375 lines
14 KiB
HTML
375 lines
14 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Unlikely Encounter </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><svg class="hidden_filter"><filter id="crunchy_blur" x="0" y="0"><feFlood x="4" y="4" height="2" width="2"/><feComposite width="6" height="6" in2="SourceGraphic"/><feTile result="a"/><feComposite in="SourceGraphic" in2="a" operator="in"/><feMorphology operator="dilate" radius="1.4"/><feGaussianBlur stdDeviation="2.2"></feGaussianBlur></filter></svg><div class="back"><a href="index.html"><</a></div>
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<h1> Unlikely Encounter </h1>
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<!-- perspective: Annie -->
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<p class="light">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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What was that? Annie looks up.
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</p>
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<p class="light">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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That came from the hallway. She steps outside her office to find the
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source of this noise. Everyone else had already gone home and she was
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about to leave as well so this is weird.
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</p>
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<p class="light">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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Following the sound, she walks down the hallway. She stops to listen.
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</p>
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<p class="light">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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Behind that door to the left... Opening it reveals the staircase down
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to the basement.
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</p>
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<p class="strong">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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The sound is clearer, it comes from down there. Annie walks down the
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stairs and flips the light switch. A few light fixtures on the walls
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dimly illuminate the rows of shelves packed with binders, boxes, and
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loose stacks of paper.
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</p>
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<p class="strong">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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She rarely goes down here, usually just to add to the piles of
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paperwork in the archive, but she had no idea there was anything else
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in the basement.
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</p>
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<p class="strong">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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Looking through the shelves, she notices a small dark area in the back
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of the room that seems to be where the noise comes from. She walks
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towards it.
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</p>
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<p class="heavy">
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beep beep
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</p>
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<p>
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The noise is now very close. Behind the last shelf, sectioned off from
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the rest of the room, she finds what looks to be a small office. There
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is a large wooden desk with a comfortable-looking, though well-worn
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leather chair in front of it. Next to the chair is a floor lamp that was
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apparently placed there in absence of a desk lamp. The desk itself is
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a mess, apart from a neatly organized row of books towards the wall.
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The rest is covered with all sorts of tools, cables and devices.
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Front and center is a terminal...
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</p>
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<p class="heavy">
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BEEP BEEP
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</p>
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<p>
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... and, apparently, that is the source of the beep sound. She had never
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used one before but taking a quick look can't hurt – and
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besides, this beeping is slowly getting on her nerves. She begins
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inspecting it...
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</p>
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<p class="heavy">
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BEEP BEEP
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</p>
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<p>
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... ugh. That's kinda loud.  The terminal looks like kind of
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a weird TV. It has a screen to display text, a couple adjustment knobs,
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and a flat section with rows of buttons with letters and symbols on them.
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The reception desk has one of these things; they always use it to order
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new office supplies and for other important-sounding work...
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</p>
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<p class="heavy">
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BEEP BEEP
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</p>
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<p>
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The text on the screen flickers.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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Hello, anyone there?
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This is Jack from Cryo Facility 53. I got woken up from cryogenic sleep
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and am stuck down here. Please respond or send help.
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Type reply: █
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</pre>
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<p class="heavy">
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BEEP BEEP
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</p>
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<p>
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She sits down on the chair in front of it and switches the lamp on.
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Her eyes fall on the rows of buttons with letters - should be easy
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enough. Annie starts looking for the right letters...
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</p>
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<p class="heavy">
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BEEP BEEP
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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Type reply: hello█
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</pre>
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<p>
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Click,   
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click,    
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click,
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click,   
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click.
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The buttons have a very satisfying feel and sound to them - unlike the
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beeping noise which is ... now gone. It was unpleasantly loud and
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annoying. She looks for a way to separate words. She tries that wide
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button with
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<span class="quote non-speech">S P A C E</span>
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written on it – that worked, makes sense.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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Type reply: hello i am going to get help
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Thank you. Appreciate it.
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</pre>
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<p>
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That took a while to... type?... Is that the word? The rows of buttons
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are arranged in a strange order...
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie looks around. Lots of cables,
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a pile of paper, an empty cup, some pens and pencils, a screwdriver and
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other tools, a rubber duck – what an odd place to find a rubber
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duck... A phone! She picks it up – no dial tone. Weird. Maybe, it
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is unplugged. She looks on the floor and, sure enough, there is the cable
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– not for much longer, as she finds a phone socket and plugs it in.
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Strange electrical noises. She tries to dial a number but
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nothing happens. She drops the receiver on the cradle and turns back to
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the terminal. A couple random symbols have appeared.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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%s; i cant call anyone the phone is making weird noises
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This modem is probably on the same line. I can disconnect for a while and
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dial in again in a bit.
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okay
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Talk to you then.
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LINE DISCONNECTED -
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Tue, 2106-06-01, 19:16
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AgriWorks Login: █
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</pre>
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<p>
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<span class="quote non-speech">What's a modem?</span> she wonders
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for a second, but then disregards the thought as she picks up the phone
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again. Who to call though? Her coworkers would probably make fun of her
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or be annoyed. Also, this place,
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<span class="quote non-speech">Cryo Facility 53</span>, she had
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never heard of it. The only one who might know more about it is her
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grandpa, as he had studied the plans of the city very thoroughly during
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his time at the power company. So she dials his number...
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie is greeted by the friendly voice of an old man. After a short
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exchange of <span class="comment">"Hello, how are you?" /
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pleasantries</span>, she begins to explain the situation. He interrupts
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her while relaying what Jack had written:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Cryo Facility? Are you sure?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Yes, it says here: Cryo Facility 53.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Well that makes it very interesting.
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Unfortunately, these cryogenic facilities are outside the dome. We
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can't get there.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Outside? How'd he get there?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">He ... didn't. He's been there from
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the start.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">How?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">They called it cryogenic sleep - essentially,
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people were frozen so they could be woken up some time in the far future.
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It was thought to be impossible but they made it work just before the
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apocalypse happened.</span>
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<br />
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<span class="quote speech">You mean he's one from
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the old world?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">If he is who he says he is, then yes, almost
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certainly. I kinda wanna talk to this guy. If he gives you a number,
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would you mind passing it along?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Sure, can do.  ... So there's
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no way we can help him?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Well, at least not directly. That said, the
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people in these cryo facilities are trained for all sorts of things,
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maybe we can help him help himself.</span>
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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ensuing Annie Jack conversation needs to be modified taking into
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consideration that Karl wants to contact Jack (also notes/story and
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everything else)
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The conversation ends and Annie slowly sets the receiver back on the
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cradle, pondering over what she had just learned. The call had left her
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with more questions than she had before. And what would she tell Jack?
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She looks at the terminal but nothing has changed so she gets up to grab
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some snacks.
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</p>
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<p>
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A cup of juice and two cookies later, she hears the telephone ring in the
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basement. Annie grabs another cookie and hurries back down the stairs.
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It stops ringing before she can get there, but the terminal shows some
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activity. The text disappears and a new message shows up. She sits down
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and replies.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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Hello again.
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hello i am really sorry but we cannot get to facility 53 its outside
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Okay. I kinda assumed that already... Can you get some technical
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documentation for me?
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i dont know where would i find it
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You are in the city under the mountain, right?
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yes sunside cove
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The library should have it.
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I need the service manual for a Neotek Dynamics B33FY-AF bunker door.
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ok sure but how would i get a book to you
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They should have a digital version of it... You are not very familiar with
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computers, are you?
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no
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</pre>
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<p>
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Annie looks up from the terminal. She finds a piece of paper and a pen
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– whoever works here hopefully won't mind – and writes
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down <span class="quote non-speech">Neotek B33FY-AF door</span>.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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Are there any computer people you could ask for help?
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not sure they would do that my grandpa might but he doesnt work here
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As long as he has access to a computer with a modem, he should be able to
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do this.
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whats a modem
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A device that connects computers over the telephone network.
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not sure he has one but i can ask
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Thank you.
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Btw, I never asked your name...
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annie
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Thank you, Annie!
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In case he does, he can reach this modem under <phone number> at
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300 baud.
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</pre>
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<p>
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She picks up the pen again and adds the phone number and
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<span class="quote non-speech">300 baud</span> – whatever that
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means.
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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okay but it might take a couple days
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I can hold out down here for quite a while, don't worry about a few
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days. I'll be back on this terminal on Friday evening if I don't
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hear from you or your grandpa before then.
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are you safe there
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Yes, the bunker seems to be holding up well and I have plenty of food for
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now. I just wish I could get out of that damned door and see the light of
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day.
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ok thats good
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</pre>
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<p>
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<span class="quote non-speech">The light of day</span>, Annie thinks to
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herself, <span class="quote non-speech">what is it like?</span>
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</p>
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<pre class="terminal">
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I have to go now, the bunker's daily phone usage quota is running out.
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Thank you again and looking forward to talk to you and your grandpa.
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Neotek Dynamics B33FY-AF Bunker Door
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<phone number> @ 300 baud
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I will connect back to this terminal on Friday if we haven't
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established contact before then.
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can we talk tomorrow i have questions
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We can tal
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LINE DISCONNECTED -
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Tue, 2106-06-01, 20:12
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AgriWorks Login: █
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</pre>
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<p>
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<span class="quote non-speech">Is that a yes or a no?</span>, Annie
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wonders, still not quite sure what to make of the whole situation.
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She starts re-reading all that's still on the screen.
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<span class="quote speech">The light of day</span>, she quietly mumbles
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to herself.
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</p>
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<p>
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As she reads the section with the bunker door and the phone number, she
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double-checks what she had written down. She continues to read. After a
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moment, the terminal makes a quiet click and turns off. The screen
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flashes and quickly turns to black before a tiny red light under the
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adjustment knobs comes on to illuminate the letters "RDY".
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie collects the crumbs of the third cookie that had magically
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disappeared and eats them. Then, she gets up, takes the piece of paper,
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and returns to her office, still thinking about the phrase
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<span class="quote non-speech">the light of day</span>. Now, she wants
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to see it too – out of curiosity. She collects her things and
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leaves for the day.
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie closes the door behind herself and locks it. As she takes a breath
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of the slightly humid air, she steps back onto the sidewalk to look at
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the clock above the entrance... 08:25 PM – the realization of how
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much time had passed hits: Normally she'd be at home already. She
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starts walking towards the metro station at the corner. The buildings
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here are similar to the ones in residential areas – three to four
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story houses painted in different colors – but they are lacking
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balconies and all the lights are out as they mostly house offices. On the
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other side of the street is an embankment that holds the rails for the
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metro and beyond that is the outer wall of the dome. The street lights
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illuminating the area had already dimmed for the night giving the area
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an eerie look. Only a couple times had she seen it like this while
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staying late for company events.
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie reaches the corner. She looks left and right before crossing the
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street but not a single car is in sight. As she enters the station and
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walks up the stairs, she glances at the display – 21 minutes until the
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next train arrives, that's a long wait... The station is completely
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devoid of life, nobody else is out here this late. Annie walks up to the
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vending machine at the upper end of the staircase –
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<span class="quote non-speech">OUT OF ORDER</span>... Hrm.
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Mildly frustrated, she sits down on one of the benches and and starts
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rummaging in her bag. She finds her headphones and puts them on. At the
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other end of the cable is her walkman. She presses play and starts
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listening.
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</p>
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<p class="copyright">Copyright © 2023-2025 Jan Danielzick (aka. BodgeMaster) – All rights reserved.</p><script>let spans = ["<span class=\"paper green\">", "<span>"]; let pre_texts = document.getElementsByTagName("pre"); for (let i = 0; i < pre_texts.length; i++) {if (pre_texts[i].className != "paper") continue; let lines = pre_texts[i].innerHTML.split("\n"); let result = ""; for (let j = 0; j < lines.length; j++) {if (lines[j].length >= 80) result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + "</span>\n"; else result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + " ".repeat(80-lines[j].length) + "</span>\n";} pre_texts[i].innerHTML = result;}</script></body></html>
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