hadriel | first puzzle; voice + text.

[Beyond quit giving network-wide addresses long before he ended up here, but - someone needs to be the voice of reason, apparently, and he is something of an expert on death.]

Those of you who have been buried alive - please listen closely. You have a very limited supply of oxygen to work with, and it would be in your best interest to conserve it as long as you can. Stop talking.

[He's already counted two other broadcasts from people who seem to have been buried; he can only imagine there are more that haven't been open to the entire network.]

If you must communicate, do so by texting. Otherwise, lie still and try not to breathe until you're rescued.

[He pauses for a moment, weighing whether what else he wants to say will ultimately be helpful. He decides it is, and continues:]

You may find it a comfort to know that if you do happen to die before anyone reaches you, it's unlikely you will remain dead. However, death by asphyxiation is supposed to be quite unpleasant, so it's best to avoid the experience if you can.

[He sighs. He doesn't know this from experience, exactly; while he has died twice, it happened quickly both times. A prolonged exposure to death is torturous, and he finds the back of his neck prickling with anger over it. It doesn't take a genius intellect to deduce that Fear is behind this, or what he aims to gain from it.]

Those of us who've not been buried - has anyone made anything resembling a strategic plan for rescue efforts, or is everyone running amok with shovels in hand and hoping for the best?

[Shortly after this exchange with Chris, Beyond sends out an additional message via text:]

If you've been buried, please refrain from starting fires with matches or a lighter. At best, you'll only expend your oxygen supply that much faster. Use your phone for light if necessary.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There are worse ways to die, yes.

[Beyond has seen and even experienced some of them.]

I take it you're among those who've been buried?

Yeah, I am. I guess it's better than getting torn to pieces, but all things considered, I'd rather not die at all.

[Beyond almost laughs; that he can speak about from firsthand experience.]

I think most people would agree with you. And there are rescue efforts underway.

Yeah. I hope they can get to us all before it's too late.

You don't agree?

About what? Being torn to pieces, or dying at all?

I meant being torn to pieces, but now I'm thinking both.

Yes, I agree on the subject of being torn to pieces. I can testify that it is quite an unpleasant experience. However, in a general sense, death is an inevitability - there is no way to avoid it. I think there are some cases where death - permanent death - is the preferred outcome.

[Both of these are things he can speak about from personal experience, in fact.]

You've been torn to pieces before?

[Maybe he shouldn't be surprised, but - well, it's not something you expect someone to say.]

Yes. Shortly before I was brought here, in fact. It was the second time I've been killed.

[There's really no reason to lie about it.]

The second time?

That's right. The first time I was killed was by myocardial infarction - a heart attack.

Here? Is that why you're still alive?

No. I was in Los Angeles the first time I died, then I was taken to a ship out in space. I was there for a few months before I was killed.

You were... in space? Were there a lot of aliens in your world or something?

No, my world was ordinary.

[Except for shinigami, and their notebooks that brought death.]

I was taken to the Barge by someone who called himself the Admiral. He had ideas about controlling lives, not unlike these so-called gods here.

I was also somewhere else before this. A town called Harborview, where we were meant to be sacrifices. I guess that sort of thing is less uncommon than I would expect it to be.

Did you escape?

I wouldn't say that. I was killed, and then I woke up here. This place isn't much of an escape. What sort of sacrifices were you expected to be?

No, I guess this is just a different kind of prison.

They said there were gods they were trying to keep from waking, and our sacrifices were meant for that. But really, who knows.

One might think gods would be able to look after themselves without the need to involve us.

You would think, but that doesn't seem to be the case anywhere.

They hardly seem worthy of that designation.

What would you call them instead?

Tyrants. Children at play with power simply because they have it and they can.

Poetic, but I'm not sure it's accurate. They seem to have goals beyond just playing with us. We're tools, rather than toys.

Call us tools or toys, but the end result is the same. We're still being toyed with.

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