ENTRY .09
I've reached the factory. After so much, it feels like this journey is coming to an end.
I walk to the large steel doors, and look up. The factory is as tall as my eyes can see. But sadly, I won't be visiting the upper levels of the structure. I must now travel beneath it, into the very foundation it is built upon .
I pry the steel door open, my hydraulics shaking from either stress, or fear, and I'm met with an empty metal expanse. As I step in, the sound of my foot hitting the rusted floors echoes into the darkness. I take another step. The first sign of something wrong is the dozens of empty pods that cover the walls. They seem familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. It seems like the units that hatched from them were able to escape at some point. I feel happy for them, only to remember that they've almost certainly gone mad by now.
Upon reaching the end of the room, I am met with a ladder leading downwards. I must descend. I grip the sides of the ladder, and slide down what feels like hundreds of feet.
This layer is even darker than the last, and the walls are far more corroded. Small insects fly through the air, they all funnel towards a single point, as if leading me towards my objective. A body lies on the floor, a decomposing NECROS unit, flies gathered around its brain case. The rotting fluid leaking out. It seems that this one doesn't have any life left. Unwavering, I descend further. I dive so far below the surface that I can feel the vibrations in the earth around me. As if warning me where this journey will lead me.
I begin to find more NECROS units, rotting, soaking the floors in blood. It seems that the units hatched from the pods above didn't escape after all… Still I continue further.
The floor on the next layer is soaked in a mix of water, chemicals, and rotten brain matter. I spot another body, this one different from the rest. I approach it. Upon its jaw, V.VI is inscribed. It seems this unit really was on a journey of its own. I have no time to mourn. I must descend.
The walls feel like they're closing around me. My mind hurts, but I must continue. The walls feel alive. Like they too are made up of each mind that decay in their bowels. Brain matter is everywhere, organs and electrical components strewn about. Flesh and machine. Two elements that encompass all life, two elements that refuse to mix peacefully.
At last, I reached the bottom.
Contrasting against the rest of the walls, is a perfectly clean glass door. I approach, and it opens on its own.
Inside I am met with a surprising sight. The walls are marble, the floor is carpeted in velvet, and a large bronze statue of a man stands in the middle of the space. I approach it. A name is shown on the plaque beneath its feet.
“R. REAGAN, MAY HE FOREVER REST IN PEACE, 1946- 2028”
<I'm unaware of this name.>
I continue past the statue. Behind it is a long hall, monumental portraits covering the walls, all with plaques of their own.
Bezos? Jobs? Who are these people? Large chandeliers hang from the ceiling high above, each one significantly larger than myself. At the end of the hallway hangs large golden curtains. I open them, and am met with the view of a sunlit courtyard. But there can't possibly be sun this deep down? It must be an artificial source of light. I step into the courtyard, feeling the warm grass beneath my feet. The smell of pollen fills the air. But I can't waste any time… I need to find… Something…
I walk through the courtyard, finally reaching the doorway on the other side. A small sign reads “Living Quarters” I step into the room.
