177 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
177 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
What was that? Annie turns around.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
That came from the hallway. She steps outside her office to see where this noise is coming from. Everyone else had already gone home and she was about to leave as well so this was weird.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
She opens the door to the room across the hallway. On a desk in the corner sits a terminal. <needs image of a dumb terminal for people who aren't retro nerds> The reception desk has one of these. They always use it to order office supplies.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The text on the terminal blinks. She had never used one before but taking a quick look can’t hurt...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
\[Screen:\]
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
Hello, anyone there?
|
|||
|
|
This is Jack from CryoCorp Outpost 53. I got woken up from cryogenic sleep and am stuck down here. Please respond or send help.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Type reply: █
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
She sits down in front of it. The thing has a bunch of buttons with letters, should be easy enough...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
hello
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The beeping noise stops.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*ChatGPT Feedback:*
|
|||
|
|
*More sensory detail here. Maybe about the chair, but most importantly about the terminal. What does it look like? What does the keyboard feel like (after all, this is the first time she would be typing on one)?*
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*Could be a comment about a satisfying click-clack or something...*
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*Also, a comment of my own: A short description of the room can’t hurt. Like this, it’s just a room with a desk in it. Might as well have been all that’s in the room (which is kinda what I originally imagined, but that would be boring... Should be a room with a function other than holding a terminal forgotten by IT)...*
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
i am going to get help
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Thank you. Appreciate it.
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
That took a while to *type?*... The letter buttons are arranged in a weird order... Annie looks around. A phone! She picks it up - no signal. Weird. Maybe it’s disconnected. She puts it down and rushes back to her office and picks up her phone... Strange electrical noises. She tries to dial a number but nothing happens. She drops the receiver back on the cradle and returns to the terminal.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
i cant call anyone the phone is only making weird noises
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
That’s probably because I am connected through a modem on the same line. I’ll disconnect. I will dial in again in a bit.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
LINE DISCONNECTED -
|
|||
|
|
Tue, 2106-06-01, 19:16
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
AgriWorks Login: █
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
She walks back over to her office and picks up the phone - but who to call? Her coworkers would probably make fun of her or be annoyed. Also, this place, *CryoCorp Outpost 53*, she had never heard of it. The only one who might know more about that place is her grandpa, as he had thoroughly studied the plans of the city in his spare time back in the day. So she dials his number...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<Missing dialog here:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
* reveals that CryoCorp Outpost 53 is unreachable because it is outside of the dome
|
|||
|
|
* his dad had mentioned it in passing when talking about the old world and attempts to overcome the impending doom of humanity
|
|||
|
|
* explanation of what "cryogenic sleep" is
|
|||
|
|
* his dad had thought that it was a ridiculous idea that could never work
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
\\>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Slowly, she sets the receiver back on the cradle. What would she tell Jack? What could she do for him? And there was an outside world? A whole world, much bigger than the city, that she had never heard of and would never see? She gets up. While leaving her office, she glances at the terminal in the other room but the text hadn’t changed. She goes to the reception area to find some snacks. A cup of juice and a cookie later, she returns holding two additional cookies in her hand. She paces back and forth between her office and the terminal room while taking small bites of the cookies. One cookie disappears, and then the other one. And then she paces some more...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**BEEP BEEP**
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Annie looks up. That had to be the terminal again. She walks over.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
Hello again.
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
She sits down in front of the terminal.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
hello i am really sorry but we cannot help you we cant get to outpost 53 its outside
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Hm. Okay...
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Annie doesn’t know what to say. She feels bad about it, but there really is nothing she could do.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
is there anything else i could help you with
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Let me think for a moment.
|
|||
|
|
......
|
|||
|
|
..............
|
|||
|
|
...
|
|||
|
|
......
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
More dots followed. A lot more.
|
|||
|
|
Then this:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
................................
|
|||
|
|
Sorry for taking up your time.
|
|||
|
|
I think I might be able to improvise some tools down here. If I had a repair manual for the door, I think, I could get out. Do you think you can get your hands on one?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
i dont know where would i find it
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You are in the city under the mountain, right? The dome city?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
yes <name of city>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If memory serves right, there is a library in the city center. They should have it. I need the repair manual for a CryoCorp B33FY-AF Bunker Door.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
yes but how would i get a book to you
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
They should have a digital version of it... You are not very familiar with computers, are you?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
no
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Are there any computer people you could ask to send me one?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
not sure they would do that my grandpa might but he doesnt work here
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Any computer hooked up to a modem and a phone line should do. If he knows his way around computers - and has access to one - he will be able to do this.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
whats a modem
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A modem is typically a small device that allows a computer to connect to the telephone network so that two computers that are far away from each other can be connected - like the computers we are using right now.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
i think he has one
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Great! Could you please ask him if he can establish a connection to <phone number> at 300 baud?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
i think he would love to do that its his sort of thing but it will take a few days
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Thank you - I never asked your name...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
annie
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Thank you, Annie!
|
|||
|
|
I can hold out down here for quite a while, don’t worry about a couple days. I’ll check back on Friday evening if I don’t hear from you or your grandpa before then. Is that okay?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
are you safe down there
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Yes, the bunker seems to be holding up well and I have plenty of food for now. I just wish I could get out of that damned door and see the light of day.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ok thats good
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"The light of day", Annie thinks to herself, "what does it look like?"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
I have to go now, the bunker’s daily phone usage quota is running out. Thank you again and looking forward to talk to you and your grandpa.
|
|||
|
|
The manual I need is for the CryoCorp B33FY-AF Bunker Door, this modem can be reached under <phone number> at 300 baud.
|
|||
|
|
I will connect back to this terminal on Friday if we haven't established contact before then, okay?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
can we talk tomorrow i have questions
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
We can tal
|
|||
|
|
LINE DISCONNECTED -
|
|||
|
|
Tue, 2106-06-01, 20:07
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
AgriWorks Login:
|
|||
|
|
```
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Is that a yes or a no?", Annie wonders, still slightly puzzled by the whole situation. She starts reading all that's still on the screen. "The light of day", she quietly says to herself.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As she reads the section with the bunker door and the phone number, she reaches for a pen and some paper and writes them down - whoever works here hopefully won’t mind (she had never seen anyone enter or leave this room). As Annie continues reading, she hears a quiet clicking noise and the terminal turns off with a flash of the screen. A tiny red light illuminates the letters "RDY" on the side.
|