have the lake to himself. He hoped the storm would have passed over by dawn and the fish would be biting.
As Stan was trying to decide on a fishing spot, the lights inside the building flickered briefly and then went out, replaced by the dim glow of the battery-powered backup lighting system. The video screens were dead, but the computer display still glowed. Stan leaned forward in the chair and stared at the words etched there in eerie black letters against the green background:
POWER OUTAGE / EMERGENCY POWER ON.
0:23 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT LIFE
SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE.
PRESS F1 FOR HELP.
What the hell did that mean? Stan wondered. He couldn't remember anything about a containment life support system in the instruction binder. The system had to be somewhere behind that locked double door, on the lower level that he suspected existed.
Stan frowned as he pondered the problem. He knew that he was supposed to call the top name on the alert roster. He looked at the list. Doctor Merrit's name was first. During Stan's numerous stints in the army as staff duty NCO, he had received more than his share of butt chewings from irate duty officers he had called up in the middle of the night, as per instructions. He knew the perils that such interruptions incurred for the caller.
Stan didn't like the idea of waking one of those doctors at two in the morning over a power outage. Especially Merrit. He'd met her several times when she had been working late, as she often did, and she seemed very odd. Cumberland Electric ought to have the lines back up soon, he figured. Maybe if he just followed the instructions on the screen, he could cover everything until that happened.
Stan glanced at the screen again. The time was down to 0:21. As he watched, the numbers changed to 0:20. Stan focused on the last line. He didn't know much about computers, but he could connect the F1 prompt with the key on the top of the keyboard. Stan punched the plastic button. The screen briefly cleared and then a new message appeared.
0:20 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE. TO EXTEND LIFE SUPPORT
SYSTEM OPEN CUBES. ACCESS CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE BY
PRESSING F5.
When a job paid minimum wage, it got talent commensurate with the price. It didn't occur to Stan to ask himself exactly what "life" the life support system was supporting. It also didn't occur to him to question the computer's instructions. Stan automatically reached out a stubby finger and pressed F5.
0:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND
CONTAINMENT LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE.
CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE ACCESSED.
OPEN CUBE ONE? (YES OR NO)
Stan's forefinger hunted over the keyboard and slowly answered the glowing question with three letters: YES.
0:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE. CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE
ACCESSED. CUBE ONE OPENED. OPEN CUBE TWO? (YES OR NO)
Stan answered again: YES.
The screen briefly cleared and a new message appeared.
CUBES ACCESSED.
1:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION.
CUBE CONTAINMENT SYSTEM BREACHED.
INNER CONTAINMENT DOOR SECURE.
OUTER CONTAINMENT DOOR SECURE.
ACCESS CONTAINMENT OPENING SEQUENCE BY
PRESSING F5.
Stan looked at the screen in concern. He didn't like the sound of "cube containment system breached." Made it sound as though he had screwed up somehow. Still, whatever he had done had extended the time to battery depletion and system failure. That had to be good. Curious to see if there was anything else he was supposed to do, Stan pressed F5 again.
1:18 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION.
CONTAINMENT OPENING SEQUENCE ACCESSED.
OPEN INNER CONTAINMENT DOOR? (YES OR NO)
(LEVEL FOUR SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED
TO CONTINUE FURTHER)
ENTER LEVEL FOUR SECURITY CODE WORD
Stan looked at the prompt and shook his head. It didn't say anything about opening the inner containment door to extend the life support system. Plus, even though he didn't know what a level four
As Stan was trying to decide on a fishing spot, the lights inside the building flickered briefly and then went out, replaced by the dim glow of the battery-powered backup lighting system. The video screens were dead, but the computer display still glowed. Stan leaned forward in the chair and stared at the words etched there in eerie black letters against the green background:
POWER OUTAGE / EMERGENCY POWER ON.
0:23 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT LIFE
SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE.
PRESS F1 FOR HELP.
What the hell did that mean? Stan wondered. He couldn't remember anything about a containment life support system in the instruction binder. The system had to be somewhere behind that locked double door, on the lower level that he suspected existed.
Stan frowned as he pondered the problem. He knew that he was supposed to call the top name on the alert roster. He looked at the list. Doctor Merrit's name was first. During Stan's numerous stints in the army as staff duty NCO, he had received more than his share of butt chewings from irate duty officers he had called up in the middle of the night, as per instructions. He knew the perils that such interruptions incurred for the caller.
Stan didn't like the idea of waking one of those doctors at two in the morning over a power outage. Especially Merrit. He'd met her several times when she had been working late, as she often did, and she seemed very odd. Cumberland Electric ought to have the lines back up soon, he figured. Maybe if he just followed the instructions on the screen, he could cover everything until that happened.
Stan glanced at the screen again. The time was down to 0:21. As he watched, the numbers changed to 0:20. Stan focused on the last line. He didn't know much about computers, but he could connect the F1 prompt with the key on the top of the keyboard. Stan punched the plastic button. The screen briefly cleared and then a new message appeared.
0:20 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE. TO EXTEND LIFE SUPPORT
SYSTEM OPEN CUBES. ACCESS CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE BY
PRESSING F5.
When a job paid minimum wage, it got talent commensurate with the price. It didn't occur to Stan to ask himself exactly what "life" the life support system was supporting. It also didn't occur to him to question the computer's instructions. Stan automatically reached out a stubby finger and pressed F5.
0:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND
CONTAINMENT LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE.
CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE ACCESSED.
OPEN CUBE ONE? (YES OR NO)
Stan's forefinger hunted over the keyboard and slowly answered the glowing question with three letters: YES.
0:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION AND CONTAINMENT
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM FAILURE. CUBE OPENING SEQUENCE
ACCESSED. CUBE ONE OPENED. OPEN CUBE TWO? (YES OR NO)
Stan answered again: YES.
The screen briefly cleared and a new message appeared.
CUBES ACCESSED.
1:19 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION.
CUBE CONTAINMENT SYSTEM BREACHED.
INNER CONTAINMENT DOOR SECURE.
OUTER CONTAINMENT DOOR SECURE.
ACCESS CONTAINMENT OPENING SEQUENCE BY
PRESSING F5.
Stan looked at the screen in concern. He didn't like the sound of "cube containment system breached." Made it sound as though he had screwed up somehow. Still, whatever he had done had extended the time to battery depletion and system failure. That had to be good. Curious to see if there was anything else he was supposed to do, Stan pressed F5 again.
1:18 TO BACK UP BATTERY DEPLETION.
CONTAINMENT OPENING SEQUENCE ACCESSED.
OPEN INNER CONTAINMENT DOOR? (YES OR NO)
(LEVEL FOUR SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED
TO CONTINUE FURTHER)
ENTER LEVEL FOUR SECURITY CODE WORD
Stan looked at the prompt and shook his head. It didn't say anything about opening the inner containment door to extend the life support system. Plus, even though he didn't know what a level four
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