by bluewyvern » Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:23 pm
Okay, let me try to lay out my impressions of this Age from all that I've been reading.
This region is a broad wasteland covering a large underground reservoir of these valuable, volatile gases (a few different types, which can be tapped by drilling to different depths, where they reside in strata). The slow release of these gases over time to the surface has made the ground into a glassy, bubbly material. (In my mind, it's yellowish, and the soil in the low areas between the bubbles is a darker reddish brown.) The gas content in the atmosphere also makes it inhospitable to most life, and only a few small, scrubby plant forms grow here. The pollution has also created the most spectacular and beautiful cloudscapes, swirling blues and purples and oranges and reds. Go wild.
As I said, the miners probably traveled here from another part of the planet to mine for these valuable gases, working here in shifts of perhaps a few years before returning home. Alternatively, they come from a settlement some miles away, which is either also underground, or encased in domes, or surrounded by atmospheric generators to purify the air -- something to counteract the environmental conditions and support life. (We wouldn't see any of this, but their journals would mention home.) They are technologically advanced, close to modern but with some elements seeming a bit more advanced, some seeming slightly retro.
The disaster happens, which ignites some of the gas and damages the machinery. I like the idea that it is caused somehow by the first person to link in, or there can be the miner-chemist intrigue, where the chemists blame the miners for doing something wrong.
Because of the damaged machinery, the crew is trapped, and the miners and chemists disagree on how to escape. This part needs work -- I'm not exactly sure how the chemists escape. It can't be welding together the broken door, because then wouldn't the door have been fixed when they left? Shouldn't we be able to just follow them? The miners, however, want to use the back access tunnels (different from the front door). Perhaps these are shafts around the gas pipes, which run from the mine level to holding tanks on the surface where the gases are periodically collected and transported away. The chemists warn that the shafts are too unstable, they might collapse or the pipes might leak. The chemists' solution takes time, though, and the miners aren't willing to wait, so they set off for the shafts and leave the chemists behind. Sure enough, some of the shafts are already collapsed, and one has a leak. When the miners enter one of the shafts, a cave-in does them in. (It's the only way I can think of to kill them without us having to come across the bodies.) If the explorer tries to follow them, the only accessible tunnel has a gas leak. It's reached by passing through an airlock. When the explorer enters the airlock, they seal the door behind them, and when they open the other door, the gas starts to seep in and they panic-link.
So the only way out is the chemists' way, though I'm not sure what that would be. Maybe there are two main doors, both broken. The miners get through one the same way you do, but then do something on the other side to seal it up once they're through, to protect against another gas leak/explosion. So the only thing for you to do is to fix the other broken door. As mentioned, you have to mix gas to fuel the torch, which was exactly what the miners did, since the explosion maybe blew up or buried their fuel stores, and they had to start over by drawing new gas from the mine. They didn't leave any extra, of course, so you'll have to mine more gas and mix it properly, referring to their notes, to fuel another torch, then repair the second broken door to make your escape.
The door leads to a tunnel going up to the surface, which is your reward. You only get to look though, not touch; you're inside a glass-domed airlock, 360-degree view of the landscape. Because of the air outside, no one ventures out without a suit. The suits are either gone, if both doors lead to the same airlock, because the chemists already took them, or damaged, if it's a second airlock (and you would be able to see the other dome a short distance away). You also see a few sheds or maintenance buildings, and the storage tanks. You can see the tracks the chemists left when they left in their vehicle, vanishing into the distance. There is one vehicle left, visibly damaged (blast damage or maybe just with a wheel off or something), just to make it clear how they left.
That's pretty much all I've got so far...
Concept, design, storytelling, editorial
KI# 05697413