March 11th,
2037
0010
Dear Space
Diary.
With NASA
still avoiding me, and no immediate end to the tube in sight, I may as well get
some sleep.
0015
I’m not
sure I’ll be able to sleep though, with everything that’s happened. Sleep seems
like the last thing -
1043
On the
whole it was probably just as well I didn’t finish that sentence. Less
embarrassing that way.
Just woke
up, evidently I needed the rest.
And we’ve
landed, too. I don’t know how long we’ve been sitting here, but Lightdog is
gone and the Zubrin is grounded once again.
Or… hmm.
Concreted.
That’s a
little weird. But there’s concrete out there. At least it looks like it. Smooth
and grey, with just the slightest hint of pink, suggesting that, while out of
place, it was at least made from local materials.
Seems to
have crumbled around the Zubrin, whatever it is. Maybe we hit the ground hard.
Is that what woke me? I don’t think so.
I better
take a look outside.
1047
Space suit
on. Here we go.
1050
In a word:
Weird.
In two
words: Really weird.
The tube
exits into a large but smaller than I was expecting room. No other tubes exit
out here so presumably there’s a room for each one of the hundreds of other
tubes around here somewhere. Presuming they all go to the same place anyway.
On the
wall opposite the tube is a massive (and I mean massive) spinning device that
must create the air flow into the room. It’s grilled, fortunately, so even I
had been sucked into the tube I fortunately would not have been dismembered.
Probably
still would have gone splat though.
The floor
does indeed look like concrete, but something’s wrong with it. It’s so fragile
it’s literally crumbling under my foot, almost like sand. Pinkish, concrete
like sand.
The ship’s
really done a number on it too. Fortunately there’s something harder
underneath, and I’m not about to sink into it.
Because I
really don’t feel like doing that.
To my left
is a set of very large sliding doors. To my right is a much smaller access
door, but no handle I can see so presumably it slides open as well.
Which it’s
doing now. Crap! Better hide.
But the
room is completely empty except for me, the Zubrin, and whatever is about to
join us.
1052
Hiding
behind the Zubrin. Feeling extremely silly.
Door’s
opened.
…It’s a
Lightdog.
Different
though. The one’s I’ve met so far are yellow. This one is blue.
It’s
floating across the room. Not heading towards me though, just hugging the wall.
1054
It’s
reached the corner.
1059
Seems to
be just combing the floor slowly. Not sure why. Maybe it really likes floors.
It’s an alien. Who knows?
1103
I’m sure
it must have seen me by now. I guess blue lightdogs don’t have sensors.
Either that
or I’m really uninteresting. Either/or, I suppose.
1106
That’s
impressive. It’s just reached my footprints, and a blue beam shot out of it.
It’s repairing the floor as it passes over it. Like I never even walked there.
1110
Wonder
what it’s going to do, when it gets to the… oh.
“No
sensors” was right. It calmly, slowly, and methodically scanned the floor,
ploughed straight into the Zubrin, and crashed to the floor.
That was
actually somewhat hilarious.
Well,
they’re machines. The light is gone, so I think it’s broken. There’s a small
cylindrical little device that floats in the middle of all that light. Can’t
see a propulsion device, but given the whole ball of light, tractor beams,
cutting torches and magic floor cleaner, I’m willing to accept I don’t exactly
know how they work.
Bit scared
to pick it up, so it can just sit there for now, looking stupid.
Hmm, the
door’s still open. Might take a look outside.
1115
Oh. My.
God.
It’s a
city.
A pink
city.
Buildings are
stretching underneath a huge clear bubble as far as I can see. They’re all
exactly the same height, which is to say, tall. I can’t believe NASA didn’t
spot this on their scans.
Actually,
how DID NASA not spot this on their scans?
1122
Taking a
closer look. The buildings are actually pretty similar to ours. No weird alien
glass or physics defying sculptures here. Just giant uniform slabs of pinky
concrete with windows in them.
To be
honest, I feel a little ripped off.
No aliens
around. Or indeed living things of any kind. Plenty of lightdogs, but I’m not
sure they count anymore. Mostly blue ones, mostly repairing and cleaning, so I
guess they’re the maintenance ones, with yellow being waste processing, or
something.
1125
This is a ghost
town. I’ve peeked in a couple of buildings, but there’s nobody there. Just
empty concrete rooms.
Unless…
… Maybe
the aliens are INVISIBLE!
I don’t
know why I didn’t think of that before! There could be thousands of them around
me right this second!
Keep calm,
keep calm. Don’t panic.
1126
AAAAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHH!!!
THUMP.
Ow.
Ok, may
have panicked just a little bit. Ran straight into the side of building.
And
through. There is now a crumbly
me-shaped hole in the wall. Further to that, the floor is crumbling under me.
These
buildings are made of the same weak-ass concrete as the floors. I don’t get it,
why would you a tower out of such a weak, unstable material.
Speaking
of unstable, what’s that rumbling sound?
Oh.
Crap.
Get out,
get out, get out!
1129
Phew. Made
it out and back to the door I came in by. The building is collapsing, sending
dust everywhere. I’m going to hide out in the Zubrin until things settle.
Strongest thing here it seems.
1131
Heading
back to the ship. That lightdog is still broken, so I think it’s busted itself
good and proper.
Hang on,
there’s something on the side here.
1133
…
1135
…
1137
…WHAT?!!?
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