A chuckle escaped Jack at the question of whether he felt like an outsider. It was a common feeling for him over the last year, in fact longer than that. He was an outsider to most people he knew, the business world didn't seem to have many people who had previously shared his affinity for video games, cheesy kung-fu movies, or the will to program things to make them more efficient. For as invested in technology as Jack had been he surprised even himself as to how much he was able to accomplish in staying alive and travelling as far as he had done.<br/><br/>He took a seat, squeezing in a little bit, and faced Maia. "So many questions," he began, "I would start to think you were related to Alex Trebek, except that he didn't ask questions he provided answers to the questions he wanted asked. Of course I will be glad to answer them all for you, since you are volunteering to help me and all." Before continuing on with all of the talking though he took a bite of fish and some of the potatoes they had presumably baked in a fire. The food was warm and provided necessary nourishment, and while he didn't necessarily care for the spices that the Native Americans used, he was not going to complain in the least.<br/><br/>"I have felt like an outsider for a long time Maia, and yes here I do feel like one, but possibly not for the reasons you might be suggesting. I assume you think I would feel like an outsider since I am but a single white man surrounded by hundreds of natives reclaiming land that they believe is their own. That doesn't bother me though, it doesn't make me feel like an outsider to say the least, I feel like an outsider because of how difficult it is to find people with common interests to myself."<br/><br/>He realized some of that might have been off-putting and the last part definitely made it sound like a pity party, but that was not the intent. Jack would let Maia interpret it how she wanted to though and leave it at that. "As for whether or not I think keeping distance from people is good or not, there I have mixed feelings. I feel like we will need to learn to trust one another and be accepting of other people if the human race is going to survive whatever in the hell this catastrophe is that practically sent us back into the medieval time period with guns. I do think some caution is warranted, but I also think the way I was approached was a bit excessive. Of course I get it, but that doesn't mean I agree with the methodology."<br/><br/>A quick drink of water and he continued once more, cutting Maia off if need be, "I started my journey back east in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, my goal has always been the Willamette Valley, somewhere just south of Astoria, or near Longbeach in Washington. Presumably by now the dams along the Columbia have all broken down so most of Astoria itself is likely flooded more often than not, so somewhere to the south, out of the flood plane is ideal, or just north though crossing the Columbia in her wild form can prove to be a cumbersome task. From the research I had done the tribes in that area hadn't flourished too much, so unlike here I figured there would be more open areas, and perhaps some established towns I could roll into and help out. While this area has good chances, the area up there is better suited for building aqueducts, and perhaps using hydro power to get some electronics back. I have plans on how it might work, but it is all theoretical."<br/><br/>Then Jack went silent, he figured he had talked plenty now, and continued eating the food provided.