The Hungry Skeith

     Now, when I say dying, I am referring to his hunger status of course. But this isn’t just any hunger… it is an insatiable yearning to eat (almost) everything in sight. Normally, a Neopet with a dying hunger status can eat a few foods and, depending on the weight of the foods, they will become full and eventually bloated! Skeiths specifically can eat ANY item, not just Neopian foods, but Big Boss the Blue Skeith in the Skeith Feeding Factory can literally eat forever without getting full. In fact, he is so hungry that a whole factory was built with a conveyor belt just to bring food to his mouth.

     I know what you’re thinking. “Great! Then what does he need me for?!?” WELL, I am so glad you asked. The setup of the factory was quite rushed, you see. When Big Boss the Blue Skeith demanded it be built, he hiRed a huge team of Meepits for the project. He instructed the Meepits to put a rush on the project and set crazy short deadlines that were impossible to meet.

     Desperate to complete the job, the Meepit team consulted with their Meepit Overlord, who took a break from plotting world domination in order to help them formulate a plan. He had been experimenting with radioactive neggs and had found that you could channel the energy being emitted from them if you set up an extraction tank and filled it with the neggs. He already had a few extra tanks lying around from experimenting, so they got to work slapping the factory together and installed a few tanks filled with neggs. Since radioactive neggs are Green, the tanks which are visible in the background of the factory are all glowing Green with radioactive energy that is being channeled to power the factory, thanks to the Meepit Overlord’s experimental expertise.

     The Meepit team was easily able to assemble the rest of the factory, including the conveyor belt. Food was brought in from all over Neopia, including donations from the Money Tree that no one else seemed to want, such as strawberry jelly, chocolate cake, ice creams, and so on. This pleased the Blue Skeith greatly, as all the food was freely able to flow into his mouth.

     Not too long after the factory was up and running with Meepits constantly loading food onto the conveyor belt out of view of the Blue Skeith, they began to notice strange things happening to certain foods. For example, the Strawberry Jellies which were usually light pink in colour seemed to turn dark Blue before they made it to the conveyor belt. The Meepits weren’t sure why exactly this was occurring. I should note that these Jellies were stored right below the pipes that contained radioactive extract flowing through the factory, and the pipes would occasionally leak on the Jellies, but the Meepits never seemed to notice because they were too busy frantically loading the foods.

     Another food they found to be an issue were slices of pie. The Pies were stoRed safely in a corner far away from the tanks and the pipes, but no matter what they did, it seemed like once they sliced up a pie and sent the piece down the belt it would be glowing Green before it ever left the room. Once again, I can give you some insider information that the Meepits did not realize: The sinks in which the Meepits washed their pie-slicing equipment were also used to dispose of radioactive negg waste post-extraction, and this waste was cross contaminating the equipment during the wash!

     A third and final problematic food identified was a type of mysterious pepper. The Meepit team was not familiar with the type of pepper, and they weren’t even sure if there was anything wrong with this pepper… it remains a mystery still, even to this day! But they found that if the Skeith ate the pepper which was Red in colour, he would burp fire like a dragon (and not in a good way!) It was the most extreme heartburn he had ever felt!

     Once these issues were identified, the Meepits didn’t have time to figure out why or how to fix the foods, and they didn’t want giant holes on the conveyor belt that would be created if they stopped loading those foods, so instead they came up with a different solution. They installed a disposal barrel for the foods in the main room. They tried tossing a Blue Jelly in, and after it a pepper….

     Well, after a few different problematic foods had been placed in the barrel, the foods started to react with one another and the barrel exploded! The Skeith was terribly upset as this almost caused him to miss some food coming down the belt, but luckily for the Meepits he was able to catch and eat the chocolate cake coming down.

     To solve THIS issue, the Meepit team installed two more discard barrels and labeled them with different colours – Red for the Red Peppers, Blue for the Blue Jellies, and Green for the Green Glowing Pie Slices. Now, I’m not sure if you have seen a Meepit before or not… they’re kind of cute in their own way, but also a little creepy with those big eyes staring at you. The real reason I bring this up is to say that Meepits are quite short! A Meepit would have a difficult time grabbing these problematic foods from the conveyor belt and throwing them into their appropriate discard barrels which are quite tall.

     This is where YOU come in!! Big Boss, the Blue Skeith at the Skeith Feeding Factory, is hiring a Neopet to collect these problematic foods and discard them in their appropriate bins. Now, I’m not sure which Neopet would be the best species for the job. I’m sure there is more than one that could be successful, but what skills would be requiRed to perform the tasks? Let’s see… they would have to be tall enough to reach things, or possibly fly instead! And they would have to be pretty quick and agile in order to move around the factory at a frantic rate…

     What’s that you say? A Green Buzz? Why… why YES, I think they would be PERFECT for the job. Now, let me give you some pointers before your first day. If you do a good enough job, I heard the Big Boss might even commend you with a shiny trophy for your troubles! Here are my tips for success on the job:

     1. The different problematic foods are worth different amounts. Green Pies are worth the most, Blue Jellies are second, and Red Peppers are worth the least! If you’re lucky, you’ll get more Green Pies which translates to higher praise!

     2. For the first shift, ONLY drop Green Pies into their respective discard barrel. If any Blue Jellies or Red Peppers come along, pluck them off the belt and toss them right back onto the belt in the back of the factory – this will buy you some time to get more Green Pies!

     3. For the second shift, ONLY drop Green Pies and Blue Jellies into their respective discard barrels. If any Red Peppers come along, you guessed it – slam those vegetables right back on the belt in the back! You want to get as much praise as possible in your earlier shifts since they are slower and easier.

     4. Eventually, as you work longer, the shifts will get more difficult and you’ll be lucky to get all the problem foods in their respective discard barrels before they reach the big boss. Be careful! If he eats 5 of these, you’re FIRed. (Don’t worry, there is severance pay!) Before you know it, you’ll be going home with a big shiny trophy and will have had a blast earning it!

     Now, I know you’re all rushing to the Games Room and shoving each other to try to get through the door to play Hungry Skeith first, but don’t worry! There is plenty of room in the factory for everyone! Take your time, relax, and don’t forget to stretch and warm up before your first shift. You’re going to do great!