Bent Reality
Written By Shawn Langhans
Prologue Pt.1
April 1st,1999. 7:39 A.M.
In the Western Hemisphere, the America is waking up to an average morning, for an average worker, and everything is as should be THhe only planned difference was the whole April Fools thing going around. Then one of the most unexpected things happened without warning. A small flying object could be seen in the sky. Barely...
Until a '10:19' is issued from NASA itself rudely awakens many near by residents as an alarm goes off, and sends one hundred thousand Texans into alert and panic. Screaming can be heard every where, while nobody at all knows what is going on. Many smaller objects were in the sky now, none of them were noticed.
Then every national news broadcasting company magically appears in front of the building, looking for answers. A single man in a blue suit walks out of the Restricted-to-Public building and starts walking as hundreds of reporters swarm him as he was honey, and they were bees. The small flares of light in the sky, were yet not noticed, but falling down quick.
"Mr., what has happened here, why were these alarms set off. And what..." One reporter cut off by another, and the alarms suddenly turn off, just an hour before it turned on. Then another reporter stuck a microphone in the mans face. "Why is there no..." Then silence was broken as a loud whistling was heard from above. Then the screaming started again, as million of small asteroids could be seen in the sky.
The reporters all ran away except for two of them. Then the man spoke, very slowly, almost slithery. "Do not worry America, except those who live in Death Valley. For all of the golf-ball size comets, will do nothing more than an average M-1000 would do in a gallon of gasoline. Each one is headed for Nevada in the second driest place on earth. Death Valley."
A very large asteroid was now seen in the clouds, a lot larger than the man in suit. The camera man was kept looking at the asteroid. Then the man with the blue suit and snake like voice spoke again. "as much as you may think, that comet you see is only the size of your average truck, all of these comets are only 70 feet off the ground. So, for all those still watching, leave any tall buildings more than five stories high, if you don't you are in grave danger."
Without warning a loud explosion was heard in the distance. The cameraman adjusted his view on the man, and focused on a multi-storied parking lot, which was on fire. The fire looked very unusual, like it was burning off of fuel. Then many of the people still looking towards the sky, heard yet another explosion, and the camera man realized all of the cars were on fire. He ducked, dropping his camera, which was now facing the mans feet.
Yet, the man still standing there, spoke with a small amount of satisfaction. "Don't worry, just be careful. Don't expect a normal day. Later tonight the president will speak of this emergancy. Until then stay out of large buildings..." The man walked into NASA again, as if nothing was happening. Then all of the comets disappeared from sight.
Every body was still frightened by the all of the action, which nobody planned or expected. After all of the fires were put out in the parking lot, which was the only hit from the asteroids. Everything else was left untouched except for maybe a few chunks of concrete in the road. Nobody was hurt, but many people frightened or terrified.
April 1st,1999. 7:21 P.M.
The president appeared in front of the loud speaker and started his little speech on the day's events. " Hello my fellow Americans, today a catastrophe was almost struck in the states of Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. NASA has informed to me that we were hit by almost 350 small comets, and two or three bigger ones," The man spoke as if he knew everything.
",but the truth is that we didn't see any of them until the first entered our atmosphere. As much as we know, we don't know one thing, where are they from. Simple as that. NASA has also informed me that today may have been the day of pranks and jokes, but this is not laughing matter. No casualties came of this natural disaster, but the collapse of a Arizona Apartment is still under investigation. We have reason to believe that this was no unexpected disaster,"
In the small room with many reporters, and the president himself, all seemed to get a chill. The president was considering the fact of aliens. "Now I am going to put Dr. Calloway, from NASA's space and outer life program," a man stepped up to the mike as the president sat down with his wife at his side.
"Thank you Mr. President, now to business. Today at 8:13 A.M. a smaller comet hit us in Texas, right where us NASA scientists park. The Jefferson Parking Lot was hit by one of the low flying comets, whcih caught two cars on fire starting a series of fires. After the fires were put out, at 9:17 A.M., we were called in to examine the asteroid."
There was a slight pause in his voice, then he continued. "Well, first I need to give a small lesson for all those who don't know. Okay, an asteroid is made out of ice. A meteor is made out of Rock and hardened stone. And a comet is made out of iron, steel, and other metal materials. Well, we were hit by a lot of small comets. But the one we examined was made out of two unknown materials, and it was shaped almost perfectly like a sphere. The color of it was a black, which we think is from the fire. So," The thought of aliens crept up again as he spoke.
",to understand this better, we are planning to build a research center based off of NASA it self, dedicated purely on all of NASA's research on alien life. It may be short notice, but we are naming the project BMRC, which stands for Black Mesa Research Center. One third of our researchers are being sent for new employment when it is finished and opened." Everybody in the room looked relieved, as if it were the right thing to do.
"Now do we can take some questions?" The president said. Many people, almost everybody, raised their hand. "You in the red dress." The young lady looked towards the Dr. Calloway. "When is the BRMC expected to be finished?" The man almost instantly responded, "It's BMRC, but we are still in the earliest levels of designing. All we have right now is an idea, and a mission. We are sure that it will be in the news after it's completion. Next question."
The scientist chose yet another female and she started to speak. "What kind of research will you be doing there?" The man looked worried, as if he didn't want to answer that question. "At this moment it is entirely classified, but all research will eventually be reported by a few men, and then you will find out more direct answers." Out of anger another man interrupted the scientist. "Please tell me this isn't going to be a Area 51-type cover-up."
Now anger was seen in the Dr. Calloways eyes. "Sir, you have no reason to believe that Area 51 even exists, it was just a base that caught it's fame through one or two movies. And if you believe that movies tell all, well then you should know that we will be researching E.T. or what not. We are not here to debate over the existents of a military base, we were here to talk about recent events. Good Day." The man bolted out of the room, and many people were left in shock, including the president.
December 30th, 1999. 11:36 A.M.
The last of the equipment was installed, and Black Mesa Research center was finished, on the dawn of a new millennium. The large building was kept secret. The building itself was placed in a gorge, exactly fifty feet below ground. The only above ground entrance was the lobby, which was behind two feet of titanium doors and walls. And the only windows were in the lobby, which were two feet thick of plastic/steel fibered glass. The building was so secret it would take a 15 minute tram ride to enter.
The research center, completed in less than twelve months, already had a full employment line set up. Every thing was finished except for the experiments that were planned days after the comet hit in Arizona, the larger one contained an alien sample, which was the real reason for BMRC. Time was coming.
Every thing was still being set up in Black Mesa. The technology they had was beyond the years time. Actually Black Mesa had many purposes other than the expected "E.T. research". The scientists, just moving in before New Years Eve, had already started ideas for there work. Weapon specialists, nuclear physicists, doctors, everybody there had some kind of degree in something. Even the security guards had to at least have 2 years in college.
The last remaining object was being shipped into the building. A very large generator, was shipped in over twenty six large crates. The very last thing to be constructed into the research center. Everything else in the building was to be called research, equipment, or experiments. The most important object was implanted in the building. This was when the very first of the troubles began.
Authors Note: This was the first part of the prologue. It was supposed to show my perspective of what happened to creat Black Mesa. It was also, if you caught this, supposed to show the first glimpses of the Administrater. Sorry, for the lack of action, but it should get better. Next Chapter: It will explain events before Half Life took place, like why the sample that was in Half Life was so important.
Written By Shawn Langhans
Prologue Pt.1
April 1st,1999. 7:39 A.M.
In the Western Hemisphere, the America is waking up to an average morning, for an average worker, and everything is as should be THhe only planned difference was the whole April Fools thing going around. Then one of the most unexpected things happened without warning. A small flying object could be seen in the sky. Barely...
Until a '10:19' is issued from NASA itself rudely awakens many near by residents as an alarm goes off, and sends one hundred thousand Texans into alert and panic. Screaming can be heard every where, while nobody at all knows what is going on. Many smaller objects were in the sky now, none of them were noticed.
Then every national news broadcasting company magically appears in front of the building, looking for answers. A single man in a blue suit walks out of the Restricted-to-Public building and starts walking as hundreds of reporters swarm him as he was honey, and they were bees. The small flares of light in the sky, were yet not noticed, but falling down quick.
"Mr., what has happened here, why were these alarms set off. And what..." One reporter cut off by another, and the alarms suddenly turn off, just an hour before it turned on. Then another reporter stuck a microphone in the mans face. "Why is there no..." Then silence was broken as a loud whistling was heard from above. Then the screaming started again, as million of small asteroids could be seen in the sky.
The reporters all ran away except for two of them. Then the man spoke, very slowly, almost slithery. "Do not worry America, except those who live in Death Valley. For all of the golf-ball size comets, will do nothing more than an average M-1000 would do in a gallon of gasoline. Each one is headed for Nevada in the second driest place on earth. Death Valley."
A very large asteroid was now seen in the clouds, a lot larger than the man in suit. The camera man was kept looking at the asteroid. Then the man with the blue suit and snake like voice spoke again. "as much as you may think, that comet you see is only the size of your average truck, all of these comets are only 70 feet off the ground. So, for all those still watching, leave any tall buildings more than five stories high, if you don't you are in grave danger."
Without warning a loud explosion was heard in the distance. The cameraman adjusted his view on the man, and focused on a multi-storied parking lot, which was on fire. The fire looked very unusual, like it was burning off of fuel. Then many of the people still looking towards the sky, heard yet another explosion, and the camera man realized all of the cars were on fire. He ducked, dropping his camera, which was now facing the mans feet.
Yet, the man still standing there, spoke with a small amount of satisfaction. "Don't worry, just be careful. Don't expect a normal day. Later tonight the president will speak of this emergancy. Until then stay out of large buildings..." The man walked into NASA again, as if nothing was happening. Then all of the comets disappeared from sight.
Every body was still frightened by the all of the action, which nobody planned or expected. After all of the fires were put out in the parking lot, which was the only hit from the asteroids. Everything else was left untouched except for maybe a few chunks of concrete in the road. Nobody was hurt, but many people frightened or terrified.
April 1st,1999. 7:21 P.M.
The president appeared in front of the loud speaker and started his little speech on the day's events. " Hello my fellow Americans, today a catastrophe was almost struck in the states of Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. NASA has informed to me that we were hit by almost 350 small comets, and two or three bigger ones," The man spoke as if he knew everything.
",but the truth is that we didn't see any of them until the first entered our atmosphere. As much as we know, we don't know one thing, where are they from. Simple as that. NASA has also informed me that today may have been the day of pranks and jokes, but this is not laughing matter. No casualties came of this natural disaster, but the collapse of a Arizona Apartment is still under investigation. We have reason to believe that this was no unexpected disaster,"
In the small room with many reporters, and the president himself, all seemed to get a chill. The president was considering the fact of aliens. "Now I am going to put Dr. Calloway, from NASA's space and outer life program," a man stepped up to the mike as the president sat down with his wife at his side.
"Thank you Mr. President, now to business. Today at 8:13 A.M. a smaller comet hit us in Texas, right where us NASA scientists park. The Jefferson Parking Lot was hit by one of the low flying comets, whcih caught two cars on fire starting a series of fires. After the fires were put out, at 9:17 A.M., we were called in to examine the asteroid."
There was a slight pause in his voice, then he continued. "Well, first I need to give a small lesson for all those who don't know. Okay, an asteroid is made out of ice. A meteor is made out of Rock and hardened stone. And a comet is made out of iron, steel, and other metal materials. Well, we were hit by a lot of small comets. But the one we examined was made out of two unknown materials, and it was shaped almost perfectly like a sphere. The color of it was a black, which we think is from the fire. So," The thought of aliens crept up again as he spoke.
",to understand this better, we are planning to build a research center based off of NASA it self, dedicated purely on all of NASA's research on alien life. It may be short notice, but we are naming the project BMRC, which stands for Black Mesa Research Center. One third of our researchers are being sent for new employment when it is finished and opened." Everybody in the room looked relieved, as if it were the right thing to do.
"Now do we can take some questions?" The president said. Many people, almost everybody, raised their hand. "You in the red dress." The young lady looked towards the Dr. Calloway. "When is the BRMC expected to be finished?" The man almost instantly responded, "It's BMRC, but we are still in the earliest levels of designing. All we have right now is an idea, and a mission. We are sure that it will be in the news after it's completion. Next question."
The scientist chose yet another female and she started to speak. "What kind of research will you be doing there?" The man looked worried, as if he didn't want to answer that question. "At this moment it is entirely classified, but all research will eventually be reported by a few men, and then you will find out more direct answers." Out of anger another man interrupted the scientist. "Please tell me this isn't going to be a Area 51-type cover-up."
Now anger was seen in the Dr. Calloways eyes. "Sir, you have no reason to believe that Area 51 even exists, it was just a base that caught it's fame through one or two movies. And if you believe that movies tell all, well then you should know that we will be researching E.T. or what not. We are not here to debate over the existents of a military base, we were here to talk about recent events. Good Day." The man bolted out of the room, and many people were left in shock, including the president.
December 30th, 1999. 11:36 A.M.
The last of the equipment was installed, and Black Mesa Research center was finished, on the dawn of a new millennium. The large building was kept secret. The building itself was placed in a gorge, exactly fifty feet below ground. The only above ground entrance was the lobby, which was behind two feet of titanium doors and walls. And the only windows were in the lobby, which were two feet thick of plastic/steel fibered glass. The building was so secret it would take a 15 minute tram ride to enter.
The research center, completed in less than twelve months, already had a full employment line set up. Every thing was finished except for the experiments that were planned days after the comet hit in Arizona, the larger one contained an alien sample, which was the real reason for BMRC. Time was coming.
Every thing was still being set up in Black Mesa. The technology they had was beyond the years time. Actually Black Mesa had many purposes other than the expected "E.T. research". The scientists, just moving in before New Years Eve, had already started ideas for there work. Weapon specialists, nuclear physicists, doctors, everybody there had some kind of degree in something. Even the security guards had to at least have 2 years in college.
The last remaining object was being shipped into the building. A very large generator, was shipped in over twenty six large crates. The very last thing to be constructed into the research center. Everything else in the building was to be called research, equipment, or experiments. The most important object was implanted in the building. This was when the very first of the troubles began.
Authors Note: This was the first part of the prologue. It was supposed to show my perspective of what happened to creat Black Mesa. It was also, if you caught this, supposed to show the first glimpses of the Administrater. Sorry, for the lack of action, but it should get better. Next Chapter: It will explain events before Half Life took place, like why the sample that was in Half Life was so important.