Garlic

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.32.6.1030

Do not be afraid. These messages cannot be traced, for that is why we have foregone the network, and subsequent trail of metadata, and contrived them instead in this archaic manner of those once-poets. First and foremost, take care to commit them to memory alone, else our efforts will surely be spoiled. Do not be afraid also, that I, at the behest of my employer, have placed this note atop the center of your undistinguished, yet impressively secure 282nd floor auto-scullery porcelain countertop. I shall pursue an equally suitable location in your unit for each preceding message, next perhaps, upon the teal surface of your aged 6.5 year daughter Darlana’s credenza, who is of the moment, lodging with her divorced mother, 4 times weekly, in her 423rd floor unit across the city.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.33.6.0986

Do not repeat in supposing our politeness for deficiency, an upgrade of your “security” system only prolongs our inevitable acquaintance. We will not punish you for this lapse in judgement, as any person will surely jostle each brick of his infant cell when the freedom, he feels, is binding upon him. Be forewarned however, that any further attempt to deviate from the task yet presented, will result in unfavorable consequences. You have been selected, and are to proceed with the instructions at our notification.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.34.3.1238

Do not deceive yourself in presuming we will abandon your recruitment. It was particularly unwise of yourself to rewire the current heating system beneath your floor in focus on the steel tile not more than 8 paces inward of your entrance. Should we have couriered in this manner, it is quite probable that serious malfunction would have been sustained.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.34.4.0988

Though should you, as you peruse the characters of this message, absorb the shriek of a perpendicular neighbor, learn earnestly that his cat only has 3 limbs left to extract before we begin with his very own appendages. I had sincerely desired that this message would not digress in the manner that it now has, but since you have yet sought not to elicit the Central Force, there is optimism that the following message will commence with the true nature of your employment.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.35.6.0998

It is quite fortunate that you have ceased any further attempt to deter the discourse between our two parties, the span of time between the task and this present, does constrict rapidly. My employer would like to meet you some year. Do you remember the Sun? The inquiry is merely rhetorical, since even your great grandfathers in their infancy were but beguiled from only the tongues of the elders. And from only the archives were their elders able to conjure such sumptuous tales involving this once-mythical ball, tethering the fabled Planets in a great thermogenic swirl once dubbed the System of Solaris. Have you ever wondered why such a species as ours relies upon such a motley of supplements? Does it not seem absurd to yourself as well as I, that those who insolently forgo their pills are left to hobble the world in bow-legged arches? And so they cry out, “the Central State is trying to placate us”… “we are not sheep”… “we have no need for your obedience pills”… etc… etc... as they raise their banners and spew through their face shields loudly at the steps of our Institutions. But alas, you are not like them. You imbibe without evidence, because you are keenly honed with the senses of reason and deduction. Surely, a native species, as ours most assuredly is, in eons long extinct manufactured our own Cholecalciferol. We are confident that this notion dwells sensibly within you. Let it serve as the preface for your instructions.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.35.7.1038

Our feline friend is no longer maimed. As your morose hall-mate had been “resting”, with no suggestion surgically about the shoulder, we have reattached the sojourning limb. We are not cruel people, though the means by which we operate will never falter in sustaining the objective.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.36.7.0864

Yourself, Arnold M., aged 38.75 years, are to undertake the following task:

In the succeeding week, and identical minute of the day as the message which currently holds your attention, you are to forgo your supplementation, and refrain from any form of sustenance for no fewer than 1440 minutes. Upon the expiration of the stated duration, you are to pursue the following steps without deviation. Without deviation. Without hesitation.

You will leave your dwelling and foot-wise venture southly to your current place of employment. You will not expedite travel via the central monorail, nor will you be permitted to stroll the central lane which too possesses an extant quantity of optic recorders and pedestrian activity.

You will instead venture the macro-fungi and ghost pipe sheltered copses that line the underbelly of the track.

You will venture in this space and manner till your fingers at last curl themselves around the great steel perimeter fence of Axis-Schuldiner Mining Corp.

You will not use your access card, but instead westly follow the fence until your fists need swat the dense patches of drooping auburn fungi that sufficiently conceal the links I have severed.

You will pass through the opening, and repeat your clandestine trudge among the overgrown swamps of surface-skimming monstro-molds and hazy webs of dangling yeast.

You will find this forest to end in minutes, and yourself will emerge upon a small cavern rife with yellow creeping pinesap and shivering bog shrooms.

You will enter this veiled opening, and engage the opto-electric goggles stashed behind a pile of stones at your suit’s left boot approximately 18 paces into the cave.

You will proceed this way for an arduous three-length kilometric excursion before you arrive at a hidden access point to the mine.

You will note by your familiarity with the site, that you are introducing eastly upon Shaft #3. Though it may not have been entirely apparent, the slight decline in the cave will have placed you within the abundant warmth of the 23rd level; although, you will be placed in a location of the mine not known to anyone but the souls of our small organization. It is not accessible from the inner stopes of the shafts, and purposely renders unfavorably on the maps of the Central Geologists.

You will see a great steel door now, and outward with great force you must retract it. You must seal it when further the threshold, and extinguish the howls that have accompanied you thus far through the tunnels.

You must take special care at this moment to relinquish the goggles about your eyes, for the artificial lights of the congruent zone will at once sear your retinas should you in haste unlatch the false wall that appears before you.

You must proceed when ready.

Delivered to recipient “Arnold M.” at IX: 8.38.1.0128

As you now read this, you are undoubtedly in a state of euphoric inquiry about the room with which you find your personage acquainted with. Westly of the solitary chair which you find yourself sedentary, appears a manual-scullery, a kitchenette we down here term it, for your immediate sustenance in reparation of the excursion you have now defeated. Should you choose to dine, you will find ample fruits and vegetables from which we have uprooted from our own Hydroponics lab. Exercise caution not to over-exert your mandibular muscles however, for many recruits have found that their jaws tend to swell in response to the vestigial act of chewing. You will also notice the atmosphere in this cafeteria is rather suitable to enjoy without the aid of your Wellness Suit. In your unit atop the surface, they merely synthesize a compound with which to sustain your lungs, while down here we replicate the true natural sustenance once floating abundantly throughout the lands. I assure you that suffocation will not initiate upon the removal of your face shield. Take note of the clock that beams in fluorescent red characters atop the refrigerator. Down here we employ time in the fashion of years long gone. I have afforded you a near four hours of immediate leisure to squander and attempt to decipher the numerous essential relics of this zone. You will notice the period has ended when the second character shifts to “4”. Eastly of your chair will you discern a great library of books. These books, though unfamiliar to you in its decrepit format, should manifest similarity in those info-tablets which decorate the surface on decaying walls far above. These dust laden bundles of paper entail the great scientific achievements spanning back to previous millenia, though unperverted with modern fallacies and bureaucratic bias. I have provided a few select passages from one particularly relevant to our operations here. Please read the following: Tellurium (Te), most often found within compounds mixed with Gold, is a brittle and silver metalloid with mild toxic effects if ingested or absorbed by the skin. Though seen as a relatively insignificant by-product of early metallurgy, more recent studies have shown that its low electronegative and semi-conductive nature may contribute breakthroughs in the field of photovoltaics, particularly when applied as a material in solar panels. As a side note, people who regularly have contact with pure Tellurium, if absorbed by the body, may exhibit a garlic-like odor that may persist for several weeks until completely excreted by the human body.

Pre-day briefing from General Foreman Cadmium of Applied Solaritics to Westly Barracks on September 19th, 9008 at approx. 6:21 AM:

Good morning team. Yesterday’s tonnage was excellent, Rock Crew, let's persist with the blasting on stope 2C, we’ve gathered a good yield so far from the ore pursued in this vein. Engineering, your assistance will be needed as we’ve blasted dangerously low, and you will need to find an alternative method to reinforce the ceilings at this depth. The squad from Refining has reported remarkable garlic yields this past week in the gold that we’ve extracted. Surface Construction is also reporting positive upward growth on urban complexes 8 and 17. They tell me that there is the possibility of mild diffusion at the extent of tower 8, but that the lightning storms have caused some moderate setbacks. That does not matter though, our Photovoltaics team has progressed ahead of schedule and has now accumulated a total of 128 panels. Great job Photovoltaics, we aim to start fastening by the end of next month.

We also have 3 new recruits joining us today, 2 new faces in Rock Crew, and another who will join the Geology Team in the lab. Don’t be afraid to say Hello if you see these new faces around, they are eager to join our operations. On a final note, there was a small golden heart-shaped locket left on a counter in the cafeteria. If you, or someone you know has misplaced this, it can be collected now from the Lost and Found.

Have a great day everyone!