115 lines
7.3 KiB
HTML
115 lines
7.3 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Nova Metropolis </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="home"><a href="index.html">⌂</a></div>
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<h1>Nova Metropolis</h1>
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<!-- perspective: Annie -->
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<p>
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Michelle continues driving the bus for a couple hours without further
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incidents. They pass a bunch of smaller towns, some reduced to
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basically piles of wood and rubble while others have buildings still
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standing. James had gone to sleep and Annie is enjoying the view,
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making occasional conversation with Michelle about landmarks or anything
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remarkable.
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</p>
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<p>
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Michelle gets her attention: <span class="quote speech">Look, almost
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there!</span><br />
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She gestures to the left. Annie looks in the direction. An undefined
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shape is visible in the far distance. Michelle takes an exit onto another
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highway towards it. After not too long, the undefined shape turns into
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the unmistakable skyline of a large city.
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</p>
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<p>
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They pass a huge sign with completely washed-out colors that still
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faintly reads <span class="quote non-speech">Welcome to
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Nova Metropolis</span>. Quickly, they find themselves the city
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outskirts. Many of the single family homes in the area are still
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standing, some of them even in remarkably good condition. The city
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center ahead of them is made up of skyscrapers that mostly look like
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the day they were abandoned.
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</p>
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<p>
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The highway ends and transitions into a large road. Michelle decelerates
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the bus.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Why are you going so slow?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Im going exactly speed limit – 50
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kilometers per hour.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">50? That's faster than the speed limit in
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Sunside Cove yet this feels so slow...</span><br />
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Michelle chuckles.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">This is what it feels like coming off the
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highway. Jack was right about the wind. Under normal circumstances,
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a bus like this one would struggle to reach 100, we were doing 120.</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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The buildings around them get taller and taller. The mix of smaller and
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medium-sized houses turns into blocks of five-story buildings which in
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turn turn into blocks of even taller buildings until the sides are lined
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with skyscrapers with facades of glass, concrete, and steel towering
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over the road. Annie points them out:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Looks like this was all abandoned just
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recently. Not even a smashed window.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Over there.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Okay, one smashed window.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">You're right though. Barely any
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damage – and surprisingly little sand, I thought we'd
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find a bunch of half-buried ruins.</span><br />
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Michelle pulls up at a bus stop and parks the bus.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Time to wake up the guys.</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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Over a small meal, they decide to explore the time capsule that
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is Nova Metropolis. Well, all of them but Jack.<br />
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Michelle says: <span class="quote speech">I thought sleep was for
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the weak?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">I'm just gonna own that one today.</span>
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<br />
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He throws himself onto his bed, not even making an effort to lay down in
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a comfortable position. His words are muffled through the mattres:
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<span class="quote speech">Good night.</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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Michelle, James, and Annie gather at the front door and step outside.
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Michelle reaches for the key switch under the headlight and holds it
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until the door is closed, then she shuts the little door that normally
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hides it. The three start walking, briefly stopping every few meters to
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look into the perfectly preserved storefront windows. Many have
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sunbleached posters hanging in them, some completely faded to white,
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others still showing faint outlines or even a hint of colors, the goods
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surrounding them waiting to attrackt buyers who would never return.
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</p>
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<p>
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A few blocks down the road, they find a music store filled with acoustic
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instruments. They stop a bit longer. Annie really wants to go inside.
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She tries the large glass door – locked, of course.<br />
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She asks: <span class="quote speech">So... How else can we get
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inside?</span><br />
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Michelle says: <span class="quote speech">Break in. Who's gonna stop
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you?</span><br />
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Annie looks around, scanning the floor. She notices some of the small
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paving stones at the edge of the sidewalk had come loose and picks one
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up. She hesitates.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">This feels so wrong...</span><br />
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James, who had been standing off to the side, watching the interaction
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between the two, steps between Annie and the door.<br />
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He says: <span class="quote speech">Allow me to work some magic for you.
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Can I have that thing?</span><br />
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He takes the paving stone out of her hand and places it right back
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where she had found it. Then, he takes a keyring out of one of his
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jacket's pockets and searches for a specific one. Using that key,
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he opens a small lock box near the floor next to the door, out of which
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he grabs another set of keys.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Fire department key. Probably works on most
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buildings around here. Here you go, your way inside.</span><br />
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He hands her the keys.
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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Notes to self:<br />
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Annie will at some point before this have to be comfortable with breaking
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into lost places in Ivydale / Sentinel Shores.<br />
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James has changed his green coat for a brown leather jacket before
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starting the trip to Nova Metropolis.
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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missing section about exploring an intricate lobby of some corporate hq
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</p>
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