luministi | ❧ Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

[the device Nathan left behind finally turns on with a text message on the screen that reads: "Please make sure you're in a quiet, private area in the next five minutes and be prepared to broadcast this message to your friends on a private channel." once the five minutes pass, an audio message begins, Nathan's voice clear and far less strained than it was previously.]

Thanks to your preliminary investigations I've been able to crack into some of the laboratory's systems and should...[he sounds distracted]...be able to have them open in a moment now that I'm fully connected. Now just...know that I'm not entirely sure what doors I'm opening. I'm working with an outdated schematic and even with knowing there's some funny business going on with the--[there's a faint sound of a key being hit and he lets out a victorious little "hah!"] There we go! I'm hoping these will open up some of the labs--at least in theory anyway. I can't see what I've unlocked, but I don't think I've been lucky enough to hit upon Lab #3. No one is that--

[he stops speaking suddenly, and a split-second later, the flurry of keys can be heard. after a moment, he finally starts to speak again, the typing of keys continuing] I--I don't believe it, but--why doesn't she respond?! What's--okay, I'm patching this through. Whoever has this, press record to save this video on the device, all right? Going in three--two--one--

[once he's done counting down, the device lights up with a somewhat grainy video of a now familiar minimalist room with expensive furniture. only this time, there's only one occupant in the room moving about somewhat aimlessly. he's talking on what appears to be a small headset resting in his ear and from his voice, he should be recognizable as the young man Proctor has argued with in the past]

--es sir, we're starting in just a few minutes. [he sits in a chair facing the multitude of screens on the wall, then stands, swivelling his chair a bit before he sits again and stretches, propping his feet up on the empty one next to his. he seems quite pleased with this arrangement] Oh, that? No, no, no...I have something far more interesting planned. Call it...a stroke of genius. They're going to love this far more than the other stunt we had planned.

[his tone shifts slightly; it's less cocky and more on the casually sinister side] After all, once they figured out how to turn the life supports back on, then they'd know what to do every time after that--and besides, they'd die relatively around the same time, and we can't afford that break in the programming. Oh sure, it'd cause a certain amount of distress and sorrow amongst those still alive to see their friends die, but it'd be short-lived! [he gestures with one hand absently] These days, the people want to see the suffering and the struggle and the bickering--and get their money's worth while they're at it, so it's got to be one hell of a show each and every time. People live for that type of real-life painful drama, the sick bastards. So I'm going to give them what they want--and I think you'll be more than pleased.

[he nods, pausing for a second to listen to someone else on the other line] No, I don't need his approval. That's always been more of a...formality. He likes to think he's in control of such things. [another pause and sets a data pad on the arm of his chair, a smirk on his lips] No. Not anymore.

[the video ends just as the young man taps something into a data pad. the screen of the device goes black and Nathan doesn't come back on]

❧ Plot Details: Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

will

this heads-up

Places he opened up:

Lab #1. This is the a multi-purpose room meant for the study of various plants in space as they grow multitudes of produce for consumption (partially by the lab inhabitants but mainly for the town--hence all the fresh produce!)and is also a vast oxygen farm (though this is only a small part of it in the picture).
Lab #2. This is your standard futuristic chemistry (extremely, in this case) lab, which houses countless different instruments and chemicals (though the chemicals are wisely stored in ways that they are completely safe and won't react in a bad way if the station was hit by any meteors, asteroids, etc). Oddly, some of these chemicals are meant for the use in preservatives.
Lab #4. Essentially, this is a computer lab. But there are several computer terminals where the screens appear in front of you within that particular terminal. (Ignore the watermark >.>. Also, this was developed because a good deal of the scientists working in the lab liked to pace while they thought, so the screens will move with you as you walk in that area.) Unfortunately, the computers systems are down. Might have to do with rooms being shuffled around and such in the spacestation.
Various rooms in the first hallway. In the hallway leading from the Mayor's house to the observation deck, all the rooms there have opened, and...they're all pretty plain. There are a number of different conference rooms in various states of messiness (mainly with discarded camera equipment and stuff, chairs and tables shoved to the side, etc), the the room where Proctor met Caligin and the others before Nathan rescued them--aka, the break room. A couple games are in here, like the 20th century version of a hockey table and a foosball table, though these seem to be recent additions since they weren't in the video. Also, there is still a very faint red-brown tint on the ground thanks Iussus' wound. Also, there are a couple lavatories, and one door....well. This one door is special. It's labeled "Maintenance", but upon opening it, it reveals the double doors of an elevator--and the doors open with a pleasant ping. Go in it and you'll there aren't too many levels--though to be fair, the levels are HUGE and tall. There are four levels. The main floor (which is the current one), a sub-level and a maintenance level below that, and a second floor above the main. The elevator doesn't work, unfortunately, for a similar reason the computers in Lab #4 won't hook up to any of their information centers.

anything

[lets suspense build]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Soooo...

What else could be found in the labs that might catch Croix's or Hawk's eye? They're combing through each lab in order, and I doubt they'll leave much un-poked. ♥

Oh ho ho. WELL!

In Lab #1: Wandering into the oxygen farm area of the lab will clear your head and keep your dreams from becoming real for a day. Funny how that works... Shame there's nothing around to collect it in...

In Lab #2: There are extensive paper copies of everything that has gone in in the lab, and the most recent two years' worth of data is available, though most of it does pertain to the preservations of food and keeping them above the Food Department's standards for safe ingestion. However, keep searching and there'll be one thin log book that refers to two chemicals. One is known as IINS #5B.6-710X2 and a couple vials can be found in the back of a locked refrigerator. Be careful with these. You don't want them to break. The other chemical is called IDINS #4A-626Y11, and unfortunately, there are no samples of this chemical left, however, in the thin--and very unhelpful--log book this information has been found in (most of the pages have been ripped out in a hurry), it mentions this chemical was used to develop IINS #5B.6-710X2, a much tamer derivative of the potent parent chemical. (Also, there are no indications or notes anywhere about what the "IINS" or "IDINS" designations mean.)

In Lab #4: Nothing really stands out as odd in this particular lab that hasn't been stated already. However. When Croix and Hawk go exploring it, at the very end of the lab, there'll be a door. This door won't open at all, can't be picked open, nothing. It simply won't budge. Unfortunately, the moment both Croix and Hawk look away from it, the door will vanish and won't return.

ohhhh my. This is all so beautiful. And helpful! ♥ Thank you!!

❧ Dreams Don't Turn to Dust

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