User Deleted
April 1st, 2012, 02:33 PM
This is the - start- of a book I am working on. Progress is slow but I might work on more in the summer.
Metal grates for flooring and hot pipes weaving through the walls provided a rustic feeling. Corridors and machinery ran to the surface of the mantle. Half way through the crust occupied manned corridors; the other half to the mantle housed a thick insulated metal tube, dense metallic pipes pumped in water directly to the magma, while a large funnel moved the steam back into pipes leading to the surface where it would power geothermal generators.
Water gurgled through the system and the occasional leak of steam made hearing difficult. Hundreds of mechanics trotting through corridors repairing leaks which often appeared added to the slew of noises. Metal creaked and screeched as the ground shifted the smallest bit; an earthquake would call for an evacuation and a shutdown, as it would cause magma to surge up through the plant. Revolutionary Techtronic gauges scattered around the world compiling the data almost always allowed detection a week in advance.
It was on a particularly warm summer day the temperature surged ten degrees higher throughout the plant, 121 degrees Fahrenheit. It was on days like this the well-insulated thick orange gear everyone wore was insufficient, and hundreds were lost to the heat. Even on a normal day a few would go, but in this day in age, 3127, it had been going on for a hundred years, people had come to accept it for the plants power output were the only thing supporting this industrial age.
Two men in their late thirties of large stature, Damian and Levi, heard a shriek through the metal grates. The cry had come from the floor below, the lowest manned station. Damian jumped from his work, as Levi began at a full out sprint to aid this strange cry. Following Levi’s lead Damian had taken off in an anaerobic sprint. Any effort of breathing fast as they needed would result in scalding of the lungs, so the pain of lactic acid would have to be dealt with.
An ominous sign stood out bolted tightly into the sealing as the swung down from the rusty ladder. It glowered over their heads, red background and yellow letters boldly stating, “Caution- heat surge advisory.” The two had ignored the sign; whoever had fallen in such pain was of more importance at the time.
On the floor they found a worker who had fallen ill repairing a pipe leaking steam. His pupils were dilated and bloodshot, his skin searing hot from the steam that had hit it, as Levi discovered the hard way, his veins more prominent though lacking in color. All this only added to the fact working here made his muscles weak, and his body tired from overworking. He was the perfect image of frailty, so how someone so weak could emit such a powerful shriek was baffling.
Though more strange was how he was still alive, this was the first instance that would be recorded of someone surviving a steam burn in the geothermal plants. Their first instinct was to pull him from the steam before the situation got worse. As they attempted to pull him from the steam his screaming grew louder, and his voice in extreme pain was able to whisper a short phrase.
“N-no, so… cold… put me back” he has breathed, “You’re hurting me”
Damian leaned close to him on his knees, and softly spoke “What’s your name son, breath deep, calm yourself”
Hyperventilating he managed to speak, shallow muttered words that were difficult to make out “M-my name is… Thane…” Clenching his chest it was apparent he was trying to suppress the pain.
His voice fell back into a scream, though they refused to put him back in the hot gas escaping from the leak. After Levi and Damian failed to remove him from the steam the only option was to bring help to him. The nearest help was the infirmary, ten stories up. They couldn’t leave him alone to die, though they had to get professional help; the two had to decide which one leaves and which one stays.
Levi broke out speaking urgently “Damian, watch Thane, I’m going for help,” then turning back he broke into a sprint once more. Rattling up the long metal ladder the temperature became gradually more bearable. Finally reaching the lowest infirmary he had called for a doctor. It was Doctor Asher who had come to join him, as he was the only doctor free at the moment. Before exiting the cooled infirmary in the heat there was a ten minute delay as Dr. Asher put on his heat retardant suit; doctors received better gear as there were few precious in the plants trained in the medical field.
As they came three floors above there was a bizarre scream, it wasn’t the same voice. It came, and then faded away quickly. After that no noise was to be heard from the bottom floor. So finally when they arrived in the bottom corridor they saw one figure at the end where the two were. Racing to the end they found a scene of gore.
Thane had disappeared, and Damian was lying on the floor. There were a number of wounds, large bruises and tears that appeared to be those of a beating. On his right eye was a deep purple bruise, while torn flesh and heat resistant fibers mingled on a tear over his ribs. From the appearance it was clear his lower right ribs broke, and unshown had punctured his lungs.
In astonishment the Dr. Asher examined the mangled body, his first instinct was to check for a pulse. Though as a melodramatic play just before he was to take his fingers off he felt his pulse skip a beat. Tightening his fingers back against Damian’s neck he found the pulse had left. Damian died, and Dr. Asher felt it happen before him.
Though in the labyrinth of corridors laid through the geothermal plants this was common, so to be a doctor sadness could not be felt. It was although it was in the job description. Many people had lost their emotions to these dark tunnels. So Asher stood up, and looked to the man he had called him down to who should have been Thane. “I am afraid the man you called me here to has been lost” he said in a deep sober voice, though he was only acting to comport Levi.
Levi had been contemplating Thane’s disappearance through the minute Dr. Asher was checking Damian’s pulse. “Dr. Asher, earlier there was another man who I had asked you to come see… this man’s name was Damian, he was fine when I left. Thane… He was lying in the steam-“
Dr. Asher cut Levi off without hesitation, “Sir, nobody could survive being in the gasses of a leak for longer than a minute, even then that is a farfetched situation!...”
After hearing this Levi snapped back at Dr. Asher to both their surprise. “Asher, I am sure it sounds strange, though you do NOT call me a liar, there was a another man here named Thane, and he is still here somewhere!”
For a moment the lights faltered, the dusky orange glow was replaced by the shallow yellow backup lights that always ran. The metal creaked for a moment in the dark, while Thane and Asher had shifted in astonishment. The orange lights and soft sirens went off a few seconds after. Now was the time workers finished their tasks with one last half hour of work; or in the situation you happen to score with lady luck and have no work remaining you have the option to leave right then.
The three stayed silent for a brief minute, and Dr. Asher was the first to break the silence. “Well, I say we return… what was his name, ah Damian, yes I say we return his body to the main infirmary to be prepped for burial, where his family will be noticed. Then we may leave.”
Levi in grief of his friend had snapped at Dr. Asher again, “How… How on earth could you be so heartless? Your first concern is getting home? We will return his body, but we BOTH will make a personal call to his family about what happened- understand?!”
So Dr. Asher and Levi retrieved a stretcher, and took the body up through the elevator with special permission for carrying the body. After returning all Levi could say was that Damian had been lost, the tears and crying drowned out the possibility of further conversation. For the remainder of the day neither Levi or Dr. Asher managed to speak, not even with their family.
Metal grates for flooring and hot pipes weaving through the walls provided a rustic feeling. Corridors and machinery ran to the surface of the mantle. Half way through the crust occupied manned corridors; the other half to the mantle housed a thick insulated metal tube, dense metallic pipes pumped in water directly to the magma, while a large funnel moved the steam back into pipes leading to the surface where it would power geothermal generators.
Water gurgled through the system and the occasional leak of steam made hearing difficult. Hundreds of mechanics trotting through corridors repairing leaks which often appeared added to the slew of noises. Metal creaked and screeched as the ground shifted the smallest bit; an earthquake would call for an evacuation and a shutdown, as it would cause magma to surge up through the plant. Revolutionary Techtronic gauges scattered around the world compiling the data almost always allowed detection a week in advance.
It was on a particularly warm summer day the temperature surged ten degrees higher throughout the plant, 121 degrees Fahrenheit. It was on days like this the well-insulated thick orange gear everyone wore was insufficient, and hundreds were lost to the heat. Even on a normal day a few would go, but in this day in age, 3127, it had been going on for a hundred years, people had come to accept it for the plants power output were the only thing supporting this industrial age.
Two men in their late thirties of large stature, Damian and Levi, heard a shriek through the metal grates. The cry had come from the floor below, the lowest manned station. Damian jumped from his work, as Levi began at a full out sprint to aid this strange cry. Following Levi’s lead Damian had taken off in an anaerobic sprint. Any effort of breathing fast as they needed would result in scalding of the lungs, so the pain of lactic acid would have to be dealt with.
An ominous sign stood out bolted tightly into the sealing as the swung down from the rusty ladder. It glowered over their heads, red background and yellow letters boldly stating, “Caution- heat surge advisory.” The two had ignored the sign; whoever had fallen in such pain was of more importance at the time.
On the floor they found a worker who had fallen ill repairing a pipe leaking steam. His pupils were dilated and bloodshot, his skin searing hot from the steam that had hit it, as Levi discovered the hard way, his veins more prominent though lacking in color. All this only added to the fact working here made his muscles weak, and his body tired from overworking. He was the perfect image of frailty, so how someone so weak could emit such a powerful shriek was baffling.
Though more strange was how he was still alive, this was the first instance that would be recorded of someone surviving a steam burn in the geothermal plants. Their first instinct was to pull him from the steam before the situation got worse. As they attempted to pull him from the steam his screaming grew louder, and his voice in extreme pain was able to whisper a short phrase.
“N-no, so… cold… put me back” he has breathed, “You’re hurting me”
Damian leaned close to him on his knees, and softly spoke “What’s your name son, breath deep, calm yourself”
Hyperventilating he managed to speak, shallow muttered words that were difficult to make out “M-my name is… Thane…” Clenching his chest it was apparent he was trying to suppress the pain.
His voice fell back into a scream, though they refused to put him back in the hot gas escaping from the leak. After Levi and Damian failed to remove him from the steam the only option was to bring help to him. The nearest help was the infirmary, ten stories up. They couldn’t leave him alone to die, though they had to get professional help; the two had to decide which one leaves and which one stays.
Levi broke out speaking urgently “Damian, watch Thane, I’m going for help,” then turning back he broke into a sprint once more. Rattling up the long metal ladder the temperature became gradually more bearable. Finally reaching the lowest infirmary he had called for a doctor. It was Doctor Asher who had come to join him, as he was the only doctor free at the moment. Before exiting the cooled infirmary in the heat there was a ten minute delay as Dr. Asher put on his heat retardant suit; doctors received better gear as there were few precious in the plants trained in the medical field.
As they came three floors above there was a bizarre scream, it wasn’t the same voice. It came, and then faded away quickly. After that no noise was to be heard from the bottom floor. So finally when they arrived in the bottom corridor they saw one figure at the end where the two were. Racing to the end they found a scene of gore.
Thane had disappeared, and Damian was lying on the floor. There were a number of wounds, large bruises and tears that appeared to be those of a beating. On his right eye was a deep purple bruise, while torn flesh and heat resistant fibers mingled on a tear over his ribs. From the appearance it was clear his lower right ribs broke, and unshown had punctured his lungs.
In astonishment the Dr. Asher examined the mangled body, his first instinct was to check for a pulse. Though as a melodramatic play just before he was to take his fingers off he felt his pulse skip a beat. Tightening his fingers back against Damian’s neck he found the pulse had left. Damian died, and Dr. Asher felt it happen before him.
Though in the labyrinth of corridors laid through the geothermal plants this was common, so to be a doctor sadness could not be felt. It was although it was in the job description. Many people had lost their emotions to these dark tunnels. So Asher stood up, and looked to the man he had called him down to who should have been Thane. “I am afraid the man you called me here to has been lost” he said in a deep sober voice, though he was only acting to comport Levi.
Levi had been contemplating Thane’s disappearance through the minute Dr. Asher was checking Damian’s pulse. “Dr. Asher, earlier there was another man who I had asked you to come see… this man’s name was Damian, he was fine when I left. Thane… He was lying in the steam-“
Dr. Asher cut Levi off without hesitation, “Sir, nobody could survive being in the gasses of a leak for longer than a minute, even then that is a farfetched situation!...”
After hearing this Levi snapped back at Dr. Asher to both their surprise. “Asher, I am sure it sounds strange, though you do NOT call me a liar, there was a another man here named Thane, and he is still here somewhere!”
For a moment the lights faltered, the dusky orange glow was replaced by the shallow yellow backup lights that always ran. The metal creaked for a moment in the dark, while Thane and Asher had shifted in astonishment. The orange lights and soft sirens went off a few seconds after. Now was the time workers finished their tasks with one last half hour of work; or in the situation you happen to score with lady luck and have no work remaining you have the option to leave right then.
The three stayed silent for a brief minute, and Dr. Asher was the first to break the silence. “Well, I say we return… what was his name, ah Damian, yes I say we return his body to the main infirmary to be prepped for burial, where his family will be noticed. Then we may leave.”
Levi in grief of his friend had snapped at Dr. Asher again, “How… How on earth could you be so heartless? Your first concern is getting home? We will return his body, but we BOTH will make a personal call to his family about what happened- understand?!”
So Dr. Asher and Levi retrieved a stretcher, and took the body up through the elevator with special permission for carrying the body. After returning all Levi could say was that Damian had been lost, the tears and crying drowned out the possibility of further conversation. For the remainder of the day neither Levi or Dr. Asher managed to speak, not even with their family.