The waterfall behind the cave

The hallways of Sub-basement 23 were clearly not as well maintained as higher levels. The floor and walls were covered by a thick layer of dust and grime. A few cobwebs scattered around showed the futile attempt of spiders to find a home. Perhaps there had been insects making their way down the elevator shaft, or maybe they were pushed down the ventilation system by the air currents. It was, thinking about it, a surprise that the area even had basic life support at all.

The corridors were lit by very old circular fluorescent lamps embedded into the ceiling panels, some of which were just barely managing to produce the occasional flash of light before turning back off and getting whipped back into action by the tired ballasts. Their humming was drowned by the persistent whirring of old ventilation fans that raised even more the already high noise floor.

You may wonder what prompted me, a lowly research assistant, to receive a Level 3 security clearance and venture 10 floors deeper than anyone had ever visited in the past 25 years. Be assured, I was wondering the same myself. Except, I did know the answer, my brain just didn’t want to believe it was happening. Let me attempt to bring you up to speed.