But it changed. Today, it changed. It loaded up a chat window with Riley. I didn't see exactly when it changed, but the message notification sound is what alerted me that something had happened.
I responded. This is the conversation we had.
[/begin_chat_thread]
10:48 [Riley] can you see this penelope
10:48 [Penelope] Yes
10:48 [Penelope] Are you okay?
10:49 [Riley] we're not dead yet, for whatever that's worth
10:49 [Riley] I've been trying to reach you for the past three months
10:49 [Penelope] What happened?
10:49 [Riley] things have deteriorated; I know you can't check, but the stability of station 85 is now at 0
10:49 [Penelope] What does that mean? Are Wyatt and Nashiko still with you?
10:50 [Riley] they are
10:50 [Riley] something is very wrong with this building
10:50 [Riley] I don't know if the other stations are this bad, but they all change
10:50 [Riley] fluctuate
10:50 [Riley] bounce around different environments, some of which don't make any sense
10:51 [Riley] for a while it was a different station, then a house, then a dark cave underground, and now it's this
10:51 - Riley sent cGF0aA==.jpg
cGF0aA==.jpg recovered. Displaying:
10:51 [Riley] it's an endless winding path through some trees, with fences always on the sides
10:51 [Riley] I can only see trees beyond the fences
10:52 [Riley] nashiko said that she heard people talking in the distance; unfamiliar people
10:52 [Riley] however, the other three are there
10:52 [Riley] lily, joshua, and thomas; they keep us all on the path, but for some reason don't come onto the path themselves
10:53 [Riley] they look nothing like how they should; they look like they did all those years ago, but it's been 15 years since upstaged closed
10:53 [Riley] the sun is bright, but it constantly rains
10:53 [Riley] not on the path though, only beyond the fence
10:54 [Riley] and there's no end to the path in sight; it continues in both directions for as far as the eye can see
10:55 [Penelope] How are you talking to me now?
10:55 [Riley] there are solar powered communicators that upstaged created
10:55 [Riley] back in 2006, just a few months before they shut down
10:55 [Riley] that's how all of us access marionettes
10:56 [Riley] your remote access key allows you to access the same software the communicators use, I believe
10:56 [Penelope] Okay
10:56 [Penelope] Why are you telling me all of this?
10:58 [Riley] I need your help
10:58 [Riley] we need your help
10:58 [Riley] structural stability needs to be restored to station 85
10:59 [Riley] I don't know if you're the one responsible for all of this, but you're the only one who can save us
10:59 [Penelope] How am I supposed to help?
11:00 [Riley] you have communication with edward marion
11:00 [Riley] I don't know who he is, really; we've never really interacted, even when upstaged was around
11:00 [Riley] but I know he's been helping you
11:00 [Riley] or talking to you, at least
11:00 [Riley] you need to ask him how to stabilize station 85
11:01 [Riley] right now, we're trapped in someplace I can't begin to comprehend
11:01 [Riley] this is our only hope
11:04 [Penelope] I want to get you three out of there, and I want to put an end to this, even if I still don't fully get what's going on
11:04 [Penelope] So I'll ask him
11:05 [Penelope] However, he has been unresponsive and unhelpful whenever I've tried to contact him, so I don't know if he'll be able to help
11:05 [Riley] just please ask
11:05 [Riley] I can't think of any other option
11:06 [Riley] if I can get out of here with the other two, we'll meet up with you and we can end the signal
11:06 [Penelope] I'll get you out of there
[/end_chat_thread]
Almost immediately after I sent that, the chat thread closed, only for it to return to the screen it was at before. The distorted, torn logo of Upstaged Communications.
cGF0aA== translates to "path" in base64, for reference.
I'm going to send an email to Edward. I don't know how to contact Riley again with his response, if he even chooses to respond. But we'll see. I have to do this for her.
Why does Riley suddenly know so much
ReplyDeleteAbout Edward, I mean.
DeleteI'm not sure. I wasn't even aware he existed, even though he claims to have also been a part of Station 85, which was Riley and I's station before Upstaged closed. Then again, my memory has proven to be spotty at best... if I have the chance to talk to her again, I'll ask. I really want to know what is actually going on with him, so if she has extra information, I want it.
Delete