160 lines
6.2 KiB
HTML
160 lines
6.2 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> <End> </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> <End></h1>
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<p class="comment">
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If you are just here to read, skip past the outline.
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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Outline of this section:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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protagonists are waiting on top of one of the sky scrapers in
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Nova Metropolis
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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they're having food, potentially cooking it over a camp fire or
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gas stove or whatever
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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Jack's watch starts to beep
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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that's the alarm he set for roughly the time when moon girl
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should be entering the atmosphere
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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They get up and walk to the edge and start observing the sky with
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binoculars
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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after a while, the escape pod becomes visible as its heat
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shield glows red hot
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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several minutes pass (ChatGPT says a space shuttle would take about
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half an hour so let's assume 10 to 15 min
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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the thing is coming down way too quickly
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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the rear end of the capsule breaks apart while it's (from their
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perspective) still far up in the sky
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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the capsule plummets into the city leaving a crater where it lands and
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taking down some buildings
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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they think they just witnessed a horrible accident
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</il>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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after a moment, a parachute opens in the distance
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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it lands between the buildings
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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In a hunch, one of the protagonists grabs a radio and broadcasts a
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message asking if the girl is okay
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<ul>
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<li class="comment">
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very noisy but clearly affirmative response
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li class="comment">
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End of story
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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The group sits around the pot with leftovers on the gas stove, enjoying
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the view of the skyline from above. They had decided to wait on top of
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one of the tallest sky scrapers the city had to offer to increase their
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odds of seeing where Emily would land. The intense light of the sunset
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paints Nova Metropolis in various hues of vibrant orange and the moon
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is already visible in the sky. They are engaged in a conversation about
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the mind-boggling vastness of space and all it contains.
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</p>
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<p class="strong">
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bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep
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</p>
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<p>
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The alarm on Jack's watch interrupts them. He presses one of the
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buttons and says:<br />
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<span class="speech">It's time. Emily will be entering the
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atmosphere right about now.</span><br />
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They get up. James pulls a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Jack does
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the same. Annie looks at both of them - her face clearly showing her
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disappointment.<br />
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<span class="speech">Don't worry, I gotchu.</span> says Jack as he
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pulls a second pair out of his bag before they start walking towards the
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edge.
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</p>
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<p>
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Michelle and James are already leaning against the railing and looking
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towards the sky. Jack and Annie join them. Jack takes a compass out of
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his pocket and briefly looks at it. Then, he points in a direction in the
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sky and says:<br />
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<span class="speech">The pod should appear somewhere around there.</span>
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<br />
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James hands his binoculars to Michelle for a moment.<br />
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<span class="speech">I see it! There!</span> she exclaims before handing
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them back to him.
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</p>
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<p>
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The capsule looks like a tiny, red glowing dot in the sky, slowly
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growing in size. For a few minutes, nothing seems to happen. The dot gets
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bigger and bigger turning into a black circle as the glow dims and
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finally disappears. The pod sheds its heat shield as it slowly comes
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closer.
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</p>
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<p>
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Around the 15 minute mark, Jack notices that it has moved almost above
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them.<br />
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<span class="speech">That's a bit too close for comfort - and way
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too fast.</span> he says.<br />
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Parts appear to be breaking off from the pod. They watch the last couple
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minutes of the fall realizing that something has seriously gone wrong.
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It plummets into the city, shaking the ground slightly, and taking
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multiple buildings down with it. Nobody says anything for a while as they
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watch the buildings around the impact crumble and the remaining parts
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rain out of the sky in a mix of awe and shock.
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</p>
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<p>
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<span class="speech">Guys, over there!</span> Michelle points into the
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sky behind them. <span class="speech">A parachute...</span><br />
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<span class="comment">reaction needed</span><br />
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They watch as it disappears between the buildings.
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</p>
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<p>
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Annie walks over to Jack's bag and, on a hunch, unpacks the radio
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he had insisted on bringing.<br />
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<span class="speech">Maybe, she can hear us from here...</span><br />
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She swiches it on and turns the frequency dial until the needle is in
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the position that Jack had marked.<br />
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<span class="speech">Emily, can you hear us? Are you okay?</span>
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<span class="comment">Might benefit from proper radio protocol</span>
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<br />
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They hear a slightly distorted but clearly happy response through the
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noise:<br />
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<span class="speech">Yes... Yes. I'm alive... I made it.</span>
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<br />
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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This is the very end of the story. I originally didn't plan for
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anything to happen after this though I have managed to somehow already
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write about an event after this in <a href="./%3F%3F.txt">??.txt</a>.
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</p>
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