Крип / Kryp: Глава 9

Chapter 9

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:34

/Run or fire?!/

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:35

A fragment from some old movie stuck in her memory.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:46

Indeed, to run or not to run? And if running, where to?

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:47

The doorway was closing much louder than it had opened, the walls humming and rumbling, very ominously and with a kind of grim immutability, finality. Like a guillotine in a slo-mo

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:51

Finishing the sealing cycle of entry A

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:52

0:57

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:52

Technical readiness of the medical kit

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:52

4:19

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:52

Hurry up

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:52

"I need Crip," the girl whispered with numb lips. "I'd be gone without him..."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:53

And then she grasped at Machine's clause like a thin rope, more like a thread of hope.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:54

"Entry A? Is there any other entrance?!"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:54

Technical exit

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:55

The passage is dangerous

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:56

The return route is undetermined

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:56

High probability of laying the route in the vicinity of the communication/navigation point

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:57

Accompanying is limited

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:57

Finishing the sealing cycle of entry A

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:57

0:30

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:58

"Give me the first aid kit," Olga whispered.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 17:59

The draught increased, and there was a real breeze through the narrowing passageway, cold as a freezer. From here, I could see the waving of the cloths with the magical symbols. The heavy cloth swayed as if it were a bundle of chains, slowly and with dignity. The lanterns beside the drab bookstand danced with a reddish light. Shadows bounced in many corners, and it seemed as if Olga were not in the machine room but in a witch's lair. And the smell of incense came from somewhere, though a moment ago it smelled only of rubber and heated insulation. Funeral incense the girl remembered well from the day of her mother's funeral.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:03

"Get the medicine," Olga spoke even more quietly, forbidding herself to think of fleeing. At other times, in other circumstances, she probably would have considered it a courageous, very brave act. But here and now the strength of mind was only enough to fight another rush of chilling terror.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:03

There's been a lot of panic attacks in the past few days... One could go crazy.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:06

The armor doors closed with an unpleasant, clanking, and somehow final clang. It was as if the echo stuck in the thickness of the metal and went walking among the atoms of chromium and whatever else the sturdy alloy might contain. Olga felt trapped in a real crypt. The tale of the witch's house turned into a story about being buried alive.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:07

It got hot very quickly. It was as if an electric stove had been turned on under the ribbed floor. Olga shrugged, threw off her jacket, and only now realized that it was not the hall that was hot, but her fever. Not sickness, but nerves. The wait stretched on and on.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:10

"Do you have any watches?"

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:11

I don't control the time.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:11

The hours don't belong to me.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:12

"No! I mean..." Olga shook her hand. "I mean the ones you carry with you to measure time."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:13

Мобильный Хронометр

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:14

No.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:15

At Ballistic Station XVI they are used rarely, selectively.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:16

No reserve and repair fund.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:16

"How do you live here, like savages..." The girl muttered. "I wish we could find some Casio. And music to play, Montana.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:17

For no reason, she remembered that the electronic "Casio" of some model deserved the honorary title of "bomber watch," because it was cheap and reliable, just in case of a bomb timer. So the company even had to make excuses.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:19

The question was rhetorical, but Machine didn't realize it and answered:

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:19

There is/was a schedule.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:23

There is/was a sound alarm.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:23

There is/was a strict schedule.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:23

There is/was a built-in definition of Omniscience servants.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:24

The need for individual determination of time is limited.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:24

Mobile chronometers are not needed, there are none.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:25

"Whatever."

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:36

At least one good thing came out of the dialogue about the watch - it filled the waiting time and distracted the girl from thinking that she had badly miscalculated by choosing the first aid kit over running away.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:37

Delivery.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:37

A nickel-plated tube came down very softly and quietly from above. It resembled the pneumatic mail that Olga had seen here before, but the cylinder was thicker and engraved, which intertwined the familiar images of a gear skull with clever mathematical symbols. A round hatch opened at the bottom and the cargo fell out, clattering against the metal floor. Olga belatedly rushed to pick up the fragile - surely very fragile! - object. The pipe, meanwhile, rode back out, rustling quietly on the rails.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:39

Hmm, it doesn't seem so fragile.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:40

The "resuscitation kit" looked a lot like a Soviet plastic toy, both in texture and, more importantly, in color. It was shaped, intricately embossed, about the size of a large car medicine kit. Piggy-pink and smooth, on a thick latch with a lead seal. The material seemed not only smooth, but sensibly hot, as if the Machine had just molded the container to its contents. Yes, it probably did.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:42

Olga weighed the box in her hands - a little heavy, but bearable. She estimated that the stuff was probably shockproof or something, so she could not wrap it in rags. She put it in the shoulder bag. She didn't want to leave.

Camrad_RIP 03.11.21 в 18:45