Bedtime Stories

Vaatamisi: 244

system silence

The rusty cogwheels rotate silently, rays of light coming from unknown source shimmer in a rusty color.
Silent creaking in general silence.
On the left of this space lies a huge metal tube, covered in hundreds of layers of ancient dust. The tube looks like a ventilation shaft. One narrow steel bridge leads there.
The entrance of this tube is covered by some steel grid, which, when unhooked, falls down. The tube is dark, but a hint of light is present far within.
Huge ancient html-cogs and weird, almost cozy light is left behind when I enter the tube, following that light in the other end.
The tube branches into several. I take the middle one.
Another grid in front of the tube's mouth, that can be kicked off. Some weird room with worn-out tapestry that still looks fresh. Strange control levers, buttons and shifts and a whole lot of machine parts scattered around in the room. Some of them remind me of starters, vacoom bulbs and fuses.
One wall of the room holds huge windows. Looking out of one I see floating bits of islands and machinery in the middle of nothing, which is penetrated by pulsating blue vectors. One vector transmitter is visible, it stands on one of the islands and its cord leaks glowing blue liquid.
There are speakers standing in this room. Turning the knob and there's a crackle which grows into signal-searching whine before fading into white noise.
One of the speakers drops out a little white pearl which is surprisingly heavy. Surface reflecting the same room, but from the time it was just finished and everything was new.
The control deck which seems to hold chunks of all the machine parts that seem to have a healthy state stands in front of one wall, hoarding most of it. Near it, on the other wall hangs a large piece of a Phellodendron plate holding some little photos and phrases of text.
Pictures are worn, but depict some kind of people. A few larger ones show the room from the time it was being constructed. There was a large number of vector transmtters in here that time with their rays brought together. A huge blue sun-like sphere was glowing above the room.
One picture depicts a bunch of characters and a little almost legible writing: "Mode..... during th...... ious times o........cave".
Noise arising from the speakers grows into some kind of Aphex Twin'ish melody.
The biggest piece of paper depicts some sort of a plan. Seems like I'm in a weird system...
Control deck is strange, but interesting. I also notice a cup of tea which smells heavenly, somewhy.
The moment I touch one of the levers on this deck, speakers go silent.
Sceens attached to the machine blink faintly. Cannot read anything out of it... I notice a list of something on one of the screens before it goes black again.
An enormous amount of cables runs into the machine, some are transparent and glow blue.
I find a tiny hatch near the machine. Turns out to be a small window showing a gigantic metal sphere floating in the middle of vector-enriched darkness, and a fantastic amount of cords, tubes and other stuff.
Speakers behind me emit more crieking. Then it grows louder and I hear very disjointed and fragmental bits of melodies which reassembles itself into hazy and soft construction of melody, although still disjointed.
One glowing cord leaks blue. I place a random cup underneath it, I don't know what liquid it is...
The liquid starts growing, taking the shape of plants and ornaments I have never seen before, before strings of it go into the machine, making its screens blink again.
Sound from the speakers flutters slightly. Those speakers look like some ancient USSR speakers, but they don't sound old at all.
The screen that showed some kind of list before now works pretty normally, making the text legible. The meaning of it still remains a mystery because it lists incoherent combinations of words and symbols.
I hadn't noticed there's a piece of cloth covering the wall behing the machine. I still don't notice anything when it starts to roll itself up. I am busy trying tunderstand what 'sl¤y, 45hlynn, @m0n, 93acew#lker' and a thousand of other such combinations are supposed to mean.
The cup with the blue liquid dripping in it has now a lush, shiny-blue, silently flowing common reed growing from it.
I now notice that the cloth has revealed a huge screen, a bunch of smaller ones and a number of additional levers. One lever reads 'B4N'.
All this looks impressive... It seems that either this cloth holds dust from that part of the machine or it is a newer construction.
Vacoom bulbs are glowing reddish, both those that are attached to the machine, and those scattered around. I try not to go too near of them.
Weird things. Not connected to anything, but they glow...?
I touch a random fuse lying near my foot with my toe. To my surprise it rolls away from me and grows into a small bule sphere. And there grows a ray of blue out from the cup, grabs the sphere and disappears with it.
I find myself a position which is close enough to the deck, but as far away from the vacoom bulbs as possible.
Pondering about how those rays must be transporting important bits of machinery, I observe the screen which is now split by imbulses of bright white. Looks like technical thunder.
There's something more on this screen. Seems like there's a logo on the top part of the screen, but those Surge bolts are a little too obtrusive by now. I sense that they follow the melody coming from the speakers... and that melody is a truely strange one.
But also enchanting. Would love too hear it at all times.
I notice that the general tone of this screen starts to go lighter and I see something that reminds me of a webpage. Small screen hosting this list of weird symbol combinations starts to change and rearrange it rapidly. Some phrases change color, others fade and reappear .
Curious, I approach that screen, but now it's an endless sequence of symbols.
Other screens also radiate something.
But I can't understand anything.
Melody changes into an almost melodic white noise. Picture on the huge screen disappears into a maze of patterns. I notice one vacoom bulb between my feet and it glows more pink than others.
I back away from it and notice speakers starting to emit something more reminiscent of music again.
Large sceen is still being split by the bolts, and now accompanied by green grid, fading in a soft gradient.
This meldoy is most likely going to haunt me for days... What I see on that screen is also weirdly enthralling, but I decide to take another look at the pictures on the wall. No vacoom bulbs near it, fortunately.
I take a look at the deck again, standing in front of the pictures. I notice a pile of glowing bulbs behind it, and they have bolts running through them.
I then look at the pictures and brush the surface on one, gently, with my finger. I layer of dust on my finger, and the photo clearer from that part I touched. Hoping to learn more about those characters, I wipe the rest of this photo.
Have to admit they have pretty interesting hairdos.
This photo has something of 4 letters written under it, but I cannot make sense of it.
I clean another photo, revealing a character with... Wings? One combination of symbols and a number "144490" written under it. quite cryptic...
I clean the picture depicting a group of them. Seems like eccentric hairstyles and fine clothing is valued in here.
Some of the characters are not like others, being kind of ghostly. Remind me of a child's drawing of a monster, but not really.
I notice a piece of paper behind that picture. I pull it out gently, revealing a handwritten note "@((wig entry to be removed from the Tunnel."
I wonder what Tunnel they are talking about.. I peek behind that picture again hoping to find more.... Nothing, besides a dead moth.
I inspect the plan and spot a place named in a similar way: dTunnel.
Screen has an enchanting grid of green and white. Melody seems to change a bit, but I am not really sure.
I spot another plan on the table amongst others. Same to the one hanging. I decide to take it with me because I am certain I might need it.
I find a big amount of scribbles on the other side of this paper. Some seem to be entrance codes.
And a legible, but weird note: "The price for SMS is 0.75"
That teacup sits on the desk as well and it still smells delicious.
I touch it, and I suddenly feel really cold within. By my huge surprise that cup is hot. This place looks abandoned..
I look around, listening closely enough to spot the static beeping and whirring coming from the deck through the melody of speakers.
But nothing else. I give that cup a really incredulous stare, hide the plan into my breast pocket and inspect the screen again because it shows that website-like something again.
The logo is covered by heavy green grid.
I see a large box on the screen which has some kind of text flickering, but it's never visible long enough to read more than 3 letters.
Constant alertness makes me hungry.. I find an apple from my pocket and eat it. I suddenly sense a change in energy as if someone passed me from behind. I see no-one around.
Screen goes black for my disappointment, but the deck continues its work. Cord that leaked blue has now healed, but there are still stalks of glowing blue common reed inside the cup.
But the speakers don't stop. Melody is now constant, sometimes fading, then growing again. I try to touch one lever hoping that the screen turns on again. Nope.
I suddenly remember than the tube I came to this room from has several branches. Checking the presence of the plan in my pocket, I return to the entrance of this tube.
One last look to that room, and I climb back inside.
In the room I just left from, vacoom bulbs start to move around.
Teacup loses half of its content.
The large screen turns on. Bits of energy come together in front ot it, and something starts to take a shape. Blue eyes, pale skin and a mysterious smirk.
Green grid and white bolts disappear from the screen. Logo is legible.
The teacup is now empty.