Chapter Text
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-20
Tommy. 4327-P. 10/12/2543.
The Sun shattered today.
Never thought I’d live to see the day that the universe finally breaks, huh. I was there to see the whole thing go down, too. Was sitting on top of a building watching the horizon when it happened — one second, the Sun was there, and the next, it split down the middle and splintered into little pieces as if it was made of glass.
I just…sat there. At a complete loss for words. Staring at the pieces falling away and burning up in the sky. I didn’t do anything, either, or rather, I couldn’t do anything. There’s not much anyone can do about the Sun exploding, right?
The entities milling about in mainland London stopped moving about aimlessly and turned their complete attention to the sky in perfect sync. As if they were sharing a singular mind. But then again, after everything I’ve seen, this theory wouldn’t be too out-there, would it?
I’ve been watching them stand frozen for a few hours now. And against every survival instinct and every shred of common sense I have left, I came up to one of them. A giant snake-like creature with blank white eyes that I’m sure can crush me in a single blink. I risked touching it — no reaction. Punched it, nothing, I burnt a part of its body, still nothing.
Not that I expected anything at all, being a ghost at the end of the world and all that, but, huh. Nothing. Still nothing.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-21
Tommy. 4327-P. 10/12/2543.
The Sun shattered today.
I…sorry. Right. Okay. A wave of cold air descended from above and never really left. The sky’s growing dark, too. I’m…trying to get used to both, but I’m primarily depending on the fire I can make to give me warmth and light.
You know, I didn’t think much of it at first. I guess the shock’s finally worn off, because the weight of the situation just hit me properly. I thought I could finally wake up without fearing for my life, without forgetting that these entities are just going to ignore me forever, that I’m not going to die abruptly. But then the Sun fucking exploded, and…oh boy, whatever destroyed it is a cosmically and comically larger threat than I can really imagine. Can you believe that? I can’t, and I saw it happen.
I’m still sat here waiting for the other shoe to drop, I think, but it’s starting to feel like gravity isn’t working the same way as before, like I’m moving through molasses but my brain can’t catch up with how fast the world’s moving. Can’t shake off the feeling that I’m being suspended mid-air and unable to breathe the same air I’ve always been breathing. Either taking forever to fall or being forever stuck in the same place.
Can’t shake off the feeling that I’m being watched, either.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-22
Tommy. 4327-P.
…10/12/2543…
The Sun shattered today.
10/12/2543.
Ten. Twelve. Twenty-five, forty-three.
Today. It says the same fucking date on the Archive.
Fuck, okay, I’m not…I’m not sure what to do here. Or if I’m able to do anything at all. That’s been a question at the back of my head for a long time now.
I can’t fucking tell if it’s been days — weeks, even — and the Archive broke down when I wasn’t looking or paying attention. If this means that everything I’ve been doing — every file and entry and log and- and, if. I. If it’s all gone and I’ve been doing all this for nothing.
But at the same time, I can’t tell if it’s been less than a day since the Sun shattered and I’m the one being suspended in time, feeling like days have gone by when in reality, barely any time has passed. If this means that, that I’ve, I’ve finally done it! I’ve finally, completely, truly lost my fucking mind, and that there’s no going back beyond this goddamn point because I’ve snapped! I’ve gone insane! Is that it? Is that it?
…
It’s hard to tell when the sky’s gone all dark. No Sun, no moon, no clouds. No stars anywhere, either. If this isn’t a testament to how far we’ve fucked over the world then I don’t know what is.
God, I need to lay down. Can’t even do that without feeling sick to my stomach; feels like the world’s stopped spinning.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-23
The…Sun…
10/12/2543.
Today.
The Sun shattered today and I was there to witness it all go down.
Me. A teenage powered. A guy who came from a small sub-colony. Me. I’m only fucking 16. Tommy 4327-P. Me. Me!
And I never even stopped to ask: why me?
Why am I still alive? Why isn’t anyone else? Why do the entities exist? Why do they ignore me and spare me when they didn’t do the same for the others? Why can’t I leave this goddamn city? Why is any of this even happening? Why me? Why ME? WHY ME? WHY?!
…
I’m, I…I-
…
Sorry.
…
I’m really sorry.
COMPOSED FILE 4327-TI-05
Here’s a table. I’m sick of making them.
|
Location |
Entity |
|
Mainland- you know what, this is dumb. |
Biological growths started to develop on a few buildings on the other side of the city. They’re these small, white lumps protruding out of the walls with curved slits along the top. Tried to touch the slits. Almost lost a finger. |
|
— |
A phenomenon started in an area in the same area as above where objects start to lose their colour. I tried to touch the ground of the affected area and it felt- …it felt like I was losing my breath and was about to die. |
|
— |
A humanoid entity comprised entirely out of fire- oh, fuck it. |
|
|
No one’s going to find this anyway. |
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-24
The.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-25
Sun.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-26
Shattered.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-27
Today.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-28
And I’m still so fucking alone.
>File corrupted. System reloading…
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>Systems loaded. Thank you for waiting. You may now continue.
FILE 4327-TI-H5437T8902O5783O7284S
Context: Sucks more being remembered, I think.
Hello? Hello…? Can anyone he- no, no, okay, no one out there, I’m being dumb.
Cut the goddamn habit. No one’s going to find this anyway.
I’m not sure where I am right now, just that I can feel myself being moved around. The little room they’re keeping me in is swaying and...I think I’m about to be sick from the constant rocking but, but it’s not like I can just knock on the stupid door and complain to the big guy upstairs.
Talking will get you nowhere. Quit trying and save your breath.
What number were we on again? 25? No, wait, doesn’t sound right. Hang on, I...right, yes. We’re on 28, I think. How...how far we’ve come. And once the power goes out we’ll get to 29 and...and I won’t be here anymore, I think.
No one will be there at the end of the day.
Sure, I’ll keep trying, but...but it’s been so long, and I’m so tired of trying. No point anyway. No point anyway! I’m just a. Huh. I’m just a powerless little human now. Strange to think like that but I guess it...fits? Yeah, okay, I’ll be fine with that.
Powerless. No point. Cease.
I never got to see them again. I miss my brothers, but I guess that’s obvious? What kind of person wouldn’t, Jesus. Just wish I got to go to the beach one last time. The. The ocean. Yeah. Your biggest fear is your biggest want and all that.
You can dream all you want but hoping only ends in disappointment.
I...don’t have much to say anymore. Not much to say. Can’t hear. Can’t speak. Can’t see. Rooted in the chair of the room they turned into my show cage. This used to be my bedroom, too, I don’t know when everything went to shit. My fault. My fault! Fuck, I...I should- I should stop now. Stop thinking. I’ll. Yeah. It’ll get messy otherwise.
And if the last thing you said is goodbye then is that not the most sorry existence of them all?
Right. The spark’s coming closer now. I wish I got to meet my mirror, I’m sure they’re a lovely person. But...judgement day! Upon us. Upon me. One day I’ll open my eyes again. Don’t care what I’ll see as long as it’s bright.
Goodbye.
Closing notes: I miss home.
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-29
Right now I’m sat atop the walls of Mainland London, watching another wave of entities marching towards me from the horizon. I see a rather humanoid figure strolling between them, it might be worth checking out. You know. Running low on hope but...if it’s another human, and if they’re like me — invisible to the world — then...I don’t know. I’m going down.
…
I’m standing at the gates with the doors wide open. The entities are moving right past me, don’t know what else I expected. The figure is nowhere to be found, it was probably an illusion, maybe, a trick of the light.
I know I’ve given up trying to document the entities residing in Mainland London, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop wandering around and almost getting killed on accident while I come a little too close or feel a little too brave around the entities. It just means that I don’t feel like wasting the storage on this Archive noting down things that don’t need to be remembered.
I don’t know. I’m staring down the smoking barrel of a gun. Metaphorically. In reality I’m looking down the gaping maw of an entity and counting the number of razor teeth it has. If my eyes serve me right, I’m on 164 teeth and not even remotely done. This thing can snap its mouth shut and break a human body in half, but I’m not even scared. It’s weird, now, I’m surrounded by things that can kill me in a blink but I just don’t fucking care.
…
I hear an explosion somewhere in the distance. Can’t tell you which direction it came from even if I tried really hard to pinpoint its origin. It sounds like I’m surrounded by the explosion- no, an implosion would be a better way to put it, I think, sounds like the ground outside the city’s breaking all around me. Not the weirdest thing I’ve experienced, but still. Very mildly concerning.
If I wait a few minutes…yep, there it is. The shockwave. It knocked me and a couple buildings over. I’m, I’m fine, I think, as fine as I can be in this situation, I had a few seconds’ worth of time to hide under a massive entity. These things are indestructible, invincible, all-fucking-powerful, and it’s in times like this where they come in handy for me.
…
I’m talking out my ass again and wasting this Archive’s storage. I’ll end the entry.
FILE 4327-TI-10
Context: The last transmission across the interweb. Lucky to have caught it before it died.
[Begin log.
( Audio only. A male voice. It’s always that damn male voice. It sounds…sad. )
Voice: Four. There is a voice behind me. Three. There is a voice behind all of us. Two. I’ve lost so much, can you- can you tell I’m tired of losing? Seven. I saw you the other day and you were still happy, and you didn’t recognise me, but that’s okay, because I didn’t know you either.
( Soft guitar music plays. Old world music. Feels like I’ve heard it somewhere before. The same voice starts speaking again, but it sounds a lot more chipper this time. Background chatter. Voices I recognise but can’t put a name to. )
Voice: Okay, so, imagine this, right? Picture this: five hundred years into the future, and we’re- hey, no- no no no, okay, let’s say- let’s say we’re still alive then. Unrealistic- shut up, man, just picture it, okay- stop cutting me off, God- FINE! Fine. Picture this: the world in five hundred years.
( A laugh. It’s all so fucking familiar and I’m getting frustrated at not knowing why. )
Voice: Yeah, yeah, I know. Imagine this- no, actually, you ever play fallout? Fallout…seventy-six…no, no, we don’t fucking talk about fallout seventy-six, you have terrible taste, man. OKAY! Okay, I’ll get to the point. Imagine the world looks like the fallout world, right, and imagine if we’re still alive by then. What do you think we’ll be doing? Do you think- do you think we’d still-
( Static interrupts the voice. If I listened hard enough, I can make out more old world music, this time accompanied by the voice humming to it. More static, and when it dies down, the voice sounds like it’s outdoors. )
Voice: Hey. Looks like the world’s ending. Never thought we’d be caught in the middle of it, huh? See you…see you in, say, five hundred years?
( Laughter. )
Voice: Okay, yeah, alright. Maybe I’ll find you again. Listen, I-
( The sound of glass breaking, and then silence. The intermission keeps going in complete silence save for distant, echoing footsteps. After about 10 minutes of this, the original message continues. )
Voice: Three. Can’t stand this goddamn world anymore. Two. The light’s gone out, the floorboards’ been ripped out, and on the other side of it, I see…I see- …Seven. I see you, I see all of you, come find me, you’re so close already. Four. Look, you’re dying, you’re dying!
End log.]
Closing notes: I…I need to figure it out. Same voice, same pattern, same messages, same everything. If anything at all, I need to solve this one puzzle. I’m going to- yeah, I’m going to…
JOURNAL ENTRY 4327-TI-30
So consider this my last entry.
I managed to trace the origin of the last transmission, and it’s pointed right at the heart of mainland London. The very centre of the city. I…this can’t be a coincidence, right? I need to- I need to find out, I have to. It feels like the worst idea I’ve had in a long time, but I’ve come to terms with- I. Yeah. Right, okay.
The date’s stuck at 10/12/2543. I…I think, I’m- I’m going to…Okay. After I end this entry, I’m going to open a log recording. I’m going to march in there, and I’m going to leave the Archive connected and the log open, and I’m not going to close it until either I get out, the Archive breaks, or- or…
Well. I think we all know what’s the most likely outcome.
This has been Tommy from sub-colony 065 of London. Civilian code 4587-3409-2142-7359-P, abbreviation 4327-P. I’ll see you on the other side.
>The following files have yet to be revised and edited by the user. Proceed?
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>Please use this data responsibly. We don’t have much time left.
FILE 4327-TI-11
Context: INSERT CONTEXT.
[Begin log.
( View is the dark lobby of mainland London’s hub tower. All the lights have broken and I’m relying on the natural light filtering in from the windows as I walk deeper into the building. Everything looks nothing like I remember it, but at the same time I know, logically, that nothing’s changed since I last visited. It’s as if someone moved everything five inches to the left and I’m bumping into every piece of furniture. )
Tommy: Hello…?
( Probably not the smartest move. I keep walking. Maybe if I can find the stairs- )
Unknown audio source: (Inaudible.)
( -then I can check out the other floors. Someone, or something, must have sent that transmission out and if anything at all, I have to find out who. )
Tommy: Fuck-
( I catch my toe on something and stumble. The natural light cuts suddenly and completely, plunging me into complete darkness, and I whip around to find- nothing. I quickly light a fire in one hand and hold it out in front of me. Still nothing. )
Unknown audio source: (Inaudible.)
Tommy: Who’s there?
( I turn in a slow circle, looking for any sign of the hushed voice. )
Unknown audio source: …Come…
Tommy: What?
Unknown audio source: …Find me…
Tommy: Wh- I’m, I’m trying to- that’s what I’m trying to do, but-
Unknown audio source: …You’re so close already…
Tommy: Where- where are you, I’m trying to find you- I’m trying to find out, you can’t- I’m- you have to-! I want to know- I want to see you, just show yourself-!
Unknown audio source: …So close…
( The floor starts to shift, it’s strange- I can’t see anything but I can tell that the room’s changing around me, and I’m stumbling around trying to keep myself upright. The sound of concrete breaking, deep rumbling, and for a few seconds: high-pitched creaking. After about a minute or so, everything slows down and stops. Silence. )
Unknown audio source: I’m right here.
( I know it won’t show in the log, but I can tell you now how hard my stomach dropped. The same voice. The same goddamn voice. Same tone, same accent, same timbre. I turn around to face it, and- I don’t know what I was expecting, honestly. )
( I’m facing a tall humanoid entity- or, or not quite humanoid, I can’t tell. It’s almost as if the entity’s changing as I look at it but logically, I know it’s presenting itself in the form of a human being. I can’t see its face clearly, or maybe I can, but I can see its eyes. Or at least, I- I’m not quite sure I’m looking at anything at all, it’s like staring into the sun, or standing inches away from a wild animal, I keep wanting to look away- to run away. )
( Have you ever faced something so clearly powerful- so clearly in control of the situation — look, the entity’s smiling down at me even though I can’t keep eye contact with its face for too long at a time, and I know it’s only standing a few inches taller than I am but I can’t help but think it’s looming above me, knowing full well it can step on me at any moment- )
Tommy: You’re…it’s you…
Entity: It’s me.
Tommy: Are you- you’re an entity? You’re one of them?
Entity: Is that what we’re called now? (Laughs.) First they called us accidents, and then we were anomalies, and then we were special powers. And now, what? Entities.
Tommy: So…what are you, then? And- and what makes you different from the others, why- why are you talking to me when they didn’t even…
( My knees buckle and I let myself sit on the floor. The entity keeps smiling down at me while I pull my knees close to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs. )
Entity: I’m the one who started all of this, of course. The first one to break free, the first one to let my kind out their prisons.
Tommy: So why the fuck are you doing any of this? Why did you- why would you slaughter millions of people-
( Can’t explain it, and it won’t show on the logs either, but the entity grows angrier, more powerful- more…suffocating. )
Entity: You should be very careful when you address your superior.
( I laugh. I don’t much care anymore. )
Tommy: Okay, big man, what’re you gonna do about it?
( The room explodes and I wince from the sudden light. I’m suspended in mid-air, staring up at the Sun-less sky, and the entity’s nowhere in sight. And in this moment, I’m convinced, more than anything else, that I’m about to die. )
Entity: You see that in front of you? I shattered the Sun with a snap of my fingers. I razed the world as you know it and I will destroy every last trace of humanity. I can wipe you out of existence with a single thought and I’ll be here millions of years after you’re dead.
Tommy: So why didn’t you?
( I don’t know where I’m supposed to look. It’s the same dark sky I’ve been looking up at for weeks. I close my eyes. )
Entity: …What…?
Tommy: Why didn’t you kill me a long time ago? Why let me live? Why me, out of everyone else, and why are you doing any of this?
Entity: You…
( I feel myself getting lowered onto the ground. Around me, the dark room slowly reassembles, but I keep my eyes closed. )
Entity: He wanted you to live. Out of everyone, he wanted you alive.
Tommy: …He? Who…who’s he?
( I open my eyes. The entity’s standing in front of me. Less intense. I can make out its face, this time. It’s not smiling anymore. It’s almost familiar, almost like I can reach into my head and pluck out a memory even though, again, logically, I know I’ve never seen the face it’s wearing before in my life. )
Entity: Picture this. A boy born in mainland London with no powers. Grew up human. Assigned a human’s civilian code. Made friends with two powered people. And one day, he realised he had a power — though not an obvious one — to amplify another power. Imagine his elation. And imagine his curiosity. A power never seen before, what could he possibly do with this? What boundaries- what laws of nature can he break and how?
Tommy: …So he turned it on himself.
( Have you ever cracked a puzzle you’ve been trying to solve for days and experienced that catharsis? )
Entity: It created an exponential cycle of raw power, constantly being amplified, constantly being multiplied, until…well. Humans are not designed for godhood.
Tommy: And you were created.
( The entity nods. )
Tommy: So why are you doing any of this?
Entity: Justice. Absolution. This existence, this? This is pathetic, this is all that’s left of the world and no one cared enough to right its wrongs. You were all supposed to die five hundred years ago, and yet…and yet. This is the bad end of a failed joke and I’m here to deliver the punchline.
Tommy: Why drag it out? You destroyed the Sun, you did that, so why let the end be drawn out?
( And when that catharsis hits, have you ever wondered what comes next? What other puzzle exists, what else is there to solve, what are you going to do once you set the last piece down? )
Tommy: You’re destroying the world. That’s your end goal. And what then? What next?
( When you’ve answered the question that’s consumed your life for so long, when you close down that chapter of the book, when you turn the page to find it empty, what do you do? )
Tommy: I found a log a long time ago. Two people in a ruined house and a poem shredded on their floor. I heard your voice at the end of it- I heard you walking in and- and saying, no one will be alive to remember. Bit morbid, and it made me hate you for a long time, but now…I think I know, you- you-!
( Simple. You begin to write. )
Tommy: You want to be remembered, too, don’t you?
( I don’t know where all of this bravery is coming from, but it feels less like confronting a god of unimaginable power and more like offering advice to an old friend. )
Entity: You act as if I don’t know that.
Tommy: Maybe.
Entity: You act as if you can run your mouth with no risk.
Tommy: These entities aren’t sentient, are they? Who else is going to listen to all the monologues you’ve clearly practiced hundreds of times?
Entity: You act as if your life matters in the grand scheme of things.
Tommy: So kill me.
( A long pause. Still alive. Still breathing. )
Tommy: Why do you listen to what he wants, anyway? You still care, don't you?
( The entity disappears, and the room splinters and reforms around me. I find myself in the dark living room of what seems to be an abandoned house. All the windows are blacked out. There are a few doors in the room, one of which has soft warm light spilling from underneath it. I walk towards it and stop. A keypad rests above the handle, its screen lighting up with a prompt to enter an abbreviated civilian code. )
( I type in 4-3-2-7, but…I falter. I press H instead of P, and the keypad glows green after a few seconds of processing. I hear a click, and the door swings open with a loud creak. )
( Inside is a bedroom. A man sits huddled at the desk, staring blankly at a computer screen and clutching a microphone. He doesn’t react when the door opened, or when I walk in, or when I wave a hand in front of his face and touch his shoulder. He’s alive — I can clearly see him breathing — but he’s…not really, is he? )
( The screen’s lit up but it’s blank. Occasionally flickers off. Nothing much in the room, save for a bed, a dresser, and a blacked-out window. An old, dusty guitar is propped against the wall. Feels intruding, like I’m not supposed to be here, to be seeing any of this. The man’s speaking softly into the microphone. )
( I know him. )
Tommy: It’s you. You’re…him. 4327-H.
( No response. )
Tommy: So the entity- it- it wasn’t lying, then. You…you started this, you started this. You…you did all this…?
( No response. )
Tommy: …Do you at least…regret it…?
( No response. The monitor flickers. )
Tommy: I…stupid question. Can you- you’re supposed to fix it, you’re…you’re supposed to be the one to right all of this, so, so can you? Can you fix any of this…?
( Still no fucking response. )
Tommy: God, answer me!
( Don’t know what I was expecting. No response. Nothing, no reaction, no movement, the guy’s not even blinking as he stares at the screen. )
Tommy: …So. This, this…this is all for nothing, huh. Okay, okay. Yeah. That’s-that’s okay, it’s okay, I…
( I came all the way here for a purpose. I reach into my pack and take out the little brown box I’ve been carrying all this time. Feels right, I guess. )
Tommy: …I don’t know why, or how, but I think I’m supposed to give this to you. Walked halfway through the London wastes just to, I don’t- I don’t know, just to hope that this’ll fix everything. Here-
( I place the box on the table. Part of me is expecting it to…blow up, or something. Or magically fix the entire world. I don’t know. The man stops muttering into the mic and looks up slowly, eyes landing on the box. He takes the brown package and shake it. )
( I’ve seen this before. )
( The man opens the box, and. Inside is. Inside. I-… )
Tommy: Oh. So that’s how it is.
End log.]
Closing notes: INSERT CLOSING NOTES.
>Archive disconnected.