NationStates Jolt Archive

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Complex 42 Master Control Station

Within the gargantuan control station stood many massive mainframe computers, walls lined with halo-screens, and dozens of CMSC droids going about their tasks without question.

“They’ve arrived Doctor Mangle,” one of the CMSC Droids stationed at one of the security consoles said, “shall I send a team to receive them?” he continued, turning his black-balloon shaped head towards the tall old man standing next to him.

“No number seventeen, I shall go and meet them.” Mangle said, “Have the lift readied and be sure to deactivate the guns; we mustn’t be rude to our guests.”
The droids attention turned slowly away from the doctor as he made his way out, millions of micro-processors flickered to life through the droids black elliptical head; sending out commands through the razor thin metal tube of its body to its thread like fingers, as they swarmed over the various buttons and switches of his command console. “Security Protocols: Deactivated; Lift: Ready. Good luck, Doctor Mangle.” The Doctor nodded, barely glancing over his shoulder as the door glided shut behind him.

“My, my, visitors… it’s been far to long.” The doctor mused, walking briskly through pearl white, maze-like hallways of Complex 42. “If only we were graced with them more often…” his train of thought was shattered, broken by the sight of a giant crack in what was once a perfect ivory wall.

“Ugh… it is so… unsightly… Ugh!” The Doctor about lost his balance; a maintenance droid dashed towards the wall, making little effort to avoid the doctor. “My word, please watch where you’re going next time.” Faint electronic sounds were his only reply; the gauntly machine – normally encased within its titanium-alloyed shell – the angles diving sharply upon the sides, worked feverishly to repair the massive seam scaring the once flawless wall.

“I should really get around to sending the engineers a memo; that kind of behavior from a Drone is intolerable…” the Doctor paused for a moment, “Oh heavens!” he shouted. “What if one of those Drones was to careen into one of our guests?! Why, I just cannot have this, I cannot have this at all!” Mangle now moved quickly in no real direction, distracted again by irrelevant concerns that manifested themselves when he was especially nervous.

It was about five minutes before Mangle managed to recollect himself. His head was still a ruffled mass of listless silver entangled in the last surviving black strands of his youth, and his face was now a wrinkled, pale-beige canvas of jagged protrusions stained by a splash of exceedingly bright crimson. However, his lean body no longer trembled as if about to give way to an incredible and inexplicable weight, and his slender glasses were no longer hanging contorted about his face.

After straightening his tie and patting down his hair, Mangle made his way back to his former path, following the seemingly endless trail of lights gleaming from the corners of long corridors towards the final bulkhead.

“Swee… swee… shweee…” the sound was from the shuttering lips of a young, well built man in an unbuttoned lab-coat. “I… can seeee… everything…” he continued, eyes closed and drool seeping down from his face onto his coat. He just stood there within the cylindrical room with a ceiling that reached up into infinity, beams of white light shining from the curving walls, creating an intense luminosity and sense of overwhelming surreality.

The sound of an angry, and heavy breath was followed by that of a clipboard shattering upon hitting the back of the young mans head, then losing his balance and haplessly hitting the ground, “Of all the days you had to pick this one to screw up!” Mangle cried as crouched down to retrieve the remains of the clipboard off the ground, “It was bad enough when you intoxicated yourself during your free time, wasting lord knows how many brain cells on inane activities that could be better spent doing important things, but now on duty? When you could be called on at any given time to do something important? Why I’ve never seen such stupidity in my life!” Mangle stood silently over the young man, now trying to get back up upon his feet, “Well Jason, what have you to say for yourself?”

Jason slowly rose up from the ground; an immaculate chorus of bells and other phantasmal sounds reverberated through his ears as an indescribable menagerie of warping colours danced in his eyes. “But I’m no-…” “Don’t you dare try to lie to me, boy. I don’t care if your father crafted this facility with his two bare hands, if you mess this up for me, you’ll be lucky to find yourself hand feeding the creatures in S Block you snotty little…” he stopped himself, realizing he might say something he would deeply regret later. Jason remained silent, swaying about as the door to Zero block slid open.

“You’re coming with me to greet our new guests, so you better shape up and behave yourself.” Mangle said, that tone of authoritativeness as strong as ever. “Heh… yeah…” Jason remained in his drug induced delusional state, swaying about the enclosed scaffolding that led to the main elevator leading to the surface.

--

Above ground a strong shaking of the earth could be felt as the sounds of hidden gears began to groan. Soon a large portion of the earth near the new arrivals began to rise up out of the ground, supported by a thick slab of some unknown metal alloy being slowly elevated by thick, metal pillars letting out painful moans as they bent slightly to support the great weight of so much earth.

--

“And here we go. Remember what I said now.” Mangle said assertively, “Hmm.” Whether Jason was letting out another drug induced grunt or agreeing to oblige by the rules Mangle did not know, he could only hope Jason understood with his substance abused brain.

--

The lift powered up, sentry guns appeared from the hatches lining the walls of the lift, powering up momentarily before receding back within the thick, metal walls as the elevator began to move up along the rusty tracks towards the entrance of the facility.

"Hello and welcome, to the Abyss, or as the military calls it: Complex Forty-Two." Mangle says as the lift crests over the broken ground, feigning some of the confidence that was filtering through his words.

"This is my lab assistant, Jason Deloa, he isn't used to visitors so please forgive his stare." He takes a pause, looking over the quivering assistant before he continues. "I am Dr. Theodore Mangle, the propiator of this novelty stand, so to speak." He chuckles.

"Not to rush, but I am a man who keeps a close eye on the ever changing currents of time, so let's go shall we?" He says with confidence he didn't have earlier, confidence that had shored itself up at the last possible moment as his body became exposed to the burning, yet distant sun that lit up this small world.

How long this confidence would last he didn't know, he just prayed it lasted until the visitors departed.

"Oh all in good time. We have things to discuss first before we can get down to the real business, a pre-amble to work if you will." Mangle chuckles as they descend.

The entrance to the fresh air of the outside world quakes and groans as it is closed of again, pillars locking back into place and bulk heads seal as the intrepid new comers go further and further down, generally silent in their trek till they reach the bottom, where the last large bulkhead shuts behind an even larger and thicker slab of some dense alloys as it slides over the exit, trapping them in a sense.

Jason looks as perplexed as ever; still climbing to higher plateaus of hallucinations and ecstatic intoxication. Colors manifesting from twisting vortices of reality, into a storm of color and shapes geometry could never explain. Vibrating and pulsating, before vanishing again.

People appear friendly, smiling and talking with a vibrant and colorful tone. Complementing the electronic sounds he heard through the implant in his ears.

The thrum of tightly tuned strings under the booming vibrations of massive drums, being beaten and beaten, faster and faster, over and over again. Racing with the high-pitched sounds of bells and whistling sounds meandering through the piece, all synthetic and mechanical, all dancing with the strange lights and unreal colors.

Then things became muffled, like all sound was being smothered by a think woolen blanket. Time began to move slower and slower, each step taking what seemed like minutes and hours, as the bright tins of lights were no longer tints but shades; the darkest of dark shades for the darkest of dark colors now weaving through his vision like snakes, with eyes full of malice.

People stopped being people and became something else, sometimes ghastly and frightening as wisps of their being contorted into grizzly shapes, sharp shapes; knives of flesh and bone scorched black by ancient fires; twisting serrated swords for arms hands and fingers cutting through everything like it was nothing.

Faces just as disgusting, just as horrific. Flesh melting and flowing over softening bone like a mudslide, dripping and evaporating away. Eyes nothing more than white expanses with specks of black menacing their centers as teeth grow and shrink into forms jagged and repulsive. Everything fading, fading, only the eyes, those horrible eyes and their never ending stare remained.

All that was left was him and those eyes, him on dimly lit ground surrounded by infinite darkness beyond the circumference, all the eyes, those staring gazing eyes, large as the largest galactic clusters, spinning around him looking into his soul and passing judgment.

Arms began to shake, then legs, then everything. Muscles spasmed uncontrollably as vision began to falter, shattering. Everything was fractured, like broken glass. Heat overcame him, then bone-chilling cold followed by numbness. Balance left him, legs caved in while sweat poured over every inch of his body. Making sounds inaudible and uncomprehendable to any around. His reality went black.

"Fuck, Jason you fucking... MD-Bots get down here now!" Mangle yells, staring at his lab assistant, not a drooling babbling puddle, quivering and pale in the pristine light of the same bulkhead where Mangle had found him earlier. He felt anger and embarrassment, more for himself than Jason. He just had to go and fuck thing sup, didn’t he? he thinks selfishly.

As much as I would like to see that happen, I will have to decline. Mangle thinks to himself. "Er, no. Someone's coming to take care of him." He checks the status of the MD-bots, coming towards them through the shafts and tunnels build into the complex that allowed such fast response time.

"Doctor? What is going on?" A young woman says, walking in amongst them.

"Oh, hello Araela. Everything is fine, just Jason fooling around again." He replies. She walked into the bulkhead after the cylinder form built between two walls rotated and allowed those inside access to more of the complex.

She still looks unnerved; icy indigo eyes stare through strands of auburn hair focused on the now coughing Jason. "He needs help dad!" She blurted finally.

"Oh, come now..." he says, stumbling for words, "... I called for help, and they're almost here. So what do you want me to do? I have no tools or anything to deal with this kind of problem, as much as some might like to think otherwise I am not God." He continues jokingly, trying to lighten things up. Great, family problems on top of Jason's stupidity.

Mangle motions everyone out of the bulkhead; letting five floating spherical forms drift in from the overhead shafts. They surround Jason, scanning him cell by cell. Lights blink on and off over the reflective metal balls, processing data and communicating with each other trying to reach a decision.

"They'll take care of it, see? Nothing to worry about... how foolish of me, uh, Araele, these are my guests. Guests, this is my daughter..." he says with reluctance "... Araele. She is Director of Botanical study here in the Complex, she does great work she does, in fact I should show you later when we have some free time. What are you doing here anyway, don't you have some work to be doing?" He asks with a somewhat indignant expression.

"Er, well. I was going to the Biomechanical Department; Aunz needed me." She says somewhat hastily.

"Oh, wonderful; that's were we're going. Why don't you lead the way?"

She goes forward as the five machines take Jason out of the bulkhead on a blanket of twirling blue. Steady as a gentle breeze through the halls toward the medical department, making strange noises as they moved, rippling fields of electricity behind them.

They arrived through pointless conversations and a quick ride through the electro-rail system perhaps ten minutes later.

Spotless mirrors lines the walls, floors, and ceiling. The air is just as clear, just as pure, filtering in from silent vents netstled where corners would usually be. Pneumatic doors protected behind transparent but distoring forcefields hold something back, something unknown enshrouded in eerie darkness, in sharp contrast with the white lights shining their bright radiance everywhere.

On the right side of the wall, just beyond a sharp left turn, lay a somewhat steep ramp leading up to double door. Thick and nigh fetureless save for the crease that allowed it to open.

It opened quickly, letting out a smooth hising sound as air and other gases were released. A brighter, whiter light came flooding through, giving everything within a sort of heavenly aura as surreal as it was blinding.

"Welcome, Mangle and friends." A voice says as they enter. Calm, clear, soft, and somewhat synthetic in nature.

"Why, hello Doctor Aunz. How are you today?" Mangle asks with a grin.

"Great actually; my last project was a smasshing sucess though short-lived, but what we gained from the experience was unbelievably amazing. In fact I dare say I learned more from that experiment than any other in all my time here. But enough about me and my tinkerings, how are you doing today?"

As Mangle and his companions walk into the room they will notice a strange feeling, a barely noticable but still noticed electric feeling running across their entire bodies coming from all around, cleansing them of bacteria and whatever filth they had collected on their journey to Aunz' laboratory.

"Good I'd say, Jason had another spill but he'll make it through, as always." Mangle says with disgust.

"Oh dear, well that's Jason for you." He chuckles. "So how exactly may I help you all today?"

Aunz came from around a corner to the left in the expansive room, eight tiers of computers, electronmicroscopes, test tubes and vials full of liquids every color of the spectrum, all crowding against the walls. In the rooms center were medical tables with restraint visible and small orb shaped computers overhead. He, if what form they all witnessed could be given a gender, appeared to be a skull lamanated with metal, drifting through the air on a rigid crain running along the rails inset into the ceiling, drifting towards them. Eyes glowing a soft green glow made softer by the light, jaw never moving.

"Well Aunz, you might be very busy in the coming days, and these guests of mine are responsible." Mangle says motioning to the Censor. "And I think it only appropriate they be given a tour."

"Ahh, wonderful. I myself am not used to guests, well not the kind that live for very long any way, or are interested in a tour, so this is a splendid surprise." Aunz says, skull feigning normal gestures for the slightly eccentric and easily amused. "Come, come; I must show you some of the operating rooms that are housing current experiments!" The arm holding Aunz motions them to follow, seeming not entirely stable through the process.

Further in, past the pristine surfaces of ivory tables and the hums of working supercomputers, there lay an archway. A half-domed structure containing five large doors, each with a red number and letting emblazoned in the center. Each door enshrouded in a dark shadow where the light became blocked by the expansive metal frames.

Revealing the lab to be nothing but an entrance to other labs, and possible other labs even beyond those. This was perhaps, just a staging area; examining the experiments before prepping them for more, or going over the results of finished or failed experiments. Whatever it was, it was just the beginning, a precursor to what lay ahead.

"Now, there are several different areas we can explore. One-A is the Bio-Agent Testing grounds; two-A is the Biomech Proving grounds; three-A is the Cybernetic Diagnostic lab; four-A is the Preparation and Operations lab; and five-A is the holding facilities. Which one would you like to visit first?" He says as excited as ever.