wwrench | Abraxas Horizon

HORIZON

The Cabin

The most underdeveloped portion of Wrench's Horizon. Modestly sized, the cabin sits at the edge of a clear lake with a boat dock. From the outside, the cabin appears cozy and sturdy, with a side porch and many large windows that emit a warm glow from within. There's not much reason to investigate the inside, however: Wrench hasn't done anything in the way of interior decorating. The space is one cavernous room with wood flooring and absolutely nothing in the way of furniture or decor.

The Campsite

Roughly 100 meters from the cabin in an open glade sits a small campsite with a one-person canvas tent and a small cooking area.

The Ice Hut

Compared to the majority of Wrench's Horizon where the weather appears terminally stuck in early autumn, the ice fishing hut plunges visitors into the depths of a frigid Upper Midwestern winter. Seek refuge inside this tiny structure in the middle of a frozen lake before venturing out to see what can be fished up from the already-drilled hole.

The Springs

The Wildlife

A variety of animals can be found in Wrench's Horizon, including: gray squirrels, snowshoe hares, white-tailed jackrabbits, ruffled grouse, prairie chickens, and white-tailed deer.

The Ambiance

CODE BY

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

LEARNING ASL

What is a reasonable time frame?

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the U.S. Department of State has a list of languages categorized by their difficulty for learning for native English speakers. Researchers of ASL have argued that the difficulty of learning the language should be ranked somewhere around Category 3 of 5. In general, this means it would take the average serious learner over 1000 hours of concerted instruction to reach a proficiency level that would satisfy routine social demands and limited work-related interactions. THIS DOES NOT INDICATE FLUENCY.

ASL 101

First 20 hours of instruction.

Any individual who studies with Wrench for at least 20 hours of direct instruction can reasonably expect to have gained the following competencies:

• manual alphabet
• numbers 1 to 30
• introductions and greetings
• use of gesture to "picture" the size, shape, distance, and positioning of objects
• burgeoning vocabulary of around 100 signs, including basics related to:
clothing, colors, emotions, family, food, health, and time

NOTE: Mistakes and errors will be common and will likely include confusing letters (A/S and D/F) or numbers (3/6), imprecise production of signs (wrong handshape or location on body), and general forgetfulness and discomfort. Sentences would be limited to phrases consisting of no more than two or three words, likely learned through rote memorization and repetition. A student should not expect to be able to spontaneously carry out a conversation, and virtually all statements made will need to be thought out beforehand, leading to an overall slow pacing.

ASL 102

Additional 20 hours of instruction.

Any individual who continues to study with Wrench for a subsequent 20 hours (40 hours in total) can reasonably expect to have gained the following competencies:

• family and relationships
• time and frequency
• use of classifiers to describe the location of objects
• giving and following basic commands
• continued grammar, including past and future tense, and directionality
• blossoming vocabulary of around 200 additional signs, including basics related to:
descriptive classifiers, physical attributes, background, occupations, hobbies, furniture, and weather

NOTE: Mistakes and errors will remain rather common and will likely include imprecise production of signs (wrong handshape or location on body), conflating pronouns ("me" versus "my" or "they" versus "theirs"), English-based word order (or retaining the grammatical structure of the native language), and general forgetfulness and discomfort. Sentences would likely remain limited to phrases consisting of no more than five or six words, likely produced with a considerable amount of forethought and stalling throughout. As manual language is still a new concept, it may be difficult for students to imagine objects in space, and they may struggle to give directions or describe their surroundings by relying on a fixed point of reference.

RECREATION

The following may be utilized in Wrench's Horizon:

• canoeing
• swimming
• bow and arrow hunting (squirrels, rabbits, grouse, deer)
• fishing (freshwater and ice)
• camping
• axe throwing and archery

COMBAT

Wrench is available for sparring and skill-building around the following:

• hand-to-hand (proficiency level: intermediate)
• ranged weaponcraft (proficiency level: advanced)

Abraxas Horizon

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

EXPERIENCE.