Conversation · Soona, the Programmer

"What do you mean?"

"Lintel was able to divine the location of the anomaly from this broken copy. I want to repeat their calculation, only this time with better equipment."

"Watch," she presses PRINT on the machine's keyboard, "what an intricate display of failure."

The paper gets soaked in ink again, its evil blackness shining in the light of the mainframe. It looks eerie.

"What are you even hoping to find?"

"I have a theory," she says, as the filament clicks into place. "Lintel was able to divine the location of the anomaly from this broken copy. I want to repeat their calculation, only this time with better equipment."

"Watch," she says and presses PRINT on the machine's keyboard, "what an intricate display of failure..."

The paper starts filling out with ink, soaking it in a gleaming blackness. Not a single line of data stands out.

"Don't waste your time printing it out, there's nothing but ink there. It's broken."

"I know it's just ink," she replies, as the filament clicks into place, "but Lintel was somehow able to divine the location of the anomaly from this broken copy. I want to repeat their calculation, only this time with better equipment."

"Watch," she presses PRINT on the machine's keyboard, "what an intricate display of failure."

Wait, no! That's dangerous, she shouldn't do it!

"Alright, I talked to Egg Head, he plugged in the cable. You can now unmute your speakers."

"Okay, but..." She seems hesitant, her eyes still fixed on Egg Head. "Think you can ask him to turn the volume down a bit, just in case?"

"MAXIMUM!" shouts Egg Head, a great smile still adorning his face, larger than a red dwarf star.

"MAXIMUM IS THE ONLY WAY!"

"I know, I know it is, but... could you please turn it down just this instance? Just this one time -- maximum is not the only way, okay?"

"Pump it to the brick, pump it to the hard master! There is no other way. Glue-style."

Glue-style? Okay, there literally is no other way. The mixing desk is glued to maximum.

"See?" She turns to face you, ready to give up. "He pumps it to the hard master. It's hopeless..."

"Why do you want to turn down the volume?"

"Because I'm afraid that something might happen. It's an unknown phenomenon..." She turns to Egg Head. "We can always turn it back up if there's a need."

"CAN'T TURN DOWN THE HARD CORE!"

"I think what Egg Head is trying to say here is that the volume button is stuck on maximum."

"Of course it is." She shrugs, consigned to her fate.

"YEAGHHH! PERMANENT ENLIGHTENMENT. RAY OF SOUND."

"Never mind then, let's get on with our project... I am going to unmute the speakers on a count of five. Everyone ready?" She looks around the church.

Egg Head pumps his hand up in the air, waiting for the beat to drop.

"Born ready," says Andre.

"Ready!" yells Noid.

"I'm ready if you two are, detectives."

The lieutenant nods stoically.

Not so stoically -- his hand moves to the gun holster.

Suddenly your palms are sweaty. The church seems cold and large, somehow...

There's tightness in your chest; anxiety.

"Okay. Ready." (Proceed.)

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"Mute disengaged." She lifts her hand from the keyboard. Complete silence fills the room.

No wind outside. No waves. No floorboards creaking. Total, continuous silence. This is... unnatural.

The woman looks around. In the silence, you see dust move on the floorboards. The driver of the speaker vibrates in the air and then stops. Plasterwork begins to crumble down the walls...

In the silence, a low hum starts creeping up your spine. It's a song inside you -- not in the speakers, not in the room. A great bass sigh in the basement of your mind. Slowly it builds, until the air around you starts to vibrate.

It's out there now. In the world. Made manifest.

It will devour everything.

The floorboards. The glass. The streets and the people. Nothing will remain.

"Guys, what's going on?" There's alarm in the man's voice, as he steps back to scan the surroundings. A slight rattle like crystal clattering in the cupboard fills the air, joining the chorus.

This fragile world is about to break.

"It's getting louder..." says Noid, his eyes riveted on the strange circle of water basins.

In the basins -- the water looks like it's boiling.

"HOSIANNAH! MOTHER OF MEGA!" You hear Egg Head yell -- then something else, but his voice is growing faint...

In his mind, a tidal wave approaching from afar, swallowing entire coastlines on its way... salvation.

He's peaking -- the worst high he's ever been on.

"Hey, uh, what's that weird rattling sound...?"

"The BEAUTY AND THE BEAT! The future of dance, PLANETARY!"

"No, Egg! It's the window." The glass shards around Dolores Dei's vacant heart appear to be vibrating from the sound. It almost looks as if she's alive.

In the corner of your eye, the lieutenant steps aside cautiously, his eyes searching for a possible evacuation route.

"The window is going to come down. NO, THE ROOF..." She looks up. A screech fills the air, a scream of wood and nails -- the pillars of the church twist and creak above and around you.