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