Mitsubishi electric mr slim remote manual
Is it my battery or some other electrical problem?
2023.06.04 23:09 CoastalFunk Is it my battery or some other electrical problem?
For starters, I’m driving a 2013 328i with 100,000 miles. I bought a new battery in November, 2022.
Recently I went to unlock my car to find it would not unlock so I used the manual key to get in.
Nothing electrical worked: headlights, interior lights, door locks, windows, etc.
I called the mechanic who installed the battery and he responded that I’d ‘left something open or on.’ He told me to charge it up and leave it running for a bit once it was charged. All things are possible in this world, but I’m meticulous about shutting everything off and closing the doors completely.
I had a friend charge my battery with a trickle charger-it took 2 & a half days and started up. I then had no problems for a week.
Friday after work I ran an errand, returned to the car and once again, my locked car would not unlock!
I got in with the manual key and held the remote up against the steering column while attempting to start the car as instructed by the dash message. It took about 5 tries, but it finally started.
I don’t think it’s the alternator; there are no signs of problems there.
I’m flummoxed-anyone got advice?
Note: it went back on the trickle charger Friday evening and started this morning, Sunday.
Thanks!
submitted by CoastalFunk to BmwTech [link] [comments]
Recently I went to unlock my car to find it would not unlock so I used the manual key to get in.
Nothing electrical worked: headlights, interior lights, door locks, windows, etc.
I called the mechanic who installed the battery and he responded that I’d ‘left something open or on.’ He told me to charge it up and leave it running for a bit once it was charged. All things are possible in this world, but I’m meticulous about shutting everything off and closing the doors completely.
I had a friend charge my battery with a trickle charger-it took 2 & a half days and started up. I then had no problems for a week.
Friday after work I ran an errand, returned to the car and once again, my locked car would not unlock!
I got in with the manual key and held the remote up against the steering column while attempting to start the car as instructed by the dash message. It took about 5 tries, but it finally started.
I don’t think it’s the alternator; there are no signs of problems there.
I’m flummoxed-anyone got advice?
Note: it went back on the trickle charger Friday evening and started this morning, Sunday.
Thanks!
2023.06.04 20:29 dnew My Firmament Critique (heavy spoilers for all Cyan games)
Before I dump on the game, let me mention a few of the places that were actually clever:
Essentially, the only mode of interaction available is turning a knob. While this is not necessarily a game killer (Myst, for example, only has clicking something) in Firmament it is completely treated as turning a knob. That is, every time you use the adjunct, you're interacting with a manufactured bit of machinery to control power to one or the other function of what you're connecting to. This leads to a sparse range of puzzles that can be included, essentially none of which progress the narrative. And it leads to the requirement for a technical instruction manual at the start of the game.
There's no "let the water out of the chest then close the knob again so it'll float when you fill the pool." There's no compass rose or turning mirrors. There's no locks to find the combination to (fortunately, given the plot). There's no sorting of singing monkeys. There's no tempting of birds with seed pods. There's no catching of Squees. There's no summoning of Wharks. The steam generator and pipes to fill the Voltaic airship actually work logically, and there's a reason they're puzzling, unlike the steam pipes in Curievale. (I had to actually look up which world the steam pipes were in just now, which shows you how well-integrated that puzzle is.) Also, each puzzle is independent of all the others; there's no foreshadowing of what you need to know, nor cleverness of relating one puzzle to another, as was common all through Exile for example.
Almost all the puzzles (including the most frustrating) involve trying to find the next doorknob to turn; or, having found it, trying to figure out how to reach it with the one and only tool available. Occasionally there's the "let's see if I can find the hidden pathway." Almost none of them involve figuring something out based on the environment or the world building. When stuck, I found myself walking around with the adjunct out looking for some hidden doorknob to light up, or wandering into unobvious corners and walking around the edge of the playable area seeing if I missed a hidden pathway. This is compounded by the huge amount of nonsensical consistency-busting designs. (Watch any first-time playthrough and you'll see the player running all over the place looking for the next clue.)
Granted, once you figured out the solution, it was often clear in hindsight what you were supposed to have been doing.
Given Cyan's track record, one might ponder some of the inconsistencies in implementation and wonder whether they have a deeper meaning. I couldn't find any.
Contrast with (say) the greenhouse puzzle: first you have to figure how to get to the entrance riding the skiff, because that made so much more sense than another flight of stairs or a ladder; thank goodness the vines didn't quite close off every path. Then you have to figure out that the place you're trying to go is the other side of the planters on the same level (and not to the thing that looks like a lift or ladder), even though you can't see the other side. Then you ride the things around a while, trying to see the walkways above and below you, before realizing there's another doorknob down at the bottom; good thing they all have distinctive lights on them, eh? That doorknob can only be reached from where you're far from your goal, and from a limited number of puzzle states, then you have to work your way all the way back up, and then if you're lucky you'll have figured out how to turn the planters so you can dodge across. Sometimes you can cross on the diagonal, sometimes it's a fraction too far. And your knees don't bend, so you can't get over the foot-high plank lying on the floor. Or look at the steam pipes and heaters. You need to turn them on, and oh goody, they light up when you do. But some of the doorknobs don't glow; other sockets on the pipes aren't doorknobs they just look that way. Some of the pipes go above the surface, and you can't tell where they come back down. You then can turn on electric heaters using steam, somehow. You have to go down to turn one on, then melt some ice, then coming back up requires turning that off again. Several times you have to turn it on, then turn it off again because the valve was installed in a way that blocks the walkway. There's a valve hidden behind a grate for some reason, but fortunately your other tool can go through grates and the walkway passes by quite close. Then you have to turn on a valve, loop around to go two levels down, turn on the second valve that you can't get to because the steampunk builders thought it was a good idea to install valves that block the pathway, come back up far enough to turn on the third valve, go back down to turn on the heater, come back up and turn off the first valve, then you can progress. And when you've worked the steam power all the way to the end, what do you get? A steam-powered machine? No, just the same electric lift as in every other realm. Good thing, because you had to turn the steam off again to get to the other side of the path. The only reason for the steam pipes is to make a puzzle that somehow runs electric heaters off steam pressure, with electricity at both ends of the path already. Oh, and there's a hundred meters of gangway in loops and ramps in the water, instead of, you know, a path from one side to the other.
Compare to Riven: Riven is grounded like Firmament. It's not particularly supernatural. The stuff is mechanical, not magical. If someone disappears from a one-door room, there's probably a hidden switch. Granted, "fire marbles" aren't explained, and why there would even need to be clues to get into Tay is unclear story-wise, but OK, combinations to locks need to be written where you can find them. And the mine cart going under water was just Rule Of Cool. Everything else makes sense. Secret passages are only secret from one side. Doors are locked between where Ghen moves and where natives move, and locked on the side where Ghen is. When there's a "hidden" passage that's hard to see, the people who created it leave a pointer (usually a dagger). When there's a hidden door, you can see into the adjacent room so you know to look for the door. There's no case of "wander all over the level holding the 'show me interaction points' control, trying to figure out if there's a button that enables some other part of the level to work." There's no wondering whether you need an upgrade to even start working on this puzzle. If there's a hidden button to make something work, you can follow the wire to it (the fan), or see the pathway over there, or see the room through the window (book assembly island dome), or notice from where you start there's only one other path of many open (the lake sub), or etc. Look at the design of the wood pulp boiler vs the sulphur mixer. And again, the reason for all the locks are explained in-game. Riven is a masterclass in adventure game design because the puzzles all make sense in the context and story of the game, all of which we see before we need to know it, and there's almost nothing arbitrary about the puzzles.
Contrast with Firmament: Firmament looks realistic, but is surreal in detail. The entire place acts like one giant puzzle, with a dozen unintuitive steps to get from each place to the next. It has knobs that can control things remotely, but uses that capability to put things out of reach instead of making things easier, even tho the only people with adjuncts would be people who are supposed to be working the machines. It has machinery on rails constructed too close to other features to let the cars pass (like the first crane blocked by rocks, the second crane blocked by ice, the bubble car blocked by the ice, etc), which is even more silly when you find out the cliffs aren't natural either. It uses complex machinery of all different kinds to accomplish the same ends; the skiff vs the first crane vs the second crane vs the sulfur trains; the conveyance pods vs the bubble cars vs (cripes) riding blocks of ice and hopping off hopefully before you reach the shredder blades. There are places where simple stairs or bridges could be built, but instead there's a half dozen baroque processes to get from one place to another place a literal stone's throw away (see "riding blocks of ice" as well as the pointless skiff and the pointless steam pipes and ....). There's several kinds of power supplies which have to be turned on, each of which powers only the bits of puzzle blocking your way. There are innumerable doorknobs placed in cages where you have to be at the right angle to fire them with no obvious reason for the cage walls to be blocking you from there (see "riding blocks of ice"). Even at the end you have to walk entirely around the axis twice to unlock a door you're 20 feet from when you come out into space.
Compare to Exile: Exile is surreal, but this time it's intentionally designed by its creator to be surreal. Each age has a purpose and a theme, and it looks designed (unlike Myst's ages). The design of each Age gives you clues to the solutions of the puzzles, and then plays into the endgame. You have an ongoing story that tells you the motivations of the people involved. You have a reason you're suddenly thrown into the situation alone. (As in Myst and Riven, for that matter.) No need for the cliche loss of memory or untrustworthy narrator (both features of Firmament, both described in the opening monologue). There's a reason the puzzles are more difficult than you'd think necessary. The same reason is why there are clues how to solve them scattered about. And you're shown the ways in which the puzzles were made more difficult, which helps tell the story; nothing is randomly broken by accident. When you solve an age, you get a beautiful reward of getting to see the age laid out before you to admire. The ending is fulfilling, and in your hands, left to you to figure out how to bring about some solution or the best solution.
Contrast with Firmament: No setup other than a monologue telling you "you remember nothing, I might lie, go do puzzles I mean maintenance work." The puzzles are arbitrary-progress-blockage puzzles. There's very little where you have to think about what the world is like to make things work. The ages don't feel any different from each other, because every one is "figure out where the path is, where the goal is, and then try to find where you can reach the doorknob from." There's no puzzle having to do with ice on Curievale (other than the heaters, which are just different forms of doors). There's no puzzle having to do with plants on St. Andrew. Even places where you might have figured it out, it was tedious rather than clever; for example, the batteries were painted colors. Imagine how it would have been if you could see into the water and each post had a different number of batteries wired to it? I don't really want to spend time doing linear algebra to figure out puzzles during my gaming hour. And when you do solve a puzzle, half the time you're inside a building or vehicle where you can't see what's happening; the shutters only open once, the bubble cars obscure most of the view, engaging the Embrace doesn't make it obvious the doors are opening in the spire, etc.
How could I have done better? Well, I don't design games for a living, but I've been playing adventure games since they were coded in FORTRAN and printed their text on paper. There are a few obvious places the puzzles could have been made more enjoyable.
TED Talk rambling rant. Hope you enjoyed. :)
P.S., what it reminds me most, thinking on it, is all the knock-off adventure games that came out right after Myst became a world-wide success. Except refined and moved into the 2020s.
submitted by dnew to FirmamentGame [link] [comments]
Before I dump on the game, let me mention a few of the places that were actually clever:
- The bit with Camelus where you had to raise the bridge and shoot into it from below.
- Figuring out there was a path under the bridge that the ice block blocked.
- Figuring out that you could get up on the ice block from the other end of the crane.
- The lack of interaction modes. Everything is a doorknob.
- The lack of characters, plot, conflict, and motivation.
- An inability to suspend disbelief, made even more absurd by the ending.
Essentially, the only mode of interaction available is turning a knob. While this is not necessarily a game killer (Myst, for example, only has clicking something) in Firmament it is completely treated as turning a knob. That is, every time you use the adjunct, you're interacting with a manufactured bit of machinery to control power to one or the other function of what you're connecting to. This leads to a sparse range of puzzles that can be included, essentially none of which progress the narrative. And it leads to the requirement for a technical instruction manual at the start of the game.
There's no "let the water out of the chest then close the knob again so it'll float when you fill the pool." There's no compass rose or turning mirrors. There's no locks to find the combination to (fortunately, given the plot). There's no sorting of singing monkeys. There's no tempting of birds with seed pods. There's no catching of Squees. There's no summoning of Wharks. The steam generator and pipes to fill the Voltaic airship actually work logically, and there's a reason they're puzzling, unlike the steam pipes in Curievale. (I had to actually look up which world the steam pipes were in just now, which shows you how well-integrated that puzzle is.) Also, each puzzle is independent of all the others; there's no foreshadowing of what you need to know, nor cleverness of relating one puzzle to another, as was common all through Exile for example.
Almost all the puzzles (including the most frustrating) involve trying to find the next doorknob to turn; or, having found it, trying to figure out how to reach it with the one and only tool available. Occasionally there's the "let's see if I can find the hidden pathway." Almost none of them involve figuring something out based on the environment or the world building. When stuck, I found myself walking around with the adjunct out looking for some hidden doorknob to light up, or wandering into unobvious corners and walking around the edge of the playable area seeing if I missed a hidden pathway. This is compounded by the huge amount of nonsensical consistency-busting designs. (Watch any first-time playthrough and you'll see the player running all over the place looking for the next clue.)
Granted, once you figured out the solution, it was often clear in hindsight what you were supposed to have been doing.
- You could realize the conservatory is symmetrical and has rubble blocking the way so you need to climb across the planters.
- You could figure out that there were controls under the sulfur you couldn't see the first time by looking at the diagram, if you could figure out what the diagram was saying without extensive exploring to start with.
- You could figure out that the goal in the battery field was to connect the one wire to the other (and not stringing batteries from the outside inwards) once you realize there's exactly two wires leading out from the lake and the error is "no connection".
- You could figure out what order the sockets get concatenated in by looking at their orientations. (Granted, they tried to teach you that during "verification.")
- Once you've drained the first reservoir, it becomes clear the odd structures sticking up were walkways.
- Often you progress a ways through a puzzle and then you can see the exit.
- One of the first things she tells you is she'll lie to you, which kind of gave away the "you are Turner" ending.
- You're the only person alive/awake, you're vital to the completion of the project, and your mentor can tell you what to do, but she doesn't.
- In Myst, Riven, Exile, you're given ongoing plot, and you know your motivation from the start, and why there's nobody helping you.
- The ending is an unsatisfying info dump. The beginning is the same. There really wasn't a sense of accomplishment, especially since "Hey, you got to the end, no go away, everything else is automated."
- Why would your mentor set things up that you needed to work so hard to make happen what she wanted?
- Why are there even locks on the doors, given only keepers and crew are there?
- Why would any giant door only have a doorknob on one side, especially when there are other doors you can enter?
- Why wouldn't there be a path around the skiff engine so you could couple either side?
- Why is there even a cargo skiff stuck to the side of a building that has stairs at the top and bottom of its range? That's like making a handicap elevator that opens onto a staircase landing. What are you moving on the skiff?
- Why would you install steam pipes zig-zagging all over under the water?
- Why would you install the gangways zig-zagging all over under the water?
- Why would you install steam valves that block the path when turned on? Why not turn that bit so they stick out over space?
- What does turning on the steam even do, other than clearing the way to the spire? It's not powering anything at the exit. Why are the pipes and heaters even there except to make a puzzle?
- Why do the electric heaters need steam power?
- Why do pressurized steam pipes glow green, except to make the puzzle possible? Why are electric lights shining out from inside the steam pipes?
- Why wouldn't you provide all the modes of running the crane on top of the crane? Why can't you raise the hook from on top of the crane?
- How is Juleston the only place that needs special electricity? Where do the other realms get their electricity that this realm couldn't?
- Why does the conservatory have collapsed columns blocking the way that aren't anywhere else in the building? There's no place for them to have fallen from. They're not symmetrical with the other half of the building.
- Why wouldn't the walkways around planters go all the way around? How are you supposed to care for or harvest the contents on the sides without walkways?
- Why wouldn't the controls for rotating the planters be more easily accessible? There's 6 or so controls to raise and lower each planter, and one control to rotate them that you wouldn't even be able to access on foot.
- Why do you need to ride the ice block to get to the factory? Did OSHA approve that? How come the protective gear described on the sign isn't available?
- Why did the walkway in the ice processing center that the moving bridge fills collapse, and where did the collapsed floor go? There are no broken plates on the floor.
- Why is there even a movable room in the ice processing center? Why not just finish building the bridges and walkways?
- How did whoever put the moving bridge there leave? You can only reach it standing on top of an ice block.
- Why is the green pipe valve hidden behind a bunker? Wouldn't it be easier to build stairs?
- Why wouldn't you build stairs all the way to the ground instead of having to walk along the crane to an ice block to reach the stairs?
- Why are there blocks of ice all over outside the processing center?
- How did all the ice blocks get around the base of the crane? Why not grind those up instead?
- How did the block of ice block the pathway, then the bridge get closed, except intentionally?
- Why not put all the controls for the sulfur mixer in one socket?
- Why is there a giant door requiring three sockets to get connected? The tracks don't go through, and there's nothing to be moved from one side to the other, and no vehicle nearby. Why is it there, and who closed it for that matter?
- Who would build a vehicle where the part you need to line up can't be seen from the steering wheel? Camelus' back door is not visible from the steering wheel. The first ice crane has to be automated at each end because you can't see what's happening. The alignment of the second ice crane is invisible from inside the crane, requiring the platform out the side.
- Why would the crane be constructed to run into the cliff? Put it farther out like the bubble car, or don't put rocks jutting out to block its path.
- Why would the sulfur need to be mined? It's not really a planet. Why not stacks of sulfur bricks? Why are there geysers in space?
- Why would you build the bubble car rails where they'd get frozen by ice? There's no seasonal run-off making waterfalls so you had to know that would happen.
- Why pretend you're mining coal? Why launch your coal supply from the ground in rocks instead of extracting it on Earth?
- Why are you wasting coal melting ice anyway? Just use the water before you freeze it. Why build the heat-powered power plant in the coldest realm?
- Why not build the steam furnace downhill from piles of coal and a big pool of water?
- What were you planning to do with a bunch of mountains in orbit when you got to your destination?
- Lots of puzzles block you from turning them off once solved. Why? And how'd they even get in that state in the first place? Nobody is working against you, and nobody has more authority to make changes than you do.
Given Cyan's track record, one might ponder some of the inconsistencies in implementation and wonder whether they have a deeper meaning. I couldn't find any.
- The first double-bridge you come to, you have to navigate around to cross; the second double-bridge you can just reach the adjunct across; the bubble car there (I think) is positioned in a way that the last person to leave couldn't set up.of mentor dialog or books or something.
- Only one bunker has an alternate exit.
- Only one bunker has a hibernation bed. Did she drag that there? Her monologue doesn't sound like it.
- It seems like a bad idea to have the Juleston bunker close you in when the power goes off.
- Places blocked by rubble have nowhere above for the rubble to have come from.
- Collapsed floors that need to be bridged have no broken flooring or rubble under them, nor is there any reason for them to have collapsed.
- The first double-bridge you come to, you have to naviate around to cross; the second double-bridge you can just reach the adjunct across; the bubble car there (I think) is positioned in a way that the last person to leave couldn't set up.
- The moving bridge near the ice grinder for sure could not have been left that way (unless someone got ground up). Otherwise riding the ice wouldn't be a puzzle.
- The first place you need to connect three sockets, and there's only one order they connect in.
- The second place needs four sockets connected, but still shows "1/3" when you do the first one.
- When there's some option not currently available for a socket, you're not given that option. Or maybe it goes "Doink". Or maybe just nothing happens. Or maybe it's dimmed out. Or maybe it starts and then immediately reverts.
Contrast with (say) the greenhouse puzzle: first you have to figure how to get to the entrance riding the skiff, because that made so much more sense than another flight of stairs or a ladder; thank goodness the vines didn't quite close off every path. Then you have to figure out that the place you're trying to go is the other side of the planters on the same level (and not to the thing that looks like a lift or ladder), even though you can't see the other side. Then you ride the things around a while, trying to see the walkways above and below you, before realizing there's another doorknob down at the bottom; good thing they all have distinctive lights on them, eh? That doorknob can only be reached from where you're far from your goal, and from a limited number of puzzle states, then you have to work your way all the way back up, and then if you're lucky you'll have figured out how to turn the planters so you can dodge across. Sometimes you can cross on the diagonal, sometimes it's a fraction too far. And your knees don't bend, so you can't get over the foot-high plank lying on the floor. Or look at the steam pipes and heaters. You need to turn them on, and oh goody, they light up when you do. But some of the doorknobs don't glow; other sockets on the pipes aren't doorknobs they just look that way. Some of the pipes go above the surface, and you can't tell where they come back down. You then can turn on electric heaters using steam, somehow. You have to go down to turn one on, then melt some ice, then coming back up requires turning that off again. Several times you have to turn it on, then turn it off again because the valve was installed in a way that blocks the walkway. There's a valve hidden behind a grate for some reason, but fortunately your other tool can go through grates and the walkway passes by quite close. Then you have to turn on a valve, loop around to go two levels down, turn on the second valve that you can't get to because the steampunk builders thought it was a good idea to install valves that block the pathway, come back up far enough to turn on the third valve, go back down to turn on the heater, come back up and turn off the first valve, then you can progress. And when you've worked the steam power all the way to the end, what do you get? A steam-powered machine? No, just the same electric lift as in every other realm. Good thing, because you had to turn the steam off again to get to the other side of the path. The only reason for the steam pipes is to make a puzzle that somehow runs electric heaters off steam pressure, with electricity at both ends of the path already. Oh, and there's a hundred meters of gangway in loops and ramps in the water, instead of, you know, a path from one side to the other.
Compare to Riven: Riven is grounded like Firmament. It's not particularly supernatural. The stuff is mechanical, not magical. If someone disappears from a one-door room, there's probably a hidden switch. Granted, "fire marbles" aren't explained, and why there would even need to be clues to get into Tay is unclear story-wise, but OK, combinations to locks need to be written where you can find them. And the mine cart going under water was just Rule Of Cool. Everything else makes sense. Secret passages are only secret from one side. Doors are locked between where Ghen moves and where natives move, and locked on the side where Ghen is. When there's a "hidden" passage that's hard to see, the people who created it leave a pointer (usually a dagger). When there's a hidden door, you can see into the adjacent room so you know to look for the door. There's no case of "wander all over the level holding the 'show me interaction points' control, trying to figure out if there's a button that enables some other part of the level to work." There's no wondering whether you need an upgrade to even start working on this puzzle. If there's a hidden button to make something work, you can follow the wire to it (the fan), or see the pathway over there, or see the room through the window (book assembly island dome), or notice from where you start there's only one other path of many open (the lake sub), or etc. Look at the design of the wood pulp boiler vs the sulphur mixer. And again, the reason for all the locks are explained in-game. Riven is a masterclass in adventure game design because the puzzles all make sense in the context and story of the game, all of which we see before we need to know it, and there's almost nothing arbitrary about the puzzles.
Contrast with Firmament: Firmament looks realistic, but is surreal in detail. The entire place acts like one giant puzzle, with a dozen unintuitive steps to get from each place to the next. It has knobs that can control things remotely, but uses that capability to put things out of reach instead of making things easier, even tho the only people with adjuncts would be people who are supposed to be working the machines. It has machinery on rails constructed too close to other features to let the cars pass (like the first crane blocked by rocks, the second crane blocked by ice, the bubble car blocked by the ice, etc), which is even more silly when you find out the cliffs aren't natural either. It uses complex machinery of all different kinds to accomplish the same ends; the skiff vs the first crane vs the second crane vs the sulfur trains; the conveyance pods vs the bubble cars vs (cripes) riding blocks of ice and hopping off hopefully before you reach the shredder blades. There are places where simple stairs or bridges could be built, but instead there's a half dozen baroque processes to get from one place to another place a literal stone's throw away (see "riding blocks of ice" as well as the pointless skiff and the pointless steam pipes and ....). There's several kinds of power supplies which have to be turned on, each of which powers only the bits of puzzle blocking your way. There are innumerable doorknobs placed in cages where you have to be at the right angle to fire them with no obvious reason for the cage walls to be blocking you from there (see "riding blocks of ice"). Even at the end you have to walk entirely around the axis twice to unlock a door you're 20 feet from when you come out into space.
Compare to Exile: Exile is surreal, but this time it's intentionally designed by its creator to be surreal. Each age has a purpose and a theme, and it looks designed (unlike Myst's ages). The design of each Age gives you clues to the solutions of the puzzles, and then plays into the endgame. You have an ongoing story that tells you the motivations of the people involved. You have a reason you're suddenly thrown into the situation alone. (As in Myst and Riven, for that matter.) No need for the cliche loss of memory or untrustworthy narrator (both features of Firmament, both described in the opening monologue). There's a reason the puzzles are more difficult than you'd think necessary. The same reason is why there are clues how to solve them scattered about. And you're shown the ways in which the puzzles were made more difficult, which helps tell the story; nothing is randomly broken by accident. When you solve an age, you get a beautiful reward of getting to see the age laid out before you to admire. The ending is fulfilling, and in your hands, left to you to figure out how to bring about some solution or the best solution.
Contrast with Firmament: No setup other than a monologue telling you "you remember nothing, I might lie, go do puzzles I mean maintenance work." The puzzles are arbitrary-progress-blockage puzzles. There's very little where you have to think about what the world is like to make things work. The ages don't feel any different from each other, because every one is "figure out where the path is, where the goal is, and then try to find where you can reach the doorknob from." There's no puzzle having to do with ice on Curievale (other than the heaters, which are just different forms of doors). There's no puzzle having to do with plants on St. Andrew. Even places where you might have figured it out, it was tedious rather than clever; for example, the batteries were painted colors. Imagine how it would have been if you could see into the water and each post had a different number of batteries wired to it? I don't really want to spend time doing linear algebra to figure out puzzles during my gaming hour. And when you do solve a puzzle, half the time you're inside a building or vehicle where you can't see what's happening; the shutters only open once, the bubble cars obscure most of the view, engaging the Embrace doesn't make it obvious the doors are opening in the spire, etc.
How could I have done better? Well, I don't design games for a living, but I've been playing adventure games since they were coded in FORTRAN and printed their text on paper. There are a few obvious places the puzzles could have been made more enjoyable.
- Make the batteries in Juleston visible through the water, with different pylons having different numbers of batteries visibly connected. Then you don't have to do linear algebra and experiments to figure out what's going on, and the fact that the final step is also providing power would be obvious. This would leave open the possibility for the people who want to do linear algebra. (Sort of like how the sound direction clues in Mechanical Age let you navigate in Selentic Age even though there were adequate clues if you went to Selentic first.)
- Keep the steam pipes underwater, so you can follow where the next valve is.
- Actually require the player to mix the sulfur with the sulfur mixer, just for realism. And don't just have the computer tell the user what the next step is. "Door crusted." "Too much acid." "Pool full." Show, don't tell, like with the crusted lock at the start. Maybe make it so you can look into the pool before you add sulfur and see that there are controls down there, and locking lugs, and crusty stuff.
- When a machine finally turns on, make it obvious why you needed that machine in the first place. The whole "turn on steam" in Curievale was there to clear the way of ice in your way (with electric heaters, no less), while the builders could have just put a walkway over or straight through the water there. They could have made the lift at the end obviously running on steam pressure, which might have even made sense in the context of the steampunk origin story. The whole "turn on the batteries" in Juleston was there to power a half dozen machines while other machines all over already had power. Why does the Juleston bunker (you know, the place holding all the maintenance supplies) need battery power to be accessible and the others don't? (Oh, that's right, achievements.) Why did you have to send power to the bunker in order to open the giant doors? And again, the sulfur didn't need mixing (can you tell I'm traumatized?).
- Put some puzzles in that have to do with the age. Require a puzzle where you have to know ice floats, like drop a giant floating ice cube in the resevoir to get across. Require a puzzle where you have to fertilize or poison (with sulfur?) or electrocute (after powering up Juleston?) plants to progress through St Andrew. Let the player pick up a battery to locally power puzzles in Juleston (due to broken wires?) instead of just declaring that this lift lacks power but that lift works fine.
P.S., what it reminds me most, thinking on it, is all the knock-off adventure games that came out right after Myst became a world-wide success. Except refined and moved into the 2020s.
2023.06.04 16:45 AlterCrimson THR10ii not connecting to bluetooth
 | Hi, I recently bought my first electric guitar and amp, which was the Yamaha THRii. However, I have had issues connecting to the amp via bluetooth. When I press the 4 and 5 buttons, the amp goes into pairing mode. However, even though my remote app says the amp is connected (as shown above), my amp doesnt show the constant green light as the manual says. When my app first connects, the amp continues to blink the green light and stops after 3 minutes. However, even after the green light disappears, I am still able to change the amp settings via the remote app, but im not able to use the amp as a bluetooth speaker. submitted by AlterCrimson to YamahaTHR [link] [comments] Ive tried factory resetting but the issue persists. Does anyone know if I'm missing out somthing or is the amp faulty and should I get it serviced under warranty. Thanks for the help! |
2023.06.04 06:35 Cool_ball999 Awaken 20/web of chaos
First
Prev
Corva fiddled with an empty medicine bottle, he looked at the labels and peeled them, only to stick it on the bottle again, he would screw off the cap and screw it back on repeatedly. It was an old habit of his, just looking at random things and playing with them like a fidget toy, he only does it when he has nothing to do, ever since he got a job that habit disappeared, but now, all he can do is lay down on the bed of a hospital tent, and he's also technically currently unemployed. Since no company is going to recruit anyone in the middle of an invasion from killer robots. He thought back to what happened yesterday, when Lavoss came into the tent and confronted Kawl.
"You're still awake?"
"Hmm?"
He was still curious about it, what did Lavoss mean by traitor? Did Kawl kill someone? He doesn't look like someone who would do such a thing, whatever it was that he did though, it was significant enough for Lavoss to hit him in the head with the stock of his gun knocking him out cold. It was shocking to see, he was awfully calm up until the point he said something about the traitor part and not a moment later Kawl was on the ground unconscious with a gun stock shaped dent on the chitin protecting his head. Everyone gasped, except Mari, the nurse, she looked like she expected it for a long time and stayed calm.
"Do you have trouble sleeping?"
She asked as she came back with another box of medical supplies.
"No, just… didn't feel like it"
"What do you mean you don't feel like sleeping?"
She put the box down and walked up to him.
"Well… i got plenty of sleep yesterday, spent the rest of it sleeping, didn't i? And most of today as well"
"With all due respect that doesn't justify staying up until the middle of the night, besides, you need rest"
"Same thing can be said about you… I haven't seen you take any kind of break, even the doctor's not here, why are you?"
"The downside of being the only qualified nurse left around, not the only one in the camp of course, just the only one left for this tent, besides… it's my duty to watch over the patients, and make sure they have enough sleep…"
She raised her voice a little on that last word, as well as throwing a glance at other patients that were already asleep.
"Subtle…"
"Right i am, now sleep"
"I've tried, i don't think i can"
"So you do have trouble sleeping, hold on, i think i have something for that in stock"
"No thanks, can we just… talk? It's been some time since I've had a friendly talk with anyone, just… Not about anything in particular, you know? Just talk"
"Hmm… fine, when was the last time then?"
"Right before the invasion… right before he lost his life…"
"Let's… not talk about that…"
"Wise…"
"Uhm… What's your job?"
"QC, for quality control, in an arms factory"
"A factory worker? You looked way cleaner than i thought you would"
"If i were working in the assembly i think you would change your mind about that, but no, QC's don't get their hand dirty often, maybe once in a while when a weapon explodes on them"
"Huh… ever had one?"
"Personally? No, have I seen it? Yes, funny story, when i first got accepted i had this instructor, telling us how to check the quality of products, the first rifle he picked up to show us how to check the pulse had a faulty wiring on it, too much energy, it blew up on his face while a group of new QC's was watching, safe to say he doesn't like it when some of us laughed"
"Poor guy, reminded mr of someone"
"Who?"
"My sister"
"Oh i…"
"Oh don't worry, it's nothing sensitive, it's like your story, she's a teacher, been one for a while even before she got here, so when she got here to Rosan she was considered a senior teacher, and when new ones needs a tour of their workplace and know how to handle the kids they relied on her, now one day she was guiding a new teacher…"
"Mhm?"
"And she was like… maybe she wants to show off a little bit, I don't know, but from what she told me, she said to this new teacher something along the lines of: 'look at these children! So behaved! If you want to do that you have to learn from me' or something like that… and… not a second after that, one of the kids who were playing threw a wet ball of paper and it hit her right in the back of the head"
Corva had to spend some willpower trying not to laugh, remembering that he was the one who laughed when his instructor blew himself up along with Kasso didn't make it any easier.
"Oh the look of embarrassment on her face, didn't see it myself, but i wish i did, i can feel her esteem crumble every time i mention it, it was cute to see her just shrink and try to hide her face"
"Oh… you'll like it when you see how my friend acts around girls, Kasso, he…"
Mari was a bit confused why Corva suddenly fell silent, why he looked at the ground with a frown, until she remembered what he said, and it clicked on her.
Right before he lost his life
"I'm sorry for your loss"
"It's fine, i'm sure he's in a better place… much better than this… hellhole"
She wanted to comment on his sudden pessimism, but decided that won't be so wise considering he's not wrong, no matter how many times she tries to ignore it, she has to admit, their current situation is a hellhole.
"I suppose that's enough talk for now…"
"...."
"I advise you sleep now, you'll get tired"
He didn't respond, and just went to sleep without another word, and an unchanged expression of sorrow. She sighed and returned to her work, sorting the type of medications into different containers.
"When will it all end?"
—-~----
It was calm… and black… that is about all Schen can think about regarding his current state, he can't tell if he's dreaming, or if he's asleep or awake, it's just that he is aware. It was a strange feeling, like being asleep physically but not mentally, he feels like he's floating, without a body, like there's nothing that can limit him. And yet at the same time he can't do anything, he was just aware, and drifting away in this weird state of half dream. For some reason, he thought of those tales of people who 'died' , people who experienced long comas, and the tale of their supposed journey to this place between the mind and the world.
Ridiculous stories, barely believable, and uninteresting if you ask him. And yet, here he is now, aware of what's happening, he remembers everything, he passed out from blood loss, after fighting one of those things. He wants to wake up, check on his men, maybe meet up with Captain Vaiya and make up a plan on what to do next regarding their situation. But you can't wake up when you don't even have control over your eyes, so it was more of a waiting game, an annoying one, knowing what's happening and yet can't act on it. He'd rather be actually dead over this, at least if he's dead he doesn't have to worry about anything. The problem is, he knows he's alive, it's just that his body is not responding to him, nor can he feel it.
It took what felt like hours, since he wasn't actually asleep, he was paralyzed but still conscious. After an agonizing few hours, he felt the first bodily sensation, his finger, it graduated to the feeling of his hand resting on a soft surface, probably some sort of bed, he can feel his breath as well. He started feeling his body, little by little, unfortunately, now that he feels his body again, he can feel what his body feels, and that is pure unadulterated pain. On his head, on his leg, his back, his arm, everywhere, he doesn't remember getting hit that much, but apparently he did. His back arched from trying to suppress it, and he let out a grunt that was too loud for his standard.
"Calm down! Don't move just yet…"
A voice, good, that means he should be in a friendly area now. He opened one of his eyes with a considerable amount of struggle, and saw the face of an Enovian with a waterproof paramedic hat on through his blurry vision.
"I've had worse…"
What a word for him to say before his back gave up on him and suddenly went limp, triggering pain in many areas of his body.
"Aergh…"
He grunted with some exasperation and regret. Maybe he shouldn't be showing off at this kind of age, it's not good for his bones.
"Where's our painkillers?"
—-~----
"Captain?"
"Yes?"
"He's awake"
"Just? or?..."
"For awhile, he needed some time to actually get up, thought we'll just wait for him before telling you"
"Alright, thank you, i'll be there, a wonder he survived though, and to wake up this early"
"It is, his wounds were near fatal, he was essentially one light tap away from a fractured skull"
"Tough little guy… you can go now, there are others no?"
"Oh…yes, sorry ma'am"
Vaiya turned off her personal datapad, and stood up from her command seat. She dusted some metal dust off her uniform and made her way to the recruitment office turned into a temporary medical bay. She walked through a collection of the remaining crew of the ship, some simply threw a glance at her, some greeted her, and some gave her a salute. She noted the look of despair in their eyes and sighed, but kept on walking as that isn't her goal right now. She arrived at a door with a plate next to it that says: 'recruitment', the plate had an electrical tape with a writing on it that says: 'medical bay now' stuck haphazardly on top of it.
It isn't a neon sign, but it works. She opened the door manually with her hand as most of the doors in administration are now unpowered, inside was simple, four 'beds' laid on the floor, with most of the desks removed, the remaining medical crews stay here now, treating anyone they can. Including the new security captain, Schon, who she spotted sitting on his bed half awake wrapped in blood caked bandages, while clearly struggling to drink from a glass cup. He looked oddly… calm, like he's not surprised he's here at all. Granted, she did rescue him from becoming minced meat, and it's only logical to assume there are survivors holding out somewhere, but he looks absolutely unfazed, as if he had this happen before.
"SC Schon?"
She walked up to him, he gave an unsurprised look and went back to doing his best to drink.
"Captain…"
"Nice to see you awake already, i figured it would take a long time but you prove me wrong…"
"Uh-huh…."
"About that status report you ask for-"
"I already know, stranded, no engine, almost all crew dead, ship's practically scrapped, light's dying, and surrounded by killer machines chewing on the hull, and Rosan IV isn't so lucky either"
"Yes… unfortunate is it?"
"Yes, but right now I don't care, how's my men?"
"Your what?"
"My subordinates"
"Ah… they're… few, 50… down to you and two others, i'm sorry"
"I see… who?"
"Koern, and Ayuna"
Schen wasn't paying much attention to the captain, he simply stared off into the distance, but hearing the young Caevit's name roll off her tongue took his attention.
"Really?... Thank you, but you're not here just for that right?"
Now that he actually pays some attention to her, he noticed her face change, a bit more tense.
"You read my mind, come"
"I can barely move my lips and you want me to walk?"
She looks around for a minute before looking back at him.
"I don't mind carrying someone"
"Huh?"
—-~----
"If i have credit for every time a Tekit lady carries me in her arms while i can barely move, i'll have two"
Schen commented on his current position, it earned him a confused and curious look from the captain. She took him to an uninhabited room to talk, as it turns out most of the administration has been turned to some sort of holdout for whoever's left alive in the ship. She set him down on a chair and followed suit, sitting right in front of him.
"So what is this? Is there something you want to know? If it's about this whole thing then you're talking to a wall"
Her behavior was odd, Schen noted, she seems… agitated, not angry, just stirred, like something's bugging her. He can understand being scared, but the way she moves suggests whatever's currently happening isn't the case.
"Nothing much… i just want… confirmation"
"Go ahead…"
"So… I heard that Koern asked you for help, is that so?"
"Yeah? Got to me after he said you can't help"
"Do you know what his issue was?"
"Yes, random images and voice recordings from his cousin"
"Okay… where does his cousin lives?"
"In Rosan IV and from what i heard, it's about as messed up as this ship"
"That is correct, do you-"
"Wait, can we just get to the point here? What's the issue? Why are you suddenly interested in Koern's problem?"
"I… because…"
"Hmm?"
"...Because i've been having the same problem, what you said, random images, and voice recordings, now i know it's exactly the same, that is what i want to know"
"Huh… okay… so?..."
"There's one difference… his problem started today, during the jump, my problem has been going on for the last five cycles"
"....."
"And I want to know one more thing, please, answer this honestly… do you see it?"
He can feel her agitation increase tenfold as she asks the question. She was normal, now she's visibly shaking.
"See what?..."
"The shape…"
"Shape?"
"Please tell me you saw it too, i… I've been thinking about it… for a long time… ever since I've peered into those images, there's a shape stuck in my eyes, it's burned itself into my mind, and I feel it…. Everyday i think i see something in the corner of my eyes, i hear noises that aren't there, closer and closer every time!…. It… it was getting closer… the shape…"
Her stare became intense, like the stare of a crazed person.
"i… don't know…"
"Oh but you know! You saw it!... Just as I did… it sees you, but you can barely see it, it's there… watching… First it stays in the image, then it creeps into you, haunts you, then you see it hide everytime you turn your head… it follows you, everywhere you go… in your sleep… when you work… all the time…"
Her breathing was rapid, almost uncontrolled.
"Perhaps… that's just you, i do not experience these"
"It may not now, but it will…. Because it has to me, it's like a tumor, and it won't go away, no matter how hard i try… it's still there…"
She calmed down slightly, her breathing was normal again, sort of, and she's no longer shaking, but the stare is still there, the stare of true fear, striking deep into his soul. As she calmed down more and thankfully finally averted her gaze elsewhere, Schen took the downtime to process what he just listened to, and his conclusion was: what the ////?
"Sorry… i… i just… i needed to know… i need to know if i'm not the only one… now i know it's in you too, not now, but soon, t-thank you"
"Your… welcome…"
"Should we return?"
"We…"
He pondered about asking her to take him to the bridge, so he can look out and see what's happening outside the ship, but now he's reconsidering it, because of that… experience.
"...Yes, we should"
She let go of his arms, he didn't even realize it, but she was holding on to him tight the whole time.
"Of course… of course, let's make this quick…"
—-~----
Schen observed Captain Vaiya as she left the medical room, he noted her sudden return to her previous well mannered behavior, he can still see a tinge of anxiety in her eyes and movements however, and realized how similar it was to Koern's behavior. Anxiety, unease, massive discomfort, moving around constantly, and eyes snapping to random positions as if they're trying to catch something on the move. It was unmistakable, Schen recalled back to his conversation with Koern, about something he said.
'it's… distressing'
Koern did look at the images before coming to him, and it was clear the images caused it, if Vaiya had something similar or identical happen, he can assume the cause for her distress is the same. But one question remains that still baffles him: how? How do random images do that? Implanting irrational fear into someone, making them see things that aren't there, what is happening? And now that he considers it, he did see the images, is he going to fall victim to the same thing? Why hasn't he felt anything if those images can do that to someone through just a mere look at it?
One question leads to another, and it all gets more complicated the longer he tries to solve it. He wanted to ignore it, maybe they were just unstable and he misjudged the whole thing, but he can't help but feel there's something to it, it's clear those images and recordings somehow were sent by the creatures currently roaming the ship, he sees the connection, but why? And how? Psychological warfare? Maybe, that was the most rational answer he could come up with. With their clear situation of being in the middle of an invasion, he can only assume such an answer, but applying it to only a few specific targets seems beyond strange.
He pinched his snout in frustration, before taking a deep breath and exhaling it as slowly as he could. Perhaps he shouldn't think of it too much for now, maybe that's how it gets into you, the shape… whatever it is. He looked around his surroundings, a 'medical' room, previously an office, he watched the doctors treat the wounded as he thought of his next step. Looking outside the ship should be a good idea, he had asked a nurse about the whole situation before Vaiya showed up, they told him the entire star system has fallen, Rosan IV was silent, any attempts at communication and call for help were futile, the other planets around the system, some are yet to be named, are the same.
That means those things have been here for a while, and somehow stayed out of the union's radar. He remembered the emerging stories of Rosan IV, how it became a ghost, how communications were far and few between, how many ships that traveled to its system went missing and ones that returned had signs of heavy damage on them, and how their crews looked 'lifeless'. If Rosan's system has been like this for some time, wouldn't that mean any ship that comes here would suffer the same fate as his ship?.
Why would some return and look 'fine' was beyond him, but a thought nestled itself in his mind, a terrifying thought, it made his blood run cold, the thought that these things have spread beyond this solar system, spread silently, in cargo ships that travel to every corner of union space. Suddenly people seeing shapes and hearing sounds after they look at an image doesn't sound horrifying anymore.
"////…"
—-~----
Faen sat in his office, for the millionth time, he stared at his computer, for the millionth time, he opened the files containing the Qrid military spending, for the millionth time, he looked at the reports file, for the millionth time. It has always been like this, being a general wasn't all about giving orders and making war plans, most of his time was spent in front of his computer, looking at the passive activity of his army, and its spendings, receiving calls or calling someone to see if he can learn something new about someone else's army. Look at pirate reports, raiders, terrorists, radicalist, sometimes cultists, it has always been like this, looking away at the computer, looking at files, always has been.
He wouldn't say he couldn't make wartime decisions, if one were to ever occur, he's always confident he can, after all he has learned from both his father and many mentors. He trained for it, for war, he trained how to control an army in such a situation for pretty much his whole life, he doesn't have to, but it's better to know how to fight than not at all. You never know when it'll come, maybe now, maybe in years during your old days, maybe never, but if it ever does come, he knows what to do, whether he likes it or not. It's a part of his pride, his identity, though he couldn't say much about his son, and everyday he worries about not having a successor, not having someone to pass the torch to, and as time marches on indiscriminately, his worry can only grow.
Sometimes he wondered if should've been harsh, and not fulfill his wish to go to university so he can learn computer science, and put him in the very school he himself went through to become what he is now. But that's not a good father, isn't it? It would be against his wish, and he would've needed to force him, it's what his son's grandfather did… to him, he still thinks about it, about his original dream. A singer, a far cry from a supreme general, he remembered the angry face of his father upon learning what he wanted to be, it felt like it happened just yesterday. He never liked it, not once, despite managing to prove himself worthy as a leader of an army in the end of everything.
And to think, he was almost like that, to his own son, he couldn't handle the thought. Faen took his eyes off the screen, just for a moment, and looked at another one, a camera display, showing his son's room. Rana was sleeping, as usual and as he should be at a time like this, he looked at him through the screen, at his arm, and thought about his latest conversation with the woman he loved.
"Disappointment, huh?"
He felt a subtle pain in his chest out of nowhere, he opened the drawer on his desk through a motion that tells of excessive habit, and absentmindedly took his medication without looking. With a sigh, he looked at a small button to his right. There was a screen above it that had a list of people considered significant enough to be contacted by him directly, which ranged from the supreme generals of other species, to the head maiden that cleaned his and his son's bedroom. He looked for a specific one that he recently added, the surgeon that is the head of operation for the trials he had put Rana through for the last few cycles, the trials that he and his mother show complete disapproval to.
He found it and clicked the button, it was answered after some time and he entered a call with the surgeon.
"A pleasure to speak with you general"
"Hrm…"
"Is there something you wish to ask of me?"
"Yes… we should stop, no more trials"
"If that is what you want, then I will gladly comply, but may I ask why for the sudden stop? You seem invested in this when you first called me to arrange it"
"Family issues"
"that is-"
He cut the call short, and continued his work. Looking at the files, looking for differences every so often, making sure everything is stable and taken care of, and glancing at his son's monitor once in a while, and for the first time since his son graduated university, he smiled. Perhaps that's the right thing, to be a father, not a general. At least… for a moment, his smile disappeared as he received a call, it was marked as urgent, and was displayed on his screen instead of just a sound notification. He dusted his uniform and fixed any creases as he noticed the call wasn't just any call, it was a notice for him to join a discussion between supreme generals of each species and their respective leaders, that includes the matriarch.
It is odd he wasn't notified of this earlier, oftentimes these kinds of things have their own schedule that was discussed beforehand, a sudden meeting like this can only mean one thing. He accepted the call, and his screen changed to the display he's all too familiar with, a digital conference room, two lines of camera display, the bottom for the generals, the top for the leaders, they were all present, which is to be expected. The matriarch of Qrids, the Tekit queen, the Caevitan allfather, high empress of Enovia, and the Civean president, the current roster of union council, below them was him, and other generals, including general Cynte of the Civeans.
He still remembers his little offer to make an accident to highlight Rana's name, after the reveal of the Goels and the incident it was kept as a private thing between them that didn't really go anywhere. He doesn't want to talk about it, neither does Cynte, so it was technically a win-win situation, despite the unexpected and frankly out of their favor results. The call was oddly silent, no one was saying anything even the loud ones like his mother, they seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Faen didn't question it, it would be considered stupid, so he too followed the silence. It was a strange and awkward few minutes of staring at each other not saying anything, up until what they waited for arrived in the call.
Another screen appeared above all ten screens, and on it was something he dreaded to see, the collection of red revolving rings, Cain. Practically every general present felt tense, including him, the leaders couldn't care less, except maybe for the Civean president who expressed the most worry as they all waited for Cain to speak. Sudden meeting, all members, and Cain, and considering their latest development with the Goels, this couldn't be good. The red rings assemble into the shape of a solar system like it did when it appeared on the monitors of his warship, and Cain spoke with his usual low pitched synthesized voice that everyone in the room knew quite well.
'it is no doubt all of you will question why I requested this urgent meeting, i apologize if any of you found it to be too sudden, but what I have to tell you will change your mind, and I will not waste your time, as we are in a race against time itself… the union has been breached by an invader, you are under attack, and in a process of galaxy wide invasion'
No, definitely not good.
"What do you mean by this?"
Faen immediately asked, as much as he distrust Cain, he must agree with his mindset that no time should be wasted. And it seems his question stopped a particular set of leaders trying to speak, stopping them from blurting out what are probably4 going to be pointless sarcastic remarks, so that was another benefit of speaking first.
'your union is currently under the invasion of a race that is arguably similar to me, we call them Shakran'
The display of red rings changed to a scrolling collection of images, images of… Faen doesn't know how to describe it, bipedal creatures, made of metal, and grossly disfigured bodies, with sharp claws and many eyes. Every single thing varies, some of the things in the images looked small and only had claws, some were massive and had what are clearly cannons as a weapon. He noted a certain detail about the images, they were blurry, and not straight, and some strange things were staring at the camera, while looking elsewhere. Something tells Faen these images were taken in the middle of active combat.
'They are a hivemind of machines, their sentience and sapience is debatable, but that does matter currently as their only goal is to destroy and conquer'
"Lies! If we were under an invasion from them, we would've known already! Besides… we already have an invader… we're talking to them right now"
The Tekit queen spoke with clear passive aggresive energy in her voice. Faen sighed in annoyance but kept it to himself.
'i understand the distrust, but it is no reason to make a sarcastic remark, however, you need to trust me on this matter, because their return can only mean danger to the union, and the universe as a whole, they are-'
"Wait, what do you mean… their return?"
'you all must've wondered how and why i and my brother ended up the way we did on that desert planet, what you are seeing on my screen is the answer to your question'
It didn't click for any of the leaders, their annoyed expression stays the same as Cain finished his sentence, but it clicked for every single military leader in the room, and it horrified them.
'my kind have encountered them before, my creators, it led to a war, a million year war, between me and them, they are what wiped my creators out of existence, and soon will be the cause of extinction for every single species in this union if we don't take any actions, since you refused, i have personally tracked every ship that left Rosan IV for the last six cycles, here is the data'
The scrolling images turned into a detailed map of the galaxy, with every single star system currently under union control included in it, there were red lines all over the map, they were all traced back all the way to one specific system, Rosan IV. A heavy weight rested itself on Schen's mind as he realized how far the lines have gone, to a point it crosses itself, wrapping around the galaxy in a circle, like some sort of a chaotic web.
'Rosan is lost, it is highly likely they have turned it into a staging ground, i know that we all have strived to avoid this, but war is inevitable, i have send a complete data regarding the Shakrans to all of you, please review it as fast as you can, and take your moves, as i will mine right now, alert your fleets, if they see my fleet entering a system, tell them they are here as an ally, i have been defeated once, i will not repeat the same mistake again, i hope you can catch up and help me, because there is no telling of what they will do once their setup is complete, and there is no telling whether or not i can do this alone'
"Wait! What should we do?"
'search and destroy, hunt down every ship that left the system, check every station, scan every inch of space, detonate stations, evacuate every planet they have visited then purge the cities and hammer the surface with orbital strikes if you might, but by all means… do not let. them. develop. That is all i have to say, my reinforcements are coming, but i do not know if there is enough time, act now'
And with that, Cain left the conference room, and at that very moment, it shattered, every world leader was either furious or dead silent with a look of horrific realization, his fellow generals went into a panic and contacted their fleets. Except for him, he simply sat there, unmoving and very still, staring at the galaxy map Cain had brought up, looking at one particular star system, crossed several times by the red lines, and surrounded by it, Sheneae XI, isn't that?... The solar system his wife is visiting to look at a newly opened hospital?.
(a TON of RIC's)
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Corva fiddled with an empty medicine bottle, he looked at the labels and peeled them, only to stick it on the bottle again, he would screw off the cap and screw it back on repeatedly. It was an old habit of his, just looking at random things and playing with them like a fidget toy, he only does it when he has nothing to do, ever since he got a job that habit disappeared, but now, all he can do is lay down on the bed of a hospital tent, and he's also technically currently unemployed. Since no company is going to recruit anyone in the middle of an invasion from killer robots. He thought back to what happened yesterday, when Lavoss came into the tent and confronted Kawl.
"You're still awake?"
"Hmm?"
He was still curious about it, what did Lavoss mean by traitor? Did Kawl kill someone? He doesn't look like someone who would do such a thing, whatever it was that he did though, it was significant enough for Lavoss to hit him in the head with the stock of his gun knocking him out cold. It was shocking to see, he was awfully calm up until the point he said something about the traitor part and not a moment later Kawl was on the ground unconscious with a gun stock shaped dent on the chitin protecting his head. Everyone gasped, except Mari, the nurse, she looked like she expected it for a long time and stayed calm.
"Do you have trouble sleeping?"
She asked as she came back with another box of medical supplies.
"No, just… didn't feel like it"
"What do you mean you don't feel like sleeping?"
She put the box down and walked up to him.
"Well… i got plenty of sleep yesterday, spent the rest of it sleeping, didn't i? And most of today as well"
"With all due respect that doesn't justify staying up until the middle of the night, besides, you need rest"
"Same thing can be said about you… I haven't seen you take any kind of break, even the doctor's not here, why are you?"
"The downside of being the only qualified nurse left around, not the only one in the camp of course, just the only one left for this tent, besides… it's my duty to watch over the patients, and make sure they have enough sleep…"
She raised her voice a little on that last word, as well as throwing a glance at other patients that were already asleep.
"Subtle…"
"Right i am, now sleep"
"I've tried, i don't think i can"
"So you do have trouble sleeping, hold on, i think i have something for that in stock"
"No thanks, can we just… talk? It's been some time since I've had a friendly talk with anyone, just… Not about anything in particular, you know? Just talk"
"Hmm… fine, when was the last time then?"
"Right before the invasion… right before he lost his life…"
"Let's… not talk about that…"
"Wise…"
"Uhm… What's your job?"
"QC, for quality control, in an arms factory"
"A factory worker? You looked way cleaner than i thought you would"
"If i were working in the assembly i think you would change your mind about that, but no, QC's don't get their hand dirty often, maybe once in a while when a weapon explodes on them"
"Huh… ever had one?"
"Personally? No, have I seen it? Yes, funny story, when i first got accepted i had this instructor, telling us how to check the quality of products, the first rifle he picked up to show us how to check the pulse had a faulty wiring on it, too much energy, it blew up on his face while a group of new QC's was watching, safe to say he doesn't like it when some of us laughed"
"Poor guy, reminded mr of someone"
"Who?"
"My sister"
"Oh i…"
"Oh don't worry, it's nothing sensitive, it's like your story, she's a teacher, been one for a while even before she got here, so when she got here to Rosan she was considered a senior teacher, and when new ones needs a tour of their workplace and know how to handle the kids they relied on her, now one day she was guiding a new teacher…"
"Mhm?"
"And she was like… maybe she wants to show off a little bit, I don't know, but from what she told me, she said to this new teacher something along the lines of: 'look at these children! So behaved! If you want to do that you have to learn from me' or something like that… and… not a second after that, one of the kids who were playing threw a wet ball of paper and it hit her right in the back of the head"
Corva had to spend some willpower trying not to laugh, remembering that he was the one who laughed when his instructor blew himself up along with Kasso didn't make it any easier.
"Oh the look of embarrassment on her face, didn't see it myself, but i wish i did, i can feel her esteem crumble every time i mention it, it was cute to see her just shrink and try to hide her face"
"Oh… you'll like it when you see how my friend acts around girls, Kasso, he…"
Mari was a bit confused why Corva suddenly fell silent, why he looked at the ground with a frown, until she remembered what he said, and it clicked on her.
Right before he lost his life
"I'm sorry for your loss"
"It's fine, i'm sure he's in a better place… much better than this… hellhole"
She wanted to comment on his sudden pessimism, but decided that won't be so wise considering he's not wrong, no matter how many times she tries to ignore it, she has to admit, their current situation is a hellhole.
"I suppose that's enough talk for now…"
"...."
"I advise you sleep now, you'll get tired"
He didn't respond, and just went to sleep without another word, and an unchanged expression of sorrow. She sighed and returned to her work, sorting the type of medications into different containers.
"When will it all end?"
—-~----
It was calm… and black… that is about all Schen can think about regarding his current state, he can't tell if he's dreaming, or if he's asleep or awake, it's just that he is aware. It was a strange feeling, like being asleep physically but not mentally, he feels like he's floating, without a body, like there's nothing that can limit him. And yet at the same time he can't do anything, he was just aware, and drifting away in this weird state of half dream. For some reason, he thought of those tales of people who 'died' , people who experienced long comas, and the tale of their supposed journey to this place between the mind and the world.
Ridiculous stories, barely believable, and uninteresting if you ask him. And yet, here he is now, aware of what's happening, he remembers everything, he passed out from blood loss, after fighting one of those things. He wants to wake up, check on his men, maybe meet up with Captain Vaiya and make up a plan on what to do next regarding their situation. But you can't wake up when you don't even have control over your eyes, so it was more of a waiting game, an annoying one, knowing what's happening and yet can't act on it. He'd rather be actually dead over this, at least if he's dead he doesn't have to worry about anything. The problem is, he knows he's alive, it's just that his body is not responding to him, nor can he feel it.
It took what felt like hours, since he wasn't actually asleep, he was paralyzed but still conscious. After an agonizing few hours, he felt the first bodily sensation, his finger, it graduated to the feeling of his hand resting on a soft surface, probably some sort of bed, he can feel his breath as well. He started feeling his body, little by little, unfortunately, now that he feels his body again, he can feel what his body feels, and that is pure unadulterated pain. On his head, on his leg, his back, his arm, everywhere, he doesn't remember getting hit that much, but apparently he did. His back arched from trying to suppress it, and he let out a grunt that was too loud for his standard.
"Calm down! Don't move just yet…"
A voice, good, that means he should be in a friendly area now. He opened one of his eyes with a considerable amount of struggle, and saw the face of an Enovian with a waterproof paramedic hat on through his blurry vision.
"I've had worse…"
What a word for him to say before his back gave up on him and suddenly went limp, triggering pain in many areas of his body.
"Aergh…"
He grunted with some exasperation and regret. Maybe he shouldn't be showing off at this kind of age, it's not good for his bones.
"Where's our painkillers?"
—-~----
"Captain?"
"Yes?"
"He's awake"
"Just? or?..."
"For awhile, he needed some time to actually get up, thought we'll just wait for him before telling you"
"Alright, thank you, i'll be there, a wonder he survived though, and to wake up this early"
"It is, his wounds were near fatal, he was essentially one light tap away from a fractured skull"
"Tough little guy… you can go now, there are others no?"
"Oh…yes, sorry ma'am"
Vaiya turned off her personal datapad, and stood up from her command seat. She dusted some metal dust off her uniform and made her way to the recruitment office turned into a temporary medical bay. She walked through a collection of the remaining crew of the ship, some simply threw a glance at her, some greeted her, and some gave her a salute. She noted the look of despair in their eyes and sighed, but kept on walking as that isn't her goal right now. She arrived at a door with a plate next to it that says: 'recruitment', the plate had an electrical tape with a writing on it that says: 'medical bay now' stuck haphazardly on top of it.
It isn't a neon sign, but it works. She opened the door manually with her hand as most of the doors in administration are now unpowered, inside was simple, four 'beds' laid on the floor, with most of the desks removed, the remaining medical crews stay here now, treating anyone they can. Including the new security captain, Schon, who she spotted sitting on his bed half awake wrapped in blood caked bandages, while clearly struggling to drink from a glass cup. He looked oddly… calm, like he's not surprised he's here at all. Granted, she did rescue him from becoming minced meat, and it's only logical to assume there are survivors holding out somewhere, but he looks absolutely unfazed, as if he had this happen before.
"SC Schon?"
She walked up to him, he gave an unsurprised look and went back to doing his best to drink.
"Captain…"
"Nice to see you awake already, i figured it would take a long time but you prove me wrong…"
"Uh-huh…."
"About that status report you ask for-"
"I already know, stranded, no engine, almost all crew dead, ship's practically scrapped, light's dying, and surrounded by killer machines chewing on the hull, and Rosan IV isn't so lucky either"
"Yes… unfortunate is it?"
"Yes, but right now I don't care, how's my men?"
"Your what?"
"My subordinates"
"Ah… they're… few, 50… down to you and two others, i'm sorry"
"I see… who?"
"Koern, and Ayuna"
Schen wasn't paying much attention to the captain, he simply stared off into the distance, but hearing the young Caevit's name roll off her tongue took his attention.
"Really?... Thank you, but you're not here just for that right?"
Now that he actually pays some attention to her, he noticed her face change, a bit more tense.
"You read my mind, come"
"I can barely move my lips and you want me to walk?"
She looks around for a minute before looking back at him.
"I don't mind carrying someone"
"Huh?"
—-~----
"If i have credit for every time a Tekit lady carries me in her arms while i can barely move, i'll have two"
Schen commented on his current position, it earned him a confused and curious look from the captain. She took him to an uninhabited room to talk, as it turns out most of the administration has been turned to some sort of holdout for whoever's left alive in the ship. She set him down on a chair and followed suit, sitting right in front of him.
"So what is this? Is there something you want to know? If it's about this whole thing then you're talking to a wall"
Her behavior was odd, Schen noted, she seems… agitated, not angry, just stirred, like something's bugging her. He can understand being scared, but the way she moves suggests whatever's currently happening isn't the case.
"Nothing much… i just want… confirmation"
"Go ahead…"
"So… I heard that Koern asked you for help, is that so?"
"Yeah? Got to me after he said you can't help"
"Do you know what his issue was?"
"Yes, random images and voice recordings from his cousin"
"Okay… where does his cousin lives?"
"In Rosan IV and from what i heard, it's about as messed up as this ship"
"That is correct, do you-"
"Wait, can we just get to the point here? What's the issue? Why are you suddenly interested in Koern's problem?"
"I… because…"
"Hmm?"
"...Because i've been having the same problem, what you said, random images, and voice recordings, now i know it's exactly the same, that is what i want to know"
"Huh… okay… so?..."
"There's one difference… his problem started today, during the jump, my problem has been going on for the last five cycles"
"....."
"And I want to know one more thing, please, answer this honestly… do you see it?"
He can feel her agitation increase tenfold as she asks the question. She was normal, now she's visibly shaking.
"See what?..."
"The shape…"
"Shape?"
"Please tell me you saw it too, i… I've been thinking about it… for a long time… ever since I've peered into those images, there's a shape stuck in my eyes, it's burned itself into my mind, and I feel it…. Everyday i think i see something in the corner of my eyes, i hear noises that aren't there, closer and closer every time!…. It… it was getting closer… the shape…"
Her stare became intense, like the stare of a crazed person.
"i… don't know…"
"Oh but you know! You saw it!... Just as I did… it sees you, but you can barely see it, it's there… watching… First it stays in the image, then it creeps into you, haunts you, then you see it hide everytime you turn your head… it follows you, everywhere you go… in your sleep… when you work… all the time…"
Her breathing was rapid, almost uncontrolled.
"Perhaps… that's just you, i do not experience these"
"It may not now, but it will…. Because it has to me, it's like a tumor, and it won't go away, no matter how hard i try… it's still there…"
She calmed down slightly, her breathing was normal again, sort of, and she's no longer shaking, but the stare is still there, the stare of true fear, striking deep into his soul. As she calmed down more and thankfully finally averted her gaze elsewhere, Schen took the downtime to process what he just listened to, and his conclusion was: what the ////?
"Sorry… i… i just… i needed to know… i need to know if i'm not the only one… now i know it's in you too, not now, but soon, t-thank you"
"Your… welcome…"
"Should we return?"
"We…"
He pondered about asking her to take him to the bridge, so he can look out and see what's happening outside the ship, but now he's reconsidering it, because of that… experience.
"...Yes, we should"
She let go of his arms, he didn't even realize it, but she was holding on to him tight the whole time.
"Of course… of course, let's make this quick…"
—-~----
Schen observed Captain Vaiya as she left the medical room, he noted her sudden return to her previous well mannered behavior, he can still see a tinge of anxiety in her eyes and movements however, and realized how similar it was to Koern's behavior. Anxiety, unease, massive discomfort, moving around constantly, and eyes snapping to random positions as if they're trying to catch something on the move. It was unmistakable, Schen recalled back to his conversation with Koern, about something he said.
'it's… distressing'
Koern did look at the images before coming to him, and it was clear the images caused it, if Vaiya had something similar or identical happen, he can assume the cause for her distress is the same. But one question remains that still baffles him: how? How do random images do that? Implanting irrational fear into someone, making them see things that aren't there, what is happening? And now that he considers it, he did see the images, is he going to fall victim to the same thing? Why hasn't he felt anything if those images can do that to someone through just a mere look at it?
One question leads to another, and it all gets more complicated the longer he tries to solve it. He wanted to ignore it, maybe they were just unstable and he misjudged the whole thing, but he can't help but feel there's something to it, it's clear those images and recordings somehow were sent by the creatures currently roaming the ship, he sees the connection, but why? And how? Psychological warfare? Maybe, that was the most rational answer he could come up with. With their clear situation of being in the middle of an invasion, he can only assume such an answer, but applying it to only a few specific targets seems beyond strange.
He pinched his snout in frustration, before taking a deep breath and exhaling it as slowly as he could. Perhaps he shouldn't think of it too much for now, maybe that's how it gets into you, the shape… whatever it is. He looked around his surroundings, a 'medical' room, previously an office, he watched the doctors treat the wounded as he thought of his next step. Looking outside the ship should be a good idea, he had asked a nurse about the whole situation before Vaiya showed up, they told him the entire star system has fallen, Rosan IV was silent, any attempts at communication and call for help were futile, the other planets around the system, some are yet to be named, are the same.
That means those things have been here for a while, and somehow stayed out of the union's radar. He remembered the emerging stories of Rosan IV, how it became a ghost, how communications were far and few between, how many ships that traveled to its system went missing and ones that returned had signs of heavy damage on them, and how their crews looked 'lifeless'. If Rosan's system has been like this for some time, wouldn't that mean any ship that comes here would suffer the same fate as his ship?.
Why would some return and look 'fine' was beyond him, but a thought nestled itself in his mind, a terrifying thought, it made his blood run cold, the thought that these things have spread beyond this solar system, spread silently, in cargo ships that travel to every corner of union space. Suddenly people seeing shapes and hearing sounds after they look at an image doesn't sound horrifying anymore.
"////…"
—-~----
Faen sat in his office, for the millionth time, he stared at his computer, for the millionth time, he opened the files containing the Qrid military spending, for the millionth time, he looked at the reports file, for the millionth time. It has always been like this, being a general wasn't all about giving orders and making war plans, most of his time was spent in front of his computer, looking at the passive activity of his army, and its spendings, receiving calls or calling someone to see if he can learn something new about someone else's army. Look at pirate reports, raiders, terrorists, radicalist, sometimes cultists, it has always been like this, looking away at the computer, looking at files, always has been.
He wouldn't say he couldn't make wartime decisions, if one were to ever occur, he's always confident he can, after all he has learned from both his father and many mentors. He trained for it, for war, he trained how to control an army in such a situation for pretty much his whole life, he doesn't have to, but it's better to know how to fight than not at all. You never know when it'll come, maybe now, maybe in years during your old days, maybe never, but if it ever does come, he knows what to do, whether he likes it or not. It's a part of his pride, his identity, though he couldn't say much about his son, and everyday he worries about not having a successor, not having someone to pass the torch to, and as time marches on indiscriminately, his worry can only grow.
Sometimes he wondered if should've been harsh, and not fulfill his wish to go to university so he can learn computer science, and put him in the very school he himself went through to become what he is now. But that's not a good father, isn't it? It would be against his wish, and he would've needed to force him, it's what his son's grandfather did… to him, he still thinks about it, about his original dream. A singer, a far cry from a supreme general, he remembered the angry face of his father upon learning what he wanted to be, it felt like it happened just yesterday. He never liked it, not once, despite managing to prove himself worthy as a leader of an army in the end of everything.
And to think, he was almost like that, to his own son, he couldn't handle the thought. Faen took his eyes off the screen, just for a moment, and looked at another one, a camera display, showing his son's room. Rana was sleeping, as usual and as he should be at a time like this, he looked at him through the screen, at his arm, and thought about his latest conversation with the woman he loved.
"Disappointment, huh?"
He felt a subtle pain in his chest out of nowhere, he opened the drawer on his desk through a motion that tells of excessive habit, and absentmindedly took his medication without looking. With a sigh, he looked at a small button to his right. There was a screen above it that had a list of people considered significant enough to be contacted by him directly, which ranged from the supreme generals of other species, to the head maiden that cleaned his and his son's bedroom. He looked for a specific one that he recently added, the surgeon that is the head of operation for the trials he had put Rana through for the last few cycles, the trials that he and his mother show complete disapproval to.
He found it and clicked the button, it was answered after some time and he entered a call with the surgeon.
"A pleasure to speak with you general"
"Hrm…"
"Is there something you wish to ask of me?"
"Yes… we should stop, no more trials"
"If that is what you want, then I will gladly comply, but may I ask why for the sudden stop? You seem invested in this when you first called me to arrange it"
"Family issues"
"that is-"
He cut the call short, and continued his work. Looking at the files, looking for differences every so often, making sure everything is stable and taken care of, and glancing at his son's monitor once in a while, and for the first time since his son graduated university, he smiled. Perhaps that's the right thing, to be a father, not a general. At least… for a moment, his smile disappeared as he received a call, it was marked as urgent, and was displayed on his screen instead of just a sound notification. He dusted his uniform and fixed any creases as he noticed the call wasn't just any call, it was a notice for him to join a discussion between supreme generals of each species and their respective leaders, that includes the matriarch.
It is odd he wasn't notified of this earlier, oftentimes these kinds of things have their own schedule that was discussed beforehand, a sudden meeting like this can only mean one thing. He accepted the call, and his screen changed to the display he's all too familiar with, a digital conference room, two lines of camera display, the bottom for the generals, the top for the leaders, they were all present, which is to be expected. The matriarch of Qrids, the Tekit queen, the Caevitan allfather, high empress of Enovia, and the Civean president, the current roster of union council, below them was him, and other generals, including general Cynte of the Civeans.
He still remembers his little offer to make an accident to highlight Rana's name, after the reveal of the Goels and the incident it was kept as a private thing between them that didn't really go anywhere. He doesn't want to talk about it, neither does Cynte, so it was technically a win-win situation, despite the unexpected and frankly out of their favor results. The call was oddly silent, no one was saying anything even the loud ones like his mother, they seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Faen didn't question it, it would be considered stupid, so he too followed the silence. It was a strange and awkward few minutes of staring at each other not saying anything, up until what they waited for arrived in the call.
Another screen appeared above all ten screens, and on it was something he dreaded to see, the collection of red revolving rings, Cain. Practically every general present felt tense, including him, the leaders couldn't care less, except maybe for the Civean president who expressed the most worry as they all waited for Cain to speak. Sudden meeting, all members, and Cain, and considering their latest development with the Goels, this couldn't be good. The red rings assemble into the shape of a solar system like it did when it appeared on the monitors of his warship, and Cain spoke with his usual low pitched synthesized voice that everyone in the room knew quite well.
'it is no doubt all of you will question why I requested this urgent meeting, i apologize if any of you found it to be too sudden, but what I have to tell you will change your mind, and I will not waste your time, as we are in a race against time itself… the union has been breached by an invader, you are under attack, and in a process of galaxy wide invasion'
No, definitely not good.
"What do you mean by this?"
Faen immediately asked, as much as he distrust Cain, he must agree with his mindset that no time should be wasted. And it seems his question stopped a particular set of leaders trying to speak, stopping them from blurting out what are probably4 going to be pointless sarcastic remarks, so that was another benefit of speaking first.
'your union is currently under the invasion of a race that is arguably similar to me, we call them Shakran'
The display of red rings changed to a scrolling collection of images, images of… Faen doesn't know how to describe it, bipedal creatures, made of metal, and grossly disfigured bodies, with sharp claws and many eyes. Every single thing varies, some of the things in the images looked small and only had claws, some were massive and had what are clearly cannons as a weapon. He noted a certain detail about the images, they were blurry, and not straight, and some strange things were staring at the camera, while looking elsewhere. Something tells Faen these images were taken in the middle of active combat.
'They are a hivemind of machines, their sentience and sapience is debatable, but that does matter currently as their only goal is to destroy and conquer'
"Lies! If we were under an invasion from them, we would've known already! Besides… we already have an invader… we're talking to them right now"
The Tekit queen spoke with clear passive aggresive energy in her voice. Faen sighed in annoyance but kept it to himself.
'i understand the distrust, but it is no reason to make a sarcastic remark, however, you need to trust me on this matter, because their return can only mean danger to the union, and the universe as a whole, they are-'
"Wait, what do you mean… their return?"
'you all must've wondered how and why i and my brother ended up the way we did on that desert planet, what you are seeing on my screen is the answer to your question'
It didn't click for any of the leaders, their annoyed expression stays the same as Cain finished his sentence, but it clicked for every single military leader in the room, and it horrified them.
'my kind have encountered them before, my creators, it led to a war, a million year war, between me and them, they are what wiped my creators out of existence, and soon will be the cause of extinction for every single species in this union if we don't take any actions, since you refused, i have personally tracked every ship that left Rosan IV for the last six cycles, here is the data'
The scrolling images turned into a detailed map of the galaxy, with every single star system currently under union control included in it, there were red lines all over the map, they were all traced back all the way to one specific system, Rosan IV. A heavy weight rested itself on Schen's mind as he realized how far the lines have gone, to a point it crosses itself, wrapping around the galaxy in a circle, like some sort of a chaotic web.
'Rosan is lost, it is highly likely they have turned it into a staging ground, i know that we all have strived to avoid this, but war is inevitable, i have send a complete data regarding the Shakrans to all of you, please review it as fast as you can, and take your moves, as i will mine right now, alert your fleets, if they see my fleet entering a system, tell them they are here as an ally, i have been defeated once, i will not repeat the same mistake again, i hope you can catch up and help me, because there is no telling of what they will do once their setup is complete, and there is no telling whether or not i can do this alone'
"Wait! What should we do?"
'search and destroy, hunt down every ship that left the system, check every station, scan every inch of space, detonate stations, evacuate every planet they have visited then purge the cities and hammer the surface with orbital strikes if you might, but by all means… do not let. them. develop. That is all i have to say, my reinforcements are coming, but i do not know if there is enough time, act now'
And with that, Cain left the conference room, and at that very moment, it shattered, every world leader was either furious or dead silent with a look of horrific realization, his fellow generals went into a panic and contacted their fleets. Except for him, he simply sat there, unmoving and very still, staring at the galaxy map Cain had brought up, looking at one particular star system, crossed several times by the red lines, and surrounded by it, Sheneae XI, isn't that?... The solar system his wife is visiting to look at a newly opened hospital?.
(a TON of RIC's)
2023.06.04 04:41 Researcher_1999 Mystery Solved: The Real Reason the Cafeteria Bombs Failed (and Why a Diversionary Bomb Ignited When Moved/Kicked)
 | The idea that those cafeteria bombs had any power whatsoever is giving them way too much credit. submitted by Researcher_1999 to columbined [link] [comments] Sure, the tanks were heavy, but that's where the impressive nature of these bombs begins and ends. Disclaimer: This post in no way provides instructions on how to make a bomb or a timing device. This is an analysis of why their timers failed, which is basic electronic circuitry. While this post explains why the timers failed, it does not explain what should have been done to make them work. Their entire design was flawed. There was nothing they could have done differently other than make a completely different circuit, which will not be discussed in this post for obvious reasons. Why did the cafeteria bomb timers fail? If you know basic circuitry, it's obvious by looking at this photo: Time clock Most people have been told that in order to create a timing device out of a manual alarm clock, the hands need to be metal. Rumor has it, this particular model had plastic hands, which prevented the circuit from being completed. Plastic won't complete a circuit, it's true, but there are two reasons this doesn't matter: (1) there's a simple foolproof way to use a plastic hand anyway, but (2), their timers weren't built to complete the circuit with the clock hands. How do we know this? There's no screw in the faceplate. Clock hands need to run into a metal post on the faceplate to complete a circuit. This is not how they created their circuitry. Their circuitry was 100% in the bells. Except they didn't actually create a strong circuit. It seems they were given bad, bad instructions from someone. (Or they used this powerless circuit to set off fireworks as a test run and didn't realize it wouldn't translate to big bombs). Here's another clock and you can see there is no screw here, either. Time clock We don't have any evidence that they tested their timers If they tested their timing circuitry with any success, they probably did it out in the open (not in a closed bag) because getting a fuse to light with electricity through wires is not as easy as lighting it with a lighter or even a match. They used matches all right, but if they couldn't get that fuse to ignite with the electricity first, those matches were never going to ignite to kickstart their "bombs." Their timers did ignite when the alarms went off A closer look at the photos suggests these timing devices did ignite, but had no real power because (1) they built a weak, useless "circuit" that rapidly connected and disconnected the circuit continuously, and (2) their ignition source (and power source - 9v battery) was weak. It is possible that they created the stronger version of the bell circuit, which would not rapidly connect and disconnect the circuit, but it's impossible to know for sure without more photos. Below is a video demonstrating the potential power of their "timing devices" with the same circuitry and a comparable ignition source to what they used (Keep in mind, in this video, the circuit is created properly, the ignition source is slightly more ignitable than what they created, this uses a much more powerful battery, and it still has no power): https://youtu.be/lG8WWxGqojY This is the amount of power their timers had to ignite those cafeteria bombs. Actually less. Their circuitry did not have the power to ignite anything more than fireworks. It was dead from the start. Their setup was what kids do to ignite fireworks remotely when bored. My guess is they tested timers on bottle rockets and other things. Then, they tried to jump from igniting small fireworks with timers to massive bombs. Was a diversionary bomb really kicked? I don't buy the story that a diversionary bomb was kicked or moved and then it ignited. I think that's a cover story for why the bag only started a fire and didn't cause any kind of explosion. They already told the story that 2 separate cafe bombs failed because of a single loose wire (impossible and false). With the exception of their car bombs that were intentionally disrupted, it appears that all of their timers ignited at least to a smolder. If they told people this, they would have to account for why they only smoldered and two bombs created a fire (one when shot in the cafeteria and one of the diversionary bombs). Based on the circuitry, they'd have to give away the fact that those cafe bombs were never going to explode, which would blow a hole in their story of why they never entered the school (pun intended). How we know the clocks likely ignited properly, but were weak Notice that you can't see the alarm hand in in the second photo. When this type of alarm goes off, the minute hand and small alarm hand overlap and the minute hand conceals the alarm hand underneath. This clock has taken a beating, so it had to have ignited something partially. The fact that the alarm hand isn't visible indicates this timing device ignited because of the circuitry when the alarm rang. So, their circuitry "functioned," but it was weak. The fact that this device ignited doesn't mean it ignited at the time set on the clock (12:48?). You can set these alarms for any time and then set the timer for any interval of time. They took the plastic/glass faceplates out, so it would have been possible to quickly and easily set the clock to, say, 12:30 and then set the alarm at 12:45 even if the real time was 9am, 8:33am, etc. With the hour hand at the 12, the minute hand at the 6, and the alarm hand at the 9, this timing device would go off in 15 minutes. In the first image, the minute and hour hands are gone, but the alarm is set at 12, which means it was either set to ignite on the hour (if they set the clock to the correct time) or they used the 12 mark to make it ignite in a relative amount of time. For example, they could have set the clock to any time with the minute hand at the 45 minute mark (the "9") and that would give the timer 15 minutes before it would ignite. Since these clocks can be set to any time to make timing the ignition easy in chunks of 15-30 minutes, we will never know what time these devices were actually set to go off. Dylan said it would be the most nerve-wracking 15 minutes of his life waiting for the timers to go off before they would start shooting, so they probably did set them for 15 minutes. If that's true, since they planted the bombs at 11am, they would have set them to ignite at 11:15, which makes sense, considering that's about when Dylan went into the cafeteria to apparently check on the bombs and then they started shooting right after. And they wouldn't need to set the clocks to the actual time to make them go off in 15 minutes. They could have set a clock to 3:45 and set the alarm hand at the 12 and it would have gone off in 15 minutes. So again, we can't tell what time they actually ignited, only that they did ignite given their condition. The timers could have ignited in the bag at the right time and then fizzled out fast. In the video linked above, you'll see how hard it is to get fuse to ignite from this type of circuit, even when the circuit is made correctly and there is no lack of oxygen like there is in a closed bag. Fuses will ignite with a flame, but they had to create the flame with electricity first. Apparently, they couldn't get that. How did they wire their circuits if it didn't involve the hands? They set up their timers to complete the circuit with the hammer by ringing the bells. Don't worry, this isn't a functional circuit for anything other than hobby projects, nobody can take this information and use it for a bomb. It's trash. However, it is a huge mistake a lot of people make when using alarm clocks to power DIY electronics projects. Go back to the first alarm clock. Notice that there is only one wire connected to the bells - it's connected to the left bell. Notice the rest of the wire is out of the picture frame. Notice also that the metal hammer that rings the bells is missing from the clock. The hammer is either connected to an alligator clip on the other end of that wire and was ripped off the clock, or it completely fell out of the clock. Also notice the duct tape on the metal bar that connects the bells. That's probably not there just to hold the battery. The tape is likely wrapped over the space where they cut the bar in the middle. (This is a circuit a lot of people make, but it's crap and intermittent). It's possible they made it slightly differently, but either way the circuits were weak. Here's a video that shows the end result of igniting a very similar ignition source using the same type of circuit they made, but with 4x the battery power and at least 2x the number of matches to keep the flame going AND the person who created this is preventing the hammer from moving, so the circuit doesn't break 10x a second. This is MORE powerful than what they created, and observe how weak this is: https://youtu.be/5yjeUDBeXJ0 There's your maximum oh-so-powerful, deadly, "could have taken down the library and killed 500+ people" bomb ignition potential right there. It's completely understandable that the response that day was to be cautious of their bombs. However, there is absolutely no reason to perpetuate the idea that their bombs could have ever gone off or posed a threat beyond the pressure release valve filling the cafeteria with gas that would ignite, or the fire we see in the CCTV footage. There never could have been any explosions even if they had created a proper electrical circuit (this is discussed in a previous post). The media is fully responsible for creating Eric and Dylan to be legendary school shooters and failed bombers, where they almost killed hundreds of people. Not so. That's not reality. From the other post about this: The puny fire we see on the CCTV tape was all they ever could have achieved. The "cafeteria bombs" were not bombs. They were heavy things that resembled bombs made by two people who were living in a fantasy world trying to play "bomber" when in reality, they had no clue what they were doing.When Eric wrote about possibly leaving the battery out of the device and then putting it in when he got the bomb into the commons to avoid having it blow up right then, he was dreaming. That's not how timers even work. He was puffing himself up in his own writing/verbal expressions on the Basement Tapes to make himself feel like he was a badass bomber who knew what he was doing. In reality, he was just like every other teenager, struggling with life more than most, and he had no idea how to be a real criminal. He wasn't the type, but he tried desperately to step into that image to become somebody in death, because he knew, just like everyone knows, that people don't care until you're dead. At least, from his perspective that was the only truth he knew. Now who taught them this circuitry? I know for a fact that other TCMers knew how to make timers that worked and were quite powerful. Why would they choose this specific circuitry when the other option is far more popular and reliable? Someone out there is responsible for teaching them poorly (and thankfully, because they taught them wrong). To my knowledge, this bad circuitry is not in the ACB, so where the heck did they get the idea from? Did they have a friend taking an electronics course who taught them things here and there? Michelle Hartsough admitted to teaching them how to de-powder fireworks to use the powder for other purposes, since her dad was a pyrotechnics guy. Someone out there knows the answer. They may even be reading this right now. Perhaps. Columbine is a great example of how appearances can be deceiving. This is true on many levels, but especially with those "bombs." Now why would the media push that angle so hard? The story that they could have killed hundreds and it's a miracle their cafeteria bombs didn't go off? I still think it was to cover for the fact that they used a bomb protocol that day and didn't get everyone into the building fast enough. Maybe it was their only line of defense against being sued into oblivion. Tell the families, community, judges, and juries that you couldn't go into the school because the whole school was booby-trapped (give me a break - booby-trapped with crickets?) and there were deadly devices everywhere (you mean pipe bombs that blew off an end cap at best?) and nobody will question you if you're the expert. Of course they had to be careful. They could have been injured, absolutely. Their pipe bombs had some power, but not enough to kill people with shrapnel (what shrapnel? They mostly remained intact), and not enough to warrant the lack of entry into the building. But, that's hindsight I guess. So get the media to remind everyone for months and years that these two teenagers were in total control of the school with massively powerful, super-deadly bombs everywhere, and make the scene sound more dangerous than it really was for all those officers outside... and it will be believed. Man, they're legends because of this. But leak one evidence photo of a timing device that gives away the whole show (plus other details in the documentation about the components) and when people notice the details, the circus comes to a close. Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks! |
2023.06.03 17:05 Proletlariet Brosnan Bond
You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me.
I never miss.
This Bond is very much the most gadget-centric Bond to date. Things as mundane as watches, sunglasses or ballpoint pens could, in reality, be grappling hooks or incendiary grenades. However, he doesn’t rely solely on technology to get through his many adventures. He’s a competent martial artist and excels in gunfights, even when wildly outnumbered. Brosnan’s version of the secret agent is, in my opinion, the most well-equipped and one of the most physically able versions of the character.
Feats come from Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day. Hover over a link to see which film it comes from.
Physicals
Strength- Knocks over a large bookshelf
- Resists being pushed off a ledge by another man
- Tosses a chain onto a low-flying helicopter to cause it to crash
- Swings through a window on a grappling cord, and he’s up and running a moment later
- He’s knocked down a ladder, but recovers by the time he gets to the bottom rung
- He jumps a helicopter on a motorcycle, then crashes through a roof, unharmed
- Continues fighting Stamper after a number of blows to the face
- Falls from a low hot air balloon onto a domed structure, and he recovers by grabbing some nearby cables
- He’s in close proximity to a small explosion, but stays mostly unharmed
- Gets electrocuted with a gauntlet that can output 100,000 volts, which leaves him writhing in pain but conscious
Agility
Movement
- Catches up to an aircraft taking off on the runway
- Safely rolls out of a speeding car
- Runs and jumps into a closing metal door
- Catches up to an airplane during takeoff, jumping into the plane through the landing gear
- Evades a hail of automatic gunfire by dashing into cover
- When a man attempts to shoot Bond’s knees from nearly point blank range, Bond moves his legs to avoid the shots
- Performs a combat roll down stairs to avoid handgun fire
- Ducks to cover the moment he spots a shooter’s laser sight
Skill
Unarmed Combat- Descends from an air vent and into a bathroom stall to take out a soldier
- [NSFW] Fights off Onatopp, an assassin who’s sexually excited by combat and murder
- Knocks out a man by slamming him into the walls of an elevator twice
- Has an extended fistfight with Alec Trevylyn, former agent 006, ending with Alec grabbing a handgun to hold Bond at gunpoint
- Punches a guy out in two strikes
- During a fight, he breaks a man’s arm, then punches him off a ledge
- Consistently one-punches goons
- Takes a couple strikes from a martial artist standing, then throws one right back
- Fights Mr. Kil in a room full of moving lasers
- Spots an attacker in the reflection of a bronze decoration, then uses the decoration to bludgeon them
- Knocks out Onatopp with a blow to the head with his pistol
- While on the ground, he kicks a chair at a man, then punches him out. He goes on to take a gunman out with punches and an elbow.
- Fights off four men who were beating him with a bat moments before, making heavy use of furniture and blunt items
- Steals a man’s knife, then pins his tie to a nearby counter
- Swordfights with a trained fencer, eventually switching to broadswords, where Bond draws first blood from the torso
- Stealthily dispatches a guard with a pistol whip
- Shoots a cage holding many barrels, causing them to fall on a room full of gunmen
- Kills at least 8 men with a submachine gun in a short timeframe
- Turns around and shoots a gunman before he can kill his hostage. Note that Bond turns and fires right after the gunman receives orders to kill the hostage.
- Kills Onatopp by using her gun to shoot at a helicopter, causing it to crash and pull her into a tree
- Kills two men in a hallway with his Walther
- Disarms a former double-oh agent, then tosses him down stairs and fires on him with his own gun
- Spots a sneaking soldier dressed in black and kills him with a rifle
- Dual wields a rifle and a silenced handgun to clear a room of gunmen. He also makes use of a mounted missile launcher against groups of enemies.
- Fires on a guard before the guard can fire his weapon
- Shoots a gunman through a wooden floor
- Uses a human shield to block bullets, then returns fire, killing a gunman
- From a speeding hovercraft, Bond fires a submachine gun at a control panel to slam the doors shut
- From a speeding hovercraft, Bond hits small land mines to detonate them on his pursuers
- Uses a pistol to shoot a chandelier, causing it to fall on Lao
- Performs a HALO jump into water, then immediately begins scuba diving
- Evades grenades and gunfire while skiing
- While skiing, Bond suddenly stops before a cliff, tricking a pursuer into falling off
- Performs a dive into a river from the third floor of a mansion
- Swims outside of a submarine, scaling the surface until he can re-enter the vessel on the other side. He had to hold his breath for almost two minutes while scaling the outside of the submarine.
- Infiltrates North Korea by simply surfing onto the coast of the country
- Parasurfs off a collapsing iceberg
- Drives off a cliff on a motorbike, catches up to a falling plane in midair, then pilots the plane back into the sky
- When restrained, Bond uses his head to start a helicopter, then uses his head again to hit the eject button
- Drifts a tank, then drives through a building to cause untold property damage
- While being choked, he uses the ejector seat on a fighter jet to fire an enemy soldier into an enemy fighter jet
- Along with another secret agent, Bond descends a skyscraper with a long banner, then kicks in a window to reenter the building
- Descends a tall building with some rope and an unconscious body
- Lowers his heart rate to trick medical staff and an EKG, then dispatches the staff and escapes the hospital
- Starts a helicopter in midair and lands safely
Arsenal
Weapons- Sidearms include
- A grenade disguised as a ballpoint pen
- A grenade disguised as a lighter
- A combat knife
- A flashbang explosive disguised as a handgun, used to stun three gunmen, allowing Bond to dispatch them
- Bungee jumps off a dam, then uses a grapnel gun to safely pull himself closer to ground level
- A small camera with a powerful zoom function. It can print the pictures when plugged into his car.
- A belt with a hidden high-tensile cord, enough to support Bond’s own weight
- Sunglasses with built in X-ray vision, allowing Bond to detect concealed weapons and see through women’s clothing
- A jacket that contains an inflatable protective bubble, used to protect Bond and another person from a short fall and falling snow
- A lockpick disguised as a credit card
- A rebreather device
- Surprisingly low-tech wire cutters
- Laser emitter hidden in his watch, used to carve through the floor of a train
- A powerful flashlight built into a watch
- A small but powerful grappling hook built into his watch, able to lift him up to a high ceiling by attaching to a metal girder
- A small C4 detonator, controlled by a button on his watch
Pulse Ring
- A ring used to shatter unbreakable glass with a high-frequency pulse
- The ring is used to shatter a glass floor, allowing Bond to escape gunpoint
- The ring can be used to destroy the Vanish’s windshield, which is bulletproof
Vehicles
BMWsGeneral
- A BMW with machine guns, GPS tracking system, a remote control system and a voiced computer
- Bond pops the back window, then jumps in to drive himself away with the cell phone remote controller
Armaments
- The BMW has an electric security system to deter intruders
- The BMW can release stun gas from the sides
- Small missiles can be fired from the top of the vehicle to destroy obstacles
- Caltrops to destroy tires
- An extremely situational tool, a small buzzsaw to cut wire
Speedboat
The Vanish
- The Q-modified Aston Vanquish, a high-tech, light-bending sports car, invisible to the naked eye
- Target-seeking shotguns on the hood
- Resistant to bullets, although they disrupt the adaptive camouflage
- It’s flipped over by a rocket, but with clever use of the sunroof and ejector seat, Bond can flip the car back over
- It uses tire spikes to maintain traction, allowing it to drive on ice unimpeded
Miscellaneous
- M believes that if there’s any chance of success at all, then Bond will succeed, admitting that he’s the best agent in MI6
- He will absolutely kill women he’d loved in the past
- All those vodka martinis have left him with a less than perfect liver
- Once carried cyanide if he were ever captured, but Bond threw it away years ago
- He keeps his weapons in good condition
2023.06.03 17:00 Proletlariet Composite Bond - Main Body
I admire your luck, Mr...?
Bond. James Bond.
Bond generally wields a sidearm with lethal efficiency, along with a number of incredible gadgets developed by the geniuses at Q Branch. With his remarkable physical ability and ever-changing bag of tools, there isn't an international crime organization that Bond has failed to take down. The only thing that could possible distract Bond are his own vices: women or booze, both of which have gotten one over on him in the past.
Sean Connery- 1962 to 1967, once more in 1971. Physically strong, numerous gadgets disguised as everyday items. Adept in traditional spy skills, like infiltration and observation.
George Lazenby- Once in 1969. Very similar to Connery in his craftiness, skilled specifically in winter sports.
Roger Moore- 1973 to 1985. Downright campy, making use of almost cartoonish skills that actually work in-universe. Skilled driver and pilot with a variety of gadgets.
Timothy Dalton- 1987 to 1989. Colder and more quick to become violent than the others. Usually carries a firearm and a lethal gadget to kill enemies.
Pierce Brosnan- 1995 to 2002. Best variety of gadgets of any Bond. Great feats of endurance and athletic ability.
Daniel Craig- 2006 to 2021. The most realistic Bond, yet has some of the most impressive physical abilities in any of the movies. Low variety of gadgets, but excels in gunfights.
Hover over a feat to see the film it’s from. Additionally, the name of any gif on Gfycat contains the last name of the actor that accomplished it.
Physicals
You have a nasty habit of surviving.Strength
Well, you know what they say about the fittest.
Striking
- Breaks a wooden board with a downward strike
- Tackles a man through two bathroom stalls
- Barrels through a temporary construction wall
- Punches through drywall and wood to access a hidden room
- Picks up and throws a chair at a man, knocking him out
- Fights off an attacker with a couch
- Picks up and slides a man across a table
- Tosses a chain onto a low-flying helicopter to cause it to crash
- Holds a man above a ledge by the hair
- When he’s held underwater by two women, Bond surfaces and holds both of them underwater with one hand each
- Holds onto a small plane while the pilot tries to shake him off
- Catches a rope on a blimp and holds on even after it rises high into the air
- Holds onto the top of a speeding car, even when the driver attempts to shake him off
- Avoids falling out of a plane’s airlock by grabbing onto some netting
- Holds onto the outside of a moving seaplane, even after the pilot attempts to shake him off
- Holds onto the bottom of an elevator car as it rises up a skyscraper
Other
- After being buried in snow by an avalanche, Bond climbs out and is relatively okay about a minute later
- Wrestles with a large constricting snake before killing it with a poison injector
Blunt Force
- Keeps fighting after getting a wooden chair broken over his back
- Stays conscious after strikes from Oddjob
- Fights on through hits with a fireplace poker
- Jumps from a bridge to a passing boat, falling through the roof and onto a wedding cake
- While hanging onto a blimp, he’s smacked into the Golden Gate Bridge and quickly starts climbing up
- He’s knocked down a ladder, but recovers by the time he gets to the bottom rung
- Continues fighting Stamper after a number of blows to the face
- Falls from a low hot air balloon onto a domed structure, and he recovers by grabbing some nearby cables
- When jumping off a low crane, Bond stumbles, falling into a metal air vent. He’s up and running moments later.
- Recieves cock and ball torture by Le Chiffre’s rope, at first barely responding, then laughing in his torturer’s face
- Falls one or two stories onto the top of a bus, but gets up quickly
- Fights on after being hit across the back with a metal pipe four times
- Keeps fighting through repeated strikes from Hinx, like getting thrown into walls or getting thrown through thin walls
- [Limit] Has a recurring weakness to blunt force trauma to the back of the head
- Keeps running despite being shot in the calf
- Keeps fighting after being cut across the chest and being shot up by a nail gun
- Gets shot in the shoulder by a handgun, but operates mostly unimpeded
- Resists being garroted long enough to grab a knife, stabbing his attacker and turning the garrote wire back on him
- Takes over 12 Gs of force before destroying the machine with an armor-piercing dart
- Real-life astronauts are typically trained to withstand up to 9 Gs of force.
- Gets electrocuted with a gauntlet that can output 100,000 volts, which leaves him writhing in pain but conscious
- Bond is shot by a sniper rifle and falls off a high bridge into water. After three months, Bond is mostly physically able again, although his aim is more noticeably affected.
- Endures having a small surgical drill bore into the back of his skull and into the part of the brain that deals with recognition, seemingly to no negative neurological effect
Movement
- Chases down an assassin, tackling him
- Takes a running jump up to a rising platform
- Catches up to an aircraft taking off on the runway
- Runs and jumps into a closing metal door
- Catches up to an airplane during takeoff, jumping into the plane through the landing gear
- Catches up to a fleeing truck on a runway, although it obviously hasn’t accelerated to full speed
- Escapes a CIA squad with just a moment's warning
- Runs away from a fireball caused by a house-sized explosion
- While on the ground, he dodges katana swings
- Dodges a thrown knife, then pulls it out of the wood behind him to kill the assassin
- Dodges a dune buggy at close range
- Evades shotgun fire from a pursuer
- Evades rifle fire, then shoots the enemy gunman
- Evades handgun fire with a roll, then avoids some distant machine gun fire
- Dodges a harpoon underwater
- When a man attempts to shoot Bond’s knees from nearly point blank range, Bond moves his legs to avoid the shots
- Uses an enemy to block gunfire
- While sitting in the passenger seat, Bond grabs the driver’s arm before they can shoot him
- Rolls away from an incendiary grenade’s detonation moments after noticing it
Combat Skill
Problem solver?Unarmed Combat
More of a problem eliminator.
Quick Knock Outs
- Judo flips an attacker, then punches him
- Dispatches a guard with a neck strike
- Silently KOs a man, then steals his equipment to blend in with a scuba crew
- KOs a guard with a judo chop
- Stealthily KOs a guard from behind cover
- Knocks a man out with one kick to the head
- Ends an attempted fistfight with an elbow and then slamming the man on a table
- Knocks out a man by slamming him into the walls of an elevator twice
- Punches a guy out in two strikes
- Consistently one-punches goons
- From a sprint, Bond jumps and kicks a man in the face to knock him out
- Breaks a hold from behind by a man who wrestles alligators
- Fights evenly with Grant in a train car, with both men getting in hits before Grant begins garroting Bond with a concealed wire
- Sweeps Pussy Galore to the floor, then reverses her judo throw attempt
- Wrestles with Hans before flipping him into a piranha pond
- Flips a man with judo throws twice
- Defeats a strong, tough guy in the hotel
- Has an awesome fistfight with a heavyset henchman, ending with Bond punching him off a rooftop
- Fights an assassin while dangling outside of a moving plane
- Has an extended fistfight with Alec Trevylyn, former agent 006, ending with Alec grabbing a handgun to hold Bond at gunpoint
- During a fight, he breaks a man’s arm, then punches him off a ledge
- Brawls with a martial artist on the outside of a crane
- Knocks out six men when fleeing on a rooftop
- Starts thrashing technicians until one pulls a gun
- Defeats four guards in hand-to-hand combat
- Knocks out two attackers who ambushed him
- Drops about four men in a bar fight
- While handcuffed, Bond knocks out four surrounding MI6 agents in an elevator
- Drops two guards with one strike each
- Kicks away a gunman's gun, then beats him up in the ocean
- Disarms an armed woman with one hand
- While unarmed, Bond fights with a knife-wielding villain, with Bond disarming him and tackling him into water
- Disarms a woman and puts her in a painful armhold
- Disarms a gunman and knocks him down some stairs
- Has an extended fight with a man with a machete while in a confined space. Bond himself was unarmed, although he did ball up his jacket to block some strikes.
- Takes out a CIA riot officer with an elbow to the face
- While completely unarmed, defeats a man wielding an axe, even tricking him into slicing his own foot
- Brawls with an assassin armed with a sniper rifle before dropping him out of a skyscraper
- Intentionally breaks the ice on a frozen lake to bring a gunman down into the water, then Bond chokes him to death with his leg
Blades
- Kills a man with his own knife in one maneuver
- In just a few moves, Bond defeats a henchman in a machete fight, throwing him into a container full of snakes
- Steals a man’s knife, then pins his tie to a nearby counter
- Swordfights with a trained fencer, eventually switching to broadswords, where Bond draws first blood from the torso
- While being held at knifepoint, Bond turns and kills the man with his own knife after a struggle
- Breaks a man’s neck with a fireplace poker
- Disarms a diver, then uses the harpoon gun to shatter their goggles
- Using an oar, Bond fights off a man with a large hook
- Uses a ski to knock a man off of a cliff, then kills another man after a struggle
- While unarmed, Bond is attacked by an assassin with a knife, but manages to kill the assassin with a pair of scissors
- Spots an attacker in the reflection of a bronze decoration, then uses the decoration to bludgeon them
- Fights off four men who were beating him with a bat moments before, making heavy use of furniture and blunt items
- Defeats three men in the confined space of a cockpit
- Throws flammable alcohol onto an assassin, igniting him
- Beats down a guard with a door, then five strikes
- Takes out two motorcycle-riding assassins with a long plank of wood
- Uses a ski pole to set a trap for a motorbike-riding assassin
- Knocks out a prison guard while handcuffed, at one point using the cuffs on the man's face
- Defeats two men in a crumbling building, using exposed wiring and a nail gun to dispatch them
- Brawls with an assassin in a hotel room before throwing him into a bathtub and knocking a fan into the water, electrocuting him
- Kills Oddjob by using exposed electrical wiring on a metal cage that Oddjob was touching
- Tricks Jaws into hitting a wood column, knocking a wooden structure over himself
- Brawls with Jaws atop a cable car
- Fights off three hockey player assassins in a hockey rink, taking one out with the zamboni
- Judo throws a goon onto a bed of spikes
- While pinned to a wooden door by knives, he opens the door and kills an assassin with one of the knives
- Smacks a henchman with a plane’s antenna, throwing him off the plane
- Tosses maggots at a gunman, then knocks him out and judo throws him into the maggots
- Bond drags a guard into water and drowns him
- Bond ties a rope around Mr. Hinx’s neck and attaches it to a weight, then kicks that weight off the train to pull Hinx away
Accuracy
You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me.Pistols
I never miss.
- Grabs Goldfinger’s gun and fires on an airplane window, sucking the villain out of the plane
- Shoots a gunman despite their being behind a column for cover
- Right after waking up, he shoots a ninja in the dark
- Poses as a wax figure and shoots Scaramanga
- Shoots three soldiers with his Walther P5, two of them being headshots
- Accurately hits a gunman from a moving speedboat
- Shoots a gunman through a wooden floor
- Uses a human shield to block bullets, then returns fire, killing a gunman
- Turns and fires on a man before he can fire
- Shoots a man while hanging upside-down by the leg
- Disarms and shoots two policemen
- Disarms the man holding him at gunpoint, then kills four other armed men in seconds
- Shoots two fire extinguishers to obscure the room and allow hostages to safely escape
- While handcuffed and at gunpoint, Bond steals the gun to shoot his captors
- Uses the Walther PPK to shoot out a dune buggy’s front tire
- Fires a Taurus PT92 into the engine of an oncoming Jeep, disabling it
- From a speedboat, Bond accurately hits a helicopter’s engine enough with a handgun to cause it to crash
- Using a sniper rifle, Bond shoots a man in a helicopter, causing him to drop his grenade inside
- Fires a rifle, killing three goons, while sliding down a bannister
- Kills at least 8 men with a submachine gun in a short timeframe
- Turns around and shoots a gunman before he can kill his hostage. Note that Bond turns and fires right after the gunman receives orders to kill the hostage.
- Spots a sneaking soldier dressed in black and kills him with a rifle
- Fires on a guard before the guard can fire his weapon
- From a speeding hovercraft, Bond hits small land mines to detonate them on his pursuers
- Uses a Sa vz. 58 Compact to escape Blofeld’s facility, killing nearly a dozen guards, even at extreme range
- Turns and immediately shoots a harpoon gun, killing a stealthy assassin
- Takes out a distant sniper by firing a shotgun
- Accurately shoots a sniper’s rifle with his own, rather than kill her
- Escapes a crowd of divers by stealing a harpoon gun and firing it into a nearby seaplane, pulling himself away
- Throws three scalpels into a man’s arm and chest
- Throws a knife into a specific date on a calendar from across a room
- When the auto-targeting system fails, Bond manually shoots down a capsule full of viruses with a laser cannon
- Kills a man with a climbing spike
Other Skills
I always enjoyed learning a new tongue.Athletics
You always were a cunning linguist, James.
- Dives off an oil rig into the ocean below
- Avoids machine gun fire while skiing
- Continues skiing after losing a ski
- While skiing, Bond jumps and twists to smack two gunmen with his skis
- Goes rock climbing on a nearly vertical rock wall
- Temporarily outswims the pull of an industrial fan before destroying it with his air tank
- Performs a HALO jump into water, then immediately begins scuba diving
- Swims outside of a submarine, scaling the surface until he can re-enter the vessel on the other side. He had to hold his breath for almost two minutes while scaling the outside of the submarine.
- Infiltrates North Korea by simply surfing onto the coast of the country
- Parasurfs off a collapsing iceberg
- Leaps from a crashing plane, catching up to his partner and using her parachute to save them both
Driving
- Weaves around a parking lot, causing a dozen cop cars to crash into themselves, walls or parked cars
- Briefly drives on two wheels to slip through a narrow alley
- Drifts a double decker bus, causing a couple cops to crash their motorcycles
- Jumps over a river in a car using a broken bridge as a ramp
- While driving, he knocks over barrels onto enemies, then drives on two wheels to block bullets
- Drives a car over a ramp, onto a bus, then back to ground level
- Picks up a villain's wheelchair with a helicopter, then drops him into a smokestack
- Avoids a heat-seeking missile while piloting a small plane, redirecting it into an enemy hangar
- Dodges a stinger missile by driving a semi-truck on only the left hand wheels
- Starts a helicopter in midair and lands safely
- While flying a much less maneuverable plane, Bond tricks a fighter jet into crashing into a mountainside by producing smoke from a damaged engine
- Ejects a pilot from a helicopter, then pulls the helicopter out of freefall
- Jumps a speedboat over a small patch of land
- Drifts a tank, then drives through a building to cause untold property damage
- Performs a front flip off a ledge
- Traverses a ski lift wire with nothing more than a pair of mittens
- Traverses the underside of an oil rig by swinging on a rope, then walking a tightrope
- Jumps on the back of a couple alligators to escape a swamp
- Swings on vines like Tarzan to escape pursuers
- Traverses the side of a moving train
- Uses a long pole to safely travel down a building, then releases the pole to smack a pursuing officer
- Performs a combat roll down stairs to avoid handgun fire
- Runs up a crane to reach the top of a building under construction
- Climbs up a vertical I-beam
- From the top of a moving truck, Bond runs and flips through the open windshield
- Jumps down a story onto stone, rolling to avoid impact damage
- Uses a hollow reed to hide underwater from guards and dogs
- Hides in plain sight by pretending to be making out, but it’s actually just his own arms wrapped around himself
- Evades a crowd of police
- Lowers his heart rate to trick medical staff and an EKG, then dispatches the staff and escapes the hospital
- Broke into M’s house to use her computer
- [Observation] Notices an attacker in the reflection of a woman’s eye, then uses her as a human shield to block a strike
- [Foreign Language] Learned several Asian languages at Cambridge
- [Alcoholism] Can tell the temperature of alcohol after one sip
- [Deception] Poses as a genealogist under the pseudonym Sir Hillary Bray. After a few days, Blofeld sees through the ruse and has Bond captured.
- [Underwater] Ties a boat to a large rock with the rope he’s bound in, causing the boat to break the rope, freeing Bond
- [Sleight of Hand] Switches out a priceless Faberge egg for a fake copy
- [Animal Commanding] Commands a wild tiger to sit, and it actually listens
- [Gambling] Wins a quarter of a million dollars at a high stakes gambling table
- [Invention] Descends a tall building with some rope and an unconscious body
- [Seduction] Seduces a married woman to learn more about her husband’s criminal activity
- [Preparation] Puts shotgun shells under the floorboards in order to fire on intruders when they step on them
- [Observation] Identifies a hidden door based on a tiny sliver of light through the crack
Equipment
Right, now pay attention 007. I want you to take great care of this equipment. There are one or two rather special accessories.Weapons
Q, have I ever let you down?
Frequently.
Firearms
- Carries a Walther PPK, a discreet pistol with excellent stopping power
- A collapsible Armalite AR-7 sniper rifle with an infrared sight, allowing for use in the dark
- Bond carries a S&W model 29 revolver in early Moore films, then later switches to his iconic Walther PPK, then, finally, uses the Walther P5
- Carries a very small firearm, the Beretta 950 Jetfire
- Has a firearm disguised as a camera. Additionally, the device is programmed to Bond’s own palm signature, meaning only he can fire the weapon.
- A suppressed UMP-9, used to fire on Mr. White’s leg at range
- A Walther PPK with a palm-print sensor coded to Bond’s hand, meaning only he can fire it
- A heavily modified Glock 17, with laser sight and microphone attachment
- A combat knife
- A projectile launcher disguised as a cigarette, gifted to Bond by a ninja master
- A grenade disguised as a ballpoint pen
- A grenade disguised as a lighter
- A flashbang explosive disguised as a handgun, used to stun three gunmen, allowing Bond to dispatch them
Mobility
- A grappling gun and cord that attaches to his pants, allowing him to scale the outside of a skyscraper
- Briefly wore a ninja outfit with suction cups on the palms and knees, used to scale down metal walls
- Flies away from a fight with a jetpack
- A belt with a hidden high-tensile cord, enough to support Bond’s own weight
- A small explosive, used to blow a lock off a cell door
- Has a small safe-cracking device disguised as a cigarette case
- Special glasses to see through tinted glass
- Photocopier disguised as a checkbook
- A digital skeleton key disguised as a gift card
- Binoculars built into a pair of glasses
- Sunglasses with built in X-ray vision, allowing Bond to detect concealed weapons and see through women’s clothing
- A powerful camera, used to identify the faces of high profile criminals with just a few pixels
- A cell phone that acts as a fingerprint scanner, a powerful taser and as a remote control for a BMW
Continued in Comments
2023.06.03 16:27 ConsensousTroll 32 [M4F] Germany/Europe – Looking for my soul mate! Let's make the best out of the one life we have!
It's been a while since I've been in a relationship. I've since grown as a person and taken the time to work on myself. My goal in life is to take it day by day and not compare myself to others, but instead become better than I was yesterday.
I'm looking for someone I can create beautiful memories together with, someone I can laugh with, be myself with, and enjoy every minute of my day with... someone I think about before falling asleep and rushing to my phone/PC to check for new messages from her in the morning. We could even watch paint dry and it would be fun! I want to create a life together with you, so naturally, I would want to spend a lot of time together with my SO.
Looks-wise I'm 185cm, slim (about 72 kg), with short and dark blonde/brunette hair, and blue eyes. Your picture gets mine!
Here are some facts I find important about myself:
I love music! I'm classicly trained (school, not Uni, even though I took Uni classes for a year) and have been playing electric guitar for over 16 years now. If you enjoy musicals or concerts I'd love to take you to some! My taste ranges from classical music and rock/metal all the way to pop or rap (the ones with meaningful texts, not just slurs)
Speaking of texts: I write for a living. It's contract work, so I can't be as creative as I'd like to be. However, my dream is to one day write my own fantasy novel or craft my own Pen&Paper story. I work my own schedule to some extent and can work remotely.
I'm probably one of the most curious people you'll ever meet. I enjoy knowing more things, understanding the world around me and finding out about all those fascinating things from our past, present and future. Anything can catch my interest really, but my favourite topics by far are Ancient History, Astronomy and Psychology. Are you down for checking out some history museums?
I spend most of my free time playing video games, listening to music, doing music myself, and reading or watching movies/series/anime/documentaries or something along those lines. Ideally, you're interested in those as well so you can be my player #2 and watch stuff with me!
I'd like to be more active in life though. I love to travel and with the right partner, I'd wanna see the world. Sports are also fun, so let's stay fit together!
I enjoy both, talking and listening! Tell me about the things that make you laugh, cry or teach me something new! Random facts all the way!
Absolutely adore animals! My dream is to one day own a house in the countryside with lots of animals and a big garden! I have two kittens who are quite some work sometimes but I love them regardless! On top of that, I enjoy nature a lot.
You're an ideal fit if you:
- are curious. You want to learn new things and get fascinated by them easily. You also value intelligence and expect more from life.
- want to constantly grow as a person. To me, in an ideal relationship, both partners push each other (in a good way) to be a better version of themselves.
- are non-religious.
- preferably live in Europe. However, if everything else in this post really calls out to you, please message me regardless! We can make it work if we both put in the effort!
- are younger than I am. I'm just not ready to start a family yet. I want to see the world with you first and live life to the fullest!
- have at least some of the same interests I do.
If this sounds like you and you're looking for the same, someone who's always there to support you, someone you can create beautiful memories with, someone you can spend all your time and be genuinely happy with, then hit me up! Let's make the best out of this one life that we have together! Be best friends, partners in crime, lovers and soul mates!
Please message me with some information about yourself and the things you enjoy in life, goals, hobbies, etc. What made you reach out to me? If you include a picture I'll send one right back! My main app for communication is Discord.
I can't wait to hear from you!
submitted by ConsensousTroll to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
I'm looking for someone I can create beautiful memories together with, someone I can laugh with, be myself with, and enjoy every minute of my day with... someone I think about before falling asleep and rushing to my phone/PC to check for new messages from her in the morning. We could even watch paint dry and it would be fun! I want to create a life together with you, so naturally, I would want to spend a lot of time together with my SO.
Looks-wise I'm 185cm, slim (about 72 kg), with short and dark blonde/brunette hair, and blue eyes. Your picture gets mine!
Here are some facts I find important about myself:
I love music! I'm classicly trained (school, not Uni, even though I took Uni classes for a year) and have been playing electric guitar for over 16 years now. If you enjoy musicals or concerts I'd love to take you to some! My taste ranges from classical music and rock/metal all the way to pop or rap (the ones with meaningful texts, not just slurs)
Speaking of texts: I write for a living. It's contract work, so I can't be as creative as I'd like to be. However, my dream is to one day write my own fantasy novel or craft my own Pen&Paper story. I work my own schedule to some extent and can work remotely.
I'm probably one of the most curious people you'll ever meet. I enjoy knowing more things, understanding the world around me and finding out about all those fascinating things from our past, present and future. Anything can catch my interest really, but my favourite topics by far are Ancient History, Astronomy and Psychology. Are you down for checking out some history museums?
I spend most of my free time playing video games, listening to music, doing music myself, and reading or watching movies/series/anime/documentaries or something along those lines. Ideally, you're interested in those as well so you can be my player #2 and watch stuff with me!
I'd like to be more active in life though. I love to travel and with the right partner, I'd wanna see the world. Sports are also fun, so let's stay fit together!
I enjoy both, talking and listening! Tell me about the things that make you laugh, cry or teach me something new! Random facts all the way!
Absolutely adore animals! My dream is to one day own a house in the countryside with lots of animals and a big garden! I have two kittens who are quite some work sometimes but I love them regardless! On top of that, I enjoy nature a lot.
You're an ideal fit if you:
- are curious. You want to learn new things and get fascinated by them easily. You also value intelligence and expect more from life.
- want to constantly grow as a person. To me, in an ideal relationship, both partners push each other (in a good way) to be a better version of themselves.
- are non-religious.
- preferably live in Europe. However, if everything else in this post really calls out to you, please message me regardless! We can make it work if we both put in the effort!
- are younger than I am. I'm just not ready to start a family yet. I want to see the world with you first and live life to the fullest!
- have at least some of the same interests I do.
If this sounds like you and you're looking for the same, someone who's always there to support you, someone you can create beautiful memories with, someone you can spend all your time and be genuinely happy with, then hit me up! Let's make the best out of this one life that we have together! Be best friends, partners in crime, lovers and soul mates!
Please message me with some information about yourself and the things you enjoy in life, goals, hobbies, etc. What made you reach out to me? If you include a picture I'll send one right back! My main app for communication is Discord.
I can't wait to hear from you!
2023.06.03 16:27 ConsensousTroll 32 [M4F] Germany/Europe – Looking for my soul mate! Let's make the best out of the one life we have!
It's been a while since I've been in a relationship. I've since grown as a person and taken the time to work on myself. My goal in life is to take it day by day and not compare myself to others, but instead become better than I was yesterday.
I'm looking for someone I can create beautiful memories together with, someone I can laugh with, be myself with, and enjoy every minute of my day with... someone I think about before falling asleep and rushing to my phone/PC to check for new messages from her in the morning. We could even watch paint dry and it would be fun! I want to create a life together with you, so naturally, I would want to spend a lot of time together with my SO.
Looks-wise I'm 185cm, slim (about 72 kg), with short and dark blonde/brunette hair, and blue eyes. Your picture gets mine!
Here are some facts I find important about myself:
I love music! I'm classicly trained (school, not Uni, even though I took Uni classes for a year) and have been playing electric guitar for over 16 years now. If you enjoy musicals or concerts I'd love to take you to some! My taste ranges from classical music and rock/metal all the way to pop or rap (the ones with meaningful texts, not just slurs)
Speaking of texts: I write for a living. It's contract work, so I can't be as creative as I'd like to be. However, my dream is to one day write my own fantasy novel or craft my own Pen&Paper story. I work my own schedule to some extent and can work remotely.
I'm probably one of the most curious people you'll ever meet. I enjoy knowing more things, understanding the world around me and finding out about all those fascinating things from our past, present and future. Anything can catch my interest really, but my favourite topics by far are Ancient History, Astronomy and Psychology. Are you down for checking out some history museums?
I spend most of my free time playing video games, listening to music, doing music myself, and reading or watching movies/series/anime/documentaries or something along those lines. Ideally, you're interested in those as well so you can be my player #2 and watch stuff with me!
I'd like to be more active in life though. I love to travel and with the right partner, I'd wanna see the world. Sports are also fun, so let's stay fit together!
I enjoy both, talking and listening! Tell me about the things that make you laugh, cry or teach me something new! Random facts all the way!
Absolutely adore animals! My dream is to one day own a house in the countryside with lots of animals and a big garden! I have two kittens who are quite some work sometimes but I love them regardless! On top of that, I enjoy nature a lot.
You're an ideal fit if you:
- are curious. You want to learn new things and get fascinated by them easily. You also value intelligence and expect more from life.
- want to constantly grow as a person. To me, in an ideal relationship, both partners push each other (in a good way) to be a better version of themselves.
- are non-religious.
- preferably live in Europe. However, if everything else in this post really calls out to you, please message me regardless! We can make it work if we both put in the effort!
- are younger than I am. I'm just not ready to start a family yet. I want to see the world with you first and live life to the fullest!
- have at least some of the same interests I do.
If this sounds like you and you're looking for the same, someone who's always there to support you, someone you can create beautiful memories with, someone you can spend all your time and be genuinely happy with, then hit me up! Let's make the best out of this one life that we have together! Be best friends, partners in crime, lovers and soul mates!
Please message me with some information about yourself and the things you enjoy in life, goals, hobbies, etc. What made you reach out to me? If you include a picture I'll send one right back! My main app for communication is Discord.
I can't wait to hear from you!
submitted by ConsensousTroll to r4r [link] [comments]
I'm looking for someone I can create beautiful memories together with, someone I can laugh with, be myself with, and enjoy every minute of my day with... someone I think about before falling asleep and rushing to my phone/PC to check for new messages from her in the morning. We could even watch paint dry and it would be fun! I want to create a life together with you, so naturally, I would want to spend a lot of time together with my SO.
Looks-wise I'm 185cm, slim (about 72 kg), with short and dark blonde/brunette hair, and blue eyes. Your picture gets mine!
Here are some facts I find important about myself:
I love music! I'm classicly trained (school, not Uni, even though I took Uni classes for a year) and have been playing electric guitar for over 16 years now. If you enjoy musicals or concerts I'd love to take you to some! My taste ranges from classical music and rock/metal all the way to pop or rap (the ones with meaningful texts, not just slurs)
Speaking of texts: I write for a living. It's contract work, so I can't be as creative as I'd like to be. However, my dream is to one day write my own fantasy novel or craft my own Pen&Paper story. I work my own schedule to some extent and can work remotely.
I'm probably one of the most curious people you'll ever meet. I enjoy knowing more things, understanding the world around me and finding out about all those fascinating things from our past, present and future. Anything can catch my interest really, but my favourite topics by far are Ancient History, Astronomy and Psychology. Are you down for checking out some history museums?
I spend most of my free time playing video games, listening to music, doing music myself, and reading or watching movies/series/anime/documentaries or something along those lines. Ideally, you're interested in those as well so you can be my player #2 and watch stuff with me!
I'd like to be more active in life though. I love to travel and with the right partner, I'd wanna see the world. Sports are also fun, so let's stay fit together!
I enjoy both, talking and listening! Tell me about the things that make you laugh, cry or teach me something new! Random facts all the way!
Absolutely adore animals! My dream is to one day own a house in the countryside with lots of animals and a big garden! I have two kittens who are quite some work sometimes but I love them regardless! On top of that, I enjoy nature a lot.
You're an ideal fit if you:
- are curious. You want to learn new things and get fascinated by them easily. You also value intelligence and expect more from life.
- want to constantly grow as a person. To me, in an ideal relationship, both partners push each other (in a good way) to be a better version of themselves.
- are non-religious.
- preferably live in Europe. However, if everything else in this post really calls out to you, please message me regardless! We can make it work if we both put in the effort!
- are younger than I am. I'm just not ready to start a family yet. I want to see the world with you first and live life to the fullest!
- have at least some of the same interests I do.
If this sounds like you and you're looking for the same, someone who's always there to support you, someone you can create beautiful memories with, someone you can spend all your time and be genuinely happy with, then hit me up! Let's make the best out of this one life that we have together! Be best friends, partners in crime, lovers and soul mates!
Please message me with some information about yourself and the things you enjoy in life, goals, hobbies, etc. What made you reach out to me? If you include a picture I'll send one right back! My main app for communication is Discord.
I can't wait to hear from you!
2023.06.03 11:40 starmielvl99 Buying my first car, thinking about Kia Pro ceed 1,4 LX from 2013
I want to buy a new car. I can afford it now, even though I won't be driving it that much. I think I will me making around 10 000 km per year (cca 6200 miles). It will be me and my girlfriend who will be driving it. I won't use it for city ride that much, mainly longer rides, over 100 km.
Here's the ad
https://www.njuskalo.hauti/kia-pro-ceed-1.4-lx-oglas-40079327
And here's the translation
Kia Pro Ceed 1.4 LX
2013 Mileage 85,000 km (52,817 miles)
Engine Power 73 kW
Engine Type Gasoline
Manual Transmission Yes
Centar Car Brand Kia Car Model Pro Ceed Car Type 1.4 LX
Year of Production 2013
Model Year 2013
In Traffic Since 2013
Registered Until 05 / 2024 Mileage 85000 km (52,817 miles)
Engine Gasoline
Engine Power 73 kW
Displacement 1396 cc
Transmission Manual
Number of Gears 6 gears
Condition Used
Owner Second
Service Book Yes
Ad Description Excellent car with very few kilometers, only 81000, service verification plus printout from technical inspection, registered for one year. Service has been done, no investment needed, just refuel and drive.
Rear Window Wiper Height Adjustable Driver's Seat Cooling Compartment Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) Brake Assist System (BAS) Tachometer Outdoor Temperature Indicator Preparation for Radio/6 Speakers Roof Spoiler Hill Holder - HAC Third rear headrest with 3-point safety belt Chrome Decorative Elements Mobile Tyre System Tinted Glass Mechanical 6-Speed Gearbox Trip Computer Radio + CD Reader, MP3, Bluetooth, Aux-in Supervision Sports Instruments Bumpers and Hooks on Doors in Car Color Trip Computer Tinted Windows
Security Standardized Clips for Child Seat (ISOFIX) Tensioners of Front Seat Belts Electronic Stability Control (ESP) with Anti-Skid System ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) ABS ESP Self-tensioning Safety Belts Isofix (Child Seat Attachment System) Airbags for Driver and Passenger Front Side Airbags Air Curtains Airbags: Driver + Passenger + Side
Comfort Electric Front Window Lifting Electric Adjustment of External Mirrors Adjustable Steering Column Front Armrest(s) Foldable Rear Seats 1/3-2/3 Multifunction Steering Wheel Progressive Power Steering (Servotronic) Dividable Rear Bench Electric Mirror Adjustment Electric Lifting of Front Windows Height Adjustable Steering Wheel Power Steering Central Armrest Steering Wheel Commands Air Conditioning Climate Control: Manual
Anti-Theft Security Central Locking Electronic Engine Blockade Automatic Door Locking While Driving Engine Blockade Central Locking
What do you think?
submitted by starmielvl99 to whatcarshouldIbuy [link] [comments]
Here's the ad
https://www.njuskalo.hauti/kia-pro-ceed-1.4-lx-oglas-40079327
And here's the translation
Kia Pro Ceed 1.4 LX
2013 Mileage 85,000 km (52,817 miles)
Engine Power 73 kW
Engine Type Gasoline
Manual Transmission Yes
Centar Car Brand Kia Car Model Pro Ceed Car Type 1.4 LX
Year of Production 2013
Model Year 2013
In Traffic Since 2013
Registered Until 05 / 2024 Mileage 85000 km (52,817 miles)
Engine Gasoline
Engine Power 73 kW
Displacement 1396 cc
Transmission Manual
Number of Gears 6 gears
Condition Used
Owner Second
Service Book Yes
Ad Description Excellent car with very few kilometers, only 81000, service verification plus printout from technical inspection, registered for one year. Service has been done, no investment needed, just refuel and drive.
- automatic dual-zone climate control
- cruise control
- handsfree
- radio cd, bt, aux
- electric window lifters
- remote with two keys
- LED lights
- fog lights
- Body Type: hatchback
- Number of Doors: 3
- Number of Seats: 5
- Color: gray Metallic
- Color: Metallic
- Drive Type: front
- Suspension: normal
Rear Window Wiper Height Adjustable Driver's Seat Cooling Compartment Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) Brake Assist System (BAS) Tachometer Outdoor Temperature Indicator Preparation for Radio/6 Speakers Roof Spoiler Hill Holder - HAC Third rear headrest with 3-point safety belt Chrome Decorative Elements Mobile Tyre System Tinted Glass Mechanical 6-Speed Gearbox Trip Computer Radio + CD Reader, MP3, Bluetooth, Aux-in Supervision Sports Instruments Bumpers and Hooks on Doors in Car Color Trip Computer Tinted Windows
Security Standardized Clips for Child Seat (ISOFIX) Tensioners of Front Seat Belts Electronic Stability Control (ESP) with Anti-Skid System ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) ABS ESP Self-tensioning Safety Belts Isofix (Child Seat Attachment System) Airbags for Driver and Passenger Front Side Airbags Air Curtains Airbags: Driver + Passenger + Side
Comfort Electric Front Window Lifting Electric Adjustment of External Mirrors Adjustable Steering Column Front Armrest(s) Foldable Rear Seats 1/3-2/3 Multifunction Steering Wheel Progressive Power Steering (Servotronic) Dividable Rear Bench Electric Mirror Adjustment Electric Lifting of Front Windows Height Adjustable Steering Wheel Power Steering Central Armrest Steering Wheel Commands Air Conditioning Climate Control: Manual
Anti-Theft Security Central Locking Electronic Engine Blockade Automatic Door Locking While Driving Engine Blockade Central Locking
What do you think?
2023.06.02 12:09 FehMac Working remotely to Germany while living in Austria? I'm not an Austrian citizen
Mr Worldwide here. I'm from Hungary, moved to Austria two years ago and I recently lost my job at an Austrian startup. I have the opportunity to work at a German company remotely, and since I really love Vienna I'd prefer to keep living here.
Apart from having to manually pay my own health insurance, are there any other complications that could come up if I were to do this? Is this even possible or do I have to work in Austria if I'd like to keep living here? It would make sense if not since I would no longer be paying income tax in a country I'm not a citizen of, but I'm hoping that that's not the case. Any help would be really appreciated!
ps: Sorry for writing in English, my German is kind of Schlecht still
submitted by FehMac to Austria [link] [comments]
Apart from having to manually pay my own health insurance, are there any other complications that could come up if I were to do this? Is this even possible or do I have to work in Austria if I'd like to keep living here? It would make sense if not since I would no longer be paying income tax in a country I'm not a citizen of, but I'm hoping that that's not the case. Any help would be really appreciated!
ps: Sorry for writing in English, my German is kind of Schlecht still
2023.06.02 10:31 lazycat1989 Trip Review - South Africa, May 2023
Just got back from a solo trip through South Africa, and despite all the cautions and reservations I heard on- and off-line, I loved every bit of it! Sharing some quick notes here for reference, and happy to answer any queries from people thinking of travelling there.
Profile
34 yo Indian man. Not the primest of targets for crime, admittedly, but I didn't really look like a poor write-off as well.
Dates
21 May 2023 - 31 May 2023
Itinerary
2N in Johannesburg with visits to Apartheid Museum, Soweto, and Rosebank Mall. Stayed at Clico Boutique Hotel in Rosebank. Found the city to be pleasant and well worth the stopover, also perfectly safe if navigated using Uber or through join-in tours.
3N in Greater Kruger, specifically at Nyati Safari Lodge in the Balule Reserve, with 2x game drives daily (morning and evening). Saw 3 of the big 5 (missed out on Rhinos and Leopards but have seen them earlier in India, so no heartache) as well as animals unique to Africa - hippos (right outside my room!), zebra, giraffes, and more antelopes than I can remember the names of. Also did a bushwalk, and loved all the bush sundowners and breakfasts. It was absolutely safe inside the lodge, the bigger threats mere mischeivous monkeys raiding the mini-bar. This was my first African Safari experience, and I loved every bit of it - can definitely see myself become a safari hoe in the years to come.
2N in Franschhoek, with a day-long self-cycle through the region (the road from Berg River Dam to Huguenot Memorial is beautiful), and more wine tastings (highly recommend Eikehof and Glenwood) than I'd had in the entirety of my life till the day. The place was my favourite in SA - beautiful, delicious, creative, and a bubble of safety. Stayed at the lovely Chanteclair guesthouse (the host Allan is a gem).
3N in Cape Town, with visits to Table Mountain, the waterfront, a peninsula tour (Camp's Bay, Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Penguin Colony, and Muizenberg), Kirstenbosch, Company's Garden, Zeitz MCAA (fantastic if you're into art) and Bo Kaap (with the lovely and free Cape Town Walking Tours). The city is easily one of the most, if not the most, beautiful in the world - the setting is spectacular, even in the cold, windy, rainy weather I was there in. It was also markedly safer than Joburg, and there were several parts of town where walking around didn't make me feel as on-edge. Stayed at Taj Cape Town (stellar downtown hotel which allows easier access to the actual city than the tourist enclave hotels of the lively but sterile Waterfront area).
Safety
Almost everyone I spoke to before visiting South Africa painted it as a free-for-all crime zone. I'd be mugged, raped, killed, or whatnot here, they said. Don't go alone. Don't go at all. All of it, ofcourse, turned out to be overblown, panic-stricken hogwash. I navigated the country without incident. BUT I didn't just stroll into town with an open wallet either - I made sure to stay at good hotels (within my budget), keep my valuables hidden away like in a secure backpack or an inside pocket, check locally for safety advice, and use Ubers or tours wherever recommended. These weren't special safety procedures designed for South Africa, mind you, they were just common precautions I'd use in any country I was visiting. It helped my travel remain incident free, and the only time I was approached by someone mildly unsavoury was when a drunk man stumbled past saying 'Good day brother' in Bo Kaap. The biggest threat to my safety in SA turned out to be marauding monkeys at my lodge near Kruger who raided the neighbouring room's minibar and made away with milk and coffee sachets. Also, contrary to some advice, things left lying around in my hotel room as well as check-in baggage at the airports remained absolutely safe and untampered.
Power (Cuts)
Load shedding is rife, and Joburg was seeing 10-12 hours of load shedding while I was there. However, all my hotels had power backup, and all the spots I visited had power backup (wherever needed), so I effectively only ever noticed loadshedding during the switch-overs between supply and gensets in my smaller Joburg and Franschhoek hotels. I even disabled the push notifications for the power supply app (ESP) because it was of no real use to me any more. Moral of the story - make sure your hotel has power backup, and carry a power bank in the unlikely event you find yourself at a cafe without electricity. Also, check up on the power points - I didn't do my research properly and had to buy two overpriced plugs in Joburg.
Weather
Joburg had crisp weather with lots of sun, but cool temperatures. Kruger had warm days and cool nights - layers were essential! Franschhoek was kinda like Joburg weather, while Cape Town was windy and rainy. The only place I could contemplate swimming was in Kruger and in the heated pool of my Cape Town hotel.
Food
EXCELLENT everywhere, even in remote Kruger. Franschhoek, however, was a highlight - if there's one place you'd want to splurge for good food, it's here. Also helps that the wine is cheap and plentiful and sublime. For vegetarians and vegans, most restaurants had symbols identifying suitable menu items, and everyone speaks English so its easy to clarify. Would recommend making online reservations at the more popular fine dining spots.
Costs
On the whole, South Africa is very affordable for someone used to American or European or Japanese or Singaporean prices, especially with the unabated fall of the ZAR. Coming from India, however, it was a bit of a mixed bag - dining out was very cheap, and hotels were great value, but domestic flights and longer taxi transfers (like Cape Town - Franschhoek or the day tours) felt expensive. Uber rides and high street shopping were just a tad pricier than I'm used to in India while the coffee and alcohol prices were an absolute delight. Entrance tickets to most sights, however, are fairly steep and much closer to the European norm than the African or Asian. That said, major sights are professionally managed, clean, safe, and have power backup.
Tipping is expected, I'd round things upward of 10% of the bill amount, except at a fine dining experience in Franschhoek where a service charge was explicitly included and informed about. Tips can be added to the card machine and need not necessarily be paid in cash.
Paying by card is practically universal in tourist-friendly spots (including entry tickets and even for smaller payments), and I didn't need to exchange any extra cash or use an ATM. Visa and Mastercard work everywhere ofcourse, and Amex has appreciable reach as well. Diner's Club and others, however, won't help.
It's good to exchange a small amount like 100 USD to help with petty payments like parking tickets or small tips or quick bites from convenience stores.
Communication
I purchased a Vodacom sim on arrival at Johannesburg, and it worked well everywhere, even giving 5G in most of Joburg, Cape Town, and Franschhoek centre. Data and talktime prices were a tad expensive (I'm spoilt because it's dirt cheap in India), but it was easy to top things up online or at stores on-the-go.
Free WiFi was widely available at airports, tourist sights, restaurants, malls etc, and worked quite decentl
Getting around
Uber works well in Joburg and Cape Town, with many local recommending Uber X. Bolt, however, was universally NOT recommended because it wasn't very reliable. I didn't try public transport, but heard that the Gautrain in Joburg and the Myciti BRT in Cape Town were safe and good quality.
I also flew from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit and Hoedspruit to Cape Town with Airlink, which was a great little regional airline with good service, punctual arrivals/departures, and a very tourist-friendly schedule and network. The tickets were quite overpriced though, and Amex refused to work on their own website, but I did get to check-in on to business class seats on economy tickets so I guess it was good overall.
I didn't self-drive. However, I met several travellers who did it (including a German lady who was campervanning solo across the entirety of southern Africa), and they reported it being easy and safe. The only precautions were to make sure you were hiring from a reputable company, not driving too much at night (out of fear of being stranded more than anything else), and purchasing the insurance plan with the agent. I did use plenty of roads, and generally observed that most highways were in decent shape and allowed for 100+ kmph speeds. Petrol stations were plentiful, and many came attached with convenience stores and mini-malls, usually with power backup. For parking, you'd usually have a local tout popping up helping you manouevre the car and watch over it for a small 5-10 ZAR tip (don't skimp on this, as petty thieves have been known to break into unattended cars to pilfer whatever they can, though I never ever saw this in action - practically every street in every town had a parking attendant on hand).
I did cycle around Franschhoek by myself and it was fantastic, much better than the kitschy Wine Tram experience. It was also very safe, and I even biked through town for dinner and some moonlight photos. The only bugbears were car traffic on the main roads, and a caution by the bike rental shop against leaving the night lamp on the bike unattended (had to unlatch it and keep it on me instead - but still, safer than biking in Amsterdam lol).
Getting there
Joburg is the biggest international airport with the better flight deals and has direct flights to all inhabited continents. It's a fairly modern and easy-to-use terminal, and I didn't observe any of the usual scams. Cape Town is the better looking airport, but has fewer connections, although it's still easy to get here with a simple transit at a major hub like London or Dubai. Durban also has a middle-sized airport with a handful of long haul links.
Most other airports are small - Hoedspruit was basically a collection of open-to-air pavillions - and have only domestic flights to the likes of JNB or CPT. Nelspruit, in southern Kruger has a few Airlink connections with Victoria Falls and the Mozambique coast, aimed at holidayers.
As an Indian, I was eligible for an evisa but the system never worked, taking my documents but never letting me pay the application fee. I instead applied manually at Delhi's VFS centre, and got my visa in 2 days (the VFS staff also told me that the evisa portal was hopeless and I shouldn't even have bothered). The evisa system finally budged while I was en-route to JNB, telling me that my application was rejected because I never submitted a bank statement (which I did) and completely ignored the fact that I never paid for my application (thanks to the inactive payment link). The rejection clearly didn't get slotted in anywhere because Immigrations was absolutely fine with my stamped-visa and didn't bother asking me anything other than why I was visiting and when I'd leave.
I flew in on Etihad via Abu Dhabi (decent airline but the airport needs a lot of work to compete with its neighbours) and back on Emirates via Dubai (excellent airline with very generous meals and a great IFE, as well as a huge and modern megahub airport experience albeit with overpriced food and shopping). Flight timings were fairly convenient both ways, with day-time arrivals and check-ins.
People
Some of the friendliest I've ever met! Everybody is happy to have a zany chat, and conversations can quickly become pal-ly and banter-ful if you're open enough. On the whole South Africans felt fairly extroverted and loosened up - very informal and sleeves-rolled-up. You'll have to excuse yourself out of a conversation, else you'll be left talking to them the whole day and not have any time left to sightsee.
Race
Speaking as an outsider who only observed things for 10 odd days, I felt that there's still a decent amount of racial segregation at play in SA.
While many lower-paying jobs are almost exclusively held by blacks and the colours thanks to the country's history of institutionalised racism, Blacks and Coloured peoples can now also be commonly seen in upscale areas as guests and visitors. However, the majority of patrons in these locations appeared to be white and Afrikaans speaking. I also only ever saw one mixed group - a white lady entertaining a black man and his daughter at a Cape Town waterfront restaurant where I was having dinner.
I did share a few drinks with Joburg-based white couples at my safari lodge, and on the whole, they didn't feel inherently racist. They in fact remembered the Mandela and Mbeki days with pride, and felt that most of the crime in South Africa was thanks to the corruption in the African National Congress (they were all praises for the opposition who holds sway in the Cape) and immigrants from neighbouring countries - they rather trusted Black South Africans for everyday affairs. At my Cape Town hotel, meanwhile, I met a few black businessmen and politicians at the pool and gym, and they told me similar things - that the ANC was corrupt, immigrants are to blame for crime etc, and didn't really have any strong opinions about whites. These experiences contrasted greatly with my conversation with a white Afrikaner pensioner in my Zanzibar hotel ten years ago, who was spewing hate against black crime after two whiskeys.
Since I'm Indian, I was often mistaken for a local - everybody (regardless of their race) would be taken aback when they heard my accent and learnt I was actually not South African (which has a large South Asian origin community) or even African (many South Asian origin peoples in eastern Africa and Mauritius especially). This spoke volumes to me - in the UK, where I studied and which now has an Indian-origin PM and a hugely visible South Asian diaspora, people would still ask me 'what country are you from?' on appearance alone. It really did emphasize how SA was more of a rainbow nation than just a slogan.
What did I like?
Practically everything, even Joburg. The safari experience was better than I expected, Cape Town was breathtaking, and Franschhoek became my favourite little town in the world. Also loved the food and the wine, and loved meeting and chatting with the locals. Of all the countries I've visited, SA is the one I'm surest about wanting to return to - and I'm not trying to be diplomatic - I honestly felt like I need more time here.
What didn't I like?
I disliked how such a great country with excellent basic infrastructure is being mismanaged. EVERYONE I spoke to was complaining about how corruption killed the country's power supply system and railways and is now threatening other aspects of life. None of these directly or visibly impacted my travels, but I would've liked being able to take a train instead of flights or not spend a premium to stay at places that had generators.
Anything I'd change?
While Joburg turned out to be a pleasant place, had I the option, I'd have skipped it to spend more time in Cape Town. I'd also spend a few more days in Franschhoek and around - the area turned out to be my favourite. Now that I've also had a lay of the land, I'm more confident about self-driving next time I visit. Also, I only realised how convenient it is to travel from SA to neighbouring countries, and would like to latch on visits to the Namibian desert, Botswana's game parks, the Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, and the beaches of Mozambique alongside a return to SA.
I realise I could have managed some things better on this trip, but bottom line is that I enjoyed it, and that this is not a 'who had the best trip' competition. I'm just sharing my positive experience of South Africa in the hope that it encourages others to properly and safely plan a trip to the place instead of avoiding it out of second-hand-scares.
Happy to take any follow ups in the comments :)
submitted by lazycat1989 to solotravel [link] [comments]
Profile
34 yo Indian man. Not the primest of targets for crime, admittedly, but I didn't really look like a poor write-off as well.
Dates
21 May 2023 - 31 May 2023
Itinerary
2N in Johannesburg with visits to Apartheid Museum, Soweto, and Rosebank Mall. Stayed at Clico Boutique Hotel in Rosebank. Found the city to be pleasant and well worth the stopover, also perfectly safe if navigated using Uber or through join-in tours.
3N in Greater Kruger, specifically at Nyati Safari Lodge in the Balule Reserve, with 2x game drives daily (morning and evening). Saw 3 of the big 5 (missed out on Rhinos and Leopards but have seen them earlier in India, so no heartache) as well as animals unique to Africa - hippos (right outside my room!), zebra, giraffes, and more antelopes than I can remember the names of. Also did a bushwalk, and loved all the bush sundowners and breakfasts. It was absolutely safe inside the lodge, the bigger threats mere mischeivous monkeys raiding the mini-bar. This was my first African Safari experience, and I loved every bit of it - can definitely see myself become a safari hoe in the years to come.
2N in Franschhoek, with a day-long self-cycle through the region (the road from Berg River Dam to Huguenot Memorial is beautiful), and more wine tastings (highly recommend Eikehof and Glenwood) than I'd had in the entirety of my life till the day. The place was my favourite in SA - beautiful, delicious, creative, and a bubble of safety. Stayed at the lovely Chanteclair guesthouse (the host Allan is a gem).
3N in Cape Town, with visits to Table Mountain, the waterfront, a peninsula tour (Camp's Bay, Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Penguin Colony, and Muizenberg), Kirstenbosch, Company's Garden, Zeitz MCAA (fantastic if you're into art) and Bo Kaap (with the lovely and free Cape Town Walking Tours). The city is easily one of the most, if not the most, beautiful in the world - the setting is spectacular, even in the cold, windy, rainy weather I was there in. It was also markedly safer than Joburg, and there were several parts of town where walking around didn't make me feel as on-edge. Stayed at Taj Cape Town (stellar downtown hotel which allows easier access to the actual city than the tourist enclave hotels of the lively but sterile Waterfront area).
Safety
Almost everyone I spoke to before visiting South Africa painted it as a free-for-all crime zone. I'd be mugged, raped, killed, or whatnot here, they said. Don't go alone. Don't go at all. All of it, ofcourse, turned out to be overblown, panic-stricken hogwash. I navigated the country without incident. BUT I didn't just stroll into town with an open wallet either - I made sure to stay at good hotels (within my budget), keep my valuables hidden away like in a secure backpack or an inside pocket, check locally for safety advice, and use Ubers or tours wherever recommended. These weren't special safety procedures designed for South Africa, mind you, they were just common precautions I'd use in any country I was visiting. It helped my travel remain incident free, and the only time I was approached by someone mildly unsavoury was when a drunk man stumbled past saying 'Good day brother' in Bo Kaap. The biggest threat to my safety in SA turned out to be marauding monkeys at my lodge near Kruger who raided the neighbouring room's minibar and made away with milk and coffee sachets. Also, contrary to some advice, things left lying around in my hotel room as well as check-in baggage at the airports remained absolutely safe and untampered.
Power (Cuts)
Load shedding is rife, and Joburg was seeing 10-12 hours of load shedding while I was there. However, all my hotels had power backup, and all the spots I visited had power backup (wherever needed), so I effectively only ever noticed loadshedding during the switch-overs between supply and gensets in my smaller Joburg and Franschhoek hotels. I even disabled the push notifications for the power supply app (ESP) because it was of no real use to me any more. Moral of the story - make sure your hotel has power backup, and carry a power bank in the unlikely event you find yourself at a cafe without electricity. Also, check up on the power points - I didn't do my research properly and had to buy two overpriced plugs in Joburg.
Weather
Joburg had crisp weather with lots of sun, but cool temperatures. Kruger had warm days and cool nights - layers were essential! Franschhoek was kinda like Joburg weather, while Cape Town was windy and rainy. The only place I could contemplate swimming was in Kruger and in the heated pool of my Cape Town hotel.
Food
EXCELLENT everywhere, even in remote Kruger. Franschhoek, however, was a highlight - if there's one place you'd want to splurge for good food, it's here. Also helps that the wine is cheap and plentiful and sublime. For vegetarians and vegans, most restaurants had symbols identifying suitable menu items, and everyone speaks English so its easy to clarify. Would recommend making online reservations at the more popular fine dining spots.
Costs
On the whole, South Africa is very affordable for someone used to American or European or Japanese or Singaporean prices, especially with the unabated fall of the ZAR. Coming from India, however, it was a bit of a mixed bag - dining out was very cheap, and hotels were great value, but domestic flights and longer taxi transfers (like Cape Town - Franschhoek or the day tours) felt expensive. Uber rides and high street shopping were just a tad pricier than I'm used to in India while the coffee and alcohol prices were an absolute delight. Entrance tickets to most sights, however, are fairly steep and much closer to the European norm than the African or Asian. That said, major sights are professionally managed, clean, safe, and have power backup.
Tipping is expected, I'd round things upward of 10% of the bill amount, except at a fine dining experience in Franschhoek where a service charge was explicitly included and informed about. Tips can be added to the card machine and need not necessarily be paid in cash.
Paying by card is practically universal in tourist-friendly spots (including entry tickets and even for smaller payments), and I didn't need to exchange any extra cash or use an ATM. Visa and Mastercard work everywhere ofcourse, and Amex has appreciable reach as well. Diner's Club and others, however, won't help.
It's good to exchange a small amount like 100 USD to help with petty payments like parking tickets or small tips or quick bites from convenience stores.
Communication
I purchased a Vodacom sim on arrival at Johannesburg, and it worked well everywhere, even giving 5G in most of Joburg, Cape Town, and Franschhoek centre. Data and talktime prices were a tad expensive (I'm spoilt because it's dirt cheap in India), but it was easy to top things up online or at stores on-the-go.
Free WiFi was widely available at airports, tourist sights, restaurants, malls etc, and worked quite decentl
Getting around
Uber works well in Joburg and Cape Town, with many local recommending Uber X. Bolt, however, was universally NOT recommended because it wasn't very reliable. I didn't try public transport, but heard that the Gautrain in Joburg and the Myciti BRT in Cape Town were safe and good quality.
I also flew from Johannesburg to Hoedspruit and Hoedspruit to Cape Town with Airlink, which was a great little regional airline with good service, punctual arrivals/departures, and a very tourist-friendly schedule and network. The tickets were quite overpriced though, and Amex refused to work on their own website, but I did get to check-in on to business class seats on economy tickets so I guess it was good overall.
I didn't self-drive. However, I met several travellers who did it (including a German lady who was campervanning solo across the entirety of southern Africa), and they reported it being easy and safe. The only precautions were to make sure you were hiring from a reputable company, not driving too much at night (out of fear of being stranded more than anything else), and purchasing the insurance plan with the agent. I did use plenty of roads, and generally observed that most highways were in decent shape and allowed for 100+ kmph speeds. Petrol stations were plentiful, and many came attached with convenience stores and mini-malls, usually with power backup. For parking, you'd usually have a local tout popping up helping you manouevre the car and watch over it for a small 5-10 ZAR tip (don't skimp on this, as petty thieves have been known to break into unattended cars to pilfer whatever they can, though I never ever saw this in action - practically every street in every town had a parking attendant on hand).
I did cycle around Franschhoek by myself and it was fantastic, much better than the kitschy Wine Tram experience. It was also very safe, and I even biked through town for dinner and some moonlight photos. The only bugbears were car traffic on the main roads, and a caution by the bike rental shop against leaving the night lamp on the bike unattended (had to unlatch it and keep it on me instead - but still, safer than biking in Amsterdam lol).
Getting there
Joburg is the biggest international airport with the better flight deals and has direct flights to all inhabited continents. It's a fairly modern and easy-to-use terminal, and I didn't observe any of the usual scams. Cape Town is the better looking airport, but has fewer connections, although it's still easy to get here with a simple transit at a major hub like London or Dubai. Durban also has a middle-sized airport with a handful of long haul links.
Most other airports are small - Hoedspruit was basically a collection of open-to-air pavillions - and have only domestic flights to the likes of JNB or CPT. Nelspruit, in southern Kruger has a few Airlink connections with Victoria Falls and the Mozambique coast, aimed at holidayers.
As an Indian, I was eligible for an evisa but the system never worked, taking my documents but never letting me pay the application fee. I instead applied manually at Delhi's VFS centre, and got my visa in 2 days (the VFS staff also told me that the evisa portal was hopeless and I shouldn't even have bothered). The evisa system finally budged while I was en-route to JNB, telling me that my application was rejected because I never submitted a bank statement (which I did) and completely ignored the fact that I never paid for my application (thanks to the inactive payment link). The rejection clearly didn't get slotted in anywhere because Immigrations was absolutely fine with my stamped-visa and didn't bother asking me anything other than why I was visiting and when I'd leave.
I flew in on Etihad via Abu Dhabi (decent airline but the airport needs a lot of work to compete with its neighbours) and back on Emirates via Dubai (excellent airline with very generous meals and a great IFE, as well as a huge and modern megahub airport experience albeit with overpriced food and shopping). Flight timings were fairly convenient both ways, with day-time arrivals and check-ins.
People
Some of the friendliest I've ever met! Everybody is happy to have a zany chat, and conversations can quickly become pal-ly and banter-ful if you're open enough. On the whole South Africans felt fairly extroverted and loosened up - very informal and sleeves-rolled-up. You'll have to excuse yourself out of a conversation, else you'll be left talking to them the whole day and not have any time left to sightsee.
Race
Speaking as an outsider who only observed things for 10 odd days, I felt that there's still a decent amount of racial segregation at play in SA.
While many lower-paying jobs are almost exclusively held by blacks and the colours thanks to the country's history of institutionalised racism, Blacks and Coloured peoples can now also be commonly seen in upscale areas as guests and visitors. However, the majority of patrons in these locations appeared to be white and Afrikaans speaking. I also only ever saw one mixed group - a white lady entertaining a black man and his daughter at a Cape Town waterfront restaurant where I was having dinner.
I did share a few drinks with Joburg-based white couples at my safari lodge, and on the whole, they didn't feel inherently racist. They in fact remembered the Mandela and Mbeki days with pride, and felt that most of the crime in South Africa was thanks to the corruption in the African National Congress (they were all praises for the opposition who holds sway in the Cape) and immigrants from neighbouring countries - they rather trusted Black South Africans for everyday affairs. At my Cape Town hotel, meanwhile, I met a few black businessmen and politicians at the pool and gym, and they told me similar things - that the ANC was corrupt, immigrants are to blame for crime etc, and didn't really have any strong opinions about whites. These experiences contrasted greatly with my conversation with a white Afrikaner pensioner in my Zanzibar hotel ten years ago, who was spewing hate against black crime after two whiskeys.
Since I'm Indian, I was often mistaken for a local - everybody (regardless of their race) would be taken aback when they heard my accent and learnt I was actually not South African (which has a large South Asian origin community) or even African (many South Asian origin peoples in eastern Africa and Mauritius especially). This spoke volumes to me - in the UK, where I studied and which now has an Indian-origin PM and a hugely visible South Asian diaspora, people would still ask me 'what country are you from?' on appearance alone. It really did emphasize how SA was more of a rainbow nation than just a slogan.
What did I like?
Practically everything, even Joburg. The safari experience was better than I expected, Cape Town was breathtaking, and Franschhoek became my favourite little town in the world. Also loved the food and the wine, and loved meeting and chatting with the locals. Of all the countries I've visited, SA is the one I'm surest about wanting to return to - and I'm not trying to be diplomatic - I honestly felt like I need more time here.
What didn't I like?
I disliked how such a great country with excellent basic infrastructure is being mismanaged. EVERYONE I spoke to was complaining about how corruption killed the country's power supply system and railways and is now threatening other aspects of life. None of these directly or visibly impacted my travels, but I would've liked being able to take a train instead of flights or not spend a premium to stay at places that had generators.
Anything I'd change?
While Joburg turned out to be a pleasant place, had I the option, I'd have skipped it to spend more time in Cape Town. I'd also spend a few more days in Franschhoek and around - the area turned out to be my favourite. Now that I've also had a lay of the land, I'm more confident about self-driving next time I visit. Also, I only realised how convenient it is to travel from SA to neighbouring countries, and would like to latch on visits to the Namibian desert, Botswana's game parks, the Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border, and the beaches of Mozambique alongside a return to SA.
I realise I could have managed some things better on this trip, but bottom line is that I enjoyed it, and that this is not a 'who had the best trip' competition. I'm just sharing my positive experience of South Africa in the hope that it encourages others to properly and safely plan a trip to the place instead of avoiding it out of second-hand-scares.
Happy to take any follow ups in the comments :)
2023.06.02 09:53 ebm_synthpop VA - Musik Music Musique 3.0: 1982 Synth Pop On The Air (3CD Box Set) (2023) 320kbps / FLAC
STYLE...... Synthpop, New Wave
DOWNLOAD in 320kbps / FLAC: https://mp3db.pro/post.php?pid=24525
Tracklist: CD1 1. Thomas Dolby - Radio Silence (3:51) 2. The Passage - XOYO (3:54) 3. Talk Talk - Mirror Man (3:21) 4. 100% Manmade Fibre - Green For Go (3:02) 5. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - She's Leaving (3:28) 6. Poeme Electronique - V.O.I.C.E. (4:28) 7. Colourbox - Breakdown (7" Version) (4:14) 8. Blancmange - I've Seen the Word (3:03) 9. Fashiøn - Streetplayer (Mechanik) (3:51) 10. Japan - European Son (3:39) 11. Greeting No 4 - Condition (3:17) 12. Richard BONE - Digital Days (3:42) 13. Paul Haig - Justice (Original Version) (3:33) 14. Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter (4:03) 15. Arthur Brown - Conversations (4:30) 16. Die Krupps - Goldfinger (3:23) 17. Planning By Numbers - Lightning Strikes (2:20) 18. Faith Global - Coded World (3:12) 19. Aerial FX - Instant Feeling (4:03) 20. Ultravox - Monument (3:14)
CD2 1. Dramatis - The Shame (3:22) 2. Fiat Lux - This Illness (4:14) 3. New Order - Temptation (5:24) 4. Kevin Coyne - Tell the Truth (4:06) 5. Dead or Alive - What I Want (Demo) (3:07) 6. Toyah - Ieya 1982 (3:46) 7. Fad Gadget - Life on the Line (3:57) 8. Thirteen at Midnight - Climb Down (3:26) 9. Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf (5:19) 10. Yello - Heavy Whispers (3:56) 11. Zoo Boutique - Happy Families (3:11) 12. The Human League - You Remind Me Of Gold (3:37) 13. Moebius - Pushing Too Hard (3:25) 14. Passion Polka - Juliet (3:38) 15. Endgames - First-Last-For Everything (Club Version) (4:38) 16. leisure process - love cascade (6:19) 17. Drinking Electricity - Good Times (3:34) 18. Section 25 - Hold Me (6:01)
CD3 1. Heaven 17 - Let Me Go (4:18) 2. Voice Farm - Beatnik (3:26) 3. Telex - Sigmund Freud's Party (2:54) 4. Thomas Leer - Mr Nobody (5:22) 5. Kim Wilde - Child Come Away (4:05) 6. Communication - Future Shock (3:50) 7. Berlin - Sex (I'm A) (Re-Recorded) (5:13) 8. Local Boy Makes Good - Hypnotic Rhythm (3:15) 9. Mikado - Par hasard (4:32) 10. Falco - Maschine brennt (3:39) 11. Those French Girls - Sorry Sorry (3:32) 12. Nick Nicely - Hilly Fields (1892) (3:32) 13. Time in Motion - Quiet Type (3:49) 14. Ukraine - Remote Control (3:31) 15. Julie And The Jems - 1-2-3 (3:43) 16. Thick Pigeon - Subway (4:57) 17. Sergeant Frog - Profile Dance (3:27) 18. Omega Theatre - Robots Machines And Silicon Dreams (4:58)
submitted by ebm_synthpop to u/ebm_synthpop [link] [comments]
DOWNLOAD in 320kbps / FLAC: https://mp3db.pro/post.php?pid=24525
Tracklist: CD1 1. Thomas Dolby - Radio Silence (3:51) 2. The Passage - XOYO (3:54) 3. Talk Talk - Mirror Man (3:21) 4. 100% Manmade Fibre - Green For Go (3:02) 5. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - She's Leaving (3:28) 6. Poeme Electronique - V.O.I.C.E. (4:28) 7. Colourbox - Breakdown (7" Version) (4:14) 8. Blancmange - I've Seen the Word (3:03) 9. Fashiøn - Streetplayer (Mechanik) (3:51) 10. Japan - European Son (3:39) 11. Greeting No 4 - Condition (3:17) 12. Richard BONE - Digital Days (3:42) 13. Paul Haig - Justice (Original Version) (3:33) 14. Tears for Fears - Pale Shelter (4:03) 15. Arthur Brown - Conversations (4:30) 16. Die Krupps - Goldfinger (3:23) 17. Planning By Numbers - Lightning Strikes (2:20) 18. Faith Global - Coded World (3:12) 19. Aerial FX - Instant Feeling (4:03) 20. Ultravox - Monument (3:14)
CD2 1. Dramatis - The Shame (3:22) 2. Fiat Lux - This Illness (4:14) 3. New Order - Temptation (5:24) 4. Kevin Coyne - Tell the Truth (4:06) 5. Dead or Alive - What I Want (Demo) (3:07) 6. Toyah - Ieya 1982 (3:46) 7. Fad Gadget - Life on the Line (3:57) 8. Thirteen at Midnight - Climb Down (3:26) 9. Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf (5:19) 10. Yello - Heavy Whispers (3:56) 11. Zoo Boutique - Happy Families (3:11) 12. The Human League - You Remind Me Of Gold (3:37) 13. Moebius - Pushing Too Hard (3:25) 14. Passion Polka - Juliet (3:38) 15. Endgames - First-Last-For Everything (Club Version) (4:38) 16. leisure process - love cascade (6:19) 17. Drinking Electricity - Good Times (3:34) 18. Section 25 - Hold Me (6:01)
CD3 1. Heaven 17 - Let Me Go (4:18) 2. Voice Farm - Beatnik (3:26) 3. Telex - Sigmund Freud's Party (2:54) 4. Thomas Leer - Mr Nobody (5:22) 5. Kim Wilde - Child Come Away (4:05) 6. Communication - Future Shock (3:50) 7. Berlin - Sex (I'm A) (Re-Recorded) (5:13) 8. Local Boy Makes Good - Hypnotic Rhythm (3:15) 9. Mikado - Par hasard (4:32) 10. Falco - Maschine brennt (3:39) 11. Those French Girls - Sorry Sorry (3:32) 12. Nick Nicely - Hilly Fields (1892) (3:32) 13. Time in Motion - Quiet Type (3:49) 14. Ukraine - Remote Control (3:31) 15. Julie And The Jems - 1-2-3 (3:43) 16. Thick Pigeon - Subway (4:57) 17. Sergeant Frog - Profile Dance (3:27) 18. Omega Theatre - Robots Machines And Silicon Dreams (4:58)
2023.06.01 22:25 hypermos This OS is confusing!
Half the repositories are incompatible with half the Distros which makes half the tasks require manual compilation and this isn't even remotely straightforward. I also don't think the timeshift resource can fix issues from installing a package meant for the wrong distro the most common issue category by far. Is there a way to make this OS even remotely user friendly as I find electrical engineering infinitely less confusing then Linux administration and something about that statement sounds absurd.
I used to think time shift would allow me to experiment with repositories more freely so the learning curve was manageable and upon realizing that wasn't true timeshift seemed useless while administration likewise seemed downright terrifying.
I mostly assume I am approaching it wrong as no one would ever make this there default OS if I was right even techies so I can only imagine there is a healthier administration approach.
submitted by hypermos to linux4noobs [link] [comments]
I used to think time shift would allow me to experiment with repositories more freely so the learning curve was manageable and upon realizing that wasn't true timeshift seemed useless while administration likewise seemed downright terrifying.
I mostly assume I am approaching it wrong as no one would ever make this there default OS if I was right even techies so I can only imagine there is a healthier administration approach.
2023.06.01 16:16 foobarbazblarg STAY CLEAN JUNE! This thread updated daily - Check in here!
Daily news: This is Sunday, June 4, the fourth day of the Stay Clean June challenge. Our 3 day late-signup grace period is now over. If you forgot to sign up, it's too late for June, but feel free to leave comments here anyway, and we'll see you in July.
Guidelines:
For a chart of relapse data, check out this Google Spreadsheet.
There are currently 779 out of 808 original participants. That's 96%. Here is the list of participants still with the challenge:
-_belak_-
-DONKEY-
0-909 ~
00253 ~
04725 ~
0missi0n ~
0NEofFOUR03
100nelsman ~
15-cent ~
15zxv
1ronZur ~
2019hollinger ~
202211_ ~
2ndroof
3-23-23
4d7e ~
4ktwhoyoulove ~
4of4
4UpcomingGenerations
508_deps ~
___ShadowMan ~
_Aurion_ ~
_de_novo
_galaxy_brain_27
_MartinGarrix ~
_Svelte_
a_wifi_has_no_name
abejaZombie ~
AbhinavAnishK ~
abhitruechamp ~
Able_Reputation4104 ~
ABoyNamedKindness ~
AccomplishedUse2483
Accurate-Mix6881 ~
acnosh ~
ActionLegitimate ~
Actual-Translator43 ~
addictd22 ~
AdeptnessSpare4784
Admirable-Fail-6306
AdTechnical2746 ~
Adune05
Adventurous-Goat1021
Adventurous-Sun-8029
ae_94 ~
Affectionate-Touch69 ~
afroshack ~
Aggressive_Way_9139 ~
airgrant5
AKhilji
Alikun17 ~
all_name_taken
allusermanesaretaken ~
AlternativeWave85 ~
Altruistic-Tiger8165 ~
amadeo19
Amado2023 ~
Amazing_Gate_9984
AmazonianRattlesnake
ANAS23DREID ~
anon__235 ~
AnonymousPokerAddict ~
aorangeix
ApodicticRust ~
arambikalama ~
ARBRangerBeans ~
Arrack_Obama ~
artemielarusse ~
artist_by_habit
aryamouna
asteroidorionfrogtea ~
atcsuper
Auguxurn ~
Aureo161 ~
Available-Economy-57 ~
avecgrec ~
axxolot ~
Ayon_b17
azbature ~
azoriandelorian
bababoel
Background-Gap-7084 ~
backtodafuture
Barbaric_monke
Baron_Greenback1 ~
bawan27 ~
Bazeingstone ~
bbqchicken97
bbwta69 ~
Beatle4870 ~
BenchConnect963 ~
bensobomms ~
Benzene78
Berni3759 ~
BerryNo9616 ~
Beta_Male_009
bettermeandbeyond ~
Bfunk4real
Bigdavereed ~
Biggiant14 ~
biggiantporky ~
biggomegalul ~
billll1357 ~
biofio
BlackberryFit7025
BluAlpha23 ~
blue_par ~
Blueberrydepresso ~
bluesriffinb83 ~
BlurryPacman ~
boat_go_brrr
Bond_2 ~
BootyCheeks20 ~
borgircrossancola ~
Bot1078 ~
BrandonofIreland ~
Braxcalibur ~
breakingthe-habit ~
brownxorigin
browsability
brr_21 ~
Bruce__Almighty ~
BruhJake420 ~
buddyboy123987
Buddynorris ~
bullet_the_blue_sky ~
Caesarvilar11 ~
Calm_Independence902
Calm_Initial_2373 ~
caper_nihilum ~
Careful_Elk6178
CasioMonk ~
catty7287 ~
Cautious_Ebb6844 ~
CAvenir ~
Certain_Library_8570 ~
Cesar-q3 ~
CheetahPhysical192
ChesterDawg2014 ~
Chipped_Finish141
Chocotaco1199 ~
ChrizJourney ~
Chukgamer13 ~
chutvinashak69 ~
CL0UTM4N_
Clone223
clonerluke1
ClutchingAtSwans
coletrain0529 ~
Comfortable_Drama344 ~
ComfortablePomksy ~
Confused_Wallaby
Conscious__Observer
ConsistentBridge5604 ~
Coolguyyk124 ~
CorruptExport ~
Counter-Initial
cozy_wet_dreams ~
CrazyTurtle18
Creesblo ~
CremeLeading4783
Crimzon_boy_1251 ~
Currently-Bored ~
CurvingDive
d_hunterofporn ~
dalipman ~
dantheman370z ~
Darijunga ~
dark-horse-1402
DarkGod999_ ~
DarlingBunniee ~
Darnegar
DarthPlagueisLives
daybydayforever ~
DEA335 ~
deductivebeehive
Defenestrajj23 ~
DeflatedSalmon ~
Degreed1982 ~
DeltaEcho93 ~
Denonsop ~
Desperate-Diamond797 ~
devp619 ~
dhumphrey420
diana_maddison ~
diaryofapornaddict
DiligentOutcome692 ~
Dimis_Man ~
disguiseashmm
DishAccomplished1501
Dismal-Drop-4927 ~
DistinctCombination4 ~
DK0P
dodgersbball ~
DoDinosaursHaveBoobs
dontcallmeyourmum ~
DoubleOrdinary7445
Dr-Alan-Grant ~
DragonairBNB ~
DragonBladeTalon
DragonZero365 ~
Draklonz ~
Dramatic-Ad5310
DramaticFoot96
Drang53 ~
Dropkickedasakid ~
Dry_Quality_2908 ~
Due_Yogurtcloset7900
dundundone ~
dzvalentino
Eagleassassin3 ~
EarthRabbit99_ ~
Ebin_Juttu_Make ~
Economy-Throat-3887 ~
Educational_Arm_8980
eerfnorpz
Effective_Minimum860
Efficient_Narwhal565 ~
Einnivv_
ej_warsgaming ~
ekeddit
elacidero ~
ElectricalGrocery687 ~
ElectronicLocal8092
Elegia
elephantlover19 ~
ElGeeQue
ember090 ~
EndlessToiletScrolin ~
endwanker ~
EngineeringGuilty503 ~
EnthusiasticEditor
ErikTheHammer ~
Even-Branch7269 ~
Evening_Drawer_291
Evening_Meaning_9255 ~
Evening_Promotion_52
Excellent-Cap-4365 ~
Expert-Gift2776 ~
ExplanationHuman ~
ExplanationWorldly11
EZ123BOI ~
Fabulous-Ad2090 ~
FalconMisterX ~
FallenHarmonics ~
False-Detective-3731 ~
famitslit
Famous_Hovercraft_41 ~
faprmstrong ~
FarPresentation7359 ~
Fast-Ad3407 ~
Feeling-Application6 ~
Few_Permit7302 ~
FieryTacos ~
Financial_Bobcat_123
Fine_Mathematician57
Finnrip ~
FixingMyself78
flaxseedyup ~
flickthatbean69 ~
flotskiy ~
Flyingtwistinglion
FlyMalachi85
foobarbazblarg ~
foosh11
fordieliebe
forthebestthistime ~
FragrantExpression13 ~
FrancisDickenstein ~
french-throwaway21
FreshBeginning303
friedporkrice27
FriedRice2222 ~
FrogsUnion
Ftcwarrior
Fudgedough ~
FullmetalPinetree ~
FunctionOk2510 ~
Future_Interaction
gabriellee07 ~
gaitover ~
gangstercomputer ~
Ganro1 ~
GAProman72
GatewayFollower ~
gauchochapin ~
gaysmasbrosplayer ~
General_Boo
GeneralPrior1877
gettingitdonenow ~
gfrisotto3 ~
ggmaobu
Ghdude1
gijoe011
goldenautist ~
GoodExistin ~
goofythrowaway27 ~
goos__ ~
Great_Driver_2937
Greeneggs219 ~
Gwynbleidd_2077 ~
Gyro_Death ~
H0meb0dy1980
halcyon_23 ~
Happy-Bagel-Man
Happy_Diamond8975 ~
haptichapiness ~
harristrill
Haunting_Cat_2462 ~
HeartCor3
Heavy-Razzmatazz-610 ~
HeightApprehensive80
High_Quality_Box
Higher_Love76 ~
Highspirit156 ~
HofmaniaNo1
hoodiethief2 ~
hopeThisIsSuccessful
houseclubmousemickey ~
Huge-Peak-6577 ~
hyrodiyum ~
I-am-inevitable98
I__trusted__you
I_must_do_it
I_out_pizzad_thehut
Iam-QuangNg ~
iamsumik ~
Ibladesh
Iceballmk4
Icy-Wealth9122 ~
Icy_Programmer5569
IcyCrownXD
igottapeern ~
Ilikecoffeepizzanyh ~
Ill_Photograph_5283 ~
Ilovepasta3 ~
imnotevendontstart ~
Implement_Last ~
Impossible-Trade-384
Impossible_Cow_8829 ~
Inabind369 ~
incertae-sedis
Independent-Mud4048 ~
independent_thinker9 ~
Inevitable-Seesaw986 ~
Inevitable_Theory908 ~
InfernalYassuo
infighterd
InfiniteEmuPMO492
IronFist835 ~
Ishka_khan ~
Itchy-Astronomer-394 ~
IzzyMoMaineGirl19
J_H_Logan
JacquesAttacques ~
JamesFosterMorier
JasonGrace123 ~
JayisStiggy
jb_hustler
jeff432md ~
jellomix33 ~
jessbunnys
jiorjiox ~
jjortiz0303
jlinc0
johnnnythrowaway1 ~
Jolly_Trade1611 ~
Jonny236 ~
Josh-Mastiff_real ~
joshua_pascal ~
Juanito-5519 ~
julaabgamun ~
Justakidwithadream23
justanotherrick11
K23crf250
kacivic ~
KaptainKool6 ~
karansees ~
kaybiel2u ~
KeepOnJumpin
keeprunninhard ~
kelyssi
Kenshin_BE
Kestrel7356 ~
Key_Caregiver_2397 ~
kgilbert2515 ~
KhanOmurtag ~
King-Alexander-41
KingKungFoo11116 ~
Kn1ghtW8ng ~
Knaloxone
KnownAlternative5325
Lakitu8337
Landino6969 ~
Lava709 ~
Lazzo247 ~
lbuwmarq
lcbsgs ~
lebeardedone ~
Legitimate_Yogurt_58 ~
leoroussos
lethal_7
lhrichard ~
lifetimerecovery ~
LightBurden18
lil21sanwich ~
Lilshitheadpeter ~
literalshithouse ~
LittleGlovesDavid
Live_Address_2244
Living_Way2441
Local_Fidiot ~
LondonCalling20 ~
LooseSeal323
Lord_Avogadro_ ~
LordAyzekDragonus ~
LordIggy88 ~
lostandfound_48 ~
lostculture33 ~
Loud_Schedule_9476 ~
Low-Qi
lPiantinni ~
Luanweberth ~
Lucas_Turilli ~
LuciferDarkLord876 ~
LuckyMango_25 ~
LucyJFer ~
lyrical_chaos ~
m00n55
MaddenMobileFreeze ~
MadeInAugust5 ~
Main_Farmer_745 ~
MaleficentConqueror ~
Malifeth
MangoSeparate5585 ~
Manue96 ~
MarcosTV95 ~
MascaraCaliente ~
Massive_Pay_4785 ~
Masterhearts_XIII
Material-Alarm8572
MDFlake ~
Mechzx ~
MeMyselfIandMeAgain ~
Mental-Ad-9366
Mentalmood_1947 ~
metaI_guru
Mihrical ~
mikero1999
milowilsonjr
MindlessChampion
mizustyle ~
mkmesamiches
mo_exe ~
mobueno ~
moeseph_94 ~
MoistDimension164 ~
Mom_Was_Right ~
MongooseActive1295
MoondropMystic ~
Most-Wear-8045 ~
mr-biff
MrDunkelschultz ~
MrPunSocks ~
MrWaffles538
MuGenZen
munafa23 ~
Muneneoftheforest
mushmellow12 ~
mwaal15 ~
MyNameIsMud0056 ~
Mysterious_Fudge171
myth11lore ~
Mythic1992 ~
n1njaofthen1ght ~
N3X_OR1 ~
naccc_c
Namroodeht ~
nass32 ~
Nearby-Bell2625
Necroassassin32 ~
NefariousnessMany714
nemo06a ~
neo_ev
NeonRussell
nevinstapes ~
NewOutlook_NoFap ~
nick_zhu2020 ~
Niewe_Lif ~
Nikonova19
ninjashnitzel ~
Nirvana1209 ~
nnargh ~
No-Diver-832 ~
No-Mail5202
No-Pie4791
No-Professional-4653 ~
No-Specialist-7223 ~
No-Topic3837 ~
No_Key_6276 ~
No_Pianist_110 ~
No_Republic2240
No_Tangerine_7920 ~
Nofap3747827 ~
NoMirror4891 ~
noname_engineer ~
None ~
NoobNoob9999
NoSchool3950 ~
NoSpring46 ~
NotACoomerAnymore ~
notdeadalready
Notmadeonthisearth
npsub ~
oatmealandsandwich ~
Objectiivee ~
Odd_Opportunity2867 ~
Odd_Resolution_12 ~
oe86 ~
Of104 ~
OG_SandwichBruh ~
Ok-Cauliflower-9552 ~
Ok-Draw-5338
Ok-Entrepreneur5076
Ok_Operation2357 ~
OkayBobCalmDown ~
omargucc ~
One-Confused-Boi
One_Marsupial_5343 ~
Onehorn7
Onetwodhwksi7833 ~
Onii-Chan_Itaii
openbasad ~
Opening-Let-542
Opening-Screen52 ~
OPPOSITIONZ ~
Otherwise-Profile-64 ~
Ov3rbyte719 ~
Over-Brief6549
Overjay ~
Own-Entertainment557 ~
Own-Explanation-9169 ~
Own_Opinion6688 ~
P_G_1021 ~
pakuki4 ~
PaleEmotion256
Panaceum2 ~
PandaUrine69 ~
paradox3976 ~
parkdrew
passable_girth ~
Past-Improvement-811 ~
patrick9772
Paulcy13 ~
Peaceful_Awareness ~
pedrooks_
Perfect_Article_8971 ~
PersonalPermission10
PFquest1018
pfthrowaway2022 ~
PhilosophicalBulgogi ~
phuzx123 ~
PlanDeee
Playful_Context1608
pleiop ~
plutomoonlight ~
PM_ME_SOME_LUV ~
pmmahajan2019
Poinkus ~
Porsche945
Possible_Engineer168
powergauge ~
prabhav_kumar ~
Practical-Clock-2173
Practical_Growth784 ~
Pretend-Strength-645 ~
Professional_Pay_127 ~
progress_at_work
projectmale
Proof_Iron_2543 ~
PsychologicalBat6066 ~
Puhthagoris ~
Punctuate9577 ~
PushDramatic2470
Quick_Maybe_3964 ~
quitandstayquit ~
QuitQuitQuitQuit
R2free
Radone90 ~
Rage_77795 ~
RajarshiCode ~
Rakkhiman ~
Ramonms98 ~
RandomPerson3421
RaRaCarolina ~
rationalconsumerr ~
RazzMatazz057
RBramura
Realistic_Security_9 ~
Reckless_Otter ~
red_honeytea
ReinventPhi
RemarkableOil8795 ~
RepresentativeNo409 ~
Responsible_Award_35 ~
revanthky ~
ReVos99
Reyhaan_Mohammed ~
ritizzzz ~
Road_T0_Recovery
robg019021 ~
rosogullafafda ~
rotpumpkin ~
RRM1337
RudolfGeyse ~
rudylove2010
Rutabaga-Bitter ~
Sad_Ad_5505 ~
SafeInvesting ~
sampledigga24 ~
samthebridgeman ~
Samy_Ninja_Pro
sandosh_e ~
sasuke_uchihaRaj ~
say_things_anonymous
ScienceNerd611 ~
Scolipete
scot_2015 ~
Sea_Possible_6298 ~
Secret_Astronomer668 ~
secretskeezix ~
Select-Low-1195
semmes1 ~
SeniorMeringue1110
Sensory_0verload ~
septvirg
SetsunaTripped ~
sgt_oddball_17
ShadowJinx813 ~
Shawnthefox ~
shifukato69
Significant_Plan_492 ~
Silver_Possession_27 ~
Single-Oil-3742 ~
sisjsjns ~
sixisonemorethanfive ~
sk8brdng ~
skeletonszz ~
Skyminder007 ~
SlightlyTarnished ~
slimXshady76 ~
SlyMtl20 ~
Smcnevens12 ~
Snaccbacc
SnapHackelPop ~
SnooCalculations7186
SnooEagles6857 ~
Snowymew2 ~
something_sithy ~
someunknownperson11 ~
Sorry-Breadfruit-189
South_Claim_926 ~
SpaceFogIL ~
Spidersandbeavers
spikey9 ~
Spiritual-Day-6398 ~
StableCool3487 ~
StatutoryNuke7861 ~
sticky_lungs0
Sticky_on_reddit ~
Stoner417 ~
strawberrysoup53 ~
StrikingEggplant9154
Stunning_County8127
stupac_forsure ~
Successful-Income322 ~
Successful_Picture94 ~
SunEaterr ~
Sunhill_ ~
SunnyRun_2Day ~
superrappermc ~
sweet4shapo ~
swolebodybussy ~
sycamor3_ ~
t0bert ~
T1tanT3m ~
tanukichef ~
tehrockeh ~
Tekk69 ~
tengenengyan ~
Terrible_Physics_988 ~
tetris_ita
Tharun_116
the_hobocop98
The_last_of_us0
TheAche135
theefudgefactory
Theminecraftgamer
Then_Sympathy ~
thenewme47 ~
theowaway953
thesecondaltacc ~
TheStormWonder ~
TheWillShady ~
ThisIsANewStartIfeel ~
throwaway183741
throwaway_6835
throwaway_ay_ay_
TigerDragon007
Timely-Measurement-8 ~
timespaceoblivion ~
tiopatinhas95
toasterroaster5
TOH-MEH-TOH
Tomas_slb24
TommyGotAJob
TonyRomoBurner ~
Top_Collar6135 ~
TouchtheWhiteWire ~
Traditional_Wave9593
TrampBornToRun ~
TrevinoKris ~
troubleclef21 ~
Trudohhh
TryingToGetBetter23 ~
tryingtoquitpornnn
tthr0waway-_-
ttmrd1
Turbulent_Ad_3914
TurbulentAd7713 ~
Uhh_just_act_natural
ultrashure
Unconquested ~
unemployedgrad999 ~
UnjustlyBannedTime11
Unknownredtreelog ~
Val2a ~
Venesss ~
Verybluevans ~
viccie211 ~
Visit-Commercial ~
vnnv747 ~
vromero2021
vymiranie ~
WatermelonMan921
Weekly_Subject7887 ~
WhatsintheBOAAX ~
whimsical_ambition ~
Whiskey_Hellbeing
whiteside1121 ~
whoop2022 ~
Wild_Oil3599 ~
willestfowler ~
WishBig2034
Wmichael
wolfinator999
WomanBeaterMidir ~
workouthingsing ~
worlays13 ~
x90explosive
xxdj817xx ~
xXMattie ~
yellow_billed_curlew
Yourdad6969__
yoyobantai_rapper
zapata1954 ~
zdawg524 ~
Zealousideal-Bug7557 ~
Zealousideal-Land739 ~
Zestyclose-Taste5905 ~
ZetaMale33 ~
Zgeek28 ~
Zilverking003 ~
zimp11 ~
Zoldyck673 ~
Zufahren ~
zuzukuka ~
Zynix- ~
zzLaZeRzz ~
submitted by foobarbazblarg to pornfree [link] [comments]
Guidelines:
- At the end of this post is a list of people who have signed up for the challenge, and who are still in the running. That means that they have not needed to reset because of a relapse or slip.
- Please check in with the group in the comments as often as you want! Feel free to share thoughts, feelings, experiences, progress, wisdom, encouragement and whatever else!
- IMPORTANT: if you relapse, please post a comment to that effect here and I will remove your name from the list. We will not judge you or shame you, we have all been there.
- If you have a "~" after your name, you have yet to check in on any update threads. If it is still there by June 15th, you will be removed from the list, in order to keep the numbers as realistic as possible.
- We will not be accepting any new participants, but even if you're not on the list, please feel free to check in in the update threads anyway! Also, stay tuned to catch the July thread!
For a chart of relapse data, check out this Google Spreadsheet.
There are currently 779 out of 808 original participants. That's 96%. Here is the list of participants still with the challenge:
-_belak_-
-DONKEY-
0-909 ~
00253 ~
04725 ~
0missi0n ~
0NEofFOUR03
100nelsman ~
15-cent ~
15zxv
1ronZur ~
2019hollinger ~
202211_ ~
2ndroof
3-23-23
4d7e ~
4ktwhoyoulove ~
4of4
4UpcomingGenerations
508_deps ~
___ShadowMan ~
_Aurion_ ~
_de_novo
_galaxy_brain_27
_MartinGarrix ~
_Svelte_
a_wifi_has_no_name
abejaZombie ~
AbhinavAnishK ~
abhitruechamp ~
Able_Reputation4104 ~
ABoyNamedKindness ~
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2023.06.01 10:44 Tear-Wide 5 Reasons Why You Should Choose Panasonic Aircon
 | Aircon PromotionTop forced air system makers like Panasonic are continuously working on the innovation and plan of their climate control system (aircon or ac) models to offer more ideal arrangements to their clients. The Panasonic Aircon servicing series is one of the most recent Panasonic Aircon that anyone could hope to find in Singapore. Property holders who have chosen to buy a Panasonic Aircon might want to figure out how it contrasts and the other aircon models and brands accessible. A portion of the fundamental advantages of a Panasonic aircon establishment in Singapore are portrayed underneath.Which Split aircon is best in Singapore? Aircon InstallationWhy Daikin Aircon light Blinking? How to Fix It?Which is the Most Long-Lasting Aircon Brand in Singapore?Top 5 reasons Why your Aircon Water Leaking? – How to solve it?Best popular Aircon Brand Singapore – 2023Daikin aircon servicing Mitsubishi Aircon servicing Midea Aircon servicing Panasonic Aircon servicing Lg aircon servicing Hitachi Aircon servicing Sharp Aircon servicing York Aircon servicing Gree Aircon servicing Brilliant ControlThe aircon introduced from the XU series has a Wifi network connector so it very well may be controlled remotely utilizing Aircon installation singapore the Solace Cloud application accommodated cell phones or different gadgets. This permits the relatives to screen the aircon from a distance, turning it on or Aircon General service off from their cell phone, and furthermore changing the temperature.Daikin aircon installation Mitsubishi Aircon installation Midea Aircon installation Panasonic Aircon installation LG aircon installation Hitachi Aircon installation Sharp Aircon installation York Aircon installation Gree Aircon installation Energy EffectiveOne reason to introduce a Panasonic forced air system is its power proficiency. The XU series aircon are incredibly energy effective and have a NEA 5-tick energy rating from the administrative specialists. They utilize the extraordinarily planned R32 refrigerant, which as well as being eco-accommodating, has a Aircon repair higher cooling limit and better intensity move diminishing energy utilization. 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To this end Panasonic Aircon is one of the most outstanding Aircon chemical wash selling aircon brand models in Singapore.Further developed AEROWINGS InnovationSecond hand AirconAircon Servicing package Aircon Servicing Promotion Aircon Service price Aircon promotion singapore 2023 Best aircon singapore Aircon promotion Mitsubishi Aircon not cold Best aircon brand Singapore Daikin Aircon error Code Midea aircon Error code Commercial Aircon Servicing Aircon light Blinking Daikin Aircon Not cold The Panasonic XU aircon item involves the superior Aerowings innovation with two engines for controlling the wind stream Aircon gas topup to direct how much virus air delivered for better cooling. This guarantees that the concentrated air cools a bigger region rapidly. A sub fold packs and focuses the cool Aircon spare parts air while the bigger external fold guarantees that the virus air arrives at a more drawn out distance. The twin folds concentrate air downwards for better cooling. 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2023.06.01 06:37 Hanger728 Packout recommendations for homeowner?
Looking for some suggestions on a packout setup for a homeowner.
Anytime I start a project I find myself making countless trips between upstairs and the garage to go to my large rolling toolbox or cabinet to find someyhing I forgot. I'm considering buying quite 6-8 small parts organizers and printing custom 3D inserts for each. (I can design myself and print for minimal cost so the insert cost is not a consideration)
I'm currently thinking: of the following setups using small parts organizer packouts - Oscillating tool with battery, sanding pads, various blades - Drill with stud finder, 15-20 drill bits, pencil - Driver with various bits, torpedo level, wall anchors, screws - Electrical with wire connectors, multimeter, non contact voltage tester, wire stripper, electrical tape, outlet tester - Cordless ratchet, socket set, manual ratchet, breaker bar
Does this sound reasonable? I know it's overkill and I could use tool bags but they end up looking sloppy and can't be stacked. I tried loading up a tool bag each time but I always end up still having to make quite a few trips. I like the idea of the packout drawer toolbox but it isn't designed for carrying and I could get 8 small parts organizers for the price.
I also looked at the large toolbox but it seemed designed for several large tools rather than lots of accessories. I like the idea of the slim small parts organizers but realized it might make more sense to sort small parts by use and have them with the tools.
submitted by Hanger728 to MilwaukeeTool [link] [comments]
Anytime I start a project I find myself making countless trips between upstairs and the garage to go to my large rolling toolbox or cabinet to find someyhing I forgot. I'm considering buying quite 6-8 small parts organizers and printing custom 3D inserts for each. (I can design myself and print for minimal cost so the insert cost is not a consideration)
I'm currently thinking: of the following setups using small parts organizer packouts - Oscillating tool with battery, sanding pads, various blades - Drill with stud finder, 15-20 drill bits, pencil - Driver with various bits, torpedo level, wall anchors, screws - Electrical with wire connectors, multimeter, non contact voltage tester, wire stripper, electrical tape, outlet tester - Cordless ratchet, socket set, manual ratchet, breaker bar
Does this sound reasonable? I know it's overkill and I could use tool bags but they end up looking sloppy and can't be stacked. I tried loading up a tool bag each time but I always end up still having to make quite a few trips. I like the idea of the packout drawer toolbox but it isn't designed for carrying and I could get 8 small parts organizers for the price.
I also looked at the large toolbox but it seemed designed for several large tools rather than lots of accessories. I like the idea of the slim small parts organizers but realized it might make more sense to sort small parts by use and have them with the tools.
2023.06.01 02:45 AslandusTheLaster The Fall of Red Rider
Original prompt: [WP] The Supervillan kidnaps their Archnemesis’s child, but it turns out the Hero(ine) of the city is also a terrible parent. (link)
My plan was nearly ready to reach fruition. This time, I would finally be rid of my nemesis, that goody-two-shoes the people call The Red Rider! I had the defenses and the doomsday device set up, I just had to get the foolish hero to fall into my trap!
I strolled over to my rolodex of victims to find a worthy hostage... No, the reporter girl was covering a war in some foreign country, grabbing her would take too long... No, not the mayor's daughter, she was off at college... Wait, why was his sidekick still in the rolodex? He graduated into a full-fledged hero a year and a half ago...
Well, it appeared that the usual suspects weren't going to work, so I'd have to find some new people the red jackass would jump through hoops to rescue. I called in one of my minions.
"Lord Halcien? How can I serve you?" the lizard man hissed. I couldn't remember why I'd mutated my spymaster, nor why I'd never tried to turn him back.
"Spymaster Alren, I need to get the Red Dunce here. Find me someone he'll go through hell or high water to rescue and toss them into the dungeon," I said.
"Yes, my lord..." he said, bowing. His skin shimmered and he turned invisible, the clicking of his claws indicating his departure from the room. More importantly, I remembered why I'd turned my assistant into a lizard.
I was putting the finishing touches on a new execution device when Alren returned. An ingenious thing, it would use a tiny needle to inject a number of microscopic devices into the victim's blood. From there, a secondary cycle would activate, emitting inaudible sound waves to make the devices reverberate, rupturing the blood vessels and causing severe internal bleeding while the prisoner thinks they're merely sitting in a cage.
"My lord, I have found that which you seek!" my spymaster said, letting out a hiss as he bowed.
"Ah, excellent, who did you find?" I asked, glancing over from my work to meet his eyes.
"Who better than the man's young son?" Alren asked.
"The Red Rider has a son? I didn't know Miss Dolores had the time to start a family," I said.
"No, not the reporter, my lord. He has an actual girlfriend," Alren said.
"Excellent work as always, Spymaster Alren," I said. "Inform the servants that we have a guest if you would, I've got to finish this up before the hero arrives."
"As you wish, my lord," the spymaster said, before slinking off.
It was nearly sundown, and there wasn't any sign of the Red Rider. Since I'd finished the execution device and put the finishing touches on everything else, I deigned to visit the prisoner. Inside the dungeon cell was a young boy. He was reading a book, and had a half-drunk cup of tea on a saucer next to him. As ever, I tried to keep my prisoners well, being a villain didn't mean one had to be a savage.
"Child," I said.
"Oh, hey mister," he said, looking up from the book.
"Halcien. Lord Halcien to you, boy," I said.
"Okay, Lord Halcien. I'm Tamolin," he said. "Could I get a flashlight? It's getting dark and I have to finish this chapter before tomorrow or I'll fail the assignment."
"This is the upper dungeon, we have lighting, but one of the servants can fetch you a flashlight if you would prefer," I said. "I'm more concerned with why your father hasn't come yet. Ordinarily he's quite prompt with smashing his way into my base when someone goes missing."
"Daddy's been gone a long time," Tamolin said.
"What? No, I just faced Red Rider a month ago, he's not gone," I said.
"Oh, you mean Mama's boyfriend... I dunno, he doesn't like me very much," Tamolin said. "I'm not allowed out of my room when he's home..."
Seeing the boy wince when I mentioned the supposed hero didn't exactly leave many possibilities in my mind. It made me remember the time I had my eye put out when I was small, though that was quite a while ago.
I turned toward the boy preparing to respond, but he had already returned to his book. Instead, I decided to simply start up the doomsday device. If Red Rider couldn't be bothered to show up, then I wasn't going to be a good sport about it. I was a villain, after all!
The evening sky darkened quickly with storm clouds, with winds picking up in the area around the base. As the howl of the wind and the crash of debris started to rattle the castle, I heard the faint screech of a motorcycle pulling to a stop.
The party had finally begun.
Red Rider had managed to weave between the electric defense pylons without being turned into a charred corpse, and he'd slipped past the automated turrets with only some minor damage to his bike. He had taken down the two guards who tried to apprehend him as he entered, and ended up facing down guardsman Velric. He'd been doing well at wearing down the armored behemoth of a man, until Shield-maiden Hilda finally clocked him over the head.
Now he was bolted, strapped, and tied into a chair. The three different bindings would theoretically mean he was now triply unable to escape, but I knew from experience that the hero was quite slippery.
"So nice of you to join us, Mr. Rider," I said.
"Fuck you, Halcien. Do you have any idea how much destruction you've already caused?" Rider asked. "You know the code, you've got to do a declaration before beginning a plan. Hoo boy, you're not gonna be a happy camper if the Omni-Regulations Board catches wind of this."
"Oh, I certainly did, but I doubt the board would find me in contention because you can't find the time in the day to save your own son," I said.
"Son? Shit, did I miss some really important email from Dolly?" he asked.
"No, the son of your other girlfriend," I said.
"Hm? you mean Patricia? She doesn't have a kid," he said.
I furrowed my brow and said, "Dare I ask if there's another woman in your life?"
"Oh, well there is Tabby... Wait, you mean you took that pretentious little shit? Good riddance," he said.
"'Pretentious little-' I'd hardly expect a hero to say that about his own charge," I said.
"Bah, kid acts like he's the smartest in the room, constantly whining about not being able to read or do his homework, and he's got that weird name, you can keep him for all I care," Red Rider said.
"Halci- I mean, Tamolin is not a weird name! You know what, forget it!" I said, placing my remote control onto the table after deactivating the doomsday device. It was linked to most of the technological devices in the room, but using them didn't feel right anymore. "I'd planned this whole thing, the shutters would open and you'd watch the city be reduced to ruins while you could do nothing, then you get executed by my masterful execution device, but now the mood's ruined!"
"Mood? Hah, don't tell me you're letting me go? Maybe I should hurl pointed insults more often!" Red Rider said.
"Letting you go? No, but all of that is for fun heroes who play along. I'll offer you a choice instead: Knife, poison, or strangulation?" I asked, opening a small chest and placing a dagger, a bottle of poison, and a length of cord onto the table.
"Uh..." he said.
"Aw heck, you're right, why choose?" I asked, pouring the poison on the dagger with one hand while coiling the cord with the other.
I was in one of the best moods I'd been in since I dug out my father's eye with a corkscrew. My mortal enemy was finally dead, I could finally get started on my long term plans, and I hadn't lost any of my magnificent devices or loyal minions in the process. I began formulating what to do next, when I walked past the cell where Tamolin was sitting attentively. It appeared he had finished whatever he had to do with the book, given the papers stacked on one side of him and the closed book on the other.
"Mr. Lord Halcien? Can I go home now? It's almost bed time, and Mama will be sad if I'm not there," he asked.
"Certainly, child, you being here has served all the purpose I needed," I said, opening the door to the boy's cell. "Though if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask a little about your mother..."
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I strolled over to my rolodex of victims to find a worthy hostage... No, the reporter girl was covering a war in some foreign country, grabbing her would take too long... No, not the mayor's daughter, she was off at college... Wait, why was his sidekick still in the rolodex? He graduated into a full-fledged hero a year and a half ago...
Well, it appeared that the usual suspects weren't going to work, so I'd have to find some new people the red jackass would jump through hoops to rescue. I called in one of my minions.
"Lord Halcien? How can I serve you?" the lizard man hissed. I couldn't remember why I'd mutated my spymaster, nor why I'd never tried to turn him back.
"Spymaster Alren, I need to get the Red Dunce here. Find me someone he'll go through hell or high water to rescue and toss them into the dungeon," I said.
"Yes, my lord..." he said, bowing. His skin shimmered and he turned invisible, the clicking of his claws indicating his departure from the room. More importantly, I remembered why I'd turned my assistant into a lizard.
"My lord, I have found that which you seek!" my spymaster said, letting out a hiss as he bowed.
"Ah, excellent, who did you find?" I asked, glancing over from my work to meet his eyes.
"Who better than the man's young son?" Alren asked.
"The Red Rider has a son? I didn't know Miss Dolores had the time to start a family," I said.
"No, not the reporter, my lord. He has an actual girlfriend," Alren said.
"Excellent work as always, Spymaster Alren," I said. "Inform the servants that we have a guest if you would, I've got to finish this up before the hero arrives."
"As you wish, my lord," the spymaster said, before slinking off.
"Child," I said.
"Oh, hey mister," he said, looking up from the book.
"Halcien. Lord Halcien to you, boy," I said.
"Okay, Lord Halcien. I'm Tamolin," he said. "Could I get a flashlight? It's getting dark and I have to finish this chapter before tomorrow or I'll fail the assignment."
"This is the upper dungeon, we have lighting, but one of the servants can fetch you a flashlight if you would prefer," I said. "I'm more concerned with why your father hasn't come yet. Ordinarily he's quite prompt with smashing his way into my base when someone goes missing."
"Daddy's been gone a long time," Tamolin said.
"What? No, I just faced Red Rider a month ago, he's not gone," I said.
"Oh, you mean Mama's boyfriend... I dunno, he doesn't like me very much," Tamolin said. "I'm not allowed out of my room when he's home..."
Seeing the boy wince when I mentioned the supposed hero didn't exactly leave many possibilities in my mind. It made me remember the time I had my eye put out when I was small, though that was quite a while ago.
I turned toward the boy preparing to respond, but he had already returned to his book. Instead, I decided to simply start up the doomsday device. If Red Rider couldn't be bothered to show up, then I wasn't going to be a good sport about it. I was a villain, after all!
The evening sky darkened quickly with storm clouds, with winds picking up in the area around the base. As the howl of the wind and the crash of debris started to rattle the castle, I heard the faint screech of a motorcycle pulling to a stop.
The party had finally begun.
Now he was bolted, strapped, and tied into a chair. The three different bindings would theoretically mean he was now triply unable to escape, but I knew from experience that the hero was quite slippery.
"So nice of you to join us, Mr. Rider," I said.
"Fuck you, Halcien. Do you have any idea how much destruction you've already caused?" Rider asked. "You know the code, you've got to do a declaration before beginning a plan. Hoo boy, you're not gonna be a happy camper if the Omni-Regulations Board catches wind of this."
"Oh, I certainly did, but I doubt the board would find me in contention because you can't find the time in the day to save your own son," I said.
"Son? Shit, did I miss some really important email from Dolly?" he asked.
"No, the son of your other girlfriend," I said.
"Hm? you mean Patricia? She doesn't have a kid," he said.
I furrowed my brow and said, "Dare I ask if there's another woman in your life?"
"Oh, well there is Tabby... Wait, you mean you took that pretentious little shit? Good riddance," he said.
"'Pretentious little-' I'd hardly expect a hero to say that about his own charge," I said.
"Bah, kid acts like he's the smartest in the room, constantly whining about not being able to read or do his homework, and he's got that weird name, you can keep him for all I care," Red Rider said.
"Halci- I mean, Tamolin is not a weird name! You know what, forget it!" I said, placing my remote control onto the table after deactivating the doomsday device. It was linked to most of the technological devices in the room, but using them didn't feel right anymore. "I'd planned this whole thing, the shutters would open and you'd watch the city be reduced to ruins while you could do nothing, then you get executed by my masterful execution device, but now the mood's ruined!"
"Mood? Hah, don't tell me you're letting me go? Maybe I should hurl pointed insults more often!" Red Rider said.
"Letting you go? No, but all of that is for fun heroes who play along. I'll offer you a choice instead: Knife, poison, or strangulation?" I asked, opening a small chest and placing a dagger, a bottle of poison, and a length of cord onto the table.
"Uh..." he said.
"Aw heck, you're right, why choose?" I asked, pouring the poison on the dagger with one hand while coiling the cord with the other.
"Mr. Lord Halcien? Can I go home now? It's almost bed time, and Mama will be sad if I'm not there," he asked.
"Certainly, child, you being here has served all the purpose I needed," I said, opening the door to the boy's cell. "Though if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask a little about your mother..."
2023.05.31 17:43 m80mike I Was a Foreman at the Grazer Tower Demolition
Summary: A demolition firm struggles to take down a damaged building for their mysterious clients
I Was a Foreman at the Grazer Tower Demolition
By now Grazer Tower has faded as a household name but to some the rumors and madness surrounding it refuse to die. The demolition of the massive three hundred twenty foot octagonal hotel left a gap in the Atlanta skyline but little fondness in anyone's hearts. I have no particular first hand insight into the freak lightning strikes on the 30th floor atrium which killed 13 people but I am willing to tell my side of the story about the demolition effort leading to the botched implosion. I tell this as a full, open, and honest disclosure. The legal maneuvering and ink has dried, all of the dead are buried, and all the bleeding stopped. The scars remain, the pain persists, the things I saw there are burned in my head even after they've been discredited into the conspiracy theory woodwork of the internet. The lightning storm struck on a Sunday afternoon and the next day for all we knew the bodies were still warm when a lawyer representing the owners of Grazer Tower entered our corporate office. I look back on it now with open and clear eyes and realize it was all very strange from the start when my Lead Foreman, Tom, and I were called into the meeting in progress.
The lawyer and now our client, looked like a fairly normal man in his mid thirties aside from his impeccably white suit which was ironed to the point of looking like stone rather than cloth. Beside the white suit his lips were an uncomfortable maroon and glossy. Besides this he spoke in a plain, clear, and disarming manner refraining from legalese and maintaining a firm but not imposing eye contract with whomever he was speaking directly to.
He told us in no uncertain terms he was instructed to contract with our firm to take down his client's building. Tom and I were shocked when we heard this after all, the lightning disaster, while tragic and perhaps undeservedly tarnishing in the short term to the Grazer Hotel's reputation, did not render the structure unusable nor unsafe to its surroundings. The worst damage was that the steel dome of the 30th floor atrium had collapsed into the vaulted restaurant and ballroom of the 29th floor but that's where the structure damage started and ended, in fact aside from the 28th, 29th, and 30th floor, city engineers working overnight already declared the building sound. So while perhaps still time consuming and costly, repairing the building was definitely possible and cost effective but owners, to make an analogy, were basically insisting on totaling a car after a minor parking lot fender bender. They gave us a specific date by which the building needed to be taken down. When our Boss, Jim, rebuffed the lawyer, not only because the date was challenging and soon but also because it was possible we could have it dropped BEFORE the date specified. The lawyer insisted the building go down on the date given – not later and not earlier. Jim swallowed hard and then glanced at Tom and I. Then the lawyer involved the name of the head of the owner's group, a Mr. Rohmer.
Mr. Rohmer, according to the lawyer, was offering our firm one hundred percent of the cost upfront and another twenty perfect of the total cost plus any overruns – stating if the implosion came early or late, it would mean all very little – no, that's no a typo, that's how the lawyer phrased it from his client, Mr. Rohmer. With that detail out of the way, you can see how the car totaling analogy breaks down considering the owners did not stand to profit from it's demolition – in fact quite the opposite.
The lawyer chuckled a bit to break the tension. He explained his clients and Mr. Rohmer in particular were an unorthodox bunch and then even insisted he wear the white suit in any of their dealings. The lawyer produced a tablet PC from his messenger bag and leveled it to Jim. On the tablet was all the banking confirmation codes ready to go for a direct deposit into our firms account alongside a contract. Jim seemed to hiccup or belch in excitement as he hurried around the short side of his desk to sign it since his stubby t-rex arms could not reach across his desk.
The firm was committed, we were committed – I was committed and I started to mentally cramp up over the challenges we all faced. The Grazer Hotel was in the middle of a dense urban grid. It had to be precise drop with virtually no margin for error. Jim poured us a dram of scotch from the bottle hidden under his desk. None of us a second thought about Rohmer's cryptic remark – after all, how often did you get a one hundred twenty perfect no-bid contract walk in off the street, out of the blue?
A combination of exhilaration over the money and anxiety over the work load kept us all from sleeping that night. Jim and Tom ended up going out and having a wild night to celebrate while I went home to mentally prepare not only myself but also my wife and kids. As a family they were staring down a month and a half of late nights and weekends with no dad. My wife was frustrated until I told her about the bonus and then she said she'd fill the lonely time making plans to send the kids to Disney World and then find a place for us to spend alone together. The promise of a much needed vacation after this only super charged the butterflies in my stomach further in anticipation of this challenging season ending.
As the assistant foreman I had office and on-site duties. Most of it was coordinating between the two. This included personnel, setting up site security – including guards and cameras to keep urban explorers and vagrants of out the dangerous site and satisfy OSHA hazardous work place safety requirements. The most challenging duty was site prep which included disposal of furnishings, removal of windows and other flourishes of the structure's facade which could become deadly shrapnel during an implosion. Fortunately, despite all of this, the nagging questions about permits and clean-up contracts were already handled by the lawyer. Rohmer's group also waived any rights to furnishings which means they could be unceremoniously hauled out in any way we chose to and disposed of.
Now I suppose some of these things should have came as red flags to me – or at least some one in the company but we all justified it as the group must have connects and short cuts to permits and it was a relatively new building, only about twenty years old in fact and furnishings – whether old or new probably weren't of any antique or sentimental value. All in all these were blessings since they freed our hands a bit and made a near impossible deadline more possible.
Of course the good news came with some bad news. The city engineers forbade us from working at the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors – unless we brought in a separate crew to stabilize those levels first. This was quite the fly in the ointment for the controlled implosion plan we sketched out. The 30th floor wasn't as much of a problem but the 29th floor ballroom and the weakening of the 28th floor meant we can't inspect for how compromised they were by the steel atrium dome. For all we knew if we blew the 27th floor on down the dome could shift and topple over the top three floors outside of the implosion safe zone, imperiling people and nearby structures.
I raised holy hell about it while Tom stood calm. It could take months to stabilize and clear those floors and far more money than I thought our eccentric client would pay in overruns. Jim waved me off mid sentence and simply told me he'd take care of it. That was good enough for Tom so it had to be good enough for me. I went back to my job – securing site and planning drop.
Although we had a problem with the top floor our saving grace lie in the basements. It had a three story subterranean parking garage, a basement level pool, and a utility sub-basement. We could easily smash the first ten or twelve floors into that deep footprint. Also the utility sub-basement gave us a clean cut off from the grid and a fairly convenient way to protect the surrounding grid without interruption. Still, at least part of our team would take have to take three weeks out of our six and change to handle the utilities.
The first week was hectic, they always were but we hit no major snags. By the end of it were on schedule and all of the parts were coming together. We thought maybe, just maybe, we were well on our way to an early Christmas bonus but nothing could prepare us for what was coming.
If you work on a site long enough and work anywhere on the site security reporting chain you're bound to get a few questionable reports from your night guys. Let's face it, for folks who are wake all night five or six nights a week poking around with flashlights chasing shadows, every building every where is haunted. I've been on the site security chain for thirteen years so it was easy for me to dismiss reports from the night guys about unusual glows on gutted floors and stairwells, elevators which moved on their own with no one calling for them or inside when they opened on a random floor, or the security cameras and cellphones constantly going offline on the 27th floor and the utility sub-basement.
I wasn't convinced anything of concern was going on until I got called on site by the test drilling team. This team was responsible for sampling the support materials to determine where it was best to place the explosives and what explosives would be best to use. They reported the interior supports were designed in an unusual way with a honey comb of unorthodox metals and concrete not reported on the building's records or blueprints. Specifically, they reported the concrete was impregnated by some kind of metal veins which gave off a bright shimmer. I was asked to come identify it but they claimed it disappeared by the time I arrived.
I was irate at the team and their supervisor for having me to come on down on site for something that sounded so wrong to begin with. They showed me a grainy cellphone video and told me they would swear on a stack of Bibles the sparkling compound welled up in the test coring like mercury, turned blood red and bled on the floor before disappearing into the torn up carpet. I chastised them for making this up and threatened to get new sub contractors if they kept wasting my time. I spoke with a separate sample team on the lower levels and they too discovered some unusual metal compositions – ones which were different then the ones found the top floors. One of the engineers speculated that the contrast in metals between the top and bottom floors could be cause the building to hold an electrical charge, like a battery or like a capacitor. Either way, the engineer said it would require more explosives than initially thought to take down the structure.
A couple of weeks later we were painfully behind – glass removal in particular was going slow because those contractors claimed they were constantly losing their toys. They also claimed one night to have cleared the top five floors on the east side of all their glass – only for all the windows to appear fully intact the next morning. I was forced to end their sub contract due to misrepresentation of work accomplished.
The glass wasn't the only thing slowing us down. The wire and plumbing removal was hindered by the wires somehow were fused to the pipes and in some places, the pipes were fused to the load-bearing members – we thought maybe it was due to the lightning strikes but that really didn't make sense since all of the wiring and plumbing otherwise seemed to work fine before we turned off the utilities. The only thing going for us was the helicopter loophole. Instead of accessing the 30th floor through the condemned floors we were able to get work teams on the atrium floor by helicopter. The bodies of the 13 were removed before we started working and before the atrium fully collapsed into the ballroom but the teams working on the roof reported many unusual artifacts including stained glass and Greek letters comprised of unusual amalgams of metal.
All of the strangeness culminated in the disappearance of one of the night time security guards named Phillipe. I say disappear because his girlfriend filed a missing persons report with the police and when they came to investigate Tom was busy with the atrium operations so the job fell to me. I walked the investigator through guard's smart phone filed reports from the previous evenings. Admittedly I was behind on my end approving the reports so I was embarrassed when things in the report took a turn. His reports including the same odd glows the others were reporting in the stairwells and seeing metallic veins throb on the walls.
His last reports stuck in my head: Report: Sub-basement 4 clear, 0312. Report: Sub-basement 5 clear, 0305. Report: Sub-basement 6 clear 0237.
His “all clear” reports documented levels of the building which did not exist and the further he went into the areas which did not exist, the automatic timestamps went backwards in time. It made no sense – unless he was confused as to where he was due to intoxication and there was software glitch with the timestamps. I was forced to give the investigator no firm explanation.
It's easy to write off a high security guard – they're flaky by their nature and have plenty of reasons to ghost a part time gig and even to pull prank on their final reports. I almost wrote it all off until I saw his girlfriend – apparently his fiance, handing out missing persons fliers outside of the site gate one morning. She seemed absolutely heartbroken and I got stabbed in the gut thinking maybe this wasn't a ghosting and prank after all. Seeing is believing and the next week I started to believe. Tom was finishing up on the atrium level. We used some heavy lift choppers to remove the rest of the frame and glass. Now we could get a better look into the section which collapsed into the 29th floor. We started by using a series of video drones to investigate the melted twisted dome through the collapsed roof. We quickly learned that the drones were being interfered with as their feed would cut out or their batteries would die almost immediately upon entering the ballroom.
So, we had to cut some corners, against city regulations, we let Tom and two others rappel in from the roof on secured anchored lines with helicopter over watch support. We needed to do this because we needed make sure that collapsed wreckage would not move and potentially change the implosion direction. Tom got twisted in his gear as he tried to lean into one of the holes in the roof. He slipped and fell in, disappearing from sight. We frantically radioed for Tom as the other two workers abandoned their own attempts to peer in and scrambled to Tom's aid. Tom was pulled out of the section uninjured but he appeared to be in shock, he looked wild eyed and shook as he was put on the helicopter and lowered back to ground level. Within minutes, Jim called us back to the office to discuss the near miss.
Two weeks to go and week behind, a missing guard, and now a near fatal accident. That for Jim, was the last straw. Tom and I had run out the rope Jim gave us to hang ourselves with. Jim slammed his hand on his desk as he catastrophized, red in the face, nearly breathless, he yelled we could very well kiss that twenty percent goodbye with the way things are going. He pressured Tom to go on the record after his dip into the structure that the atrium debris ball in the ballroom posed no threat to the implosion. Tom was elsewhere. He stared off in a thousand yard stare before replying to Jim that it posed no threat. Then Tom headed for the door. Jim screamed at him that he wasn't done chew us out but Tom only said he had to get back to it. I supported Tom and followed him. He and I headed back to the site to secure the night shift changes – another night not at home and having a late dinner.
I asked Tom in the car ride back what he saw in there. Tom was fixed in a trance and barely responded. He said it was wild. When we got back to the site, Tom separated from me through the gate while I strolled across the street to grab us some dinner from a street vendor. As I stood around waiting for two gyros and two cokes I could help but be mesmerized by the gutted tower. It seemed to breath in the spotlights inhaling puffs of the dust and dirt on the site and then exhaling it. A faint glow, barely perceivable against the light pollution, seemed to brighten, dim, and fade from the upper floors with each of the building's breaths. I was transfixed on it and it was the first time the building gave me an eerie feeling.
I got back on the site, food in hand, there was a buzz in their air as the night shift streamed in and the day shift streamed out. I barely had my hardhat seated corrected on my head when the site's emergency alarm blew. The interim foreman tossed me a radio as I was swept with him and our site occupational safety and emergency personnel to the basement.
Our increasingly panicked footfalls blotted out the squawk of the radios but I could hear one name again and again in the equally panicked messages – Tom Tom Tom. Whatever was happening was happening to Tom.
We reached the pool level and a trail of gasps proceeded me into the pool. There was Tom in his vest and hardhat face down in the middle of the pool with crimson oozing out him into the cerulean tiles lining the drained pool. We piled in from the ladders and shallow end to get to him. It was apparent when the first folks reached him that he was dead. They hauled him out on a stretcher and to our shock he looked like he had been dead for much longer than possible and his skin was water logged despite there being no water. He had died of fall trauma possibly despite the pool only being six feet deep. The paramedics also claimed he had water in his lungs. Then I noticed he was wearing his rappelling harness weaved in his vest – but that made no sense – he took it and his vest off when we were getting chewed out by Jim. Why would he put his rappelling gear on again.
I was the assistant foreman no more. Now the buck stopped with me. As they took Tom to the morgue we all knew the show must go on – our client demanded it, Jim demanded it and Tom would have wanted it that way. The same police investigator from the guard's disappearance met with me over Tom's death. They said it was standard procedure with work place deaths. I gave him a copy of the footage on an SD card and left the moment after it left my hand.
I had the recording queued up to the time of the commotion. The video we provided had a poor angle and was focused on the door to monitor access – the comings and goings of people. It was shift change so people were filing in and out Tom was somewhere in the crowd. The pool was one of the areas which required both foot patrols and constant video monitoring. I hit the rewind button on accident and watched his body lie there and lie there and then the timestamp sped past the 1900 hour mark. We were in traffic from meeting with Jim at that time. This was impossible but I kept my finger on the rewind button. Around 1400 the camera shakes a bit and there is slight glow reflecting on the doors so I let it play back to the shake. There is a soft green glow and then could hear a heft thud in the room. I gulped knowing that was Tom falling into the pool around the same time he fell into the hole in the roof. The soft glow turned brighter and brighter like a laser shining into the lens – something that wasn't present on the rewind. There was a flash of an incomprehensible shape or form on the screen. I was physically hurt in my eyes like I had just stared into the sun. I was left dazed with the shaped burned into my eyes with each blink. Then the camera system shorted out and a tiny puff of smoke left the memory module. The cameras blinked off wall to wall, the whole system was dead.
With the cameras fried, regulations required someone high in the company to be on site or we'd have to leave for the night. So I stayed knowing we couldn't afford to lose an hour much less an entire night. I circled the pool between approving payrolls and directing the increased security guard traffic required to monitor more areas. I was thinking about what I would say at Tom's funeral. I was thinking about Tom's family and what they would think about his apparent suicide.
I was forced to patrol the rest of the sub-basements as well since most of the guards were at the site perimeters or higher levels. I would have to follow paths of Phillipe, the disappeared guard, and all of the other guards who had mismatched timestamps on their increasingly strange reports. If not for today's incident and the recording of Tom's death, I would have stood fast to the idea that these reports were the product of night jitters and drugs but now, no.
I gritted my teeth as I exited the pool area to patrol the lower levels. I hated this building I muttered to myself. I couldn't wait to see it all rumble. I thought about which part I'd like to keep from the site to place in Tom's casket – then I realized it probably wasn't going to be an open casket funeral. I was lost in my thoughts and hatred for the building as I roamed through the parking garage into the utilities basement. I lost track of where I was as I weaved down stairwells.
I shown my flashlight on the wall and the floor level sign said “Sub-basement 999”. I stopped cold in my tracks. I was hoping it was a prank but I knew it was no prank. Then I thought maybe I'd have some answers. Maybe I would finally see what all the strangeness was about. But then I freaked out about Phillipe's disappearance and turned to run back up the stairwell. I ran up four levels to what I thought was the lobby and I pushed the door open.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw a black and white galaxy – the stars were black and the space was white with gradations of gray. The whole room was just white outer space and the whole universe swirled fast counter clockwise. I tried to breath and when I did the galaxy shrunk before my eyes until it was the size of a tiny of marble and then even smaller to a speck of dust. I reached out as it floated towards me. I stared at the speck in a cold sweat. As I stared, I was looking deeper and deeper into impossible detail. In the dust I found the milky way galaxy, I found our solar system, I found Earth and then I found North America, and then I found myself back in the pool room dripping in sweat.
Time seemed to skip and space was malleable in that hotel. As we approached the deadline to drop it, some jobs which would take hours took days and some jobs which would take days took minutes. The anomalies seemed to swarm tonight and day and yet we pressed on. Tom was buried and I couldn't go.
We met the deadline and the city came out in numbers to watch us drop the thirty floor structure. They gathered nearly two blocks away clad in ponchos and dust masks bracing for the implosion triggered by half a ton of high explosives.
I was so burned out and demoralized. My mantra became “this is for Tom, this is for Tom” and it was the only thing carrying me to this day. I chalked up all the anomalies and even my own experience on 999th sub-basement level as a reaction to shock, loss, grief, and exhaustion.
We were on the thirty minute countdown and Mr. Rohmer's attorney was designated as the trigger man. He stood there with Jim and I in the command trailer with the detonator remote. The remote triggered a two minute countdown on the charges from a master control station in my command trailer. All the charges had to be hardwired old school style because we were getting too much walkie talkie and radio interference from inside the structure for any other method of trigger to be reliable. I was too tried to make a stink about insisting I do it. I just wanted it to be over but suddenly a freak thunderstorm brewed up over the city. The skies were overcast and we were on the verge of having to abort the implosion until the next day – despite the next day being a day past the deadline. If we didn't abort and went through with the implosion, there was a strong chance the shock waves from the blast would bounce back off the lower cloud base and shatter windows and ears across the city.
I sat in my command chair at the perimeter in dismay, almost in tears as it started to rain. I felt my heart drop into the acid of my stomach as I ordered the suspension of the implosion for the day. The lawyer, surprisingly, did not resist. I watched as the crowds dispersed from the viewing lines and police started to permit traffic back through the streets surrounding the site.
Then a group of unauthorized personnel threw open the door of the trailer. They were a mass of men and women clad in pressed white suits, stoney faces with thin maroon lips, one of them carried a white covered book.
The attorney dropped his eyes and head in deference to elderly man at the head of the congregation. The attorney addressed him as Monsignor. The man introduced himself as Monsignor Rohmer and he placed his hand on his attorney, calling him a cousin of the congregation, stating there will be no postponement and no delay.
Rohmer, a man I judged to be in his late 50's or early 60's was bald and covered it with a white derby hat. He was tall, about six five, and thin, so thin his suit fit him like snake half shedding its skin. His was face long and his cheeks thin and worn like a mountain side. His voice was steady and low like waterfall. Everything he said bloomed with authority and confidence. He ordered the building would be dropped in twenty minutes.
I told him I didn't care if he was the owner, the building could not be blown in this weather and I snatched the detonator out of his attorney's hands. Rohmer, moving faster than I believed humanly possible with some kind of martial arts move swiped the detonator from my hands. Simultaneously, he had two of his followers press Jim against the wall. They put him in a sleeper hold and he slumped down to the floor barely getting a word out. Then Rohmer gestured to his flock to follow towards the building.
They left in a fast deliberate almost choreographed walk like a flock of geese flying in formation. I grabbed the radio to get police help but I realized that was hopeless. I watched as our trailer was shrouded in the same interference we experienced in the building's interior. The CCTV monitors flickered out and the radio squawked static. Then I realized Rohmer had no control over the detonation and no way to contact his followers still with us in the command trailer. So I did what I had to and pulled the master key out of the master detonator in the command trailer and chased after the flock. I needed to know what was happening I needed to see with my own eyes what all of this was all about.
The Congregation had reached the lobby and I saw the trailing end of the clad white congregate into the stairwell. I darted at my best speed to follow them.
I reached the stair well door. I found Rohmer standing on the top step, apparently waiting for me. I was out of breath while he began to speak to me in his booming voice. He explained to me that if the building did not fall in the next twenty minutes, all of Earth would be pulled, sucked, inside out and down through the building into the black and white universe. The entire building, but especially the atrium dome, he continued, was designed and built to create and then temporarily contain an impossible shape, a living form, a 4 dimensional object, a tesseract, when struck by lightning in the presence of thirteen self-sacrificial Congregate members. This shape would slowly expand and cause space and time anomalies before growing so large inside compared to its size would pull us all into place with no life.
The shape was still in the process of forming even as we spoke, he said. It would reach critical mass and dimensional contortion and the only way to stop it was to disfigure and crush it in the hotel's collapse. He led me into the pool level where his entire congregation was sitting cross-legged where Tom fell. A green pulse, like a laser, came down from the ceiling into the group's center, where their white book lay open on blank pages. I had a feeling this glow was being projected down from the ballroom where the dome of the atrium was taking its final fourth dimensional form.
After a loud chant from the white clad followers, the book slammed shut and turned from a brilliant white shimming cover to one black as night. As they passed around book, their white suits turned black and the formed a single file line. Rohmer left my side and pulled the detonator from his suit. He showed it me and tossed it at me. In my panic I reached out with both hands to catch it but I forgot I still had the master key in my sweat slick hand and it fly out and fell at the foot of Rohmer.
I asked what he planned to do with the key without a lock and a jammed detonator. Rohmer bent down and grabbed the key and looked me without a hint of concern. He took the new black book into his hands and opened it facing the wall of the pool. A new green pulse launched from the book and flickered on the tiles. An octagonal outline appeared to frame a hazy image of a tropical beach. One by one Rohmer's congregation walked into the side of the pool, into glow and seemed to arrive safely on the otherside of the beach.
Once all his compatriots were on the beach, he turned a page in the book and reopened it, projecting another octagon portal on the side of the pool. I could see his destination – it was the command trailer. He stepped through portal and yelled to me from the other side that I had two minutes. The portal sealed.
I could hear the warning sirens we installed going off above me. Needless to say, I made it out, just barely. I reached the perimeter fence screaming to anyone who was in ear shot to run away. The building imploded as planned but I was caught in the dust cloud and developed tinnitus severe enough to be comparable with combat veterans.
The shock waves from the explosions were reflected off the cloud base and channeled down the street by other skyscrapers. Virtually every window in a two block radius around the site was shattered and hundreds of people were hurt in the resulting stampede and vehicle collisions caused by fleeing from the flying glass cascade. Parts of downtown looked like a war zone for weeks afterward.
Rohmer and the rest of his group, including the lawyer, had disappeared out of the trailer in another portal leaving a suitcase of gold equaling the twenty percent promised. Our company was fined, sued, and threatened with criminal charges and eventually put of business. There wasn't much left after paying the cities fines and lawyer fees.
Though I was spared any direct sanctions, I forced into an early retirement. I've had time to research Rohmer's group. There are at least six mentions of figures like Rohmer on the deepest parts of the conspiracy web. They seem to show up at a locale experiencing paranormal activity with a white book and then leave with a black book. Their departure usually marks the end of any strangeness. I can't be sure but this congregation seems to be summon demons, which they exorcise, by trapping them in their books. Trapping maybe a poor term to use since, as in the case of the Grazer hotel encounter, they can apparently cleanse the anomalies and then use the book containing them to weaponize a portion of the traits of whatever their unholy creations posses.
I suspect Rohmer and his congregation, now with the ability to teleport, are accelerating their plans, to whatever ends these paranormal means enable them.
Theo Plesha - Sequel to "Flush" by Theo Plesha on The Chilling App
submitted by m80mike to ChillingApp [link] [comments]
I Was a Foreman at the Grazer Tower Demolition
By now Grazer Tower has faded as a household name but to some the rumors and madness surrounding it refuse to die. The demolition of the massive three hundred twenty foot octagonal hotel left a gap in the Atlanta skyline but little fondness in anyone's hearts. I have no particular first hand insight into the freak lightning strikes on the 30th floor atrium which killed 13 people but I am willing to tell my side of the story about the demolition effort leading to the botched implosion. I tell this as a full, open, and honest disclosure. The legal maneuvering and ink has dried, all of the dead are buried, and all the bleeding stopped. The scars remain, the pain persists, the things I saw there are burned in my head even after they've been discredited into the conspiracy theory woodwork of the internet. The lightning storm struck on a Sunday afternoon and the next day for all we knew the bodies were still warm when a lawyer representing the owners of Grazer Tower entered our corporate office. I look back on it now with open and clear eyes and realize it was all very strange from the start when my Lead Foreman, Tom, and I were called into the meeting in progress.
The lawyer and now our client, looked like a fairly normal man in his mid thirties aside from his impeccably white suit which was ironed to the point of looking like stone rather than cloth. Beside the white suit his lips were an uncomfortable maroon and glossy. Besides this he spoke in a plain, clear, and disarming manner refraining from legalese and maintaining a firm but not imposing eye contract with whomever he was speaking directly to.
He told us in no uncertain terms he was instructed to contract with our firm to take down his client's building. Tom and I were shocked when we heard this after all, the lightning disaster, while tragic and perhaps undeservedly tarnishing in the short term to the Grazer Hotel's reputation, did not render the structure unusable nor unsafe to its surroundings. The worst damage was that the steel dome of the 30th floor atrium had collapsed into the vaulted restaurant and ballroom of the 29th floor but that's where the structure damage started and ended, in fact aside from the 28th, 29th, and 30th floor, city engineers working overnight already declared the building sound. So while perhaps still time consuming and costly, repairing the building was definitely possible and cost effective but owners, to make an analogy, were basically insisting on totaling a car after a minor parking lot fender bender. They gave us a specific date by which the building needed to be taken down. When our Boss, Jim, rebuffed the lawyer, not only because the date was challenging and soon but also because it was possible we could have it dropped BEFORE the date specified. The lawyer insisted the building go down on the date given – not later and not earlier. Jim swallowed hard and then glanced at Tom and I. Then the lawyer involved the name of the head of the owner's group, a Mr. Rohmer.
Mr. Rohmer, according to the lawyer, was offering our firm one hundred percent of the cost upfront and another twenty perfect of the total cost plus any overruns – stating if the implosion came early or late, it would mean all very little – no, that's no a typo, that's how the lawyer phrased it from his client, Mr. Rohmer. With that detail out of the way, you can see how the car totaling analogy breaks down considering the owners did not stand to profit from it's demolition – in fact quite the opposite.
The lawyer chuckled a bit to break the tension. He explained his clients and Mr. Rohmer in particular were an unorthodox bunch and then even insisted he wear the white suit in any of their dealings. The lawyer produced a tablet PC from his messenger bag and leveled it to Jim. On the tablet was all the banking confirmation codes ready to go for a direct deposit into our firms account alongside a contract. Jim seemed to hiccup or belch in excitement as he hurried around the short side of his desk to sign it since his stubby t-rex arms could not reach across his desk.
The firm was committed, we were committed – I was committed and I started to mentally cramp up over the challenges we all faced. The Grazer Hotel was in the middle of a dense urban grid. It had to be precise drop with virtually no margin for error. Jim poured us a dram of scotch from the bottle hidden under his desk. None of us a second thought about Rohmer's cryptic remark – after all, how often did you get a one hundred twenty perfect no-bid contract walk in off the street, out of the blue?
A combination of exhilaration over the money and anxiety over the work load kept us all from sleeping that night. Jim and Tom ended up going out and having a wild night to celebrate while I went home to mentally prepare not only myself but also my wife and kids. As a family they were staring down a month and a half of late nights and weekends with no dad. My wife was frustrated until I told her about the bonus and then she said she'd fill the lonely time making plans to send the kids to Disney World and then find a place for us to spend alone together. The promise of a much needed vacation after this only super charged the butterflies in my stomach further in anticipation of this challenging season ending.
As the assistant foreman I had office and on-site duties. Most of it was coordinating between the two. This included personnel, setting up site security – including guards and cameras to keep urban explorers and vagrants of out the dangerous site and satisfy OSHA hazardous work place safety requirements. The most challenging duty was site prep which included disposal of furnishings, removal of windows and other flourishes of the structure's facade which could become deadly shrapnel during an implosion. Fortunately, despite all of this, the nagging questions about permits and clean-up contracts were already handled by the lawyer. Rohmer's group also waived any rights to furnishings which means they could be unceremoniously hauled out in any way we chose to and disposed of.
Now I suppose some of these things should have came as red flags to me – or at least some one in the company but we all justified it as the group must have connects and short cuts to permits and it was a relatively new building, only about twenty years old in fact and furnishings – whether old or new probably weren't of any antique or sentimental value. All in all these were blessings since they freed our hands a bit and made a near impossible deadline more possible.
Of course the good news came with some bad news. The city engineers forbade us from working at the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors – unless we brought in a separate crew to stabilize those levels first. This was quite the fly in the ointment for the controlled implosion plan we sketched out. The 30th floor wasn't as much of a problem but the 29th floor ballroom and the weakening of the 28th floor meant we can't inspect for how compromised they were by the steel atrium dome. For all we knew if we blew the 27th floor on down the dome could shift and topple over the top three floors outside of the implosion safe zone, imperiling people and nearby structures.
I raised holy hell about it while Tom stood calm. It could take months to stabilize and clear those floors and far more money than I thought our eccentric client would pay in overruns. Jim waved me off mid sentence and simply told me he'd take care of it. That was good enough for Tom so it had to be good enough for me. I went back to my job – securing site and planning drop.
Although we had a problem with the top floor our saving grace lie in the basements. It had a three story subterranean parking garage, a basement level pool, and a utility sub-basement. We could easily smash the first ten or twelve floors into that deep footprint. Also the utility sub-basement gave us a clean cut off from the grid and a fairly convenient way to protect the surrounding grid without interruption. Still, at least part of our team would take have to take three weeks out of our six and change to handle the utilities.
The first week was hectic, they always were but we hit no major snags. By the end of it were on schedule and all of the parts were coming together. We thought maybe, just maybe, we were well on our way to an early Christmas bonus but nothing could prepare us for what was coming.
If you work on a site long enough and work anywhere on the site security reporting chain you're bound to get a few questionable reports from your night guys. Let's face it, for folks who are wake all night five or six nights a week poking around with flashlights chasing shadows, every building every where is haunted. I've been on the site security chain for thirteen years so it was easy for me to dismiss reports from the night guys about unusual glows on gutted floors and stairwells, elevators which moved on their own with no one calling for them or inside when they opened on a random floor, or the security cameras and cellphones constantly going offline on the 27th floor and the utility sub-basement.
I wasn't convinced anything of concern was going on until I got called on site by the test drilling team. This team was responsible for sampling the support materials to determine where it was best to place the explosives and what explosives would be best to use. They reported the interior supports were designed in an unusual way with a honey comb of unorthodox metals and concrete not reported on the building's records or blueprints. Specifically, they reported the concrete was impregnated by some kind of metal veins which gave off a bright shimmer. I was asked to come identify it but they claimed it disappeared by the time I arrived.
I was irate at the team and their supervisor for having me to come on down on site for something that sounded so wrong to begin with. They showed me a grainy cellphone video and told me they would swear on a stack of Bibles the sparkling compound welled up in the test coring like mercury, turned blood red and bled on the floor before disappearing into the torn up carpet. I chastised them for making this up and threatened to get new sub contractors if they kept wasting my time. I spoke with a separate sample team on the lower levels and they too discovered some unusual metal compositions – ones which were different then the ones found the top floors. One of the engineers speculated that the contrast in metals between the top and bottom floors could be cause the building to hold an electrical charge, like a battery or like a capacitor. Either way, the engineer said it would require more explosives than initially thought to take down the structure.
A couple of weeks later we were painfully behind – glass removal in particular was going slow because those contractors claimed they were constantly losing their toys. They also claimed one night to have cleared the top five floors on the east side of all their glass – only for all the windows to appear fully intact the next morning. I was forced to end their sub contract due to misrepresentation of work accomplished.
The glass wasn't the only thing slowing us down. The wire and plumbing removal was hindered by the wires somehow were fused to the pipes and in some places, the pipes were fused to the load-bearing members – we thought maybe it was due to the lightning strikes but that really didn't make sense since all of the wiring and plumbing otherwise seemed to work fine before we turned off the utilities. The only thing going for us was the helicopter loophole. Instead of accessing the 30th floor through the condemned floors we were able to get work teams on the atrium floor by helicopter. The bodies of the 13 were removed before we started working and before the atrium fully collapsed into the ballroom but the teams working on the roof reported many unusual artifacts including stained glass and Greek letters comprised of unusual amalgams of metal.
All of the strangeness culminated in the disappearance of one of the night time security guards named Phillipe. I say disappear because his girlfriend filed a missing persons report with the police and when they came to investigate Tom was busy with the atrium operations so the job fell to me. I walked the investigator through guard's smart phone filed reports from the previous evenings. Admittedly I was behind on my end approving the reports so I was embarrassed when things in the report took a turn. His reports including the same odd glows the others were reporting in the stairwells and seeing metallic veins throb on the walls.
His last reports stuck in my head: Report: Sub-basement 4 clear, 0312. Report: Sub-basement 5 clear, 0305. Report: Sub-basement 6 clear 0237.
His “all clear” reports documented levels of the building which did not exist and the further he went into the areas which did not exist, the automatic timestamps went backwards in time. It made no sense – unless he was confused as to where he was due to intoxication and there was software glitch with the timestamps. I was forced to give the investigator no firm explanation.
It's easy to write off a high security guard – they're flaky by their nature and have plenty of reasons to ghost a part time gig and even to pull prank on their final reports. I almost wrote it all off until I saw his girlfriend – apparently his fiance, handing out missing persons fliers outside of the site gate one morning. She seemed absolutely heartbroken and I got stabbed in the gut thinking maybe this wasn't a ghosting and prank after all. Seeing is believing and the next week I started to believe. Tom was finishing up on the atrium level. We used some heavy lift choppers to remove the rest of the frame and glass. Now we could get a better look into the section which collapsed into the 29th floor. We started by using a series of video drones to investigate the melted twisted dome through the collapsed roof. We quickly learned that the drones were being interfered with as their feed would cut out or their batteries would die almost immediately upon entering the ballroom.
So, we had to cut some corners, against city regulations, we let Tom and two others rappel in from the roof on secured anchored lines with helicopter over watch support. We needed to do this because we needed make sure that collapsed wreckage would not move and potentially change the implosion direction. Tom got twisted in his gear as he tried to lean into one of the holes in the roof. He slipped and fell in, disappearing from sight. We frantically radioed for Tom as the other two workers abandoned their own attempts to peer in and scrambled to Tom's aid. Tom was pulled out of the section uninjured but he appeared to be in shock, he looked wild eyed and shook as he was put on the helicopter and lowered back to ground level. Within minutes, Jim called us back to the office to discuss the near miss.
Two weeks to go and week behind, a missing guard, and now a near fatal accident. That for Jim, was the last straw. Tom and I had run out the rope Jim gave us to hang ourselves with. Jim slammed his hand on his desk as he catastrophized, red in the face, nearly breathless, he yelled we could very well kiss that twenty percent goodbye with the way things are going. He pressured Tom to go on the record after his dip into the structure that the atrium debris ball in the ballroom posed no threat to the implosion. Tom was elsewhere. He stared off in a thousand yard stare before replying to Jim that it posed no threat. Then Tom headed for the door. Jim screamed at him that he wasn't done chew us out but Tom only said he had to get back to it. I supported Tom and followed him. He and I headed back to the site to secure the night shift changes – another night not at home and having a late dinner.
I asked Tom in the car ride back what he saw in there. Tom was fixed in a trance and barely responded. He said it was wild. When we got back to the site, Tom separated from me through the gate while I strolled across the street to grab us some dinner from a street vendor. As I stood around waiting for two gyros and two cokes I could help but be mesmerized by the gutted tower. It seemed to breath in the spotlights inhaling puffs of the dust and dirt on the site and then exhaling it. A faint glow, barely perceivable against the light pollution, seemed to brighten, dim, and fade from the upper floors with each of the building's breaths. I was transfixed on it and it was the first time the building gave me an eerie feeling.
I got back on the site, food in hand, there was a buzz in their air as the night shift streamed in and the day shift streamed out. I barely had my hardhat seated corrected on my head when the site's emergency alarm blew. The interim foreman tossed me a radio as I was swept with him and our site occupational safety and emergency personnel to the basement.
Our increasingly panicked footfalls blotted out the squawk of the radios but I could hear one name again and again in the equally panicked messages – Tom Tom Tom. Whatever was happening was happening to Tom.
We reached the pool level and a trail of gasps proceeded me into the pool. There was Tom in his vest and hardhat face down in the middle of the pool with crimson oozing out him into the cerulean tiles lining the drained pool. We piled in from the ladders and shallow end to get to him. It was apparent when the first folks reached him that he was dead. They hauled him out on a stretcher and to our shock he looked like he had been dead for much longer than possible and his skin was water logged despite there being no water. He had died of fall trauma possibly despite the pool only being six feet deep. The paramedics also claimed he had water in his lungs. Then I noticed he was wearing his rappelling harness weaved in his vest – but that made no sense – he took it and his vest off when we were getting chewed out by Jim. Why would he put his rappelling gear on again.
I was the assistant foreman no more. Now the buck stopped with me. As they took Tom to the morgue we all knew the show must go on – our client demanded it, Jim demanded it and Tom would have wanted it that way. The same police investigator from the guard's disappearance met with me over Tom's death. They said it was standard procedure with work place deaths. I gave him a copy of the footage on an SD card and left the moment after it left my hand.
I had the recording queued up to the time of the commotion. The video we provided had a poor angle and was focused on the door to monitor access – the comings and goings of people. It was shift change so people were filing in and out Tom was somewhere in the crowd. The pool was one of the areas which required both foot patrols and constant video monitoring. I hit the rewind button on accident and watched his body lie there and lie there and then the timestamp sped past the 1900 hour mark. We were in traffic from meeting with Jim at that time. This was impossible but I kept my finger on the rewind button. Around 1400 the camera shakes a bit and there is slight glow reflecting on the doors so I let it play back to the shake. There is a soft green glow and then could hear a heft thud in the room. I gulped knowing that was Tom falling into the pool around the same time he fell into the hole in the roof. The soft glow turned brighter and brighter like a laser shining into the lens – something that wasn't present on the rewind. There was a flash of an incomprehensible shape or form on the screen. I was physically hurt in my eyes like I had just stared into the sun. I was left dazed with the shaped burned into my eyes with each blink. Then the camera system shorted out and a tiny puff of smoke left the memory module. The cameras blinked off wall to wall, the whole system was dead.
With the cameras fried, regulations required someone high in the company to be on site or we'd have to leave for the night. So I stayed knowing we couldn't afford to lose an hour much less an entire night. I circled the pool between approving payrolls and directing the increased security guard traffic required to monitor more areas. I was thinking about what I would say at Tom's funeral. I was thinking about Tom's family and what they would think about his apparent suicide.
I was forced to patrol the rest of the sub-basements as well since most of the guards were at the site perimeters or higher levels. I would have to follow paths of Phillipe, the disappeared guard, and all of the other guards who had mismatched timestamps on their increasingly strange reports. If not for today's incident and the recording of Tom's death, I would have stood fast to the idea that these reports were the product of night jitters and drugs but now, no.
I gritted my teeth as I exited the pool area to patrol the lower levels. I hated this building I muttered to myself. I couldn't wait to see it all rumble. I thought about which part I'd like to keep from the site to place in Tom's casket – then I realized it probably wasn't going to be an open casket funeral. I was lost in my thoughts and hatred for the building as I roamed through the parking garage into the utilities basement. I lost track of where I was as I weaved down stairwells.
I shown my flashlight on the wall and the floor level sign said “Sub-basement 999”. I stopped cold in my tracks. I was hoping it was a prank but I knew it was no prank. Then I thought maybe I'd have some answers. Maybe I would finally see what all the strangeness was about. But then I freaked out about Phillipe's disappearance and turned to run back up the stairwell. I ran up four levels to what I thought was the lobby and I pushed the door open.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw a black and white galaxy – the stars were black and the space was white with gradations of gray. The whole room was just white outer space and the whole universe swirled fast counter clockwise. I tried to breath and when I did the galaxy shrunk before my eyes until it was the size of a tiny of marble and then even smaller to a speck of dust. I reached out as it floated towards me. I stared at the speck in a cold sweat. As I stared, I was looking deeper and deeper into impossible detail. In the dust I found the milky way galaxy, I found our solar system, I found Earth and then I found North America, and then I found myself back in the pool room dripping in sweat.
Time seemed to skip and space was malleable in that hotel. As we approached the deadline to drop it, some jobs which would take hours took days and some jobs which would take days took minutes. The anomalies seemed to swarm tonight and day and yet we pressed on. Tom was buried and I couldn't go.
We met the deadline and the city came out in numbers to watch us drop the thirty floor structure. They gathered nearly two blocks away clad in ponchos and dust masks bracing for the implosion triggered by half a ton of high explosives.
I was so burned out and demoralized. My mantra became “this is for Tom, this is for Tom” and it was the only thing carrying me to this day. I chalked up all the anomalies and even my own experience on 999th sub-basement level as a reaction to shock, loss, grief, and exhaustion.
We were on the thirty minute countdown and Mr. Rohmer's attorney was designated as the trigger man. He stood there with Jim and I in the command trailer with the detonator remote. The remote triggered a two minute countdown on the charges from a master control station in my command trailer. All the charges had to be hardwired old school style because we were getting too much walkie talkie and radio interference from inside the structure for any other method of trigger to be reliable. I was too tried to make a stink about insisting I do it. I just wanted it to be over but suddenly a freak thunderstorm brewed up over the city. The skies were overcast and we were on the verge of having to abort the implosion until the next day – despite the next day being a day past the deadline. If we didn't abort and went through with the implosion, there was a strong chance the shock waves from the blast would bounce back off the lower cloud base and shatter windows and ears across the city.
I sat in my command chair at the perimeter in dismay, almost in tears as it started to rain. I felt my heart drop into the acid of my stomach as I ordered the suspension of the implosion for the day. The lawyer, surprisingly, did not resist. I watched as the crowds dispersed from the viewing lines and police started to permit traffic back through the streets surrounding the site.
Then a group of unauthorized personnel threw open the door of the trailer. They were a mass of men and women clad in pressed white suits, stoney faces with thin maroon lips, one of them carried a white covered book.
The attorney dropped his eyes and head in deference to elderly man at the head of the congregation. The attorney addressed him as Monsignor. The man introduced himself as Monsignor Rohmer and he placed his hand on his attorney, calling him a cousin of the congregation, stating there will be no postponement and no delay.
Rohmer, a man I judged to be in his late 50's or early 60's was bald and covered it with a white derby hat. He was tall, about six five, and thin, so thin his suit fit him like snake half shedding its skin. His was face long and his cheeks thin and worn like a mountain side. His voice was steady and low like waterfall. Everything he said bloomed with authority and confidence. He ordered the building would be dropped in twenty minutes.
I told him I didn't care if he was the owner, the building could not be blown in this weather and I snatched the detonator out of his attorney's hands. Rohmer, moving faster than I believed humanly possible with some kind of martial arts move swiped the detonator from my hands. Simultaneously, he had two of his followers press Jim against the wall. They put him in a sleeper hold and he slumped down to the floor barely getting a word out. Then Rohmer gestured to his flock to follow towards the building.
They left in a fast deliberate almost choreographed walk like a flock of geese flying in formation. I grabbed the radio to get police help but I realized that was hopeless. I watched as our trailer was shrouded in the same interference we experienced in the building's interior. The CCTV monitors flickered out and the radio squawked static. Then I realized Rohmer had no control over the detonation and no way to contact his followers still with us in the command trailer. So I did what I had to and pulled the master key out of the master detonator in the command trailer and chased after the flock. I needed to know what was happening I needed to see with my own eyes what all of this was all about.
The Congregation had reached the lobby and I saw the trailing end of the clad white congregate into the stairwell. I darted at my best speed to follow them.
I reached the stair well door. I found Rohmer standing on the top step, apparently waiting for me. I was out of breath while he began to speak to me in his booming voice. He explained to me that if the building did not fall in the next twenty minutes, all of Earth would be pulled, sucked, inside out and down through the building into the black and white universe. The entire building, but especially the atrium dome, he continued, was designed and built to create and then temporarily contain an impossible shape, a living form, a 4 dimensional object, a tesseract, when struck by lightning in the presence of thirteen self-sacrificial Congregate members. This shape would slowly expand and cause space and time anomalies before growing so large inside compared to its size would pull us all into place with no life.
The shape was still in the process of forming even as we spoke, he said. It would reach critical mass and dimensional contortion and the only way to stop it was to disfigure and crush it in the hotel's collapse. He led me into the pool level where his entire congregation was sitting cross-legged where Tom fell. A green pulse, like a laser, came down from the ceiling into the group's center, where their white book lay open on blank pages. I had a feeling this glow was being projected down from the ballroom where the dome of the atrium was taking its final fourth dimensional form.
After a loud chant from the white clad followers, the book slammed shut and turned from a brilliant white shimming cover to one black as night. As they passed around book, their white suits turned black and the formed a single file line. Rohmer left my side and pulled the detonator from his suit. He showed it me and tossed it at me. In my panic I reached out with both hands to catch it but I forgot I still had the master key in my sweat slick hand and it fly out and fell at the foot of Rohmer.
I asked what he planned to do with the key without a lock and a jammed detonator. Rohmer bent down and grabbed the key and looked me without a hint of concern. He took the new black book into his hands and opened it facing the wall of the pool. A new green pulse launched from the book and flickered on the tiles. An octagonal outline appeared to frame a hazy image of a tropical beach. One by one Rohmer's congregation walked into the side of the pool, into glow and seemed to arrive safely on the otherside of the beach.
Once all his compatriots were on the beach, he turned a page in the book and reopened it, projecting another octagon portal on the side of the pool. I could see his destination – it was the command trailer. He stepped through portal and yelled to me from the other side that I had two minutes. The portal sealed.
I could hear the warning sirens we installed going off above me. Needless to say, I made it out, just barely. I reached the perimeter fence screaming to anyone who was in ear shot to run away. The building imploded as planned but I was caught in the dust cloud and developed tinnitus severe enough to be comparable with combat veterans.
The shock waves from the explosions were reflected off the cloud base and channeled down the street by other skyscrapers. Virtually every window in a two block radius around the site was shattered and hundreds of people were hurt in the resulting stampede and vehicle collisions caused by fleeing from the flying glass cascade. Parts of downtown looked like a war zone for weeks afterward.
Rohmer and the rest of his group, including the lawyer, had disappeared out of the trailer in another portal leaving a suitcase of gold equaling the twenty percent promised. Our company was fined, sued, and threatened with criminal charges and eventually put of business. There wasn't much left after paying the cities fines and lawyer fees.
Though I was spared any direct sanctions, I forced into an early retirement. I've had time to research Rohmer's group. There are at least six mentions of figures like Rohmer on the deepest parts of the conspiracy web. They seem to show up at a locale experiencing paranormal activity with a white book and then leave with a black book. Their departure usually marks the end of any strangeness. I can't be sure but this congregation seems to be summon demons, which they exorcise, by trapping them in their books. Trapping maybe a poor term to use since, as in the case of the Grazer hotel encounter, they can apparently cleanse the anomalies and then use the book containing them to weaponize a portion of the traits of whatever their unholy creations posses.
I suspect Rohmer and his congregation, now with the ability to teleport, are accelerating their plans, to whatever ends these paranormal means enable them.
Theo Plesha - Sequel to "Flush" by Theo Plesha on The Chilling App
2023.05.31 14:27 kindkristin The First Fail :)
Early 90s pop up with a newish electric/solar winch. Opened it Saturday, filled it up and hit the road yesterday with no problems. Got to the campsite at 9 PM, in a downpour. Nothing. Battery is good (we tried to jump it), battery in remote for winch is good. Unfortunately, the manual was disconnected before we bought it
So, an hour and a half further down the road we're in a comfort inn. He would've dug for a loose wire but in a downpour with 3 kids we just called it.
Hoping we getit figured out. Any suggestions welcome. It was day 1 of our 12 day camping trip :(.
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So, an hour and a half further down the road we're in a comfort inn. He would've dug for a loose wire but in a downpour with 3 kids we just called it.
Hoping we getit figured out. Any suggestions welcome. It was day 1 of our 12 day camping trip :(.
2023.05.31 14:11 macindia01 The Benefits of Motorised Curtain Tracks for Home Automation
Motorised curtain tracks are the latest home automation innovation. They replace manual curtain systems for easier control by helping move drapes down the rail with an electric motor. These tracks are available in different lengths and diameters for different window types. Remote controls or voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant can control them. Visit us:- https://ibusinessday.com/benefits-of-motorised-curtain-tracks-for-home-automation/
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2023.05.31 10:29 aple-lites Smart Lighting for Smart Homes: Embracing the Future of Illumination
 | https://preview.redd.it/5p943v0n563b1.jpg?width=1123&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8baadb6674ba6f169d0c0b998f9791611a2fa185 submitted by aple-lites to u/aple-lites [link] [comments] In today’s rapidly advancing technological era, our homes are becoming smarter than ever before. From controlling our appliances to enhancing our security systems, the concept of a “smart home” has transformed the way we live. One crucial aspect of this transformation is smart lighting, which has revolutionized the way we illuminate our living spaces. At Aple Lites, we take pride in being at the forefront of this lighting revolution, offering a wide range of smart lighting solutions that bring convenience, efficiency, and style to your home. What is Smart Lighting?Smart lighting refers to the integration of intelligent technology with traditional lighting systems. It allows homeowners to control their lights remotely, customize lighting settings, and automate lighting schedules according to their preferences. These cutting-edge lighting solutions are designed to make our lives easier, safer, and more energy-efficient.Efficiency and Energy SavingsOne of the key benefits of smart lighting is its energy-saving capabilities. Traditional incandescent bulbs consume a significant amount of electricity, resulting in higher energy bills. In contrast, smart LED bulbs are energy-efficient and can be controlled to optimize energy consumption. With smart lighting, you can dim or turn off lights when not in use, set timers to automatically switch off lights, and even adjust the intensity of light to create the perfect ambiance. By utilizing these features, homeowners can significantly reduce their energy consumption and contribute to a greener environment.Convenience and ControlGone are the days of manually flipping switches or searching for remote controls to operate your lights. Smart lighting systems offer unparalleled convenience and control. With just a few taps on your smartphone or a simple voice command, you can effortlessly control the lighting in your entire home. Whether you’re in the living room, bedroom, or even away from home, you have full control over your lights. Forgot to turn off the lights before leaving? Not a problem! You can easily check and switch them off remotely. Additionally, smart lighting systems can be integrated with other smart devices, such as motion sensors or smart speakers, allowing for seamless automation and interaction.Customization and PersonalizationSmart lighting empowers homeowners to personalize their lighting experience like never before. Through dedicated apps or voice assistants, you can create different lighting scenes or moods to match various occasions. Hosting a dinner party? Set a warm, cozy ambiance. Need to focus on work or study? Adjust the lights to a bright, cool white. With smart lighting, you have the freedom to experiment with colors, brightness levels, and even color-changing effects, all tailored to suit your preferences. Transform your living space into a personalized sanctuary that reflects your mood and style effortlessly.Enhanced Security and SafetySmart lighting plays a vital role in improving home security. The ability to control lights remotely allows homeowners to create an illusion of occupancy even when they’re away, deterring potential intruders. By setting up lighting schedules that mimic regular usage patterns, you can maintain a well-lit home and enhance overall security. Moreover, smart lighting can be integrated with motion sensors and security systems, triggering lights to turn on automatically when motion is detected, further enhancing safety and deterring unwanted visitors.The Future of Smart LightingThe future of smart lighting holds even more exciting possibilities. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect advancements in areas such as voice recognition, artificial intelligence, and integration with other smart home devices. Imagine a lighting system that adapts to your habits and preferences, intuitively adjusting to your needs without any manual input. The potential for innovation in smart lighting is endless, and at Aple Lites, we are committed to staying at the forefront of these advancements, bringing you the latest and most innovative solutions for your smart home.ConclusionIn conclusion, smart lighting is revolutionizing the way we illuminate our homes. With its energy efficiency, convenience, customization, and enhanced security features, it has become an integral part of modern smart homes. At Aple Lites, we understand the importance of embracing the future of illumination and strive to provide our customers with the latest and most innovative smart lighting solutions. Visit our store or explore our website to discover the wide range of smart lighting products we offer. Let us help you illuminate your smart home and embrace the future of illumination. |