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The rattling of the monorail train rouses you from your sleepiness. Dr. Gordon Freeman, having been wakened quickly from your sleep. You'd had late nights the night before, and now it was early in Black Mesa. You weren't able to read the briefing before you were pushed onto the train for this assignment; all you know is that it involves studying a new sample in the main test chamber in Sector C, also called the 'bowels' of Black Mesa.
But what is Black Mesa? Black Mesa is where you eat, sleep, and work, and have worked for about a year. The esteemed physicist Dr. Isaac Kleiner did a symposium as your university, and when you met him in person, he was impressed with your work. Soon after you both graduated (near the top of your class, but not the top), Dr. Kleiner sent you a letter--a letter inviting you to join the top scientific minds at Black Mesa New Mexico, a government-funded research facility. You'd also gotten an offer to work at Aperture Science Research Facility, but the Black Mesa salary was tremendous, so you eagerly accepted. As soon as you arrived, you were sworn to secrecy--this facility was beyond top of the line technology, where scientific experiments could go beyond even the finest research you'd seen in the universities.
Your work is less than stellar--Your job at Black Mesa involves using the Mark IV Hazardous EnVironment suit, or HEV suit, to enter highly radioactive areas or other dangerous locations to either clean up messes or complete risky experiments. The work is mostly mundane at the most, and you feel like a gopher for the higher-ups. Often they will make you don the multi-million dollar Hazard suit just to flip a switch in a room filled with radiation. But, the pay is good, the place is clean (where you don’t have to wear your Hazard suit), and you can’t complain.
You live, along with your fellow Research Associates, in the Level 3 dormitories. They’re clean, well furnished dorms with ample room and recreation. You’re friends with several security guards.As far as you know, Black Mesa is divided into four sectors, A through D. Each Sector is deeper underground, going below the surface. You’re authorized to go as deep as Sector C’s Anomalous Materials lab, which would be considered by many to be the heart of Black Mesa. Most of its major testing, examining, and experimenting with new specimens is done here, and thus most of your work is done in Sector C. Sector B, for the most part, contains offices where the scientists conduct non-physical research. Sector A is the surface, where most of the administration and live animal research is done. As for Sector D, which is beyond your access, you’ve only heard rumors that dangerous and near-crackpot sciences are explored.
To get around the main compound, you use the Black Mesa Transit System, a series of automated rail cars that take you where you need to go. You rarely venture outside of where you’re needed, preferring to hang out at the dormitories, commons, and cafeteria at Level 3. Besides, you need security guard clearance to go elsewhere.
Besides the four levels of Black Mesa, across the compound lies the Lambda Complex, the facility’s origins. The Lambda Complex is probably where most of the cutting edge technology is used. The Lambda Complex developed your Hazard suit, explaining the lambda logo (λ) allocated on the front.
You can only dream to work alongside Dr. Kleiner in the bowels of the Lambda Complex. But for now you work predominantly in Sector C’s Anomalous Materials lab, examining dangerous samples and sending back information. You’ve yet to make your dent in Black Mesa. You hope it comes soon.
Life's been pretty good to you so far.
---
As you reminisce of your recent employment, riding on the train with open windows and a few seats, running on an electrified rail above, a voice comes on the intercom:
"Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. The time is 8:47 A.M. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees with an estimated high of 105. The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. This train is inbound from level 3 dormitories to sector C test labs and control facilities. If your intended destination is a high security area beyond sector C, you will need to return to the central transit hub in area 9 and board a high security train. If you have not yet submitted your identity to the retinal clearance system, you must report to Black Mesa personnel for processing before you will be permitted into the high security branch of the transit system.
"Due to the high toxicity of material routinely handled in the Black Mesa compound, no smoking, eating, or drinking are permitted within the Black Mesa transit system. Please keep your limbs inside the train at all times. Do not attempt to open the doors until the train has come to a complete halt at the station platform. In the event of an emergency, passengers are to remain seated and await further instruction. If it is necessary to exit the train, disabled personnel should be evacuated first. Please, stay away from electrified rails and proceed to an emergency station until assistance arrives. "
"A reminder: that the Black Mesa Hazard Course decathalon will commence this evening at 1900 hours in the Level 3 facility. The semi-finals for high security personnel will be announced in a separate secure broadcast transmission. Remember: more lives than yours may depend on your fitness.
"Do you have a friend or relative who would make a valuable addition to the Black Mesa Team? Immediate openings are available in the areas of: materials handling, and low clearance security. Please contact Black Mesa personnel for further information. If you have an associate with a background in the areas of: theoretical physics, biotechnology, or other high-tech disciplines, please contact our civilian recruitment division. The Black Mesa Facility is an equal opportunity employer.
"A reminder to all Black Mesa personnel: regular radiation and biohazard screenings are a requirement of continued employment in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Missing a scheduled urinalysis or radiation checkup is grounds for immediate termination. If you feel you have been exposed to radioactive or other hazardous materials in the course of your duties, contact your radiation safety officer immediately. Work safe, work smart. Your future depends on it."
As you ride, you see the bowels of Black Mesa: A security guard pounding on a door; another train with a thin man in a suit staring intently at you; a large machine moving crates; a river of radioactive waste; a large missile silo; the caves of the Mesa canyon; a helicopter readying at the pad; and finally a platform to the Anomalous Materials lab. The voice speaks:
"Now arriving at sector C test labs and control facilities. Please stand back from the automated door, and wait for the security officer to verify your identity. Before exiting the train, be sure to check your area for personal belongings. Thank you, and have a very safe and productive day."
The security guard at the door beyond approaches your train and nods to each of you. "Mornin' Mr. Freeman! Looks like you're runnin' late." He presses the button on the train and the door opens for you. Then he turns and starts walking back to the door to the lab.
"Morning, Jenny," Gordon yawns, as soon as the automated voice turns on, 'Jenny' being the crew's name for the 'generated' voice. He's heard her announcements many times before. The mention of the decathalon piqued his interest as it usually did; he had been practicing, and was ready.
As the announcement plodded along, he got himself up and stretched, getting ready for work. He knew he was running a bit late; that late night probably wasn't a good idea. He looked in the glass as the bowels of Black Mesa flashed along outside them; yep, he looked exhausted. He took his glasses off after he passed the train, rubbing his eyes, hoping to get himself up to snuff before he arrived.
He stood back as the train came to a stop. At the guard's comment, he smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He followed the guard to the door. "Can you let me in the lab, or are you going to ensure I'm running late?"
"Go on through sir, looks like you're in the barrel today." The guard punched in a code and the large doors rattled and rumbled open slowly to another pair of doors. The facility functioned much like an airlock.
The "barrel" he mentions is the nickname for the primary test chamber, a huge silo turned into an examination room, where a powerful laser-guided instrument analyzes samples acquired from the Lambda complex--usually it involves wearing a Hazard Suit.
Chapter 1: Anomalous Materials
Gordon stepped between the pair of doors. The doors behind him closed behind him. Large metal pistons kept the massive orange metal doors shut. Once the one behind him was sealed, the other one cranked open, revealing an office lobby. Large monitors occupy the left side of the large room, with the logo of the facility and a large map displaying the prominence of the facility--this place was often the most precious spot during government tours of the place. A desk occupies the center of the room, with a guard working feverishly on a computer, with a scientist looking over his shoulder, Dr. Edwards. The guard speaks up as soon as he sees you. You recognize him as a casual acquaintance who prefers the desk jobs.
"Hey mister Freeman. I had a bunch of messages and stuff for you, but there was a system crash about an hour ago and I'm still trying to find my files. They were having some problems out in the test chamber too, but I think that's all straightened out. They wanted me to tell you to get down there as soon as you got into your hazard suit."
To the right, a hallway with three wall guides running to different rooms lead further into the lab: Anom. Mat. Labs RESEARCH in red Anom. Mat. Labs DEVELOPMENT in blue Personnel Facilities in yellow
Based on having to come down here before, the Hazard Suit is in Personnel, and the barrel itself is in Development.
Gordon walks past the desk and to the hallway with the large painted lines on the wall directing scientists walking past to and fro. A hum was in the air. Inside the room on his left was the central computing hub of the level with powerful servers and computers whirring away. Gordon went around and took a right at the fork. If he kept going straight he'd go to sector B, the coolant reservoir facility. Turning right and following the green line on his right, he was at another fork--the blue line went towards the lab where he needed to be. The yellow went towards Personnel. Following it, he saw a red sign that said NO SMOKING AREA. In this hall, he saw a small lounge with black and white floor tiles on his right, and further down the hall, the green line still going, the door to the locker room. Heard voices in the lounge talking about today's experiment. One of them sounded like Dr. Magnusson, a rather emphatic scientist whom Gordon had worked with before.
Gordon kept his ears open as he passed by the lounge, seeing if he could pick up anything, and, hopefully, get either a) a heads up on what he was going into, or 2) any valid contribution.
Inside the lounge, there wasn't much. Magnusson was at the soda machine, thinking of which one to pick. There was a snack machine, a sink, some cabinets, and a microwave with something inside. Another scientist was sitting at the table in the room, reading a newspaper. They both saw him when he came in.
"Good morning, Gordon Freeman," Dr. Magusson said as he looked at the choices of drink. "You're running late, you know."
"Yes, Doctor Magnusson, I'm aware," he says, grabbing a cup, and pouring himself a drink of water. "Those HEV suits can be a bit stifling," he says, taking a good drink.
It wasn't entirely fiction. He was a bit thirsty.
"Any news on what I'm going to be doing in there?"
Dr. Magnusson didn't look enthusiastic. "You're supposed to go into the test chamber in your hazard suit and load the newest sample under the testing laser. You've been trained in the use of that hazard suit, haven't you? I'm sure the best way to use it is by getting into the suit first, isn't it?" He moved to the microwave and started punching numbers.
"What?" Dr. Magusson looked up and suddenly the microwave shorted and the casserole exploded, spewing the door open and covering him in the mess. "Agh! Freeman!"
Gordon leaves, going straight for the locker room. Inside a fellow scientist, Dr. Lawrence, was tying his shoe. Seeing him come in, he smiled and nodded. "Good morning, Freeman." All around the room were several lockers in orange. In the far right of the locker room was a bathroom was several stalls. On the far left was the HEV chamber.
Heading into the chamber, Gordon sees a computer panel controlling the storage chambers for the HEV suits here. Two chambers, one of them empty, the other containing his suit, protected by thick glass. It seems to be glad to see Gordon. Placing your his on the scanner for ID, the glass of the pod slowly rises up and hisses, freeing the suit as it stands at the ready, helmet included. Having done this countless times, he knows to remain professional when suiting up, stripping down to his underdrawers. Dr. Lawrence leaves to give him privacy. Leggings, then torso, gloves, and then finally the helmet. The suit is a bright orange color.
As you start up the suit, a friendly female voice of the system emits in the helmet speakers: "Welcome to the H.E.V. Mark IV Protective System for use in hazardous environment conditions. High-Impact Reactive Armor activated. Atmospheric contaminant sensors activated. Vital sign monitoring activated. Automatic medical systems engaged. Defensive weapon selection system activated. Munition level monitoring activated. Communications interface online. Have a very safe day."
The voice reminds you of the training you recieved when you first donned the Hazard Suit:
High-Impact Reactive Armor HEV suits are powered and maintained by nanomachines, which emit a field of energy around the suit, protecting the wearer from damage. 2/3rds (rounded up) of all damage taken is applied to the HEV suit's Armor Points first. Atmospheric Contaminant Sensors The suit's interface is equipped with a Geiger counter, automatic helmet tinting for ultraviolet light, and protects against radiation and other contamination, as well as alerting the wearer against such conditions. Automatic Medical Systems The nanomachines in the suit keep the suit functioning as well as enter the user's body. This process is initiated when nanites are injected into the suit in the form of a green capsule from a Black Mesa Medikit, or from an HEV Suit Medical charging station; dozens of which are placed throughout the facility. The nanomachines repair damage that would normally be irreparable in record time. Defensive Weapon and Munitions Systems The HEV Suit began its life as a weapon experiment, but soon cancelled for use by the military due to costs. As a result, these often-unused systems have remained, though Black Mesa continues to tinker with the suits. Communications interface The suits have built-in two-way radios in the helmets, as well as a HUD on the wearer's primary forearm. Flashlight and Auxiliary Power Equipped on the forearms and chest of each HEV Suit are flashlights, which run on auxiliary power. They can run out of juice if used for too long. The auxiliary power additionally lets the user breathe underwater with the helmet on for a brief period. The power recharges due to the nanomachines. Equipment The HEV Suit is equipped with a special storage unit on the back that is capable of holding up to 100 pounds of weapons, ammo, and other gear. Long-Jump Module In certain environments, the HEV suit can be equipped with a module to increase the distance and height the user can leap.
The suit's full specs are in the Character generation thread.
Gordon flexes his hands in the gloves, twists them around, getting back the feel for his suit. He can understand why the armed forces balked at the price tags for these things, but it didn't mean they weren't damn useful.
As soon as the mechanical voice stops, Gordon taps the side of his helmet twice, and heads out, following the blue lines to the Barrel.
Gordon dons his suit and passes the locker room, including his own locker with his name on it, going outside and back down the hall. He doesn't see Magnusson anywhere. Coming back out to the intersection of the hall, he passes a few more scientists busy at work, going down the blue hall and around until he sees another security guard waiting by a retinal scanner, the scanner controlling a door with glass panes. Above the door is a sign in red: Security Level LEVEL 03
The guard recognizes Gordon and nods. "Go right on through sir. Looks like you're in the barrel today, I suppose." He turns and looks into the scanner. It beeps a few times and the door opens. The air seems to be almost static with excitement. The experiment today must be important.
The door opens revealing an idential door with glass panes on the upper right and left, and lower right and left. Functioning like an airlock. The security here was pretty tight.
There is no reply for Gordon as he walks towards the elevator inside, opening the door and stepping inside. The elevator is open on the walls and has slats in the floor, letting him see the shaft he rides down in one level, the maintenance ladder in the shaft. The door lowers and the glass door, much like the previously mentioned ones, rattles open. Two scientists are talking near a running generator for one of the many lasers that funnel into the test chamber, noting Gordon's arrival.
Going through another door on the right, Gordon sees four more guide lines on the wall on his left: CONTROL ROOM in orange on top, TEST LAB ACCESS in green, PLASMA CELLS in blue, IONIZATION CHAMBERS in dark blue.
The hall curves along until Gordon sees a pair of tubes on the right, with the words CAUTION and LASER marked in red on them as they go along, humming with power. At the end of the hall, the four lines run towards another door guarded by yet another guard in blue. These doors open without access. This sliding pair of automatic doors open and reveal two large whirring generators. The bottom blue line has stopped. These must be the ionization chambers, of course. At the end of the room is another archway, where the three remaining lines go along the left wall, guiding Gordon easily to a room marked CONTROL ROOM. This must be where the orange line stops.
Inside the glass security door, Gordon enters a small room with several humming computer servers with blinking monitors and lights on the right, and four scientists inside. They look up from their discussion. Behind three of them standing together is a small viewport into the test chamber itself. The fourth is sitting at a computer terminal.
The three of them speak to Gordon, the first being Dr. Watson, on his left. "Ah, Gordon, there you are. We've just sent the sample down to the test chamber."
The one on Gordon's right, Dr. Collette, then speaks. "We've boosted the Antimass Spectrometer to 105%... bit of a gamble, but we need the extra resolution." That may explain the reason for the system crash and the lost files in the lobby--why Gordon wasn't sure exactly what was going on. The Antimass Spectrometer was one of the major elements of the device in the test chamber, an old missile silo converted for Black Mesa's purposes, viewable in the window below. Gordon had been in there a good number of times sending radioactive samples into the Spectrometer.
The third scientist, in front of Gordon, nods. "The administrator is very concerned that we get a conclusive analysis of today's sample; I'm sure they went to some lengths to get it." The administrator, Dr. Wallace Breen, is a charming man whom Gordon only had the fortune of seeing briefly when he first arrived a year ago. Danson then turns and moves to the next door, opening it with a retinal scanner. "They're waiting for you in the test chamber."
Gordon notes the oddity of the overloading of the Antimass Spectrometer, but files it away for later analysis. If they're going for thorough analysis of whatever the sample is, they'll definitely get it.
"I'll be down there as quick as I can," he says to Danson, and passes through the door, making his way to the test chamber.
The door slid open and Gordon turned to a large room with three small glass canisters on his right, empty at the moment. Usually they held test samples that weren't ready. Across the room, two more scientists were standing at a computer console at the wall. One of them, Dr. Eli Vance, a good friend, noticed Gordon come in. He nodded to him as things were very tense. Gordon moved to the end of the room and called for the elevator that led down towards the test chamber itself. Just as he stepped in, he heard a loud pop and a bit of a hiss from the computer console Eli was at. They were talking.
"Quick! It's about to go critical!"
"What the hell is going on with our equipment?"
"It wasn't meant to do this in the first place!"
The elevator lowered and rotated around rapidly, opening to a narrow hallway with a massive red line on the right with the words TEST LAB on it leading the way. Following it, Gordon realized he was deep inside of sector C, underneath it all, going around the curving hallway lined with high-powered computers and tubes on the walls. Arriving at the door to the chamber, a sign labeled Test Lab C33/a indicated that this was the place.
Two senior scientists, Dr. Parson and Dr. Dewey, are both there to meet Gordon. Nodding to as he enters, Dr. Parson clears his throat.
"I'm afraid we'll be deviating a bit from standard analysis procedures today Gordon--" His words are cut in as Dr. Dewey interrupts.
"Yes, but with good reason. This is a rare opportunity for us. This is the purest sample we've found yet." Dr. Parson sighs.
"And potentially the most unstable." Dr. Dewey shakes his head.
"Now now, if we follow standard insertion procedures, everything will be fine."
Hearing this, Dewey rolls his eyes. "I don't know how you can say that. Although I do admit that the possibility of a Resonance Cascade scenario is extremely unlikely--"
Again, he is cut off by Parson. "Gordon don't need to hear all of this. He's a highly trained professional. We've assured the administrator that nothing will go wrong." He almost sneers at Dewey, who corrects himself and his glasses.
"Ah, yes. Yes, of course. Gordon, we have complete confidence in you."
Dr. Parson nods. "Well, let's let him in now." With that, they each move to two sides of the room and activate retinal scanners simultaneously, and the doors to the massive test chamber open.
The rotors to the testing lasers are off at the moment, and Gordon can see Dr. Watson and Dr. Collette watching you from the window far above.
The talk about malfunctioning equipment was slightly worrisome to Gordon. Sure, overloading equipment was a good idea only if you're certain it will cause the maximum benefit with the least risk; especially if the equipment could be easily replaced.
He glanced back and forth between Dewey and Parson as they bantered. He couldn't help but get the tiny speck of dread in the back of his mind.
Knowing it probably wasn't his place to butt in on this, conversation, he waited until they opened the door.
"Alright," he says, heading into the test chamber. "Where's the sample?"
In the chamber, across from the window on the other side of the room is a computer terminal, with a ladder going up to a catwalk platform along the wall. It too houses a computer console, as well as the controls for starting the machine. As Gordon moves in, he hears Dr. Watson's voice on the intercom.
"<Ahem>. Testing, testing.. Everything seems to be in order."
Dr. Collette then speaks. "Alright Gordon. Your suit should keep you comfortable through all of this. If you would be so good as to go up and start the rotors, we can get the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to 80%, and keep it there until the carrier arrives."
The carrier, as he mentioned, is a large apparatus for delivering the sample into the Spectrometer. It was like Gordon was in a huge, expensive laser microscope.
Gordon nods, and keeps an eye on where all the lasers are, not wanting to get in the way of the photons on their intended course into the Spectrometer. Gordon heads over to the ladder, carefully climbing up it onto the catwalk. He activates the controls, and starts the rotors.
"Alright, rotors are going," he says, watching the Spectrometer.
Soon enough the rotors on the inside begin to turn, whining upward into power. Steam emits from above. The terminal shows NOMINAL. Soon, the outer laser components above rotate around, powering up.
Dr. Collette speaks. "Very good. We'll take it from here."
Then, Dr. Watson. "Power to Stage One Emitters in three... two.. one.." Suddenly a bright beam shoots down into the test stage below. "I'm seeing predictable phase arrays.. Stage Two Emitters activating... now." Soon, three beams triangulate onto the stage; the computer still showing NOMINAL.
Dr. Collette speaks up. "We cannot predict how long the system can operate at this level, please, work as quickly as you can."
The displays show the power level rising to 100 percent.. then slowly higher, by tenths of a percent, until...
"Overhead Capacitors to one-oh-five percent.. Ah, it's.. probably not a problem, probably, but I'm detecting a small discrepancy in.. well, no, it's well within acceptible bounds again. Sustaining sequence."
The beam and the spectrometer are humming so loud that the entire chamber is humming with it. Gordon looks over the side of the catwalk and sees a small cage rise up near the far side of the Spectrometer.
Dr. Collette speaks again. "I've just been informed that the specimen is ready for you. Look to the delivery system and move it into the test beam." Soon, the warning lights on the cage to the system flash and the cage lowers; a large apparatus with handles and wheels is ready to truck the sample at the end, ready to enter the bright beam. The sample itself is an interesting specimen; a large crystalline rock, amber in color but reflecting like a prism; it looks radiant in this light. It's about the size of a large turkey or a big pumpkin, and probably ten times as heavy. It's securely clamped to the delivery cart.
Chapter 0: Black Mesa Inbound
The rattling of the monorail train rouses you from your sleepiness. Dr. Gordon Freeman, having been wakened quickly from your sleep. You'd had late nights the night before, and now it was early in Black Mesa. You weren't able to read the briefing before you were pushed onto the train for this assignment; all you know is that it involves studying a new sample in the main test chamber in Sector C, also called the 'bowels' of Black Mesa.
But what is Black Mesa? Black Mesa is where you eat, sleep, and work, and have worked for about a year. The esteemed physicist Dr. Isaac Kleiner did a symposium as your university, and when you met him in person, he was impressed with your work. Soon after you both graduated (near the top of your class, but not the top), Dr. Kleiner sent you a letter--a letter inviting you to join the top scientific minds at Black Mesa New Mexico, a government-funded research facility. You'd also gotten an offer to work at Aperture Science Research Facility, but the Black Mesa salary was tremendous, so you eagerly accepted. As soon as you arrived, you were sworn to secrecy--this facility was beyond top of the line technology, where scientific experiments could go beyond even the finest research you'd seen in the universities.
Your work is less than stellar--Your job at Black Mesa involves using the Mark IV Hazardous EnVironment suit, or HEV suit, to enter highly radioactive areas or other dangerous locations to either clean up messes or complete risky experiments. The work is mostly mundane at the most, and you feel like a gopher for the higher-ups. Often they will make you don the multi-million dollar Hazard suit just to flip a switch in a room filled with radiation. But, the pay is good, the place is clean (where you don’t have to wear your Hazard suit), and you can’t complain.
You live, along with your fellow Research Associates, in the Level 3 dormitories. They’re clean, well furnished dorms with ample room and recreation. You’re friends with several security guards. As far as you know, Black Mesa is divided into four sectors, A through D. Each Sector is deeper underground, going below the surface. You’re authorized to go as deep as Sector C’s Anomalous Materials lab, which would be considered by many to be the heart of Black Mesa. Most of its major testing, examining, and experimenting with new specimens is done here, and thus most of your work is done in Sector C. Sector B, for the most part, contains offices where the scientists conduct non-physical research. Sector A is the surface, where most of the administration and live animal research is done. As for Sector D, which is beyond your access, you’ve only heard rumors that dangerous and near-crackpot sciences are explored.
To get around the main compound, you use the Black Mesa Transit System, a series of automated rail cars that take you where you need to go. You rarely venture outside of where you’re needed, preferring to hang out at the dormitories, commons, and cafeteria at Level 3. Besides, you need security guard clearance to go elsewhere.
Besides the four levels of Black Mesa, across the compound lies the Lambda Complex, the facility’s origins. The Lambda Complex is probably where most of the cutting edge technology is used. The Lambda Complex developed your Hazard suit, explaining the lambda logo (λ) allocated on the front.
You can only dream to work alongside Dr. Kleiner in the bowels of the Lambda Complex. But for now you work predominantly in Sector C’s Anomalous Materials lab, examining dangerous samples and sending back information. You’ve yet to make your dent in Black Mesa. You hope it comes soon.
Life's been pretty good to you so far.
---
As you reminisce of your recent employment, riding on the train with open windows and a few seats, running on an electrified rail above, a voice comes on the intercom:
"Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. The time is 8:47 A.M. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees with an estimated high of 105. The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. This train is inbound from level 3 dormitories to sector C test labs and control facilities. If your intended destination is a high security area beyond sector C, you will need to return to the central transit hub in area 9 and board a high security train. If you have not yet submitted your identity to the retinal clearance system, you must report to Black Mesa personnel for processing before you will be permitted into the high security branch of the transit system.
"Due to the high toxicity of material routinely handled in the Black Mesa compound, no smoking, eating, or drinking are permitted within the Black Mesa transit system. Please keep your limbs inside the train at all times. Do not attempt to open the doors until the train has come to a complete halt at the station platform. In the event of an emergency, passengers are to remain seated and await further instruction. If it is necessary to exit the train, disabled personnel should be evacuated first. Please, stay away from electrified rails and proceed to an emergency station until assistance arrives. "
"A reminder: that the Black Mesa Hazard Course decathalon will commence this evening at 1900 hours in the Level 3 facility. The semi-finals for high security personnel will be announced in a separate secure broadcast transmission. Remember: more lives than yours may depend on your fitness.
"Do you have a friend or relative who would make a valuable addition to the Black Mesa Team? Immediate openings are available in the areas of: materials handling, and low clearance security. Please contact Black Mesa personnel for further information. If you have an associate with a background in the areas of: theoretical physics, biotechnology, or other high-tech disciplines, please contact our civilian recruitment division. The Black Mesa Facility is an equal opportunity employer.
"A reminder to all Black Mesa personnel: regular radiation and biohazard screenings are a requirement of continued employment in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Missing a scheduled urinalysis or radiation checkup is grounds for immediate termination. If you feel you have been exposed to radioactive or other hazardous materials in the course of your duties, contact your radiation safety officer immediately. Work safe, work smart. Your future depends on it."
As you ride, you see the bowels of Black Mesa: A security guard pounding on a door; another train with a thin man in a suit staring intently at you; a large machine moving crates; a river of radioactive waste; a large missile silo; the caves of the Mesa canyon; a helicopter readying at the pad; and finally a platform to the Anomalous Materials lab. The voice speaks:
"Now arriving at sector C test labs and control facilities. Please stand back from the automated door, and wait for the security officer to verify your identity. Before exiting the train, be sure to check your area for personal belongings. Thank you, and have a very safe and productive day."
The security guard at the door beyond approaches your train and nods to each of you. "Mornin' Mr. Freeman! Looks like you're runnin' late." He presses the button on the train and the door opens for you. Then he turns and starts walking back to the door to the lab.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
As the announcement plodded along, he got himself up and stretched, getting ready for work. He knew he was running a bit late; that late night probably wasn't a good idea. He looked in the glass as the bowels of Black Mesa flashed along outside them; yep, he looked exhausted. He took his glasses off after he passed the train, rubbing his eyes, hoping to get himself up to snuff before he arrived.
He stood back as the train came to a stop. At the guard's comment, he smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He followed the guard to the door. "Can you let me in the lab, or are you going to ensure I'm running late?"
The "barrel" he mentions is the nickname for the primary test chamber, a huge silo turned into an examination room, where a powerful laser-guided instrument analyzes samples acquired from the Lambda complex--usually it involves wearing a Hazard Suit.
Chapter 1: Anomalous Materials
Gordon stepped between the pair of doors. The doors behind him closed behind him. Large metal pistons kept the massive orange metal doors shut. Once the one behind him was sealed, the other one cranked open, revealing an office lobby. Large monitors occupy the left side of the large room, with the logo of the facility and a large map displaying the prominence of the facility--this place was often the most precious spot during government tours of the place. A desk occupies the center of the room, with a guard working feverishly on a computer, with a scientist looking over his shoulder, Dr. Edwards. The guard speaks up as soon as he sees you. You recognize him as a casual acquaintance who prefers the desk jobs.
"Hey mister Freeman. I had a bunch of messages and stuff for you, but there was a system crash about an hour ago and I'm still trying to find my files. They were having some problems out in the test chamber too, but I think that's all straightened out. They wanted me to tell you to get down there as soon as you got into your hazard suit."
To the right, a hallway with three wall guides running to different rooms lead further into the lab:
Anom. Mat. Labs RESEARCH in red
Anom. Mat. Labs DEVELOPMENT in blue
Personnel Facilities in yellow
Based on having to come down here before, the Hazard Suit is in Personnel, and the barrel itself is in Development.
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"Good morning, Gordon Freeman," Dr. Magusson said as he looked at the choices of drink. "You're running late, you know."
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It wasn't entirely fiction. He was a bit thirsty.
"Any news on what I'm going to be doing in there?"
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As he leaves, he adds, "You might want to watch out with that microwave, it's been on the fritz recently."
Gordon leaves, going straight for the locker room. Inside a fellow scientist, Dr. Lawrence, was tying his shoe. Seeing him come in, he smiled and nodded. "Good morning, Freeman." All around the room were several lockers in orange. In the far right of the locker room was a bathroom was several stalls. On the far left was the HEV chamber.
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Soundtrack: Klaxon Beat
As you start up the suit, a friendly female voice of the system emits in the helmet speakers:
"Welcome to the H.E.V. Mark IV Protective System for use in hazardous environment conditions. High-Impact Reactive Armor activated. Atmospheric contaminant sensors activated. Vital sign monitoring activated. Automatic medical systems engaged. Defensive weapon selection system activated. Munition level monitoring activated. Communications interface online. Have a very safe day."
The voice reminds you of the training you recieved when you first donned the Hazard Suit:
HEV suits are powered and maintained by nanomachines, which emit a field of energy around the suit, protecting the wearer from damage. 2/3rds (rounded up) of all damage taken is applied to the HEV suit's Armor Points first.
Atmospheric Contaminant Sensors
The suit's interface is equipped with a Geiger counter, automatic helmet tinting for ultraviolet light, and protects against radiation and other contamination, as well as alerting the wearer against such conditions.
Automatic Medical Systems
The nanomachines in the suit keep the suit functioning as well as enter the user's body. This process is initiated when nanites are injected into the suit in the form of a green capsule from a Black Mesa Medikit, or from an HEV Suit Medical charging station; dozens of which are placed throughout the facility. The nanomachines repair damage that would normally be irreparable in record time.
Defensive Weapon and Munitions Systems
The HEV Suit began its life as a weapon experiment, but soon cancelled for use by the military due to costs. As a result, these often-unused systems have remained, though Black Mesa continues to tinker with the suits.
Communications interface
The suits have built-in two-way radios in the helmets, as well as a HUD on the wearer's primary forearm.
Flashlight and Auxiliary Power
Equipped on the forearms and chest of each HEV Suit are flashlights, which run on auxiliary power. They can run out of juice if used for too long. The auxiliary power additionally lets the user breathe underwater with the helmet on for a brief period. The power recharges due to the nanomachines.
Equipment
The HEV Suit is equipped with a special storage unit on the back that is capable of holding up to 100 pounds of weapons, ammo, and other gear.
Long-Jump Module
In certain environments, the HEV suit can be equipped with a module to increase the distance and height the user can leap.
The suit's full specs are in the Character generation thread.
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As soon as the mechanical voice stops, Gordon taps the side of his helmet twice, and heads out, following the blue lines to the Barrel.
The guard recognizes Gordon and nods. "Go right on through sir. Looks like you're in the barrel today, I suppose." He turns and looks into the scanner. It beeps a few times and the door opens. The air seems to be almost static with excitement. The experiment today must be important.
The door opens revealing an idential door with glass panes on the upper right and left, and lower right and left. Functioning like an airlock. The security here was pretty tight.
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Going through another door on the right, Gordon sees four more guide lines on the wall on his left:
CONTROL ROOM in orange on top,
TEST LAB ACCESS in green,
PLASMA CELLS in blue,
IONIZATION CHAMBERS in dark blue.
The hall curves along until Gordon sees a pair of tubes on the right, with the words CAUTION and LASER marked in red on them as they go along, humming with power. At the end of the hall, the four lines run towards another door guarded by yet another guard in blue. These doors open without access. This sliding pair of automatic doors open and reveal two large whirring generators. The bottom blue line has stopped. These must be the ionization chambers, of course. At the end of the room is another archway, where the three remaining lines go along the left wall, guiding Gordon easily to a room marked CONTROL ROOM. This must be where the orange line stops.
Inside the glass security door, Gordon enters a small room with several humming computer servers with blinking monitors and lights on the right, and four scientists inside. They look up from their discussion. Behind three of them standing together is a small viewport into the test chamber itself. The fourth is sitting at a computer terminal.
The three of them speak to Gordon, the first being Dr. Watson, on his left. "Ah, Gordon, there you are. We've just sent the sample down to the test chamber."
The one on Gordon's right, Dr. Collette, then speaks. "We've boosted the Antimass Spectrometer to 105%... bit of a gamble, but we need the extra resolution." That may explain the reason for the system crash and the lost files in the lobby--why Gordon wasn't sure exactly what was going on. The Antimass Spectrometer was one of the major elements of the device in the test chamber, an old missile silo converted for Black Mesa's purposes, viewable in the window below. Gordon had been in there a good number of times sending radioactive samples into the Spectrometer.
The third scientist, in front of Gordon, nods. "The administrator is very concerned that we get a conclusive analysis of today's sample; I'm sure they went to some lengths to get it." The administrator, Dr. Wallace Breen, is a charming man whom Gordon only had the fortune of seeing briefly when he first arrived a year ago. Danson then turns and moves to the next door, opening it with a retinal scanner. "They're waiting for you in the test chamber."
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"I'll be down there as quick as I can," he says to Danson, and passes through the door, making his way to the test chamber.
"Quick! It's about to go critical!"
"What the hell is going on with our equipment?"
"It wasn't meant to do this in the first place!"
The elevator lowered and rotated around rapidly, opening to a narrow hallway with a massive red line on the right with the words TEST LAB on it leading the way. Following it, Gordon realized he was deep inside of sector C, underneath it all, going around the curving hallway lined with high-powered computers and tubes on the walls. Arriving at the door to the chamber, a sign labeled Test Lab C33/a indicated that this was the place.
Two senior scientists, Dr. Parson and Dr. Dewey, are both there to meet Gordon. Nodding to as he enters, Dr. Parson clears his throat.
"I'm afraid we'll be deviating a bit from standard analysis procedures today Gordon--" His words are cut in as Dr. Dewey interrupts.
"Yes, but with good reason. This is a rare opportunity for us. This is the purest sample we've found yet." Dr. Parson sighs.
"And potentially the most unstable." Dr. Dewey shakes his head.
"Now now, if we follow standard insertion procedures, everything will be fine."
Hearing this, Dewey rolls his eyes. "I don't know how you can say that. Although I do admit that the possibility of a Resonance Cascade scenario is extremely unlikely--"
Again, he is cut off by Parson. "Gordon don't need to hear all of this. He's a highly trained professional. We've assured the administrator that nothing will go wrong." He almost sneers at Dewey, who corrects himself and his glasses.
"Ah, yes. Yes, of course. Gordon, we have complete confidence in you."
Dr. Parson nods. "Well, let's let him in now." With that, they each move to two sides of the room and activate retinal scanners simultaneously, and the doors to the massive test chamber open.
The rotors to the testing lasers are off at the moment, and Gordon can see Dr. Watson and Dr. Collette watching you from the window far above.
Soundtrack: Shadows Fore and Aft
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He glanced back and forth between Dewey and Parson as they bantered. He couldn't help but get the tiny speck of dread in the back of his mind.
Knowing it probably wasn't his place to butt in on this, conversation, he waited until they opened the door.
"Alright," he says, heading into the test chamber. "Where's the sample?"
"<Ahem>. Testing, testing.. Everything seems to be in order."
Dr. Collette then speaks. "Alright Gordon. Your suit should keep you comfortable through all of this. If you would be so good as to go up and start the rotors, we can get the Anti-Mass Spectrometer to 80%, and keep it there until the carrier arrives."
The carrier, as he mentioned, is a large apparatus for delivering the sample into the Spectrometer. It was like Gordon was in a huge, expensive laser microscope.
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"Alright, rotors are going," he says, watching the Spectrometer.
Dr. Collette speaks. "Very good. We'll take it from here."
Then, Dr. Watson. "Power to Stage One Emitters in three... two.. one.." Suddenly a bright beam shoots down into the test stage below. "I'm seeing predictable phase arrays.. Stage Two Emitters activating... now." Soon, three beams triangulate onto the stage; the computer still showing NOMINAL.
Dr. Collette speaks up. "We cannot predict how long the system can operate at this level, please, work as quickly as you can."
The displays show the power level rising to 100 percent.. then slowly higher, by tenths of a percent, until...
"Overhead Capacitors to one-oh-five percent.. Ah, it's.. probably not a problem, probably, but I'm detecting a small discrepancy in.. well, no, it's well within acceptible bounds again. Sustaining sequence."
The beam and the spectrometer are humming so loud that the entire chamber is humming with it. Gordon looks over the side of the catwalk and sees a small cage rise up near the far side of the Spectrometer.
Dr. Collette speaks again. "I've just been informed that the specimen is ready for you. Look to the delivery system and move it into the test beam." Soon, the warning lights on the cage to the system flash and the cage lowers; a large apparatus with handles and wheels is ready to truck the sample at the end, ready to enter the bright beam. The sample itself is an interesting specimen; a large crystalline rock, amber in color but reflecting like a prism; it looks radiant in this light. It's about the size of a large turkey or a big pumpkin, and probably ten times as heavy. It's securely clamped to the delivery cart.
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