Welcome to Gaia! ::

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

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...

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

Journal of ElfTech 912

Monday, November 15, 2005 ~ 1:33am

hey journal!... ooh i love this pen color. i should just write a lot! blaugh wait,... what was i gonna say.... .....er,.... OH YEAH! today was the best day of my whole entire 95yr, 3 ft. life!!!! I STARTED AT MY NEW, HOLLY, JOLLY, JOB! S CORP! that stands for santa corporation wink ...yep the BIG man alright, ol' jolly, red fellow... which always makes me think of big, red, gumdrops...mmm YUMMY IN MAH TUMMY! whee oh im hungry now...OH! i better eat now before taking my meds... don't want my mind to be spinning all day... or night... jeez what time is it??? I LOVE my blinking blue watch! hey that reminds me... there was this really tall elf (4'6) that i passed by this afternoon. He was staring at the doors for like, a really unusually long time... smiling... with SUNGLASSES on, to top that! eek kinda weird, but funny, and maybe... cute??? GOSH so many working elves here, and so many strange ones, like the saw dust covered girl confused and veggie dude and that really out of space chic with the words and stuff eek ... Not to mention smelly butt ( phew... good thing i have this dust mask to save me! sweatdrop ) But what a KEWL, exciting-filled, first day-of-my-new job today was!!! so many elves, so many new things to do and learn and toys to make for the BIG man... OMG! did i mention that i heard he was in some kinda accident!!! oh i hope he'll be ok. i hope Ms. Claus is alright too, even though i heard she was kinda of a vomit-flavored belly jelly xp (poor 404) OH! i'm gettin sleepy...better go to bed now...but wasn't i suppose to do something soon...geez i don't remember, oh well 3nodding

The Grimoire of ElfTech 571
Tuesday, November 15th, 2005; 7:52am

Morning here waits for noelf. And though I'm seriously considering starting a one-elf jihad against my alarm clock, I suppose that my mention of it is proof that I'll never actually so much as scratch the paint on its tinny little body. It's loud, it's annoying,...it's my faithful little friend.

The next thing to grab my attention doesn't seem so friendly though...the mandatory assembly note stuck on the corkboard on the wall, across from the end of my bed. I remember putting it up a few days ago; we all got them in our in-boxes.

Wonder what this is gonna be about...

They haven't had one of these for a while. Hope noelf's going to say anything about the disturbance last night...the one whose proximate cause is lying right here in this bed...

I wonder who's going to lead the assembly. Might be nice if it were Herself this morning; although she's been sheer bloody murder on poor 404 lately. Still, the old dame ain't half bad. You can say what you want about Herself, but she's one classy lady...wonder how she's holding up.

Just what in blazes were they doing down there in the lab last night? And where the frack is my toothbrush?

Journal of ElfTech 909
Pa rum pum pum pum!

This place is starting to get crowded by the minute. Does this mean that I don't get to work on newer toys? Oh hum. Maybe a walk around Towns can bring me back into the spirit.

Jingle!

One of the Elftechs just posted a flyer on a piler next to me stating:

All S Corp Elves must report for mandatory meeting.

Anything is better than working here at the workbench.

Journal of ElfTech 101
Tuesday, November 15th, 2005
10:05am

So I came into the office this morning and I had a package on my desk. Gosh I love packages! Just then I realized that it was the glasses that I had purchased on Greg's list. But for some reason, the package was all beaten up... it looked like someone stepped on it really hard leaving a big fat imprint in the middle. I could make out the words "omb squa."

As I opened the package, I looked inside and noticed that the two pairs of glasses inside were completely smashed. I guess I'll never look smart... crying

It's ok. My dad used to tell me that everyone has their place in this world and that we are all destined to play our parts in it.

Oh, I finally met my boss 247 this morning and he gave me my first assignment! I felt kinda bad not really doing anything yesterday... but he was nowhere to be found so I couldn't really help it. sweatdrop

He told me that I had the most important job in the facility! He handed me a stack of papers the size of a log. He told me that it was very important that I fill out these forms before the end of the shipping day. I felt so special. sweatdrop

Little ol' me, getting a responsiblity as big as this! Look at me now dad!! :O