Investigation Results.

[prometheanflame]

Everyone - there's something important I need to share with you.

I took the time to explore the back rooms of the history museum on my break. I found some old brochures under the cabinets and other things, but I also found a crack in the wall.

[An image of a dusty corner, complete with cobweb. It's a closeup of a crack, much like those that have showed up all over the city.]

I went in to investigate an hour ago. I don't know about anywhere else in the city, but this isn't normal. It looked like I had walked into space or some sort of dreamscape, only...this was real. I tried to find where it lead, but I ended up seeing some sort of video recording. Or memory. I can't tell.

Anyway, everything went black and I woke up here. I'm fine, but that video is now on my phone. I'll share it with you.

[Attached is a short movie file for everyone else to watch. They may or may not recognize the man in the video as one of the founders of the city, and the city's first mayor, giving his acceptance speech and making promises of industrializing the city to make it into something big and beautiful. The crowd for the most part seems to be into it, but if they watch closely enough they will see there are several people in the crowd who aren't happy with this agenda. They appear to be farmers and laborers, some of the first settlers and families in the city.]

You can see this, right? It looks to be real from what I can tell.

Comments

[parodeity]

damn son you jumped straight into being useful
i dont have mspaint on my phone or id make you a gold star
because you earned it
but honestly any gold star you can imagine from me is maybe better than what i could produce

also that sounds like a dangerously stupid thing you did but congrats on it paying off

also i can see that y

[prometheanflame]

I'm only exploring like everyone else is.

[Meaning: thank you for acknowledging that I'm great at this, but I won't write that as not to sound smug.]

My first question is: how did they get a video recording of something that existed years before color cameras?

[parodeity]

yeah but you actually found a thing
while half of us run around like headless chickens
im one of the headless chickens in this scenario btw im not pretending otherwise

re: your q i would say probably whatever reality warping abilities they have to like
flip horses and chocobos or w/e

[true_noir]

You are fortunate to have emerged from the darkness mostly unscathed. I've seen a few of these cracks, and I must say that the results were disturbing at best.

I can see the video, though I can't quite tell what is going on, other than the obvious. What makes me wonder more why this was in that place, if that makes sense. This is simply an old video, so why was it there? Still, thank you for sharing.

[prometheanflame]

What did you find in the other cracks? Other videos or something worse?

I'm not sure. It's safe to assume that Retrospec is behind it, but for what reason? Boredom?

[true_noir]

I did not go nearly so deep as you, so all I found was the disturbing, roiling darkness. Rather than risk it, I didn't go any deeper in. I am not sure if I should try it still.

It is safe, yes. Why, though, I have no way of telling it. I wonder sometimes if it is truly boredom.

[accordance]

Do you know what date the video could have been taken on?

[prometheanflame]

Around 1930. That's when the first mayor of the city (this man here) gave his acceptance speech.

[accordance]

Thank you.

When you first saw the video, was it like a vision? Or did it feel more like watching a movie?

[divine_braid]

Donald Maxwell Woah. Where is that? Do you remember?

[prometheanflame]

I found this in the history museum, but this scene looks exactly like the old photos of Recolle.

Before color cameras even existed.

[divine_braid]

Donald Maxwell Yeah... that seems pretty weird.
Donald Maxwell And this was all in that crack?

[scriptive]

That was really brave of you!! And dangerous. I'm glad you're all right!

It looks real to me, but...there wasn't the technology for this back when the city was founded.

[prometheanflame]

It's nothing. I thought I could find some answers to how Retrospec is spying on us and went in.

[But thanks for the acknowledgement.]

That's what I'm thinking. It matches the contemporary images we have of that era, and I've never seen this level of detail in a historical reenactment.

[scriptive]

Or at least I think the technology should be less...clear? Less like a video from today. Something less colorful or more fuzzy might get a pass...

[protegge]

shit thats weird
i fell into one of those too but it wasnt like

well it wasnt like that

you tried going back in ?

[prometheanflame]

Then what was it like?

No, I don't want to risk it.

I don't know how I managed to wake up somewhere safe and I'm not pushing my luck.

[protegge]

more vague than that
i didnt go all the way in so i only saw part of it

you want me to go back there n do it ? maybe i can get more info

[truedetective]

I've experienced that, too. Not at the museum, either. I can't describe it as anything but a literal crack in reality.

[prometheanflame]

Are these everywhere?

That's one explanation for why we're getting a color video for something that happened almost 100 years ago.

[truedetective]

I experienced mine around the base stone of the school. I can't say everywhere, but there's little in common between the two areas.
At what point do we begin questioning the existence of reality itself?

[frostythehitman]

Alright, damn. I take it back. You really did jump straight into doing something.

No idea what it is though. What happened, did you just transport into another reality or something?

[prometheanflame]

Didn't I tell you I would?

[He waits before sending the next message. Let him have his few seconds of glory.]

I don't know. It looked like I was watching a video instead of experiencing it.

1/2

[frostythehitman]

[ Yeah yeah, alright, come off it man. James is rolling his eyes over here behind his phone. ]

So, what, you walked through the empty void into an Imax theater or something? And then took video of it?

[frostythehitman]

Is this a bootleg? Are you posting a camrip of some spooky void movie right out in the open?