81 lines
4.6 KiB
HTML
81 lines
4.6 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Telescope </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back"><</button></a>
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<h1>Telescope</h1>
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<p>
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Michelle says: <span class="quote speech">I know the way.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Wanna drive?</span><br />
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Jack extends his hand with the keys.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Sure.</span><br />
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She takes them and the four get in the truck. James joins Michelle in
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the front while Annie and Jack take the rear seats. A few moments later,
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Michelle pulls onto the street in front of the bunker.<br />
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James asks her: <span class="quote speech">How far is it?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">A decent bit. Used to be about an hour on the
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highway. If it's in even somewhat decent shape, I'd say
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we're gonna make it there in about that time.</span><br />
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She turns right at an intersection onto the on-ramp, saying:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Gonna find out very soon...</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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The pavement is cracked and has potholes, and the highway is partially
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overgrown but, despite this, its condition is somehow good enough.
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Michelle floors it and the truck rattles and shakes as it accelerates
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on the uneven asphalt. James <span class="comment">hangs on to the handle
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</span>in the door as the remains of the city outskirts fly by.
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Michelle notices it:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">James, relax, that seat belt is gonna hold
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you.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">How are you not absolutely terrified by the
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speed you're going?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">You get used to it after a while... Also,
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I know very well what I can or can't do with this car –
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I used to drive the same model.</span>
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<span class="comment">wording?</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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Within a few minutes, they make it out of Ivydale, leaving its valley
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behind. The mountains make way for an area of plains and shallow hills.
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The large, rusty signs above still indicate the proximity of
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Sentinel Shores where they haven't faded completely. Following
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them, Michelle takes an exit onto another highway that takes them north,
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around the western part of Ivydale's lower side.
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</p>
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<p>
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After a while, they approach what used to be the outskirts of
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Sentinel Shores and Michelle takes an exit, getting them onto
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a rural road. The observatory is located on a hill, now ahead of them
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– a small group of buildings in the distance.
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As they get closer, the buildings take distinct shapes. Two of them stand
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out: The one in the center holds a large geodesic dome and another one
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off to the side is a smooth round dome with a slot cut out of it for
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a telescope to peek through. Well, it <i>was</i> smooth at one point
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– now, it has many holes with a tree growing out of the largest
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one. The geodesic dome has ivy vines clinging to it but looks otherwise
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surprisingly intact. The other buildings look like mostly unremarkable
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ruins in various stages of decay.
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</p>
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<p>
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Michelle says to James:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">I'm sorry but it doesn't look
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like your idea of using telescope is gonna pan out.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Oh well, still worth checking it out –
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maybe, there are old photos left behind... Didn't you say you also
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need the telescope?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">We need the <i>radio</i> telescope. That's
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a very different beast. It's in that ball made of triangles in the
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middle there.</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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She drives onto what remains of the large paved space inbetween the
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buildings and parks the truck next to the entrance to the optical
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telescope. They get out and look around. Trees and bushes grow all over
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the place, some even out of the buildings. Dora runs up to a bush and
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barks at it. A young fox jumps out and runs away.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Dora, c'mere!</span>
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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What now? They start exploring but where to they begin?
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</p>
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<p class="copyright">Copyright © 2023 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++) {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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