Update to current working status
BodgeMaster
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f4c188effa
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c1b8011e9a
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ What was that? Annie turns around.
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beep beep
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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 is weird.
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That came from the hallway. She steps outside her office to see where this noise is coming from. Everyone else had already gone home already and she was about to leave as well so this is weird.
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beep beep
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@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The text on the terminal blinks. She had never used one before but taking a quic
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```
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Hello, anyone there?
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This is Jack from CryoCorp Outpost 53. I got woken up from cryogenic sleep and am stuck down here. Please respond or send help.
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This is Jack from Cryo Facility 53. I got woken up from cryogenic sleep and am stuck down here. Please respond or send help.
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Type reply: █
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```
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@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ Tue, 2106-06-01, 19:16
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AgriWorks Login: █
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```
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Annie picks up the phone again - 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...
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Annie picks up the phone again - but who to call? Her coworkers would probably make fun of her or be annoyed. Also, this place, ‘Cryo 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...
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"Hello", says an old, friendly voice on the other end.
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@ -84,17 +84,18 @@ Annie picks up the phone again - but who to call? Her coworkers would probably m
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"Hey Annie! What’s on your mind that you call now?" *Not to self: Improve this, it doesn’t sound right to me*
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"Hey Grandpa! So ... Uhhh..." She makes a short pause. "This might be a little bit weird but someone contacted me from a location called ‘CryoCorp Outpost 53’. I wondered if you happen to know where that is."
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"Hey Grandpa! So ... Uhhh..." She makes a short pause. "This might be a little bit weird but someone contacted me from a location called ‘Cryo Outpost 53’. I wondered if you happen to know where that is."
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"CryoCorp... That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time... Are you sure?"
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"Cryo Outpost? Haven’t heard anyone talk about these in a while... Are you sure?"
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"Yes, he wrote it to me: CryoCorp Outpost 53."
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"Yes, he wrote it to me: Cryo Outpost 53."
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"What did he want?
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*Missing dialog here:*
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* *reveals that CryoCorp Outpost 53 is unreachable because it is outside of the dome*
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* *reveals that Outpost 53 is unreachable because it is outside of the dome*
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* *needs to explain to the reader that the city is inside a large concrete dome under a mountain*
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* *his dad had mentioned it in passing when talking about the old world and attempts to overcome the impending doom of humanity*
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* *explanation of what "cryogenic sleep" is*
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* *his dad had thought that it was a ridiculous idea that could never work*
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@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ You are in the city under the mountain, right? The dome city?
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yes <name of city>
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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.
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If memory serves right, there is a library in the city center. They should have it. I need the repair manual for a Neotek Dynamics B33FY-AF Bunker Door.
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yes but how would i get a book to you
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@ -191,7 +192,7 @@ ok thats good
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```
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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.
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The manual I need is for the CryoCorp B33FY-AF Bunker Door, this modem can be reached under <phone number> at 300 baud.
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The manual I need is for the Neotek Dynamics B33FY-AF Bunker Door, this modem can be reached under <phone number> at 300 baud.
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I will connect back to this terminal on Friday if we haven't established contact before then, okay?
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can we talk tomorrow i have questions
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@ -209,7 +210,7 @@ As she reads the section with the bunker door and the phone number, she reaches
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*This still needs a satisfying conclusion of how she gets up, grabs her stuff, and leaves.*
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Annie closes the door behind herself and locks it. As she takes a breath of the slightly humid air, she takes a step back onto the sidewalk to look at the clock above the entrance... 20:35 - the realization of how much time had passed hits: Normally she’d be home by now. She starts walking towards the metro station at the corner. The buildings here are similar to the ones in other parts of the city - three to four story houses painted in different colors - but they are lacking balconies and, instead of being homes, they mostly house offices. On the other side of the street is an embankment that holds the rails for the metro and beyond that is the outer wall of the dome. The street lights illuminating the area had already switched to their low-brightness mode for the night. She had only seen it like this a couple of times, it made the area look eerie.
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Annie closes the door behind herself and locks it. As she takes a breath of the slightly humid air, she takes a step back onto the sidewalk to look at the clock above the entrance... 8:35 PM - the realization of how much time had passed hits: Normally she’d be home by now. She starts walking towards the metro station at the corner. The buildings here are similar to the ones in other parts of the city - three to four story houses painted in different colors - but they are lacking balconies and, instead of being homes, they mostly house offices. On the other side of the street is an embankment that holds the rails for the metro and beyond that is the outer wall of the dome. The street lights illuminating the area had already switched to their low-brightness mode for the night. She had only seen it like this a couple of times, it made the area look eerie.
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Annie reaches the corner. She looks left and right before crossing the street but not a single car is in sight. As she enters the station and walks up the stairs, she glances at the display - 21 minutes until the next train arrives, that’s a long wait... The station is completely devoid of life, nobody else is out here this late. Annie walks up to the vending machine at the upper end of the staircase - "OUT OF ORDER"... Hrm. Mildly frustrated, she sits down on one of the benches and and starts rummaging in her bag. She finds her headphones and puts them on. At the end of the cable is her walkman. She presses play and starts listening. *Yes, spell-checker, I know that Walkman is a name and should be capitalized. "Portable cassette player" just doesn’t sound nearly as elegant and I don't want it to be a Sony Walkman.*
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@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
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"Aw fuck!" Jack exclaims in pain as he wakes up. He has a horrible headache. As he moves his hands up to hold his head, he realizes that his entire body hurts. "Owwowwowwowwoww... Ouch!"
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"Emergency defrost complete. Entering low power mode." announces an automated voice.
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He thinks to himself: "Get it together, Jack! You knew this was gonna happen. You have trained for this. Where are the pills again? ..."
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Jack stays in his preservation chamber until he is fully awake. As he stands there, waiting for the pain killers to kick in, he looks out of the small window in the door. The bunker looks different from yesterday - not yesterday! That was how ever many years ago... Besides the point. It looks different. Not just "things have moved around different", it looks almost like a lost place. Unexpected but whatever...
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The pressurized air hisses in the lines as the door of the preservation chamber swings aside. Jack steps out into the bunker, breathes the musty air, and looks around. The light shining out of his chamber reveals the dirty floor. The table and chairs in front of him, as well as the kitchen on the other side of the room, are slightly dusty and all exposed screws on the furniture have rust. The red night lights on the ceiling are dimly illuminating the rest of the bunker. The wall is lined with other preservation chambers, all except two being open and powered down. He looks to the left: The remaining operational chamber, minicomputer in a half-height rack, desk with terminal, printer, phone on the wall, ... - not very interesting. He looks to the right: There’s the bunker door - door is a bit of an understatement, it’s a massive gate. A small slither of light passes under it. "These fucking idiots!" Jack thinks to himself. "They didn’t reseal it properly."
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He walks over to the control panel next to the door. The paint is flaking off revealing the rust beneath. Jack attempts to press a couple buttons but they get stuck and nothing happens. "Fuck" he says out loud. Tools and manuals would have been just outside in one of the containers if he remembered correctly. "What a smart move to put them there", he thinks to himself as he turns back to the inside of the bunker. He contemplates the tradeoff between waking up a couple years too soon and having a really short life and being locked inside a bunker due to a bunch of apparent troglodytes who are unable to close a door properly... Doesn’t matter, too late now.
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*Outline of missing section:*
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* *Jack walks back along the preservation chambers (12 in total)*
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* *he checks the name on each one with a short comment*
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* *powers down his own while he’s already there*
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* *does a quick status check on Michelle’s chamber*
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* *decides to leave her in there for the time being as he figures out a way out*
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* *Jack goes to the back taking a look at the printer*
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* *the tractor feed paper and the ribbon have survived by some miracle*
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* *the printer shows a log with contents along the lines of this:*
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* *2000 - Happy new year Y2K*
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* *2002 - incoming ground crew wake up command*
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* *5 personnel got woken up*
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* *message warning of the still very contaminated atmosphere*
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* *they all die within the year*
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* *2033 - incoming ground crew wake up command*
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* *3 personnel got woken up, one died in an accident, 2 more got woken up*
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* *another message warning of the atmosphere*
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* *they all die within 5 to 10 years*
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* *2059 - critical failure: link to moon lost*
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* *maybe some automatic diagnostics*
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* *the computer concludes it’s a problem on their end, no need to wake up anyone, just wait until the link is established again*
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* *2100 - Happy new year 2100*
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* *Tue, 2106-06-01 10:27 AM - critical failure imminent in Jack’s preservation chamber*
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* *emergency wakeup*
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* *Jack checks on the food and clothes and that the kitchen and bathroom are in working order and that he really has no tools and manuals*
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* *he could find things that he could turn into tools but that ofc doesn’t solve his problem if he doesn’t have a manual for fixing the door*
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* *phone is broken*
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* *computer and terminal work still*
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* *maybe need explanation as to why - at least something like "Jack is surprised"*
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* *when trying to power on the additional hard drive that’s supposed to contain all sorts of data - including manuals - he finds it corrupted or damaged*
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* *Jack tries to dial into a bunch of known modems, finally succeeding when reaching AgriWorks*
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* *"They changed the host name... I wonder if this is still the same computer. Lemme try my login... Yup, it is."*
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* *Neotek Dynamics, and more specifically Jack himself, was somehow involved in setting that up*
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* *Annie conversation (duh)*
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* *something? Idk*
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@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
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If you are here for reading, skip past the outline.
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*Next day, Annie only has to be at work in the afternoon so she goes to the library.*
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* *Arrival at the library*
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* *Ask for the manual*
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* *it’s recently been classified due to a bunch of ppl trying to leave the dome*
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* *Librarian behind the counter says something like "I have to write down your details, let me get the list rq" while scribbling a note on her library card, then he winks at her and nods to the door*
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* *Annie leaves*
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* *Outside, she hears the Librarian say "Dorothy, she took her library card and ran, what do I do?"*
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* *Annie hurries back to the station and gets on the next train*
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* *she reads the note on her library card: Meet at xyz metro station, 10:30 PM*
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"Next stop: <underground city name> Center - Library"
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Annie looks up. That’s the station she has to get off at. She only needs to be at work in the afternoon so she decided to get the manual for Jack.
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The train comes to a halt in the station. Annie steps out onto the platform. Few people are around at this time. She glances at the clock next to the train display: 10:17 AM. The light on the display switches to the next train and the digits for the time of arrival start flipping over. *Is there a more elegant way to describe the train station displays of yesteryear?* The door chime sounds and the doors close. Annie starts to walk. The train begins to hum and starts to move. She follows the roughly three other people towards the exit.
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*section to tie this together: she walks into the library*
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Annie walks up to the counter.
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"Hello, how may I help you today?"
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The guy behind the counter smiles.
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"Borrowing the next stack of fantasy books?", he asks.
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"Uhm... Actually, no", Annie replies as she takes her library card and a piece of paper out of her bag.
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"I have a quite unusual request. I am looking for" - she glances at the piece of paper - "a manual for a B three three F Y dash A F bunker door."
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The guy types into his terminal for a moment. Annie places her library card on the counter.
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With a worried look, he turns back to her: "I’m afraid, that information has recently been classified. There is a note about terrorism in here."
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After a second, his face clears up. He takes the card and scribbles something on it before putting it back.
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"Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to write down your details. If you would please wait while I get the list..."
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He winks at her and nods towards the exit. *missing reaction from Annie* Then, he turns around and walks towards a door on the left, seemingly taking his sweet time. Annie grabs her library card and drops it in her bag before making a swift exit. Just as she leaves, she hears him call out to someone else:
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"Dorothy, she took her card and ran, what do I do?"
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*heavy door falls shut, Annie hurries back to the train station and gets on the first train that comes, she takes out her library card and checks the note - such and such station, 10:30 PM*
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@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
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If you’re just here to read, scroll down past the outline.
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*Outline:*
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* *Annie rides the metro to the station*
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* *A shady figure in a black hoodie is there*
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* *Approaches Annie before she can even get off the train*
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* *tells her to stay on*
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* *Turns out it’s Lucas*
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* *Lucas speaks to her quietly, asking if she’s interested in leaving the city while being mysterious about it*
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* *They get off a couple stations later and go to a bar*
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* *Lucas gets some alcoholic drink*
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* *Annie, being kinda tired, gets a coffee or energy drink*
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* *They go to a back room where ppl are waiting for them around a table*
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* *Amongst them is Karl*
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* *secret organization discusses secret organization things*
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* *Annie gets the keys to the library*
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* *Lucas can’t go himself because he needs to attend some important event*
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* *he gives her a description of where to find the relevant computer*
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* *he gives her some login credentials to use*
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* *other ppl have excuses*
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* *Karl would join but he’s unable to run in case they get caught*
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* *he gives Annie a list of useful computer commands and instructions on how to boot up the computer*
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Annie looks through the window in the door as the train enters the station. The platform is empty except for a shady figure in a hoodie leaning against the wall, observing the train from under his hood. She looks at the clock on the station: 10:34 PM - a bit late. As soon as he notices her, he steps away from the wall and walks up to the train. *Is there a more elegant way to say that he stops leaning on the wall?* The pressurized air for the doors hisses in the lines. Annie presses the button; the door opens.
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"Hey, wait..."
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The guy had made his way to the door and looks directly at her. It’s the dude from behind the library counter.
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"We’re gonna take this one for a couple stations."
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Annie steps aside and he gets on the train as well.
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"My name is Lucas, nice to meet you."
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He extends his hand as the doors close.
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"Annie."
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He probably knew that already, right?
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"Sorry for being late."
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The hum of the motors sets in and the train begins to move.
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"Perfect timing, I’d say." He makes a short pause before continuing quietly:
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"So about that interaction we had earlier today - I assume you want to leave the dome?"
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"Not directly..."
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"Okay then disregard my question and we have never met."
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"Wait. You say there is a way out of the dome?"
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"Well, there might be. Some friends of mine say there is."
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Annie thinks about it for a moment. Before yesterday, she wasn’t even aware that there was a world outside the dome - and now she might find out about a way to go there?
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"Tell me more." she replies.
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They get off at a station near the city center. Partytown, as this part of the city is known colloquially, is never asleep: In contrast to the empty stations everywhere else, the stations here are alive with people who seek entertainment, clubs, or the many bars. Lucas hurries down the stairs; Annie follows him. *Missing: reasonably full streets (not a crowd, but a good amount of ppl), potentially the smell of alcohol from some of the ppl walking by, loud music coming out of one of the buildings*
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Annie looks around. The street they are walking down is illuminated by strings of lights hanging from the buildings and between street lights. Amongst all the people, few seem to be purposefully going in a specific direction - most are just meandering along the streets or going from bar to bar. She enjoys the atmosphere, she hadn’t been here in a little while.
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Lucas turns left and enters one of the bars. Annie still follows him. They make their way through the crowded bar towards the counter. The air feels dense and depleted, and carries the smell of alcohol. Live musicians are playing *Idk? Music genre? Need ideas* on a small stage area in the corner.
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"Hey Kate, I’ll take a *some very alcoholic drink? "Braincell Rattler"? Idk* and my uhh... friend here looks like she needs a coffee."
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"Okay. Going to the back room?"
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"Yeah."
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Coffee sounds good... The back room? Annie raises an eyebrow. He opens a door next to the counter and gestures her to follow.
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Lucas takes off his hoodie and hangs it on a hook on the wall. Annie does the same with her jacket. She looks into the room: A bunch of people sitting around a large, round table - to her surprise including her grandpa.
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"Grandpa Karl?" *Language intuition question: Is this how one would realistically refer to their grandpa?*
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"Hi Annie!" *TODO: Fix this*
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Before she has time to voice her confusion, they get interrupted:
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"Here you go, your drinks. Enjoy!"
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Lucas walks up to the window that connects to behind the counter.
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"Thank you!"
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Annie takes a second to regain her composure. *I don’t think this is a great way to say that, Idk.*
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"Thanks."
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They sit down at the table. Karl starts introducing people and some introduce themselves. Then, he continues talking about the group’s mission:
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"We are working on getting the city officials to change their stance on some things. When the city was built, it was seen as sort of a plan B for humanity in case things would get worse. It wasn’t built as a place where we could go and hide forever in isolation. Over time, knowledge of the outside world stopped being an imagination of a possible bright future, and instead it became something to be worried about. ‘What do you mean, you want to go there? Do you really want to go where the air you breathe is literal poison and die?’
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My dad used to always say - and maybe this was naive hope on his part - that it would get better one day and that we could open up the airlocks and leave. That was many, many years ago. It’s been over a century now since the city was sealed - even if it was naive hope on his part, we should at least take a look outside and see for ourselves what it’s like."
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Voices of agreement all around the table.
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*missing: more dialog to tie this together*
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*Important information: The door Jack wants to open is of the same type as the doors used for the airlocks.*
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*The whole Jack topic needs to be brought up in general. They could talk about how having someone outside might be useful.*
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"I mean we have that manual at the library." says Lucas.
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"It’s just classified because they really don’t want anyone to open or use the air locks."
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He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key chain.
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"If you want, you can try getting it - I can’t because I disappeared from a birthday party with an excuse and they are probably waiting for me to be back."
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He places the keys in the center of the table.
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Karl says "I would love to, but I’m afraid I can’t run if things go south."
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A bunch of other excuses from other people. Finally, Annie takes the initiative:
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"I could go. Anyone want to help me with this?"
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@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
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If you are here just for reading, skip past the outline.
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*Outline:*
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* *Annie and Isabelle go to library*
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* *enter the place, find computer*
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* *turn it on (following rough instructions and figuring it out)*
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* *figures out how to CLI (using instructions)*
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* *copy the file to a floppy disk*
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* *One of them trips some sort of alarm before leaving? Idk.. Something has to happen tho.*
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* *Annie drops the floppy and a note with Jack’s number off at Karl’s place*
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* *Annie goes home and falls asleep*
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11:30 PM - Isabelle and Annie find themselves at the side entrance to the library. They try a couple keys before finding the right one. The door swings open with a quiet squeaking noise. The air inside is warm and dry. The door closes and latches behind them. They turn on their flashlights.
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Following the description Lucas had given, they find their way into a small room in the basement. They close the door behind themselves and look around. To the left is a desk with a terminal and a bunch of small devices that are connected together using many cables. The wall in front of them is lined with racks that are almost as tall as the room itself and filled with computer equipment. To the right is a shelf with boxes.
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"I guess this is it. Let’s take a look at the instructions Karl gave you." Isabelle says in a hushed voice.
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Annie pulls the note out of her bag.
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"First step is turning on the terminal... Hey, Lucas said something about using a new floppy disk, can you search for that?"
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Annie walks over to the terminal; Isabelle looks at the boxes on the shelf.
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Annie inspects it for a power switch.
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"There’s a box with cookies back here."
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She pulls it out from behind the terminal. They giggle.
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"I want one." says Isabelle.
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Both end up taking a cookie before stashing the box behind the terminal again.
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Annie flips the power switch. The terminal makes a bonk sound and a crackling noise. She feels the hairs on her hand stand up as she inadvertently moves it in front of the screen.
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"Next step..."
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Annie looks at the note again.
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"‘Turn on main power switch on computer’..."
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She looks at the racks. They are mostly filled with what looks like large drawers with buttons on them. The one in the center is different. It has a bunch of empty panels, some panels with buttons and lights on them, and some other devices.
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"I found you a new floppy disk." Isabelle interrupts her.
|
||||
She pulls a large, square, floppy thing in a paper sleeve out of one of the boxes. She pulls it out of the paper sleeve. Turns out, it’s another paper sleeve with some openings and a black, glossy circle inside. They look back and forth between it and the computer for a moment until Isabelle says:
|
||||
"This could fit in here."
|
||||
She walks up to the center rack and inserts it into one of the devices that have a large, flat slot.
|
||||
*missing: Reaction from Annie*
|
||||
"The note says to turn on the main power switch..." Annie says while inspecting one of the panels with buttons.
|
||||
"Maybe this one?"
|
||||
Isabelle points at a key switch.
|
||||
"Let’s try."
|
||||
Annie grabs the keys. One of them fits and turns.
|
||||
|
||||
Fans come on; they hear the loud noise of air rushing through the computer. Some of the lights and buttons light up. Annie looks at the note again:
|
||||
"‘Spin up boot hard drive’... Lucas has also written here: It’s drive two."
|
||||
The two look back at the racks.
|
||||
"These drawer thingies here have numbers on them, maybe that’s what they mean?"
|
||||
Isabelle walks up to number two and presses the power button. It makes a loud clicking noise and they hear a large motor accelerating inside. More clicking and mechanical noises. A light on the drive comes on.
|
||||
|
||||
"The last step on the note is to press ‘reset’ and ‘load’ and to enter something into the terminal. They also wrote down a list of commands that might help us to find and copy the manual, and ‘Good luck!’..."
|
||||
Isabelle pushes the buttons and they walk over to the terminal.
|
||||
|
||||
*Note: I originally planned to have a section about figuring out the terminal here, assuming I could make it somehow interesting. That said, at this point I’m not sure of the benefit to the story.
|
||||
I tried to do an experiment to see how people who aren’t familiar with the CLI would go about it, but I don’t have any results. I’ll decide if I still want to include something like that when I actually have results.*
|
||||
|
||||
After a lot of figuring things out and typing into the terminal - and maybe a couple more cookies disappearing - they somehow manage to find the manual on one of the hard drives and get it onto the floppy disk. They follow the instructions to shut down the computer and Annie puts the floppy disk into her bag.
|
||||
|
||||
*What immediately follows: One of them has to trip some sort of alarm or they do something stupid that gets the police called on them. Whatever happens, they will have to run and/or take an unconventional way out.*
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
|
|||
A train is coming. As Annie reaches the platform, she hears the sirens of the police cars coming closer. They are really close now. The first police car arrives at the station at the same time as the train arrives at the platform. Annie stands still as she panics. Where could she go?
|
||||
|
||||
"Annie!" Someone shouts her name. "Annie, come here, run!"
|
||||
|
||||
She looks up. The train turned out to be a single car. A single, very rusty car. Annie starts to move. Inside is a single person, the driver, running to the other end. He wears a CryoCorp jacket - no doubt, that has to be Jack. She runs towards the closest door. The humming of the motors getting energized begins to sound. Annie jumps inside as the railcar starts moving in the direction it came from. The doors close as it leaves the platform.
|
||||
|
||||
The train accelerates with a force stronger than anything she has ever felt before. The motors scream, the wind rattles at the doors. While she makes her way to the front, Annie looks outside. The city flies by. The horn sounds as the train barrels though a station. The platform appears, is visible for just enough time to see the astonished faces of the onlookers, and disappears again.
|
||||
|
||||
She reaches the driver’s cabin.
|
||||
"Hello Jack!"
|
||||
"Hi"
|
||||
"I have never seen one of these go this fast."
|
||||
"Me neither."
|
||||
Short pause.
|
||||
|
||||
Jack adds: "I mean there used to be trains that could go faster - a lot faster - but not these."
|
||||
"You arrived just in time, we got really lucky."
|
||||
Jack looks at the rails in front of the train with a slightly worried look on his face. After another short pause, he says "That remains to be seen. Cycling that airlock seems to have set off some sort of alarm. Like poking a stick into an anthill..."
|
||||
"An anthill?"
|
||||
"Oh, I forgot, you wouldn’t know... Ants are tiny little animals. They tend to pile up loose material from the ground into small hills as their nests. If you poke a stick into one, they scramble to defend it."
|
||||
"Ah..."
|
||||
|
||||
*Note to self: This dialog needs to be continued to tie the sections together*
|
||||
|
||||
Jack decelerates the train. "Almost there", he says. They are driving towards the outer wall of the dome. The ‘B33FY-AF’ door on the inside of the airlock is wide open. Technicians and police are standing around it in groups trying to figure out why it had opened. The ramps leading up to the rails and the airlock are full of parked transporters and police cars. Some are even on the rails but the track that Annie and Jack are approaching on is mostly clear.
|
||||
|
||||
The train loses power and passes over a bunch of switches. The headlights flicker and turn off. A police car that is standing too close to the track gets flung to the side. A bunch of technicians jump out of the way. The train passes them and rolls into the airlock. Everything ahead of them is black. The only thing that is visible are the illuminated gauges on the control panel.
|
||||
|
||||
*This is missing some explanation as to why the police don’t immediately intervene. Also, the train comes to a stop in the airlock - it has to - so there should be something about that.*
|
||||
|
||||
"Cycling airlock, please stand by", announces an automated voice. The bunker door closes behind them with a screeching noise. They hear loud hissing noises. Then, the (currently invisible) bunker door in front of them opens up.
|
||||
|
||||
The train shakes slightly as it makes a noise that sounds like a mechanical version of someone clearing their throat. The gauges on the control panel flicker slightly. Annie is surprised by this, the noise is unfamiliar to her. It turns into a constant humming and the headlights come on again. The beams of light reveal a long tunnel with a slight incline ahead.
|
||||
|
||||
"You look puzzled." Jack looks at Annie.
|
||||
"What’s this weird noise?"
|
||||
"Out here, there are no power rails so the train has to generate its own power. That’s the engine of the generator. Speaking of being ‘out here’... We made it."
|
||||
|
||||
*Appropriate reaction? Idk. Am bad at writing dialog. Will revisit.*
|
||||
|
||||
"In about two minutes, it is going to get very bright." Jack says while setting the train in motion again. "Close your eyes if it gets too bright for you. It might take a while to get used to daylight."
|
||||
As the train starts moving up the incline, an automated voice comes on: "Dear passengers! Welcome to the outside world! The next stop is <station name>. Please take some time to let your eyes adjust to the light before stepping on the platform. The train will wait there for five minutes. Enjoy your travel."
|
||||
|
||||
The train leans into a curve. After a moment, a blue-ish white shimmer becomes visible on the tunnel walls. It gets brighter and brighter. The train reaches the end of the curve. The other end of the tunnel comes into sight. It’s really bright. Brighter than a hundred spotlights shining on the same spot. Annie closes her eyes but the light continues getting brighter. She covers her eyes with her hands.
|
||||
|
||||
The automated voice comes on again: "We are now approaching <station name>. Your next connections are <list of five lines with departure times>. This train will continue on line 5 to <ruined city name> via <two or three other important stops>."
|
||||
"I wish...", says Jack. "I wonder how much of it is still standing."
|
||||
*some reply from Annie Idk*
|
||||
|
||||
Annie hears Jack removing a key from the control panel. The hum of the motors stops, the generator turns off, and the train starts slowing down. She tries to squint but it’s still too bright.
|
||||
"I think you could use a pair of sunglasses."
|
||||
"Sunglasses?"
|
||||
"They’re like normal glasses but... dark. To make bright light easier on your eyes."
|
||||
Jack puts a pair of sunglasses in Annie’s hands. She puts them on and cautiously squints outside. They are just rolling into a station.
|
||||
|
||||
*At this point should be some marker to indicate the end of a section - beginning of a new chapter or something like that - but the next section should probably be Annie’s first impressions of the outside world so I’m adding it here*
|
||||
|
||||
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 wall ahead, and some of the holes in the roof, landing on the wall to the left. All of that looks impressive but what really catches her eyes are the plants everywhere. Parts of the platforms are densely covered in the thin blades of some plant giving them a fuzzy look. Unfamiliar 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.
|
||||
|
||||
The train drives over a bunch of bushes and tall flowers that have taken root on the tracks. Jack brings it to a stop towards the end of the station.
|
||||
"Exit to the right in the direction of travel", he says in unison with the automated voice. He turns a switch and the doors open with a squeaking sound. Then, he turns to Annie:
|
||||
"After you." Jack nods towards the passenger area.
|
||||
|
||||
Jack and Annie step out onto the platform. Annie breathes the warm air. It smells of plants. Insects are buzzing about, and the wind rustles through the leaves of plants.
|
||||
|
||||
*see notes about what follows*
|
||||
152
notes.md
152
notes.md
|
|
@ -1,152 +0,0 @@
|
|||
__Setting:__
|
||||
|
||||
* Post apocalypse
|
||||
* (What happened?)
|
||||
* Possible scenario: Flaky AI + biological sludge
|
||||
* Possible scenario: Mix of nuclear and biological warfare
|
||||
* Just enough time has passed for no living memory of how the world used to be to survive, slightly more than a century
|
||||
* Always need to watch out for <reason of apocalypse> when outside
|
||||
* In some areas, the landscape has been turned into a toxic wasteland
|
||||
* Weapons can be looted from various locations (guns, rifles, grenades, MANPADS, ...)
|
||||
* Slight retro-futurism
|
||||
* Computers:
|
||||
* Personal computers are rare
|
||||
* ~~Not sure which type (Altair 8800 / Commodore 64 / IBM PC)~~ IBM-PC-like but with big boi floppy drives and running INUX (as everything else)
|
||||
* Business computers are typically "mainframes" that are logged on to using dedicated terminals
|
||||
* UNIX-like systems dominate everything that can run them
|
||||
* INUX lol
|
||||
* Cars:
|
||||
* Mostly electric cars but they are oldtimers
|
||||
* Early summer
|
||||
* The story starts on Tue, 2106-06-01
|
||||
|
||||
__Locations:__
|
||||
|
||||
* Underground City
|
||||
* Needs a name - Gleaming something something (an elegant name that would say something like light in the darkness implying there is hope for humanity in the shadows of the dome)
|
||||
* Location details:
|
||||
* Built inside a gigantic hermetically sealed dome under a mountain
|
||||
* Past its prime but most things are intact
|
||||
* Semi-automated public transport system (trains, trams) to get around
|
||||
* Can theoretically be used to enter/leave through big air locks but nobody has ever done that since the first inhabitants arrived
|
||||
* As a matter of fact, it is strictly forbidden
|
||||
* Food (mostly algae and weird plants) is being farmed in big halls adjacent to the dome illuminated by hermetically sealed light shafts
|
||||
* Circumstances:
|
||||
* People have been living completely isolated from the outside world for generations
|
||||
* People mostly go about normal lives, they have "normal" jobs
|
||||
* Waste water is recycled in a closed loop
|
||||
* Slight water scarcity due to slow treatment process
|
||||
* meant more like "don’t waste this, you don’t need to wash your car" and less like "if you shower now, we might have too little left to drink"
|
||||
* Relies on external facilities for electricity
|
||||
* Background information:
|
||||
* Inhabitants never arrived in the numbers that were expected so while there are a lot of people there, many buildings/homes are essentially time capsules
|
||||
* Places in the underground city:
|
||||
* Annie’s work
|
||||
* Annie’s home
|
||||
* single room apartment
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa’s home
|
||||
* two room apartment (living room, bedroom)
|
||||
* This is gonna be where they bring the stolen minicomputer
|
||||
* Hydro Power Station
|
||||
* Miraculously still works without ever being maintained
|
||||
* In dire need of repairs
|
||||
* May or may not present a risk of flooding for everything downstream from it depending on whether that could contribute towards the story
|
||||
* Ruin City
|
||||
* Your typical post-apocalyptic ruined city
|
||||
* Located on the coast
|
||||
* Rusty cars and other vehicles in various stages of decay
|
||||
* Some almost functional, some falling apart
|
||||
* Buildings in various stages of decay
|
||||
* Sky scrapers that would fit right in in Horizon: Zero Dawn or The Last of Us
|
||||
* Apartment complexes
|
||||
* Decaying but mostly usable roads
|
||||
* Everything was left behind, definitely worth looting
|
||||
* Two groups and some individuals that have taken up residence there
|
||||
* Fierce rivalry
|
||||
* Some sort of antenna tower that can be repurposed for long range communication
|
||||
* Retro-futuristic data center
|
||||
* Located on an island
|
||||
* Used to be some sort of national archive backup
|
||||
* Contains vast amounts of knowledge on all sorts of things
|
||||
* Somehow, the protagonists need to get at that knowledge
|
||||
* Buildings are in bad shape but some things are still running
|
||||
* Including the automatic security system (gotta love them turrets)
|
||||
* Cryogenic bunker
|
||||
* Built by CryoCorp (slogan: Preserving The Future)
|
||||
* An attempt to get people to survive beyond the apocalypse by freezing them in "preservation chambers"
|
||||
* All except two have failed and the contained people have perished or escaped
|
||||
* One of them automatically interrupts the "cryogenic sleep" of the contained person in an attempt to save the life of the contained person before a breakdown
|
||||
* The last one is still intact and working
|
||||
* Has enough supplies to last the contained people for a couple weeks
|
||||
|
||||
__People:__
|
||||
Just some ideas for characters, may or may not be protagonists
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie
|
||||
* From the underground city
|
||||
* Completely inept in regards to computers but also incredibly curious
|
||||
* Works at an agriculture organization - AgriWorks - that is kind of a mix of a company and a regulatory body
|
||||
* Has a tendency to stay late
|
||||
* Is seen as a bit of a dreamer by her coworkers
|
||||
* Will have to figure out how to interact with a terminal on her own at the start of the story
|
||||
* Her attention gets pointed to it by the dude from the cryogenic bunker sending a message and spamming the BEL character to get attention/help
|
||||
* Wants to see the outside world once she realizes that such a thing exists
|
||||
* Possible ending for her storyline: She either gets a plane going and flies somewhere else to explore the world or dies in the attempt - maybe left ambiguous
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa
|
||||
* Also from the underground city (Who would have guessed?)
|
||||
* Has studied the plans for the city *a lot*...
|
||||
* Knows a few bits and pieces about the outside world - things his dad told him about his childhood
|
||||
* By no means a computer genius but he knows how to use one
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa’s dad
|
||||
* Is dead when the story happens
|
||||
* Was 8 when the apocalypse happened and he moved into the underground city
|
||||
* Jack
|
||||
* A dude from the old world
|
||||
* Starts out in the cryogenic bunker after his cryogenic sleep gets interrupted
|
||||
* Knows how to drive a train
|
||||
* Used to live in the ruined city
|
||||
* Wears his CryoCorp shirts and jacket with pride - this might become a problem for him later
|
||||
* When ideas that are on the border of ingenious and incredibly stupid are *somehow* put into action, he probably had a hand in it
|
||||
* Michelle
|
||||
* A gal from the old world
|
||||
* Starts out in the cryogenic bunker
|
||||
* Has some important skill or skill set
|
||||
* machine shop skills?
|
||||
* Used to live in the ruined city
|
||||
* Likes to hide the fact that she came from the old world - this might be relevant for the story, or it might not :)
|
||||
* The Nomad
|
||||
* A dude who wanders the world
|
||||
* Experienced survivalist
|
||||
* Has had good and bad human encounters
|
||||
* Has seen places across various countries
|
||||
* Has a dog
|
||||
* Electronics Tinkerer
|
||||
* has a drug problem
|
||||
* relevant for the story because he is an absolute computer genius
|
||||
|
||||
__Scene Ideas:__
|
||||
|
||||
* One morning, Annie gets awoken at work by her coworkers who find her asleep at the terminal. The coworkers should say things like "Oh, Annie the computer expert? Why the sudden career change?"
|
||||
While she won’t find it funny in the moment, it’s nothing mean-spirited or anything the like.
|
||||
* Annie waits at the train station that her and Jack have decided on. At the same time, a train and "keepers of order" (police) arrive at the station. Annie panics for a moment before she realizes that it is a single, very rusty railcar - it had to come from outside. She also sees that the driver is wearing a CryoCorp jacket. The doors open as she runs towards it. Inside, Jack runs to the other side. The railcar starts to move again (in the opposite direction) as Annie reaches it. She jumps inside. It leaves the station and the doors close.
|
||||
|
||||
__Story:__
|
||||
|
||||
Subplot to get the story started:
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie and Jack get into contact through a terminal at Annie’s workplace.
|
||||
* They later establish contact from Annie’s grandpa’s place.
|
||||
* Jack is stuck in the CryoCorp bunker and needs a manual to fix a door so he can leave.
|
||||
* Annie finds it unexpectedly difficult to procure a copy of said manual
|
||||
* Apparently any information about that type of door is top secret
|
||||
* She almost gets put on a watch list trying to get the manual at the library
|
||||
* She sneaks into some place and steals a floppy disk that holds a copy but it turns out to be encrypted
|
||||
* Somehow, they come to the conclusion that hijacking a minicomputer to break the encryption would be a great idea - they end up stealing one (an entire half-height rack filled with stuff)
|
||||
* At the end of it, Annie wants to sneakily return any stolen property back to its rightful owners (at this point, she is definitely being watched, so she has to be extra careful)
|
||||
* This happens in a matter of days to a week. During this time, Annie quits her job with nothing lined up as she makes plans with Jack for how to leave the city (which might be what makes her suspicious)
|
||||
* Quitting her job may be prompted by a nightmare about being stuck in a building
|
||||
* Once Jack finally manages to open the door, he unfreezes Michelle
|
||||
* they use the bunker as a base and set up a sort of open air workshop around the entrance
|
||||
* They stay in contact with Annie and continue working on the escape plan
|
||||
* somehow, this has to end with Jack driving a train into the dome and picking up Annie before making a hasty exit
|
||||
* They have to use code words as the phone lines are being monitored by now
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
|
|||
__Setting:__
|
||||
|
||||
* Post apocalypse
|
||||
* (What happened?)
|
||||
* Scenario criteria
|
||||
* Needs to be partially man-made / caused by humans but they could have stopped it (kinda like our climate crisis but I don’t want this to be about that)
|
||||
* Needs to be able to contaminate areas so any life that sets foot there will perish
|
||||
* People will need to be able to hide from it underground
|
||||
* ~~Possible scenario: Flaky AI + biological sludge~~
|
||||
* ~~Possible scenario: Mix of nuclear and biological warfare~~
|
||||
* ~~Possible scenario: Aliens~~
|
||||
* ~~Aliens visit us to make friends~~
|
||||
* ~~They realize the shitshow that is human politics~~
|
||||
* ~~They get out of here and destroy civilization~~
|
||||
* Chosen scenario: Gradual downfall of civilization due to wars and neglect of critical infrastructure
|
||||
* Humanity discovers some incredible new nuclear energy technology in the 1980s
|
||||
* upsides: moar powar, less waste, relatively easy to get going
|
||||
* downsides:
|
||||
* absolutely needs to be maintained well
|
||||
* horrible accidents
|
||||
* huge explosions
|
||||
* spreads toxic and radioactive chemical sludge as globs scattered in the environment
|
||||
* releases some poisonous gas that decays slowly over time
|
||||
* Power plants with this stuff are built everywhere
|
||||
* As accidents happen, ppl cry for alternatives but nobody does anything because it’s not economically viable
|
||||
* A bunch of wars happen and a bunch of these power plants blow up as a result
|
||||
* mostly traditional wars (not a nuclear war devastation scenario), possibly mild biological warfare if it benefits the story
|
||||
* Areas are abandoned and civil wars break out as living space gets sparse - as a result of that, more power plants blow up
|
||||
* Eventually, the atmosphere is so contaminated that ppl can no longer live at the surface
|
||||
* Years before the apocalypse, ppl start building safe places and start living in them but will still leave them regularly
|
||||
* Just enough time has passed for no living memory of how the world used to be to survive, slightly more than a century
|
||||
* Always need to watch out for <reason of apocalypse> when outside
|
||||
* In some areas, the landscape has been turned into a toxic wasteland
|
||||
* Weapons can be looted from various locations (guns, rifles, grenades, MANPADS, ...)
|
||||
* Slight retro-futurism
|
||||
* Computers:
|
||||
* Personal computers are rare
|
||||
* ~~Not sure which type (Altair 8800 / Commodore 64 / IBM PC)~~ IBM-PC-like but with big boi floppy drives and running INUX (as everything else)
|
||||
* Business computers are typically "mainframes" that are logged on to using dedicated terminals
|
||||
* UNIX-like systems dominate everything that can run them
|
||||
* INUX lol
|
||||
* Cars:
|
||||
* Mostly electric cars but they are oldtimers
|
||||
* Early summer
|
||||
* The story starts on Tue, 2106-06-01
|
||||
|
||||
__Locations:__
|
||||
|
||||
* Underground City
|
||||
* Needs a name - Gleaming something something (an elegant name that would say something like light in the darkness implying there is hope for humanity in the shadows of the dome)
|
||||
* Location details:
|
||||
* Built inside a gigantic hermetically sealed dome under a mountain
|
||||
* Past its prime but most things are intact
|
||||
* Semi-automated public transport system (trains, trams) to get around
|
||||
* Can theoretically be used to enter/leave through big air locks but nobody has ever done that since the first inhabitants arrived
|
||||
* As a matter of fact, it is strictly forbidden
|
||||
* Food (mostly algae and weird plants) is being farmed in big halls adjacent to the dome illuminated by hermetically sealed light shafts
|
||||
* Circumstances:
|
||||
* People have been living completely isolated from the outside world for generations
|
||||
* People mostly go about normal lives, they have "normal" jobs
|
||||
* Waste water is recycled in a closed loop
|
||||
* Slight water scarcity due to slow treatment process
|
||||
* meant more like "don’t waste this, you don’t need to wash your car" and less like "if you shower now, we might have too little left to drink"
|
||||
* Relies on external facilities for electricity
|
||||
* Background information:
|
||||
* Inhabitants never arrived in the numbers that were expected so while there are a lot of people there, roughly half of the buildings/homes are essentially time capsules
|
||||
* Places in the underground city:
|
||||
* Annie’s work
|
||||
* Annie’s home
|
||||
* single room apartment
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa’s home
|
||||
* two room apartment (living room, bedroom)
|
||||
* This is gonna be where they bring the stolen minicomputer
|
||||
* Hydro Power Station
|
||||
* Miraculously still works without ever being maintained
|
||||
* In dire need of repairs
|
||||
* May or may not present a risk of flooding for everything downstream from it depending on whether that could contribute towards the story
|
||||
* Ruin City - Siren’s Edge
|
||||
* referred to as "Siren’s Rusthaven" by some people
|
||||
* Your typical post-apocalyptic ruined city
|
||||
* Located on the coast, has/had a port
|
||||
* Rusty cars and other vehicles in various stages of decay
|
||||
* Some almost functional, some falling apart
|
||||
* Buildings in various stages of decay
|
||||
* Sky scrapers that would fit right in in Horizon: Zero Dawn or The Last of Us
|
||||
* Apartment complexes
|
||||
* Decaying but mostly usable roads
|
||||
* Everything was left behind, definitely worth looting
|
||||
* Two groups and some individuals that have taken up residence there
|
||||
* Fierce rivalry
|
||||
* Some sort of antenna tower that can be repurposed for long range communication
|
||||
* Retro-futuristic data center
|
||||
* Located on an island or in some location that is more convenient to reach by boat
|
||||
* "Rogue Tides" or "Sentinel Beacon"
|
||||
* Used to be some sort of national archive backup
|
||||
* May or may not contain knowledge on all sorts of things
|
||||
* Protagonists go there to loot the hardware they need to establish communication with the moon
|
||||
* Buildings are in bad shape but some things are still running
|
||||
* Including the automatic security system (gotta love them turrets)
|
||||
* Cryogenic bunker
|
||||
* "Outpost 53"
|
||||
* Built by Neotek Dynamics
|
||||
* An attempt to get people to survive beyond the apocalypse by freezing them in "preservation chambers"
|
||||
* After a while, but decades before Jack wakes up, half of the bunker crew would have been woken up to send some sort of supplies to the moon
|
||||
* After that, the bunker was not properly resealed and so a lot of the hardware degraded/failed (including the door and all but two of the remaining preservation chambers)
|
||||
* All except two preservation chambers have failed and the contained people have perished or escaped
|
||||
* One of them automatically interrupts the "cryogenic sleep" of the contained person in an attempt to save the life of the contained person before a breakdown
|
||||
* Jack
|
||||
* The last one is still intact and working
|
||||
* Michelle
|
||||
* Has enough supplies to last the contained people for a couple weeks
|
||||
* Ivydale South (train station)
|
||||
* The first place Annie gets to see after leaving the dome city
|
||||
|
||||
Built on the side of a mountain so it overlooks a valley
|
||||
* Building details
|
||||
* many tracks / platforms across two levels
|
||||
* roof has fallen in in many places
|
||||
* the "skeleton" of it is still standing
|
||||
* Completely overgrown
|
||||
* grass on the platforms
|
||||
* trees in places
|
||||
* bushes growing in the tracks (the one where Jack came through with the train has been cleared... by the train)
|
||||
* ivy and vines growing up the walls and on the ceiling portions that are still there
|
||||
* Moon habitat
|
||||
* There is some kind of permanent moon habitat that would have had people living there when the apocalypse happened.
|
||||
* The inhabitants of the moon colony would have thrived for a while, but the population would shrink.
|
||||
* people get sick and die of some dangerous pathogen a couple months before the story starts. When Jack gets in touch with them, there are like three ppl left. All but a young girl die. The girl recovers by some miracle and makes it down to Earth.
|
||||
|
||||
__People:__
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie (protagonist)
|
||||
* From the underground city
|
||||
* Completely inept in regards to computers but also incredibly curious
|
||||
* Works at an agriculture organization - AgriWorks - that is kind of a mix of a company and a regulatory body
|
||||
* Has a tendency to stay late
|
||||
* Is seen as a bit of a dreamer by her coworkers
|
||||
* Will have to figure out how to interact with a terminal on her own at the start of the story
|
||||
* Her attention gets pointed to it by the dude from the cryogenic bunker sending a message and spamming the BEL character to get attention/help
|
||||
* Wants to see the outside world once she realizes that such a thing exists
|
||||
* ~~Possible ending for her storyline: She either gets a plane going and flies somewhere else to explore the world or dies in the attempt - maybe left ambiguous~~
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa
|
||||
* Also from the underground city (Who would have guessed?)
|
||||
* Has studied the plans for the city *a lot*...
|
||||
* Knows a few bits and pieces about the outside world - things his dad told him about his childhood
|
||||
* By no means a computer genius but he knows how to use one
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa’s dad
|
||||
* Is dead when the story happens
|
||||
* Was 8 when the apocalypse happened and he moved into the underground city
|
||||
* Jack (protagonist)
|
||||
* A dude from the old world
|
||||
* Starts out in the bunker after his cryogenic sleep gets interrupted
|
||||
* Knows how to drive a train
|
||||
* Used to live in the ruined city
|
||||
* Wears his Neotek shirts and jacket with pride - this might become a problem for him later
|
||||
* When ideas that are on the border of ingenious and incredibly stupid are *somehow* put into action, he probably had a hand in it
|
||||
* Jack’s and Michelle’s mission is to get in touch with the ppl on the moon to find out if they need resupplies and to somehow get them up there by any means possible.
|
||||
* Michelle (protagonist)
|
||||
* A gal from the old world
|
||||
* Starts out in the cryogenic bunker
|
||||
* Has some important skill or skill set
|
||||
* machine shop skills?
|
||||
* Used to live in the ruined city
|
||||
* Likes to hide the fact that she came from the old world - this might be relevant for the story, or it might not :)
|
||||
* Moon support mission
|
||||
* The Nomad (protagonist)
|
||||
* A dude who wanders the world
|
||||
* Experienced survivalist
|
||||
* Has had good and bad human encounters
|
||||
* Has seen places across various countries
|
||||
* Has a dog
|
||||
* Electronics Tinkerer
|
||||
* has a drug problem
|
||||
* relevant for the story because he is an absolute computer genius
|
||||
|
||||
__Scene Ideas:__
|
||||
|
||||
* ~~After stepping outside for the first time, Jack returns absolutely stoked: "Michelle, they actually left the bus exactly where I parked it and seem to have used it." - "Madlads." They start laughing. Jack had parked his party bus in a slightly inconvenient spot. Instead of moving it, the bunker personnel used it and left a note to Jack. \[It will be very faded and slightly rusty and some materials will have deteriorated, but it should be easy enough to be fixed up for use in the rest of the story. It could have been parked under some kind of roof or something.\]~~ *Funny, but I don’t think it fits into the story*
|
||||
* When Annie asks for the manual at the library, she gets told that it got classified not too long ago because someone had tried to escape the dome. The librarian behind the counter says something along the lines of "Hey, I need to write down your details because you asked for classified materials, let me just get the list." and winks at her. She gets the hint and gets out of there. Outside, she hears the librarian say "Dorothy, she took her library card and ran, what do I do?" ~~\- she did not take her library card (facepalm moment). The following evening, the librarian shows up at her place, hands her the keys to the library while grinning and saying something like "I probably lost them on the way home... There are computers in the basement. I wrote down a login on this card." Annie will end up breaking into the library and she will have to figure out how to get the relevant file onto a floppy disk.~~ The librarian had written a note on her library card and given it back. The note says something like "midnight metro station xyz".
|
||||
* One morning, Annie gets awoken at work by her coworkers who find her asleep at the terminal. The coworkers should say things like "Oh, Annie the computer expert? Why the sudden career change?"
|
||||
While she won’t find it funny in the moment, it’s nothing mean-spirited or anything the like.
|
||||
* \[DONE\] Annie waits at the train station that her and Jack have decided on. At the same time, a train and "keepers of order" (police) arrive at the station. Annie panics for a moment before she realizes that it is a single, very rusty railcar - it had to come from outside. She also sees that the driver is wearing a Neotek jacket. The doors open as she runs towards it. Inside, Jack runs to the other side. The railcar starts to move again (in the opposite direction) as Annie reaches it. She jumps inside. It leaves the station and the doors close.
|
||||
* \[PARTIAL\] Annie and Jack arrive at the first train station outside the dome city. They go for a walk. Annie is completely unfamiliar with most elements of nature - maybe not necessarily with the concept of grass and trees, but many similarly basic things. When they arrive, most of the station is in shade (early evening) so they walk to a balcony or some place where Annie can experience the sun for the first time. This would also be a great opportunity to introduce the cause of the apocalypse (something along the lines of "look there, where everything is brown, nothing will ever grow there and it’s dangrous to even go close to that area").
|
||||
* Annie, in her search for an alternative to whatever the underground city has as "coffee", obtains some drug from the electronics tinkerer. She proceeds to get high as the sky and really fucks up whatever she’s doing (failing a quest of medium importance or breaking an item of medium importance) before the others catch on to what’s going on.
|
||||
|
||||
__Story:__
|
||||
|
||||
Subplot to get the story started:
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie and Jack get into contact through a terminal at Annie’s workplace.
|
||||
* They later establish contact from Annie’s grandpa’s place.
|
||||
* Jack is stuck in the Neotek bunker and needs a manual to fix a door so he can leave.
|
||||
* Annie finds it unexpectedly difficult to procure a copy of said manual
|
||||
* Apparently any information about that type of door is top secret
|
||||
* She almost gets put on a watch list trying to get the manual at the library
|
||||
* She sneaks into some place and steals a floppy disk that holds a copy but it turns out to be encrypted
|
||||
* Somehow, they come to the conclusion that hijacking a minicomputer to break the encryption would be a great idea - they end up stealing one (an entire half-height rack filled with stuff)
|
||||
* At the end of it, Annie wants to sneakily return any stolen property back to its rightful owners (at this point, she is definitely being watched, so she has to be extra careful)
|
||||
* This happens in a matter of days to a week. During this time, Annie quits her job with nothing lined up as she makes plans with Jack for how to leave the city (which might be what makes her suspicious)
|
||||
* Quitting her job may be inspired by a nightmare about being stuck in a building
|
||||
* Once Jack finally manages to open the door, he unfreezes Michelle
|
||||
* they use the bunker as a base and set up a sort of open air workshop around the entrance
|
||||
* They stay in contact with Annie and continue working on the escape plan
|
||||
* somehow, this has to end with Jack driving a train into the dome and picking up Annie before making a hasty exit
|
||||
* They have to set up some sort of encryption as the phone lines are being monitored by that point
|
||||
|
||||
In the outside world, Jack and Michelle have a mission: They need to get into contact with the people living on the moon.
|
||||
|
||||
* They need to go on some quests to even get communication equipment going
|
||||
* Once they do, they learn that the population of the moon has been decimated by a dangerous pathogen
|
||||
* three or four people are still alive including the moon girl
|
||||
* they are all sick and very aware that they will die soon
|
||||
* By a miracle, the moon girl survives and recovers
|
||||
* she returns to Earth using a rescue shuttle or capsule
|
||||
* Two ways this can go:
|
||||
* Either, the protagonists are there as the girl lands in a shuttle
|
||||
* or they find a crater with the remains of the rescue capsule and a parachute in the vicinity leads them to the location of the girl
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
|
|||
These are ideas for products/brands that may have come up just before the apocalypse happened or during the time underground. They could show up in advertisments or recounts of the situation - or even day-to-day use.
|
||||
|
||||
* Algae Coffee
|
||||
* Slogan: So good it tastes almost natural
|
||||
* Actually works as a coffee replacement
|
||||
* DIY Shelter
|
||||
* would have supplied things like
|
||||
* MREs
|
||||
* pressurized air tanks, compressors, chemical air filters, etc
|
||||
* hazmat suits
|
||||
* Neotek Dynamics’ products
|
||||
* bunker doors and security systems
|
||||
* cryogenic preservation chambers
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
|
|||
**Cities:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Siren’s Song (formerly Siren’s Edge)
|
||||
* post-apocalyptic ruin city
|
||||
* close enough to Ivydale that they share a public transport system
|
||||
* located on the coast
|
||||
* has (used to have) a port
|
||||
* buildings in various stages of disrepair
|
||||
* including sky scrapers that would fit right in in HZD
|
||||
* many things were left behind, definitely worth looting random buildings
|
||||
* located on one side of a bay, across from Rogue Tides
|
||||
* two groups and some individuals have taken up residence in different parts of the city
|
||||
* rival mentality
|
||||
* Ivydale
|
||||
* post-apocalyptic ruin city
|
||||
* close enough to Siren’s Song that they share a public transport system
|
||||
* located in a valley
|
||||
* buildings in various stages of disrepair
|
||||
* no sky scrapers
|
||||
* many things were left behind, definitely worth looting random buildings
|
||||
* Underground Dome City
|
||||
* still needs a name
|
||||
* inside a huge hermetically sealed dome under a mountain
|
||||
* basically a normal city otherwise
|
||||
* mostly three to five story buildings
|
||||
* some unique buildings and sky scrapers in the center
|
||||
* few single-family homes
|
||||
* past its prime but most things are intact
|
||||
* has a metro for public transport
|
||||
* can be used for entering/leaving the city but that hasn’t been done since the apocalypse and it’ s strictly forbidden
|
||||
* food is farmed in big silos adjacent to the dome
|
||||
* illuminated by daylight through hermetically sealed light shafts but inaccessible to most ppl
|
||||
* ppl mostly lead normal lives and have normal jobs
|
||||
* waste water is recycled in a closed loop system
|
||||
* maybe slight water scarcity due to slow treatment process
|
||||
* no rivers, bodies of water, or anything like that
|
||||
* relies on external facilities for power
|
||||
* Nobody is concerned about the possibility of it ever not being there.
|
||||
* "Power comes from the wall, right?"
|
||||
* inhabitants never arrived in the numbers that were expected so, while there are a lot of ppl there, roughly half of the homes are time capsules
|
||||
* Nova Metropolis
|
||||
* location of moon girl’s landing
|
||||
* bigger than Siren’s Song and built inland
|
||||
* built around an oasis in a desert
|
||||
* not the kind of desert where sand gets piled up into dunes otherwise it would have gotten buried
|
||||
* buildings in a lot better shape due to being in a desert
|
||||
* Westport
|
||||
* Just a location that is mentioned in passing
|
||||
* Rogue Tides
|
||||
* small town that has (used to have) a datacenter
|
||||
* across the bay from Siren’s Song
|
||||
|
||||
**Facilities/Institutions:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Hydro power station
|
||||
* miraculously still intact and working despite never being maintained since the apocalypse
|
||||
* power source of the underground city
|
||||
* in dire need of repairs
|
||||
* Cryo Outpost 53
|
||||
* built by Neotek Dynamics
|
||||
* on the outskirts of Ivydale
|
||||
* an attempt to get personnel to survive beyond the apocalypse so they can help with keeping the moon colony alive
|
||||
* Backstory: A good portion of the bunker crew has been woken up decades before Jack
|
||||
* they left to do their mission somehow sending supplies to the moon
|
||||
* bunker wasn’t resealed properly
|
||||
* hardware has degraded/failed
|
||||
* maybe there could have been other bunker personnel who have perished because their preservation chambers failed (alternatively, they all left except two)
|
||||
* Jack gets woken up due to impending hardware failure
|
||||
* Michelle stays preserved until she gets woken up by Jack
|
||||
* has enough supplies to last a lot of ppl for a long time
|
||||
* <underground dome city> library
|
||||
* has large computers in the basement
|
||||
* retro-futuristic data center
|
||||
* located in Rogue Tides
|
||||
* used to be some sort of national archive except it was never finished
|
||||
* contains computers that will be used by the protagonists to establish communication with the moon
|
||||
* they will have to move them to Siren’s Song
|
||||
* may or may not have turrets or ppl defending it
|
||||
* buildings are in bad shape so any hardware recovered from there will most likely need some fixing up
|
||||
* Moon habitat
|
||||
* built by Neotek Dynamics
|
||||
* theoretically permanently habitable but not made to exist in isolation
|
||||
|
||||
**Train stations:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Ivydale
|
||||
* Ivydale West
|
||||
* Ivydale South
|
||||
* The first outside location Annie ever gets to see (and explore)
|
||||
* overlooks the valley and Ivydale
|
||||
* Ivydale Distillery
|
||||
* Siren’s Song
|
||||
* Siren’s Song Observatory
|
||||
* Siren’s Song Central
|
||||
* Siren’s Song Fish Market
|
||||
* Inside the dome:
|
||||
* the station near Annie’s work
|
||||
* the station where she jumps into Jack’s train
|
||||
* the station they barrel through
|
||||
* <dome city name> Center - Library
|
||||
|
||||
**Homes / bases:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie’s home in the dome city
|
||||
* small single-bedroom apartment
|
||||
* Annie’s grandpa’s home
|
||||
* two story single family home
|
||||
* Ivydale base
|
||||
* built around outpost 53
|
||||
* Siren’s Song base
|
||||
* ~~in some kind of large building~~
|
||||
* ~~maybe a factory hall or a hangar~~
|
||||
* inside and around the observatory buildings
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
|
|||
**People**
|
||||
|
||||
* Annie
|
||||
* from underground city
|
||||
* curious about things
|
||||
* knows nothing about computers, but doesn’t shy away from them
|
||||
* will have to figure out things on her own
|
||||
* works at AgriWorks
|
||||
* What does she do?
|
||||
* Some job that requires her to have an office and she has keys for the place
|
||||
* has a tendency to stay late
|
||||
* possibly seen as a bit of a dreamer by her coworkers
|
||||
* wants to explore the outside world once she becomes aware of its existence
|
||||
* coffee addict
|
||||
* Jack
|
||||
* from old world
|
||||
* starts out in the cryogenic bunker
|
||||
* works for Neotek Dynamics - or whatever is left of it
|
||||
* knows how to drive a train
|
||||
* possibly was a train driver for a short time
|
||||
* Used to live in Siren’s Song
|
||||
* Wears his Neotek company clothes with pride
|
||||
* When ideas that are on the border of ingenious and incredibly stupid are somehow put into action, he probably had a hand in it
|
||||
* has a digital wrist watch (with the typical light, stopwatch, timer, alarm)
|
||||
* Michelle
|
||||
* from old world
|
||||
* works for Neotek Dynamics - or whatever is left of it
|
||||
* Used to live in Siren’s Song
|
||||
* has mechanic and machine shop skills
|
||||
* likes to hide the fact that she came from the old world or her association with Neotek
|
||||
* James
|
||||
* nomad
|
||||
* from above ground
|
||||
* has survival experience
|
||||
* has a dog
|
||||
* Emily
|
||||
* from the moon
|
||||
* the only (remaining) child in the moon base at the start of the story
|
||||
* around 12yo
|
||||
* sole survivor of the disease
|
||||
* after some planning, she comes to Earth using an escape capsule
|
||||
* Moon base inhabitants
|
||||
* three to five people around Emily
|
||||
* all of them die of a disease until only Emily is left
|
||||
* Karl
|
||||
* Annie’s Grandpa
|
||||
* from underground city
|
||||
* has thoroughly studied the plans of the city and some maps of what is/was just outside it
|
||||
* knows a few bits and pieces about the outside world
|
||||
* mostly things his dad had mentioned in passing or when talking about his childhood
|
||||
* by no means a computer genius but he knows how to use one
|
||||
* Annie’s Grandpa’s Dad
|
||||
* needs a name? maybe he doesn’t
|
||||
* from old world
|
||||
* dead
|
||||
* was 8 when he moved to the underground city
|
||||
* may or may not have had the opportunity to leave a couple of times before the apocalypse actually happened
|
||||
* was aware of experiments with cryogenic preservation but thought it was a ridiculous idea
|
||||
* Annie’s Grandpa’s Friend
|
||||
* needs a name
|
||||
* from underground city
|
||||
* Lucas
|
||||
* Library guy
|
||||
* from underground city
|
||||
* Kate
|
||||
* bartender in underground city
|
||||
* Isabelle
|
||||
* lives in underground city
|
||||
* helps Annie steal the manual from the library
|
||||
* Electronics Tinkerer
|
||||
* needs a name
|
||||
* from above ground
|
||||
* has a drug problem (the drug could be named "devil’s spice")
|
||||
* Company Insider
|
||||
* needs a name
|
||||
* from underground city
|
||||
|
||||
**Organizations**
|
||||
|
||||
* AgriWorks
|
||||
* Annie’s workplace
|
||||
* does something with agriculture inside the dome
|
||||
* a mix of a company and an institution
|
||||
* Secret organization
|
||||
* needs a name
|
||||
* the ppl who work on getting getting the officials to allow for travel outside again
|
||||
* Neotek Dynamics
|
||||
* the company Jack and Michelle work for
|
||||
* has established a moon colony
|
||||
* has produced all sorts of bunker equipment
|
||||
* most importantly doors and security systems
|
||||
* cryogenic presevation chambers
|
||||
* Has built a bunch of cryogenic bunkers for personnel to outlive the apocalypse so they can help keep the moon colony alive
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
|
|||
* post apocalypse scenario
|
||||
* relatively slow, gradual downfall of civilization - not a fast wipe out event
|
||||
* ppl had time to prepare
|
||||
* humanity discovers a new way to generate nuclear power some time in the 80s
|
||||
* upsides:
|
||||
* moar powar *(more? :p)*
|
||||
* less waste
|
||||
* comparatively straight-forward to get going
|
||||
* downsides:
|
||||
* absolutely needs to be maintained well
|
||||
* horrible accidents
|
||||
* huge explosions
|
||||
* scatter toxic globs of radioactive chemical sludge
|
||||
* areas where this stuff lands turn into wasteland for centuries or millennia
|
||||
* release some toxic gas that decays slowly over time
|
||||
* power plants of this kind are built everywhere
|
||||
* as accidents happen, ppl cry for alternatives but nobody does anything about it bc it’s not economically viable
|
||||
* a bunch of wars happen and a few of the power plants blow up
|
||||
* conventional wars, no MAD scenario
|
||||
* areas are abandoned causing civil wars in other locations due to refugee crisis
|
||||
* in the chaos, more power plants blow up making it difficult to survive at the surface due to contaminated atmosphere
|
||||
* the rest of civilization has to wind down and disappears
|
||||
* story takes place roughly 110 years after the apocalypse
|
||||
* story starts on Tue, 2106-06-01
|
||||
* just enough time for no living memory of the "old world" to survive
|
||||
* slight retro-futurism
|
||||
* for the most part, technology is stuck in the 80s or 90s, but there are some key differences
|
||||
* the underground city has only electric cars
|
||||
* aforementioned nuclear power plants
|
||||
* successful cryogenic preservation
|
||||
* computing is different
|
||||
* home computers are rare - they are similar to early to mid 90s machines but have big boy 8" floppy drives
|
||||
* business computers are mostly minicomputers or larger
|
||||
* they are actually being used for all sorts of tasks like ordering supplies or to check inventory etc
|
||||
* computing is dominated by a UNIX-like operating system (INUX lol)
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
|
|||
**Big-picture story overview:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Story begins on Tue, 2106-06-01
|
||||
* Jack wakes up and contacts Annie, in the end he asks for a manual for the door
|
||||
* Annie goes to the library but doesn’t get the manual - instead she gets a mysterious invite
|
||||
* Annie talks to Jack again at work
|
||||
* Annie figures out how to use a keyboard properly
|
||||
* Potentially written from Jack’s perspective as not much of interest happens on Annie’s side
|
||||
* he could do something else as well, maybe working on improvising tools before or after talking to Annie
|
||||
* Annie gets introduced to secret organization, learns that Karl is also part of it
|
||||
* The librarian gives Annie the keys for the library and instructions on where to find the relevant computers
|
||||
* for some reason he can’t go get the manual himself (needs to be at an important event or something)
|
||||
* Karl doesn’t join bc he can’t run if things go south, but he does give her a list of useful UNIX commands and a run-down of how to get one of these computers started
|
||||
* They talk about Jack and why they would help him
|
||||
* Annie gets the manual and drops it off at Karl’s place
|
||||
* she puts a note and the floppy disk into his mailbox
|
||||
* Next morning from Jack’s perspective
|
||||
* incoming connection from Karl
|
||||
* he says that Annie has procured a floppy disk with the manual
|
||||
* it’s not readable / the file is just gibberish
|
||||
* Jack gets a copy of the header and determines it’s encrypted
|
||||
* he tells Karl that he can probably write a program to break the encryption but it’s gonna take a powerful computer to do it within a reasonable time
|
||||
* need technical reason why one wouldn’t just wait
|
||||
* home computers are several times slower due to hardware disadvantages but this can’t be the only reason
|
||||
* high resource overhead? maybe he would use vast amounts of RAM?
|
||||
* Karl says he’ll get back to Jack
|
||||
* Next secret organization meetup
|
||||
* Annie gives the keys back
|
||||
* they come up with the idea of stealing a minicomputer from some company that someone has a link to
|
||||
* also the idea comes up that they could ask Jack to get them out in return for them helping him to get out
|
||||
* has to end with law enforcement arriving at the bar and Kate telling them to gtfo
|
||||
* *Something else has to happen here from the perspective of someone that isn’t Annie*
|
||||
* *Possibly Emily’s intro?*
|
||||
* Annie talks to Jack again from the terminal at work
|
||||
* she falls asleep
|
||||
* next day she gets found there, someone makes a remark like "Why the sudden career change?"
|
||||
* Annie thinks about it for a moment before replying "Actually, brilliant idea..." and quitting
|
||||
* She leaves work and heads somewhere to meet up with secret organization members
|
||||
* secret organization does secret organization things...
|
||||
* new location or still the bar?
|
||||
* who is there?
|
||||
* preparations for the heist
|
||||
* they also need to come up with the plan that Jack will get Annie and leave the others down there to continue their work
|
||||
* they want Jack and Annie to find a way to mess with the power supply while they work on the inside to influence ppl so that a power outage will actually end up getting the city opened
|
||||
* maybe Jack will have a reason to only accept one person like still figuring out a reliable food source
|
||||
* Jack finishes writing the program and sends it to Karl
|
||||
* the heist
|
||||
* Annie, Isabelle, Lucas, and the inside contact go in and collect equipment and bring it to the front door
|
||||
* Karl’s friend is waiting to load it into the back of his pickup truck
|
||||
* Karl is behind the wheel ready to take off
|
||||
* once everything is loaded up, Karl’s friend gets into the truck and everyone disperses in different directions
|
||||
* they almost get caught
|
||||
* Maybe Lucas and one other member of the secret organization stay behind to buy the others time and get arrested
|
||||
* next morning, they set up the computer at Karl’s place
|
||||
* something in the news about a stolen computer lol
|
||||
* "Hmm I wonder who could that have been? We wouldn’t know where it is..."
|
||||
* they break the encryption of the floppy disk (takes like three days)
|
||||
* Jack gets the bunker door open and wakes up Michelle
|
||||
* they establish a base
|
||||
* Jack explores the Ivydale area
|
||||
* He finds a working metro train somewhere that only needs some mild fixing up
|
||||
* This may or may not be unknown to Annie
|
||||
* meanwhile, the secret organization works on getting the computer equipment back to its rightful owners
|
||||
* they get caught and run/gtfo, leaving the computer at the front entrance
|
||||
* there will have to be another news segment, something like this:
|
||||
* "In a bizarre turn of events, members of a suspected terrorist group have returned the stolen computer to xyz corp. It had been stolen from their headquarters four days prior..."
|
||||
* They coordinate to get Annie out of the city asap
|
||||
* The others stay behind to continue their work on getting the officials to allow opening the air locks
|
||||
* Annie escapes the dome city / Jack drives the train into it and gets her out
|
||||
* Annie sees the outside world for the first time
|
||||
* James the nomad shows up with his dog
|
||||
* only Michelle is there, Jack and Annie are still on their way
|
||||
* He is mildly obsessed with space after seeing all sorts of images taken with telescopes
|
||||
* on his way to Siren’s Song because the observatory there is supposedly somewhat intact
|
||||
* he wants to see if he can make a telescope work
|
||||
* Something happens that will convince him to stay at the bunker
|
||||
* possibly the topic of the moon base gets discussed
|
||||
* Jack and Michelle will be working on getting in touch with the moon
|
||||
* turns out their communications dish and equipment is far too gone to be repaired due to a river changing course or some other destructive event
|
||||
* James suggests they should check out the observatory in Siren’s Song
|
||||
* They go on a "day trip" to Siren’s Song to take a look at the observatory
|
||||
* looks good but missing any kind of computer equipment (looted after or removed before the apocalypse)
|
||||
* has an optical telescope and a dish
|
||||
* when talking about the lack of computers, the nomad remembers that he saw a lot of computer stuff in Rogue Tides
|
||||
* *... missing things (not in order):*
|
||||
* *power plant shenanigans*
|
||||
* *secret organization has to do things like putting up banners in high-profile locations and/or distribute a manifesto*
|
||||
* *power has to go out for a while - or completely until someone fixes the power plant (could be that something breaks while they start up the plant again)*
|
||||
* *has to result in the dome city opening up*
|
||||
* *the protagonists move to Siren’s Song*
|
||||
* *Originally I was thinking they might move to a factory hall or hangar or maybe even one of the lower levels of a sky scraper but it might be more realistic that they just move into the observatory as it’s where they work on stuff*
|
||||
* *Annie has never been on a boat so they fix one up and hop over to Rogue Tides*
|
||||
* *encounter the electronics tinkerer*
|
||||
* *problematic encounter with one of the groups/tribes/whatever*
|
||||
* *the members have gone nuts and are religious fanatics*
|
||||
* *They see Jack’s Neotek Dynamics company clothes and start treating him as a god*
|
||||
* *try really hard to stop him from leaving*
|
||||
* *cause for them to be more cautious? Idk*
|
||||
* *neutral encounter with the other one*
|
||||
* *trading or bartering*
|
||||
* *getting the telescope and the dish going*
|
||||
* *first contact with moon*
|
||||
* *moon part of the story*
|
||||
* *they have to, at some point, climb on a sky scraper - maybe even multiple times*
|
||||
* moon girl lands
|
||||
* depending on how, they might need to find her
|
||||
* something else? Idk, probably not
|
||||
|
||||
**Individual missions:**
|
||||
|
||||
* Underground organization (Annie, Librarian, Karl)
|
||||
* from the underground city
|
||||
* want the underground city to open up again
|
||||
* they come up with the plan that Annie should escape the city since she has the contact with Jack anyway so that they can gather some intelligence on what’s going on outside
|
||||
* Annie discovers the hydro power plant - they end up messing with the power supply of the dome to force officials to stop the isolation
|
||||
* Neotek Dynamics (Jack, Michelle)
|
||||
* mission to get into contact with moon base to check in on them
|
||||
* turns out the moon base is having a real bad time and everyone is dying
|
||||
* There used to be many ppl but at the start of the story just a few are left
|
||||
* the rest died of some disease caused by a dangerous pathogen
|
||||
* the remaining ppl are infected and sick
|
||||
* all but Emily will die
|
||||
* the girl will recover and make her way down to Earth in an escape capsule
|
||||
* either, she lands in some kind of shuttle
|
||||
* or she jumps out of the capsule with a parachute and the capsule leaves a crater in the ground
|
||||
* either one should happen somewhere near Nova Metropolis
|
||||
* Nomad
|
||||
* has found space images and is mildly obsessed with them
|
||||
* has heard of a somewhat intact observatory in Siren’s Song
|
||||
|
||||
**Scene ideas:**
|
||||
|
||||
* \[DONE\] Nova Metropolis - they climb onto the roof of an almost perfectly preserved sky scraper to look out for moon girl dropping out of the sky
|
||||
* Annie, in her search for an alternative to whatever the underground city has as "coffee", obtains some drug from the electronics tinkerer. She proceeds to get high as the sky and gets herself into a dangerous situation before the others catch on to what’s happening. Jack will end up more or less forcing her back to the base and sit there watching her so she doesn’t do anything stupid.
|
||||
* Emily wakes up. A relative is waiting in her room, silently crying. Emily, catching on to what’s going on (and having experienced the bad news of the past how ever many weeks, months, or years), asks who died this time. Some other person, Idk. That leaves 5 alive ppl in the moon base.
|
||||
* Followed by a moon funeral? Idk.
|
||||
* The last remaining adult on the moon dies. I’m not sure if I want her to follow the procedure of properly disposing of the body in a robot-like fashion or if she just decides to close the airlock of that room (in that case, there should be some precedent for that). After that, she lies down on the floor in a central room looking out though the ceiling for who knows how long (not eating or drinking for a 6h or so).
|
||||
* Something should happen that gets her to get up and realize how incredibly hungry she is - possibly an incoming call / terminal beep from Earth
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
|
|||
A train is coming. As Annie reaches the platform, she hears the sirens of the police cars coming closer. They are really close now. The first police car arrives at the station at the same time as the train pulls up at the platform. Annie stands still as she panics. Where could she go?
|
||||
|
||||
"Annie!" Someone shouts her name. "Annie, get in here, run!"
|
||||
|
||||
She looks up. The train turns out to be a single car. A single, very rusty car. Annie breaks out of her freeze and starts to move. Inside is only one person, the driver, running to the other end. He wears a Neotek jacket - no doubt, that has to be Jack. She runs towards the closest door. The motors start humming. Annie jumps inside as the train starts moving in the direction it came from. The doors close just after leaving the platform.
|
||||
|
||||
The train accelerates with a force stronger than anything she has ever felt before. The motors scream, the entire train rattles. While she makes her way to the front, Annie looks outside. The city flies by. The horn sounds as the train barrels though the next station. The platform appears, is visible for just long enough to see the astonished faces of the onlookers, and disappears again.
|
||||
|
||||
She reaches the driver’s cabin.
|
||||
"Hello Jack!"
|
||||
"Hi Annie – you okay?"
|
||||
"Yes", she breathes heavily, "but that was close."
|
||||
After catching her breath for a moment, she says:
|
||||
"You arrived just in time, we got really lucky."
|
||||
Jack seems to think for a short moment while his eyes stay fixed on the track ahead.
|
||||
"That remains to be seen. Cycling that airlock seems to have set off some sort of alarm. Like poking a stick into an anthill..."
|
||||
"An anthill?"
|
||||
"Oh, I forgot, you wouldn’t know... Ants are tiny little animals. They pile up loose material from the ground into small hills as their nests. If you poke a stick into one, they scramble to defend it."
|
||||
"Ah..."
|
||||
Annie imagines a bunch of tiny cats scratching and biting away at a stick that’s stuck in a slope.
|
||||
Looking outside again, she realizes: "I have never seen one of these" - she knocks on the control panel - "go this fast."
|
||||
"Me neither", says Jack. He makes a short pause, then he adds: "I mean there used to be trains that could go faster - a lot faster - but not metro trains."
|
||||
|
||||
*Note to self: This dialog needs to be continued to tie the sections together*
|
||||
|
||||
Jack decelerates the train. "Almost there", he says. Ahead of them is the airlock in the outer wall of the dome. The inner ‘B33FY-AF’ door is wide open. Technicians and police are standing around it in small groups, trying to figure out why it had opened. The ramps leading up to the airlock are full of parked transporters and police cars. Some are even on the rails but the track that Annie and Jack are approaching on is mostly clear.
|
||||
|
||||
The train loses power and passes over a bunch of switches. The headlights flicker and turn off. A police car that was parked too close to the track gets flung aside. A bunch of technicians jump out of the way as the train passes them and rolls into the airlock. Jack presses some buttons on the control panel. The train jolts to a stop. The screams of the police and technicians are drowned out by the hissing of pressurized air and the *ka-chonk* of large machinery.
|
||||
|
||||
"Cycling airlock, please stand by", announces an automated voice. The bunker door behind them starts to move with a screeching noise. The ‘keepers of order’ that had started to run into the airlock after the train stop and look around in confusion. Everything around them turns to black. The only thing Annie can see are the illuminated gauges on the control panel. More hissing of pressurized air.
|
||||
|
||||
The train shakes slightly as it makes a noise that sounds like a mechanical version of someone clearing their throat. The gauges on the control panel flicker. Annie is surprised by this, the noise is unfamiliar to her. It turns into a constant rumbling hum and the headlights come on again. The bunker door ahead is moving out of the way revealing a long tunnel.
|
||||
|
||||
"Everything okay? You look puzzled." Jack looks at Annie.
|
||||
"What’s this weird noise?"
|
||||
"Oh, there’s no power out here. This train has a generator so it can drive with and without a power rail."
|
||||
|
||||
The police start banging on the outside of the train and yell something. Jack grabs a microphone off the wall and speaks into it:
|
||||
"Gentlemen, for your own safety, please step back from the train."
|
||||
He pushes a lever on the control panel and the smooth hum of the motors joins in with the noise of the generator.
|
||||
|
||||
*Jack needs to say something along the lines of "We made it."*
|
||||
|
||||
*Appropriate reaction? Idk. Am bad at writing dialog. Will revisit.*
|
||||
|
||||
"In a couple minutes, it’s gonna get very bright." Jack says while accelerating the train again. "Close your eyes if it’s too bright. It might take a while to get used to daylight."
|
||||
As the train moves through the tunnel, an automated voice comes on: "Dear passengers, welcome to the combined Ivydale and Siren’s Song local transit zone! Please keep in mind that the last train returning to <underground city> for today departs from Ivydale South at 10:15PM. Enjoy your travel!"
|
||||
|
||||
The train leans into a curve; Annie hears the screeching of the wheels grinding on the rails. After a moment, a blue-ish white shimmer appears on the walls of the tunnel. It gets brighter and brighter. The tunnel straightens out again and the other end comes into sight. It’s brighter than a hundred spotlights shining on the same spot. Annie closes her eyes but the light continues to get brighter. For a moment, she covers them with her hands as the train leaves the tunnel and rumbles over a bunch of switches.
|
||||
|
||||
Annie hears Jack press some buttons and remove a key from the control panel. The motors go quiet, the generator turns off, and the train starts to slow down. She tries to open her eyes but it’s still too bright.
|
||||
"I think you could use a pair of sunglasses."
|
||||
"Sunglasses?"
|
||||
"They’re like normal glasses but... dark to make bright light easier on your eyes."
|
||||
Jack puts a pair in Annie’s hands. She puts them on and cautiously squints outside. Lots of green, brown, and gray but before she can make out anything specific, they roll into another tunnel. The automated voice comes on again:
|
||||
"We are now approaching Ivydale South. Your next connections are line 7 to Ivydale Distillery from platform 5, HST1511 to Westport from platform 14, HST815 to Nova Metropolis from platform 11. This train will continue on line 5 to Siren’s Song Fish Market via Ivydale West, Siren’s Song Observatory, Siren’s Song Central Station."
|
||||
After a moment, Jack says quietly: "I wonder how much of these places is left..."
|
||||
Raising his voice back to a normal level, he adds: "But for now, it’s time for you to explore the outside world..."
|
||||
The train rolls out of the second tunnel and they find themselves in a station.
|
||||
|
||||
*some reply from Annie Idk, this section needs some more fixing up in general*
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
|
|||
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 wall ahead, and some of the holes in the roof, landing on the wall to the left. 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. Unfamiliar 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 close to the end of the platform.
|
||||
"Exit to the right in the direction of travel", he says in unison with the automated voice before turning the switch for the doors. They open with a squeaking sound.
|
||||
"After you." He nods towards the passenger area.
|
||||
|
||||
*TODO: Fix this up:*
|
||||
|
||||
Jack and Annie step out onto the platform. Annie breathes the warm air. It smells of plants. Insects are buzzing about, and the wind rustles through the leaves.
|
||||
|
||||
*see notes archive about what follows*
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
|
|||
If you are just here to read, skip past the outline.
|
||||
|
||||
*Outline of this section:*
|
||||
|
||||
* *protagonists are waiting on top of one of the sky scrapers in Nova Metropolis*
|
||||
* *they’re having food, potentially cooking it over a camp fire or gas stove or whatever*
|
||||
* *Jack’s watch starts to beep*
|
||||
* *that’s the alarm he set for roughly the time when moon girl should be entering the atmosphere*
|
||||
* *They get up and walk to the edge and start observing the sky with binoculars*
|
||||
* *after a while, the escape capsule becomes visible as its heat shield glows red hot*
|
||||
* *several minutes pass (ChatGPT says a space shuttle would take about half an hour so let’s assume 10 to 15 min)*
|
||||
* *the thing is coming down way too quickly*
|
||||
* *the rear end of the capsule breaks apart while it’s (from their perspective) still far up in the sky*
|
||||
* *the capsule plummets into the city leaving a crater where it lands and taking down some buildings*
|
||||
* *they think they just witnessed a horrible accident*
|
||||
* *after a moment, a parachute opens in the distance*
|
||||
* *it lands between the buildings*
|
||||
* *In a hunch, one of the protagonists grabs a radio and broadcasts a message asking if the girl is okay*
|
||||
* *very noisy but clearly affirmative response*
|
||||
* *End of story*
|
||||
|
||||
The group sits around the pot with leftovers on the gas stove, enjoying the view of the skyline from above. They had decided to wait on top of the tallest sky scraper the city had to offer to increase their odds of seeing where Emily would land. The intense light of the sunset paints Nova Metropolis in various hues of orange and the moon is already visible in the sky. They are engaged in a conversation about the mind-boggling vastness of space and all it contains.
|
||||
|
||||
**bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep**
|
||||
|
||||
The alarm on Jack’s watch interrupts them. He presses one of the buttons and says:
|
||||
"It’s time. Emily will be entering the atmosphere right about now."
|
||||
|
||||
They get up. James pulls a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Jack does the same. Annie looks at both of them - her face clearly showing her disappointment.
|
||||
"Don’t worry, I gotchu." says Jack as he pulls a second pair out of his bag before they start walking.
|
||||
|
||||
Michelle and James are already leaning against the railing and looking towards the sky. Jack and Annie join them. Jack takes a compass out of his pocket and looks at it for a second. Then, he points into a direction in the sky and says "The capsule should appear somewhere around there."
|
||||
James hands his binoculars to Michelle for a moment.
|
||||
"I see it! There!" she exclaims before handing them back to him.
|
||||
|
||||
The capsule looks like a tiny, red glowing dot in the sky, slowly growing in size. For the next couple of minutes, nothing seems to happen. The dot gets bigger and bigger turning into a black circle as the glow dims and finally disappears. Slowly, it moves towards them.
|
||||
|
||||
Around the 15 minute mark, Jack realizes that it has moved almost above them.
|
||||
"That’s a bit too close for comfort - and way too fast." he says.
|
||||
They watch in horror as parts appear to be breaking off from behind the capsule. Two minutes later, it plummets into the city with a loud bang, taking multiple buildings down with it. Nobody says anything for a while as they watch the buildings around the impact crumble and the remaining parts rain out of the sky in a mix of awe and shock.
|
||||
|
||||
"Guys look!" Michelle points into a direction behind them. "A parachute..."
|
||||
*reaction needed*
|
||||
They watch as it disappears between the buildings.
|
||||
|
||||
Annie walks over to Jack’s bag and retrieves the radio he had insisted on bringing.
|
||||
"Maybe, she can hear us from here..."
|
||||
"So it was a good idea to bring it after all?"
|
||||
They laugh for a moment while Annie switches it on.
|
||||
"Emily, can you hear me? Are you okay?" *Might benefit from proper radio protocol*
|
||||
They hear a slightly distorted but clearly happy response through the noise:
|
||||
"Yes... Yes. I’m alive... I made it." *Might benefit from proper radio protocol*
|
||||
|
||||
*This is the very end of the story. At this point, I don’t plan for any scenes to happen after this.*
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue