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Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcomed stories all the time. Glad you are here.

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Let's get into it. My fascination were traveling to the

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Stars began the night my sister tied. It was a

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cold night we were up in the treehouse using the

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telescope ground pipe gifted me from my seventh birthday, when

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she jobbed a finger toward the sky, pointing at a

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shooting star and shouting, we should make a wish Quenton.

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I remember thinking it was a lot larger than any

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I had seen before, and a few moments later it

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got so big that it blotted out the moon with

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deafening speed, assumed overhead, and smashed into the forest right

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behind our house, toppling massive trees like they were mapsticks,

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and scorching a trail of dead orf to an impact

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sight the size of a small car. My sister and

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I didn't even have to exchange words before we were

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bounding down the rope ladder and rushing into the woods.

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It was smaller than I expected, perhaps the size of

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a bowling ball, but it was unlike anything I'd ever seen,

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dark orange and glowing with the light of a thousand stars.

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What is it? When he asked us, she reached out

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to touch the stone. A moment later, she was screaming

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and flailing on the ground as she clutched her wrist

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with her legs buckle. I ran to her side and

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looked at her palm, both frightened and fascinated to see

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that every bit of her skin had been scorched off.

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I carried her to the house, shouting to my parents

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for help as she kept screaming. As I looked down

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at her, I saw that the bones were beginning to

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spread down her arm, scalding her body like a spurting disease.

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She didn't stop her wills until we made it to

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the hospital. Once in the emergency room, several well dressed

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men pulled my dad aside and talked in hush tones

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about what was happening. I didn't understand many of the words,

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but none of it sounded good. Certain phrases like quarantine

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and special treatment rang in my ears as I tugged

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at Dad's coat. Is Renie going to be okay? Are

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they going to make her better? I asked? He brushed

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me away and tried to remain calm, listening as the

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men told him they would need to take her knee

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immediately before her condition got any worse. What's wrong with her?

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Where are you taking her? I asked frantically. Dad signed paperwork,

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and in a flash, they were wheeling my sister toward

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a private ambulance. Quentin, Quentin, she shouted as she passed

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me by. I will never forget the pannikin her eyes,

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the flush melting that was to forming every part of

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her body. She grabbed hold of my left arm, begging

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me to save her. Her touch was like fire, and

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I instinctively pulled away, feeling my own flesh turn of

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dark black as she was taken away. We were told

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they would update us in forty eight. I was about

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her condition, but we never got a single phone call.

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The stars did this to her, pop, and I'm going

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to find out why, I remember telling Dad. In his

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bitterness and rage, he blamed what happened to her on me.

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If you hadn't filled her head with fantasies or spaceman,

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she would still be here. No one cares about the

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moon any more. Quenn, you need to wake up and

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forget about it, he spat as he dismantled my telescope.

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I promised him I would never bring it up. Again,

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and for the next twenty years, I stayed true to

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my word. Then I met Isaac. It was spring of

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twenty twelve. I was busy frittering away my inheritance on

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college courses that any sane person would avoid, like fringe

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science and parasychology, when we bumped into each other trying

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to check out the same book from the university's library.

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Let's just study together and kill two birds with one stone,

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Isaac suggested. Once we made introductions. Before I knew it,

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I found myself admiring everything about him, from his decisive attitude,

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his calming eyes. I soon learned that, like me, iick

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dreamed of seeing the stars. Pretty crazy. Huh No, not

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at all. I've wanted to be an astronaut since I

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was a kid, but my dad told me it was

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just a stupid dream. Yeah, I guess he isn't wrong. Ha.

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I mean, it's not like the Space Program is going

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around recruiting any more. That's not entirely true. NASA still

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trains men and women every year for lunumissions, and most

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of the one selected wind up station in the is

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s HA. Sounds like you didn't give up on that

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dream after all. Isick. Teased, Well, then let's do it.

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Let's go to the moon. What oh. By studying and

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putting ourselves out there every chance we get, we'll blow

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them away, prove our dad's wrong, and make our own history.

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What do you say? So that's what we did for

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the next year. We took concourses in astronomy and physics,

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engineering and geology, and went at every seminar, every rally,

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and signed up for every conference in the space program.

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We volunteered, campaigned and represented ourselves as much as possible

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for the university, and even started our own club to

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get the cause heard. One week ago, all of our

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efforts finally paid off. The head master pulled us aside

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with urgent news our recruiter from Florida had come to

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speak to us. Isaac and I could hardly contain our

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excitement as we were ushered into a private room and

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suddenly found ourselves standing face to face with the decorated

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officer of a space program. Gentlemen and Commander Alexiferis. Please

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take a seat, the dark haired woman said formerly as

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we shook hands. As you may have assumed, my presence

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here is to determine whether or not you meet the

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criteria to be approved as a candidate for an upcomingly omission.

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Both of you have demonstrated over the past twelve months

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your determination and skills when it comes to such an assignment,

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so none of those abilities are in question here. What

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you need to be aware of is the delicacy of

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the operation. Signing up is tantamounted casting your old life away. Everything, anything,

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and every one you ever knew will be a thing

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of the past. You will become a part of a

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classified group that is not acknowledged by any government on earth,

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and you will be disavowed by all associates and enterprises.

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In short, if you become a part of our team,

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you will be ghosts. She gave us a cut smile

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and encouraged us to discuss amongst ourselves the implications here.

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You haven't even told us what we're getting involved with.

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How can you expect us to be on board with it?

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I wasn't quite as critical, but I did have a

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few questions of my own. What was the deadline for departure,

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would we be given the chance to change our mind

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in the future, and most importantly, what would we be doing.

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Alexa offered what little information she could but stressed that

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any details would only be given once we signed on

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the dotted line. I understood her need for discretion, but

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ice it did not. This feels wrong. Could you give

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us a moment, I said, pulling him out to the hall.

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What's going on with you? Isn't this everything we've worked for?

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I asked, in a hushed tone. I was about to

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ask you the same thing, Quinton. I thought we wanted

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to go to the moon, not become a part of

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some condestined project. We don't know anything to base our

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statements on, or even a way to verify who this

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woman is. It all seems rather sketchy. Don't flack on

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this now. What if this is the only chance we get,

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shouldn't we take a leap of faith. It's just it

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all happened so suddenly and without notice. I know we

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said we wanted this, but can't we do the same

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initiative we've always fought for? Right here? I could see

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in his eyes that he had already made up his mind,

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and it broke my heart. I thought we were in

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this together. His stature stiffened and his expression grew cold. Um,

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I thought, so too, looks like I didn't realize what

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really mattered most. That was the last time he ever

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saw one another. I watched as he left without even

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so much as a good bye, and then turned to

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see Alexa was standing there waiting for my own decision.

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I remember thinking of all the people I wanted to

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prove wrong, Now I was adding the man I loved

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to that list. Over the next twenty four arrows, Alexa

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transported me and two other candidates to an undisclosed location.

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Even steppy foot in the friedle was considered classified, and

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we retreated the way I imagined slaves were pushed down

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to cargo holds and then quickly sedated. When we woke up,

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all I could sense was a rush of cold air,

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our surroundings assembling something akin to a dormant volcano. After

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being given a chance to eat and shower, Alexa took

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us to a conference room where an old skull projector

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was hooked up. What you are about to hear will

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change your perception of the world you are about to leave.

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At first, I thought that it was all just for show,

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to instill a sense of all in our mission, but

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that all changed moments later, when the lives dimmed and

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an image of a massive Luna outprest appeared on screen.

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It looked to be the size of a small city

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hidden among the craters. The structure you are looking at

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is Fort Halsbury. It is the largest man made building

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off planet, next only to the Iss itself. As you

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may have guessed, much like the program you have enlisted in,

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the very existence of Elsbury is considered top secret. She began.

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The next few slides showed us pictures of the facility's

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inner corridors, which included everything from a swimming pool to

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a greenhouse. It was impressive to see, and I wondered

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how long it had taken to build a place like this.

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Came the meat of our discussion. The reason we were

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chosen with already sixteen staff members aboard Emission will be

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to assist and provide support for our current project, that

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of colonization. Sorry to interrupt, but did you just say

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colonization as in people living on the Moon. It's all incorrect, Yes, myam,

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Owen Sanders. I'm going to have to ask you to

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please hold off all questions until the end, mister Sanders,

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water is the most precious resource in the Moon. For

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the past six months, the team has been focusing on

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attempting to breach this pocket of the lunar subterranean areo

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we call Lake seven. It's about four thousand, seven hundred

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feet in diameter and from our scans, as a seventy

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seven percent they could be submit the other materials. Our

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goal is to successfully mind this lake, along with other

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locations and the Moon's surface, over the next ten years,

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and you will be a part of that. I snapped

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back as the next slide showed a large area beneath

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the lunar base that was being mine. I couldn't believe

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my ears, but the excitement only grew from this moment.

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We signed a lot of NDA, went through weeks of

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extensive training and even more to withstand the launch, and

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finally we departed from Earth around mid morning. I remember

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watching the globe fader we amid the stars and thinking

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how lucky I was to be doing exactly what I

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always wanted to do with my life. Lettle data know

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about the secrets that the moonheat to offer would haunt

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me forever. Landing and debriefing with the station's chief happened

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around seventeen hundred hours, and we were given necessary immunizations

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by the Status physician. I did my best to memorize

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all of the names of the senior staff Cyrus Gordon,

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Chief of Operations, Doctor Clara Rowland, Chief of Medicine, Alexa Ferries,

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chief of Security, Professor Professor Francin Landry, Chief astro physicist,

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Kala let Out, Chief of Maintenance, TJ. Armatage, Chief of Engineering,

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and then my direct supervisor, Tylo Bay Chief science Officer

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Owen and I would be working directly underneath him in

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the weeks to come. There's a lot to take in

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and then sure relegistives around in soon enough. But as

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it stands, we're going to need all staff to be

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on high a lot as we enter the subterranean Pocket

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at seven hundred hours tomorrow. Our goal is to stabilize

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the area, determine whether or not its a viable location

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for creating an artificial ocean, and also to excavate all

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resources and determine their usefulness to our primary mission. I

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felt like I was on a roller coaster with all

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the sudden revelations. That evening, I went to the observation tower,

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which faced east toward the shadow of the moon, and

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spent the night watching the stars and thinking about the

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choices that had led me here. They looked different from

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this point of view, don't they, Miss Landry smiled at

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me softly as she joined me to peer up at

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the expanse It's amazing, all these years of discovery to

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come to the stars, and the answers to our future

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might just be beneath our feet this entire time. I

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guess that makes this place a little lonely when everyone

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else is so focused in the lake all I don't

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know about that. I like to think of the pike

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as my fortress of solitude, she saved with the smirk,

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and and when I inquired about the nickname, she gestured

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to the angles of the tower and explained, surely you

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noticed on you descend its peculiar design. I didn't want

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to admit I hadn't paid that much attention, but thankfully

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Landry brushed it off and said, either way, even with

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all the water in the world, was still going to

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need to study these constellations. Understanding the cycles on the

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moon and even cataloging them is something that will take years.

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I knew what it was like to have something you

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wanted for so long be pushed aside. I figured the

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moon was big enough for all of us to dream

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boh five hundred iOS. I got up early, the excitement

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of getting to work or the disorientation of my new

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surroundings making it impossible to sleep. After a short jog,

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shower and breakfast, I met Tyler at the main elevator

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that descends to the core of our dick side. Owen

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00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,799
was already there, seemingly just as wide eyed and eager

244
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as me. Let's go make history, he told me. As

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the elevator shock and rattle through the lunar cross. During

246
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the interim, we all donned our spacesuits, checking our internals systems,

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and activated our comps. That was nearly six hundred by

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the time we arrived at the tunnel. Taler and the

249
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,000
others had been digging for the past several years. The

250
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:08,799
massive drills they used look to be the size of

251
00:11:08,799 --> 00:11:10,960
small cruise ships, and I marveled at the prospect of

252
00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,240
being able to keep all the secret from society. Whistled

253
00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,960
softly as Calub and Professor Landry set up everything needed

254
00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:17,919
to break the final bit of cross which separated us

255
00:11:17,919 --> 00:11:20,519
from the mysterious subterranean pocket. I was given the assignment

256
00:11:20,519 --> 00:11:22,840
to monitor the pressure and geological activity on the small

257
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substation that resembled something like and overdecorated tollbooth. The different

258
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monitors streamed in a ray of date at mile lawnsuring

259
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,320
how all of the different machines worked together to break

260
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through the wall of rock. As soon as Klob got

261
00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:34,720
the drill activated, the pressure of alves and other reader's

262
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,120
immediately spiked, pushing through the lunar surface like it was

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made of putt. The huge machines used the energy of

264
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at least a dozen tanks, blasting and destroying anything that

265
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stood in its path. Laundry was there at my side,

266
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jotting down their readings as quickly as they came in.

267
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And then all before our eyes, a final sigament of

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the wall gave way and collapsed into nothing, and shut

269
00:11:50,919 --> 00:11:53,279
off the machine, and we all held our breath, watching

270
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as the cloud of dust and particles revealed what laid

271
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behind the seal. What I saw was an impossibility, a

272
00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,240
city of lights and angles, unlikeney me by a man

273
00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,879
twisting in smooth architecture, mixed together to form a sprawling

274
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metropolitisan maze of graysigurates, crystalline walkways and mabamated structures. With

275
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a limited artificial light O drill and headgear supplied, it

276
00:12:09,919 --> 00:12:11,759
was difficult to even be sure which side was up

277
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and which was down. Worldlessly, we stepped through the broken

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gate to the alien city, marveling at its beauty and silence.

279
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What is this place, Calb finally asked, his voice filled

280
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with anxiety and fear. Laundry, on the other hand, offered

281
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hope and excitement to the discovery. This is the single

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00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,919
largest discovery in the past hundred years. Imagine it. Civilization

283
00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,559
is proof of life outside our earth, possibly even our

284
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solo system. These buildings are perhaps a million years old

285
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or more, Tyler said, nothing, taking it all in the

286
00:12:38,159 --> 00:12:40,399
group of us, keeping close to one another as we explored.

287
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,080
Something like a whisper of when filled the calms for

288
00:12:43,159 --> 00:12:45,600
a briefest of moments. As I saw strange carvings upon

289
00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:50,120
some of the buildings, an entire language of glyphs, an arithmetic.

290
00:12:50,879 --> 00:12:53,440
I'm a tech, Landry said, reaching out to press her

291
00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,480
glove against the stone. A flash of memory danced crossed

292
00:12:56,519 --> 00:13:01,000
my mind. The whisper grew louder, and I heard Reniee griamount. Instinctively,

293
00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,399
I grabbed Landry's risks before she could fill the structure,

294
00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,759
and I muttered, perhaps we should perform some tests using

295
00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:08,559
the machines first. For a tense moment, I thought the

296
00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,360
whispers would run out any sane thought I had. Then

297
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Landry relaxed and nodded, motioning for Caleb to get the

298
00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,559
scanning equipment. I thought my premonition had averted a crisis,

299
00:13:17,799 --> 00:13:20,720
but one was only just beginning behind us. The beacons

300
00:13:20,759 --> 00:13:23,200
and the drill suddenly activated, and the massive vehicle tumbled

301
00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,600
forward without a driver. Unshouted in surprise as the treads

302
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,399
of the drill pushed part more of the wall, giving

303
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:31,440
the vehicle ample room to move forward. But Owen didn't

304
00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,559
even get a chance to climb aboard the lumbering vehicle

305
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,039
as it picked up speed. The only chance we had

306
00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:37,440
was to get out of the way as it pushed

307
00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:39,639
down segments of the ancient city and rolled straight over

308
00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:42,519
Owan without even as much as slowing down. The sounds

309
00:13:42,519 --> 00:13:45,159
of the tradesmassion and crushing bodylike tinfil is something that

310
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,159
I'll never get out of my head, mixed with a

311
00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,120
screams as his lungs and spying were torn apart. It

312
00:13:50,279 --> 00:13:52,279
only lasted a few seconds, but for the rest of

313
00:13:52,399 --> 00:13:55,639
us it seemed like an eternity. The machine continued forward

314
00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,799
until its mast into one of the massive strutches, and

315
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,559
shut down with a flash of smoke. As it collided

316
00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:02,919
with the stone pylon. The entire city ground and shook,

317
00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,120
as though the collective souls of the dead civilization were

318
00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,480
unquieted with the arrival of our technology. A moment later,

319
00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,039
we realized it was non ordinary impact all, but some

320
00:14:11,159 --> 00:14:14,360
sort of subterranean quake. Tyler shouted to calib and I

321
00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,720
as we were forced to leave Owen's mutilated body behind,

322
00:14:16,919 --> 00:14:18,480
and a rain of stones fell from the top of

323
00:14:18,519 --> 00:14:21,320
the drone back on the outskirts of the underground ruin.

324
00:14:21,519 --> 00:14:23,759
We watched in horror as our chances of exploring and

325
00:14:23,879 --> 00:14:26,960
learning more about it redashed to pieces. Piles of stone

326
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,759
and dout blocked the path, and the three of us

327
00:14:28,799 --> 00:14:31,559
were fortunate to even still be standing as a quake

328
00:14:31,639 --> 00:14:34,879
finally ended, Our combs folded with static again. At first

329
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:36,759
I thought it was the mystic whispers from the city,

330
00:14:37,399 --> 00:14:41,320
but soon we heard the distinctive voice of Armitage Professor Landry.

331
00:14:41,519 --> 00:14:43,360
Are you all right down there? We're a man down

332
00:14:43,519 --> 00:14:46,080
and we've lost access to the tunnels. There was a

333
00:14:46,159 --> 00:14:48,320
long silence as those above let the statement sink in.

334
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,279
Then at last Armitage gave an orator, well you'd better

335
00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,360
head up top. I think shits just got a lot worse.

336
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,320
Eight hundred Iurs Day two. The ride back to the

337
00:14:57,399 --> 00:14:59,919
lunar surface was one filled with silent horror and regretted

338
00:15:00,279 --> 00:15:03,080
what had happened to Officer Sanders. None of us dared

339
00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,399
to even comprehend the experience of finding the city or

340
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,720
the strange things that had happened here, and the stillness

341
00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,080
in the air made me feel at ease. It didn't

342
00:15:10,159 --> 00:15:13,240
let up. When we arrived at the observation deck. Armitage

343
00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,039
and Commander Cyrus were waiting, both checking every system over

344
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,679
and over again, before finally making the announcement that somehow

345
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,240
I had anticipated, we've lost communication with Earth that quick

346
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,720
managed to disrupt our signals, will probably be on our

347
00:15:24,759 --> 00:15:27,879
own for the next forty eight hours. Armitage had other

348
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,200
bad news. Several of the sectors of the moonbase would

349
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,279
need to be sealed off due due to rolling blackouts,

350
00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,440
and maintenance would need to insured that resources were properly distributed.

351
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,639
Cyrus gave us assignments, and before dismissal Calab insisted we

352
00:15:40,679 --> 00:15:43,799
give a small service for Officer Sanders. I was surprised

353
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,679
that I had the least to say about him, despite

354
00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:47,279
the fact that I likely knew him longer than any

355
00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,960
of them. My mind was too fractured by everything else

356
00:15:50,039 --> 00:15:53,000
we had seen and heard. With a brief fulogy given,

357
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:55,519
Tyler ordered me to join doctor Rowland and making sure

358
00:15:55,559 --> 00:15:58,840
that all of the crew were properly treated, starting with yourself,

359
00:15:59,039 --> 00:16:01,639
he added, giving me a cold look of disdain. Was

360
00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:03,799
he disappointed that I hadn't been able to save Owen

361
00:16:04,039 --> 00:16:05,879
or did he think that my abilities as an officer

362
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,799
were lacking in some area I never knew. Ten hundred diars, maintenance,

363
00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:12,799
sweeps and health checks were nearly done by this time.

364
00:16:12,879 --> 00:16:14,559
As Roland and I moved to the staff of the

365
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,600
pike itself, providing them with needed medications, someone messed with

366
00:16:18,679 --> 00:16:21,159
my data. I remember Clara saying as we gathered supplies,

367
00:16:21,799 --> 00:16:24,720
the changes were made without consultation. What happened see for

368
00:16:24,799 --> 00:16:27,240
yourself were aland said as she stepped aside and looked

369
00:16:27,279 --> 00:16:30,879
at the glitching screens. Occasionally it would show strange mockings

370
00:16:30,919 --> 00:16:32,799
and symbols that reminded me of the glyphs we had

371
00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:34,960
seen in the subterranean city, and that alone gave me

372
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,919
a chill. Was it possible that some curse had been

373
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,200
placed upon us simply for opening the chasm? What do

374
00:16:39,279 --> 00:16:42,679
you think it means? The doctor said. I didn't think

375
00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:44,559
it would be proper for me to speculate, so I

376
00:16:44,639 --> 00:16:47,559
quietly followed her towards the elevator and shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

377
00:16:48,159 --> 00:16:50,000
What happened down there, I don't even know if I

378
00:16:50,039 --> 00:16:52,039
could explain it, I admitted, as we made it to

379
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,200
the observation deck. I was hoping to find some sense

380
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,879
of normalcy here amid my fellow scientists. But once I

381
00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,840
saw the disarray of the equipment that quickly fitted the

382
00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,440
power was only functioning at thirteen percent, with only a

383
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,920
few key lights even glowing. In the dark room in

384
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,319
the middle, I spotted Professor Laundry staring up at the

385
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,680
massive telescope she used, likely on the daily basis. She

386
00:17:11,759 --> 00:17:13,519
seemed to have a distant and confused look on her

387
00:17:13,559 --> 00:17:16,680
face as Roland and I approached her. Ah, Doctor Roland,

388
00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,240
what brings you here? Laundry? Asked us would check her vitals.

389
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,319
Trimander wants to make sure everything is all right after

390
00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:25,559
the quake. Looks like you hit it pretty hard in here,

391
00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:28,599
Roland answered. As I was putting the pressure cuff on,

392
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,160
Laundry looked down at the black and skin on my wrist,

393
00:17:31,279 --> 00:17:33,759
her as widening as she pulled away. How did you

394
00:17:33,839 --> 00:17:37,440
get that? It's nothing? It's a birthmark, I said reflexively.

395
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,160
Tuggy must leave down to hide the scar. That doesn't

396
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,640
look like any birth mark IFF ever seen, Roland pointed out,

397
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,359
as she too had a look. Something clicked for Laundry

398
00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:46,920
as she stood up and had a frightened look on

399
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,839
her face. The stones you knew I shouldn't touch them.

400
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,599
You've seen them before, I grimisce and explain, not exactly,

401
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,640
it was just a feeling. When I was young, my

402
00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,920
sister died from touching a meteorite. The two women silently

403
00:18:00,039 --> 00:18:02,200
considered what I was telling them, before Laundry turned to

404
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,440
the telescope and remarked, perhaps that is also what is

405
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,400
happening here. Maybe we are all dying for descretion of

406
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,480
a tune. What are you two talking about? Does this

407
00:18:10,559 --> 00:18:13,319
have to do with what happened to Sanders. Cyrus is

408
00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,200
still not telling the crew, Landry said with a laugh

409
00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,799
as she pressed her eyes against the telescope. Does he

410
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,599
think he's an Ostrich sticking his head in the sand

411
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,119
to hide from his problems. I think we're all just

412
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,920
a little on edge, I admitted a moment later, as

413
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,519
though to eccuma sentiment. Another loud alarm blowed across the

414
00:18:28,599 --> 00:18:32,920
moon base. This is off, Sirpherus. We're detecting severe weather

415
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,880
in the northern sector of the base. All personnel are

416
00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,119
advised to seek shelter, Alexis said over the PA system

417
00:18:39,759 --> 00:18:43,880
A meter shower now, Roland whispered as we helped Professor

418
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,160
Lundry toward the elevator. This is no coincidence. Something down

419
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,880
on that chasm awakened a terrible evil. It's going to

420
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,839
destroy us all, Landry said frantically, as all of us

421
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,759
took the transport down from the observatory. I think he

422
00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,519
might be overreacting, I told her. As I looked across

423
00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:02,599
the quietly a landscape toward the northern valley, I could

424
00:19:02,599 --> 00:19:04,799
see at least six massive stones from the sky careening

425
00:19:04,839 --> 00:19:07,319
toward us, and my mind flashed back to those final

426
00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,920
moments where he was alive. What if the same thing

427
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,960
happened here? One of the stones smashed into the eastern

428
00:19:13,039 --> 00:19:15,400
zone of the Osbury, sending up clouds of dust as

429
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,160
our elevator shook and then ferros on its descent. The

430
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,000
sudden loss of power sent Professor Landry into a full panic,

431
00:19:21,039 --> 00:19:23,960
and she clung to my shirt. Quentin, do you hear that?

432
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,759
All of us got deathly silent as we listened, and

433
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:28,920
I thought I heard the strange whispers again, but this

434
00:19:29,079 --> 00:19:32,279
time they were far more vaint. Roland interrupted the quiet

435
00:19:32,279 --> 00:19:34,079
as she tried the calm and remarked, I can't get

436
00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,319
anyone to respond. We'll have to climb down. I realized

437
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,119
most of us were already wearing the needy gear, but

438
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,799
Professor Landry seemed against the idea entirely. We go out

439
00:19:43,839 --> 00:19:46,759
there and we could die. Whatever this entity is seemed

440
00:19:46,759 --> 00:19:49,720
to have some control over our machinery. Clara and I

441
00:19:49,799 --> 00:19:52,480
ignored her concerns and started to gear up. We could

442
00:19:52,519 --> 00:19:55,000
see that another media was spiraling towards us a ro day,

443
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,960
so waiting for another solution wasn't an option. With a

444
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,720
sense of urgency, I activated my oxygen supply and told

445
00:20:00,759 --> 00:20:03,359
Landry to do the same. Ye stay here and you'll

446
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,559
die with or without the help of any cosmic creature.

447
00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,759
I warned her. That seemed to jold her back to

448
00:20:08,839 --> 00:20:11,119
her senses, and as we prepared for the cold train

449
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,400
of the exterior, Roland used one of the tools on

450
00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,519
her suit to unlatch the emergency hatch at the bottom

451
00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:18,480
of the transport. As the metallic frame floated toward the

452
00:20:18,559 --> 00:20:22,039
void of space, Roland gave a silent countdown down, and

453
00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,119
then went first, slowly drifting down the side of the

454
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,680
tower to the main roof of the base. I insisted

455
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,920
Landry go next, and thankfully the scatterbrain professor didn't object.

456
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,480
The meteor was almost on top of us. I swear

457
00:20:33,519 --> 00:20:36,279
to you it sounded like it was screaming. In fact,

458
00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,519
as I followed the others down the lawnfull it became

459
00:20:38,559 --> 00:20:41,759
impossible to hear anything else except that mindless shriek. Then

460
00:20:41,839 --> 00:20:44,119
the meter smashed directly into the side of the elevator

461
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,200
we had just been standing inside. As our magnetic boots

462
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,279
slatch on to the roof, bits of debris rushed down

463
00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,200
upon us. Even with low gravity, the force of the

464
00:20:52,279 --> 00:20:54,240
meta hitting the turret caused the shower of metal to

465
00:20:54,279 --> 00:20:57,240
be didley. Thankfully, most of it scattered across the roof

466
00:20:57,279 --> 00:20:59,160
of the base without scratching us. But as we all

467
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:00,960
looked back up to see what else had been damaged,

468
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,880
I discovered we were hardly out of the woods. Yet

469
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,640
the collision had split apart the meteor on its side,

470
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,759
revealing something emerging as though from an egg. I heard

471
00:21:08,839 --> 00:21:10,799
Landry scream out in terror as it pushed apart the

472
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,079
rock Tumi it had been encased in for perhaps a millennia,

473
00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,519
and the Strange, a morphous creature, appeared down at us

474
00:21:15,559 --> 00:21:19,240
with the hundred eyes inside now, Roland said, as we

475
00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:22,200
struggled to open the hatch to the Pike substation. Landry

476
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,519
stood paralyzed, staring at the alien like it was a

477
00:21:24,599 --> 00:21:26,359
guard to be revered, and I growed to hold of

478
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,599
her body, forcing her through the airlock as we protected

479
00:21:28,599 --> 00:21:32,400
ourselves from the invader. What the fuck is that? Roland muttered,

480
00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:34,240
as the creature started to claw at the surface of

481
00:21:34,279 --> 00:21:37,160
the roof. Before any of us got a chance to speculate,

482
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,640
we sawd the Strange being perform another impossible feat. It

483
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,440
seemed to examine the structure, as though searching for weakness.

484
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:46,799
Then before our eyes, it appeared to mount and flatten

485
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,079
its body, pushing through the thin cracks of the metallic

486
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,359
membrane to reach us. Landry screened again as we hurried

487
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,799
down the stairs, and the doctor tried the calms again.

488
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,400
Shut down this entire sector. Seal it off dowet now,

489
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,279
the doctor ordered. We were just barely past the first

490
00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:05,640
barrier when the creature broke through, dropping on to the

491
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,599
floor behind us with a resounding fut The doctor made

492
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,440
the mistake of looking back like the wife of Lot.

493
00:22:11,599 --> 00:22:14,160
It proved to be her undoing. Something caught a hold

494
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,960
of her foot and she fell. Landry hesitated to help,

495
00:22:17,039 --> 00:22:19,680
but I pulled us alarm. The monster was nearly on

496
00:22:19,799 --> 00:22:21,880
top of us and the seal was closing on the

497
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,279
other side. As Landry started to have a panic attack,

498
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,960
I activated the secondary seal, listening as Doctor Roland was

499
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:31,640
the monster's first victim. Puentin, what's happened? Alex asked over

500
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,359
the comes. Once both seals one place. I knew it

501
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,519
wouldn't hold off the creature forever, but it would give

502
00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:38,359
us time to make it to the forward command center.

503
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,519
We're on our way to you. We'll explain what's there,

504
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,000
I said, as I help Laundry to her feet. Snap

505
00:22:45,079 --> 00:22:47,759
out of it, I said, as I shook her. Her

506
00:22:47,799 --> 00:22:50,200
puffy eyes darted toward the doors. We heard the creature

507
00:22:50,279 --> 00:22:53,000
let out a howl and then suddenly grew silent. We

508
00:22:53,039 --> 00:22:54,799
didn't stay around long enough to see if it was

509
00:22:54,839 --> 00:22:58,559
going to do more than that. Eleven hundred iOS. Tyler

510
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,559
gave Professor Landry a milestive As I debriefed the commander

511
00:23:01,559 --> 00:23:03,720
and Alex about the creature and the incident and the pike.

512
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,480
Both of them listened quietly, without saying a word as

513
00:23:06,519 --> 00:23:09,079
I finished the astonishing tale. And then at last Alex

514
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,839
made the first inquiry. And you said, you lost all

515
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,839
functions to the systems. It was like the creature managed

516
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,880
to take them over, I told them. She gestured for

517
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,720
me to follow her over to one of the monitors,

518
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,960
where Armitage was reviewing security footage of the incident. I

519
00:23:23,039 --> 00:23:25,599
watched his roland Landry and I descended after the meteor

520
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,640
struck and scrambled into the base, But there was no

521
00:23:27,799 --> 00:23:30,720
sign of the creature anywhere, no indication that it had

522
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,480
ever killed the doctor. As the Professor and I closed

523
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,440
the door on feed. All that we had locked out

524
00:23:35,519 --> 00:23:40,000
was the doctor herself. I don't understand that isn't what happened,

525
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,279
I suttered, as I stepped away from the screen. We're

526
00:23:43,319 --> 00:23:45,640
considering on sealing the sector to have my security team

527
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,759
take a second look. Commander Cyrus proclaimed, No, you do

528
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,359
that and the creature will kill you. I told them,

529
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,119
but all of them gave me a skeptical look. Alexi

530
00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:56,920
placed her hand on my shoulder and gave me a

531
00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,880
comforting squeeze. What we experienced down below with sand was terrifying.

532
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,519
No one is denying that, and the meta storm has

533
00:24:04,599 --> 00:24:07,720
likely also caused you injy stress. I stepped away from her,

534
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,680
realizing what she was implying. You think that Laundry and

535
00:24:10,759 --> 00:24:14,279
I made it up, certainly, not in your mind. The

536
00:24:14,319 --> 00:24:17,240
creature was quite real, and that's all. It was a

537
00:24:17,319 --> 00:24:21,920
hallucination of your anxiety. Commander Cyrus responded, Then, how do

538
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,039
you account for doctor Rowland's disappearance? Surely I'm not hallucinating that,

539
00:24:26,839 --> 00:24:29,519
I snapped back. Alexe let out of SiGe as she

540
00:24:29,559 --> 00:24:32,039
glanced over to Willandry was finally calming down and remarked,

541
00:24:32,079 --> 00:24:34,680
don't make me sedate you to Quenyon. The crew has

542
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,359
been through enough. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Fine,

543
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,039
open the seal. You'll see for yourself what the beast

544
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,720
did to Roland. I told them. Both Cyrus and the

545
00:24:44,759 --> 00:24:47,799
security chief exchanged a worried glance, and then gave the orders.

546
00:24:48,519 --> 00:24:51,200
I don't know what I was expecting to happen. Of course,

547
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,039
nothing was there, not even the fragments of Roland's body.

548
00:24:54,599 --> 00:24:57,279
Let's try and find doctor Roland immediately. It's quite likely

549
00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:59,880
she also may be experiencing these vivid hallucinations. Then come

550
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:01,839
with you, I told her, as I snuck a small

551
00:25:01,839 --> 00:25:04,480
surgical blade into my pocket. I don't know what I

552
00:25:04,559 --> 00:25:06,839
hoped to accomplish with this minuscule weapon, but I didn't

553
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,519
want them to find whatever was controlling Roland's body and

554
00:25:09,599 --> 00:25:13,000
then have the element of surprise. Alongside Alexa and Tyler,

555
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:15,519
we marched to the base of the pike. I scanned

556
00:25:15,519 --> 00:25:17,839
the corridor for the clal marks a strange monster at may,

557
00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:20,799
only to see nothing at all. No twisted metal was

558
00:25:20,839 --> 00:25:22,599
bent out of shape, not even a single drop of

559
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,359
blood from where Roland had dripped. It didn't make sense

560
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,640
what I had seen felt real. I puzzled over it

561
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,640
a moment longer. As we turned the corridor and I

562
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,759
saw doctor Roland lying still on the coal floor. Alex

563
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,200
called for two nurses to arrive with the stretchers should

564
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,039
check to see if Roland had sustained any injuries. We

565
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,319
can't even be sure this thing is Clara, I whispered.

566
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,079
Tyler glared at me, pushing me back as he helped

567
00:25:44,079 --> 00:25:47,759
lift the physician off the floor. Vitals appear stable. She's

568
00:25:47,799 --> 00:25:50,720
going to be or right, Captain Alexis said, with a nod.

569
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,559
I saw a moment of opportunity to test my theory

570
00:25:53,559 --> 00:25:56,640
and scratched Kara's left wrist. A Two officers next to

571
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:58,400
me made a soft half in surprise as I nicked

572
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,839
a notary, but Roland didn't awaken and read blood drip

573
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,839
from the cut. Officer, I'm going to have to quarantine

574
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,599
you if you pull another stunt like that, Alexis knoled

575
00:26:06,599 --> 00:26:08,559
as she grabbed the surgical tool out of my hand.

576
00:26:09,319 --> 00:26:11,839
I was so sure it wasn't her, I whispered. I

577
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,799
watched as the medical team took her away, and then

578
00:26:13,839 --> 00:26:15,559
stared down at the small drop of blood that now

579
00:26:15,599 --> 00:26:18,119
stained the towel floor. What had happened here to make

580
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:22,960
my nightmares seem surreal. Fourteen hundred hours, Commander Cyrus ordered

581
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,680
Officer Armitage and the other maintenance staff to begin making

582
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,960
repairs to the Pike's elevator and to the other segments

583
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,799
of the Beasts that were affected by the meteor shower.

584
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:32,680
I also learned that Doctor Clara made a quick recovery

585
00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,759
and has been assisting Landry and others on board the

586
00:26:34,839 --> 00:26:37,200
Osbury to go up with a recent string of traumatic events.

587
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,920
Given that I too was affected by this, I have

588
00:26:40,039 --> 00:26:42,039
chosen to see the doctor and to apologize for my

589
00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:46,279
actions against her. Fifteen hundred hours, Roland arranged to see

590
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:47,960
me and to run anikiji to see if I may

591
00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:50,559
be suffering from PTSD from Sandra's death. But I am

592
00:26:50,599 --> 00:26:53,680
afraid I no longer feel certain of her trustreliness. She

593
00:26:53,799 --> 00:26:56,359
performed the test perfectly, just like I thought she would,

594
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,200
But one thing I noted as she was messing with

595
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,039
her equipment in her lab. The woman cast me no

596
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,839
shadow upon the foe or any of the surroundings. I

597
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:04,880
double check as I stood up and noticed that I

598
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,400
could see everyone else's shadows, just not hers, whoever or

599
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,839
whatever this was. Whoever or whatever this is, it isn't

600
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,839
Doctor Clara Rowland. Until I can find out the truth,

601
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,640
I will be sealing myself in my quarters. Day four,

602
00:27:16,799 --> 00:27:18,920
twenty one hundred hours. Sleep is something that takes some

603
00:27:19,039 --> 00:27:21,119
time getting used to unlimit a gravity of the moon,

604
00:27:21,319 --> 00:27:24,960
even under normal circumstances. The last twenty four hours have

605
00:27:25,039 --> 00:27:28,319
been anything except, and I was bordering on hallucinations. I

606
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,720
insisted that I did not need a sedative, especially not

607
00:27:30,799 --> 00:27:33,119
coming from doctor Rowland, whom I was still convinced was

608
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,400
not entirely human. So instead I sealed myself in my

609
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,519
room and forced exhaustion to take hold of my body

610
00:27:38,559 --> 00:27:41,279
the old fashioned way to think. I came all the

611
00:27:41,319 --> 00:27:43,200
way to the moon to explore, only to feel the

612
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,079
safest in a room no wider than a small car.

613
00:27:45,759 --> 00:27:48,400
The familiar angles and soothing colors made me feel at ease,

614
00:27:48,599 --> 00:27:51,759
and eventually I drifted off. Although after the experience I

615
00:27:51,799 --> 00:27:53,920
had amid my dreams, I am quick to recognize that

616
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,799
perhaps since mania is a safer rep I was being

617
00:27:56,839 --> 00:27:59,200
haunted by faceless creatures in the forest of my childhood,

618
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,599
trying desperately to hide in the darkness to the woods offer,

619
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,279
but the monster knew my every move. I paused to

620
00:28:04,319 --> 00:28:06,200
catch my breath, trying not to let the scent linger

621
00:28:06,279 --> 00:28:08,079
for too long to remind my adult brain it was

622
00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:09,799
only a nightmare that I needed to wake up from.

623
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,680
But the incessant shrill cries of the beast made instinct

624
00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:15,000
take over, and I kept running. I could see my

625
00:28:15,079 --> 00:28:16,759
old home, the one Runer and I grew up in,

626
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,799
and I told myself that if I reached that place,

627
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,079
I would be safe. As though emulating this, the screams

628
00:28:22,079 --> 00:28:24,440
from the alien grew fainter as I got closer and closer.

629
00:28:25,079 --> 00:28:26,799
I was going to make it, but another voice rang

630
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,440
clear in my head telling me to stop. My sister

631
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,160
were Nie, don't, don't do it, Quintin, don't, she kept repeating,

632
00:28:33,559 --> 00:28:35,160
crying out to me. A froze in the dream and

633
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,680
saw the monster right on top of me. It raised

634
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,880
its failing body to crush me completely. And it was

635
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,519
only in those last fain seconds of sanity I managed

636
00:28:42,559 --> 00:28:45,160
to take over my body and awaken. When I jolted

637
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,519
from my bed, I saw strange yet from ely scratches

638
00:28:47,559 --> 00:28:50,440
on my body, the nightmare had some connection to reality,

639
00:28:50,599 --> 00:28:52,720
even if it was a tether, and I didn't fully understand.

640
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,720
I needed to work, the anxious restlessness of my mind

641
00:28:55,759 --> 00:28:58,119
telling me that any more sleep could kill me. So

642
00:28:58,279 --> 00:29:01,160
I began to wander the holes of the els, searching aimlessly,

643
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,839
almost for a sense of normalcy. I soon found that

644
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,279
none existed any longer. Here among the stars. Alexa and

645
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,000
her security detail were doing their best to keep everyone working.

646
00:29:10,599 --> 00:29:12,960
The repairs to the eastern section, where the meter had

647
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,200
done the most damage, would likely take weeks to finish,

648
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,839
and the pick itself was closed down until further notice.

649
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,559
I thought you were given orders to rest, Tyler said,

650
00:29:20,559 --> 00:29:22,880
as I approached where he and the remaining science officers

651
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,680
were sitting by Alena Drowne to go up into the

652
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,880
wreckage of the tower and take footage of it. I

653
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:28,519
figured I could see what you were screwing up, and

654
00:29:28,519 --> 00:29:30,839
it might allow me to sleep, I countered, as I

655
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:32,839
saw them finish up the camera feed. Now they would

656
00:29:32,839 --> 00:29:35,279
see everything it did when it traveled into that broken structure.

657
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,519
He set it upon a remotely controlled server. I asked,

658
00:29:38,559 --> 00:29:40,359
how's I checked the specks. Just in case what he

659
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:43,079
said about the city below is correct, I felt a

660
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,759
sigh of relief worsh over me to think that at

661
00:29:44,839 --> 00:29:47,240
least he was considering the possibility that I wasn't crazy,

662
00:29:47,319 --> 00:29:49,400
But that only reminded me that everyone on the base

663
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,279
was still on edge, and nothing was given. As far

664
00:29:51,319 --> 00:29:54,160
as answers, what do you think happened? I was put

665
00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,000
to him. He shook his head, his eyes showing a

666
00:29:56,079 --> 00:29:58,640
hint of fear that place was haunted. I know we

667
00:29:58,759 --> 00:30:00,680
were meant to be scientists, but there is little in

668
00:30:00,759 --> 00:30:03,119
our conventional textbooks that can explain what we saw there

669
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,319
with our own eyes. Physics cannot solve this, and I'm

670
00:30:06,319 --> 00:30:09,799
afraid our commanding staff doesn't quite understand that. He told

671
00:30:09,839 --> 00:30:11,480
me so, malt, Are you saying that we should try

672
00:30:11,599 --> 00:30:14,279
less conventional methods, something connected to French science or the

673
00:30:14,319 --> 00:30:16,839
paranormal Commander Gordon hired us for our field to study.

674
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:18,720
Maybe it was meant to be that yours included such

675
00:30:18,759 --> 00:30:21,240
a noorthodox ideas. I shrouded it off and remarked, even

676
00:30:21,319 --> 00:30:23,119
if that is true, how would we go about giving

677
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,079
something like that a triff? He didn't offer a theory

678
00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:27,200
and return to work, almost as though he thought that

679
00:30:27,279 --> 00:30:29,960
continuing our discussion was dangerous. Were Cyrus and the other

680
00:30:30,039 --> 00:30:32,200
senior staff listening and on us. I decided my new

681
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,279
task would be to find Professor Lundry and make sure

682
00:30:34,359 --> 00:30:36,519
she was all right. So I left Tyler to his

683
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,680
work and wanted the southern quarters. I was midway down

684
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:40,400
the flight of stairs to the base to Nasim when

685
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,799
I heard what sounded like scratching coming from inside the walls.

686
00:30:42,839 --> 00:30:44,400
Given that I have been prone to hearing things in

687
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,400
the last forty eight I was that mounted to nothing.

688
00:30:46,519 --> 00:30:48,279
I ignored it at first, but the more I tried

689
00:30:48,319 --> 00:30:50,319
to quiet the noise, the louder it seemed to grow,

690
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,079
a constant, incessant frustration of nails and calls digging their

691
00:30:53,119 --> 00:30:54,920
way out of the walls. Where was it coming from?

692
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,640
Suddenly all that mattered was figuring it out. I imagined

693
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,319
that if someone else with her in those corridors and

694
00:30:59,359 --> 00:31:01,680
saw me wandering about, I would have looked like a maman,

695
00:31:01,799 --> 00:31:03,799
and maybe that was the correct assumption to make. The

696
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,119
ires were racing by in the twilight as I scrumbled

697
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,119
to find the noise leading me back toward the library,

698
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,359
and quiet, seething voice told me this is where I

699
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,759
needed to go. Stepping inside, I found myself and made

700
00:31:12,759 --> 00:31:14,599
the disarray of bucks, some powered all the way up

701
00:31:14,599 --> 00:31:16,400
to the ceiling of the room. And also the scratching.

702
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:18,759
It was louder, hear, and more persistent, like claws on

703
00:31:18,839 --> 00:31:21,039
a chopboard. It didn't take me along to find the source.

704
00:31:21,119 --> 00:31:23,599
Professor Landry was standing alone near the west wall, having

705
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:25,799
cleared the shelves and pushed the case itself aside. She

706
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,519
was scrolling strange markings on the metallic plait in itself.

707
00:31:28,599 --> 00:31:30,759
I recognized the symbols instantly as a glizz from the

708
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:33,519
city below. How she memorized them so quickly, I wondered,

709
00:31:33,559 --> 00:31:35,559
as I slowly stepped toward her, trying to break her

710
00:31:35,559 --> 00:31:37,799
from her methodical task of scrubbling. When she turned her

711
00:31:37,839 --> 00:31:39,799
eyes to me, always saw was a blank void. The

712
00:31:39,839 --> 00:31:42,160
Professor was called in a trance that was beyond her control.

713
00:31:42,279 --> 00:31:44,559
She pushed me away and continued the writing, muttering to

714
00:31:44,599 --> 00:31:46,119
herself the need to finish it, as though it were

715
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:48,559
some elaborate puzzle. I focused on the language as well,

716
00:31:48,799 --> 00:31:50,519
trying my best to see if there were patterns to

717
00:31:50,519 --> 00:31:53,400
the madness. Surely there were secrets beyond our comprehension, if

718
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,000
only we could make sense to it. What could this

719
00:31:55,119 --> 00:31:57,880
possibly be? I whispered. To my surprise, Laundry broke free

720
00:31:57,920 --> 00:31:59,599
from her had not extayed, and offered a guess, a

721
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,720
prophet of blood, a war to be raged between tea

722
00:32:01,759 --> 00:32:04,920
guards both of discord and chaos, and our world the battleground.

723
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,759
Their bones tell us how it will end, the angles,

724
00:32:06,839 --> 00:32:09,440
the intricate shapes that go bey under dimensions. We understand.

725
00:32:09,599 --> 00:32:11,759
They are telling us a story quen. All we need

726
00:32:11,839 --> 00:32:13,680
to do is open our minds and accept the call.

727
00:32:13,799 --> 00:32:15,480
She hissed as she placed my hand upon the cold

728
00:32:15,519 --> 00:32:17,920
metal surface. In a bizarre moment, out of vision, I

729
00:32:18,079 --> 00:32:20,319
was suddenly back on earth, standing on a mounted up.

730
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,880
Laundry was gone as well, replaced by my dear sister.

731
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,440
When Nee look scared, her eyes wandered across the countryside

732
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:27,079
as she gested for me to follow. They are thick,

733
00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:29,359
As I hesitated to follow. Surely this wasn't real. My

734
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,279
sister looked as though she had aged far more than

735
00:32:31,319 --> 00:32:33,720
I remembered when she was alive, and the world around

736
00:32:33,799 --> 00:32:36,119
us felt almost primordial, a place of ghosts and spirit.

737
00:32:36,279 --> 00:32:37,720
But I saw no path to take me back to

738
00:32:37,839 --> 00:32:39,680
where I came room, so I did walk would have

739
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:41,880
done at Wining Trailed or the Deep Valley. The dark

740
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,119
consumed everything here, and amid the shadows, I saw a

741
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,480
congregation of people that were waiting for us. Yes, it

742
00:32:46,559 --> 00:32:48,799
felt as if they were intentionally holding off whatever their

743
00:32:48,799 --> 00:32:51,440
intentions were because of our presence. A massive bonfire flickered

744
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:53,599
and tipnatized them as we drew closer, but I could

745
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:55,799
not determine from where it'd burned. They turned their attention

746
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,160
to us, eyes as placid as a swelling ocean, and

747
00:32:58,279 --> 00:33:00,400
gave me a set of instructions. The shadow a spread

748
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,400
and rice to consume that which belongs to the undying.

749
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:04,480
Your blood must be offered to stop the infection. Take

750
00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:07,039
the blade of unholy sacrifice. I didn't understand why I

751
00:33:07,079 --> 00:33:09,160
will and the obeyed, but had reached toward the fire,

752
00:33:09,319 --> 00:33:11,799
I made the scorching pain. I felt something sharp and deadly.

753
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:13,680
When I pulled up my hand, I saw that I

754
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,240
had retrieved dark file blade. Somehow I knew it had

755
00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:18,400
killed many before me, and it would again strike down

756
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,799
hundreds after I was gone. I heard rnebeck for death.

757
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:22,720
She was burning again before my eyes, as a child

758
00:33:22,799 --> 00:33:24,400
desperate to be free of the paint the blade could

759
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,359
offer her that I could be her salvation. They grubbed

760
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,240
her and pinned her to the ground, holding the blade

761
00:33:28,279 --> 00:33:30,200
near her chest. She had fear in her eyes, but

762
00:33:30,279 --> 00:33:32,200
I whispered that it would be okay. Let me help you,

763
00:33:32,319 --> 00:33:35,079
I said. She didn't resist, and I plunged the knife

764
00:33:35,079 --> 00:33:37,799
into her chest over and over. I had to finish it.

765
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:40,039
I had to help my sister from the pain she

766
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,519
was enduring. Then my sister started to fade away. She

767
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,599
was replaced with the professor that I had been speaking

768
00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:48,160
with only moments earlier, except the wounds were still the same.

769
00:33:48,839 --> 00:33:51,519
Landry was choking on her own blood, and somehow or another,

770
00:33:51,599 --> 00:33:53,720
the knife, I thought, which was only my imagination, was

771
00:33:53,759 --> 00:33:56,119
there in my hand. I dropped it and stood up,

772
00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:57,960
my own clothes covered in blood. As I called out

773
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,359
for help, The archives were empty, safe from me. Then

774
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,319
I saw something beyond a nightmare. It stretched and pushed

775
00:34:04,359 --> 00:34:06,319
its way out of Laundry's rot, pushing his skin out

776
00:34:06,359 --> 00:34:08,400
of the way a puff fish could, But it was

777
00:34:08,519 --> 00:34:10,400
like a waft of smoke that somehow had a form

778
00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:12,599
of its own. It occurred to me this being was

779
00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:14,639
reminiscent of the one that called out of Emethea, the

780
00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:17,719
one Alexir and the Commander said did not exist, as

781
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:20,159
it used to melt it and destroyed Laandry's body. They

782
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,440
rose and found the security alarm, trying to get help

783
00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:24,760
as fast as I could. I didn't want my own

784
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,280
sanity tested again if this creature could somehow slip her

785
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:29,719
way into whatever dream I had been born from. The

786
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,119
creatures slithered and pushed cross the tower for trying to

787
00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:34,519
find me, shrieking into the air and hungry for my blood.

788
00:34:35,079 --> 00:34:36,840
It reminded me of what the vision had told me

789
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,519
about these creatures. They were seeking vessels corporal forms to

790
00:34:40,599 --> 00:34:44,079
control and guide as puppets. At my side, t J appeared,

791
00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:46,719
pushing his way toward Laundry and calling out for more help.

792
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,360
I heard the creatures gnarl and began to hunt him,

793
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,559
and I held my ground, trying to tell myself this

794
00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:54,280
wasn't real. Armor had reached down to touch Laundry and

795
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,360
tried to give her aid, the monster stretching its body

796
00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:00,440
on top of him. Quentin, what have you done? He asked,

797
00:35:00,519 --> 00:35:02,960
turning toward me. Yet he didn't react toward the creature.

798
00:35:03,639 --> 00:35:05,480
Was it not there at all? Or was I the

799
00:35:05,559 --> 00:35:08,440
only one seeing its wicked power, I moved toward it,

800
00:35:08,519 --> 00:35:10,760
determined to see vomitage, even if it was only from

801
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:14,000
my own broken mind. I slammed toward the faceless monster

802
00:35:14,199 --> 00:35:16,880
and pushed it against the wall. I heard j Cussen

803
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:20,400
exclaim something He was pinned as well. Would I harm

804
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,920
him the same way I had Landry. I could see

805
00:35:23,039 --> 00:35:26,079
myself doing it easily. Then the creature began to melt

806
00:35:26,119 --> 00:35:28,039
and use into him, his eyes and mouth mishing with

807
00:35:28,119 --> 00:35:30,599
it as it entered his body. I told myself I

808
00:35:30,639 --> 00:35:32,800
wouldn't let it happen, but I was powerless to stop it.

809
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,920
Others rushed into the room, seeing the violence, and took

810
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,840
us apart. I kept kicking and screaming until it lost.

811
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,960
Tyler plunged a syringe into my neck. Darkness was far

812
00:35:42,039 --> 00:35:44,920
more welcoming this time. No nightmares were going to harm

813
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,400
me in this cold, dense folk. It was the waking

814
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:51,800
I feared nine hundred iyears day in five when Captain

815
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,239
Olexer reviewed the tapes. This time I knew what to expect.

816
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,039
My fractured mind was showing the monsters that only I

817
00:35:57,039 --> 00:35:59,280
could see, driving me to the point of insanity, where

818
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,159
I was harming my tea emits. Landry was dead, the

819
00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:04,559
loss of blood proving too fatal for her, and Homitage

820
00:36:04,639 --> 00:36:07,440
was in critical condition, festering some infection that doctor Rowland

821
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,280
claymed she didn't comprehend. There's one thing that does fit

822
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,760
with your story, though, these symbols. We don't know what

823
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:15,360
they are, and yet they seem to possess you in

824
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,880
friends in, Alexa commented as she examined the still screens again,

825
00:36:19,039 --> 00:36:21,480
what does it all mean? I whispered. I saw a

826
00:36:21,519 --> 00:36:23,199
glint of doubt in her eyes. I sat up and

827
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:26,519
realized something. You've seen these symbols before. Tell me where

828
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,239
was it on earth? The captain nodded and admitted, It's

829
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,880
like a half remembered dream. It was an ancient book

830
00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,000
of witchcraft and prophecy. I hardly can believe I forgot

831
00:36:36,079 --> 00:36:39,400
it in college. A thing gave me nightmares. She turned

832
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,559
to where a mortgage was slowly coming back around, and

833
00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,360
ordered me to stay put, checking on his vitals. I

834
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,639
hated to be on the sidelines, but what else could

835
00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:48,880
I do. I was lucky that I hadn't been locked

836
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,679
away like a fairer animal. I watched from the soundproof

837
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,360
glass to see Ferri's reaction as doctor Rowland gave them

838
00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:56,920
some results from the lab. The way the captain became

839
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,119
animated and I rate told me all I needed to know.

840
00:37:00,039 --> 00:37:02,320
Something happened in the archives that couldn't be accounted for.

841
00:37:03,079 --> 00:37:05,199
Perhaps the alien life from I had imagined was in

842
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,760
fact detectable after all. For some reason, this terrible revelation

843
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,280
was comforting to me fifteen hundred hours, day five. That

844
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,199
comfort didn't last long, though, for soon the madness we

845
00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,719
have confirmed as being real finally to cold of Varmitage.

846
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:19,920
I was in an out of sleep, trying to rest

847
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:21,840
and recover, when I felt something move in the room,

848
00:37:22,039 --> 00:37:24,800
and suddenly I was fully awake. I turned to look

849
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,519
around the room. Most of the technicians were busy to

850
00:37:27,679 --> 00:37:30,079
lab work, but I saw that something was happening over

851
00:37:30,159 --> 00:37:33,119
in the makeshift room they had given Armitage. His readings

852
00:37:33,159 --> 00:37:36,719
were off the chart and his body was beginning to convulse. Hey, hey,

853
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,719
someone help, I called out, but the others didn't seem

854
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,239
to hear or care TJ sat up and looked straight

855
00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:45,199
toward me. He took off his cardiac equipment and started

856
00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:48,039
to limp toward me, and I panicked would he be

857
00:37:48,079 --> 00:37:50,639
angry at me for trying to save him earlier. His

858
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,719
eyes looked wild and full of fear. We are enemies,

859
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,960
not in the forms we are familiar with now, but

860
00:37:57,079 --> 00:38:01,880
one day we will across the stars our battlege, he whispered.

861
00:38:02,559 --> 00:38:05,239
There was something forming from his mouth when he turned

862
00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:07,239
toward one of the emergency seals that I called for

863
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,239
help again. The text were moving toward us, but I

864
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,519
was already too late. In a short moment, Armitage had

865
00:38:12,559 --> 00:38:14,880
pressed the security code and the seal began to decompress.

866
00:38:15,599 --> 00:38:17,719
The vacuum of space suddenly took hold of everything in

867
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,400
the room, papers and blasts, pushing toward the open airlockust

868
00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,239
He Jay screamed into the voide. His body was broken

869
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:25,239
and twisted into the seal, hitting the walls, along with

870
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,559
several other technicians as they were all taken out across

871
00:38:27,559 --> 00:38:30,320
the stars like garbage. Only the latches that I had

872
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:32,320
done my medical table kept me from experience in the

873
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:35,639
same fate. The vacuum continued for another few moments, until

874
00:38:35,639 --> 00:38:38,039
at last emergency systems took over. When I was alone

875
00:38:38,119 --> 00:38:41,000
the room, devoid of life from Armage suicide. There was

876
00:38:41,079 --> 00:38:43,760
one thing I did not understand though, whether this was

877
00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:45,719
an action of the monster that had taken control of

878
00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,920
his mind or his last desperate act of free will.

879
00:38:48,679 --> 00:38:50,400
I came to the stars in search of purpose, to

880
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:53,360
be a part of something greater. I am regretting that ambition.

881
00:38:53,519 --> 00:38:56,440
Now I am forced to say goodbye to another comrade.

882
00:38:57,079 --> 00:38:59,119
I've hardly had time to comprehend why this place has

883
00:38:59,159 --> 00:39:02,360
turned on us, and now so many have perished. Worst

884
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,079
of all, I can't help but feel that I am

885
00:39:04,119 --> 00:39:07,639
personally responsible for what's going on. There's something inside me

886
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,719
festering and screaming to control my will. I have felt

887
00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:13,360
that ever since we discovered the subterranean city, and now

888
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:15,760
as we are struggling to understand what is happening here,

889
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,360
it is refusing to stay quiet. It has killed many

890
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,159
of the colleagues that I have only begun to meet,

891
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:22,159
and I think, if left checked, it could destroy us

892
00:39:22,159 --> 00:39:25,079
all because, as I found out from the suicide of

893
00:39:25,119 --> 00:39:26,880
our chief engineer, it is a call that can be

894
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:32,679
ignored forever. Seventeen hundred IRIS Day five, Captain Ferris, Commander Cyrus,

895
00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:35,639
and my direct supervisor, Tyler White, which checking the systems

896
00:39:35,679 --> 00:39:37,920
to make sure that what armatage had just accomplished. Couldn't

897
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:41,480
happen again. All airlocks seals require two person authorization now,

898
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:44,119
Cyrus said, as they offered mere respirator. But I didn't

899
00:39:44,159 --> 00:39:47,639
need to catch my breath. I needed answers. Surely you

900
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:51,440
see now that we are under attack, Cyrus sighed. He

901
00:39:51,599 --> 00:39:53,639
was tired and scared, but I could see he wasn't

902
00:39:53,639 --> 00:39:55,559
sure what to make of the incidents in the Alsbury

903
00:39:55,639 --> 00:39:58,480
thus far. What matters is that the generators will be

904
00:39:58,559 --> 00:40:00,840
back up in six iris and we can contact the surface.

905
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,440
We should all consider heading back for reconnaissance. If we

906
00:40:03,519 --> 00:40:06,920
aren't all dead by then, you mean, don't test me, Quentin,

907
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:08,880
I could have you thrown in a brig fall. What

908
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,599
you did to laundry, Heaven knows. I tried to convince

909
00:40:11,679 --> 00:40:13,679
him to let me at you, Alexis said, sicking a

910
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:16,719
finger in my face. Cyrus gave a gruff bark, and

911
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:19,920
the security chief stood back. Then Cyrus made a short

912
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,559
summary of the events, as though it were all logically explainable,

913
00:40:23,159 --> 00:40:26,440
and sanders were tragic accidents. The other accidents are a

914
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:29,440
result of mass hysteria. From what we know we uncovered

915
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:31,159
below our feet. It's a wonder that any of us

916
00:40:31,159 --> 00:40:34,199
are maintaining sanity. We have shaken the very foundations of

917
00:40:34,199 --> 00:40:37,440
our understanding of the universe. I knew arguing would get

918
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:39,519
me nowhere, so I merely saluted and asked where I

919
00:40:39,559 --> 00:40:42,519
could be of service. Doctor Rowland hasn't said you're fit

920
00:40:42,559 --> 00:40:45,000
for duty, Tyler reminded me. I huff at that, but

921
00:40:45,119 --> 00:40:47,599
then I gave an idea. I can go see her

922
00:40:47,639 --> 00:40:49,400
first thing in the morning, if that's all right with you.

923
00:40:49,519 --> 00:40:52,880
Commander Cyrus pursed his lips as though he were going

924
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:54,960
to deny the request, but I added, I just want

925
00:40:55,039 --> 00:40:57,400
to be useful. That's why I was recruited, wasn't I

926
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:01,199
Sarrus nodded and gave the approval. Now all I had

927
00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:03,039
to do was make sure I didn't screw up my plan.

928
00:41:03,239 --> 00:41:06,599
Considering how crazy it was, I didn't hold my breath.

929
00:41:07,199 --> 00:41:10,400
Eight hundred dollars day in sixth Tyler came to take

930
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,039
me to Roland in the morning. Since the main medical

931
00:41:13,119 --> 00:41:15,159
bay was no longer in use, the doctor was now

932
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,119
using the command center at the base of the pike,

933
00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:19,280
assisting with a study of the meteorite that had struck

934
00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:21,639
the tower. I thought you said you didn't trust her,

935
00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:24,800
Tyler whispered as he walked down the south corridor. I don't,

936
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:26,880
but I need you to trust me, please, I said

937
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:29,679
as we got closer. I can't unless I know what

938
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,360
you were planning. I need to get a sample of

939
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:33,519
the doctor's blood. If I'm right and the alien host

940
00:41:33,559 --> 00:41:35,440
is arriving inside her body, there is to be some

941
00:41:35,559 --> 00:41:37,679
evidence of that. Jesus well, I guess I should have

942
00:41:37,719 --> 00:41:39,599
known it would be nuts, Tyler said dryly. As we

943
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:42,840
entered the small makeshift clinic. Roland was nowhere to be found.

944
00:41:43,039 --> 00:41:45,159
So while we had a few extra moments, Tyler forced

945
00:41:45,199 --> 00:41:47,480
me to look at him. This could go very wrong.

946
00:41:47,599 --> 00:41:49,280
YE know, and if it does, I know you have

947
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,000
to look out for yourself. I understand. I'm on your side,

948
00:41:52,079 --> 00:41:54,039
but this whole mess is gotten out of hand. Quentyon,

949
00:41:54,159 --> 00:41:56,079
I was wondering when you might show your face here.

950
00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,960
Tyler made a short coffin to his face and remarked,

951
00:41:59,079 --> 00:42:01,760
that's my cue to get back to maintenance. As I

952
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:03,840
was left alone with the doctor, she gestured for me

953
00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:05,800
to set and remarked, I hear you've had quite a

954
00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:08,920
few brushes with death since the last time we talked. Sadly,

955
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,840
it's always some one else that pays the price. Roland

956
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:13,800
nodded and said, Gordon tells me you want to be

957
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:15,920
fit to help with the repairs. And while I can't

958
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,440
see any issues with your physical condition, I am concerned

959
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:20,800
about the decline in your mental health. I told you

960
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:23,719
already I haven't been sleeping well, I said, trying to

961
00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:26,400
brush it off. I needed her to be distracted, so

962
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:28,280
I muttered how many of her staff are left? Now?

963
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,280
We both know that you didn't come here for such idea, Banda,

964
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:34,000
Rowland said as she idly turned the tools on her

965
00:42:34,039 --> 00:42:36,480
surgical tray and remarked, you've become convinced that I am

966
00:42:36,519 --> 00:42:38,599
not fully human ever since you caught sight of those

967
00:42:38,639 --> 00:42:41,000
relics in the cave below. That speaks a lot to

968
00:42:41,039 --> 00:42:44,119
your psychological profile, you know, And what does it mean

969
00:42:44,239 --> 00:42:46,800
in your professional opinion, I wondered, as I took a

970
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:50,519
step closer toward the doctor. It's only a natural instinctive

971
00:42:50,559 --> 00:42:53,800
reaction to something you can't fundamentally understand yet. I was

972
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:55,679
scared to you, but I've seen that what has been

973
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:58,440
offered here is too great to pass up. Knowledge beyond

974
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:01,679
the tangible existence we ever thought possible. Why are you

975
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:06,039
telling me this, I asked nervously. Suddenly the perfect plan

976
00:43:06,079 --> 00:43:08,039
I had outlined didn't seem like it was going to work.

977
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,840
Was it possible that the creature that was controlling her

978
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:14,320
could read my mind? We are connected ever since we

979
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,239
came here. You can't deny that we both have seen

980
00:43:17,599 --> 00:43:19,760
experience more than our colleagues could give us credit for.

981
00:43:20,559 --> 00:43:23,079
If so, why did you not vouch for my credibility?

982
00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:26,639
You've had ample opportunities to do so. This was getting

983
00:43:26,679 --> 00:43:28,440
out of hand, and now come I hadn't expected, and

984
00:43:28,519 --> 00:43:31,519
yet somehow Roland was taking control of the situation. You've

985
00:43:31,559 --> 00:43:34,480
become convinced I am the enemy here of Quentin. I'm not.

986
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,639
I can show you what you lack. You just have

987
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,199
to trust me, she said with gleaming eyes. I saw

988
00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:43,199
an opening and a struck, grabbing a hold of the

989
00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:46,320
scalpel and slashing at her droat. Immediately, I saw the

990
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,199
fungus spread out of her open wound and spit in

991
00:43:48,239 --> 00:43:51,639
the alien's face. I will never trust an abomination like you,

992
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:55,480
I said, as I kept on attacking. I saw blood

993
00:43:55,519 --> 00:43:58,119
and light streak from her face, But to my surprise,

994
00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:01,599
throughout the entire ordeal, Rollin' was laughing, you will never

995
00:44:01,639 --> 00:44:05,280
stop it. Never Behind me, the doors to the Commands

996
00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:07,719
Center burst open, and Alexa ran in with the guards.

997
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,320
I didn't even get a chance to explain before a

998
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:12,559
series of electorates were sent through my body and I

999
00:44:12,639 --> 00:44:15,159
tumbled to the floor. When I woke up, I was

1000
00:44:15,199 --> 00:44:17,679
in the break, just as Alex had been promising for days.

1001
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:20,800
The voses inside my head were finally quiet, though, and

1002
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:23,159
I wondered if I had succeeded in stopping the monsters

1003
00:44:23,199 --> 00:44:26,800
that were attacking us. It's not over. A whisper came

1004
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:29,719
from the shadows. I jolted up to my surprise, seeing

1005
00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,519
claws features crafted in the wall. Her coosely VISs taunt

1006
00:44:32,519 --> 00:44:35,280
to me from beyond the grave. He wanted me to attack.

1007
00:44:36,079 --> 00:44:39,519
Death is nothing for these creatures, Quentin, Surely what happened

1008
00:44:39,519 --> 00:44:41,639
at the pike should have told you that I am

1009
00:44:41,679 --> 00:44:43,960
merely a vessel, as you, too soon will be. The

1010
00:44:44,039 --> 00:44:46,239
glorious battle is about to occur, and the earth will

1011
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:48,840
be theirs, with us none the wiser. The spirit said,

1012
00:44:48,880 --> 00:44:51,519
as it shifted and swam through the metal. No, I

1013
00:44:51,559 --> 00:44:54,719
will fight it. You may think whatever you please. The

1014
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:56,559
beauty of it is that you will believe you are

1015
00:44:56,599 --> 00:44:59,519
in control. I turned away from her mockery, fustrated that

1016
00:44:59,559 --> 00:45:01,639
my attempts to save a still scene to go nowhere.

1017
00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:04,400
I could only think of one final solution to get

1018
00:45:04,519 --> 00:45:07,000
back to Earth and warn them. I had to assume

1019
00:45:07,039 --> 00:45:10,320
that everyone on Elsbury was now infected, so asking for

1020
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,960
help was out of the question. I was on my own.

1021
00:45:13,599 --> 00:45:15,360
I slumped onto the cotton the middle of the brig

1022
00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:17,079
to try and concoct a plane. As I slipped my

1023
00:45:17,119 --> 00:45:20,119
hands into my pockets and felt something there. Pulling it out,

1024
00:45:20,159 --> 00:45:23,119
I found myself smiling. It was the remote control from

1025
00:45:23,119 --> 00:45:25,760
the pip drone. Tyler had slipped it into my pocket

1026
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:28,159
before I met with the doctor. I sat down and

1027
00:45:28,239 --> 00:45:30,159
studied the controls, thinking of how I could use the

1028
00:45:30,199 --> 00:45:32,920
drone to my advantage. My recollection told me that the

1029
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,039
machine was tied into the network of the moon base,

1030
00:45:35,159 --> 00:45:37,519
so if I could access the control panel outside the brig,

1031
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:39,320
it was possible it could get me out of here.

1032
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:42,480
I needed to act without hesitation. It took me a

1033
00:45:42,519 --> 00:45:44,119
while to get the hang of the controls and begin

1034
00:45:44,199 --> 00:45:46,239
to pilot the craft, smiling to see that Tyler had

1035
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,280
wisely kept it close to my current location in the

1036
00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:50,599
base of the pike. All I needed to do was

1037
00:45:50,639 --> 00:45:52,679
move it close enough to access the exterior of the

1038
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:54,639
room I was fitted inside, and I could be free.

1039
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,199
Moving the machine proved a little bit trickier than I

1040
00:45:57,280 --> 00:45:59,760
imagined it would be. It reminded me of the small

1041
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,119
out if the Dad would get me for Christmas. I

1042
00:46:02,159 --> 00:46:04,440
could even hear Renee giggles. I bumped into every wall

1043
00:46:04,519 --> 00:46:07,400
on the way and narrowly avoided being stepped on. No

1044
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:09,519
one would pay attention to the drone, and I would

1045
00:46:09,599 --> 00:46:12,480
use that to my advantage. The remote control that Tyler

1046
00:46:12,519 --> 00:46:14,400
had given me came with a tiny screen to see

1047
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:16,280
what the drone saw, and it made me reconsider the

1048
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:18,800
way I have been treating this place. I imagine the

1049
00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:22,639
moon being full of opportunities, possibilities, and structure, but the

1050
00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:25,840
holes were empty, the corridors devoid of any life. Was

1051
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:28,000
this even meant to be a colonization project at all?

1052
00:46:28,639 --> 00:46:31,519
It didn't seem likely. I shrugged away the odd sense

1053
00:46:31,519 --> 00:46:33,760
of foreboarding and finally got the drone to the outside

1054
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,199
of my door. In a few short moments, I had

1055
00:46:36,239 --> 00:46:38,320
gained access to the network to set me free. But

1056
00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:40,159
I knew my struggle wouldn't be over if I simply

1057
00:46:40,199 --> 00:46:42,800
walked out. Alex and the others would just lock me

1058
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:44,960
in a tighter cell once they have realized what happened,

1059
00:46:45,119 --> 00:46:47,079
I thought. As I stepped out and checked the network,

1060
00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:50,320
I began to formulate a plan in my head. I

1061
00:46:50,440 --> 00:46:52,199
set things in motion by keeping the drone up my

1062
00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:55,199
side and sneaking into a nearby locker room. Before I

1063
00:46:55,239 --> 00:46:56,920
could begin, I would need to be certain I had

1064
00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:58,800
the proper equipment to make it to an escape pod.

1065
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:01,519
I made it t j Old locker, saw his suit

1066
00:47:01,559 --> 00:47:04,239
still highing there, and got changed. It was a bit

1067
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,199
disconcerting to wear clothes that belonged to a man that

1068
00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:08,199
had just died, but I needed to leave this place

1069
00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:11,599
without interruption. Once the space seed was securely on my body,

1070
00:47:11,679 --> 00:47:14,239
I checked the drawn again and finished the shut down operations.

1071
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:17,119
With luck, I would be able to walk through Alsbury

1072
00:47:17,159 --> 00:47:20,599
and obstructed. As I imput the authorization codes, the voices

1073
00:47:20,639 --> 00:47:22,280
that have guided me here in the moon this entire

1074
00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:25,320
time grew like a hornet's nest being knocked over. Someone

1075
00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:28,880
was calming, alarms blared as I activated the suit's magnetic

1076
00:47:28,920 --> 00:47:31,480
boots and began to move to the east corridor. The

1077
00:47:31,559 --> 00:47:34,280
inter comminounced that it would take seventeen minutes for emergency

1078
00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:37,400
systems to recalibrate. I would only need half that much

1079
00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:39,760
to make it to escape pod. The noise of the

1080
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:41,840
intercom and the screams in my head became so loud

1081
00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:43,639
that I almost became dissoriented as I made it to

1082
00:47:43,679 --> 00:47:46,159
the hunger bay, pleased that my bazaar escape plan had

1083
00:47:46,199 --> 00:47:49,760
somehow been successful. Don't move another muscle, Quentin, a voice said.

1084
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:51,440
As I made my way down the steps to the pod.

1085
00:47:52,119 --> 00:47:54,840
I raised my hands defensively, turning to see Captain Alexis

1086
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:56,760
standing there in her own seed where the pistol aimed

1087
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,920
at my head. This has gone on, Toulon, Alexi said,

1088
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,920
as the alarms grew louder in my ears. The shrieks

1089
00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:04,440
were telling me to finish her, to get out of

1090
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:06,480
fear before she too tried to stop me. So before

1091
00:48:06,519 --> 00:48:08,719
she had a chance to act, I was rushing towards her.

1092
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,719
She led a single shot fire, but the limited gravity

1093
00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:13,480
did nothing to stop me. I pushed the gun out

1094
00:48:13,519 --> 00:48:15,039
of her hand and pressed her against the wall of

1095
00:48:15,079 --> 00:48:18,119
the hanger, captain. You may think I'm insane, but this

1096
00:48:18,239 --> 00:48:20,199
is how I planned to save our species, I said,

1097
00:48:20,199 --> 00:48:21,840
as I pressed a few key buttons on her suit,

1098
00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:25,039
and watch shall lose oxygen. Alex's eyes widened in shock

1099
00:48:25,119 --> 00:48:28,559
until her skin became crystallized. Her skin as brutal as glass.

1100
00:48:29,239 --> 00:48:31,920
She was a frozen statue of pristine beauty in stark destruction.

1101
00:48:32,679 --> 00:48:34,639
My hands trembled as I used them to access the

1102
00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:36,599
escape pod and tried not to focus on the vile

1103
00:48:36,679 --> 00:48:39,880
deed I had just committed. My resolve had never been stronger,

1104
00:48:40,119 --> 00:48:42,039
and as I stepped into the pod, I realized that

1105
00:48:42,119 --> 00:48:44,639
I had made it. My resolve had helped me escape

1106
00:48:44,679 --> 00:48:47,440
this cell. A few systems came online as the noise

1107
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:50,719
in the background faded away. According to the online display,

1108
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:52,400
I would be back on Earth in a little over

1109
00:48:52,519 --> 00:48:55,840
three days. The door to the hanger opened slowly and purposefully.

1110
00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:58,519
As I looked out towards Ferris flirting corpse, an immediate

1111
00:48:58,599 --> 00:49:01,639
feeling of remolse overcoming me. They were all infected, all

1112
00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,719
threat to our survival. I toll myself as the door

1113
00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:06,960
was finished, opening the pot us one final time. If

1114
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,920
the sequences were correct and oppressed, for confirmation, I was

1115
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,920
jettisoned into the stars. A few short seconds later, my

1116
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,840
eyes drifted toward the pike, reflecting on the strange discoveries

1117
00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:18,519
we have made there. Our species is not alone in

1118
00:49:18,559 --> 00:49:20,679
the universe, but it is also equipped to prepare for

1119
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,159
what is to come. The strange angles of the pike

1120
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:25,400
faded as my pot got further and further away, and

1121
00:49:25,519 --> 00:49:27,639
I saw the tower in a new light. Now it

1122
00:49:27,719 --> 00:49:30,360
looked dark and foreboding, an invitation to the darkness that

1123
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:33,119
was spreading out across the entire base. Had we ever

1124
00:49:33,159 --> 00:49:35,599
had a chance to escape? Or was this cosmic convsion

1125
00:49:35,639 --> 00:49:38,239
something that we were only delaying. I pressed my hand

1126
00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:40,480
against the glass as the moon faded into the stars,

1127
00:49:40,519 --> 00:49:43,760
and sighed in frustration, wishing I knew the answers. Zero

1128
00:49:43,920 --> 00:49:47,119
hundred hours day ten, my pots slammed into the calm

1129
00:49:47,159 --> 00:49:49,239
waters of the Northern Atlantic right at the midnight ire,

1130
00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:50,880
a fresh late to be written on the history of

1131
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:53,639
our species, the last few days in the moon already

1132
00:49:53,679 --> 00:49:56,280
fading to nothing but the memory. I sent out a

1133
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:58,519
distressed signal, hoping that some one would come, But my

1134
00:49:58,599 --> 00:50:00,360
equipment told me there was a chance I might not

1135
00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:03,239
survive that long. Some inner strength told me to push

1136
00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:05,159
forward to warm others of the evil I had seen,

1137
00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:07,280
and it was the untap potential that kept me alive

1138
00:50:07,360 --> 00:50:11,239
until rescue came. Sirim ines, woman is thirty. IROs. I

1139
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:14,119
was tested, given food and new clothing as I explained

1140
00:50:14,119 --> 00:50:15,440
to the crew of the ship that had found me

1141
00:50:15,480 --> 00:50:17,000
who I was and wide they needed to take me

1142
00:50:17,039 --> 00:50:19,760
to America immediately. I had to get the information I

1143
00:50:19,840 --> 00:50:21,960
now retained to the highest office possible as quickly as

1144
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,079
I could. You won't be going anywhere, officer, not until

1145
00:50:25,119 --> 00:50:27,800
we determine exactly what happened up here, the commander told me.

1146
00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:30,599
I know you are frightened by my words, but I'm

1147
00:50:30,639 --> 00:50:32,280
telling the truth. We know that you think you are,

1148
00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:35,280
But we've been monitoring events in the Alsbury for some time. Soldier.

1149
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:37,199
As far as we can tell, the only threat that

1150
00:50:37,280 --> 00:50:39,199
faced the crew was you. You went on a rampage,

1151
00:50:39,239 --> 00:50:41,679
concocted an alien invasion inside your head, and killed the

1152
00:50:41,719 --> 00:50:44,599
majority of the team. The commander snarled, I was a

1153
00:50:44,719 --> 00:50:47,159
loss for words. As they left me alone, a few

1154
00:50:47,239 --> 00:50:49,480
key moments of my lunar journey played out in my mind.

1155
00:50:50,239 --> 00:50:53,239
Sanders Landry, even Armadage. They were all scared of me.

1156
00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:56,159
I was the monster. It had infected me and used me,

1157
00:50:56,960 --> 00:50:59,920
not them. But whispers wriggled the way into my brain again,

1158
00:51:00,119 --> 00:51:02,239
and I realized what a fool I had been. I

1159
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:04,559
had given this creature exactly what it wanted to be

1160
00:51:04,639 --> 00:51:07,760
on Earth. I was the puppet all along. I looked

1161
00:51:07,800 --> 00:51:10,039
toward the walls and saw the writhing mass of ghosts

1162
00:51:10,079 --> 00:51:12,360
and spirits, and just barely out of my view. Who

1163
00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:14,679
now was there right on the edge of my vision, smiling.

1164
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:20,320
Now we are together, and that is the end. Thank

1165
00:51:20,360 --> 00:51:21,880
you for listening, and I will see you in the

1166
00:51:21,960 --> 00:51:22,360
next one.