GAIA'S TIME LINE

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 137


Monday, November 14th, 2005
3:44pm

Damn @w@

I had meant to keep track of my whole experience here at S-Corp since last year.. but things went into high gear when the spirited set hit as big as it did.

Now this year.. after what happened to Santa... it's just been a traumatic time for everyone here at the North Pole. Elves are on edge, and its understandable.. especially Mrs. Claus. She needs my support now more than ever.

And speaking of ladies.. I just can't seem to keep em off me :] Theres this one new girl who keeps staring at me. It's getting kinda creepy, but hey, at least shes cute 3nodding . My mom said that I'd have no problem with girls because I have red eyes. Elves consider red eyes very attractive sweatdrop

As one of the vetrans here at S CORP a lot of elves are turning to me for some reassurance. Many elves may feel I'm more durable than I am in reality. Deep inside past my tough exterior, I'm scared as anyone else that things might fall apart this Christmas.

*takes out butterfly knife and flips it open expertly* WHCKKLKKLAK~!

I'll just stay confident and do my best.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 003

Monday, November 14th, 2005
3:58 PM

I am being assaulted with noise, the mechanical sounds of toys being born, the tinny announcements being read over the loudspeakers, the insidious voices of other lab assistants. I wish I could erect a soundproof barrier over my workbench, or at least keep the tumult from burrowing in my head and causing migraines to erupt.

The Elftech with the furry bricks for eyebrows had spasms about everything, he almost cried when he saw lunch. What he saw as a glorious, melted shrine looked like baked death to me. Wheat and cheese, two evils guaranteed to make my throat close up and my eyes bulge out.

I had rice wafers and a mug of Oolong tea for lunch. A drowsy looking ElfTech with a sleek brown bob came by and introduced herself as 369. She eyed my meal, and then reached into her bag and offered me a shiny, red apple. I pulled a thick yellow rubber band from the six-inch ball I keep in a drawer and held it up for her to take.

After she left, I carefully examined the apple with a magnifying glass, checking for the microscopic, telltale pricks caused by injections. There were none. I recorded the loss of the rubber band in my notebook and bit into the fruit.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 977

Monday, November 14th, 2005
4:45pm

a wise man does not try to create a wall of knowledge around himself:

whatever may happen .. allow it to happen .. then let it go .. empty your cup .. clear your mind .. by dying to the past one can live on in the present .. the here and now .. as if just born for the first time.

this is a proclamation of trust .. and i will go on trusting:

despite any experience .. if i am deceived .. i go on trusting .. the people that take advantage of that trust .. they are the ones i feel compassion for .. that which is truly mine can never be taken from me and in my trust i can never be corrupted.

the honorable Mr. Claus is a wise and noble man .. i know .. in the end he will see to it that all is made well .. his words have guided me in the past .. and his very existence inspires me today .. i would trust that man with my life.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 404
Monday, November 14th, 2005
5:14pm

Mrs Claus just pulled the plug on my funding. She said nobody likes my creations. She said I should think about another career. It was the worst feeling I ever felt (besides the time I ate a whole can of family size clam chowder). I didn't know what to say.
Quote:
ElfTech404 said:
But, but... what about the Pickled Turnip bubblegum?


Quote:
Mrs Claus:
I think we've seen enough of your so called "creations." More like abominations if you ask me. You have wasted thousands of company dollars on products that not even a dog would eat! Your days here are numbered.


Quote:
ElfTech404 said:
*sniff* *sniff* crying Please just give me one more chance... I promise I'll do better. gonk


Quote:
Mrs Claus:
If you can find 100 signatures by midnight tonight of people who actually like your lame products then I may consider it. Yeah, like that will happen. Pack your bags, NOW! Your plane ticket will be waiting for you...


Looks like my fate is sealed. There's no way I'll be able to find that many people by the end of the night. talk2hand  

[saphira_legend]

Journals of ElfTech 126


Monday, November 14, 2005 :5:22pm

WOW. i'm so suprised by the generocity of others. it really makes me believe that despite santa's accident, christmas will happen after all. and everyone will be merry! yay! i received about ten jackets, and a bunch of scarves and hats from people from all over gaia! some of them got a bit mangled by our Security Dept, but i think that there are two or three that made it through okay, and maybe 912 and i can take that walk outside after all... now only to find the time. it's been soooo busy that i haven't even been able to post what's been happening in my mandatory journal!

247 came by and gave me my new assignment! i'm supposed to be making a self-warming coffee mug or something or rather... but the best part is that he assigned me to work with 912! we're going to be working together! maybe this will give me the chance to show her how much i care for her...

i'm a bit curious as to what's been happening down in the shipping department. they keep breaking open crates as they are loading them... the first one seemed like a robot arm or something... but, it was the robot-arm-crane that dropped the crate, so maybe that's the replacement! no more accidents! and then today, i guess they haven't replaced the arm yet, as another crate broke, with what looked like an arm-extension for the new shipping crane arm! cool! now my buddy elves down in shipping can use the extra-long arm to reach out into the bitter cold to get the crates without getting their toes all froze! santa's so nice to order stuff like that to help us elves.

today 912 and i start production on the self warming coffee mug, and she even brought some coffee to test out the mugs that we're making! what a smart idea! but... i guess asking her out for coffee seems silly now that we have lots of it in our workshop. hmmm... i'll have to come up with another plan.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 101
Monday, November 14th, 2005
5:26pm

Mrs Claus is kinda scary. eek

Earlier I saw ElfTech404 go into her corporate office. The door slammed shut. And then the SCREAMING began... I don't know exactly what happened, but when 404 came out of the office, he looked really sad. He also had a notepad in his hand which he immediately threw into the wastebasket. Poor guy. He was mumbling something about how "it's not gonna happen man," and um...something about "clam chowder." mmmmm....clam chowder...

On my way to processing, I noticed a cute girl in a cubicle. eek She looked really scared. Out of everyone's cubicles, hers was the only one that was steel plated(i think she had one of those sneeze guards around her desk as well, I wonder what that was for?). She was wearing these weird earmuffs and was rubbing her temples like she had a bad headache and rocked back and forth in her chair. I think she must've been trying to solve a problem. I remember back in the day when I was in advanced Rock Counting, I had to count 2 rocks... boy, I started getting a headache too. Boy was that stressful. Poor girl, I feel bad for her. crying I told her that her earmuffs were cool. She stared at me blankly though so I doubt she could hear me with those things taped to her head.

Well, at least she didn't get yelled at by Mrs Claus(maybe she had those on so Mrs Claus' yelling wouldn't hurt her). I supposed I'm really lucky I haven't met Mrs Claus yet either. sweatdrop  

[saphira_legend]

Journals of ElfTech 138

Monday, November 14th, 2005
5:42 PM

For three years now (yes, three years) I've stayed in the shadows, lurked around corners of the factory's corridors, even hid in a refuse bin twice so I could see Him in all His masculine beauty in His natural surroundings, undisturbed.

I love His beautiful baby reds and the way He flips open that butterknife... He's oh so strong!

My knees get weak when I hear His name... 137... *fans self* Oh my, it's kind of warm in here.

But today, great tragedy nearly befell me: my cover was almost blown.

I was hiding in a box of C parts for Tickle-Me Lamos peeking out of two small eyeholes at Him while He was talking to Mrs. Claus. She was obstructing my line of sight to Him with her colossal height (5' 5"? How does one get that tall??). So I shifted my position a little in the box, but there was a lot of sawdust in the box, and in retrospect I probably should have hid in another box since my nose is tickled easily, because all of a sudden I AH-CHOOed! Mrs. Claus was just leaving so she probably didn't hear, but 137 looked in my direction and I held my breath and prayed He saw just a box and not an obsessed fangirl.

Thank goodness He only looked for about two seconds before He moved on.

I'm confident at this point that He did not see me.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 003
Monday, November 14th, 2005
6:15 PM

Makeshift earmuffs prevented me from hearing the announcement from Mrs. Claus saying earmuffs that prevented hearing are not allowed.

ElfTechEyebrows came to my cubicle to let me know. I had to read his lips, because the beaming elf bounced away before I could free my ears from the mass of cotton and electrical tape.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 404
Monday, November 14th, 2005
6:21pm

I can't believe this! ElfTech 101 took my notepad from the trash and got me more than enough signatures to continue my research! How wonderful, I'm so happy! rofl I was looking through the signatures and wouldn't you know it even 571 signed, I wasn't sure if he really liked the veg roll-up that I gave him earlier.

Even though Mrs Claus is real mean I feel the other ElfTech's support is worth sticking around for, I mean they must like my creations if they all signed, right? Looks like it's back to work for me smile

I nearly tripped on my way back to the lab, there were all these Tickle-Me Lamos on the floor. What's with that? People could trip and hurt themselves. neutral  

[saphira_legend]

The Grimoire of ElfTech 571
Monday, November 14th, 2005 6:43pm

The other elves are being really sweet about trying to cheer me up. 404 even offered me some of his veggie roll-up. I didn't have the heart to tell him that burnt celery probably won't fly very far with the rug rats, but I ate it just the same.

Probably one of the best performances I've put on lately. He's convinced I love the stuff (shudder).

It did give me energy though. I hadn't eaten for days, but I do have to say I feel my strength returning. 404 could pimp that stuff off on the muscle and fitness crowd, no problem...

I'm feeling the need to do a scrying spell. I have the most peculiar feeling something's not right here. The others all want to go off and see Larry Pottar, but I think I'm going to stay right here and do some good old-fashioned Divination.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 101

Monday, November 14th, 2005
6:45pm

eek

So ElfTech404 came up to me and gave me a hug...

He had tears in his eyes and he was thanking me... something about his notebook. The problem is, I had no idea what he was thanking me for... sweatdrop

Come to think of it, I did see another ElfTech grab his notebook out of the trash... I remember cause she seemed to have a Tickle Me Lamo leg hanging out of her back pocket as well... ah well...  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 003
Monday, November 14th, 2005
10:17 PM

Most of the other ElfTechs have gone, leaving me to peruse the facilities in near silence. Two rubber bands have been recovered. They have been added to the records.

---

Ball #63
Rubber band #7645
Location:
S-Corp, Employee Break Room, left of hot water dispenser
Description:
1/2" Width. Brittle. Color of manila folder. Two green stains, one bearing a slight resemblance to an Australian wombat.

---

Ball #63
Rubber band #7646
Location:
S-Corp, Utility Closet, bottom shelf, behind three rolls of dusty toilet paper
Description:
Jumbo. Color of dried blood. Can be stretched over hips comfortably, but pinches ears too tightly. Provides some headache relief when worn at the temples.  

[saphira_legend]

The Grimoire of ElfTech 571
Monday, November 14th, 2005 1:25am

I used to love this place at night.

There comes a time during the day here, right after the whistle blows... They apply the brakes to the the windmills up on the roof, they stop the conveyors, and the squirrels in their wheels are warmed down for their dinner and their nights' rest.

The whole factory becomes quiet, and there's a hush in the air; you could call it a very loud silence, yet it brims with a mystery and magic all its own.

We all usually eat right after that time, and then trundle off to bed to sleep.

All except me.

Years ago, when I came here for the first time, I can remember ElfTech013 shaking me awake in the middle of the night, and daring me to follow along with him on one of his infamous midnight adventures. Oh, there was nowhere we would not go... His and Her-self's private bathroom, the Development Lab, and the Holy Grail...CARPA...the Christmas Advanced Research Projects Agency lab in Sub-Basement Three...

The sheer genius and scale of the work I saw there did, at times, make me want to worship Santa as a god.

ElfTech013 grew tired of the game after a few years, but I have to admit...I never did. Eventually, I lost all fear of the dark passages and learned how to slip past and evade the guards and the automated security monitor droids Santa invented to help them.

Though I'll admit there were plenty of narrow escapes over the years...

Lately, though, during my midnight wanderings, every shadow seems to flicker with a gleam of Jack's glowing yellow eyes; every dark corner where the moonlight never strays seems to be wrapped in shreds of Jack's foul cloak...and I've taken to moving slowly, quietly, as only an elf can do.

Tonight was the worst it had ever been.

Even at night, the shops here are never silent. You hear the creak of metal slowly cooling from the heat of the day, you hear toys settling in their bins; if you listen closely, you imagine you can even hear the deep, elemental hum of the moonlight streaming in the high clerestory windows.

But tonight there was a new sound, and I've never heard it before.

I couldn't decide where I wanted to wander to; the magick I'd done, normally so easy to perform, took miles of effort. It didn't provide me with any clear answer, either. So I did what I usually do in situations like that...

I followed the moonpath.

What that means is that you walk in the light -- and only the light -- of the moon; the series of diagonal paths of light thrown from the windows and skylights over the floors and worktables and cabinets. You climb the tables, the mountains of cupboards; you leap over the shadowy chasms of the aisles. And you have to be quiet -- for you are throwing caution to the wind, walking in the light, in a place where watchful sentries are walking.

Tonight, as I knew, as I dreaded it must...the moonpath led directly to the basement lift, the only lift that goes to Sub-Basement Three. Where all the noises were coming from.

The Holy Grail.

CARPA.

Just before I pressed the button, I looked around at the silent shop, the mounds of materials on worktables. One deep breath. Santa, for all you were to me...and then I clicked the button.

There's a complicated bit of business you have to handle here; getting to the basement is no simple trick. There's a security badge reader, a keypad, and a keyed lock; all three must be used in order to access the basement levels. For little me, that's no problem: Elven Magick, just like they used to do up at Ye Olde Hollowe Logg. A twist, a pull, a knock, and a jigger...and down I went. Computers are so gullible.

My first real linkling of trouble came when the doors opened at the bottom of the shaft. The first corridor was ablaze with light. Normally, after hours, the halls here are swathed in a gloom so deep that only elven sight can pierce it, and only then with difficulty. This was the first time in memory I'd ever seen it any other way.

The CARPA lab is to the right, around the wide oval racetrack corridor that is the basement. Doors lead inward off the inner side of this oval, to labs and intermediate rooms. Most of these rooms have a door at their other ends that leads to a smaller inner corridor. I have no idea where this corridor might lead...peeking under doors has its limitations, and elven magick is no good against whatever secures those doors.

Drawn by dread, against my will, I moved to the right from the lift...toward the CARPA lab.

The door was closed, but alternating brilliant flashes of red and green light surged from beneath it, lighting the floor and chasing batwing shadows around the ceiling. A powerful, toneless humming filled the air, pulsing in time with the flashes. This was the sound I'd been hearing for hours, the sound my weary imagination had hoped it was...well...only imagining...

I stood there, mesmerized and blinded by the flashing lights, and then as I watched, the flashing slowed and faded, and the thrumming, loud enough to rattle the walls, faded away to nothing. I froze in my tracks, then came up to the door and pressed my ear right to it.

The door on the far end of the room opened and closed as someone entered. Quick footsteps moved about inside the lab, and then a female voice came: "How are you feeling?"

I heard a reply. I swear, upon the name of Christmas, I heard someone answer. The cadence of the reply seemed familiar, but in truth, it was too faint, just too faint to make out for sure...but my heart began to race.

Could that be...is it...could it possibly be...

Santa?

I could barely breathe because of the lump in my throat. Blindly, I groped my way back along the corridor wall toward the lift. I could barely hear anything over the roaring in my ears.

Stupidly, I blundered directly into a trashcan.

It rolled across the hallway with a clatter. And no doubt people would be popping out of labs and offices to see what was the matter. So I bolted for it, straight for the lift...and then I was ascending into darkness...the doors opened onto the main floor, and I shot from the lift and under a table, just in time as a thundering herd of sentries raced by. Still dazzled by the light show, I just lay there under the worktable and waited for them to take me.

They didn't. ninja

They gave the room a quick once-over before piling into the lift, and then they were gone. Dazed, I lay there for some moments before picking myself up and flitting from shadow to shadow back to my room.

I decided to write all this down before going to sleep; my heart was still racing but at least I made it back before bed check at 1:30.

It took awhile for me to figure out what the other emotion warring with my terror was. I realized for the first time since Halloween that I'm feeling hope.

You know, I still love this place at night. whee  

[saphira_legend]

Journal Of ElfTech 957

Tuesday, November 15th, 2005
1:25am


Dear Journal,

Crap!!! Transferred to the night shift again. I can't believe it! I hate the night shift. And to top it all off I have special instructions tonight to clean out the vent shafts. Why did I ever take this fracking job?! X_X I was told I was going to make cool toys for kids. Whatever, I hate kids anyway.

So tonight I get to climb up into the vent shafts with the FlowGee and suck off all that black crap thats stuck to the sides. What is that crap anyway, it smells really bad. It gets all over me every time and then people look at me funny. Why can't one of the other guys clean the vent shafts, I've already done it 6 times this year. Thats what brown nosing will get you I guess.


Well, I guess its off to work. Maybe I'll see 369, I heard she's on the late shift too. I think thats the only thing good about my day, is seeing her _|``|O. She always looks so sleepy... and pale ^^~~. Its so hot. I wish I could talk to her, but she probably thinks I smell too. I can never get a break . crying


Here's me in the vent shaft cleaning the black crap.

Code:

--------------------
. . .
_|``|O . . T____T
--------------------



Oh, I just found out I get to eat cold leftover pizza. My life sucks.


ooommmggggggggg I'm so stupid and lame T____T

I was done with shaft 12 and moving on to shaft 13 when I ran into 369.... ommggg I was so nervous, I hope she didn't notice... my palms were sweaty.... I'm still shaking right now _|``|O. *pant* *pant* She gave me some fruit to eat... maybe.. just maybe she's noticing me. I hope she likes me... I could show her the shrine I made for her... but... I can never talk to her because I'm too lame _|``|O Back to cleaning crap.... maybe if I'm really nice to 369 she will notice me.. what should I do for her?

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Santa sucks. He's such a corporate sellout. He used to be cool but now he's just one of them. Are we supposed to be all yaaaaaay we love you santa... you're santa clause so we have to worship you. Oh sure we'll work really hard for almost no pay. Sure I'll scrub out your private santa toilet. Screw you Santa. You're lucky I'm too scared to go out and try and get a real job which reminds me, my life sucks. Thanks again santa.

Well... its late now. Need some sleep before my late shift starts again. At home with my Mak Mini reading Gaia, slavejournal, and myplace. Everyone has so many friends, but I only have one and its my mule t___t. Maybe I'll think about 369 and cry myself to sleep. I had a bunch of emails about how to get 369... One guy said to tell her she should sleep... and I could work in something about how I would tuck her in... How should I word it???? She looks so tired... I wish I could tuck her in... I'm a nice guy, I'd be happy to do that for her _|``|O. Whatever, those emails were from people just making fun of me anyway, I'm not stupid. Any one wanting to help me just wants to trick me.

Maybe tommorow I'll get a more interesting task rather than just cleaning all the time. I wish I could at least make toys... but I still hate kids though, I just want to get that straight. They're stupid and smelly and don't deserve anything except for coal.

I've changed my journal to Friends Only because I heard snoopy 247 was going to be reading them. So from now on, FRIENDS ONLY. So if you can read this, that means I just picked your name at random because I DON'T HAVE ANY FRACKING FRIENDS _|``|O.