F2, which helped NASA, one of the Bears’ children, design the Space Shuttle. 

Salt: The M2-F2 was the “flying bathtub” that Steve Austin crashed in, 

before he received his bionics arm, legs, and eye, right?

Well, the real pilot was Bruce Peterson, and while he lost sight in one eye, he didn’t get any bionics replacements.  It sometimes bothered him that the TV show featured his crash in the opening scene, but he kept a good attitude about it, and often joked that he should be called “The Five Million Dollar Man.”

Pepper: What happened to the Bears?  

The descendants of the original bears still live there.  The two oldest brothers are called Edwards and Dryden. 

Salt: And that’s where we’re going tomorrow?  

Only if you get your rest, and we can smuggle your guns past Security.

Salt: We will sleep!  
Pepper: Agreed.  Daleks will sleep!

Dragon Dave