Part 10

Éú˜À$ëƒr¢ I "ô ßc˜íFÜ!q)‚`¼¦ PÂ]À.B6ø†¤â e y Yh.¼æ¿ é8’éºñÎ ÇD»§<À´iÓèˆÄℼNq ü¢œ*Ž_©UÀ:„àŽñŽ Ï Ä ?b“; \¾£= 8vwâõEzâJ…Ö kO>å 7w 7¯ÐÀˆÔ\Ãâ´âj ëÉÖå

ñÁAØþnnnIt's breaB÷IÚ Íõs ÍAâÍA XG¸Àª•°qHking. The barriZ¶\ë‡gY Ocades are comingñì s+ã âédown.âäIÀ}ÜøqÄžc5The rats are co«…›b Úming. There are hoÜó ’‹Tw ëž les in my defenÅJÔʉ'žHÔces big enXÔ xßough to see throƒÂH"x,QÕÁugh now. He'sÜY Ђ°â¥Ð#©outü Vb¡µthere. I can se­/­Z†¼¾|åŠ Oú ˆÿùe him mov=`jhÔI'žŒing with them/‰TäOá6xì±Ç.¿.UÿrӍâÛœ4It's time for me to die.÷QÏ€ð›÷Þ{ 7ürÖDon't for–-›×_õ§+½¼}=ýB‚£get me. Don't for “ëé åí ÚÒºBget my mes–ô%±ÖuÜÿhÓsage.¶Þõë¾+/·:¸¸{Please.}Zà ¬c $›W$š—Sí+Á í‚'

ëvñ5Ø Ö mL²6%Z )æz ö,cC®¡!{Ψ¤Y®Þa^¾!u]Bt ]G¸ÝŠ0 •\ª9sæP †ˆ{?þX WOOß© ‘©Y³+ó5ü02øH[“LË!»m¨â vÁ …u»ø ìd‘׌ts

y%Z ²¹1ÕT “c¬Ï+­Ï*\‹õ `ì3> ñ

u]Bt ]G¸ÝŠ0 •\ª9sæP †ˆ{

Part 9

ëû 5õc‚ ‰† ˜Î`#ÍR ց{^e{ôôÊä9ó

*«¢rf;øELp fÄÇÇ y‚[ TA.Q<¸ y²ÿ±.cçûn±.ì†ÂÂP"dN=õÔßÿþ÷œ¶°Xly‰{AÀùßÿþ Ö¹ ˆó ‰|— t¬³MªQ~~¾››[eeå

So her a z t ÐO(Hñt ¦ ]RŠÄ$ K["re I am. The rats showed up just as I was getting the machine operational. They do have such wonderful timing. You might be wondering why I've taken the time to wr à¶ñ=‰¡<g%ite so much if things are getting this bad. The answ^ X' ò¼óÎer is pretty straightforward; first of all, I know if I found a blog like this and it just claimed to be a message from the future, I would ignore it without a second thought and I was hoping providing the full stoÂÿûùçÝ gð‹žrÚ© 3gry and context would make people take it seriously. Second of all, I was hoping that providing detail might help with stopping this from happening.

«±lRéK‡% Ö Ë¯Í~– L¿˜âêxC ñB™uK=±Œ P 1½²)¥°Â'6Ý90rŠO ¡/1)ù¿ûÝï°Óu V

OÁßH/¥Ø‡à6Ò :Ò` KœþJÀ—þÔgu U`ù, C^lð7ß|“z2 =ô Ϣγ\AH­—ùeOÉu–§6€

—„ …y{ú¹ùE¸ D‡%ÏÈ6.Í´ÖÇqýdiJš»2ÍÜ Á jSì×FvRRÓ+W
I don't h ž´õÝaôÏ Izßknow how it can be prevented. Maybe it ca ØW `XßW§3)·n't be. Maybe this has all been a desperate waste of what little life I haXgXg ` `z¶ f f=m †uve left. But I had to try. Even if this doesn't work, I had to do this one last thing with my life and tr ýÿ B ÁÓ+qà    IEND®B`‚y and fix things. This all started on the 3rd of November, 2071. If I calculated right, that sho¤?L° ¿¤v#šƒÄb²¶Žuld give you plenty of time to try and figure something out. Find out what that thing is and kiûF8:zæç ¼ll it before it can wake the plagues of the earth. Don't let his fi. øHø#ŽYhþÈcò Áres come.

3Õ«lX×¢ ˆs ëÚ(mÊ,k' ¢ÀR Ÿçèê “—3d ÑyÁ T ;yùìòrJ¢E€0*½äää sÌ1P K\,â—^y9*& £–@v˜îêî Ž' Mü¦¿ý v‹Ù —á;euá8¶<¼ Ó¸Cé|ôÁ?”lR,q@ŒY

mkkûË_þ‚ýÎZ+z ¼ ŸªØæâF ç`]4 öçÁ‹/¾˜HMoŸ 'ÏÀäü’<SU^ykBI}¢ m ¬³Þk1ŽüN

¸I%å¿_~ý L§¤ áP¼5(Ç g

Part 8

After many gruelling weeks of trekking, I found the university. The jou=õT W$ñR8®   Ñrney had been made more difficult by my decision to travel only at night but I needed to give myself as much time as possible to set up the machines without interference from the raÜäÉ«ŽY¾aÃ7øÏ0ßts. When I arrived, I made my way to the labs and had to laugh. The woman who'd told me of this place had spoken true. It still had power. I immediately laid down my load and staH HÒH (0˜êW Darted securing the lab against attack.

Žæ °N–i²±5~v]Ž¹%ß\ “YL Ä

With the structure securely barricaded, I set up my equip5†„XXvÄGãCment and began assembling this machine. It seems to be working so far, so I like to think I succeeded but maybe I'm wrong and this is just deleting these mes²-) R` )ƒÝÄô aDsages every time I send them or...I don't even know but I hope I'm wrong. I need this to work. No, get on topic, Olly. Stop digressing.

(/ ‡ï¬ ⪕+ ý a J « ó Ö¹¨èìÞzÇ?ïñ‡¥¤ Væ™k ‹ª4š

It took me a few weeks to put the macE=©AmhÐNhine together. Luckily, I discovered fairly early on that this wing of the university had a well-stocked cafeteria and it hasn't been long enoÒLŽˆÃ¹sçBvugh for all the food to go off. I was able to subsist well until the machine was ready to fire up and give me that little trean [ÊÞBjsure I needed - a link to the past.

¬@¯¿þ:AÓ§O¿ûî» vØ ' çL

uy†Úé%µÓJ 9x† æ 85úÏýû×k¾×* 

‘5$¿_.

Part 7

SÄWãEO*m k)©°:¡¤>Io I started on my way to the place where the technology had been in development before the monster had come. It was no mean feat and many broken half-lives were extinguished between my fin ö»T› ñ z § gers before I reached what was once the vanguard of human progress and was now a ru ÂÅ•Š\ƒþŽin. But not all ruins are ruined and within I was able to find the technologies I sought.

ëG8֓˪S+j“,u\ŒaÅ‹‰
Šýå ~öÉç¨. ›· ³º:;È Ö lX—ˆkÈ®‹ ;mHé•çž{nÞ¼yÈëH1Hí ÿ¼÷ ^+ñ-bwKÜžn­ïœÎ3
× ëbõKÌ;

I salvaged what I could but even with the requisite pieces in hand, I needed a power source. Before I could even think about where a functioning and sufficient po‚îlA ½¤ÌŒrƒt@œF¦`wer source might still exist, I realised I had been inattentive. There were rats closing in on me. I nearly killed myself running from them through the tattered ruins. Even without all the shaO- é`G² )¦´þ =Šê /½ò2™Vïrds of glass and broken metal spikes sticking out of every available surface and trying to impale me in earnest, I nearly died of sheer exhaustion. The rats are so minS‰3ŪÅÃP3 ÆÔ ml4¶dless that they ignore their own injuries and weaknesses in pursuit of their master's unknown goals.

”SSS M& Š

\æ|À: äò ‛W‘¦ Äù¯§§'÷¼ #ÝÃà îÇÅÅ‘\ÊÛ‰ y hŒdºþÙñ—²xwvoåK¿äò˽ƒ§Ò=cj|FêœÊ,ó’ k =4ÀºV¬ßÚ’hQMv1

I ran far and hard and eventually escaped my hunters but I had distanced myself from my goal. I needed to find some sort of power source if my la®£Í\S7€õô²Ætîst, desperate hope of salvation was to be feasible. I began asking anyone I met on the trail if they'd encountered such a place. Eventually, I found exactly what I was looking for. The shell of a univösÁ˜nlO3µÙšl4f ë³ersity that had its own local power supply from a student-designed HEP plant that was still running. There would be more than enough power to fuel both the machine and a computer.

Öº|X[Ñ™Ýc}4—©MN‡Û ÊÙ ¦§«·»³gëƵƒ}½[Þ|ã5V Ê

Or that's what I told myself anyway. Thank god I was rigÖ% ‡ÛŸþô'„oht.

Part 6

It was some months into this great enÙåiiÓ¼\}|\}\d that I met a man called Daniel. Like me, he was a student of engineering and a highly-skilled technician. I stayed with him longer than I would most because, for a short whÙåiiÓ¼\}|\}\ile, I had found someone with whom I could have a riveting conversation, even if it was one tinged with the shadow of death and despair. I've nev\t ¶õÖE,9Xý·ß~ûu×]‡ÁÎ¥er believed in fate or destiny but, looking back, there was a providence of some kind in our meeting.

“Ò2â㽠ÃøR&ºú¸ø…eÎ6%O/-š_Ÿ:«<‰ ueMTÓM2TgU4§óE—Ti}hKš“K[ 0‘lhO5­Jµ 3 ë t~ ¶±2Þ¼Ò†õåÞ0š“$^…žpXåXëH1„ÍPaF

»K•sòW±â© @Q ,}:Ž¢Ï€x

After discussing lesser creations, Daniel turned the topic to some fascinating mach¬…gFæ.É.­/´ÖƦäyy ¸Lqõprines that had been in development in the years before the fall of this great and final night. It was simplistic and incomplete but fascin±†Ú J»T ›Rqating nonetheless; in another world, the implications of its completion would have been indescribable. I don't think he meant to, but Daniel filled my head with notions that day and after we parted, the seed of an id‹›{R‡ÐÖ ßIÈÄ•Š&#ea in my head began to grow and seep into my brain like some sort of bleeding tree until obsession outweighed reason.

ëG8ÖSÌu¶~¤øN O èÑÖÕQÖc#K›S`zY;Wë\³Ï¶VO/ªLÎœåî >ÅÍÏÁÝwü 爘ø+þt•Í… k{ {OW7,“ðs¬W- §¿ õ\„ ¢bpœjdêéyýõ×ããã düüü ÙÑ.´lÑ ëªëJ´ž³³“D#îP©ŒÈÛI;
Iî µ8<I»ÇBG+Çx 7~ ¾PìwîA<eÐÑg Øòh/HêÄzS*—K Dñ©JZ)o!*p

I could try and stop this all from happening. I could try and give warning.
—ja°_JAlÛ ÅÔÉì4

ëvÅè}8 …õ£ ëu‚õXëòhëJ˜ Qv\ Õw+V¦—µ¤•Vå›– •-ÍœV <5ÆË+hòd7'gY³‹¯¾æ:²

{·õmêÜŒun3)mÍ1ûµaà !;–;¼Cœ¹ì²ËÒÒÒ ÙQcŠŠŠî¹ç lvQ3ôbXz$ÌHšK°¶dß誈X´ Y)}% B : —frz

¤DÈèp ,$þ‡ ß5¯é@ÏnÇh ŽÛ#_ è ]›7nÙ¸~Ó—Ÿ~t÷í·œ|ÂñåÖ²Ô´ /ß  WOW¯ g¯€˜ä¨äœ¬Bsú,3

Part 5

Everything changed then. Suddenly, there was a glimµ:\$4bÁK àmer of hope and that tiny glint was enough to make people try. We were fo|"ÈžŸŸçwêols though. Trying just made us stand up before we were killed, one by one. They were like some terrible ràN a2ˆWéë#’]kE ß)êÅ`c[oç`ÏÖot, spreading through the world and destroying the last of the healthy tis„ÍPaFsue. Mindless, soulless and relentless.

œŽ¹Ïu XïíëìêéüÛ)mM/a´'òg_±"ÍÚHß ÂØ3J"ã’ܼ| ü}Ǐ 65„¢W ^ c€ƒ~þËÎ ì

I moved alone, always, though sometimes I encountered other survivors. We wo…ºRuld join a little while, share our supplies and then I would deny their requŽÍ2 ŸgYž5{Ñest to join them as kindly as I could. I was not willing to assume that just because they resisted theõÅ;¯¼zóusong the first time that they would do so a second time and thoûp ÷.ÿHÔŠught it would improve my chances. Perhaps I was too paranoid.

ö‘‚3RÉ Öã8ÕÓ5¥þ;ö/ŸdQò‰ˆxAgGåÀÜÆGJ"ŽS"Æ¡¶&g— #¬

Ó k Ncòã;E^§« 6;>X Þ…XuÞ]Ó ë{ èì И®këšO{° S}`°ç•ÿ¼<³¨tÜD'‡À(—°Ô¬RVî¤Ré©F²‹W& V

€õd[$Œ²ÖÇ ÙC¿§Âº

Of course, I could not always escape the rats. Sometimes my ha 𩧞ú裏nd was forced and I had to hurt them to save myself. Sometimes I had to kill. The first time, I cried but it ZãLèrí™swasn't long until I had no tears left to shed for anyone, anything. No, that's not tr‰%Ŧ˜ØDêbNttäJšue. I still have tears in me somewhere, but I don't shed them for anyone. I shed them for everyone.
}1 µ pÉ=¦:²8 Õá5…·ßÐ

â0Ô^ pSuÖ¦tØ@–yüÉ' Ð1ÌŸù÷³<…yNÌ 6>’Ëô ø]A</ †¾­â<ïËÛ‰¤. £M¬Xë`

—›ì 1Á7*Û¸8ÕX›j¨K*mH1à/]™XBÐz“ÂúO 뱿©ÂºÂú^` Õ©Æêé•

Part 4

At first, it merely destroyed, annihilating whole towns in mere hours with its endless delèÜk Q2ŠŽuÈåÀ º¤}2üP’²¾:“$ wuge of inky arms, ripping through stone like flesh and through flesh like paper. Burning all it touched, setting the woBÓÔew÷¶ú šrld aflame. Putting an end to things.

1pÝÓ7€š‚—^ò›O>|oÓº5` k½³³ xuõõb­s;Ä%|÷måØ-ÓÁ7ì Øã|

If it had stayed thus, armageÂúX±.‘0¤›rŸhiN6Õ% kè 5{Ѭ%«²ddon would have been an easy process. The world would have been ash before long aè÷TXWXßa V(Ÿ-ƒRÚnd we would have returned to our home in the cinders at last. But he is a cruel god and such mercy is bey)¹.a-Hê¤ ± —5ond the scope of his power. Eventually, the fires burnedU~lBQ£ÂúØ!{themselves to naught and silence ruled the world

¦‹M¼á· ÿæB­†~ðT× H÷Èô¼¹-¡

Then it was that his song came. Sickly and discordant, a tortuïî;¾þês \ÍÀµ¹Lµa»ÁDrous unmelody that seeped from the very stones themselves, ben> : xÂðÔLDding things and making them strange and alive. I vomited when I first heard the song, as did others, I have learned. But not axáwýóÝ÷[”ž˜¢ÜcÎkAw¸ Gll did. Not even most, actually. Almost all those still living did not he² “V¾‚n*bª' /O· ar the relentless ring of un in his voice. They heard a calling.

?48dª‹³ã¤qãæ–™o½å¯Ÿþ)Á Àc+­Úº´ð»Ã ëb¡c•sûí·Ó €¢¡Ãtô K“hœ¥ ü±„·ƒZ¬l ŒÍ ¾)§ å8dGu¹ù–¿Ãe s Oš 1ììðîûïѱú­wÞ ýxV5ñj ƒÁÚ€žÃk9&GCœ ÷ÜD ÒK)ìéš‚$э6)

The piper had found his rats.

Ù7 eì¯â