HOME | DD

Description
          The Museum of The Catastrophe is proud to bring you the Journal of Dr. Edaniel Materas, a pivotal figure in the series of events which brought us all to this place.

Day 0-The Disaster: December Eighth, 2045
          My name is Edaniel Materas. I am a scientist, an inventor. Yesterday, I made a terrible mistake, and now I find myself in what seems like it could be hell itself. It was my fault, I bit off more than I could chew, I...
    I can't think, apparently. Apologies. Let me explain.

    It was supposed to be the most revolutionary discovery that humankind had ever seen: A nuclear fusion reactor that required very little energy to start and maintain. One reactor could power an area hundreds of miles around in the world's most densely populated areas. It was perfect, an invention that would relieve mankind of the looming cataclysm of an energy crisis. I was to reveal it to the world yesterday at my Labs. So many prominent members of the scientific community were there… it was to be my finest hour.
    I christened the first reactor "P.Ene.Lo.P.E." It was named after my daughter, but to please my fellow scientists, the name is also an acronym for "Practical Energy from Low-input Proton Excitement." Yesterday, she was activated for the first time, in front of a mass of the public: the people who would benefit from P.Ene.Lo.P.E.'s energy. The air was charged with excitement as we started the reactor, and, for a moment, everything went beautifully. The power input to output ratio was surprisingly small, and as we ramped up the input, the output went up very smoothly. I will admit, I am one for visual aesthetics, and the soft blue glow of the superheated plasma inside of P.Ene.Lo.P.E.'s glass dome filled me with pride and hope for the future.
    It was Penelope's birthday yesterday, Christmas day. It was oddly fitting that such a miraculous invention would be revealed on the day revered by so many as the epitome of human kindness and generosity... though I will admit that it wasn't exactly a coincidence that my daughter and my greatest invention would have the same birthday, so to speak. As celebration, I had my wife, Julie, bring her to the event.

    This is a decision I believe I will regret for the rest of my life.

    Barely a minute after I flipped the switch on P.Ene.Lo.P.E., something started to go wrong. The reaction is controlled be a series of extremely powerful electromagnets, one of which experienced a glitch, a power surge. Normally, the others would automatically compensate for such an imbalance, but for a reason that only the gods could know, these failsafes failed.
    The once perfect sphere of energy imploded on itself, resulting in an extreme pressure differential which shattered the glass dome around it. At that sound, people started to panic. The crowd scattered, running for the exits... all but Julie. She stood in the center of the room, horrified, as the reaction became more and more unstable. She held Penelope, who was perhaps as enthralled by the impending disaster as her mother was. I bolted down from the control panel urging them to get out, to save themselves.
    As it turned out, the reactor was the least of our worries. The twisted reaction turned black, and a stream of energy shot from it, smashing into the doors and crushing them beyond repair. Julie's shock wore off, and we ran up the stairs to the landing above the reactor, marginally safer than the floor around it. She screamed at me to do something, but there was nothing I could do: the blackness spreading from the reactor was destroying everything in its path. There appeared to be no way out.
    But then, just when things seemed their bleakest, a glint of light caught my eye. It came from the center of the swirling darkness of the reaction. At first, I thought it was a mere energy spike, but upon closer inspection, I could make out some details. There was something within it, something that looked like a window to a mirror version of the room we were in. In fact, as the reaction spread, I noticed that the window grew larger. It was definitely the Labs, but without the cataclysm that spread beneath us.
    Without a second thought, I grabbed Julie and Penelope, and jumped.

Day 1-Awakening
    I woke up this morning-and I use the term "morning"  loosely-to complete and utter silence. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere: no cars, no people, no machines. This was especially odd, as when I took in my surroundings, I found that we were indeed in the Labs. However, there was something terribly wrong. The silence indicated that nothing was running anywhere nearby, not even the fans that normally circulate the air. The reactor was in the center of the room, but it was completely destroyed. Scattered around the room was broken glass and little else: we had cleared out this room to accomodate the spectators. I checked on my wife and child, and after seeing that they were sleeping soundly, I stacked a few boxes and climbed to the windows, peering outside.
    Everything outside was ruined. The few buildings that remained were nothing but steel husks, though most of it was rubble scattered on the ground. Here and there were small huts cobbled together from scrap metal and other bits of waste. There was an odd yellow-green hue to everything, as if the air itself had been tainted. I would find out exactly why soon.
    Horrified, I ran back to Julie. She was awake and more than a little confused. I tried to explain our surroundings, but she was delirious and couldn't understand what I was trying to tell her. After a long, tense while of trying to bring Julie around, Penelope started to cry. Julie mumbled something about not having fed her, and so I began to look for some sort of food, grateful for a task, some goal to work towards. There was nothing in the reactor chamber, so I headed towards the storeroom where we kept food and other supplies for anyone working overnight.
    Shortly into one hallway, a bulkhead had been sealed, blocking my way. It was unusual, but not unexpected-the bulkheads are closed during emergencies, and there had certainly been an emergency here. There was no power, so I had to open it manually, inch by inch, turning the gigantic wheel. When there was enough room, I squeezed myself under the door.
    My efforts were met with a sudden burning sensation in my lungs. I recognized the pungent odor of the air around me as chlorine gas, which would kill me if I spent any more time breathing it. I scrambled out from inside the door, shutting it before too much gas could escape. I sat in front of the bulkhead, stunned, trying to catch my breath.

    I can still feel the painful burn in my chest... I hope that I didn't suffer any permanent damage. I'll have to have Julie take a look later, if we can ever get to the medical equipment. You see, everything is blocked off. After that incident, I took a quick look around, and the gas is completely surrounding the sealed chamber we were fortunate enough to end up in. With the power down, the air within the laboratories can't be filtered, and that gas will keep us from getting any supplies. I'll have to find a way to bring the power back up... I suppose I had better start on that. Thankfully, there's a tap in the bathroom nearby and a burner to boil any water we might need. We should survive for a while, at least.

Day 3-Power

          Success-today I managed to find an emergency generator and start it up. It wasn't easy. I had to siphon fuel from every gas-burning device in the area, and even that was only enough to power the generator for a few minutes. Once I had the generator running, I activated the fans in the rest of the labs. This gave me just enough time to access the primary generators and start them up, returning life to the ruined Labs.

          It was a shock to see the rest of the building, once we could finally access it. It seemed as though something had torn through the halls, destroying everything in its path. Most of the individual laboratories were destroyed, with equipment and experiments scattered across their floors. It is painful to see it, and to think of all of the effort and time I had spent in these very rooms just days before. I managed to put these thoughts out of my head, however, and think of my family. I quickly collected food from the supply cabinets, and we moved from the floor of the defunct showing room for P.Ene.Lo.P.E. into an overnight room. Cardboard boxes littered the floor, and the only thing that could still pass for a bed was a dirty old mattress, but it was better than sleeping on cold metal.

          Now that I'm safe, I have a bit of time to think. One question is foremost in my mind: Where am I? It's obvious that I'm in the Labs, but I can't tell why they're in this ruined state. The extent of the damage is much further than I would expect from the reactor malfunction. It seems as if time has taken a terrible toll on the Labs, with rodents and… other scavengers destroying things left and right. One thing is for sure: I am no longer in my own world. This place seems hostile and unforgiving, if the gas is any indication. If Julie and I are to survive and give Penelope any sort of worthwhile life, it will take a very long time and a lot of hard work. I am confident that we can do it, though. Together, the two of us have created countless benefits to our world, and I am sure that we can do the same for this one.

Day 20-Contact

          Today, we had a visitor. I was wandering around the Labs, looking for parts to salvage, when I ran into someone who was, apparently, doing exactly the same thing. She was a girl dressed in an old army jacket and, strangely enough, one of the rebreather masks we developed several years ago. I had been searching for them, but they had all disappeared-now I know where they went. After we got over the initial shock of seeing each other, she politely introduced herself. Her name was Rachel, and she came from an underground shelter in the city. I was amazed that such a thing existed, that people could find a way to live in this wasteland.

          "It's not easy," she explained once I brought her to Julie. "Food's really scarce. We can grow some hydroponic vegetables, but it's not really enough to keep us happy and full, you know?"

          "How many of you are there?" asked Julie.

          "Somewhere around a hundred, but that number's dropping all the time. If we get sick, there's not a whole lot anyone can do about it. And kids-they tend to wander off and get themselves killed out there. There were a lot more people around before I was born, too. Looks like if this trend continues, there won't be any of us left."

          I had a hunch. We were in the same Labs, but the city around us was ruined…

          "What year is it?" I asked.

          "Well, it seems like nobody really cares anymore, but I think it's the year 2145."

          It hit me then: The prospect of getting back home was almost completely hopeless. I stared off into the distance as that fact hit me, leaving me speechless.

          "So where did the two of you come from?" the girl asked, apprehensively. "I know nobody's been here for a very long time, and I haven't seen you in the Shelter, so…"

          "We're not from around here, if that's what you're asking," replied Julie. "But it's a terribly long story, and-"

          "Oh! You've got a baby?"

          Julie gave me a knowing glance, drawing Rachel over to our child-perhaps to let me recover. "Yes, this is Penelope."

          "Do you need diapers or baby food? We've got plenty at the Shelter, and we could probably spare some."

          They went on like this for a while, and it was good to see Julie talking to someone other than me for a change. Rachel is coming back tomorrow with supplies, and soon we may visit her Shelter.

          I didn't realize until today just how much I miss having other people around.

Day 40-Inspiration

            I think I know why I'm here.

          Julie and I have been visiting the appropriately named City Limit Shelter for the last week or so, and it is, perhaps, more depressing than the city itself. The people inside are starving, pathetic creatures, barely able to feed or clothe themselves. They have been gracious enough to provide us with supplies for Penelope that we didn't have before. At this point, clean diapers seem like a godsend.

          I must do something to repay them for their hospitality. I could see so many things that could be improved around the Shelter. Their air filters, for one thing. They're all out of date and ruined, which must significantly contribute to their high rate of death. And their food production-with a little bit of work, I'm sure we could at least quadruple the amount they can produce. And Julie has much more medical knowledge than anyone in the Shelter. With our help, I'm sure it can flourish into something much greater than it is now.

          The Labs are another issue that we can resolve. With a bit of tweaking, I've managed to reset the computers, which should be the first step into getting all of the Labs up and running again.

          With this in mind, I have a mission, of sorts. I will use everything at my disposal to improve this city, no matter what the cost. Julie likes to tell me that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. I think I understand just what that means now.

Day 139-Ruin

            There are landmines outside. We learned about them the hard way. I was outside with some of the Shelter-dwellers, helping them scavenge for parts. There was a little boy with us-about six or seven years old, I'd guess. He ran off, chasing something, and within moments we heard an explosion. Our little group ran to the boy, and we found him in an awful state. He was badly injured from the legs down, and barely breathing. We rushed him here, to the Labs, where Julie administered care to the child in the medical wing.

          The boy will be alright for now. However, he's not in the best condition, and we don't have the proper equipment or staff to repair his legs. Julie says that  we may need to amputate the legs if his condition worsens. Even then, it might not be enough. The poor child…

          Julie and I are both very grateful for Rachel. She's been watching over Penelope in times like these, when we cannot. If it hadn't been for her, we would not have been able to give the boy the attention he needed. I'll have to see to it that she gets some sort of payment for her services.

Day 141-Loss

            The boy passed away early this morning, painlessly. I can't help but feeling personally responsible, although everyone says there was nothing I could do. I spent the rest of the day in my office, digging through ancient computer files. I saw things I hadn't seen in years, projects that had been abandoned long before the disaster.

          Something in particular caught my eye. Project Nocturne. It was a pet project of mine that never saw the light of day, for reasons I can't even remember at this point. You see, I had put much research into the field of bionics-augmenting the human body with mechanical parts. Nocturne was set to make giant leaps in the field, as it was the first system which was able to completely interface an advanced computer system with the human brain. Everything was laid out in front of me in that one file: the procedures, schematics, software and firmware… the only thing that we hadn't done was put it into use on real human subjects, due to the voices of a select few who considered it unethical.

          As I reviewed the file, I thought that, perhaps, I could have saved the boy if I had just come across this project a few hours earlier. Of course, we would have needed trained staff and, most likely, much more time. But still, the nagging feeling wouldn't leave me alone.

          I think I might start Project Nocturne once more. Perhaps, with enough advanced planning, I can prevent another loss like this.

This is where the first book of Edaniel Materas' journal ends. Unfortunately, the second volume is in much worse condition than the first. Many of the journal's pages are missing-some torn out, some wet, some burnt. What little writing is legible is messy and quickly scrawled, a far cry from the neat, methodical handwriting of Dr. Materas' previous entries. He also stops dating the entries, making it difficult to determine exactly how long it took for him to make his obvious change. The next readable page is from an estimated five years after the preceding entry.

          It has come to my attention that a few of the Children have become… disobedient. They've decided to use the gift I have given them for less-than-saintly purposes, stealing from the Shelters or their Siblings. Some have even become violent, starting fights by turning their augmentations into weapons. As a result, I am activating the Compliance Assurance Device system. Each Child will be equipped with one of these devices. Once activated, the system will take over for them, making them incapable of going against their Father's will.

          Julie says that this is an over reactive measure. I couldn't disagree more.

          A note from the Curator: The Children that Dr. Materas refers to are orphaned children that were given bionic augmentations under Project Nocturne. Reports say that Materas' obsession with the title of Father only grew over time. There are only two entries after this one. The first is relatively lucid, and was written soon after the previous one:

          There was a bit of an inconvenience today. Penelope was walking home from the Shelter with Rachel today, when they passed through an area of the city where the buildings are structurally unsound. I'm sure Rachel was leading her into this disaster. Predictably, a large block of concrete collapsed on my daughter. Her right arm is gone. It appears that she will finally become one of my Children. There was some damage done to her right eye as well. The eye would most likely recover on its own, but I have a new prototype that I'd like to test.
It's a shame that Julie felt that she had to leave. She's going to miss our daughter's beautiful transformation into something better than what Nature could make of her.

          Pages and pages of random scrawling follow. There were once journal entries underneath, but the scribbling is so dense that they're impossible to read. Only on the last page is there anything legible.

          I've found out who the leader of the resistance is. She'll be captured and killed, of course. It's a good thing that Penelope has become such a fine marksman.
          Once that's done, I'll probably take my leave. I don't think I like it here anymore.

Description
          The Museum of The Catastrophe is proud to bring you the Journal of Dr. Edaniel Materas, a pivotal figure in the series of events which brought us all to this place.

Day 0-The Disaster: December Eighth, 2045
          My name is Edaniel Materas. I am a scientist, an inventor. Yesterday, I made a terrible mistake, and now I find myself in what seems like it could be hell itself. It was my fault, I bit off more than I could chew, I...
    I can't think, apparently. Apologies. Let me explain.

    It was supposed to be the most revolutionary discovery that humankind had ever seen: A nuclear fusion reactor that required very little energy to start and maintain. One reactor could power an area hundreds of miles around in the world's most densely populated areas. It was perfect, an invention that would relieve mankind of the looming cataclysm of an energy crisis. I was to reveal it to the world yesterday at my Labs. So many prominent members of the scientific community were there… it was to be my finest hour.
    I christened the first reactor "P.Ene.Lo.P.E." It was named after my daughter, but to please my fellow scientists, the name is also an acronym for "Practical Energy from Low-input Proton Excitement." Yesterday, she was activated for the first time, in front of a mass of the public: the people who would benefit from P.Ene.Lo.P.E.'s energy. The air was charged with excitement as we started the reactor, and, for a moment, everything went beautifully. The power input to output ratio was surprisingly small, and as we ramped up the input, the output went up very smoothly. I will admit, I am one for visual aesthetics, and the soft blue glow of the superheated plasma inside of P.Ene.Lo.P.E.'s glass dome filled me with pride and hope for the future.
    It was Penelope's birthday yesterday, Christmas day. It was oddly fitting that such a miraculous invention would be revealed on the day revered by so many as the epitome of human kindness and generosity... though I will admit that it wasn't exactly a coincidence that my daughter and my greatest invention would have the same birthday, so to speak. As celebration, I had my wife, Julie, bring her to the event.

    This is a decision I believe I will regret for the rest of my life.

    Barely a minute after I flipped the switch on P.Ene.Lo.P.E., something started to go wrong. The reaction is controlled be a series of extremely powerful electromagnets, one of which experienced a glitch, a power surge. Normally, the others would automatically compensate for such an imbalance, but for a reason that only the gods could know, these failsafes failed.
    The once perfect sphere of energy imploded on itself, resulting in an extreme pressure differential which shattered the glass dome around it. At that sound, people started to panic. The crowd scattered, running for the exits... all but Julie. She stood in the center of the room, horrified, as the reaction became more and more unstable. She held Penelope, who was perhaps as enthralled by the impending disaster as her mother was. I bolted down from the control panel urging them to get out, to save themselves.
    As it turned out, the reactor was the least of our worries. The twisted reaction turned black, and a stream of energy shot from it, smashing into the doors and crushing them beyond repair. Julie's shock wore off, and we ran up the stairs to the landing above the reactor, marginally safer than the floor around it. She screamed at me to do something, but there was nothing I could do: the blackness spreading from the reactor was destroying everything in its path. There appeared to be no way out.
    But then, just when things seemed their bleakest, a glint of light caught my eye. It came from the center of the swirling darkness of the reaction. At first, I thought it was a mere energy spike, but upon closer inspection, I could make out some details. There was something within it, something that looked like a window to a mirror version of the room we were in. In fact, as the reaction spread, I noticed that the window grew larger. It was definitely the Labs, but without the cataclysm that spread beneath us.
    Without a second thought, I grabbed Julie and Penelope, and jumped.

Day 1-Awakening
    I woke up this morning-and I use the term "morning"  loosely-to complete and utter silence. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere: no cars, no people, no machines. This was especially odd, as when I took in my surroundings, I found that we were indeed in the Labs. However, there was something terribly wrong. The silence indicated that nothing was running anywhere nearby, not even the fans that normally circulate the air. The reactor was in the center of the room, but it was completely destroyed. Scattered around the room was broken glass and little else: we had cleared out this room to accomodate the spectators. I checked on my wife and child, and after seeing that they were sleeping soundly, I stacked a few boxes and climbed to the windows, peering outside.
    Everything outside was ruined. The few buildings that remained were nothing but steel husks, though most of it was rubble scattered on the ground. Here and there were small huts cobbled together from scrap metal and other bits of waste. There was an odd yellow-green hue to everything, as if the air itself had been tainted. I would find out exactly why soon.
    Horrified, I ran back to Julie. She was awake and more than a little confused. I tried to explain our surroundings, but she was delirious and couldn't understand what I was trying to tell her. After a long, tense while of trying to bring Julie around, Penelope started to cry. Julie mumbled something about not having fed her, and so I began to look for some sort of food, grateful for a task, some goal to work towards. There was nothing in the reactor chamber, so I headed towards the storeroom where we kept food and other supplies for anyone working overnight.
    Shortly into one hallway, a bulkhead had been sealed, blocking my way. It was unusual, but not unexpected-the bulkheads are closed during emergencies, and there had certainly been an emergency here. There was no power, so I had to open it manually, inch by inch, turning the gigantic wheel. When there was enough room, I squeezed myself under the door.
    My efforts were met with a sudden burning sensation in my lungs. I recognized the pungent odor of the air around me as chlorine gas, which would kill me if I spent any more time breathing it. I scrambled out from inside the door, shutting it before too much gas could escape. I sat in front of the bulkhead, stunned, trying to catch my breath.

    I can still feel the painful burn in my chest... I hope that I didn't suffer any permanent damage. I'll have to have Julie take a look later, if we can ever get to the medical equipment. You see, everything is blocked off. After that incident, I took a quick look around, and the gas is completely surrounding the sealed chamber we were fortunate enough to end up in. With the power down, the air within the laboratories can't be filtered, and that gas will keep us from getting any supplies. I'll have to find a way to bring the power back up... I suppose I had better start on that. Thankfully, there's a tap in the bathroom nearby and a burner to boil any water we might need. We should survive for a while, at least.

Day 3-Power

          Success-today I managed to find an emergency generator and start it up. It wasn't easy. I had to siphon fuel from every gas-burning device in the area, and even that was only enough to power the generator for a few minutes. Once I had the generator running, I activated the fans in the rest of the labs. This gave me just enough time to access the primary generators and start them up, returning life to the ruined Labs.

          It was a shock to see the rest of the building, once we could finally access it. It seemed as though something had torn through the halls, destroying everything in its path. Most of the individual laboratories were destroyed, with equipment and experiments scattered across their floors. It is painful to see it, and to think of all of the effort and time I had spent in these very rooms just days before. I managed to put these thoughts out of my head, however, and think of my family. I quickly collected food from the supply cabinets, and we moved from the floor of the defunct showing room for P.Ene.Lo.P.E. into an overnight room. Cardboard boxes littered the floor, and the only thing that could still pass for a bed was a dirty old mattress, but it was better than sleeping on cold metal.

          Now that I'm safe, I have a bit of time to think. One question is foremost in my mind: Where am I? It's obvious that I'm in the Labs, but I can't tell why they're in this ruined state. The extent of the damage is much further than I would expect from the reactor malfunction. It seems as if time has taken a terrible toll on the Labs, with rodents and… other scavengers destroying things left and right. One thing is for sure: I am no longer in my own world. This place seems hostile and unforgiving, if the gas is any indication. If Julie and I are to survive and give Penelope any sort of worthwhile life, it will take a very long time and a lot of hard work. I am confident that we can do it, though. Together, the two of us have created countless benefits to our world, and I am sure that we can do the same for this one.

Day 20-Contact

          Today, we had a visitor. I was wandering around the Labs, looking for parts to salvage, when I ran into someone who was, apparently, doing exactly the same thing. She was a girl dressed in an old army jacket and, strangely enough, one of the rebreather masks we developed several years ago. I had been searching for them, but they had all disappeared-now I know where they went. After we got over the initial shock of seeing each other, she politely introduced herself. Her name was Rachel, and she came from an underground shelter in the city. I was amazed that such a thing existed, that people could find a way to live in this wasteland.

          "It's not easy," she explained once I brought her to Julie. "Food's really scarce. We can grow some hydroponic vegetables, but it's not really enough to keep us happy and full, you know?"

          "How many of you are there?" asked Julie.

          "Somewhere around a hundred, but that number's dropping all the time. If we get sick, there's not a whole lot anyone can do about it. And kids-they tend to wander off and get themselves killed out there. There were a lot more people around before I was born, too. Looks like if this trend continues, there won't be any of us left."

          I had a hunch. We were in the same Labs, but the city around us was ruined…

          "What year is it?" I asked.

          "Well, it seems like nobody really cares anymore, but I think it's the year 2145."

          It hit me then: The prospect of getting back home was almost completely hopeless. I stared off into the distance as that fact hit me, leaving me speechless.

          "So where did the two of you come from?" the girl asked, apprehensively. "I know nobody's been here for a very long time, and I haven't seen you in the Shelter, so…"

          "We're not from around here, if that's what you're asking," replied Julie. "But it's a terribly long story, and-"

          "Oh! You've got a baby?"

          Julie gave me a knowing glance, drawing Rachel over to our child-perhaps to let me recover. "Yes, this is Penelope."

          "Do you need diapers or baby food? We've got plenty at the Shelter, and we could probably spare some."

          They went on like this for a while, and it was good to see Julie talking to someone other than me for a change. Rachel is coming back tomorrow with supplies, and soon we may visit her Shelter.

          I didn't realize until today just how much I miss having other people around.

Day 40-Inspiration

            I think I know why I'm here.

          Julie and I have been visiting the appropriately named City Limit Shelter for the last week or so, and it is, perhaps, more depressing than the city itself. The people inside are starving, pathetic creatures, barely able to feed or clothe themselves. They have been gracious enough to provide us with supplies for Penelope that we didn't have before. At this point, clean diapers seem like a godsend.

          I must do something to repay them for their hospitality. I could see so many things that could be improved around the Shelter. Their air filters, for one thing. They're all out of date and ruined, which must significantly contribute to their high rate of death. And their food production-with a little bit of work, I'm sure we could at least quadruple the amount they can produce. And Julie has much more medical knowledge than anyone in the Shelter. With our help, I'm sure it can flourish into something much greater than it is now.

          The Labs are another issue that we can resolve. With a bit of tweaking, I've managed to reset the computers, which should be the first step into getting all of the Labs up and running again.

          With this in mind, I have a mission, of sorts. I will use everything at my disposal to improve this city, no matter what the cost. Julie likes to tell me that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. I think I understand just what that means now.

Day 139-Ruin

            There are landmines outside. We learned about them the hard way. I was outside with some of the Shelter-dwellers, helping them scavenge for parts. There was a little boy with us-about six or seven years old, I'd guess. He ran off, chasing something, and within moments we heard an explosion. Our little group ran to the boy, and we found him in an awful state. He was badly injured from the legs down, and barely breathing. We rushed him here, to the Labs, where Julie administered care to the child in the medical wing.

          The boy will be alright for now. However, he's not in the best condition, and we don't have the proper equipment or staff to repair his legs. Julie says that  we may need to amputate the legs if his condition worsens. Even then, it might not be enough. The poor child…

          Julie and I are both very grateful for Rachel. She's been watching over Penelope in times like these, when we cannot. If it hadn't been for her, we would not have been able to give the boy the attention he needed. I'll have to see to it that she gets some sort of payment for her services.

Day 141-Loss

            The boy passed away early this morning, painlessly. I can't help but feeling personally responsible, although everyone says there was nothing I could do. I spent the rest of the day in my office, digging through ancient computer files. I saw things I hadn't seen in years, projects that had been abandoned long before the disaster.

          Something in particular caught my eye. Project Nocturne. It was a pet project of mine that never saw the light of day, for reasons I can't even remember at this point. You see, I had put much research into the field of bionics-augmenting the human body with mechanical parts. Nocturne was set to make giant leaps in the field, as it was the first system which was able to completely interface an advanced computer system with the human brain. Everything was laid out in front of me in that one file: the procedures, schematics, software and firmware… the only thing that we hadn't done was put it into use on real human subjects, due to the voices of a select few who considered it unethical.

          As I reviewed the file, I thought that, perhaps, I could have saved the boy if I had just come across this project a few hours earlier. Of course, we would have needed trained staff and, most likely, much more time. But still, the nagging feeling wouldn't leave me alone.

          I think I might start Project Nocturne once more. Perhaps, with enough advanced planning, I can prevent another loss like this.

This is where the first book of Edaniel Materas' journal ends. Unfortunately, the second volume is in much worse condition than the first. Many of the journal's pages are missing-some torn out, some wet, some burnt. What little writing is legible is messy and quickly scrawled, a far cry from the neat, methodical handwriting of Dr. Materas' previous entries. He also stops dating the entries, making it difficult to determine exactly how long it took for him to make his obvious change. The next readable page is from an estimated five years after the preceding entry.

          It has come to my attention that a few of the Children have become… disobedient. They've decided to use the gift I have given them for less-than-saintly purposes, stealing from the Shelters or their Siblings. Some have even become violent, starting fights by turning their augmentations into weapons. As a result, I am activating the Compliance Assurance Device system. Each Child will be equipped with one of these devices. Once activated, the system will take over for them, making them incapable of going against their Father's will.

          Julie says that this is an over reactive measure. I couldn't disagree more.

          A note from the Curator: The Children that Dr. Materas refers to are orphaned children that were given bionic augmentations under Project Nocturne. Reports say that Materas' obsession with the title of Father only grew over time. There are only two entries after this one. The first is relatively lucid, and was written soon after the previous one:

          There was a bit of an inconvenience today. Penelope was walking home from the Shelter with Rachel today, when they passed through an area of the city where the buildings are structurally unsound. I'm sure Rachel was leading her into this disaster. Predictably, a large block of concrete collapsed on my daughter. Her right arm is gone. It appears that she will finally become one of my Children. There was some damage done to her right eye as well. The eye would most likely recover on its own, but I have a new prototype that I'd like to test.
It's a shame that Julie felt that she had to leave. She's going to miss our daughter's beautiful transformation into something better than what Nature could make of her.

          Pages and pages of random scrawling follow. There were once journal entries underneath, but the scribbling is so dense that they're impossible to read. Only on the last page is there anything legible.

          I've found out who the leader of the resistance is. She'll be captured and killed, of course. It's a good thing that Penelope has become such a fine marksman.
          Once that's done, I'll probably take my leave. I don't think I like it here anymore.