GAIA'S TIME LINE

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 977
Thursday, November 24th, 2005
12:09am

Rumi Wrote:
Do you think I know what I'm doing?
That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?
As much as a pen knows what it's writing,
or the ball can guess where it's going next.

.. cannot .. will not .. have not slept .. a dream woke me on monday .. should not sleep ..

i .. 'explored' .. sublevels .. all of them .. more than i thought we had .. they kept making more .. more than i could get to .. i've still seen too much .. more than i can understand .. more than i could hope to explain .. i lived in the ventilation ducts for awhile .. where no one could see me .. missed a day at work and no one noticed .. stumbled through a crowd .. a water cooler pretending to be santa lied to me and tried to buy my silence with silver .. i like the yetis that sit on your head .. but not the ones that make you bleed .. forgot to eat lunch .. twice .. collapsed in my bed ..

.. cannot .. will not .. should not ..  

[saphira_legend]

Journals of ElfTech 126
Thursday, November 24, 2005 :: Evening.

the evening's gobble gobble feast was nice, with some crazy karaoke in the later hours, which quickly turned into an all out cha cha cha festival, with one of the gaia's dance instructors teaching all the elves to cha cha cha. everyone fell asleep immediatly afterwards, exhausted from all the dancing, and their full stomachs.

who says working double overtime in a secret arctic test facility can't be fun?

after a quick nap, i'm going to get back into my production to hopefully finish up 912's & my quota of mugs early.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 369
Friday, November 25th, 2005
5:35pm(example time only, please insert the time which you posted)


Last week was pretty stressful, for many of us. There have been a lot of accidents - much more than usual... I even though I heard some kind of yelling or screaming that night while I was working at my desk. I left as soon as my shift was over, around lunchtime the next day. It's really strange... the whole atmosphere at the factory has changed. Many of the elves looked haggard and... cautious is the best word, I guess.

When I got into work on Wednesday evening, I heard rumors from a few of the other elves on nightshift that two guards who were on patrol in Sublevel F were seriously hurt, or something. Sublevel F is completely shut off from all employees, save the few with high-level clearance.

Mr. Claus made a speech that day, offering overtime bonuses to those who stayed behind. At first I was tempted, but I dunno... I was getting strange vibes at work, so I came home for Thanksgiving, and am currently relaxing in familiar surroundings. The medication my doctor prescribed to me is helping a great deal, though I find myself daydreaming a lot? Two nights ago, I had the worst nightmare about not having done my math homework... which makes no sense, because I never have any math homework!! And last night, I had a dream of waking up in my room and the inside being extremely foggy... I wandered around with my arms out, and ran into some kind of large, white obstacle with fur... but then, I started awake before I could figure out what it was. Strange... eek

I hope things go back to normal next week. Perhaps everyone is just on edge because the holidays are drawing near, and there are a lot of responsibilities to take care of. I'm sure. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will make things right too.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 912
friday, November 25, 2005 ~ 7:57pm

OMG!!!! there's way too much shmack goin on here!!! eek .... more than what goes on in my head... i overheard some elves sayin that jim and bob (the patrols for sublevel F -rackin scurry) got hurt or something!!! cry ....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! why... why, why would anyone / elf want to hurt anyone / elf... especially during the holidays!?!?! i just don't understand the world sometimes... but i know that every person / elf has his / her own reasons / causes, path and all one can do is just make the best out of the worst to keep strong for himself / heself and / or for others....everything happens for a reason...just gotta keep on truckin... i will keep jim & bob in my best wishes / prayers and try to stay positive... so... im gonna ask 126 OUT!!!! razz ...out for a walk in the nice, crunchy, pure, white snow!!!!! whee OH! i need to buy a jacket first since it's sooooooooooo cold outside... but i think i won't need a hat cuz i got snowfuzz (yeti's name...i named it that 3nodding ) on my head since that CRAZHEE accident!  

[saphira_legend]

journal of ElfTech 909
Well, finally back from vacation. I took a few extra days off and no one even noticed hehe. Stupid corporate politics. All the bosses seem to be on vacation anyways. I haven't seen anyone around.

I guess it's time to get back to work again. I hate this job. I'd rather be snorkeling on the Isle de Gambino right now. Maybe I should just go home since no one is around.

Wait a sec. What's that noise? Hello? Is anybody out th--

We regret to inform you that the journal of ElfTech909 has been sealed due to a security compromise. Please do not attempt to contact him through this address any further. Thank you for your cooperation.

-S CORP
"Making Christmas..."  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 912
friday, November 25, 2005 ~ 8:50pm

i LOVE suuuugarrrr!!! 4laugh ....turkey's alright, but FISH (salmon in particular) was yummmmyy this thanksgiving...btw...HAPPY b-lated GOBBLE GOBBLE DAY!!! though, im not much into the killing of the animals...and the pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cranberry white chocolate bars, coffee, and SUGAR were YUMMY IN MAH TUMMY!!!...dancing silly was awesome too, but the cha cha sure can be tiring to teach for hours. sweatdrop  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 062
Saturday, November 26th, 2005
2AM

It's the same dream... over and over. There must be something I can do.

Rumours are spreading, and it's so hard keeping everyone calmed down when my own knees are trembling. Hope the news about the overtime bonus will keep most of them happy, or at least, their mouths shut...

Mr. Claus seemed pretty active for the past few days. She seemed more... happy than usual. What's going on in there?  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 101
Saturday, November 26th, 2005
1:17pm

OMG... where am I? Everything is so hazy... my arms are sore. All the walls seem like they are closing in on me... eek

Have I really been up working for the past ... week?!

I think I've been hallucinating... I could've sworn I saw a few of the other ElfTechs with one of those fuzzy cute white thingamabobs on their heads! eek and ... while I was walking down the hall... I thought I saw the Amazing Elf cleaning the floors! I mean... a master like him reduced to mopping up after everyone on all fours... I must be dreaming or something.

Sometimes when I walk down the hall, I could swear that I am somehow filling out forms as I am walking... it was sooo trippy....

Then, at one point, I saw the weirdest thing... first, it felt like I was walking through water instead of air ... then my boss 247... well... he was swimming directly at me! But, he looked like some kind of fish ... a blowfish I think ... and then he whispered something to me "ayiraganap" ...

"ayiraganap" ... what the heck could that mean?  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 977
Sunday, November 27th, 2005
2:33am

Matsuo Basho Wrote:
Tabi ni yande
yume wa kareno o
kakemeguru


back down .. into the clockwork dungeon .. a task is there that needs my doing .. under the darkness .. thick and tactile with infrared .. ... .. shifting blue .. i fly .. electronic eyes blind .. shifting red .. i am away and past .. further through .. oscillating at my very core .. the tribal rhythm of the sine curve wave that leads me down .. further still .. i dissipate .. transparent .. electron silks left undisturbed .. the spider sleeps .. its web untouched .. further down i go ..

this wall .. this floor .. polished spotless by articulated disembodied doll arms .. all the whirring cogs and gears of the facility cannot hide what happened here .. a moment of silence .. i pause .. leaving two flowers in memory of the elves i knew .. and am away again to follow the sine curve home ..


Matsuo Basho Wrote:
On a journey, ill:
my dream goes wandering
over withered fields.  

[saphira_legend]

The Grimoire of ElfTech 571
Sunday, November 27th, 2005 9:27am

I Translocated back here yesterday. I'm really sorry I did. Something is definitely not right here; everyone's quiet, watching over their shoulders. Nobody told me that the yetis broke out of containment over in Biological; ElfTech 247 says they're contained -- yeah, right; those two guards sure got "contained", didn't they...contained in BODY BAGS, they were...

Apparently it was sheer hell here for a few hours after the "accident". Both the guards were killed, and they couldn't get the alarms stopped after the lab doors were wrenched open. Like I said, those yetis are real cute...as long as they're in cages. They probably had one out on the table, and hadn't quite knocked it out as well as they thought they had.

Leading back to the original question...what in blazes is going on here?

I think it's time for a midnight run.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 977
Sunday, November 27th, 2005
9:50pm

frank herbert Wrote:
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

and i look into the mirror .. and i stare back out at me .. and those are my eyes .. so i'm still out there .. in here

i will close my eyes in earnest tonight .. and open them not, until tomorrow comes ..  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 722
Monday, November 28th, 2005 6:30 AM

Oh journal, how I have neglected you! I have been busy scrubbing floors. All this manual labor is quite a new thing for me. Some fans sent me some gloves so my fingers would not bleed ... You'd think they would just offer to scrub the floors for me, wouldn't you? But, I feel this whole thing has been quite a learning experience for me ... I've learned the value of an honest day's work. And the value of an honest day's work is ... NOTHING. No more manual labor for me. Time to turn up the charm and make Mrs. Claus see the value of me. Time to work a little magic. Fortunately, some of my friends sent me chocolate to cheer me up. I much prefer peppermint, but it got me to thinking. Mrs. Claus looks like the kind of person who might enjoy a sweet or two, but would never admit it. I hatched a plan.

I collected my heart-shaped chocolate boxes from my fans, seven in all, and carried them over to Mrs. Claus.

"I heard the big man Mr. Claus is not feeling so well, and I thought these chocolates might cheer him up. Could you see that he gets them? Also take a few for yourself. You have been working SO hard this Christmas ... you really deserve something special." I handed her the stack of chocolates. "And these flowers are for you. Oh, look how they compliment the color of your eyes! Breath-taking, really."

Mrs. Claus accepted the flowers with the first smile I have seen on her face since I started working here. She took one of the boxes of chocolate from the stack. "Well, maybe just a nibble, I am trying to watch my figure."

"And a lovely figure you have, Mrs. Claus. Tell me, do you take ballet? You look so youthful and slender ... "

"Elftech722, I never knew you could be so thoughtful!" Mrs. Claus blushed as she opened the box. "Panties in a box of chocolate?! What is the idea? 'To Elftech722, with love'? What?!!"

"I have no idea how those got in there. Here you can just hand those to me ... " I snatched them from her fingers. "A mistake in the manufacturing plant, no doubt. Look, I collected thousands of signatures from all over the world. See! Here you go. All the good boys and girls want Santa to get better! I called all of my friends together ... we thought a little Christmas cheer would help Santa out this year. In fact, I composed a song special for this occasion and I would like to sing it to him."

"Well, this is all very nice, 722. I can't quite make out the message at the top of these signatures. Looks like someone tried to cross something out -- '_______Elftech722 Petition~ [Endorsed by the elf himself!]'. What does that mean?"

"Oh, it just means that I signed the get-well card too, along with all my fans. I mean Santa's fans. I mean the children. All the good little children."

Mrs. Claus thoughtfully nibbled her way through a second box of chocolate. "You know, maybe I have been too harsh with you. You aren't such a bad little elf after all. Just a little mischievous. What you need is a job that will keep you out of trouble."

"I agree! Absolutely. A job in upper management might be just the thing. Set me off on the right foot. You know, Mrs. Claus, have I ever mentioned how those glasses accentuate the lovely shape of your face. You have the very figure of an angel --"

"Actually, what I had in mind may be a little more fun for you than a boring job behind a desk." Mrs. Claus had a little twinkle in her eyes. "I heard you are a practitioner of illusions -- a magician of sorts. I thought you might like to work on a special project for me. But I need you to keep this under terms of absolute secrecy. Can you do that?"

"Of course Mrs. Claus. You can count on me!" I couldn't believe my good luck.

"Great! You start first thing tomorrow. And bring Prancer with you."

"Mrs. Claus, I will be putting on a magic show some time later on this week and I thought you might like to come and watch." If I include her, she'll have to let me do the show, right? "I have a special seat in the front row just for you and Mr. Claus. Guests of Honor. So I'll see you Wednesday night! Bye, bye, now!"

"Magic show?" Mrs. Claus paused mid-bite on a caramel chew as she opened a third box of chocolate. "Oh no! You will be much too busy for that. You will have to postpone it until after Christmas."

now known as
THE AMUSING ELF!

 

[saphira_legend]

The Grimoire of ElfTech 571
Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 2:19am

I am working the magick required to link my own mind to this Grimoire. Everyelf is terrified about what's going on around here; no one will even talk to me, but I'm going to go exploring as soon as it's fully dark. Someone has to get to the bottom of all this.

The following Grimoire entry has apparently been recorded by way of a form of Elven Magick that allows the writer to record thoughts as writing from a distance. It may indeed be magick, but is far more likely a very advanced technological tool designed for this express purpose. For this reason this device has been preserved for further study.

The yetis are on the loose, they're pissed, and they're dangerous.

They're also all over the place. Not all the elven magick in the world can stop these guys; it's why I hate them so much. Smart, strong, fast as hell too.

It was the same thing as last time, except thankfully there was no moon at all. No wind, either, and that's probably what saved my life tonight. One thing the yetis aren't, and that's silent. They make a terrific amount of noise getting around; all snuffling breath and scraping claws. Talk about a bunch of knuckle-draggers; that's surely these boys...although they have one trick they do real well, and it's the most dangerous one.

They're patient.

They'll sit down somewhere, hardly moving, hardly breathing. You don't notice them. And then...WHAM. It doesn't help that we have half a dozen different toys around here that look just like the darned things...

I'm rambling. Well, of course I am. I just got scared out of my mind.

I'd started out toward the DARPA lab. I mean, it just makes sense. That's where we built the first Hard Suit for Himself anyway.

I had gone down the hall from my room, and turned the corner by the break room. The lift to the production floor is at the end of that hall, and I'd gone down the adjacent stairwell because at night when the machinery's off you can hear the lift. For whatever reason, the night lights in the stairwell were off. It was as dark as the inside of my head. I didn't hear anything; I stood there in the darkness, listening for what felt like five minutes, before I even moved.

Quietly, stair by stair, I went down. Fortunately, it's only one flight down to the production floor. Then I was out the door, breathing a sigh of relief, letting it close silently behind me.

And all of a sudden, for no reason I could fathom, I felt the hair go up on the back of my neck. I was looking around the room as fast as I could, but I saw nothing...nothing at all.

I decided the best thing I could do was move quickly, so that I did, hugging the workbenches, milking every bit of cover I could get out of each and every shadow.

It's easily at least a hundred yards of workshop from the dormitory door to the basement lift.

I'd covered about twenty-five of them before I knew I was in trouble. I'd turned around to get my bearings, and to my absolute horror, saw a yeti swing down from the fluorescent fixture on the ceiling right above the stairwell door. That thing had been hiding directly above me as I came out the door! It landed awkwardly on the floor, claws scraping on the asphalt tiles.

I ducked back deeper into the shadows, and, on impulse, moved about twenty feet to the right. The yeti I'd seen swing down from the light had recovered, and looked around the room, its eyes glowing red in the dark. It whistled softly, an eerie sound that made my skin creep.

And then there came an answering whistle from the end of the aisle to my left. I turned my head slowly that way, and saw a pair of red, glowing eyes floating there in the dark.

It was all I could do not to lose it on the spot. I willed myself to be invisible. No such luck, of course; we're not that powerful in magick. So instead, I froze. None of us moved for several minutes. Then, the yeti at the end of the aisle started coming toward me. Obviously, trying to flush me out.

There's one thing about the yetis, though...those glowing red eyes are terrible to see through in a dark shop. My eyes, however, do not glow unless I want them to, so I have a natural advatage in this.

The yeti went straight for the spot I'd been standing in before; it was a very good thing I moved out of the way! When he/she/it didn't find me, it whistled again...that mournful sound that gives me the creeps to hear it. This time, though, I heard a chorus of answering whistles, coming from places all over the workshop.

A gauntlet.

Okay, kids, if that's the way you want it...

I slipped around the corner of the cabinet I was standing against, while the two yetis were standing there scratching their heads and trying to figure out how I'd disappeared. Good thing they're not that smart.

I climbed the shelves of the cabinet, peeking carefully in all directions before emerging onto the cabinet top. This was a big one, some twenty feet tall, towering over the shop. And the great thing about that cabinet is, it has a neighbor about six feet away, as does that cabinet, and it's next neighbor. In fact, these tall cabinets run in pairs the length of the entire production floor, all the way to the lift at the far end.

I have only one thing to say: When faced with incredible odds, and an invincible enemy, you have only one recourse: cheat.

A running jump, and then I was leaping from cabinet top to cabinet top. A chorus of whistles assailed me; I was up where they could see me, but I was moving too fast for them to catch. That wouldn't help much at the end of the room, but I still had a way to go before that.

Halfway there, I became aware that one enterprising yeti had picked up on my trick, and was loping along about a cabinet behind. With those long legs of theirs, he was gaining on me pretty quickly. I cheated left, and jumped into the top of a tall Christmas tree someone had placed in the middle of the aisle. The tree bent, startling the crap out of a yeti who'd been climbing the tree in an effort to cut me off. With a frightened squeak, it, let go of the tree and vanished into the lower branches.

The tree bent over under my weight, until it was within reach of the next cabinet top...and then I let it spring back.

The yeti which had been gaining on me took the thing square in the face; there was a dull thud as the treetop smacked it back, out of sight, and then a crash as it landed in a pile of tools and picture frames below.

I didn't stay to admire my work.

I made it to the end of the row, jumped down to a table, and headed for the lift at full speed. Then I was there, at the door, banging on the button. I turned around, in time to see a crowd of yetis come surging around both ends of the long work row.

They started edging forward. There was, of course, no way for me to run. And Translocation requires a calm, focused mind in order to work properly...needless to say, that wouldn't be happening here.

The elevator dinged. The doors slid slowly open. I jumped inside. Thumbed CLOSE DOORS.

Nothing happened.

The whistling outside became a sustained and cheerful hooting. Oh dear Santa, I'm trapped in the fracking lift...

Thumbing CLOSE DOORS over and over, and now the yetis are surging across the empty space...the last few yards...and then the lift doors started to slide closed. The doors were barely two inches open when a long, hairy arm thrust within the elevator, trying to grab me. Without thinking, I sank my own teeth into the arm. There was a roar from the owner of the arm, which was then swiftly withdrawn.

The doors clanked shut, and the lift began to drop. I was safe.

For the moment.

The doors scraped open again, onto a dark and empty hallway. The only light came from the ceiling light in the elevator itself. I was half tempted to just stay there, but then, from far above, came the screech of tearing metal.

And then the lift car was bobbing violently up and down as bodies landed on top of it...and then came the scraping sound of claws on the roof. Seeking. Trying to find a way in. I charged out of the car, into the hallway. And then I had an idea.

Get in. All the way in.

The door to the CARPA lab was open. Shock of the Nineties, by the grace of the Gods, open. Both of them.

From somewhere behind me, there came the roar of many pissed-off yetis landing in the lift car. I didn't waste any time; didn't stop to look at the armor, the weapons, the diagrams hanging on the walls...there was a faint, blue glow ahead of me which became stronger with every step I took toward it...

Then I was through the lab and out into the inner racetrack corridor, heading for the light.

There is a control booth there, which can be locked from the inside.

And I became aware that I was seeing this forbidden area for the first and last time. Kids, if you wanna play, better pick on someone your own size.

The booth looks out over a thirty-yard-wide sphere, which is completely filled with a blue, glowing light. It's a lot like looking at a miniature sun...and it's apparently what powers this whole place

I'd always wondered...
I turned to the door beside me and locked it. Through the control room windows, I could see the yetis emerge through the door I'd just come through; they milled around, looking at the light, and then they loped up to the door.

Glowing red eyes, glowering in at me.

Okay, kids, this ain't gonna be magick. Although...there's something I can do here that way, if this is how it's gotta be...elm nayech sod, may tayeh varr, elm nuchno...show me the way, show my hands the way, show my soul the way after...

My hands float over the controls. I know exactly what to do.

The light outside brightens, the flickering becomes an angry, lashing blue light. The dials and indicator screens on the control board slowly change color, turning from green to yellow, to red.

Several indicators are blinking red, and somewhere in the distance, an alarm goes off.

There's nothing left to do. I look at the yetis and smile.

The whole world turns white, a brighter light than I can imagine...

And in the end, on dreams we will depend...'cause that's what love is made of....

At this point, the journal entry ends. The explosion in the power room appears to have vaporized everything and everyone in the vicinity. No trace of ElfTech 571 has, as yet, been found.

We regret to inform you that the journal of ElfTech247 has been sealed due to a security compromise. Please do not attempt to contact him through this address any further. Thank you for your cooperation.

-S CORP
"Making Christmas..."  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 247
Tuesday November 29, 2005
5:34 pm

Authorization: 247
Password: **********
Encryption: text/plain

Current Mood: Victorious
Current Music: "La Vie Bojeme" by the cast of REMT

FINALLY! After all this time... after a week of annoyance, I was able to recover my lab logs that were encrypted by the system. It took a few favors and a long chat with Mrs. Claus in order to get everything sorted out. But it's all in there, and it's in there right. I think I've gotten maybe four hours of sleep a night these past few days as a result.

Oh brother do I have some choice words about security around here.

Things are going very well in R&D. The timetable keeps getting pushed up though. I'm not quite sure if it's wise given all the ... circumstances. I've been over my notes a hundred times and still don't feel easy about it.

I'll try and explain things to them maybe next chance I get. The red light on my desk is on though, so I've got to answer this call down on sublevel F.  

[saphira_legend]

Journal of ElfTech 247
Tuesday November 29, 2005
6:40 pm

Authorization: 247
Password: **********
Encryption: text/plain

Current Mood: NULL
Current Music: NULL

It's happening! He's here! The ###um worked b#t not as we had hoped. The Min#ows XD c#re dum### when ####aw j####st##d#ng the##. #######slow getting i### his s#it too###ho wou#####ave t#ou##t- SENSITIVE INFORMATION DETECTED. ATTEMPTING ENCRYPTION NO! Get out of##y s##tem! I can't f#el my ###s. I hear ###. ####s##om###. I###########################a## SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN

We regret to inform you that the journal of ElfTech247 has been sealed due to a security compromise. Please do not attempt to contact him through this address any further. Thank you for your cooperation.

-S CORP
"Making Christmas..."

Green found this out ninja

It's happening! He's here! The serum worked but not as we had hoped. The Mindows XD core dumped when we saw jack standing there. He_was_slow getting into his suit too. Who would #have thought- SENSITIVE INFORMATION DETECTED. ATTEMPTING ENCRYPTION NO! Get out of_my system! I can't feel my legs. I hear Mrs. Claus_coming. I_must_go_before_it_is_too_late SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN