《SEVR-tech Aftermath》 Aftermath - Prologue Following in the wake of the early 21st century, when there was political turmoil and public unrest as the people felt themselves becoming caged within a repressive system. Where political correctness ran amok to the point, where it almost became unlivable within one particular nation - due to legal interpretations and precedents. In fact it almost became, that in order to even be considered potentially innocent, you had to be a practicing asexual virgin of a minority, who was conceived as a test tube baby and born from an artificial womb. That was how ¡°Fucked Up¡± it had become, yet still people could/would do nothing even when legislation was passed, basically stating, that all teenagers were to be added to the sexual offenders registry as pedofiles. It took the spectical of a mass exodus, of a well known and respected international company. Who removed themselves from the planet Earth, to bringthe social unrest to spike and boil over. Quite Literally. The company, known as the ¡°Corporate Artesian Community¡±, became a worldwide success primarily because they were the sole creators and distributors of the only safe and functional, ¡°Sensory Equivalent Virtual Reality¡± technology. This SEVR-tech was unique, a full sensory immersive pod connecting to a variety of virtual worlds, where skills could be learnt or brought in. This created envy and caused dispair, because other companies had tried to copy the technological design. Yet they had all failed with disastrous results, even when they tried to reverse engineer the pods. Yet the CAC was found to be hiding an even bigger, earth shattering secret. Revealed during the mass exodus of 4th of July 2120, as their whole community lifted off and left the earth behind. The secret exposed to the world that they were able to research, develop and create viable space travel technology without anyone knowing anything. Not even a simple verbal or virtual social media slip, in an age where privacy was a forgotten virtue, and vigilance was non-existent. This scared the world governments and corporate conglomerates, as they found out their intel was severely lacking.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. This ''Ark'', or ''Space Ark'', with which the CAC left the world behind became a taboo topic, due inpart to the planets dwindling resources. As the governments and corporations sort to monopolize and snatch up any CAC technology for themselves, they bickered over the rights and ownership of the assets left behind. Thus began what was known as the Quarter War. *-***-***-* A message was sent out to all SEVR-tech Pods, and broadcast networks depending on where you were when the CAC ship left earth. It read:
You''re all so screwed.
¡°Wrath became your neighbour, Envy your sales man, Lust is your suitor, Greed your shelter then, Sloth - look the other way as Pride destroyed another day, because Gluttony was here to stay.¡±
We''re gone, don''t bother looking, you won''t find us. Enjoy the apocalypse bitches!
PS: We have a bet going on what the apocalypse will be:
  • Nuclear Winter
  • Global Warming
  • Cybernetic Uprising (long live SkyNET)
  • Zombie Apocalypse Now
  • Complete Economic Ruination and Resource Famine
So keep broadcasting, or we may have to stop by in a millennia or so to find out,
Cheers for the Beers and Good Times
This message appeared in the SEVR-tech pod, as a small Guild within the VR-MMO "Openworld" found themselves flabbergasted. They all had connections to the "Corporate Artesian Community", through business dealings. In fact they met and formed this Guild because they met while attending a CAC sales pitch and showroom demonstration. Fear gripped Scott, who is a bit of a conspiracy nut, becausehe figures anyone with ties or connections to the CAC would be targetted now. So Scott and his friends, the "Ono Heart" guild, had to act fast, before something happens to them. Chapter 1: Premonition or Panic On the streets of towns, waves of the ocean and the plains, in the caves, dungeons and forests everything within ¡°Openworld¡± was still andsilent, as if frozen in a moment of time. The leading members of the ¡°Ono Heart Guild¡± are standing in the courtyard of their guild''s keep, on the borderlands. Scott [ This is bad... ] After the message was received and everyone online was bound to the spot, a live-streamed video of a spaceship and the CAC town filled their vision. A single word emblazoned on the ships hull, ¡°Loaded¡±, stood out in comparison to the sleek, almost organic design of the ship. At first it kind of looked like a peach seed, tethered to the ground by multiple pylons. Scott quickly brings up his friends list, to contact Regi thehead of the SEVR-tech marketing team, who he has been working with for the past 5 years. As the ship rose from the ground, what Scott thought were tethering pylons, actually moved to encapsulate the ship. He likened the silhouette to a spade from a deck of cards before, with a quick motion, they seemed to plummet to the ground-wards as the ship disappeared from sight. Squid-ship?? A moment passed as everyone in the game is stunned silent. Before they all shrug it off and start going about their business and fun, as if it didn''t happen. Except for a few who like to gossip and speculate. At the same time, Scott receives a message stating that the account no longer exists. Scott [ Harper, Mike, Alice, Doug, Dananel, Corin, this is very bad, sevr-link and get ready to run. Remember to use the S-Pack I sent you. ] Harper, laughing it off [ It''s just a publicity stunt, don''t worry about it. ] Dan [ Yeah, there is no way that ship could be real. ] The group was disturbed by Scott''s outburst, but agreed with Harper and Dan, it is most likely a viral marketing campaign for a new game or software patch that the CAC is bring out. Scott, looking serious [ Look, I am going to sevr-link now. I suggest you do too, if it wasn''t a marketing ploy you won''t be able to find any information about it soon. If it was a ploy, then it''ll remain and our lives and families will all be fine. ] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Doug, fed up [ Scott, your over reacting again. I know you like your conspiracies and shit man, but don''t drag us all along for the ride. ] Scott [ Conspiracy hey, we''ve all worked along side theCACfor a while. Toured their facilities and have contact''s within the company. We have what others mayconsider insider information and that means we may know something they do not, about that ship. I have already tried to get in contact with the Marketing team overseeing SEVR-tech, the account no longer exists... ||SEVR-link||] Corin [ Bullshit, Scott! I was just talking to Regi a few hours ago. ] Corin''s objections go unheard as Scott''s avatar disappears into yellow particles. Still disturbed by, Scott''s panic, but also somewhat used to it, they are about to brushit off when. Alice [ They''re gone! They''re all gone! Shit, Scott was right. The accounts of my friends in the CAC they''re gone, I can''t contact anyone. ] Quickly reacting to the panicked confirmation, Mike pulls out an item he brought during a special event in-game, it is a ViRB, Virtual Internet Reality Browser. To his shock, social media and news broadcast feeds are filling with images of the spaceship and questions of what happened. Even a video message sent by the CEO of the CAC, was being shared and already hit over a 20 million views in a matter of minutes. Mike replayed this video for the group, who hadalready been disturbed by Scott. When Mike went to click, on another news link...
The page you are looking for does not exist... 404
Dan [ It''s only been 15 minutes, tell me you have downloaded copies of that Mike. Please tell me you have them! ] Mike [ I don''t... well maybe in the cache but hopeful Scott was able to get what he could after he logged off. ] Alice [ What are we going to do? If what Scott said was true, then... ] Harper [ World Governments, ] Corin [ Corporate Rivals, ] Dan [ FUCK! Even our own companies, may sell us out! ] Calming down as much as possible, Mike looks over the group that is in a state of aggrivation and disarray. Mike [ They will come at us through any and every way they can think of. Normally I would say they would first try to win us over through flattery, power, position or money. But... ] Doug [ Given this Fucken event and the web suppression; kidnapping, blackmail, torture, extortionand other black ops bullshit can''t be ruled out! ] Mike [ Yes, it is a race to gather the most reliable intel first from the best and closest sources. I doubt they will take, the ''I don''t know anything'' response, they''d grill anyone connected with them for every little piece of information even if it is unrelated. ] Corin and Alice, look at eachother with a knowing look, as the Mike and Doug are piling on building up the fear and absurdity of it all. Corin breaks them apart, fear slightly showing on her appologetic face. Corin [ I better go now... I am using a Pod at work for the holiday, but I have to go make suremy contacts are haven''t been affected. At least we have the S-Pack to fall back on if needed. ||SEVR-link||] A wave of understanding washes of the group as they realize, Pods may retain the chat history of their discussion, and Corin was a Journalist which is why she decided to leave. She wasn''t using her personal Pod. Alice [ Shit! This is fucked up! What the Fuck were they thinking?!? You know what we have too do, ||SEVR-link||] With a silent nod to each other the rest of the group: [||SEVR-link||] Chapter 2: Best laid plans Scott, lying in the pod bathed in the electrolyte solution, disconnects the umbilical plug on the roof of the pod then removes the helmet. The SEVR-Pod is basically a remodeled sensory deprivation pod, however this didn''t fully sit well with Scott, who was an original member of the first group of consultants brought on-board 22 years ago to aide in the marketing, design and release of the consumer SEVR-Pod model. Scott is an Engineer focused more on the external design and auxiliary functions, he was heard by Regi mentioning to another engineer that he didn''t like the complete disconnect from his surroundings. Especially when inside the Pod. During the survey, Regi was able to pick Scott''s reply out because of what he had overheard. There was a suggestion on the survey about adding an external camera to monitor the room while linked to the SEVR-apps or within the Pods. This he noted was for security concerns while also suggesting an internal override to lock the Pod from the inside, for no longer than 4hrs. Enough time to call and get aide if something was threatening you in your home, but not enough to kill you. As Scott recalled the first time he met Regi, as he opened the roof of the pod and ran over to his computer still wearing the SEVR-suit. Regi was one for details and perspective, Scott noting his concerns about external factors affecting a user was not something they had fully considered in the market design phase and decided to bring Scott in further. Shaking off such thoughts, Scott knew he had little time to gather as much information as possible on what was happening, now, before it was shut down and publicly forgotten or tabooed. ¡°Shit! Corin was at work today. I better send her some extra instructions.¡± Scott said as he searched for his phone amongst the mess that was his office. His data mining programs do their work in the background as the sound of completed downloads ring out through his unceremonious search. Before, ¡°Eureka!¡± is shouted as a hand clasping a phone emerges from between two cushions laying on the ground. **-***-***-** Corin emerges from her pod in the SEVR-room within the Independent News Services, a few more faces appearing around the same time. One who is Kelly, looks over at Corin, ¡°Did you see it?¡± to which Corin nods. Five other pods are opening and people are getting out and running out of the room, not even bothering to dry themselves off. ¡°Looks like everyone saw the same thing. Hey Kelly, did you notice the news reels, stories and eye witness accounts started disappearing?¡± Coring asks her? ¡°WHAT!!? Better get on to it quick before it is all gone, now I know why everyone was in a panic to leave!¡± Kelly responded as she suddenly jumped out of the Pod, only to stare off blankly into space, thinking... Corin unconsciously looks in the same direction, when they both snapped the heads back and once again lock eyes. ¡°The backup server downloads!¡± Both say in unison. ¡°Yes that should still have some of the latest files and stories, quick lets go.¡± Kelly says as goes to help Corin out of her Pod, the electrolyte solution rolling off the SEVR-suit. Corin looking over to her locker in the room, ¡°No, you do that. I have got to get home and check on some sources, they may be able to shed more light on it. Hopefully.¡± She says while lifting herself out of the pod and into a wheelchair nearby. ¡°Let me know what you find out, this is like... the biggest story of the year and EVERYONE has seen it, so there is no denying it!¡± Kelly says, stressing that Everyone, as she then runs towards the exit, ¡°Oh, we could work together on this one, compare notes and, and That would be Awesome!¡± a large smile on her face, before finally disappearing around the corner. Corin sighs with some relief, thankfully Kelly didn''t press anymore. Reaching for her phone bud found in a compartment on the arms of her wheelchair, she notices 3 messages with one from a certain S.Thorn. ¡°Today is your lucky day Corin, I am going to let you in a few design secrets, don''t tell anyone now, ok. Firstly I know you are at work today, you mentioned your Pod being sent in for service on Monday. As such I am going to need you to do a couple of things to reconfigure and reboot the pod. Towards the head of the Pod you''ll see a panel, you will need to be inside the pod to do this. Push in order these button on the pad: Red, Green, Blue, Blue, Green, Blue, Red after which a Yellow one will appear. Push the button above and under the Yellow at the same time. The panel should eject.¡± Listening to the instructions, Corin finds the keypad which looks just like a keyboard. Except there are red, green and blue LEDs constantly cycling between on/off behind the keys. She followed the instructions, however the lights all disappeared there was no yellow light. She curses Scott, and his stupid mind games as she notices the lock button on the inside has turned yellow. ¡°God damn riddles!¡±, fuming Corin looks closer at the slidingswitch, it is not a button.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The lock slide-switch looks a little something like this... [ - < O > - ] Lockdown. It takes a moment before - ¡°It''s a word puzzle of symbol association!¡± Going back to the keyboard she presses both the ¡°<¡± and the ¡°>¡± buttons simultaneously and the panel slides out revealing some inner circuit boards and hardware. ¡°After the panel is removed, remove the piece of glass, clean it making sure not to knock it off or nick it. Then invert and reinsert. You will also need the to switch the Ram sticks and remove any liquid, gel or build up. Before closing the panel, exiting the pod and rebooting the system. That should help, see you game-side soon.¡± the recording of Scott''s finishes it play back. ¡°God damn it Scott, he never talks likes this normally.¡± Corin says as she pops the 5'' glass cylinder out of the core circuit-board. The lights in the Pod fade as it ceases all functions. After looking a the glass cylinder, Corin understands why Scott was talking weirdly, invert and reinsert. He wants her to ''nick off'' or steal the cylinder. Frustrated over the continuous puzzles and double entendre, she switches the ram stick places, before noticing a two tubes. These tubes look similar to old fashioned ¡°Vacuum Tubes¡± except they had liquid or some semi-solid in them. Remembering the instructions she removes these tubes, before closing the panel and exiting the Pod. Upon closing the Pod, a locking sound is heard from it as there is a light indicating that the SEVR-Pod is temporarily out of order. Getting back into the wheelchair and removing her things from her locker, Corin gets changed and leaves the Independent News Services HQ. A total of 70 mins after the incident with the CAC. **-***-***-** After Scott has sent made the message for Corin, he grabs his S-Pack, tosses a few hard-drives into his backpack and leaves his office. The same out of order notice appearing on his SEVR-Pod, and his computer slightly smoking. He leaves the mess of a house, leaving via the back door with a bike, while not even taking a glance back. ¡°I hope Corin understood the instructions. Well, I''ll find out soon anyway.¡± Leaving his life, house, car and everything behind, he mounts the bike and cycles down the street. The people on the street, don''t even take notice, as this is something that Scott does quite often. Going for long bike rides and hiking trips, he tells them all it keeps him fit. Scott even waves a few of his neighbours and chats about the ¡°squid-ship¡± as he calls it with them, before leaving on his journey. **-***-***-** It takes Corin 60 minutes to returns home, everything looking the same as when she left. There doesn''t seem to be anything out of the ordinary so far. Rolling up the ramp into her unit, she unlocks the door and everything is how she left it. Going to the compu-phone she notices that the 2 missed messages she had are now 4 missed messages, onefrom Kelly and the last one is from her mother. Her mother left a message, talking about the Spaceship and other various concerns she has, trying to use it an excuse for Corin to return home. The usual overbearing and over protective motherly love, she has gotten used to and somewhat ignored over the years. ''I''m a 29 year old woman mother, I can live on my own and take care of myself, sheesh.'' Though she thinks that, Corin is still somewhat touched by her mothers ways. That calm atmosphere is shaken, because of the next message. ¡°You don''t have too much time, I''ll stall as long as I can. It looks like the top brass is looking for you, he''s meeting with some people I haven''t seen before. They could be from a major news network. Hurry up and check your contacts, you may have a front page story. Heee ¨C !¡± Kelly''s voice says in an excited whisper. When her phone rings again, an unlisted number, it goes straight the message recorder,Corin listens while looking through her materials, yet the messagesends a chill down her spine, ¡°They''ve taken the backup server drives... all of them.¡± The voice is muffled and sounds like a mans voice, however Corin links the information to Kelly, after all they are the ones who thought of the backup servers. She deletes her messages, even the two unheard. Leaving her phone bud and tech behind, on the kitchen counter, grabbing her hard copy notes and materials. Goin straight to the garage Corin takes the S-Pack that Scott had given her,years ago. While it is covered in dust however, there seems to be a cleaner part with a note sticking out. She takes it out, It reads:
Corin, there is a lockup garage, two blocks south, you''ll find what you need there. Leave your car, R
Taaking the key taped to the bottom of the note, she leaves. It has now been 4 hours since the spaceship took off and 3hours since total information lockdown, as Corin is atthe lockup garage. There she finds an off-road Jeep, modified so she can drive it, waiting for her and another note. ¡°Meet up with the others, you''ll have much to talk about. R.¡± Driving in the opposite direction of her home, town and community, Corin is passed by groups of darkened windowed cars, both white and black traveling extremely fast towards the town she just left. Her heartbeating extremely fast. **-***-***-** Scott stops at a park just outside town, sitting on a bench he final opens his S-Pack and finds a note.
You''re somewhat predicable Scott, due to your routine it wasn''t that hard to find your bunker. It''d be safe all of 6-months maybe before someone finds you. Well that is if you''re trying to hide from everyone. However, because we like your preparedness and drive and we''ve worked together for a long time. We''ve decided to give you another option. There is a New Map, in your bag, follow it and you''ll be well hidden in comfort, forever maybe. MS.
There is a faint smell of colon coming from the paper, and Scott knows exactly who''s this is. Miguel Sanchez, the security expert who briefed Scott, and had befriended in the CAC. However what surprised him most, was that Miguel knew he had an exit strategy. ''Did he have me under surveillance? I would have noticed, I am always so careful''. Not to mention Miguel also knew about the bunker and where it was, even though he''d gone to great lengths to keep hidden from everyone. He didn''t even tell his friends in the guild, even the S-Pack''s he had given them only mentioned a rally point. Not to mention it remained their secret, never mentioned anywhere until today. Scott pulls out the map, which now has another path on it. However it requires a rather long road-trip while alsofollowing off-road trails. It''ll take weeks, if not months to get there on foot. Cars can be tracked, planes and radar have flight plans, well there is no river or stream so boats are out, it''ll just take too long. As he is thinking this to himself, 3 beat up cars he has never seen before show up. Scott gets ready to cut and run... Chapter 3: The Gathering There is tension builds as Scott gets ready to bolt, when Mike appears from the first car, followed by Dananel with Harperappear from another, andfinally Doug and Alice hopping out of the last one. Both confused and happy to see them all, he just sighs, looks like the escape he planned was changed for them. He then notices that the cars they are in, seemed modified and resoundly very low-tech. ¡°You may want to leave the bike, Scott. MS, said it won''t be necessary.¡± Mike says as he calls Scott over to his car. ¡°Looks like we''re dancing to another persons beat now.¡± Scott sighs, ¡°Do you know where we are going at least?¡± ¡°We thought you had the directions?¡± Dananel says, then looks worriedly to his wife. Waving a rolled up map, ¡°Well you''re right, I do have a map. Though it has been somewhat altered without me knowing by Master Sargent.¡± Scott resigned, ¡°I still can''t figure out how he knew.¡± A look of recognition crosses their faces, there is only one person Scott would call Master Sargent, they all remember Miguel Sanchez. Finally some of the current events that have transpired, make sense. Still slightly sulking Scott walks over to Mikes car taking the navigator''s seat, as Mike''s wife is in the back with their 5 year old daughter. ¡°Didn''t think you guys took this possibility so seriously that you''d have secret cars.¡± Scott mused out loud. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Alice who heard his musing responds, ¡°We didn''t. I think you can thank the ''Regi-star'' for that, if Master Sargent was involved. There was another note along with your instructions in my bag, it said to wait at a park from R. Then Doug shows up in this car, which he told me R prepared for them.¡± Scott shots Alice an inquiring glance, she looks a little confused she seems, angry, upset yet excited and happy. Scott looks to Doug for an answer, who just shakes his head as to say don''t go there yet. ¡°We can catch up later, lets get moving.¡± Doug said anxiously. Harper across from him says, ¡°I recently heard from Corin a little while ago, there are people confiscating the backup servers from her workplace. Also...¡± ¡°Don''t tell me you haven''t gotten rid of your phones and other tech yet?¡± Scott replies sharply cutting off Harper. ¡°... most of them are gone.¡± Harper looks at the twins playing a handheld console game. ¡°Every piece of tech, put in the bins now!¡± Scott said in a half yell of frustration, ¡°If it can communicate with the web or other devices, it could be tracked. There is a reason I gave you all a separate burner phone!¡± ¡°But these can still be tracked too can''t they?¡± Harper defends. ¡°Yeah, but these are also meant to be tossed too. After we had met here.¡± Scott replied, ¡°However because Corin isn''t here and there is another meeting point on the map, we''ll get rid of them there.¡± Scott does a rather intrusive search, piling up the tech: a couple of laptops, tablets, phones, game consoles as the kids protest loudly, and blue tooth buds. About 16 pieces in total, but he doesn''t touch the thumb and external drives, ¡°Now we can go.¡± ¡°A bit over the top isn''t he?¡± Sheryl asked Dananel, while looking at the twins in the backseat as Harper try''s to calm them. ¡°He is definitely a nut, especially over these sorts of things. But you heard Harper, earlier there were some people looking for Corin at her workplace as well. So it may be better to indulge him here, for now. Until things die down, or we have a handle on the situation.¡± Dananel shrugged looking at his laptop in the rear view mirror, when the pile bursts into an intense white flame. ¡°FUCK!¡± Dananel shouts, almost loosing control of the car, when he notices Harper glaring at him. ¡°Ah... yeah that was too surprising I didn''t think he would ignite all the devices like that...¡± meekly trailing off, mumbling in chemcial talk. As the Twins, start having some fun swearing back and forth without any idea of whats going on, but enjoying making Harper frustrated. Sheryl restraining her shock and begins giggling through the adrenaline rush. Chapter 4: Campfire Re-connections Night fell as Corin made her way, finally after a 4 day journey, along a empty road to the new meeting point, marked in an old referdex(street map book). The place, a old abandoned town called Contempt, in the middle of nowhere. The endless landscape, where trees scattered sparingly across the rolling hills as the roads weave between them, aides the repetitive pattern. As Corin gets caught up in her own inner cycle of thoughts. Wondering if she is overacting, then remembering the Kelly''s last message, again reconsidering that the whole situation may have been a misunderstanding. Or maybe it was blown well out of proportion. What if there was a reason the backup data was needed, it may help in an investigation. Only to return once again and realize, that all the data and information about the CAC event was suppressed online. This was not helped by the lack of media coverage, no news stories were run and all newspapers were silent. As a celebrity sex scandals dominates the headlines along with the hacking and release of various starlets private pics. Where a small 2 paragraph article, hidden amongst a half page and a quarter page advert, describes the story of a strange mass ''hallucination event''. Still unable to resolve the conflicting thoughts and feelings, Corin''s failed attempts at rationalizing the events, were briefly forgotten during the various towns and stops. Good thing there was some money inside the referdex, otherwise she would have used her credit-chip at the first gas station. Which would have been rather difficult because in some of these older towns, they only used physical currency. All in all, these towns, characters and rest stops helped Corin keep herself from falling to far down the rabbit hole of ''what it''. **-***-***-** Over the last few days journey, Mike and Doug were able to curb Scott''s paranoid conspiracy ramblings, enough to let the others have a reasonably fine trip considering the circumstance. Each car had a referdex with money and a new meeting place, the town of Contempt. However it was only Scott who had the map of where to go from there. This meant that they all had to meet up first, after all without Scott''s map they wouldn''t know where to go after they got to Contempt. Having met up with Corin, 3 hours outside of Contempt, the group spend the night discussing the information they have been able to gather. Corin being the journalist was more concerned with newspapers and independent news papers, showing them all the collection she had picked up over the journey. The lack discussion and coverage, sent up red flags for Scott even more, because he is unable to check his normal sources and channels. He had stipulated himself, ¡°No tech that can be tracked¡±, as such he was going through withdrawals and had become overly frustrated, much like most of the other children on the trip. This however didn''t stop Scott from using the web, in the towns they passed, if there was an internet cafe or community computer centre. However Scott was restricted further because he couldn''t search outside the normal keywords and search strings of the town they went through. Otherwise it would leave an obvious trail, especially if he constantly searched or visited the same sites every time they went to the next town. Even with this restriction he was able to garner a few pieces of information without click-through, about a how a few conspiracies built up around the hallucination event. Still some people considered a viral marketing campaign or something else based around the CAC, but these threads quickly became ghost threads.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Still it was Dananel who found the most valuable information for the group, it was a history of Contempt. A mining town, built up around the ore boom 75 years ago, when it was owned majority by some shell corporation. Its main export was copper and iron, however once the mine ran dry the town was left to die off naturally. Everyone had moved away, except for a few families who decided to try and make a go of the situation, the populace is now at a measly 17 people. There is one motel, gas station which doubles as the grocer and a run down mechanic with junkyard. The town''s name seemed to reflect an idea of contempt against modern society and technological progress. There was no web access, and even satellite coverage was limited in the region. While the catch ups and discussions were going on, Sheryl and Mike''s wife, Claudia, lead the 3 children in around of camping games and songs. Doug''s two teenager''s, Jordan and Lindsey, were helping Alice cook, this is where Jordan''s 3 years of scouts helped him. Setting up and stoking the fire, while helping where he could as Lindsey reluctantly used her skills to debone the fish they had all caught earlier. Even so they both sneakily eavesdropped on the adults conversation, some what understanding the situation. Lindsey was furious that had they had to uproot their whole lives, leaving her friends behind not to mention her whole way of life. But she secretly like the fact it kind of made her like a protagonist or damsel in a thriller drama movie, with a corrupt government official sending black ops or troops after them. Maybe there was a heroic soldier who''d rescue them from the crazed lunatic, Scott, and it would become a headline story itself because Corin was involved, rocketing her to fame and fortune if she could get it out. Jordan on the other hand was happy, it was an adventure with a ridiculous circumstance, but he gets to put to use skills he gained from both his Scouts and SEVR-tech gaming. Hunting animals for food, living off the land and even getting the chance to make or craft things. He''d already made a rough deer leather vest, from some road kill they had found. It had to be thrown out because he couldn''t cure the hide properly due to the decay, but he could see it would have worked. However he did miss his friends, but, they were pricks anyway. Argh but they were his Pricks, his friends, his competition and rivals. ''If they could see me now, they''d be jealous as shit!'' he thinks to himself, as he swings an axe making more firewood. **-***-***-** The sun rises on the final day of travel as Mike rise early to greet Scott who has been on look out for the past 4 hours. Scott retrieves the map from his backpack, ¡°We will have a ways to walk once we get there. Looking at this it''ll be atleast a 5 hour hike, 8 or 10 including breaks for the kids. That''s a rough estimate though.¡± Mike grabs a cooler and walks over to the dying campfire, as Scott places another log on. Taking out a bottle of water Mike hands it to Scott before grabbing one for himself. ¡°Well, that''s if nothing goes too wrong and it''ll mean we''ll be arriving late tonight. It is looking like we''ll have to make camp again.¡± Mike states before taking a swig of water. Shaking his head Scott replies ¡°That won''t work, the walk will have to be done one hit. NO stops, NO campsites, nothing that can indicate we stopped there.¡± Then looking at his watch, it is 5 am, they''ll need to be packed up and gone by 0630 latest. Mike sighs in a slight frustration, Scott has been riding the group hard, while also trying to abide by their needs. With the final goal in sight, it seems that Scott is pushing a little harder. They both then look over campsite, Corin is sleeping in her car, after all it had been outfitted for that. Harper and her twin brothers had their own tent, as did Dananel and Sheryl, Doug thought shared a tent with Jordan and Scott, while Alice and Lindsey had their own. The last tent was for Mike, Claudia and their daughter April. ¡°Alright then, the sooner we arrive the sooner you''ll relax and then we can too.¡± Mike resigns as he gets up to rouse the others in the camp. Chapter 5: Final Destination The time is 0900, as they pull into still quite town of Contempt. Pulling up outside the gas station, they are greeted by an old timer who heard them coming a mile away, the name ¡°Bill¡± embroidered on his overalls. The old timer with unkempt wispy greying hair with grease trails running through it, as well as sweaty smudged grease dripping down into the wash sink he had been using when they pulled up. ¡°Ahh, do these old eye deceive me? They''ve returned!¡± Squinting against the sun, while drying his hands. ¡°Pardon? We have never been here before, how could we return?¡± Alice retorts, rather off put by his remark. ¡°Arr... Not you Missy, the Car''s. Ol'' Regi said they may show up again. O''course I''d remember them all, after all I basically rebuilt each of them. That one in particular was rather fun.¡± Bill says while pointing to Corin''s jeep, as he walks over with now cleaner hands, towards the one that Harper just got out of. ¡°Still never thought I''d see them again.¡± ¡°So you know Regi then?¡± Scott steps in, a bit suspicious of the old man, while Alice''s initial anger dissipates as she is distracted when she looks at her compass. ¡°Only in passing, a good customer he is. It''s been about a year since I''ve seen him. That bunch like to rough it out here occasionally, said it brings them closer to their roots. Prepper''s the bunch of them, but they''re paying, and paying well.¡± Bill starts to reminisce while looking over the jeep, basically ignoring their gazes altogether. ¡°Doesn''t look like you get a lot of people through here, yet we could use some breakfast. What''d you recommend?¡± Mike asks. ¡°Nothing. Nothing''s open until noon, dining wise. You could always grab some food here.¡± Bill almost mechanically answers, still looking over the Jeep. A slight chuckle escapes like he''s remembering something. Harper becomes a bit off put, at the responses while she helps Corin out of the Jeep. She not exactly sure why, but Harper is becoming a bit fidgety, something isn''t sitting right with her at the moment. ¡°Well we don''t have much time to spare, right Scott? Lets just grabs some stuff and head off.¡± Scott looks at Harper, nods. ¡°Yeah Doug, Sheryl and Claudia would probably be best they have a better understanding of what we''ll need on the long hike.¡± As the three head into the store, Harper wheels Corin over who is looking a bit off put, ¡°Ah one sec, if we''re going off the beaten hiking track, what the fuck am I going to do? Are you going to carry me?¡± She emphasizes. Bill finally looks over the group, ¡°Well, I heard about you too.¡± Not even taking a second glance at Scott and Alice as he rushes past them heading into the garage, ¡°I have a special order for you, from Regi.¡± Shouting as he heads to the back of the garage. An engine starts, revving and soon after a modified ATV appears, hooning and doing donuts while kicking up dust around the group, much to the delight of the kids. Before coming to a stop in front of Corin being sheltered by Harper. ¡°Young Miss, this is something Ol'' Regi had me whip up. Custom order, it''ll fit up to 3 adults or 4 without the wheelchair.¡± Bill smiles.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Somehow I think Regi is looking out for me way too much.¡± Corin replies to Bill''s gesture. ¡°W-whell he did let slip, something about a ''cutie on wheels''. Don''t know exactly what he meant by that, because he was often bragging about the classic 1950''s Ford Thunderbird he was rebuilding. Maybe he wasn''t talkin'' about the car hey?¡± Bill nudging Corin while winking at Harper, who feels even more uncomfortable now. Corin goes red in the face. Dananel steps forward, ¡°Do you have any more of these?¡± While inspecting the ATV, impressed with the design and modified mechanical engineering that has gone into it. ¡°None as modified as this. Besides the other 4 can only hold upto 3 adults.¡± Bill nods. ¡°This could shorten our trip quite a bit Scott. How about it?¡± Dananel looks over to Scott, while Jordan fist pumps slyly. Lindsey whole heartedly nodding her head at the remark, ¡°Anything to get this trip over with quicker.¡± This sentiment is mirrored by the whole group, even the kids want a go. However Sheryl was pregnant, and their tracks may be able to be followed if they race through. Scott though resigns to the groups will, ¡°It''ll make the journey easier, but we can not rush through it. Understand. How much for the other 4?¡± he says while turning to Bill. ¡°Well,¡± Bill starts to consider the request, ¡°just leave me the cars as collateral, and we''ll trade. You''ll get your cars back when I get the ATV''s back, if their damaged though I''ll be taking that Jeep back.¡± ¡°Well we are going to be doing a long term training session, you may not see them for over a year or so.¡± Scott replies, ¡°They may get damaged through overuse or accident.¡± ¡°It''s all good youngster, the youngin''s go off roading and trekking through these woods and ranges all the time. Regi''s family once tried to create an Off-road race track a long time ago, yet these have been sitting idle there for almost a decade. They were great teaching aides and for tinkering wit'', but those vehicles are better.¡± Bill nods towards the cars, that they came in. ¡°Done we''ll take them then.¡± Dananel decides to cut off the discussion, ¡°Let''s get everything loaded up on the ATV''s and get going.¡± Harper can''t help but feel a sense of recognition, or d¨¦j¨¤ vu here, something is familiar but she can''t quite put her finger on it. Still no one other than his old man had shown themselves in this town maybe that was it. Even so the other three emerged with some food rations and other essentials, there must be other people here. **-***-***-** They had passed an abandoned and run down dirt race track, that seemed like it could have been an attraction or theme like park, a long time ago. Weaving through the woods, taking the occasional rest breaks among the clearings between trees. It probably looked rather wholesome to a few. As it is nearing 1500 hours, Alice exclaims ¡°We''re in the centre, finally!¡± She had been glancing at the compass, the whole time which she discovered was not pointing north. It was as if it was being affected by a magnetic field. The compass needle was now spinning in circles furiously. ¡°We''re almost there Alice, there is a cave ahead. That is the end of the trail, marked on the map.¡± Scott calls over her shoulder to Alice who is driving the ATV, he had been giving her directions from the map. However it wasn''t really needed the last couple of hours, Alice realized she just had to follow the compass. The group enters the cave, which is large enough to comfortable house them all. There is even some cave art and graffiti over the walls. It was while they were trying to work out what to do next that Harper was hit with a realization, Game Logic. The whole encounter in the town and now she was drawn to the walls, looking at the art and graffiti for any clues. And there was a one clue, a traditional painting of the mythical creature. the thunderbird, from legends. And there was an indentation where it''s chest was. Is this why she felt something was off with that creepy old guy? Harper calls out to the group, ¡°Guy''s remember what that creepy old bloke said about the Ford Thunderbird? Take a look at this.¡± It doesn''t take long for Alice to realize that the compass she found in her S-Pack, when opened would actually fit the hole in the chest of the Thunderbird. Scott distracted while talkingwith Jordan on how to setup camp, noticed Alice intentions far too late. Alice opens the compass and presses it straight into the holeafter which she gets tackled by Scott to the ground as a large gust of wind spills out from a crack in the wall, as it begins to move and open up. A voice they all recognize as Regi''s sounds, ¡°Refuge 37, activated. Please enter, bring all belongings and vehicles onto the pad." As light spills into the cave washing over the group, as Alice shoves Scott off the top of her. ¡°What the fuck was that for Scott?¡± she looks to him. ¡°If it was trapped, you wouldn''t be saying that.¡± Scott replies casually while picking himself up off the ground and offering a hand to Alice. ¡°Maybe so, but it wasn''t was it. Where is the trust, this whole journey is basically based on trust.¡± Alice grunts as she lifts herself up of the ground, before heading for the ATV. ¡°Alrighteveryone to the pad!¡± Claudia who had been rather quite the whole trip instructed the kids. They all follow suit, though reluctantly Scott does as well. ¡°It''d be easier to kill or silence us all now, crushing us under the mountain...¡± He grumbled, and entered last. After everyone had entered, the doors closed. A few more beats later, the whole cave in front seemed to collapse with a resonating explosion that was felt on the pad. There was no escaping now. Chapter 6: Homecoming During the few moments of rumbling as the sounds of falling and settling rocks were heard and felt the group, huddled. Dananel covered Sheryl as much as possible, in an effort to protect her and is unborn child, while Lindsey grabbed her Father, Doug. As Alice stabilizes herself on the wall, next to Jordan who slips and slides down the wall to his arse. The twin boys, Kevin and Stu hug their sister, Harper, who is keeping Corin''s wheelchair from rolling all over the place. Mike, Claudia and their child April are sheltering by the ATV''s in an attempt to use them as cover, while Scott stands resolute in what appears as the acceptance of his end. After the sound stops, the silence is broken by Jordan who starts laughing, ¡°I fell, hahahaha, on my arse! Hahaha¡± A feeling of cautious reprieve emanates from the group as they start to realize they are all fine. They start to join in the laughter, more out of awkward relief than anything else, when they feel the floor beneath them jolt and descend. Doug tries to calm Lindsey, who is still grabbing and holding him tightly. ¡°It''s just an elevator, dear. Nothing to worry about.¡± While whispering to himself, ¡°though that explosion before was a little off putting, I wonder if there is another way out of here?¡± ¡°Well what ever happens now, I have no fucking clue. OI! Regi, are you there?!?¡± Scott calls out amidst the calming descent. Everyone looks over to bay door they entered in where Scott is shouting, like some crazy person shouting at imaginary people. ¡°Come on Corin. You give it a try, he may listen to you.¡± Scott says looking at her with surprisingly serious eyes. Mustering a small nervous voice, ¡°Ah... A, A, Regi? Are you there?¡± Corin calls out. ¡°LOUDER, Corin, shout it out loud.¡± Scott eggs her on. ¡°REGI!?!¡± startling herself and the children, Corin''s shout echos through the room. Embarrassing moments pass, and nothing happens. ¡°Alright, it is not voice activated then. Thought that would have worked.¡± Scott says as he starts walking around inspecting the walls. Dananel helps his wife up onto an ATV, as she is still in a little shock and breathing heavily. ¡°Doc, can you look at Sheryl? Is she alright?¡± Dananel calls out to Mike, who is comforting Lindsey. ¡°One sec,¡± Doug turns back to Lindsey, ¡°I have got to go and make sure she is alright. You''ll be fine, your tough like your mother. Jordan, look after your sister for me a sec, I have to make sure Sheryl is fine.¡± Jordan is talking with Alice, as they are looking for any sort of clue as to what to do next. So Jordan beckons to Lindsey to join them. Doug kisses her forehead, as Lindsey is still a bit resistant he really wants to be there for her yet, being the only Doctor it falls to him to make sure Sheryl and her baby are fine. Lindsey walks solemnly over to her Brother as Doug watches her before turning around and heading over the Dananel and Sheryl, where also Harper had wheeled Corin too. The twins had run over to Mike and Claudia after Harper suggested playing with April. Latching on to the idea, Mike suggests that they play tag or hide and seek, to keep them occupied and distracted. Honestly there is not a lot of hiding places in the room, it was quick to find someone, which was good because they couldn''t get lost. Mike watched and in no time, the kids had talked Claudia into joining them, however he didn''t really feel like running around at the moment, so he walked over to join Scott. ¡°You know, Harper mentioned something about ''Game Logic''. Maybe there''s a clue in that.¡± Mike states as Scott is walking past for the second time. ¡°She''d know, she is the game designer after all. Still, it shouldn''t be this hard!¡± Scott says frustratedly tousling his hair. In the middle of the room where the ATV''s are parked the kids are running around playing tag, when April attempts to hide under one of the vehicles. She didn''t realize she couldn''t fit under it, her hand stretching out as if to pull her own body under. There was a circular object under the ATV which she pushed, a button, while attempting to squeeze under. ¡°Tag, You''re it.¡± Kevin says as he tags April before sprinting away. ¡°That''s not fair! No fair!¡± April shouts as she extracts herself to run after the boy. The lights dim, as a hologram rises up through an ATV, sending April screaming to her Mommy. The hologram is Regi, who looks around and then steps through the vehicle.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Well I didn''t expect that.¡± Regi says as the hologram scans the group. ¡°Welcome to Refuge 37, it is good that you all made it.¡± ¡°You are probably wondering where you are going, why you, where did we go, what were we thinking, etc... well the list could go on. I am a Holographic Neural Reconstruction of Regi, I am not Regi. I repeat I am not Regi, just a facsimile of one moment in time. I was left here to address any questions you may have, at least those I know and can answer.¡± Regi''s hologram made this rehearsed speech. The group now moves closer to the centre where Regi''s hologram is located, some of the younger ones a bit wary and others sick of behind surprised all the time. ¡°How about a brief summary of what this place is?¡± Corin interjects, surprising Scott who was about to ask a question. ¡°Always straight to the point, hey Corin.¡± the Holo-Regi smiles, ¡°This place is a old research facility we used, it was refitted as a refuge for those we deemed too risky to fully integrate into our community, but promising enough to be given a chance. You see our community started around 150 years ago, the exact date is a bit of a mystery. However we all shared a single thought, if humanity is to survive we have to leave this planet. We were essentially prepper''s, like Scott over there, just with much move foresight to a certain degree.¡± ¡°Why does humanity need to the Earth behind?¡± Claudia said looking a little distressed. ¡°Ahh that is a good question, however it is only our opinion.¡± Holo-Regi thinks a bit before answering, ¡°The issue was in fact for multiple reasons, depending on what faction of prepper you belonged to. For me and my faction it was essentially the greed of consumerism, the wasteful use of resources for fashionable products which would go out of style. By catering to the fashionable instead of the functional, making everything disposable by manufacturing trends or fads.¡± Holo-Regi starts pacing back and forward, phasing through the ATV''s ¡°That''s definitely Regi,¡± Scott whispers to Mike nodding satisfied. ¡°I remember him ranting for almost an hour before someone had to put a stop to him.¡± Mike confirms. ¡°Business''s and Corporation''s were only interested in making a profit, you only need to look at a few industries to see this, the mobile communications industry like A**le, in the automotive industry like H**den or F**d. Not to mention the actual fashion industry, new clothes every season. All those resources; metal, cloth, oil, chemicals, knowledge and research man hours on trivial minor technological upgrades. Only then to have Governments, give more legal rights and protection to businesses and corporate bodies over the common people.¡± Holo-Regi looks around at a few vacant faces looking at him and a few others smiling and nodding. ¡°That''s our ''Ranting Regi.'' There''s no doubt about it.¡± Corin smiles as she looks at him while beaming. ¡°*Cough*, umm sorry about that. In summary, we all had different reasons which could be boiled down to being sick of the indifference and slackivist nature of people, combined with the aggressive greed displayed. We became disillusioned, and decided to there is no saving the people of the planet, they''ve already run it into ruin so in order to survive, we had to leave. Except for the people who will have access to one of our refuges, who will have a choice.¡± the hologram summarized somewhat embarassed, and surprisingly holograms could blush. Jordan jumps in, ¡°How long will we be in this lift for and what were the factions?¡± ¡°Ah a new face, the trip down will take approximately 90 minutes. The factions were the same as the bets we placed on the end of the world: Nuclear Winter, Global Warming, Cybernetic Uprising (long live SkyNET), Zombie Apocalypse with Complete Economic Ruination and Resource Famine. I was part of the last group, who oversaw the business and marketing for the Corporate Artisan Community, as well as resource management and marketing. That is one of the reason''s we only ever ''Made to order'', and did not follow the fashionable trends of seasonal products, rather proud of that. We all had our roles to play and had a few happy accidents.¡± Happy for the simple question, Holo-Regi answer''s Jordan. ¡°Wait, you really co-operated with a group who believed that a ''Zombie Apocalypse'' was coming? That just ludicrous.¡± Scott scoffs at Holo-Regi. ¡°Yep, who do you think handled all our publicity and helped our popular image in the media. They were great at it, their Zombie movies brought in some great revenue to aide in our research and development. This was also one of the reasons that you weren''t brought on-board. While I may think it is highly unlikely that some sort of Zombie Apocalypse could occur, we could value their ideas and work with them. Where we had seen the probability that you couldn''t was extremely high. In fact one of their misguided scientists actually created a virus that could do something similar to zombification. It was destroyed straight away, obviously, including all the data.¡± Holo-Regi stated matter of factually. Slightly freaked out at this Mike, ¡°So what were these happy accidents you mentioned earlier?¡± ¡°The big one was the SEVR-tech, would you believe it was a project created during the recreational time of a few Skynetters and Zombie Apocs. They wanted to play a survival game in dive-vr, and eventually created the proto-type. It was 6 months after their successful alpha party, that us guys in the marketing even find out about it, and that was because of a gaming night.¡± Holo-Regi exclaims rather excitedly before looking at Corin. ¡°You, already knows that the youth beauty cream was an accident.¡± Holo-Regi, says still looking at Corin, ¡°What you don''t know is how far we refined it. We call it Stasis Gel, though it has the nickname Stasis Slime. After some more research, the beauty product was actually found to be the beginning catalyst for a living symbiotic organism. We found it could slow down the aging process drastically by putting the body into stasis. There were some drawbacks, such as prolonged stasis causing mental regression and in some instances brain death, but that was solved with the new SEVR-tech. In combining the two we travel into space with no fear of the mental regression. As well as age at a ratio of up to 30 years to 1 year of relative aging in stasis.¡± Doug''s ears prick up at this revelation, ¡°Wait... How did you come to these conclusions? Don''t tell me...¡± ¡°It was an voluntary in-house position, but human testing and experimentation was done. Which is another reason why we kept everything hidden. After all if you knew the secret experimentation your government and other corporations were doing right now, you''d be extremely pissed. By the way, Doug if you really want to alleviate yourself of worry, you can find all our research on the servers in the refuge. Not to mention some other select experiments we had, access, to. In fact all our research is on the server, except for our chosen destination.¡± Holo-Regi replied to an appalled Doug. The revelation of human experimentation made everyone feel uncomfortable, they were not sure where to go from there. The adults quieten down, just looking at each other in disbelief. ¡°So, ummm, are their games and sweets down stairs?¡± April asks as Stu edges her forward. Holo-Regi kneels down near April, ¡°There sure are sweetie, though there is not a lot of sweets. That means you will just have to make some more. Can you do that?¡± he asks looking at April nodding her head. ¡°Plus there are as many games as you can think of.¡± Bopping her on the nose with a holographic finger. Holo-Regi then looks to the adults and teens who were quiet now, ¡°There are several upgraded SEVR-tech pods, like the ones we are using to get to our destination, in the refuge. They''re slightly different than what you are used to, and have the same stasis affect. There is also a self-sustaining bio-dome and much more.¡± Walking to the centre of the platform, ¡° You may not agree with the methods we used to attain these innovations. But we hope you will use them freely while you work out what you all want to do from here on. Be it: trying to affect a change here, follow us to the stars or find another path¡± Holo-Regi''s form flitters out of existence, into an ATV, as the lift comes to a halt and the bay doors open with a metallic grind and clunk. ¡°Welcome to your new home, as it will be impossible for you to leave this refuge for a very long time.¡± Regi''s voice rang out over a PA system. Chapter 7: Response and Ethics The motley group of possible fugitives, are now stranded in a self sustaining facility, whose creators have left the world behind. Looking around their now permanent residence, Scott seems to become more at ease while others seem to become more anxious. Beyond the entrance was a stone formed tunnel leading to a stainless steel air locked door. Scott opens the door breaking the air seal with a, ''Phsssshhh'', as everyone files into the chamber. The chamber itself has a port hole window into what can be called the reception foyer. Scott closes the outer door, sealing themselves inside the chamber as Corin finds a hand print security panel which she puts her hand on. The chamber starts pressurizing, lights start turning on exposing the foyer to those looking in. The room was rather spacious with soothing images being played on the walls, making it appear bigger than it actually was. There were three hallways connected to the room, in front and to the sides. These were similarly lit yet had different for the lack of better words screensavers. The walls inside the foyer, appear at first, to be a bright white before dimming a little as a grassy plain appears. The other features that stick out is the sitting area with what appears to be polished white, red, green and blue plastic lounges and coffee-tables setup with what looks to be welcome packs for the group. Behind the seating area was an area set up with 4 interactive stations, possibly an information desk like area. Quickly though the chamber feels like it is getting a bit claustrophobic as restless children cry of bordem and the slight panic attacks of the soon-to-be father Dananel grind away their patience. When the green light is given and the inner door is now able to be unlocked after what seemed to be the longest 10mins of some of their lives. By now it was clear that some of the group, were finding it difficult to deal with the idea that this ''apparent'' means of salvation came at the cost of human lives. It really does not sit well with Doug''s ethic code and Hippocratic oath, his apprehension is shared by Corin and Harper. Alice is dead set on looking at the tests, results and experimental documents before coming to a conclusion, while Scott really doesn''t seemed all that bothered by it. This seems to have become a dividing factor of the group, with Mike and Claudia forced into the mediator position as both Dananel and Sheryl have other things to worry about at the moment. ¡°Doc. We can''t leave this place, for a very long time.¡± Alice says as she opens her welcome pack, ¡°You may have qualms about their ethical standpoints as they went about developing their technology, but we have to live here now. I choose to know, the process and experimentation that was done on the ''Volunteers'' before I decide what the ethical implications are.¡± Alice puts forward her reasoned argument for learning more about what was done, where, how and for what ends. Although she is not a philosopher, there is still an ethical part to the scientific process, so reserved her disgust for when and if it would be deserved. ¡°Alice, they experimented on humans without any oversight or medical board approval. This sort of thing is a Major violation of human rights and any civilized medical practice. To be here, now, and only just learning this.¡± Doug replied wary to even sit down on the lounges provided. ¡°I mean even Regi was involved! We worked for these people and they were experimenting on people. Did they use anything we helped them with in these experiments? If so then we''re accessories to those acts. It is just a violation, of my... of our Trust.¡± Pacing a little, back and forth, before taking a seat opposite Alice. ¡°Exactly. We have worked with them for a very long time, we know they had Doctors who were leaders in their fields.¡± Scott stats as he moves to the information area. ¡°You have work with a couple when producing that electrolyte bath. So is it possible they had their own internal medical board or what-ever? Plus it was a voluntary position.¡± Touching the screen, Scott tries to boot what he thinks is a computer. ¡°All I am saying is there is distance between us and them, they were willing to take these risks for what they believed in. Just like the other companies out there doing the same, although I doubt some would be as open and forthright with their test subjects.¡± Mike opens his welcome package, taking a look at the contents. There was a tablet of rather old but simple design a few books, some other items that didn''t stand out compared to the note. The note read, ¡°With so much tech around people sometimes miss the tactile sensation, these books are a small addition to he extensive library I am sure you will find. However there is also no chance for true outdoors experience down here, and can get rather claustrophobic. So to address this you''ll find as part of the air production and biological cultivation area is a tropical jungle like space and meadows. In case anyone is not adjusting very well, you can take them there and it may be more calming. Other than this everything else you''ll need to know to access the facilities is on the tablet.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Corin moves her wheelchair over to an uncrowded coffee-table, as Doug responds to Scott''s words, ¡°You''re not disturbed by this at all? They basically killed people for progress! Not to mention now that I know, I know that those ''Doctor''s'' I worked with had broken their oath... like it was nothing.¡± ¡°People die for progress all the time, think about the government sanctioned wars. Even though it is not something the people of our country may want, they act in their best interests for the reason of ''Progress''... ¡° The screen infront of Scott lights up, as he continues, ¡°Think back on history, where was all this grief when the Middle East was Nuked during the China/Nth. Korea vs US/Russia war. Not to mention all those innocent people killed in order to kill singular targets, all the name of ''National Security'' and to protect the people. What does history say about us, and our country that we let these governments do what they want to out of fear, don''t forget their actions reflect on us as a people. Yet we generally didn''t care about any of that, it''s only when it is in your face, like now, that you''d react.¡± Alice looks a little horrified at Scott''s rebuttal, ¡°That will not help Scott! That way of thinking is just... Broken! People die for progress, it is true. But there are people like Marie Curie, who died because of what she studied yet due to this and other similar deaths, the community was able to learn about the dangers. From that they were able to develop ways to prevent such occurrences in the future.¡± Turning back to Doug she continues, ¡°However the biggest issues were when there was interference by external interests in blocking inquiry and denying negative results as fear mongering. This is why I am reserving my judgment on the ethical qualms until I have read and understood the research.¡± Harper and Corin, clearly disturbed by Scott''s contribution to the discussion appear somewhat shaken. The events he was talking about, were over a hundred years ago, the landscape of the world changed drastically after that. Governments basically became puppets of the corporate sectors they operated in and money, or more correctly credit, won out in the end. The room had become somewhat silent, even Dananel stopped fussing over Sheryl, Harper quickly shuffled the twins and April onto Jordan and Lindsey asking them to take them looking for some candy. As Scott is still typing on the screen in front of him, Mike is trying to calm down an almost ready to explode Doug, while Claudia is stareing daggers at him. Corin looks to be visibly shaken by this, as it is a touchy subject for her. ¡°How could you compare the situation we are in now to that! That is just plain wrong, what happened back then was done by the China North Korea Alliance, it was pure evil!¡± Corin shouts as she slams her wheelchair armrests with an angry fist. Silence still permeates the room, only broken by the sound of the ''bips'' and ''boops'' of the computer Scott is using. When finally, ¡°The nuke had nothing to do with the China North Korea alliance, it was ordered by the US Government because they didn''t want to be fighting on two war fronts, not to mention they were afraid that the terrorists would join up with the CNK alliance. I had suspected it, but it seems that the CAC actually found the evidence.¡± Scott says finally as he spins the screen around to reveal a few documents and images he found on the topic in system. Scott continues to look over the group, who didn''t think they could be shocked anymore. ¡°By the way Corin, if your interested, there is some research here that seems to suggest you walk again.¡± Clicking another window he displayed another document, ¡°I have found what I was looking for, so I am going to go claim a room and get some sleep, it has been a long day.¡± Complete taken off guard the group is somewhat disgusted at Scott''s behavior as he grabs a welcome pack and walks away, ¡°There is no good or evil, only what is beneficial or detrimental to ones own narrative, remember history is always written by the winners. We have already seen it in action.¡± He said as he leaves them to do whatever they want to do. Corin on the edge of breaking down, tears in her eyes, ¡°No... I don''t believe this.¡± Harper hugs her from behind, as Corin starts crying. ¡°They killed them... For convenience! This can''t be right!¡± She shakes Harper off and wheels over to the screen that Scott was using. Mike walks up behind Corin, ¡°There is a place with some space if you need to think, it''s down that way I think. But you may want to get something to eat first.¡± ¡°I will prove this is a fake, just another conspiracy theory that holds no water. I will find the TRUTH!¡± Corin says, ignoring Mike, as she swipes the windows left revealing the documents on the war. Copying over on to her own tablet she leaves the group and heads the direction Mike pointed out, the opposite direction to Scott. Mike looking drained address the group, ''It has been a hectic and crazy journey, I am tired. I know some of you are too, how about we, ''Claim'', a room and get some rest. There is a lot here to process.¡± Harper looks to the direction that Corin went, ¡°I think she needs some time alone, but I don''t want to sleep just yet. Guess I''ll take a look around abit, unpack and look after the kids, unless they want to sleep.¡± ¡°Thanks Harper, I could use a drink right about now, but a chance to take ''this'' all in would be great.¡± Doug confesses. As the Dananel, Sheryl, Mike and Claudia nod in agreement. Alice however is engrossed in the computer, looking up various pieces of information that interest her. April comes running back in, and up to her mum excitedly, she says ¡°Mummy, there''s Cake and sweets! Plus some bubbly drinks that Jordan wouldn''t let us drink.¡± pouting finish. ¡°April get back here, I want to try that too! Don''t hog it all!¡± Kyle''s voice is heard coming up the hallway. ¡°Don''t tell Kyle which way I went, he wants my sweets.¡± April says as she runs down the same hallway Corin went, eating a piece of cake. Claudia sighs a bit, ¡°Well at least they''re happily adapting for now. Wish I could be that carefree, I hope they remain that way.¡± Chapter 8: SEVR or ENTR Scott had found the map app on the tablet, which was prepared for them, and decided to head off to the personnel quarters to get some rest. It was first in, first choice, so he decided to find one that suited his needs and character. Walking down the halls passing by a few rooms that were clearly geared more towards small families or couples, he started seeomg amd checking out the larger of the single rooms. Each room had its own little quirks, that made them seemed lived in, One such room had a slight sports feel, the hoop over the waste basket and soft football like bean-bag, clearly not in Scott''s style. It takes a while before he finds a room that suits him, with a drafting table and a few other nick nacks that reminded him of his previous life. He closed the door behind him and locked the door, and looked around the room. There were two beds, one of which was an upgraded SEVR-tech Pod which was inset into the floor, too be at the same height as the bed. The walls shifted between various colours as Scott moves towards the en-suite, dropping off his stuff by the draft table, too have a shower. Having cleaned off the last few days under the warm water of the shower, Scott gets out, looking at his scruffy appearance in the mirror contemplating whether to shave or not. However as fatigue starts to wash over him, he walked out into his room and dropped onto the bed. The lights dimmed after Scott hit the bed, as he drifted off to a silent calm, tomorrow is for the worry, now is for rest. The stress of having to mediate the emotions and general grumpiness of the stressed traveling group, wore on Michael''s nerves. He held on, stoically, calm on the surface while hiding the raging anger beneath, why did he put himself in this situation... because he knew he could hold on and keep calm. He had more mental fortitude than the others, and without worrying his wife Claudia about his own condition he played the mediator. However his stress and anger were building up, due to trying to quell the constant squabbling, bickering and generally unimportant minor and maybe some major arguments. He felt grateful for his logic, but now he really wants to let loose, and the perfect tool for that is close by. ¡°Now we''ve eaten and drunk, I''ll go to get us a room, I''ll message you with the room number if you want to stay here.¡± Mike says to Claudia. ¡°I could use some sleep, but April is running around.¡± Claudia responds looking to the corridor as Harper walks back in eating what smells to be a chicken parma, bacon wrap and a barbeque sauce stain on her cardigan, ¡°Harper can you look after April, we''re going to get a room. When we''ve got one I''ll come back.¡± Harper gives Claudia the thumbs up, as she takes a large bite into the wrap with a look of deep satisfaction. Now the group disperses form the cafeteria, Doug took Dananel and Sheryl to find the medical facilities that were indicated on his map for a quick checkup. As Alice easily wrangles Jordan and a begrudging Lindsey into exploring a bit more of the facility, the zealous adventures and their chaperon. While the twin run wild with April, under Harper''s supervision. Coren on the other hand having left the group a while ago, in a fit of disbelief and anger had actually passed by the air purification and biological cultivation area. Some how she found herself in a library, surrounded by books, actual books, the smell of the paper and varnished wood of the bookcases soothed her mind a bit to calm down a bit. The thing is the war and bomb in the middle east that Scott had nonchalantly mentioned was actually responsible for a major loss to her family. Corin''s mothers grandfather, grandmother and great uncle had died that day, because of that bomb. They had joined the army so they could help relocate more of their families out of the war zone. It just so happened that day they were meant to leave, they stayed behind to aide in the evacuation of a non-hostile nomadic tribe when the bomb dropped. Making her Grandmother a war orphan, who lost their inheritance to a fraud scheme for the war fund. The secrets and possible lies, hidden from the light of day and under the umbrella of national and civil security. Corin has not felt such violation and rage before, the callousness with which Scott said it really struck the nerve, and if it was true even more so. She did not have a chance to really absorb the hit or look into the documents she got from the console, however this space was calming for her, allowing her to think and process. There was no computer or device in sight, except for her tablet, which was automatically connected to the wireless network within the library. Not that she had noticed yet, as she took some deep breaths trying to hold back her tears. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°There has to be a way...¡± Corin mutters to herself as wheels upto a desk, taking a deep breath then picks the chair up that is blocking her way. She tosses it over the couches slamming into the reading area, venting out some of that anger and stress, before making herself comfortable at the desk. ¡°The truth will out, or it will be forgotten and die to the lie,¡± Corin starts, steading her resolve, ¡°and ¡°I¡± won''t let that happen!¡± Clearly repeating like a mantra, ¡°Research, Review, Introspect, Reflect, Fact Find, Confirm, Review and Write. I will find the truth." Sitting in her wheelchair, framed by the stonemasoned walls, exposing her working silhouette to an arch window of white light which fades into a lush green forest/park. While the subtle sounds of the woods and a gentle breeze work in coordination to aide in the relief of stress. Mike and Claudia had spent some time looking for a room they could agree on, and eventually settled on a small family sized suite. It had 4 rooms; a master bedroom, a smaller bedroom, main living area and a room for the SEVR-tech pods. The main living area had some musical instruments and a karaoke machine, which Claudia loved. Having staked their claim on the room, Claudia leaves to help out Harper and hopefully coax April to settle down for the night. Once Claudia had left, Mike wrote a quick note for her, ¡°Going to dive, need to relieve some stress, be back soon.¡± Mike moves to the SEVR-tech room, it was then he noticed there were no suits. Were they supposed to bring their own? He needed to find out, so he grabs the tablet and looks up the information on the new pods. The instructions were written simply,
  1. Take off all clothing and jewelry,
  2. 2. Short duration <1day: put on the face mask on, Long duration >1day: insert mouth piece, breath normally. (recommended: use the mouth piece)
  3. 3. Fully submerge in the stasis gel, then ENTR-link.
¡°Hahaha, wait till the others find out. You have to be naked to enter these pods, this''ll be awkward for a while.¡± Mike states while stripping down, ¡°Ohhh, it isn''t cold, its rather nice. Just a bit tingly.¡± As he enters, placing on the mask while the lid above him closes and submerging himself in the gel. ENTR-link Finding himself in a blankspace, Mike looks around thinking about ¡°Openworld¡± the game where this ¡°Ono Heart Guild¡± have been exploring. As the logon screen appears, with a warning, [You are accessing external servers, external and restricted protocols en-acted. Read me for more information.] Mike bypasses the warnings and logs straight in, he is not interested in that at the moment, he just wants to get ingame. The space around him distorts and he is standing back in the courtyard of their guild''s keep, on the borderlands. Looking around he sees that it has been ransacked, burned and torched in someplaces, rage swells up and his characters rage bar is filled. Looking around in fury, when he notices a group of 10 people, who notice him too. The leader of the group gives a slight nod to one of the group, who vanishes instantly. He then stares down Mike, who happens to be playing a bruiser class known as a berserker, with a secondary performance class of traveling bard. The fury and rage, becomes evident over Mikes character, as heat is seen rippling the air around him and his eyes turn red. The group moves forward, with the leader watching Mikes character, Leader [Well you have finally shown your face, where is the rest of your group or are you alone?] Mike responds by removing his battle axe from his back and activating his passive skill ''Intimidating Presence''. Mike has lost all reasoning at this point, as the leader of the group stands there confident but slightly shaken by the intimidation. Nonchalantly the leader starts pacing back and forward in front of his group who have also now drawn their weapons. Leader [You know you can''t beat us, it''ll be better for you to just to cooperate and come with us. We''ll know your location soon any way...] Unable to continue as an axe head is sticking out of his skull. The last image the leader sees a charging barbarian running at him as his body dissipates into pixels leaving behind a few drops. Three members of the group fire off their guns, hitting Mike in chest, arm and leg, as he appears in front of three melee combatant classes. Mike swings in a sweeping attack against the combatants taking a couple more shots to his back and a few gashes from their blades, before activating his faux whirlwind axe attack. Taking out the 3 melee combatants, when one who had not acted yet released a stream of fire from his finger tip burning the right half of Mikes body. Throwing his axe at the one who just burned him, Mike takes out this nuisance at the cost of his right arm, before he notices the last member of the group who hadn''t attacked yet was attempting to heal a fallen combatant. Jumping over to the fallen mage, Mike is hit by two more shots as he slings his axe from the mages chest into the head of the healer. The healer not finished his work, dissipates into pixels, as the 3 ranged gunners look over at the bloodied berserker to their side. Frantically reloading their guns, unfortunately not quick enough before Mike appears in front of them with a bone dagger in his hand. Slicing through the neck of one gunner, before using the gunners soon to be corpse to knock the others down to the ground. One of them gets off another shot at Mike, however he uses the corpse as a shield and gives them a vicious smile. Beating them to death with now corpse of their comrade, before releasing a loud and animalistic cry to the sky, as the bodies surrounding him dissipates into fragmented pixels fading into the sky. Finally relieved of a lot of pent up stress, Mike calms down and looks to his health. It was not a close call at all, these guys seemed to be at a rather low level, maybe casuals at best but mostly noobs. Mike [This may be troublesome, but fun.] Wearing the same vicious smile he used to beat down the last two gunners. Chapter 9: Going Forward. Mike, looks over the battlefield as all the bodies that were there have dissipated into pixels and the only remnants of the fight were streaks and splats of blood, along with the items and drops left by the group he attacked. Going around he picks up various drops, including a ledger dropped by the leader a healing kit from the healer as he reclaims his Axe leaving the useless weapons where they laid. Walking lethargically over to the ruined fort, slowly attempting to recover from the burns to his right side. The fort base that the guild had worked on, seemed as a fort after a scorched earth bombing in the historical Battlefield games he used to play. Finding rest on a felled wall over looking the scene, Mike pulls out the Ledger and reads over it.
The hoax raised by the Corporate Artisan Community, has been suppressed in the media. However, there is no person or connection left to communicate with, inorder to ascertain the fundamental safety of the employees and families within their offices, factories and compounds. Various external contractors whom were working for CAC, have been reported as missing by their families or other employers as well, which causes great unrest. It is the governments right to acquire, detain, administrate and determine the appropriate recourse for the hysteria and threat of mental harm caused by the CAC. In such, you are empowered to use any means necessary to acquire information and detain any persons who may have any personal and work connections or relations to the CAC. For the purposes to be questioned in order to determine the culpability of the parties in relation to the perpetuated hoax.
As Mike is reading this a note slips out and fall to the ground. Seeing this he picks up the note and reads it,
Under no circumstances, let any one get away. The offices and factories of the CAC are barren and it looks like a planned evacuation. There is nothing of value or any useful information or tech remaining, within anything that has been left behind. The patents that remain on record have been shown to be faulty, prioritize any body associated with the research, development and design of the SEVR technology. Remember by any means necessary.
Reading this Mike, who had finally recovered a bit from the smoldering burns, places the note into the ledger and puts them away. Hopping off the former wall, he walks over to a pile of rubble near a corner tower and digs deep into wreckage and into the ground. Tossing a few stones aside, he pulls out a stone with a carved symbol of a ¡°single horned heart¡±, and runs off into the Forest. Leaving behind the wreckage of the fort and everything else contained therein, he headed further into the Boarderlands.
Claudia on returning to the Kitchen and dinning area, where the food spread was waiting for them on arrival. She runs into Lindsey arguing with her Dad about having a glass of wine, as it is looking like a heated back and forth, she attempts to calm Lindsey down a bit.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Listen to your dad, dear. You don''t want to start drinking alcohol now, just give it a few months or years.¡± Claudia chimes in. Staring daggers at Claudia, Lindsey replied, ¡°Of course you''d say that, bitch! I have had to leave my life behind, and I can''t even have a fucking drink.¡± before she storms off, after grabbing one of the wireless tablets. ¡°Are you sure she is not a little drunk already, Doug?¡± a stunned Claudia said. ¡°I don''t know, I am doing my best here. But honestly, it is strange that she hasn''t been acting out since this whole thing started.¡± Doug states, ¡°She''s never been the same since, her Mum left. I am going to find a room to sleep.¡± Doug grabs a bottle of wine, as he leaves the dinning room. Claudia looks around, Dananel and Sheryl are heading off as well after finishing some food and rest. ¡°Have you two seen Harper and April?¡± Claudia asks while grabbing a piece of fruit, as they start packing to leave. ¡°Last I saw they ran off in the direction that Corin went earlier. Maybe there is a communication app or feature on the tablets. We''re off to find a room, its been a tiring past week.¡± Sheryl says pointing at Dananel as he seems to be fussing over her. Claudia leaves and follows the corridor. Hearing the chatter and playful sounds of children playing she sped up and headed towards the sounds. Following the sounds, Claudia found what appeared to be an open field with chickens being chased by Kevin and Stu as Harper was watching and weaving a flower crown with the flowers April was picking. ¡°Wow ¡­ I didn''t think this kind of place would exist in this place.¡± Claudia said. ¡°Mommy!¡± April happily yells running up and hugging her leg. ¡°Yeah apparently it is the biological cultivation area, there is even a woodland near by. I think there are some milking cows in the shed over there too.¡± Harper says, getting up handing the flower crown to April who takes it and runs over to the boys to show it off. ¡°Wow, It actually looks a little like the sky up there . But, how are we going to manage this, I mean, chickens and cows ¡­ I''ve never done any farming work before. Have you?¡± Claudia asks Harper. ¡°No, nothing at all. But I don''t think we need to worry about that much at all. Considering how we ended up here. Still it is very hard not to relax in this area, but I didn''t want them running off exploring too much, heavens knows Stu would have gotten Kevin and April to run after the drone into the woodlands if I hadn''t stopped them.¡± Harper says moving over the grassy area again. ¡°Drones, really ¡­ I guess it is truly automated living then. Seems kinda too good to be true.¡± Claudia says as she sits next to Harper, watching the boys get chased by one of the Cocks protecting the Hens as April joins them. ¡°Yeah, just thinking of the maintenance that''d be required should it all go to shit has me scared a bit. But I am thankful, as it explains where the chicken and fresh food we ate during dinner came from. By the way what are the rooms like?¡± Harper reflecting on the situation a bit. ¡°The food was fresh and delicious, though I don''t see any vegetable crops ¡­¡± Claudia looking about, ¡°The rooms though are plenty, some are more functional than livable. One was just a bed, SEVR-Pod and bathroom, no walls or divisions at all. There were a few with some personal flare and style, I am guessing left behind by the previous tenants. Still, many many rooms, Oh I saw one with Bunk Beds and astronaut linen. But it had 4 bedrooms, with another room being dedicated to the SEVR-Pods, yet it didn''t have a kitchenette and the living area was a bit too big for what I wanted.¡± ¡°I may have to check it out.¡± Harper sighs as she pulls her legs up and rests her head in them watching her brothers. ¡°Do you think we did the right thing? Coming here ...¡± ¡°I don''t know, but we are here now. Though, I think it is about time to get some rest, lets think out this after we have had some rest.¡± Claudia says, standing up and brushing herself down. ¡°April! It''s time to get some rest, come on.¡± April, comes over in a pouting manner. ¡°Here is the room I was talking if you are interested.¡± Claudia showing Harper the tablet, ¡°we are over here, not to far away if you want to talk.¡± They leave, Harper stretches out in the grass looking up at the false sky. ¡°What will we do now?¡± Harper whispers to herself.