#jtaue

[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: Check out what's up with the COMPUTER TERMINAL ==> examine the SUPPLY MANIFEST

Typing in the combination to bring up the manifest, Jake frowns as it takes a minute to load. The reason for this only becomes apparent once the list appears in full, with a small footnote mentioning that the manifest is up to date as of… five seconds ago. Is it checking the contents of storage rooms by camera somehow? Looking around, he can't see any cameras, but that hardly means anything.

The supply manifest comes with a handy map of the building, though only the actual storage rooms are labelled as such. Apparently most of them are in a staff hallway off of the reception room; looking up, he can see the door they'd be behind against one wall. He gets up quickly to check it, and finds it unlocked. Useful!

As he expected, some of the manifest is deeply boring. He isn't particularly interested in the stationery cupboard or its extra staplers, nor the extra pantry space near the staff break room. A large part of this list could be copied directly from any other business on the planet.

A few rooms have things related to the business' actual services, however. ROOM ONE seems to be almost entirely dedicated to baby changing supplies, with a frankly baffling number of different brands and styles of diaper kept in stock. The manifest also lists wipes, powder, lotion, disposable razors, and a few items simply described as 'protective garments'. Wouldn't those just be more diapers?

ROOM TWO is directly beside the first storage room. A smaller amount of its space is also given to diapers, though a larger portion of the room's manifest lists what Jake can only assume are pre-selected outfits for children in the daycare. Most are only identified by a brief description of their intended age range and gender: either boy or girl, and ranging from infant to preteen (though there are very few options for children that old). A few are marked as unisex, and some end with other tags, like 'costume', 'assisted entry', or 'plush' - whatever that means in this context.

ROOM THREE's manifest is the shortest, and also the least informative. There are a half-dozen items listed, with nearly identical names. Try as he might, Jake can't make phrases like 'Skaianet Proprietary Automated Device 14452' mean anything useful. Unfortunately, the manifest lacks the ability to bring up more information on any item, so he's in the dark about that room unless he goes to examine it himself.

ROOM THREE

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: examine the SUPPLY MANIFEST. ==> look at the REGISTRATION PORTAL

Opening up the registration portal reveals a boilerplate form for… someone to use. Reading through the different fields, Jake sees a confusing mix of requested information. Fields like name, age and gender are followed by more specific asks like height, hair colour, bathroom skills?

It's only after reading through the form a few times that Jake realises this is for inputting information on children going into the daycare. Well, it's not likely to get him much in the way of information, but it could be fun to mess around with all the same.

Some things about the form are still confusing. Despite fields like the aforementioned bathroom skills as well as checkboxes for whether the person drools, their language skills and other such juvenile specifications, it accepts ages and heights well into adulthood. At the bottom of the page is a box labelled 'recommended plan', currently empty. Presumably it needs more information to make an actual recommendation.

Moving his cursor back to the start, Jake frowns at the screen. It could be a laugh to fill this out, but will it be more fun to be honest or exaggerate? The easiest thing to do would be to enter HIS OWN INFORMATION into the form, true to reality, but he could also enter FALSE INFORMATION. If he did that, though, what kind of information would be amusing to enter? He could put in all sorts of unlikely, humorous or contradicting data to see what the form spits back at him.

What to do?

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: Go investigate ROOM THREE. Jake ==> remove cover from the SOMETHING

Of course, the thing that appeals to Jake most is the thing he doesn't know. Passing by all of the visible furniture, he stops in front of the covered object, observing what he can through the sheet.

It's… probably tall? At least some part of it is taller than Jake himself, though not as tall as the wardrobe. He can't tell if it's the whole thing, or just one part of it that reaches above the rest. Lights flicker under the sheet, but they're diffused enough that he can't use them to gauge its shape.

Whatever it is, it's completely silent even as it shines like a Christmas tree. He can't hear a single fan whirring or part clicking, despite the fact that something electronic has to be going on under there.

Jake can't conclude anything from its shape, size or operation. All that's left is to see the thing itself. Reaching up and taking a moment to steel himself, he grips the sheet with both hands and tugs it to the ground with a great FWUMP of fabric.

What's he looking at now?

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake => examine the SUPPLY MANIFEST

Jake => Go investigate ROOM THREE

Deciding that the third numbered room seems the most promising, Jake notes down the directions to get there and stands up, leaving the computer as it is. It seemed to turn itself on when the electricity came back, but the last thing he wants is to turn it off and find it wanting a password if he goes back to it.

Entering the staff hallway, Jake is pleased to find it as well lit as the reception room. Overhead lights dangle from the ceiling, casting a fairly uniform light over the long corridor. While the door into the hall is made of wood, the doors he sees lined up along the right wall are made of all different materials: a large number are laminate, a few frosted glass, and one or two are composed of sturdy-looking metal without a hint of rust.

The door to storage room three is one of the frosted glass ones, immediately past the hall's first right turn. There isn't a visible handle, but when Jake lingers in front of it for a moment, the whole thing slides open to allow him in. Frowning slightly as he looks for any sign of a sensor, he steps inside the room.

The space he finds himself in is bare compared to everything else he's seen. The floor is made of dark wood, but the walls are simple white laminate, not crumbled enough to reveal whatever material is underneath. The room is roughly square, with the door he entered through in the middle of one wall and an identical door against the opposite wall.

Arranged along the other two walls, three on each side, are the 'Automated Devices' the manifest listed. Each one resembles a different piece of furniture, with additional winking lights attached and a small touch panel somewhere on its front face. What exactly makes them automated is hard to tell from a single glance.

Along one wall Jake sees a CHANGING TABLE, an unidentifiable hunk of metal, and a tall WARDROBE. The table's surface is at hip height, covered in an intact blue plastic cushion. Between it and the wardrobe, whatever device was once present has rusted over and crumbled under its own weight, exposed wires sparking dangerously. The wardrobe appears to be made of painted wood, with swirls of blue and pink chasing each other across the large doors.

On the other wall there is a TELEVISION, a WASHTUB, and SOMETHING under a white sheet. The television is positioned on an old-fashioned rolling stand, the kind he's seen in shows about high schools. The washtub is the least fancy-looking device, its ceramic basin lacking any extra fixtures. Instead there's a small metal box attached underneath the tub's spigots, and it's this that the item's apparent control panel is attached to. Whatever's under the sheet is too big for its shape to be immediately identifiable, but the winking lights he can see through the fabric make it clear it's definitely still on.

SOMETHING

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: Turn the lights on Jake=> Check out what's up with the COMPUTER TERMINAL

There's probably plenty to find in the next room, but Jake isn't about to turn down easy answers. Walking behind the desk, he tests the roller chair behind it. It's also in surprisingly good condition, so after a moment he sits down in it and gets to examining the terminal.

At least he doesn't have to figure out how to turn it on. One tap at the keyboard makes the screen light up, displaying the familiar but unexpected logo of Skaianet made out of ASCII characters. underneath the logo is a business name, so he finally has something to call this building: the Skaianet Daycare and Long-Term Nursery.

Looking around, he supposes the aesthetics fit for a daycare. The bright colours and plastic furniture make more sense, and the lack of toys in what's clearly a waiting area can probably be explained by the derelict state of the building as a whole. It sours his plans to explore somewhat - what's there going to be worth looking into in a daycare? - but since he's here, he might as well keep going.

The terminal lacks a cursor, apparently controlled only with the keyboard in front of it. There are shortcuts listed on-screen for turning lights on or off in various rooms, a greyed-out option for intranet messaging, and various administrative tools available from the main screen.

Poking through a few menus, Jake finds a few more places of interest. There's a REGISTRATION PORTAL, presumably for new customers, a tab containing a SUPPLY MANIFEST for the business, and options to turn on various DEMONSTRATIONS. That last option seems to be connected with some sort of proprietary systems demo, advertising the flash features of the business to customers or investors. Alternatively, he could always try taking a peek into the STAFF LOGS - sure they're likely password protected, but there's no harm in trying to crack them, right?

SUPPLY MANIFEST | REGISTRATION PORTAL

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[gross-text-adventures]

JAKE TEXT ADVENTURE: URBAN EXPLORATION Jake: Turn the lights on

Seeing how little his flashlight reveals of the room, Jake decides the safest decision would be to get the overhead lights on if possible. Making sure the floor is safe, he crosses the room towards the switch he saw before. He needs to circle around a small desk, but after that he's close enough to reach out and flick the switch.

Something groans further into the building, a great creak of rusty-sounding metal. A generator? Whatever it is, after a few seconds of prolonged darkness, the light above him shudder on in sequence, revealing the room fully.

The space is in generally good condition, apart from the broken-in windows. None of the furniture is obviously missing - colourful plastic chairs line the walls, leaving most of the floor empty. The floor seems like linoleum, slightly squeaky under his feet and littered with small scuffs and ground-in stains. It's patterned randomly with the same bright colours as the outside once was, similarly faded and marred. Unfortunately, no convenient signage advertises exactly what this building was meant for, so he still has no clues as to what he might actually find as he goes further in.

Another rusty creak startles Jake, this one much closer than before. Whirling around, he sees a previously unnoticed door slide open. What he'd first thought was part of the wall is actually a large set of metal shutters, which jerkily rise up into the ceiling, revealing a second room behind them. The lights aren't on in that room, so he can't tell what's in there unless he moves FURTHER IN.

Taking one last look around the room, he notices the desk he's standing next to isn't empty. An old, square COMPUTER TERMINAL sits atop it, winking rhythmically as it awaits input. Likely it was meant for some kind of receptionist or secretary to sit at - but maybe it's worth looking at to see if he can get any details about this place?

COMPUTER TERMINAL

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: Wait.

Jake> Check out TIME OUT

The door to the Time Out room opens easily for Jake, the hinges not even squeaking as he pulls it wide and shines his flashlight in. The light doesn't reveal anything - at first it seems as if the room is a complete void, before he realises that the walls, floor and ceiling are all a matte black that soaks up all the light he can shine.

The room isn't empty, though; he can just make out the shape of an object in the middle of the room, though what exactly it is isn't immediately clear. Maybe getting closer to it will make its shape more obvious?

Stepping into the room, Jake doesn't think much of the door swinging shut behind him. The room is even more punishingly dark on the inside, making him worry about losing his footing. Thankfully the floor seems relatively clear in here, so he can simply slide his feet along the ground and avoid that particular indignity.

It's impossible to tell how large the room is, but after probably a few feet of careful shuffling, his toe bumps against the bottom of whatever object makes the centrepiece of the room. Still unable to make it out well by sight, Jake reaches to put his hand on the object-

SHNK. SHNK. SHNK. Pitch darkness turns into punishing brightness as strips along the walls and ceiling light up with powerful fluorescents. Jake cries out, dropping his flashlight to cover his eyes with both hands as tears stream out.

He lowers his hands before his eyes are fully recovered, put on alert by the sounds of machinery and electronics powering on around him. Looking up, he can barely make out panels on the ceiling retracting - but he looks away before he sees what comes out, his eyes still too sensitive for that assault.

Instead, Jake turns his eyes to the item of furniture in front of him, the thing that piqued his curiosity enough to enter the room in the first place. What is it? Will it tell him anything about the purpose if this room, or the building as a whole?

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[gross-text-adventures]

Jake: Wait.

Turning on the main lights will draw too much attention - better to just work by flashlight. It only takes a few minutes for Jake's eyes to adjust to the gloom, at least enough for him to get the lie of the land inside the building.

The room he's in right now looks to be a small reception area, with plastic chairs arranged alongside the walls. The floor beneath him has a plasticky feeling as he walks deeper, the shards of glass no longer a problem once he's a few feet from the windows. Against the opposite wall, below the light switch he noticed before, is a simple desk with an old computer still sitting on top. No doubt its contents are interesting, but not the sort of interesting that motivates Jake. Besides, it would likely need a password.

There are only two visible paths deeper into the building. The larger doorway beside the reception desk is covered by a sturdy metal shutter, in much better repair than the exterior door and windows. Maybe if he'd brought some larger tools and was up to making more noise he could get through it, but as it is the shutter forms a barrier against all progress in that direction.

The other path in is smaller, a simple wooden door off to one side. A slightly rusty sign tells him the door is 'Staff Only', but it hardly even sticks when he turns the handle and pushes it in, so that's the way he goes.

Jake finds himself in a long hallway, with doors arranged along the right wall. With the door closed behind him, he raises his flashlight higher to better illuminate the space. The walls in here bear more of the paint he'd seen outside, a calming pastel blue rendered pale and washed out by time and exposure. The floor here is tiled, dust clinging more fervently to the material than in the previous room.

Pacing forward, he shines his light over every door he can see. Some bear legible markings, while others have either lost them or never had any labels in the first place. He sees break rooms, storage closets and electrical rooms, as well as ones with labels deeming them the SPARE CLOTHES room, the AUTOMATIONS ROOM, and one simply marked TIME OUT. Those aren't nearly the only doors, though - the hall seems to run the entire length of the building, and there are plenty of unlocked or flimsy-looking doors with labels even less explanatory than those.

Somehow when he decided to spelunk in the city, he didn't expect he'd end up with more choices than he would in an old ruin. How is he meant to even decide where to begin looking?

TIME OUT

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