《The Epiphany Colony》Chapter 20: Getting A Closer Look
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“What do you mean he’s got it?” Rami asked incredulously.
“Matsumoto injected me with…with something earlier and I went into a haze and almost killed Officer Seol—I mean Elaine. It wasn’t a rage or anything, I certainly didn’t hear any voices, but still, I don’t know of anything in particular that the police has access to that can really do something like this.”
Rami furrowed his brow.
Brad then looked in Rami’s direction. “Did you ever figure out what was down there that made everyone go crazy and violent?”
“No,” Rami admitted bitterly. He smacked the table with a fist. “This means we don’t have much time.”
“So we’re going straight there?” Elaine asked, arms folded.
“Not quite,” Rami responded. “We’ve got a reconnaissance drone that we can use to take a quick look at the entrance of the facility. I can launch it from here.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out his communicator, which he connected to a hologram projector in the room. Within the hologram, a large three-dimensional map of the area surrounding the drone as well as a smaller window showing a 360-degree view surrounding the drone appeared. The drone was controlled via gestures within the hologram.
Brad noticed as Rami worked with the drone, a smile formed on the old man’s face. Without thinking, Brad spoke his mind, saying, “You sure look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
Rami chuckled. “These things are so cool. As upsetting as it was that our company made so many excuses about using drones, I could never blame the little guys themselves.”
“Excuses?” Jolene asked.
“Oh, the usual. Too expensive. Would need too many repairs. That sort of thing.”
“Surely that would be worth the risk to avoid putting people at risk?” Jolene pushed.
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Somehow this conversation wasn’t proving to be much of a distraction for the old man as he carefully guided the drone outside of the dome and into the vacuum of space. “As I said, excuses,” Rami said. “Sure, camera signals can be a little unreliable underground, machinery needs constant repair, and there are many things even now that robots cannot accomplish for us. But at the end of the day, my guess is the company wanted to save money, and most of us that took jobs for them were just desperate enough to put up with their nonsense. Even if we tried to play hardball with them, they’d just find someone else who would do the same work for less, so at the end of the day, it was either take a bad job with low pay or no job with no pay. Though even with that in mind, we had it better than some others who took early jobs on the colony.”
As Rami continued reminiscing, Brad found himself mesmerized by what was showing on the drone’s view screen. He’d been in space many times before, but the endless blackness dotted with distant stars was something that never failed to amaze him. Brad found himself wondering if people felt the same in the past when examining humanity’s achievements—that is, when traveling on the sea or in the sky. Brad had only spent a small amount of time on Earth, so it was something he didn’t have much experience with. Even if he had, the amount of pollution in the ocean was something that might hinder what enjoyment he could get out of sailing that previous generations took for granted. The fact that space had so much more…well…space meant that, even though there were pockets of trash and wreckage orbiting the sun and planets, there was so much more room to maneuver so one didn’t have to deal with the debris unless it was one’s occupation.
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That always sounded kind of fun to Brad. He wasn’t sure he could do it every day for years. Probably couldn’t even do it every day for a few weeks. But he wouldn’t mind going on a ride-along with a space sweeper sometime.
Damn. I’m spacing out again. Brad shook his head trying to return to the real world.
Brad took another look at the screen and the map. Rami had resumed speaking more specifically about the location of the mine, how its entrance was relatively close to the gate to the colony, and how all that was left of it should have been a solid concrete wall where the main entrance was.
Emphasis on should have been, as the concrete looked like it had been forced open, either by a collision of space debris or excavation equipment. Rami made the camera on the drone zoom in to get a closer look without physically moving the drone. Sure enough, the drone picked up faint signs of movement. Edging the drone closer, Rami squinted his eyes to get a better look at the movement. Sure enough, ground vehicles and autonomous digging implements moved to and fro, moving mined stone and ore out of the mouth of the cave, with the sort of zeal that implied that they knew something was in there.
Brad spoke up. “They’re just doing this all right in the open. Did they already know going in that something was in there or was it an accidental discovery?”
“I don’t know,” Rami sighed. “But I mean to find out. Let’s get a move on. We need to get you three better armed and prepared.”
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The Forgotten Lands
The lands close to the edge of the world, which is marked by an ever-present fog, are known as the barrens. A blighted land in which crops struggle to grow , with only the very poor and desperate to occupy the scarce villages. Naturally making it a haven for outlaws.It is in one of these barrens that a raider called Raegan was born and raised, feared and respected by the cut-throats he grew up around.The world has been told that magic is responsible for cursed regions known as the Forgotten Lands. For this reason anyone with the gift of magic are labelled abominations, a crime punishable by death and enforced by the Malleus Maleficarum, the worlds leading religion. Raegan is one such abomination, untrained in whatever magic he may have.Even in the lawless barrens those with magic aren't looked upon favourably, and so Raegan has kept his 'gift' hidden from all but his closest friend. But now he wants to leave behind the dangerous wasteland that is his home and everything he has ever known, in the effort to seek new experiences.No matter where this new path will take him, good or bad.
8 86Dawn of Antiquity
The ground breaking virtual reality game "Dawn of Antiquity" and the "Virtual Pod" capsule that is used to play this prevailing game has gained tremendous popularity worldwide since the announcement that it would become available for purchase in one month. This game is to be set in a world of endless wilderness, except for the one city that all players start from. Players will have the ability to hunt monsters, animals, and even one another to level up in this virtual fantasy world. Every player will also have the ability to settle down on these uninhabited lands to build a small home or a sprawling kingdom. The game's state of the art AI will be constantly adding new content in the form of monsters, quests, lore and even new lands.This means that Dawn of Antiquity will be an ever growing world with unexplored lands always beyond the next horizon. This being the first real virtual reality game ever is quite enough to make it popular, but to have a virtual world that continues to always grow has stirred excitement and imaginations of people around the world. Nathan Bryant, an avid PC gamer is one of the many excitedly waiting to make the step from PC to VR gaming. There is just one problem on the day the game is finally open to the public Nathan will miss out on the ingame opening ceremony due to a previously scheduled appointment. This turn of events will leave Nathan with a life changing decision to make. How will he choose to live out his life? Will he continue to live the way he has for the past few years or will he throw caution to the wind for a fresh new start at life?
8 140No Longer Alive
"Sometimes, I wonder who is more human? Dazai or the world." Inspired by Dazai Osamu's "No Longer Human" (Ningen Shikkaku)
8 169Character Origins; Shaynen
“Shaynen, what do we do?” Ila yelled. Shaynen looked over at them, at a loss for words. Another rope snapped, and the bridge jerked. “Hold on!” Shaynen shut his eyes as the weight on the weakened trees and ropes became too much and they snapped. The bridge dropped, and Ila screamed. Shaynen’s life is violently and literally dropped from the treetops when a strange black ooze infects his home. With his village destroyed, his family migrates out of the forest and over the mountains for the promise of safety. But of all the people in the village, only Shaynen makes it to the other side. Check out my Behind the Scenes page for cool facts, clips, art, and music. Behind The Page (google.com)
8 258the rain → lashton
"he only comes outside when it rains."
8 70Anime Zodiac Signs
There will be some that have nothing to do with anime but oh well
8 133