Joshua Lengfelder - The Official Guide to Randonautica: Everything You Need to Know about Creating Your Random Adventure Story

Learn how to use the app, set intentions, record your journeys, and more!

The Official Guide to Randonautica

Everything You Need to Know about Creating Your Random Adventure Story

Joshua Lengfelder and Auburn Salcedo, Founders of Randonautica

Adams Media

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

100 Technology Center Drive

Stoughton, Massachusetts 02072

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2021 by Joshua Lengfelder and Auburn Salcedo.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Adams Media Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Adams Media trade paperback edition July 2021

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Interior design by Colleen Cunningham

Interior illustrations by Alaya Howard

Interior images Getty Images/ulimi, Barmaleeva

Cover design by Alaya Howard

Cover illustrations by Alaya Howard

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lengfelder, Joshua, author. | Salcedo, Auburn, author.

Title: The official guide to Randonautica / Joshua Lengfelder and Auburn Salcedo.

Description: First Adams Media trade paperback edition. | Stoughton, MA: Adams Media, 2021.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021005922 | ISBN 9781507216255 (pb) | ISBN 9781507216262 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Randonautica (Mobile app) | Digital maps. | Orientation. | Voyages and travels. | Chance. | Chaotic synchronization. | Travel writing.

Classification: LCC GA139 .L46 2021 | DDC 796.58--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005922

ISBN 978-1-5072-1625-5

ISBN 978-1-5072-1626-2 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is intended as general information only, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any health condition. In light of the complex, individual, and specific nature of health problems, this book is not intended to replace professional medical advice. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions in this book are intended to supplement, not replace, the advice of a trained medical professional. Consult your physician before adopting any of the suggestions in this book, as well as about any condition that may require diagnosis or medical attention. The author and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book.

Certain sections of this book deal with activities that may result in serious bodily harm or even death. The authors, Adams Media, and Simon & Schuster, Inc. do not accept liability for any injury, loss, legal consequence, or incidental or consequential damage incurred by reliance on the information or advice provided in this book. The information in this book is for entertainment purposes only.

Have you ever met someone, looked them in the eyes, and felt like youve known them forever? The sensation of familiarity is unshakable. A long day of waiting led up to a moment where I felt that experience of knowingness when I met my now partner and dear friend and the coauthor of this book, Joshua Lengfelder, for the first time. Josh was traveling from Dallas to see me in Orlando in December of 2019 for, well, we werent really sure. We just knew we needed to meet in person. I had found Josh, better known by his alias Comrade, after stumbling across a mysterious fringe subreddit of curious, kind, and sincere explorers of the unknown, the Randonauts. I was immediately intrigued, and somewhere in me I knew Id play a larger role in helping this radically new community move into the mainstream eye.

My first message to Josh was quite cryptic: Hello, I am not sure how I am supposed to help but I just have this gut feeling I needed to reach out to you. Josh was always quite accommodating to my weirdness. I could tell hed spoken to many people unsure of their purpose within the community. After a bunch of somewhat vague conversations, Josh spontaneously took a flight to Orlandoa flight that was supposed to arrive at 10 a.m. but turned into an 11 p.m. arrival after several delays.

I pulled up to the airport, found Josh waiting, waved ecstatically, got out of my car (nearly before I had fully parked), and ran over to receive a greeting with the biggest, friendliest hug. For just a brief second, I wholly felt the sensation that Id both known him forever and Id know him forever. Once we got in the car, it was like wed been friends for ages. He explained the value of breaking free from daily routine. I shared how I had been posing the question When was the last time you did something random? to myself and others. I prodded him with many questions about the theories behind Randonautica, and then I sought out an answer to something that had left me dumbfounded. I told him my story of the orange traffic cone.

Back in July of 2019, I made my first Randonaut trip. The point from the bot that was used at the time landed me on an orange traffic cone. Well, thats not too surprising; I was on a busy road. On my next stop, another orange traffic cone, at a construction site. Living in Omaha, Nebraska, makes traveling from an urban setting to the country just a quick fifteen-minute drive, so I headed toward the more rural area to generate another set of random coordinates to travel to. The coordinates led me to a cornfield. I walked through the stalks, pretty freaked out, honestly. Even though I grew up in the Cornhusker State, there is still this eeriness about walking through a cornfield when youre 5 feet, 3 inches and cant see above the head of the corn maze. I trudged forward, committed to making it to the Youve arrived at your destination moment from my GPS, and moments before I did, I stood in shock. Wouldnt you know it? Right there, probably 200 feet into this cornfield, was an orange traffic cone.

I asked Josh, How is this possible? That there would be an orange cone in the middle of the field. This doesnt feel random. He posed many different theories (which well discuss later in this book). Josh and I made three Randonaut trips while we were together the next day. The first brought us to a lone, little orange cone, like the ones youd see in a PE class. We both squealed and laughed. My conscious awareness was heightened, and the thrill of the unknown journey was coursing through me. The second stop brought us to a point on the side of the highway, which I thought was a bust. But Josh jumped out, walked straight to the area, moved some dead grassand hello! Another orange cone! Last, we ended up at a manufacturing lot where, at first, we saw nothing of importancebut then, in between 30-foot-high white packing containers lining the lot, there on its side lay one lonely orange cone. I looked at Josh and said, Cmon, did that just fall from the sky?! We laughed.