Dark Peak. The Power.
Blue Boy knows.
Category Archives: Back Rooms
00470605 (Central Park/ Stuck like Fly)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0047, 0605, Back Rooms, Gaston^^, Hana Lei^^
00470311 (level 9223372036854775807 = trap?)
I spoke clear and distinct into the Air. “I’m here looking for a BOOK.”
No answer for about 15 seconds, then:
“WE ARE HERE.”
I think that’s *Lauri*, I realized. I pondered what to say next. Simply repeating the request didn’t seem right. They knew.
I had to specify.
“31 pages with a 32nd ripped out,” I tried.
15 more seconds, then:
“CHECKING.”
10 more seconds, then:
“LIMITING QUERY TO PICTURE BOOK, 32 PAGES MAX. PLEASE RESTATE REQUEST.”
Picture book? I thought. I didn’t even know what that really meant. I assumed: children’s book. What children’s book did I know?”
“‘Little Black Sambo,'” I said once more into the Air.
2 seconds later: “THAT REQUEST IS NOT ALLOWED.”
O-kay, I thought. Good the library has some kind of racist filter, I suppose. Although someone old enough with a valid ID should be able to request the material anyway. Just then:
“PERHAPS SPECIAL COLLECTIONS CAN HELP YOU SELECT A PICTURE BOOK. OPENING A CONNECTION…..”
Hmmmm. Dare I? It would mean returning to the beginning of it all. Perhaps losing everything that’s happened since in the process. All those hard earned years of service.
Couldn’t do it. Like Denmark, something rotten went on there. 42. Bad juju.
I’d have to keep working from outside the system. Nibbling away on the periphery.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0047, 0311, Back Rooms, Canada/Picturetown
00450613
Inside the fence now, wire cutters successfully employed to fulfill the dream duty needed. Let’s find out what’s in that building.
Definitely the Data Hall, good — the right place. Now to go deeper; more inside.
Internal passageway revealed by pulling this lever? Why not? Must see this through to the end since I’ve gotten this far. Alarm clock not set to go off until 9. 8:45 now. I have a bit of time left. But what’s time in a world like this that time’s forgotten? Not much.
Ahhh! A human! Sliding out from within those banks of computers; almost woke me up 7 minutes too early with his appearance but not quite. He speaks (!):
“Jack Shepherde’s not mad at me is he?” he begins cryptically enough. “I was just looking at the computers to see where all my favorite people went to. It’s been a long time since I read computer works, though, so I can’t figure out how to get their location out of the machine. I think it’s time for me to go home. Thank you for opening the door.”
And with that he glides past me in his slidey way with no steps required and down the passageway I came in through and out the front door as I followed him as best I could. I then went back to the room with the computers but the door was closed again, and immediately when I pulled down the lever like I did before, the alarm went off, RIIIIIING. I awoke in something of a sweat, knowing I didn’t have the information I needed. 9:01. Better get dressed for breakfast. Linda coming over at 9:30. Should take a shower too but it’ll be close. And at any rate, hair will be wet when she arrives because of no time to dry. Wet’s not good. Shower can wait. Slap on some deodorant, brush my teeth, drag a comb across my head and I’m good.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0045, 0613, Back Rooms, Europe, Holland
00450612
So we come to the point in our story where we have to ask: Are any of these various lines of seemingly disparate plots and sub-plots connected to some kind of central power source? Or do they all just dead end before reaching any said source? Well, I think Our Second Lyfe or My Second Lyfe still provides the juice to all this in a strong way. It may not be where I’m heading but it’s where I’m from, the photo-novels as a whole originate. So let’s put that in the middle, like a house a toddler or child might crawl or walk out of one day to find a brave new world outside full of fresh mystery and intrigue. After that, he’s kind of finished with the house or at least he thinks he is. Out There becomes the most important, like stepping through a door and leaving an old way of life behind. Crawling to walking to running… and then back to walking and then, finally, crawling (to the grave). So what is *outside*? And what are the levels of outside? When we reach a circle around this center where real cannot be distinguished from virtual, do we stop and take in the view?
Or do we just continue down the summit to the other side? Both I think. Let’s move forward. With wire cutters.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0045, 0612, Back Rooms, Europe, Holland
00450609
If I could get up on that high hill the alien bee just disappeared into, I might gain a better perspective on the whole game situation I’m stuck in. Maybe the bee thing is an indicator — ‘nother one.
It starts raining as I approach the summit, pheh. Now my feet are wet, my clothes are getting soaked. Not fun.
But I ultimately make it and peer over the top. The Data Hall: so far away!
Ahh, better. And now my feet aren’t wet, the clothes are dry. Less resolution has its place. But I clearly see the chain link fence now and know I’ll have to return another night in another dream, wire cutters in hand. Till then!
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL OT, 0045, 0609, Back Rooms, Europe, Holland, MFS
00450503 (crossing)
“I was back at Day 1 even though I had travelled so far. I knew this was Holland still because of the old timey windmill.
“Soon I found the blue and yellow cross in the green landscape…
“… whose correctly aligned blue and yellow eyes as indicated by the red arrow on the map I’d found just before…
“… pinpointed the location of the Data Hall where I’d learn what happened to all the people. Where are all the people? has been a question running through my head this whole time. No cu-clomp cu-clomp cu-clomp-ing of the wooden shoes and all.”
“I see.”
“But making my way toward it I was blocked by something that appeared to be a giant bee with its eerie, almost, let’s say, alien buzzing…
“… which turned into something quite different as I dared to keep approaching: a different kind of crossing — a sign of warning. The windmill in the background told me that we were still in Holland, although, um, updated; more modern; taller… and, er, sleeker. I was still walking the correct course.”
“Of course.”
“Although in maybe a different time?”
“Take your time, Philip,” I said, noticing the sweat beading up on his forehead above his beady little eyes, blue and yellow as well? Nah, let’s just go with hazel. “So what happened next?” I continued to guide.
“Well, not a lot. The dream just ended there with the thing’s alarm lights going off with all the dinging and such. I wake up. Aaand: that’s it.”
He looks up for some sign of approval by me that he had done good. Time to let up with the grilling. We needed to move beyond that warning sign and get to that Data Hall. But not today. Philip’s feeble brain needed time to recuperate.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL OT, 0045, 0503, Back Rooms, Europe, Holland
00450109
“I feel like I’m out of my depths with these channels, Panama. Feel like I don’t even have a foundation to stand on anymore.”
“I hear ya sister.”
“So I’m turning to you.” She turns in the water. “Just like wet can turn to dry given enough time in space and distance.”
That blasted alchemical text, Panama knew. But it worked.
Lexi reluctantly hands over the keys to Ralph.
Filed under **VIRTUAL OT, 0045, 0109, Back Rooms, C2077, Kabusie
00450107 (420 (Mercury is Paradise))
—–
“Off by Tin,” said Fern to this, knowing Mercury was instead actually Poison to the alchemists of old. Like her.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL OT, 0045, 0107, Back Rooms, collages 2d, Twin Peaks
00440703 (all)
And so let’s end where it all began. With a cube. In the Back Rooms. But we must add more text and context.
None of this is finished. We have reached a dead end, plywood *blocking* our way again. Besides the highlighted cube, notice also the bit on the sickly yellow wall to the left here projecting through as a line. Future promise but also current limit.
We are going to get answers, though the journey will be hard at times, with many pitfalls to navigate. Let’s call these: falling into the flesh pit, mystery no more. The Back Rooms is actually uplifting in this way. Sometimes I wish it had all remained plywood, this Our Second Lyfe. Would certainly help with lag (!).
We toil endlessly in a 9-5 grind but ultimately use our copiers for nonproductive things like tomfoolery or worse.
We are hanging by a thread, producing writing but only of a disjointed mix of color, font, and narrative.
We wade through pools of shallow knowledge, hoping to get to deeper ones soon enough. If we live that long, pheh (plywood again).
We are bored. We are not fulfilling what we are suppose to be. The powers that be knew this would happen. They gave us a break. Many.
As in bathroom. So many toilets to choose from but only one is real. No people at least, but of course that’s part of the whole problem.
We must come back up to the world, move to the main building by the holidays with all the other 9-5 grinders and out of this Back Rooms place with its pitfalls and dead ends. Things will be okay; you’ll see. Night writing instead of day. Continuity instead of disjointment through increased psychic abilities. Let the photo-novels begin!
END OF “SUNKLANDS 2024 LATER”!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0044, 0703, Back Rooms, Maebaleia/Satori, X-City^
00440604
Didn’t mean to be such a downer with my screamy zombie creature late Halloween pic, Farcebook, so I added a Santa cap and made him my avatar for the Xmas season. I say Xmas here because the word might be banned soon — using this shortened version of Christmas while I can, you see. Merry Holidays! And Good Lord God Jesus help us all.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0044, 0604, Back Rooms, Maebaleia/Satori, X-City^
Sunklands 