Dr. Gordon Freeman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trustycrowbar) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
smashacademy2015-10-12 11:10 am
trustycrowbar) wrote in smashacademy2015-10-12 11:10 am
The Gravity of the Situation [Video, cross-campus]
[Normally Gordon's little messages to the school at large are brief. Terse, is a better way to put it. A quick flick of the switch and a message that inkling ink may be non-toxic but that doesn't mean you should paint the lab specimens with it (For example.) and a quick flick of the switch off again.]
[Not so today. The feed comes on and he stares at the camera, raking a hand through his hair and starting to mouth three silent beginnings to three different sentences before he actually finds one with a voice. There's something he wants to say, but no permutation of words will make it easier to hear.]
I've, uh... Students, faculty. No doubt you've noticed that the moon hasn't gone out of full for the past week or so, and in fact looks even bigger now. I've been taking some readings. The shift in the center of gravity of the moon-planet binary and parallax measurements tell me that it's... not just an optical illusion.
The moon has, somehow, left its orbit.
I only mentioned this to the security chief before now, because I wanted to be absolutely certain of my suspicions and of where the moon was actually headed. I would like to say that it'll just harmlessly slingshot around us and into the sun. I really, really wish I could say that, in fact I spent several nights trying to make the numbers work so I COULD say that... but I can't. There's no other way to plot the trajectory, other than directly at us.
[He picks up some papers, eyeballing them on the camera, making sure he this part straight.] Now... Apparently this has happened before. A world by the name of Termina actually survived the event, but they had four guardian giants that awoke and... [A mistrustful squint at the paper.] physically shoved the moon back into orbit. [He puts the paper down.]
Obviously we're a little light on sleeping giants. As a matter of fact, I have no damn clue how to fix this, or even if we can. The four masks are involved--and there ARE four--but it's anyone's guess as to how they are. What I do know is, if we don't do something, the moon will strike the earth, and every single living creature on this planet down to the last microbe might be eradicated.
If anyone knows anything about this or has ideas, now's the time to step up. You might just save more than just the school. Also... in the event that we CAN'T stop it, I advise everyone to start making plans for quick evacuation back to your homeworlds. If you know someone who doesn't have a homeworld or can't reach it, then consider taking them with you. They may have to start all over but trust me, if that moon hits, then any place will be better than here.
[Private, to Skull Kid]
Kid... I know you were there. Your student file is hazy on the details, but I know you were there in Termina when this happened the last time. I didn't mention your name earlier and I don't intend to, because when people are panicked they can do some awful things when names are dropped. But, we still need to know everything you know if we're going to keep this planet in one piece.
So what exactly happened there?
[Not so today. The feed comes on and he stares at the camera, raking a hand through his hair and starting to mouth three silent beginnings to three different sentences before he actually finds one with a voice. There's something he wants to say, but no permutation of words will make it easier to hear.]
I've, uh... Students, faculty. No doubt you've noticed that the moon hasn't gone out of full for the past week or so, and in fact looks even bigger now. I've been taking some readings. The shift in the center of gravity of the moon-planet binary and parallax measurements tell me that it's... not just an optical illusion.
The moon has, somehow, left its orbit.
I only mentioned this to the security chief before now, because I wanted to be absolutely certain of my suspicions and of where the moon was actually headed. I would like to say that it'll just harmlessly slingshot around us and into the sun. I really, really wish I could say that, in fact I spent several nights trying to make the numbers work so I COULD say that... but I can't. There's no other way to plot the trajectory, other than directly at us.
[He picks up some papers, eyeballing them on the camera, making sure he this part straight.] Now... Apparently this has happened before. A world by the name of Termina actually survived the event, but they had four guardian giants that awoke and... [A mistrustful squint at the paper.] physically shoved the moon back into orbit. [He puts the paper down.]
Obviously we're a little light on sleeping giants. As a matter of fact, I have no damn clue how to fix this, or even if we can. The four masks are involved--and there ARE four--but it's anyone's guess as to how they are. What I do know is, if we don't do something, the moon will strike the earth, and every single living creature on this planet down to the last microbe might be eradicated.
If anyone knows anything about this or has ideas, now's the time to step up. You might just save more than just the school. Also... in the event that we CAN'T stop it, I advise everyone to start making plans for quick evacuation back to your homeworlds. If you know someone who doesn't have a homeworld or can't reach it, then consider taking them with you. They may have to start all over but trust me, if that moon hits, then any place will be better than here.
[Private, to Skull Kid]
Kid... I know you were there. Your student file is hazy on the details, but I know you were there in Termina when this happened the last time. I didn't mention your name earlier and I don't intend to, because when people are panicked they can do some awful things when names are dropped. But, we still need to know everything you know if we're going to keep this planet in one piece.
So what exactly happened there?
[private]
I... I was... it wasn't my fault, okay? I swear! I didn't mean for it to happen!
Re: [private]
Look, it's okay, you're not in trouble! I overhead your reaction to Zero and those masks. No one who's really guilty would react like that.
I still need to know everything that happened over there. Just tell the truth. That can't get you into trouble.
[C'mon, kid...]
Re: [private]
[private]
[Wait. He was alone in the woods for a long time, wasn't he? Casting him out was literally the furthest thing from Gordon's mind, but something the little trickster obviously fears...]
...all right. I promise.
[private]
Okay.
There was this monster. It was stuck in the mask. I didn't KNOW that, I just thought the mask was cool so I took it. But then it started talking to me, and telling me to do stuff. When I had the mask on I could all kinds of stuff I couldn't do normally, so I went along with it. I only wanted to do some funny pranks, you know? But then I kept doing more stuff, worse stuff and... I did it. I made the moon start falling. I mean, the monster was the one who really wanted to do it, but it was me.
B-but I dunno why it's happening again! The monster's gone, I promise! The mask got burned up. The other masks did too. I don't know why they're back! They shouldn't be!
[private]
[Those masks they'd been collecting! Those weird wave signatures he'd been getting from them! Jesus, they're not just physical remnants of those monsters they've fought, are they? With that assumption in place, this whole goddamn mess suddenly makes a little more sense.]
If the other masks are back, then that one probably is too. Someone else might have picked it up, and now it has a hold of THEM! If we can find them before it's too late--
Skull Kid, this is really important. I know this might not be something you want to remember, but I need you to draw me a picture of that mask. The one that got you. We need to find it.
[private] ATTATCHED: VERY SPOOKY PICTURE
no subject
[Is that really what it looks like? The eyes are creepy, sure, but he was expecting something a little more... monstrous.]
Thanks, kid. I'll show this around and alert security. You helped us all a lot, today.
no subject
[Skull Kid was not expecting this outcome. In fact he had been expecting the Terminan child services to come kicking his door down any second.]
Y'know... he might already be in the moon. That's where he went right before it fell last time.
no subject
In the moon? As in, IN, in the moon? Wh. How did he do that?!
no subject
no subject