Revelations, Part 1
Gordon Freeman stared blankly into that seemingly endless abyss, filled with nothing except the cold loneliness that could always be found in the few subterranean realms scattered throughout the alien world of Xen. A harsh, pulsating sound, like wind pounding against thin glass snapped him to rapt attention. “My apologies, Mr. Freeman, I didn’t speculate getting this old machinery up to speed would be such a tedious process. Everything is almost aligned to the proper proportions, be warned, you may experience some...unpleasant side-effects after I activate the inter-dimesional satellite” Dr. Warden said thickly, keeping his attention focused on the giant hulk of metal who’s whole structure stretched far into the darkness of the cavernous room.
Not long after, Dr. Warden motioned to Gordon, who stepped closer to the middle aged man still very much absorbed in his work. “Alright, Gordon, are you ready to proceed?”, the doctor said at last. Gordon nodded numbly. “As always I have the neurotoxin available should you experience any perceptual distortions”, Dr. Warden continued. Gordon feared those hallucinations almost as much as the experiment itself, which they were about to perform.
“Now, once the satellites are online, step inside the stasis chamber, from there I will be able to completely remove the tumor without any harm to you. Well, you are of course prone to side-effects caused by the removal of the tumor, but they will present nothing more than a temporary discomfort. I am prepared to begin, step close to the chamber so that once the satellites are online, you can immediately step inside, I just hope I have followed Dr. Morass’s notes correctly”, Dr. Warden said, his voice hesitant.
Dr. Warden began to work furiously on the massive computer mainframe, within a few moments the lights dimmed and the eerie green glow of the stasis chamber was the only bright illumination of the room. Once the front end of the capsule swung open, Gordon immediately stepped inside. Dr. Warden nodded impassively to Gordon, then suddenly the view between the two of them was distorted and Gordon’s heart began to race. His vision was blurring rapidly and then he was unconscious, waiting anxiously for the hallucinations to engulf him as they did once before.
“I have you now, Gordon”, a low, menacing voice declared, fading as quickly and as eerily as it had come. Then he was on the shattered world of Xen, looking out across tendrils of land that spun in several different directions like a spider web, but seemingly so narrow that no logic person would try to walk them. “Who are you?”, it was the voice of Nihilanth this time, the alien creature he thought he had destroyed. “It hurts, make it stop!”. A scream pierced his eardrums so loud and so full of agony that he seemingly cringed in his sleep.
The face of the g-man filled his vision this time, covered in blood which was streaming down from his temples “You must never learn the truth”, the voice that spoke seemed to be an amalgamation of the g-man and Nihilanth. “I want to be in the abyss of your nightmares, Mr. Freeman. There is no escape, failure is non-existant. Welcome to your purgatory.” In the end, what filled his vision was nothing but complete blackness, and the only thing that filled his mind was of the overwhelming sense of the horror to come.
Gordon Freeman stared blankly into that seemingly endless abyss, filled with nothing except the cold loneliness that could always be found in the few subterranean realms scattered throughout the alien world of Xen. A harsh, pulsating sound, like wind pounding against thin glass snapped him to rapt attention. “My apologies, Mr. Freeman, I didn’t speculate getting this old machinery up to speed would be such a tedious process. Everything is almost aligned to the proper proportions, be warned, you may experience some...unpleasant side-effects after I activate the inter-dimesional satellite” Dr. Warden said thickly, keeping his attention focused on the giant hulk of metal who’s whole structure stretched far into the darkness of the cavernous room.
Not long after, Dr. Warden motioned to Gordon, who stepped closer to the middle aged man still very much absorbed in his work. “Alright, Gordon, are you ready to proceed?”, the doctor said at last. Gordon nodded numbly. “As always I have the neurotoxin available should you experience any perceptual distortions”, Dr. Warden continued. Gordon feared those hallucinations almost as much as the experiment itself, which they were about to perform.
“Now, once the satellites are online, step inside the stasis chamber, from there I will be able to completely remove the tumor without any harm to you. Well, you are of course prone to side-effects caused by the removal of the tumor, but they will present nothing more than a temporary discomfort. I am prepared to begin, step close to the chamber so that once the satellites are online, you can immediately step inside, I just hope I have followed Dr. Morass’s notes correctly”, Dr. Warden said, his voice hesitant.
Dr. Warden began to work furiously on the massive computer mainframe, within a few moments the lights dimmed and the eerie green glow of the stasis chamber was the only bright illumination of the room. Once the front end of the capsule swung open, Gordon immediately stepped inside. Dr. Warden nodded impassively to Gordon, then suddenly the view between the two of them was distorted and Gordon’s heart began to race. His vision was blurring rapidly and then he was unconscious, waiting anxiously for the hallucinations to engulf him as they did once before.
“I have you now, Gordon”, a low, menacing voice declared, fading as quickly and as eerily as it had come. Then he was on the shattered world of Xen, looking out across tendrils of land that spun in several different directions like a spider web, but seemingly so narrow that no logic person would try to walk them. “Who are you?”, it was the voice of Nihilanth this time, the alien creature he thought he had destroyed. “It hurts, make it stop!”. A scream pierced his eardrums so loud and so full of agony that he seemingly cringed in his sleep.
The face of the g-man filled his vision this time, covered in blood which was streaming down from his temples “You must never learn the truth”, the voice that spoke seemed to be an amalgamation of the g-man and Nihilanth. “I want to be in the abyss of your nightmares, Mr. Freeman. There is no escape, failure is non-existant. Welcome to your purgatory.” In the end, what filled his vision was nothing but complete blackness, and the only thing that filled his mind was of the overwhelming sense of the horror to come.
