103 lines
5.6 KiB
HTML
103 lines
5.6 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> Overdue Maintenence </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> Overdue Maintenance </h1>
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<p>
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Jack parks the truck just before the exit of a tunnel and they get out.
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Roaring water echoes from somewhere deep below. Annie grabs her bag and
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goes ahead. The tunnel wall to the right features doors, large gates,
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and windows that allow a peek into abandoned offices, storage spaces, and
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control rooms. The end of the tunnel connects to a balcony with rusty
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walkways connecting to either side, extending into a narrow ravine.
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She steps onto it, making sure to keep her distance to the railing, and
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looks around. The walkway to the right connects to the top of a dam
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blocking the ravine. A couple bushes, purple flowers, and a small tree
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grow on top of it and the wall is partially green from moss. Water flows
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over the spillway, falling into the depths below where it joins a torrent
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of water coming from two big pipes at the bottom of the ravine.
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</p>
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<p>
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She turns around to see Jack getting a toolbox from the truck bed and
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James and Michelle waiting next to a door, holding a large box full of
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random spare parts. She hurries over to them and opens it by pulling a
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loop of wire through the latch.
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</p>
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<p>
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Inside is the main control room. The wall to the right is lined with
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metal cabinets that have levers, buttons, dials, and large gauges on
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them. The wall to the left features a front of windows, allowing a view
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of the spillway and the top of the dam, below which is a random
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collection of furniture, primarily desks and chairs. Some of the windows
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have cracks but, by some miracle, none are broken. The center of the room
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is taken up by a large console with more buttons, switches, and gauges
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that is facing the windows and an opening in the floor covered by a thick
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glass pane.
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</p>
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<p>
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They set down their things and roam around the room. Out of nowhere,
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Michelle asks:<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Jack, what's the status on that dome city
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you're building? You guys only have two years to finish that
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project.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Oh no, I guess we're gonna have to slack
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less while waiting for bureaucracy to take its course.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Look, the power lines are gonna get hooked up
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to the battery bank in a couple days. Aren't you excited for
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that?</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Not my department but I sure hope we're
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no longer gonna need these portable batteries down there. Having a working
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power grid is gonna be so nice.</span><br />
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They are looking at a calendar on the wall and laughing. It shows October
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1991 with a few entries and crossed-off days.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack looks at a clipboard that was placed on the control panel on the
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center console.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">The next maintenence expedition is scheduled
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for 2011 – I don't think anyone ever stepped foot in here
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after <dome city> was closed off.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">It wouldn't surprise me.</span> Annie
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leans against the center console. <span class="quote speech">Apart from a
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small group, the entire city is legitimately scared of the outside
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world.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">I mean they're probably right, the
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outside world is dangerous. Look down, by the way.</span><br />
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<span class="quote speech">Whoa!</span><br />
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She stumbles backwards. Without noticing it, she had walked onto the
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glass pane. It allows a view down into a hall filled with machinery.
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</p>
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<p>
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They look down into it. Water is pouring out of a burst pipe and from
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the flanges between pipes.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">It's a miracle this place is still
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running.</span>
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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missing section
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack walks up to the rusty railing, grabbing it and trying to shake it
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as hard as he can but it doesn't even rattle.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Quality engineering.</span><br />
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Using the walkway to the right, they get on top of the dam.
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<span class="comment">And now what?</span>
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</p>
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<p>
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The other walkway connects to a freestanding staircase leading all the
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way down.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack turns the key and the gate starts to move up, scrathcing and
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squeeking as it does, revealing a bunch of crates. About half-way
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up, it gets stuck, making a buzzing noise. Jack lets go of the key, it
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stops. They duck under the gate and look around. They find themselves in
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a warehouse much larger than the gate and windows facing the tunnel would
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lead to assume.<br />
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<span class="quote speech">Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call
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an adequate stockpile of spare parts.</span><br />
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Jack walks up to a huge crate and wipes the dust off the label:
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<span class="quote non-speech">Turbine C, replacement 2</span>.
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</p>
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<p class="comment">
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exploring the warehouse, they find a forklift and a railroad in the back
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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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