+ The station is is much larger than any of the metro stations inside the + dome. It has many platforms. Portions of the tall roof that is supported + by long pillars have caved in and what's still standing has holes. + Rays of light poke through holes in the walls and the roof. All of that + is visually stunning but what really catches Annie's eyes are the + plants everywhere. Parts of the platforms are densely covered in the + thin, green blades of some plant giving them a fuzzy look. Vines cling to + the walls and pillars, crawl along gaps and edges, and hang from rusty + beams and the fringes of the caved in roof sections. Moss grows on the + rusted benches and trash cans. +
+
+ After running over a bunch of bushes and tall flowers that have taken
+ root on the tracks, Jack brings the train to a stop next to a staircase
+ in the center of the platform.
+ Exit to the right, he says in unison with the
+ automated voice before turning the switch for the doors and gesturing
+ towards the passenger area.
br here?
+ After you.
+
+ Annie walks over to the closest door and pushes the button. Pressurized
+ air hisses and the left half opens with a squeeking noise. They step out
+ onto the platform. Annie breathes the warm air. It smells of the run-over
+ plants. Insects are buzzing about, and the wind rustles through the
+ leaves. She crouches down and touches the carpet of green fuzziness.
+ Grass. It grows pretty much everywhere, usually much
+ taller than this though.
+ She looks up at him.
+ I knew there would be more plants out here... I
+ didn't expect that many of them.
+ Welcome to the outside world. Wanna take a quick
+ look around?
+ She gets up.
+ Sure.
+
+ They walk down a flight of stairs taking them to a tunnel under the + platforms. The floor is covered in water so they follow a ledge on the + side. Jack leads Annie up the stairs to the last platform. From there, + they step outside through a side entrance. +
+
+ Annie is hit by the light and warmth of the setting sun. She closes her
+ eyes and faces it for a moment.
+ This is nice. Then, she turns to Jack.
+ And this light is just always up there?
+ Jack chuckles
+ Well... No. Only during the day.
+ She looks around. They are standing on a balcony-like platform overlooking
+ a city in a valley. She walks over to the rusted railing and goes to lean
+ against it.
+ Don't lean on that.
+ Why not? She steps back.
+ Watch.
+ He kicks it. Loud cracking follows, and the ringing of metal. A roughly
+ two meter wide section of the railing breaks loose and falls. Annie takes
+ a bigger step back. The railing crashes into the ground below with a loud
+ ringing bang.
+ How did you know?
+ Be careful around old buildings. I made the same
+ mistake over there.
+ He points to another missing section in the railing.
+
+ Cautiously stepping back to the edge, Annie looks down. Bushes cover the
+ hillside below the tall embankment wall that holds the station,
+ overgrowing everything. The walls of small ruins and half fallen-in
+ fences stick out here and there, and the bushes are interrupted by what
+ remains of roads and staircases. Small rivers cut through the landscape.
+ Annie looks up. The ruins further down the valley are larger the closer
+ they are to the center of the urban area below.
+ Wooow, she utters in astonishment.
+ Ivydale - or at least what remains of it.
+
+ It's much bigger than <dome city>.
+
+ Many things are bigger than <dome city>.
+ It's This is the smaller of two sister
+ cities. He points towards another urban center in the distance.
+ That over there is Sentinel Shores, the place I
+ used to call home.
+
+ After showing her some notable landmarks, Jack leads Annie to the end of + the station that they entered it from. The balcony-like walkway turns + into a wide staircase where the mountain extends over the tunnels and the + back wall of the station. It leads down to a collapsed bridge next to a + large waterfall. Annie marvels at the sheer amount of water flowing by, + something that she's never seen before. +
+
+ Jack goes ahead, climbing down the wall where the bridge used to begin
+ by grabbing onto the edges of the large sandstone blocks. Annie struggles
+ to follow. After what feels like an eternity, she manages to get half-way
+ down the wall.
+ You can jump from there.
+ They make their way across the fast-flowing river by stepping on large
+ stones in the water, and continue through the bushes towards Outpost 53.
+
+ If you are here for reading, skip past the outline. +
++ *Outline:* +
+
+ Why not?
+ Emily looks back and forth between Lena and the man on the bed.
+ needs rephrasing because he isn't a stranger
+
+ Tony said he had some success with his mice, why
+ shouldn't we try it?
+ Tony also died after – he is
+ interrupted by coughing – after trying it
+ on himself.
+ Not like anything else is gonna happen to
+ us...
+ Lena shakes her head.
+ I don't want to live my remaining days alone.
+ Just don't do it, please.
+ Emily gets up and wanders around the module. Her eyes fall on the drawers
+ in the adjacent maintenance module. She has an idea...
+ Emily, where are you going?
+ She steps inside and rummages through a bunch of drawers, leaving them
+ open as she opens the next one.
+ What are you doing with that hammer?
+ She storms off into the hallway; Lena follows her.
+
+ As she runs through the door to the lab module, she smashes the hammer + into its control panel. Arcing noises, the hissing of air pressure + getting released, the broken equipment alarm beeps. The door comes + falling down behind her, slamming into the floor and latching with a + loud click. She looks around for a moment as she catches her breath. The + walls are lined with work benches and cupboards above them. In the + center is an additional large workbench where Tony's lab mice are + still running around in their cage, oblivious to the situation. Emily had + kept them as pets after he died. +
++ Banging on the door - Lena is outside. Emily walks over to the + Erlenmeyer flask that's sitting next to the sink in one of the + workbenches that line the walls. She lifts it up and looks through the + clear, blue liquid. Tony had written some science-y words on the flask + along with "cure 5x concentrated", and closed it off with a + glass stopper. Emily removes the stopper and grabs a small beaker from + the drying rack on the wall above the sink. She pours some of the liquid + into the beaker, sets the flask aside, and tops it off with water from + the tap. Holding the beaker in her hands, she hesitates. +
++ Buzzing noises and clicking from the door. The latching mechanism opens. + Emily's hesitation is over, she lifts the beaker to her mouth and + drinks the liquid. It has a pungent smell and burns in her throat but she + downs it in two gulps. The door moves up a bit. Through the opening, she + hears Lena struggling on the other side. A foot appears in the door, + followed by Lena's hands. Emily begins to feel dizzy, she sets the + beaker onto the center workbench and holds on to the edge of the work + surface. Lena slowly lifts the door and pushes it back into the ceiling, + holding a screwdriver in her mouth. The panel covering the latching + mechanism has been removed and is leaning against the wall. Emily starts + to move towards the door but feels too dizzy to walk. She still sees + Lena jam the screwdriver in the side of the door before her knees give + out and she falls. A burning sensation spreads throughout her body as + she lays on the floor. Lena starts to yell at her but she drifts out of + consciousness before she can process any of the words. +
++ She wakes up briefly while getting carried down the hallway. The pain is + unbearable. In an attempt to scream, she sighs before everything goes + black again. The next time she regains consciousness is while throwing + up in her bed. She gasps for air, then she drifts away again. +
+ diff --git a/pa-Basic_Needs.html b/pa-Basic_Needs.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d523c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/pa-Basic_Needs.html @@ -0,0 +1,100 @@ ++ Jack drives into a dried-out river. A bit away from the other side is a + group of houses that – while they have certainly seen better days + – aren't ruins. The truck struggles to get traction in the + sand on the other side of the river bed. After getting stuck, he backs up + and turns into the river. He accelerates, the engine roars, then he + steers it back onto the side of the river. The truck gets stuck again. + This process repeats twice more before they finally make it out and back + onto the tall grass that covers the area. Jack drives over to the remains + of a road that lead to the settlement. +
+
+ He parks in front of an old store.
+ This is it, I guess.
+ They get out and start walking towards the door. A small dog runs up to
+ greet them, jumping around, running in circles, and wagging its tail.
+ It picks up a stick and drops it in front of Annie. She crouches down,
+ pets the dog, and picks up the stick. The dog bites into the other end
+ and pulls on it.
+ note: need reason for Jack to go ahead, also better
+ wording
+ I'll be inside.
+ Jack goes into the store.
+
+ note: need to state that the man appears to be in
+ his 60s
+ After playing with the dog for a bit, Annie follows. The man behind the
+ counter is talking to Jack:
+ I mean in the long run. We have plenty of food right
+ now but, since the <river name> has changed course, we don't
+ even have enough water to grow crops for ourselves. The cisterns and
+ wells simply don't cut it.
+ So, basically, you're saying you need
+ water.
+ The man interrupts the conversation and looks at Annie:
+ Good afternoon, what can I do for you?
+ I'm with him.
+ I see.
+ He turns back to Jack:
+ Listen, we don't just need a little bit of
+ water. The amount of water we need can't simply be carried here or
+ we'd do it ourselves. And we need it regularly and consistently.
+ When the <river> still flowed here, water userd to flow into our
+ irrigation system upstream and got distributed to all the fields and
+ greenhouses from there.
+ I know you need an industrial quantity of water.
+ We can get you an industrial quantity of water. Will you give us food if
+ we supply you?
+ "Who is *we*?"
+ He musters Jack for a moment.
+ And how do you wanna get it here?
+ By train - assuming the railroad south of here is
+ in a serviceable state. Seeing the man's confusion, Jack
+ adds: Let that be my problem to solve. Will you
+ trade water for food?
+ I'm gonna have to discuss that with the others.
+ Wait outside.
+
+ After playing with the dog some more, they get approached by a group of
+ people, amongst them the man from the store. They shake hands. Jack
+ repeats his idea to supply water by train in exchange for crops.
+ What's this train you're talking
+ of?, one of them asks.
+ A large vehicle from the old world. It drives on
+ tracks like the ones that should be south of here.
+ So that's what these rails were used for...
+ But that's still pretty far from here, how do you wanna transport
+ the water here?
+ That irrigation system of yours... Can we take a
+ look at it?
+ I see where you're trying to go with this.
+ It's still not particularly close to the rails.
+
+ After a bit of additional back and forth, they agree on a plan. The man
+ who did most of the talking asks a girl:
+ Mary, can you go, show them around?
+ Sure, follow me.
+ It's a bit of a walk...
+ Wait, Jack stops her,
+ We're here with a truck.
+ So that's your car? Cool! I've only
+ ever seen one working car in the city. So we're gonna drive
+ there?
+ If you show us the way.
+ Let's go!
+
+ Not sure of this should be the end of a chapter or if I should continue + here. The way this has turned out, it would also be nice if they ended up + delivering construction machines (excavators, etc.) to the village so they + don't need to rely on water shipments past the day when the + protagonists leave for Nova Metropolis. +
+ diff --git a/ra--Emily_first_contact.html b/ra--Emily_first_contact.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9699de1 --- /dev/null +++ b/ra--Emily_first_contact.html @@ -0,0 +1,177 @@ ++ Outline: +
+
+ note: need to check mice eating behavior when fed,
+ might want to add a section where she actually handles and feeds them
+
+ Emily closes the cage and puts the <whatever they feed the mice>
+ back into the cupboard. She does something related
+ to taking care of the mice, steps out into the hallway, and
+ starts walking. The entire habitat is eerily quiet. Apart from her steps,
+ just the hum of the electrical systems and the quiet whirr of the air
+ circulation are audible.
+
+ 3 – 5 – 2 – 1 – Enter. The keypad beeps with + every button press. A computer voice announces + Access authorized. The door to the main + control center module slides up and she steps through. The module + contains one large room with rows of integrated computer equipment desks + arranged need a fitting description of what a + mission control rom looks like. The wall to the left that most of + the seats are facing is completely taken up by a panorama window into + the biosphere, an even larger module with a ceiling of glass and support + beams completely taken up by plant life, trees, small animals, and a big + pond. The wall to the right holds a large status panel with some + seven-segment displays for information and lots of big status indicator + symbols. +
++ Emily walks down the shallow stairs towards the panorama window. In + front of the window are tables and chairs that were moved there recently + as the room had become more of a general hangout spot for the remaining + people when they were still around. Lena sits at one of them, + preparing something while waiting for her. +
++ missing dialog about food and starting to eat +
+
+ They get interrupted by all of the equipment in the room suddenly coming
+ alive. All of the computer desks that weren't perviously active
+ turn on. Some of the status indicators on the back wall start blinking.
+ A large, green triangle with the letters LINK next to it flickers and
+ then lights up. Emily looks at it in confusion.
+ What does that light mean? She gestures
+ towards it.
+ That's them.
+ Earth people?
+ Yes, Lena replies while quickly finishing
+ her meal, they said they'd try to get a phone
+ connection going.
+ As if on cue, the phone on the large center console begins to ring. Lena
+ gets up and walks over, Emily follows her. note:
+ might need to imply that Lena is very sick Lena sits down in
+ front of it, picks up the receiver, and presses a few buttons.
+ The speaker on the console starts crackling and hissing. Through the
+ noise, they hear a faint voice. Lena leans over to a microphone and
+ talks into it:
+ We can't hear you, one moment.
+ She flips some switches on the console. The speaker cracles some more,
+ then a loud pop, then silence. The smell of magic smoke is in the air.
+
+ Lena turns to a terminal and starts typing.
+ note to self: missing establishing connection
+ note to self: add some data corruption
+
+MOON-01 > This hasn't been maintained in forever. I think the + phone just went. +EARTH-53> You may wanna check the modules under P2 for burnt components. +MOON-01 > I know. +MOON-01 > We have another problem somewhere along the line. There's + apparently more noise than signal. ++
+ Lena opens a cover with a small label "P2" and pulls two cards
+ out of their sockets and inspects them. One has a big black burn mark
+ right in the center.
+ Emily, can you fetch me this module from another
+ phone?
+
+ And? Michelle asks Jack as he looks up from
+ the terminal.
+ Weak signal - and they need to fix their
+ phone.
+ James asks What about that plan B of increasing the
+ transmit power?
+ Meh. Jack doesn't seem too enthusiastic
+ about it.
+ TODO: Dialog. They decide not to increase the
+ power before double-checking that everything is aligned properly. Sure
+ enough, they're off by a bit.
+ Request for comment: Does this make the story more interesting or is it
+ confusing? I originally didn't want to do perspective changes
+ within chapters, and I still might not, but this was too good of an idea
+ not to write it down.
+
+ note to self: After fixing the alignment, pick up on the moon and + continue. +
+ diff --git a/va-Alone-Lena_death.html b/va-Alone-Lena_death.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea00390 --- /dev/null +++ b/va-Alone-Lena_death.html @@ -0,0 +1,159 @@ ++ Outline: +
+
+ Emily and Lena start putting on their space suits. Emily is done
+ relatively quickly while Lena makes slow progress as she struggles to
+ keep her balance. Half-way through, she gives up, sitting down on the
+ bench across from the air lock. Emily helps her all the way into the
+ suit. Lena sits there for a moment, heavily breathing, while Emily waits.
+
+ Sorry, I can't... I feel exhausted.
+
+ Emily takes their helmets and brings them into the airlock. She returns + for a life support unit, pulls it out of the rack in the wall, and sets + it down on the floor. Following a mental checklist, she makes sure that + the air tank is connected properly and the status display reads what it + should. Everything okay... or is it? She double-checks with the check + list on the wall. Yes, this unit is ready. She triple-checks everything + – first time it actually matters. Reasonably satisfied with her + findings, she carries it over to the air lock. Then, she repeats this + procedure for the second unit. Finally, she helps Lena up and they get + into the airlock. +
++ The pumps are getting quieter and quieter. Lena kneels on the floor + holding a bunch of flowers from the biotope module, her life support + unit next to her on a short tether. Emily puts it on her back and and + helps her up. The outer door of the airlock swings aside and they start + walking, Lena leaning on Emily. +
++ They reach the graveyard and walk over to the recent graves. The entire + graveyard is covered in hills where the bodies of the deceased were + buried. Some have signs with names, some have painted pieces of regalith + as gravestones, some have <the crumpled remains + of>? What happens to flowers when exposed to vacuum for a prolonged + amount of time? flowers next to them, some are entirely + undecorated. +
+
+ Lena places a couple flowers on each of the most recent graves, then she
+ gestures for Emily to take the life support unit off her back. Emily
+ takes it off and she sits down. Emily places the life support unit
+ behind her, Lena leans against it. She turns her radio on and Emily does
+ the same.
+ Ultimately, you were right. She is
+ interrupted by coughing. If more had taken
+ Tony's cure – no matter what risk it posed ... – maybe
+ some of them would be alive now.
+ What about you? Emily asks with a slither of
+ hope in her voice.
+ No – no cure can save me, it's too
+ late.
+ Emily tears up. note: Slightly. Is there a better
+ way to say this?
+ I'm sorry.
+ Lena raises her arm. Emily sits down next to her and Lena puts it around
+ her shoulders.
+ What will I do without you?
+ You have a strong mind. You got this. Jack will
+ call in the evening, as usual; he will know what to do next.
+
+ missing: +
+
+ Lena's low oxygen alarm starts to beep. Emily gets up and walks
+ back to the habitat. She enters through the airlock and looks for a
+ full oxygen bottle. She lifts one out of its rack and carries it back
+ to Lena. She opens the life support unit and closes the valves on it
+ and the empty bottle, then she replaces it and opens the valves again.
+
+ missing: Emily's LSU is also empty. She replaces the oxygen bottle
+ and returns, sitting down next to Lena for company.
+
+ missing: time jump, Lena dies, etc. +
+