1 00:00:01,879 --> 00:00:06,599 I am part of the hundred and tenth generation of this facility. For as 2 00:00:06,639 --> 00:00:11,279 long as I can remember, i've worked here. Any memories of my time 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:16,039 before are nonexistent. I believe it's the same for the others who work here, 4 00:00:17,359 --> 00:00:23,280 but it's a don't ask, don't tell topic working here. It's rare 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:28,359 that two days are the same. Each day has a plethora of nuances. 6 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,719 Some tasks are rather mundane. Every few weeks, I have to feed the 7 00:00:34,759 --> 00:00:40,240 tunnel a borehole that smells faintly like sulfur. The task is to take a 8 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,359 bucket of giblets and off cut bones to the hole to pour in. Sometimes 9 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,679 it looks like there's a faint white powderce sprinkled on top of the meat, 10 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:54,520 which looks too fine to be sald I still don't know what it is or 11 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,759 what's in the hole, but it's better not to ask questions. I just 12 00:00:59,799 --> 00:01:06,640 do my task and move on. However, some tasks aren't to straightforward. 13 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,799 Something we're all assigned to be on the lookout for is to report the location 14 00:01:12,879 --> 00:01:19,799 of the husk. While walking around the facility on the floor, in a 15 00:01:19,879 --> 00:01:26,760 room or even a corridor, you'll sometimes see a dried up human shaped husk. 16 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,799 It looks like what an insect would leave behind after shedding its skin, 17 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:38,920 though there are no openings, dark gray and semi translucent. Though the position 18 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:44,480 sometimes changes, the face is always walked into a wailing face of anguish, 19 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:51,359 and its limbs are often contorted into an uncomfortable fetal position. It never moves, 20 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,239 and after being reported, no one has stuck around to see what happens. 21 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,400 But it's never there. The next day after sighting, you have to 22 00:02:02,439 --> 00:02:07,439 report it to the higher ups and carry on with your shift pass. Then 23 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:15,759 the husk only proves to be a trip hazard. Currently tripping on the husk 24 00:02:15,319 --> 00:02:22,280 as a one hundred percent mortality rate. Personally, I've never seen it happen, 25 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,680 but through the grapevine, I've heard of someone that has. They caught 26 00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:31,240 sight of a technician who was fumbling with a folder and didn't notice the husk 27 00:02:31,439 --> 00:02:36,800 until it was too late. I was told that he fell straight to the 28 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:42,039 ground as soon as his foot hit the object. At first, it looked 29 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:46,080 like he just caught a nasty fall from the surprise. However, the portion 30 00:02:46,199 --> 00:02:52,759 of the leg that nicked the body was missing, just gone, the trouser 31 00:02:52,759 --> 00:02:57,960 hole empty, and his shoe was off to the side. The technician immediately 32 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,319 started screaming as he grabbed his leg, but not the missing part. He 33 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,719 had his hands around where his knee was wailing in agony. At first they 34 00:03:07,719 --> 00:03:13,439 thought it was because of the pain of his leg being inexplicably removed, but 35 00:03:13,599 --> 00:03:20,319 soon his hands clasped together and his otherwise neat fitting clothes sagged higher and higher. 36 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:27,599 Everyone around realized more of him was disappearing, black dust falling from the 37 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:32,080 empty trouser hole. The rest of his clothes emptied from the bottom up until 38 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:40,719 the screaming stopped and a discarded outfit remained. He was called in and everyone 39 00:03:40,879 --> 00:03:47,319 moved on. There's no time to dwell here on the happenings of others. 40 00:03:49,199 --> 00:03:54,000 Too much downtime like that can get you written up. Because of such events, 41 00:03:54,840 --> 00:04:00,759 it's sometimes better to avoid making friends. A lot of new people are 42 00:04:00,759 --> 00:04:05,240 hauled in, not always at once, but sometimes that's the case depending on 43 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:13,039 the severity of a recent incident. Often the fresh faces are confused, bewildered, 44 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:18,439 or straight up mannic. It's not easy working here, so it's especially 45 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:24,319 not easy when you're new. There's a lot to adapt to and you must 46 00:04:24,319 --> 00:04:32,120 ad just fast. One fresh face was friendly, introduced himself readily to anyone 47 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:39,079 around. This is not the norm, and he was brushed off by many 48 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,879 of the more senior staff. However, I was still relatively new myself. 49 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:51,040 I knew the feeling of wanting familiar faces around me, so I took the 50 00:04:51,079 --> 00:04:57,360 bait. He shook hands, He told me his name, though I didn't 51 00:04:57,399 --> 00:05:01,680 tell mine, But otherwise, just engaging with him was the most anyone I 52 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,680 had given him since he'd arrived, and he seemed to find comfort in us 53 00:05:05,759 --> 00:05:13,720 short one sided conversation. From then on, he would hover over me during 54 00:05:13,759 --> 00:05:18,639 our downtime. Spending your break rubbing shoulders with whoever is around is normal here. 55 00:05:19,639 --> 00:05:25,879 No one is particularly close, so it means you just mildly get along 56 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:31,600 with anyone close by just event However, this guy always seemed to find me 57 00:05:32,079 --> 00:05:39,480 when we had brakes that lined up. He was generally very polite, if 58 00:05:39,519 --> 00:05:45,480 not a bit too open in contrast to what we're used to here. I 59 00:05:45,519 --> 00:05:54,399 hadn't seen him unshift until an incident occurred. He was assigned to the quiet 60 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:59,319 room for a few hours. It's a sterile, white room with a small 61 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:05,399 black box atop a metal table. As the name suggests, being quiet is 62 00:06:05,439 --> 00:06:12,680 of the utmost importance. Before going in, you're made a change into a 63 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,439 frictionless, skin tight suit to avoid the sound of brushing clothing fabrics. No 64 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:25,000 electronics are to be taken in if an emergency pings your personal device. Fortunately, 65 00:06:25,519 --> 00:06:30,560 you're notified of outside emergencies via a light that will flash red if an 66 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:38,319 evacuation is needed. It sounds daunting, but you are simply required to ensure 67 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:43,480 everything in the room is in order and observe the box for any irregularities. 68 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,199 The new guy does this to the letter. First, he went around to 69 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:54,920 check all angles, looking at the front and viewing all sides of the box. 70 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,480 Then he simply stood there and observed the box, only moving around occasionally 71 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:06,560 to recheck the other wrangles. I was stationed outside to ensure his entry and 72 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:14,959 exit were executed correctly. After a few hours, the yellow light blinked, 73 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:19,519 which meant it was time for him to leave. He slowly made his way 74 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:26,120 to the exit. I quietly opened the door, and just before the door 75 00:07:26,199 --> 00:07:32,720 latched, he breathed a sigh of relief. I froze, knowing what he 76 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:40,720 just did. Though, you have to maintain silence in the room. There 77 00:07:40,759 --> 00:07:45,800 is leniency. The blood rushing in your veins, your heart pumping, your 78 00:07:45,839 --> 00:07:49,360 lungs taking in air. All of these are not enough to set off the 79 00:07:49,399 --> 00:07:58,920 box. However, his side just tipped over what was acceptable. A grumble 80 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:05,319 groan from inside the box, and he looked at me dismayed. He opened 81 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:09,560 his mouth, but before he could exclaim anything, I clamped my hand over 82 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,720 it and pulled him down as quietly as I could. There we just lay 83 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:20,120 as we heard movement from inside. A stretching and twisting could be heard, 84 00:08:20,759 --> 00:08:26,000 the clatter of the box hitting the ground. Then suddenly, a black tendrol 85 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,920 poked its way through the door. I could tell he wanted to scream, 86 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:35,000 but I wasn't letting him so much as breathe, even if it meant he'd 87 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:43,480 suffocate. The tendrol just hung there, tilting around, not looking but listening. 88 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:52,919 After a tense amount of time, it slowly retreated. I gently got 89 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,799 back up, holding a finger over my lips to make sure he knew to 90 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:03,679 stay quiet. He quietly pealed open the door. I went in softly, 91 00:09:03,279 --> 00:09:07,879 slowly picked up the now behind box and gently placed it on the table. 92 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:15,960 I slipped back out and gently closed the door. After that, I let 93 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:20,440 out my own sigh, knowing it was safe to do so, and he 94 00:09:20,519 --> 00:09:26,559 followed suit. Once we're a safe enough distance away, he thanked me profusely. 95 00:09:28,039 --> 00:09:33,519 After some hollow assurance, I let him on his way. The day 96 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:39,679 after, he excitedly found me. Apparently the higher ups learned of what happened 97 00:09:41,159 --> 00:09:46,720 and decided to give him her promotion. I smiled as best I could and 98 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:54,919 congratulated him. I've seen promotions given her number of times, and anyone who's 99 00:09:54,960 --> 00:10:01,679 been around long enough knows it's not good. You get a signed to another 100 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:05,240 area, one which we have never been to and I never seen again. 101 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:13,480 No one knows what happens to repurpose. Staff still recollectively agree it can't be 102 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:20,879 good, as only the incompetent seemed to get these promotions. I never saw 103 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:26,639 him again, and you'll never know. It was me who told the higher 104 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,720 ups what happened. I feel bad for doing so. We're not reporting something 105 00:10:31,799 --> 00:10:39,120 like that is also ground for promotion, and they always find out. I've 106 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,440 heard of people lying, trying to throw another under the bus, but it 107 00:10:43,519 --> 00:10:52,480 never works. They always know. This is one of many reasons to keep 108 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,399 a distance from others, but there is someone everyone is friendly to, though, 109 00:10:58,919 --> 00:11:05,080 Gregg the miss. If you're in the social quarters, you'll often see 110 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,639 a homeless looking man wearing a wizard's robe made from old bed sheets. People 111 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:15,960 often cheer and smile at him because he's one of the few good oddities in 112 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:22,000 the facility. He's so unthreatening that he's one of the only oddities that isn't 113 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:28,320 confined, which is good because he never took to confinement. Well. It's 114 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:33,200 often good to keep conversation short with Greg, though a greeting, how do 115 00:11:33,279 --> 00:11:39,000 you do and a goodbye. However, the temptation to talk longer is always 116 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:46,320 present. That's because if you talk with Greg long enough, he'll offer to 117 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,519 read your future. You can even ask him if he doesn't offer to, 118 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:56,159 though there are rules to what you can and cannot ask. The rule of 119 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:01,799 thumb is to ask inane questions. You don't want to know something you're not 120 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:09,799 supposed to. The one thing guaranteed when he reads your future is that Greg 121 00:12:09,519 --> 00:12:16,080 is always wrong. I asked him what was for lunch, and he told 122 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:22,159 me pizza. I went to the canteen and what do you know, tacos? 123 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,399 At first, it seems like a laughable idea to call yourself a mystic 124 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:35,879 confidently make readings. You'd always be wrong. But when I say he's always 125 00:12:35,919 --> 00:12:43,360 wrong, I mean he's wrong one hundred percent of the time. One experiment 126 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,759 was run in which they had him guess the outcoin of a coin flip for 127 00:12:46,799 --> 00:12:52,399 as long as they could hold his attention. The sweet guy stayed engaged for 128 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:58,720 hours playing and they managed to get over a thousand flips. Every guess was 129 00:12:58,759 --> 00:13:05,960 wrong, every single one, to the degree that it pretty much confirmed it's 130 00:13:05,039 --> 00:13:11,799 not just the statistical anomaly. Something else is at play here. However, 131 00:13:13,399 --> 00:13:18,840 coin flips are harmless. You can't extrapolate relevant information from a coin flip. 132 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:28,039 However, extracting useful information is possible by learning what won't happen. Will the 133 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,519 surgery to implement a cybernetic and handslim go successfully. Gregg said, it'll go 134 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,919 smoothly and the patient would be overjoyed at having full control over their new device. 135 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,799 The surgery was canceled and the project was shelved until the science could be 136 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:52,320 refined. Obviously, this isn't ful proof. You can only extrapolate so much 137 00:13:52,399 --> 00:13:56,879 from a negative response. Since learning what won't happen is one of many outcomes, 138 00:13:58,919 --> 00:14:03,039 but he's proven a great asset to the company and a fun addition to 139 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:09,440 work a morale. Gregg's status is ongoing, with subtle tests still being administered 140 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:18,360 in passing the position you feel here isn't a set schedule. A lot of 141 00:14:18,399 --> 00:14:22,600 the time they keep you working certain hours to maintain a sense of normalcy, 142 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:28,440 but sometimes you're given a shift on an alternate time frame. Usually I'm a 143 00:14:28,519 --> 00:14:37,480 day shift worker, but some nights I'm given duties in the observatory. The 144 00:14:37,559 --> 00:14:41,320 floor I'm made to work on must be close to the surface because it revolves 145 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:46,759 around a high powered telescope. From this, I'm able to gather that I 146 00:14:46,879 --> 00:14:54,720 live and work far below ground, though the specifics are beyond me. This 147 00:14:54,879 --> 00:15:01,519 telescope automatically calibrates to a certain spot in the sky and absurd only one object, 148 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:09,639 a planet. Most people have a basic understanding of the planets on our 149 00:15:09,679 --> 00:15:16,799 Solar system. However, this one never came up in school. From context, 150 00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:20,720 I've picked up that it can only be observed when viewed through some alternative 151 00:15:20,759 --> 00:15:28,279 wavelength, whether it's infrared, ultraviolet, or something entirely new. My job 152 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,960 isn't to know the details, so I'll probably never learn them. But when 153 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:39,879 I'm working here, I'm to assist a technician in the lab to observe this 154 00:15:39,039 --> 00:15:46,320 planet. It seems benign. One would think it is void of life. 155 00:15:46,639 --> 00:15:52,840 That doesn't guarantee our safety. One theory posits that life on the planet lives 156 00:15:52,879 --> 00:15:58,919 below the surface, so constant observation is mandated in case any signs of service 157 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,399 are spotted. However, it's hard with the current technology of the lab. 158 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:11,799 I imagine a more powerful version of the telescope is being worked on. Another 159 00:16:11,879 --> 00:16:15,440 theory I heard is that the life forms can't be seen by whatever wavelength we've 160 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:21,000 dialed to. Sure, we can see the planet, but there are planets 161 00:16:21,039 --> 00:16:25,639 you can observe with your bare eye, so it wouldn't be wild to think 162 00:16:25,879 --> 00:16:30,759 that we need to refine whatever wavelength is being used to intensify the readings of 163 00:16:30,799 --> 00:16:37,519 the planet. I'm sure they're working on this too. For now, things 164 00:16:37,519 --> 00:16:44,080 seem benign, but I still get an itch of my neck just thinking about 165 00:16:44,559 --> 00:16:49,120 if something there is observing us the same way we watch them, maybe they're 166 00:16:49,159 --> 00:16:56,159 having the same troubles as us. I'm hoping that if there is civilization there, 167 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:03,759 that they're friendly because if not, whatever we're working on would be closer 168 00:17:03,799 --> 00:17:10,480 to an arms race than a rush for discovery. Working in the observatory is 169 00:17:10,519 --> 00:17:14,519 one of the few floors where I go up, but most of my shifts 170 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:21,480 involved going down, sometimes far down, and there's a shift I often get 171 00:17:22,039 --> 00:17:30,680 that I dread clean up and floor B sixty six. This floor was home 172 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:36,160 to an experiment gone awry. Whatever had gotten out is hidden away in a 173 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:41,880 deep crevice and hasn't been found since. What's worse is that it seems to 174 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:47,359 be able to replicate itself, So the job is to go around and exterminate 175 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:53,039 anything that moves. They look like round balls of fur. The biggest are 176 00:17:53,079 --> 00:17:57,759 about the size of a volleyball. On their own, they aren't too dangerous 177 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,440 under the fur. They have a leech like mouth with barbed teeth that latch 178 00:18:03,559 --> 00:18:10,039 quickly through skin. You're given a level of protective plating that covers a lot 179 00:18:10,039 --> 00:18:14,559 of your body, but there are gaps in the armor and they can easily 180 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,519 hit if you're not fast enough. How they get you are the thin tubes 181 00:18:18,519 --> 00:18:23,720 in their teeth that rapidly suck out liquids, So if you're hit, you 182 00:18:23,839 --> 00:18:29,920 have to rip them off fast, but the barbs latch on deep and you'll 183 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:34,799 be bleeding a lot, which will only bring more. One of them isn't 184 00:18:34,839 --> 00:18:41,160 an issue. Two or three are manageable, but if left too long, 185 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:47,759 clusters can gather. One upside to this shift is that you get to play 186 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:52,559 with some of the facility's toys. Even though there's power on the floor, 187 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:59,200 most of the lights are out. From cursory glances, it's presumed that these 188 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,440 creatures had no or through many of the wires, maybe while digging in the 189 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:10,279 walls for an escape, So we're given a light. It's called the firefly, 190 00:19:11,599 --> 00:19:15,200 a frosted glass ball with a circle divot at the bottom. I can 191 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:21,119 only presume something in the divot is what makes it float, because this companion 192 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:26,400 drone will silently follow you wherever you go. The firefly amids a light all 193 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:32,720 around in a harsh yellow glow, enough to illuminate most of a corridor you're 194 00:19:32,759 --> 00:19:37,640 in, or even in entire room. These fireflies have been around since the 195 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:44,119 eighty fifth generation and haven't been updated since. It's that tried and true. 196 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:51,279 The same can't be said about the weapon in the past. You are armed 197 00:19:51,279 --> 00:19:56,079 with a few firearms because of hits worked well to initially stun then finish off 198 00:19:56,119 --> 00:20:02,240 those little fur balls, but accuracy plays a significant part in your survival. 199 00:20:03,319 --> 00:20:07,119 With how small and fast they are, it's not hard to imagine why the 200 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,359 task's survival rate would be rocky. So the technicians have been hard at work, 201 00:20:12,319 --> 00:20:17,680 and for around the one hundred and eighth generation, a medium ranged arch 202 00:20:17,759 --> 00:20:22,440 throw was introduced. It whirs up and quickly shoots a shold of electricity towards 203 00:20:22,519 --> 00:20:29,440 the direction you're facing. Something in the fur ball seems to be conductive because 204 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,960 you only have to aim in the general direction, which is much better than 205 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,920 trying to hit one mid jump with a nine millimeter. Whatever makes them so 206 00:20:38,079 --> 00:20:44,119 malleable to fit through small gaps also seems to mean their membrane is so thin 207 00:20:44,599 --> 00:20:48,920 that they perish after one harsh jolt, and the battery lasts long enough to 208 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:55,240 last even a hectic shift, making the job much more trivial on an easy 209 00:20:55,319 --> 00:21:03,319 day. However, not every day is an ease. It isn't confirmed whether 210 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:08,279 they have a higher intelligence or it's just coincidence. Still, the fur bulls 211 00:21:08,279 --> 00:21:14,319 have been known to set up some devious situations. A report was made that 212 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,200 two fur bulls were sitting in a hallway about thirty paces through a doorway. 213 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,079 The worker needed to step through to get him ranged to hit both at once. 214 00:21:25,559 --> 00:21:30,359 It was only after he stepped through that he realized the situation. A 215 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:36,480 fur bull was lurking above behind the doorframe, and as he focused on the 216 00:21:36,519 --> 00:21:41,920 two in the hallway, the lone fur bull dropped down and went straight into 217 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,160 the back of his neck between the joints of his helmet and back plate. 218 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:52,559 The five flight documented this and posed a warning for future shift workers. The 219 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:59,400 person who took the next shift had a nightmare cleaning this up because they had 220 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:03,440 a lot of feed on, and he reported that there was an entire wall 221 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:11,440 covered with these things. To survive a shift is what's expected any less, 222 00:22:12,079 --> 00:22:18,079 and more often than not, you don't make it out or you get promoted. 223 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,440 Something I found is that there doesn't seem to be a ladder to climb 224 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,799 within the company. I think it has something to do with my position. 225 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:33,359 I'm not in some lab discovering world bending technologies. I work the floor and 226 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,880 maintain the status quo. But I did once get the attention of the higher 227 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:45,799 ups. It didn't happen on a shift, but rather between them. I 228 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:51,480 was traveling through one of the floors to transfer between two elevators, and on 229 00:22:51,519 --> 00:22:56,839 my usual route, I noticed the stain in a lesser used hallway. It 230 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,559 was a brownish splash, and my first thought with that the technician had spilled 231 00:23:00,559 --> 00:23:06,480 the coffee. I figured it would be cleaned and went on to my shift. 232 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:12,039 When I passed by again, it was still there. Not only that, 233 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:18,519 but it was bigger and darker, now almost the strong shade of black. 234 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:25,920 I reported it and moved on. I was assigned the same task later 235 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:30,960 in the week and had to pass through that same section, expecting the mess 236 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,200 to be cleaned up. I was surprised when the hallways were cordoned off. 237 00:23:34,759 --> 00:23:41,200 I always escorted around, taking much longer to start my shift. It only 238 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:47,559 got worse from then on. Each time I passed by, more and more 239 00:23:47,559 --> 00:23:52,000 of that floor's block was sectioned off. After a month, no one was 240 00:23:52,039 --> 00:23:56,599 there to walk me around. The pale yellow curtains that blocked viewing of the 241 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:02,920 area were all gone. I tried to make my way through my old route, 242 00:24:03,079 --> 00:24:10,759 but was blocked off, this time by a wall. Where I first 243 00:24:10,759 --> 00:24:15,519 saw the stain. There was now a whole new lab. Technicians rushed by, 244 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:22,359 seemingly working over time with so many tasks on their hands. I late 245 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:27,279 to learn what happened when I was assigned to assist in that section. The 246 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:34,480 stain grew. At first. They tried cleaning it, but it never changed, 247 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:41,039 no matter what substance or abrace if they used. Eventually it stopped spreading, 248 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:47,440 and when it did, he resembled the silhouette of a man day by 249 00:24:47,519 --> 00:24:56,119 day, though he no longer grew outwards, but rather up slowly and seemingly 250 00:24:56,200 --> 00:25:03,200 inevitably. A person is coming out of it right now, is being studied, 251 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:11,880 but nothing is known of what will happen when the figure emerges. On 252 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:17,680 the plus side, I was rewarded for reporting it. They gave me an 253 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:25,799 hour with the music box. From my experience, most of the things we 254 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:30,119 deal with here are hell, but not all of them are other worldly threats 255 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:37,240 to humanity. Some are objects of bizarre uses, one of which is the 256 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:45,920 music box. Long term exposure has been known to have adverse effects. However, 257 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:52,920 in the short term it has provided ample reward for especially outstanding work in 258 00:25:52,960 --> 00:26:00,160 the field. The object itself looks ornate but otherwise unremarkable. Compared to the 259 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:06,319 horrors here. It's a dark stained oak wooden box with grooves etched around to 260 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:11,359 distinguish the edges. The outside is smoothed with a polished varnish, and across 261 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:15,960 the top is a detailed carving of a snake wrapped in a mother of pearl 262 00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:22,440 like effect around an apple with a juicy red resin fill. On the side 263 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:30,400 is a polished brass handle which is used to crank the box. It sits 264 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:37,200 in a rather fittingly decorated room, wooden bookshelves holding ancient looking books, all 265 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:42,440 filled with blank pages. A deep crimson Chesterfield chair sits next to an artificial 266 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:49,640 fireplace. A wooden globe rests nearby, along with an empty decanter and decorated 267 00:26:49,759 --> 00:26:56,599 crystal whiskey glasses. To sit there alone could be rewarding enough for some. 268 00:26:56,799 --> 00:27:06,559 However, it's once you start the music box that the magic happens. I 269 00:27:06,599 --> 00:27:11,200 was given three cranks for my efforts. There is no countermeasure for if you 270 00:27:11,279 --> 00:27:17,759 sneak extra cranks in. However, I can only imagine the hell you'd wrought 271 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:23,480 if you overplayed your hand. After all, this is a privilege you don't 272 00:27:23,519 --> 00:27:30,960 want to be revoked. It'll be hard to fully convey why the music box 273 00:27:30,039 --> 00:27:37,720 is so great, because after three generous cranks, I sat back in the 274 00:27:37,759 --> 00:27:45,640 comfort of the single chair and blacked out. When I awoke, my eyes 275 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,519 were watery from fresh tears, a bit of crust than the sides of my 276 00:27:48,599 --> 00:27:55,079 eyes. There was the taste of nostalgia lingering in the air. A feeling 277 00:27:55,160 --> 00:28:00,759 of overwhelming splendor carried through me for the rest of the week. No one 278 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:06,319 knows what happens when you listen to the music box. The few of us 279 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:11,880 who have used it were alone, as mandated by the instructions. We do 280 00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:17,119 have our theories, though. One person thought it transcended you to some asterul 281 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:22,640 realm, a brief reprieve from the hell we work in, but only spiritually, 282 00:28:22,279 --> 00:28:26,759 because we can't imagine the higher ups ever letting us physically leave this place. 283 00:28:29,039 --> 00:28:34,000 Another person thought it simply evoked every positive emotion you can feel, so 284 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,680 much so that you black out, yet keep the dopamine and serotonin from the 285 00:28:38,759 --> 00:28:45,599 experience for the next few days. I have my own theory. I wonder 286 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:52,559 if it evokes your memories from before coming here. My memories start in this 287 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:59,200 place, and all the fresh recruits are about the same age. We must 288 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:04,200 have had a life before this which was taken. Maybe it brings back the 289 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:08,319 memories of family, ordinary life, and the peace we used to have, 290 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:15,359 of which we're only allocated a certain time with. God knows what the higher 291 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:21,480 ups would do if we ever had knowledge of the outside world, because our 292 00:29:21,559 --> 00:29:26,200 drive would no longer be of the efficiency of the facility, but the ability 293 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:32,519 to get out. We're subdued with a mix of fear and complacency. So 294 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:37,000 to have something to fight for, I know of many who would die to 295 00:29:37,119 --> 00:29:41,200 try achieving it. But this theory he is a bit of a stretch, 296 00:29:42,359 --> 00:29:48,319 or maybe even a hope, and it's one I keep to myself. All 297 00:29:48,359 --> 00:29:52,119 I know is that the music box who is not made in the labs here. 298 00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:57,519 A lot of the stuff here is brought in from outside. But that 299 00:29:57,559 --> 00:30:04,559 doesn't mean our problems only come externally, because we also have our own internal 300 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:12,720 issues. I mentioned that this place runs on generations. No one knows what 301 00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:18,440 signifies jump in a generation. It's not annually or any set time period. 302 00:30:19,599 --> 00:30:25,519 I know this because I've seen a generation jump after two years and another time 303 00:30:25,559 --> 00:30:30,799 after two weeks. However, it is determined It's also how certain things are 304 00:30:30,839 --> 00:30:36,240 labeled. I mentioned that I'm part of the one hundred and tenth generation. 305 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,839 Currently we're in one hundred and seventeenth. All the people working here are a 306 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:48,960 mix of older and newer generations than me are. The same also applies to 307 00:30:48,079 --> 00:30:55,279 technology. I mentioned that the fireflies or eighty fifth GenTech and the arc Farr 308 00:30:55,480 --> 00:31:00,480 was one hundred and eighth. These are things we still have stock of and 309 00:31:00,519 --> 00:31:04,640 are still being produced to this day. But some tech runs so far back 310 00:31:06,119 --> 00:31:11,240 that even the generation number has been lost. With the nature of the facility, 311 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:18,480 archiving isn't the most reliable. On top of that, sometimes entire sectors 312 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,079 are lost due to incidents, so some knowledge and tech are lost entirely. 313 00:31:23,359 --> 00:31:30,039 And a vital tech that we're slowly running out of is the sleep tubes. 314 00:31:32,079 --> 00:31:37,000 It's estimated that they're from around the fifteenth to twenty third generation. Their long 315 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,039 glass tubes filled with a pale yellowish chemical topped off with a plastic cover. 316 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,480 I work with them sometimes, and what we do with them is simple. 317 00:31:51,039 --> 00:31:55,799 If you go to four B sixty six, you'll find a huge circular pit. 318 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,240 There are no guard railings around the catwalk, so you have to be 319 00:32:00,319 --> 00:32:07,279 careful when navigating the low light environment. The pit goes so far down that 320 00:32:07,359 --> 00:32:12,839 it's almost pitch black, though it's not advised if you shine a light down 321 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:19,000 there. You can't see to the bottom. However, you can hear it, 322 00:32:20,559 --> 00:32:25,319 a rhythmic groan that pulsates at a slow tempo. You might not figure 323 00:32:25,359 --> 00:32:30,200 out what it is when you're there, but when you're told what you're doing, 324 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:38,319 it becomes apparent what it is. It's snoring. Whatever is down there 325 00:32:38,519 --> 00:32:44,440 is in a deep sleep. The job is to silently carry the tube to 326 00:32:44,519 --> 00:32:49,440 the device along the east catwalk, make sure it's plastic side down, and 327 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:54,759 put the tube in. When secured, you pull the lever. A clunk 328 00:32:54,759 --> 00:33:01,000 will go off and the liquid rapidly depletes downwards. A loud groan will echo 329 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:07,480 around the chamber. But stay quiet, and eventually the snoring will resume. 330 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:13,519 Take the tube out, which will now have a puncture in the plastic, 331 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:22,559 and dispose of it. Then you are done. Whatever is down there is 332 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:29,079 currently in a perpetual state of slumber, and it's solely because of this chemical. 333 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:37,279 The problem is we're quickly running out The storage room for them used to 334 00:33:37,319 --> 00:33:42,119 be full when I started, but this is one of the five storage rooms, 335 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,119 the rest of which are empty. But now we're down to the last 336 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:52,880 quarter of this room stock, which means once these are out, we're out 337 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:58,519 for good. Right now, technicians are hard at work over this, either 338 00:33:58,559 --> 00:34:02,039 trying to replicate them, will develop a new system to keep up the perpetual 339 00:34:02,119 --> 00:34:08,840 slumber. I don't know of their progress, but to me, it's looking 340 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:15,639 dire. The technicians occasionally take a sample to run tests. I understand the 341 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:21,719 urgency, but each time they take a sleep tube to run tests, that's 342 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:29,039 one less we workers have to use. We're burning the candler both ends and 343 00:34:29,119 --> 00:34:34,880 it's worrying. There are a lot of duties that aren't talked about in downtime, 344 00:34:36,079 --> 00:34:39,360 either they've become a mundane part of the job or simply because we want 345 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:45,199 to reprieve from the daunting tasks we are given for One shift is talked about 346 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:52,039 in hush circles, the final shift. This isn't the official name of the 347 00:34:52,119 --> 00:34:59,199 task, but rather a nickname given by the workers when it's been assigned. 348 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:04,960 It's the hot topic of the day because it might be the last time you 349 00:35:05,159 --> 00:35:10,760 ever see that person. The Vinyl shift is performed deep on floor B one 350 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:15,840 hundred. I'm not sure if that's the deepest level of the facility, but 351 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:22,360 it's the furthest I've personally been on. Often there are many experiment sectors within 352 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:29,159 a single floor, but this is an entire level dedicated to this one task. 353 00:35:30,559 --> 00:35:34,800 I entered the longest elevator ride i'd ever been on, and when the 354 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:39,320 doors dinged open, I was met with the whole floor bathed in a green 355 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:47,760 light. The instructions are clear and important. Familiarize yourself for a few minutes. 356 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:55,880 Once the lights turn red, it begins. The floor was like any 357 00:35:55,880 --> 00:36:04,400 other sterile, cold hallways, viewing windows into small labs and various storage units. 358 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:09,280 However, each one I opened was empty, barely any marring on the 359 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:16,119 edges. Everything here is almost like a prop set up to make the appearance 360 00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:22,119 of a normal floor with none of the actual function. I found a few 361 00:36:22,199 --> 00:36:27,639 rooms with human sized storage units and a few torn open ducks that I could 362 00:36:27,639 --> 00:36:31,440 fit into, and mapped out a clear path through the hallways, making mental 363 00:36:31,519 --> 00:36:37,960 notes of any dead ends. When the light turned red, I didn't get 364 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:44,280 as much as i'd of light done, and immediately there was a noise. 365 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:52,119 Something stalked around a few turns, I was no longer alone. The game 366 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:58,639 of cat and mouse had begun. I softly slipped through rooms, I ran 367 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:04,239 when chased. I came dangerously close to death many times. I spent nearly 368 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:07,960 ten minutes in a locker with whatever it was, just knocking on various cabinets 369 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:13,280 in the room. It knocked to my locker a few times, but I 370 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:17,440 held in a whimper long enough for it to not look inside. I was 371 00:37:17,559 --> 00:37:25,320 chased through several hallways, and while looking behind I tripped. I saw the 372 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:32,599 corporate a discarded leg of a previous worker. On the final shift, I 373 00:37:32,679 --> 00:37:39,119 almost got a good look at the thing, large humanoid in shape. Its 374 00:37:39,159 --> 00:37:45,800 silhouette turned the corner and it never slowed. Whether it was for hunger or 375 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:51,639 sport. It wanted to get to me as soon as possible. But as 376 00:37:51,679 --> 00:37:57,760 it skirted around the corner, the lights changed. I was bathed in a 377 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:06,519 tinge of green. When the thing stopped, turned and left. It was 378 00:38:06,639 --> 00:38:12,880 unceremonious. No final confrontation with the creature, no grand escape from death, 379 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:21,239 not even a disgruntled gesture of defeat from the thing. It simply wandered away. 380 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:24,920 There isn't much context to go off. But talking to the few other 381 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:30,639 survivors of the Final Shift that I knew of, we have some ideas. 382 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:37,960 Whatever it is that chases us lives exclusively on that floor, and it's given 383 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:44,679 about an hour to play each week, sometimes more if it's getting restless, 384 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:51,920 and when it plays, it plays for keeps. With my experience added to 385 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:57,519 our collective information, it strictly sticks to the red light green light set up, 386 00:38:59,199 --> 00:39:02,599 but many aunt as lucky. We've lost a lot of people to the 387 00:39:02,639 --> 00:39:07,599 Final shift, so being known as someone who's gotten through a shift it's a 388 00:39:07,599 --> 00:39:14,280 badge of honor. It doesn't get you anything from the higher ups, after 389 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:19,840 all, to them, I'd simply just done my job, but it commands 390 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:24,679 an aura of respect among the workers. It may seem like torture, but 391 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:30,199 after an hour with that thing, I know for a fact none of us 392 00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:36,599 could last much longer than that. So in some twisted way, this system 393 00:39:36,679 --> 00:39:42,960 makes sense. This way, it's only dangerous for an hour. If that 394 00:39:43,079 --> 00:39:47,559 thing ever got restless and decided to play around the whole facility, all hell 395 00:39:47,639 --> 00:39:54,079 would break loose. Though I don't tell this to anyone, I grumble with 396 00:39:54,119 --> 00:40:01,360 the rest that it's a torturous system that should be abolished, and this is 397 00:40:01,519 --> 00:40:07,360 just one of the many duties we have to do. No two days are 398 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:13,480 the same, and for each task or incident I've mentioned, there are hundreds 399 00:40:13,519 --> 00:40:19,000 that I haven't and even then, I haven't seen everything there is to do 400 00:40:19,079 --> 00:40:23,760 here. But hey, it's all part of the job.