|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OFFICE COMPLEX--CUP 33--"ARMAMENTS?" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Office Complex  ||  -------> (Cup SRoc033, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "So you got it started?" Treyess asked. "I sure did!" Ferrajalt responded. "And you know what--I think from what I've seen that this thing is powered by direct matter-to-energy conversion!" "Yeah, I saw something down there which would point to that conclusion also. Some sort of atomic device." "Awesome!" Ferrajalt said, easing back into the driver's seat. Treyess took the passenger seat beside him. "Think we should call the others and tell them we got this far?" Treyess asked, crossing her arms and resting on the dashboard in front of her. "I guess so." Ferrajalt said, taking the gun out of its holster on his belt, and turning it over to reveal the screen at the base of its handle. He entered a code on a few buttons and after a few moments, the screen lit up with Injure Bodoni's face. "Hello? Ferrajalt?" Bodoni inquired. "Yes, it's me. We successfully entered and started one of the giant police cars. It's a really amazing thing." Ferrajalt said. "Good. So you're now off to the river?" Bodoni asked, and then Ledrant Hate came into view behind him. "Yeah." Ferrajalt said. "We're gonna try and get this thing moving and get down to the river." "You've examined the vehicle?" Hate asked. "Well, Treyess saw more of it than I did, here." Ferrajalt said as he passed the gun to Treyess. "I have to tell you Ledrant, this is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. There's a whole fleet of these things here and--I don't even know where to begin. There's all these little vehicles inside, and this room! There's a luxury suite down there with all sorts of amenities. I haven't even gone through the whole thing yet." "Armaments?" Hate asked. "Well,", she said, "there are five pretty formidable looking mounted guns all around the thing. And who knows what else might be hidden about. Also, we think it's powered with a direct matter-to-energy reactor." Hate frowned. "Sounds too good to be true." he said. "Just get it moving and on a road and call me back, okay? That's the big hurdle. Don't want to waste your battery." "Okay." Treyess said, and the screen went blank. "Well Treyess," Ferrajalt said, "here goes. I guess we may as well get going. Wish me luck." Treyess leaned over and gave Ferrajalt a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, Prince." Ferrajalt hit the throttle and they began moving forward. "Alright! It works!" Prince Ferrajalt exclaimed as the giant police car smoothly started forward. Beside him, Treyess Arcomany grabbed the dashboard for support, but let go when she saw how smooth the ride was. "Now we have to find a way out of here." she said. "I know." Ferrajalt responded, and just then he noticed a little screen off to his left, which had lit up with a variety of patterns and symbols. "We'll just have to circle the entire perimeter and look for an opening. They moved out of their spot, and then Ferrajalt carefully eased the massive vehicle to the right. It responded splendidly. He then set forth between the fence and the rows and rows of giant police cars--all identical to the one they were in. "There sure are a lot of them." Treyess said, looking over. "Yeah--amazing how such a useful thing was created in this supposedly random reality crash." "I'm sure it's not random. It can't be." Then Ferrajalt glanced at the screen again and he could see it showed a red 3-D vector representation of his vehicle driving along the fence--and another image showed an overall view of the yard, showing that there were no breaks in the fence at all--except a little spot that was lit up--the place he had broken the fence. "You know." Ferrajalt said. "I think we have some kind of guidance system here. The only problem is, it's showing that there aren't any exits out of here--no, wait..." The screen vectors changed from red to an aquamarine sort of color, and he saw an image of the giant police car firing its cannon at the fence, cutting a neat hole in it, and driving through. Next to it was a picture of an aquamarine crescent-shaped button--a button that was on the console in front of him. "What is it?" Treyess asked. "It looks like it's giving me the best option. Guess all I have to do is press that button--see?" "Go for it." So Ferrajalt pressed the button, and the giant police car eased into autopilot, moving forward a little more, then making a sharp right turn, then backing up a little, facing the fence. Before even a second had passed, a barrage of bright projectiles or beams spat out from above them and annihilated a whole section of fence. Then the screen turned red again and all was silent as smoke and mist from the destroyed fence began to drift away. Ferrajalt laughed. "Pretty cool, eh?" he said. "I like this giant police car--or whatever it's called. There's no way I'm leaving this place without one--no way!" -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----