Chapter One
"Welcome to Black Mesa"
Rodney Delrouse carefully turned his car into the parking garage. He looked to his right and noticed a man wearing a blue suit looking at him, straightening his tie, and walking out of sight. Odd, Rodney thought, because most of the employees here wore lab coats or security uniforms.
Rodney Delrouse worked at the Black Mesa research center. His job was as a security officer, and he worked in Sector G. Today was a bright, sunny day, and it was very hot, over a hundred at least. Luckily, the whole center was kept at a nice 68 degrees at all time. He drove the car into a nearby parking space, next to a security officer sitting in a room reading the newspaper.
"Go on in, Delrouse," the officer known as Marion Heir. He then continued to read the paper.
Rodney replied, "Alright, Heir. Are the trams working fine today? I was thinking of taking one.."
"Well, not too well in this sector. It seems the whole facility has been having problems today. But you're in for an important meeting with Dr Farine around 9 this morning. You can try a tram if you like, you're a bit late. It's 8:39 right now," Heir said, and then continued with his paper.
Rodney sighed and proceeded to the tram waiting station. Miraculously, however, a tram showed up 6 minutes later. He got on and waited for it to start. A voice on the intercome suddenly began to speak.
"Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa transit system." The train began to move. "This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. The time is 8:45 A.M. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees with an estimated high of 105." Rodney watched the train go by, and noticed many interesting areas. He saw a laundromat, multiple laboritories, and another train with a security officer getting off onto a platform with a lone door. "The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. The train is inbound from sector G security centers." The train moved into an airlock, and Rodney had a chance to sit down. "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 the Black Mesa personnel for processing before you will be permitted into the high security branch of the transit system."
The train pulled into a station, where yet another security officer came over and checked his identity.
"Delrouse, eh? Yep, it's you alright. Go on, I'm just messing with you. And hey!" he yelled as Rodney began to walk inside, "Don't forget about your meeting!"
Rodney nodded and stopped at a vending machine. He had a chance to get a fruit drink before a scientist bumped into him.
The scientist looked distant and said, "Oh, pardon me, sir. I'm just late. I need to report to the Sector C test labs for an important
experiment!" Before he left, Rodney managed a peek at his name tag, which read Dr. Kleiner.
Rodney continued on. He passed a storage room where a security officer was rearranging everything. He passed scientists relaxing or working
on large computers. Finally, he arrived at his small work area, complete with his nametag. He picked it up and pinned it to his shirt. He glanced at the
clock and saw it was 9:02.
Rodney suddenly gathered his things, ran to his locker, pulled out his uniform, hurried and put it on, and rushed to the meeting room. Dr. Farine
was already there.
He looked up, and said, "Ah, Rodney Del-"
There was a sudden rumble, and he paused. There was another, and a small amount of dust fell from the ceiling. An intercom suddenly spoke,
"Malfunction detected in the Anomalous Materials lab. Security staff in Sector-"
Then there was an explosion. Rodney was knocked off his feet and cascaded onto the ground before he blacked out.
