snowblindrpg | [network] @Technicalities; Basement Door; Day 004: 8PM [open]

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[network] @Technicalities; Basement Door; Day 004: 8PM [open]

[It's been a long day. Maybe one of the longest Tadashi has experienced until now. At first he was hopeful about a rescue or finding a way out, but it's been three days now -- four days for some of the others. He's still hopeful, but the cold is starting to get to him. He hasn't found anything warmer to wear and he's fairly sure that Mochi is the only reason he hasn't frozen to death. His food is running low, too. If he rations it and is smart, he feels like he can stretch it for three more days. Which makes the looming question return every time he thinks about how light his backpack is becoming: will he find food by then? The first day will be rough, but the following days will be dangerous if he doesn't resupply quickly.

Reluctantly, despite the fatigue that's settled deep in his bones, Tadashi turns on his video feed and offers a weary smile.]

This is Tadashi Hamada. Again. And this is the end of my third day in Norfinbury.

[Since he saw that key card, he's going to assume that's the name of where they are until new evidence presents itself.]

I found a landmark today -- a veterinarian clinic right up against the wall of snow to the south. I left a message saying I'm going west, so if anyone else finds it, that's where I went. I haven't found food anywhere around it, and it had an... odd feeling about it. I don't recommend it as a base.

[He rubs at his eyes, and covers a yawn. He just has to stay awake a little longer.]

I made it to a place to stay the night and I found something. I've attached a photo if anyone's interested. It looks like it might lead to a basement, but it's sealed shut. When I tried to break it down, I realized that it's solid metal. It's too unusual to ignore, so I plan to come back if I can find any tools that might help me get inside. I guess that's all for now. I hope to see everyone tomorrow.

[He reaches forward and disconnects the feed.]

Attachment: One picture of the door in building 122

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That is where I was when I first woke here.

[For once, Zelda uses the text function. It's unwieldy and awkward in her inexperienced hands, but better that than let everyone in Norfinbury know of the... uncomfortable situation she's found herself in for the night.

(She's in a bathtub. Laying halfway on top of someone she's known for all of two and a half days. Looking at her life and choices doesn't even begin to cover it.)]

I attempted everything in my ability to open it as well, but I could not make it budge either. It may be that only finding the correct key will make it open.

[That's how it works in her universe, okay.]

[Al examines the photograph attachment carefully, before saving it to his own tablet in order to keep track of every clue that he comes across.]

Maybe you should wait until you have company to go down there, it could be dangerous.

[Tadashi isn't the only one who can mother hen.]

[Tadashi feels a jolt of hope and excitement when he sees the text -- someone has been here before him. He might finally be going in a direction where he can find the others who are also trapped there. After several days of lonely, cold houses and endless snow, he's ready to see people again.]

I didn't see any obvious lock, but I could have missed something. If we could find a crowbar, that might do the trick. It's a fairly solid door, though.

[His bruised shoulder proves that much.]

How long ago were you here?

You might be right, Alphonse. I'd love to find out if we can get down there before I move on, though. I'm going to start out as early as I can tomorrow anyway. Once a couple of us are able to meet up, maybe I can lead the way back to check it out again.

[He's just going to smile at the mothering and shake his head before sending his voice message.]

That's a good idea, if you mark where it is and keep track of how far you go in each direction before you find tools and back up, we can easily come back and investigate it together later on.

[He fully plans to be in that expedition, which is probably obvious by his interested and determined tone of voice.]

I'm not great at judging distances without a GPS, but I'll add how many hours it takes for me to reach each new point. Should give us a general enough idea.

That's... something we might add to most places. What do you think? Once the map becomes more solid, we can note how many hours travel it is to the nearest shelter in a given direction.

[Tadashi's not going to argue with that determination -- he's more than ready to not be alone out here at this point.]

[Perhaps if Zelda knew, she would consider the irony in that she - someone who has spent many years in relative isolation and thus slightly more equipped to handle this lonely town than most - found someone else her second night and has traveled with him ever since. But there are more important things to think about.]

I did attempt to pry it open with a bit of metal I found amongst the rubble, but it resisted that as well, though I admit to not being very stout, physically.

It is my fourth night now, and I left in search of supplies on the dawn of my second day. I have found nothing yet that would aid with opening that door, but I can say if you head due west, you will be able to find more shelter at least.

[And possibly a princess if he's lucky!]

Um, what's a GPS?

[He'll get to the rest of that in the minute, because Tadashi has some good ideas even if Al can see a minor flaw or two, but he just has to ask this first.]

Is it like a tape measure?

That's a relief. I already planned to move west to try to meet up with Alphonse. I think our current plan is to set up a base with who we can, then go back if we can find the tools to work on the door more.

Thank you for the information. If you're interested, I can try to keep you updated on anything regarding a base of operations. If you've already gone west, did you see any places suitable for a group?

Global positioning satellite? I use the one on my phone for most navigation. But... my phone wasn't on me when I woke up here, so I feel like I'm flying blind.

[He laughs at how true that is. He'd tried to navigate one spring break with Hiro using a road map, but after three dead ends and two construction zones, they'd switched back to phone GPS and sworn off the idea of doing things the old-fashioned way. He's more dependent on tech than he would like in a situation like this.]

It's... uh.. more like a tracking device.

[He almost goes into a detailed explanation of how many satellites are needed to determine your position and how they use wi-fi to determine that information more quickly, but then he thinks better of it -- Al doesn't need all the details. And he's only letting his mind wander that far because he's tried.]

Your phone gets a signal and it pinpoints your location anywhere on earth. If we had a GPS here, we'd know exactly where we are.

That would be very kind of you. I fear I do not use this device as well as I likely should. Some sort of centralized location does seem useful; I imagine it would make directions easier, if nothing else.

[There's a pause in her already slow response as she thinks over the houses she's visited. This one certainly won't work for a base, nor would the one with a broken balcony be the safest place. But...]

I have come across one building that seemed to have several bedrooms. A small group may be comfortable there, though I doubt it would be able to house everyone who has been kidnapped.

Edited (GDI HTML) 2015-06-13 01:26 (UTC)

That door looks really sturdy!

[An understatement... but it's sort of weird to see, given how much rubble there's been scattered about in the snow.]

What kind of tools do you think you would need to try and break in? I can look for some when I'm moving around tomorrow.

[A shot from the tablet's outside camera, showing Enoch's hand grasping the short end of the bedframe he'd taken from the house he'd woken up in.]

If the house has a bed on a frame like this, perhaps one of its parts like this might be useful in prying it open?

You know, whoever brought us here might have left that door locked just to lure people inside, so I'd wait until you had someone else with you before going down.

[ She's seen a few doors like that in her life, and she has a feeling there's a dangerous puzzle that has to be figured out before it will open. ]

We don't have anything like that in Amestris, you can't really know where anyone is unless they call you, or send you a letter.

[He can only assume that Tadashi means his phone is similar to this one, because the phones Al is familiar with don't have any added fancy features.]

It definitely sounds useful, though. Are you sure this phone we have here doesn't have GPS?

[Tadashi's texts stop coming for a bit as he considers the options before finally nodding to himself and sending another.]

I'll look for it. We don't necessarily all need to gather in one house -- but if there's a grouping in the same general area. That way, if something happens we can organize search parties or help when someone calls.

[And as much as he's a pacifist, maybe they can even mount a defense against the invisible administration that brought them here.]

Edited 2015-06-13 19:31 (UTC)

I'm actually not. Hopefully I can take a day soon to work with the tablet and see what I can come up with.

[It would certainly be useful if he could use what was already built into the tablet to reach a satellite, but he wasn't going to count on it until he knew more about what was on the tablet and if it had an encryption. He wasn't even much of a hacker -- that seemed more like something Hiro would be good at, but... he was willing to at least give it a shot.]

Weird question: have you at least heard of America?

And it's even sturdier than it looks, if you can believe it.

[He considers for a moment, examining the door again.]

A long piece of metal that isn't likely to bend, but is still thin enough to fit into a groove. There're no outward signs of a lock. Prying it open is my first idea. Otherwise, an axe? We could try to go through the wall.

Huh. I didn't consider that. Thanks for the idea. I'll see if I can make something work.

[Ah, a tablet! Al finally has a name for this thing, instead of calling it the 'weird-phone-device-thing', as he has been doing. He's not sure what the name means, as this doesn't look anything like a tablet of the definition he knows, but just knowing the name is a step forwards.]

No.

[It's still weird nobody has heard of Amestris to him, but he's at least getting used to everyone talking about this America place.]

But I've met a lot of people here who have heard of it, and even one person named after it. Is that where you're from too?

Why leave it locked? If it was unlocked, I feel like almost anyone would be likely to go down in search of supplies.

[He's started to trust Al, so he's a little more inclined to believe him when Al says he's never heard of America. Still, it doesn't sit well with Tadashi. He's not an expert on geography, but Amestris has never been on his radar. He can hope that it's an extremely small country, but that brings into question who would go to such lengths to bring people from there.]

Yeah. A city called San Fransokyo in California.

[He bites his lip before sending the next voice message. Might as well confirm.]

Are you from somewhere in Europe?

[Al is clueless enough about America, that he sees nothing weird about the name San Fransokyo. But it does confirm that all of this is alien, he's never even read a reference to these places in a book.]

No, Amestris is a country in its own right, a big one. It's one of the largest ones in the world, along with Xing and Drachma.

[Ishval might have counted on there, had most of its population not been slaughtered.]

Huh.

[He's processing that. This is definitely not adding up, There has to be a logical explanation for it.]

Those countries... definitely aren't around where I'm from.

It's okay, you're not the only one who's never heard of them.

[He sounds sort of woeful, it's unfair there are so many Americans.]

There's only one other person here who has.

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[network] @Technicalities; Basement Door; Day 004: 8PM [open]

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