!Activity detected!
Monitoring activated
• Mic systems accessed
• Video systems accessed
• Real-time tracking active
• Real-time AI transcript active
• Faults discovered! Dynamic solutions active
<Begin Recording at: 11:03AM>
Date: 29/11/67
Location: Level 320's front gates, Main Plaza, Folding Point, Carnival Alley, and Piering In.
Involved individuals: Esther Phelan, Sally Phelan, Masie Mann.
Masie Mann: Holy shit, it's cold here.
Esther Phelan: I did tell you to bring a coat?
Masie Mann: You said this place regulated its temperature!
Esther Phelan: What I actually said is this place mimics the seasons in the Frontrooms, and it's currently November.
Masie Mann: Does it get cold in November on Earth?
Esther Phelan: Uh, not as cold as December or January?
Sally Phelan: Here, you can borrow my coat.
[Sally smiled at Masie, slowly taking off her big fluffy jacket and bunching it around Masie's shoulders, even buttoning the top button to make it hang like a cape with dangling arms. Masie matched Sally's smile, after, which was followed by the latter kissing the former's cheek lovingly.]
Masie Mann: Still can't believe your mom is gonna break us into one of the abandoned renovation levels. I wish my mom did shit like that.
Esther Phelan: Well, I think it's more accurate to say that I'm trying, but… Ngh, ah! There we go!
[With a strained grunt, Esther spun the lever on the chain breaker enough to shatter the chain link she had tightened down on. The metal shards sprinkled across the floor, and the two halves of the chain swung outwards with loud clanks as they scraped across the mesh metal fence they were protecting and holding up. Dropping the tool to the side, Esther fitted her fingers through a section of this mesh metal fence and moved it aside, granting access to three rusted turnstiles.]
Esther Phelan: Come on, girls, hop over.
Error detected in tracking and recording procedure.
Cause: Corruption.
Solution: Skipping…
Sally Phelan: Why are the buildings so… Flat?
Masie Mann: Yeah, and why are all the interiors shredded to pieces?
[Acting as their much older guide, Esther Phelan was walking ahead of Masie and her daughter while leading them down the main road of what used to be known, unofficially, as Entertainland's "Main Plaza." Though once home to shops, merchandise, and parades, now only snow and debris from the shop interiors littered the streets, as well as a general grime from nearly thirty years of abandonment.]
Esther Phelan: Well, from what I remember… The insides of the shops were made to be bigger than on the outside! I know that's pretty normal nowadays, but it was sort of a big thing way back when. I imagine that when this place stopped being maintained and the Non-Euclidean…ness was no longer looked after, it all went a bit wrong.
Masie Man: And that caused so many of the insides to become shredded and blow up?
Esther Phelan: Well, look for yourselves, the evidence is all around us.
Sally Phelan: No one was in those buildings when that happened, right?
Esther Phelan: Heh, no, thankfully. This place was closed nearly thirty years ago, and I imagine all the shredding that happened was more recent. No one's been in this park for decades.
Sally Phelan: Didn't it open 30 years ago, though?
Esther Phelan: Just over! This place didn't exist for long.
Sally Phelan: …Why?
Esther Phelan: Well, it was expensive to build and run and… Man, you're making me remember stuff from my 20's.
Sally Phelan: Is that bad? I'm sorry if it is.
Esther Phelan: Oh, no, it's fine, honestly! Please don't apologise. My late 20's were nice, at least, I got married to your Dad around then.
Sally Phelan: Were your early 20's not as good…?
Esther Phelan: Um… No, I… Have I ever told you about Magnus?
Sally Phelan: No…?
Esther Phelan: Well… Maybe for another time, alright?
Sally Phelan: Uh, sure!
Masie Mann: Sorry to interrupt, but how was this place so expensive? It's a theme park, no different from the others. What made this one so tough to upkeep?
Esther Phelan: Do you wanna see?
Error detected in tracking and recording procedure.
Cause: Corruption.
Solution: Skipping…
Masie Mann: Holy fucking shit.
Esther Phelan: …Yeah… I must admit I'm pretty surprised myself at how broken it is. I guess I should've paid more attention to the shops.
[Having approached it to get a closer look, Esther, Sally, and Masie all stopped before the ruins of what used to be known as the Folding Point. Once a colossal indoor pseudo-mall with shops, attractions and level recreations was now long stretches of unidentifiable rubble and a crater wide enough and deep enough to puncture a hole into the Blue Channel itself. Some sections of the area's structure appeared to have survived, creating large pillars of concrete and metal towards the outer edges of the ruins, but not a shred of the original structure was still intact enough to identify.]
Masie Man: Did they spend all their money making a nuclear warhead??
Esther Phelan: Heh, no, uh… This place was called the Folding Point, it was a massive mall, amusement park, and uh… level recreator, I guess? I remember spending hours in its version of Level 0.
Masie Mann: Why would you do that? I've heard Level 0's terrifying.
Esther Hanks: Well… You know what, actually? Fuck it, I really should've seen this coming.
Sally Phelan: Is something wrong?
Esther Hanks: Well, you two wanted to come, and I… I-I figured I could handle it.
Masie Mann: Handle it…? Is this place dangerous?
Esther Hanks: No, not at all! It may not be as safe as it used to be because it's been abandoned for 27 years, but it's not unsafe or anything. This place just brings back a lot of bad memories, that's all.
Sally Phelan: We… can leave?
Masie Mann: Yeah, we are technically breaking the law here. If it's too much for you, for whatever reason, we can go.
Esther Phelan: No… No, it's fine. I'll power through, give you guys a good look around! And if you're hellbent on sticking with my daughter, Masie, you may as well learn a bit more about the family.
Masie Mann: A-Are you sure?
Esther Hanks: I'm not, actually, but… I'm gonna do it anyways. Come on, there's not much to see of the Folding Point anymore.
Error detected in tracking and recording procedure.
Cause: Corruption.
Solution: Skipping…
Esther Phelan: Alright, guys, just through here. Stick close to me, too.
[Gently yet anxiously, Esther guided her daughter and her girlfriend into the opening alleyway for the Dark Alley, which during these winter months and without any actual electricity, looked darker than it ever had when it was actually active. Esther looked over her shoulder once she turned the first corner of the linear backroad, making sure her companions were following her.]
Sally Phelan: Are we going to find somewhere to sit down here, Mom? So you can talk?
Esther Phelan: Uhm… No, and we won't find somewhere to sit down here anyway. It's all just alleyways and shops.
Masie Mann: Won't some of those have exploded?
Esther Phelan: Possibly, but I think we can still cut through here and go to Piering In. That's where you two wanted to go the most, right?
Sally Phelan: That's the part that looks most like the original, isn't it?
Esther Phelan: Mhm.
Sally Phelan: Then yeah, that's where we want to go.
[Esther nodded and smiled at the pair, continuing to walk down the length of the current alleyway. She began to get a little tense, though, especially as they passed by a specific spot that seemed to make Esther shiver anxiously.]
Sally Phelan: Are you alright, Mom…?
Esther Phelan: Have I ever talked much about my life before your Dad?
Sally Phelan: Not really? I know you weren't an explorer in those days but that's really about it.
Esther Phelan: Right, well… Okay… Before your dad, there was another man in my life. Not the first, but he was my first proper relationship. Magnus, I mentioned him earlier.
Sally Phelan: You did, yeah… Why'd you pick my Dad over him?
Esther Phelan: I-It was an easy choice, um… he wasn't a good guy, he was manipulative and abusive and completely self-absorbed. I still don't fully believe him, he said Level 320 exists because of him.
Sally Phelan: How?
Esther Phelan: He submitted over a hundred requests demanding it be brought back, this was right when the Renovations Division was new, basically, and… they listened.
Sally Phelan: I… I don't know what to say, Mom, other than sorry, really, actually, sorry, I-I get why you don't talk about it.
Esther Phelan: It was 30 years ago now, I've moved on… So has he, I believe. I see his name in a few opinion blogs sometimes. But for me, I just keep it buried. No point bringing it up unless I have to.
Masie Mann: I don't know if it's my place to comment, but is that… tough to deal with? Seeing his name?
Esther Phelan: Not anymore, no. He has a really stupid name I'm sure he picked for himself, but seeing it doesn't worry me anymore. It also helps that I haven't seen him in 30 years.
Sally Phelan: Am I allowed to ask what happened? What made you realise who he was?
Esther Phelan: This place. This exact zone of this place, actually. He used a lot of my money I got from your Grandmother's will to take me on a date to this place. When I wanted to leave and talk to him about how I felt uncomfortable around him, he… threatened me. Hurt me, too. I ran as quick as I could.
Sally Phelan: …and then you met Dad afterwards?
Esther Phelan: Sorta! I got your late Auntie Holly to use her connections and get me hidden for a while. A year after that a restraining order was slapped on him, I moved to 995, then to 46 where I met your dad in '39. We got married in '44, and then we had you not long afterwards. Knowing me, we probably had you on the honeymoon.
[To break the air, Esther snickered to herself at her own comment, putting her hands into her pockets. Her snicker turned into a small laugh, only fuelled on by Sally's comment.]
Sally Phelan: Aw man, I didn't need to know that much!
Esther Phelan: Sorry! I couldn't help it… Too funny not to throw that in. As much as it is true.
Sally Phelan: Oh, it gets more gross every time you bring it up…
Error detected in tracking and recording procedure.
Cause: Corruption.
Solution: Skipping…
Masie Mann: Oh my god I hate this so much-!
Esther Phelan: I know! I didn't think it'd get this bad!
[With a laugh, Esther hastily moved herself, Sally, and Masie underneath a surviving carnival tent within Piering In to protect them from the sudden hailstorm that began to fall from the heavens at fast speeds. Once they were all under cover, Esther sat down on a rusted metal counter and took a moment to catch her breath. Sally and Masie did the same, with Masie resting on Sally for support. After about ten seconds, Esther began to laugh.]
Esther Phelan: Hah! Oh, that was excellent! I don't get to run like that often when I'm not working.
Masie Mann: I'm glad one of us enjoyed it, my lungs are on fire…
Sally Phelan: I kinda liked it.
Masie Mann: Heh, alright then… two of us enjoyed it. Maybe I'll go running with you more often, Sall's.
Sally Phelan: I'd like that.
[Gently, Sally kissed Masie's cheek, followed by a small peck to the lips. Esther glanced away for their sake, and got off the counter to stand at the perimeter of the tent to watch the heavily falling hail in front of her.]
Esther Phelan: Do you two want me to give you some space, by the way? In case you want to be alone as a couple?
Sally Phelan: …Um…
Esther Phelan: Not like that! I know that sort of stuff isn't even your thing, Sally, don't worry. I can imagine it's a bit awkward having your mom stand around whilst you're with your girlfriend, that's all.
Sally Phelan: Um… I guess I wouldn't mind? Masie?
Masie Mann: That would actually be nice, yeah? I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to get rid of you, you're a nice person.
Esther Phelan: I didn't think that at all, Masie. You two have fun! I… I'm happy to see you two being happy.
[Esther smiled at the pair, sighing to herself and pulling the hood of her coat over her head, its fur trim obscuring her eyes. For Esther, though, that seemed to work in her benefit, hiding the happy tear in the corner of her eye as she took a step forward into the hail.]
Sally Phelan: Oh, wait, Mom-
Esther Phelan: Yes?
[Esther turned quickly on her heel, looking back at the young couple inside the tent.]
Sally Phelan: You're definitely okay, right? That stuff about Magnus you talked about, you are over it and doing better, aren't you?
Esther Phelan: I am, sweetheart… Thank you, though. For listening. I don't talk about it to many people.
Sally Phelan: I imagine you only tell close family?
Esther Phelan: Yeah, close family only.
[Despite Esther only speaking to her daughter, her attention shifted to look simultaneously at Masie, smiling at the pair of them. She put her hands deep into her pockets after, and left to explore the ruins of the Piering In whilst her daughter and her girlfriend hugged and chatted as a happy couple.]