Back to top 15th November 2005

"I think the speech was telling us more than it intended. Whoever heard of a bureaucracy with some amount of change? I think we should go back to work tonight and do some investigation." Cogil said.

"Yes, that's what we'll do; the three of us. Cogil, Vincent and Ryan; investigating..." said Vincent.

"Alright, alright. I get it. What is it now? Seven? Ok We're leaving around 11:30 ok? So get something to eat and sleep if you feel like it. Then we're out of here. No more boring support jobs for us, oh no. From now on nothing but excitement." Cogil said excitedly.

Cogil, Vincent and Ryan all went to their respective rooms to rest. Ryan made his favorite instant dinner, Vincent just rested in his room and Cogil found a local restaurant.

As planned Cogil, Vincent and Ryan got ready to leave around 11:30 that night. The three of them walked along the street back to the main office. It was dark in Subterranean Towz, not even a moon or stars to light their way.

Upon reaching the main office Cogil went to try the door. Oddly enough it seemed unlocked. Cogil turned the knob and went right in. Vincent whispered to Cogil "Doesn't that seem weird to you? That this office would be left unlocked?"

"Perhaps you forget where we are: this is after all the basis from which the population of Towz sees paid protestors and thinks nothing of it." Cogil said.

"Ya, that's true." agreed Vincent.

Cogil, Vincent and Ryan, keeping with the general tone of after hours, snuck along the the outside walls of the office to an area they had never been before. Through some double doors with a big sign that said in big bold letters "No unauthorized bureaucratizing beyond this point. This may mean you!". This sign didn't make that much sense to any of the three, nor did anyone really care. Beyond the double doors was a really long hall way devoid of any other signs or writing of any kind. Every few hundred feet were some more double doors, unmarked and with sign as to where they were leading all along the walls. The hallway could have easily been a quarter mile long. Every so many double doors along the walls to either side of the hall was also a set of doors across the hall.

"Wow", remarked Cogil, "just too bad I’m not writing a badly written novel. This could be some sort of dark foreboding symbolism or possibly a really transparent transition from one part of a book to another part entirely."

Now it was Ryan's turn to look annoyed. "Was that remark about me now? I though you were anti clichéd plot devices! I mean who in the world would use a long foreboding hallway that seems to go on and on forever and may or may not be at all relevant just to foreshadow a total and complete transition from part of a book to another. I mean that's just stupid."

"Alright, alright", Cogil finally said, "forget I said anything. Damn. Lets get going. There must be something about the conspiracy some where down this hall."

Cogil, Vincent and Ryan, now more confident the security of this building was much less stringent then they for some reason thought, now simply walked along the hall not at all worried about being caught. What would the punishment be for such a thing, anyway?

Cogil, Vincent and Ryan walked along the hall for several minutes. The hall seemed to go on forever. All the doors on the side seemed to have blackened windows with no clues as to what could be inside.

"Hey maybe this hall way works like that mind warping area we ended up in between Towz and Subterranean Towz...how did that work again?" asked Vincent.

"I'm not quite sure. McGee seemed to be referencing parts of the floor but I'm sure how to find such places. He never showed us how to do that crazy floor thing." said Cogil.

"We have been walking for like 10 minutes now. We need to try one of these doors I think." suggested Ryan.

"Alright, lets stick together. Next door on the left we'll try. Given this pattern lately I think it'll be unlocked. Right?" Said Cogil.

A few minutes later the trio came to the next set of double doors on the left, once again with blackened windows and no markings of any kind.

Cogil went over to open the double doors, but Vincent stopped him.

"Cogil, are you sure you want this of doors? Why not the next door, the previous one or the one on the other side of the hall?" asked Vincent.

"What, you are getting philosophical on me now? What difference could it make maybe it will be another hallway identical to this one? A symbol of unlimited choices in life, or so I would say if Ryan weren't looking at me like that. " Answered Cogil.

Cogil then continued to the double doors. He went to push them open but upon opening them just a tiny little bit hear a really loud blaring noise. This startled Cogil, Vincent and Ryan and each of them stepped back a bit. The door closed shut again and the noise was instantaneously gone once more.

Cogil stepped forward again, put his ear up to the door.

"Wow, this is some great sound proofing material they got here. Should I open it again?" asked Cogil.

Vincent and Ryan indicated with a motion that he should.

Cogil again put his hand on the double doors, this time more gingerly and cautiously.

"No no watch out!!" Ryan yelled into Cogil's ear.

"Ah, son of bitch. Why did you have to go and do that? That was way of line." Cogil had just half a foot into the air at startle and nearly fallen over.

"Damn dude, don't wet yourself! Man, that was funny. Geeze just go in. This isn't high drama ya know." Ryan said. Ryan walked over to the door, pushed it open and blaring noise and all walked in. A moment later he was gone. Cogil and Vincent were alone in the hallway.

"Well. That was unexpected. Shall we follow him then?" asked Vincent. Cogil, still a little startled, indicated he was ready. Together the two of them walked through the double doors.

The noise hit them immediately. It was really loud and seemingly incoherent. Cogil and Vincent were now in a large room with a large cylindrical -looking object in the middle. After a few seconds the noise seemed to apparently have some pattern to it after all. Actually it sounded a lot like a song blaring from some unapparent source. Ryan was several yards in front of them now, apparently reading something sprawled across the cylindrical object. As Cogil and Vincent approached him his face sudden became much more grave and serious looking. He turned toward the two and started yelling something at them, waving toward the door they had entered through. Cogil and Vincent were unable to hear what he was saying over the noise so all three eventually just went back outside into the hall.

Once back in the hall Vincent asked, "What was that all about? What were you trying to say, Ryan?"

All Ryan could respond with was "What?!", his ears still apparently ringing from the loud music inside the room. "We have to get out of hear! That device in their is very dangerous, he have to leave!" Ryan was yelling now, apparently not realizing how loud he was due to the hearing loss.

"Why? Why do we have to leave Ryan!" Cogil tried to communicate, using exaggerated arm motions, "we don't understand!"

"No! We have to leave Subterranean Towz and Towz all together if possible, and we have to right now!!" Ryan said again, unnecessarily loudly.

Just then Cogil received a tap on his shoulder from behind him. So unexpected was this he again jump nearly the width of the hall way. Behind him stood McGee, grinning from ear to ear.

"McGee? Where the hell did you come from?" Asked Cogil.

"Hey! Where'd he come from!" Ryan asked.

"Oh come now, I'm the guy who makes floors move and speaks as a disembodied voice: how could not appear?" McGee responded.

"What's he doing here...!" Ryan began to say, but was stopped with a gesture from Cogil.

"What's going on McGee? Seriously." Cogil said.

"Ok. Truth is I've been following the three of you since you came down here. I already knew you'd lead me to find this particular room in this particular hallway. I already predicted it. You just lead me to the right place much faster than I could have found it."

Cogil was still trying to wrap his head around this.

"What are you talking about?! What in the world is through that dou--..." Vincent was saying when McGee interrupted.

"That's not important right now. What is important is that you leave Subterranean Towz and head towards Northern Towz. I have some contacts up there who can take you in for a while. Wait in the hide out until I send word to you." McGee said.

"I think we should leave now! It's not safe here...!" Ryan said again, having not heard anything from McGee.

Cogil tried to communicate with Ryan with hand gestures indicating they'd be leaving Subterranean Towz and trying to hide in Northern Towz.

"No! We should try Northern Towz!" Ryan yelled.

Cogil once again tried to gesture this but finally gave up and indicated agreement with this idea.

"Now, the trip to Northern Towz will be a long and difficult journey, but I'll try to make it simple for ya. First you'll need to go through several of these halls to find an entrance back to the tiled area in between Towz and this Subterranean Towz. Here's the combination for that: starting here, go through the doors across the hall from the room you were just in. Then one more room up from that. Then go room to your right, three more rooms up, then four rooms to your left. Now then, this room will have some traps set it in so you'll need to step only on the prime numbered tiles in that room. Are you getting all this? Good then. From this room go two rooms up, then one more to your left, then one down. Make sense? Good then."

"Uhhh. What hell are you talking about?" asked Cogil, " that made no sense at all."

"Well you see I..." With these last words a device suddenly appeared in McGee's left hand. He pointed the device at Cogil, Vincent and Ryan and pushed a button. A bright blue ray shot from this device and all three disappeared, apparently instantaneously vaporized.

"Well, that was easier than I thought. I always get them going with the complicated instructions until they stop paying attention then due the beam as surprise. It's so fun." McGee said.

"Really, McGee. That's not necessary. Just get them up here next time, will ya?" a disembodied voice said.  ¶ 9:35 AM